Pit Stop of the Heart -Daniel Ricciardo bxb

Unspoken

The race was in full swing, and Daniel was doing what he did best—keeping his focus sharp, reacting to the changes on the track, and working with the team to stay in the hunt for a solid finish. But even as he pushed himself, there was something inside of him that felt... distracted. A restless energy that seemed to settle deeper the longer the day went on.

It wasn't the pressure of the race; that, Daniel was used to. It wasn't the speed or the tight turns. It was something else. Something that had started the moment he'd seen Lucas standing near that crate, a quiet but intense look in his eyes.

The race itself was a blur—tight strategies, tire changes, pit stops, and the constant buzzing of radios. Daniel focused, as he always did, keeping his car smooth and steady, but his mind kept wandering back to Lucas. He wasn't sure when the shift had happened, when the camaraderie between them had started to feel like something more, but it was there. And it was undeniable.

By the time the checkered flag waved and the race concluded, Daniel was exhausted but relieved. He'd finished in the points, and that was a win in itself. But as he pulled his car into the garage and climbed out, he couldn't shake the feeling that the real race was happening off the track.

He'd barely had time to cool down before his team started filing in to congratulate him, give him updates, and brief him on the next steps. But in the midst of the noise, he couldn't stop looking around. Searching.

And then he saw him. Lucas.

Standing near the back of the paddock, a few feet away from the hustle of the team. He had his arms crossed, looking out over the track with a thoughtful expression, like he was in his own little world. Daniel felt a pull toward him, something that felt different from the usual rush of post-race adrenaline.

He excused himself from the conversation with his team and made his way through the crowd. The air felt charged, and as he approached Lucas, he could feel his heart rate quicken, not from the race, but from the proximity to him. From the way Lucas was standing, his posture relaxed but his eyes focused, seemingly lost in thought.

"Nice race," Daniel said, his voice breaking the silence. He tried to sound casual, but there was a certain edge to his words that wasn't entirely intentional.

Lucas turned to look at him, the faintest smile playing on his lips. "You didn't do too bad yourself," he replied. There was something different about the way he looked at Daniel, something that hadn't been there before.

"Thanks," Daniel said, his gaze catching Lucas's. The words came out softer than he meant. He took a step closer, the space between them narrowing until it was just the two of them. The noise of the track and the chatter of the teams felt distant now, as if the world had momentarily faded.

"I... I was thinking," Daniel started, unsure of how to even begin. He cleared his throat, trying to find his rhythm, but it felt harder than usual. "About last night. And this whole weekend."

Lucas raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer too, his presence somehow both grounding and electric. "Yeah?"

Daniel's pulse quickened. "Yeah. I don't know... something feels different now. Between us."

There was a beat of silence. Lucas didn't look away, didn't back down. Instead, his lips curved into a small, almost secretive smile.

"You think so?" Lucas asked, his voice low, measured.

Daniel felt the air around them thicken with that undeniable tension. Everything in him wanted to back away, to keep things friendly, keep them safe. But there was another part of him—the part that had started noticing Lucas in ways he never had before—that was pushing him forward, urging him to act on what had been building between them.

"Yeah," Daniel said softly. "I don't know if it's just me, but..." His breath caught in his throat as Lucas took another step forward, closing the distance between them, the space that had once felt comfortable now feeling too small.

There was no more chatter, no more distractions. Just the two of them standing there, their faces inches apart. The moment stretched, the quiet settling between them like a breath held in anticipation.

Without thinking, without saying a word, Daniel leaned in. The kiss came slowly, tentatively, as if neither of them was entirely sure what was happening, but neither of them wanted to stop it either. His lips brushed against Lucas's, soft and unsure at first, before it deepened, a quiet urgency slipping into the space between them.

It was a kiss that spoke volumes without words—full of the questions neither of them had asked, the thoughts they'd both been avoiding, the weight of everything unspoken.

When they finally pulled back, neither of them moved right away, standing there in the space between them, breathing a little heavier than usual. Daniel's heart was racing—not from the race, not from the pit stops—but from this. From what had just happened.

Lucas was the first to break the silence. His voice was low, almost like he was unsure himself. "That... that was new."

Daniel could only nod, his mind still spinning with everything that had just shifted. "Yeah," he whispered, his eyes meeting Lucas's with an unspoken understanding.

They didn't say anything else. There was no need for words. Not yet. Instead, Daniel stepped back, giving Lucas a small smile, the kind of smile that felt more real than any other smile he'd given in the past few days.

"See you around, Lucas," Daniel said, his voice quieter than before.

"Yeah," Lucas replied, his voice low but with a warmth that hadn't been there before. "See you."

As Daniel walked away, his thoughts were a whirlwind. He wasn't sure what had just happened, or what it meant, but one thing was clear: things between him and Lucas had changed. And for the first time in a long time, Daniel didn't mind the uncertainty of it.