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unluckyhoneybee · 2 years

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Enough time (Daniel Ricciardo)

The pressure from the season have given Danny some problems. Gladly, you have always been a good friend. Smut.

Note: this is soft Danny and nothing more because he needs love. Soft Danny is very much needed in general.

Warning: +18. Sub!Danny. Bl*wjob. Face riding. Penetrative s*x.

Danny was just starting his break as was grumpier than ever. Blake, Michael and I were watching him, tossing around and cursing under his breath.

We were waiting for him, ready to take a plane to some island and enjoy the first break days before going to our homes. We were his little support team and needed some time to relax and be together outside a track or with work involved.

"I can't find the passport" He groaned.

I giggled and looked up at Mike. He was looking at the ceiling and wasn't breathing while Blake was trying to hide behind me.

"Why are you three laughing?"

"You hand" You told him.

He looked at his tattooed hand and blushed. He had the passport there.

"Fuck... Don't laugh. You are all fired. Let's go" He left the apartments and got alone in the elevator while the three of us had a little laugh attack.

On the plane, he put his headphones on and didn't speak for a while. I was sitting next to him and tried to get some jokes out of him, but nothing. The Danny Ric we knew was nowhere to be seen.

The flight was long and soon the other fell asleep.

"Dan, hey"

He looked at me and pushed back his headphones.

"You can talk to me, you know that, right?"

He gave me a tight smile and nodded.

"I know"

"Fine" I squeezed his hand.

"You can use me as a pillow" He said softly.

I giggled but laid my head on his shoulder anyway.

..........................

Three days into our holidays, Daniel was still grumpy as an old man. And oh, it was frustrating. We just wanted to get out of the racing stress, we just wanted him to relax. But no. He spent the whole time groaning.

"Hey" Mike pushed him with his knee. We were all sitting in the beach, a sweet drink in hand and having just come out of the water. All but him. He was on his phone. "Stop playing with your phone, we are on Maldivas, mate"

Daniel scoffed and looked up.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to have fun" Michael said.

"I'm having fun. Look" He gave us a super fake smile.

"Dan. C'mon. Tell us what is going on" Blake pressed.

"Nothing is going on!"

Daniel was getting flustered by each second, his chest and face turning read and his eyes avoiding us.

"Dan. Is it the team? Did Zak said something to you?" Michael sat closer and touched his shoulder, making Daniel pull away fast.

I frowned.

"It has nothing to do with that!"

"Mate... The season..."

"It's not about fucking racin, shit! I haven't fucked anyone in months!" Daniel exploded and the three of us gasped. "I haven't had sex in months and I'm so horny all the time."

He was furiously blushing and Mike, Blake and I shared and uncomfortable look.

"Fine. There you have it. It's so fucking embarrassing" Danny got up and walked to the sea.

"I wasn't expecting this" Blake muttered.

"Yeah" I said looking at Danny, who was now waist deep in the water. "I thought he..."

"Yes"

He had met so many girls on this last months. Each race weekend, dozens of girls tried to get to him on clubs. I just assumed that he had got some sex. He was Daniel Ricciardo after all.

"Tonight, we are getting him a girl." Michael decided.

.....................

Night came and I hadn't stopped thinking about Danny. There was something on the pitch of my stomach and I couldn't stop thinking about how he should be feeling. A shitty half season, a shitty car, an asshole boss plus not having sex on months.

Michael and Blake were convinced about getting him a girl for the night. We would go to a party and they were sure that there would be lots of girls in there.

But when I walked down the stairs and found Danny wearing only sport shorts and drinking a beer in front of the TV, I knew that I wouldn't happen.

"Hey." I said softly as I walked to him. I touched his shoulder and he squirmed. "Sorry"

I retreated my hand and sat next to him.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, picking the paper on the beer bottle.

"Don't be ashamed, okay? We won't judge you"

Daniel looked at me and bit his lip.

"I was just trying to focus on racing. I almost got it with some girls. But I... I couldn't."

He looked down at his crotch and I bit my lip. Oh.

"I'm even considering seeing a doctor because I'm fucking 33."

"It can happen, you know? It has been stressful. Just use this days to relax. And you will get it to work again"

He sighed.

"Don't tell them" He whispered.

"I won't." I touched his tattooed leg. "Are you coming tonight?"

He looked at me and lift an eyebrow.

"To the party, Dan."

He chuckled.

"No. I... I want to stay"

"Okay." I leaned and kissed his cheek like a grandma would do, giving him so many kisses and keeping him in place with my hand. He ended up laughing and trying to push me away. "Things will get better, you'll see"

On the party, I could stop either. He was probably alone at the villa, thinking about some pretty girl or watching some disgusting p*rn, trying to get something but not being able to.

I felt my panties dampen as I drank from my beer. Dan probably didn't need a random girl fucking him. He needed to be taken care of.

"Mike"

He turned to me. He was talking to some brunette.

"I'm leaving. Tell Blake"

"Leaving?"

"Yeah. No questions"

He just nodded.

................................

I opened the door slowly and sighed. He was still there, the same beer bottle on the table and a half eaten pizza on a plate. There was a tiny water bottle too and some stupid film on TV.

"Hey"

He turned his face.

"Hi"

I closed the door.

"Why so soon?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't feel like being there thinking of you here alone."

He chuckled.

"Were you thinking of me?"

I bit my lip and walked a bit closer. He took a deep breath.

"I can help you, Danny"

He opened his mouth and stared at me.

"Only if you want." I whispered and reached my hand to him.

"How?"

"I will need you to trust me"

"I do"

"Then come with me"

He slowly nodded and took my hand. I felt the nerves setting then. I wanted him to feel good. I wanted him to have what he had missed all this time.

I guided him to my bedroom. His hand was tightly wrapped around mine.

I closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You can leave. I'm not trapping you or something. I just don't want Blake or Mike coming in here"

He laughed and nodded.

"It's fine"

We were finally there, alone and together and I would make him feel great.

"Do you trust me?"

I grabbed both of his hands and pulled him closer. He breathed through his nose and then licked his lips. His eyes roamed all over my face.

"Yes"

"Do you want me to make you feel good?"

"Fuck, yes" He answered out of breath.

"How long has it been?"

"5 months and 6 days."

I bit my lip. That was a lot.

"Okay, that's enough time... I'm gonna make you feel good today" I cupped his chin with two fingers and kissed his cheek, then the corner of his lips. He pressed his forehead on mine gently and his finger ran over mine.

"Please..." He begged

That was all I needed. I pulled him in for a kiss. I started with soft pecks. I wanted it to be slow and take my sweet time with him. I wanted him to enjoy.

"I'm in charge here, Danny. If you want to stop. We stop. If it's to much. We slow down or stop. You are safe here, Danny. Okay?"

He nodded.

I pecked his lips back and then pulled his hands and guided him to the bed.

Daniel sat and I tapped his legs so he would open them, then I walked between them. He looked up at me, his mouth half open and his cheeks already pink.

"Tell me, Danny. How much do you want this?"

"So bad"

"So bad?"

He nodded.

"So... Are you gonna be a good boy for me?"

"Yes, YN"

I smiled at him, feeling my cheeks warming and my pulse getting faster.

"Yeah? Can you untie this for me?"

I turned and he pulled instantly the thin straps of my dress. It fell on the floor and he gasped.

Then I turned and his eyes landed on my chest. He swallowed.

The heat was pooling on my panties. His pupils were big, he was excited. I wanted to get him there, where he couldn't take it anymore.

So I took my bra off and he licked his lips. It made me smile because he desired me too.

I put my finger on his forehead, gently playing with a wild curl that had fallen. Then I went to his eyebrow and followed its shape to his cheek. A few days long beard scratched my fingertip. He was beautiful.

"You are really handsome, Danny"

He bit his lip. Oh those lips. I leaned and kissed them, sucking on them and tasting him properly. He moaned on my mouth and I grabbed the back of his neck, deepening the kiss and slowly dragging my tongue over his. He tasted so fucking good.

I pulled back but Daniel kep his eyes closed, giving me an idea.

"Don't move"

Turning around, I opened my bag, looking for a bandana and something else I could use. I came back to him, who was devouring me with his eyes.

"Can I blindfold you?"

He nodded.

"Words, Danny"

"Yes"

I gave him another kiss and then signaled him to lay on the bed. He sat on the middle of the bed and I crawled until I was between his open legs. I looked down between them. Still nothing.

Daniel cleared his throat and I felt stupid. He looked uncomfortable.

"Sorry... It's..."

"Hey." I cupped his cheeks. "We will take it slow. Okay?"

He nodded. Talkative and energetic Daniel was slowly letting himself fall. He was slowly giving up all control.

"Okay" He whispered. "Can I touch you?"

"Not yet."

I gave him a kiss and showed him the bandana.

"Close those beautiful Eyes"

He smiled and blushed as I covered his eyes. It was so nice to see him smiling. It made my hear clench.

I covered his eyes and then stroked his cheeks.

"How does it feel?"

"Better than I thought" He whispered.

"So nice."

I put all the pillows I could get around him and then pressed his chest.

"Hey, lay back baby"

Daniel obeyed, sighing when his head rested on them. He looked so good, blindfolded, half dressed and fully on display only for me to enjoy.

"You are so pretty, Daniel. So handsome. This tattoos..." I ran my nails up his chest to his arm, earning a soft gasp from here. "This neck..." I stroked his pulse point with my thumb and he pressed his mouth in a thin line. "And oh baby, these lips..." I leaned and lick them.

Danny opened his mouth and looked for mine, tongue slightly reaching to touch mine. I gave him that, sucking on his tongue and playing with mine. He moaned.

"I want you to only think of me, Danny. It's just us now. Okay?" I whispered on his lips.

"Yes"

I gave him one more kiss before retreating.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'm right here."

I walked around the bed and gently touched his legs, going up his thighs until I found the elastic of his shorts.

"Is it okay if I take them of?"

"Yes."

Daniel swallowed as I started pulling them down his legs. He wasn't wearing underwear. I bit my lip. He was hot. He was so hot.

Once I got rid of the trousers, I didn't waste a second. I attacked his thigh. I started kis soft kisses on his knee. Then a bite on the flower tattoo. He gasped and moved a bit.

"C-can I move?"

"You better not. Keep your hands over your head baby."

He obeyed. "Good boy"

I ran the tip of my tongue over the ink lines, following them. He opened his legs for me. I stroke the inside of his thighs, getting closer to his crotch and he moaned. His member twiched already semi hard. I bit my lip. I was getting it.

I bit down the flesh again and he groaned.

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes"

I smiled and found a gap between his tattoos, sucking the skin and thinking about the mark I would leave there.

Daniel had started whimpering with each bite, and now that I was sucking his skin, it was becoming more intense.

I was feeling my panties getting wetter. It was a lot. He was so perfect.

I kept leaving wet kisses up his thigh to his hip, biting once again the soft skin in there. My nose bruised the trimmed hair over his member and he gasped, his hips bulking trying to get closer to my mouth.

"Patience, Danny. I will gave it to you. Just wait a bit"

He swallowed hard.

I kissed the base of his member and he moaned. He was finally hard and ready for me to take him.

"See? You just need to relax" I said caressing his lower abdomen with both of my hands.

"I- I need you"

I trapped his nipple with my lips and he whined.

"Please. I need you so bad"

I pinched his other nipple and he panted.

"What do you need?"

"You"

"My mouth?" I whispered on his lips before running my tongue over them.

"Yes. Yes please."

I brushed his nose with mine before leaving another wet kiss on his lips. He moaned on my mouth and tried to slid his tongue in. I pulled back and kissed his cheek.

I reached down and ran my finger over him, from base to tip. His whole body tensed and his fingers grabbed into the headboard. Abs, arms, neck,... All muscles perfectly carved by Gods. (Or by Michael Italiano)

"Please, YN. I have been good". He begged.

"You have, right?" I grazed my fingers over his neck and he nodded. "Waiting for so long. You deserve this, Daniel. You have been so good. Driving that shitty car every race and accepting their rude words with a smile."

I kissed him softly and he whimpered.

"Please"

I wrapped my fingers around the base and spit on it.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good. You deserve it, right? Do you?"

"I deserve it"

I bit my lip he was beautiful, he was perfect and he was good.

I leaned and kissed his tip. He gasped and pushed his hips forward.

"Shh"

I started with slow hand movements, warming him up. He was red and swollen, leaking and just waiting for me.

"It feels so good. So much better than my own hand" He whispered.

"Thank you, Danny"

I kissed the tip again before giving him a tentative lick. Then another and another. Soon I found myself bobbing my head up and down, listening to his soft moans and getting lost on how much he was enjoying.

My hand was on his balls, massaging them while I pushed him down my throat.

"Oh, fuck. You are so good. So so good"

I pulled back smiling, although he couldn't see me. He was making me blush. He was so receptive.

"It's feels so good"

I switched to jerk him slowly, pressing my fingers around the tip while I mouthed his balls. He groaned when I liked a long stripe up. Then sucked again.

Daniel left a high pitched moan out, sign that he would cum soon. But no. I wanted it to last longer. He had waited for so long, he could wait longer.

So I pulled back. He gasped and tried to reached me with his hands.

"YN, please"

I grabbed them.

"No, baby. Put them over your head."

I kissed his palm and pushed them.

"I want to cum, YN. I need it so bad."

"I want you to do something for me, please" I said feeling goosebumps on my skin.

"Yes. Tell me. Please."He sounded so desperate and needy.

"Could you use this pretty mouth?" I said sitting on his abdomen and running my thumb over his bottom lip. "Could you use it on me?"

"Yes."

Gently, he run the tip of his tongue over my fingertip.

I pulled back and took my underwear off before straddling his head. His hands grabbed hard on my thighs. I was shivering.

"Show me that tongue"

And he did. When finally his mouth met my core, I let a moan out. It felt like heaven. Moving my hips back and forth, I rode his face, letting him do his best job on me as he licked, kissed and sucked.

"Oh Danny, yes baby. You are doing so good"

His nose, that nose, was brushing my clit with each movement and oh fuck, it felt amazing.

My hands were on his hair and on his chest, keeping him close and steadying my movements. At some moments, I doubted if he was breathing or not. But fuck, he was so willing to make me feel good.

"Yes, Danny. Keep going, baby" I was feeling my orgasm building fast. I wanted it soon. I was desperate for it. Thoughts about Danny and helping him this way had been on my mind since he confessed his secret on the beach.

Danny was sloppy, almost making out with my core as he tried to please my. His tongue made wonders on my and his lips felt like heaven.

