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So it goes: Chapter 33 - MI x OC

Masterlist

Summary: A new apartment and shit ton of Christmas decorations might be a lot but it's nothing they can't handle, especially when they had handled way worse things.

Pairing: Michael Italiano x fem!OC

Warnings: Fluff all over the place.

Word count: 8.2k

A/N: HELLO KIDS. Its been forever and I’m SO sorry but life has been insane. Hope you’re all doing great and the new year is treating you alright. I know someone told me at some point they wanted to see M&M living in a new apartment and all that, so here you are. There’s so other news in the chapter, so I hope u like it. ANYWAY I’ll really try post more often lol Love you and see u soon!

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Chapter 33 - Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The first time Michael mentioned the idea of looking for a new apartment they were in Austin. It was just one of those regular nights where Maggie would snuggle extra close to him just because the bed felt somehow too big and sleeping practically over him felt way better. She was happy, heaven knew she was nothing but happy. They were in Austin, Michael had a constant smile on his face thanks to being in one of his favorite places in the world, Olivia was nothing but an excited thing because she absolutely loved horses and her whole family was just at peace there. Between live music, brisket and laughs, everything seemed to be alright at least for a while.

Plus, Maggie and Michael were still in their little cloud of love, excitement, and happiness about being engaged. Even when they still had zero ideas or plans for their wedding, Maggie was happy and still tearing up every single time she looked at the beautiful engagement ring in her hand. She was still trying to process the fact that she was marrying the love of her life at some point in the next year and that was everything she needed to have a smile on her face.

Michael mentioning it wouldn’t be bad to start looking for a bigger place made that smile even bigger. After finishing her cup of tea, Maggie was holding her Kindle with one hand while playing with Michael’s hair with the other one. Meanwhile, Michael was doing more of the same, just reading one of his books while resting his head against Maggie’s chest, using her as a pillow. When Michael left his Kindle on the side and turned around to hug her, Maggie thought he was already too sleepy and ready to call it a day and sleep, but she was nothing but wrong. Breaking the silence of the room, he just threw a soft ‘We could move to a bigger apartment next year’ while he looked up at her as if he said the most casual thing in the world. He said the most casual thing in the world, but Maggie felt like her heart grew a hundred times bigger while hearing those words.

They didn’t mention it again until they were back in London after the race in Austin. Maggie was just sitting on the couch, her favorite blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape as she was focused on her tablet, drawing what was supposed to be one of Michael’s Christmas presents. She was still playing around with ideas and colors, trying to decide on the final concept and design for it. She knew it was October and she still had time, but she was starting to get irritated with herself. She had other stuff to do. She had too many things to do. She needed to finish some things for Michael’s website and Instagram, not even mention she still had to finish a bunch of things for his new app, so Maggie was stressed.

Normally Jas was the one in charge of that, working with him for as long as they have met each other, but one day they decided to pass it to Maggie. Jas insisted for centuries, saying it was going to be way more logical if Maggie did it, but every single time the youngest sister refused. Jas repeated time after time that Maggie could do exactly as she did or even better, and Michael insisted it was gonna be just fine, but Maggie just dodged the bullet time after time. It was too much pressure, and she was terrified of fucking it up, so she said no, but once Olivia was born things changed. Jas had too much between a husband driving a shitty car every weekend, a newborn baby, a sister with love problems, Daniel’s collections, and life in general so as soon as Maggie and Michael were on normal terms again, she passed the crown to her sister.

Maggie couldn't say working with Michael wasn’t fun. Damn, it was more than fun, but the problem was the pressure she put on herself. She needed it to be perfect, and even when her boyfriend promised it was all perfect, she would still look for things to correct. She was always a perfectionist, but it was worse when it was for Michael. That’s why that gloomy afternoon in London, she ended up yelling that she needed a desk. She knew it was the stress talking. She didn’t need one to work, especially considering she would normally rather be on the couch than on a chair, but that day she was just stressed. Her back was hurting after hours working, her wrist was bothering her, her feet and hands were cold, and the goddamn neighbors were renovating their apartment upstairs and it felt like they were demolishing the whole building, so she was a mess. It took Michael a warm cup of tea, a back massage, a pair of her warmest socks, some music, and taking her tablet away ‘for at least one hour’ to calm her down. But all that came also with a hug that turned into some much-needed snuggles and a promise of starting to look for a new place with enough place for a desk as soon as they came back from Perth, which was thanked with kisses and even more hugs.

After that, jokes came and went with Maggie saying she wanted a piano in their new place simply because she always wanted to learn how to play, Michael blaming Maggie for things not fitting in the closet because of how many shoes and clothes she had, Maggie saying there was not enough space for her mugs thanks to the weird stuff and spices Michael had in the kitchen, Maggie saying again she didn’t want to make Michael choose between his static bike or her and how at some point they would need to find space for a crib for Olivia since she was growing too fast.

The third thing that made them decide to move was Maggie fucking up her wrist. It was something as ridiculously silly as picking up Olivia’s toys from the floor, but Maggie found one behind some of Michael’s weights in the living room, so instead of calling him she decided he could pick it up on her own. The problem wasn’t the weight but the weird position she was in. Trying to stay balanced on just one foot to not step into another of Olivia’s toys, Maggie lost her equilibrium and, to prevent falling to the ground, she tried to hold herself from one of the walls of the living room. She could feel something was wrong with her wrist as soon as she did it, but like always she ignored it thinking it was nothing. She ignored it for a whole day, but the second she had to pick up Olivia, Maggie knew something was not right.

She tried to brush it off, insisting and promising it didn’t hurt that much, but on the second day, Michael just dragged her to see a doctor who, after checkups, an x-ray, and even an MRI, told them her right wrist was a mess. After overworking herself until she was exhausted and after spending most of her waking hours drawing and especially after a lifetime doing it, Maggie’s right wrist was a disaster. To a greater or lesser extent, it was always bothering her, but at some point it just became normal. Except for that time when the pain wasn’t normal and they found out her wrist was fissured. It was just like her left wrist months earlier, but this was worse considering the years of damage. It was way worse considering there was a chance she might need surgery in the future. Michael felt more than guilty when he heard that probably picking up his weights was the reason her wrist finally gave up. He felt terrible knowing he should have taken her to see a doctor months ago, even when Maggie assured him she was fine. He felt awful knowing he should have known better ‘cause it's my job to know and to look after you, Mags’. He felt so damn guilty that the first thing he said after leaving the doctor's office was ‘We really need to move’ as he kissed her forehead while they walked.

But the last thing that made them move was not Maggie’s wrist or any of that, but her present for Michael’s birthday. After the weird kind of terrible year they had, and especially after the terrible couple of months Maggie knew she made Michael go through, she wanted to do something special for his birthday. Damn, after she wasn’t with him his last two birthdays thanks to lockdown, restrictions, work, their time off, and her stupidity, Maggie felt like she should do something huge.  

Being a good girlfriend and staying by his side while Michael watched the World cup matches was something she was already planning to do, mind-blowing sex was clearly on the list too, his regular gifts were on the way or wrapped to put inside her suitcase and she swore to finish every single thing that she had to do for his business but she wanted something else. But right after she was about to give up on her plan to find something amazing for Michael, Lily showed up out of nowhere saving her.  

After finding the gift, Maggie needed to find the perfect time to give it to Michael. She didn’t want to do it at midnight with a probably half-asleep Michael, she didn’t want to give it to him in the morning when she was probably gonna be half asleep. For some stupid reason, she didn’t want to give it to him with the rest of his gifts after he came from the gym and before they went to have lunch so she waited till after his birthday dinner celebration. She could see in Michael’s eyes how he thought of something completely different when she whispered in his ear that she had another surprise. His hand sneaking and squeezing her ass on the elevator was enough to let her know he was thinking about something different and it made it even funnier. Her main plan was to tell her boyfriend to do whatever he wanted with her until they were an absolute mess who would probably have to crawl all the way to the airport the next day, but as soon as they got to their hotel room, Maggie gave him the other little surprise.

She could see the confusion on his face as she saw Maggie grabbing a green envelope from her carry-on suitcase. Damn, she could even see the panic go through his eyes but then it all went to total confusion as he opened and saw the pictures inside. There was something hilarious about Michael looking at the five Polaroids that he took from inside the envelope. But when he finally asked ‘What’s this, babe? And I know it's a puppy, but what’s going on?’ was when finally Maggie explained it.

It was a normal FaceTime with Lily and her parents that started the idea. It was Lily’s parents’ dogs the ones to blame for having puppies and then it was Lily’s mom the one who started with the joke, asking if Maggie didn’t want one of the puppies. Her first answer was no. There was no way they would have a puppy for hundred reasons, but the most important one was they didn’t have time. They barely had time to go on dates from time to time. Damn, Michael barely had time to take care of Maggie, Daniel, and the rest of the family, so adding another living thing to the equation was a no. But then the camera pointed to a little brown Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with ears longer than its head and something just clicked. That little black button nose and those black eyes shot straight to her heart and Maggie knew she had to do it. Maggie knew how much Michael loved dogs, and she knew how badly he wanted to have one in the future. Damn, even she wanted to have one since she was a kid, but for too many reasons it never happened. But if she was gonna be more time at home the next year, she could take care of the puppy and she felt like she owned Michael after he agreed on bringing Elizabeth to London with them, so it all made sense. Plus, their pets would keep her company when Michael was away, and Lily agreed to look after the puppy and Elizabeth if Michael and Maggie weren’t home, so it made sense.

She could see Michael's eyes opening wider and wider with every part of the explanation and how his smile got bigger every second that passed, but nothing compared to the look on his face when Maggie finally said that if he wanted, that little lady was all theirs. With the huge clear difference between their body sizes, Michael was always extra careful with Maggie. He could lift barbells that weighed the same as Maggie so he could manhandle his girlfriend like nothing, and that night that was the case. Grabbing her as easily as he would carry Olivia with one arm, Michael threw her over the bed, got over her, and covered her face in kisses, repeating again and again and again that he loved her more than anything in the world. Meanwhile, Maggie was a mess of giggles, trying to ask if that mean yes to the puppy thing. Of course it was a yes. It was probably the biggest yes after the day they got engaged, so it was a lot to say. After that, it was just all laughs, kisses, and then clothes flying to the floor. The good thing is Michael loved his birthday present so damn much and he was so happy that he ended up begging Maggie to do whatever he wanted to him, which ended up with Maggie riding him until her legs felt like jelly.

The funny thing was that, even if Lily’s parents promised to look after their new tiny furry baby until they were back and ready to pick her up, Michael couldn’t wait a goddamn week to go pick her up. He couldn’t even wait three days to go, and Maggie couldn’t be happier they didn’t. Their puppy was gorgeous without a doubt, but there was nothing as seeing her huge fiancé laying on the floor with that little thing waving her tail as she was licking Michael’s nose. There was nothing as seeing Michael’s smile and hearing his happy laugh while he played with their new baby. There was nothing as funny and adorable as seeing Michael looking at their puppy sleeping on his chest while he thought about names, insisting that not only should it be perfect but it also should be one that went well with Elizabeth. That’s how they decided to go for Penelope, because like Maggie insisted ‘It's cute and she can also kick us, like Penny in Criminal Minds’.

The one that wasn’t so sure about Penelope was Elizabeth and Maggie felt nothing but terrible about it. From purring and going from her lap to Michael’s, Elizabeth was nothing but a golden ball of fur and love who loved cuddles. She loved to be petted and be around people, but suddenly they walked in with Penelope in Michael’s arms and Elizabeth disappeared under the bed in Aoife and David’s apartment. When she decided to finally come out again, she wouldn’t even pay attention to anyone. She would mind her own business, go eat and play with her toys without paying attention to anyone, especially not Penelope.  

When they got home it was way worst and, it broke Maggie’s heart. Since the night Elizabeth meet Michael, every single time he was home she would try to sleep over his chest all while Maggie joked saying she couldn’t blame her because she loved it too, but that it was her place to sleep. Every single night it was the three of them it was the same silly discussion, with Maggie talking to the cat as if she would understand, Elizabeth ignoring Maggie as she purred all happy, and Michael trying to not laugh and convince there was enough space for both of them.

