We were all in trouble.
Suddenly, there was chaos everywhere. I could hear students screaming and yelling continuously, uselessly creating commotion. And he was at the center of the front area of the boarding school I attended at that time. He tilted his head up to the last floor, where my class was. And he knew that I was going to catch him staring at me because I was staring at him too.
That’s where I officially first met him.
Friday is a free day for my class, so like always I brought my tarots.
While reading Rhys’ cards for his week, we hear commotion from outside. We all stand up and everyone goes to check out of the window. I gather all my cards and try to tidy up the class. Me and Ophelia remove every single type of thing that would reveal the actions we were doing.
Rhys calls out at us and hisses “Guys! This is horrible. He has gotten here too. We need to find a way out. Now.”
Ophelia got pale in the face, and nervously started biting her nails. I look at them confused and say “What? Who are you talking about Rhys?”
“Leonidas, Leonidas Constantine. And his men. The Anileis Men.”
The Anileis Men. The Greek mysterious men that are considered the most ruthless men in Monaco, in fact they are serial killers that never reveal themselves to the world. Nobody knows who they are, physically. Just a few know. The dark sides of this world. Such as, mafia families, royal families and politicians. And you might be thinking, how did Rhys recognize them? First thing is that they all wear a ghost-like mask, and second clue is their way of making a scene in their own habitat, where you can clearly notice that they have come for the next victims or thie new mission. They appear out of nowhere, in a sunny day and trap you with your own feet. How's that possible? Beats me.
Now, the third thing is that Rhys personally knows him; he is my best friend, classmate and only son of the Irish mafia's king. So, that makes him a prince. He has told me that he first met Leonidas Constantine when he was five years old, at an important meeting that his father had to go to. Apparently, Ceallach (KEHL-akh, "war"), the king, had no choice but to bring his son with him because there was a war going back at home.
Actually, there's where I met Rhys too, now that I think of it. And yes. I saw Leonidas' real face there for the first time. He truly was ruthless; he had large scars on the sides of his mouth that could terrify a little girl like me that was hiding behind her dad's legs. He was so tall that everybody else looked short as hell in front of him, he could be like 1,98m (6.5ft). He was large and big like a God, the aura that surrounded him proved that that man was a fucking monster. While he was talking to my father, he averted his eyes at me. He stared at me like I was an angel that shouldn't belong in their world. And than he looked back at my father. Never met him again after that.
One thing you surely don't know is that my class and I belong to that dark side of the world. We are all children of dangerous and merciless men. Our parents, all friends and obviously in good terms, enrolled us all to this weird ass boarding school in the place where every single powerful men lives and where we were raised in, Monaco. I'm unfortunately not Monegasque. But I would have loved to. I was born in Dallas, TX. The only daughter and the only sister out of four brothers in the family of the American-Spanish mafia.
Turning back to the present time, I surprisingly look at Rhys' eyes, repeating those words in my head. Why has he come here?
I go to the window and look down at the area where the commotion is having action. There he is. He is at the center of the area, admiring the scene with his four most trusted men: Elias, Orion, Lysander and Zeno. They are all standing proudly, listenting to the screaming students all around them. They don't care about them. They have come here for someone. This is another mission to them.
All of a sudden, the tallest of them all raises his head and stares directly at me. I look at him and notice that those eyes are the same eyes that studied me when I first met him. He tilts his head at the side and nods at me. I furrow my eyebrows and he just shrugs his shoulder and raises a finger at me. For what? I'm not certain. But then, I get it. He has come here for me.
wattpad story
to read it all fllw the acc : @bakugoismybby
pairing: daniel ricciardo x driver!reader
You and I walk a fragile line I have known it all this time But I never thought I'd live to see it break
what happens when the driver daniel falls in love with, ends up being the one who brings his career to a screeching halt? word count: 7.7k (im so sorry) warnings/tags: fluff-ish, plot with implied/very little smut, angst, mclaren danny, zak brown (gross), some incorrect f2 stats but whatever, time jumps, really just a lot of angst, its a rollercoaster
“What do you know?”
“What do you know?” Daniel repeated the question back to you, the emphasis making it clear as day that you both carried the same career-altering information.
His signature grin and comforting optimism were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Daniel’s expression could be described in a variety of ways. Solemn, disappointed, hurt.
“What was I supposed to do?” You asked, going straight to the defensive. You couldn’t be helpful in this scenario, you just needed to explain yourself. He wouldn’t understand it from your perspective, but you had to try.
“Not take the seat,” he offered a solution, as if it was that simple. “My god, I mean, they’re cutting my contract early, Y/N. For you.”
“For the sake of the team,” you corrected. You had no say in this. McLaren had plenty of driver options for the 2023 season. There were rumours of Daniel’s contract coming to an end a year early anyway, everyone heard them, everyone ignored them. The only thing that remained uncertain for a while was who would replace him should the rumours be true.
You.
“You don’t even like McLaren.” You told him, voice raising a little as if that helped get the point across. “You’ve struggled with this team since day one.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to stop racing.”
“McLaren is not the team for you and you know this.”
Daniel scoffed, eyebrows twitching, “Did Zak tell you to say that?”
It was a rhetorical question, but Daniel noticed the way your bottom lip quivered. He caught the way your eyes dropped from his, even just for a split second. There was something unspoken between you, something that weighed on your mind and Daniel stepped forward, wanting to know what exactly it was.
“Zak-” you started, reluctant to even say this. “-he doesn’t know I’m here. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to talk to you or anyone about it, not until your announcement comes out.”
Here meaning Daniel’s flat in Monaco. The place you spent more nights at than your own. You played it off by saying his view was better but that was such a bullshit answer. Daniel’s flat always felt more like home than yours ever did.
You had formally met the Australian driver a few years ago, but god did time fly. It was at a race in Monza. You could pretend you didn’t know the date but of course you did, you had it memorised. September 3rd, 2020. There was no way you could forget the day your life changed for the better.
Or possibly, for the worse. It was up in the air at this point.
You were new to the Formula 2 series. The only female driver on the grid as you raced with Prema alongside Mick Schumacher. F3 proved to be quite a successful stint for you and you had your eyes set on the coveted Formula 1 series. You wanted to be in the big leagues.
Daniel saw that. He saw how determined you were to not only make waves in Motorsport, but to make something of yourself. You trained just as hard, if not harder than the other drivers in the junior series and Daniel had seen that for a while. He was often surprised to see you at the hotel gym, already working up a sweat when he walked in at a little after 6am. He would be even more surprised when he saw you there in the evening when other drivers went and called it a night or even went and celebrated.