"Give me you hand" He reached his hand for me and I took it to my breast, guiding him and showing exactly how I wanted it. "That's it, good boy"

He moaned.

I was in heaven. I was riding Daniel Ricciardo's face and I had him at my complete mercy. It was the best feeling ever. I was feeling euphoric. And then the orgasm hitted and I almost fall.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck. Keep going. Please. Keep going" I didn't stopped moving until that feeling went away. Then, the only thing I could do, was sitting on the bed next to him.

When I looked down at his body, I swear I could have come again. He was sweating, blushing and his face was covered on my juices. He was panting.

Then his hand grabbed mine and it took my breath away.

"Don't go... I need you"

"No... I won't. I'm here" I kissed his knuckles and climbed on him. "I'm right here. Do you wanna cum?"

"Yes. Yes, please."

I kissed him once again. Enjoying my taste on his mouth. His hands were grabbing my hips.

"I'm gonna ride you. Do you want me to?" I said sliding the condom on him.

"Fuck, yes. Yes, please."

I kissed him again and reached down. Slowly, I pushed down. I gasped, feeling him filling me.

"Oh fuck, Danny. You feel so good. You fill me so well"

I was bitting my lip, my hands were on his chest and he was grabbing on my wrists.

"Oh. You feel so good. You feel so good, YN. Oh fuck" He was probably sensitive, the previous ruined orgasm had left him even more desperate.

I started with slow movements. Danny was moaning and his legs were tense. He was trying to thrust up on me.

"Shh, baby. It's okay."

"Please, please."

I touched her face, feeling him nuzzling into my palm.

"You are so pretty, Dan."

He felt amazing in me, and by the way he was reacted, he was enjoying as much.

Daniel needed it so much that it took him only a couple of minutes. When he was almost there, chanting only my name, trying to grab into me.

"YN, I want to see you. Please"

I moved faster and grabbed the blindfold and pull it from his eyes.

He came a second later, grabbing into me and moaning high. I kept riding him, letting him enjoy his high.

Suddenly he pressed his hands on my waist.

"Stop, stop please" He looked into my eyes. His were glassy and his breath was ragged.

I did. Sliding off him. "Oh fuck" I sat next to him and tried to recover my breath. "Are you okay?" I asked him cupping his cheek.

He looked into my eyes and nodded. Then closed them and leaned into me.

"You did so good, Danny." I kissed his forehead and his cheeks. "I'm so proud of you"

He nodded slowly. He was going numb, loosing slowly the streght. He closed his eyes.

"Can I clean you?"

"Mhm"

I tried to be fast and not let him along for long. I cleaned myself and then wet a towel.

I found him just as I had left him laying on the bed with his eyes on the ceiling.

"Hey" I knelt next to him and he looked at me. "You look pretty"

He smiled and reached to touch my face. I kissed his palm and took the condom off, then cleaning him. He whimpered.

"Sorry, too sensitive" He said with a hoarse voice.

I chuckled.

"It's okay."

I cleaned him carefully, whipping the sweat and other fluids away. I kissed his cheek, then his neck and then his shoulder as he threaded his fingers on my hair.

I looked at him and saw his lip trembling.

"Danny?"

He closed his eyes.

"What do you need, Danny? Tell me"

I cupped his cheeks.

"Hold me."

I laid on the bed and he cuddled into me, his whole body wrapped around me. I pulled him closer and covered him with the sheets.

"It's okay. I'm here." I gave him a bunch of kisses around the face.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you so much"

"It's okay" I pecked his lips. "Did you like it?"

"Fuck yes. I hadn't come so hard in ages"

I laughed and hugged him closer. I was feeling so good, so satisfied. This was exactly what I wanted.

I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Thank you, YN"

"It's nothing. You are a really good boy"

I looked down at him. He was blushing.

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course, baby"

"And..." He cleared his throat. "Can we repeat it sometimes?"

It was me blushing now.

"You liked it that much?"

"I couldn't even get hard before."

I kissed his forehead.

"You just have to not think about your shit"

"I know. It was just nice thinking of you"

I kissed his lips because I was unable to say anything else.

........................

I was eating cereal when Danny appeared.

"Good morning!"

Mike and Blake shared a look.

"What? Not angry anymore?"

"I hope you didn't tire your hand too much. We have work for today"

I almost choke. Daniel laughed and sat next to me.

"I didn't have to use my hand much" That's all he said.

I laughed and leaned to kiss his cheek. The idiot had to be cute but also funny.

"What is this about?" Blake asked.

"Wait!" Michael looked at us with realization. Danny and I just laughed.

I was feeling so good, so happy. And now Danny had his hand on my leg and he was looking down at me with so much love on his eyes.

OMG. This was my first time writing a Dom POV. I hope it's good!!! Feedback is welcome!!

#daniel ricciardo #Dr #Smut #F1 #Fic

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vroomvroommbtch · 2 years

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Hearts don't break around here - DR x fem!OC

Masterlist

Summary: The tiniest winning celebration after the biggest win was all the really needed after Monza.

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x fem!OC

Warnings: Pregnancy stuff, Dan being a sunshine like always, fluff all over the place and some mentions of H*rner.

Word count: 4.8k

A/N: Monza my beloved needed an especial appearence so there you go. Also 200 likes on State of grace? You’re all insane but thank you so much! Writting this two gives me so much peace of mind, so I’m glad you like it. Kay, going back to writing, so I hope you all like this thingy and see you soon!

---

Hearts don't break around here.

September 2021.

There was something different in the air the whole weekend. They all knew it, but Jas didn't want to get her hopes high until she saw her husband's orange car passing the checked flag. She has seen too many times how pole positions and leaders in careers got screwed over bad strategies, engines failing or PUs suddenly not responding. She has seen Daniel deal with that too many times. She has seen him make a miracle happen in Monaco when he should have retired that damn car, but this was way different. That's why Jas waited, lap after lap, praying to whatever was up there to let Daniel have this one. She prayed for good pit stops and the car hanging on until the end of the race. She prayed and prayed and prayed because Daniel needed that. After months of people talking shit and after the worst year of his career, he needed to prove to himself that he still got it. He didn't have to probe their families, their friends, and especially not Jas. He never needed to probe anything into the woman that loved him with every single fiber of her body, but he wanted to do it. He wanted that just as much as he wanted to close everyone's mouths.

And damn, when the checked flag came Daniel did it. He fucking did it.

To say Jas spent the last couple of laps holding tears was a big lie considering she spent the whole weekend doing that. When she saw Daniel being P5 after the quali, then P3 after the sprint, and when she saw his car at the front line she wanted to cry. To say she was proud wasn't enough, but she said it to him again and again because she wanted Daniel to know. She was proud of him every single second of every single day, but that afternoon in Monza there was nothing she wanted more than to run to him and tell him again while she covered him in kisses. But she didn't. She stayed there in the garage, holding Maggie's hand like she did the whole race. She stayed with her jaw hanging, still, not believing that Daniel had won. But then she heard his radio message. She heard his voice yelling with happiness, and there was no need to see him to know he was smiling as big as possible. But then she heard the message. She heard the 'I never left' and all her effort to keep the tears in disappeared out of the window. It all went to hell as soon as she felt Michael and Blake hugging her and Maggie, yelling that he fucking did it.

After that it was all a blur. She knew Michael cleaned her tears so they could go outside to see Daniel; she thought the tears were over and that she could control it but then she saw him standing over the halo of the car, hitting his own chest, and there she was, crying once again. She cried because she was happy and proud, and because that's exactly what Daniel deserved after such a terrible start to the year. But mostly she cried because the one over the car, taller than anyone else, was the dad of her future baby. That was her man and how much she loved him.

After hugging Lando it felt like it took him forever to celebrate with everyone. After hugging Lando, the mechanics, Zak, and Andreas, it felt like it took him forever to even hug Blake, Maggie and then Michael, but suddenly there was he. It felt like it took him forever, but in one second Daniel was right in front of her. Jas was waiting right beside Michael, eyes full of tears and heart full of pride. The first thing he did was hug her. Daniel held Jas in his arms as tightly as possible, not caring if he was completely sweaty. She couldn't care less about anything at all at the moment, to the point that Jas felt that they were completely alone. She knew there were cameras everywhere and that millions of people were watching, but in that moment it was just her and Daniel. At least for the world it was just the two of them, because secretly, it was the three of them. She didn't need to see his face under the helmet to see his smile but God, she wished more than anyone that she could kiss every single part of his face as she repeated again and again how much she loved him and how proud she was of him. All she did was yell at him an overly excited 'I told you so!' loud enough for him to hear over the noise and the helmet while they hugged each other.

When she insisted on them to get away from Europe and stay in LA to disconnect from everything related to races at least for some days; when Daniel read all those stupid comments people made about him and his career; and when everything felt like falling in pieces around them, she was the one who told him everything was going to be okay. She told him to stop burning his head with all those comments from people who had no idea how it was to drive a car at 300 kilometers. She told him to ignore them and focus on the important things. She told him to hold on because the thighs were going to work out in the end, just like they always did. She promised everything was going to be fine and in the end she was right.

She had no idea if Daniel heard what she said over the absolute insanity that was around them, but she fixed it in a simple way. After their hug, Daniel rested carefully, his helmet against her forehead, looking at her eyes through the raised visor of his helmet. As soon as Daniel saw her tears, he did his best to carefully clean them with his gloves still on, which only made Jas cry even more as she held his helmet between her hands and gave it a little, short kiss, where his lips were supposed to be. Besides that, a simple gesture like placing her hands over his heart was all they needed. One of her favorite things about them was how they didn't need words to understand each other. After almost four years, countless hours traveling, ups and downs, and the intense life they had, sometimes all it took them was a kiss on the forehead, a hand squeeze or a little grin just to know. She just needed to hold his hand and place a kiss on his knuckles to let him know everything was going to be alright. Sometimes it was something as simple as just placing her hand over his heart to let him know she loved him more than anyone in the whole world.

Besides, holding each other was really all they could really do without people noticing their little secret.

They haven't said anything to the world just yet. They couldn't really decide when it was the right time to do it, so they decided to wait. The only problem was Daniel and his incapacity to keep his hands away from Jas. Everyone knew touching was their love language. They were always holding hands, hugging or having some kind of contact. Whatever it was, just having their pinkies laced together, her head over his shoulder, his hand resting over her knee while having dinner with friends, or even just their arms touching as they walked around the paddock, they were connected in some kind of way. Once their relationship became public, it was the most normal thing for them to arrive or leave the paddock holding each other, especially to keep her calm in the mess of people and cameras the first time she was there.

Since they found out about the pregnancy, it was more of the same, but Daniel couldn't stop placing his hand on her stomach. Whatever it was whether they were in bed, laying on the couch or on a hike, he was somehow touching her stomach. It made him happy to just be connected in some kind of way to the place their baby was, so it nothing but complicated to keep his hands away from her stomach when they were in public; but they wanted to keep it for themselves until the obligatory three first months, even after the doctor told them everything was perfectly fine.

They wanted to keep it for the three first months, but then the fourth came and they were too happy in their little bubble, keeping their little family as safe as possible. It was working perfectly. The only ones who knew were their close circle of family and friends, and they all swore to keep the secret for them, just like the counted people did at the MTC when Daniel told them just in case he had to flew away from a race in a hurry for an emergency. They took advantage of the fact that Jas wasn't somehow really showing up yet because, even at four months, her baby bump was small. It wasn't weird to see her wearing oversized shirts with a 3 somewhere, and it was especially not weird if she was in the paddock, so she took advantage of it and it also worked perfectly. Jas hid her bump under shirts and hoodies, and as some kind of a miracle nobody realized what was happening. Nobody was really suspecting, considering it was normal to see Daniel with his arm around her shoulders or resting on her waist. Nobody realized that until after Monza.

But then Daniel did what nobody was expecting, not even Jas. Forgetting about every single order and rule that the FIA might have, Daniel passed the barrier separating them to be able to reach Jas. But it didn't just end there. He didn't do it to be able to hug his girlfriend without a big piece of metal between them; he did it to kneel right in front of her. And just like the day Jas found out she was pregnant, Daniel kneeled down right in front of her, placed his hands on her waist and rested his head -and helmet- against his stomach. Then there was no way to hide it. By the way he held her, Jas's shirt moved, marking her small bump, letting the whole world know a new Ricciardo was coming to the world. That's how everyone knew the new winner of Monza was going to be a dad. Considering their baby wasn't really planned, it sounded like the most normal thing to make a non-planned announcement.

After another round of tears thanks to seeing Daniel on the podium, after the pictures, the press rounds, the celebrations, the party and especially after being congratulated by what it felt like it was the whole paddock, it was just them. They went back to their hotel room, laid in bed because they were exhausted after such a long weekend and everything was silent. Daniel didn't even move to put on some music on his phone; he just lay there, head resting over Jas' chest while their hands joined over her bump and everything was good in the world. They knew they had to pic up their phones, answer texts and calls, but they didn't want to, so they didn't. All they did was hold each other as they placed kisses anywhere they could reach.

But then she heard Daniel giggling out of nowhere again. It was something that had been constantly happening since the race ended, and Jas couldn't be happier about it. It was her favorite sound in the world and it meant that the man she loved more than anyone in the world was happy, and that was exactly what he deserved. After all the shit he went through Daniel deserved it.

"Did I really won?" he asked out of nowhere, moving his right hand over her exposed baby bump, fingertips stroking her skin as carefully as possible.

It was their little ritual every single night since Jas found out she was pregnant. Every single night, Daniel would lay in bed right besides her, or either resting his head over her chest or her legs, and for half an hour he would talk to her bump. He read too many articles on the internet about how fathers can bond with the babies before they are born and how the baby could recognize when the father is touching the belly and when he's talking. Daniel read about that, about saying hello and goodbye so the baby knows you're acknowledging their presence, and about the benefits of talking and explaining things and playing music to the baby, so he was all about it. Sometimes he would go on for an hour or even more because Jas couldn't find the strength to break the magic moment she was witnessing. But in that time Daniel would talk and tell stories to their baby from how he and Jas met, and his work, their family, their plans, to all the places they were going to see together. But then he would also play music. He made a playlist to play to their baby and would put his headphones in Jas's belly or simply let it play on his phone for the three of them to listen to it. Meanwhile, Jas was just there witnessing the most beautiful thing in the world that was her boyfriend doing everything in his power to be a good dad. It was her joy, happiness and privilege to be the one watching all that was happening right in front of her. Most of the nights she wouldn't even dare to talk, too scared to break the magic and ruin the moment. Instead, Jas would just stroke his face, run her fingers through his hair or play with his curls, enjoying the feeling of being with the man of her dreams.

