My Book of Fics

Cycling Lesson - Daniel Ricciardo

As a kid something about riding on two skinny tires didn't sit right with you, no matter how much convincing your dad did you refused. Your parents gave up and let you live your life without knowing how to ride a bike. This was completely fine with you, never having been in a situation where it was necessary. Then Daniel came along, having you head over heels for him in a matter of months. It was like the world was telling you something when you found out how much he loved anything to do with bikes. You somehow managed to avoid the subject, surprised at how long you were able to keep your lack of cycling skills a secret from Daniel, until it suddenly wasn't...

"You're seriously telling me you don't know how to ride a bike?" The Australian asks you shocked. You hang your head feeling embarrassed, "riding on something that only has two skinny tires was not what I wanted as a kid, and I was stubborn so my parents stopped trying and here we are" you explain while waving your hands around. The silence that builds worries you but you don't want to face your bike crazy boyfriend afraid of what he'll say. At the sound of bike gears you look up, Dan rolls the two bikes he had his hands on next to a nearby railing, leaning them against it. He turns to you  and brings a hand up to his curls while looking at you, the small smile that you give him makes him sigh and walk over. "Why didn't you tell me Y/N?" he asks, you fiddle with the hem of your shirt nervously, "you love all kinds of bikes and I didn't want to lose you because I'm some kind of stubborn wimp that can't ride a bike" you reply quietly while looking into his comforting brown eyes.

He cradles your face gently so you tilt your head into his palm, "I would be a whole other level of asshole if riding a bike was a deal breaker" you giggle before biting your lip for a second, "so we're okay?" he presses a kiss to your lips, letting it linger for a few extra seconds. "Of course darling, I wish you would've told me sooner though, I could've already been teaching you how to ride" you bring a hand to his chest moving your finger along the soft shirt he's wearing, "I think it's kinda too late for that" he laughs and moves his hands to your lower back to pull you further into him, "it's never too late if you have the right teacher" you shrug and he kisses your head, "don't look so worried, I won't let anything happen to you" he murmurs while you wrap your arms around his torso tightly. "Love you Dan" he squeezes your side eating a giggle from you, "love you too Y/N" you tilt your head back to see his face, "are you actually going to try and teach me?" he smiles, "yes, I am going to get you on a bike and it's going to be so fun".

Before you can object even more he unwinds your arms and takes your hand pulling you over to the bikes. Your eyes widen as he takes one of the helmets, handing it to you, "wait right now?" he chuckles and places it on your head buckling the strap easily, "why not?" you feel your palms getting clammy as your eyes go to the bikes. "I need to prepare myself and shouldn't I have more padding?" Daniel steps forward and cradles your face with his hands making you look into his eyes, "relax darling, it's going to be fine" his voice calms you significantly, your hand going over his. "I'll be here the whole time okay" you nod and he presses his lips to yours for a brief kiss before he lowers his hand to yours bringing you to the shorter bike.

Daniel pats the seat with his free hand, "hop on Y/N" you look into his eyes still unsure. The love you see in them pushes you to furrow your brows in determination and look back at the bike. You bite your lip as you straddle the frame, your hand slipping from the Aussie's so that you can hold the handle bars. "Okay put your feet on the pedals now and that should make it easier to push up onto the seat" he explains, his hands moving to steady the bike for you. Once you have your feet where he said you move onto the seat, "perfect gorgeous, now we're gonna get you moving" you snap your head up, your nerves increasing as your grip on the handles become tighter. "Dan" he smiles at you, "you'll be fine, don't worry Y/N" you take a breath, some of the tension leaving your body, "it's gonna be wobbly at first but as long as you keep the handle bars straight and keep pedalling you'll maintain the balance" his explanation makes sense so you give him a nod. "Ready?" you look into his eyes feeling somewhat better about the activity he loves so much, "yeah" he smiles and lifts one of his hands from the bike and it wobbles slightly making your heart jump into your throat, "you've got this, now start pedalling Y/N" you do as he says and push your feet down on the pedals.

As you gather some speed and realize that you're still upright you don't notice that Daniel has let go of the bike completely. You're grinning as you feel the wind go past your eyes ahead to ensure that you don't run into anything. "You're a natural" you hear the Aussie say behind you, this makes you look back which shifts your balance, your eyes widen in slight fear at the change and also the fact that Dan is on his bike following along and isn't holding you anymore. You instinctively put your foot down when the bike stars to tilt too far, jolting you to a halt as he easily stops next to you with concern on his face. "I didn't mean to scare you, if I would've continued to hold on it would have held you back" he says, you try to detangle yourself from the bike, stumbling as you manage to stand next to it your hands still on the handles. "Now that I've nearly had a heart attack I think I'm done with this lesson" you explain making Dan laugh loudly, "okay, but I will keep teaching you until you're confident about cycling" you sigh but nod.

Later when the two of you are back at Dan's apartment, he has his arms around you while you lay on the couch. "I still can't believe that I had no idea" he murmurs, you smile and tilt your head back to see his face, "to be fair it never came up, and I was not going to be the one to crush your dreams of having a girlfriend that can go mountain biking with you" you say, he kisses your head while his hands find yours. "We'll get you there don't worry" you laugh, "one lesson at a time Dan" he pulls you closer and adjusts his hold around you to be comfier, "sounds good gorgeous" you smile and the two of you lay there the TV playing an old episode of Friends as you enjoy each other's company before you're separated for another race weekend.