Your race weekends were the same as F1 weekends, but you just had limited ones. It was a shorter season, less intense, but whenever you were there. Daniel saw you. He saw you and he paid attention. He even rooted for you, very publicly as well whenever he could, despite the two of you never having exchanged a word.
The first time you heard about Daniel cheering you on was after the Monaco race, quite early on into your first season. You qualified 7th, not ideal for a track like Monaco where the opportunities to overtake were far and few between, but somehow you did it. And then you did it again. And you could say it was luck but it was really smart strategy and an insane amount of driver skill that had you finishing fifth. In Monaco.
Those were Daniel’s words. He was asked pre-race if he watched the F2 run and he said of course. He said he “wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” wanting to see what you could do this weekend.
“It’s not luck, she’s incredibly talented,” Daniel had told the Sky Sports reporter. “She’s doing big things in the series, and I’m rooting for her. Truly. It’s rare a driver comes around with such raw natural talent, where you look at them and you know racing’s just in their blood, but it’s in hers. I would love to see her in Formula 1 one day.”
You watched that interview clip about twenty times. Daniel Ricciardo, the Daniel Ricciardo who had won Monaco a few years back, was complimenting you. He was rooting for you.
It wasn’t until Monza, nearing the end of your season that he finally approached you.
“I want to work with you,” Daniel said, straight to the point. You were in the middle of stretching in the hotel's fitness centre. It was only Thursday, the race weekend itself had barely started but Daniel knew he’d find you in there.
You pulled your airpods out and looked up at him in the mirror, “You what?”
“I want to work with you,” Daniel repeated, this time sitting down on the floor next to you. He kept your stare in the reflection. “I’m not a trainer by any means, but I want to work with you. I want to see you in Formula 1.”
You were flattered, honoured really, but you didn’t know what that entailed. “Work with me how?”
“Well, regular fitness training for starters,” he said. “But managing, really. I want to help you with everything that it takes to move up. Media training, mental preparedness, finding sponsors, getting you in touch with the right people. Let me help you, Y/N.”
You weren’t sure what brought this on. Part of you was convinced it was because he knew this would look good on his behalf. If you did make it to Formula 1 and Daniel’s name was attached to yours, he’d look like a genius. A hero. He would be known as the first person from F1 to publicly support you.
But that wasn’t what it was at all. When you agreed and accepted his help, you soon came to learn that Daniel didn’t want to be in your spotlight at all. He found the opportunities that you needed and then stepped back. He didn’t mention to the media at all that he was helping you, he didn’t see a need to. He saw your potential and he truly wanted to help you make something off.
So there he was during the off season, meeting you in London where you resided. He trained with you, set you up with the right people, did weekly check-ins, he really was like a sort of manager.
He was there during pre-season testing the following year, literally. He stood in the Prema garage like he was just another member of the team. No one really questioned it, not when you said he was acting as a mentor to you. Everyone loved Daniel’s presence there and he was told he was welcome whenever.
He was there during race weekends whenever he could find time in his own busy schedule. He was never there during the actual race, needing that time to prepare for his own, but he always watched from his drivers room or had someone in his ear updating where you were and what was happening.
He was there in Silverstone, when you crashed during Saturday's Sprint Race.
It was one of the last sessions of the day, Daniel had already finished qualifying and he was standing in the back of your garage, arms crossed over his chest, eyes glued to the screen.
He was the first voice you heard when you spun, losing the breaks in mere seconds and all you could do was brace yourself for the impact of the barriers.
“Tell me you’re okay.” Daniel’s voice came through your radio. Not your engineer, not your team principal. Daniel. “Say something, sweets, tell me you're okay.”
Sweets, he called you. But only ever in private, or in front of close friends. What started as a joke when you complained about him not having any sweets in his flat the first time you visited in Monaco, stuck.
But everyone had access to the team radios. It could be heard by other engineers, other teams, fans even and those watching at home should F1TV choose to broadcast it.
Of course they did. They aired the exchange for everyone to hear and it spread like wildfire. It was all anyone on social media could talk about.
“Say something, sweets. Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” you sputtered out, hands shaking as you unclenched them. It was an instinct to pull them off the steering wheel and tuck your arms to your chest, physically bracing where you could.
“Good,” Daniel breathed out a very obvious sigh of relief. “Good.” He paused, and then with a quiet chuckle added, “What the fuck was that then?”
You laughed in response, needing the humour at such a traumatic time. You had crashed before, but this was a bad one. You didn’t even need to step out of the vehicle to know you were lucky to not feel any immediate injuries, but there was a ringing in your ear and the adrenaline was preventing you from really understanding the damage your body had sustained.
It wouldn’t have helped, though, to have gotten an earful, not like it was your fault anyway. It also wouldn’t have helped if you were asked again and again if you were okay. The more people asked, the more stressed you would grow. Daniel knew you needed a bit of lightheartedness at this time.
“No brakes, Danny,” you answered through a soft laugh.
“That just sounds like an excuse to me,” he muttered, the sarcasm evident even through the crackling radio.
“Are you going to continue to question my driving abilities or are you going to send medical out here to help me?”
That whole interaction went viral. From the radio message, to the clips of Daniel accompanying you to the medical centre, to the photos of the two of you smiling in the paddock despite the bruising on your body, the concussion you were diagnosed with and the instruction from the doctor that you were not stable enough to race on Sunday.
Which sucked, to put it plainly. But you were with Daniel. He made the situation bearable. With his arm around your shoulder, he walked you to the car at the end of the day, having waited with you the whole time.
People speculated, of course. Questions were asked.
Why was Daniel Ricciardo paying such close attention to you? Why did he get over the radio when he crashed? Why did it sound so flirty? Had he been in your garages the whole time and no one noticed? Was he a mentor? A friend? More?
You had put out a statement when you got to the hotel, thanking everyone for the kind words and well wishes. You shared that you would not be driving on Sunday and you also shared that you were thankful for the support of Daniel Ricciardo, your mentor, who reminded you that even the best of the best crash out sometimes.
Mentor, you publicly called him That’s what he was, right? Or trainer. Or Manager. Or friend, really. There were a lot of words to describe his relationship to you.
People online didn’t believe it. They thought there was more because, who looks at each other like that if they’re not fucking?
But you weren’t. Honest to god, that line with Daniel was never crossed. You never even considered it. Always content with his companionship and his advice, you didn’t want anything physical or romantic.
At least, you thought you didn’t.
