#daniel ricciardo oneshot

[scuderiahoney]

Blackbird

Daniel Ricciardo x reader

Masterlist

Summary: You’re a bartender at a mountain lodge. When Danny shows up, you’re determined to keep your distance. It doesn’t really go to plan.

a/n: definitely inspired by this moodboard I made for the lovely @shootingstar-scuderia for my 1k celebration!

Word Count: 10.1k

Warnings: alcohol, mild sexual content

People come and go at the lodge, but they don’t stay for long. That is, except for you and your coworkers. They’re the only consistent people in your life. The customers, the guests- they pass through like ships in the night. They tell their stories, share their adventures, and then move on. It’s half the fun, really.

You should’ve known he’d be different from the very start. Most of them come in, sit down at the bar, and are eager to tell you all about themselves. They want to impress you, want to prove that they’re the biggest adventurer in the whole place. And sure, the road to the lodge is rough and steep and half the time it’s washed out. But most of them arrive in vehicles driven by guides, and they tote their expensive luggage through the lobby, decked out in brand new hiking gear bought special for this trip. When he shows up at the bar, he’s in a threadbare t-shirt, a pair of loose shorts, and a worn down pair of hiking boots.

He’s flanked by friends, ones who have genuine smiles on their faces and are dressed much the same. He seems to be the ringleader. The first thing you really notice about him are the tattoos scattered up and down his arms. He rests his elbows on the bar, looks utterly at home there. You wander down to take their order.

“I’ll have whatever beer you’d recommend,” he says, Australian accent shining through.

You get a lot of people with accents in the bar. They come from all over. You’re not surprised at the accent, though you might’ve guessed he was American from looking at him. You nod and pour him a glass of your current favorite before taking his friend’s orders and doing the same. He takes a sip and sends you a wide grin, one that seems genuine. People smile at you a lot, trying to get a discount on their drinks or look good in front of their friends or sometimes, more than that. But this just seems… real. Like he always smiles that brightly.

“That’s good,” he says, nodding eagerly. “A woman after my own tastes.”

You laugh and nod. “You’ve got good taste, then.”

He preens over that, runs his hand through his hair. Then he sticks the other one out to you, over the bar. “I’m Danny.”

You shake his hand, the way you do each time someone introduces themself to you. You try and commit his name to memory, because he’ll likely be back a few times before he leaves the lodge and they always tip better if you remember their names. He repeats your name back to you, like it’s not written plain as day in your nametag, like he actually cares.

He tilts his head towards you. “So. How’d you end up here?” He asks.

You raise a brow at him. “Normally I’m the one asking that question.”

He laughs. He folds his hands on each other and rests his chin on them.

“Exactly. You must hear about a billion of the same stories, rich people on their vacations, roughing it in the woods,” he laments. “So come on. What’s your story?”

You’re not sure why you tell him. Looking back, in the interest of self preservation, you probably should’ve lied. But at this angle, he’s staring up at you through thick, dark eyelashes. He has the prettiest smile you’ve seen in months, maybe years, maybe ever. So you look down the bar, make sure nobody’s waiting on you. Danny and his friends are early, so you don’t have much to worry about.

You shrug. “Graduated high school. Decided college wasn’t for me.” You pick up a rag, rub at a spot on the bar just to look busy, just to avoid looking right into his eyes. “I’ve been on the move ever since. I landed here about a year ago- cheap room and board, good tips, and,” you jerk your thumb towards the large picture windows looking out over the valley and mountains. “The view’s not so bad.”

Danny laughs at that, and his gaze flickers to the windows. The sun is just barely beginning to set. Soon the tourists will pour into the bar and restaurant, hungry and thirsty from their days full of adventures. But right now it’s quiet. The calm before the storm.

“Nice,” he says. “Bet you’ve got a lot of cool stories.”

You shrug, though you smile a bit at the thought. “Yeah. Hasn’t been a bad life, you know?”

He nods. Someone sits down at the bar, and you head down to take their order. Soon enough, you’re too busy to stop and chat with Danny, having to limit it to quick drink requests and offhanded remarks. You swear you feel his eyes on your the whole night. He closes out the tab a little before 9:00, pays for everyone and leaves a big tip. For a second, you remember that he’s probably just some big wig exec from some tech company, cosplaying as an outdoorsy man for the weekend. And that’s fine, you’ll support it as long as he’s nice to you.

He tosses a grin over his shoulder as he leaves, and sends a little wave your way. You swear he winks. And really, it was that moment that you should’ve known that Danny was going to be a problem for you.

…..

The employee cabins are in a secluded spot on the property, but you prefer to have your morning coffee on the back porch of the main lodge. It’s got the best view, the coffee is free, and at this hour, there’s nobody else up. Nobody, that is, except the man from the bar the night before. Danny, you remember. Huh. Usually it takes longer for the name to stick.

You watch over the edge of your book as he comes jogging up the path. He’s shirtless, skin glistening with sweat. It’s early morning, the sun barely poking up over the horizon, and it’s not that warm yet. Either he’s been working hard or he’s out of shape. From the glimpse you catch, you decide he’s definitely not out of shape. You force your eyes back to the book as he makes his way towards you. You won’t be caught staring at the shirtless guest. That would be a bad idea.

Said shirtless guest walks right up to you, though, and sticks his finger into the spine of the book, tugging it downward. You quirk a brow and look up at him. The audacity to interrupt your reading- you’re not sure how to even react. Your face betrays you as a smile crosses your lips.

“Good book?” He asks, nudging the cover.

You shrug. “It’s okay. I’ve read almost everything good in the library here.”

Danny wrinkles his nose. “You said you didn’t like… you know. Academic stuff.”

“I said college wasn’t for me,” you clarify. “I like reading.”

He nods in understanding, that signature smile on his lips. “So what’s this one about?”

You blink up at him. “Dragons.”

“Sounds fun.” He looks to your cup of coffee, sitting on the table in front of you. “S’the coffee any good?”

You nod. He takes a couple steps towards the building. “Can I sit with you? None of my friends are up yet.”

“Well it is 6am, and you’re on vacation. Can’t say I blame them.” You say, dancing around the question.

It’s not that you don’t want to talk to him. In fact, you have a strong urge to lean close and learn everything about this man. But he’s a guest and you’re an employee. They encourage you to be friendly with the guests- it helps them feel at home, your manager says- but not too friendly. Besides, Danny will be gone in a few days, and he’ll forget all about you the week after. It’s how it goes.

But he turns and raises his brows at you, and you sigh and nod. “Yeah, you can join me. But I want to read, so…”

“I’ll be so quiet,” Danny promises.

He scurries off to get coffee. You let out a long breath and pick the book back up. You’re definitely going to regret this decision. Danny doesn’t seem like the quiet type.

In his defense, he manages to stay quiet for about ten minutes. He sits down in one of the chairs next to yours, leaning back and sipping his coffee. From the angle, you can peek up over the edge of your book and sneak glances at him. He has his eyes closed, or at least close to it. He’s still shirtless, though you can see the t-shirt he must’ve been wearing hanging from the waistband of his shorts. You’re not looking at him, really- just trying to tell if he’s looking at you.

Then he starts to fidget. First he crosses his legs, then uncrosses them. He stretches his arms above his head, fingertips spread wide. Then he slouches in his chair and lets out a heavy sigh. You meet his eyes over the top of your book.

He raises his eyebrows. “What are you doing up so early, anyways?”

You should be irritated. This is your quiet morning- he’s interrupting your personal time. You come out here to drink coffee and read and listen to the birds, not some rich man trying to talk your ear off. But. He’s so genuine about it. Like he actually wants to know. Be friendly to the guests, you think.

“I’m a morning person,” you tell him, resting your book on your lap. “And I love it here before everyone wakes up for the day, you know? Like it’s just me and the world.”

He nods in understanding. He props one foot up on the chair, bends his knee close to his chest. His shorts slide up to reveal a whole mess of tattoos on his thigh. You tell yourself not to stare.

“That’s how coming here feels for me,” he says, softly. “Nice to be away from people for a bit.”

You’re starting to wonder if maybe he’s different.

“Like a breath of fresh air,” you suggest. “But for your mind and heart, too.” You pause and roll your eyes at yourself. “Sorry, that’s a bit hippy of me to say, but-“

“No, I agree,” he says, softly.

Someone opens the door to the lodge and calls out his name. You swear his face drops. He turns over his shoulder and nods, and then pushes himself to stand up.

“Well. See ya ‘round,” he says, voice soft.

You nod and pick up your book again. “See ya.”

…..

You get to know him, bit by dangerously intriguing bit. He works for Red Bull, apparently. Doesn’t give many details past that, so you assume it’s boring. He does know Scotty James-

“There was a guy who came here last winter, a snowboarder, he had a Red Bull helmet-“ you say, snapping your fingers. “Scotty something, wasn’t it, Will?”

Will, your coworker, is cleaning glasses at the bar. He raises his brows at you, and his gaze flickers to Danny, and then he says “Scotty James.”

You nod and turn back to Danny. “You know him?”

Danny laughs. “I was in his wedding.”

Danny also has a ranch in Australia where he rides dirt bikes in what he refers to as the ‘off season’, whatever that’s supposed to mean. He shows you a video, and honestly, you’re not one for adrenaline but it looks pretty fun. You suggest they talk to your boss about taking the ATVs out on the trails, and he perks up at the sound of that.

Danny tells you about his family, too. About his parents, his sister, his nephew and niece.

“M’trying to teach them good music,” he tells you on the back porch one morning. “None of that little kid shit.”

You laugh. “None of the educational shit, you mean.”

“Music’s not for your brain,” he scoffs. “It’s for your soul.”

“There’s at least 100 scientists who would definitely disagree,” you tease.

You agree with him more than you’ll ever let on.

When he walks into the bar one evening and you have his drink already waiting for him, you start to wonder if you’ve grown a bit too attached.

…..

Your boss, Michael, calls you up to the main lodge early the next day. He’s bent over the front desk, crossing off names and writing new ones down. He looks up at you with wide eyes, brows furrowed.

“Hey. I know you’re not up on the rotation yet, but d’you think you could cover an overnight camping trip?” He asks. “Sadie’s out sick, and Billy’s got a family emergency.”

Though your main job is in the bar, all of the staff take turns taking guests on overnight trips in the mountains near the lodge. You hike out with them, help set up all the gear, start the fire, and then help pack up the next morning and hike back. Depending on the group, it can be fun. When they’re not too high maintenance, you can sit around the fire and tell fun stories and get paid to do it. Other trips, you end up setting up all the tents and doing all the work and then you get ignored for most of the night.

“It’d be you and Will,” your boss adds.

Will’s one of your favorite coworkers. The two of you get along great. Michael knows this, and you wonder for a moment if he’s already talked to Will, or if you’ll be a bribe to get him to agree, too. You lean over the counter and sigh.

“Are they gonna be annoying?” You ask. “Like. Are they the type who’re wearing the brand new gear, or no gear at all, or are they somewhat okay?”

He juts his chin towards the back porch, and you follow his gaze. Danny’s out there, throwing a football back and forth with one of his buddies. You quirk a brow and turn back to Michael.

“He didn’t ask for me, did he?” You ask quietly.

Michael’s brows furrow. “No. Is he making you uncomfortable? You know you can tell me-“

“No,” you insist, shaking your head. “He’s nice. Just, you know, checking.”

Michael nods. “So? What d’you say? You’d leave tomorrow, come back the next morning. Quick out and back.”

You shrug and nod. “Got nothing better to do.”

The guys are missing from the bar that night. You see them come in later, arms around each other, probably just back from some sort of expedition. One of them- Blake, you think his name is- is trying to corral all of them, reminding them of their big hike the next day. They disappear into the elevator. Just before the door closes, Danny looks straight at you and gives you a wide grin.

When you meet them in the lobby the next morning, his grin stretches even wider.

“No way,” he says, eyeing your hiking backpack and the boots on your feet. “Not only are you the best bartender, you also do guided hikes?”

You nod and smile. “Only one at a time, though. Unfortunately I’m not very good at making drinks in the backcountry.”

Danny shrugs. “We’ll survive.”

You clap your hands and look around at the group. “Alright, campers, you ready to hike?”

They all nod and chime in with various agreements, so you pick up your bags and head for the doors. Danny falls into step next to you near the front, while Will takes up the back of the pack. You run through your usual spiel that you do when you lead a hike, and then you’re off.

It’s peaceful for a few minutes. Like the guys are all trying to act like good naturalists, like they’re trying to soak it all in. And then Danny trips over a rock, and someone teases him for it, and it’s all downhill from there. It’s entertaining, really- the way they pick on each other. You can tell they’re genuinely friends.

You take a break for lunch at a perfect spot overlooking a valley. Danny whistles lowly when he sees the view, and he elbows you lightly.

“You take all the guys to this spot?” He jokes, wiggling his brows at you.

You roll your eyes and elbow him back. “Just the ones who are stupid enough to follow me deep into the woods.”

That earns you a full bellied laugh, one that makes his eyes crinkle at the edges. You’re struck again by how genuine he is, how his walls are down or maybe even nonexistent. It makes your chest ache.

You eat lunch together, and you point out the mountains by name from the little overlook. They’re all great at playing along. They ask how the peaks got their names, which one is your favorite, if you’ve ever made it to the top of any of them.

“That one,” you say, pointing at one of the smaller peaks. “Mount Mirlo.”

“Mirlo?” Danny asks, testing out the word.

You nod. “I think it means… blackbird? Yeah. In Spanish.” You nod your head towards the mountain. “Anyways. They drag everyone up there the week they first get hired. It’s a hazing thing.”

“It’s not hazing if it’s fun,” Will chimes in, and Danny laughs. “Admit it. You had a good time.”

“I got bit by so many mosquitos and very sunburned,” you deadpan. Then you grin. “But yeah, it was sick.”

You set back off on the hike after lunch. Eventually, you come to a log bridge over a river. Danny peers over the edge as you wait on the other side, brows raised. There’s a little spot where the water pools there.

“Looks like a good spot to jump in.”

You laugh and wrinkle your nose. “That river is absolutely frigid. It’d be like an ice bath.”

He shrugs and grins at you. “Just saying.”

The camping spot isn’t far from the bridge. Once you arrive, you begin to unpack the tents to get them set up, while Will starts getting things ready for the fire. You unroll the tents, lay out the poles, and then-

Danny’s next to you, hands on his hips. “How can we help?”

You blink up at him from where you’re crouched near the ground. “Oh, you don’t have to… usually we do the set up.”

He scoffs and shakes his head. “We came here to go camping,” he says. “Tell me what to do.”

They all get started setting up the tents, and you’re amazed at how much quicker things go when there are more people actually doing work. The camp is set up in record time, and someone helps Will gather firewood. Danny insists on helping to make dinner, too, and soon everyone’s sitting around the warm fire and eating happily.

“No food in the tents,” you warn, looking around the group at all of them. “It goes in the bear box. You don’t want a bear to come looking for breakfast in your tent.”

Danny nods in agreement with wide eyes. As everyone finishes dinner, they start chatting. You sit down on the dirt and stretch out backwards, staring up at the purple hues sky. The sun is setting, and when you lay down fully on the ground, your back aches. Danny, who’s sitting next to you, lays down too and lets out a long groan. You laugh.

There’s something about the proximity that has your heart racing. His hand is next to your on the ground. If you reached out just a little you could touch his warm skin. Nobody would even notice.

A bird lands in the tree. You pull your hand away to point at it instead.

“Blackbird,” you say, and Danny nods.

“Mirlo, right?” He says. You nod in response.

The bird starts singing. You mimic the sound by whistling, albeit not very well. You drop your hand back to the ground next to you as you do, and Danny laughs affectionately, attempting to whistle too. You swear you feel his pinky touch yours, and your whistling falters.

Will pulls out the marshmallows soon after. Everyone gets excited over that. You all wander around to find good sticks to roast them with, and then meet back at the fire. You watch in absolute horror as Danny takes his marshmallow and sticks it directly into the flames. It lights on fire mere seconds later, and by the time he pulls it out with a panicked noise and blows on it frantically, it’s charred and black. He gives you a sheepish look. You sigh.

“You’re so bad at this,” you say, shaking your head.

He nods in agreement. “Always have been.”

His friends try to give him instructions, but it’s no use. By the time he’s on his third burnt marshmallow, everyone else is on their second s’more. You take pity on him- before he can char another one, you take the stick from him and roast it for him. You stare in concentration, finding just the right spot and turning it carefully until it’s roasted perfectly golden brown. Will helps you assemble the s’more, and you hand it to Danny with a soft smile.

“Here,” you say, quietly.

He takes a bite, then lets out a soft moan that has you heating up in a way you shouldn’t be. “That’s amazing,” he says. There’s melted chocolate stuck to the corner of his mouth, and your fingers itch to wipe it away for him. “I crown you queen of s’mores.”

You curtsy, nodding your head at him. He laughs and nearly drops the treat. You spot the issue before he does, and your fingers bump clumsily against his as you try to assist him. His hands are warm, and probably sticky from the marshmallows. You don’t let your touch linger long enough to find out.

Eventually, everyone heads off to bed one by one. Will gives you a questioning look when it’s just the two of you and Danny left up. One of the guides always stays up until all the guests go to bed- it’s a safety thing. You nod to Will, and he stands and stretches and heads for bed. The two of you are sitting on a sideways log next to the fire, and once Will goes into his tent, it’s just the two of you, the flames, and the dark expanse of night.

“Spooky,” Danny says quietly.

You nod. “You get used to it, after a while. The dark gets a little less scary. The quiet, too. When I first got here, the quiet was so…”

“Loud?” He says.

You laugh, but he’s right. “Yeah. Loud.”

He nods in understanding. “It still feels like that for me. My day to day life is so noisy, you know? The quiet is a little overwhelming.”

You nod and nudge his shoulder. “That’s gotta be good for you, though. Healthy, I think, to take a break from the noise.”

His shoulders drop, and he leans against you, just barely. “You’ve got no idea, little mirlo.”

You laugh and lean into him, too. He’s warm and firm against you. You could reach out, could touch him, could tuck yourself right into his side. He’d probably wrap his arm around you, probably pull you close. You bet he smells good, like sweat and smoke and laundry detergent, and maybe vanilla, or something spiced and warm, or…

His pinky bumps against yours on the log. You suck in a breath and look up at him. There’s a question in his gaze, one that has you nearly choking on thin air before he even asks it out loud.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, nearly a whisper.

And you want to say yes. God, you want to say yes. But-

“Look, Danny,” you say, keeping your voice low. “You’re a sweetheart, really. And you’re cute-“

“Perfect, so-“

“But I don’t date guests,” you say, leveling your eyes at him. “Or, like- I don’t do hookups, or get close with guests. It’s against the workplace rules, and it’s a recipe for disaster.”

He smiles softly- you think somewhere deep in your heart, you knew he’d react like this. With kindness, understanding. He tilts his head, and he squeezes your knee gently.

“Okay,” he says, softly. “I’m not going to push you on this, because I don’t want to be a creep. But if you change your mind-“

“I won’t,” you say. You’re not sure if you’re trying to tell him or yourself.

“I know,” he agrees. You think he’s lying, too. “But if you do, promise you’ll let me know?”

You snort out a laugh and stick out your pinky. “Promise.”

He goes to bed soon after that. You stay up until the fire goes out, staring at the coals, wondering if you’ve made the right choice.

….

When you wake up the next morning to a shuffling noise outside your tent, your first thought is that the bears have finally come for you.

Your second thought, when you hear Danny’s laughter, bright and loud, is: why the hell is he awake? You can tell from the light outside that it’s barely morning. You hadn’t been planning on waking up for a few more hours, really. You hear him whisper your name loudly, and you groan, reaching to unzip the door to your tent just slightly.

He’s crouching in front of your tent, wearing a wide smile. “Wanna come jump in the river?”

You wonder for a second if this is some insane, weird dream. You blink and rub your eyes, but no, he’s still there.

“What?” You ask, voice scratchy with sleep.

“We’re gonna do a cold plunge,” he says. “Wanna join?”

“I thought you were a bear, you know.” You say, and he grins impossibly wider.

He makes a low growling noise. Behind him, near the fire ring, you hear one of his friends laugh. He rolls his eyes and reaches his hand out, tapping on the door of the tent.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” he says.

“I didn’t bring my swimsuit,” you say. “And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call a cold plunge fun.”

Somehow, though, you find yourself following him, and his friends down to the river. You’re not surprised to find they haven’t talked Will into joining- he promises to have hot coffee waiting for all of you. You’re in a pair of spandex shorts and a baggy shirt- the same clothes you’d worn to sleep. Danny’s reassured you that none of them have real swimsuits either, and you figure you can let the clothes dry by the fire while you make breakfast when you get back. The morning is quiet as you all hike to the bank of the river, other than the sound of water getting louder and louder. There’s the bridge you crossed over on the way, and the little pool that Danny had said looked like the perfect spot to jump in.

“You know, when you mentioned jumping in yesterday, I thought you were joking,” you tell him. “Remind me why we’re doing this again?”

“Health,” he deadpans.

You stare at him, wide eyed, waiting for him to expand on the statement. When he doesn’t, you roll your eyes and kick off your shoes anyways. He picks his way down the riverbank, peering over the edge into the pool of water. You follow along, wanting to get it over with.

He turns over his shoulder, grins at you, and then jumps in feet first.

He emerges from the crystal clear water with that same stupid smile on his lips. He wipes droplets of water from his face as he treads water, letting out a loud whoop. You want to scold him for scaring off any potential wildlife, but then he’s waving you in, calling your name. You sigh and brace yourself, consider chickening out for a moment, and then jump in after him.

The icy water shocks your senses so badly that you have to remind yourself to not breathe in underwater. It feels like needles all over your skin for a few moments, then uncomfortable numbness. When you emerge above the surface, you do so with a sharp scream, and to the sound of Danny’s laughter. You shake your head wildly and try to brush the cold water off your face with shaking hands. Then you swim for the bank.

“Gotta stay in,” Danny calls out, and you turn to look at him. “No health benefits if you just jump right back out. Give it a few seconds.”

You glare at him, teeth already chattering. “I think you’re full of shit.”

Even if he is, you stay in the water. You find a spot where your feet can at least touch the bottom. The rest of his friends jump in, too, splashing each other and Danny. You laugh as you watch them, watch the pure joy of a bunch of men turning back into children again. Finally, Danny swims for the bank and reaches for your hand to help pull you out. Your whole body shakes and shivers, and there are no towels to dry off with, because this wasn’t in the plans. There are wool blankets, however, and Danny picks one up and holds it out wide. In a moment of weakness and extreme cold, you let him wrap you up in it. There’s water glistening on his skin- you try not to stare. Nobody’s around to see other than his friends, anyways.

The whole group trudges back up to the campsite, where Will has a fire roaring and water for coffee heating up. You duck into your tent to change into dry clothes, and you take everything other than your underwear back out with you to dry. You’re not ready for the guys to see that this early in the morning.

You sit down on one of the logs, bundled up in a hoodie and sweatpants. Your wet hair drops cold water onto the back of your neck, and you shiver. The guys are still in their tent, and you can hear them chattering with each other. Will is eyeing you warily.

“I really didn’t think they’d talk you into it,” he says, quietly.

You shrug and muffle a yawn into your elbow. “He’s persuasive.”

Will quirks a brow. “Yeah?”

You close your eyes and drag a hand down your face. “Not like that.”

He hums. “The dude obviously has a crush on you.”

You pull your knee up to your chest. “I know. We talked about it. I told him… you know. It’s against the company policy-“

“You do remember how I met my wife, right?” He asks, quietly.

You keep your eyes closed, mostly because you don’t want to see the look on his face. “Yeah. Shut up.”

“Just saying,” he says, softly.

Before you can respond, there’s a commotion from the tent. You open your eyes to Danny stumbling his way towards the two of you, now dressed in a fuzzy sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. He saunters over to you and stops short, warming his hands on the fire.

“Well? Feeling the health effects?” He asks.

“I feel like a drowned rat,” you state, glaring up at him.

“You look like a drowned rat,” Will chimes in. You elbow him harshly.

“Mm, no, cuter than a drowned rat. Maybe a drowned koala. A drowned puppy?” Danny suggests, then frowns. “Alright, never mind, that felt morbid.”

The three of you laugh. One by one, his friends make appearances. Will hands out coffee and asks about the river, and you smile at the retelling of events. Eventually, you pack up all the gear- with help from everyone, a happy change from most groups, and head down the trail once again.

You know Danny will forget about you after he leaves, but you wonder if you’ll ever be able to lead another camping trip to this spot without thinking of him.

…..

Danny sticks to his word- he doesn’t make a move again. He does continue to spend time with you. You’re not exactly complaining, but it doesn’t make your decision any easier. He finds you on the back porch the next morning after the camping trip and resumes your morning coffee tradition. You put the book down fully this time- slip the bookmark into your page and close the cover. Your time may be limited with him, but you’re going to soak up every second.

You’re trying desperately not to get attached. It’s not working. He’s telling you a story about Australia, about his ranch there, about the dirt bikes and his parents and everything in between. And you sit there and regret ever telling him he couldn’t kiss you.

You know it was the right choice. Know it’ll only cause you heartbreak. But he’s so attractive, and sweet, and he loves his mother- his mum, even the way he says it is cute. You want to tell him you changed your mind. You sip your coffee instead.

You’ll be able to survive the rest of the week. Danny and his friends leave on Saturday. It’s Thursday now. That’s only a few more interactions, if you’re lucky. Only a couple more back porch morning coffee meetings, a few more drinks at the bar. You’ll survive, he’ll leave, and you’ll both move on. He probably already has.

Then you’re in the break room and you hear someone mention the Friday bonfire and Danny’s name in the same sentence, and your heart drops.

You and your coworkers have bonfires down by the employee housing every Friday. People who are working join after their shifts, and you all rotate the early Saturdays to make sure everyone can have a good time at least once a month. It’s your way to unwind. It’s supposed to be employees only, and sometimes a couple people’s friends. The only guests who’ve ever attended a bonfire since you started working at the lodge were a girl named Britt and her friends, and now Britt is married to your coworker Will.

“So Danny actually said they’d be at the bonfire?” Will asks, and you turn to stare at them.

Maybe he’s not talking about your Danny. You shake your head, knowing that calling him yours, even in your head, is stupid.

“Danny?” You ask. “Like- Danny?”

Will nods.

“What happened to no guests at bonfires?” You ask, turning towards the coffee maker to start another pot.

Tony, one of the kitchen staff, laughs. “Yeah, sure, but it’s a bit different when it’s Danny Ric, isn’t it?”

You shake your head in confusion and turn back to your two coworkers. “Have you even met him, Tony? Why are you out here calling him nicknames?”

Tony blinks widely at you. “That’s what everyone calls him.”

“Everyone.”

Tony nods and shovels a forkful of pasta into his mouth. You grimace. Will watches the two of you, an amused smile on his face. Someone calls Tony’s name, and he goes racing towards the kitchen, leaving his pasta abandoned on the table. You turn your stare to Will. Suddenly, you realize something.

“He’s like…” you sigh and sink down into a nearby chair. “He doesn’t just work for Red Bull, does he?”

Will laughs. “He told you he was in Scotty James’ wedding and you really thought he was just some company exec?”

“Will, I barely know who Scotty is!” You snap. “You should’ve told me.”

Will shrugs and pats your shoulder when he walks past you. “It was more fun this way. Besides, if he didn’t tell you, bet he didn’t want you to know.”

“What does he-“ you cut yourself off. “I mean, is he an athlete, then?”

Will is scraping food from his plate into the compost bin. “You ever heard of Formula One?”

You pick at your salad. “It’s like NASCAR, isn’t it?”

He makes a coughing noise. “Okay, maybe don’t start with that. I’ll give you a basic rundown.”

When you do see Danny the next morning, bright and early, you choose to start with, “good morning, Danny Ric,” instead.

He pauses halfway across the porch, hands at his sides. His skin is glistening with sweat. You’re wearing sunglasses- the perfect chance to let your eyes wander, just a little bit. He wipes at his brow and cocks his head.

“You don’t just work for Red Bull,” you say, and he chews on his lower lip. “I mean, understatement of the century.”

He laughs at that and takes a few steps towards you. “Yeah. Sorry.”

You shrug. “You could’ve told me, you know. I wouldn’t have treated you any differently.”

Instead of going for his normal spot in the chair next to yours, he stands in front of you. If he moved just an inch farther, his knee would touch yours. He sighs.

“I know. It wasn’t that. Honestly, I just figured you wouldn’t care,” he says with a shrug. “Like. You must get so many people here trying to convince you they’re not boring. It’s gotta get exhausting.”

You laugh at that. “Yeah, but your job is actually interesting,” you say. “You know, it does explain all the running. And all the adrenaline chasing.”

He finally sits down- you breath a sigh of relief. You weren’t really sure how he’d feel if you brought it up, but you hated the idea of knowing something about him without him knowing. You stick to your word- you don’t treat him differently. You pick your book back up and read for a bit until he gets fidgety, until he decides he wants to tell you another story. And then you listen with a smile, because it’s Danny. The joy is infectious.

…..

“You ever been to Yosemite?” He asks you later that afternoon.

You’re working the lunch shift at the bar. Danny had been wandering through the lobby, spotted you, and sat down for a drink. He’s having a mocktail, something you came up with just for him. You wonder how long it’ll be before one of his entourage comes looking for him. His phone has been buzzing repeatedly on the bar, and he’s been ignoring it.

You shake your head. “Not yet. It’s on my bucket list,” you say.

He nods. “That’s where we’re headed next. Spending a week there, and then it’s back to work.”

You blow out a long breath through pursed lips. “Your life is so difficult,” you say, teasingly.

He grins and shakes his head. “Wanna come with?”

You laugh as you scrub at a spot on the bar. You wait for him to echo the sound. He doesn’t. You look up at him, wide eyed. He should be laughing, he always laughs at his own jokes- it should be annoying, but it’s sort of endearing, the way he can’t finish a sentence sometimes, how he doesn’t make it to the punchline.

But he’s not laughing. “I’m being serious,” he says.

“Danny,” you say with a soft sigh. “We have a policy-“

“As friends,” he interrupts. “I promised I wouldn’t pressure you. That’s not what this is. You’re just… really cool, and we’ve got room in the car, and… I could really use your s’mores skills. Blake is shit at it.”

You cock your head at him. “I have to work. Not all of us get week long vacations in the middle of tourist season.”

He lets out a long sigh. “Right. Yeah.”

“Sorry,” you say, realizing you’re being a little harsh. “And thank you. The invite is really sweet. I just…”

I just can’t look at you without wanting to kiss you. The words are there, at the forefront of your mind and on the top of your tongue. It’s becoming a real problem, because he’s about to leave and you’re going to be stuck here, waiting and hoping he comes back. And he’s sitting here, asking you to go to a national park with him, and you want to say yes so badly because you think that maybe kissing him would be the best thing you’ve ever done. That maybe letting him in might be the right choice.

But he’s a guest, it’s against the rules, and he’s leaving. He sighs and nods, downs the last of his mocktail. He finally picks up his phone and raises his brows, then gives you a sheepish look.

“Gotta go,” he says, softly. “But I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”

You nod. “See you tonight.”

…..

You take your time getting ready for the bonfire. It’s difficult- usually you wouldn’t think twice about what you’re going to wear, or what you look like. But Danny’s going to be there, and suddenly everything’s different. You have a thin line to walk- go all out, and your coworkers will notice and tease you. Don’t put in enough effort, and maybe Danny won’t even look your way tonight.

You eventually settle on a pair of jeans and a crew neck sweatshirt. The sun has just gone down, and there’s already a chill in the air. You make your way down to the bonfire area, following the well worn trail and the smell of smoke.

Danny’s already there, standing around near the firepit. His friends are all scattered with the rest of your coworkers, eating hot dogs that were cooked over the fire and chatting. Someone’s set up lawn games, far enough from the firepit to keep anyone from getting injured. You grab a drink from the cooler and make your way towards the group, trying not to stare at Danny.

He calls out your name, though, in front of everyone, which gives you a valid excuse to make your way towards him. You weave through throngs of people and end up right by his side. He’s been chatting with Will and Britt, which you think is probably a dangerous combination for your sake.

“Bout time you showed up,” Danny says brightly. “I’m in s’mores withdrawal, and once I’ve had one of yours, I can’t go back.”

You laugh and kick your toe at the ground. “I told you, I did absolutely nothing different.”

“Nah, he’s right,” Britt chimes in, and you throw a glare in her direction. “You’re a s’mores magician.”

You sigh and roll your eyes, and then you turn to Danny. “You get me the supplies and I’ll make you a s’more.”

He bounces away eagerly. Both Will and Britt are watching you with knowing looks. Feeling childish, you stick your tongue out at them. Will manages to look vaguely offended, while Britt just laughs.

Danny returns with a roasting stick and all the s’mores ingredients. You take them without complaint, watching his hands as he gets the crackers and chocolate set up. He follows you closer to the fire as you search for just the right spot.

“He kept burning his to a crisp on the camping trip,” you tell Britt, a teasing lilt to your voice. “That’s why I made him one. He was helpless.”

Britt laughs. Danny jabs at your side, and you let out a yelp. Your drink is hanging from your other hand, and you take a sip before you stick the marshmallows over the fire. Across the fire, Tony, the guy who called Danny Danny Ric, is watching you with wide eyes and whispering to one of your other coworkers. This is what you were worried about- get close to Danny, and people will start talking. But he’s leaving tomorrow, and you can’t bring yourself to care.

“See, it’s not about the flames,” you tell Danny, who leans closer to listen. You gesture with your beer. “It’s the coals. You find the right spot, and then you gotta have patience. It’s a slow process.”

He lets out a hiss. “M’not good at patience. Or slow.”

You roll your eyes and smirk. “I’m sure you’re very fast.”

He gasps in mock hurt and digs his fingers into your ribs again. You squeak and bat his hand away.

“You’re gonna ruin the marshmallows!” You warn as he reaches for you again.

He pulls his hand back and smiles innocently. You take a sip of your drink and stare up at him through your lashes, the same way he does to you when he’s sitting at the bar. You wonder if it has the same effect on him as it does on you. From the way he swallows, you think it might.

…..

You’ve only had a couple drinks, because as much as you’ve said you’re going to forget about him, you really do want to remember every last moment. It gets late far too quickly. The stars are out, and the moon too, casting everything in a silvery glow. The moonlight paints one side of Danny’s face- the fire, the other. Warm and cold at the same time.

More than half the people who started the night there have wandered back to their rooms and cabins. Danny’s friends all went to bed a while ago, gave him stern instructions to join them soon. They’re leaving early tomorrow, getting up with the sun and heading out. He needs sleep.

Instead, he’s sitting next to you on a log next to the fire. Your knees are touching, shoulders brushing with every movement. He’s nursing his second beer of the night. You stare at the rose tattoo on his hand and fight the urge to trace the inked lines.

He nudges your shoulder lightly. You stare up at him, face warm, not from the fire.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head?” He asks, voice low.

You shrug. You can’t tell him. I want to kiss you. I want to feel your hands on me. I want to read the tattoo on your chest, trace the lines of all of them. I want you. I changed my mind. Except, really, you’ve wanted this the whole time.

“Just tired,” you say instead, rubbing your thumb against the can in your hand. “I know it’s your last night here and all, but I might head to bed.”