But none of that happened for the three days they spent in Dublin and it was probably worse when they went back to London. For another three days straight, Maggie was nothing but convinced everything they did was a bad idea. Elizabeth was a couch potato and, like any puppy, Penelope was an overexcited ball of fur who just wanted to play with her strange and new roommate. On top of it, they were in a new place for both of them, but while Penelope didn’t seem to care, Elizabeth looked pissed. To say terrible was an understatement. She felt like the worst human being in the world. She felt nothing but guilty about everything. She felt like the worst human being in the world. She felt like the worst mother in the universe, even if her kids were a cat and a dog. It was even worse when Elizabeth would walk past by Penelope and completely ignore her, pretending she wasn’t even in the room. And like every single time, Maggie had no idea what she would have done without Michael. He was the one who insisted she wasn’t bad and that Elizabeth just needed time. He was the one who would pet Elizabeth at the same time as Penelope so they would understand there was enough love for both of them. He was the one who would wake up extra early in the mornings to walk Penelope and who would teach her stuff while Maggie tried to play with Elizabeth and win her love back. He was also the one saying they needed to find an apartment as soon as they went back, not only to have more space for them but also so they could stay apart if she didn’t end up getting along.

But what Maggie wasn’t expecting was to find an apartment that fast. They weren’t planning to move for the next couple of months, but anyway she would look around during her free time. She would also do it because she was convinced it would take them forever to find the perfect one. They knew it was going to be more than hard to find something with a terrace, a decent kitchen for Michael to do his meals to feed a football team, enough space for their things, and on top of that, a place that would allow pets. Their list had too many things and Maggie was convinced they would have to give something up, but they were somehow wrong.

Maggie was convinced it was gonna take them forever to find the perfect one, but one morning she found it. It was a beautiful apartment with a living room full of light, two bedrooms, a big kitchen -big enough for Michael-, a gorgeous bathroom, and a big terrace. The best part was that it was closer to Dan and Jas' apartment, so Maggie fell in love automatically. When she saw it, she sent Michael the link in a text saying ‘If u get it I might share the second room with you but just if u ask nicely’, to which Michael answered with a short ‘Mean’ followed by a heart emoji. They didn’t talk about it for days and Maggie almost forgot it until a Wednesday morning when Michael said he needed Maggie with him to do something later that day. The last thing she was expecting was to go see the same apartment in the afternoon. The last thing she expected was to fall in love with the apartment, which sucked because it wasn’t in their plans to move then. The last thing she also expected was to find out the next day that somehow, Michael talked to the owner and convinced him to rent them the place. She knew a lot of people went to see it before them, she knew they were probably the last ones on the long list of people wanting to rent it, but her bloody smart charming man got it and she was nothing but over the moon.

But even when she was happy and over the moon, she was also stressed as hell. The end of November came with the end of the championship, Daniel signing with Redbull, Jas being stressed as fuck about it, Isaac’s birthday and Michael’s birthday right after, and also Christmas shopping and preparation. On top of that, and right in the middle of all their plans and things to do before they left to finally go to Perth, they had to move. In the middle of all the mess, they had to pack their whole apartment, move and then try to reorganize their new apartment before they left which seemed nothing but impossible.

Michael told her one day that if someone knew how to make something impossible happen it was them. Against all odds they made their relationship work, so somehow after that November and December couldn’t be that bad or hard to deal with. Really it wasn’t that bad and somehow they did it. With help of their friends -which also served as a distraction for Jas- they managed to pack everything in almost no time. But once there were just a couple of boxes left to take, Maggie couldn’t help but tear up as they said goodbye to their old home.

She couldn’t help but cry because even if they needed more space, she was gonna miss that apartment. That was their first little shelter when nobody knew they were together. Those were the walls she missed every single day she was away. That was the place that kept them safe during part of the lockdown. That was the place she dreamed about when they were apart. That was their first home together and there were so many memories there that it hurt to leave even if they love where they were going. But like every single time, Michael was there to clean her tears, kiss the sadness away and hug her so tightly that all the fears would just disappear. Like every single time, Michael was there to whisper the exact words to make her feel better and even put a smile on her face. And between kisses, promises, and reassuring words, he convinced Maggie to take one last picture of them together there. ‘One last pic for the books’ he said because even if they had hundreds and hundreds of pictures, one last of them there wouldn’t hurt, so they did it before closing the door behind their backs.

Once the tears were dried and the boxes were in their place, the new apartment was nothing but a mess. Between furniture that they needed to decide where was gonna go, and things that now needed to find a new place, everything was a little disaster, but it ended up being one of the best nights of her life. They ended up ordering ramen and eating on the couch because the table, the coffee table, and the kitchen island were full of stuff. They listened to music with Maggie’s computer because they were too lazy to look for their collection of vinyls or even plug their record player. The only thing they managed to do was make the bed because Michael insisted they were going to regret it if they didn’t do it, and they were going to regret it especially when they were there without clothes blessing their new bedroom. And like every time, he was right  

They were living together and were absolutely happy and so in love that Maggie felt like a fairytale. That life with the man of her dreams was everything she ever wanted and everything she thought she was never gonna have until she met Michael. Then it was everything she thought she wasn’t going to be able to have because life was throwing nothing but bricks at them, but they finally made it, so she was happy. She knew Michael was happy too, the pride in his shiny eyes and the smile on his face was enough to let her know. Both of them were so happy Maggie normally would say it was nothing but irrational, but somehow she could imagine he was probably regretting every single one of his life choices the second he saw Maggie ignoring the boxes around the apartment to open the one that read ‘Christmas decorations’ on the side. Maggie knew perfectly fine Michael was probably wondering if the was alright when right in front of her there was an untouched box that said ‘Kitchen’, but those were her priorities that day.

When Michael came back home from the gym, Maggie was sitting on the floor, surrounded by Christmas decorations and it was all nothing but a mess. There was everything everywhere, and there was the Christmas tree in a corner of the living room, waiting to be decorated just like the rest of the apartment. And there was Maggie, with a happy smile on her face, making grabby hands as soon as she saw her boyfriend crossing the door.

“Grá! Thank God you’re here! I missed you and I need your big, wonderful hands” she exclaimed, forgetting about the fairy lights she was taking off the box.

“Hey, baby. I missed you too. You need me to turn this into Winter Wonderland or what?” Michael asked, leaving his stuff by the door, his jacket hanging behind it, and going straight to sit on the floor by her side.

“You’re not funny” Maggie affirmed, slapping his leg and throwing a garland at him. “And no, it's not gonna be Winter Wonderland, just a regular apartment decorated for the occasion” she shrugged, going back to her task of opening and untangling the lights

“Gimme a kiss first and then we talk about helping” Michael smiled looking down at her. And then Maggie forgot about the lights once again, letting them on her lap as she grabbed his cheeks, meeting right in the middle to kiss his lips a couple of times. And peak after peak they just kept smiling, not being able to erase the happy grins from their faces. “Now it’s better. The kids?”

“Napping like two champs”

“Don’t tell me, they’re on our bed” Michael guessed, kissing her forehead as he placed his arm around her shoulders. All Maggie did was hum and nod twice, leaning against his body. “At least they ain’t fighting”

None of them had much idea at which point it happened, but one day the cat and dog fight stopped. One night they came home from having their monthly date out in a cute little restaurant Maggie wanted to try, all to find Penelope and Elizabeth sleeping on their bed. They were each on different corners, Penelope curled right by the cushions and Elizabeth at the end of the bed, but it was a lot. It was such a huge achievement for their little family that they decided to take their funny business to the couch, where Maggie whispered against her fiancé’s mouth that she didn’t care where they were as long as he was inside her. But the second time they found them was probably the best, because they found them again sleeping in their bed, but this time side by side, snuggling right by the cushions making a huge ball of fur and love. From time to time the silly little fights were back, but it was more to play than to fight, so Maggie and Michael decided to call it an absolute victory.

“They don’t fight anymore which makes me very happy. I’m not such a bad mom after all” Maggie smiled sweetly, moving enough to reach his jaw and place a couple of kisses there. “Please don’t you ever shave” she purred and practically begged, lifting her hand to run her fingers through his cheek.

“And not having you complaining about my face leaving marks on you? Wouldn’t miss that for the world so no shaving my face, ma’am” Michael whispered against her forehead, playing with her hair as they snuggled together in the cold winter afternoon. “And I told you, you’re the best”

“Nah, that's you” she remarked, moving her lips from his jaw to his neck, leaving there a little kiss that was nothing but the promise of something more once they were done. “Did you have a good workout?”

“It was alright” Michael shrugged, moving her hair out of her shoulders and then stroking her cheek and jaw with her fingers.

“It was alright” Maggie shrugged too, imitating his Aussie accent and mannerisms almost to perfection, making Michael laugh just for looking at her.

“Did you have breakfast?” Michael asked, looking straight into her eyes, knowing how messy Maggie could be when he wasn’t around. Especially knowing how lazy she could be when it came to food. But to not disappoint her boyfriend she nodded, even if breakfast consisted of coffee and some cookies. “That’s my girl. Now, what do you want me to do?”

“I didn’t want to grab a chair to hang this so I was waiting for you” Maggie explain, pointing to the garlands and the fairy lights. “Also I kind of needed your help with my hair” she smiled, pointing to her head. With the wristband her doctor gave her, Maggie could barely move her wrist and she was ordered to make no sudden movements, so even putting her ponytail was something complicated. Besides, it was kind of funny to see Michael trying to be as delicate as possible with her hair and being amazing at it.

“I swear you’re the most breakable person I’ve ever met in my entire life, sweetheart. Now turn” he indicated, and Maggie obeyed, turning her back to him.

“Technically it's not broken. Technically I never broke any bones, so I’m just the most crackable person you’ve ever met. Besides you gotta practice, uncle Mike. We have a niece so one day you’ll have to make pigtails and ponytails. And don’t get me started with how you’ll need to learn at least three different kinds of braids. We’re already late with the lesson, mate” Maggie joked, closing her eyes as she enjoyed maybe too much the feeling of Michael running his fingers around her head.

She even had to make a really big effort to not moan a bit when Michael kissed her neck and shoulders once he put her hair and what she knew was probably a perfect ponytail. She had to make a big effort to keep it together when she felt his lips right under her ear, speaking so softly that it sent shivers down her back. “Ponytails I can make. Pigtails are the same thing, baby girl”

“Thank you, babe” she smiled as she leaned back and turned to kiss the tip of his nose. “And you’re right, sometimes I forget young Michael used to have a man-bun. When are you gonna let your hair grow again?”

Maggie knew what the question would bring and that was Michael’s frown as she said the word ‘Long hair’. It happened every single time she brought back the subject and at this point, Maggie did it once in a while just to see his confused face, never really understanding why the fuck she wanted him to grow his hair.

“Oh c’mon, not again!”

“C’mon, do it for me! For your Mags! Sweet little Margaret dies to play with that gorgeous long straight hair you used to have. Do it as my wedding gift!”. And as she over-exaggeratedly begged, she moved to sit on his lap, hugging his neck as she gave Michael her best puppy eyes, even when they both knew it was nothing but a joke.  

“Sweet little Maggie can play with the rest of me because the hair ain’t coming back. And I’ve something else in mind as a wedding gift for you, wife”

“Ugh, you’re impossible” Maggie complained, using all her theatre classes to act as overdramatic as possible while rolling her eyes.  

“Oh yeah? And when is pink hair Maggie coming back?” Michael asked, kissing her frown as he stroked her back and legs while he held her.

If Maggie was a pain in the ass always bringing up the long hair card, Michael was as annoying as she was, but with Maggie’s old pink hair. It started one terrible night after dinner with Jas, Daniel, Blake, and Olivia and it was all thanks to Jas that they found out about Maggie’s old look. Their family and friendship were some kind of weird thing when they all knew everything about each other, or at least almost everything. But probably one of the secrets best kept about Maggie was her colorful hair. Not that she was ashamed of it, but years later she just didn’t like how she looked in it. Even when her friends had pictures, she had counted ones of those days. That's the reason why she never mentioned it and why her friends and family who saw her back then never mentioned it, not even to Michael. But one day Jas didn’t think about it and before she realized it she was talking to Olivia about ‘Aunt Mags’ pink hair’, followed by a loud ‘Shit!’. She could never forget the boys’ faces when she said it, but especially Michael’s face. He was surprised but he looked delighted by the idea of Maggie’s hair looking like candy. While Blake and Daniel were asking like two curious boys if there was any proof of it, Michael was begging with his best puppy eyes to see ‘Just one pic’. And like every single time, Maggie couldn’t say no. She had no idea how the fuck to say no to those shiny brown eyes of his, so she asked Jas to look for the pics on her phone to unlock probably the last secret she had been keeping from the three stupid men at the table.  

From that day on, Michael’s comeback from the long hair jokes was the pink hair jokes. Just like Maggie loved how her fiancé looked with long hair, Michael swore that he loved how she looked with pink hair. Maggie had to admit that it made her happy to know Michael thought she looked beyond ‘beautiful, adorable, and sexy as fuck’ when she didn’t like herself at all in those pics. Damn, he was the reason why she was starting to think that maybe she didn’t look that bad back then, to the point that some days even she joked about going back to her old look saying she might go back to it.