Daniel dragged you into his room instead of letting you go up to yours because you were under strict instructions to not be left alone for the next twelve hours should the concussion worsen.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, handing you a glass of water. “I know I joked over the radio, but I was worried. It wasn’t a pretty crash.”
“Are any crashes pretty?”
He sat down next to you, closer than normal considering when he rested his arm over the back of the couch, his fingers were within the distance needed to play with the strands of your hair.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth, “I guess it depends on the driver. I make the crashes pretty.”
The comedic gasp you let out as you clenched your chest had him laughing.
“Daniel Ricciardo, are you calling me ugly?”
“Don’t twist my words!” He exclaimed, eyes squinting as his smile widened. “I said I was pretty.”
You hummed, “You pretty much said I made the crush ugly.”
“I didn’t say you were ugly,” Daniel playfully tugged on a strand of your hair. “You’re not- I mean, you-”
And then the humour faded. He met your eyes, his hand fell to your shoulder. He was still smiling but it was the sort of gentle smile one wears when they figure out the answer to a question that had been eating at them for a while.
Something clicked for Daniel. At this very moment.
He wasn’t going to let it escape him.
“Pretty doesn’t do you justice,” Daniel told you, voice lowering. “You’re breaktaking, Y/N. On the racetrack, at home, at events, you put everyone around you to shame. And it’s not- it isn’t just your appearance, it’s you. Everything about you. Your heart, your charisma, the way your eyes light up when you smile but only if you’re talking to people you like,” he chuckled, having experienced it first hand and having seen the way you don’t look nearly as pleased when someone you dislike approaches you.
You were speechless, though. Frozen where you sat as this admission came out of seemingly nowhere.
And Daniel was attractive, that was an undeniable fact, he was everything anyone could ever want in a man. But you never allowed yourself to look at him the way other people would. He was your trainer, manager, mentor, friend.
You had no words to explain the way he was staring at you now. Nor could you explain why it made you feel more alive than driving a racecar at inhumane speeds ever could.
Daniel took another breath, eyes never leaving yours. “You are unlike anyone I have ever come across and I know, in my lifetime, I will never find someone who could ever compare to even a fraction of who you are.”
There was no way you could continue to be just friends after those words passed his lips.
You kissed him. You had to. It wasn’t like there was anything you could say that would match what he had already said, nor could you even find the words.
You kissed him and Daniel pulled you onto his laps, your legs moving to straddle either side of his hips. His hands roamed your body, sliding up the Prema shirt you still had on as your tongue roamed every possible inch of his mouth.
His hand gripped your waist, rolling you over top of him so you could feel in a matter of seconds how this conversation had now taken a turn. His cock started to harden, constricted by his pants, but you still felt it underneath you each time he shifted, each time you grinded against him.
When you reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it off, Daniel leaned back, both of you taking that second to catch your breath and question if you were really going to do this.
“Is this a mistake?” You whispered, your thumb gently tracing over his lips. Your working relationship was perfect. This could ruin everything. You had fears, doubts, worries. One night could lead to dozens of complications.
But Daniel shook his head and all of those thoughts vanished.
“No,” he said, sounding so sure of himself with that one syllable. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life but you are not one of them.”
That was the only validation you needed. You kissed him again, more lust, more passion, than before as Daniel stood up, carrying you towards the bed at the back of the room. He dropped you down on the edge of it, smiling at the squeal that escaped your lips.
Daniel wanted to worship you every way he could. He was gentle with you, with your body, as he dipped his head between your thighs, making you feel a wave of euphoria that no one had ever brought you too before.
It wasn’t until you were begging for more did Daniel realise he didn’t need to be gentle the entire night. He slid two fingers past your folds, lifting his head and hovering his body over yours, wanting to feel your desperate breaths hit his face as he rapidly thrusted his digits in and out of you, your walls clenching around him.
When he attached his lips to that spot on your neck, his teeth pressing against your skin, you saw stars. Daniel’s motions didn’t let up as you came around his fingers, loving the way your legs shook and how you dragged your hand through the hair on the back of his head.
He was cautious about doing anything else, knowing you were injured, he didn’t want to overstimulate you or cause any more pain.
But you needed him. You reached for the zipper of his pants and tugged it down, telling Daniel you wanted this, as if the way you looked up at him didn’t already make that perfectly clear.
He was careful when he entered you, patient. The tip of his cock slid past your folds slowly and he kissed your collarbone so gently you almost didn’t feel it as you adjusted to his size, quiet moans emitting from the back of your throat.
He had praised you before, but only ever at the race track, so there was something so familiar yet so foreign about the way he whispered against your skin. It lit a fire within you.
“You take me so well, sweets,” he fought back a groan as your walls tightened around him when you clenched your legs. “So good for me.”
It was safe to say the dynamic between you two changed after that night.
Daniel adored you already, admired you greatly for your achievements and growth in the sport. But now he fought with himself every weekend, knowing that he couldn’t touch you how he wanted. He couldn’t show you the attention he so desperately wanted. He couldn’t kiss you when you got that podium in Belgium, despite finding a way to sneak out of the pre-race duties for a second to run to the barrier to be there for you with the rest of the Prema team.
Whatever was going on between you, it was unlabelled and it was private. The rest of the world didn’t need to know you were sleeping with the man you looked up to, the one who helped you become a great athlete in such a short period of time.
People continued to speculate. You were private, sure, but you weren’t overly careful.
You were seen landing in Monaco over the summer. You were spotted hanging out with Daniel on plenty of occasions. Even though you kept your hands off of each other and refused to act like anything more than friends out in public, you were different when you returned after the break. You both were. Everyone noticed.
Daniel was, if it was even possible, happier. And you were less stressed it seemed. While you were still fighting a constant battle of being the only female in F2, it no longer seemed as heavy because the weight of it wasn’t just on your shoulders anymore. Daniel was there too.
It wasn’t just physical, what you had. The emotional connection you shared was undeniable. Daniel was always there for you, and you, him. During the bad days, the good ones, and everyday in between.
When you finished the season 5th in the drivers championship, the only person you wanted to celebrate with was Daniel. He was so proud of you. He watched you go from finishing 13th last year to 5th. He played a huge part in that, but when you tried to tell him that, he only brushed it off, saying that it was all you, he was just happy to be there for the ride.
It was his idea for you to test drive for McLaren at the end of the year, too. ‘We’ll get you in a real F1 car’ he said. And you didn’t question it when the offer was brought forward to participate in a few practice sessions. It was exhilarating and terrifying and you cried tears of joy when you stepped out of his car because this was what you dreamed of. Driving a Formula 1 car.