"You really won, sunny. And what an statement you made out there, you crazy man" she giggled, once again running her hands through his hair, taking her chance to massage his head.

"We were looking for a way to do it, so there you go. But you're really not mad, right?" Daniel wondered, moving his head back enough to look at her face, clearly looking for some sign saying if he fucked it up doing what he did, even if he had asked before.

"No, I'm not. It’s gonna be a hell of a story and a cute video to show to our kids one day. Telling them how dad made such announcement is gonna be fun. But its gonna be way funnier telling them about dad winning on grandpa's country. I'm gonna tell them how proud I've always been of him, winning trophy or no"

Daniel took a deep breath before he moved back to his previous place with his head right over her heart. And then again, he didn't say a thing for a while; he just kissed her skin a couple times as he drew imaginary circles and lines around her stomach, all the way from her ribs to the waist of her shorts. There was not much to say, especially after Jas' affirmation. She knew that even after winning, there was a very bad small part inside Daniel's brain telling him that he should work harder to make her feel really proud of him every day. Jas knew that Daniel knew perfectly fine how she was proud of the man he was every single second of every single day. She made sure to let him know more than once a week, but after all those terrible months, Jas also knew that it was gonna be more than complicated to fight with that little negativity inside him.

"Remember the last time we were like this?" he asked again, snuggling even closer to her, hiding his face in the crock of her neck

"Celebrating a podium or just laying in bed?" Jas wondered, lacing their fingers on the top of her stomach as she kissed his forehead, never really stopping in her task of playing with his curls like every single night before sleep.

"The last time I won. We were just starting dating when it happened"

And Jas couldn’t help but smile at the memory. She couldn’t help but smile remembering how nervous she was that weekend. That was the first weekend that she was going to a race and his parents were going to be there, so she was going to meet them after four months of dating, which was nothing to terrified. Plus, it was Monaco, so every single thing intimidated her. She was scared to not wear the right clothes, to say the wrong thing and especially about people discovering who she was. Jas was terrified of everything, but then she got to Monaco and Daniel helped her with every single one of those fears with nothing but patience and love. The fact that Joe and Grace were the sweetest human beings that existed helped too, especially when she had no idea what to do and Grace told her to stick to them so she wouldn’t be alone. That’s exactly what Jas did, she stood with them all weekend while Joe made jokes about how terrible it would be for her having to stay with her boyfriend’s parents after just meeting them and Grace told him to not make Jas more nervous. But she didn’t. As the fear started to go away, Jas was more than happy about it. She got so comfortable about being there she even had the courage to stand against Christian Horner himself when he tried to talk to her about convincing Daniel to stay. She knew he already tried that with Joe, but she never thought he was going to try with her too. Jas never liked Horner. She knew all the shit that was happening behind scenes and she really didn’t like it. She was the first one on the list telling Daniel he should leave. Damn, she was the first one in the list trying to convince him to change teams, so there was no way anyone will convince her that he should stay. That was the reason of her weird exchange with Redbull’s boss. The moment that Horner suggested that Daniel should stay and especially when he suggested Jas should convince him, she automatically said no. But then things got a bit more complicated. Even if she was still a bit terrified about the whole situation, Jas stood tall as Christian Horner himself suggested that it would be a pain if he suggested Daniel that his new girlfriend was a distraction. Jas stood with her head tall as he suggested that it wouldn’t be so hard to convince Daniel to make him break up with her. Even if she was absolutely terrified about everything and even about the threat, Jas laughed right in his face. She laughed because it was the most ridiculous thing she have ever heard and absolutely pathetic from a man who was about to lose one of his drivers. As Jas walked away from his boyfriend’s boss, Jas doubted if she should mention all that to Daniel. As she walked to his parents, Jas decided she wasn’t going to brought it up until the race was over. But what Jas wasn’t expecting was what happened after the race and that was her throwing the first ‘I love you’ right after the race was over. Looking back at it, it was absolutely messy and she had no idea how they survived that weekend. But back then, Jas knew that it they could survive such a thing then they could seriously make it work. And they did make it work. Three years and a half later they were still the proof that they could make it work, no matter the threats or the bad days at work.  “And look at us now. We were young and crazy and now before we realize someone’s gonna call us mom and dad” Jas giggled, placing another kiss on his forehead and burying her face in the mess of curls he had in his head.  “We’re still young and crazy, plus very beautiful, so I know this one is gonna be more of the same. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, right?” Daniel asked, kissing her neck in the exact point where it will have her purring in no time. “Also, I’m gonna make her the coolest headset to cover her cute little ears. There’s no way I’m letting our kid wear some random headset on race weekends” “Maybe you have to make him the headset” Jas pointing.  Even when they still had no idea the gender of the baby, Daniel was somehow convinced it was going to be a girl. He said he could feel in his heart it was a girl. Maggie always joked saying Daniel looked like a girl dad, but even with the jokes and the laughs, Jas was kind of worried. She didn’t want Daniel to get disappointed if it turned out to be a boy. She knew perfectly fine Daniel was going to love their kid not matter what, but Jas was really scared anyway and that’s why she was always reminding him that it could be a boy.  “I know. Either way, gotta match daddy’s headphones and helmet. Well have the cutest and coolest baby in the world” he insisted, moving his head to look at her again as he spoke. “We need to start thinking about names”  Jas let a dramatic breath leave her body as she thought of it. It was a constant subject, but they never really found a moment to start and she didn’t really want to start it that night. “Ugh, don’t make me think about it. Its the most stressful than thinking about pushing a baby out of me. Like what if they don’t like the name? What if they hate the name? You already started failing as a parent”  “There’s no way you could fail in any way, but especially not as a mom, baby” Daniel affirmed, giving her a kiss that was enough to calm her nerves even if just for a while. And that’s exactly where she stayed for a while, lips just ghosting over each other as lazy smiles adorned their faces. “What about Magnolia? Yknow, like the song”  Of course he was going to say that.  “Baby, I know Gang of Youths are your friends, heaven knows I love em and they’re one of my favorite bands, and I love them even more because they named you in a song, but they didn’t invented the name. Magnolias are flowers. Besides Magnolia Ricciardo is fucking mouth full and what would be call her? Maggie? No way” Jas joked, acting as serious as possible as she tried to not laugh.  But she felt Daniel smiling again her skin and then his teeth biting her neck carefully, all to kiss the same spot again and Jas couldn’t help but feel everything was alright in the world. After months of uncertainty and sadness, there was all back on its place, but more important, there was Daniel smiling. “Oh you’re a smart ass now??”  “I’ve always been a smart ass, that’s why you fall in love with me” “I think it was more about your pretty ass” he shrugged, moving his hand from her bump to the side of her right leg all to stroke her ass, even if it was just the side of it.  Obviously, that made Jas giggle even harder, but also that won Daniel a little slap on the back. “What a cunt telling those things to the woman carrying your child!” “But your favorite cunt” Daniel pointed out, moving his hand back to its previous place as he gave her another kiss. “Are you gonna tell me you don’t have a list of baby names to share with the father of your child, smart, beautiful ass?”  The truth was that Jas had a little list, but it felt like nothing was good enough, or nothing sounded good with a Ricciardo on the side, so the list was nothing but a useless little list abandoned on her phone, waiting to be deleted as soon as they found the winner, which Jas hopped was gonna happen soon. “I told you, I’ve a couple ones but nothing convinced me so far. All I know its I want something that sounds English and Italian, like Daniel”  “Okay, let me try this. I’m gonna tell em names and to see if I’ve some approval from inside” he explained, moving from his spot to go lay down on the bed, face inches away from her stomach.  “Babe, the baby’s too small. Ain’t gonna move or anything. You won’t be able to feel kickings for a while” Jas explained in the most delicate way because even if she knew Daniel knew, she didn’t want to break his heart.  “You watch” Daniel practically challenged her, looking at Jas as he kissed her bump a couple times before he kept going. “C’mon, baby Ric, lets probe your mom we can do some magic together” he stated, talking directly to her stomach.  “Sunshine-“ “Shh mama, we here are communicating. Its a daddy-baby bonding, don’t interfere” Daniel interrupted her, trying in vain to act all serious even if Jas could see a little smirk on his lips. “Okay, honey, what do you think about Magnolia?” he asked to the bump, and as soon as he finished talking he put his ear right against it, acting like their baby was actually answering. “What?? Too mouthful? Yeah your mama told me the same thing. She’s always kind of right. You’ll have to deal with that too. Hey, what about Dandelion? Jasper? Daniela? Honey?” “Oh c’mon, you gotta be kidding me” Jas laughed, not being able to believe the ridiculous thing Daniel was saying.  “Alright, if its a boy what about David?” “Dan, for God’s sake, I know you love your Aussie buddies and I know Dave gave you a shoutout in a song but you need to stop cause we ain’t naming our baby after him” Jas exclaimed, trying to sound as serious as possible, just like Daniel did when he threw name after name. But even she tried, she couldn’t help but laugh as she stroked his hair.  “Your dad’s name is also David!” Jas automatically covered her mouth with her free hand as she realized she actually forgot her dad’s name, even if just for a second. She was distracted, too happy and too much into her own happiness that she forgot something as basically and simple as her own father’s name. “Don’t tell him I thought about the other Dave before I thought of him” “The secret its safe with us” Daniel smiled, looking at her through tired eyes, and Jas knew him enough to know tiredness was officially starting to kick off, so it was a matter of time for him to start closing his eyes.

“I hate to interrupt this wonderful father-baby bonding time, but I gotta go pee before you start talking none stop with our kid and before you fall asleep” she murmured, stroking his cheek one last time before she sat up on the bed as slowly as possible.  Daniel jumped out of the bed in one swift moment, standing at the side, offering his hands for Jas to grab them, exactly like he did every single time since they found out she was pregnant. He knew she didn’t need help getting up, at least not yet, but the overprotective future husband and future father in him was stronger than any logic. Besides, Daniel knew there was going to be a lot of moments when he was gonna be too busy and he wasn’t going to be able to do it, so he wanted to take every single opportunity to help. “Let me help you, princess”  And once again, Jas didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so she accepted his hands and let him help her to get up from bed. But as soon as she was standing in her own two feet, Jas hands went to his neck, keeping him as close as possible. “I still can get up and pee by myself but thanks anyway, especially considering you’re the guilty one, full responsible for this beautiful mess”  “Hey, you need two to tango” he responded, moving his hands to her hips which were getting bigger every day that passed.  “And you sure know about” she smiled, giving him a kiss on his lips before she decided to walk to the bathroom. But before she went far away, Daniel grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, making Jas’ smile became wider. But it also made her stay put right in her spot as she looked at Daniel. “Hey babe? You fucking won Monza” she remembered, still not believing the fact that it happened. After what it felt forever, it happened.  “I fucking did” Daniel nodded, but instead of letting her go, he went and hugged her again. 

---

Taglist

@d0ntjudgemy50shades @amsofftrack

#daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo one shot #daniel ricciardo fanfic #formula one #formula one fic #formula one imagine #formula 1 #formula 1 fic #formula one oneshot #formula 1 oneshot #formula 1 imagine #f1 #f1 oneshot #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #house of memories fic

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boxboxlewis · 2 years

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prompt: daniel pining for max and lando can absolutely not take it anymore…. proceeds to try and help daniel out by being his wingman😅 love ur writing btw❤️❤️

(i veered slightly from the prompt here, anon. hope you still enjoy!)

Lando finds Daniel in his driver's room, sitting on the sofa with his elbows on his knees and his head down, staring at nothing. Not ideal.

He says, "All right there, Daniel?"

Daniel hasn't really been all right all season, and Lando feels kind of guilty about it. Not that guilty, but like, Lando's seat for next year is secure, while Zak has apparently promised Daniel's to half the Indycar field as well as Oscar Piastri. It's hard not to feel a bit bad, but also knowing it's Daniel who's fucked and not him feels kind of good, in a sneaky, queasy way; but then feeling good about someone else feeling bad tips him back to feeling bad again... it's all a mess, basically. This shit is why Lando goes to therapy.

Daniel still has his head down and his hands on the back of his neck. He's got his headphones on, so like. Maybe he just didn't hear. Lando pokes him with a toe, gingerly, and he whips his head up. It looks like maybe he's been crying, or at least on the verge of it. Pre-crying, when your eyes are all red and your throat's tight.

Lando has zero idea what to do with an emotional Daniel Ricciardo. He says, "Uhhh," and tries to look normal and not like he's being judgemental or whatever, which just leads to him overthinking it and feeling like maybe he's not blinking when he should be.

Daniel says "Hiya, Lando," and his voice sounds wrong, all thick and strange. Fuck. Lando blinks rapidly.

"Er... do you... I can," he begins, and tries desperately to think of anything helpful he can do. "I can phone a friend for you? If you'd like?" Jesus Christ. As if Daniel is a contestant on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Sometimes Lando really wishes he could dropkick himself.

"That's very kind," Daniel says. "Not really what I need right now, but it's kind." To Lando's horror, Daniel's eyes fill with tears, and now he's properly crying at him. They didn't cover this in orientation.

"What do you need?" Lando asks desperately.

"I dunno, can you get my boyfriend to un-break-up with me?"

"Your... boyfriend?" Lando didn't know Daniel was dating anyone. He definitely didn't know Daniel dated guys.

"Yeah, you've probably met him? 2021 World Champion, about my height, blondish hair, stacked thighs?"

Lando's brain is fully blue-screening. "You're dating Max Verstappen?"

"Well," Daniel says, and does a little hiccupy crying breath. "Not anymore!"

"Ok," Lando says, "ok, well, we're supposed to be signing miniature helmets right now, but, uh. I can tell them you're... throwing up?"

Daniel scrubs the heels of his palms against his eye sockets, in a way that honestly looks quite painful. "Nah, you're all right. I'm a big boy, I'll pull myself together. Can't let the fans down just because I've had my heart broken, right? Not when they've paid for their merchandise!"

Lando hasn't seen Daniel like this before, all brittle and strung-out and teary-eyed. He says, "I think maybe you need a break, mate. Like, go back to the hotel for a bit, yeah? And maybe, uh." He doesn't know why he's saying this; things are always so smooth and so good with Luisa and his Max that he really doesn't have much experience navigating relationship downswings or whatever. But he can't stop himself from adding, "Maybe call Max and try and talk it out?"

