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forteafy · 10 months

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Constellation of Three | DR3 [1 of 10]

Summary: Some things have been written in the stars before the beginning of time. Daniel Ricciardo having a single mother as his neighbour has always been written into his narrative. He just didn't realise she would become the love of his life. Part 1 of 'Constellation of Three' series.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Mentions of Childbirth, but only briefly. Alphatauri Daniel!

An understanding many people have had for years is that the core events of your life are mapped out in the stars; whether it be your career, your future spouse or the friends you decide to hold close.

Everything had been planned out so perfectly for you. You’d flew through your exams, landing on one of the most prestigious event planning companies in Europe. Business had been your forte, yet with that creative flair, events seemed to be your calling. After six months of working underneath a supervisor, you had been summoned by their superior to overtake their responsibilities, landing you a comfortable salary and a new residence.

A new residence nestled in the streets of Monte Carlo.

The company you worked for specialised in high-end events and were incredibly well known by the hotels and casinos of the luxury city. Events were a common occurrence and with the skillset you had obtained, they practically laid out the red carpet for your arrival.

There was one star however, that glowed brighter than the others. One which in your mind had been the most unexpected of them all.

Blaire had come into your life as the unexpected shooting star; one night on your third year of higher education with a man who had since disappeared out of your life, lead to the appearance of the sweet baby girl. You’d been lucky, going through the biggest stages with your mother by your side. The morning sickness, hours of labour. Everything made sense the moment that sweet girl had been placed into your arms.

That was the silent promise; the promise you’d do everything in your power to give the girl everything she desired.

You’d found that companies were a lot more lenient on children when their parents were as gifted as you; there had been more than one occasion where Blaire would make an appearance whilst on a zoom call or when meeting with clients to discuss their visions for events. She was a gorgeous young girl with big brown eyes that could melt even the iciest heart.

She was your pride and joy.

That didn’t mean she was the sweet angel described the entirety of the times. Blaire had a temper that could challenge the heat of the earth’s core, and that was seen no clearer than the Monday morning she was due to return to her pre-school.

The summer break had done you both wonders; you’d been able to secure several jobs leaning into the autumn and wintertime as well as being responsible for organising the Metrepole’s summer gala; the praises you had received almost too overwhelming. Between all this, you’d managed to whisk your daughter to Paris for a week too. Her eyes in awe of the bright pink castle and Mickey Mouse ears as far as she could see.

But now? Blaire was screeching, tears rolling down her cheeks as you took away her Minnie Mouse ornament for the fourth time. You weren’t being deliberately mean, the last time she had taken in something fragile to show her friends, it had come back in broken pieces and a meltdown from your little girl that was undesirable.

Almost as unwanted as the current one. Almost.

“Mama!” Blaire had screamed again, her hands trying to grasp for the ornament you had now placed on top of the fridge, well away from prying hands. “Mama! I want it!”

“Baby.” You’d crouched down by now, holding eye contact with the young girl. It. had always been found to treat meltdowns like this with comfort. She was only three, she didn’t always understand about why some things could never go her way. “You need to listen. If you take it, it could get broken, and we can’t get another one, can we?”

Blaire’s screams turned into sniffles, her hand rubbing against her eyes before falling into your chest, snuffling into your skin. “I wanna show Masie.” She mumbled, entranced with the idea of her best friend seeing the statue she had been in awe of since their first day in Disneyland.

You hesitated. “Why don’t you take your new plushie to show her? Then we can invite Masie for dinner this week and we can show her then, yes?” You tried to reason, tucking one of her baby hairs behind her ear; the braids you had done less than an hour ago were already beginning to unravel.

It was like a switch had been flipped; Blaire shot out of the kitchen, diverting to her bedroom and came back a moment later with her new plushie, a grin now plastered on her face, red eyes already fading. You couldn’t help the smile on your own face, now seeing the girl ready to face the day.

