Broken Soul ☆ Daniel Ricciardo

28 | Finally reunited

♪
Zachary Knowles - No Place Like Hope:
'You're walkin' by with your hands wide open, I know you're feeling like you're nothin' but broken and all the time, you're waiting on some hope. You're questioning his plans, tryna run from it, you don't know but you're gonna fall in love with it at the end when you're done walkin' down this road'

The next two and a half weeks were pretty tough for Emilia. Work was getting busier due to the number of new clients she signed, which was supposed to be a good thing but combined with missing her boyfriend and the fear of receiving another letter or photo, it was exhausting. Luckily, Daniel had just finished the last race of the triple-header in Brazil yesterday where he managed to get a podium. Emilia had called him crying afterwards, partly because she was so proud of him but mostly it was just pure anxiety needing to come out. It made her giggle when she thought about it, he must have thought she had gone insane. 

"I'm so freaking proud of you, Dan!" Emilia sobbed through the phone and she could hear a little chuckle on the other side. "Thank you baby, are you crying?" He asked and she could almost hear the big grin he had on his face. "Yes.. I just watched my boyfriend come back from P11 and get a podium, of course, I'm crying!" The sobs were getting louder and louder, Emilia not telling him the full truth. Her head was pounding, she had been so scared the past few weeks and she missed Daniel so much. "You're the sweetest. Now dry those tears for me and have a good sleep because I'm seeing you soon!" Daniel said and Emilia calmed down a little knowing her boyfriend would be here soon.

The sadness had totally gone by now though because Emilia was currently on her way to the Firenze airport to pick him up. He flew straight over from Brazil to be with her and it made her heart flutter thinking about how much that meant to her. She had missed him so much and all Emilia needed the last few weeks were his big strong arms wrapped around her. After a short drive, Emilia arrived at the airport and parked her car. She was a little early so she decided to walk past some of the shops, trying to find Daniel a little gift. She settled on a few Italian beers and a big balloon that said: 'I missed you!'. When she was done paying for the stuff, she received a message from Daniel that made her heart almost jump out of her chest from excitement.

Daniel 🧡:
I've just landed, I'm running to the luggage belt now and then I'll be yours for the next week. Can't wait to see your gorgeous face again 😘 x

Daniel was staying at her place for the next week, Michael also flying over in tomorrow to visit Gia and to be able to train with Daniel. Emilia walked over to the arrival terminal and waited behind the big black doors. The nerves were building up every minute and she felt like she was meeting him for the first time again. It was pretty hard being away from him for so long because Emilia felt like she needed to adjust for a few hours before she finally could be her full self again. Even though Daniel had been nothing but respectful, patient and loving to her, her trust issues made it hard for her when he had been away for a few weeks.

Finally, the doors opened and a few people started to walk out into the arrival terminal. Emilia kept her eyes on the faces of the crowd until she spotted the most handsome one of them all. His grin grew twice as big as she had ever seen it before and when he was out of the crowd, Emilia ran up to him and jumped into his arms. Daniel held her for a minute, stroking her back and peppering light kisses in her hair before she pulled back and looked at him again. Emilia felt tears pricking behind her eyes, but she needed to be strong, he couldn't catch on to her fear. She handed him the Italian beers and the balloon and he chuckled. "Well, isn't this the best welcome anyone has ever had?" He threw his arm around Emilia and they turned around. "Let's go home, shall we?" He said while kissing her forehead.

----

"Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" Daniel asked when they arrived back at Emilia's apartment. She had just arrived here this morning herself, after spending almost three weeks with her best friend. Isabel was gone for another work trip, her modelling work was really picking up now, which meant they had the apartment to themselves this week. "Of course not, go ahead. I need to answer a few emails anyway". Emilia said, approaching Daniel slowly. He looked so handsome but she could see he was tired. She stroked her hand past his cheek before she cupped it lightly and pulled his face towards hers. His lips felt magical and she had missed kissing him so much. Emilia let out a small whimper when she felt his hand touch the back of her neck and Daniel deepened the kiss by running his tongue over the seam of her lips.

