Chapter Text
Ghlai was a quiet person.
At least, that was the version everyone at the university knew.
In the halls of the aviation business department, where reputation mattered almost as much as grades, Ghlai carried himself with careful precision. Always polite. Always soft spoken. The kind of person professors trusted without question and classmates turned to for notes, assignments, and gentle smiles.
He had an image to uphold.
Aviation business came with rules, expectations, and a future that had already been planned for him long before he ever stepped into the university gates.
But grief had a way of making rules feel smaller. Ever since losing his mother, Ghlai had learned to survive in pieces.
One part of him buried itself in textbooks, schedules, and the quiet comfort of routine.
The other part came alive only after dark.
Under the city lights and the screaming engines, he became someone else entirely.
Or maybe, someone more honest.
On the tracks, hidden behind a black helmet and leather gloves, Ghlai was ruthless.
Fast. Untouchable.
And there was only one person who could ever keep up with him.
Punlee.
His rival. His crush.
The one person who somehow always managed to stay at his side, be it on track or at the university. Punlee matched his frequency in every way.
Saving him in every situation yet fighting tire to tire, matching every dangerous turn with a grin Ghlai could practically hear even through the roar of the bikes.
Ghlai knew Punlee didn't know of his identity after all he wasn't known as Ghlai on the tracks, he was known as Eclipse.
His love for the space showing.
Every race ended the same way.
One of them winning.
Both of them fighting.
Every single time.
The night time version of him rode.
Fast enough to outrun the thoughts in his head. Fast enough to feel something other than grief.
On the tracks, nobody knew Ghlai.
They only knew the racer in the black helmet who never spoke unless it was to bite back and every single night, without fail, there was one person waiting for him.
Raven aka Punlee
The rival he could never shake. The one person who made every race feel less like escape and more like war but he made every race enjoyable.
Ghlai had known about Punlee's real identity since the start, first in the university and then on track. Punlee's personality would change 180 degrees when he talked to 'Ghlai'. Very different from when he would curse at 'Eclipse'.
Tonight, the track was louder than usual. Engines roared around him as bikers gathered beneath the neon glow of a flickering sign, voices overlapping with laughter and taunts.
Someone whistled when Ghlai rolled in.
“ Well, look who decided to show up.”
Another voice followed, amused and far too familiar.
“Took you long enough, Eclipse.”
Ghlai turned his head.
Leaning against a night blue bike, arms crossed and grin already irritating, stood the one person who never failed to get under his skin.
Him. Punlee.
“You planning on losing gracefully tonight?”
Ghlai let out a quiet laugh beneath his helmet.“ That would require you winning first.”
A chorus of “ooooh” erupted from the nearby racers.
Raven’s helmet tilted slightly, almost like he was looking him over.
“Still hiding behind that all black aesthetic, huh?”
“Still compensating with the blue bike?”
A pause. Then Raven laughed.
Bright, sharp, challenging.
God, Ghlai hated how much he recognized that laugh now.
“Cute,” He said. “Try keeping that energy when I leave you behind.”
Ghlai swung a leg over his bike.“ Try keeping up.”
The race began in a scream of engines. The world narrowed instantly.
No crowd. No lights.
Just the road.
For a perfect few minutes, nothing else existed, just him and the road.
Not the ache in his chest. No expectations from him.
Suddenly, A flash appears beside him.
Raven. Of course.
Ghlai pushed faster. The two bikes tore down the road side by side, impossibly close.
For the next and the final turn, Ghlai rode through it smoothly whereas Punlee took it aggressively.
Ghlai surged ahead. The crowd erupted.
He had won. Again.
Raven pulled up beside him, pulling off one glove with visible annoyance.
"You CHEATED."
Ghlai smirked," That just sounds like losing to me."
"You cut too close at the last corner." Lee said.
"No. You were too aggressive for your own good."
Lee groaned and threw his head back.
“I swear one day I’m going to wipe that smug little attitude off your face.”
Ghlai tensed up.
If only he knew what Ghlai was actually like. The version of him which would get pushed around and used by people never raising his voice. Having friends who just approached him for their own benefits.
"Next race. Tomorrow night." Lee said as he stepped back.
"You sound obsessed."
"Because beating you is personal now."
Ghlai felt something strange twist in his chest.
Excitement. Amusement.
Something dangerously close to affection.
“Good,” he said quietly.
He couldn't stop smiling behind his helmet.
The next morning, the sun was painfully bright.
Ghlai sat at the usual table in the campus café reading his notes and organizing them.
A familiar voice dropped on the seat across from him.
"Morning, Khun Ghlai"
Ghlai could never get used to this.
He got flashbacks to the previous night how Punlee had challenged to race him.
"Khun Ghlai? Are you ok?" Lee asked, concerned.
"Perfectly fine, Puppy"
Suddenly, he thought of asking Lee about his plans tonight," What are you doing tonight??"
"I will heading to the race track tonight. What are your plans?"
Oh god.
"I will probably be sleeping while you will be racing, puppy." Ghlai said and looked away quickly.
" I have a lecture now so I will get going now" He said as he checked the time getting away from the conversation before it went further.