Now you just needed a permanent seat and Daniel wanted that for you too. He was your biggest supporter, and you only grew closer as the days went on.
You met his family over the holidays. He spent New Years Eve in London with you.
When the season started again, he spent more time with you and Prema. When there were no scheduled F2 races during F1 weekends, you accompanied him in the McLaren garage.
At this point, quite a few people knew you were together, or at least they assumed it.
You didn’t post about it, you didn’t want to, you didn’t need to. Daniel didn’t need to show you off, nor did you feel obligated to let everyone know you were with him. What you had was private, it was sacred, it was only for the two of you.
But of course whenever you had a good performance, whether it be from a practice session, qualifying or a race, he’d share your celebration picture to his Instagram story.
“Would you ever do a shoey?” Daniel asked you one Tuesday night, zooming in on a photo of you, more specifically on the smile on your face as you clenched your second place trophy from Imola on Sunday.
You rolled your eyes but the smile was impossible to hide as he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, tugging you into his chest.
“Next time you win,” Daniel suggested with a laugh. “I expect a shoey.”
“I’m not Australian.”
“You’re dating one, sweets.”
You never actually discussed what you were. The term boyfriend-girlfriend seemed so childish. Dating was, in a sense, accurate, but again, there were no labels. He had your heart, you had his. That was the only thing that mattered.
“The world doesn’t know that,” you pointed out.
“They kind of do,” Daniel kissed your cheek, giving your side a squeeze as he stepped aside to help you prepare dinner.
You weren’t even sure when you fell into such a domestic lifestyle but there you were, practically moved into Daniel’s place in Monaco at this point and he was at your side, chopping carrots for the salad while you prepared the chicken breasts.
“A shoey would confirm it,” you glanced up at him, but the smile on his face told you he wasn’t completely against the idea.
Daniel stepped behind you, fingers playfully pinching your waist, “Just think about it. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I just reckon it would be entertaining for everyone.”
He didn’t bring it up again, not even when you got third in Spain and didn’t do it. It was your first time getting a back to back podium since you started racing and of course it was something to celebrate, but the idea of a shoey made your stomach churn. You weren’t sure if you were ready for the world to know about your commitment to Daniel.
You walked a thin line, being with him. And while you enjoyed every possible minute spent with him, you knew the world was cruel. The second you officially went public, you’d lose respect in the motorsport industry.
The only female F2 driver dating an F1 driver? How scandalous.
Despite the rumours, the correct rumours, you were still in a bubble with him. You could pretend you were just friends, close friends. The tabloids had nothing to go off except your polite interactions and maybe a little too friendly smiles and so what if you were there in the McLaren garage cheering him on?
You were his biggest supporter and he was yours.
But it didn’t help that while your performance was improving, his was rapidly declining. While you had less races than his, already your stats were better. You qualified in the top 5 for the first three races. You finished second in Imola, third in Spain, already better than how you started the season last year.
Monaco was next. Daniel loved Monaco, you both did. Everyone did, it was the pinnacle of Formula 1.
It was unfortunate that your weekends ended up so drastically different.
Daniel qualified 14th and then finished 13th. He wasn’t proud of it, but he did his best to hide his disappointment for you, especially since you were starting on the front row, P2, for the feature race.
And somehow, you won.
After trailing behind Drugovich for the majority of the race, you were starting to believe you would finish behind him too. And you probably would have, had there not been a safety car almost six laps after he boxed for fresh tyres, giving you the advantage of newer tyres and less wasted time. It was a strategy your team was banking on, waiting for a safety car. It was risky, but it paid off. Overtaking was nearly impossible with Formula 1 cars, but you had a better chance in your series and somehow, by the grace of god, you did it. You pulled ahead and swiped the lead from Felipe.
You made history that weekend. The first female F2 driver to not only podium, but to win at Monaco. You gripped that first place trophy so tight your hand turned red.
Usually, F2 didn’t draw nearly as big of a crowd, but this weekend was different. Everyone was a fan of the series after that performance, a fan of you. You saw people in the crowd wearing Red Bull gear, Ferrari merch, McLaren hats, and they were all applauding you.
Of course, you were blown away by the support. Hearing your national anthem play was an incredible sound. There were tears in your eyes and your entire body was trembling, yet somehow you managed to find Daniel. Right in front, with your team.
He was so proud of you.
Despite his shitty qualifying, despite knowing he had such a low shot at earning points at his race that was in just under an hour, he was there for you. You couldn’t tell if he was cheering the loudest, or if you were just so prone to finding him in a crowd that you couldn’t process anything or anyone else.
You weren’t sure what came over you, but once you grabbed the champagne bottle, you found yourself taking your shoe off as well. As Felipe and Théo started spraying their bottles in celebration, you poured the bubbly liquid into the sole of your racing shoe and lifted it up to your lips, pointing directly at Daniel who couldn’t believe what he was watching.
It was rancid, as you figured it would. It was champagne out of a sweaty shoe, you knew it wouldn’t taste good, but it was a shoey and it was for Daniel. Felipe patted your back, laughing at your reaction and muttering something about how Daniel would get a kick out of that.
He was right, but Daniel wasn’t the only one who found it entertaining.
Your name was once again trending following the Monaco Grand Prix. Not Checo’s, even though he won the F1 race. Your name.
Not that you really cared that night. How could you care about what the internet was saying when the man you were with told you that he loved you for the first time? Nothing online mattered, not when Daniel took your face in his hands and told you he was madly in love with you. He was proud, he was happy, he was in love.
And you knew you loved him too. You had known this for a while. Monaco was just the perfect time to say it.
After going about as public as you could without physically coming out and saying you were dating the Australian driver, Monaco was the perfect place to tell him you loved him. You were on cloud 9, you were making history, you were in love.
You continued to deny, or at least ignore, the rumours that followed, still. You both did. You were in love with each other, not the whole world. Things would get complicated if you announced you were dating. You were vying for a Formula 1 seat and you wanted it without Daniels’ influence.
But at the following race in Baku you were asked similar questions.
“Your shoey last week, did that have anything to do with Daniel Ricciardo being there to cheer you on? You two have gotten pretty close in the last few months, he’s one of your mentors, isn’t he?”
You shifted your weight to one leg, wondering what the fuck kind of post-qualifying question that was. You had just completed three back to back podiums, you were on a hot streak now, starting third at this next race and the reporter only cared about what happened at the podium celebration last weekend.
“Sorry, did you have a question about this week's race?” You asked, and when he stammered over his words, you just nodded and walked away, a tight smile on your face.
