INVISIBLE STRING ☆ DANIEL RICCIARDO

thirty

PERTH, AUSTRALIA; AUGUST 20th 2022

song of the chapter:
get you - daniel caesar
'who would've thought i'd get you?'

     Daniel awoke the next morning to a strange weight on his chest, face morphing into confusion but then relief as he glances down at the sleeping woman in his arms. His hold tightens around her figure, bringing her impossibly closer to him, as if she would disappear if he let her out of his grasp.

He watched her, soft smile on his face as her chest rises and falls in a slow pattern, still in a deep sleep. His mind was spiraling, recalling their whole conversation from the previous night. How she said she was sorry, that she was all in and she wanted to try. How she said she loved him.

A stupid grin takes over his face at the thought, she loved him and that was all he ever wanted from her.

They had been up late last night, conversation carrying them away as she told him all about her recent therapy sessions, her more than revealing conversation with Taco and even her argument with Amani. Daniel almost hated hearing all of it, how she had pushed and shut everyone out in every sense of the word.

"You're the first person I've seen since Budapest." she admitted, slightly shameful as she pulls at the hem of her shirt. "I wanted to clear my head and make sure I was okay before doing anything irrational."

Daniel's hands had kept contact with her since she had apologized, relishing in the feeling that she was finally letting him hold her like this. "I think you made the right call. You didn't want to do any more damage, Amani will understand that."

She desperately wanted to believe that but she knew how stubborn and hard headed her best friend can get sometimes. It slightly scared her that there may a possibility that Amani doesn't actually forgive her. That she might actually lose her longest friend.

Islas body snuggles further into Daniels side, face shoved into the crook of his neck as she takes one deep breath. Daniel lets out a slight laugh, moving one hand to her head and twirling the light brown strands between his fingers, tips scraping gently across her scalp.

"That feels really nice." she mumbles against his skin, slightly tickling him as her lips moved.

Daniel lets out a hum, "It really does."

Isla lifts her head at the words, knowing he wasn't talking about her hair. She smiles down at him, leaning all her weight on her elbow as his fingers remained dancing across her skin. "Good morning."

"The best morning." he smiles back, placing a soft kiss to her cheek, the spot dusting over with a tint of pink at the contact.

In one swift movement, Daniel had pulled her back down to him and rolled their bodies through the sheets so he was the one lying on her chest. Isla couldn't help but laugh at the reaction, her arms immediately wrapping around him tightly as she placed a kiss to the top of his head.

"You're really here." he breathes across her skin, sending her thoughts into confusion. "Part of me thought it was all a dream, that I'd wake up and you wouldn't be here."

Islas heart ached in her chest at the revelation, she really hadn't given him much faith in her after their last conversation and she hated it. She hated herself for it. She promised herself in that moment that she would never give him any reason to doubt her again, because she meant every single word she said to him last night.