She might joke about it some days, but that wasn’t one of those days.

“Never!” she exclaimed, slapping his chest playfully, trying to hide the obvious smile on her face. “I hate you; did you know that?”  

She tried, goddamn she tried, but the second he smiled at her and bumped the tips of their noses together Maggie lost it, smiling like a happy girl as Michael looked straight into her eyes. “No, you don’t. In fact, you love me very much which is pretty cool cause I love you very much too”

“Did I tell you how smart you’re? All that engineering and all those books ended up being good at some point”.

And like every time Maggie brought up his Engineer degree, Michael ended up tickling her sides until there was nothing but happy tears in her eyes and she was a mess of illogical words asking him to please stop because she was too weak to handle all that. And like every time, he would end the sweet little torture with kisses all over her face and neck while his arms squeezed her body against his, hugging her as tightly as possible without breaking her.  

“That’s payback for the jokes” he explained with one last kiss on her lips and a smile that not only lighten up his face but the whole goddamn room and even her heart. “What about you and your sudden overexcitement about Christmas? I know you like it but not this much” he wondered, pointing to the floor covered in decorations.

Michael was right, Maggie liked Christmas, but this year her excitement was definitely something else. This year it was a lot. This year was too many decorations, especially considering they weren’t even gonna spend Christmas there, just the first days of December until they left to go to Perth.

“It's just- it’s the first decent Christmas we have together. 2018 we weren’t together. 2019 we were kind of together but we didn’t spend it together. 2020 was shit cause you couldn’t see your family and then 2021 was shit cause we weren’t together and I was… Y’know” she tried to explain. But even if she tried, she couldn’t find a way to explain the disaster that was the previous year for her. She didn’t even want to explain it, but seeing Michael’s confused face let her know she wasn’t going to have another option. “C’mon, babe. Don’t tell me Danny and Jas didn’t tell you that I spent the night crying”

The smile disappeared from Maggie’s face when could see in his eyes that Michael didn’t know a thing. It broke her heart to see that he had no idea what she was talking about. “Nobody told me anything” Michael stated, looking straight at her as the grip of his hands around her body got tighter.

“I was just heartbroken. When I got your present it just ended up being kind of worse. I read your letter and started to cry like a baby, but I managed to be calm enough to call you. I didn’t want you to see me broken even when I thought you’d figure it out. You were always good at reading me, but I guess I managed to trick you” Maggie whispered, stroking his cheek with her hand as she smiled sadly at the memory. “When we hang up the phone I cried even more. I literally cried myself to sleep that night. Wasn’t pretty. It was really, really hard but it's alright”

“Mags, babe, I had no bloody idea about that night. I’m so so sorry” he apologized. He didn’t need to do it. Damn, the last thing he needed was to be sorry for something that wasn’t even his fault. He didn’t need to say anything because it was in the past and everything was fine now, but even then Maggie could see the guilt in his eyes and how he was thinking that he should have known. She knew he was especially thinking he should have done something.

“It’s alright, sunshine” she insisted, giving him a soft, loving kiss on his lips, hoping that would be enough to make the guilt disappear from his eyes. “I guess nobody told you to not make it worse. I didn’t tell you cause of that reason. We were far away, and I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas. You didn’t deserve a ruined Christmas when you were finally able to be with your family”  

“Hey, you’re my family. You’re my whole fucking world. I’m not gonna say a word about you not saying anything but what I can do is promise that will never happen again. We’re not spending another Christmas apart” Michael affirmed, and she knew that was a promise that he wasn’t going to break. It was a promise that neither of them was going to break ever again.

“I know. None of that sad shit this year” she smiled, stroking his cheek as she smiled sweetly at him. And she was so happy when Michael smiled back at her. She had no idea how a smirk could make her so damn happy, but there she was feeling her heart practically jumping out of happiness and her stomach turning into a mess of butterflies. “Besides hey, it's Oli’s first Christmas and we’re gonna be together in sunny warm Perth, so all good”

“You’re somehow omitting the fact that our families are spending Christmas together for the first time” Michael remember but Maggie didn’t forget about it at all.

She had no idea how it happened. Suddenly they were talking about Christmas plans with Dan and Jas and it was stupid, but the idea of not being able to be with Michael but also not being with her family and especially with Olivia started to be too much. Knowing that she couldn’t divide herself to be with the people she loved was haunting her and clearly, the three mirrors in front of her noticed. It took just one look between Michael, Jas, and Daniel for her fiancé to throw the idea of him spending it with them so he could be with Maggie and Olivia. But then it took another look and a denial from Maggie for Daniel to say ‘Just bring the whole family, mate’. That was the only option to make everyone -especially Maggie- happy, so they all agreed on spending Christmas eve at the farm. It was all fun and games until they realized what it meant to spend Christmas together. It was all fun until they realize their family was going to meet. They knew it was gonna be fine, there was no reason for them to think otherwise but every time they remembered they couldn’t help but think they were just a bit fucked up.

“No, I’m just saying all this to forget about that little detail. It's your parents and my parents finally meeting. I’m fucking terrified” Maggie breathed, resting her head against his shoulder as she looked for his hand to lock their fingers.

“It’s gonna be alright. It's not like you don’t know my sister or the rest of my family. Or like I don’t know your family” he explained, giving him the same argument every single time to make her stay calm. But even with that, she could see how even Michael was scared as hell.

“Yes, but this is not having brunch with your sister or a normal day with my mom and dad. It's our parents and grandparents all together in the same room” Maggie insisted, putting the tips of her ten fingers together in a silly way to show how it was gonna be to have them all together.

But even when they were scared as hell, she could see the little happy grin on Michael’s face as he grabbed her hands with his, kissing the knuckles of her right one. “My Nana and your Mamó together is gonna be fun”

“And our moms together? A mess. All that plus the Ricciardo's, so it's gonna be your mum, my mum, and Grace. Our sisters together. Can we cancel? Runaway somewhere else just you and me” she joked, giving him again her best puppy face.

“No, babe, we can't” Michael laughed, giving her pouty lips a little kiss. And then there was one of her favorite things about Michael: that perfect smile that somehow was saved just for her. It was the smile that he insisted was saved just for her because it would only show up when she was around. The one that would make her melt away and wonder again and again how she was so lucky to be with him. It was the smile that would remind her every single day that she was also lucky as hell because he was in love with her. It was the smile that would their friends joke about the ‘idiot look on his face’ when she was in the same room as him. It was the smile that Maggie always joked saying it was the reason she felt for him all those years ago the night they finally met and that still made her fall in love with him every single day. “Y’know, if twenty years ago someone had told me ‘Hey, that kid with black curls who runs with a helmet on in front of the gym is gonna make you meet the love of your life and end up being your brother-in-law and father of your goddaughter’ I would have laughed my ass off. I wouldn’t have believed it. That kind of shit just happened in movies”

“And here you are” Maggie whispered with a smile on her face as she brought their joined hands to her lips, returning the gesture and kissing his knuckles.  

“And here I am. I wouldn’t have it any other way, to be honest. Christmas mess, fucked up wrists, cat, dog, and all. I’m a very lucky guy” Michael shrugged as if all of that wasn’t big deal.  

“I’m a really lucky girl too, so I wouldn't have it any other way either” Maggie whispered, feeling the knot and the tears coming to her eyes which weren’t nice considering crying wasn’t in her plans that day. But there was no time for tears when they needed to put some order in their home, so she went straight to his lips to give him a couple of kisses, which always helped to put herself back together. “Now help me? Please? It's also our first Christmas tree so just indulge me, please. We do this, we put some order in this mess and then we can snuggle and watch a movie”

“I like how that sounds” he stated against her lips, giving her just another kiss. “Want pizza tonight?”

“Regular pizza or your low-carb fake one?” Maggie asked between closed lids, ready to fight her man if he wanted to make her eat something that wasn’t real pizza.

“Regular extra cheese for the beautiful lady” Michael affirmed, and Maggie wasn’t even surprised because he knew by heart all her orders.

“He knows me so well. What a shitty thing we don’t have a fireplace to cuddle up here”

“We can put one on the tv if you want”

“So we put a blanket on the floor, and have some fun there? Ain’t that too romantic?”

Maggie couldn’t help but laugh, but the look on Michael’s face was enough to let her know part of him wasn’t joking at all. It wouldn’t be the first time they had sex on the floor for some random reason. It wouldn’t be the first time they did it over a blanket either, so the smirk and the raised brow were kind of accurate. “I’m gonna be a cheesy bastard and say everything’s romantic when you’re around, sweetheart”

And it wasn’t enough for the day, there he had to go and melt her heart saying something like that. “Ugh, there he goes and wins the best boyfriend in the world award. Typical Italiano”

“Fiancé, sweetheart. Best fiancé” he corrected her with a smile so big that could light up the whole apartment. Even when they didn’t have a date, even when they had no idea where they were going to get married, and even when Maggie still haven’t started to see dresses, Michael would use every single chance he had to say Maggie was his fiancée. If the man spent three years being proud of saying she was his girlfriend, now he wasn’t going to waste a second or an opportunity saying he was going to marry his girl. "Yes, I love saying it so don’t gimme that look, tiny”

“I know you do” Maggie smiled, giving him one last kiss on his cheek before she got up from his lap even if she wanted to stay there all day. “Alrighty. Wait, how’s that thing you always say? We ain’t here to fuck spiders?”

“You’ve been hanging too much time with my sister, don’t you?” he asked while getting up from the floor and going to the other side of the living room

And of course, he was running away from her, knowing perfectly fine that the best thing to do was stay away from Maggie after such a stupid joke. “I’ve been running behind your ass for three fucking years, and you blame Nadia for me using Aussie expressions? That’s so mean of you!” she exclaimed, grabbing one of the plastic ornaments for the tree and throwing it straight at Michael. She knew it was gonna be useless cause the sportsman grabbed it like nothing, but she needed to try. “You’re lucky I don’t kick your ass”

“What were you gonna say, sweetheart?” Michael wondered changing the subject and blowing a kiss to her.

“We ain’t here to fuck spiders so let's do this so we can fuck on the floor, but especially so we can eat pizza” she scolded, acting falsely offended as she grabbed a couple of ornaments with her good hand.

But like every time, the fake frown and pout disappeared the second she felt Michael’s arms around her waist.

---

Taglist

@jamminvroomvroom @starlightoctavia @monte-carlando @dr3lover @brightlightsinlife @a-distantdreamer @pleasantducktimetravel @honeybadgercomeback​

[unluckyhoneybee]

the video of Danny and Heidi cuddling and Michael sitting alone while listening to music made me think. imagine you had a little crush on Danny a while ago but it's kind of over now, you see he is happy and in love so you get over it. but you still feel a bit weird sometimes because Danny is a fantastic friend and treats you amazingly and it stings. and Michael sees how you stiff a bit watching them being so cute together and he sits with you so you won't be alone and talks to you about it, and he is all cute but secretly in love with you. and that night while you are having some alone time away from everybody he confesses.

sorry if it's too much. don't write it if you don't like it, feel free

Note: I saw this request and had to come to write it. Plus, don't worry, I love when you guys leave so much background. It's long af, i should have made a one shoot of this, but here we are. Long af blurb for you guys.

You were sitting there watching Rob singing on the little improvised stage. You wanted to smile and have a good time, but there was something in the pit of your stomach. Daniel had been a silly crush of yours. It was impossible to avoid when you started working with him because he was so charming and nice, he was the sun himself. But then Heidi came and you decided that the best thing was to get over it. They were truly happy together. They were in love and it was obvious. You got really close with her and were good friends. So it was the right decision. And you ended up getting over it.

Being over it and not in love with Daniel anymore didn't mean it stopped hurting in some way. Sometimes, when you were feeling low or had a bad day, you got like this. It was a weird sadness, something deep in you that made you avoid even looking at them. Now she was laying on his chest and he had his arms around her. And you didn't want to feel like this but you couldn't avoid it either.

You felt the bench move and looked to your side.

"Hi" Michael said with a smile and low voice to not bother.

"Hi" You smiled a bit.

Michael had been watching you sitting there on your own. He had seen your quick glances at Dan and Heidi and you sighed every time. It hurt him to see you like this. He wanted you to enjoy the night like the others.

You did it again without even realizing it. He was kissing her cheek.

Michael touched your leg and you looked at him, feeling so embarrassed.

"It's fine"

"What?" You tried to play the fool. It was too embarrassing to be caught.

"To feel like this."

"How am I supposed to be feeling?" Again, you were trying to hide your real state. Your miserable state.

"The what if" HE muttered.

