Wicked Game - Launt

Wicked Game - Launt

Launt Fic I promised!

It's a bit late but here it is: A songfic involving Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. A/N: There are switches in PoV but they aren't mentioned.

The world was always on fire for Niki. Every race felt like a battle against time, against death, against the relentless pull of gravity that could steal his life in an instant. But there was one fire he hadn’t expected—a different kind, one that no amount of precision or discipline could extinguish.

James Hunt.

The first time Niki saw him, James was laughing, surrounded by people, completely at ease with the world.  Hunt was wild, unpredictable, everything Niki had learned to avoid. But there was something in that reckless charm, in the way James laughed like the world couldn’t touch him, that pulled him in.

Niki knew, even then, that this man would upend everything.

"The world was on fire, and no one could save me but you."

It had crept up on him, this feeling—like a slow burn he couldn’t control.

Racing was their life, and in that world of speed and danger, they had pushed each other, driven each other mad, and yet there was something—a feeling—that neither could ignore.

It was in the stolen glances across the pit, in the unspoken understanding that only they could know the depth of what it meant to live on the edge. 

But it was more than competition—it was desire, unbidden, unwanted, but there.

"It's strange what desire will make foolish people do."

Niki would never have admitted it, but there was a strange kind of thrill in James' presence. He hated that about himself. Niki wasn’t supposed to feel like this. His life was about logic, about calculated moves, and this? This was the opposite of control. 

Every time James flashed that boyish grin, every time his eyes lingered a moment too long, Niki felt something stir within him—something that threatened to break the walls he'd carefully constructed. He couldn’t allow it.

Love wasn’t for men like him, not in this brutal world where everything could be taken away in an instant. But every time he saw James, the cracks in his walls deepened.

"I never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you."

This wasn’t part of his plan. Niki had never intended to let anyone in, especially not someone like Hunt. They were rivals—two men pitted against each other, both striving for victory, for glory. But every race, every heated exchange only tightened the knot in his chest. The truth was inescapable. He had fallen. Fallen hard. And he hated it.

Niki had tried to push him away, tried to focus only on the race, on winning. But James... James was always there, like a persistent flame that refused to die.

"And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you."

Niki could feel it, the inevitable heartbreak that loomed just beyond the horizon. This world wasn’t kind. It didn’t care about love, about fragile connections between two men who should have been enemies. It was all going to come crashing down. And when it did, Niki knew it would break him.

"No, I don’t wanna fall in love..."

James was not supposed to fall in love. Not with Niki Lauda, of all people. Love was not for men like them. He lived for the thrill of the race, for the freedom that came with speed and danger. But there was something about Niki—something that had slipped through his defenses before he even realized it.

"No, I don’t wanna fall in love... with you."

He had fought it, tried to brush it off as just another twist in their rivalry. Niki was meant to be his opponent, not someone who made his heart race faster than any car ever could. But it didn’t matter. He was already in too deep. Every argument, every moment of tension between them was laced with an undercurrent of something more—something neither of them wanted to admit.

"This world is only gonna break your heart."

It was a dangerous game, and James knew it. Love in their world was a risk, one he wasn’t willing to take, not in this world of fast cars and faster lives. They were destined to burn brightly and fade just as quickly. They both lived on the edge, and sooner or later, something would give. And when it did, James was terrified it would shatter them both.

"What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way."

Niki didn’t understand how it had happened. James had wormed his way into his thoughts, into his heart, and there was no turning back now. It wasn’t just the racing—it was the way James smiled like he held the world in his hands, the way he could make Niki feel alive in a way nothing else ever had. It was maddening, this pull between them.

James Hunt had made him vulnerable.

James tilted his head, that trademark smirk playing on his lips, but there was something deeper in his eyes—something that mirrored Niki’s own torment. He wasn’t just toying with him; James was as lost in this as Niki was.

"What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you."

James could see it in Niki’s eyes—the same fear, the same hesitation. It was a game they hadn’t meant to play, but now they were both trapped in it. James had let himself dream of Niki in ways he never should have. But the reality of it all? It was too much. It was too dangerous. And yet, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting more.

"What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way."

There were moments when James would catch a glimpse of something in Niki’s gaze, something that told him he wasn’t alone in this. But Niki was too guarded, too afraid to let it show. And that was the cruelest part—knowing that, despite everything, Niki would never let himself feel the way James did.

"What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you."

Niki had tried to keep his distance, tried to tell himself it was just a fleeting attraction, nothing more. But James had gotten under his skin, and now, Niki couldn’t stop the dreams from coming. He dreamed of James more than he dreamed of winning. And that was the most terrifying thing of all.

"And I don’t wanna fall in love."

Niki could feel the heartbreak coming, like a storm on the horizon. He had let himself fall, despite every instinct screaming at him to stay in control. But it was too late now. James Hunt had stolen his heart, and there was no getting it back.

"No, I don’t wanna fall in love... with you."

James looked at Niki and knew it was already too late for both of them. He had fallen in love with the one man who could break him completely. And even though he knew it was going to end in heartbreak, he couldn’t help himself. This was the wicked game they had been playing all along.

And there was no way out now.