With shoes on and her cardigan around her shoulders, you opened the front door, ushering Blaire out first. Carefully, you closed the heavy latch, hearing the satisfying lock when twisting the keys.

“You ready, baby?” You’d asked, waiting for a response or simply for the girl to begin babbling. When there was no response, you looked down, not seeing the girl by your side. Your blood ran cold for a second, only letting yourself breathe when you looked up, seeing the situation unfold in front of you.

Apartment 65, the one next door to you which had been empty since your arrival, was now seemingly occupied. At the front door, stood a man; dark curls, brown eyes, holding a large box cautiously. Next to him, stood Blaire, her plushie abandoned on the floor, and holding a cushion up towards the man.

Blaire wasn’t afraid of much, especially not strangers. Whilst her mother was locking up their home, she’d seen the man struggling with his box, a cushion falling off the top of it whilst attempting to open door. She’d heroically seen her mother help so many people over the years, so why could she not do the same.

The girl had run over, dropping her plushie and instead picking up the cushion, holding it up towards the man in question. He’d grinned at the small child, heart melting by the interaction. After placing his own box down, letting it prop open the front door, he’d crouched down, taking the cushion from the small child.

“Thank you!” He’d grinned, placing the cushion on top of the box. He held his hand out to the young girl, smiling as she placed her hand in his, shaking it gently. “I’m Daniel. What’s your name?”

“I’m Blaire!” She had told him instantly, before looking back up the corridor. “And that’s Mama!” She had pointed towards you, seeing your figure come down the corridor, a visible look of relief on your face.

The man stood back up, watching as Blaire walked back over to you, taking your hand in her own, smiling at her mother. You couldn’t bring yourself in that moment to tell her off, understanding she had only wanted to help somebody in need.

“Did you make a new friend, baby?” You asked, looking back up to the man in question. Seeing him closer had made your heart flutter; his eyes were a rich colour, curls littering the top of his face. His smile was truly to die for, you were almost certain you’d never seen one like it before.

“Sorry.” You continued, eyes finally meeting with his own. “I think she was only trying to help, right Blaire?” You ask, looking back down to the young girl. She nodded in response, looking back over to the man in front of them both.

“This is Daniel!” She explained to her mother, Daniel himself smiling at the two. You nodded in understanding.

“Ahh. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Daniel.” You grinned, telling him your own name in that moment.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” He responded. “You’re my neighbours then?”

“We are.” You looked back towards your own front door, nodding towards the next apartment down. “This place has been empty since I got here, we’ll be happy of the company, won’t we, Blaire?” The young girl nods, eyes wide at the prospect of a new friend.

“Can I show Daniel my statue?” She asks, tugging your hand gently. You can’t help but laugh; less than a few moments in and she’s already wanting to show off her shiny new piece.

“Maybe later, baby. We need to get to school, yeah?” You remind her, seeing her face soften and nod.

“I’ll come and see it soon, yeah?” Daniel confirms. The man knew how younger children could be. His own niece and nephew could be the exact same. However, even the slight thought of them right now was enough to make the lump in his throat appear.

Since his return to Alphatauri had been announced, the driver had been adamant on making the more positive choices in his life. He’d been given his new opportunity. Something out there, out in the stars had this lined up for him.

The man had moved back into Monaco, determined to make a fresh start. Heck, he’d even bought himself a new camera in order to restart his .jpg account during his new adventure. However, it had meant after six months of practically living alongside his family back in Perth, he had to say goodbye. Saying farewell to his mother had been bad enough; feeling his niece and nephew hug him for the last time had been even worse.

Daniel had to take a breath to stop the tears pooling in his eyes. Instead, he turns his attention back to the two figures in front of him, his ears registering as the young girl began to talk again.

“See you later, Daniel!” Blaire is quick to wave goodbye, one hand still firmly attached to her mothers. You had nodded to the man, before letting Blaire lead you towards the elevator, running to press the buttons that glowed in the darkened lift.