He knew well how you were feeling because he was feeling just the same. Not because he liked Danny or Heidi but because he liked you, he was in love with you and had been for a while. He always asked himself what if I had done things differently at the beginning?. Maybe he could have gotten you to love him like you had loved Daniel. Or how things could be if he was brave enough to act on his feelings.

You felt the tears in your eyes and Michael instantly grabbed your hand.

He was right. You were always wondering how things would be if you had asked Daniel out when you started to like him. Or if you had kissed him that Friday night while watching films in Monaco.

"Is it really okay?"

Michael nodded.

"You can't control what you feel." He had told him that to himself over and over again. He couldn't stop his feelings for you.

You were looking at him and thinking about his words, so you didn't see Daniel looking at you two and signing Michael to go on, to take the step. Michael took a deep breath.

"It's just... I don't love him anymore. Not like that. He is my friend and I adore him. I love how happy they are together and they are perfect, really. I'm not in love with him. But I can't stop wondering how would it be"

Michael ran his thumb over your knuckles and you sighed. It felt good. His hand was huge and calloused from all the training.

"It will be over. One day you will find someone and all of it will be over because that someone will make you feel better than him. You will see why things are like this, why they are together and why you didn't take the step years ago" He said to you and to himself.

A tear fell and you cleaned it with your free hand.

"Thank you, Mike. Really"

"It's nothing." He said with a soft smile. "I'm always here to talk"

You leaned and kiss his cheek before laying your head on his shoulder. You two stayed there for the rest of the little private concert. And at the end, you got up to go and get a drink.

"Hey, Mike and you..." Danny had a silly smile on his face and was pushing you with his elbow.

You felt a bit dumb. What was he talking about?

"You looked cosy in there."

You looked at Michael, who was checking something on his phone.

"What?"

"Yeah, you are cute... Oh wait" HE bit his lip. "You don't see it, right?"

"See what, Daniel?"

"Him. Looking at you. YN, girl. Are you blind?" He giggled. "I think he would be good for you if you gave him a chance"

You swallowed.

"Michael?"

He nodded.

"Should I?"

"At least go on a date or something. Test the waters."

Your heart was beating so fast. You always thought that the woman ending with him would be lucky. He was caring and gave the best hugs, he always knew when you were off and had a plan to cheer you up.

"I don't know if..."

"Do you trust me?"

You nodded.

"Then do it"

Daniel pinched your cheek and walked away. You thought about getting some fresh air and clearing your thoughts a bit. But when you were going to leave without anyone noticing, Michael turned to look for something around the people. Then his eyes fell on you and he smiled. You blushed deep and your heart rate quickened. He got up and took his hoodie with him.

"Hey... Do you want to have a walk?" He said. You hardly ever see him that nervous.

"Okay" What could go wrong.

You both walked outside the backyard. Gladly the house wasn't in a packed area and there was fresh air.

You walked in silence, you thinking about what Daniel had said to you, and Michael thinking about finally taking the step.

"Are you cold?"

You looked up at him.

"Um... No, it's fine"

"Then?" He chuckled as he ran his finger over the goosebumps in your skin, only making them worse.

You giggled.

"Okay, maybe a bit cold" You said hiding the fact that he was making you feel like this.

He dropped the hoodie on you and you felt warm instantly. It smelled like him.

"You smell good" You said bringing the fabric to your nose. You blushed a bit, though.

Michael smiled and pulled you closer to him. His strong arm fell on your shoulders and you felt out of breath. What was this?

He was freaking out but was also good as hell hiding it. He would do it. He would confess his feeling.

You were trying to breathe, trying to form the words and ask him to have a night in with you. You wanted to have it, you two alone at your house, some pizza and beer, testing what it was to be alone like that with him.

Michael was quicker. He had rehearsed longer. He had wanted to do this for a long time.

"I need to tell you something" He finally said.

"W-what?" You had never felt more nervous. What if Daniel knew something about this? What if he had told you to ask Michael out because he knew his friend would say yes.

"I... I'm in love with you. I have for a while"

You gasped and stopped walking. He looked down at you and felt the fear of losing you for the first time. You were speechless, he was in love with you. How?

"S-since when?" That was the only thing you could say.

"For a while. A lot, actually"

You gasped.

"Why didn't you say anything?" You felt tears in your eyes.

"I wasn't brave enough."

You felt it deep in your heart.

"Why now?"

"I thought you were still in love with Daniel. I didn't want to be a problem"

You took his hand and he felt relieved. At least you didn't hate him.

"What you said... That thing about the person that would come and help me forget about all of that..." You bit your lip. You couldn't believe you were doing this. "Could it be you?"

"If you'd let me" HE whispered and cupped your cheek.

You closed your eyes and leaned forward. He pressed his forehead on yours and snaked an arm around your waist. Both of your hands were on his strong chest. YOu could feel his heart beating hard.

"Daniel told me to ask you out. He said you would be good for me" You whispered. He just listened and rubbed his thumb over your cheek. "Would you? Do you want to go out with me?" You cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes.

He smiled.

"Of course I would" HE said laughing softly. "I'm in love with you, remember?"

You blushed and smiled.

"Sorry, silly me"

Michael kissed your forehead, but you didn't feel it was enough. So gently, you kissed his lips. Michael only pressed you closer to him and smiled. His tongue slipped in your mouth and you whimpered. He was such a good kisser.

And then you pulled back and looked into his eyes.

HE moved your hair out of your face.

"I will do my best to make you happy"

You smiled.

"I know"

"We can be cute and sappy together"

"Fuck yes, we will"

[maybeyoushouldreadthis]

Beautiful Ruins- Jess Walters

4.0/5

I think this book has been on the back burner of my reading list for nearly four years, since I saw a girl in my summer 2015 classes reading it. The cover is somewhat deceiving, portraying it as some chick-lit European beach romance novel. But the plot and characters were surprisingly complex, flipping between Italy in 1962, modern day Hollywood, and a few in between. The book follows an aspiring actress who turns up at a small hotel on the coast of Italy after getting knocked up by a big time actor. The small-town hotel owner is of course entranced by her but their circumstances pull their lives away. Fast forward to the present, and the Italiano man shows up in Hollywood to find her by contacting the hotshot movie producer who had manipulated the actress into running away to his hotel in the first place. The actress has the child, who grows up to be a troubled rockstar.

The entire thing is interspersed with the stories of other characters, including a lonely writer who shows up to the hotel once a year to work on his wartime memoir and then later marries the actress; some scraggly guy who gets mixed up in things as a translator when he shows up to pitch his own movie and also coincidently becomes involved with the producers assistant.

The story climaxes with everyone coming together in the end, Pasquale and Dee Moray able to fall in love (she has been practicing and teaching Italian this whole time- how convenient!). We see the son repenting for his mistakes through a play her performs and that the hotshot producer buys the rights to.

The plot seems to wrap up in an all-too-neat fashion. but is written quite beautifully, connecting story lines in a fluid and engaging way.

Maybe I’m feeling a bit lazy, but I think this summary from someone on goodreads encapsulates my own feelings quite well.

“In 2006, Janet Maslin of the NY Times said, “Jess Walter is a ridiculously talented writer.” That’s been a blurb on every book he’s written since. I can see why, especially since I happen to agree. This, his most recent novel, showcases these talents well. The writing is effortless, the plot is engaging, the characters are memorable, and it’s full of fun and insight. The social commentary is awfully good, too, meaning I approve of the targets he pokes at.

The story begins in the early 1960’s in a remote fishing village just beyond Italy’s fashionable Cinque Terre. Young Pasquale, fresh out of college, has come back home to run his family’s small hotel. A beautiful American actress named Dee arrives (mistakenly?) as a guest. She was originally in Rome for the filming of Cleopatra. Though Pasquale’s English is not great, and he’s also a bit shy, his earnest good intent makes an impression. But she’s sick (dying?). We then cut to contemporary America – Hollywood – the epicenter of both glitz and schlock. Claire is a film-loving assistant at Michael Deane’s studio. Deane, a cheeser of some repute, began his career as a production assistant for Cleopatra, later became a big-time producer, then fell off the pace awhile before getting his groove back via reality TV. (Walter’s skewering of this broadcast idiocy is something all but the lowest of brows can appreciate.) Anyway, Claire is about to give up when two visitors show up. One is a young writer hoping to pitch his sensationally bleak movie idea and the other is an older Italian gentleman there to see Michael.

So that’s how it sets up. We then get the back story that brings us up to the present. And what a story it is. One of the characters is an American writer (a car salesman, really) who visits Pasquale’s hotel annually with the intention of writing a book, but in practice to drink wine. He did manage a chapter, though, and the truth is it’s very good. We also witness some touching scenes where Pasquale and Dee connect, if only briefly, at soul level. Then there was the whole Cleopatra circus. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (or Lizard as I like to think of them in this era of Brangelina) took some managing, and Deane was the man tasked with the job. The Welshman was a handful with his unslakable thirsts. His cameo role was one of the highlights of the book.

Fast-forwarding a few decades we meet Pat who is all about wine, women and song. At least the song part had at one time provided an income. He’s in rather dire straits when we meet him, though. Naturally, his story connects with the others. Back in Hollywood, agendas are identified and actions are taken. Now, in the time-honored tradition of keeping important plot points to one’s self, I hereby button my lip.

I’ve been a Jess Walter fan for several years now. He’s one of those writers who’s found the sweet spot between flourishes and flow. He never appears to be trying too hard while giving us bright, shiny nuggets in an entertaining way. Richard Russo identified this talent early in Walter’s career, which is meaningful since Russo is another writer I’d put in that category. My expectations for a Walter book are high. In fact, I may have rounded down from 4.5 stars to 4 because I know his capabilities. The shortcoming in this work, I felt, was in his character development. He tended to trade depth for breadth. With as many as 8 POV characters, it would have been nice digging deeper into a select few. But hey, let’s end this on a positive note. This is a very readable book — by a ridiculously talented writer.”

[vroomvroommbtch]

So it goes: Chapter 32 - MI x OC

Masterlist

Summary: A little trip to memory lane never hurt anybody, especially if the trip takes them to the place where everything started.

Pairing: Michael Italiano x fem!OC

Warnings: Some mentions of angst, some mentions of tears, some swearing and all the fluff you can get.

Word count: 6.7k

A/N: HI! Oh my god its been so fucking long. Really long and I feel terrible about it. Life has been nothing but a complete mess and to be the cherry on top my laptop decided to die BUT here we are back in business! Probably nobody missed this but I missed my problematic kiddos so much lol For the ones who asked for some happiness for dear little Maggie, here you have it. Now I’m just trying to not ruin Jas’ life for more than obvious reasons -RBR- and that’s why I’m holding myself. 😬 OKAY. Let me know what you think? Meanwhile I’ll be writing a Christmas thingy 👀. See ya bye! 🫡♥️

---

Part 32 - Death of a bachelor.

Since the day they came back together everything was so smooth that it was almost scary. Part of her brain was always waiting for something to go wrong, but every day she reminded herself that things didn’t have to go wrong. There was no reason for something to go wrong and in case something happened they could fix it. Maggie knew if they could fix the mess she made between them during the wedding weekend then they could fix everything, and that’s exactly how things were.

They didn’t have many problems, in fact, she could count them with one hand and she was pretty proud of them about it. Besides, when it happened, every single crisis was solved so simply that it looked like magic. But Maggie knew it wasn’t magic; it was simply her wonderful Michael and his incredible patience, which she thanked him and her lucky stars every single day for it.

The biggest problems they had were just two.

The first one was their relationship being public, which Michael solved by making it clear with an Instagram story. In one of his Q&As, someone asked him who was his favorite person in the whole world, to which Michael answered with a picture of Maggie with Olivia sitting on her lap while they were watching tv. The picture was accompanied by a little ‘Them’ on top of it, and right beside there was a tiny green heart. If that wasn’t enough, it was clear in the picture that they were home and Maggie was wearing a hoodie that was clearly his for the size. And if that wasn’t enough, the same weekend everything about them came to light, Michael decided to walk into the paddock with his arm around her shoulders, making sure nobody would bother her. After that weekend they didn’t even try to hide their love and their relationship. In fact, Maggie found herself sitting on Michael’s lap outside the Mclaren building after the Singapore race. He was the one who told her to sit there with him because there weren’t enough chairs, and that’s how they ended up cuddling together in front of the whole paddock for the first time under the Singapore sky. For some reason at the beginning, she was all worried about it, still not used to being with Michael in his work environment, but she got to relax after some kisses and whispers saying everything was going to be alright. Besides, her family was there, and they were all chatting and laughing while Olivia tried her first ice cream, and Jas complained about having to deal with a baby with a sugar rush and how Maggie and Michael were going to have to look after her.

