Speed Racer

Chapter Ten: The Big Day

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Yada Yada.

WARNING: This chapter is verbally violent. You have been forewarned about the language.

So no complaints.

"Annie," Trixie sighed, leaning against the wall of the church, "I'm scared. Why am I scared?"

"This is something you've never done before,' her aunt said supportingly. "You have every right and reason to be scared. But, hey," Trixie looked up at her, "you love Speed, right?" Trixie clutched at her chest and nodded, "then you also know this is right." Annie was right, of course; Trixie could feel her completion running through her veins. It was a funny feeling, almost like she could feel her blood beneath her skin, caressing the bottom layers of her flesh.

Trixie shivered as her aunt stepped away and picked up her tiara. Speed and Trixie had both vetoed a veil; it was silly and impractical, as far as they were concerned. Annie agreed, as she'd come to with anything and everything Trixie said. It was because Trixie was so happy with Speed, she claimed, but somehow everyone figured there was more to it. Trixie didn't think about that now, she stood up straight and took her bouquet from Annie, pulling open the door of the Sunday school classroom they'd changed in. Beautiful blue eyes stared back at her, right in her face. She was about to tell Speed that it was unlucky to see the bride before the ceremony, but Annie cut in first.

"You've got a lot of nerve to show up her, Sir!" she waved her finger at him, trying to get around Trixie. But Trixie stood her ground, staring into the pools of blue and getting lost. "How dare you breathe and stand in front of my baby girl like you own the world; like you OWN her. She's not yours!"

"Annie," Trixie breathed, "please, stop shouting."

"Trixie!"

Then it hit her and she let her fist fly. Racer X wasn't ready for it and he fell back on his tail bone with a bloody nose. Trixie suddenly had trouble breathing, like she had just woken up from a trance. "Trixie…" he whispered, making her flinch. She imagined his breath on her lips, like they had been a couple of days ago. Flinching, she stepped back into the room and slammed the door, breathing heavily and she squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could, grabbing the stems of her bouquet as tightly as she could and repressing a scream of outrage and fear. "I just wanted to come and ask you not to do this. I-I don't know why, but you strike me. I-I want you for myself, and it kills me that my little brother has scooped you up instead."

She turned, slamming the side of her fist into the door over and over again, and then she sobbed, her make-up running down her face in gushes. "Speed has always been there for me, you bastard. Speed never hurt me, or anyone else in his family. And what did you do, damn it! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO! You left, Rex, you left. Even I cried, but I cried for the pain you caused Speed and the rest of his family, not for you. And I'm not crying for you now, I'm crying for me this time. Today is about me. Me and Speed and I refuse to let you fuck that up. So go away and don't you ever show your face here again."

Racer X blinked, surprised. He was surprised by her ferocity and by how much her words stung. He nodded, though Trixie couldn't see him and he turned around, ready to leave, to give up for the second time in his life. You really shouldn't make a habit of this, X he told himself, but he looked up from his shoes and started. Pops stood there, in his tux, staring at Racer X, scared and confused. "Can I help you?" he asked, pretending he hardly recognized Pops.

"Rex?"

Racer X took another step and Trixie threw open the door, pointing a finger viciously at him. "He's a liar. That is Rex Racer, he lied to you and he lied to the world. Because he didn't have the balls to face what the racing world was throwing at him. Think about it, who did he blow up to make it look like he died? What person gave their life so he could walk free of what he wasn't man enough to face?"

Racer X turned around, surely ready to kill Trixie. But Pops, the retired professional wrestler, was faster. He grabbed Rex and put him in a head lock, "you've heard enough people in my family, I will not let you hurt another." Trixie was about to say something, but Annie grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the room again, telling her they needed to fix her make-up.

"I do," Speed said, smiling at Trixie. No one had told him about Racer X and Pops hadn't told Mom anything either. Trixie looked up at Speed for the millionth time and she was about to smile when their eyes caught each other and the beautiful blues she had always loved frightened her. She would have stumbled, but she was standing still. She gripped his arm anyway, as she suddenly felt the sensation of falling. Closing her eyes she begged the God she hadn't talked to in years to give her the strength to look at Speed as she used and to look past the features she shared with the one who had nearly broken her. Or had he? Was she coming apart as the seams as she stood there, in the arms of the one person who had always, always loved her, no matter what?

She breathed out through her nose and slowly opened her eyes to see Speed watching her, concerned and scared. She licked her lips subtly, then nodded just a little and said her vows as the priest recited them for her. "I do," she whispered and Speed smiled as she stared him in the eyes the entire time, shaking a little but holding her own.

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest announced and he closed his book. Raising an eyebrow, Speed looked at Trixie for a second, making her do her corner-of-the-mouth smile. She nodded and he swooped down, wrapping his arms around her waist and placed his mouth over hers before she could blink, but she fell into it like she always did and she could hear the cheers and whoops of their audience.

"Everyone to the reception across the street!" Trixie heard Annie shout as she and Speed pulled away.

The reception was held in one of the party rooms at the hotel across from the church. It was filled with music and people; the dance floor was never empty the entire night. Even when it was time to eat, some of the littler kids were out shaking it out on the dance floor. Trixie and Speed did a lot of dancing too, not much of it slow and soft, but they didn't miss any of those songs.

"You know," Speed told Trixie, near the end of the night, "after all these years, we don't have a song." This was true, Trixie realized, but she had no idea what it would be, what it should be. She shrugged and Speed laughed. "Maybe you're right," he said, though Trixie hadn't said anything. "Maybe there are too many songs for us to find the right one." Again, Trixie decided, this was true.

"Thank you, everyone," the DJ said into the microphone around twelve thirty, "for coming. I hope you enjoyed yourself and congrats to Speed and Trixie Racer, I hope you two enjoy your life together." Everyone jumped up, clapping and cheering. "Here's the last song of the evening," and just as suddenly as the day had started, it was over.