Daniel’s conversation went a bit differently.
“Y/N’s shoey last week, we all saw it. Was that your influence?”
“Yeah I never thought she’d actually do it, it was sweet,” Daniel laughed. “It was great though, I happily pass the tradition onto her.”
“She’s really come along in Formula 2 since she started back in 2020, do you think she has what it takes to be Formula 1’s first full-time female driver?”
“Absolutely,” there wasn’t a shred of doubt or hesitation. He was happy to talk about you, to explain to the rest of the world why you were up and coming and should be taken seriously as a real contender for a Formula 1 seat. He probably would have continued on if his PR rep hadn’t pulled him away, reminding him of other duties.
The next few races were similar to your first ones. A couple more podiums, some outstanding qualifying sessions, more history being made. Your phone was blowing up weekly, everybody wanted to talk to you now and you knew Daniel had something to do with it. Him constantly sharing the faith he had in you did wonders for your reputation.
You might have been on top of the world, but you were well aware you were alone up there.
Daniels’ performances were anything but newsworthy. He had gotten a few points in Austria and France, but nothing to be extremely proud of, especially when he compared his 9th place finish at the Red Bull Ring to your first place podium, making it your second one this season.
He never let his disappointment for himself and McLaren stand in the way of your achievements. In fact, you didn’t often speak about the races when you were together. You were aware Daniel was having issues with the team, with Zak, with the car, but he didn’t want to weigh you down with his own problems, even though you assured him time and time again you could handle it.
Really, if Daniel had come to you with his struggles, you would have thought twice when Zak Brown approached you prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix. You probably would have slammed the door to your drivers room in his face if you knew how Daniel was being treated at McLaren.
But Daniel held his cards close to his chest while Zak laid his all out on the table.
“If a spot opened up for you,” he said, after spending the last ten minutes talking about the rich history of the team and praising your accolades. “Would you consider it?”
It wasn’t an official contract, just the start of a conversation that could lead to one.
Of course you thought of Daniel. And Lando, having grown close with him simply through Daniel.
“For 2024?” You asked, knowing both of them were set to continue driving through to at least the end of 2023.
“No,” Zak shook his head. You didn’t like how harsh his tone had turned, having no remorse for what he was about to say. “Daniel’s contract would be ending early.”
You leaned back in your chair, fingers tapping the table as you tried to recall Daniel ever telling you that he was leaving McLaren. “Is he- he wants out?”
“It’s mutual,” Zak assured you. “He knows we can’t give him the car he wants and unfortunately, he’s not delivering what we need. We had high hopes with Daniel, but the working relationship isn’t what any of us thought it would be.”
It’s mutual. Those two words was all it took to convince you that Zak Brown and Daniel had already had a conversation about this, about terminating the contract a year early.
It didn’t help that Zak brought up your test sessions in the McLaren from last year, pointing out that you had better times than Lando, even. He went on to praise what you were doing this year at Prema and said, multiple times, that you would be an asset to McLaren should you choose to go that route.
And who were you to turn that down?
A team principal of a Formula 1 team wanted to sign you. Was it unfortunate that it was Daniel’s seat? Yes, obviously this situation was less than ideal, but he wanted out. You were convinced he wanted out, that he was done with McLaren. A 45 minute conversation with Zak Brown convinced you of that.
You should have been wary when at the end of the conversation he said, “Don’t tell anyone about this, yet. You know how the public can be, let’s just keep this to ourselves for the meantime.”
“But I can talk to Dan, right?” You asked.
Zak knew you were dating Daniel, it was a little harder to hide that from his team than it was the rest of the world. Maybe that’s why hesitated before answering, knowing that keeping a secret, something as big as this, from a partner had the potential to cause chaos.
But he shook his head, “Between us, yeah?”
And you listened to him. You wanted that Formula 1 seat so of course you followed orders.
You desperately wanted to talk to Daniel about it, but you knew you couldn’t. And either he sensed that something was off, or he was dealing with his own problems again and wouldn’t share, you really couldn’t tell when the summer break started and things just seemed…different.
You didn’t go to Monaco for starters, even though Daniel invited you to. But there were so many meetings with Zak and the board at McLaren that it made more sense for you to stay in London for the start of the break.
Daniel didn’t call as often and you wanted to give him space, knowing that this break was probably needed for him. You expected he was out with friends, letting loose, getting the weight of a horrible season off his back even if just temporarily.
The plan was to go to Monaco for the last week and a half and then travel to Belgium together. You had to delay that plan, however, when Zak called you and said it was official.
The 2023 seat was yours.
You wanted to celebrate, with Daniel, but how could you celebrate with the person you were replacing?
It was strange that Daniel had said nothing to you about leaving the team during the summer break, especially since Zak had said time and time again they were on the same page, that Daniel was ready to leave. The only thing that crossed your mind was he was given strict instructions to not say anything to anyone either, at least until McLaren went public with the news.
But with it being official, with you having just signed on the dotted line, you were tired of keeping it to yourself. You may not have been able to share the news with anyone else, but you had a right to have a conversation with Daniel about it.
You didn’t know how he would react. Surely he’d be happy for you, right? You were getting a seat in Formula 1, something that both of you desperately wanted to happen. And again, you were under the impression the departure from McLaren was mutual. He would be happy that someone he loved was taking his seat, right?
Right?
You had to tell yourself that the entire ride over to his place. You unlocked the front door to his building and took the elevator up to the fourth level. You didn’t think to knock, knowing he never locked it when he was home so you pushed open the door and stepped in, your suitcase trailing behind you.
You were happy to see him. He was always a breath of fresh air, despite the odd distance between you, you still loved him. You always would. He muted whatever was playing on the screen and stood up from the couch when he heard you walk in.
Usually, Daniel would greet you with a kiss.
Usually, he’d be smiling so hard his jaw would be hurting.
Usually, he was happy to see you.
You left the suitcase by the door and met him halfway, only he stopped walking when there was about a foot of space between your bodies. To you, it felt like you were still miles apart.
“Do you have something you want to tell me?” He asked, arms crossed over his chest.
Your heart sank.
You had convinced yourself, Zak had convinced you, the whole back of house team had convinced you, that Daniel was aware of this upcoming change. That the termination was mutual. You taking his seat might have been a surprise, but it was never supposed to be a blindside.
“What do you know?” you asked.
“What do you know?” Daniel repeated the question back to you.
You were both fully aware of the exact same information. Daniel was leaving. You were taking his seat. Only, you had been informed this much earlier than he had.