It hits you like a sucker punch as you say it- if you go now, you’re saying goodbye. You could get up early and see him off, but you think that’d be a bit much. He seems to realize it too- his face drops.

“I’ll walk you back,” he offers.

“You don’t have to,” you answer.

You want him to. But you know what you’ll do if you make it to the door of your cabin and he’s standing next to you. You know the choice you’ll make. You’ll regret it in the morning when he’s gone and already forgetting about you, when you’re just the girl he hooked up with at the lodge on his vacation, when he goes back to his life of luxury and supermodels and-

“I want to,” he says, softly. “There’s bears here, you know.”

He growls lowly, right near your ear. You giggle to cover up the way it makes you feel like you’re on fire. When he stands and holds out his hand to help you up, you let him. He says goodbye to a couple people. You avoid Will and Britt’s gazes. Then the two of you set off down the path.

He keeps his distance. I’m not going to push you on this, because I don’t want to be a creep. But if you change your mind… You reach out, bump your hand against his. Knuckle to knuckle. He echoes the touch. Then you wiggle your fingers against his, desperately hoping he gets the message. When he tangles his fingers with yours, something slips into place.

There’s this energy thrumming in your body when you make it to the cabin area. You’re sure you’re shaking with it, even more sure that he’s noticed. You head for your cabin and squeeze his fingers. It’s dark here, nothing but the light of the moon to see by. You walk up to the door, his hand still in yours.

“D’you wanna come in for a drink?” You ask, trying desperately to sound nonchalant.

He squeezes your fingers. You turn over your shoulder and meet his eyes. They’re half lidded and dark. Like he knows where this is going.

“I don’t want to pressure you,” he says. “That’s not what this was about. I don’t-“

“I know,” you say with a nod. “I know.”

He nods, ducks his head. You push open the cabin door and step inside, hand still linked with his. He takes a deep breath.

“I won’t be offended if you don’t want to,” you say, softly. “You can change your mind, too.”

His eyes slip closed, and he shakes his head. Then he follows you in through the open door.

He’s the one to shut it. And then his hand slips from yours and falls to your hip, pulling you close. You wrap your arms around his neck. Your heart is racing in your chest. You wonder if his is too. You blink up at him, watching the way his jaw clenches.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks again, for the second time in a week.

“Please?” You ask, softly.

It’s like all his resolve disappears with that one single word. The night fades around you- it's just you and him. Nothing else matters.

His lips are hot and insistent against yours. When his hands fall to your hips, they’re even hotter and more insistent. He walks you back towards the bed, shoving at your sweatshirt and the t-shirt underneath it. You do the same with his hoodie, hands scrambling underneath, searching for skin. The skin you’ve been looking at all week, wishing you could touch- you can, now.

He’s in your room, in your space, and he backs you up to the bed. Your knees hit the mattress, and you fall back, away from his kissing, with a soft laugh. You stare up at him through your lashes, your whole body on fire. His hand falls to your knee and draws a slow line up your thigh. You reach up and tug on the hem of his sweatshirt, chest already rising and falling rapidly.

He leans over you, and you know your hand in the neck of the fabric, trying to pull him closer. He has himself propped up over you with one hand, eyes lit up like firelight, lips parted.

“Kiss me,” you whine, as his palm falls to your hip and squeezes. “Danny-“

His lips meet yours again, and it’s frantic after that. You shove his shirt over his head- yours follows it to the pile on the floor. He steps out of his jeans after you undo the button and the zipper, and then he’s tugging your pants down your legs, breath catching in his chest as he gazes down at you. He sucks his lower lip into his mouth, biting down, and you trace fingers up the ridges of his abdomen. He traces a line from your navel up the center of your chest, presses his thumb to your lips, and you whine.

“Please, Danny,” you breathe.

His eyes slip shut. “M’trying to prove I can be slow and patient.”

You gasp as his hand cups your jaw. “Yeah- well- I can’t, so-“

He laughs lowly, and with his other hand, he hooks a finger in the waistband of your panties. “C’mon, little blackbird,” he says, and you writhe on the bed underneath him as he runs a thumb over your core, pressing into the wetness there. “Sure you can.”

When he sinks to his knees and buries his face between your legs, you thank the stars you didn’t let him leave without getting a taste of this, of him.

…..

After, the two of you lay spent in your bed. You’re tracing lines on his bare skin, both still naked. There are marks all over your bodies- hickies and fingerprints and bite marks. You’ll be feeling him inside of you for days, you’re sure. You run your finger under the words on his chest. Of Love And Life.

You know the song, so you start to whistle it. His laughter rumbles under your ear, deep in his chest, and then he starts to sing along with your whistling. It’s silly. If you told any of your friends about it, they’d cringe. But you feel the vibration of the words under his ribs and wish you could stay like this forever.

Eventually he stops singing, and you stop whistling. His hand sweeps up your bare back, fingers drawing shapes on your spine.

“Your cabin is cute,” he says.

You pick your head up and rest your chin on your hand that lays flat on his chest. “Thanks.”

He nods towards the poster on the wall. Yosemite is written in big letters, and you sigh.

“Offer’s still open,” he says, quietly. “No pressure. But.”

You let your eyes fall closed. “Danny.”

He cranes his neck up to press a kiss to your cheek. “I know. Sorry. I just don’t want to say goodbye yet.”

“We won’t say goodbye then. We’ll say see you later,” you suggest. It’s cheesy, but it feels right. “And you can stay the night, if you want.”

You expect him to say no. You’re sure his friends are going to panic when they realize he’s not in the room. But he just nods and pulls you close, and you rest your head on his chest again, and soon enough, you’re falling asleep, just like that.

You wake up the next morning before the sun is even up. The alarm on his phone is going off, and he’s doing a very bad job of muffling his swearing as scrambles out of bed to search for it. You tug the blankets over your head and groan until he shuts the noise off. You hear his footsteps, heading back to the bed. He tugs the blanket down so he can see your eyes and leans close.

“I gotta go, baby,” he says, quietly. It’s like it pains him.

“Yeah, I know,” you say, feeling like it pains you just as much.

He kisses your forehead and pulls the blanket down farther. He sits down on the edge of your bed and plants on hand right next to your head. You turn your face, press your lips to the inside of his wrist. Then you wrap your hand around his bicep and sigh.

“Thank you,” he says. “I had an amazing time this week. Wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

You laugh and squeeze his arm. “You just liked the s’mores.”

“No, I-“

“I know. Me too. Thank you,” you say.

He kisses your lips one more time. You press your hand to his cheek and try to burn this into your brain. Then he kisses your forehead again and stands up with a long stretch.

“See you later, mirlo,” he says, sounding more unsure than you’ve ever heard him.

“See you later,” you echo.

You watch him leave. Watch him walk to the door, watch the slope of his shoulders under his sweatshirt. Something awful twists in your chest.

“Hey, Danny, do me a favor?” You call out. He turns, brows raised.. “Try not to forget me, yeah?”

The corner of his lips tugs up into a half smile. “I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

You close your eyes so you don’t have to watch him leave. You hear the latch of the door and bury your face in your pillow, resisting the urge to scream. You’d have at least three of your coworkers at the door if you did. The last thing you need is to alert anyone of Danny’s presence in your cabin, though they probably already know. You don’t want to give them any sort of confirmation, though. You roll over in bed and open your eyes, and you’re met with bright blue fabric, folded neatly on top of the other pillow. Danny’s t-shirt, left behind. Deliberately, it seems, from the way it’s folded. It’s some souvenir shirt from a ski chalet you’ve never heard of. He’d been wearing it the night before- you took it off of him. He left it on purpose for you to find. For you to have. In your moment of weakness, you grab it and press it to your nose and breathe in. That’s when you realize you’re absolutely never getting over him.

And then, you think. He left his shirt. He wanted you to have something to remember him by. In all of this, maybe you’re not the only one afraid of being forgotten. He’s larger than life, he’s a damn celebrity, but he’s leaving a little piece of him behind so you have a reminder. Like he knows you’ll put the shirt in your drawer and feel that feeling in your chest every time you reach for a different one. The bright blue is permanently burned into your brain.

Feeling especially self pitying, you reach for your phone, knowing that your camera roll from the past week is filled with pictures of him. May as well wallow in it, right?

…..

Danny throws the last bag into the trunk of the car and sighs. Blake slaps his shoulder, heavy handed, so hard it almost hurts. Maybe he needs that.

He’s been looking all over for you. He’d thought maybe you’d come to see them off, or that he’d at least see you once more before he left. But you’re not on the back porch reading, and you’re not in the restaurant, and you’re not in the employee break room, either. He thinks about going to your cabin and then realizes that would be crazy, and probably a little creepy. You’ve already said goodbye- or see you later, but still.

Someone starts the car. He drags a hand down his face. “I need coffee,” he says, and Blake nods.

Danny jerks his thumb towards the lodge and then walks in to grab a cup to go. He’s only delaying the inevitable, really. If you were going to show up to say goodbye, you’d already be there. He should just be happy with what he’s had. Happy that you let him in the way you did. He should’ve known it would only leave him wanting more, but it’s a bit late for that now.

He walks back outside, cup of coffee in hand, a frown on his face. His friends are packing the last bags and climbing into the car, and Blake is-

He nearly trips over his own feet, nearly spills his coffee down his chest. Because Blake is talking to you. You’re standing there, a book in one hand, his blue t-shirt in the other. His gut twists. Blake sees Danny and backs away to give the two of you space. Danny’s heart is racing as he walks up to you.

You hold the shirt out to him. “You left this.”

He left it on purpose, and he thought that was pretty obvious. Maybe that was unfair. Maybe it was selfish of his to want to leave a reminder of himself for you. He frowns and reaches for the shirt, tries to take it from your hand. You don’t let go when he pulls on it, and he looks at you in confusion.

“You left it on purpose,” you say, quietly.

He nods and swallows. “I didn’t want you to forget me, either.”

You nod back. You’re staring up at him, this knowing look in your eyes that has him frozen right in place. His heart skips a beat in his chest. You tilt your head towards the trunk of the car- there’s another bag sitting there, on top of all the rest of them.

“Blake says that seat’s still open,” you say, and he holds his breath. “And Will texted me this morning and said they’ve covered all my shifts for the week, for some reason.” He shrinks under your gaze, knowing that’s probably because he mentioned the Yosemite trip, and his inviting you, to Will. “So.”

“So,” he echoes, a little bit scared to believe that what he thinks is happening actually is.

You shrug and shoot him a bright, sunny smile. “I’ve always wanted to see Yosemite. And you need a s’mores girl. Still want me to come along?”

When he sweeps you into a big, dramatic kiss, right there on the front lawn of the lodge, you don’t complain. You just wrap your arms around him and kiss him back. In the trees above your heads, a blackbird sings.

for posterity’s sake please let it be known that i mostly finished this on January 31st, 2024, and then woke up to the news that Lewis Hamilton is going to ferrari in 2025. I feel like that is an important detail to be known. I decided to post it anyways. Thanks for reading the longest fic i have ever written i hope you enjoyed 💛

taglist: @4-mula1 @celestialams @struggling-with-delia @lovekt @i-wish-this-was-me @forzalando @iloveyou3000morgan @callsign-scully

#daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x reader #Daniel Ricciardo fic #Daniel Ricciardo oneshot #Daniel Ricciardo #danny ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo fluff #Daniel Ricciardo fanfic #Daniel Ricciardo imagine #danny ricciardo #Danny Ricciardo fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 oneshot #formula 1 fic #formula 1 fluff

[purinfelix]

f1 drivers as meet-cutes ₊˚⊹⋆

summary: small blurbs about meeting some of the drivers in situations that are equal parts awkward and romantic !! featuring: CS55, CL16 and DR3 warnings: none, although carlos' one is a teeeensy bit suggestive

a/n: if there's one thing about me it's that i'm a hopeless romantic who's obsessed with meet cutes so enjoy these (semi-self-indulgent) blurbs - you can read pt2 here !!

ᝰ.ᐟ Carlos Sainz - one night stand

You’re woken by a throbbing pain in your head and the blinding white of the morning sun that pierces through unfamiliar curtains doesn’t seem to help. As if this isn’t disorienting enough you slowly sit up to realise you’re in a bed that isn’t yours, in a room that isn’t yours, in clothes that are way too big to be yours. And perhaps most confusingly of all, there’s a man who you can only vaguely remember meeting the night before fast asleep beside you - shirtless.

When he finally stirs the two of you exchange awkward conversation as you try to piece together the events of the previous night which are little more than a drunken haze of drinking, dancing, and stumbling back to hotel rooms. You don’t think too much of it, he’s good-looking enough that you aren’t embarrassed, and just by looking around the room, you can tell he isn’t too bad off either. That is - until he starts explaining how terribly sorry he is in advance for all the publicity you’ll have to fend off after pictures of you two leaving a bar together are plastered online. A couple more explanations, questions and proper introductions later you come to find out that he isn’t just any random man, but rather Carlos Sainz, a famous race-car driver who’s only touching down in your city for the next week or so. This all sounds new, besides his name - which falls off your tongue easily, which makes you a little more concerned about how you might've used it the night before.

He’s so oddly gentlemanly and polite though, a stark contrast to what most of the celebrities who visit your city or guys you’ve met in bars are like. And despite what the two of you had gotten up to last night, the look in his eyes and the way he looks sort of shy in the morning light can’t help but make your heart soften and you feel a little more comfortable with this total stranger. You immediately offer to leave though, but are caught off guard by his counteroffer to make you a cup of coffee - and after all, who are you to refuse?

ᝰ.ᐟ Charles Leclerc - coffeeshop

He’s here again. That irritatingly good looking stranger who, you’d think had just walked out of a magazine, but is in fact seated by the window of the cafe you work at. He’s dressed rather modestly, contrary to what the black card he uses to pay for his americanos may suggest. So modestly in fact that you probably wouldn’t have noticed him if this hadn’t been his fourth time here this week, in the same seat that’s positioned just right so that you can see him from any spot at the counter.

And if you can see him, you’re pretty sure he can see you - affirmed by the several instances you’ve caught his eye and gotten a glance at that dreamy expression coupled with a slight smirk that toys at his lip. That is, of course, before he realises you’ve locked eyes and whips his head the other way around, sometimes even sputtering on his coffee. You’d probably be a little weirded out by the fact that he comes in here almost everyday to do seemingly nothing but cradle one drink for almost an hour, but you also can’t help but feel a little endeared by him.

You have tried making small talk whenever he orders, or when you bring him his drink - but the conversation never goes beyond awkward remarks about the weather or how your shift has been going. Hell, you don’t even know his name yet. That is until you notice him getting up to leave after another hour is up, not before turning around to shoot you a quick nod and - was that a smirk?. You go to clean up after him, but to your surprise, an empty cup and a generous tip isn’t the only thing he’s left you. A napkin, branded with the logo of your cafe chain, with a couple numbers scrawled in blank ink and then below it: a name - ‘Charles’.

ᝰ.ᐟ Daniel Ricciardo - blind date

You were never on board with the idea, even when your friend had enthusiastically pitched it to you almost two weeks prior. It wasn’t like you were busy, or had anything better to do - rather, you thought the idea itself was ridiculous. You weren’t looking for a relationship and if you were you’d prefer being able to do the looking yourself, instead of giving yourself up to a blind date and wasting an entire night for nothing.

But that was before your friend had done a ridiculous amount of pleading and begging and nagging and convincing. And before you knew it you were waiting outside one of the fanciest restaurants in your city, still not entirely excited but wanting to get the night over and done with without being too rude to whichever poor guy she’s roped into this. That is, until you spot him. The first thing that you notice is his smile, it’s beaming, blinding even and you feel yourself smiling before you even realise he’s looking at you too. And to say he’s good looking is an understatement, because you’re beginning to question how on Earth your friend knows someone like this. The way the suit hugs his figure should be illegal, and his hair looks so confusingly perfect yet effortless. You feel a stir of emotions, your previous apathy replaced with a burning desire to both impress and charm him, as well as newfound nerves.

He introduces himself without the smile leaving his face - “Daniel, but you can call me Danny,” - and you practically feel your nerves melt away as he offers you his arm to take you into the restaurant. Maybe blind dates weren’t so bad.

#carlos sainz #carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz x you #carlos sainz fluff #carlos sainz oneshot #carlos sainz imagine #cs55 #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc oneshot #charles leclerc imagine #cl16 #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo imagine #dr3 #ferrari #red bull racing #formula one fluff #formula one x reader #formula one fanfic #formula one #oneshots #purinfelix #jet writes ★

[hamiltonaf]

Oh my god I’m so excited to see your requests are open I wanted to request something for the lovely Daniel ricciardo being more handsy with reader while on the paddock and him getting interviewed about it later since the fans have been posting pictures of their intimate moments and him kind of joking in a “how could I not?” Type of way? Thank you

PDA | Daniel Ricciardo

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x Female Reader

Word Count: 907

Warnings: None

A/N: Hello loves ! Firstly, apologies for the delay in writing requests as I had a lot going on. If you’ve sent in a request, I’m working on it, just bear with me :) Hope you babes enjoy. Thanks anon for requesting .xx

The Monza GP was a special race weekend for Daniel, besides his home race. With his Italian roots, it’s his second home so indirectly another home race.

This special race weekend had inspired him I guess you could say for our relationship to be full on public. For the many months we’ve been together, I’ve made my few appearances in the paddock and sometimes alongside Daniel but rarely. I quite enjoy our relationship being private, but I guess if he’s happier with us being public then so be it.

Besides the rare ‘papped’ pictures of us together - which left some people to question on numerous occasions if we’re still together - we don’t even have posts of each other on our socials. It’s always the private but not secret kind of story posts…I guess that all ends now.

I only managed to arrive in Monza on race day, no pressure. Note the sarcasm. As soon as we jumped out of the car, I suddenly felt sick at the thought of all eyes on us.

Daniel noticed I zoned out, he then snapped his fingers in front of me, “Babe are you okay ?” He asked concerned. “Yeah I’m okay” I forced a smile. He grabbed a hold of my hand and I guess he noticed the clamminess. “Are you sure you’re okay ?” He furrowed his brows. “You look nervous” he added. “I’m not gonna lie…I am” I admitted with a sigh.

“Nervous about what love ?” He asked concerned. “I’m not used to attention in public” I said as I looked everywhere but him. He then grabbed a hold of my face to look at him, “Just relax. I’m with you every step of the way… I just want to show you off to the world without hiding it anymore. I want to love you publicly and not hide it anymore - not gonna lie, it’s also kind of getting hard for me to resist touching you” he smirked.

After laughing along with him, it helped a lot with easing my nerves. Thank god for sunglasses as well. As long as I had them on, the nerves didn’t exist. We walked in the paddock hand in hand, nothing major.

Up until it was time for Daniel to leave the garage, he surprised me by engulfing me in a hug and leaving a kiss on my cheek. “Good luck babe and be safe” I said softly to him before he left. I failed to realise that being a new wag means being watched at all times.

I don’t know what had gotten over me, a boost of confidence and a moment of being proud for Daniel’s great race finish had me returning the favour of engulfing Daniel in a hug and leaving a kiss on his cheek. He then lifted me up and spun me around. In that moment it felt like we were the only ones in that garage and everyone else was muted.

Before we knew it, he had to quickly leave to attend to post-race interviews. I waited patiently in his drivers room and decided to waste some time on my socials. As I was scrolling, a video was already uploaded of one of Daniel’s interviews. Out of curiosity I decided to play it.

“So Daniel, incredible result in the Alpha Tauri today ! Brilliant drive, where did that come from or perhaps should I say who helped with that ?” Natalie teased. He immediately started blushing and looked away, it was so cute to watch. “Welllll” he trailed. “Oh come on, tell us how (Y/N) motivated you today. You guys make a lovely couple and I have to ask since everyone can’t stop talking about how cute you both are, you can’t seem to leave her can you ?” Natalie joked.

“How can I not, have you guys seen her ? She just makes me so happy and she’s one of my biggest cheerleaders. I’m a really lucky guy and I just wanted her to be apart of my special weekend. Today’s result was all so I could see that reaction from her” he smiled proudly. “You mean this one ?” Natalie asked as she then showed him the array of pictures that were taken of us today. “Paddock favourite already. Well, thank you for your time and hopefully we’ll see you both at the next race weekend. Cheers !” Natalie said lastly. “Of course ! Cheers guys” Daniel said lastly before the interview ended. “Handsome guy” he said from behind me.

“Oh my god ! Dan you scared me” I said as I placed a hand on my chest. “Sorry love, let’s get going” he said as he held his hand out for me to hold. With our fingers entwined, we walked through the paddock to the car. Fans and photographers around had taken pictures, I didn’t mind since I was comfortable at this point.

Once we got into the car, I broke the silence “You really did a hard launch today” I smiled. “That wasn’t a hard launch for me” he pouted. “What was missing ?” I furrowed my brows. “This” he said as he cupped my cheeks and pulled me in for a sweet kiss. So much for thinking we were alone, I quickly broke away when I heard screaming from fangirls. “Well, that really was a hard launch” I said as I felt the heat flush my cheeks.

#f1 #daniel ricciardo #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula one #formula 1 #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo x you #ricciardoaf oneshots

[percervall]

would you be so kind as to write a ❤️ fic for Danny! {first kiss / realisation}

love you 😘

So this got a little out of hand oops

I don't wanna look at anything else (now that I saw you)

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x reader Words: 1186 Warnings: none

---

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” Lando said as he fell in step next to his teammate. They were on their way to a debrief after the last free practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. It hadn’t gone the way he had hoped, Daniel knew he could get much more out of the car. 

“Because I don’t,” Daniel said, although it came out like a question, brows knitting together in confusion. The comment had caught him off guard, mind still occupied with the car’s performance. Lando looked at him, studying his face for a second or two before deciding that Daniel was, in fact, not pulling his leg.

“Could’ve fooled me,” he replied, making Daniel stop in his tracks. 

“What- hey wait up! What do you mean?” Daniel asked as he caught up. 

“Just saying, you could’ve fooled me with the way you look at her,” Lando commented breezily with a shrug, “Is she single then? She’s cute.” 

Daniel felt like his world was spinning. How had he been looking at her? She’d been his best friend for nearly a decade now after having met during his first year at RedBull, surely Lando was just referring to that. Although that didn’t explain the sudden feeling of absolute dread at the thought of Lando dating her. Why did he feel so strongly about her dating his teammate? Or anyone else for that matter? Come to think of it, Daniel had never liked any of her boyfriends. 

“I- I don’t know,” Daniel muttered, mind still reeling,  “but I doubt she’d date a teenager.”

Lando punched him in the arm. “I’m almost 21, hardly a teenager.” 

Normally Daniel would have made a quick remark back about how he was barely old enough to legally drink in America and probably still didn’t have pubes, but Lando’s comments had sent his thoughts spiralling. 

+

Daniel had almost forgotten about Lando’s observation when he walked down the stairs of the McLaren motorhome after the debrief with the engineers until he spotted her in the lounge. It wasn’t hard; her mint green hoodie stood out in the sea of orange and black. He watched her chat with Carlos, who was undoubtedly waiting for Lando, her laptop abandoned on the table in front of her. She had made herself comfortable on one of the cheap couches, knees pulled up and her hair was now tossed in a messy bun. Daniel couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he saw her throw her head back with laughter at whatever silly story Carlos was telling her and giving Lando a quick hug when he joined them. He loved watching her being so carefree, her laughter had easily become his favourite sound. But that didn’t mean he had feelings for her, it just meant she made him happy. So happy in fact it was nearly impossible to picture life without her. Daniel swallowed hard as his heart dropped and a realisation hit him, the feeling not too dissimilar to a car hitting the wall: Lando was right. 

It had him rooted to the spot as he kept looking at her. How had he been so blind? She had literally been there right in front of him all those years. Perhaps he had just chalked it up to their friendship; whenever he was single, she wasn’t –and vice versa. All he knew was that at some point she had become his serenity amidst the chaos. When had that changed? 

It wasn’t until his race engineer clapped him on the shoulder on her way out that he realised he’d been standing there for a good few minutes. He slowly made his way over to where his friends were sitting.

“Hey Danny, Carlos invited us to join him and Lando for dinner, what do you say?” she asked, looking up at him with a smile as he stood in front of her. 

“I- I think I’m in love with you,” he blurted out instead of answering her question. The whole group was quiet for a moment as they waited for what was going to happen next. Daniel could feel panic rise in his throat as she just stared at him, mouth moving but not making a sound.

“Sorry, I-.. I did not mean-.. Forget I sa-..” 

Before he could finish any of his sentences, she had gotten up from the couch, and pressed her lips against his as she stood on her tiptoes, taking hold of his sweatshirt. Her move caught him by surprise, a startled noise dying on his lips as his brain caught up with what was happening and he rested his hands on her waist, kissing her back.

“Finally,” she whispered as she pulled back. 

“Wait, finally?” Daniel asked, confusion replacing some of the worry.

“Danny, I have been in love with you since your win in Monaco. Seeing you on that stage, soaked in champagne and living your dream.. That’s when it hit me,” she all but whispered. Daniel was dumbfounded at her revelation. He remembered that day vividly, that win feeling especially sweet after what had happened two years prior, he could still taste the champagne and hear the crowd if he closed his eyes, could still picture the way she had looked at him squished in between RedBull pit crew members, eyes brimming with love and pride, a smile so wide even his cheeks hurt as he reciprocated it.

“You-.. But that was in 2018,” he said, shock evident in his voice. She nodded, eyes meeting his’ as she fidgeted with the drawstring of her hoodie. 

“The timing was just never in our favour so I tried to move on, tried to get over it for the sake of our friendship.”

Daniel rested his forehead against hers as he let her words sink in. 

“I am such an idiot,” he whispered.

“You are, but you’re my idiot,” she whispered in return. Daniel felt his lips tug up in a smile at that, at being called hers.

“Told you,” Lando said, a smug grin on his face as he looked up at his teammate from his spot on the couch. Daniel rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop smiling, an arm wrapped around her. 

“And you owe me a fiver, mate,” Lando continued as he fell against Carlos’ side. Carlos chuckled, shoving him playfully.

“How about I pay for dinner instead?” 

Lando pretended to think for a moment. “Yeah, sure. But no sushi!” Carlos laughed and got up from the couch, causing Lando to fall down.

“I mean it Carlos!” 

“Congratulations, mate,” Carlos said, clapping Daniel on the shoulder as he ignored his former teammate who continued to protest from the couch, “love looks good on you. Both of you.” 

“Thanks man,” Daniel said, looking down at the woman at his side who grinned back at him. This somehow felt even better than winning a trophy. The high of winning a race was always fleeting; it would only last until the next one came around. But Daniel knew with a certainty that this high would last a lifetime. 

I had so much fun exploring the dynamics between Daniel and Lando, and Carlos and Lando. Hope I did this justice babe!

The Venn diagram of f1 fans and Taylor Swift fans is a circle. Like I don't know what to tell you

#f1 fanfic #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo imagines #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo oneshot

[callmewrinkles3]

Castles Crumbling - DR3 x Fem!OC

Summary: There's just four races to go until Em never has to be near McLaren again, but her anxiety isn't getting any better. With fractures growing in their friendships and people in the media talking, how could it? Not even a gift from her husband could help.

Words: 15.5k

Warnings: The 2022 F1 season, COTA 2022, mental health issues (anxiety, depression, social anxiety, issues with food, one instance of accidental self injury), Zak Brown opening his mouth, hospitals, mentions of assumed domestic abuse, medical staff, smut.

AN: Remember us? Yeah it's been a while, we know. But we're back! Tumblr is a mess right now and with this we decided to make it worse. Please, please heed the warnings here. This is probably the lowest point Em gets to, and it's not a good place. It’s a hard, complicated one. If it's not something you feel comfortable reading, that's alright. Stay safe out there. See you around. 🫰🏻

October 2022

Em had no idea why she was so nervous the day they got to Texas. There was absolutely no reason to be, they'd had some time off and it had been lovely. Her anxiety kept going up and making her stress which was the last thing she wanted. She was tucked in under Dan's arm, their friends were there, and they were in one of her favourite places in the world. Even if when Dan asked her what she wanted to do on their days off she'd said nothing. She didn't have the energy to do it.

The cancelled Russian GP felt like a miracle, giving them a full three weeks off instead of a week in London and one in Sochi. It was an oasis after the triple header of Spa, Zandvoort, and Monza. As soon as Dan finished media after the Monza curse kicked in they left the circuit. Like the year before they were holding hands, but this time it was anger and misery. He'd been on for points. Good points. And then the car just died under him. Fuck McLaren.

They'd gone straight to their favourite pizza place, getting a smile from the staff when Em ordered in Italian. Even the Tifosi in the restaurant chilled around them. There were nods and smiles, Em returning them when she could. It was there to the hotel for some sleep, and the next morning they had quick goodbyes to everyone before renting a car and driving up to Lake Como.

It was normal for them to have a getaway in Italy after races. It started with the beach trip after their first night together in Monaco, and 2019 was the nights in Milan after two impossible feeling races. But finally, after a quarantine year that cancelled their plans and then Em having to cancel them when Dan won. But finally they got to spend their time together. Dan had promised her that even if he won they were still going.

But the car gave up, so instead they said goodbye to Blake and Micahel for three days away. Em adored them, but she'd spent so much time with them that they weren't her usual safe places. Things with Michael still felt awkward, and time apart just felt right. The three days were spent alone, actually getting to wear their rings while they tanned, ate pizza and pasta, and spent hours making love on any surface they could.

The best part of the three weeks off wasn't sunny Italy, it was going to Perth. Dan had to be at the MTC for two days for sim duty before the double header so they went back to London, but as soon as they could they were on the direct flight from London to Perth to see family. It had only been two months since they'd seen Joe and Grace, but they hadn't seen the rest of the family since the super quick trip they'd made to Perth after they got back together.

All they wanted to do was hug the kids and be home. They just wanted to be uncle Danny and auntie Emmy. Even thought it was winter it was warmer than Em was used to. It was healing being back at the farm. Silence at night, family arriving in the late morning or early afternoons, it was perfect. Either they went to see people or people came back to see them at the farm for a full two weeks.

It helped Em's anxiety lessen, as did the regular therapy sessions. They had one on a Monday evening while Em was in Perth, set for a time where no matter where in the world she was she'd be able to make it. On race weeks she had one on Thursdays too. Plus seeing the constant smile on Dan's face while he was home. That put a smile on hers. If anyone deserved to be happy it was her Danny, and Em would do anything in her power to make sure he was.

The fun days ended all too soon, hugging everyone goodbye and promising to see them in Abu Dhabi for Isaac's birthday before they went back into the swing of things. Singapore and the race wasn't bad, Dan finishing with 10 points. But Japan was awful. Lando barely in front but the team acting like he was on the podium, and the weather and recovery vehicles. Dan had talked to her about Jules once before, about losing one of his best friends as a result of those conditions on that track. Her heart was in her throat as she watched Dan go around and round. It was another weekend watching the man she loved be disappointed at a track he adored, but at least they got to spend a week in London before Texas.

Once they got on the plane to head to the US, Em could feel the nerves building in her. It was different from the - high grade if she was honest - anxiety that she usually had most days. This time there was a reason. Dan was showing her the house he bought them that she still hadn't seen in person.

It had started from 2019 when she was tipsy and half asleep and whispered it while dozing in his arms that Austin would be a nice place to live. Since then he'd been searching, revealing it to her when they were in Montreal. The original plan was an apartment with a balcony and natural light, but getting that in the delivery radius of their favourite barbecue place was nearly impossible. And then between the pandemic and everything it turned into wanting so much more than a one bedroom apartment. Plus hiding it from the woman who he spent almost every waking moment with felt impossible.

He'd signed the papers when she was in Liverpool, a desperate dream that maybe Em would come back to him.

Telling himself it was an investment and worth it even when he wasn’t fully sure it was. He knew in his heart he’d never rent it out but he had to try something. It was a total lie. But then he flew down to Texas before landing in Miami to sign for the house. The original plan had been to show her when she arrived in Miami. Dan’s sick hope that she’d turn up. But then she didn’t and he just kept hoping until she was finally there.

They’d said they’d stop off on the way to Montana, fly an extra few hours so Em could see it. But she was too fragile and exhausted and trying to put her pieces together. Then it was the summer break but the news about losing his job put the kibosh on that. So finally they were in Austin and couldn’t be disturbed and Em was about to see their home.

October had felt like it would be a lifetime away then. It would be autumn and starting to get cooler. But then she was there and they’d landed in Texas, gone through immigration and were in the rental car on the way to their brand new home.

It was scarier than moving into their apartment in London had been. London had been quick, necessity thanks to living in an Airbnb and needing to find somewhere to pick together. There’d been two weeks thanks to Dan between viewing it and getting the keys. But they’d viewed it holding hands, decided what room would be what.

This was different. Dan had picked it out entirely on his own, she’d had no idea. And she’d known about it for five months, desperately wanting to see more than the photos. If Em was honest she’d half thought the photos weren’t right, the oh so normal suburban home with a little garage attached. But as Dan put the car into park in their driveway it hit her. This was their home.

A lot of the time they had similar tastes. Food, music, and clothes were the big ones, they’d match in a lot of ways. When it came to TV and movies and podcasts they had differences, but unless it was one of his UFC podcasts she was usually happy to watch what he wanted, the same way he’d watch what she put on. One of the things they almost always agreed with - except for LA but Em wasn’t going to have a discussion about how ridiculous a full mansion for himself was - was where they lived and how they decorated. They always liked the same places and were interested in the same things when it came to a home. If there was something weird or one of them didn’t like it, the other generally didn’t either. It was how it worked when they’d found the apartment in London, they’d walked in holding hands and just knew.

It’s how Em knew Dan had to have done a good job when he chose somewhere in Austin. If he liked it, she���d like it, and when the car stopped she knew she was right. Her expectations were that it’d be an apartment in a high rise building, but it was in front of a house. A little country style 1960s house, like the stereotypical one you’d see. It was nothing like the ridiculousness in LA or the farm in Perth. It wasn’t even like the place in Italy Dan was looking at for them to have as a wedding present. It was so normal.

A one family home on a suburban Texan street. A couple of houses had lawn signs out, there were kids bikes on the street. It felt idyllic as Em looked at the pale brickwork and dark door. It felt like somewhere they could relax and just be.

“I know we said an apartment, but when I saw here it was perfect. It feels like us.” Dan held up a key on a cowboy hat keychain, the Longhorns orange logo visible.

“I’m not complaining at all, it looks cute. Time to go inside?”

They walked up to the front door holding hands as a smile spread across Em’s face. She wanted to stop and take it all in, but her excitement was too much. She could stand out in the front yard later, right now was for going inside. All she could do was look up at Dan and how peaceful he finally looked. It had been literal years for him and she couldn’t be more grateful that he’d kept holding out hope for them.

Opening the front door of somewhere new was always exciting and this was no different. She slipped the key in the slot and twisted to feel the lock disengage. Em went to push the door open but before she could Dan lifted her into his arms, nudging the door with his knee.

“Dan, what?!”

“Gotta carry the bride over the threshold, right? It’s my job.” She laughed at the grin on his face as he brought them inside, carefully depositing Em back on her feet in the living room so she could fully take it in.

