"Cause it's too cold for you here and now, so let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater."
Under a gray and threatening October sky, Silverstone seemed frozen in time, almost unreal. The icy wind whistled through the paddocks, carrying that familiar scent of burnt rubber and hot metal. The test day had just ended, but Lando couldn't bring himself to leave the track. His hands trembled slightly, whether from exhaustion or the cold, he couldn't tell. He pulled up the collar of his McLaren jacket, hoping to escape the biting air that only seemed to intensify as dusk settled in.
A few meters away, he spotted Daniel, his teammate, leaning against a railing, his gaze lost on the horizon. Something about the way he stood there, shoulders relaxed, his silhouette outlined by the floodlights, caught Lando's attention. Maybe it was just the way Daniel always made everything seem so simple, as if nothing was ever too complicated, even in a sport where every second mattered.
Lando hesitated for a moment, then moved closer, his footsteps echoing softly on the concrete ground.
"What are you still doing here?" he asked, pretending to be indifferent.
Daniel turned his head toward him, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I could ask you the same question."
Lando shrugged, not really knowing what to say. Instead, he let out a nervous laugh. "Maybe I was just looking for someone who had a better idea than me about what we're doing here."
Daniel didn't reply right away. His eyes scanned Lando's face, as if he were trying to decipher something. Then, in one fluid movement, he reached out, gently brushing Lando's arm before stopping, almost as if he was waiting for permission to go further. That touch, light as it was, sent a shiver down Lando's spine.
"You wanna know a secret?" Daniel whispered, leaning in a bit closer.
Lando nodded, unable to find the words. Their gazes locked, and for a moment, everything seemed to pause. Daniel smiled, a smile full of that warmth that seemed to have the power to heat even the coldest nights.
"It's too cold for you here and now, so let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater..."
Those words, whispered in the dim light, sounded like a confession. Daniel moved a little closer, his fingers sliding down Lando's arm until they found his hand. "It's cold, isn't it?" he added with a soft chuckle, trying to break the intensity of the moment.
"Yeah, a bit," Lando replied, his voice barely audible. "But it's not really the cold that bothers me."
Daniel's smile grew, taking on a teasing edge. "Oh yeah? Then what's bothering you, Norris?"
Lando's gaze grew more serious, and he felt his heart racing, beating to a rhythm that had nothing to do with the engines he knew so well. "You," he finally whispered. "You, and the way you make all of this... seem so easy."
Daniel didn't pull away. If anything, he tightened his grip on Lando's hand, pulling him even closer. "Maybe that's because it is," he said softly, his warm breath contrasting with the chilly night air. "Maybe we're just making things more complicated than they need to be."
A silence settled between them, heavy with all the things they didn't dare say. Finally, Daniel broke the embrace, but he didn't let go of Lando's hand. "Come on," he said, almost like an order. "Let's find somewhere we won't freeze."
Lando followed without protest, letting Daniel guide him through the empty corridors of the circuit. They eventually stopped inside an abandoned garage, sheltered from the wind. The light was dim, shadows danced on the concrete walls, and the smell of oil and gasoline filled the space, strangely comforting.
Daniel sat down against an old stacked tire, gently pulling Lando to sit next to him. He removed his gray woolen scarf and, without a word, wrapped it around Lando's neck. The younger man shivered at the gesture, not from the cold, but from the warmth that suddenly enveloped him.
"Told you, you needed this," Daniel murmured, his eyes never leaving Lando's.
"Maybe," Lando replied, a hesitant smile on his lips. "Maybe I just needed you."
A flicker of surprise crossed Daniel's face, followed by a tenderness that made Lando's heart race even faster. "It's funny," Daniel began. "We spend so much time racing, fighting to be the first, that we sometimes forget to just stop and breathe."
He reached out, brushing his fingers along Lando's cheek. "Just take your breath away, I don't mind if there's not much to say..."
"Daniel," Lando breathed, his name slipping from his lips like a prayer. "What are we doing?"
"What we should've been doing all along, I think," Daniel replied, his eyes never leaving Lando's. "We're discovering each other, letting ourselves just... be."
They drew closer, slowly, as if pulled by some invisible force. Lando felt Daniel's heartbeat against his chest, their breaths mingling in the silence. It was as if the entire world faded away, leaving only them, wrapped in this gentle, comforting warmth, the kind you only find in the arms of someone who truly matters.
"What if we're making a mistake?" Lando whispered, his eyes half-closed, as Daniel gently ran a hand through his hair.
"And what if it's the best mistake we'll ever make?" Daniel replied, his smile widening.
There was nothing more to say. Their lips met, tentatively at first, then more intensely, with that desperate need to hold onto one another, to feel alive. Daniel tasted sweet, warm, and Lando knew in that moment that he'd never be able to let go.
The cold autumn breeze continued to blow outside, but inside, everything was different. The chill didn't matter anymore, nor did the race. There was only Lando and Daniel, two souls finding each other, opening up to one another under the dim light of a forgotten garage.
And Lando knew, at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to stay there, to feel Daniel's hands in his, to let that invisible sweater of Daniel's embrace protect him from the rest of the world.
"Because it's you," Daniel murmured, as if reading Lando's thoughts. "It's always been you."
A/N
"Thank you to Daniel Ricciardo, thank you for that smile, thank you for the shoes, thanks for I never left, thanks for that gorgeous nose of his, thanks for coming into the paddock on that horse. Thanks for the Enchante merch, thanks for the red wine, thanks for those cowboy boots that he wears sometimes. Thanks for licking the stamp and sending it. Thank You for being honest. Thank you for being a gentleman and thank you for being a proper great Aussie bloke Daniel Ricciardo. We Love you if this is it. Thank You so much."
Because it was his last F1 Grand Prix, because he always knew how to make his fans smile and maintained his good humor, Daniel Ricciardo's departure leaves an immense void in the hearts of motorsport enthusiasts. His radiant personality and unique talent have marked our era. This story is dedicated to him. Daniel, you will be missed, but your legacy will live on forever. 😞❤️
Hope you like this story 💕💕
