[ one shot ]
You work for Uber Eats and you have to deliver orders on a specifically stormy Tuesday night.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

It was a Tuesday evening, the rain was pouring and the weather was stormy. Lucky you, you worked for Uber Eats and you had no driver's license for a car.

Note the sarcasm.

You were 26 years old, didn't have a full time job as you just finished school, two years late, and you didn't have your driver's license yet because school drained all of your money from your bank account.

You were absolutely living your best life making money by giving people food all over the city.

You did have a scooter though, and the license for that, don't worry, so it made it a little better than cycling.

It was only 7:30PM so your shift had basically just started, and the weather wasn't planning on changing anytime soon.

One and a half hours, you had been outside, and you were soaking wet.

"This is my life, what the fuck." you said to yourself, wiping the raindrops from your face as you walked into the next order pick-up location.

It was a Chinese restaurant, and you had to pick up a big order. You never understood why people liked takeaway so much.

Of course, sometimes you craved some fast food as well, but you preferred cooking your own food way over takeaway.

"Are you here for order 52, David Rice?" the man behind the kitchen counter said.

You checked your phone where the order was still opened and you nodded, that was it.

The man put a large plastic bag on the counter and you took it. "Have a nice evening, sir." you said as a goodbye.

"Stay safe out there, the weather is brutal tonight."

"Thanks, sir."

He had to tell you? You had been outside for long enough to know that it was. But he had the right intentions, right?

You got onto your scooter and put in your airpods to listen to your navigation instead of watching and getting your phone wet.

"Arrival at the destination will be in approximately 20 minutes." the monotone voice spoke through your ears. You sighed. That would be another 20 minutes in the pouring rain.

You were going to sleep so well tonight, you couldn't wait to jump straight into bed after a long warm shower.

As you were on your way, your body kept getting colder and colder and you also started to feel the need to pee. Like really badly. So when you finally arrived at the house, which was damn luxurious by the way, you had in your mind to ask if you could use the bathroom real quick.

But now you were standing in front of this fancy house, you weren't sure if you could ask such a question anymore.

But it wasn't a weird question, now was it?

You rang the bell at the gate and waited for a second before you got an answer.

"Hey, uhm, I got your order with me, Chinese?"

"Oh yes, alright. I'm coming to the gate, one second please."

The voice was manly and not too deep, but still you struggled to hear what he said. It must have been the combination of the sound of the rain on the pavement, the crackly intercom and his very thick accent that you couldn't quite place.

You shut the visor of your helmet so that no water would get into it and smudge your makeup.

You didn't have to wait too long, as you saw someone running from the house towards you. You lifted the visor again for eye contact to be polite. You never appreciated it when you couldn't make eye contact with someone, so you avoided being someone like that, always.

As you were about to give the plastic bag to the man, who held a coat above his head, you decided to ask to use the bathroom anyway. If you weren't going to the toilet real soon, you were going to pee yourself.

And though nobody would notice as your pants were soaked already, it wouldn't be a very pleasant experience.

"I am very sorry if this is going to be a weird question, but can I use your bathroom real quick? I have been working this evening and haven't had the chance to go use one." You politely asked. It was pitch black outside, but your eyes made contact. He had friendly eyes.

"But if you aren't-" You continued, but you were cut off by him. "Yes of course, come on in. You can put your scooter behind the gate as well so it won't get stolen." He said, while pointing at your scooter that still had the engine on, ready to go.

He was thoughtful. You nodded thankfully and walked onto his ground as he opened the gate for you. As you walked underneath the porch, you took off your helmet. Your hair and face wouldn't get wet here.

The porch was lit so you could see the man's features better now. He was tall and had an athletic build, his hair was dark and curly.

When he turned around to let you inside, you could see his face, and you blinked twice to check if your eyes weren't fooling her. You opened your mouth and closed it again, not completely knowing what to say.

He saw the confusion on your face and smiled, that famous smile.

"You are definitely not David Rice." was all you could get out of your mouth. You mentally facepalmed yourself right after you said it, regretting your words.

This wasn't how you should approach someone, let alone someone famous. You were standing in front of Daniel Ricciardo's house, and even better, in front of Daniel Ricciardo himself. You couldn't believe what was happening to you so you just stood there in full awe.

He chuckled and that smile stayed on his face and he said: "True. And as much as I would like to stay outside, it isn't exactly warm and comfortable out here. So please come in, I'm nothing special, just another customer."

You huffed as he spoke the last part. Nothing special my ass.

You agreed on his words though, it wasn't exactly comfortable outside so you walked in after him. The first thing you did was take off your wet shoes so you wouldn't make his house as wet as outside, but your pants were already dripping on the hardwood floor. He noticed.

Your mouth opened to say something but he cut you off, again.

"You had the right intention, don't worry about it. The bathroom is the second door left, I will grab you a towel so you can dry yourself a little bit."

He walked upstairs, leaving you alone in the hallway. The trust this man has in you is incredibly big, you could have been a robber, but he let you get into his house.

Of course you weren't going to rob him, but it confused you a bit. You knew he was a good man, based on some interviews you had seen him doing, but this was something you would have never expected.

You walked over to the second door on the left, and it was indeed the bathroom.

You felt ashamed that you were trashing his home like this, your wet clothes leaving a big trace of droplets behind you.

Daniel was waiting for you across the hallway with a towel when you were done and he handed it to you.

"Are you sure this is okay? I don't mind if you want me to leave." you asked, hesitance in your voice. He immediately shook his head.