The room was a blank canvas. Wooden floors with lots of windows and light, white walls just waiting for paint and decoration. Somehow he’d gotten a Welcome Home sign put up in front of the fireplace. It was cosy but had enough space for them and friends to be there. The work and effort Dan had put in was making her tear up before she’d even seen anything else. Then when she did turn around and saw the lavender door she actually did shed a tear.

The one thing she’d wanted in life was to paint her front door lavender. She’d seen photos of colourful seaside towns with different brightly painted doors and decided she wanted hers to be lavender. It wasn’t from Friends, as much as people might think. She’d never been a fan of that show really. But there was no possibility she could do it as a kid, and then in her rented apartments it was never going to happen. But Dan had promised her that he’d do it, and he had just for her. She turned to hug him and held onto him until she could get herself together for a moment.

“I told you we’d have it, it was just a matter of time. I know we can’t have the outside in London, but I thought the inside in Austin would work?”

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I love it. I love you, Danny.” His arms tightened as she said it, a kiss pushed against Em’s head.

“Love you too. Wait until you see everything else, I think you’ll love it.”

Dan held her hand as they moved through the rest of the house. The kitchen was gorgeous and sitting out on the counter was a set of orange Le Creuset pans that matched the purple set they had in London. It was like her perfect kitchen was right in front of her. The doors to the back garden were there, a deck leading down to grass and it was carefully enclosed. It was safe and beautiful. She wandered outside and looked at the wildflowers growing at the end of it.

She had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky. How did he love her even after everything? After everything she’d done, everything she’d nearly ruined? But Dan loved her with everything and he did all of this for her. It was a home, not just a house, and part of her hated that they wouldn’t really spend enough time of the year here. He’d given her everything, and she didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t have him.

A quiet sob made her turn around in panic to see a smile on Dan’s face as tears streamed down his cheeks. Her arms wrapped around him, holding onto her husband as he cried. They were both too familiar with tears by this point, and her job was to hold onto him and love him and wait until he was able to speak. These were the overwhelming tears.

“I thought I might never see this place. Especially not with you. I was waiting until you were here to see it in person and I think I’d come to terms that it wasn’t going to happen.” The rawness of his words cut her deeply, Em kissing his jaw as a reminder she was here before she could speak.

“I’m right here, Baby. I’m here. And you’re here with me. We’re together.”

“I know. I know.” Dan kissed her so gently Em thought it could have been a dream until she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Good…what do you mean you didn’t think you’d see it? You flew out to sign?” He squeezed her and Em knew no matter what he was about to say she was going to worry.

“I did. But I didn’t come here. I signed the contract and hired someone to keep an eye on it and do what I needed. But I couldn’t come here without you. It was for us.”

“You bought an entire house without seeing it?” The disbelief was clear in her voice. Her insane, brilliant, generous husband.

“It was a bad time, don’t judge me.” She never could. Not in a million years. “I wanted to do more things, y’know? I thought about changing the windows out for ones with bigger panels of glass so you have even more light to read, put some screens up so you can open them without bugs. Have some of the flowers out the front under the living room window. Maybe change the roof? The one there is fine but it’s gonna need replacing in a few years. Plus I wanna change the fireplace cause that’s original from the 70s when this was built and I don’t like the tiles. But not without you. Even looking at furniture to buy felt wrong. That’s what you do. You turn the places we live into homes without even thinking about it. Plus, I thought it could be like an anniversary present. Five years ago this week is when I met you for the first time.”

Em settled into Dan’s arms with her head pushed against his neck for an extra moment as she took in what he said. She’d so nearly blown their lives up in April - walked away without so much as a word. But even though she did that he loved her and still believed she’d come back somehow. How could she not be utterly in love with him? She didn’t deserve him but he loved her anyway.

“We turned them into homes. Us. Together. That’s what made them into homes, and it’s what’ll make this into one too. So thanks for waiting for me to do it.” It was a sweet kiss and wiping away the tear tracks from his cheeks as she smiled up at him. They’d turn it into one. She wouldn’t ruin yet another home for them. She couldn’t do that like she had with their first flat. “Show me everywhere else? Please? I wanna see our room.”

The rest of the house was just as perfect. A bathroom with a gloriously big bath for her and Dan to fit, two spare rooms, and finally the master bedroom. It wasn’t stupidly huge, but it was perfect. She could see all the flowers that Dan had gotten planted outside through the window. Em had no idea how he managed to get it done but he did and she’d be forever grateful for it. The other thing he did was get a proper mattress for each bedroom. It wasn’t a full bed yet, there weren’t even sheets, but she could actually lay down. As comfortable as the business class seats were, she just wanted to lie down and stretch. Her sneakers came off in a heartbeat and that was about as quickly as Dan was lying on top of her.

"You like it?" Dan whispered as if to not break a spell. His head was on her shoulder while his arms wrapped around her body to pull her as close as possible.

"The mattress? It's amazing, I wonder how I'm gonna get up again. The house is very nice too." She kissed his forehead while her smile grew even wider. "I love it. I really, really love it. It's absolutely perfect, Love. I still think you're insane, but thank you."

"I'm happy you like it. You know you never need to thank me."

"Really? Cause I think I know a way to thank you and bless this place together."

All Em needed was one kiss on her neck and feeling his grin against her skin to get going. Clothes were thrown off and left on the floor, and the luxury of not sharing a wall with anyone else was perfection. The loud moan as Dan finally entered her with one slow push echoed around the near empty room.

Usually on race weekends she was careful to not mark Dan's neck or scratch his back or shoulders. Usually she'd do her best to leave no marks at all unless it was a break but that day she couldn't care less. Her hands were all over his back and holding him as hard as possible. Part of her brain screamed at her that she was fucking everything up and she needed to stop, but Dan's frown as she went to let go and the way he squeezed her made her continue. If he was prepared for any comments and wanted her to keep going then she was going to.

At least now people knew that she was the one responsible for anything. She sucked a small dark mark against his collarbone, watching as the skin reddened and bloomed. She didn't care about it in the moment. The next day she probably would when his shirt moved the wrong way and everyone saw it but right then she couldn't care less. For once her head was quiet, focusing about how warm her Danny was against her, the way his hands made her feel so good. How he was hitting the perfect spots in her, the whispers of how good she was and how she was his best girl, his only girl. The marks he was leaving against her that screamed she was his. His, his, his.

When they finished it was like magic. Like every time he held her tight and kissed as they came down from their highs, the two of them keeping the other there. It was one of her favourite moments with him since that very first time they'd slept together. The world stopped for a few moments, silent and the only people who mattered were them. When she opened her eyes Dan was there, that smile that made her fall head over heels all those years ago on his face as he stole a kiss and made her smile against his lips.

Years ago the next thing in their routine had been one of them - usually Dan - asking to stay the night even when they shouldn't. That part of their routine was long gone. But the comfort and cosiness of the moment was ruined by Em's "oh shit!" and running to the bathroom, too afraid to mess up the brand new mattress that didn't even have sheets on it. The only thing there to clean up was Dan's shirt and she wasn't doing that to him.

When she came back feeling better Dan still kissed down her legs to make her giggle, Em looking at him smiling up at her. She ran her fingers through his curls as she looked down at the love of her life. How did she get so lucky? She didn't deserve him.

It took everything to get up from that mattress. She was jetlagged and tired and wanted to stay there and fall asleep beside him. She was comfortable and didn't want to leave. But they had things to do, shopping first on the list. If they were staying there for a night before moving to the team hotel they needed basic stuff. Dan insisted they didn't need sheets for the mattress, they had toilet paper and paper cups for their celebration and could get takeout. Even while Dan was trying to say nonsense Em was rolling her eyes and pulling clothes out of one of their cases to put on. She made Dan do the same, even as he insisted she looked better without clothes on.

"Do you really want me to go to Target naked, Love?" The wide eyes and rapidly shaking head was all that Em needed for him to get up and shimmy his jeans on.

For most couples a trip to the supermarket was a normal thing. But they weren't a normal couple, or at least not that normal. Usually groceries were delivered, and the occasional times they did something like this was during the winter break in Perth. They'd go some weekday morning when it was quiet and people didn't notice them. She loved it though. It was like going out with an excitable kid who looked at everything and kept stopping. She got to hold his hand and be normal for rare occasions.

So that afternoon it was a rare opportunity for Em to drag him around. It took a pout to convince him it was a good idea, but an oak milk latte from the Starbucks before they started shopping was all the extra incentive he needed to keep going. But as they started wandering Dan was the one who kept stopping and looking. He wanted the perfect glasses, Em got distracted looking at lipsticks for a new perfect pink. Then they spent time deciding on towels and bedding for not just their room but the spares too. After all that a coffee maker and mugs had to be bought, along with the matching plates and bowls. All of that, plus a lamp, cushions, a fake plant, fairy lights, candles, and groceries for that night and the morning that could be frozen when they were leaving ended up in the trunk of the rental car. Em couldn't stop grinning the entire drive back to their house.

London was a mix of things they'd had in both of their apartments, choosing what they preferred and putting them together with new things when they really needed them. Perth, Monaco, and LA were kind of like that, Em turning professionally interior decorated places into actual homes instead of places where they just spent time. But Austin was different. It was a blank canvass where she could start from scratch and turn it into colour and home and happiness. Even if this trip was just a few things to make it better she could take time and decide what they were going to do.

She barely got to put the sheets on the mattress before Dan was dragging her back down, covering her in kisses. It had been since the summer break when they felt like this, able to hold and love each other and Em able to shut her brain up enough to enjoy it. Thye spent the afternoon and evening moving from bed to couch and back again, ordering takeout from the restaurant Dan made sure they were near, before returning to loving each other. Dan held onto her as they fell asleep, Em content and cuddled in.

The next day was when they were supposed to move to the hotel but neither of them really wanted to. The boys landed and they met with them, checking in, but deciding to spend that night in their home before having to go back to the F1 circus. Instead they spent it with Michael and Blake, Em watching the three of them laughing and joking. It was easier to stay a little on the outside of it all and watch, Dan's hand around her waist as they sat in their favourite bar in Austin yet again eating barbecue and Em drinking a coke and stealing sips from Dan's one beer before the race weekend.

Getting out of their uber and being completely alone once the front door closed was a luxury for Em. They were always surrounded by people, she knew that. Dan loved having family and friends around, loved being with everyone. She'd known that since the beginning. It was one of the reasons - besides the obvious - why she was around the boys so much. Dan loved to bring his people around and Em loved watching him be happy and glowing no matter how loud it was. Usually she could put her earplugs in and smile and it was fine. But at the track and in offices and media centres it was more of the same. There were always people, Dan was always busy.

She'd known from the beginning that Dan wasn't always hers. She had to share the man she loved with the rest of the world. And she knew this, she married him knowing it, but it was hard sometimes. She'd gone in with eyes open that especially during race weeks it was a good week to have a couple of hours alone together. The only thing she asked was that they went to bed together. She'd stay up as long as she had to to do it with him. She always fell asleep with her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. Dan always woke her up with a kiss on her forehead if he had to get up before her as a quiet goodbye and a heads up she'd fully wake alone. It was what they did. So one extra night where they got to wake up completely alone felt nearly perfect.

But some nights, even when they were alone, she could tell Dan's head was somewhere else. This was one of those nights. They were curled up to sleep, arms around each other, but Em could see that his eyes were open and his jaw was tense. Even with the way the last few days were nice it wasn't an easy time. Everything seemed to be slowly crumbling around them. Apart from their relationship it seemed like so much was falling apart and it was impossible. She was doing everything she could to keep the man she loved going but Em didn't have much left to give. There were some things she couldn't fix. She couldn't magic up a seat in a team for him no matter how badly she wished she could do it. She couldn't even negotiate with him, because that wasn't her job. Doing it for the McLaren severance was different, that was for their pride and to prove that team hadn't ruined them. It was personal. But talking to other team principals? She couldn't.

The one thing she could do was reach up and push a kiss to his jaw, watching as he looked down at her with sad eyes. She could ask the questions and support him and love him and give him advice.

"Penny for them?" It was quiet until Dan took a deep breath.

"Should I talk to Haas? Guenther sent over a proposal. It's a seat for n-"

"Absolutely not." The vehemence that she came out with worried even her but she kept talking. "That team ruins people and makes them miserable, and as much as Guenther has been decent to me in the paddock they're run ridiculously. Look at what's happening to Mick, he told Mick last week that he might keep the seat but now you're being offered it? They won't listen to you, they won't care about the setup. They'll mess it up and blame you. They did it to Kevin and then begged him to go back. You deserve better than it."

"It might be the only way for me to have a seat next year."

"I'd rather we call it a day and just go home." Em was blinking back tears as Dan held her closer, watching as she got herself together. "I can't spend another year watching you suffer for a team and their stupid car while you're trying to smile. This year has been so hard, Danny. You deserve better than that. You're so much better than that."

"Do you really want that? Do you want to go home?" The words echoed around her head. Home. She still didn't know what it was. Dan was her home, but she couldn't say anywhere really was anymore. But her tears began to fall and she couldn't stop them.

"We lost too much this year, Danny. We lost a baby. We nearly lost us too. We did lose us for a while and we nearly didn't make it back. I don't have anything else to give it. This sport and this team has taken almost everything. It even took my dignity in Spa. We've given it everything. Baby I love you with my whole heart and you know I will do anything for you. You know that." She took a deep breath as she tried to get the courage to ask.

"I know, Baby girl. I know. And I love you just as much. We're us, that's not changing ever." His words and the warm arms around her made her able to say it.

"You can't ask me to watch you go through another year like this one. You can't do that to me. We can't go through another year like this and you know we can't. If we try it's going to break us. Please. If you love me just...please don't. Be a reserve driver or try something else or any other driving, I'd rather watch you do ovals. Please don't make me have to go through watching you suffer like this again."

She broke down after speaking, feeling Dan hold her even tighter than he had before. She'd never said it. She never wanted to tell him not to drive, she adored him and trusted him to do the right thing. But this was terrifying to watch. She didn't know what she could do except ask him not to drive for once.

"Hey Baby, I've got you. It's alright, Emmy. It's alright. It's going to be fine, Baby girl. I promise. You just take deep breaths. Breathe in with me Baby." She followed his exaggerated breathing until she'd calmed down from the panic attack she'd nearly worked herself into yet again. Her fucking brain. She needed to be calm for this.

"I'm so tired, Dan. I'm exhausted and I don't know if I can deal with another year at a team that won't respect you. This year was too much. I can't lose you again. Please don't make me lose you again."

"It won't happen, Emmy. I swear it's not going to. I'm gonna be right here."

"It happened twice."

And that was her fear. They'd basically lost each other last Christmas, and what should have been the final nail in the coffin was Melbourne. They shouldn't be together. They'd fought for so long, they'd promised each other. But she didn't know if she could fight for another year to try not lose him.

"That was different and you didn't lose me. I fucked up but we're right here. Remember that forever promise we made?" He kissed her ring finger, Em smiling through her tears.

"I almost did and it felt like I couldn't breathe. I can't go through it again. Call me selfish but I just can't."

"You're not selfish. You're the exact opposite of selfish, Babe." The pain in Dan's voice made Em feel even worse than she did saying it.

"I feel like I am. I know how much you love racing."

"But I love you more." He punctuated his words with a kiss before continuing. "I'm chasing loving racing again, and I've stopped loving it now. Maybe it's time to let it come back to me. If it works I can try get a seat in 2024. If not I've got you, and we can work it out from there. I can be a househusband. I was thinking about it, y'know? Maybe it's time for me to be a househusband, you get your year. I'll stay home, make breakfast, do laundry, all that. You deserve a year of not doing anything after taking care of everything I've thrown at you."

"You and I both know you'd go insane if you did that. It'd be fun for a week." A watery giggle escaped, Dan smiling at her ability to laugh.

"Maybe two? But it can be your year. I want you to be happy, not just following me around the world while I'm doing it."

"All I wanna do is be with you. I just...I want you to be my Danny for a while. I don't want to have to share you with the world for once. What I really need right now is to wake up on a weekend and not go anywhere. I want us to stay in our bed, not in a hotel unless we're on holiday. I hate myself for being this selfish and asking you, but I need this."

"A weekend in bed not going anywhere sounds really good right now." Dan kissed her nose, brushing the hair out of her face to make sure Em was looking at him. "I'm telling you, you're not selfish."

"I feel like I am. I feel like I'm making a decision for everyone. Michael's gonna need a new job, it's a mess."

"I was thinking about telling him I think it's better for our friendship to not work together so that'll be fine. Jack's looking for someone for F2 next year, that might work. But you're not making a decision for everyone, you're telling me how you feel. I told you before. If you asked I'd walk away. We deserve to be happy. You deserve that."

"I love you." She held onto him tightly, desperate to make it clear how much she loved him. She didn't deserve Daniel. Not at all. Somehow he loved her even though she'd made a mess of so much. "It's just one year. Then we can go back. You can keep racing till your forties if you want like Fernando. I don't care if you do."

"You really think I want to race that long? Two or three babies and racing around the world for twenty something weeks a year?"

"Seb is. For now." She wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to someone who'd always been kind to her.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be able to do that after our kids start school. There's a difference between Switzerland and Perth."

"If you want to do it the option will be there. As long as you want to keep racing and you're happy you know I'll support you. We can work around anything else." Em snuggled into him at his words, at the knowledge. He wasn't lying. They'd be happy. She'd make herself be happy.

"We can talk about it then. But Toto and Christian have already been in contact about a reserve role. Christian rang before I even did the video. But I'm focusing on you and me first."

"Thank you," Em breathed out.

"For what?"

"For being you. I just wanna be your girl. I wanna be your girlfriend in public and nothing else. I...I need to be your girl for more than a week, not your assistant. I love my job and I love working but I need this. I need to not think about the fact that I share you with the world for a weekend. I know it's a lot to ask but I need that. Just one year. Can you give me a year?" She felt awful asking, but they were there together. She knew he wouldn't feel bad about her asking.

"With one condition."

"Anything you want."

"Marry me. I'll take a year off as long as you marry me."

"Did you hit your head or something? Want to do it again?"

"We said we were going to do it properly, right? I'd propose and we'd have a wedding with our family and that's what I want for us. A year off and we can plan our wedding. Go wherever we want for our honeymoon. No schedule, no fitting it into a two week gap and a honeymoon over the summer break. Just us and the people we care about. So marry me, Emmy?"

"Yeah. This sounds perfect." She kissed her husband, grinning against him as he held her left hand and kissed the perfect engagement ring he'd given her in August when she'd proposed in LA. Getting to do this their way was more important to them than revealing anything else. It felt right.

The next morning when Blake came over for breakfast before the three of them went to the hotel they spoke to him about their decision. It was easier than Em expected it to be, Blake agreeing with both of them entirely. Dan was burnt out, Em was a mess of a human, they were shadows of who they were just a year before. It made sense.

He didn't admit it, but Em knew Blake was exhausted too. He'd been carrying her and Dan for the last six months on his own, a year away from all of their travelling and chaos would be good for him too. They could recharge and focus and next year Blake could start putting feelers out about potential seats.

The other thing they agreed was Em was taking a leave of absence from work. She hated it. She hated feeling like she couldn't do her job. But she needed to look after herself and both of her boys agreed. As soon as Dan said it she knew he was right, nodding and hugging him. At least they got to tell Blake about planning the wedding, and the hug her big brother gave her was worth everything.

Once they got to the hotel it became the normal race weekend whirlwind. Dan was in media and strategy meetings while Em stayed in her hotel room, Criminal Minds on tv while she smiled at her ring and took down little notes about the wedding they wanted. Blake was there showing her the progress he'd made on hiring the horse for Dan's grand entrance to COTA the following day. Her idiot was actually attending press day on a horse. It was entirely Blake's fault for encouraging it months ago.

When Dan got back they facetimed his parents to give them the news, Em crying as Joe said he was happy to finally get to properly call her their daughter now. It was a good day. She was taking the good day.

The only downside to arriving to the circuit was firstly that she couldn't hold Dan's hand because of the horse, and secondly having to hide her engagement ring. She didn't want to take it off, but it was an unspoken agreement that they weren't telling anyone outside their people until after the season was over. They didn't want McLaren using it for media. She didn't want an instagram post from anyone who was firing her husband congratulating the happy couple. She didn't want that orange team involved in her personal life, so the announcement could wait. The nice part was getting to pet the horse Dan was riding. Before Bluey was saddled up she got to brush him down under his groom's careful eye, and afterwards she brushed him and gave him an apple as a treat. It felt like back in Montana, brushing the horses there and her anxiety disappearing for a gorgeous few moments.

Once that was done she didn't have much to do for the afternoon. Blake was officially taking over what she'd been doing, following Dan from meeting to meeting instead of Em. To avoid even more rumours and speculation she wandered the paddock every hour or so with her iPad in hand, chatting to people she knew and acting like it was normal.

It was a weird relief that not working was a help. She still had her therapy sessions with Mildred every Monday - plus a Thursday one before most race weeks - still had her every two weeks psychiatrist appointments to talk about her medication levels, but it felt like it wasn't working. She felt like she was jumping out of her skin, anxiety a constant in her head. A decent part of her wished she could stay in their hotel rooms on any given weekend, but she had to be there for Dan.

Her weekends were most comfortable when she went from the entrance to Dan's room and back again. Nobody bothered her in there, she hid away while her friends and husband were busy, and she felt awkward sitting in hospitality with people looking at her like she was a dead woman walking. So instead she lay along the massage table pinning things to a pinterest board to start wedding planning. Her plan was to show Dan what she liked and they could decide after.

Between taking notes about not wanting designated seats so it could be a mix of people and looking at flower options she dozed off where she lay. Sleep was at a premium for Em on race weekends, but having something nice to think about helped her doze.

She woke up to Dan's kisses against her forehead, not even opening her eyes but reaching out for Dan to squeeze her hand. It was a quick murmur that he'd be back soon, he just had one more meeting and then they could go. Before she knew it Dan was back, helping her stand and fixing her hair so she didn't look like she'd spent the last hour sleeping. They walked out of the paddock hand in hand, ready for the hotel and to curl up in bed together.

"I wish we could just stay in our house instead of here," Em whispered as she looked out the window to the city view in front of them. It was gorgeous, the room was luxurious. But she wanted their house with the mattress that they didn't even have a bed frame for yet. Dan stood behind her, Em resting her back against his front. She could relax and let her anxiety float away for the next few hours until they had to get up and do it the next day and the next and the next, before the brief reprieve before Mexico.

"Saturday night after Blake's birthday dinner? And next time we're here we can stay there full time."

"That sounds perfect."

Waking up on Friday morning was nearly impossible. The universe knew Em wasn't an early bird, but she felt absolutely drained. She didn't want to think about it, but something was wrong with her. She knew when it took Dan shaking her shoulder to wake her up. Usually kisses against her forehead would wake her but the last week or so it had been harder and harder to wake herself up and move more. The kisses were still there but not enough.

"Morning Baby, hey. Sleep well? I've been trying to wake you for a few minutes." Dan was smiling at her as she blinked blearily at him.

"Jetlag? Mornin'. Do we have five more minutes?"

"We're down to ten, but we've got time." He always woke her a little bit early before they actually had to get up. Usually it was fifteen minutes but she'd burned through that time already.

"Mmm, thank you."

It was quiet for a moment before Dan spoke again. "When's your next blood test for?"

She'd been getting them semi regularly since the first doctor's appointment when she came back, the realisation that her iron and calcium levels were low not helping her mental health. The supplements were helping, but the exhaustion remained.

"Before Christmas? I think?"

"Want me to make a doctor's appointment for after Mexico? I can call when they're open on Monday for you. You're sleeping a lot, I just wanna make sure your iron didn't drop or anything. You haven't really been eating much."

She'd been exhausted and barely eating. Part of it was just not being hungry, part of it was nothing was appetising. Even her usual foods that would always make her want to eat weren't it. Even the snack plates that she'd usually pick at weren't worth it.

"Yeah, ok. Just...don't tell Michael? I don't wanna hear about it from him. I don't want more supplement ideas and stuff."

"I won't even think about it."

She went to move to get up but didn't, too comfy there. "'m sorry 'm so tired. It's just been exhausting the last few weeks."

"We'll go home after Mexico and find out. Maybe you just need a med tweak. Or we can go see a doctor here. Go to a clinic, get an iron test to see if it's something to do with that?"

"Nah, we can wait till we're back. Extra naps will work?"

"You'll be all good, Love. I've got you."

Em didn't want to get out of the bed when she was warm, comfortable, and safe in bed with her husband. She didn't want to go to the paddock, and she definitely didn't want to sit in the orange decorated building while the rest of the team just waited for Dan to fail. Again.

But she didn't have a choice, so she got up and got dressed to go stand beside him. Her makeup hid the circles under her eyes, her hair was pulled back, and her outfit was perfect. She could do this. She could absolutely do this. Before they left the hotel room Dan gave her a hug and the sweetest kiss to make her smile.

They held hands for every second they could going through the paddock. All the way down to the car, on the drive in, and walking through the paddock. Dan held her hand proudly as they went in, getting her to go through the barrier first before following her in and taking her hand again.

Em didn't want to be at the track so early, especially when Dan wasn't even driving for FP1. Palou was in Dan's car for it as a rookie driver test, and while she had nothing against Alex she didn't want to watch him. She didn't care about motorsport. It had taken her years of trying to be interested but she didn't care. She cared about Dan driving and that was it. So instead she stayed in Dan's tiny room in hospitality, reading her kindle. The second the interviews and press conferences were done she switched the tv off and kept reading. Her friends were working and getting Dan ready for the rest of the day but she stayed there.

The nice part was that between chapters and looking at pinterest on her iPad for wedding ideas Dan would come upstairs for the briefest hug. He always came with tea and a smile, a quick kiss and a "miss you". He could go back knowing she was fine there.

"You need to go back to work, you're in the car in twenty minutes," Em told him as he dawdled going back downstairs once he was in his orange race suit.

"What if I don't wanna? I wanna stay here with you." She put her kindle away and stood up to take his hand, ready to go stand in the garage to watch him for the hour.

"I could kidnap you and we can go home? Nobody knows where our house is, we can hide there maybe?"

"Is it kidnapping if I'm your husband?"

"I mean not if you go willingly." Dan laughed and his loud honk made her smile. He was there with her and it was worth it.

"You gonna stay here or wanna come down to the garage with Blake?"

"Garage. You know I'm not gonna miss you in the car, no matter what."

"If you need anything just head out, ok? I'll find you after. Just tell Blake."

"I'll be fine, don't worry." She leaned up to kiss his cheek and watched as Dan smiled at her.

"I always worry. Same way you worry about me. It's what we do."

They were about to walk out when Em pulled him back for a moment, watching as Dan looked at her. "I know weekends at your room here used to be more fun and sexy and great. I...I'm sorry it's not like that anymore. Now it's just a mess and yeah. I wish it was like we used to be. I'm just boring now."

"Baby girl, we're married and in our thirties. We're supposed to be boring."

"I'm being serious."

"I know you are." She looked away but Dan's fingers cupped her chin, pulling her up to look at him. "Look at me Emmy. You are the smartest, funniest, most interesting person in the universe. You're my favourite person. You're my wife and I love you. I don't care if we just sit in silence doing nothing for a week. As long as I'm with you I'm happy and having fun. Nobody does it like us. right?"

"Right. And I love you too. Forever and always."

"And to the moon and to Saturn. Let's go and it's one more driving session to the end of the year."

She walked down holding his hand, kissing his helmet and telling him to go fast and be safe before taking her spot beside Blake. Her headphones went on and she stood there holding Blake's hand as they watched the time tick down.

The worst part of the sessions was having to hide her anxiety, the cameras flashing to her and her name appearing on TV. Emma Smyth, Daniel Ricciardo's partner. It still felt surreal that the world knew it. It was pure anxiety as she stood waiting, taking slow deep breaths as Blake squeezed her hand. It was one more hour until she could hide away again.

She hated seeing him in that car. She'd always trusted the cars he drove, always trusted the teams he had. But not anymore. And it was hard because she knew he didn't trust it either. She hated living with the feeling that he didn't trust the car to perform the same way lap after lap. The feeling kept growing in her chest until he was finally wheeled back in when practice ended. He sent her a wink as he got out of the car, Em's smile returning seeing him there safe. If he could have Dan would have given her a hug but he was immediately surrounded by engineers to give feedback to.

By the time Dan was free to leave the circuit it was nearly dark outside. The debriefing took time, and then he had to do partnership stuff that took longer than expected. For this time she decided to be brave and go into hospitality, sitting beside Blake. He kept her distracted by asking questions about things that he really didn't need to ask. For years they'd worked beside each other and it felt totally normal, and even now she wasn't working it felt normal and looked normal. She didn't know what she'd do without him.

Saturday was a day when she had to put her bravest face on because it was Blake's birthday. Despite another day of not wanting to leave the hotel room she got dressed and smiled, following Dan to their best friend's hotel room to give him a giant hug and the presents they'd gotten for him. Her big brother gave her a hug in return, a whispered thank you more than enough for her. She had to hold on for Blake's day. Had to.

She spent practice and qualifying in the garage, holding Blake's hand as usual when they watched Dan get into the car. It had been a happy week in one of their favourite cities, her rings hanging around her neck as she looked on. But instead she watched as the man she loved got out of the car frustrated after Q1, qualifying seventeenth. This stupid team and this stupid car and she had to keep herself together because she didn't want cameras on her.

Dan coming over to say sorry to Blake because he wanted to make his friend proud but didn't broke her heart. It was all Dan ever wanted to do, to make his wife, his friends, his family happy and proud of him. She knew he was aware of the sacrifices people had made to help him, and he was determined to make it worth it. But for nearly all of this two year stint at McLaren it hadn't worked. She'd watched him try. But yet again he was putting a brave face on and a fake smile about how he was going to make up places on Sunday.

She watched him blame himself yet again in front of the media and the world and Em wanted to whisk him away. She wanted to make it all better. He deserved more. She'd seen it with her own eyes, she'd been there when he'd won races. He'd never won them easily. All she wanted was to take him away from the stress and the constant criticism. But she couldn't.

As soon as they were finally alone - after Dan had done media and cooled down with Michael, finally entering his room where Em was waiting. Her arms went straight around him, holding tightly so he could know she was there.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I thought I could get into Q2 for Blake and for you. Make this weekend good for us." She looked up at Dan, trying to keep herself from falling apart.

"It's already a good weekend. You did everything you could, Baby. I don't blame you." Dan just held her tighter, doing everything to keep it together for a few more moments. But then he had to go back to the debrief while Em packed their stuff up. The hotel restaurant was booked for that evening for Blake's birthday. Just the four of them, a chill evening before some of Blake's friends from other teams went to a booking they had in a barbecue place after the race on Sunday. Part of her wished it was just the three of them, pushing that thought away from her head. She loved Michael. She did. He was just difficult to be around lately.

In a shocking turn of events Dan's debriefing didn't take as long as expected. But even with his performance there were fans there to ask for autographs and photos. Em soaked in the love everyone else had for him as he got to glow. Even with that delay they were in the hotel slightly earlier than expected and going straight to their room to get ready.

"We don't have time for a bath, right?" Dan asked, Em kissing his cheek.

"No Baby. We have to be downstairs in half an hour. You have time for a quick shower if you want one."

"Will you come with me? Please?"

It took nothing for Em to agree to go with him, walking into the bathroom and helping Dan to undress as she got her own clothes off. Dan set the shower up while Em stepped in, feeling his arms around her as he got under the showerhead too.

"Can we have a bath tomorrow when we go home?"

"That's the best plan I've heard all week."

Em wanted to spend more time than they had there, trying to get Dan to relax. But instead she carefully washed and conditioned his hair, giving them the love Dan didn't in a normal shower. He did the same for her hair, the apple scent of her shampoo filling the steamy room. Ten minutes wasn't nearly enough but they were out, Dan pushing a kiss to the 3 tattoo on her wrist before he let her go.

Five minutes later Em was nearly ready, just running the hairdryer over her so the wet strands didn't dampen her clothes. Once it was mostly dry she was happy, taking Dan's hand to go back downstairs.

Blake and Michael had arrived before the two of them, Em catching the tail end of their whispered conversation with "-my night out, don't do that." all she could hear. As soon as they realised they were there the two men stepped apart as Blake greeted them.

She knew it was serious when Michael didn't make comments about what Dan should order thanks to his race weekend diet. It was even weirder when he didn't say anything about what Em should eat, or how much, or how she should avoid certain foods. She may have been exhausted but she knew it was Blake. The tail end of their conversation was the only evidence she needed to know he'd said something about keeping suggestions quiet.

Em hated to admit it, but it was glorious. She got to watch Dan eat an actual meal that he enjoyed and she was even hungry for the first time in a while. Finishing the whole plate was a challenge but she ate slowly, sipping her drink and putting her fork down when it was finished. The fond look on Dan's face was everything.

The three others at the table looked at her surprised when Em nodded and took a dessert menu. Michael wasn't having one and she didn't want Blake to have his birthday dessert alone. It was easy to pick a strawberry and apple crumble and ask for a second spoon. She ate it carefully in layers, smiling as Dan took a couple of spoonfuls of fruit and left the icecream for her. She ignored the looks Michael gave them as they shared, the plain green tea sat in front of him telling her everything she needed to know.

It was an early night by birthday celebration standards but with the race the next morning they didn't have a choice. It was a hug for Blake and a promise that tomorrow night would involve drinks and dancing and fun. She'd get through it for him, he deserved it.

As soon as the door to their hotel room closed and the latch went on their clothes disappeared to go to bed. The way Dan's arm had been around her waist was all Em needed to know that her husband needed her extra close that night. It was a quick trip to the bathroom to wash their faces and get themselves ready as Em pushed kisses across his face before dragging him to bed.

She really didn't think anything would happen between them, just holding each other and goodnight kisses. Dan had to get sleep before the race, but then his lips moved down her jaw and to her neck, one hand on her ass pulling her in as his knee slipped between her thighs. It was like a flame was lit in her, she needed her husband. She needed to feel him as close as possible. She needed to hear him whisper her name like a prayer, hands holding her tightly and leaving the fingertip bruises that sang she was his and nobody else's to the world. It was electric and everything she could have asked for, groaning Dan's name out as he begged her to tell him everything he made her feel.

Dan helped her up and helped her clean before she went back to bed with him, wrapped up in his arms to sleep. For once on a race night she was able to actually get asleep at a reasonable time, the lub-dub of Dan's heartbeat steady under her ear.

Getting up on race morning was the worst feeling. Em wished she could have stayed in bed. Staying there with a bottle of wine - even if she wasn't meant to be drinking because of her medication - hot water for her favourite tea, some snacks, the latest crappy romance series she was reading on her kindle, and maybe ice cream as she curled up beside Dan in bed would have been the best day. Instead she had to go to a paddock filled with people who wanted photos and autographs from Dan.

If she had her choice she'd stay back in the hotel with her favourite people but she couldn't. She had to make herself look presentable because cameras didn't lie, and she didn't need another "concerned" instagram commenter asking about if she was ok because of a photo where she didn't look perfect. Dan didn't care if her hair was a mess or if she wasn't wearing makeup or if she was in casual clothes, but the world did. So she forced herself up and prettied herself and was ready to leave. It took a deep breath as she held Dan's hand and walked out of the bubble of their hotel room. They were going to their house that night. She could make it work.

The entire drive to the circuit was cuddling under Dan's arm. Holding his hand on the backseat wasn't enough for her. She needed Dan to hold her until they got there and had to let go, and he never ever complained about it.