The man can’t help but watch as the two of you walk away, mesmerised by the interaction which had just unfolded. When moving into this complex, he had only been told the basics; there was a swimming pool downstairs, a gym if anything was needed, a concierge service for any parcels or presents.

He wished to the stars that somebody had told him of his neighbours; a beautiful woman with the most adorable toddler alongside her.

When first seeing you, your youthful appearance and considerably shorter height than him, he was almost convinced you were Blaire’s sister; he had been taken aback when the young girl had announced yourself as her mother. His heart softened, almost convinced that you must have been taken then. There was no way a woman as beautiful as yourself could be single.

His eyes during the short interaction had darted down, seeing the lack of rings on your left hand. However, that meant nothing. You weren’t married, nor engaged, but surely you must have at least had a significant other?

The questions flittered through his head as he crouched down to pick up the box once again. This was the last one; he’d been lugging his belongings through the building since 8am and had only realised once he’d finished that the apartment was lacking in some furniture.

Monaco was known for luxury, but there was nothing like a quick trip to IKEA on a quiet afternoon, right?

His train of thoughts were disrupted by an item discarded by his front door. There, lied a Minnie Mouse plushie, one he then and there deduced must have been left by the young girl. Daniel murmured a word to himself, picking up the teddy and looking towards the elevator. His eyes then darted towards the staircase, huffing as he left the box inside his apartment, made sure the key was nestled in his pocket, before running towards the stairs, adamant to meet you both at the bottom.

The plushie at this present moment, was the last thing on Blaire’s mind as she had continuously begun to ramble to you about her new friend, Daniel.

“Can we invite Daniel for dinner, mama?” She had asked you, already in awe of the gentleman next door. You had smiled gently at her newfound awe, secretly glad that their new neighbour seemed as if he could handle a toddler’s meltdown in the forthcoming future.

“I’m sure we can, sweetheart.” You confirmed, seeing that the elevator was about to land on the ground floor. You straightened up, ready to walk straight from the lobby towards your car. However, as the door opened, you saw a figure standing in the walkway.

Daniel. Holding your daughter’s plushie.

“Sorry- “he started, moving out of the way of you both, keeping the plush in his grasp for a moment. “You forgot this. I didn’t want her to lose it!” He explains, holding out the teddy towards Blaire. Your daughters’ eyes widen upon realising that this man, her saviour, had now rescued her teddy, holding the toy close to her chest.

Your own cheeks turned red upon the realisation of how that looked; you’d forgotten to check for your child’s toy. Daniel had been your saviour in that moment too; god knows the kind of reaction you would have had if you had made it to school with the lack of that toy.

“Thank you- so much.” You sigh, relief visually flooding your own body. Daniel can see this, nodding and resting a hand on your shoulder.

“My niece used to leave her barbies everywhere.” He explains, trying to make you feel better whilst Blaire held the toy to her chest, happy with the reunion. “I remember when we had to search the entire beach for her surfing Barbie.” Daniel can’t help but grin at the memory, seeing his family frantic in finding the godforsaken doll.

“Oh god-“ You laugh, beginning to walk towards the centre of the lobby, leading you towards the private car park. “I can only imagine. We’ve had that a few times. Blaire is a criminal for leaving her toys at the office.” She explains. You begin to tell Daniel the story of how the young girl had left her doll at your office during one of your meetings. You’d had to return to the building at 7pm that evening in order to retrieve the doll after frantically ripping your apartment apart, convinced it was there.

“Well look.” He grins, walking in step alongside you. “If you ever need a toy hunting partner, I’m right next door.” The man reminds you. There’s no flirtation in his voice, in his mind, he simply wants to be nice to his new neighbour, whether the circumstances would change.

“I’ll be holding you to that.” You grin. “Have a good day, Daniel.”

“You too.” He offers one final wave to the two girls as they make their way towards the car. He can’t help but smile, mesmerised by the interactions.

Maybe this was something that had always been laid out in the stars, always awaiting him.