"No, I would never forgive myself if I let you go back outside with weather like this without offering you at least a towel to dry yourself." he said confidently. His decision was made and you knew he truly meant what he said.

"Make yourself comfortable, here's my living room, please sit down, don't worry about the furniture getting wet. It's just water so it dries eventually."

You just nodded and sat down on his couch.

Even though he told you not to worry, you still did and you felt guilty. You didn't really know what to say, so you just silently dried your hair.

He was in the kitchen that connected to the living area to put his food on a plate, but you could feel his eyes being settled on you.

He thought you were beautiful. He might even say you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Even though you were completely soaked and ruined by the weather, he saw your beauty. And he couldn't keep his eyes off of you.

You didn't know if you felt uncomfortable or not with him looking at you, but it somehow didn't feel weird at all.

This surrounding felt so trusted, it was strange. But his intense staring slightly bothered you.

"I'm sorry, but you are staring..." you mumbled, while squishing your hair in an attempt to get it dry completely.

He swallowed loudly and looked down at his food.

"I'll grab you some dry clothes, you can borrow some sweatpants of mine and throw yours in the dryer. Follow me please."

"I am still working, I don't have too much time to stay here, as much as I like the drought and warmth."

"You work for Uber, you can stop working any moment, right? You just press the "unavailable" button."

You raised your eyebrow. What is he thinking? "Yeah, something like that. But-"

"I really don't want anyone to be outside right now. The weather is only getting worse, it is literally storming outside. What if you crash with your scooter and something happens to you. Aren't you worried about that?" he said with concern in his voice.

Really, what was he thinking. He just let a stranger into his home and he was now caring for you as if the two of you had known each other for years. It was a kind gesture, for sure, but you couldn't explain which feeling was going through your body at the moment.

"Says the Formula One driver who drives cars at the speed of light, literally risking your life." you replied with a laugh. He was worrying about her crashing in the bad weather, while he could literally crash at a speed of over 300 kilometers per hour and die.

"I like the adrenaline."

"What if I like the storm?"

He was taken aback by your comment but laughed. You raised your eyebrows at him and placed your hands on your hips.

"You are a strange one, you know that?"

"You don't know me."

"Let me get to know you then. Stay inside, accept my offer. I will drive you home and you can pick up your scooter when the storm has stopped."

"What if you kidnap me?" you said, now with a more serious undertone. You didn't think he actually would, but why would she stay with him? Just because he is Daniel Ricciardo? No, that wasn't like you.

You liked him as a person, but the two of you just met and didn't know each other at all. And even though you liked his offer to get to know each other, it felt not right.

"What the fuck, hahaha. Just stop talking, you are going crazy. Weird effect that rain has on you." he laughed. He had seen the change of moods in your face, so he tried to lighten your mood again. Luckily it worked.

"Yeah, that's probably it. Alright. I'll stay inside, but only for an hour."

"Yes, I convinced the crazy person. Come along, you need some dry clothes or you'll get sick from the cold anyway."

You followed him upstairs to his bedroom, and he looked through his closet for some clothes that would somehow decently fit you. He wasn't much taller than you though, so it wouldn't be a problem.

You already pulled your sweater over your head that had gotten completely wet, even though your coat was over it. He turned around with dry clothes in his hands as you dropped your sweater in the corner on the ground he had assigned for your wet clothes.

It's crazy how fast the tension was built up, but it wasn't a negative tension. You were standing there in your tank top you had been wearing under the sweater and you were staring at each other.

He bit his lip and handed you a dry hoodie of his, and when your hands touched in the exchange shivers went down both of your spines.

The feeling was intense and both of you froze in your movements. You were standing still for what felt like a lifetime before he suddenly crashed his lips into yours.

You pulled back in shock at first, but when you realised what was happening, you grabbed his face and put your lips back onto his. It was a heated kiss and so many things were going on in your brain and body, but the main thing in your head right now was him.

The kiss quickly went from heated and fast to more slow and passionate and you stumbled back as he walked forward, making sure you wouldn't fall by placing one hand on your back.

The both of you didn't completely understand what was going on, why this was happening and why them? Two complete strangers to each other, meeting on a stormy night.

Was this pure lust, was this a form of relaxation from work to the both of them, or could this have been some sort of 'love at first sight'?

But at that moment it didn't matter to them. Right now, they just had each other and their bodies were melting into each other as they started to take items of clothing off each other, their faces barely pulling apart in the process.

They ended up on the bed, and you knew you weren't going to stay for only one hour. You definitely forgot to check out from work, but that was going to be a matter for the morning.

half a year later,
circuit paul ricard

"Congratulations on your podium Daniel, and congrats to both of you for being together!" the interviewer said, joy in his voice.

You loved the support you had gotten since the beginning of the reveal of your relationship with Daniel.

Daniel had a wide smile plastered on his face. He was always smiling, but when people were talking about you, something changed inside of him and made the smile even happier. His eyes sparkled alongside.

Both of you thanked the interviewer and Daniel had now wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you closer. It had been a good weekend for him and the team, you couldn't be prouder of him.

"So can I ask you how the two of you met?"

The question startled the both of you. You thought back to that night when you met. It was wonderful. Not as you would say a typical meeting, but it had been the best time they had in a long time.

You looked each other in the eye and started laughing, as both of you remembered that night vividly, but you weren't ever going to tell anybody the complete truth. It was your little secret.

"Yeah, well, it must have been the rain that brought us together." Daniel said, wiping away a little tear that had formed in the corner of his eye from laughing. You snorted, covering your mouth from the sound that came from you.

"Yes. Yes. The rain and some chinese food."