It was another morning of faking smiles in front of everyone, cameras recording and fans taking photos and calling Dan's name. She'd put her earplugs in before they even reached the circuit to block some of the noise but it didn't fully help. She focused on Dan's warm hand in hers and took deep breaths to keep herself calm. Em ignored the cameras and photographers watching them, instead looking at her husband and at Blake to remind herself she wasn't alone. She focused on Dan's fingers squeezing her hand. He'd promised not to let her go and he wouldn't.

Once she settled down in his driver's room he kissed her goodbye to go to the different race morning duties he had, making sure she was ok. Dan promised to see her as soon as he could and Em sat there and breathed deeply, earplugs replaced with her Beats to match Dan's and music playing. A couple more hours and they were out of there. Dan just had to go around the track and then they were free to go home. Back to their actual house to get changed and celebrate Blake, and go back to sleep on that mattress she'd already fallen in love with.

Dan came back up to get changed, Em standing up to go back to the garage with him. He'd taken the time to come up and give them enough time to see each other and make her feel better before facing the cameras. Usually he was surrounded by Blake and Michael before getting ready but this time it was just the two of them in a moment alone.

When he pulled his shirt off he took the necklace he was wearing off too, handing his rings over to Em to keep safe. She watched him get into the nomex and saw just how slim he was getting. Let the year end. Just let it end. As he stood and stretched he held out his right hand, Em taking it with her left. Just like they had in Baku and Montreal already this year they were going to the garage together. He was walking through the paddock holding her hand and not caring what the world thought. Reason one million why Em loved him.

"Ready to go?" She thought she'd hidden how she was feeling but it was clear from Dan's reaction that she hadn't really.

"You know, right?" Em whispered in response to avoid his question with the one she knew the answer to. They'd tattooed it to keep it front of mind.

"I know, Baby Girl. I love you too." Dan nodded and raised their joined hands to kiss her ring finger. Like always her wedding and engagement ring were on her necklace hiding below her shirt, Dan's joining them for safe keeping for the race. He'd be allowed wear it but that meant publicity and neither of them wanted that.

"Good. Go fast, be safe, and come back to me. Please." She nearly got it out without the final word but Em couldn't help herself, looking up at Dan and trying not to cry. Please be safe. Please come home. She was panicking more and more about what he did.

"I always will."

It was one final kiss and a long hug before they left the room. Blake was standing outside the door waiting for them, clearing a path through the crowd to get them into the garage and away from prying eyes and just where the tv cameras could catch her but nobody else. It was clear he didn't want to leave where she stood, but one nod from their best friend and Dan kissed her on the forehead and went to get into the car.

Em wished he never did.

Qualifying was bad, but finishing second to last was even worse. He'd been overtaken by nearly everyone he qualified ahead of, and he was forever behind a Haas. As much as she adored Mick Dan shouldn't have been down there with him. As soon as he was weighed he came straight to her, the two of them finding a corner to just be for a few moments before the real world had to intrude again. She knew Blake and Michael were making excuses but she didn't care, arms around Dan and holding him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Emmy. I'm sorry I fucked up and disappointed you." The heartbreak in his voice was too easy to hear and she was so angry that he thought she could be disappointed in him.

"Hey, no. No, Danny. You can never disappoint me. Not ever. Not about a result in a race. I love you. I love my husband. I love my Danny. Fuck this entire circus, I care about you. Not cars on a track."

"I love you too. So fuckin' much. You don't know how much I do."

"I've a slight idea. You're gonna be ok. We're gonna be fine. Three to go."

"Three left. Yeah." He was quiet for a moment and she could feel him taking a deep breath in. "I don't wanna go to media."

"I'll pay the fine if you want. I offered to in Monaco. Whatever makes you happy." She nearly thought he'd take it, but instead she watched as he stood up and pressed his thumb against where he knew their rings hung on her necklace as if for good luck.

"I'll see you after? We can go and pick up our bags from the hotel before we go to dinner with everyone."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll pack up." She went to separate but took her necklace off, unthreading her thin gold wedding ring from the chain before putting it back on. Dan watched as she held it up before handing it over. "For your pinkie. I'm right there with you while you're doing it."

It took everything in her to let Dan leave and go in front of the media. She knew some of the reporters, knew the ones who'd be good to him and wouldn't ask awkward questions that left him with no hope for a good answer. They could leave soon and that was what mattered.

Her brain kept boiling over with revenge plots that she knew in her heart and soul she couldn't let happen. She couldn't destroy McLaren, as much as she wished she could. It would hurt more than help. So instead she focused on putting everything into backpacks. Usually it was done neatly, clothes folded and cables coiled up. This time she just put it all in as fast as she could. She wanted to be out of the room the moment Dan arrived up to say they were free. The TV in the corner was playing an interview with him, and the moment "I don't know how I'm continuing to continue on" came out of his mouth she was so angry. She needed to be out of the circuit.

Everything was nearly done when she heard it. The remote was in her right hand to switch the TV off when Zak Brown's face appeared on it talking about Dan's performance and how he wasn't performing. She knew but seeing him talk about personal problems made her want to scream.

Em remembered Dan's description of his anger that day in Baku when the photo of them was made public. The way everything took over because the woman he loved was hurt and he couldn't change it. He had to control himself because Em needed him. And that evening in Austin she felt the exact same way, but this time there was nobody else to stop her. Without a second thought her fist made contact with the metal door hiding her from the world, a sickening crunch heard as she made contact.

“Fuck. Fuck!” Em clutched her hand to her chest as she stared at the dent in the metal door of the drivers room. She hadn’t meant to do that. It was supposed to be a little hit just to get her frustration out. Instead she couldn’t bend her fingers and she wanted to cry.

The fucking race and Zak Brown opening his fucking mouth because he couldn’t stand that the attention wasn’t on McLaren for one damn weekend. But no he had to say the cost cap penalty wasn’t enough and talk shit about Dan and if it was his face or the door at least his face wouldn’t have hurt so much.

“Ems? You ok?” She looked up to see Blake walk into the room as concern spread across his face. “TimTam what happened?”

“Punched the door.” He moved her hand and she groaned while a tear fell. “Fuck that hurts.”

“I want Michael to look, I think you might have broken it.”

“I’ll be fine till we get to Mexico. I just need to get out of here. Please Blakey.”

She nearly got through to him and convinced him to stay quiet until the door opened and Dan and Michael arrived in.

“Emmy?”

“She punched the door, her hand’s swelling up and it’s already starting to bruise. I think she might—“

“Don’t say it. Just don’t.” She was hanging on by a thread. Someone actually saying it was broken would make her lose every moment of composure she had left.

“Let me take a look.” Dan held her waist as Michael got her to twist her wrist. Flexing her fingers was completely out of the question and even in the ten minutes since it happened it was clear that her hand was swelling quickly.

“Looks like a boxers fracture Wriggle, but you need an X-ray. It might be the finger beside it too. Hospital.”

“I can’t go to the hospital. If I get spotted? If someone realises I’m there? It’s more bad fucking publicity. I’ll be fine.” She rambled for another minute before Dan stopped her with a kiss.

“Give us a sec?” Blake and Michael left the room to let them be alone and Em looked up at Dan. “You need to go, Baby. You need to. I don’t want my wife getting any more injured. I’ll go with you and we’ll be in and out and it’ll be fine. But please. I need to make sure you’re ok.”

“Fine.”

She didn't know how they managed to get out of the circuit without attracting more attention but she would forever be happy about it. Blake found a hotel near their house and pulled up, Dan walking in with her wearing a Ric3 hat to try avoid attention. He had to fill in the paperwork because she couldn't balance the clipboard with her injured hand. Em grinned watching Dan put her married name on the sheet and marking himself as her husband. The hospital needed to know it.

The triage was miserable and she was called back with Dan, leaving Michael and Blake behind. They did the same tests before and then asked Dan to leave the room for a few moments to go out to the waiting area. Her anxiety was ratcheting up as he left after the confirmation that she'd broken a bone in her hand, the medical staff asking her exactly how it had happened and if she was protecting herself. She didn't understand why they were asking until it was too late and Em was left alone in a room with a doctor and nurse.

"You can tell us what's going on. We can protect you." Her exhausted and anxious brain didn't make the connection.

"Protect me from what? A door I won't see again because this was Dan's last race there for...possibly forever? I'm not going to punch it again. I just want to get fixed up and go home."

"Is home safe for you, Mrs Ricciardo?"

They didn't ask that. They didn't. They couldn't. Home was the only safe place she had left in the world. Whether it was the farm, the apartment in London or one of the ridiculous places they called home it was safe for her. Anywhere that wasn't another Hilton hotel room was safe. Lying down with her husband and feeling him hold her was the best thing she had going for her. That was what she needed, to curl up with Dan on their mattress and have him hold her and tell her it was going to be ok.

"Home is my safe place. I've got my home and my husband and my family. Why are you asking this? Where's my husband? Why did you make him leave?"

"We think it might be better for you to-" The soft voice of the nurse made her angry. They were trying to convince her that something was wrong and as little as Em believed in her brain right then she knew Dan was right. He was the glue holding her together.

"You don't know me. You don't know what's best for me. You have no idea. I want my husband. Please. I just want my Danny. why isn't he here?"

"Ma'am, we're just trying to protect you." Em shuffled back on the bed, away from the nurse who had medication in her hand.

"Are you not listening to me? There's nobody to protect me from! I told you already, I punched a door in COTA. My husband didn't do anything, I'm the one who made a stupid mistake. Go ask anyone out there or my therapist or my psychiatrist, my husband isn't a violent man. Danny wouldn't hurt a fly. Why aren't you listening to me? Isn't that supposed to be your job to listen?" The yelling in her head was getting even worse, she didn't want to be there. She wanted Danny and could feel the tears pricking against her eyelids as she shut her eyes. She just wanted Danny.

"Mrs Ricciardo, please. Let-"

"Don't touch me. Don't you dare touch me. I want my hand fixed, and if you think you're touching me you're only doing it in front of my husband or brother. I'm not doing it without them here."

She felt ridiculous. She was like a child throwing a tantrum but her head was screaming. She felt like her skin was on fire, the questions and insinuations about Dan making it even harder to think. Her broken hand was held against her chest as she brought her knees up, good arm wrapping around her legs.

The medical staff moved away from her and Em focused her breathing. She could do it. She'd be ok. If they didn't let her go she could run the second the door was open. She couldn't stay. The boys were outside and she knew they wouldn't leave her alone. They were just sitting outside and she could go out to them once the doctor was gone. All Em could do was try to hold herself together until she could go back outside.

-

When Dan came back out Blake could tell something was seriously wrong. His best mate was shaking his head, worry and fear spread across his features.

"DR?"

"They think I'm hurting her. They think I'm hurting Emmy. My Emmy? I...they think I broke her hand. The doctor all but wrestled me out of the room. She was crying and they made me leave. They might want to keep her in. I heard someone mention a psych consult for her room. B I can't. She can't." The guilt rushed through Blake's veins at the mention. They knew how fragile Em was. It was obvious that she'd barely made it through the weekend, they all knew that she was barely keeping herself together. But he thought Dan needed him more and left her alone and this had happened.

"It's gonna be ok. She's not staying here. It's not happening." He didn't know where the conviction came from but it did. "They came over and said they needed her insurance information. I have some stuff but you need all of it. Plus pay whatever they need before she comes out and you have to tell her whatever the treatment costs. I'll be here for when she comes back."

"Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Both of you, I dunno what we'd do. She has to get out."

"She will. Go." He watched Dan be directed to a back office before sitting down and thinking who he could call. Who had the pull here? He wasn't sure.

"Maybe it's better she stays here. Em needs help. Travelling isn't helping. She can get better and Dan can focus on racing and after the season's over she can come back." Blake didn't believe what he'd heard.

"Take that back."

"We both know she's struggling. And you won't let me help her physically at least. Maybe this is a good thing." Michael sounded so sure and that felt like a kick in the teeth.

"We're in Texas. Austin's the good part of it but this state is dangerous for women. Add to that do you really think he'd focus? After how he was when she left. And the one person who calms her down is Dan. Why do you think I keep changing his schedule to give them five minutes?"

"But if she needs-"

"No. Just fucking no. You're fired." Dan had been considering it but after this? Once the season was up he was done. So done.

"Huh?"

"We'll talk about it later. But go back to the hotel. I don't know where we're staying tonight but just go. I don't want you anywhere near her. Not a fucking chance. Get out and stay away." Michael stood to leave as Dan came back, confused.

"What happened?"

"He's going back to the hotel. Remember we were talking about him leaving at the end of the year? I told him."

"But..." Blake didn't want to do it. Didn't want to shove another thing on his best mate's plate. He couldn't.

"He thinks Em might be better staying. He's worried about her too. I told him to go back to the hotel, it's stressful."

"If it was London or Perth I might say yes. She's been sleepy, she's been miserable. Getting out of bed is impossible. But not here, I can't leave her in the States. We just need to get to Abu Dhabi. We can get her there?" He was nearly begging and Blake nodded. Whatever it took he was getting them through the next four weeks. However he could.

"Mr Ricciardo?" An unfamiliar nurse came over and Blake stood at the same time Dan did. "Your wife needs painkillers and a cast. They want to get a psychiatrist down for her but there's nobody on call tonight. I'm assuming from what she said she has one?"

"Yeah. And a therapist. It's been helping but this year has been bad." Understatement of the fucking year as far as Blake was concerned.

"I'm a fan, I know what's happening. I've got an ortho to wrap her hand and get you both out but she won't let anyone in unless it's you or her brother? I don't want them seeing you there, is her brother here?"

"That's me." He watched her take in the clear differences between him and Em, the accents being the most prominent.

"Parent trapped or something? As long as she says you are that's what matters. Come back and we can get her out in ten."

"Deal." He followed her straight back, terrified to see how Em was when he got to the room.

-

Em was ready to fight anyone when she saw the door open, a new nurse walking in with an IV kit in her hand. But Blake was standing right behind her and Em thought she could breathe again.

"B?"

"Hey Timmy." He came straight over and took her right hand, squeezing once and it was like the crushing weight on her chest lifted slightly.

"Where's...I don't know where Dan is? A doctor took him out to ask him questions and they think he hurt me and they don't believe me? I told them. I told them what I did but they didn't believe me."

"It's ok Emmy, calm down. I'm right here, I told them it was you who hit the door. It's fine. Dan's fine, he's out there filling in forms and billing stuff so he asked me to come back to stay with you. You know what American hospitals are like." She started to calm until the bill hit her. This was going to be insane and he shouldn't have to pay it.

"No, no it's gonna be so exp-"

"You think that health insurance we have doesn't cover America? He just has to give details. As soon as you came on full time he added you to the health insurance. It's all good."

"Thanks Blakey."

"Any time, Timtam. But you need to let the nurse do it, ok? It's just a painkiller so they can set your cast. There's a new doctor who isn't a dick outside. But they can't do it unless you've got fluids and a painkiller cause it'll hurt."

"I dunno what I can take with my medication. I don't want to feel fuzzy." Tears of frustration were there about to fall. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to go back to when she didn't need to talk because Dan knew what she meant. It was too much.

"Do you trust me?"

"You know I do." It was the honest truth. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone, even herself.

"Then let her give you this so you can get fixed up and we can go home. It's all good."

The only reason she agreed was because Blake asked her. He was safe. He was always safe. He was the reason she came back in the end, the reason she agreed to go to Monaco and see Dan again. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her, and she knew that. So she took a deep breath and squeezed his good hand as the needle went into her elbow, the nurse showing her the bag of saline and the bottle of IV paracetamol before it was hooked up.

Blake held her while they went through everything, a thick white cast wrapped around her hand feeling heavy as she sat there. He kept telling her how brave she was and how good she was doing while Em just sat looked at the floor. Once she was ready to leave he helped her up and put his hoodie around her, the nurse smiling and wishing her well.

If Blake didn't have an arm around her shoulders she would have fallen when she saw Dan outside. His eyes were red, face in a frown and he just looked defeated. He hadn't looked like that since they'd gotten the call that his contract was being ended. Her husband sat in an empty corner of the hospital waiting room with a cap on trying to be unnoticed, totally lost in his thoughts. It wasn't until Blake called him that he realised they were there, standing up and arms immediately going around her. Em felt like she could finally, finally breathe again.

"Can we go home? Please?" She whispered against his chest. The terror that someone would hear and not let her leave was all encompassing.

"Let's get out of here. I finished all the paperwork, they said you were just finishing up. We're all good, let's go home."

"Can we stop for pizza? I want cheese pizza and they said I need to eat." Dan had his arm around her directing her out, agreeing that they'd stop. "Wait. Where's Michael?"

"He went back to the hotel to pack, it's all good. Let's head." Blake led the way to the car so they could finally leave. Em slid into the back seat, Dan across from her and holding her hand.

She didn't remember much of the drive back to the house. She knew they stopped for pizza, Blake getting back in the car with boxes. There was a conversation about what the official story would be, how they'd tell people she'd broken her hand. Honestly she didn't care. She didn't want to give a shit about telling people what she was doing or how she'd been hurt but she didn't have a choice in that anymore. The world got to know everything about her.

When they made it inside Dan brought her to their room, helping her get her jeans and bra off and instead putting on cosy pjs. Blake had seen her in worse, this didn't matter to her. Instead he brought her back to the kitchen where Blake had shared their food out.

She made herself eat two slices and it was enough, after that Em curled into Dan and held onto him so tightly she thought she'd burst. The painkillers had dulled her hand to a throb and she just wanted to sleep. There was talk of moving a flight and sorting stuff and she didn't care. She just wanted to sleep.

But there was a voice in the back of her head getting louder and louder. Dan wiped her face down with micellar water and helped her into bed, pulling her close once he'd stripped down. Her ring was still on his pinkie and it made her smile.

But she'd tied him down to a crazy wife who couldn't keep her shit together. She'd given him the option in Montreal. Chloe had told her about a walk up Mont Royale where you could see the city laid out beneath you. She'd said it to Dan then, that he could leave. She wouldn't blame him for leaving then. He could go and be happy and find someone who deserved him.

He didn't sign up for a girlfriend with mental health problems. Who was having a breakdown and ruining their lives. Who had days where speaking was too much for her, the words wouldn't come.

It had happened since she was a kid. Maybe not exactly like this but she'd always had to find coping mechanisms and now it didn't work. It wasn't her fault as a kid when her parents wouldn't help her and when she was in uni and couldn't afford anything apart from the six sessions from her uni gave her of therapy. But it definitely wasn't Dan's responsibility.

He deserved to be happy, he deserved to be with someone who loved him and wanted him to take a reserve role or the job with Haas. He deserved a happy wife and life and a family that she didn't know if she could give him. She didn't know if her anxiety would ruin them. It was so much.

So she was going to tell him he could leave. He deserved the world and maybe she wasn't the one to give it to him. She couldn't pull him out of drowning and she'd pull him down with her. She was going to ruin him and his reputation and his life, and she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't hurt him the way her mental health had hurt her. Anyone in their right mind would have walked away from her by then, but with the stress no wonder Dan didn't. Everyone else had left. Her parents, her extended family, her friends, her boyfriend. But Dan had been emotional and she'd proposed to him and it was so wrong. She'd basically forced him into it. It was a stupid, stupid decision and she'd ruined his life by doing it. So she was letting him go for his own good. He'd be happy to.

"Baby? Emmy you're crying. Do you need more painkillers? What's going on?" She hadn't realised she was crying. She didn't even mean to. Em took a deep breath before saying the words that were going to ruin her.

"I won't blame you. Y'know. If you want to leave. We've only been married for nine weeks, you can leave. No fault divorce, we leave with what we came in with. I don't want anything. You deserve better than a broken wife who can't keep herself together. I don't want to hold you back. I don't want anything. I can go."

The room was silent and Em could feel her heart break the longer the silence went on. It was over. Married for nine weeks to the love of her life and she had just ended it. In the same room he'd proposed to her so they could get married properly less than a week ago. How had she said yes then? She went to move out of the bed but Dan's iron grip kept hold of her.

"Don't ever say that. Never. Never ever. You are the only woman I want in my life. You're not broken, Emmy. You are here and whole and alive and beside me. I can't lose you. Please don't ask me that. Please don't ask me to leave you because I can't. I'd walk away from all of this before I lose you. You're my wife, Emmy. I promised I love you. I'm not leaving."

"You're not leaving?"

"No. I'm not going anywhere. Never. The day I got to put that ring on your finger was the best day of my life. I love you. The same way you love all of me for some reason. We're gonna fly to Mexico in a few days and we're gonna make you feel better. It's gonna take time, but we're going to be here. It's going to work. I promise. Come and sleep, Love. I'm not going anywhere."

Em curled into him, pushing a kiss against his chest. Sleep didn't come easily to her, but the noise of Dan's heartbeat and the warmth of him against her let her finally sleep.

@dr3lover @sabrinaselina55 @majx00 @tall-tanned-tattoo @lovingdennishauger @lauehr @msolbesg @f1medlife @idkwtfimdoing2 @leclercsbae @hiphopdancer101universe @mehrmonga @lewispool @saintandrea-droidsmuggler @coldheartedmar @sugarbabygirlofdaddy @nonsensical-nonce @a-distantdreamer @tita010 @leslizzle @javden @mloyer @saintandrea-droidsmuggler @magical-imagination-kgp @danarysstormborn @kakorrhaphiphobia @g-l-o-b-e-w-h-o-r-e @elizanav @neiich @luckyladycreator2 @scotlynaurora @belledawnidk

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[laurasstufff1]

Cramps and cinnamon soup

In which your relationship with Daniel is crazy, chaotic and funny, even in the worse days

2k words

It was supposed to be fun. It was. But mother nature had other plans, and now you were crying in your room, a mixture of angriness, gilt, pain from the cramps, invading your whole body. 

Daniel was out training, he wanted to go to your house after and take you out for dinner, but you could barely get out of bed in the whole day, you even worked from there, something you never did. It wasn’t only physical pain, it was also emotional, and that was the hardest part to deal when it came to periods. 

You barely made it out of bed when the door opened and you heard Daniel talking with your neighbor “It’s always unpredictable” he dejectedly said with a sigh while he entered your house with the spare key you gave him only a week ago. Was he talking about you? He knew you started to feel bad the night before, when he called, and it was only a matter of hours until the bad cramps happened. But why would he talk about you with the neighbor, was he really so tired of you? That only made you cried more, sobbing so loud Daniel heard you and ran to your room.

“What’s wrong? Why are you still in bed” He worriedly asked kneeling on your side. You were just sobbing, he couldn’t understand what you were trying to say but you couldn’t pronounce a word either. “Hey, calm down, does it hurt?” He asked again placing his hand on your lower stomach “let’s go take a shower, alright?” But you denied with your head, not with him, not today. 

“I can go alone, thanks” you said getting up, but he got up faster and went to the bathroom to make sure the bathtub was fill with hot water once you got there, already knowing what was going on even though you were only dating for so little time.

While you were in the bath, he took care of the room, opening the window, making the bed, sorting the clothes. 

“Daniel?” You called him from the bathroom, a small grin forming in his face because he already knew what you needed.  He didn’t come or answer until a few minutes later, when he peek his hand put of the bathroom door.

“I got it, babe” he said holding a huge sweatshirt of his he left behind some other day with some shorts and granny underwear, the most comfortable yet ugly you owned.

“Thank you” you said without letting him see your red face.

When you got out he was sitting on the couch playing with his phone. It was your house, you didn’t live together, but since a couple months ago it seemed like that, you were always at his place or he was at yours all the time after work. “Have you eaten something today?” He asked watching you sit next to him and placing his hand on your knee. 

“Just a coffee for breakfast, I’m not hungry” you simply said making him look at you furiously, it was already 6pm and you only drank coffee.

“You stay here, I’ll cook dinner, you need to eat something before taking a pill for the pain” he got up and you sat with your knees to your chest trying to ease the pain that was slowly coming back after the warm shower.

“We had plans” you moaned annoyed.

“We’re not going out. Besides it’s raining anyways. This weather is so unpredictable” 

“Unpredictable? The… the weather?”

“Yes, it was sunny yesterday and now it’s raining” he said pointing at the window, and just then you realised it was indeed raining.

“Oh. I thought you meant me” you laughed.

“What?” “Nothing”

While you were laying on the couch, feeling so bad for being lazy although the truth was you could barely move from the pain, Daniel was in your kitchen trying to remember the right ingredients for a soup his mum always made. 

‘Mum, hi’ you heard him talk ‘hey how much cinnamon do I use for the soup you always made back home? - I know it’s July and hot outside, but YN is not feeling well - just cramps - Yeah, I know it’s not just cramps and they hurt, but mum—“ you laughed hearing him talk while his mum probably told him off, they were  indeed very painful “okay -  thanks mum - will do - love you too’.

“Hey” he said standing behind the couch making you jumo scared as you were concentrating in his voice and not the sound of his steps. “Okay, so I called mum, she sends love and-“ “All my love to your dear mother too” you said with crystal eyes. Were you really going to cry again? For the mother in law you haven’t even met yet? “Also she recommended this” he said holding a sock full of rice. “Careful it’s hot. I’ll bring dinner in a minute. You like cinnamon, right?”

“Thank you. And yes. I’ll go help” you said trying to stand up, but the sock unleashed and the floor filled with rice in a second. “F*ck!” You shouted, this time crying by real, feeling absolutely useless.

“Hey” he concernedly said coming to hug you “We’ll pick that up later, babe, I can bring another one. Stay here, rest” he sweetly said caressing your cheek. You couldn’t do nothing more than agreeing nodding your head.

When Daniel came back with another sock, he found you soundly asleep on the sofa, all curled up  holding a pillow to your chest. He placed the new sock between your knees and your stomach, carefully trying not to wake you up by lifting a bit the sweatshirt. Only then he notices a few grains of rice piled up in the border of the coffee table, surely picked up by you before falling asleep.

He kneeled on the floor and started picking up the rest, looking at you from time to time when you moved curling a bit more probably because of the pain. He couldn’t help but stare at your face while kneeling next to the sofa looking for the little grains of rice that went everywhere, probably a vacuum was better but he didn’t want to wake you up.

Slowly but surely he touched the skin on your arm moving farther up to your shoulder and then to your neck, pulling back the little pieces of hair that rested there. Then he moved to your jaw and your face, but not for longer because you slapped his hand.

“Hey!” He shouted loosing balance and falling to the floor with his hand on his chest trying to calm himself from the scare.

“Sorry!” You shouted again trying unsuccessfully to hide your laugh “I thought it was a fly!” “A fly?” Daniel laughed making you laugh even harder.

“Ugh sorry, today’s not my day, you okay?” you said stretching in the sofa while Daniel nodded and hurried up to hold the new sock so it didn’t fall like the other. “Thank you” you said again, this time it was you caressing his face, which was a lot closer because he was still holding the sock.

“You’re very welcome” he smiled holding your waist and getting a bit more close “Can I?” He asked one last time before kissing you and you just nodded while he was already kissing you, feeling his hands too in your waist and your cheek. He was kissing your lips but then he went to your cheeks and your forehead so quickly you started laughing again.

“It smells delicious” you smiled still letting him kiss your face, but he rapidly got up and with one last kiss to your lips he left the room again and headed to the kitchen.

“Do you mind if we order pizza?” He asked a second later. You should have bet he was going to burn whatever he was cooking, you would always win.

You laughed and got up to the kitchen, this time holding sock of rice in place. The soup was completely solid and the cinnamon turned black. 

“Pizza it is” you laughed. “Let me clean it” you started holding the pan but Daniel took it off your hands “I’m alright! The hot rice is working, besides we’ll finish sooner if we do it together” that kinda convinced him, thought he only let you clean the countertop. “Daniel!” You shouted when he started lifting your sweatshirt from behind. 

“Just a minute” he said grabbing some tape to wrap around you the reheated sock full of rice.

“Hey! That’s going to hurt when I take it off!” You hit him with the cloth and he looked at you like if he just realised that it was indeed going to hurt, but at least your stomach won’t. A second later the bell rang.

“Pizza’s here!” He shouted changing the subject.

“Saved by the bell, quite literarily” you said leaving the cloth in the countertop hearing him laugh. 

“I have to say, I was exited for the cinnamon soup, but this is not bad either” you laughed watching him take a slice and immediately regret it as it was still hot.

“Will you be alright tonight?” He asked soon after the pizza was over, with a glass of water and a pill for you in his hand. You just nodded while swallowing it. “Are you sure?” He asked again “I can stay if you want” “You don’t have to” you rapidly said “I can call you if I need you”

“I’ll be up all night paying attention to my phone” he said already takin git off his pocket and making sure it wasn’t in silence. “You’re trying to convince me by making me feel bad about it” you said raising your eyebrows. “I’m just saying the truth” he shrugged.

“Well okay. But you take the couch” “Fair enough”

And so that’s what you did. But just as you were taking off your sweatshirt you realized you were taped to a sock full of rice. 

“Daniel can you come? Help me get out of this” you said and he immediately came laughing along the dark corridor. “Not funny”

“I think it’s better to wet it. Let’s go to the bathroom”. You took off the sweatshirt in a bust of confidence and he slowly peeled it off the skin while damping it with water. “Does it hurts?” He asked while doing it.

“No, but the water is cold” you pointed out while he rolled his eyes laughing as you were so whiny.

“All done” he said finally removing the last part and drying you carefully with a towel.

“Thanks” you said again looking up to him and pecking his lips. “Come to bed with me?” You asked taking him by surprise, you could rapidly feel the nerves in his face “I mean if you want, it’s not like-“ “No no, I want” he quickly said “I want” he repeated again surely “let’s go”. You took his hand and guided him to your room, already dark. You laid first on the bed, you were not willing to give up your spot on it. Daniel laid next to you, feeling you move your legs up to your chest. “You want another sock with warm rice?” “No” you rapidly said “I don’t want to break another one and make a mess in the bed” you laughed and he did too.

“Alright. Then I’ll move” he said while moving closer to you “is this alright?” He asked placing his hand in your abdomen, right where the pain was, not missing the chance to place a sweet kiss on your shoulder.

“Perfect” you whispered, although a second later you turned around to face him and started caressing him too, placing your hand behind his neck and pulling him for a good night kiss and a cuddle in his chest “thank you for the evening. I would’ve been laying in bed since this morning if it wasn’t for you. Although instead of laying in bed I laid in the sofa anyways” you said making him laugh.

“and waisted a whole package of rice” “And you burnt dinner”

“Yeah that’s worse isn’t it?” he laughed. “Good night YN, please remember I’m here and I’m not a fly so don’t hit me”.

“Night Dan” you laughed “it was a natural reflex anyways, you can’t blame me for it”

Thank you @headinthecloudssblogfor the request <3

#f1 imagine #f1 fandom #f1 #f1 x reader #formula 1 #daniel ricciardo #formula one #f1 x y/n #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo fanfic #formula one oneshot #formula one imagine #reb bull #mclaren

[ohmyeyesmyeyes]

it girl wag era

daniel ricciardo x f!reader

i think i'm gonna make this a series???? but idk how???

fc: mainly lucy boynton

warnings: swearing, i said 'overestimated' at one point and i meant 'underestimated', kym illman

liked by pierregasly, and 18,865 others

f1wagupdates: y/n l/n on the late late show with james corden in early 2016, months before she reportedly met daniel ricciardo at the austrian gp in 2016. the interview has begun recirculating after daniel revealed dm's that the two had been in contact for two years before they 'met' for the first time.

do we think her cryptic clues could have been a hint to the actress having a crush on daniel himself, or another driver on the 2016 grid at the time?

view all comments

user1: forget the confusion, i'm impressed she didn't succumb to corden's ridiculous peer pressure smh

user2: fr 'i hope i'm not overstepping' and then he tries to literally pry the info out of her hands

user3: 'SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW THEM, WHAT'S THE HARM IN TELLING?'

user4: also you can't convince me her 'dignity' and 'reputation' wasn't code for 'i don't want to talk about it'

user5: could you imagine if she was talking about jenson button 💀

user6: idk i think 'i'm a big fan of you' ruins that theory, i can't see it being anyone but daniel

user7: i'm so jealous of her if they started dating in 2016 because danny's curly mullet era was MOUTH-WATERING

user8: there were 24 drivers on the 2016 grid and from that 24 around 1/2 could be candidates

user9: can daniel ricciardo fight? i hope he can't

user10: 'he drives fast and he looks good doing it' miss y/n did NOT lie

user11: just thinking if she got this flustered and nervous about her crush on him to the point where she couldn't actually tell anyone who it was, then how did it go when she met him in 2016???

user12: why is nobody talking about how flirty those messages were? 'are you bribing me?' and 'is it working?' THEY CLEARLY LIKED EACH OTHER

user13: the man literally couldn't find her in the paddock and HAD to introduce himself he was clearly down BAADDDD

liked by 71,196 others

f1wagupdates: monaco gp or The Monaco Incident™️ Anniversary (TV*)?

**Tame Version

view all comments

user14: we want unhinged version

user15: the one time i decide to go on twitter on the night of the 2018 Monaco GP, it descends into chaos

user16: daniel half dressed outside a club with y/n over his shoulder giggling and still holding a glass of alcohol will never not make me laugh

user17: the morning after pics hit different now you know they'd been dating for years already

user18: daniel ricciardo is one dirty mf using his shoey mouth to snog y/n later in the night

user19: the fact that it was the first time we'd seen y/n in clothes that weren't classy and ironed

user20: idc if she never comments on it but in my head those clothes were pulled from the depths of danny's wardrobe

user21: the way this moment impacted f1 from then was astronomical

user22: i've never seen 2 celebs to openly all over each other

user23: whatever you do don't google timothee and eiza ok 👍👍 promise me i need you to do that

user24: i remember the way tabloids were all over her for this about not being a good role model 😭😭

user25: the bisexual hold this series of events had on me at the innocent age of 12

#daniel ricciardo sm au #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo oneshot

[formulas-bitch]

Family above all - Daniel Ricciardo x sister/reader

The sky was a deep, cerulean blue, unmarred by a single cloud. The air was warm and gentle, caressing Daniel Ricciardo's cheeks as he stood on the edge of the pier. His little sister, Mia, skipped along beside him, her long, chestnut hair bouncing with each joyful stride. The waves lapped rhythmically against the wooden boards beneath their feet, creating a soothing melody that seemed to echo throughout their souls. Daniel turned to face her, the sunlight reflecting off his piercing green eyes. He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders, the burden of responsibility that came with being the big brother. But in that moment, with her bright smile and infectious laughter, he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," Mia said softly, her voice barely audible above the sound of the waves. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

Daniel looked at her, surprised by the sincerity in her eyes. "It's okay, Mia. I know you didn't mean any harm. It's just… things have been tough lately, you know?"

Their parents had been going through a rough patch, arguing more often and retreating into themselves. It was like a dark cloud had settled over their happy home, making it hard for anyone to find any joy. But standing here with Mia, Daniel felt a sense of hope begin to stir inside him. She was his little sister, his best friend, and he knew that together they could weather any storm.

"You know, Dan," Mia said, her voice growing stronger, "sometimes when things get tough, we just need to find a way to make each other laugh." She giggled, the sound echoing across the water. "Like that time you tried to teach me how to ride a bike and I fell over and scraped my knee. That was so funny!"