Daniel laughs, then, and it's a horrible parody of his normal laugh. "Oh, great idea, Lando!" he says. "I would definitely do that if he hadn't, like, blocked me on every platform. I guess I could email his agent, right? I could send him a fanmail!"

"Has he blocked you on Instagram, really? Because people will notice that," Lando says, before he pulls himself together. "Um, but, anyway. I'm going to tell them you're sick, so just... go back to the hotel, ok?

Daniel goes back to his hotel. Lando dithers a bit and then takes out his phone. He texts Max Verstappen, hey mate what the fuck did u just do to daniel. And then he waits.

(edited to add - you can now read the maxiel breakup that precedes this scene, if you'd like)

#asks #maxiel fic #or like... post-maxiel i guess #ln4 #my fic #ficlet #i might write more of this we shall see!!!#outsider pov #dr3 #mv33

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sophiewagentje · 2 years

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☕️Daniel and Lando situation at Mclaren👀

Lmao get you friends who let you talk shit 😘

So Daniel and Lando is difficult. I think Zak likes both of them a lot and had the hope of creating a Maxiel teammates situation 2.0 which went wrong big time. Cuz Lando is ofc a very different kind of person compared to Max. He isn’t as open, he doesn’t really share daniel humor, he’s trying to take that number one driver seat permanently in mclaren and basically create a similar relationship between him and Mclaren as Max has with rbr or Lewis with merc.

Daniel came into the team after a very bad decision in his career. Like honestly Renault wasn’t a great decision looking back and Daniel really wants to get that wdc before he stops driving. So he joined a rising Mclaren with a Lando who had decided to be more serious, mature, more of a team leader than he was with Carlos. I think Daniel also expected to create a similar dynamic with Lando as he had with Max which just didn’t work at all. So within the team it’s not going great and Daniel just couldn’t get the car like he wanted/needed in 2021.

I personally think that after Monza especially (cuz that has to have hurt a lot for Lando) they were told to get friendlier with each other cuz they really weren’t even close to buddies. And now this season the start was awful just plain awful tho it’s slowly getting better, only now daniel is just having a lot of bad luck and weird strategies. But what people seem to forget (and don’t get me wrong I’m gutted for Danny) is that that is not Lando’s fault. Lando cant help Daniel a lot with the car, Lando can’t do anything about his strategies and Lando isn’t obligated to feel bad for Daniel, that’s just not the kind of sport this is. Lando is trying to prove to Mclaren that he’s their future and you can’t be very nice when doing that.

To be completely honest I think Daniel should’ve gone to mclaren in 2019 or he should’ve stayed with alpine and build that team completely around him. And he has had bad luck cuz the generation immediately after him is insanely talented and ofc he suffered from the merc domination like a lot of good drivers. Which hurts a lot really but yeah☹️

So yeah mclaren isn’t great vibes, I love both my babes and Daniel is suffering in his career atm

Send me ☕️ + topic and I’ll give my opinion!

#I hope I’m talking sense #soph’s asks

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newyorktheater · 4 years

Text

“How are you getting through these days?” Thomas Sadoski asks.

“At first I felt like Anne Frank but with Amazon Prime,” Jennifer Carpenter answers…”Now I’ve decided my apartment is a stateroom on the Queen Mary and I’m far out at sea.”

The exchange is from “Satori,” a seven-minute play written by John Guare and directed by Jerry Zaks, which is different in several ways from most of the dozen short plays in the starry third edition of The Homebound Project, an online anthology series of original work whose aim is to raise money for No Kid Hungry. It has so far collected more than $73,000 by charging ten dollars a ticket.

“Satori” is the only play of the twelve in this batch with more than one actor. It is one of the few to address the pandemic directly, and one of the few streaked with humor

But Sadoski’s character has much in common with many of those in the other plays. He’s become unhinged. He has taken up Yoga, and It has awakened him to the truth (Satori means awakened) that God’s mission “is to wipe us off the face of the earth, restore the planet to its true caretakers,” that “Our government understands this” and that he is calling his friend (and presumably everybody he knows) to urge her to “Rip off your mask. Leap into crowds. Touch each other. Kiss each other. Love each other Infect each other. We forfeited the right to live on this earth.”

It’s bracing how many of these new works feature characters who have lost it.

Among the most memorable is the second grade teacher portrayed by Ashley Parker in the play by Bess Wohl, which the playwright has entitled “The Morning Message to the Second Graders in Room 206,” and which features a teacher being inappropriate in sundry ways: Instead of teaching spelling (“Nobody gives a shit about selling. Shakespeare couldn’t spell”) she has the class contemplate a feather. She also lets out a unrestrained scream.

In “Checking In” written by Clare Barron, and directed by Steven Pasquale, Phillipa Soo is trying to reassure somebody on the telephone: “I’m having like very, very mild suicide ideation, like very very mild, just a couple of times a day.” In Samuel D. Hunter’s play, Will Pullen tries to record a birthday message to an aunt who has long been shunned by the family, and reveals his own estrangement.

We don’t know if these characters’ depression has been ignited by a world in crisis – this seems unlikely. Similarly, in several of the plays, such as Idle Hands by Donnetta Lavinia Grays and Mourning Swan by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, the characters come off as unprovoked psychopaths.

It was difficult for me at first to see what all this sadness and insanity had to do with the theme of this edition – “Champions.” That was the prompt that the playwrights were given. Only two of the plays have anything explicitly to do with winners, and they both subvert the concept. In “I Was Gonna Win But Then” by Gina Femia, Paola Lázaro explains to somebody off-camera that she was going to win a race, but then she stopped because she met a winged angel, who turned out to be ill, coughing up stones, so she lingered to take care of her. In “I’m a Winner Not a Loser” by Xavier Galva, Michael (Arian Moayed) explains that he has a “super rare medical condition” that he shares with other people with the same initials, Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, known as TWM – “The Winning Mentality.” But, as it turns out, he’s explaining this to a therapist, and, in an amusing twist, he’s still pining or the wife who divorced him.

I didn’t think about what else “champion” could mean until intermission, when they presented five minutes of playful video footage of various pets (such as Amanda Seyfried’s white donkey Gus, who made a cameo in a previous edition, and lots of cats and dogs) , and listed who the animals’ champions were (his dad who adopted him from a shelter; anyone with food.) Most playwrights, I realized, interpreted “champion” as supporter – which is something we all seem to need these days.

This edition of The Homebound Project was originally scheduled for earlier in June, and was postponed to honor the Black Lives Matter movement. There is an opening montage that includes footage of protesters and frontline workers, and a play was added to the original line-up, only one of the two to address the protests even indirectly. In “Here and Now” by C.A. Johnson, Daveed Diggs knocks on somebody’s door, gets no answer, so sits on the doormat, takes off his face mask, and starts talking, assuming that the person on the other side is there but just not welcoming him. “The world is on fire right now, like folks are finally waking the fuck up to injustice, or anger or empathy etc.” He tells the story of passing by a white dude with bugged out eyes who started putting his fist in the air and yelling at him “Black Lives Matters” as a show of support. Eventually, we learn that he’s talking through the door to his “baby brother,” a trans woman, trying to make amends – “If my life matters to some random white guy on a porch, then your black life should sure as hell matter to me.

I found “Here and Now” the most quietly moving of the plays. The Homebound Project 3 ends with a more noisily moving play, “Let’s Save the World” by Michael R Jackson, in which Diane Lane explains how she woke up with wings, and she was not alone, as winged Americans swooped down on animal factories, polluted rivers, Washington D.C., churches and news media, healing and liberating.

“For the last few years it seemed the world had turned upside down and inside out and I, like so many had been feeling so scared and hopeless and wondering who would save us. It suddenly made nothing but sense.

“We would. We were the ones we’re waiting for.” Then Diane Lane fades, and Michael R. Jackson sings an original song.

The Homebound Project #3 is available through June 28.

List of plays:

Here and Now By C.A. Johnson Featuring Daveed Diggs

A Very Special Message to a Very Special Aunt on the Occasion of Her Sixtieth Birthday From All The Cooper Siblings by Samuel D. Hunter Featuring Will Pullen Directed by Jenna Worsham

Blue Pink Hot Pink Yellow by Daniel Talbott Featuring Eve Lindley Directed by Kevin Laibson

Checking In by Clare Barron Featuring Phillipa Soo Directed by Steven Pasquale

Mourning Swan by Mara Nelson-Greenberg Featuring Joshua Leonard Directed by Jenna Worsham

Idle Hands by Donnetta Lavinia Grays Featuring Ralph Brown Directed by Jenna Worsham

Bird Chest by Korde Arrington Tuttle Featuring Blair Underwood

Satori by John Guare Featuring Jennifer Carpenter & Thomas Sadoski Directed by Jerry Zaks

I Was Gonna Win But Then by Gina Femia Featuring Paola Lázaro Directed by Taylor Reynolds

I’m a Winner Not a Loser by Xavier Galva Featuring Arian Moayed

Let’s Save the World by Michael R. Jackson Featuring Diane Lane Directed by Leigh Silverman

Previous editions:

Thomas Sadoski in Love Letter to an Irish Pub by Martyna Majok

The Homebound Project Review and Pics. 10 New Plays in The First Hour

Mary-Louise Parker introducing the second edition of “The Homebound Project”

Homebound Project 2. How DO the arts fortify and sustain us?

Homebound Project 3: Starry new plays about unhinged characters and their champions “How are you getting through these days?” Thomas Sadoski asks. “At first I felt like Anne Frank but with Amazon Prime,” Jennifer Carpenter answers…”Now I’ve decided my apartment is a stateroom on the Queen Mary and I’m far out at sea.”

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hatnews3-blog · 5 years

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RealitySteve.com - My sarcastic, slanted, sophomoric, and skewed view on the world of reality television

I realize, of course, that very few people are drawn to Are You the One? because of the mathematical strategies that must be employed for twenty-two people to have a shot at splitting a million dollars, but for those who are interested, the statistics at this point are as follows:

• 3 beams of light were nabbed in 2 consecutive ceremonies.

• 0 matches were made from 2 sojourns into the Truth Booth.

• 1 guy received head from Kenya during a luau.

• 1 girl named Lauren has received approximately 36 seconds of screen time.

• 7 blowups have gone down courtesy of Bria and 4 of them required she be physically restrained.

• And the number of women still convinced something real and true exists beneath Zak’s staggering and smelly layers of douchiness? Well, that number would probably measure somewhere near infinity.

The last ceremony concluded with Zak calling Bria trash and her retaliating in return that their garbage love story is over – and all that probably means is they’ll be heading into the Boom Boom Room any day now. But we can hope, can’t we? We can hope Bria calms down. We can hope Zak falls scruff-first into a volcano. We can hope Tevin will eventually stop hoping that Kenya will spontaneously turn decent. We can hope Lauren gets to say four consecutive sentences on camera and that Cam finds himself a fellow Conservative in that messy den of iniquity. Or we can say “f*ck hope” and simply wait for someone new to fly off the rails because this is an MTV reality show, dammit, and just it’s nice when our hopes pan out.

Episode four begins with Bria blathering about how much she respects herself and how she deserves better and that she’s not a dumb bitch, which means she will definitely end up straddling Zak in the very near future because Bria seems to be the very opposite of what she claims to be. And since she is a woman who deeply respects herself, she drenches another woman’s legs in chocolate syrup and dives tongue-first into the girl’s crotch to lick that syrup off – you know, much like the feminists of yore used to do. Her antics are having the exact effect we all know she’s going for. Zak is getting jealous, so since he’s a very mature person, he decides to lean in and kiss Samantha right in front of his hysterical ex. But Samantha! Could she be the token normal one on this show? I think there’s a chance that she might just be! As Zak leans in, she jerks backwards to avoid lips that have already slid over mouth of almost every girl in that house. She knows Zak’s deal and she’s not into it and I would hereby like to announce a brand new holiday! It will be called Samantha Day and on that day no woman will deign to kiss a dipsh*t and champagne and mini Twix bars will rain down from the sky. I’ve already ordered commemorative tees.

The next morning, Asia wakes Lewis to tell him she’s made him breakfast – something he swears hasn’t happened for him since Ja Rule had a hit – and he likes her and all, but he’s keeping his options open. Then there’s Brett and Cali. Those two are clicking. Need proof? As they discuss what kind of animal each one of them would be, Brett knows Cali would be a bird! Is their love deep or what? It is so deep that it’s time to start swapping secrets. Brett’s deep dark secret? He’s had three surgeries. Cali’s? She tosses hot peppers into her mouth like candy and then makes poop that burns her sphincter. Yes, theirs is a glorious kind of love and I’m certain it will last forever.

Asia is into Lewis, but she tells Tevin that Lewis hasn’t made any sort of move on her yet. She’s not sure if he’s being respectful or what, but she finds it odd that the two haven’t even danced together, not even during the luau a few days back. Once the luau is brought up, Tevin lets it slip that Kenya not only danced atop Lewis that night, but she went down on him as well. This is brand new information for Asia and she does not appreciate being kept in the dark by two people she thought she could trust. “Let me know you got your d*ck sucked. And let me know you sucked his d*ck!” she exclaims to Tevin about those two traitors and his response is to nod sagely and the whole thing is a moment of bonding one only sees on basic cable.

Also: I’m officially canceling Samantha Day. It turns out she gets positively giddy when men leave pools of sweat in their wake and, well, that’s the sort of shit that should just not be celebrated. The guy whose sweat is currently making her swoon is Daniel, and the truth is I don’t care if they get together or not. I’m just happy she’s not dreaming about doing a slip n’ slide through any of Zak’s bodily fluids.

Terrence J pops in next – he’s contractually mandated to show up now and again – and this week the Fate Button determines Shamoy, Lewis, Maria, and Lauren (the blonde phantom) get to go on the out-of-the-house date. Everyone is thrilled Shamoy and Maria were selected because there’s a good chance they’re an actual match and now they can be shoved into the Truth Booth and maybe something can finally be confirmed. The date they head out on involves horseback riding through the foggiest afternoon Hawaii has ever seen. Lauren gets to speak at least four times, Maria admits that Shamoy gives her butterflies, and Shamoy rides shirtless because Maria has latent Fabio fantasies. Everything is going perfectly until Lauren gets thrown from her horse, but it turns out this formerly mute girl is tough and she literally gets back on that horse and finishes the ride.

