My Book of Fics

Oh Canada - Daniel Ricciardo

Three Years...That's how long it's been since you last saw Daniel, everything comes rushing back when you see him amongst the fans as he walks through the paddock in Montreal. The laughter, the fleeting looks and the hope you felt when he stayed a few extra days after the race, only for it to come crashing down in an instant. As you stand there daydreaming you don't notice that Daniel has stopped and is looking at you instead of focusing on his press manager. When you break out of your memories and see his dark eyes on you, your heart skips so you spin around and proceed to walk away from the driver, wanting to be as far away from him as possible.

••••

"Y/N? Hey Y/N!" You jump when a hand comes to your shoulder, your colleague watching you with concern evident in her expression. "Sorry, was just thinking" you reply and smile, she lifts an eyebrow at your odd behaviour but doesn't question it as the two of you go through the photos that have been sent your way from the first practice session. You bite your lip as you prepare the captions for the social media posts, while she edits some photos of the fast driving cars.

After only a few seconds she shuts her laptop with an aggressive snap making you look up with wide eyes, "go talk to him Y/N" she pleads, you blink a few times not knowing how she knows, "what are you talking about?" You reply and play dumb while your palms get clammy. She gives you a pointed look, "I was there for god's sake, I saw the way you guys looked at each other" she says, your shoulders slump in defeat before you shake your head, "it's been three years, it doesn't matter anymore" she scoffs. "Daniel's been asking around for you" the statement makes you snap your head up in surprise, "what" you whisper, she nods but you furrow your brows, "no it doesn't matter, we aren't right for each other" she sighs and gets up from her seat ready to leave for the evening, "do you really believe that Y/N? Because from where I'm sitting he's just as infatuated by you, as you are by him" you bite your lip and the last thing she does is flip open her laptop, turning it towards you before she walks out of the small office. A tear rolls down your cheek seeing the photo of Daniel in the paddock earlier looking at you with pure adoration in his expression. You quickly wipe away the tear, shut the computer, and get up to leave the small shared space to go back to the hotel, needing to forget and decompress after the eventful first day at the track.

••••

You felt like you did a good job of avoiding Daniel throughout the weekend, until Sunday rolled around. The familiar buzz around the paddock making you smile as the sun shines down on the event, all thoughts of the McLaren driver nearly non-existent for the time being. You're looking down at your phone typing away on Instagram as you walk through the paddock, looking up every few steps to make sure that you don't run into anyone in the process. When you look down from checking where you are something hard blocks your path making you gasp and look up, the familiar dark eyes on you while holding you steady, "Y/N!" he exclaims and smiles. Daniel's childlike grin makes your heart flutter, just like it did all of those years ago at this same track. You shake your head and step out of his hold, "please don't" you say and watch his smile drop, "let me explain" he adds while reaching towards you but you just step back even more, "you had three years to explain" he drops his hand so you take the opportunity to walk away, a lone tear flowing down your cheek as you turn around, your hand coming up to brush it away before anyone notices.

The minute you step into the shared space your colleague looks up with a smile, before it turns into a frown, "have you been crying?" she asks making you shrug. "What happened?" you sit in the free chair and tug your fingers through your hair, "bumped into him, he wanted to explain why he did what he did" she sits up and your eyes get glassy again, "I didn't let him, I don't want to go through it all over again" she takes your hand from across the small desk. "What if that's the closure you've always wanted Y/N? an explanation from him" you shake your head and sniffle as the waterworks start up again, "he promised me the world and gave me an empty bed in the end, how do I forgive him for that?" she squeezes your hand, "you don't need to forgive him, you just need some peace of mind" you sigh and use your palms to wipe away your tears, "you're right, thank you for this" she smiles and pulls you into a hug, "anytime, now lets get back to work, we've got a deadline to make" you nod and shake out your arms to focus on the reason you're actually at the race.

••••

Later that night you're stood outside the hotel room that is supposed to be Daniel's, plucking up the courage to knock. When you let out a sigh and prepare to touch your knuckles to the door it swings open. The swift movement makes your breath catch as your eyes lock with Daniel's, his getting wider when he realizes that it's you. "Can we talk?" you ask, he looks down at his watch clad wrist, "oh you're going somewhere, it doesn't matter, it can wait" you add and go to turn around to head back to your room, he slips his fingers around your wrist to stop you, "wait it was only to go blow off some steam, I can cancel" he replies, you look at where he's holding you and bite your lip. He must realize where you're looking because he lets go before stepping aside to let you into his hotel room, "come in Y/N" he murmurs, you nod and the two of you go back into the room before shutting the door.

It feels like ages of silence pass while you sit on the edge of the bed in the room until Daniel breaks it. "What's on your mind?" you look up from your clammy hands, "why'd you leave without a word?" he furrows his brows and tugs at his hair. "You didn't need my problems following you around, especially with the amount of crap we deal with through the media, you deserve more than that" he explains making your eyes well up with unshed tears, "you didn't even give me a chance Daniel, all I wanted was to be there with you, through everything" he crouches down in front of you and brings a hand to the side of your face where his fingers can catch your now free flowing tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry" you shake your head while looking into his dark eyes, "I wish that was enough, but I need to move on" he frowns so you take his hand to press a soft kiss to his knuckles, "I will always cheer for you Daniel, and you might've been right after all, I do deserve more" he doesn't say anything as you get off the bed to stand, "you know Y/N, that was my favourite race week" you smile in response, "me too Danny" he smiles sadly and you leave the hotel room with a final click of the lock, letting out a breath of relief as you feel a weight lift off your shoulders. The closure finally accomplished as a smile comes to your lips thinking about all the great things that are sure to come in the future after this one monumental moment at yet another Canadian Grand Prix.