Daniel couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Yeah, that was pretty funny," he admitted, feeling a small twinge of guilt. He wished he could take back some of the things he had said earlier, but it was hard not to feel protective of his sister. She was only 24 years old, after all.

Mia's face lit up at the mention of the memory, and she giggled again. "You should have seen your face when I fell over!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "It was priceless!"

Daniel couldn't help but laugh too, feeling some of the tension ease from his shoulders. "Yeah, well, I guess I was just trying to be too protective," he admitted. "I didn't want you to get hurt or anything."

"I know, Dan," Mia replied, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "But I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle myself." She paused, her expression growing more serious. "And even if I can't, I know you'll always be there for me."

The sincerity in her words made Daniel's heart swell with pride and affection. He looked into her eyes and saw not just his little sister, but a strong, independent woman who would one day make her own mark on the world. And as much as he wanted to protect her from everything, he knew that he had to let her spread her wings and fly.

"You're right, Mia," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're not a little kid anymore. You're growing up, and you're going to face your own challenges. And I'll be there for you, through everything. Just like I always have been, and always will be."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, they were lost in each other's gaze. The weight of the world seemed to lift from their shoulders, if only for a little while. They stood there, side by side, watching the waves crash against the pier, feeling the warmth of the sun on their skin.

"You know, Dan," Mia said thoughtfully, her voice barely above a whisper, "I've been thinking… about our parents. I know they're going through a rough patch, but I think we can help them. We can be there for them, you know? We can be their strength when they need it most."

Daniel nodded, considering her words. He knew that Mia was right; they could make a difference. They could be the ones to bring their parents back together, to help them remember why they had fallen in love in the first place.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "We can do that. We can show them that we're here for them, that we'll always have their backs." He paused, looking at her with determination in his eyes. "And we can have some fun along the way, too. Just like we used to."

The two of them shared a knowing smile, remembering the countless happy memories they had made together. From building snowmen in the winter to camping trips in the summer, from watching movies under blankets on the couch to staying up late playing board games. Those were the times they cherished, the times that made them feel like they could take on anything.

And so, with renewed determination and a sense of purpose, they began to plan. They would start by spending more time with their parents, finding ways to include them in their daily lives. They would arrange family dinners, movie nights, even simple outings to the park. They would show their parents that they were still capable of enjoying each other's company, that there was still hope for their relationship.

The first step was to invite their parents over for a picnic at the beach. Daniel and Mia spent hours planning the perfect menu, making sure to include all of their favorite foods. They set up a beautiful spread on a blanket, complete with fresh-baked bread, cheese, fruit, and a selection of cold drinks. As the sun began to set over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the water, they eagerly awaited the arrival of their parents.

Their father was the first to arrive, looking slightly uncomfortable in his dress shirt and slacks. He took a seat next to Mia and offered her a small smile. "So, you two have something special planned?" he asked, his voice a bit strained.

"We sure do, Dad," Mia replied, returning his smile. "We just wanted to spend some quality time with you and Mom. You know, like the old days."

Their mother arrived a few minutes later, looking more apprehensive than their father. She glanced between them uncertainly before sitting down beside Daniel. He put an arm around her shoulders, offering her a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, Mom," he said, "we're just glad you could make it."

As they all sat there, the sun dipping lower in the sky, they talked about everything and nothing. They told stories about their childhood, laughed at old memories, and shared their hopes for the future. The food was delicious, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore provided a soothing background to their conversation.

Their father seemed to relax a bit as the evening wore on, even cracking a joke or two. Their mother smiled more often, and her eyes lit up whenever she looked at them. Daniel could see the love they still had for each other, even if it was buried beneath years of hurt and resentment.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, they gathered their things and walked hand in hand along the beach, the warm glow of the setting sun painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. They stopped at a small rock formation jutting out into the ocean, and their parents leaned against it, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"This is beautiful," their mother said, her voice soft with wonder. "It's been so long since we've just been able to enjoy each other's company like this." Daniel and Mia exchanged glances, pleased with the progress they had made.

"Yeah," their father added, his voice gruff with emotion. "You two are something else. You know that?" He turned to face them, his eyes shining in the fading light. "I don't know what it is about you two, but you have this way of bringing people together. I'm not just talking about us, either. We've seen it with our friends, our family… You're like a little ray of sunshine in everyone's life."

Mia blushed at the praise, looking away shyly. Daniel, on the other hand, was beaming with pride. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder, feeling a newfound sense of closeness and understanding. "Thanks, Dad. We're just glad we could help in some way."

Their mother smiled, her eyes filling with tears. "You don't know how much it means to us, Daniel and you, Mia. You've given us hope. Hope that maybe…" She trailed off, searching for the right words. "Maybe things can go back to the way they used to be."

Daniel and Mia exchanged glances, their hearts swelling with affection for their parents. They didn't know what the future held, but for now, they were content just being together like this. As the stars began to twinkle in the sky, they stood up, taking turns helping their parents to their feet.

Hand in hand, they made their way back to the blanket, gathering up the last of their things. The cool breeze off the ocean tickled their skin, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a soothing lullaby. As they walked, Daniel and Mia couldn't help but feel a sense of peace wash over them.

Their parents, too, seemed to have relaxed, their steps more steady and their conversations more animated. They laughed at old stories and shared memories, and for a brief moment, it was as if the years had never passed. They reached the car, and as they loaded the blanket and chairs into the trunk, their father glanced at Daniel and Mia.

"You know, I've been thinking," he said. "Maybe it's time we started planning some family vacations again. Just the four of us." There was an unspoken promise in his words, a vow to work on repairing their relationship and rediscovering the love they once shared.

Mia's heart swelled with hope as she looked at her parents, seeing them as they used to be: a strong, loving couple who could face anything together. Daniel, too, seemed to sense the shift in the air, a newfound sense of optimism that they hadn't felt in years.

Their mother spoke up, her voice tinged with excitement. "That sounds wonderful, dear. I've always loved spending time with all of you. It would be wonderful to make more memories together." She smiled at Daniel and Mia, her eyes shining with gratitude.

Their father nodded in agreement. "We'll find a place where we can all unplug from our phones and laptops and just be together. Someplace quiet and peaceful where we can reconnect." He turned to face them, his expression serious. "And I want you two to know that we're here for you, no matter what. If you ever need to talk, or just need some space, we'll be there."

Their mother reached out and took their hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "We love you both so much, and we're so proud of the people you've become. No matter what happens in life, we'll always be on your side." She glanced up at the stars, her voice filled with emotion. "I think this night has taught us all an important lesson. About love, and family, and the power of forgiveness."

Daniel and Mia exchanged another glance, their hearts swelling with love for their parents. They knew that the road ahead wouldn't be easy, but they felt a renewed sense of hope and determination. As they climbed into the car, Daniel slid into the front seat beside their father, while Mia nestled in next to their mother. The scent of the ocean lingered in the air, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore faded into the distance.

Their parents continued to chat, sharing stories and laughter, the tension that had been so palpable in the past dissipating with each passing mile. Daniel and Mia listened, content to simply enjoy the company of their family. They couldn't help but feel that something had shifted, that a new chapter was beginning for all of them.

#f1 blurb #f1 x reader #danny ric #daniel riccardo x reader #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #dr3 #dr3 x reader #dr3 imagine #dr3 fluff #visa cashapp racing bulls #visa cashapp rb

[sainzfilm]

🎅🏻 secret santa - daniel ricciardo 🎅🏻

summary: having a secret santa tradition amongst your friends was already bad to begin with. who knew it could be so much worse from pulling your enemy’s name from the bag?

taglist: @svechyaho @mehrmonga @squderia @idkiwantchocolatee @koufaxx @melonunicornbby @myescapefromthislife @slut-era @pachiibatt @dan3avocado @estevries @sidcrosbyspuck @barzysreputation @verclercswiftie @mick2mercedes

check out my winter wonderland celebration!

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Christmas festivities were always fun amongst your friend group – a wonderful way to destress from the hustle and bustle of each of your lives.

“Okay, everyone settle down!” Lando clapped as he shook the container in his hands, “It’s time for secret Santa!”

Taking a sip of your hot chocolate, you smiled to yourself and took a seat beside Carlos, “Who do you think you’re getting?”

“Hard to think about,” Carlos chuckled, crossing his arms, “I’m just hoping what they’d ask for would be easy to buy.”

As Lando walked over, you leaned over to pull out a neatly folded paper and scooted over to the edge of the couch to keep the name to yourself. Unfolding it, you groaned and crumpled it, shoving it inside your pocket.

“Who’d you get, loser?” Daniel grinned, leaning in close to you from behind, “I bet that person’s going to suffer from your awful gift giving skills.”

Rolling your eyes, you whacked the backside of his head and scoffed, “I could say the same for who you got, dipshit.”

You had a a few days left until the Christmas party and it was safe to say that you still haven’t bought a gift for who you got – Daniel. Normally, people would have a wishlist to make things easier, but Lando wanted a twist that it was up to the giver to ultimately decide.

“I’ve been here since this morning,” You groaned, walking around the mall, “This is hopeless.”

Sneaking up on you, Daniel wrapped an arm around your shoulder and placed you in a headlock, “Look what the devil brought in!”

“God damn it, Daniel!” You screamed, punching his arm repeatedly, “Get off me!”

Daniel laughed, releasing you from his hold and crossing his arms, “You shopping for your secret Santa?”

“No, I’m shopping for my funeral,” You scoffed, smoothening out your clothes, “Obviously, dipshit.”

“I should definitely come along with you,” He grinned, “If you don’t mind.”

Rolling your eyes and walking off, you replied, “I simply don’t have a choice over here.”

Walking alongside you, Daniel had an extra skip in his step and looked over at you, who was looking a bit…prettier than usual, “So, what do you plan on getting?”

“That’s the thing,” You mumbled, shrugging at the same time, “I have no idea what to get the person at all.”

“Aw, poor little Y/N, no brainer for her secret Santa,” He pouted, eliciting another eye roll from you, “Why don’t you just get them a gift card or some sort of shit?”

“A gift card?” You stopped walking and turned to him, a confused look on his face, “Who hurt you?”

“At least that person would get something they wanted,” He laughed, nudging your shoulder, “Wanna get some refreshers?”

“I’m not saying yes unless it’s your treat,” You teased, putting your hands inside your pockets, “And if it’s coffee.”

As the two of you walked to a coffee shop, Daniel took a seat across you and looked at you intently, “I have a question.”

Looking up at him as you took a sip of your coffee, “What is it?”

“Why do you loathe me so much?” He asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms, “This is a serious question.”

Humming and avoiding his gaze, you leaned back against the chair and shrugged, “I don’t loathe you. You’re just absolutely…loud and annoying, it’s irritating to me. No offense.”

“But why just me?” Daniel raised an eyebrow, leaning his elbows on his knees, “You know that’s like half of the friend group we have with the guys, right?”

“Because it’s you,” You shrugged, throwing your wallet on the table and standing up to dodge his question, “I’ll just go to the bathroom, don’t…drink my coffee.”

Daniel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and watching you walk off to the bathroom. It was absolutely a mystery for him as to why you were so avoidant towards him out of all people. He was your enemy, but you weren’t his.

“Don’t drink my coffee,” Daniel mumbled to himself, grabbing your wallet and looking through it, “She didn’t say that don’t touch my wallet.”

As he filed through your wallet, there were receipts from countless amounts of coffee that you bought for the past year. Daniel frowned in confusion as he found a small crumpled up paper stashed in between your bills.

Upon unfolding it, his eyes widened from the name scribbled on the nearly torn paper – ‘Daniel’. You were making such an effort for someone you claimed to be loud and annoying.

“You didn’t dri- oh god,” You choked out, standing in front of Daniel, “You weren’t supposed to touch my wallet.”

Daniel smiled sheepishly, setting it back on the table and looking at you, “So, you got…me?”

“Hip hip hooray, wonderful discovery,” You quickly said, snatching your wallet from him and walking out of the coffee shop, “What a great fucking day.”

“Y/N, wait up!” Daniel called out, running after you and grabbing your arm, “I’m sorry!”

Pulling your arm back, you scoffed and glared at him, “You are so fucking annoying. Always ruining things!”

“I didn’t mean to find out,” Daniel muttered, sighing in defeat, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry this, sorry that. You tick me off,” You frowned, shaking your head and mumbled, “The way you joke, always trying to pull pranks, taking up my personal space…that smile of yours.”

Tilting his head, Daniel snickered and looked up at you, “My smile? From things that tick you off…my smile is one of them?”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” You stuttered, eyes widened, “I hate you.”

“I don’t think so, Y/N,” He replied, a teasing tone to his voice and took a step closer, “I think you like me. A lot.”

“No, I don’t. Not at all,” You mumbled, putting your hands in front of you to keep a distance, “Don’t even come near me. Cooties.”

“Oh please, cooties?” Daniel laughed, pushing your hands down gently and glancing at your lips quickly, “I know what you could get me.”

Rolling your eyes, you muttered, “What would be the best thing I could get you?”

“Well, for starters, you could get me the girl,” He shrugged, a teasing smile on his lips, “And a date.”

“Wow,” You replied, deadpanned, “That’s going to be one of the hardest gifts to get when I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“You’re a bitch sometimes but,” Daniel replied, laughing as you punched his shoulder, “I don’t know what reeled me in.”

You raised your eyebrow, feigning offense, “Me? A bitch? Aw, sorry about that.”

“See, I should definitely get myself checked by a specialist,” He grinned, hesitantly reaching over for your hand and lacing his fingers with yours, “Theory confirmed, you do like me.”

“One word to the others,” You mumbled, walking to your car and dragging him with you, “I’ll kill you.”

Raising his fist in the air, Daniel cheered and trailed after you like a lost puppy, “Just wrap yourself in Christmas wrapper and I’ll get to unwrap you then.”

Turning around to smack his head, you shook your head, “Don’t test me, Daniel.”

“Oh no, I definitely am not. Let me make it up to you,” Daniel smiled, leaning over to kiss your cheek quickly, “There we go.”

As you brought your hand up to your cheek, you couldn’t help but feel yourself go red from the feeling of his lips lingering. You gave him an awkward smile before walking off to your car in a hurry.

“She’s blushing, oh my god, I made her blush!” Daniel laughed, chasing after you, “Wait for me!”

“Leave me alone!” You groaned, a smile coming onto your face, “I didn’t blush!”

#sainzfilm’s winter wonderland #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo drabble #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo blurb #dr3 #ric3 #red bull #red bull racing #f1 imagine #formula 1 #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 imagines #formula 1 x reader #f1 driver x reader #fluff #enemies to lovers

[a-distantdreamer]

Daylight . Daniel Ricciardo.

A.N. Just a random little thing I started writing a little while back. I needed some Daniel fluff in my life to distract from the heartbreak of his (potential) last race week. 💔 Please like, comment, reblog and let me know if you’d be interested in more parts🫶🏻 thank you to @vroomvroommbtch for encouraging me to post and helping me choose a song as my title for this. ✨🤍

One

Daniel’s hand is warm and soft when he caresses my face. My eyelids lift, feeling sore and gritty as I try to blink the exhaustion away.

Even a decade of global travel and jet lag couldn’t compare to this kind of tiredness.

He gives me a sleepy smile, his free hand coming up to run through his slightly frizzy curls - the result of not taming them properly for a few days. Even in the most tired state I had ever seen him, he’s still unbearably handsome.

“Hi, love,” Daniel looks apologetic, as I groan and try to stretch awkwardly on the little loveseat in our lounge. Every part of me still aches, my muscles screaming in protest as I grimace. I could really use more sleep.

“Already?” I croak out softly, trying to ignore the press of tears in the corner of my eyes. It only felt like two minutes ago that I’d managed to settle to sleep.

Daniel nods, and my eyes drift down to the tiny, mewling infant in the crook of his right arm. Despite my exhaustion, a little smile creeps onto my face at the sight of her. So tiny, so perfect, and the source of all of my discomfort. Yet, I adore her, wholeheartedly, along with the man standing in front of me, holding her carefully.

I take a moment to right myself, gingerly easing into a sitting position on the couch. She isn’t quite crying just yet, but if the last 48 hours had proven anything about our daughter, it was that she could quickly work herself up into an inconsolable mess if not soothed. She likes to make herself heard, just like her Daddy.

Flinching as I settle onto my bottom, I let out a hiss and see Daniel grimace in sympathy. He’d been by my side through the entirety of my tough labour, dutifully holding my hand as I’d pushed for nearly two hours, eventually managing a natural birth after the threat of a potential c-section if I couldn’t deliver quickly enough. As a result, I’d torn, needing stitches. He’d kissed my face as I’d cried and cursed him through the contractions, showering me with praise and affection peppered with silly jokes that made me want to throttle him at the time. However, the deep sobs and words of appreciation that escaped him the second our baby girl entered the world and was bundled onto my chest was more than enough confirmation that he was the man I needed by my side as we started our family together.

By the time I’m relatively comfortable, the little girl is squirming in Daniel’s arms, her mouth open as she lets out shrill cries. He bounces her a little in his arms, making soft shushing noises and urging her to ‘wait just a little longer, princess’.

I open my arms for her and Daniel settles the baby into them, unerringly gentle as he always is with her. His honey-brown eyes watch us closely, even as he sinks onto the sofa next to us.

I run my fingertip down the baby’s cheek, smiling a little when her face immediately turns towards me, mouth wide open and chirping like a little bird as she roots for me. Daniel reaches over to adjust the sleeve of her sleepsuit, which swamps her tiny body and covers her hands entirely. She’s still too small for even her newborn sized clothes.

“It’s a good thing you’re so cute,” I grumble jokingly as she complains, shifting her slight weight into the crook of my arm. I unlatch the strap of my nursing bra and roll down the fabric to expose my breast. It takes a moment for her to latch properly. After all, we’re still getting used to each other, and every time I feed her still feels like the first time.

Sometimes she’s slow and sleepy, almost hesitant to suckle, and others she is ferocious in her hunger, her tongue rough and unforgiving against my hypersensitive skin. This time is a happy medium, and I sigh in relief. She seems more settled now that my milk came in properly.

Daniel’s warm hand comes to rest on the back of my neck, massaging the sore muscles there. I close my eyes and lean against him, tears welling beneath my eyelids. I inhale and exhale slowly to calm myself. Often the anxiety is overwhelming, and I have to lean back on rusty coping mechanisms to bring myself back.

“Peach, what do you want for breakfast?” Daniel’s deep voice jolts me from my dozing when he finally speaks, his fingers still stroking patterns into my skin.

“It’s time for breakfast?” I ask, finally lifting my head to glance out of the windows. Sure enough, the sun was beginning to rise, the sky burning orange. Last time I’d checked, it had been the middle of the night.

“Yeah,” he confirms, “we came down at 3:30 with her and it’s almost 7 now.”

I let out a little hum of surprise. We were already entering our third day of being parents, and it was a complete blur. Daniel’s hand reaches over to gently cup the back of the baby’s tiny head, his fingertips swirling over her dark hair. She has a particularly thick patch of hair on her crown, which sticks up if she’s been laying down. I find it adorable. Every moment Daniel and I spend with her, we notice something new, and point it out in amazement to each other. The fact we made someone so uniquely beautiful is surreal.

The baby slows her suckling as her eyes drift closed, her little gulps gradually tapering off.

“Ah-ah, little one. Mama needs you to feed off the other side too before you sleep,” I warn, using my pinky finger to unlatch her from my left breast. Immediately, she began to fuss at the disturbance. I lay her down on my lap, and Daniel leans over to press his forehead against hers as I adjust my bra.

“Hi baby bear,” he murmurs, pressing kisses to her cheek to soothe her, “Mama and Daddy are here. Shhhh.”

I look down at them both, smiling at the sight. I always knew Daniel would be the most amazing father. After all, he was playful, kind and affectionate to those close to him, but I never quite expected how ferociously he would love our child. Since she had been placed in his arms for the first time at the hospital, he had been completely enraptured by her. It made me love him even more than I thought possible.

My fingers gently smoothed his slightly frizzy curls as his voice gradually soothed our baby, until she was just whimpering, her fingers having found their way to her mouth for her to suckle on instead of my breast. I would have left her there for a moment longer, but the uncomfortable heaviness in my chest interrupted the moment.

“I need to nurse her on this side,” I sigh, sliding my hands beneath her little body. Daniel sits up at my side as I bring her to my chest. I ease her tiny fingers from her mouth so that she can latch again. Daniel’s arm loops around my shoulders and I lean against his chest.

“This is hard,” I admit in a whisper, as Daniel’s hand comes up to gently hold onto our daughter’s tiny hand while she feeds.

He hums in agreement and I feel him nod as he rests his head against mine, pressing a kiss to my hair, “I know, Peach. I’ve got you.”

———————————————————————

The promise of a warm drink and the sound of familiar voices drags me back down the stairs - we have visitors.

After eating breakfast, Daniel urged me to shower and take a nap while the baby was settled. Reluctantly, I’d agreed, having to fight the instinctive urge to curl up on our bed and sleep the entire day away as I roughly towel dried and braided my wet hair. I slipped gingerly into some sanitary wear and one of Daniel’s comfy Ric Rodeo tracksuits before heading back downstairs. I didn’t quite manage to get any sleep, but she would need to nurse again soon.

Daniel’s mum perches on the sofa beside her son, their smiles identical as she cuddles her newest grandchild; her third grandchild and second granddaughter. Daniel is pointing out the little tuft of thick dark hair on the baby’s head, commenting that it looks similar to Michelle’s hair when she was a baby. Grace agrees with a nostalgic smile.

I step into the room, a little hesitant about interrupting them. I take my phone out of my pocket and swipe away the notifications from my friends before snapping a photo of Daniel, his mother and our daughter on the sofa. I’d send it to them both later.

Grace is first to notice me, and hands the baby over to Daniel so she can stand up and greet me, “Hi, sweetheart.”

She wraps me up in a warm hug that makes me start to cry again. She doesn’t question it, just holds me and strokes my back as if it had been expected.

“It’s okay, darling,” she soothes, “you’ve made a beautiful baby. She’s just wonderful.”

I nod, uncurling my arms from around her and looking up at her, grateful to have Grace in my life. She was the maternal figure I never knew I needed after losing my own mum as a teenager.

“How was your shower, love?” Daniel calls from his spot on the sofa. He’s still cuddling our daughter, her tiny body curled up on his chest, which seemed to be one of her favourite spots. His feet were kicked up onto the coffee table, allowing him to stretch out.

I smile at him tearfully and nod again, “nice, thanks. Better than the one at the hospital for sure.”

“Nothing beats having a hot shower at home,” Grace agrees, gently giving my shoulder a squeeze, “do you want a cup of tea? A juice?”

“A tea would be wonderful,” I say gratefully, her offer almost bringing me to tears again.

Grace urges me to go and sit next to Daniel before she leaves for the kitchen. Daniel calls after her that there’s a new box of decaf tea in the cupboard near the kettle, which makes me smile. I don’t know how I got so lucky.

“Want her?” Daniel asks, as I watch our daughter sleep peacefully. How could I possibly disturb her?

I shake my head, although every instinct I have wants her pressed to my skin all the time, as close as she can be, “she looks so happy with her Daddy.”

Daniel beams, the corners of his eyes crinkling, “I still can’t believe that I’m a Dad, and you’re a Mum.”

“I know,” I agree, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you know Mum was coming. I missed her messages on my phone and then she was at the door,” he apologises quietly, just in case Grace was within earshot.

I shake my head at him, “don’t be sorry. She’s a godsend. You know I love her, and she’ll be helpful.”

“Honestly, the woman is full of baby wisdom,” Daniel quips with amazement lacing his voice.

“It’s almost as if she’s raised two of her own,” I joke in response.

“Almost,” he laughs, turning his head to kiss my forehead. My ability to come back at him with a response that makes him laugh pleases me - it makes me feel a little more like myself

Grace comes back a moment later with a tray carrying three mugs. She’d made all of us a decaf tea in solidarity, quipping that we were all in it together. Once she’d unloaded the mugs onto the coffee table, she settled into the plush armchair alongside the sofa, pushing her glasses up to settle into her perfectly curly hair.

“Well this feels surreal,” Daniel jokes.

I laugh, shaking my head at him as I lean forward to reach for my mug. Grace sees how I flinch at the movement and hands the mug to me instead. I smile gratefully at her, saying a quiet thank you.

“It does feel surreal,” Grace agrees, as I blow across the surface of my tea before taking a tentative sip. It’s a little too hot still, but I can’t bear the pain of pulling at my stitches by reaching to set the mug down again, so I just hold it in my hands.

“Does she have a name yet?” Grace asks.

I shake my head, biting softly on my lower lip as I turn my head to look at our little unnamed baby. As much as I knew she would never remember these first days of us calling her silly little nicknames, I felt guilty that she didn’t have a name when she entered the world.

“Naming a human is hard,” Daniel states, “everything just feels a little …off.”

“It took a week for us to name Daniel,” Grace said reassuringly, “especially because Michelle kept calling him different names every few hours and confusing things.”

I laugh, able to picture little three year old Michelle trying to name her newborn baby brother.

“I’m glad she didn’t win that battle,” Daniel laughs.

“He was ‘Koala’ for about three hours,” Grace added.

“As long as you don’t want a daughter called Koala,” I give him a pointed look, bringing the mug to my lips again to take another sip.

Grace and Daniel smile at that, and Daniel shakes his head, “no, she needs something perfect.”

“You’ll think of something,” Grace insists, taking a sip of her own drink.

———————————————————————

Daniel and I decide that the most practical way of deciding a name is to simply start using potential names in conversation about the baby, and see if any fit.

We start at the top of the list on Daniel’s phone, dropping each name into a sentence as we go about our routine. After each time, Daniel, Grace and I pause, look at each other, and either Daniel or I will grimace and shake our heads before we continue on. Quite a few names are eliminated quickly, and I begin to lose hope that we’ll ever find something to suit her.

It’s as I’m changing her nappy after lunchtime, and outstretch my hand towards Daniel, that another name pops into my head, “babe, can you pass more of Elsie’s wipes, please?”

Daniel pauses, raising his eyebrows at me from across the sofa, “more of Elsie’s wipes?”

I freeze too and turn my head to look at him, a small smile appearing on my lips as I nod, “more wipes for Elsie. Please.”

Daniel chuckles, grabbing the pack of baby wipes from the caddy on the coffee table to pass them to me. As he hands them over he says the name again, “Elsie is being such a good girl.”

I beam at the way his accent rolls around the vowels of the name, “she really is.”

Grace was peering between us with a smile, watching the exchange closely but not interfering.

I open the pack of wipes and watch as the little girl lays contently on her changing mat, peering around with her big brown eyes. Her tiny fist finds it’s way to her mouth again and she gums at her small fingers softly, making me smile, “what do you think, Pudding? Is your name Elsie?”

As I wipe her carefully, Daniel appears at our side, chattering away to her in a silly voice and occasionally dropping the name in. Probably to test whether I would back out of this one, or if it sounded silly in another context. It definitely didn’t, and the more he used the name, the more I loved it.

Once I fasten her into a clean nappy, I turn to look at Daniel, who’s still beaming from where he kneels next to the sofa, his head resting next to our baby girl on her changing mat. His golden eyes watch me, scanning my face for any kind of hesitancy.

“Elsie Grace Ricciardo?” I prompt, and he nods, his gorgeous smile splitting his face.

He leans up enough to cup my face in his hands, and he kisses me softly, still smiling against my mouth even as he pulls away again.

“Elsie Grace Ricciardo.”

#my writing #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel Ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo x ofc #dad!daniel ricciardo

[scuderiahoney]

congrats on 1k girly!! can i askk danny with labyrinth by taylor swiftt?? hope u have a good day!

1k celebration! hiiiii my love thank you loved this prompt sm!!

It hits you like a gut punch. Like a bullet to the chest. Like someone punched you right in your teeth. It’s a shock to the system, cold water over your head, a car crash you should’ve seen coming from a million miles away but somehow you only notice when the airbag goes off in your face.

Danny’s been your friend for ages. He’s been there through all the awful exes, the stupid breakups, the long nights crying over bowls of ice cream. For a much shorter period of time, he’s also been your friend with benefits. A way to let off steam, ease some tension, a safe person to have a bit of fun with. That was the agreement. Those were the terms.

Now you’re laying on the couch with him, his arms around your stomach, and you can’t even tell if you’re breathing, because it’s hit you all at once. You told yourself you wouldn’t do this. Relationships don’t work out for you. There’s a romantic comedy playing on the TV, the main characters are confessing their feelings, and you can’t breathe.

Danny’s nose brushes against the hinge of your jaw. He moves one of his hands and grabs yours- you realize then, that you’re shaking. He presses a kiss to your neck and squeezes your hand.

“You okay?” He asks, quietly.

Yo nod, not trusting your voice. He hums against your skin. You try to ignore him, try to focus on the movie. You’re cursing yourself for letting him choose the film, but normally he’d make a safe choice, something funny and of at all romantic.

“She reminds me of you,” he says, nodding at the screen. Your breath catches in your chest. “Can’t seem to get it through her head that this one could be different.”

You swallow. “Danny…”

“I know. But when you’re ready,” he says, softly, “I’m here. I feel it too. When you’re ready.”

You hold tightly to his hand and try to convince yourself you’re not falling in love with him. It doesn’t work. He knows it, and you know it, too.

“I’m scared,” you admit. “I don’t want… don’t wanna lose you.”

“It’s only this scary right now,” he says. You nod, knowing he’s right. “And I can wait. Been waiting ages, baby. So I’m here when you’re ready.”

#daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo blurb #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo x you #formula 1 blurb #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 fic #formula 1 x you #formula 1 fluff #formula one fluff #formula one blurb #formula one fic #f1 blurb #f1 fic #x reader #box box #anon #dr3 #honeywrites #scuderiahoney 1k! #scuderiahoney 1k blurbs

[lovingperfectionsblog]

Why don't they see me as good enough?

Requested:

omg you do take requests!! ahh i’m so excited i love how you write <3 ok so i was kinda imagining like a reader that was like an f1 driver, a very good one at that, signed to scuderia ferrari who had to like “prove” herself every chance she got because of her being a woman and her being like fed up with interviews asking her very stupid, superficial and sexually intimate questions that they wouldn’t ever ask of the male drivers, especially not her boyfriend, daniel ricciardo. so one day she just like, ends up crying on the paddock interviews because of the sexist questions she was being asked and because they were just saying she was way too young for daniel and that she was just there because she fucked everyone there, like as a “joke” - which clearly made her upset. and daniel like comes running to ferrari’s side and cusses off everyone because they weren’t protecting you from these questions u can like, finish it off however you’d like love !!!!

Summary: Daniel finds out how you’re being treated in interviews and absolutely cannot stand it.

Warnings: Language, sexism, mentions of sex, unwanted sexual commentary, Angsty fluff.

Word Count: 2728

Authors note: Sorry this request took so long, It’s been a bit of a weekend, but hopefully you enjoy this 😊  And hopefully I’ve done the topic some justice :D

_____________________________________________________________

“Y/n, over there, first interview” your media officer pointed out to you where your first interview in the media pit was going to be taking place.

This was the thing you hated the most. You never entirely understood why you had to deal with these vultures, none of them respected you and quite frankly, you didn’t respect any of them either, so why did you have to subject yourself to these humiliating and downright awful questions.

“You know they aren’t going to ask me any legitimate questions right? So why exactly do I have to do this?” you groaned, already anticipating the awful questions you’re about to get, especially after making P6 in Qualifiers.

“You know it’s part of the job, just splash a smile on that gorgeous face of yours and be as nice as possible and go to your happy place in your head” she advised, “oh, and no swearing”, giving you a warning look to top it off.

“No swearing?” you sent her a shocked look, knowing how much more difficult this was about to be for you.

“No swearing” she confirmed, plastering on a smile as fake as she could possibly make it, knowing how much it would infuriate you.

“You honestly take the fun out of everything” you whispered to her before you mimicked the fake smile she had and made your way over to your first interview.

“Firstly, congratulations for making P6 for the race tomorrow” Well this was a good start that you weren’t expecting.

“Thank you, yeah, it hasn’t been the greatest run of the season so far, but I’m still happy to have qualified in the top 10” you gushed about the position, having felt nervous for the qualifiers this weekend.

“There has been a problem with your car hasn’t there? Were there some concerns with qualifiers today?” Oh my god, yeah, this is good, they are asking some good questions. You shot a surprised look at your media manager, her throwing you an encouraging thumbs up.

 “Yeah, despite the phenomenal run my little Ferrari has been having, it was finally my turn to have a little mishap” were you actually enjoying an interview for the first time in your F1 career?

“Well, I guess no matter what the guys would make sure you were sorted wouldn’t they” and with hat he threw you a wink.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean?” You knew exactly where this was headed. Dropping your head to look down at the ground, desperately trying to keep the anger at bay so you wouldn’t be fined for lashing out.

Again.

“Well, one can only assume you do so well because of all the favours probably being doled out on the side”. Yup. There it was.

You could feel the tension coming from your media manager. And you really wanted to keep it together for her, but it was so god damn hard when they always did this.

Fuck it, you’ll take the fine.

“Did you just imply I use sexual favours to get ahead? Like my driving isn’t good enough despite me proving myself again and again?” You couldn’t take it.

You had been scouted by Ferrari, they wanted you. You had consistently proven yourself on track and off that you were a fantastic driver and addition to the team. You worked just as hard, if not harder than any other driver on the grid and you weren’t even given ¼ of the respect as other drivers. This was an actual joke.

Maybe you were the joke. Maybe they were all right. Maybe you didn’t deserve to actually be here.

“Well, I mean, we definitely know you’re sleeping with someone on the grid” did he look fucking pleased with himself?

“So, are you asking him the same questions then? Because if I’m sleeping with my boyfriend, then he’s sleeping with me too” you spat at the reporter.

“Thank you, that’s all the time we have for this interview” your media manager immediately stepped in, pulling you away from the cameras.

You shoved her off of you and began walking back to the Ferrari motorhome, choosing to forego any other media obligations because you weren’t in the mindset to deal with this as well as the race tomorrow which you absolutely needed to get onto the podium for.

“Y/n, there’s still more interviews” she shouted after you, hoping this wouldn’t escalate into something more for the journalists to make into something it really wasn’t. She knew how bad it was for you, but you really did just have to suck it up, it was part of the job.

“Send me a bill for the fine” you shouted back, not even giving her the decency of turning back.

You’d be having strong words with Mattia, there had to be a way he could get you out of media duties. You were on the verge of breaking. You couldn’t do it anymore.

It was unfair.

You just wanted to be seen as good enough.

All you wanted was questions about strategy, about your car, about the regulations and tracks and rules and equipment, like every other driver got.

Instead, you got questions about your weight, how many salads you ate in a day, if your boobs got in the way of your driving (??), how many times your engineers had to explain how the car worked, and your personal favourites, all the sex questions you got about you and Daniel, or about you and other drivers, or about you and Mattia – because clearly that was the only way you got your seat at Ferrari – or about you and the whole goddamn fucking paddock.

It was soul destroying.

______

“Ah there’s my girl” Daniel was always loud when calling you his girl, nothing made him prouder than the fact that he managed to end up dating a woman like you, let alone the first female F1 driver. Ever.

And nothing made you happier and calmer than seeing his smile.

The second you were close enough he wrapped you up in his arms, placing a kiss to your head.