The second crisis was a bit more complicated than the first one, and that one took even more cuddles and patience because it has nothing to do with people talking, but more with Maggie’s head and their relationship. She was with Jas and Olivia in their hotel room when she saw the story on his Instagram and felt the panic creeping inside her chest and taking over. That was one of the bad days when her mind was so loud that she couldn’t make it stop and something such as a simple question just triggered her. Michael answering that he wanted to keep working on motorsports or another professional sport if Daniel was taking a year off was what made her feel like the walls started to fall around her. They haven’t talked about it yet. They were too busy with life and everything that was happening that the conversation didn’t happen. Maggie didn’t ask either, thinking the answer was kind of easy, but she was wrong. Jas insisted it was nothing. As soon as Jas saw Maggie’s face changing while looking at her phone, her sister insisted there was nothing to worry about, especially knowing Michael and how he wasn’t going to risk them and what they had. ‘Y’know how he is. He wouldn’t buy a keychain without asking what you think about it, ciagot’ were Jas’ words as she held Olivia in her arms, checking if her fever was still there. That was the reason why the girls didn’t go to the track on Thursday as they normally would do. It was just another day of questions, interviews, and press for Daniel, so that included none of them having anything to do at the paddock. But the problem for Maggie was not seeing Michael until late that afternoon, which gave her too much time on her mind, which wasn’t nice.

She couldn’t read or draw because of the same reason, which made everything even worse. That was one of those days all she wanted to do was forget the world existed and hide under the sheets of the bed, and that’s exactly what she did. Since Olivia’s temperature was almost back to normal and considering Daniel texted saying he was almost done with work, Jas insisted it was fine if Maggie wanted to go back to her room and wait for Michael. Everyone who knew Maggie also knew that Michael was the only one able to make everything go away and calm her when everything was too much. Maggie also knew that Jas was right when she said Michael wouldn't decide anything without her, but even then, she couldn’t stop overthinking. Once in their room, Maggie tried to nap, but even that was impossible. Even when the pillow smelled like his perfume and lavender, the bed was cold, and she hated it. Not even the hoodie that she took from his suitcase was enough. She needed his arms around her. She needed Michael promising everything was going to be alright. She needed him and his kisses and his love.

Repeating it herself wasn’t enough, but she did it anyway until Michael finally walked into the dark room. She had no idea how much time passed, but she could see the sunlight slowly disappearing in the middle of the curtains. All she did while she lay down was focus on that as she took deep breaths to calm herself. But then she felt his arms. She felt his arms moving around her waist and that was enough to make Maggie melt against him. His chest against her back, their legs tangling and his chin resting against her shoulder were what finally made her let go of a breath she has been holding since she read those words. It was in the safety of his arms that she finally got to admit how terrified she was. Saying it loud didn’t take away the terrible feeling or the pressure on her chest, but it helped. Maggie still felt like someone was squeezing her heart but somehow a weight was taken off her shoulders as soon as she admitted it. She knew it was Michael sharing the weight with her that made her feel lighter.

When they went back together, when they sat and talked about them, and when they fix everything, they made a deal, and part of it included Maggie admitting when she had a bad day. It was part of Michael’s pleas for Maggie to talk to him because he couldn’t read her mind. He knew her. He knew her body like the back of his head, he knew her soul and heart, and he knew her better than anyone in the world, but he needed Maggie to let him in. He just needed one word to know, but beyond anything, he wanted Maggie to not bottle things up inside her. He just wanted one word to know, no explanation necessary if she wasn’t feeling like it. He just wanted her to let him know, just like he would do if it was the other way around. ‘Just say it and we’ll get in our bubble til you felt better’ was his promise, and he kept it. He always did and that day wasn’t the exception.  

That day Maggie murmured that she was having a bad day and Michael said that he knew and that it was fine, but also asked her to turn around. Maggie couldn’t deny him that, so she did, hiding her face on his neck as Michael kissed her forehead and stroked her back. There was only one reason why Maggie wouldn’t be by Olivia’s side on a Thursday, so clearly Michael knew something was wrong.

It took her some deep breaths and some kisses on her forehead to say she saw his answer on Instagram. It took her even more to admit she fucked up by giving for granted and thinking it was obvious that he was going to take a year off too. Maggie felt stupid admitting how she imagined that since Dan was taking a year off, Michael was doing the same. She felt dumb as she apologized for not talking to him before even thinking it was an option, but then she explained she thought it was an available option considering he still had his client and his program and all his things. She knew she shouldn’t, but Maggie apologized for being so silly.

As soon as she was over with the apology, Michael asked for her to look at him. Holding as close as possible and looking straight into her eyes, Michael insisted there was nothing to apologize for and that he knew perfectly fine that her fear came from not knowing what was going to happen in the future. And there was again his superpower of knowing what she was thinking and expressing it in a couple of words when all she could do was ramble.

But he was right in that, Daniel taking a year off and Michael probably not taking one meant them going on separate ways, and it was the scariest thing in the universe. With tears that she couldn’t hold for too long, Maggie explained that the idea of not seeing them for too long was almost paralyzing. But there was something way worse than that and it was the fear of losing Michael again, and all that together was like a nightmare. None of them knew what was going to happen, but if Jas, Olivia, Dan, and even Blake were in Australia and if Michael went to work with someone else, that meant Maggie was going to be alone in London. She knew Lily was around, but her best friend had her life and she would travel for work from time to time. Michael’s sister was also in London, they adored each other, and Maggie knew she could count on her for anything she needed, but Nadia also had her life. And her family was in Dublin and even when it was a short flight away, it wasn’t the same.

On top of that, if Michael went to work with someone else and he traveled, Maggie wasn’t going to be able to go with him. She knew the privilege of going around the world with him was because of Jas and Daniel. They were family so going with them was normal. Being there to help them with everything and especially with Olivia was normal and logical and the reason why she left everything, that’s why it felt like the walls were falling apart around her. That was the only life she knew in the last three years, especially since Olivia was born. For the last couple of years it has been the five of them -and then the six of them- against the world. That was how things were supposed to be and Maggie felt like if she didn’t have that then she had nothing. She had no idea who she was without them.

After every single thought and fear left her mouth and mind, Michael made sure to replace them with nothing but love and understanding. He insisted what he said didn’t mean anything, because as Jas said, he wouldn’t decide something so big and important without talking to her first. Then he insisted that, even if Maggie forgot, he knew who she was. Between gentle strokes and sweet kisses, Michael whispered she was nothing but the most wonderful woman in the whole world, who also had the biggest heart that he had ever seen. He was finally able to make her smile shyly when he joked saying he had no idea how such a big heart could fit inside her chest and her tiny, perfect, beautiful body and that he was the luckiest man in the world to have her by his side.

The last thing Michael did was apologize. He insisted he should have known better, he should have imagined that was gonna make her freak out. He apologized again because, if she was the most wonderful woman in the world, he was the biggest idiot in the world. He shouldn’t have assumed anything. He shouldn’t have made her doubt, no when Maggie was his priority. No when Maggie was the first thing on his list. No when he had no idea what would he do without Maggie sleeping by his side, resting her head on his shoulder or holding his hand as the planes took off.

That afternoon Michael decided to leave work for later simply because his girlfriend needed him. Even if he had too many things to do, he decided to forget he was coach Michael to be just her Mike as he promised again and again that he would never decide without talking to her first. But mostly Michael promised that whatever happens, he would always go back home to her. ‘You’ll never be alone, sweetheart’ were his exact words as he dried her tears and kissed her pink cheeks. They sealed the problem and their deal with a soft ‘She’ll be apples’ that ended up giving Maggie the next tattoo on her wrist, wanting to carry it on her skin as yet another reminder of their love but also their promises. She wanted to be able to read it and see it with the rest of their tattoos on her arm, just to be able to read it in the bad moments like those.  

All their problems seemed small after those two terrible days in their life. Nothing seemed as complicated as it could be, no when Michael was holding her hand. But even when it wasn’t that complicated, he was the one who thought it would be nice to take a weekend off, just the two of them away from everyone, even their family. Plus, there was nothing as good as taking those two days off while being in the USA.

Going to the States had always a special meaning for them. The flight was always filled with silly smiles and insisted jokes they would whisper in each other’s ears. It was dozens of memories of the first time they sat together in that plane and then even more memories of everything that happened in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. That was one of the reasons why Maggie liked to go to LA, and she was happy to be there with her family, especially considering this time they dragged David and Aoife with them. While Esmè and Andrè stayed back in Dublin with aunt Mimi, not wanting to slow down the kids on their free week, they all insisted David and Aoife needed some time off too, and none of them could say no to spend time with their kids considering how they could see them counted days a year. But the fact their parents were there was also the perfect excuse for them to have a weekend off, no worrying or taking turns to take care of Olivia. That's why Michael didn’t have to insist too much when he proposed to go to Vegas for the weekend and go back to LA on Monday. It took Maggie one second to say yes and then another to book a plane ticket and a hotel room, being nothing but excited about going back to the place where everything started for them.  

She was nothing but an overexcited kid all week knowing it was happening, but then it turned into nothing but overwhelming nostalgia as they got into the plane. Three years earlier she was also on a plane, fresh out of a breakup and convinced there was no way Michael was ever gonna look at her. Three years earlier she was absolutely convinced that snuggling by his side and holding his hand was everything she was going to be able to do, but then he let her use him as a pillow so she would be more comfortable. Then they almost kissed, then they kissed and they slept together and fucked up more so many times it was impossible to count. But there they were, three years later and making it work.

If twenty-five years old Maggie with an unbelievable crush on Michael knew what twenty-eight years old Maggie was living, she wouldn’t believe it. She would never believe she dared to grab him to go dance at that club, that they did everything they shouldn’t have done, but mostly she would have never believed that they went through hell and survived to be back together. She would have never believed they were so in love and living together in London. Not even the twenty-eight years old Maggie could believe she was so lucky, but there she was, holding his hand once again as the plane took off and landed.

It took a lot of effort from her to not cry as she looked out the window of the taxi that was taking them to their hotel. It took even more for her not to cry when she looked at Michael, who was looking back at her with nothing but love in his eyes as a lazy smile adorned his perfect face. She knew that was his little happy grin knowing everything was alright in the world. It was the smile that always said he didn’t need more than that. It was the hand squeeze and the kiss on his knuckles that let him know she didn’t need much either, but it was the little tear rolling on her cheek that told Michael that she was so happy that she was crying because of it.  

The afternoon was as happy as their morning arrival, but their night plans were Maggie’s favorite part of the whole trip. Michael had the wonderful idea to make reservations to go to the same restaurant they went to that first night they ended up together. He insisted there was no other place in Vegas that he rather go with her, and Maggie couldn’t agree more. They had the next day and the rest of their lives to go and try other places, but not that night.  

His plan was also what got her the wonderful idea of wearing a blue dress that night. The one she wore three years ago was carefully kept in their closet back in London, so she dragged Jas around LA with the excuse of having a girls’ day to find a new one. It took her ten stores, three hours, two coffees, and a stop at a tea shop, but they finally found it. They found it and it was gorgeous.

Maggie couldn’t erase the smile on her face as she looked at herself in the mirror of the shop the first time she tried the dress and the same happened when she tried it again in the bathroom of their hotel room. She was never one to compliment herself, but she looked good. She looked maybe even better than good. She knew the dress was gonna leave Michael’s jaw hanging and that’s exactly what she wanted. Maggie wanted to leave him dying to fuck her against the first wall or surface he could find while she was still wearing it. She wanted to leave him speechless and even more in love with her. She also knew he didn’t need any of that to love her, but she wanted to make that night special.

But even when Maggie knew she looked good, she was nervous about it. She was nervous about going out of the bathroom. She was feeling the same little butterflies she felt all those years ago, knowing she was dressing to impress him, hoping back then that she could finally make a move. But this time Maggie couldn’t help but smile even more, simply because the man on the other side of the door was all hers and she was all his. She smiled because the silly nerves had no reason at all but they were there anyway.

“Grà? Can you close your eyes?” Maggie called out, opening the door enough to pop her head out and look at him. And for a second she forgot what her plan was because there was Michael, looking like a dream wearing a black shirt as he did all those years ago, making her feel even more nervous. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who had the idea of going back to their old outfits, which was nothing but hilarious. “And no, you can’t ask why. Just do it and don’t ruin the surprise”

“Oh, the desert air made her bossier. Are you gonna act like that later tonight too?” he asked with a silly smile on his face, buttoning up his shirt as he looked back at her.