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Not take the seat,” he scoffed. “My god, I mean, they’re cutting my contract early, Y/N. For you.”
“For the sake of the team,” you said and then added, “You don’t even like McLaren. You’ve struggled with this team since day one.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to stop racing.”
“McLaren is not the team for you and you know this.”
Daniel scoffed, eyebrows twitching, “Did Zak tell you to say that?”
“Zak-” you started, finding it difficult to hold his stare. This wasn’t the Daniel you knew. “-he doesn’t know I’m here. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to talk to you or anyone about it, not until your announcement comes out.”
He rubbed his hands over his face, taking a few steps away from you. It hurt, watching as he tried to physically distance himself from you. Like being in too close of proximity would set him off.
“I struggled with the team, yes, but I’m not ready to give up racing. You have now left me without a seat.”
It was easy for Daniel to blame you, you were standing right in front of him. You were quite literally the driver set to replace him.
But the real villain was Zak, for not having opened up this line of communication earlier. For making you believe everyone was on the same page. It was Zak’s fault for rushing to end the contract with Daniel instead of putting in the effort to work with him. He saw the shiny new toy that was you, that Daniel helped create, and he wasn’t going to let someone else take it first.
Daniel wanted to blame himself too, but he wouldn’t let himself think about that until much later. He was the one who did everything he could to help you grow in this sport. He was the one who introduced you to Zak and the rest of the McLaren team. He was the one who got you in the car for the practice sessions, his car. Foreshadowing at its finest.
“You are unbelievable,” Daniel spoke quietly, heated with anger but his words were like ice as they sunk deep into you. “After everything I’ve done to help you for you to betray me like this, I just- I don’t think-”
You knew where this was going and you wanted to put a pin in it before he could finish any of his thoughts.
“Don’t finish that sentence, Daniel,” you whispered. “Please. Please, we can figure something out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” his mind was made up. “You took my seat.”
“Wouldn’t you rather it me than someone you don’t know? Someone you don’t trust?” You tried to turn this around, have him look at the positives, if there were any. “Daniel, everyone on the grid loves you, you’ll find a new team. One that helps you grow and get to where you want. McLaren isn’t that, we both know it.”
“I think you should go,” was his only response.
“If I hadn’t signed that contact, someone else would have,” you pointed out, grasping at straws here, painfully honest straws, but straws nonetheless. “Piastri, O’Ward…McLaren had options, Dan. Aren’t you at least happy for me that I out-qualified all of those guys?”
Daniel actually laughed, “You want me to be happy for you? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Dan-”
“Leave.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“You need to,” he was stern. He was angry. He was done. With you, with the team, with everything he used to love and cherish. He was done.
You thought you knew Daniel. You thought you knew how this conversation would play out. You figured it would still be rocky, but god you now realised how naive you were to believe you could still make things work.
“I love you,” you told him, because what else could you say except remind him that you were so hopelessly in love with him, that he was all you would ever want in life.
Except, that wasn’t exactly true, was it?
You wanted a seat in Formula 1 too. You just never thought you’d have to sacrifice one dream for the other.
Daniel’s stare was cold. He only looked away for a second to nod his head towards the door behind you, “If you loved me, you wouldn’t have done this.”
You stepped forward, desperate at this point because how could he do this? How could he throw away what you had, over a seat?
Or was it you, who had ultimately thrown away what you had when you sat down with Zak Brown all those weeks ago?
It pained you to think about the strong possibility of that being the case.
“I’m sorry,” you whispered, because you were. You were sorry about how this turned out, how he was betrayed, how this was coming to an end. You grabbed hold of your suitcase and nodded, backing up towards the door, “I really am sorry, Dan.”
He didn’t believe you. Why would he? In his eyes, Formula 1 was more important to you than he was. A career decision that benefited you, but ruined him, mattered more than your relationship. It was a bold move, a cold move, one that you didn’t think would lead to this.
Neither of you could have predicted this. On September 3rd, 2020, when Daniel first said he wanted to work with you, neither of you thought it would end like this.
Just as you grabbed the handle of the door, Daniel opened his mouth, wanting to get the final word in. And you really wished he hadn’t because those final words destroyed you.
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, but I never thought you would turn out to be one of them.”
You said nothing. You walked out of that Monaco flat with your head low and your heart even lower. You couldn’t even be excited about the next season, or the remainder of this one where you had the potential to finish in the top three.
You weren't happy, you were empty, you were defeated. And painfully so, you were also still in love.
Despite what was said, you knew it would take a while to get over Daniel. He was your rock for so long, he was always there for you and even though he could disappear without so much as a second thought, your feelings couldn’t, the memories couldn’t. It would take a long time until you felt whole again.
You didn’t know it yet, but the decision to take that McLaren seat would haunt you as you moved forward in your career.
This was not going to be the last time you ever saw Daniel.
stay tuned for part 2
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.
𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐈.
𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐤𝐢 [𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬]
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝟎𝟏 | 𝟎𝟐 | 𝟎𝟑 | 𝟎𝟒 | 𝟎𝟓 | 𝟎𝟔 | 𝟎𝟕 | 𝟎𝟖
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 [𝟏𝟖+].
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭.
𝐀 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐀 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞
𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 “𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮” 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲—𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡.
𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬
𝐀 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 [𝟏𝟔+].
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤 [𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫-𝐌𝐚𝐧]
𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐲… 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐞
𝐀𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒.𝐇.𝐈.𝐄.𝐋.𝐃 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.
𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 [𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐩𝐚𝐰]
𝐓𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮
𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫? 𝐈𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭.
I hit the ground.
He lighted his cigarette and looked at me.
“Ya want sum?” he said to me. I nodded and he leisurely passed it to me.
I sighed as I smoked it. “I’ve never felt like this before.” I said.
“How so?”
“Seasons change you know? I change. I’m not the same. I never thought I’d start smoking cigarettes.”
He looked at me and took the cigarette outta my hand. “What do you mean exactly?”
Staring at the parking lot, I explained: “You know that I did weed and that shit but never nicotine. My father did it all the fucking time. Man was so crazy for it that whenever we’d tell him to quit smoking he would make empty promises. Hated him for that. Lied to us for all his life. And that’s how it brought me to hate nicotine.” looking back at him, I see him already staring at me. “Now, I smoke it once in a while. Should I be ashamed?”
He got a long hit and then answered: “Nah, doll. Look. When I was five, I used to stay at my pops and I knew that he always had a gun somewhere hidden in the house. Every Sunday I’d hear bangs coming from the backyard. In the morning I’d see dry blood in the yard. This went on for three years. None stop. And I never questioned my father’s decisions. But oh, how did I hate him for making them. Guess we all went through sumthin that traumatized us.”