“You ready for the race?” He knew how nervous you got; he knew the pressure that was constantly weighing on you. He knew it was unfair, but what he wasn’t aware of was the actual depth of it. Neither of you really watched the others interviews, knowing how horrible media was so he never really saw how bad it actually got with the interview questions. Weirdly enough, you’d never really been around each other for the interviews, so it was no wonder he had missed it completely.

And there was absolutely no way you were ever going to tell him. You couldn’t. That would just make you weak.

“Always, how you feeling about it?” you asked, always surprised how relaxed he seemed before a race.

“Y/n, after the race, I expect you at media, the entire time, am I understood?” Mattia shouted, before turning his attention back to Charles, waiting for both his drivers to get in their cars for the start of the race.

“You walked out of another interview?” Daniel chuckled, God you were feisty. At least that’s what he chalked it up to.

“Eh you know how I feel about the vultures” you shrugged, “listen, good luck, I love you, I’ll see you at the finish line” you squeezed Daniels arm as you began walking away.

“Hate to see you leave, but love to watch you go babes” he always knew how to make you feel better without even knowing it.

______

“So Mattia obviously told you that you’d have to stay throughout all the interviews yeah, especially for making podium” your media manager began, waiting for your outburst for having to do arguable the worst part of your job.

“I made podium, there’s nothing that could ruin this mood” truthfully, you were just tired. There was only so much you could take, and you guess you were just done. You had nothing left in you. That race was a battle and it left you exhausted, you have no emotional energy left for this.

“Y/n, a podium finish, you must be feeling pretty great” you could do this. Just smile and keep the answers simple.

“There is truly no greater feeling” keep the smile there. Let your eyes gloss over. You can blame it on being tired.

“Sure your boyfriend would disagree” he gave you a not so subtle wink, making you feel sick to your stomach.

God, keep smiling.

“Speaking of Daniel, he must be hoping for one hell of a reward for letting you overtake him, if you know what I mean” Did he just glance down at my chest?

“I raced really hard today and am really happy with my strategies during the race” good answer, everyone was going to be pleased with that one. You could see your media manager smiling out the corner of your eye.

“Oh, so the strategy wasn’t to look pretty before the race, show a little skin and distract everyone?” his laugh was piercing. You knew he was referring to the dress you wore earlier. It was a summer dress. That was it.

You couldn’t do it anymore.

You took a deep sigh, dropping your head. You could feel the tears forming.

Don’t cry.

Don’t cry.

Don’t cry.

Fuck.

You felt the first one roll down your cheek.

Get it together, there were only, what?  Five more of these? You could do it.

Next minute you felt a hand wrapping around your waist and pulling you backwards.

“I’m sorry but what did you just say to her?”

You immediately turned around, burying your face into Daniels chest, desperately wanting to escape this. To escape it all. The tears freely flowing now. He wrapped a protect arm around your shoulder to keep you in place while he whispered that eh was there now and you were safe.

“Daniel, we were just joking around” the journalist immediately went onto the defence now that Daniel was here.

“I don’t know mate; not entirely sure my fucking girlfriend crying is proof of you two just joking around” Good god he was angry. You could hear his heartbeat. You could feel his skin getting hot. His grip getting tighter around you.

“She fucking drivers for Ferrari, she just made podium, she’s one of the best drivers on the grid and you’re standing here, accusing her of what? Earning her spot because she’s a pretty face? Get the fuck out of here” Every single interview had stopped, watching Daniels outburst. Thankful that they weren’t the ones on the receiving end of his wrath.

Next minute Daniel was leading you away from the area, wanting to get you out of there as quickly as possible. Wanting to keep you safe.

You couldn’t do anything other than wipe the tears away and whisper ‘thanks you’s’ to him again and again, knowing that you couldn’t get out of there by yourself, even if you tried.

“Daniel she needs to –“ his look towards your media manager alone was enough to stop her sentence in its tracks.

“You. Follow us. We’re going to have a word with your boss” Daniel couldn’t remember the last time he was this mad. How was Mattia condoning this type of behaviour towards one of his drivers.

He was going to set the record straight, right now. You were never going to be treated like this again.

_____

Daniel stormed into the Ferrari motorhome with you and your media manager trailing behind.

You unable to say anything through the tears, your companion unable to out of sheer fear.

 “Mattia” Daniel’s voice was loud enough to startle the entire room.

“Why is y/n crying? Is everything okay?” Daniel was thrown by the genuine concerned in your boss’s voice. This was not what he expected.

“Why are you allowing interviewers to ask y/n the most disgusting questions and why is her media manager doing nothing to prevent them from it?” He wanted it to sound aggressive, but the second he felt your hand on his back, he softened completely, not wanting to cause you more stress than you already had to undergo.

“What kind of questions?” Mattia truly had assumed you were getting the same standard questions as all the other drivers. He rarely paid attention to the media side, allowing the people he trusted to make sure all was running smoothly, this included your media manager.

“I just had to listen to her be accused of trying to bribe and seduce people for her seat and the podium” Daniel began explaining

“And I often get asked how many people I fucked to get here and about my boobs” you said through your tears, still being shielded by Daniel.

“I’m sorry; your what?” Daniel spun around to look at you, the shock evident on his face. You looked back down at the floor, ashamed of it, knowing it wasn’t your fault, but somehow still feeling guilty for it all.

“How did you let this happen?” Mattia directed the question towards your media manager, clearly upset about this too.

You felt relief that he was just as mad, knowing that he was a good man and was truly just unaware.

Stuttering, trying to get an answer out, your media manager wasn’t sure how to answer. She truly thought she was just doing her job.

“Actually, we’ll discuss this Tuesday morning in my office. You’re dismissed” All three of you did nothing other than stare at her until she nodded out a quiet yes boss and left the room.

“You, on the other hand, we’ll meet tomorrow to discuss what’s going on. Take the night. Daniel, thank you for bringing this to my attention” Mattia wanted to figure out what was going on, but he knew now wasn’t the time, opting to rather let you go for the night and let him sort out whatever mess he can.

“Oh, and just know, you earned your spot here and on that podium tonight. I never regretted hiring you. Not for a second. I’m proud of you” and with that Mattia returned to the laptop in front of him, wanting to finish up with the data analysis before moving onto this task.

You knew your boss was never one for large displays of affection, so to hear him say that brought a new round of tears from you. Letting out a small thank you and goodnight before you and Daniel left to return to the hotel.

“Listen, for realsies though” Daniel turned to look at you, stopping you both so you could understand how serious he was, “you should’ve told me this was happening. You don’t always have to be strong. Every single driver would have lost their goddamn mind at questions and comments like that, you wouldn’t have been weak. You deserve this and are one of the best drivers on this grid at the moment, and I’m not saying this as your incredibly hot god-like boyfriend who worships the ground that you walk, I’m saying this as an honest to goodness fan who worships the ground that you walk on.”

You couldn’t help the giggle that came out of you, clearly putting him at ease to see you smile.

“Promise me you’ll tell me next time” he wouldn’t let up until he heard you say it.

“I promise you” you sealed your promise with a kiss, knowing now that what you felt was okay and knowing you truly did deserve this.

“Okay good” Daniel couldn’t help but steal another kiss from you before wrapping a hand around your waist again so you could carry on walking to the car in silence.

“I do have to be honest though” Daniel broke the silence as you he opened the car door for you. You suddenly felt nervous, not sure you were able to handle anything more this evening, “Watching you on that podium, soaked in champagne, it spraying all over you, kind of left me feeling someone sort of way and may the lord have mercy on you when we get into that hotel room”

“Why wait till we’re back at the hotel?” you said with a wink before closing your door, watching a range of emotions flash across his face before he figured out what you meant and he was sprinting to his car door.

#daniel ricciardo #f1 #f1 fanfic #monaco #f1 imagine #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo imagine #f1 one shot #f1 x you #DR3 #f1 x reader #f1 fic #daniel ricciardo fluff #Daniel Ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x reader

[vroomvroommbtch]

Versace on the floor - DR x fem!OC

Masterlist

Summary: After meeting by accident, neither of them wanted to leave the bed the morning after and neither of them really planned to after all.

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x fem!OC

Warnings: Smut, swearing, fluff all over the place.

Word count: 2.7k

A/N: I’m just posting this bc it was finished and I needed to get distracted with something and that something was editing this. Its kind of short but whaever. Just not the best day today. We knew it was gonna happen but news kicked me really hard personally. Take care and see you in a while, kids. 🫶🏻

---

Versace on the floor.

-

January 2018.

She woke up by a warm body stirring by her side, but she didn't need to try to remember what had happened or where she was. She knew perfectly the name of the man who was holding her tightly against his body and she knew where that comfortable warm bed was. That was one of the reasons why she didn't want to move even if she was awake. She didn't want to ruin it. She didn't want it to end, so she pretended to be asleep, snuggling up by his side and hiding her face even more in his neck.

It was the fact that it all felt like a dream that made Jas not want it to end. Meeting Daniel the previous night was nothing but a crazy miracle that she wasn't expecting. She wasn't supposed to be there at the bar, she wasn't even in the mood to go, but Cam and Sara insisted they couldn't lose the chance of going out on their first night in Monaco. The next thing she knew, a handsome tall man was telling her how his friend on the other side of the bar was dying to talk to her and buy her a drink, but that he was scared as fuck to do it because she was too beautiful. At that moment she had no idea who he was, in fact, she didn't find out until they made it to his place and she saw the trophies and helmets in the living room. That moment was when Jas figured out he did something more than 'work with cars' as Daniel said he did. But she didn't really care about it, she insisted he didn't have to say a thing about his real job until the next morning because it was fine for her as long as he didn't do anything illegal. After spending the night talking, laughing, dancing and drinking, she didn't want anything to ruin it, so she rather not know so Daniel would have some peace of mind knowing whatever he did wasn't the reason why she was there.  

And that was exactly what happened, after playing hard to get all to end up asking him if he wanted to leave the bar with her and after making him wait for a kiss until the door of his apartment was closed, Jas finally regarded Daniel for his patience. The first piece of clothing to disappear was his party shirt, well forgotten on the black couch in the small living room as Daniel unzipped her dress. She has been dying to take each and every single one of his clothes off his body since the moment she saw his smile from the other side of the bar, but somehow they took their good time doing it. They took their time kissing as their hands roamed every part of skin they could find, taking moan after moan from their mouths. But then it was just them, little black dress, Versace shirt and everything else absolutely forgotten around the apartment, all while Daniel memorized her body, placing kiss after kiss while they lay over his bed. But she thought she was in heaven the second she felt his hands holding up her spread legs so he could get lost between them. And the amount of time Daniel spent there was ridiculous, but Jas didn't complain about it at all. All she did was beg for him to keep going as he made her cum in his tongue, fingers grabbing into his curls so hard that she was scared to hurt him. But she was far from hurting him, and the only thing that her grip on him did was make him smile wildly, promising that she haven't seen nothing yet.  

And he was nothing but right. Nobody ever took the time trying to learn her body like him. No other man ever took so much time trying to figure out what she liked. No other man has ever been worshiped in such a way. But adobe all, nobody ever fucked her like Daniel did. The moans he took out of her, the way he kissed her, the way he moved against her body, everything was just absolutely incredible. It felt like a bad joke from the universe to send Daniel in one of the weirdest moments of her life, but she figured out it was for something. Damn, it had to mean something when he their bodies fitted perfectly. She knew there must be a reason, especially when he was looking down at her wondering if she could ride him and cum one last time for him. And how could she ever say no to that handsome face, especially when he spent God knew how much time fucking her tortuously slowly until she was nothing but a mess of moans that were going to bother more than one neighbor.  

And if all he did in bed wasn't enough, Daniel obviously had to be a gentleman once they were done. He told her to stay, cleaned the mess between her legs, and asked if she needed something, which only made Jas smile absolutely happy. But even after all that, what she wasn't expecting was for Daniel to ask her to stay. She was looking for ways to not make it awkward because that was the last thing she wanted after the best night of her life, but then Daniel asked a soft 'You ain't thinking about leaving, right?'. She understood then that not only she didn't want to leave -and make a terrible walk of shame in an unfamiliar city- but most importantly, Daniel didn't want her to leave. That handsome, sweet, funny man that could have had her moaning his name minutes ago wanted her to stay. From all the girls in the bar he chose her and from all the girls in the world, he wanted her to stay. Even if it lasted one night Jas was more than happy with it, so with a shy little smirk she affirmed she wasn't going anywhere. She was staying as long as he wanted her to stay.  

That night she had the best night of her life not only for the sex, but also because he has no idea when was the last time she slept so well, especially with someone by her side. Daniel apologized in anticipation for snoring, dropping a silly 'The snores its the price to pay for a beautiful big neck to grab, babe’, but after the way he spent her, Jas didn't even realize he made a sound. Between the tiredness, the comfort of his bed and the warmth of their naked bodies tangled together, Jas fell asleep in no time, resting her head on his chest as they held each other.  

But that wasn't exactly how she woke up the next morning. Instead of being snuggled by his side like when she fell asleep, Jas woke up to Daniel sleeping on his chest, arms around her waist, right leg tugged over hers and while the left one was tangled between hers. They were an absolute mess of limbs, but it felt so right that she didn't want to move. Not that she could really move with a man practically laying over her, but she didn't want either.  

It took everything from her to not smile as Daniel moved slightly, tickling her nose with his curls. It took everything from her to not kiss his head. But it was even worse when she felt his stubble scratching her skin as he moved his head to kiss her chest.  

"I can tell you're awake" he murmured in the softest voice, sounding so sleepy that it made the butterflies in her stomach wake up too.  

"No I'm not" she whispered, smiling to herself as she hid her face even more in his curls and tightened her grip around his slim body, wishing she could really go back to sleep to make all that last a bit longer. She wasn't ready to leave that bed, but more importantly, she wasn't ready to leave his side.  

"So you talk in your sleep?"

"Mmmhm" she nodded, closing her eyes once again. But as soon as Daniel stirred again moving his head off her chest to rest it on the pillow, she hugged his body tightly, prevent him from moving away any further. "Stay there. If we move then the spell would break. I could turn into a pumping or a mouse"  

Jas thanked to all her lucky stars when, instead of going away from her, Daniel just got comfortable in the pillow, stuck by her side with their chests and noses touching, showing absolutely zero will to get up from bed or even move. "Just when I was gonna offer you coffee"

"Don't threat me with a good time" she smiled finally opening her eyes. And goddamn, how happy she was that she did it. Right in front of here there was the most beautiful pair of shiny brown eyes she had ever seen, looking straight at her through half opened eyelids. He had the most adorable sleepy face in the world, and his 'I just woke up' voice was one of the hottest things she had ever heard in her life. But ignoring how horny he was making her feel, Jas just wanted to stay there, touching every part of his perfect warm tanned skin. "Mning" she whispered, moving her right hand from around Daniel's body to stroke his cheek.  

And how she melted when he leaned his head against her hand, turning just a second to kiss her palm. But then he got closer, kissing her lips so softly that it felt like a dream. It felt like she was in a wild, crazy, beautiful dream from which she didn't want to wake up. "G'day, princess" Daniel murmured against her lips, stealing yet another kiss from her.  

"Did I tell you how much i like the Aussie accent?"  

"You told me last night" he smiled. Daniel was right because she mentioned it at the bar, but then again on the way back to his place, then again in the elevator and once again when they were whispering sweet nothings to each other while they were getting rid of their clothes. It turned her insane to hear it when he spoke against her neck or her ear, making Jas grab his curls even tighter or scratch his back even harder. But even more than anything, it blew her mind to listen to the accent appear while he was eating her out and whispering some compliments of how good she tasted or how beautiful she was. It was the sexiest thing in the whole universe and she it was too fast to think about anything like that, but Jas knew she could spend the rest of her life listening to him talking if she was given the chance. "I firmly believe that's what brought us here. That and my undeniable charm"  

"What a brought us here was a miracle" Jas giggled, kissing him back as her hand stroked his cheek and back.  

"You gotta tell me the whole story" Daniel insisted, pepping kisses from her lips to her cheek, then all the way to her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone, all to finish in her chest.  

The thing was that Jas told Daniel not even half of the story about how she ended up in Monaco with her friends. She told him she had an existential crisis that made her quit her job the day before and that it was her friends idea to run away from obligations for some days. Daniel didn't know about the tears at 6am while she was on the phone with her dad because she had no idea what to do. He didn't know about the talk between coffee cups with the girls at 7am asking what she should do because she couldn't handle work anymore. She didn't tell him how she had no idea what to do because the design studio she was working for years somehow decided to go from designing regular publicity to political publicity and how she hated every single second of it. She didn't tell him how she felt stupid for quitting for that reason. She didn't say a thing about it, not wanting to ruin the night with such a conversation. And since she didn't want to ruin it, she just brushed it off with a smile and a joke, but Daniel made her promise she was going to tell him later, just like he promised to tell her about his job.  

"And you gotta tell me what you do for a living. You're clearly not a mechanic cause look at your hands" she joked, grabbing his right hand that was on her ribs to kiss his knuckles, all while she scratched his head and played with his messy curls with her free hand.  

"Judging me so early into our relationship?"  

Jas was expecting many things, but somehow nothing prepared her for Daniel saying the word 'relationship' while he grabbed one of her breast and licked it with the tip of his tongue. It was nothing but pathetic how easily her body reacted to him, her nipples getting hard as soon as he touched her. But even more pathetic was the moan the left her lips as he sucked her nipple, all while looking up at her with those perfect big brown eyes of his.  

"Don't do that" she whispered, absolutely out of breath as a smile appeared on her face, even if she wanted to hide it.  

"Why not?"

If his tongue playing with her wasn't enough, Jas felt his hand move from her rib down to her leg to grab a handful of her ass and then give her a squeeze, making sure she got closer to him while doing it. "Cause you're making it really hard for me to go"  

"I can make it harder"  

"I think there's another thing getting harder" she smiled, feeling his hard on pressed against her tight, so close to her entrance that it felt almost insulting not moving and not pushing her hip so he would get inside her. "You're doing this to change the subject about your work?"

"No, I'm doing it so you say yes to have dinner with me tonight" he smiled, looking up at her with a sinful look, as he kept working on his task of making her absolutely wet and desperate for him, which was working nothing but wonderfully.  

"Y'know I'm on vacations with my friends, right? I shouldn't leave 'em alone to have dinner with a strange man"  

"I'll call 'em asking for permission then" he stated, moving from one of her breasts to another to give them equal attention. "And I'm not changing the subject. I tell you all during breakfast and then you tell me about that existencial crisis that took you here to me"

"But I'm making breakfast. Michael told me you can't cook shit and I don't wanna die over some toasts, no matter how handsome you are" she smiled, biting her lower lip as she tried to keep a moan from escaping her lips, all while she grabbed s handful of his curls and tugged carefully from his hair. She could see in his face the vindictive smirk as he grabbed her other nipple between his teeth, flicking his tongue over it, knowing perfectly fine that he had her wrapped around his fingers.  

Damn, she wasn't even mad about being wrapped in his hand. In fact, she loved it too much.  

"Wanna stay and make lunch for us too?"  

Jas somehow could see in the way his eyes were looking at her that Daniel wasn't joking about it. He meant it when he said he wanted her to stay and she should have said no, but it was too difficult to say no to those eyes. "Dan, I gotta go at some point" Jas insisted moving her own hip against his, trying desperately to get some extra friction as he worked wonders with her body.  

"I'll convince you to stay after this"  

And when Jas felt his fingers running around her tights to open her legs even more, she knew she was already convinced. Damn, she knew he was capable of convincing her of anything and she couldn't be happier about it.

---

Taglist

@d0ntjudgemy50shades @amsofftrack @a-distantdreamer

#daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo oneshot #daniel ricciardo fanfic #f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 oneshot #f1 imagine #formula 1 #formula 1 fic #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 oneshot #formula one imagine #formula one oneshot #formula one fic #house of memories fic

[theheadliners]

eleven years - d.r.

“sometimes you get so close to someone you end up on the other side of them.” -richard siken 

in which eleven years of love and racing have come to this. you and him separately agonizing over your relationship’s downward spiral. 

notes/warnings: nsfw. mentions of a scar. also i DO NOT agree with opinions in here about daniel’s career, f1 wags, etc. they are just included for narrative purposes. none of this is representative of daniel or any other real person, it’s just a story. driver!reader whose career is loosely inspired by jamie chadwick. and let’s pretend all the f1 calendar stuff makes sense pls and thank u hehe

words: 6.2k

--

how had it come to this? eleven years and fighting to stay awake, battling the drooping of your eyelids into the early hours of the morning. you just wanted to see when he would get home, if he was coming home at all. you didn’t stay up to get mad at him, or start a fight, or cry. you just wanted to have that knowledge for yourself, a mental note, to line this version of the two of you up against how it used to be. the old love side by side with this bastardization of it.

you were restless in bed. it felt too big with just you in it, knowing he was somewhere in town but not here, next to you. you tried to make yourself larger to fit, stretching toward the cold, untouched sheets on his side. 

by 3am you had worn yourself out with all the twisting, sighing, and repositioning. around 3:30 you drifted, falling into deep sleep so suddenly that it scared you, and you woke up with a jerk. you shuffled over in bed to check the time. “shit,” you whispered to no one but yourself. you needed to start packing. you had a flight to catch in a couple hours.

– 

daniel had no idea why the fuck he was still out. it was a sunday night and he was at a bar with his team, where he was supposed to be celebrating another successful race weekend. and that’s what pretty much everyone else was doing, considering his teammate’s podium finish. but daniel was quiet, swirling his drink in his glass and watching it turn slowly like a brewing storm. p16, he thought. there’s not shit to celebrate. 

a drunken engineer stumbled into daniel’s shoulder where he sat at the bar, slurring a hearty apology to the driver as he continued toward the dance floor. the force of him pushed daniel’s chest against the bar, sloshed his still-full drink onto his hand. but daniel responded in kind, as always, with a raised glass and a smile.

daniel pulled the sleeve of his shirt down to wipe off the spilled drink and his watch face glinted in the warm light of the bar. shit, he thought. he hadn’t realized the time had gotten so far away from him. i guess it’s not sunday night anymore. 

it was monday morning now, officially, and daniel knew exactly where you were. home, alone. while he was here, like a dumbass. he wondered if you were up yet, or pressing snooze to try and hold onto those last precious moments of sleep. if you were sliding across your shared apartment in your slippers, packing for your next few weeks away. 

he knew you had a flight in two hours, and that tonight was his only chance to spend some proper time with you before you were away for some time. he hadn’t seen you in three weeks, away for a triple-header without any time off in between. britain, austria, and france. p8, p11, p-fucking-16. 

and meanwhile you were the two time reigning drivers’ champion in the w-series, traveling and competing in your own races. while daniel was floundering all over the world, seemingly losing confidence as the season progressed, you were standing on the top steps of podiums in budapest, austin, mexico city. shining everywhere you went, holding those first-place trophies above your head, dripping in champagne and grinning like the win was the first every time, even though it was far from it.

he knew he should’ve been with you this whole time, instead of feeling sorry for himself here. he knew all too well that once your plane lifted off in two hours, you were going to be gone for nearly a month, jetsetting and burning rubber, out on your own. and when you were gone, daniel would spend his two weeks off wallowing in your absence until it was his turn again. he knew this was his one night, and he had fucked it.

he tried to sip on his drink, but it tasted bitter, like the bottle had been left sitting out for too long with the cap off. he didn’t know what the hell he was doing. i need to get out of here. 

– 

when daniel came in the bedroom he immediately clocked your mostly-packed suitcase lying open by the door. he knew you were leaving, had to be going to the airport any minute now. he was intensely familiar with the inevitable and continued reality of you leaving, at this point. but this time seeing it felt so different. being confronted by you taking your things somewhere else. to someone else, if you wanted.

the room was mostly dark, but the en suite bathroom light was on across the room. he watched your shadow move inside, the dark silhouette of your body cutting into the fluorescence reflected on the hardwood floor.

he moved enough into the room that you knew he was there, standing awkwardly in the middle as if you were strangers to each other. you saw him from the corner of your eye through the doorway and pretended you didn’t, went on stuffing extra hair ties into your makeup bag. 

you could tell by his gait and the way he held his body that he wasn’t drunk. he hadn’t been drinking, clearly, or he would be much less reserved, making much more noise, speaking nonstop. 

you wanted to ask why he hadn’t come home, knowing this was your one night together, but you knew he wouldn't have an answer. he hadn’t wanted to party, or he would be pissed drunk. you knew he was too much of a man to cheat on you, or if he did, he probably would’ve admitted it the second he walked through the door. 

you wanted to know why, but you didn’t want to ask. you also didn’t want to talk about it. you didn’t want to go through the motions of explaining your side and then listening dutifully as he explained his. you didn’t want to do the whole “respectfully i understand” spiel and tell him how much you loved him and agree to move on and never do it again. you were tired. you wanted to finish packing and get to the airport. that was all.

things recently had gotten particularly hard between the two of you. more complicated than usual. you and daniel had known each other since you were kids, been dating for eleven years. since you were sixteen and he was seventeen, the only real relationship either of you had ever known. 

there had always been a lot of history that came along with knowing each other for so long, as well as sharing the sport. it had always been there, and so you grew accustomed to its presence, felt the weight of the shared past in the present, even all these years later.

but recently it had felt like all that history had gotten harder to carry, a burden more than anything else. it used to feel like nightswimming in the ocean. there had always been a certain level of danger – the undertow, the riptide, the darkness, all threatening, each compounding the risk of the others. but it was possible to navigate, if done right. lately it had felt like wading through mud. the more you tried, the harder it got. and then you wondered why you were even bothering in the first place.

you and him never talked about it, but you knew one reason for this recent difficulty was because he felt his progress in the sport had plateaued in the past few seasons, especially when compared to how you had been doing. 

an article had come out a few weeks ago, in one of those sleazy tabloids by the register in the supermarket. it had broken down each of your seasons so far, each race by qualifying position, lap time, and points finish. you had beaten him in just about every category, every weekend. each time he had failed to deliver side by side with each time you had succeeded, resoundingly. the headline: “f1’s daniel ricciardo sinks while girlfriend soars!” you were just pissed they didn’t have the decency to use your name, calling you “girlfriend” instead. as if you hadn’t earned that at least. as if the right to a name was even something a person had to earn.

but in all these eleven years, that was a topic that you and daniel never broached – the skill disparity that was maybe marginal in your youth but was becoming harder to ignore. how could you even approach a subject like that? 

these stinging truths had developed, sitting between you two at the heart of your relationship. you were both aware of them, felt their presence even though you couldn’t face them properly. but you never put words to them because they were so mean. so hard to accept coming from yourself and the other. 

your truth: i’m better than you at what you’re best at. his: i can’t stomach losing to a girl.

– 

daniel watched you with clear eyes as you finished packing. you hadn’t looked straight at him once since he came in and it made him want to cry. the pressure of his gaze made you squirm, but you tried not to show it. neither of you said a word.

he remembered tradition when you knelt down in front of your suitcase to zip it up. his body defaulted to muscle memory, crossing the room to your side of the bed, pulling open the top drawer of your nightstand.

there was hardly anything in it, you were never as much of a packrat as him. just an extra pair of headphones and some paperbacks, loose change. and, what he was looking for, the most important thing. a single sheet of notebook paper folded into fours, corners still sharp despite its age. he pulled it out and sat on the edge of the bed, unfolded the paper. 

the list was old, started by you so many years ago. a nearly exhaustive list of race weekend essentials, everything to remember to pack. the items at the top were the oldest, all in your handwriting. it was obvious you were just starting out, it was all the basics – driving boots, helmet and backup helmet, fireproofs. and then, as the words moved down the page, the items became more specific as you became more experienced. 

and somewhere along the way, daniel’s handwriting began to mix in with yours. as you grew together, became better drivers, and then fell in love, and then became pros, the list became his, too. 

and this part, the reading out of the list, became tradition. you always did it, when you could. whenever you two were together and packing, getting ready to leave together or send the other off. it used to be every week, when you were younger. before you had left home and you were still in the same league, traveling on the weekend to a karting track a few hours away for a race. 

as you got older, the occasion for reading the list together became much more infrequent. now it was almost never. but you liked the routine of it, the familiarity of the order. the mechanical search of your eyes over your suitcase, knowing which item to look for before daniel even had to say it.

he began to read out the list, and your lip twitched at the sound of his voice. you appreciated his consideration without having to be asked. you missed the sweet sound of his voice, the softness of it floating toward you from across the room. you liked that he slipped into routine so smoothly after breaking from it so violently, staying out all night without telling you. 

you stayed crouched in front of your suitcase as daniel read the list, double-checking that you had everything. his eyes flicked over to you after each word, back turned to him in the dim light. you were in airport clothes, drowning in one of his gray sweatshirts. you must have put it on just before he came in because your hair was still tucked in the collar. he wanted to walk over to you and touch you, run his hand behind your neck and pull your hair out from the neckline. he wanted to kiss you. he wanted to propose. he wanted to leave you and never come back.

now that he was silent again, the list finished, you got up. you went into the bathroom, double-checked your makeup bag. the pressure of the silence between you was too much, you felt like you needed to escape. 

in the bedroom, daniel looked back at the piece of paper, thumb tracing over your handwriting. the list was well and truly the both of yours, as much as anything else. as much as this apartment, as much as all the trophies mixed together on the bookcase in the back bedroom. as much as the recent downturn your relationship had taken in the past few months. 

he looked at the little words you had written, the stray cursive lines connecting letters to one another. you were just there, in the bathroom, on the other side of a too-thin sheet of drywall. but that piece of paper made him feel your closeness differently, in a way your presence did not. knowing that your hands had been there, held the same spots he was now, pressed against the surface so many different times. 

he could imagine your little hand against it when you were just thirteen, when you started the list on your own. before daniel’s handwriting joined in. before either of you were anywhere close to admitting you had feelings for each other. before you saw daniel as anything other than a perpetual thorn in your side. the boy at the track who was too loud, who couldn’t fight for himself. who wasn’t aggressive enough, who left too much space on the track. 

daniel’s eyes fell to the bottom of the list. the most recent entry, from two months ago, in your handwriting. he remembered it clearly. he had called you from the airport, having realized just as he got through security that he had forgotten his favorite water bottle at home. he knew just where it was – his purple and orange plastic baby, sitting on the top rack of the dishwasher in your apartment, just where he put it last night when he was getting ready.

“can you believe that,” he had said to you, and you smiled at his flair for the dramatic. “i’m gonna thirst to death before i even step foot in barcelona.”

looking at your handwriting, he imagined you propped up in bed on the other end of the phone, bearing down on your thigh as you added “favorite water bottle” to the things-to-remember list in your pretty cursive. and, a little detail that knocked air out of daniel’s lungs, you had doodled a tiny heart next to the final word, just extending above the last letter. 

he could imagine you as you did it, drawing the little heart as you listened to his foolish rant through the phone – how the airport is always so stressful and you can’t take water through security and you always end up so damn thirsty by the end of it, and your favorite water bottle is always just the right size, holds the right amount, your emotional support when you’re away from home. 

he wanted to think that you listened to him talk with a cute smile on your face and the heart just came absentmindedly. as if you just loved him so much that it showed in ways you couldn’t control or even recognize as they happened. whether or not that was true, he wasn’t sure anymore.

his eyes followed the divots of that little heart of the notebook paper, next to where you had added “favorite water bottle.” the continuous line had cut deep into the surface, like you had traced the outline over and over while he talked, and he felt like crying again. like you didn’t want one big heart instead, or wouldn’t rather draw a bunch of other hearts, experimenting with how different you could make them, or how perfect. no, you were more than content with this one. the one so small it could be mistaken for a sloppy circle if you weren’t paying attention. you wanted this one, gliding through the familiar grooves the pen left until there was no paper remaining on the other side to support it. 

he felt so much love for you, in that moment. like all of it he had ever felt, from when you were kids to now was compounding and crushing him, stronger than he could ever handle. he felt the organ inside him, beating. and just as much as he knew it was there, he knew it was too small, too weak to hold everything he felt for you. all the love, and everything else, too. 

there was so much. he saw so many images of you, and your relationship together. when you were a kid, your adolescent baby face and bright eyes. the first time daniel saw you at the track, your head bobbing in your kart as you ripped laps around the track. he asked his father who you were but didn’t process your name, dazed by your lightning speed. then the burn of embarrassment and twinge of something else when you pulled your helmet off and you were a girl. 

the little white scar above your lip, pulling upward toward your nose, a quarter of an inch long. daniel’s fault, the result of a karting accident a few months after that first day he saw you. the catalyst for your relationship, or at least its expeditor. 

all the times later when you were adults, before you or he were about to get in the car, when he would grab your chin in his fingers and kiss that little scar above your lip. punctuate the kiss with a sweet “love you, baby,” both a reminder and a promise. a reminder of where you came from, how you grew up. and a promise that you would finish that race in one piece. that you would always come back to each other. 

all those times he looked up at you while you were on the podium, drenched in champagne and sunlight while you searched for his face in the crowd. all those times when you beat him as kids, before he had accepted that you would always wipe the floor with him, at least while you were in the same league. 

all those times he would come home to you, another mediocre result to his name at the highest level of the sport, while you had added another win to a killer streak. before he realized that even though you were so much damn better than him, you would only ever be able to go so far because of your gender. before he knew that the people up top who made decisions would always prefer daniel, prefer him placing p16 at every goddamn race, no matter what car. somehow that was better than you, winning years of championships, setting records and then breaking your own. like somehow that didn’t show you deserved a seat, a shot at proving what you could do at the highest level. unbelievable. 

and you were always so beautiful, he knew it even as a kid. it hurt to look at you sometimes, especially when seeing your smiling face above him on the podium came alongside the sadness of his own loss so, so often. but he could never quite get the hang of looking away, deep down had never really wanted to. like biting on an infected tooth, the pain and pleasure heightened more through how they fueled each other. 

it was all about the interplay. the love of you and the love of his sport. the three of you, all together, your whole lives. the competition in each dynamic. who’s gonna win this week?

and that had been the truth since the beginning, both you and daniel knew it – your relationship really was between three, not two. you, daniel, and racing. you used to think you and daniel were meant for each other, meant for this love just as much as for racing. but recently it felt like some of the haze had been wiped away, like cool air coming in after a shower, and slowly you can see your own reflection in the mirror again. the truth of it after the mirage. 

maybe the true love had always and only been racing, this whole time. and this eleven years with each other had been the illicit affair, no matter how you tried to fool yourself. it was all borrowed time, whispers and hidden kisses in corners. sneaking around before the wife came home. maybe what’s illicit always has to end. maybe that’s what was happening now, between the two of you.

another flash of images of you in daniel’s mind, rippling and sliding, shuffling like an old projector. eating dinner with your family, his thumb climbing below the hem of your skirt. the first time he was confronted with the possibility of losing you, when your car shunted against the wall in monaco, cracking in half around the gearbox. the memories fade, more take their place. you under him in bed, writhing for him. your body, naked and wanting. him soothing you, spreading you open. “okay, baby. it’s okay. i always got you, pretty girl.” he just wanted to fucking cry.