“No if you don’t behave. Now close those pretty eyes of yours for me”

Holding his hands up as if he was surrounded, Michael finally obligated and closed his eyes for her. As soon as he did, Maggie stepped out of the bathroom, trying to be as sneaky as possible while walking on her tiptoes. Once she was finally in front of him, Maggie felt kind of silly. She had no idea why she asked him to close his eyes, but there she was, barefoot, wearing a blue dress, looking up at the man she loved. She couldn’t believe such beauty was all hers. She couldn’t believe he was her boyfriend and she couldn’t believe they were going on a date in Vegas after three years of everything starting there. She couldn’t believe that was her life, so for a second she forgot about the whole surprise thing and went straight to hug him, placing her hands on his back and a kiss on his chest as she rested her head right there.  

She felt his arms around her body and then a kiss on the top of her head and that was enough to make her forget about the dinner reservation and the plans they had. Suddenly there was nothing to do except be there in his arms focusing on his heartbeats. Suddenly all she wanted to do was order room service and wait for it in bed. She even wanted to leave the blue dress and his black shirt forgotten on the floor as they got lost in each other, but she knew none of that was happening when Michael moved his lips away from her hair. “Baby what- Holy shit, you’re wearing a blue dress?”

“Mmhm. I still gotta do my makeup and do something with my goddamn hair but I wanted to show you first. Problem is now I don’t wanna let you go” Maggie shrugged, hugging him a bit tighter as she placed yet another kiss on his chest.  

“Can I take a look at you?” Michael practically begged, moving his hands to rest them on her hips, stroking the blue material with his thumbs. And Maggie couldn’t say no even if she tried, so she finally took a step back, showing off her dress. The dark blue satin was hugging her body perfectly, just hanging from her shoulders gracefully thanks to the thin straps it has. It wasn’t short as the one she was wearing the night they started to see each other; this was just a midi length, but she knew what was going to kill him was the cowl neckline showing exactly what it needed to show. That and the ties on her back were going to be the death of him. Maggie knew it the second she saw the dress, that’s why she got it. That’s also why she decided to turn around, letting Michael see the whole thing.  

“You like it?” Maggie asked all shyly.  

“Like it? I love it. You look perfect. I mean, I prefer you naked, but you look breathtaking” he smiled, getting closer to kiss her before he kept talking. “You’re a fucking dream, sweetheart. You’re just- Fuck, I still can’t believe I’m so damn lucky to spend my life with you”  

Maggie couldn’t help but smile and blush like a schoolgirl at her boyfriend’s words. The way he was just smiling happy because of her was something that still surprised her. Not that she could blame him considering she was most of the time thunderstruck and tongue-tied thanks to everything he was and did, but she was still surprised in the best way. She knew perfectly fine how models and pretty girls in general were always around in the paddock and at the parties and tried to call their attention, but Michael would always say none of them could ever compete with her. Even after three years, Maggie was still surprised and happy because Michael chose her to spend their lives together. “I know, I know, you can hardly wait to put a ring on my finger. Don’t worry, babe, one day it’ll happen” she joked, patting his chest with both hands before she tried to go back to the bathroom to do her makeup.  

Or at least she intended to go to the bathroom and finally get ready, but Maggie couldn’t keep walking because Michael’s hand suddenly was holding hers, not letting her go far from him. “Why not now?” he asked looking down at her.

“That sounds a lot like a marriage proposal, sir” Maggie joked, smiling at him while she brought their joined hands to her lips, kissing his knuckles as she would do on every normal day.

The smile on Michael’s face was what told her that he wasn’t joking. The way he was looking at her was enough to let her know the question that left his lips was not a joke. He meant it. He meant every single word and he wanted to marry her. “Maybe it is. I had one last wish, remember? I used two so this is my last one. Marry me, Mags”  

She almost forgot about their joke. She almost forgot about that first wish and the kiss they shared hiding back at the farm. She almost forgot about his shiny eyes full of unshed tears as he begged her to go back to him as they decided to temporarily part ways that gloomy day in London. She almost forgot he still had one last wish in his pocket but never in her life had Maggie imagined that Michael’s last wish was gonna be that one.  

“Mike are you serious?” she asked in the softest voice, feeling the tears forming in her eyes before she could even realize what was happening. It was as if her brain couldn’t process what Michael was saying. She just couldn’t comprehend how after everything they went through; there he was proposing. There was no way she could be that lucky, so somehow her brain was saying it was nothing but impossible.  

But just when Maggie was about to ask again, Michael kissed her knuckles and smiled at her. “Dead serious, sunshine. Give me one second”. With a kiss on her forehead, Michael let her hand go, going straight to their suitcases on a side of the room. It was her basic instinct wanting to run to him, but instead she just sat on the bed, looking at every single one of his moves. It felt like a weird movie in slow motion, but from a bag from his suitcase he took a black box that Maggie was convinced was from some of his fitness equipment. Then she realized how damn smart he was because there was no way she would ever open any of that. There was no way she would ever touch his work equipment, and Michael knew it. Every time he got something new she would just ask for what it was and then would never touch it, too scared to somehow break it and ruin it. Not that she was interested or anything at all, but fear was the main reason why she wouldn’t fuck it up with some of those very fancy and very expensive things her boyfriend had. So every single time she saw that damn box between his things, Maggie never asked, she just ignored it, never imagining that from inside it there would emerge a small emerald green box. Her hands went automatically to her mouth the second she saw Michael walking to her with it in his hand and she couldn’t help but cry when he kneeled right in front of her, grabbing her hand with his to uncover her face. “I had this for a long time. I got it way before our break. I convinced myself maybe it was too soon back then. But then I told myself I was an idiot 'cause you’re the love of my life and it was the right thing to do. I tried to wait for the right moment, but I fucked up letting you go instead. I should’ve asked you this instead of asking you if you wanted time off from us. I know I fucked up that day, but I love you so much, sweetheart-”

“Hey, no, you didn’t fuck anything up” she interrupted him, holding his face between her hands so she could look straight into his eyes. “There’s no way you could ever ruin anything. You just make everything better. You make me better, and you know it, babe”  

“I love you more than anything in the world, do you know that?”  

“I know. I’d say I love you more but I’m not fighting you right now. I know you love me as much as I love you, so it’s perfect”

“Good, 'cause I mean it. I meant every single word every single time I said it. I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you in that video Dan sent me all those years ago. I love you and I’ll always love you cause there’s no way I could ever stop it. So, I’m gonna ask you again and in the right way cause that’s what you deserve. Margaret Byrne, my little sunshine, would you please marry me?”  

On any other normal day, Maggie would have stayed looking straight into his eyes, simply because she loved that shiny brown color with her whole heart. She loved it so much that she always joked saying she would get the code tattooed if she ever found the same color in the Pantone palette. But that night something distracted her from one of her favorite views, and that was Michael’s hands moving between them.    

Maggie looked down and suddenly there was the perfect ring inside the already pretty green box. Along a delicate silver band there were twelve small white diamonds and right in the center was the biggest and focal stone, which was a round cut diamond, exactly like she wanted it. It was perfect, it was everything she ever dreamed her engagement ring would be and what made it better was that Michael picked it up for her.  

But the best part wasn’t the ring, the best –and her favorite- part was her favorite hands holding it. Her favorite part was her favorite eyes shining full of love, happiness, hope, and illusion as they were fixed on her waiting for an answer. Her favorite part was the man of her dreams and the love of her life declaring his love for her and proposing to spend their life together. There was nothing she wanted more than that. There was nothing she wanted as badly as growing old with her big boy beside her. Damn, there was no other way she would want to do it, so that was going to be the easiest answer of her life.  

“I love you forever and more than anything in the world so yes, I’m marrying you” Maggie nodded as the smile on her face grew bigger while the tears kept streaming down her face.    

In three years they shared an uncountable amount of kisses. From some with nothing but lust and passion to some wet with tears and tinted with sadness, they kissed in every single possible way that existed. But that night they kissed and it was as if the universe proved to her once again she was nothing but wrong because nothing compared to that kiss. Nothing compared to the perfection of their lips sealing their new deal. Nothing compared to the sensation of kissing Michael that day. Nothing ever compared to the happiness of hugging and being held by her future husband while they tried to keep kissing between tears, giggles, and smiles. Nothing was as good as them together in every single possible way.  

It felt like a dream to see Michael taking the silver ring out of the box. It felt surreal to feel the cold metal as he put it on her ring, fitting perfectly because clearly, that man wasn’t going to fuck it up with the size. It felt like a damn fairytale to see the man she loved kissing her hand and the diamond ring over it, right before kissing her lips once again, making it impossible for Maggie to stop giggling.  

“Thank you for saying yes, sweetheart” he whispered against her lips, stroking her cheek with his free hand because Maggie wasn’t letting him go.    

“I should thank you for asking me, to be honest” she joked, kissing his lips once more before she looked down at their joined hands. “God, it's so fucking gorgeous. How can you be so handsome and good and sweet and smart and on top of that have good taste for engagement rings?”  

“I know what my wife likes” Michael shrugged, finally getting up from his place on the floor to sit on the bed right by her side, but instead, Maggie sat right on his lap. “I got it after you flew to Dublin during lockdown. It was the first night without you home. I was just sitting on the couch, fucking heartbroken, scrolling down Instagram while I waited for you to tell text me you were home and suddenly it was there looking at me. It was perfect so I had to get it cause I knew it was the right one for the right one. I’m just really sorry it took me so long to ask you”  

She could hear the little hint of sadness and melancholy when he mentioned that terrible day. Even her heart felt heavy when she remembered the tears, the sadness, the hugs, the goodbyes, the terrible flight, and then the first terrible night without Michael. She remembered perfectly the pressure on her chest and the desperation as she got inside her cold bed knowing perfectly fine Michael wasn’t going to join her. She remembered everything perfectly well, but she just decided to take a deep breath and just try to leave it all behind, especially in a happy moment like that. All she wanted to think about at that moment was them, their love, their happiness, and that gorgeous diamond that from that day lived in her left hand.  

“You did it and that’s it. Time doesn’t matter” she smiled, lacing their fingers together as she stroked his cheek and jaw with her free hand. “Damn, I’m gonna be your Mrs. Italiano” she giggled, still not believing what was happening.  

“You can pick the last name you want as long as you’re my wife” he smiled, moving his hand to her neck, stroking her skin with his thumb as he held her in place, keeping her near with his fingers tangled in her hair.  

His lips ghosting over hers got her whimpering in no time, leaving Maggie nothing but bewitched as she waited for his next move. Then his fingers running through her scalp got her moaning in such a way it was pathetic. Michael had her in the palm of his hand, and Maggie was nothing but ready to do whatever he asked. She was ready to comply and obey every single one of his words no matter how crazy or insane it was because that’s how in love she was with him. But then in a second of sanity, she remembered that they were supposed to go out. They had plans and reservations and now a reason to go out and celebrate, and she was still just wearing her dress and not even half ready. “I need to get ready, babe” she whispered against his lips.  

“Marry me” Michel repeated.  

“I already told you yes, babe”  

“I mean marry me tonight. Vegas is where everything started so why not?”  

Michael wasn’t joking. Maggie knew those eyes like the back of her hand, so she knew he was completely serious. He wanted them to marry that same night and God, how badly she wanted to say yes. There was nothing she wanted more, but for more than one reason it was a bad idea. “Cause I want a normal wedding. Beautiful, sunny Perth, our family, and friends, a cute white dress that would make you tear up cause you can’t believe how beautiful I look. Then I want you getting under that dress and even fucking me right there in some bathroom in the middle of the reception. Besides, we don’t have witnesses and we need two and-“  

She could have gone on and on with the reason, but she was cut by Michael and yet another kiss. But this time it wasn’t just softness, this was nothing but love and need and passion, and Maggie couldn’t help but moan as their tongues moved together. She needed to go get ready but she couldn’t help but move on his lap and place both her knees on side of his, getting their bodies as close as possible. They needed to go, but there was nothing she wanted more than to take his shirt off his body and beg him to fuck her right there and then. Instead, Maggie kept her hands on his neck and back, trying to hold onto something. She needed to hold onto something to not think about how Michael wanted to elope, how he was touching her legs and ass under her dress, how hard he was, and especially how wet she was.  

“Marry me” Michael insisted, smirking at her, knowing that evil grin and his fingers running around her skin would convince her in no time. And to make it even worse, he moved from her lips to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses all over her jaw until he reached the spot he wanted. “Just say yes. We go get dinner and then we get married. Just you and me. We said fuck the rest, so fuck ‘em”  

“I know you’re stubborn but please don’t be stubborn now. Remember our first night together? I told you Jas was gonna kill us for sleeping together and you told me it wasn’t as bad as eloping so let’s not fuck it up doing it. I love you and I really wanna marry you yesterday, but I don’t want everyone getting mad at us again, grá” Maggie explained, using the last sign of logic she had in her brain, even when Michael was doing a beautiful job turning her insane between kisses, licks, and bites on her neck.  