I stared at him and hesitantly asked him “Do you still hear the bangs?”
He sadly smirked and looked up to the sky while responding to me with: “I hear Bang Bang every Sunday night. And I wake up scared to find dried blood in the backyard.”
I curiously asked: “Didn’t you even have the urge to ask him why he did that?”
“Of course I did, doll. I knew I’d get a beating because of it so I shut my mouth, forced my eyes closed and pushed myself to sleep with the bangs.”
I slowly slid to him and hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry, Wood. Why did you have to go through all that at such a young age?”
“One of us should suffer in this life babe. And God said it was my turn. Gotta accept it doll. Now don’t get sad because of me” He tilted his head down to take a look at me and he saw the tears that were shedding from my eyes. I sadly looked back at him and said: “You’re my baby boy. I love you. With my whole heart.”
“I love you Doll.”
Baby, we could go back to the basics
Trailer park love, wearing them ASICS and gold
I’m sorry but this grill the grid was so funny cause one hand you have Lando just calm, totally just accepting his fate and asking “heh?” for every letter and in stark contrast you have Charles on the brink of a menty b forgetting every single person he’s ever met and possibly his own name.
Summary: There's a lot of things that Lando can do to turn his girlfriend on. But sometimes he doesn't even have to try for her to be hot and bothered.
Themes (18+) Minors DNI: Smut, hand kink, slight dom!Lando, cockwarming
No part 2 requests please
Y/n genuinely believes that Lando's hands could inspire art. Hell they probably have inspired art from his fans.
But the things she thinks of when it comes to Lando's hands are sinful.
All Y/n ever wants to do is have Lando's hands on her, and if she can't have that then she's constantly reliving memories absently. Just those memories get her flustered and almost embarrassed.
A man's hands should not have that much of an effect on her honestly, she needs to get herself together.
"You alright, baby?" Lando asks innocently while y/n looks at Lando for a moment.
"Yeah, why?" Y/n mumbles as his hand comes up and he presses the back of his fingers to her forehead only for her to flinch away. "What are you doing?"
"You look a little warm." Lando smirks and suddenly the innocence is gone, he knows exactly what he's doing.
"You're a dick." Y/n grumbles making him laugh.
"One camera close up of my hands and I'd bet I could get you off easily." Lando sighs very much loving the type of effect he has on her without even meaning to. "It's not my fault that you are so effected my hands."
"Please shut up." Y/n groans covering her face as it heats up more and she feels like she's just impossibly hot right now.
"Feeling sticky?" Lando hums which he's surprised doesn't actually earn him a slap. Instead she turns and walks away with him laugh and following her since he might be winding her up and poking fun but he's absolutely going to take advantage of his girlfriend being a puddle as soon as his hands touch her. Or actually sometimes that's not even needed. He doesn't really need to touch her for the effect to be present.
He rushes after her and moves quickly to get himself following her closely and hopefully not raising suspicious.
"You are something else, baby." Lando states as he locks the door to his room. "I like that you make it so easy for me."
Y/n wants to be mad but she's already too focused on the look in Lando's eye, that sort of reflective glint that they take when he's got his mind set on what he'll be doing with his hands just to make her melt.
"Not that I think you need it, but get them wet." Lando instructs gently pulling her jaw down to place his middle and ring finger, sliding them against the slick wet of her tongue.
Now usually y/n can have a bit of an attitude. As retaliation for Lando accidentally turning her on so often without even trying, she can be a bit of a tease. But she knows when to be quiet for her own benefit.
"Stay quiet." Lando instructs as he feels her manage to get his fingers soaked in her spit.
As soon as Lando pulls his fingers from her mouth, he's pressed her up against the door his free hand over her mouth since the woman can't stay quiet to save her life. Especially when his hands are on her.
His hand slides up under her dress pushing her damp panties aside, feeling her thighs quiver either side of his hand.
As soon as his fingers slide into her, the muffled moan coming from gently pressure on her g-spot and toying with her clit. He's quite literally got her in the palm of his hand.
Lando would argue to anyone else that y/n is not easy, but when it comes to being at the mercy of his hands. She's really the easiest to have literally dripping on the floor.
Y/n is almost dizzy feeling his large hand over her mouth accompanied by the overstimulation of his fingers thrusting in and out of her while his thumb presses and plays with her clit.
He keeps muffling any noises coming from her which are getting louder and more frequent as things build up. Her thighs press together over his hand, trapping him as she feels her orgasm strike. He's practically holding her up just with his own muscle as she shakes and shudders, spasming on his fingers while he tries to keep her muffled moans at bay.
Sure, more than half the unit has got to know what's happening but this isn't the first case of this happening and it certainly won't be the last. Thankfully everyone is too polite to mention it.
Y/n whines before she swallows breathing heavy against his hand as she looks at him with heavy-hooded eyes.
Slowly he removes his hand from her mouth, moving his arm to catch her when she proves unsteady on her feet.
"Alright, baby. I got you." Lando laughs as he finally gets his hand back from the tight press between her thighs. "We need a make sure clean up, baby."
"My dress..." Y/n whines making Lando look at her.
"We'll clean it up, I promise...although we may want to start keeping spare clothes for every time you decide you need to have my hands on you."
-
Sitting on a plane with Lando for a flight home after a race can actually be relaxing and actually y/n prefers commercial flights because the turbulence is less intense.
Y/n gets distract though when Lando is trying to get their movies to start at the same time so they can watch together but on separate screens.
"You are unbelievable. I haven't even done anything." Lando laughs shaking his head at her when he notices her gaze glued to his hand and her getting once again, hot and bothered.
"Shut up." Y/n whines before he smiles and reaches his hand over letting her just have hold of it to sort of play with. She's always fiddly and uneasy, but sometimes she really just finds comfort in his hand being in her grasp.
Oddly it's pretty comforting to Lando knowing he can somewhat settle his girlfriend, again with such minimal effort from him.
Y/n ends up curling up holding Lando's hand and brushing the tip of his finger over her lips, sometimes outlining them and sometimes just brushing it up and down as she focuses on the movie. Oddly Lando is the one between them who can't stop thinking about her rather than her being focused on and distracted by Lando's hand.
Although she completely falls asleep with his hand pressed tightly against her cheek.
-
Y/n smiles in a state of relaxation while they're in bed as she feels Lando run his middle fingers up and down either side of her spine. The feeling of his hands on her making her shiver a little before she removes her face from his neck.
