#rally racing

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ok… strap in, because it’s going to be a WALL of text as @kalm5 and I came up with Rally racing modern!AU

The idea is “split” into 2 parts:

1. Anakin meets Rex and they form a rally race team (Anakin – driver + Rex – navigation)

2. Ahsoka begs Anakin to mentor her + Rex becomes the young woman’s navigator to see if she’s any good.

The bullet points (that are under the cut/read more) are for the “1st part” of the plot, and are NOT everything @/Kalm5 and I came up with (I might add more stuff if I decide to draw more artworks for this AU)

Enjoy!

BACKGROUND INFO:

ANAKIN:

As a teen Anakin worked in a Watto’s junkyard part-time
He used to illegally race to win cash because of a gang (the Hutts) that had a choke-hold on his neighborhood .
He worked on the junkyard as a cover up for his illegal racing so when his mother would question about the prize money he always excused it for working extra shifts.
Anakin enjoys driving and loves cars with manual gearboxes
Obi-Wan is Anakin’s former driving teacher (when Anakin was getting his driving license, Kenobi used to warn him that he’ll loose it almost immediately if he won’t change the way he drives, as Anakin is very good but pretty reckless driver)
somewhere along the lines Anakin starts to take part in desert rally races (something akin to Dakar rally)
(Obi-Wan hates to admit it but he always has the radio on when he teaches driving to hear how Anakin’s race is doing. students are so confused why this very calm and collected gentleman is so engrossed with rally races)
Unfortunately due to his racing team being up to the neck with some shady stuff. They decided to use Anakin as a scapegoat, since he is a loose canon. He got blamed for a stuff he didn’t do – unfortunately the whole affair went viral - forcing Anakin step away from racing, moreover - his sponsors pulled the plug on him so he had to “retire” and "go into hiding”.
Anakin basically stepped away from racing altogether but he loved it so damn much he couldn’t let go. Every time there is any mention of any racing he gets extremely distraught.
Anakin starts to work part-time as a mechanic. He meets Padme at the workshop. Fixes her car. They fall in love and get married.

REX/FETT FAMILY:

Fett household had very military upbringing as they were like 99% boys and their father was prominent solider/always on the missions.
Their eldest brother - [99] - who is terminally ill - is filling-in for a legal guardian for his younger brothers, so the older brothers kept younger in check so [99] was “parental figure” mostly on paper.
Most of the Fetts choose military careers because it pays very well and they had easy to get into the ranks due to their father’s „legacy”
every brother has a trade: some are carpenters, wielders, plumbers, roofers, chimney sweepers and so on… Kix is a paramedic, Jesse’s a cop, etc. Most of the guys have a hard time finding employment/contracts, due to the fact that they spend many years in the military, thus lost/have no contacts to spread the word about their skills.
as every Fett, Rex went to the military, but retired after AU!Umbara mission - it left him scarred, full of PTSD and depression.
once he got back from the military all his neighbors started to force him to find that “special someone”/a partner/wife.
He tries his best to find SOMEONE… anyone?

STORY:

Anakin still works as a mechanic.
Padme works at the city hall.
One day Cody’s car breaks down and he needed a quick fix, Obi-Wan gave him contact to Anakin who lives nearby, to check the car as he has all the necessary permits as a car mechanic. As he was fixing the car Rex came back from work and just helped him by giving him tools and stuff.
Next think they know they went for couple of beers in a local bar.
As they talked it turned out that they were both taught driving by Obi-Wan, like most Fetts were, to the point Kenobi even had a discount for Rex’s family. (Obi-Wan knew the struggled with money, thus the discount, as having a driving license opened up more job options)
then there is a broadcast of some racing stuff and Anakin gets sentimental, talking about how he misses rallies but he has no car, team, sponsors and stuff and also… eh.. it’s complicated
Anakin learns Padme is pregnant and he himself is conflicted as he doesn’t know what to do with his life. he really wants to pick up his rally racer career… but maybe his mechanic gig might not be good enough? so maybe he should put on a shirt and tie and go to regular work?
drunk, Rex encourages Anakin to maybe try once, agreeing to be his navigator… heck they can start “some Internet fund-riser or like clean windshields of cars at intersections like bunch of kids” for cash.
despite being excellent driver on a sandy dunes, Anakin refuse to drive on deserts anymore. So both him and Rex decided to pick the half-forest, half-mountain and plenty of mud scenery.
They kind of find a connection, they leave on the good terms, sealed the deal of being driver-navigator team.
The buggy Rex and Anakin use was build by Anakin. Parts provided by Watto’s junkyard (Anakin past-employer).
Watto dared Anakin that he will get a hefty discount for the parts IF the vehicle passes the necessary tests and he allowed to put a sticker of his junkyard onto the car.
Anakin is still conflicted despite the fact that Padme, in fact, believes he SHOULD take part in the rally race once again, as then he’d be able to make a decision on what to do (as in → at the finishing line he’ll know if it’s his last hurrah or he’ll revive his racing career).
Anakin basically build whole house Padme and him live at and he is the handyman of the house, so he was afraid that Padme would end up without no-one to help her around the house when he is away ← Rex’s gives her a whole contact list to his siblings so whenever she needs help with leaking faucet or roof, she can phone any of them for help.
(at work, a lot of Padme’s colleagues are complaining at various firms that butchered jobs… carpets, plumbing, tiles in the bathrooms etc. So Padme just gives those people Fett brothers business cards and suddenly they guys have like those better paid contracts from city hall people, no less!)
Rex has a tendency to bump his head at the frame of his and Anakin’s buggy. He once hit his head so hard, he started to bleed. Kix (who got a gig as a paramedic at the Rally) at the time run out of band-aid, but thankfully Anakin had some… Which were rainbow themed as Anakin was in this “upcoming dad hyper-mode” so the bought them because he though they were cute and didn’t even though someone might feel any less manly because of the colorful band-aid. of course Rex is manly enough to not care - he just doesn’t want his helmet smeared with blood!
Someone took a photo of Kix applying the bright rainbow-themed band-aid onto the navigator and it became instant meme + many people started to “ship” Anakin and Rex as their developing friendship was misinterpreted by certain parts of the Internet which made Rex super confused (not to mention Anakin LOVES Padme)
The first part of the race went… very bad!
Rex is by the book – giving very precise coordinates, while Anakin has „hunches” so he mostly wings it and plays it by the ear.
Since they didn’t understand how each other operate - they butt heads constantly and get lost.
they had a major screaming match that ends up with Rex falling off the small landslide and face planting into a mud (Anakin tried to catch him), it’s recorded on a dash-cam of their car and it became a part of some sort of Rally-race highlights compilation that became extremely popular on the Internet.
but after that fight, as Rex was spitting mud, they kind of started to understand each-other better.
Rex decided to start trusting Anakin’s hunches, and as it turned out… Anakin’s “sixth sense” saved their asses in the end so they barely made it to the finish line in time to be qualified for part two of the race
barely but they did it!
The second part of race is much better - they are both more in-tune with eachother other.
however they never finish that part as they have a terrible accident…
… after which Anakin has to have his arm amputated!