And to make it even worse, she could feel him smiling against her skin as he moved one strap slowly off her shoulder. “I said that? What an idiot. I should’ve asked you to marry me that night instead of saying something so stupid”  

“Too late for that. Besides I’m already your fiancé so there’s no point in regretting what we didn’t do, or that’s what a smart man told me more than once” Maggie smirked, too proud to be using his own words against him.  

“Did your fiancé tell you that he can make a call and move the dinner reservations to a bit later?” Michael asked, moving the other strap off her shoulder, letting her dress fall from her chest.  

And while it happened, Maggie didn’t even try to cover herself, she just let it happen as she moved her hands between them, first unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt and then letting her fingers wander down to his pants. “I mean, I saw him doing magic before, so I wouldn’t be surprised” she shrugged, moving just enough to deal with the zipper and the single button that was getting in the way of what she really wanted.  

“Good, 'cause I wanna see what my future wife’s wearing under this pretty dress” Michael affirmed, finally getting rid of her dress to leave it forgotten somewhere on the floor.

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Taglist

@jamminvroomvroom @starlightoctavia @dr3lover @monte-carlando @brightlightsinlife @a-distantdreamer @callsign-hollywood @honeybadgercomeback

[vroomvroommbtch]

So it goes: Chapter 31 - MI x OC

Masterlist

Summary: Three years of privacy get ruined in a blink but there’s really nothing Michael can fix. Or at least, he makes Maggie forget about it for a while.

Pairing: Michael Italiano x fem!OC

Warnings: Some angst, some fluff, swearing and people not knowing how to mind their own business lol.

Word count: 5.8k

A/N: Hi u guys! Weekend without race got productive lol Anyway, I’m less than ten chapters from finishing this and I’m getting nothing but emotional. I started this mess so long ago that I don’t even remember what life before Maggie and her little disasters. Still don’t know how many chapters are left, but its gonna be a little crazy ride. Any guesses of what’s gonna happen?? Let me know? Kay, see you during the race weekend. Bye✌🏻

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Chapter 31 - This is why we can’t have nice things.

Maggie felt like the hallway of the hotel was even longer than it actually was. She felt the weird sensation tightening her chest and practically squeezing her heart as she played with the key card of the room between her fingers. To say she was praying Michael would be back in their room was an understatement. She was begging for every single thing out there for him to be back because she couldn't even think about looking for him in the hotel or even calling him. Damn, she had no idea how she was going to explain what was happening because she wasn't sure the words were going to leave her mouth at all.  

As she walked in the corridor, Maggie was still rethinking the conversation she had over the phone with Lily. She was still thinking about how the hell it happened and why the hell it was happening. She was playing in her head again and again what Lily said, not really believing it was exactly what happened to Jas years ago. And while all that ran through her head, all Maggie wanted to do was hug Michael and forget about it all. She just wanted to stay in his arms while he promised everything was going to be okay. She just wanted him to whisper 'She'll be apples, sweetheart' like every time something went wrong.  

The problem was that when Maggie opened the door, she found a dark, empty hotel room, which only made her feel worse. One of the worst things was how this was happening when everything was fine, at least between them. They were nothing but happy even when everything around them seemed uncertain, and it felt odd. It felt weird, and now it felt like the universe was coming against them to remind them that maybe they shouldn't be that happy.  

For a month life was nothing but happy, at least in their tiny little bubble. Since the moment they came back together and especially since they decided to finally move together, everything felt way easier for some reason.  

Every time they went back to London, the apartment normally turned into a little mess. Suitcases all over the place, dirty clothes that needed to be washed before they left again and new stuff that needed to find a new place was a normal sight. It was the regular thing, but that first day at home was kind of worse. It wasn't the normal 'Coming back from a race week' kind of mess, but a 'Coming back from summer break', 'Coming back from a weeding' and 'Maggie moving' all together at the same moment.

But even in the middle of the disaster Michael made it seem easy. Every single time she was about to throw something in the air for some ridiculous reason or every time she was thinking about leaving it for later, Michael would cover her in kisses, helping calm her nerves in no time.

What also made her smile was the silly little detail of Michael saying yes to her ridiculous conditions for her to move with him. She was clearly joking when she said it for the first time. It was a short list that included a monthly one morning with breakfast in bed, another morning staying in bed till late and a normal date just the two of them, and he agreed to all of them. She was joking, heaven knew she was joking because she couldn't ask anything from Michael after all he did for her, but he agreed anyway. They were still going to discuss and arrange the details of what they considered 'Staying in bed til late' but he agreed, repeating there was nothing he wouldn't do for her, even if it included changing his schedule once or twice a month. The other thing they still needed to discuss was Maggie's offer and insistence on paying half of the apartment's bills, which Michael automatically said no to. Their deal was that his apartment in London and her apartment in Dublin were their apartments, and Michael insisted it was enough with her paying for everything in Dublin, so he automatically said no to her offer. But even after they both insisted and insisted on trying to convince the other, they agreed to talk about it in another moment, knowing perfectly well it was good to take a long day to figure it out.  

The whole moving thing was also what got Maggie with her head away from all the mess that was around their family. It got her distracted enough for the rest of their time in Dublin and during their short trip to London, but nothing was good enough to distract her when she knew the negotiations with Mclaren had started. While she was trying to fit her clothes in the closet and see what she was gonna pack for the triple header ahead of them, Maggie couldn't help but think about how in that exact same moment, Daniel, Jas and Blake were having a meeting with his bosses at the MTC. Jas wasn't supposed to be there, damn, Maggie knew it was gonna be a surprise for every single man at the table to see newly wedded Mrs. Ricciardo there by her husband's side, but she had one simple reason to be there. Mclaren wanted Daniel's seat, the boys wanted the respective economic compensation Daniel deserved, but Jas just wanted the Monza trophy. She was -rightly- convinced they didn't deserve it, so she was there to give it back to his rightful owner. She was there to fight for it, and knowing her sister, Maggie knew there was no way she would ever leave the room without what she wanted.  

But none of it really mattered that afternoon in Monza. None of it mattered as she paced the room, waiting to hear the door opening and finally see Michael. She knew she could call him. She knew she could tell him to go back to the room because they needed to talk, but the last thing she wanted was to scare him. She didn't need to scare him when she needed him to calm her down. She didn't need to worry about him while he was training with Daniel. Damn, she didn't need to worry Daniel with something silly when he had more than one issue. But the thing was it wasn't silly for her, and she knew it wasn't gonna be silly for Michael either. No when they were talking about them and their lives and their relationship.  

And once again, nothing really mattered when she finally heard the door opening, making Maggie run to his arms, burying her face in his face. "You're very lucky I showered at the gym, sweetheart" he joked, placing his arms around her body the second she was in front of him. "Weren't you supposed to be with Jas and Oli?"  

But Maggie didn't answer and didn't move from her place. She didn't move from his arms, feeling once again that the world was gonna fall into pieces if she did. She just stayed there, arms holding handfuls of his shirt as she tried to focus on his breathing and his heartbeats. "I need to talk to you" she whispered with her face against his chest.  

"What's going on, babe? You okay?"

"Lily called me" she announced, and the second she said those words, she realized how bad it sounded. Michael automatically moved away enough to look at her face, trying to figure out what was happening. She could see how he was reading her expressions and especially her eyes, trying to find out what was wrong. She could see how he was practically scared to ask what was wrong. She couldn't blame him, tho. The last couple times he asked, things ended up in tears, so she would be scared too if she was in his place. "Don't worry, Lil's okay. She just called me to give me a heads up"  

Showing him the problem was going to be easier than explaining it, so Maggie took her phone out of her pocket and gave it to him. An automatic 'shit' left his lips the second she saw what Maggie was talking about. There was right in front of his face what she already saw, the terrible tweet that said 'F1 performance coach Michael Italiano dating Daniel Ricciardo's sister-in-law'. But if that wasn't enough, right under there was a thread of tweets that included pictures. Maggie knew perfectly fine which day it was. She knew perfectly fine it was two days earlier.  

It was a normal thing for them to act as friends when they were out with Daniel. It wasn't Daniel's fault that people would go around taking pictures of him, but neither Michael or Maggie wanted someone talking about them. That's why they would act like friends, always teasing, winking at each other, sharing smiles and touching hands or stroking each other's legs under tables. Those rules were specially remembered during race weekends, but Maggie learned how to live with it. She was okay with not holding his hand or kissing or hugging around the paddock or when they were out for dinner, knowing perfectly fine that Michael was going to be all hers as soon as they walked inside their hotel room.

Back home they had a normal life like a normal couple, so that's all she cared about. That's why Maggie was slightly surprised when that Monday night Michael offered his hand for her to grab as soon as they left the car. If Michael was sure then she was sure, so she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers while they listened to Daniel and Jas discussing wedding plans for their second wedding in Perth. She didn't say anything as Michael kept holding her hand over his leg as they sat together, but as soon as he placed his arm around her shoulders, Maggie had to ask if he was sure. While everyone was thinking about what to order, Michael only whispered a softly 'I love you' in her ear, followed by a kiss on her temple. Once again, Maggie couldn't help but smile and kiss his cheek simply because that was all she needed to know. That was all she needed to hear. As they spent their night between family, friends, pizzas, laughs, wine and beers, Maggie absolutely forgot about the acting like friends thing. Michael was her boyfriend, the love of her life and the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with, so she acted like it. They kissed, they held each other, snuggled together and acted like any couple would do and like they always did behind closed doors.  

That's when someone saw them. Nobody approached to say hi to Daniel, but someone clearly recognized him and that's what Lily found online. The kind of low-quality picture were enough to see it was them. It was enough to recognize Maggie kissing his cheek, resting her head on his shoulder, and especially to see them kissing and holding hands as they walked out. That was way more than what she ever posted. Even when Maggie's Instagram account was private, she was more than careful with what she posted. In some kind of subtle way, she let know she had a boyfriend, but not even once she posted a picture showing Michael's face. If she ever included him in a picture, then it was about them with their families, with the boys or at least with Olivia. Besides that, she was absolutely careful to whom she accepted when a follow request appeared on her account. Being Daniel Ricciardo's sister-in-law included having more requests than she would like, but every day she denied one by one. Maggie was always trying to be careful with everything because it was their life and their privacy. Besides, she knew how Michael wanted to protect her, that was one of his priorities and what he has been doing for the last three years, but the second they let their guard down it all got ruined.

"No fucking way. Was this on Monday?" Michael asked, scrolling through her phone, seeing proof after proof of their love right in front of his face.  

"Yes. And it's already on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Tumblr. Lily already checked" she explained, walking to the bed to sit there, too exhausted of absolutely everything. Three years of protecting what they had and suddenly it was all gone, so Maggie was nothing but exhausted.  

But not after a second after she walked away from him, Michael went to her, kneeling right in front to be able to look at her, holding her hands between his. "Mags, baby, I'm so fucking sorry. I had no idea someone was doing this"  

"It's not your fault, grá. People is just shit. They think they can do or say whatever they want"  

The little shrug from his shoulder was enough to let Michael know that wasn't the only thing that happened. And the second Maggie opened her mouth, she absolutely regretted saying anything, knowing Michael was only going to get more worried and pissed with the situation. "'Say whatever they want?' Did you read the comments?" he asked very clearly, looking straight into her eyes, not giving her any chance to hide the truth.  

"Yeah, but you don't wanna know about it" she shrugged again, trying to see if Michael would let it go while she internally cursed herself for the stupid comment. But once again, Michael was having none of that, and only one look told her to keep talking. "It's the same as when people found out about Jas and Dan. Maybe worse. But it's alright, I know I'm not a whore or a gold digger. I mean, a bit whore but just for you"  

The joke was stupid, but at least it made them smile for a second. It was nothing but a sad smile drawing on both their faces, but it was better than anything. And before he said anything, Michael got up from his place and sat down right beside her, letting her hands go, but making Maggie sit in his lap, knowing perfectly fine how they just needed to be as close as possible. Knowing how she needed to be as close as possible. "You're none of that, sweetheart. You're the most amazing woman in the world and they know nothing about us, so fuck ‘em" he affirmed, looking down at her eyes while his hands stroked her back and legs.  

"Fuck the rest, right?" Maggie whispered, once again not being able to hide a tiny shy smile saying those words once again. Those three silly words represented so much to them that it was impossible to not feel something every time she said them.  

"Exactly"

And there was her favorite pair of brown eyes, shining right in front of her, making her forget about the world for a second. And how she wished that second would be enough. How she wished that second lasted forever or at least an hour. How they wished they could pretend none of that was really happening. But instead of that, Maggie had another detail that she hadn't shared before. "Someone knows we have been together for three years. Lil couldn't find it so I don't know who or how, but someone said it and it’s also everywhere"  

Maggie could feel the grip around her body tightening as she explained the situation. She couldn't even blame him because she did exactly the same thing, squeezing his body around her arms and grabbing handfuls of his shirt, trying to hold herself into anything.  