Back at the house, Asia is busy informing everyone she can corner that Kenya took Lewis’ hand a few weeks back, pulled him into the Boom Boom Room, and then sucked his d*ck. Had skywriters been available, she probably would have requested that one form the image of Kenya’s mouth enveloping Lewis’ scrotum so everyone could learn the news at once, but alas, skywriting is not in the budget for this show, not with all the tequila that needs to be on hand every second of every day so the contestants can wash away whatever inhibitions still remain in the darkest corners of their souls. As Asia wipes away tears of fury in the kitchen, Daniel asks Samantha to accompany him on a mini excursion to go catch crabs. Yes, there are a zillion “catching crabs” jokes I could make right now, but I’m instead going to appreciate that Daniel is not currently sweating buckets and I’m going to celebrate that he knows how to build a fishing pole out of bamboo – that kind of MacGyver sh*t could come in handy in the real world! – and, I swear, my eyes didn’t even roll when the two of them sat on the shore and kissed.

It’s Truth Booth time! To nobody’s surprise, Shamoy and Maria are sent in to determine if they’re a real match or not. The totally-just-for-show lights pass over their bodies and we find out these two are a perfect match! The house explodes into cheers, Shamoy and Maria are relieved as hell, and I’m devastated because now the only two clinically normal people in that villa are being sent away to the Honeymoon House so the rest of these rather insane people can more easily weed through one another to achieve a cash prize.

Seeing the perfect match pop up on the screen is making the rest of the house feel all kinds of giddy – or all kinds of drunk, but let’s pretend the romance here is not sponsored by Smirnoff. After declaring how “perfect” things are between she and Brett (and after we all then heard the rumbling of symbolic thunder the very second she said such a thing), Cali gets out of the hot tub and Brett has no idea where she has gone. He discovers her talking to Zak, a conversation that involves Zak telling her that she reminds him of his sister and Cali muttering, “Cool,” in return, but Brett is not about details at the moment. No, this guy gets in Zak’s face. Zak stays calm the entire time because pretty much everyone he’s ever met has hated him; he’s used to people invading his personal space to inform him that he sucks. Watching Brett’s overreaction, Cali is concerned. She’s experienced this kind of controlling man in her past and Brett is making her feel scared. She should probably already be scared. MTV has labeled Brett “The Jealous Type,” and he’s proving here that sometimes labels are pretty f*cking accurate. A few guys attempt to intervene because the guy is acting like a crazy person and Cali keeps telling him that he’s acting irrationally, but he’s not really into logic right now. Oh, and Cali keeps calling him “Zak” which is really not helping matters.

It’s a new day and the alcohol has seeped out of his system and now Brett thinks that maybe he blew things out of proportion the night before. And speaking of blowing things, Tevin lets Kenya know he accidentally told Asia about what happened between she and Lewis a while back and now Lewis would like to talk to Asia. With his shorts slipping all the way down his ass, Lewis leads Asia away so he can tell her there’s no reason she should feel an emotional attachment to him – which is a sentence all women love to hear. Asia thinks they have a connection despite the fact that he’s yet to see her naked, Lewis appears perplexed by everything Asia is saying, and it all just gets louder and more confusing when Kenya bounds over and says she had no idea Asia had feelings for Lewis, but she swears whatever transpired between the two of them was not “romantical” in the least. They all end the conversation with a hug, though Lewis is more than a bit freaked out because he’s nowhere near as into Asia as she apparently is into him.

It’s ceremony time! With one match already made, the group is now looking to solidify the other pairings. The guys get to choose their matches this week and it goes a little something like this:

• Lewis chooses Asia and Samantha sits back and watches as Asia mumbles some explanation about how whatever happened with Lewis and Kenya no longer matters and the whole thing makes Samantha sad because she feels like Asia is compromising herself. For the record, I’m now reconsidering my reconsideration of Samantha Day. The woman is wise and she’s yet to put her fist through a wall or through someone’s face. So what that she likes sweaty men? Let the bells that announce the dawning of Samantha Day ring! • Cam picks Kayla. • Tevin selects Kenya. • Daniel chooses Samantha – and she’s already worried he’s not enough of a challenge for her. • Brett gets up and rhapsodizes about how Cali is still the one he wants despite the fireballs of rage he spit at her the previous evening. But Cali? She doesn’t particularly love having to say this in front of everyone, but she’s no longer cool with a man who has psychotic bursts of anger due to his own issues with trust. She’s not willing to overlook the negative tendencies he all but waved before her face like flags and she tells him that she’s done. His response? He picks her as his match for the evening and Cali presses her hand on the screen to lock in that match with a look of pure duress smeared across her pretty face. • Andrew (who?) picks Lauren, the girl who fell off the horse and has now had 48 seconds of screen time. • Bria is chosen by some guy I’ve maybe never seen before and I do not know his name, but he helped her locate her missing pasta that morning and great love stories have started from far less. (Okay, they haven’t. But I’m afraid of Bria, so let me just publicly say that the locating of carbohydrates is so important in a relationship and I wish her and whoever this guy might be the very best.) • Kwasi picks Jasmine. • Tomas (I think) selects Nutsa. • Zak lands on Morgan.

With all these new selections, some of which are completely random and based only on missing fusilli, the group ends up with only two correct matches. They are now, Terrence J cautions them, in the danger zone and there is only one way to combat this growing crisis: they should all head out on a Relationship Retreat where their exes will be there to ambush them! Sounds healthy, right? And so romantical.

Nell Kalter teaches Film and Media at a school in New York. She is the author of the books THAT YEAR and STUDENT, both available on amazon.com in paperback and for your Kindle. Also be sure to check out her website at nellkalter.com. Her twitter is @nell_kalter.

Source: http://realitysteve.com/2018/08/30/are-you-the-one-nell-kalters-episode-4-recap/

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writingsubmissions · 7 years

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Fights to Make: UFC Auckland

Mark Hunt (beat Derrick Lewis) vs. Francis Ngannou: Mark Hunt is the man. This seemed set up for a Derrick Lewis win, potentially one that could even earn Lewis a title shot, but Hunt proved to have enough veteran savvy to (mostly) avoid Lewis’s big blows and eventually wear the American down towards a stoppage. And not only did Hunt knock off UFC’s top rising heavyweight and potentially retire him, he also did so while still suing the company. Baller. Anyway, I expect Hunt to continue to be a gatekeeper to the heavyweight elite, and someone UFC wants to see get knocked out, so let’s put him against Francis Ngannou, the other big rising talent at heavyweight; Ngannou’s both rawer and even scarier than Lewis, so it’d have a bunch of the same interesting dynamics that were at play for this fight.

Derek Brunson (beat Daniel Kelly) vs. David Branch: It was depressing to see the miracle run of Dan Kelly come to a quick and violent end, but it’s also nice to see Derek Brunson stop what was becoming a bit of a slide, particularly since he should’ve beaten Anderson Silva in February. I’m not really sure this was the return of the more aggressive Brunson - it’s just that he happens to have enough knockout power to knock Kelly out - but a win’s a win, and Brunson can act as a sort of plug-and-play top ten middleweight who’s an interesting enough matchup for anyone. Let’s go with David Branch, who won his return fight to UFC over Krzysztof Jotko after a run as a two-weight WSOF champ; both guys are well-rounded, and as with most fights, the result could vary wildly based off Brunson’s aggressiveness.

Derrick Lewis (lost to Mark Hunt) vs. Ruslan Magomedov: Lewis apparently retired after the fight, which was both surprisingly and not at all; he had talked a few years ago about basically retiring once he had paid off his house, but between a new, bigger contract and the fact that he’d been willing all his fights, that talk had quieted down, though one gets the feeling Lewis would’ve continued towards the belt if he won here. Anyway, Lewis left the door just open enough I’m not writing off a comeback yet, though it’ll probably be a while until he fights again - and top Russian prospect Ruslan Magomedov is currently dealing with a drug suspension, so the timeline of Lewis returning (if he does) and Magomedov being free and clear to fight will probably match up.

Daniel Kelly (lost to Derek Brunson) vs. Nate Marquardt: Well, shit. Kelly always figured to lose to Brunson in quick and brutal fashion, as long as a relatively aggressive version of Brunson showed up, but it was still sad to see one of UFC’s best stories over the last few years just get absolutely annihilated. Still, Kelly can hang around as a fairly successful novelty until he decides to retire; let’s go full old guy circuit and put him against Marquardt, a fading vet who has just enough power himself to make things interesting.

Ben Nguyen (beat Tim Elliott) vs. Ulka Sasaki/Justin Scoggins (Jun. 17) winner: Just when it looked like Tim Elliott might be able to distance himself from the pack, the flyweight randomizer pulled him right back into the glut of guys from ranking, say, 5 to 25, as Nguyen stunningly hopped on a choke and tapped him out in 49 seconds. Nguyen’s in that mix of guys who can basically win or lose to just about anyone, and have a fun fight while doing so - if you said this win earned him a shot at, say, a Jussier Formiga or Wilson Reis type, fine, but instead I’ll go the action route and put him against the winner of a fun prospect bout in Singapore.

Alexander Volkanovski (beat Mizuto Hirota) vs. Artem Lobov: Volkanovski’s one of the better Australian prospects, but I wasn’t really sold on him until now, as he faced a tough veteran test in Hirota and just dominated, showing off his strong wrestling and some thudding power, as he probably would’ve put most opponents away. Just keep moving him up the ladder - as I said after it happened, Artem Lobov’s performance against Cub Swanson showed he’s improved to where he could at least be a gatekeeper for actual prospects, and Volkanovski has proven himself as an actual prospect, so there you go.

John Moraga (beat Ashkan Mokhtarian) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo: Well, that was exactly what Moraga needed - while a lot of it was newcomer Mokhtarian looking awful, it was good to see Moraga have an impressive performance to break a rough stretch for the solid vet. With sticking on the roster out of the way, Moraga can go back to his top-ten or so gatekeeper role, so let’s put him against Figueiredo, who had an impressive debut last week against Marco Beltran to open up UFC 212.

Tim Elliott (lost to Ben Nguyen) vs. Jussier Formiga: Huh. Flyweight is weird, man - past Demetrious Johnson, Joseph Benavidez, and Henry Cejudo, there are basically twenty guys who can all beat each other, as Nguyen’s flash win over Elliott showed. I still regard Elliott as one of the better of the bunch, so I’ll give him another tough vet coming off a loss in Formiga, even if I do worry I’m falling into the trap that got Elliott cut the first time around, feeding him a bunch of tough matchups that he might lose.

Ion Cutelaba (beat Henrique da Silva) vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov: Well, that was pretty cool. Cutelaba just pretty much destroyed da Silva from even before the opening horn, as he got in the Brazilian’s face during fighter introductions, then came out and just annihilated da Silva in 22 seconds. I’m not sure Cutelaba ever becomes anything more than a fun brawler, but the Moldovan is young enough to improve - at any rate, I doubt he has the well-rounded game to hang with Gadzhimurad Antigulov, but it’d be a fun fight, pitting Cutelaba’s straight-ahead brawling with Antigulov’s straight-ahead ground and pound style.

Dan Hooker (beat Ross Pearson) vs. Desmond Green: I still have no idea what to make of Dan Hooker, though he got of a hell of a highlight-reel win here with a brutal knee straight up the middle to knock out Pearson. He’s still lanky, even up a class at lightweight, and just kind of a collection of stuff that isn’t too impressive, but sometimes can prove to be ridiculously dynamic in spots, like he was here. Desmond Green, who was a bit of a surprising young veteran signing by UFC, impressed in his UFC debut in April, so let’s do that as a fight between mid-tier prospects that may yet continue to overachieve.

Vinc Pichel (beat Damien Brown) vs. Scott Holtzman: Good for Vinc Pichel. It looked like a three-year layoff was going to leave him too rusty to beat Damien Brown, but as soon as Brown started to take over, Pichel just caught him charging in with an uppercut that absolutely flattened him. I like the idea of a fight with Holtzman next - he’s a high-level athlete still trying to figure things out, and there are still questions about if the game as a whole has passed Pichel by, so I think it’s a strong test for both fighters.

Zak Ottow (beat Kiichi Kunimoto) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada: Zak Ottow is fine, but one of the blander guys on the roster, and the Milwaukee native is now 3-for-3 as far as fairly unmemorable split decisions in the UFC thus far, with Ottow getting the nod this time around. You can kind of do whatever with him - he’s solid as either a bounce-back win for a better fighter on tough times, a solid test for a rising prospect, or just a guy you can plug in in a forgettable fight. Let’s kind of go the last route with a bit of upside and put him against Afghan striker Siyar Bahadurzada, who hasn’t had the most memorable run but sometimes provides some fun bursts of violence.

Ross Pearson (lost to Dan Hooker) vs. Mitch Clarke: The downside of Dan Hooker’s impressive up-the-middle knee knockout is that it came over Pearson, who’s rapidly hitting diminishing returns after four straight losses. I obviously wouldn’t be shocked if he was cut, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they kept him around for one more shot, given that Pearson’s been a fairly reliable action gatekeeper for almost a decade now. Let’s put him against Canadian submission artist Mitch Clarke, who’s still apparently on the UFC roster after one-sided losses to Michael Chiesa and Joe Duffy; it’d make for a fun striker-versus-grappler matchup.

Luke Jumeau (beat Dominique Steele) vs. Jingliang Li/Frank Camacho (Jun. 17) winner: This was a nice win for Jumeau, a debuting New Zealand prospect - I don’t exactly see him as a future contender, but this showed his athleticism and power has translated well enough that he can at least hang around and impressively beat some of the dregs of the roster. I’d just go pure action fights from here on out rather than booking Jumeau as a possible future contender, so I have an eye towards putting him against China’s Li, a fun banger who faces late replacement Frank Camacho in Singapore next week.

Mizuto Hirota (lost to Alexander Volkanovski) vs. Charles Rosa: Hirota had a fine performance here, but was just physically outgunned by Volkanovski, who was able to implement his wrestling and power striking more or less at will. Hirota’s sort of like Zak Ottow above in that he’s pretty much a tough, but beatable test for anyone - let’s put him against Boston’s Charles Rosa, who’s more athletic and more aggressive, but also wilder and someone that Hirota might be able to beat as a technician.

Damien Brown (lost to Vinc Pichel) vs. Davi Ramos: For a first-round knockout loss, Brown still kind of continues to overachieve in my eyes - I figured he’d be another Australian grappler who has no success at the UFC level, but his striking has come along to where he’s kind of a fun, scrappy vet. I like the idea of him against BJJ ace Ramos, who debuted at welterweight as a late replacement in March - a grappler who’s learned how to strike against one who seemingly has yet to.