All stress and anxiety left her body the moment she felt Daniel's fingertips run along her spine. This man had such a comforting impact on her. Emilia slowly pulled away and smiled at her boyfriend before she turned around and walked towards her laptop at the little desk in the corner of the living room. She opened up her email and answered a few of them, assigning some new brand deals to models and reviewing incoming content. Emilia could hear Daniel sing in the shower and she let out a small giggle. She could imagine him standing there, washing his hair, dancing to the song he was singing. The memories of their last shower together entered her brain and she quickly shook her head to try and focus on her work again.

Fifteen minutes later, a freshly washed Daniel entered the living room and fell down on the sofa. Emilia closed her laptop and joined him, placing his head in her lap to slide her fingers through his hair. "I haven't been here in a while and Isabel has been gone for a few days, so I think we need to go grocery shopping. Are you coming or do you want to stay here to take a nap?" Emilia asked him and although he was tired, he agreed it would probably be the best to just stay awake for now. He didn't want to mess up his sleep schedule even more. They grabbed their coats, Emilia threw her wallet and keys in her purse and they headed back towards her car. Daniel drove them to the grocery store in town and Emilia couldn't help but smile, looking at her handsome boyfriend next to her.

Walking through the grocery store, Daniel pushing the cart while Emilia picked out all the things they needed, felt so domestic. "I enjoy doing these 'normal' things after racing for three weekends straight". Daniel said and she nodded. Emilia felt lucky that she was able to literally work from anywhere and she admired her boyfriend's commitment to his job. When they walked through the snacks and candy section, she asked Daniel what he liked and she saw him hesitate before he finally answered. "I'm probably getting my ass kicked by Michael when I eat these, but I freaking love chocolate toffees". Emilia added a bag to their cart while sending him a cheeky wink and smile and grabbed herself some candy too before they proceeded to the next aisle. 

When Daniel turned his back to her, to look at some of the drinks on the shelf next to him, Emilia noticed a person in a black hoodie at the end of the pathway. They didn't have a cart and were just walking away from her but it didn't feel right. When they turned the corner, Emilia furrowed her brows and shrugged, it was probably fine, she was just being paranoid. She talked to Daniel about a few things they needed to get while walking towards the end of the aisle when the person in the black hoodie came marching back towards them. They had their head down, so Emilia couldn't see their face. The body language was weird though, the person looked angry. Just when they were about to walk past them, the person looked up and Emilia recognized that face immediately. Her breath hitched in her throat and her heartbeat quickened but she decided to just keep walking like nothing was wrong. 

She grabbed Daniel's hand for comfort and he softly squeezed it because he probably noticed she had become a little stressed. She looked backwards and luckily Marcus kept on walking too, so Emilia could finally let out the breath she was holding. "Are you okay?" Daniel asked with a worried look on his face. "Y-Yeah I'm fine, I just want to go home. Let's quickly get the rest of the groceries and get out of here okay?" She asked him and he wrapped his arm around her, pushing the cart with the other. They finished getting the groceries they needed and Emilia sighed when she was finally sat down in her car again. The look on Marcus' face kept replaying in her head and it had only just dawned on her that this was the first time she had seen him in two and a half years. He looked tired and angry, he was probably still drinking a lot. 

When they arrived back home, Daniel carried the groceries inside and when Emilia closed the door behind her, she made sure it was locked. "Afraid I might change my mind and run away in the middle of the night?" She heard Daniel say and she turned around to face him, letting out an insincere giggle. He moved over to her and brushed a few hairs out of her face before leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Do you want a cup of tea to relax? You looked stressed in the store.." Emilia hated how well Daniel knew her and she just nodded. She walked with him to the kitchen and started putting the groceries away while Daniel made her a cup of tea. The rest of the evening was everything Emilia had needed these past few weeks. Cuddled up in bed with her boyfriend, watching some episodes of Friends and a big mug of tea. They were finally reunited again.