INVISIBLE STRING ☆ DANIEL RICCIARDO

forty-two

ABU DHABI, UAE; NOVEMBER 20th 2022

dialogue in italics are in arabic, enjoy<3

Abu Dhabi had come sooner than they had anticipated. Something that both Isla and Daniel were heavily grateful for as he met her at the airport on the Tuesday prior to race day. He had picked her up at the terminal himself, having arrived only a few hours before her.

It was fairly empty at the airport since she had gotten a red eye, her plane having landed at four in the morning. Daniel had been waiting patiently outside the arrivals, a single red rose in his hand and the widest grin on his face.

Isla had been tiredly dragging her suitcases through the airport, eyes barely opened as she longed for her boyfriends arms and a comfortable sleep to sleep forever in. All thoughts of tiredness had dissipated as soon as she had spotted her, urging her arms to pull her bags a little faster.

Daniel's arms were open and ready for her as she jumped into his embrace, a habit she had picked up every time they had been away from each other. With his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, he had never felt happier.

The drive to the hotel wasn't long, but somehow Isla had managed to fall asleep in the passenger sleep and Daniel had to practically carry her up to their room. No complaints were given from him though, she looked like she hasn't slept in days.

He had taken the next morning off from Michael, opting to sleep in and to hold her just for a little while longer.

"What time is it?" Isla mumbles against his chest, snuggling further into him.

Daniel reaches over for his phone on the nightstand quickly, before moving back and wrapping his arms around her again. "Quarter to eleven, sleepyhead."

"I can't believe you let me sleep for that long." Islas eyes shoot open, looking up at her boyfriend. "I didn't even call my dad when I landed, he's gonna kill me."

"We're seeing him tonight, it'll be fine." Daniel brushes off nonchalantly, except he didn't know the struggles of being a girl with an Arab dad.

She places a quick kiss to his cheek, before grabbing her phone and pulling herself out of bed. "You're so naïve, my love."

After a pretty tense conversation with her dad, that included an explanation of just exactly how late she had gotten in and how tired she was, he had calmed his worry enough to listen to what she had to say about their dinner plans.

"I hope you know I'm not obligated to play nice." he said, slightly joking but also slightly not. His worry for Isla had always been massive, but it had been severely increased after what happened during her relationship with Ramy. "I know you said you love him, but a father has to take his own precautions."

Isla couldn't help but roll her eyes, a smile gracing her face. "I know, baba. Just don't scare him too much, okay?"

"No promises. Alright, I've got a meeting. I'll see you tonight, habibty."

"Bye, baba."

To say Daniel was nervous would be the understatement of the century. He would prefer the term terrified, maybe even the phrase 'shitting his pants'. Meeting Islas parents was one thing he didn't think he would ever be ready for, he knew exactly just how protective they had become of her ever since Ramy and he was scared he wouldn't live up to their standards.

Isla was finding slight humor in the situation as she watched him change his fifth shirt of the night, having to cover her mouth to hide her smile. She watches him do up the buttons and tuck in the shirt, only to pull it back out and turn left to right before starting to unbutton it once again.