J.J. Aldrich (beat Chan Mi Jeon) vs. Kailin Curran/Aleksandra Albu (Jul. 29) winner: This was a good win for Aldrich, as she had enough technical striking to keep raw newcomer Jeon at bay, but didn’t really change a ton in terms of long-term outlook in my eyes - Aldrich is still sort of a minus athlete, and anyone stronger who can grapple with her should have a ton of success. So even fights are hard to find on a deep roster like strawweight, but either Curran or Albu, lower-level fighters who square off at UFC 214, should do.

Ashkan Mokhtarian (lost to John Moraga) vs. Ryan Benoit: Well, Mokhtarian did not look good here - admittedly, some of that is probably facing Moraga, but the Australian just looked every bit the sort of athletic, trashy grappler that his pre-UFC film suggested. Ryan Benoit’s one of the few guys who can be a gatekeeper at flyweight, so let’s just use Mokhtarian to get him a win - and hell, the Australian might be athletic enough to even have some success.

Henrique da Silva (lost to Ion Cutelaba) vs. Igor Pokrajac: It’s been a wild ride for “Frankenstein” da Silva during his one-year UFC tenure - not much was expected of him until he got two trashy wins, and just when it looked like he might be a prospect, he started collecting one-sided losses, including a 22-second knockout here. Light heavyweight is thin enough I could see da Silva getting one more shot, and let’s do it against Pokrajac, a Croatian vet who was pretty much only re-signed for a card in Zagreb last year.

Chan Mi Jeon (lost to J.J. Aldrich) vs. Pearl Gonzalez: Chan Mi Jeon is a talent, but she’s also the youngest fighter on the roster and possibly the rawest; she fought more measured here against Aldrich than she did in any of her previous fights, but she still has a long ways to go before she can really implement a ton of effective offense. Pearl Gonzalez isn’t particularly good, and got dominated by Cynthia Calvillo in her lone UFC fight - if you had to choose someone on this roster that Jeon could beat at the moment, she’s as good a choice as any.

Kiichi Kunimoto (lost to Zak Ottow) vs. Dominique Steele (lost to Luke Jumeau): Now that he’s not on a weird winning streak, Kunimoto is fairly uninspiring, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got another UFC fight; they’re coming to his native Japan in September, this was a narrow loss, and he is a solid vet to have around. I doubt Dominique Steele gets another bout, since he really can’t win at a UFC level, but they do have him going around and losing to people in their home town or nation, so there you go.

#ufc #mma #ufcauckland #ufc auckland #ufc fight night 110 #ufcfightnight110 #ufn 110 #ufn110 #matchmaking

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vroomvroommbtch · 2 years

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So it goes: Chapter 23 - MI x fem!OC

Masterlist

Summary: Sometimes finding peace in the middle of the mess and the noise can be really challenging, but a surprise trip, a skyline and a Aussie made it possible in the middle of the night, at least for a while.

Pairing: Michael Italiano x fem!OC

Warnings: Smut, fluff, cuddles and kisses are happening, an Irish girl who doesn’t know how to talk without swearing.

Word count: 9.8k

A/N: HELLO AGAIN! Holy shit its taking forever to write a chapter when life happens and you’re an adult, but heyyyy here we go! This is once again long af so bare with me and don’t judge me. Vacations are happening soon so hopefully will write some chapters so it doesn’t take me forever to update. Okay, gonna stop rambling. Just wanted to say a public and big fuck u to Mr. Zak Brown and his orange tractors and thank you for the love and likes, it really means the world. So that’s that and see you soon! 🫶🏻

PD: Should the Irish sisters drag Mr. Brown in some future chapter? Let me know what you think? 👀

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Chapter 23 - Ever since New York.

If Maggie thought Michael had lost her mind when he took her so watch the sunset during their days in Perth, then she had no idea how to describe what happened after Miami.

It all started the morning after the race when Michael called her at 7am to wake her up. If the one bothering her was any other human, she would have probably destroyed them, but not with Michael. Never with Michael. With him, Maggie just made a big amount of weird noises as answers, too tired and lazy to even think about proper words. She was so dozed off that she didn't stop to think why Michael asked if he could go to her room. It wasn't that he needed permission or anything like that. He had a free pass there any time he wanted, but he knew Maggie would have probably died of a heart attack if suddenly she heard someone was in her room, especially on a Monday morning. If Jas knew Michael wasn't in the room, she would sneak in some way to wake her sister, but that was never on Mondays. That was the only day Daniel could sleep in as much as he wanted, and if he loved to sleep in with Jas, it just turned way better since Olivia arrived. From that day, Mondays were the days when he not only could stay in bed with his future wife, but also when he could spend the morning with his wife and baby, so it was almost impossible to drag Daniel out of bed till it was lunch time. And if Daniel slept in, that meant Jas would also sleep in, which meant that Maggie also slept in. Michael never woke them up, knowing perfectly fine he didn't want the Irish fury of not one but two women, so he never even tried.

Almost never.

All sleepy little Maggie knew was that Michael was right over her, that he smelled wonderful, and that his hair was all wet. All her silly little brain could remember was how good it was to feel his face between her legs and how much she loved to stroke his hair, especially when it was wet. She had no idea why, but she loved the sensation of the wet short strands against her skin, and Michael never asked for the reason, but he also never complained. That was probably the reason he didn't complain when Maggie grabbed his right hand and moved it to the elastic of her panties, letting the message be more than clear.

And damn, how clear it was.

There wasn't much to say because Michael didn't need instructions to know what Maggie wanted. And like every single second since day one, her wishes were his commands. Her panties and shirt were gone in a second, just like the sheet that was covering her body. In no time Michael was covering her body in kisses, moving down to lay down between her legs as he threw them both over his shoulders, making sure she was gonna stay there as much as he wanted. She wasn't planning to go anywhere for the rest of the morning, but she let him, too, focus in the way Michael was holding and kissing her thighs. And then she felt his tongue moving over her clit and she knew someone at the hotel was going to complain. There was no way nobody was going to say anything when she was a mess of moans as Michael ate her out, making sure she was an absolute mess with every single thing he did. And he was doing it on purpose; he was licking and sucking on her as one and then two moved slowly but precisely inside her, making her legs want to close out of pure instinct. She could feel Michael smiling against her as he asked to be a good girl and keep her legs wide open for him, even if he was doing the job himself. He also asked her to keep it quiet or they would get in real trouble, but there was no way that was going to happen. No when his fingers fucked her perfectly, touching every single spot that made her see the stars. No when he made her walls clench around his fingers until all she could see was white, and all she could say was his name enough times to let the whole hotel know it.

But her favorite part wasn't the fact that Michael made her come with his mouth to wake her up; it was the fact that there was no way he would leave things like that. Michael always told her he didn't like to start something he couldn't finish, so it was never just eating her out and leaving. He would never leave without making his girl happy at least twice, so he helped Maggie take his own clothes off and went back to his favorite place to do one of their favorite things.

Maybe was because she still was a sleepy mess, but somehow everything felt more intense. Michael slowly thrusting inside her made her moan so loud that he had to kiss her to keep the whole hotel from hearing. The way he moved so slowly it was nothing but torturous and wonderful as he covered her skin with kisses and praises, making Maggie scratch and hold on into his back harder than normal. She couldn't care less if the marks on his shoulders were going to be visible if he wore a tank top at the gym that day. She couldn't care if every single person in Miami saw it. She wanted everyone to know those marks had her name, just like the necklace around his neck. Clearly Michael was thinking the same as he thrusted deeper and deeper inside her, all while sucked the perfect spot that always made Maggie get goosebumps when he touched it. She had no idea if Michael was doing it to keep himself quiet or to mark her again as his, but she couldn't care less as long as he kept fucking her.

That morning it took them more than the normal amount of time to get out of bed. Even for Michael it was hard to get out when they were a tired mess of tangled arms, legs and sheets. Maggie felt boneless to the point that not even Michael felt heavy over her. He felt like a big beautiful warm blanket as she hugged him as tightly as possible, not even bothered about the fact that Michael was still inside her. It was too good to be true, so Maggie decided to enjoy the calmness that Michael brought to her with his face hiding in her neck and his soft, sloppy kisses on her skin, but nothing good lasted forever.

While she was already with her eyes closed ready to call it a lazy day and spend the rest of her afternoon tracing patterns all over his back, Maggie felt Michael move and then she remembered who the man over her was. There was no such thing as a lazy day, especially when it was sunny and there was a beach nearby. Damn Australians.

When he finally got out and off her, it felt wrong. She wanted to keep hugging him, and finding excuses to cover his body in kisses, but Michael had to open his mouth to say a raspy 'C'mon baby, its late' that made Maggie almost get mad. Almost. It was almost 8; Daniel was even near to wake up and they were on his week off, so there was no hurry. That's why Maggie asked why they had to leave the bed when they were in their own happy little cloud of love and sex. Michael explained between kisses on her forehead that they had places to go so they couldn't stay in bed. Not losing her chance to change his mind, Maggie took the chance of positions as her chance to wrap her arms and legs around his body, knowing perfectly fine she didn't have much time before she made a mess all over the sheets. She purred in his neck how she wanted to stay there to thank him for the beautiful way he woke her up, then have him for breakfast, and then and just then have a real breakfast because she needed a coffee as big as Michael. But not even a pout while being completely naked helped, which started to become suspicious.

But not even her second offer of a second round was enough, being dismissed by a kiss and 'Take a shower if you want, I'm gonna pack your stuff meanwhile, because we're leaving' that left Maggie with her jaw hanging. She was waiting for the offer to join her. She was waiting for the joke of sharing the shower to save water, but none of it came. First she was kind of offended because he wasn't joining her in the shower, but then the 'packing your stuff' followed by the 'we're leaving' made Maggie forget about the shower offense. They were supposed to stay in Miami. Their plan was to stay in Miami and forget about races and all that while they were getting tanned on the beach. She even had plans to have a girls afternoon with Jas and Olivia the next day, so she didn't get what was happening.

Without complains, Maggie went to the bathroom and went on with her routine, but before she could hit the shower, she was back in the room, wrapped up in a robe asking what was wrong. She found Michael packing her stuff like he promised, and only when he heard the worry in her voice was when he looked up and left what he was doing to walk to her. Wrapping his arms around her body and covering her head in kisses, Michael promised that everything was perfectly fine. He promised he had a very cool surprise and that's where they were going as soon as she was ready. He promised he really wanted a long warm bath with her, so that was what they were doing as soon as they got to their destination.

With all those promises and without saying goodbye to anyone, not even an hour later, they were in a car on the way somewhere. But not even then Maggie knew where they were going. She tried to convince him to say something or to drop a small hint, but all Michael did time after time was smile and say she needed to wait. She tried to do it as they got in the car, while they were on the way and again at every single red light, but he was unbreakable. Michael kept smiling at her like it was the most normal thing in the world, while Maggie was thinking in options, but none of them were logical.

Then she recognized where they were going. The goddamn airport.

It took a threat of not having sex for six months to convince Michael to finally talk. Maybe it was the seriousness in her face that made the trick, but also maybe it was the 'If I spent six months of lockdown without your dick, I can do it again'. Whatever was the reason, Michael asked her to just go inside the airport to tell her and she couldn't help but agree and finally followed him. She had no idea why he was insisting so much on them being there to finally open his mouth, but then she understood that it was all so she wouldn't fall on her ass in the middle of the sidewalk.

All he did was to show her his phone to let Maggie know the destination, but when she did, she had to ask five times if he was kidding her. Insane, beautiful, wonderful and always perfect Michael was keeping his word, and after months of making that promise he was finally taking her to New York. He had everything planned; they were going to spend the week there and then fly on Sunday to be back in London on Monday, and it was going to be just them with no interruptions, work or babysitting duties. It was going to be just them because no matter how much they loved their family, Michael insisted they deserved some free time being just them. Maggie said it was insanity, not because she didn't love the idea but because the main reason she was traveling with them was to help Jas and Daniel with Olivia, but Michael insisted it was all fine. Everyone knew, and even Jas helped him make it happen, and as soon as Maggie found out she had no idea what to do except kiss the hell out of him, not really caring if they were in the middle of the airport.

Three hours. Three hours sharing kisses and strokes in a plane. Three hours were Maggie forgot how much she hated the take-out and the landing of the plane. Three hours smiling, joking, talking, and planning the next few days. Three hours of nothing but happiness and joy. If that wasn't enough, those three hours were followed by three days filled with concerts, Broadway shows, endless hours walking, nights and mornings all over each other in bed, visits to some of his favorite places mixed with the places Maggie always wanted to see, little coffee shops, cool pizza places, fancy restaurants secret bars and even one or two doubtful place to get something to eat.

It was three days of nothing but happiness going around the city hand in hand like they were just another couple visiting New York, but there was one little tiny detail who was keeping Maggie awake at night for the last couple of weeks.

To say it was keeping her awake was a very subtle way to say Maggie was starting to get worried. When they decided to take a break, they promised to take six months and then talk, but those six months had passed and gone and there was no sign of Michael wanting to talk about it. Her new therapist –one who told Maggie that it was perfectly fine to take some time off and then come back, and how they weren't the first couple to do it, and neither were they going to be the last– told her to not rush things. He told her that if they were in love then things were going to fall back into place. Maggie wanted to believe in that. She repeated that like a mantra every single day, but the worry was always there in the back of her head.

She knew Michael loved her. He kept telling her every single day. She knew for Jas how Michael kept telling her and Daniel how crazy in love he was with Maggie and how he was still head over heels for her. The boys kept making jokes how both the Australian were a bunch of suckers for both the Irish girls. She knew his answer was always a 'Have you seen her? How could I not love her?' when someone asked if he was still into her. Michael also showed her in every possible way that he loved her, and taking her on vacations and not moving away from each other was one of those demonstrations. Maggie didn't need any of that and Michael knew it, but he did it anyway. Besides, they were sleeping together for the whole week like any normal couple and Michael fucked her every night while repeating how much he loved her, so Maggie knew, but that terrible little part of her brain wouldn't shut up.

But even when she knew Michael loved her, Maggie didn't have the courage to face him and talk about it. She didn't have the courage to tell Michael she wanted to talk. She was too scared that her worst fears would become true and that Michael would tell her that he was fine with things the way they were, so she kept it quiet. Maggie was a bloody coward, so she decided to wait until she got the courage to do it or until Michael decided to do it first. 'Whichever happens first, but please let the second one happen first' was the constant thought in her head as she pretended it was all good.