"Are you ok?" Lando asks softly as he cups her face, rubbing over her lips with his thumb, the fleeing of her pulsing around his dick just from her attention going to his hands. "I want to say you need to learn to control yourself, but I really love this."
"Lando." Y/n whines suddenly grinding herself down on him a little while Lando grunts. His hand going down to hold her throat as she starts to ride him.
"Fuck, easy baby." Lando groans as she begins to bounce on his dick, her own hand going up over his own as he tightens his hold on her just enough that her airway is slightly restricted.
Y/n's head drops back as she feels his other hand move to hold her own, intertwining their fingers and locking their hold together as she fees her climax coming to a peak and when it hits they're both in their high together.
"That's it baby." Lando soothes gently sliding his hand down her body to help her guide herself to lie forward on him again.
Y/n twitches and spasms around him still feeling full with him as she keeps a tight hold on his hand, just settling down against him again.
"Do you just want to stay here like this for a bit?" Lando asks softly earning a nod as she turns her head to focus on his hand, releasing it just so she can trace over the prominent veins that she is so attracted to.
Now what truly makes me curious is what’s behind those beautiful brown eyes…
It is really hard for me to understand his intentions. Sometimes he’s cold and crude with me but there are also times when he is calm, soft and he even initiates affection towards me. Because of this, exactly I am dubious of his actions.
As in, do you love me or do you not love me?
I don’t want to continue living like this anymore; loving you while I’m trying to understand what’s worth doing and what not. I’m in a conflicting position with insecurities that I never had before but finally you had the urge to make me have them. It’s outrageous to think that I love you but at the same time I hate you. And I’m not particularly talking about that kind of hate that engulfs your very being and claims your soul, plaguing it with negative faith. No, I’m talking about that moment where one’s behaviour is so beautifully wrong, making you infatuated to it in a way that brings you to respectfully hate that person. But make no mistake, dear readers, hating that person doesn’t mean that I’m not burning with a raging fire within my heart and mind, roasting those little rational thoughts that have been remaining in my tiny skull, instead I am suffering in misery while stopping this hate towards this person, because it’s paradoxically sweet of him to have that demeanour with me.
I’m the one to blame. Because I never ceased to live without him in my routine. As in I dived into his lifestyles and matched my own rhythms to his, sacrificing my freedom and empowerment. Isn’t this such a cruel world?
Perfect cruel rational world. That seeks to confine us into narrow roles and expectations, and we defy those limitations. At least that’s what a normal person seeks to proceeding.
Instead, I am doing the opposite. Aren’t I ashamed of my own actions and ambitions? I seek to have a love life and I search for it in every single corner of the streets I walk through. But, I’m absolutely not embarrassed of my intentions, I am exhausted of all the limitations imposed upon me by an outdated script of delusional MEN of an old fashioned world. Now, I come from a quite antique century too, but I never seek to follow these outdated “laws”…
But he is the man of his times, the one that lives in danger and commands his inferiors, putting them to submission and protecting his dear ones.
I am one of his dear ones. His first priority. He has proven it to me. Several times. And I’m not talking about something that happened some years ago… No, I’m talking about two days ago;
We were seated in the back seats of our car, the driver could not particularly listen to our conversation, but we were having a small quarrel about something that had no means to whatsoever… But he was getting angry, not at me but he had been bothered by several affairs that day and he had no patience whatsoever to deal with tiny little stupid issues that I created in the moment just because I wanted a bit of his attention…
He raised his voice at me. He had never done it before.
And at that moment, I turned my head and looked out of the window. He stopped his sentence. And stopped talking.
When we arrived home, I waited for him to open my door and I got out the car. With my head raised, I was headed to the door. He followed behind me. Stayed behind me. Never dared to say something to me.
Once inside our room, I closed the door and only said one word “Out”.
The next morning I woke up, did my usual routine and headed to my kitchen to have breakfast. I saw that he had already prepared breakfast for me. And then, he had went to meet his men.
After that I had gone out for a stroll in my garden.
I had thought I had been all alone. But there was a presence behind me. That person put their hand to my mouth and blocked my arms, locking them behind my back. I didn’t fight.
My husband came. Out of nowhere. He was there. And he shot that other man in the middle of his forehead.
Unbothered, I turned around and got back to clean my hands in the bathroom. He comes behind me too. He cleans his hands after me and he dries them.
I feel his hard and big arms gripping my waist and hugging me to himself. And I melted in his sculpted body. I turned my head to his head and softly pecked him to his lips…
You see? How could I ever hate him? He is my sweet, perfect, dangerous Salvatore.
My only boss and my husband.
Sirop de Fraise
pur sucre
Oh, fraise. You make me feel unsteady with your saccharine juice.
And, why so? I haven't the faintest idea.
It is particularly strange to think that I might be attached to a red fruit. A tiny one, at that.
Fraise, strawberry, is my God. It crafts a welcoming juice into my mouth's sensitive parts. I feel its nectar flowing in my lips, tongue and palate. It graciously stains my lips, leaving behind a natural reddish color and finally making me more esthetically appealing to men's eyes.
Fraise, fragola, brings me to paradise. While the essence floods down my esophagus, my cheeks burn. Try guessing where my mind went to? I couldn't tell you.
Fraise, fresa, la reina de las frutas. Why do they call her that? In its composition, it is the only fruit in the world that has the seeds on the outside. And in addition, its intense fragrance and sweet taste make it irresistible. So, remember that you are savoring the queen of fruits. Does this make you a queen too? Well, it depends. Do you have seeds on the outside? My man used to have freckels for seeds. He had them everywhere. Even in his adam's apple.
Fragum, fragaria, Fragaria. Wild strawberries grew in the forests of France and Italy during ancient Roman times. They used to believe that the "fraga" were special fruit that had medicinal properties and used them to heal wounds or to make spells.
Erdbeere, strawberry, the first fruit to ripen in spring, making them a delightful harbinger of warmer days. My man, who loved munching on some strawberries, smelled of their fragrance. And he augmented my fertility. I was devoted to his seeds and sperm. It would surge in my insides, producing a new feeling in my head. We had unique offsprings. They were all made of love and strawberries. We took care of them and brought them up, nurtured them to be as lavish and eager as strawberries.
Be careful about the origins of your strawberries. Check out their provenience, because in sylvis proveniunt fungi, fraga, myrtilli et cetera.
Placentne tibi fraga?
my work over here (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.゚: https://linktr.ee/katerinanektarina?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=9ece25dc-5f4c-44cf-900e-aa5396419409
393 posts