– 

across the room, you had been caught up in your own nostalgia as well. the big moments and the little ones, your dreams of racing and dreams of a life with him coming together, making you greater in the process.

your first drivers’ championship. the blazing sun beating down on that top step, the cheers when you lifted the trophy. less fanfare than a formula one championship, admittedly, but in that moment, you wouldn’t know it. 

you had never been on such a high, and you knew daniel felt it too. you had taken the trophy back with you to the hotel after the party, and you and him held it drunkenly between you as you made out in the elevator, down the hallway to your room.

while you were having sex, he had turned you over on your stomach so you could see the trophy, sitting pretty on the desk, glowing gold in the ambient light of the room. he leaned down to speak in your ear, lowly while he was still moving inside of you, and you moaned. “that’s all you baby,” he said. “gonna fuck you so good, like you deserve. you’re a fuckin’ champion.” his season wasn’t done yet, but he was doing well too, still with the possibility of securing his own title by the end of it. 

domestic life with him, peeking in amid the burning tires and grand prix. waking up the next morning, knowing you were a champion. you were already smiling and he was already kissing you. his head in the crook of your neck, mumbling how much he loved you, how proud of you he was, how he couldn’t believe how far you both had come. how far you still were going to go.

he worked his way up your neck slowly to your ear, down the side of your face, the corner of your mouth, and his favorite spot, that little scar on your lip. you’d grown to love it, all thanks to him. “morning, baby,” he said, voice low and rough from sleep. he came back in close, pressed his lips against your other cheek as he said, “hope i never wake up from this dream. want this forever.”

you didn’t know what was going on with him, now. things weren’t great between you two recently, sure. you were well aware. but he stays out all night, and then comes back and doesn’t say a word to you besides his reading of the things-to-pack list. what the hell.

it takes a moment to break out of the trance your memories have left you in, feeling his hands and lips on you even though he’s all the way across the room. but when you’re aware of the distance again, you almost wish he hadn’t come home at all. that he’d just stayed at whatever bar all night with his team, or at least until he knew you had left for your flight. you could’ve just slipped out to your car downstairs, away to the airport without having to do this whole charade. without having to play as if things were anywhere close to how they used to be. you both knew that was not true.

you continued to avoid his gaze, checking the dresser drawers listlessly while you waited for time to run out. and then he had a shocking thought as he watched you avoid him. maybe he didn’t love you at all. maybe he hated you. 

maybe he hated that you were always better than him, even though your league didn’t necessarily show for it. that your gender artificially held you back, kept you out of the highest level because so many were conditioned to believe you weren’t good enough before even seeing you in the car. maybe he hated that you weren’t like all the other drivers’ wives and girlfriends, with nothing of their own. living just for their man, to hang on his arm and support him. sure as hell would make things a lot easier. maybe he hated that he had given more than a decade to you and this is what it had come to. eleven years and you can’t even look at him. all this time and you end up here – avoiding each other in the same room, repelling each like similar ends of a magnet, petering out like a faulty firework.

his high school years and his 20s. the prime of his career and yours, all to each other. well, it appeared his career prime might have been rather disappointing, and yours was never going to end, apparently.

he supposed this might really be the end of it. fuck. he knew the part he was playing in it, how he was pushing this boulder toward a cliff while also clearing its path. making it easier to all be destroyed in the end. 

maybe he hated the fact that you always seemed just a bit out of reach. even now you felt so far away, and you were right there. he always felt like he was pining after you, like he loved you just a touch more than you loved him. like you might always have one foot out the door. 

he felt like the only time he could ever really touch you was when he carved your damn lip all those years ago and you somehow came out even more perfect. maybe i just hate myself, daniel thought. maybe i’m so fucking pathetic that i literally scarred you and then it became my favorite part of you. 

he felt pathetic because you were fine without him, meanwhile he was barely holding on. floating around aimlessly like a piece of driftwood. blowing around like a piece of trash. here he was, torturing himself over all this, and there you were, ten feet away, packing your damn suitcase. entirely unaffected. making sure you have your raincoat and your sunglasses and enough pairs of socks. 

daniel had no doubt that when this spark between you two was finally extinguished, you would be fine. you would move on to your wins and your championships and your next love. you would make the next person love you as much as you made daniel love you. maybe even let them make their mark on you like daniel did.

but daniel had nothing to move on to, and he knew it.

maybe that’s what it really was, at the core of it. what it all came down to. everything that you had in your future at the other end of these eleven years, and how it seemed that everything in daniel’s life was shuttering closed around him. if this really was ending, maybe he hated you because he knew he had nothing to move on to. and even worse, he knew so bitterly all the greatness on the horizon for you, even greater than everything you’d already achieved. 

if he hated you for anything, it had to be that. and it was the same damn thing that made him love you so much.

–

you felt him crowding your space before you heard him, his soft voice murmuring a small “hey.” you had been hiding in the closet, willing time to pass faster so you could leave already. and willing daniel to come find you, make it okay. make everything right again like only he knew how. 

when he did find you, you were afraid you might’ve imagined his voice. it was so quiet, like it came from him against his will, further muffled by the clothes stuffed into the space around you.

but you guessed he meant to speak, because a moment later he was against you, strong arms wrapping tight around your body. he hugged you, buried his face in your shoulder, snaked his hand up under your hair to hold the back of your neck, keep you close. 

he tried to convey something through touch that he couldn’t through words. trying to tell you that he understood. that, like you, he knew that things had gotten so complicated recently, so hard.

but chest to chest, heart against heart, he wanted to tell you that you were still you. and he fucking loved you, all the time. no matter where either of you were or with who, what race he was sorely losing and bitter about and which one you were winning so gracefully. 

every time he got in that stupid fucking race car that he used to dream about, he felt like he knew less and less about it. he doubted his timing and his lines and his strategy, everything about it from the moment the lights went out. 

even when his love of racing seemed to be failing him, he always knew you. maybe this relationship, the dynamic between the two of you was becoming more foreign, changing as you got older. perhaps. but you – he knew you always. he would know you in the dark, or dreaming. fumbling in another life like he was in this one, he would know you.

he held you for so long, so close like he wanted to pull you inside his own body, keep you next to him forever. he pulled away only when he could tell you were getting antsy, not wanting to be late for your flight. he stepped back rigidly and too fast, but then immediately came back into your space, just a few inches away from your face like he was going to kiss you. he felt like a teenager, not knowing how much was too much, not enough. what was going to run you off, scare you away. his hands fidgeted by his thighs as you stared at each other in silence. 

looking into his eyes, it was almost too easy to just forget this whole thing. forget this day, forget all the recent problems, even forget racing. you just wanted to curl up in bed with him and keep him there, hold him and let him hold you and act like there was no world beyond where the mattress ended. you loved him so much, maybe you could become okay with having him and giving up your other dreams. maybe only this love could satisfy you, both of you. yeah, you thought. maybe that could work.

but then you remembered, an ice bucket on a naive daydream. him leaving you in bed all night alone, without a word about where he was. his responses to your calls and texts becoming more intermittent in the past month. 

and, most damning of all, what had really felt like the final nail being hammered into this eleven year old coffin – two weeks ago, your grand slam in japan, winning from pole, leading every lap, and setting fastest lap. no calls, no texts, nothing from him after your result. he didn’t congratulate you. he didn’t say anything at all.

you understood it was hard. the two of you in the same sport meant it was hard not to compare across, too easy to treat it like an even playing field. as if it was as simple as you were winning and he was not. as if there were not so many other factors going into every drive.

it made you feel so childish, but it just hurt. the fact that he had ignored you, ignored how well you did in japan. you stood outside your own party, with your team celebrating inside, waiting for your boyfriend to call. you didn’t even necessarily need him to congratulate you. you just wanted to hear his voice. to know that he was there somewhere in the world, with you on the other end of the line.

but all night, and the next day, there was nothing. your phone didn’t ring, he never called. and you felt so alone.

and what were you supposed to do? throw the race? purposely not win to appease your boyfriend? sorry guys, you would say over the radio to your team, daniel will be really pissed if i win again, so… slowing down now. is that really what he wanted?

after another minute of silently working yourself back into anger in the closet, daniel reached up and just barely traced the scar above your lip. his thumb brushed over it lightly, pad resting against the crease of your lips before pulling away, hand falling to his side.

another moment of deafening quiet between you. then you wanted to scoff at him. 

really? eleven years and this is what you got? out all night without telling you, and then when he comes home he stares at you in silence for an hour? a hug and a swipe of his thumb over a scar that he caused?

you broke the staring contest. leaving the closet, you patted your pockets on the way to the front door, checking for keys, wallet, passport. daniel stood stunned where you left him, before coming to his body again and following.

you slipped on a pair of sneakers and your backpack, pulled out the handle of your suitcase. he was frozen a few feet away from you and the door, watching you move. you didn’t look his way.

he finally managed to speak when you were reaching for the door. “i love you,” he said, as if the feeling was burning him and he needed to get it out of his system. as if this was his first time saying it to you.

you froze, angled your face toward him but didn’t turn around, kept your hand on the door knob. you couldn’t help yourself. “you didn’t come home, daniel.”

he tried to take a deep breath but cut himself off, in a rush like he wasn’t the one who wasted the only time he had to spend with you. “i know. i’m so sorry, baby. i–” his words jumbled together, like he couldn’t get them out fast enough. and then he realized he had no reason, no justification, nothing at all to say other than i was scared to come home because i’m scared of what’s happening between us and i don’t want to lose you but i also don’t want to wait around to see what i’ll do to you if i get to keep you. 

he hoped that you would cut in, save him from this spiral he was getting himself into. or better yet, the fucking building would collapse and neither of you would have to say anything. but he knew better – if his driving record was any indication, luck hadn’t been on his side much these past few years.

and then he was just desperate. needed to say it again, needed you to know, even though logically he knew you did. there was just something about this time, seeing your packed up suitcase, looking at the list of all the things you needed and knowing he wasn’t one of them. he was worried that when you left this time, it would be permanent. he was afraid that this time, unlike all the others in these eleven years, you weren’t coming back to him. “i love you,” he said again. 

was he imagining it? or could he see, on the little sliver of your face that was visible to him, the corner of your mouth kick up just slightly? giving him a little in this game, easing him just enough to keep him sane. a reward for his effort when so much of this – of everything, recently – felt like fighting a losing battle.

just a whisper of your pretty smile, his heart looking up again. and then you were turning away, opening the front door and stepping through it. “yeah, dan,” you said, already halfway into the hall. “i love you, too.”

--

a/n: PHEW y’all if that was bad just pretend you didn’t see it. but also um... hi can i join the party

#daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo one shot #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo angst #daniel ricciardo smut #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo oneshot #f1 fic #f1 smut #f1 angst #f1 fluff #f1 one shot #f1 imagine

[callmewrinkles3]

When Emma Falls in Love - DR3 x Fem!OC

Summary: Christmas involves the same thing every year for Em. A week in Liverpool, formal clothing, and returning to her apartment to shower and have a bottle of wine to forget how bad it was. But this year she's spending it in Australia with Dan and his family. No big deal.

Words: 11.4k

Warnings: Mentions of past bad relationships, mentions of cheating, mentions of toxic family relationships. Panic attacks, worry, mentions of sex (but nothing explicit) and mentions of sex toys.

AN: HEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY remember us? First things first - apologies for how long this took. The plan was Christmas, but life has been ridiculous and too busy and we just apologise. Thank you for still being here and enjoying reading more about Em and Dan!

December 2018

When she was growing up, Em never kept a diary. She was the odd one out for many reasons in primary school, that was just one of them. She was too afraid of her mother finding it when “cleaning”, reading what was on her mind and telling her to stop. She hadn’t started it as a kid, and it didn’t begin when she was an adult either. But if she did have one, the first words on the page for December 22, 2018, would have been "I think I'm in love with Dan." And to say "I think" would have been a blatant lie because she knew.

She knew that night in the bar for his birthday that she was going to fall for him. She knew in Philadelphia as she sang that she only bought that dress for him to take off. She knew in Austin when he kissed her in front of another woman.

That morning in July when she woke up from one of the greatest nights of sleep in her life with Dan’s arms around her and his snoring lulling her back to sleep like white noise. Every single time he let Blake out of their shared taxi first and circled the block to come into hers when he got back from travelling. The way he never arrived home without a bouquet of flowers because she’d once said she never thought she could buy herself some. But that afternoon in Perth she couldn’t hide from the realisation anymore.

She’d been working in the early afternoon after she made lunch for the two of them and Isaac, coming out to find her boys napping on the couch. The plan had been for them to watch a film while they waited for her but toddlers were not known for their patience. She couldn’t blame Isaac for sleeping, and once Dan got comfy he could nod off anywhere.

The two of them had been up early that morning picking Isaac up for a day out and a sleepover to let Michelle finish getting ready for Christmas. Once they made it back to the farm it was running around and playing at the pool with a stop for lunch. Em had prepped sandwiches for their lunch before disappearing to work for a few hours so she didn’t fall even further behind. And now they were fast asleep, blond curls against Dan’s off season stubble.

The craving to curl up on the couch and cuddle into them was overwhelming. There was nothing else she wanted at that moment, just hug them and kiss Dan and stay there forever. But she couldn’t.

Yes, she was Auntie Emmy to Isaac - a fact he’d announced to them that morning running to greet her with chubby cheeks and “ANNIE EMMYYYYYYYY” - but Auntie Emmy was Uncle Dan’s friend. And nothing else.

She was just his friend. Even though she was the only one sleeping in his bed, even when he was basically living in her crappy flat in London. Even when it was her name he groaned out when they were together as he pulled her close. And that was why she couldn’t admit it to him. Admitting it to herself felt nearly too much.

It hurt. Oh it ached. But it was better to hurt a little bit and enjoy getting to have Danny in the way that so many people didn’t know Daniel Ricciardo, than say how she felt and break the spell. She could suck it up and bury her feelings and stay by his side as his best friend. If she didn’t say it out loud then it wasn’t real and if it wasn’t real then it couldn’t hurt her badly.

And she couldn’t tell him. She couldn’t see his face fall, couldn’t hear “we said we were just friends, nothing more.”. Couldn’t bear to have to leave people who for the first time in her life seemed to actually like her because she’d ruined it. So she’d stay quiet and get to have Christmas with people who seemed to want her there. She’d enjoy summer in December and have those weeks. Especially if it meant she got time with Isaac.

Em had fallen in love with him the first time she met him in real life in Abu Dhabi, and the feeling was mutual. She could count how many times she’d seen him in person on both hands, but he was as crazy about her as she was about him. His cheeky smile warmed up her heart. The way he ran to give her a hug after the first time they met was one of her favourite things in the world. How he reached out to her so she would hold him during the insanity of that first weekend. But it was the way that he was so much like Dan that made her heart grow ten sizes.

Physically they didn’t look alike apart from those curls they’d all inherited from Grace, but their personalities were identical. Dan joked it was why Isaac liked spending so much time with her, but she smiled and brushed it off. For her own sanity she couldn’t let that get into her head. She couldn’t do it. Not when whatever they were had an expiration date and she didn’t know how long it would last.

All of that combined meant she couldn’t resist watching them for an extra couple of moments, enjoying how relaxed they were snoozing together. She took a photo of them with her phone to secure the memory forever. She wasn’t sure what caused him to stir, if it was the small noise from the camera or if it was her moving, but Dan opened his eyes slowly and focused on her. A smile began to go across his face.

“Wanna join us? We can stay like this for a while.”

She desperately wanted to say yes. She wanted to lie down next to Dan and fall asleep with his arm around her. But she shouldn’t and she couldn’t. Anything that wasn’t at least platonic seeming had to stay just them. Sure Dan had put an arm around her shoulder or waist with his parents, but not with Isaac. She didn’t want that with him. He was too small and she didn’t want to confuse him with acting like a couple when they weren’t. If she couldn’t explain what was happening to herself then she couldn’t to him.

“I’m gonna get a start on dinner,” Em whispered, blurting out the first excuse she could think of. “Is pasta ok?”

The moment the words left her lips, she made her one fatal mistake. Kissing the top of Dan's head and then Isaac's cheek. It was supposed to be the briefest moment, a peck and then go to the kitchen. But the moment she leaned down to kiss Isaac's head his litttle hand reached out for her, not letting go. He didn't say anything, just grumbled and rubbed his head against Dan's chest before settling back down.

"I think you have to stay for a while. C'mon." He shifted slightly to let her slip beside them, settling down. "I know what you're thinking. It's fine."

"Danny-"

"I promise. It's fine." She should have stood straight up and headed out. Before she could even think about moving away Isaac woke up enough to smile at her, moving across to have half his body over Em, half on Dan. Then she was definitely not going anywhere, not when his tiny hand clung to her shirt to hold her there.

"I always knew he'd be a heartbreaker and steal someone's girl at some point in his life. I just never imagined it'd be mine."

"He's got that Ricciardo grin and those curls, what can I say?" Dan chuckled lowly at her words, his chest shaking as he held it back.

"That's not fair, I saw you first."

"I'm not some toy, you don't need to fight him over me."

"I mean if I need to I will." It was Em's turn to keep her laughter down, swallowing it so she didn't wake the sleeping toddler.

"No, it's fine. You don't need to."

"Just had to be sure."

She really didn't mean to fall asleep. She shouldn't have, she wanted to just stay for five minutes before carefully moving Isaac across and standing up to do something. But having Dan's chest as a pillow and Isaac as a tiny weighted blanket didn't help her. Dan smelled like the shower gel they were using and home, Isaac's baby shampoo mixing and making her feel peaceful and dozing off easily.

When she opened her eyes she thought she'd find her fast asleep boys, but instead they were wide awake. The youngest was staring at the film he hadn't finished, the oldest looking straight down at her when Em looked up.

How was she not supposed to fall in love with him? That broad smile and big eyes and how was she supposed to keep it platonic when he looked at her like she hung the moon and stars every single day. He called her his moon once and the compliment made her blush for a week. It was impossible to not fall in love with him, and that was the moment she admitted it. The way he stole tiny kisses while Isaac was distracted. She was gone.

They stayed like that for the afternoon, what was supposed to be a homemade meal turning into driving out for pizza for the three of them. Isaac stayed on her hip until they got him into a highchair, laughing and enjoying his food. She felt at home and happy and was so glad she was there.

It was why she said yes when he asked her what she was doing for Christmas and if she wanted to come to Australia with him. She missed him when he had a double header abroad, she couldn't imagine spending six weeks apart when he went home for Christmas. They could have done it and would have been fine. They'd done it before, but that was before feelings and sex and friends with benefits was added to the mix they had going on.

Em missed him back when they just texted and had a couple of calls, so she had to say yes. But it was terrifying to get on that plane with Dan to go to Perth. It took a call from Grace insisting she wanted Em there and everyone was looking forward to seeing her to make Em feel like it was ok.

Once she made the decision to go to Australia to spend weeks there with Dan it wasn't too scary, but the fact that she was introduced to Dan's world was. Especially now that she was slowly admitting that she'd fallen in love with him. Since the start Em had tried to deny it to herself, insist that it wasn't true. That she had no feelings for him apart from friendship and being proud of him.

But that was like saying the sun wasn't going to come out the next day. On those days where Em wasn't sure about it herself, he made her sure. If she didn't know better she'd think that was his own personal mission to make her fall in love with him. There were texts, calls, facetimes when he probably didn't have time. A text telling her to open the door because she had a delivery. How could she not fall for him?

The easiest way to fall in love with him was what he did every single trip home. She'd leave a sandwich in the fridge before she went to bed, and he came back to her tiny apartment. He had his own one that he could be in, he could go back to somewhere comfy and warm rather than her tiny one bed where the heating rarely worked. But he stayed with her. He took over doing things to make her life better, buying new sheets that were more expensive than she'd ever pay because they were softer and calling the landlord to make him fix the heating after he came back from Brazil and the apartment was freezing.

She couldn't help falling deeper and deeper in love with him when he slid into bed and wrapped his arms around her, whispering how happy he was to be back home. He could have been comfortable and warm in his apartment but instead he was there with her. The chill in the air was ignored as they pulled whatever clothes were on off, Dan marking her body as his. Week after week that was exactly what happened in beds around the world as she travelled to the US and Abu Dhabi to watch him race. She was starting to believe that maybe they did belong together as night after night they got into the same bed, whispering sweet nothings and bringing each other pleasure before curling up to sleep.

It's what happened at the farm when they were alone. Officially Em had a guest room to herself, but Dan's room became theirs. She spent so much of her days stepping outside of her comfort zone, it was exhausting and made her stomach ball up, but being with him was easy. Waking up with his arms around her was perfect. Getting into bed with him every night felt normal. It was terrifying and normal and brilliant. It was easy for her once she got over her worries, especially after that day with Isaac on the couch. His tiny hand over her chest became the reminder that what she thought would be a bad day wasn't so bad. It's part of why she wished Isaac could have been there the night she met Dan's friends.

She knew what coming to Australia when Dan went home for the winter break involved. And when she was invited she didn't even think about it, just went for it. She knew she was going to be introduced to his favourite places in his hometown, spending most of their nights out on the farm, getting to be around his family, and some nights out with his home friends to meet them. She could excuse herself once or twice from nights out because she was never a big fan of it, but she could let the social butterfly she was accompanying go out to hang out with people. He didn't get to see his friends for most of the year, she was more than happy to stay home with her huge to read list on her kindle or a good movie.

But Dan wanted her there. He wanted to spend time with her and his friends and have them all together, and she couldn't say no to those big brown eyes. Spending time with his family was easy, she knew most of them and those she didn't know at least knew of him. But the bigger issue was when she met his friends.

It was supposed to be easy. A get together with his mates so they could catch up and everyone who lived in Perth could finally meet the famous Em. There was just one problem.

Em wasn't good with people.

It wasn't that people didn't like her, it wasn't even that she didn't like people, it was that whenever she was around people she got tired quickly and couldn't deal with them for too long. Dan was one of the rare people she didn't hate being around for more than a few minutes. He'd promised it wouldn't be anything fancy or crazy, that she didn't need to stress about it, but she still worried.

She liked to think that it would have been different if they met somewhere else. In a bar or club where she could have made an excuse to go outside for a few minutes, be somewhere neutral. But meeting at the farm was somehow worse. Dan had told her to stay by his side and she did, but she felt like she was being a bother. He told her that she didn't need to do anything, she was a guest too, but her mother's words kept going around in her head. She should be helpful, she should be useful, she should be this that and the other. If she didn't help at gatherings then what use was she? Sitting next to Dan cutting tomatoes and onions for the burgers wasn't enough.

She shouldn't feel like she was suffocating when she was with his friends. They all seemed lovely, the guys who'd known Dan since he was a kid and told her stories about what he got up to in school, girlfriends who were genuinely sweet asking her about England and her work. But it felt like it was too much. The flickering light from the firepit and the music playing and the voices made her brain go a million miles an hour, all she wanted was to get out of there. Curl up and bed and read a book. She stood there smiling and she couldn't even lean against Dan because they were supposed to be just friends. They were friends. It's how he introduced her. Em, his friend from England. Not Emmy, that was only for him, but Em.

Nobody there had any idea that as soon as the parties and dinners were over he snuck into her bed. That when he got back from being all around the world he came to her home. She was just Em and she had no idea what she was doing there. She didn't know what they were but just friends didn't cut it anymore, and even being outside on the farm it felt like she couldn't get a deep breath into her lungs. The air slowly left her body and she could barely get it in.

She wouldn't forgive herself if she ruined Dan's night. He was so happy there, tanned and grinning as he talked to people. Em decided another beer to replace her empty one and a deep breath in the kitchen would help. Just two minutes away from the crowd. She went in, grabbed two bottles from the fridge and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She could do it. She'd be fine and she'd get through the rest of this night. She could do it.

"Thought you were into blondes, mate," it was clear as a bell even through the noise, a dagger hitting into Em's chest. Did she seem like just a girl?

"Shut up, it's not like that." She knew they were just friends. But hearing it like that was different. It was the straw that broke the camel's back and she didn't remember the last time she wanted to cry that badly. She wanted the ground to open up beneath her and just swallow her whole so she can hide but she wasn’t lucky enough. She blinked back tears, ignoring the knot growing in her stomach and the anxiety seeping into every pore. Em’s heart raced and she could hear the whooshing sound in her eardrums. Why was she there? The questions bubbled through her brain but that was the loudest. Why did Dan invite her there? Why was she there? Why did he want her to be in Perth?

Em couldn’t stay there anymore. If she stayed out with everyone she’d break down and start crying and the last thing Dan needed was her dramatics. She didn’t want to ruin the reunion and the good time he was having. So she took a deep breath, had a sip of her beer, and pretended she heard nothing. She just needed to keep it together for long enough so Dan didn’t suspect anything. She could smile and nod as if she didn’t care about what his mates said.

All she needed to do was pretend that she was fine, and then she could run back inside and be alone. She felt terrible just thinking about it. She couldn't do one fucking thing right and be a normal person for one night and have a normal night. It just made her feel awful for Dan because he had done everything to make her comfortable. Not just that night, but he'd changed his home so she felt at home. He insisted he was in charge of the burgers so that he could make one that was cooked the way she enjoyed it - a squirt of ketchup, one slice of cheese, wrapped in two napkins so her fingers didn't get greasy. He got her a Coke Zero or a lemon San Pellegrino so she had options when she didn't want a beer. There were even some of her favourite songs on his playlist for that night, Paramore playing out over the group. He did every single thing right. But she was ruining it all.

Em tried hiding how she was feeling but it was useless. The second she was back at Dan's side he knew something was wrong. The question was quiet, asking if she was ok, but her nod was too fast and she could tell that he didn't quite believe her. Dan's brown eyes stayed on her as she tipped the rest of her bottle back.

"Mind if I head to bed?" She was proud of how even her voice sounded.

"You sure you're ok? What's up?"

"I'm fine, just jetlagged and tired still. I'll be fine."

"See you in a lil bit?" She didn't answer him, making excuses and quick comments so she didn't start crying around new to her people. It was saying how lovely it was to meet them and saying they'd get coffee or meet before she went back to England. She was so polite and correct she almost sounded like her mother and it made her want to vomit. A final quick squeeze on Dan's shoulder and she was gone.

As soon as she was in the house she just had to do a quick trip to the bathroom, change her clothes, and go into bed. But she couldn’t go into the room she'd been sleeping in. That was Dan's bedroom and she couldn't switch the light on or people would see. So in the fading light of dusk she grabbed her pjs, the book she'd been reading, and the bottle of water she kept on her nightstand. From there she went to the guest room that was supposed to be her room. Dan had mentioned it'd be her room in Abu Dhabi, just across from his. That first night he'd insisted she didn't have to sleep there if she didn't want to and they'd ended up in his bedroom and Em didn't want to leave. But now she had to be in her own room. It'd be fine.

The last thing she wanted anyone to see was her crying. Somehow she got the door of the guest room closed without letting out a sob, panic growing in her chest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She shouldn't be crying. She had no reason to cry. She knew what she was doing.

Her back slid against the door as she ended up on the ground. Her sobs turned to gasps as she struggled to get a deep breath, thoughts burning her head. She wanted to be curled up in the bed that she'd spent the last week sleeping in. She wanted Dan's arm around her, wanted to sit on his lap and sip from his beer bottle. Wanted to forget that the night had even happened. That the man who'd been sharing her bed for the last six months preferred blondes. That the man who she'd been falling in love with might not feel the same way, and they'd agreed they were just friends and said that they weren't going to break the rules and love each other but she had. She wanted her brain to shut up with the "why the fuck does he sleep with me then" that was filling her mind with doubts.

But more than all of that she wished she was brave enough to leave. Pack her bag and go to the airport and fly back to London. Because Dan deserved so much better than anything she could offer. He deserved a beautiful blonde woman who didn't freak out during a party and could afford to rent an apartment with working heating and didn't run away to hide and cry because she couldn't cope. Of course he wouldn't pick her.

But she could barely move. Somehow she managed to stand up once she'd caught her breath, pulling on her tshirt and leggings to sleep in. From there she made it to the bed, lying and pulling up the blanket to try cocoon herself as her tears kept falling. All she wanted was for Dan to magically appear and hold her to stop her chest from feeling so tight. A hug from Dan was magical, it'd make the pressure go away in no time. But he was with his friends and she didn't blame him. She was his friend. They were just friends and she had absolutely no right to be upset about it, but it hurt.

She wasn't planning on getting a lot of sleep that night. The awful feeling in her chest wasn't getting any better, her heart was still racing, and her head ached thanks to crying so much. Finally the tears stopped and she turned onto her side in the too big bed.

A knock on the door made her close her eyes and force her breathing to even out. She didn't want Dan to see her like that. She couldn't explain what she was feeling, she couldn't start rambling about it because then she'd have to admit how she felt and that wasn't going to happen. She couldn't admit that she'd broken every rule they'd come up with and fallen in love with him. She couldn't lose him. She couldn't lose his friendship and what they had so she had to stay quiet.

"Emmy? You awake?" Em should have known he wouldn't leave even if she didn't answer, listening as he padded around to her side of the bed and knelt down, his thumb brushing the still damp skin on her cheek.

**

The second Emmy squeezed his shoulder as she said she was still jetlagged and going to bed, Dan knew something was wrong. She hadn't been ok since she got back from the kitchen with their drinks, but watching her nod and fake smile as she went back inside felt so wrong. And then he stared at their room, waiting for a light to go on and the curtains to close. But nothing happened and it felt even worse.

He knew she wasn't a fan of big parties, his friends were more like him than her and were loud but she'd been ok. He made sure she was stuck to his side for the evening, she smiled when he handed her a perfectly wrapped burger made just the way she liked them. Dan knew it wasn't easy for her, she'd told him that she found big groups hard to deal with. She was the dictionary definition of an introvert who preferred to sit with a book in silence rather than be surrounded by loud people. But she was fine.

He'd asked a couple of times, not wanting to annoy her by constantly thinking something was wrong. He'd offered if she wanted to go inside and hide out for a while he'd make excuses but she insisted she was fine. Emmy ate her burger and snacked on some chips while chatting with his mates. He heard her laugh and one of the lads made a comment about how Dan kept staring at her. He was happy.

And Em was fine until she'd leaned over to offer to get him another beer when she was getting hers. He knew she heard what Mark said, his quip about blondes. The shut up didn't go fast enough and she'd been close enough to hear. She came back looking like someone had punched her in the stomach, big eyes sad even under her fake smile. There was nothing Dan could do to make her feel better.

What he wanted to do was pull her onto his lap, arms around her waist as they shared a drink. He'd tell her that yeah he'd slept with blondes before, dated some as well, but he was hers. He was so fucking crazy about her it was insane. Dan was absolutely in love with her, and terrified to say it because she could do so much better than him. They'd promised they'd stay friends, falling in love wasn't on the list.

But he couldn't even describe how much he loved her. He loved her long brown hair, the way it fell down her shoulders and back. He loved standing behind her and brushing it out to apologise for the mess he'd made it by wrapping it around his hand and pulling her hair the way that made her groan in all the right ways, using it as an excuse to kiss along her neck. He loved the way she smiled at him. How she made jokes and laughed at them herself. How she wrapped her arms around him and welcomed him home. The carefully covered sandwich that waited for him.

He didn't want any blondes. He wanted his gorgeous, brunette Wrinkles, and just maybe in the future if he was lucky enough he'd get to have gorgeous little babies with her hair and eyes and personality. He'd never, ever wanted that until now. And then it felt like she was slipping through his fingers with one evening.

She finished her beer, excused herself saying something about jetlag, was sweet and polite and so un-Emmy it hurt, and whispered to him that she was going to bed. The going to bed wasn't a surprised, she was still jetlagged and had been tired before they even got to Australia. She was the first to head to bed every night anyway. But the way she did it worried him.

Even around his family she kissed his head before she left the room to go to bed. It was what they did when there was people around and they couldn't actually kiss because of the comments. She'd move his curls from his forehead and give him a quick kiss there or on his cheek, or if he was sitting she'd kiss the top of his head. When they were alone he'd go to bed with her, but if he was staying up she'd peck his lips and wait for him in bed.

There was none of that. Instead she gave him a tiny, sad smile and squeezed his shoulder. Like they were just friends. Like she didn't share his bed every night. It was like a knife in his back, a kick in the stomach. That was enough to tell him that something was very, very wrong. He didn't expect a kiss, but he never thought that would be it.

It was all his fault, and the second he realised their bedroom light wasn't going on he knew it. She was nothing like his friends, his life was so different to hers, but he wanted his people to love her. He needed them to. He was so used to the way their lives were intertwined that he didn't think. He was so excited to be home and happy to see his friends and introduce them to her that he made the wrong choice. He should have had it at some neutral place, brought her to a bar to meet everyone. The way he'd done it when she met his family, how it was easier because it was a new place for them all. But he took the party to her one safe place in a foreign country and that wasn't fair on her.

It wasn't how he imagined the night ending. All he wanted to do was hold her. That was his plan for the night. Get into bed, hug his girl, steal some kisses, and call it a night. He wasn't even thinking about sex that night, just curling up with Em. He knew she'd be too tired to do anything and he'd probably have too many beers to make it good for her. So he wasn't even going to try to make a move. He'd hold her, sleep drooling into his pillow, and not have the alarm on so he could have a chill morning with her. Dan was too used to going to bed holding his Emmy, falling asleep with her in his arms and her hand against his chest. And then she was gone and he had the biggest hole in his chest knowing he'd ruined it all.

Dan had no idea what to do. He couldn’t kick his friends off the farm telling them his girl wasn’t ok and needed him. Firstly Em wasn’t his girl, not to them. He’d said over and over that they were friends and she was visiting. Nobody truly believed him, but it was the official story. He couldn’t make them leave but his brain was screaming that he needed to go to Em right then. Something was wrong and he needed to fix it. He needed to make sure she was ok. But all he could do was wait and yawn.

"You alright, DR?” One of the guys asked him.

“Yeah, just exhausted. Nightmare of a season if I’m honest. Looking forward to next year! Maybe I’m getting too old now I’m turning 30?” It was a half joke that got a laugh from the assembled guests. Fortunately they took it for what it was and started making their excuses to leave. An hour later he watched the last people leave as he waved. Once those lights were gone from the driveway he ran back to the house as quickly as he could get in.

His heart broke as he opened the bedroom door to find the empty room in complete darkness. When he switched the light on it was even worse, Em’s belongings still there. Her pillow, the blanket she loved, her Snorlax plushie he’d brought her back from Japan, even her Kindle. Only her water bottle and the book she was reading were gone.

It was a punch in the gut to realise the only other room she could be in was his least used guest room. The fact that Emmy thought she needed to stay in another room felt wrong. His room was their room. He’d made sure to decorate it to be similar to their room in London, parcels arriving to the farm the week before they arrived. The fairy lights, the purple curtains, the scented candles, the extra soft sheets and bed linen to make her smile. It was all for them. It was to make Emmy happy and feel like she was at home because in the back of his head there was a hope that it could be their home in the future. Dan had thought it was working, but now it felt like it was falling apart.

It took a few seconds for Dan to get the courage together to knock on the spare room door. He was scared Emmy would tell him to leave, would tell him to go away. But instead there was silence. He knocked again but the same lack of answer was the response so he decided to go in.

The room was in absolute darkness apart from the faint moonlight coming through the window. It was enough that Dan could make out Em resting on the bed, blankets up to her chin. All Dan wanted to do was get into bed with her, to spoon against her and hold her close, but he knew she wouldn’t like that. So instead he walked around to her side and knelt in front of her, stroking a lock of hair falling over her cheek. He didn’t know if she was in the mood for hugs, didn’t know if she wanted anyone, so he didn’t want to do too much. He saw how her eyes were closed and could feel her damp skin under his thumb. Em’s breathing was too even, she wasn’t really asleep.