Truth be told, Maggie was waiting for Michael to say something that week. She thought the week on their own was the excuse to finally be able to have some time alone and talk without interruptions, but it didn't happen. After throwing not-so-subtle hints that she missed him, she waited and waited and waited, but the subject was never over the table.

That was what kept Maggie awake that night. Normally she was too tired after a whole day of walking and a night of going out to have dinner, all to end up over –or under, or both, whichever happened first– Michael, but night, not even that could send her to sleep. She tried, and normally his skin against hers was the best sleeping pill in the world, but that night not even that worked.

Trying to not wake up Michael with all her tossing and turning, Maggie got out of bed, hoping that some fresh air would help her, but it didn't. She spent half an hour on one of the couches on the small terrace of the Airbnb they were staying on, just looking at the skyline in front of her. From that little place in Brooklyn, she could see the East River, the Williamsburg Bridge, and all of Manhattan shining brightly in the distance. She loved it. She loved every single thing about it. She loved it so much that she teared up the first night, not really believing how wonderful it was. She loved it, but she made sure to let Michael know it wasn't as cool as watching a beautiful sunset in Perth, because nothing was as amazing as that.

But it wasn't the same when Michael wasn't there to kiss her forehead and clean her tears. It wasn't the same if he wasn't there saying it was perfectly fine to cry to get it out of her body, and because of how breath-taking it was. And as if it was some sort of magic, she heard the door to the terrace moving, letting her know her plan of not waking him up failed miserably.

"What are you doing here? You should be sleeping, baby" Michael whispered, bringing Maggie back from whatever place she was at the moment and making her turn her head to look at him.

And damn, he was a dream come true. Even in the dim light she could see his tall, big frame wearing nothing but his boxers, and he was perfect. Every single part of him was perfect, from his broad shoulders to his big arms and his toned chest. He was an absolute dream, and there it was again, the urgency to jump in his arms and cover him in kisses for the rest of the night until they fell asleep. Or more like the rest of her life if that was possible, which sounded way better.

But she didn't move; instead, she just offered her hand for him to grab, even when he was a couple of steps away from him. "I know, but I woke up, I went to the bathroom and there's this view and I didn't want to waste it. Thought you wouldn't wake up for the next five minutes" she explained as she looked at Michael slowly walking towards her.

"Well, my girl wasn't in bed and I got scared for a minute. Maybe she ran away" he joked, finally grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. It was the perfect chance for her to bring up their joined hands to her lips and kiss his knuckles, something that they got so used to doing that it was practically their love language. "Damn, you're cold"

"You know I'm always cold" Maggie shrugged, but this time placing one last kiss on his wrist, right over the little heart tattoo that was always covered.

"Come here you little reptile" Michael stated, making Maggie move forward on the couch so he could sit behind her, placing his legs on both sides so she could rest her back on his chest and cuddle up against his body. "We don't need you to get sick"

Maggie couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw Michael getting comfortable there. She also couldn't help but get all comfy as soon as he placed his arms around her waist. She also couldn’t help but take a deep breath when his warm body made contact with hers, smiling at how wonderful it felt and how relaxing it was. She was convinced Michael was going to carry her back to bed, but the fact that he stayed there with her made her heart melt. "I won't. My coach makes me take all these vitamins and stuff so I don't get sick, so I'll be good. But you? At least I have a shirt on, but you're naked, grá. I don't complain but you'll get sick" she smiled, because she would never complain about Michael's almost naked body against hers, but the last thing she needed was him getting cold and sick thanks to a summer breeze.

"Your coach's a wise man. And I'm fine. I got my own personal Irish heat bag with me" he smiled against her neck, placing a small and soft kiss there.

But even when she was absolutely comfortable and didn't want to move, Maggie escaped from his arms, went running to the bedroom and went back in less than a second with a blanket in her hands. It was probably smarter to go back to bed than stay there, but the bedroom didn't have that room, so she rather spent a couple more of stolen minutes there, especially since Michael joined her. "There. No more cold. Fuck the river breeze" she affirmed as she sat down again between his legs, placing the blanket over their bodies and carefully over Michael's shoulders so he would be covered.

And suddenly that was one of those moments were time seemed to slow down and even stop. Her back was against his chest; his hands were resting over her stomach, face resting against hers; her left hand stroking his leg; and his right hand was on his face to stroke his cheek and jaw as he placed kisses between the palm of her hand, her wrist and her head. It was her own little personal heaven and Maggie didn't want to move from there, even if they had to go back to bed and reality at some point.

"Sometimes I really wish I could read minds" Michael murmured, squeezing her waist a little tighter as he kissed her temple. "I know you just a teeny tiny bit and I know there's something running wild in this pretty head of yours. That's why you're out here on your own and not in bed"

Of course he knew. Damn, of course he realized.

In that moment Maggie had two options; it was either admitting that she wanted them back or inventing a lie good enough to convince him everything was fine. The smartest choice was to say the truth, but Maggie never considered herself a smart woman, so she decided to lie.

"I think I'm a bit homesick" she whispered, resting her head on Michael's shoulder. "I miss my bed. I miss Elizabeth. I miss Belle. I miss my apartment, and I feel stupid for saying it. I shouldn't complain because I'm seeing the world with part of my family and know that's a privilege. I shouldn't complain when I see the rest of my family every couple weeks. I shouldn't complain when you and the boys miss your family like crazy and you get to see them a couple times a year, but here I am, being a noisy bitch"

She did miss her place, her family, her friends, her bed, her cat, her Vespa, and all her things, but more than anything she missed his place. She missed his bed, his basic beige couch, their lazy nights, the sleepy mornings, their giggles, the smell of his food, but adobe all, Maggie missed their life there. What they had at that moment was almost similar, and what they were doing in New York was almost like what they used to have; but she missed London. She missed London but not the city; she just missed her own version of London by his side. The London that wasn't as cloudy and gray as long as Michael was smiling at her. The London that was always beautiful and sunny and shiny, at least in their own little world. She missed all that, but lying was somehow easier.

"You're not a noise bitch, did you hear me?" he stated loud and clear in a serious tone that let Maggie know there was no joke on his words. "You can't compare, Mags. We do it because it's our job, but you're doing it out of love for your family. You could have stayed home and keep going with your life but you dropped everything for your family. That shows the kind of person that you are and you've no idea how much I love you for that. And whatever was the reason why you're doing it, that doesn't change the fact that you've all the right to miss your life and your family. You have the right to do it., sweetheart. Damn, I would be worried if you didn't" he finally finished, kissing her shoulder as Maggie felt a knot growing in her stomach.

She was a fucking coward.

But even if she hated being a coward, she couldn't show it. She couldn't ruin their night and their trip, so she put on a brave face, smiled, threw her head back as much as possible, and kissed his jaw a couple times. "When you're not worried, Mike?"

"About you? I'm all the damn time" Michael affirmed, this time taking his chance to kiss her forehead.

"Because this world it's too fucked up and I'm a pretty little unicorn too good and too pure?"

"That's a way of saying it, but yeah, basically yes" Michael nodded, moving from her forehead to place a kiss on the tip of her nose, making her smile and giggle like a little kid, even if just for a second. "But talking seriously, its normal to be homesick, baby"

"I know. I'm just- I'm kind of scared of not being able to do this for a long time. Like what if I can't handle being traveling for so long? Because I know what that would mean. We both know it" Maggie murmured, running her fingers through his short hair on the back of his head and looking back at the skyline in front of them.

She couldn't face Michael when those words were leaving her mouth. She couldn't do it when she was basically saying she was worried they wouldn't make it. Because if she couldn't handle the pressure and the distance before, why would she be able to do it in the future?

"Remember what we used to say?" Michael whispered in her ear, which made Maggie shiver and nod. "What was it?"

"You're mine and I'm yours"

There was no way she could forget that, no matter how much time passed. It was burned in her heart and her soul for forever, and she didn't want it to go away. She didn't want him to go away.

"So fuck the rest. That's not gonna change no matter where we're, doesn't matter if we travel together or not" he insisted, kissing the small spot right under her ear, sending shivers down her spine, taking her breath away, and the words out of her mouth. "My sweet little Margaret" he breathed, squeezing her waist once more. She loved it when Michael called her like that, so she couldn't help but smile to hear it.

"Normally that phrase comes with a 'What are we gonna do with you?', so I'm here waiting" she shrugged, making a silly voice when she asked the question that she heard too many times in school during the classes she didn't really care about.

"Oh, but I know perfectly fine what I'm gonna do with you. Cover you in kisses because that's exactly what you deserve" he joked, and keeping his word, he started to kiss her neck and shoulder and neck as he ticked her sides, making her giggle and grab his hands between hers so he would stop. "I have an idea, wanna FaceTime Liz? Maybe it helps you feel better" he asked between kisses.

He was definitely insane.

"What? We're not FaceTiming our cat, babe!" she exclaimed as she laced their fingers together under the blanket and rested their joined hands against her stomach once again. "You're a muppet, but thanks for trying"

"Yeah, but I'm your muppet, mo grá"

Maggie would lie if she said the way Michael said 'mo grá' didn't do something to her. Michael knew a couple of words in Irish, just like Maggie knew some Aussie slang, but he rarely used it. He always said Irish was her thing, but there he was, the beautiful bastard using them to make her smile and feel better. But the thing was that it was making something more than that, which was not really romantic. The way his sleepy low voice was saying it made her go nothing but insane.

"Look at him speaking Irish" she purred, squeezing his hands against hers with a big grin on her face, turning her face to kiss his jaw. Instead, she got a kiss from Michael, which was even better.

"You love it" he smiled between soft, sloppy kisses. "How's the arm, you crazy thing?"

"Good. Hurts a bit, but the normal. Worth the pain because I'm in love with it" Maggie smiled, thinking about the new ink decorating her skin.

What happened the previous afternoon was what they liked to call 'The tattoo incident part two', but this time it didn't include alcohol like the one on her birthday. This time didn't involve Michael getting a tattoo matching hers. This time it was just Maggie getting one to remember one of the best trips of her life, but the design of it was the fun part.

It started when they went to Central Park so Maggie could take something off her bucket list. It was as simple as going there and sitting in the grass barefoot, to do nothing. She wanted to lay down there even for five minutes and enjoy the sun on her face, but her brain had another idea. Ten minutes into it she really had to go and take her sketchbook out of her bag to draw. She needed to draw The Plaza and the buildings around it, even if she did it fast as hell so Michael wouldn't get bored. But Michael was far from bored; he was laying down, resting his head on her legs, and he insisted that Maggie could take all the time she wanted because it made him happy to see her happy and inspired. He insisted he loved to see her drawing and creating stuff, so it was more than okay.

After some minutes, Maggie had no idea if Michael had finally got bored or also inspired, but he grabbed one of her pens, and he suddenly started to draw too. The thing was, he didn't do it on a paper, but instead in the ink-free space between her wrist and the tarot card that was tattooed there. Maggie didn't pay much attention to what Michael was drawing, too focused with everything happening around them. That and the fact that Michael had the capacity of making her nervous and feeling butterflies in her stomach as the first day by just touching her arm. But when Michael announced that he was done was when Maggie was finally able to see her arm and she melted.

In the most carefully made and with some beautiful lines -because damn his artistic part and his years and engineer- there was the most adorable draws covering the small free space of her forearm. But what made Maggie melt and cover his face with kisses in the middle of Centra Park was his explanation for each one of his little draws. There was a sun so it would always keep her days bright, and warm, even in the middle of the cold, rainy Irish winter. A smiley face to make her smile every time she saw it. There was a Pluto symbol so she would always remember how he loved her to Pluto and back. There were some hearts, some stars and a moon too. But between all of them, her absolutely favorite one was the world 'Sweetheart' wrote down in the most adorable handwriting Michael could have ever done.

There was no way she would ever let that go away. There was no way she would let that disappear from her skin, so in no time she googled were there was the nearest tattoo shop, put her sneakers back on and dragged Michael by the hand around the Manhattan streets. Absolutely in vain Michael tried to convinced it was a silly idea. He said 'silly' but Maggie knew he thought it was more like stupid, but she couldn't care less. Maggie always said she loved to have the things she loved the most right there in her skin. She loved to have it as close as possible, and there was nothing as close as her body and her skin. That's why she had a tattoo for her parents, another for her grandparents, one with Lily, one with Jas, one made by Daniel himself in a stupid bet she lost against him -and how proud he was of tattooing that little 3 on her future sister-in-law-, and Olivia's name.

And there was Michael.

Michael, who basically owned her heart and her left her arm between The Lovers, the little birthday heart and now those adorable drawings. Michael, who was all over her forearm and goddamn, how much she loved to have him there with her. She was probably out of her mind, but she couldn't care less about it.

"You're kind of insane but I've to admit it looks good. Or maybe it's because everything good look on you"

"It does look good because the best artist in the world designed it for me. Besides looks who's talking about crazy, little heart hiding in your wrist" Maggie smiled, stealing another couple of kisses from him. If they were going to go back to their normal behavior of not being together as soon as they left New York and went back to Europe, then she was going to enjoy every single second and every single kiss she could steal.

"I heard that couples who get matching tattoos together stay together. Other way it would be a pain in the ass getting it covered or removed" he joked, and even in the darkness of the night she could see the little wrinkles in his eyes as he smiled at her, which only made her melt even more.

It also made her die to kiss him for the rest of the night, but insisted, she let go of his left hand and moved it from under the blanket to touch his cheek. Those were one of those little moments where she couldn't even believe Michael was real. She couldn't believe he was there with her. She couldn't believe that a man so wonderful was in love with her. But adobe all, she couldn't understand how he was still waiting for her. They were coming and going and they had so many ups and downs that any writer could write a trilogy out of their love story, but Michael was still holding up. He still believed they could do it. After three years he was still looking at her with nothing but adoration in his brown eyes and Maggie just couldn't believe it.

She didn't kiss him, too scared to look away. She was terrified of blinking and seeing him gone, even if she knew it wasn't gonna happen. Instead, Maggie stroked his face, letting his fingers run through his cheek. "I'm not planning to do neither of those. I love the little heart on my wrist. It's my little heart drawn by mo chroí"

"A heart for the beautiful woman who took mine. Seems logical" Michael shrugged, moving his face to kiss the palm of her hand and her fingers.

Cheesy bastard always knowing what to say to make her legs go weak.

"That was smooth! So cheesy and sappy but so smooth" she giggled, pinching his cheek and finally stealing another kiss. The good thing was that Michael was still there when it was over. He was still there when she opened her eyes. He was still there, holding her against his body. "You know, the other day I was thinking about that thing you said about all the things we never did as a couple. I guess we never were a very normal couple in that case" Maggie finally admitted, letting go of other of the things that were keeping her awake and that were running in her mind.

For the way Michael looked at her, she knew he was confused about why she brought that up. But then that look changed and he just got it. In three years, they spent uncountable hours on planes, visited dozens of countries, and slept more in hotels and Airbnbs than in their own beds, but they never got to travel alone. They never got to spend vacations as a real couple. They were living together before they even knew what they were and before she got to meet his family and the list went on and on and on. Somehow, they did everything the other way around and had skipped so many steps that it was crazy

"It's not our fault the fact that we spent part of our relationship locked down because of a pandemic"

"Yeah, I know. It's just- Damn, you have no idea how many things I wanted us to do" she finally breathed, resting her forehead against his jaw, closing her eyes, totally forgetting about the view in front of them no matter how much she loved it.

But Michael was having none of that. In a delicate maneuver, he grabbed Maggie and accommodated her on his lap so he could properly look at her face, all while his arms rounded her waist protectively as he spoke. "We can still do them. We'll do them. We're starting, right? This is technically our first little vacation together. I know a week in New York might not be much but it's been fun"

"Don't say that cause I love it. I love it in here. Everything about this trip has been just wonderful and that was all thanks to you" she affirmed as she placed hand of her hands on the side of his neck and the other on his bare chest. "It's been fun even if you had to sit through a bunch of Broadway shows to make me happy"

Because not only was Michael a saint who brought her to New York to make her dreams come true; he also took her to as many Broadway shows as she wanted. He told her to pick, he somehow managed to get last minute tickets, and then he sat right there besides her through it all. He said it was the perfect excuse to comfort her after when she was nothing but a mess of tears thanks to how emotional and happy she was when it was done. He joked, saying he went because Maggie would need a shoulder to cry on and a hand to squeeze, but he was there because it was one of her favorite things in the world. He was there just like when Maggie dragged him to museums because she was a little nerd who loved art. He was there because if it made her happy then it was an excuse enough to go.

"See? Our first trip together and it's been wonderful so far" Michael smiled as he covered her forehead with kisses that were like a healing for her messy head and beaten heart. "And I was counting on the Broadway shows when I thought about bringing you here. But I never said I didn't like it. Besides if sitting almost three hours on a theater room every night it's what it takes to see you smiling so big, then I'll gladly do it every single night. If you sit with me for ninety minutes to watch a Liverpool game then I'm happy to do this with you"

"You owe me a Liverpool shirt. And you promised to take me to the stadium one day" she remembered him with a little smirk on her face as she looked up at him.

And there it was, another little hint of her 'things we should do together in a future as a couple' that Maggie dropped because she was too scared to say the words.

What a fucking, terrible coward she was.

"And I will. One day I will take you there. And I haven't gotten you a shirt just yet because I love when you steal mines. But what about you thinking about all the things we never did together? I mentioned it weeks ago"

Well shit.

"I know it was weeks ago, but the other day I was reading this post that showed up out of nowhere in Buzzfeed about the most important 'first' in a relationship and I remembered what you told me" she lied, hiding her face on his check and resting her head on his shoulder. It wasn't an absolute lie. She saw the post on the internet, but that wasn't what made her think about it. She just never stopped thinking about it.

"What did the post say about those first?"

"I mean, it was a big list, but mostly normal stuff. First time saying I love you, first time staying at each other's place, meeting the families, doing each other's laundry, cooking, sharing a hangover, introducing each other as boyfriends and girlfriend, wearing each other's socks, first trip, first time burping in front of the other, blablabla" she listed, naming a couple of the items on the list, at least the couple she remembered on the long fifty-five points list.

"We did all that. Except stealing your socks because they're too small" he joked as he stroked her waist and her back. "I remember perfectly fine all those first times. Especially when you told me you loved me, when I met your parents, when you stayed for the first time at my place, but I think my favorite one was when you burped for the first time in front of me. I never loved you more than in that exact moment"

She couldn't help but slap his chest as soon as he started to laugh. Maggie had to admit it was her fault, but even mentioning it. She let her guard down for a damn second, and there he was, bringing it up. "Shut up!"

"Actually, nothing was as good as the first time you farted in front of me. But that day I knew our thing was real. My favorite part was you trying to act like nothing happened" Michael laughed, and Maggie just knew he was going to mention it. It was their secret, and Michael swore secrecy, but she was still ashamed about it.

"I'm sorry if I was trying to keep going while I was on my fours and you were fucking me!" she exclaimed as she hid her face even deeper in the croak of his neck, feeling her cheeks suddenly burning and turning a bright shade of red.

"Everything about it was just pure and true love, Mags" Michael insisted as he covered her head and forehead in kisses, trying really in vain to calm himself after all the laughs.

Maggie loved to hear him laugh. There was nothing more she loved than to hear his contagious laugh resounding in any room he was in, but in that second all she wanted was to hide under the blanket and kick his wonderful ass. "Ugh I hate you, just shut up for a bloody second"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't let it pass. But no joking, you know the first time I realized I was so crazy about you that I knew I wasn't going to get you out of my mind any time soon?"

That was the question that made Maggie finally get out of her favorite hiding place to make at Michael. The curiosity was too much to not do it, but she made sure to make a point before she let him explain. "If you say anything about farting or burping, I swear to God I won't touch your dick for a month"

"It's none of that" Michael smiled, kissing Maggie's index finger as she was using it to threaten him. "It was when I realized I couldn't forget your name and you know how terribly bad I am with names. Also when I asked Dan and Jas three hundred times about your family's names when I was gonna met them the first time. I told them it was all about being a good friend with Jas, and it was true, but it was because of you"

"You suck with names. You're good with everything except names" Maggie smiled, finally reaching out to touch his cheek. But then she realized the timing of when that happened, and her heart just melted once again. "We weren't together when you met them. That was way before we started seeing each other"

To say that was way before they started to say each other was an understatement. That was almost a year before. Maggie wasn't even there when Michael met Aoife and David met Michael for the first time. She wasn't there, but Aoife made sure to let Maggie and everyone know how charmed she was by the three Australian men. Aoife already loved Daniel by that time; she loved him since the day they all met him, and the same happened with Blake and Michael, even if Daniel insisted, he was the favorite of the three friends. It was in those little moments when Maggie remembered and realized for how long Michael liked her and how he was literally waiting for her since the beginning.

"I know. I just couldn't fuck it up in front of the girl I liked so much so I had to get it right, baby girl. And I still like you so damn much, Mags. I like you and I love you so much" he confessed, shrugging like it was no big deal when for Maggie was everything. It meant everything to hear those words coming from him after everything that had happened and was still happening.

"I love you too, sunshine. And I still really like you too" Maggie whispered, getting lost in the way his eyes were shining, but mostly in the way he was looking at her with nothing but adoration and love. "You should go back to bed, grá. It's really late and its way pass your bedtime, big boy"

"I'm fine. I'm in New York with my girl and there's this incredible view in front of us, so I can stay here for a few minutes more" Michael affirmed, kissing her forehead before he kept talking. "Five minutes and we go to bed. Besides, how long its been since we have been just you and me for more than half an hour?"

"Italy"

"Yeah, you were stuck with me there. It was the less romantic thing in the world"

It wasn't romantic at all to be locked down with Michael while he got in lockdown for having covid, but she wouldn't have change a thing. In fact, Maggie wouldn't have changed the decision she made when she stayed with him that week.

As soon as they found out Michael had covid she decided she was going to stay with him. Jas Blake tried to talk her out of it and even Daniel tried, but Maggie was nothing but a stubborn idiot, and it was way worse regarding Michael. The thing was, she didn't ask Michael for his opinion. She knew perfectly fine he would say no to her offer to stay with him making her company, so that's why she decided to make it a secret, at least for him.

That morning Maggie found out how easy was to get the key for a hotel room with a little lie and some words in Italian. She thanked all her lucky stars for how easy it was for her to learn some new language, at least not until that day. It took her some of her best Italian skill and some batting of her eyelashes to get the card to Michael's room, but she got it. She got it at 5am when she knew he would be sleeping and couldn't hold the door close so she wouldn't get it. She got it, and, in as much silence as possible, she got her bags there and went straight to bed, hugging his waist and kissing his back and shoulders as soon as she lay there. As soon as Michael woke up thanks to her body next to hers, he asked if he was having a fever dream, but Maggie affirmed that it was none of that. Then he murmured that she shouldn't be there, but with a little 'I know but I don't care. Now let me sleep' Maggie went back to sleep too, because it was 5am and she was tired as hell.

But even when Maggie had antibodies and even when she was vaccinated, Michael was trying to keep his distance, which was impossible. Maggie made so many times the 'And then there was just one bed' that it was ridiculous, but it was true, so he couldn't keep much distance when it came to going to bed. He couldn't, especially when there was Maggie, snuggling close to his body, looking for some warmth even in the damn Italian spring. He couldn't say no when she was all sleepy, waiting for her good night's kiss and moving to rest her head on his chest. He couldn't say no, especially when they had nothing else to do more than be around each other for seven days. In the end they got out of it victorious, with Maggie not getting it, and Michael recovered without any complications and that was all that they really cared about. In the end, it was a really ridiculous but fun story to tell.

"You made it the less romantic thing in the world! You were the one escaping from me" Maggie smiled, playing with his necklace and the ring hanging from it.

"Excuse me if I didn't want to kiss you so you wouldn't get sick. But I can kiss you now if you want"

There was no way she would say no to him and that proposal, so with her free hand she brought Michael closer and gave him a kiss as slow and loving as possible. She loved how his lips tasted, the way their tongues played together, how his stubble scratched her skin, and the way his hands held her tighter, grabbing handfuls of her shirt and moving her body closer to his, even if they were impossibly close. But adobe all, she loved to feel his smile against her lips so much. She loved to know he was happy with her because that was all she wanted.

"You can't lock me up with you and pretend me to not kiss you. How can I not snuggle the hell out of you, especially if you're under the water" she smiled back, kissing him once again. But then something changed. Suddenly Michael gave her one last kiss, and then kissed her forehead and there was no need to say anything for Maggie to know she had ruined it. His whole expression changed so she knew the moment was ruined. "What? What did I say? Did I fucked it up? Of course I fucked it up. I always do, goddamn" she breathed, letting her head fall into his shoulder again. She couldn't say a damn thing without ruining it, and she hated herself for that.

"No, baby, you did nothing wrong. I just-" he breathed, moving away to look at her face as he explained what was happening in his head. "I don't even wanna count how many times I couldn't be there for you when you needed me. I still think about your pretty face over FaceTime when you got covid and it still hurts. You were feeling like hell and Jas was telling me how you kept repeating that you just wanted me and how much you missed me and I could do nothing about it. Same when your ankle got hurt and again when your wrist. That shit still haunts me"

Maggie was expecting many things, but by far, the last one she imagined was that. It was very bad timing, and there was always something happening when she got hurt or sick and Michael couldn't be there. It was very good timing that she was available when something happened with Michael. It was no one's fault, and she thought it was more than clear. That was how things were in their relationship and it was fine. It was like an unspoken rule, so Maggie never said anything or blamed Michael. She never even thought about mentioning it. Things were like that and it was fine, or at least she thought it was fine.

"Babe, it is how it is. Your job is your job. Besides your job is to take care of the man my sister loves and that guy's also the father of our niece, so it's fine" Maggie insisted, holding his face between her hands. But even when Maggie said those words, she could see it was still bothering him. Heaven knew for how long it had been bothering him without saying a thing, but she couldn't blame Michael, not when she was the queen of bottling things up in her chest. "Hey, I promise it's okay, sunshine. This is how we met. I got myself into this crazy beautiful mess that we have knowing perfectly fine there was a big chance of having a bumpy ride and even with that I've never regret doing it. I fall in love with you knowing perfectly fine how things were, so I'd never blame you for not being around when you're busy. Besides you were always there for me. I know you were calling and texting Jas all the time to know how I was. You always do that when we're not together. I call that being there for me even in the distance, so I promise it's all good. She'll be apples, right?"

She has no idea which part of her speech was that made Michael kiss her, but when he did it, he took her breath away. This time it wasn't one of their all-smiles kisses; this time it was all about making a statement. This was away letting her know how he felt. Whatever it was to show Maggie that he loved her or to remind her of the same thing, she knew. The way his hands moved under her shirt to stroke her skin sent shivers and goosebumps all around her body. The way his lips moved against hers made Maggie turn into a breathless mess right there on his lap, and if he wanted to stay there five hours more instead of five minutes, she would have said yes without even thinking twice.

"Did I told you lately how much I love you?" Michael whispered after they broke the kiss, but he didn't move more than the necessary distance from her.

"While you fucked me when we got home from dinner and then like not even five minutes ago" Maggie giggled, remembering perfectly fine how much fun they had as soon as they reached the bedroom and imagining how the neighbors were going to complain about their activities.

For the way Michael smiled, he was thinking about the same thing. That was one of those nights that they took so much time worshipping each other's bodies that it felt like the night was gonna last for forever. It felt like they were going to stay there for eternity and Maggie wouldn't have complained if that was the actual case. "Well, I love you even more than when we were in bed. And even more than five minutes ago"

"And I love you to the moon and to Saturn" she replied as she moved her right hands from his cheek and moved it down to his chest to play with his necklace once again.

"That's a Taylor Swift lyric, isn't it?"

"You couldn't be happy with my love confession, right? You had to push it" she joked, leaving the ring to be able to slap his chest with the best fake annoyed face she could put on.

"C'mon, Swiftie, let's go to bed. It's really late" Michael laughed, tapping her waist and then taking the blanket off their bodies so Maggie would get up from his lap.

"Wait, hold on" Maggie stated, stopping Michael with both her hands on his chest so he wouldn't get up because suddenly she had a terrible idea. She had a terrible bad idea. "Fucking in a terrace while looking at Manhattan at 2am was in your list of things to do as a couple?"

She didn't need any lights to see his face lighting up. She didn't need any light to see the malicious smirk appearing on his handsome face. She didn't need to read minds to know he loved the idea. She didn't need any word of affirmation to know he was on board with it. She didn't need anything at all, just to feel the way his hand tightened its grip around her waist and her leg as he kissed her temple and whispered three magical words.

"Turn around, sweetheart"

---

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