“Emmy? I know you’re awake Baby girl.” It took a moment for her eyes to open as she looked up at him.

“I was tryna sleep.”

“I know. But why aren’t you in bed?”

“I am.” Her words were short. “This is a bed.”

“It’s not our bed, Beautiful.” She was at least looking at him, but something still wasn’t right. “C’mon back to bed.”

“I’m fine, D. Go on, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. You’ve been crying.” She looked like she was about to start crying again, Dan holding her hand and running his thumb along the back of it.

“I’m fine, Dan. I’m fine. I’m just tired, it’s been a long day. Go to bed.”

“Not without you.” He watched as her gaze softened slightly and he just wanted to kiss her to make her smile. “Can I like down here with you and give you a hug?”

“You don’t have to, Dan. We can just go to sleep.”

“But I want to. If you want me to.”

“…That’d be nice.” It took a few seconds for Em to respond and Dan was terrified she’d say no. He’d accept it, but he wouldn’t like it. He got in behind her, pulling Em against his chest. Her whole body was tense as he turned her around so they were in their usual sleeping position. She began to relax as his hand rubbed her back, Em’s head finally resting against his chest.

“You know, Snorlax is all alone in the other room. And our bed is way comfier than this one.” He kept his hand moving as she tensed up again, looking into Dan’s eyes.

“I’m too tired to move.”

“Nobody said you have to move. Trust me?” There was a nod and he pulled her over to the other side of the bed before stepping out. It was easy to pick her up and carry her out to their room, carefully depositing her back in their bed before he got in beside her. “See? Back where we belong and without you needing to move a single one of your cute toes. And back with your fluffy friend.”

It was quiet between them for a few moments, something Dan mostly expected. Whenever Em got like this she always went quiet while she thought. Finally he heard her bare whisper.

“I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t ruin anything, you never could. I’m sorry I invited everyone around and had them all invading your space. I shouldn’t have.”

“Dan.” She leaned up and kissed his jaw to make him smile. “It’s your house and your friends, of course you should have. It’s fine.”

“No it’s not. I should have done it differently, we should have gone somewhere else. And believe me when I tell you that you can’t ruin anything. Even if you tried to ruin something you couldn’t.”

“You’re too nice to me.” The hollow way she said it broke a little part of Dan’s heart.

“Emmy I promise. Everyone should be nice to you because you deserve it. You deserve happiness and goodness. And a whole lot of cuddles.”

“Will you cuddle me?” He couldn’t help but hold her even closer at her request.

Dan had no idea which lucky star was looking out for them but it felt like there was a whole constellation instead of just one star. He knew Em wouldn’t do it but he was ready for her to kick him out of the room. Instead he was so damn lucky that he got to hold her while she dozed asleep. He didn’t have the guts to try to explain the comment she’d overheard, he wasn’t going to push his luck, but at least he got to hold her. They could keep going from there.

—

Em couldn’t remember when she actually fell asleep. She was positive that she wouldn’t sleep at all that night, but Dan’s arms around her and his heartbeat under her ear was the best sleeping pill to ever exist. She didn’t know how he did it but he always managed to make her drift off. Even on the worst nights when her brain wouldn’t shut up he did it.

She woke up too early, the sun barely rising and illuminating the room through the blinds. She shot awake at the realisation that Dan wasn’t against her back anymore. At some point in the night she moved from Dan spooning her to her turning around and cuddling into him like she always did. Her face was buried against Dan’s chest, his arms holding her tight, and their legs tangled between each other. She raised her head slightly, Dan grumbling at her moving, and kissed his chest before going back to sleep with him.

The next time she woke up it was full morning. The sun was coming in through slits in the blinds and felt completely opposite to her emotions. She was so exhausted. Em had cried herself to exhaustion, her anxiety and nerves filling her. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed with her book and preferably with Dan cuddling her. But she was so tired she barely even noticed Dan kissing her shoulder and gently leaving her in bed. He was probably just going to the bathroom before coming back to the warmth and cuddle her.

She must have dozed off, she had no idea how long he was gone for, but she woke up to kisses on her cheek and the scratch of his off season stubble against her skin. The smile on her face was automatic. Waking up that way was one of her favourite things in the world, kisses from the man she was falling for were the best feeling and she wouldn’t change it for anything in the universe.Without even thinking Em hugged him back, almost forgetting the words from the evening before. After a horrible night all she needed was Danny. Em just wanted her human weighted blanket over her.

“I made breakfast,” Dan whispered, lips still glued to her skin. “I’ve got your coffee and toast and that jam you like. Figured you wouldn’t want to get up so it’s here whenever you want it.::

“Huh? You didn’t have to do that.” She looked up at him with disbelieving wide eyes. How could he get up to make breakfast and bring it into her after everything that happened? He did it more often than not when they were in England, but she didn’t think he’d do it that morning.

“You always say that, and I always say I do it because I wanna. Are we gonna have this conversation again?”

“No, not really. Thanks for doing it anyway.” She caught him in a kiss but as she went to move he didn’t let her.

“Don’t thank me. Especially considering it’s gonna get cold cause I’m too comfy to move.”

“Dan…”

“Five minutes.”

Like every morning when Dan asked for five minutes in bed with her, those five turned into ten, then fifteen, and then she lost count. It started with kisses against Em’s neck and her hands running along his shoulders and back. But it ended with their clothes somewhere on the floor, fingers laced and moaning each other’s name. Coffee could be reheated, toast could be eaten cold or remade. But none of it mattered when Dan was inside her, whispering how good she felt and how she was the best girl, giving her another reminder that it was still them. Inside the walls of their bedroom it was always going to be them. If that was all she was going to get, it was going to have to be enough. Dan’s groans and gasps helped silence Em’s ghosts for a little while so she took advantage.

The rest of the day involved Dan looking after her while they had a lazy day. A few small excuses, a rescheduled afternoon with his family blamed on hangovers, and they decided to either stay in the bed or on the couch and do nothing. Dan insisted it was payback for the mess of the night before. Em didn’t particularly care about his reasons as long as she was by his side.

It was how they spent their days in Perth, mostly glued to each others sides except for if Dan was going to Michael to start working on a training plan or see his friends. She started to get used to being a part of his life in Australia. Dan made sure that none of the events were at the farm, always at a restaurant or bar unless it was just his family. Every single time they went anywhere Dan whispered in her ear before they went in that she was the one in charge. Say a word and they’d be on the way home. She was trying to fit into his life just like he was trying to keep her safe, and Em couldn’t thank him enough for it.

She was starting to get used to Perth, relaxing more as she spent more time there. But as Christmas got closer she lost her chill. Two days before Christmas she went through the clothes she’d brought with her and none of them were good enough for an event. She had no idea what a Ricciardo Christmas involved, but none of her outfits were right. She had some cute summer dresses, but they were normal everyday things. She’d wear them to the beach or to lunch or maybe even to dinner with Dan’s friends, but not for a proper day. There was nothing formal like what she’d wear to her family’s Christmas dinners that met her mother’s approval.

Em knew Dan would say she looked good in anything she wore, but she was terrified. All she wanted was for them to like her. The idea that Dan’s family might not like her was scary, and she needed to make sure that she was perfect. She couldn’t ruin it over clothing. Em had hidden most of the anxiety she had around being good enough for them but that night it was too much. Her stomach was in knots and she kept fidgeting in bed. The same page was read over and over, but she had no idea what it said. She pretended it was fine until Dan kissed her cheek, pulling her book from her hands as she jumped.

“Emmy what’s wrong?”

“Huh?” She shook her head and looked over at him.

“You haven’t turned the page in like fifteen minutes, you jumped when I kissed your cheek, and your feet keep moving. You’re overthinking. So talk to me, what’s going on?”

“What if they don’t like me? I didn’t bring anything proper to wear because you kept saying it was hot and I don’t look proper. I should have brought something proper with me.”

“If who doesn’t like you?” The concern in his voice made her want to melt.

“Your family, Dan.”

“Emmy…Baby you know they lo-like you already. Mum’s the one who invited you. Isaac absolutely loves you and is obsessed with you, ‘Chelle made a joke that you’re gonna have to have him on your lap when we’re eating. You can wear any of the dresses you’ve been wearing. You look phenomenal in them. I’m gonna wear shorts so you’ll be fine. What’s this about?” Her head spun. Shorts? At Christmas? No no no. What?

“Huh? Not a suit? Or at least trousers and a shirt? You’re wearing shorts?”

“I’m not wearing a fucking suit, it’s summer. It’s way too warm to do that.”

“Oh.”

“We can head out tomorrow, find a new dress for you if you want. But if you want my opinion you should wear that little red one you have, it’s cute. You look good in all your summer dresses, but red is kinda Christmassy, right?”

“But it’s a summer one?”

“And it’s probably gonna be like thirty. What’s wrong with that?”

Her head was filled with the reminder of the year before, of her mother’s glare at the heels Em made herself wear because if she didn’t she’d barely be allowed into the party. But they were only Primark so they weren’t good enough. And she didn’t have many presents for Dan’s family and

“Emmy. What’s up? Talk to me.”

“It’s stupid. But if I didn’t have changes for the different parts of Christmas Day and if I wasn’t wearing a formal dress and heels and men weren’t in suits then it wasn’t acceptable. Plus I only have little presents not proper gifts, I don’t know what to do.”

“Calm down. It’s ok. All you need to do is turn up as yourself, that’s it. We’re having a barbecue and hanging out by the pool cause it’s way too hot for anything else, I promise. We’ll be in swimwear most of the time.”

The next morning Em was still half convinced she should try to have something proper to wear, but Dan convinced her there was no need. If she wanted to go shopping he’d drive her in and help her choose, but she didn’t have to. She didn’t need to do it so his family would like her, they’d like her anyway. Instead it was a morning of soft kisses on the couch to convince her but Em agreed to wear the red dress Dan liked so much. It had a shallow v neck, was knee length, and the fabric had a white floral pattern. Dan insisted it looked wonderful with the soft tan she’d picked up since they got into the country. Pairing it with black slip on sandals meant she’d be ok. She’d look fine.

Which led her to the freak out of how could she appear at Joe and Grace’s home to stay a few nights without bringing anything as a thank you? She couldn’t do that. So they stood in the Cole’s checkout queue for far too long on the 23rd as Dan watched her pick out her baking ingredients. By that evening there was a berry tart and a three layer chocolate cake packaged up in the fridge awaiting delivery with them. It was entirely stress baking, even Dan knew it. But he didn’t make any comments. Instead he sat on the kitchen counter and watched, stealing strawberries and taste testing her concoctions.

Christmas Eve morning arrived and Em wasn’t as nervous as she thought she’d be. The full day of Dan talking to her about how it was going to be alright and everyone was looking forward to see her had helped. There were still nerves, but she was going to spend a couple of nights with people who wanted her there, wear cute clothes, and she had host presents to give as a thanks for being invited. Really she couldn’t wait.

Plus Dan had made it his personal job to make sure that she was completely relaxed that moaning. It started with slow morning sex, Em waking up to kisses along her shoulder and wandering hands. After that a shower for the two of them and waffles with her leftover berries for breakfast really helped, Em fully relaxed. She double checked that the presents were all perfectly wrapped and packed to go, and after lunch she decided to finally start getting ready for heading over.

Dan was sitting on the side of the bed switching between watching her put makeup on and fiddling with his phone. She knew she wanted to look mostly natural but she put a red lip on to go with her dress. She was put together and ready to go. She could do this. It was going to be good. As soon as she opened her lipstick up Dan spoke.

“You know red’s a risky colour when you consider I’m definitely stealing kisses under the mistletoe.”

“The package says it’s kiss proof. You’ll be fine stealing a peck.”

“Ah my sweet, innocent Emmy. You thinkI’m gonna steal just one little peck?” He grinned and kissed her briefly but filthily, tongue slipping between her lips as Em kissed him back.

“That’s the last one, your entire family will be around.”

“And?”

“And that means your family and kids. So no.”

“We’ll find somewhere, you’re not gonna make me go a full day without a kiss.” He pursed his lips at her but Em ignored them, focusing on making sure her liner was perfect and her lipstick matched it.

“You know you’re ridiculous, right?” It was supposed to be a joke, but he got the look on his face that she knew meant he’d done something.

“Talking about ridiculous, actually-“

“Daniel what did you do?” He went to his side of the wardrobe, pulling out a red glittery box from behind some bedsheets.

“Before you say anything, I did nothing. It was all Santa. Not me.” He handed Em the box and she looked up at him carefully. They’d agreed that he wasn’t getting her a present this year because he’d paid for her flights to Austin and Perth. She never wanted him to ever think that she was friends with him because of his money. None of it mattered to her.

“Dan we said.”

“I know. But it was Santa. And he couldn’t give this to you in front of everyone so it had to be now.”

“What have you done?”

She opened the box he’d handed her carefully, lifting the lid and pulling back two layers of tissue paper to reveal the gifts. The main one was some of the most beautiful lingerie she’d ever seen in her life. It was sage green and lacy, the fabric soft against her finger. The corset wasn’t a proper one, not boned but she knew it’d look amazing. A pair of stockings at the bottom of the box made her realise how perfect it would be.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted—“

“Oh this is pretty. This is really, really pretty.” She lifted the underwear out to let the lace catch the light, admiring the design through it.

“You like it??” Dan sounded nervous.

“I really like it. I mean, I could wear it Boxing Day when we get b…what’s this?” As she moved tissue paper a smaller box she hadn’t realised was there hit off her fingers. Em picked it up and looked at the sleek silver lettering. For her pleasure. When she opened the box there was a light lavender vibrator in the black box. A charging cable was neatly beside it along with a dust bag.

“Look if you don’t wanna use it, it’s fine. If you want to pretend that you never saw it and throw it away, that’s completely fine. But we were talking and you said you’d never tried one, so I thought why not? It could be an option for you.”

Em’s cheeks were on fire as she realised that Dan was doing it for her. She’d barely made it through the awkward conversation when he’d asked her what she liked in bed. It was impossible to explain how bad her sex life had been before him. She’d never thought it was, but the way he acted when she said it was ok for him to not worry about her orgasms had soon taught her the opposite. She still remembered the way Gregory looked at her when she said she wasn’t enjoying their sex life. Now she knew he’d been with Millie that entire time when he insisted she was enjoying herself.

She forced herself out of her thoughts, staring at Dan. He looked worried and she forced a smile. His face relaxed when he realised she was ok.

“Will you use it with me?” She felt like her body was about to rip apart from shakes and nerves as she got the words out but Dan’s grin made it worth it.

“Absolutely. We can do it right now.”

“We have to go to your parents, so when we get back. And thank you. But Dan you didn’t have to. I don’t need presents, you paid for my flights. That was enough.”

“I mean I think it’s technically more for us than just you, so it’s fine. Right?” She grinned at him and leaned against his shoulder for a moment before getting up.

“Get dressed or you’ll be late.” Em started to fix her makeup as Dan looked at her.

“Can I watch you get dressed first?”

“No touching, but you can.”

“You’re killing me here, woman!” It hurt to not just sit in his lap and kiss him but they were already starting to be late. She couldn’t be late for a visit that involved staying over.

As a little nod to his request, Em slicked on a light pink lipstick instead of the red one she planned on wearing before putting on her red dress. The no touching rule was ignored the second she moved past Dan. Instead he squeezed her butt and kissed her neck before going to get changed. As promised he was casual, one of his party shirts, a pair of shorts, and Vans. Effortlessly handsome as normal and Em was jealous of how good his slightly longer curls and stubble looked.

If she was honest to herself all she wanted to do was take her dress off, get rid of the stupidly expensive shirt he was wearing and spend the day kissing him. Ask him to use the new toy sitting in the box. But they couldn’t. They needed to get going. When they were about to head out the door Dan decided to steal a kiss. It was supposed to be just one final one, but it turned into two. Then three. Then Em was pinned against the wall, hands running through Dan’s hair as his hands gripped her hips and waist. She pushed her lips to wherever she could reach, kissing up the bridge of his nose and along his cheeks.

Em would never admit it in a month of Sundays to him, but it was the right decision to not wear the red lipstick. Her whole face would be red. They needed to go. Get in the car and leave, but he was addictive. It was one of the things she adored about him and sometimes hated, how hard he was to leave behind. Every time they said it was the last one there was just one more.

She knew they wouldn’t be able to do this for another two days. The plan was to stay with Grace and Joe for Christmas Eve and Day, so they could be around all the family for the festivities before coming back on Boxing Day. Which meant no touching or kissing, and she couldn’t say no to the last make out session for 48 whole hours. She giggled at Dan’s expression as he moved away, Em using her thumb to clean the sheen of lipstick from his lip.

The one thing she didn’t expect was Dan grabbing her hand when they walked to his truck, and holding it again in between shifting gears while he was driving. It had never been a thing for them until they arrived in Perth. They’d been grocery shopping and picking up last minute presents in a crowded supermarket, everyone out to prepare for the season. Out of the blue there were fingers linking hers, Dan holding her hand while they walked through the aisles. His fingers interlaced with hers until they got to the checkout, and then went back as they walked back to the truck.

Grabbing someone’s hand for a moment in a crowded place was fine. Friends did that in busy places so they didn’t lose each other, especially when one of them was new to a place. You don’t lace your fingers with them. And Em couldn’t bring herself to let it go while she tried to ignore the size difference or how good it felt.

She really did try not to think about it, but it was impossible while his thumb rubbed lazy circles against her skin. He was soft and warm and his long fingers were one of her favourite things in the world. Sitting in the car then she could admit it to herself, she loved him. She loved the way he made her feel about herself almost as much as she loved him. And then the playlist flipped over and a grin spread across her face while she heard the opening fiddle strains of Our Song.

Em didn’t even need to say anything. All she did was look over as Dan was intently staring at the road with a grin on his face to know he did it deliberately. He’d learned pretty early on that a surefire way to cheer her up was to put Taylor on. Em could still never thank him enough for that night in Philadelphia when they’d gotten to see Our Song live without the band. It had been magical. Dan started to sing along with his exaggerated accent to make her giggle. There was nobody else for her, all she could focus on was being happy. The nerves, the worry faded away as she sung with hi, and collapsed into giggles when they finished. Em sang it looking over at him, watching how he grinned and shimmied in his seat as they drove the road back to the city instead of staying out at the countryside. All she wanted was to kiss him silly and start her Christmas Day sharing a bed with him. It’d still be worth it, but it was weird.

She may not have gotten a Christmas Eve kiss from her favourite member of the family, but Isaac wouldn’t let her go and kept kissing her cheek. He insisted on sitting next to her at dinner, Dan on Em’s other side. Dan casually ran his hand along her thigh under the table cloth as they all ate. She joked and laughed along with everyone, getting Isaac to eat his veggies thanks to the joy of stealing from Auntie Emmy’s plate and not even realising what was happening.

The best part about the meal was nobody judged her for her plate of food. Everyone else was eating the Feast of the Seven Fishes, plates piled with seafood that she didn’t particularly enjoy. Instead Grace had handed her a plain one, with pasta and sauce and cheese. She smiled when she got it, getting a “enjoy”.

There was no pressure on Em to try new things. The serving platters were spread on the table for people to take what they liked. If she wanted something and it looked good to her she could have it. If she liked it, great. If not Dan was happy to eat off her plate. Once they started talking and sharing drinks she couldn’t remember why she was so nervous. She knew the Ricciardo’s. She’d spent days with them, relaxing and watching Dan race. This was just another dinner like the ones they’d had before, except here they had a celebration as an excuse.

When dessert came around Grace brought out Em’s cake and tart, placing them in the centre of the table.

“Em made these, so I’m saving the pav for tomorrow. I hadn’t put it together and these are fresh!” Grace announced as she handed out bowls, Joe cutting into the cake first and showing the layers. It was congratulations and compliments towards Em, Isaac grinning as he ate his tart. It felt strange to get complimented for what she’d done by people. Usually she stayed quiet and in the background because she didn’t want to speak too loudly.

Even with the worry that someone would ask questions Em could feel herself relaxing beside Dan. He had his arm resting on the back of her chair, hugging around her shoulders like it was nothing. She wanted to move away but she couldn’t, Isaac on her lap before she lifted him and carried him into the living room for Christmas Eve presents. They settled in on the sofa, Isaac waking up a bit more and looking around.

Em wasn’t expecting anything. They’d welcomed her into their home, offered her somewhere to stay and it was more than she thought. But as stockings were handed out Joe offered one over to her.

“Everyone gets a stocking. We guessed on the pjs, apologies if they’re too big.” She smiled as she opened it, Isaac handed back to Michelle so Em could open it. Inside was new shorts pjs with red and black checkers, shampoo and conditioner, and a mixture of sweets. There was also a new notebook and a smooth writing pen. She couldn’t believe it. It was presents chosen specifically for her. The tiny little gold E in the bottom right corner of the notebook cover proved that for her. It was the middle of summer, she was in Australia for Christmas, and there was a group of people together who genuinely liked each other and somehow liked her. It didn’t feel real.

As midnight hit it was hugs and congratulations, everyone heading towards their rooms as they were shooed away with the promise that Santa was on his way so everyone had to go to bed. For the first time in far too long she didn’t have to suppress a shudder as someone who wasn’t Dan hugged her, smiling at Grace and Joe and returning the hug. Michelle and her husband got a one armed one that she gave willingly. It felt magical. And it wasn’t weird that the biggest hug was from Dan. She wouldn’t kiss him in front of everyone, but once everyone was going to bed he followed her into the guest room she was staying in.

“Two hands or the hug doesn’t count, right?” Em asked as he pulled her into a hug. His head leaned against hers and Em pushed her head into the spot where his neck and shoulder met. Alone she was able to run her hands along his warm back, pulling him close as Dan nodded and squeezed her waist. “That’s my huggy boy.”

As he hugged she didn’t want to let go, holding onto him in the privacy. Dan pushed kisses to the top of her head and her shoulder as much as he could. Em was just glad to have him there. He made things easier for her. She’d come with him and been so nervous but it was easy with him. Terrifying, but easy. She looked up at him and saw the smile, reaching up on her toes to kiss him.

The smile on Dan’s face as he realised what was going on and what she was doing would sustain Em forever. He was contagiously happy as they kissed, and Em was so close to telling him everything. But for the first time in years she was going to have a good Christmas and she couldn’t say no. She couldn’t ruin that on herself. So she held onto him as he kissed the top of her head and pretended everything was fine. She could do it.

“You need to go back,” Em whispered, afraid of breaking the spell between them.

“Can I stay here?”

“You need to go. What if your parents find out?”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll go back to my room early in the morning. Please?” She couldn’t resist him and he knew that.

“Fine.” It was one more kiss before she went to get her pjs on. They were curled up in bed and Em heard him barely whisper.

“Merry Christmas, Emmy.”

“Merry Christmas, Dimples. Thanks for inviting me tonight,” she murmured before pushing a kiss to his shoulder and cuddling in to sleep.

“Any time, Wrinkles. It’s gonna be the first of many.”

-

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[writing-about-current-obsessions]

Snowy vacation

Pairings: Daniel Ricciardo x reader

Words: 2750

>Click here to check out my masterlist<  

It’s Wednesday so here is the third Christmas drabble of this week! I’m sorry it’s not very Christmassy but this one just got away from me a little.

Everything was packed and she was ready to spend the week in the rented cabin up in the mountains, with probably no signal and with their closest neighbour miles and miles away. It wasn’t her idea, but she had to admit that it actually didn’t sound like the worst thing. She will spend some time away from everything and she would be surrounded by friends. Her best friend’s boyfriend was celebrating his birthday and decided that this was the way he wanted to spend it – in temperatures below zero, in the middle of nowhere. So, who was she to argue with his birthday wishes? Eleanor and Aaron were a perfect couple, as well as her very good friends. She was sure that she would have fun with them and with whoever else they invited.

She arrived yesterday and since her flight landed in the afternoon and a day before her best friend’s, she settled in a hotel overnight. The plan was to meet up today and drive to the cabin together. She made sure once again that her luggage was packed and she had everything before checking out of her room and waiting in the lobby. When she noticed the rent-a-car in front, she rushed out, eager to meet her friend.

She loved the sound her boots made in the snow as she walked in the parking lot and she absolutely adored waking up and seeing snow outside, so she was already excited.

When she saw who got out of the car, she immediately froze in her spot. None other than Daniel flashed her a smile as he stood and waved at her.

“Are you coming?” he grinned. “It’s freezing out here.”

She finally regained control of her limbs and moved to the car, dragging her suitcase with her.

“What are you doing here?” she frowned, looking at a shivering Australian in front of her.

“So good to see you too.”, Daniel replied sarcastically, displeased by her greeting.

“Aaron invited you?”

“Yes.”, he took the suitcase out of her hand to put it in the back. “And Eleanor called me this morning to pick you up.”

“That bitch.”, she muttered under her breath, but judging by the giggle Daniel let out, he definitely heard her.

She was sure that Eleanor did this on purpose and she was mad at herself for not seeing it sooner. It was such an evil plan to force her to be with her ex, especially when her best friend obviously knew how she felt about Daniel.

Ever since the breakup, she was thinking about him and how she wanted him back. She didn’t want to admit it and she acted like she didn’t care, but the feelings were still there. No matter how much it hurt, she still loved Daniel deeply. But, he was the one who wanted to break up, so there was no way that she would come crawling back to him, just to get rejected.

Eleanor kept convincing her for the longest time to meet up with Daniel and work things out, claiming that they were meant for each other, but it never happened. She simply didn’t want to get hurt again.

Still, she definitely should’ve expected this to happen.

“It’s warm in the car. Get in.”, he opened a car door for her, gesturing for her to sit.

She blinked at Daniel, brushing away all the thoughts that invaded her mind. She was confused and angry. She wanted to go back to the hotel and not spend the next couple of hours stuck in a car with her ex.

Daniel sighed, one of his eyebrows quirking up in question. “You don’t want to get in the car with me?”

“No.”, she shocked even herself when she answered.

Daniel seemed surprised as she scoffed at him.

“Do you seriously think that you can just show up and pretend like nothing ever happened?��� she glared at him, walking to the back of the car to take her luggage back. “I’m not sitting in the car with you. I’ll take a taxi.”

She took her suitcase and dropped it to the ground with a loud thud. She was absolutely fuming and Daniel was panicking, walking over to her.

“A taxi will not take you in the middle of nowhere.”, Daniel reasoned, standing in her way. “Please, just let me take you. I’m already here.”

She faltered a little when she heard him say the word please, but she wasn’t about to give in so easily. She wanted to show him that she didn’t need him, no matter how petty that was.

“I’ll rent a car, then.”, she passed by him and started walking back to the hotel. “You can go, Daniel.”

His heart dropped. He didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome, but he didn’t expect a cold shoulder either. They parted ways kind of amicably, without fighting. When he suggested they needed a bit of time away from each other, she agreed without objecting too much and it hurt him. Daniel wanted her to put up a fight and convince him that they can be together. He knew that it wasn’t fair to think that way and that it was selfish of him to expect something like that. He wanted to focus on his career and see how things will work out, but now he realized he made a mistake. Maybe the biggest one in his entire life.

Living just a few months without her was absolutely horrible and he was now intent on winning her back. He thought that with Eleanor’s help the plan would run much more smoothly than it was going so far.

“There are no more rental cars.”, Daniel called after her, looking at the way she defiantly stomped back to the hotel in her boots. “I’ll be outside, waiting!”

Daniel leaned on the car and waited, even though he was absolutely freezing his ass off. He knew that she will check with the rental company and then realize she had no other option than to go with him. Maybe she will even call Eleanor to convince her to pick her up. He had no way of knowing for sure, but he did actually guess it right and that is exactly what had happened.

By the time Daniel could barely feel his fingers, she was out of the hotel, stomping back to his car.

He tried not to look smug, but he failed miserably. “Glad to see you back.”

“Just get in and drive, Ricciardo.”, she grumbled through her teeth, moving to the back of the car to put her suitcase in the trunk again.

He happily got back in the warm car and waited for her to join. They left the hotel parking lot and started their journey in silence. Even without asking her anything, Daniel sensed that she was annoyed and he realized how much more tough this will be than he previously thought. He didn’t expect her to forgive him immediately, but this seemed like she will never forgive him. What if Eleanor was wrong and she didn’t want anything to do with him anymore? What if this was too little and too late?

“Do you want to connect your phone and put some of your music?” Daniel suggested, glancing to the side at her.

She debated not answering him at all, but decided that she didn’t want to act like a petulant child after all. “Yours is fine.”

After that, silence again. Daniel couldn’t help but sneak glances at her every now and then, but she didn’t seem too interested in him. She kept staring out of the window, with her head leaned on her hand and her body turned away from him. Daniel knew that she couldn’t be so fascinated by the snowy landscape for more than half an hour, mostly because it looked the same for miles and miles as they passed by the woods covered in snow. He knew that she didn’t want to look at him or talk to him, but this was his unique opportunity before they got to the cabin and met up with their friends to try and talk to her.

“So, uh…”, he cleared his throat, looking ahead at the road and trying not to grip the steering wheel too much out of nervousness. “How have you been?”

“Since when do you care?” she snapped back.

He sighed heavily. “You know I do.”

“Do you?” she questioned rhetorically, the anger clear in her tone.

The car suddenly got so stuffy and warm, she wanted to get out.

“Of course I do.”, he looked at her, their eyes meeting for a second before he had to turn his attention to the road again. “I never stopped caring. And I never stopped loving you, either.”

She was silent now, not knowing what to say. The only thing she could do was turn her head towards him and stare at him in complete shock and an utter loss for words. Daniel nervously glanced at her, but he had to keep his attention on the road to turn the car for the incoming sharp curve.

Before she could think about what he meant by his words and respond with anything, Daniel slowly pulled the car to a stop. She noticed then that there was a roadblock in the middle of the road. There was a man by the side who walked over to Daniel’s window. He explained to them that the road is closed because of all the snow and won’t be cleared until tomorrow.

“This is why I fucking hate snow.”, Daniel huffed, closing the window after the man walked off.

“Don’t be so dramatic.”, she said, rubbing her temples because she could feel a headache coming.

This vacation was a complete disaster and it didn’t even start yet.

“Now I’m dramatic?” he quirked his eyebrow at her.

“I didn’t say you were dramatic.”, she folded her arms over her chest. “I told you to stop acting so dramatic.”

Daniel rolled his eyes at the smirk she was proudly showing on her face. She couldn’t help it. He turned around and started driving back. She tried to ignore it, but the thoughts about their previous interrupted conversation were still roaming her mind.

“Where are you going?”

“We can’t go to the cabin, that’s the only way and it’s closed off.”, he responded simply.

“Well, where are we going to go then?”

“We passed a hotel maybe 10 minutes before coming to the roadblock. We can sleep there.”, he glanced at her and she nodded silently, not really having any other choice.

It was dark when they parked in front of the hotel and it was still snowing. Daniel helped her with the suitcase before she managed to protest. He also sent a message to their friends, explaining the situation, because she was still irritated at Eleanor for not picking her up and refused to talk to her until she calmed down.

Then, their troubles continued.

The nice receptionist told them that the hotel was full and that they had only one room available. Daniel accepted it instantly. On the other hand, she immediately refused. If it was difficult for her to stay in the same car with Daniel, she didn’t even want to think about sharing a room with him.  

“I’ll sleep in the car.”, she grabbed the car keys out of his hands and he looked at her like she was crazy.

“Don’t be stupid, we can share a room.”, Daniel deadpanned.

“Now I’m stupid?” she mimicked him from before, making Daniel roll his eyes.

“I didn’t say you were stupid.”, he responded quickly. “I only pointed out that you were acting stupid.”

She expected a response like that, so she only huffed at him, taking the key card. Plastering a polite smile on her face, she thanked the receptionist who was staring at the two of them, completely dumfounded by their conversation. Not waiting for Daniel, she turned around and started marching to the elevator, while hearing snippets of Daniel’s apology to the woman at the front desk for their little outburst.

When she finally got to their shared room, she was even more exasperated and defeated when she saw that there was only one bed. That was the moment she really started panicking.

“Delightful.”, she muttered quietly.

Daniel only smirked behind her, not wanting to say anything. This was a golden opportunity for him – they were forced to be in the room together until tomorrow, so there was no way that she could escape a conversation with him. On the other hand, if he messed this chance up, then that was it.

“Come on, sweetheart. It’s not like we didn’t share a bed before.”, he teased.

Daniel immediately regretted it when she turned around and when he saw her facial expression. It was a mixture of anger, frustration and… Disappointment? He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but he was more than sure it was not good.

“You’re sleeping on the floor.”, she deadpanned and stormed off to the bathroom.

He ordered room service for dinner while she showered, tactfully choosing all of her favourite food in the hopes that it will put her in a good mood. It kind of worked. By the end of the meal, they were capable of having a light conversation without her staring daggers at him. So, it was an improvement.

By the time they finished the bottle of wine Daniel ordered, she was even smiling and chuckling at his jokes. There was even a moment of comfortable silence between them as they lounged on the sofa in the room, both with their almost empty glasses of wine in hand.

“You know, I meant what I said before.”, Daniel said seriously, looking straight into her eyes.

“What exactly?” she asked, heart thumping faster.

Of course, she knew what he was referring to. She wasn’t even sure why she asked.

“About still caring for you. Still loving you.”, Daniel admitted again, not looking away.

His gaze was so intense it almost took her breath away. She looked down at her lap, bracing herself for the heavy conversation that they were about to have.

“You were the one who wanted to break up.”

“And it was a horrible mistake.”, he put his glass down on the coffee table and scooted closer to her on the sofa, gently taking her hand in his. “I’m so sorry.”

She looked at their hands, thinking about how she still felt a spark of electricity when Daniel touched her. She thought that maybe it wouldn’t feel the same as before because she was angry at him and they were apart for so long, but it didn’t. Daniel still held her heart, no matter how much it hurt.

Her eyes moved up to look at him. He looked so open and vulnerable. So hopeful. And most importantly, he was sincere. His fingers kept brushing the skin on her hand, tracing patterns nervously as his hands were shaking slightly.

“You ripped my heart out, Daniel.”

His heart sank at her words. “I know. I wish I could take it back.”

“But, I still love you.”, she whispered.

Daniel’s smile slowly got bigger and bigger. “Please tell me we can try again. I’ll do anything.”

She moved closer, cupping his cheeks with both of her hands. “I just need you to be honest and talk to me. I don’t want to go through this again.”

“You won’t. I promise.”, he pleaded. “I’ll prove it to you.”

“You better.”, she smiled. “You’ll have to earn my trust back.”

“I will.”, he said with confidence.

Then, much to Daniel’s surprise, she leaned in and closed the gap between them. The relief Daniel felt when they kissed was immeasurable. He kissed her hungrily but slowly, trying to pour into this one kiss all the emotion he felt towards her. He pulled her closer to him and they were soon wrapped in a tight embrace. Despite months of hurting and feeling like a piece of her was gone, with just one kiss and his tender touch she felt whole again. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook and pretend as nothing happened; they will have to slowly build this relationship back up. This was a good start.

Pulling out of the kiss and smiling wide, she was met with Daniel’s absolutely ecstatic facial expression.

“Does this mean I get to sleep on the bed?”

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