The thing about dating Michael for three years was that Maggie knew him. Not only did she know every single inch of his body, but she also knew his heart. She knew in which mood he was in the morning by just looking at him moving on his way to the bathroom. She knew how he was feeling by the vinyl he would play as he made coffee in the morning. The same thing would happen in the night, but she would find out by the way Michael would grab her and fuck her. But more than anything, Maggie knew it by his eyes. Sometimes words weren't needed simply because she could see his eyes and know what was happening inside his mind. That was how she knew he was worried but also absolutely pissed. If someone said something about them being together for three years then it means someone betrayed them, but they had no idea who, which was more dangerous.  

"The only ones who really know are our families and friends" Michael affirmed, looking at her with a serious expression. She could practically see how his brain was working nonstop, making a list and trying to find out whoever did this to them. She has been doing the same thing since she found out, but she couldn't find one option. Not even one name came to her mind, no matter how much she thought about it.  

"Maybe someone in McLaren? I mean, I know Jas and I are not the most welcomed women there" Maggie whispered, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to try to forget all that was happening. She knew it was impossible, but she could try. She was gonna try, getting lost in his touch, his smell, and especially in his warmth.  

They were still not on good terms with the whole McLaren team. They weren't talking to Zak or Andreas; they weren't talking to Tom while they were in the garage, and they would barely say hi to the rest. The girls knew that way they would only get people to dislike them. Damn, they knew some people already disliked them, but she didn't care at all. They both were there to support Daniel, not to make friends, so they kept themselves in their little bubble, talking in Irish whenever someone was nearby. It was just even worse after negotiations started for Daniel to leave the team. The rumor of Jas wanting to take the Monza trophy home started to spread all over the MTC and the McLaren garage and hospitality until every employee knew. From then on, she went from being Daniel Ricciardo's wife to the crazy woman who wanted to do that. Now the sisters were going to be the crazy woman who wanted to take the Monza trophy away from its place and her little sister who was dating his brother-in-law's coach and friend. But Jas didn't give a shit to what anyone said, she never really did and finally Maggie was slowly starting to learn to do the same thing.  

"Nobody knows, baby" Michael insisted, kissing her forehead as he stroked her head and waist.  

"Jon knows. Maybe he told Lando by accident and Lando told someone without realizing"  

"Or maybe someone just saw the way we look at each other" Michael pointed out, looking down at her as his hand went to her chin, making Maggie look at him again.  

Those were exactly the words Jas said to Maggie. Jas was convinced it was the way they always looked at each other who gave them away, but she also said since they went back from the summer break something was different. Michael always looked at Maggie like she was his whole universe and Maggie did exactly the same, but Jas insisted now it was something else. It was something she couldn't even explain. It was pure devotion and hearts in their eyes. It was an invisible string between them but every single time it was becoming more and more visible. They tried to keep it cool and pretend nothing was happening but every day that passed people could see more and more how in love they were. Esmé always said they were rotating around each other. She always joked saying they were like a planet and a moon orbiting on its side, not moving away from each other even if they tried. It was nothing but true, that's why it was so hard to act like friends when they were in the paddock or outside with Daniel. But after three years and all the things they went through together it was simply impossible to hide it anymore, especially not now they were a happy little mess living together, rebuilding and reinforcing their relationship.  

"I don't think it’s that. It goes beyond that. I don't understand what's going on, but Lily told me people started to realize that every time you're not with the boys I'm also not there with Jas. Michael's not in New York? Oh, what a coincidence, Jas' sister ain't there either! Who the fuck knows or noticed that?" 

And then she could see again the surprise in his face because it was all insane and too much. It was a new level of craziness they were kind of used to seeing happening with Daniel, but never with them. "What? People are really doing that?"

"Yes. And its fucking scary not knowing who we can trust. It's weird knowing now they're gonna look at me like the whore who trapped one of Danny Ric's besties" Maggie breathed, repeating one of the comments that she read somewhere. Not that she read more than four or five, but that was the first one and it was gonna take some time for her to forget it. And she couldn't care less about what people thought about her, but it wasn't nice.  

"Hey, no pouts, sweetheart. They can say whatever they want but they don't know anything about us and especially not about you. I know who you're and I insist, you're the best woman in the world. That's one of the reasons why I love you the way I do. That's why everyone who knows you loves you" Michael affirmed, running his thumb over her lower lip and then over her cheek. But before he could do anything else, Maggie moved her arms from his waist to his neck, hugging him as tightly as possible. She didn't want to cry. She didn't need to cry. None of those idiots giving opinions about them deserved her tears, so she just took a deep breath and focused on Michael's kisses on her head and especially on his hands on her back as he ran his fingers over it trying to calm her down. "I'm gonna talk to Dan, alright? I'll fix this. I promise I'll fix it"

"Can you talk to him tomorrow? I'm not in the mood now. I don't even wanna leave the room to go have dinner" Maggie murmured, closing her eyes as she hugged Michael even tighter. She didn't want to let him go, so she was gonna stay there as long as he let her.  

"Wanna order room service?" Michael asked and Maggie didn't even speak, she just nodded. It was stupid trying to hide from everyone knowing they would have to go to the paddock on some days, but at least that night she wanted to be just them. "Alright, tiny"

For a second Maggie smiled as she heard Michael's nickname for her and Olivia. It started with Olivia and it was his favorite thing to call their niece considering how extra tiny she looked in Michael's arms, but the funny part was how Olivia seemed to like it. Every time Michael called her that, a tiny smile would appear on her face. Everyone knew it was probably a coincidence, and even Michael knew it after reading articles and books about babies and especially about their development, but he loved to say it was because Olivia loved him. It was his pride and joy to say it was because they had an especially niece-uncle bond, and Maggie knew part of it was probably true because they were simply obsessed with each other. From the day Olivia was born, uncle Michael took over and it was his first responsibility. Maggie was always his priority but Olivia joined in the first position. He turned into the kind of man that would talk about his niece to everyone who would listen and then would show a picture to see how precious she was. Meanwhile Maggie loved to pick on him saying he used to do the same about her when they made their things official and how he didn't do it anymore. She loved the way he would hug the hell out of her and kiss her neck and face while he said it was a complete lie because he would still talk about her to everyone who would listen. That's how he would insist she was his first tiny lady and nothing was gonna change that. That's how we also started to call her tiny, making her smile just like Olivia did.  

"This is karma coming at me, right? Like, its coming at me for every bad thing I did" she wondered, and had no idea where that question came from, but in her head made a lot of sense. "I made you go through hell and suffer for a whole year and I'm finally paying it"  

But those words were also enough for Michael to break their hug and look at her face again. Maggie knew he hated it when she blamed herself for what had happened to them. Michael hated when she tried to take the blame when it was both their fault and once again she could see it in his face. "No, sweetheart. It has nothing to do with you. Its just people sneaking in things that doesn't concern them. And I told you already, I'd do it all over again if it means we end up like this. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, so watch me shield you when we go to the paddock this weekend so nobody bothers you" he smiled sweetly, giving her a kiss after what felt like an eternity without doing it.  

"That's what you do every time, especially when there's too much people and it gets too much" Maggie murmured against his lips, placing her hand on the back of his neck to run her hands through his short hair and so he wouldn't move away from her.  

"That's my plan for the rest of my life so you better get used to it" Michael shrugged, biting her lips carefully. "You want me to tell you a secret?"  

"This is you talking to me about random things so I don't get more anxious? Cause maybe sex would be better. I know you worked out already but maybe a little extra cardio won't hurt, coach" Maggie shrugged, throwing the question to help him in his task of forgetting about the problem.  

"You know me, don't you? Cause you know you're my favorite workout" Michael joked too, kissing her neck to make her giggle. "But listen to me. You know when I started working with Dan I was really homesick and all that, but what I never told you was how I felt when I saw you the first time"  

"I know you fell in love with me cause I was a vision in green and the best thing that happened in your life" she smiled, kissing his cheek a couple times before letting him keep talking.  

"You're right about that. Jas told me a lot about you before that night, but when I saw you I really understood everything she said. The thing is I saw you, and at some point that douchbag that was with you left and then you looked at me and you smiled and suddenly I had this feeling inside me. I knew it was ridiculous, but I could felt how something made sense. Somehow there was something telling me I could handle the homesickness cause staying meant seeing your face from time to time. I know it was gonna be good if you were around"  

"Are you serious?" Maggie asked, melting at the simple thought of Michael settling in with just looking at her from afar when he couldn't do anything. She knew he hated every single second of that year because he knew Sebastian was nothing but a dickhead who didn't deserve her. But it made her feel terrible to imagine how bad it would have been for Michael, especially when she couldn't really stop thinking about him either.  

"I'm serious. You were twenty percent of the reason why I stayed. Besides, at some point I also started to suspect you were the one cause I couldn't forget your name and you know how terribly bad I am with names" he laughed, kissing her forehead as Maggie kept stroking his neck.  

"You suck with names. You're good with everything except names" she giggled, kissing his chest as she remembered how many times she asked how he remembered her name when they barely saw each other the first year Jas and Daniel started to date. Michael used to say it was because Jas was always talking about her, but then Maggie secretly prayed it was for another reason.

"That's why I also asked Jas three hundred times about your family's names. I couldn't fuck it up in front of the girl I liked so much so I had to get it right, sweetheart" he explained, holding her hand to kiss her knuckles and the tiny ring he gave her all those months ago in Perth. "I still like you so damn much. I like you and I love you so much"  

"Even if I hate making the bed in the morning? And even if I do ham and then cream instead of cream and then ham in the scones?" Maggie asked, looking at his shiny eyes as she moved their joined hands to her lips, kissing his knuckles the same way he did with her.  

"I'm sure the scones thing is a crime but yeah, I love you anyway. Just like you love me even when order oysters for breakfast"  

And at the simple mention of that, Maggie wanted to run. She was used to seeing him eating weird stuff for breakfast, but seeing him ordering oysters was a new level of disgusting, to the point of looking to the side whenever he would eat them and then tell him that he wasn't allowed to kiss her until he brushed his teeth at least twice. "Ugh, don't remind me that, or you can forget about the cardio before bed" Maggie joked, acting absolutely offended by getting up and out of his lap.  

"Come here you small thing!" Michael exclaimed, and before she could even walk two steps, Michael grabbed her hand, making her come back to him, standing right between his legs and lacing his arms around her hips, making sure she wasn't going anywhere. "I loved you before knowing you did aberrations with the scones, so there's literally nothing that could make me love you less"  

"That's why you were thinking about hitting on me anyway when we met?"

"Yes, and cause that dude didn't deserve you. Told you before, I was going to wait for six months and then make a move" he affirmed, resting his chin in her stomach as he looked up at her.  

"And I told you before, I would have run away with you that same night if you asked me. All you had to do was smile at me and ask" she smiled sweetly, running her through his hair, making a little mess of it, just like she always did.  

"Would you still run away with me?"  

And that simple question knocked the air out of her lungs. The fact that after everything they went through together Michael was still asking her for such a thing made her melt. He was looking at her with nothing but love and adoration in those brown eyes that she loved so damn much and she just couldn't believe she was so lucky and that Michael was asking that. She loved him so much that running away with him seemed nothing compared to what she would do for him, but she was out of words to explain it. She would give him the world if he asked, and if she couldn't then she would try to find a way to do it.

"Yes. You work this weekend so it's impossible, but yes. Anywhere" she whispered, kissing his forehead as she stroked his cheeks with both hands. But suddenly that wasn't enough for her. She needed to hold him as close as possible so she moved, placed her legs on his sides and sat on his lap once again facing him and hugging his waist as tightly as possible. "Hugging you makes everything better. You seriously give the best hugs in the world" she murmured against his chest, breathing him in and letting herself go in the warmth of his body and the comfort of his arms.  

"Just the best of the best for my girl. I'm gonna fix everything, sweetheart, I promise. Let's just enjoy this first and figure out the rest later" he promised, placing kisses on her hair and running his hands over her back and under her shirt as he spoke. "You sure you don't wanna go out to have dinner?"

"No. Lets be just you and me tonight, please" Maggie begged, hugging him tighter and burying her face even more against his chest if that was possible. She just needed some silence. She needed a quiet room and, even if she loved her family, the only way she could get that was by staying there. Plus she needed some love and cuddles, but the kind that only Michael could give her away from everyone.  

But before any of them could say anything about her plea, Maggie abruptly moved her head away from his chest. "You alright, Mags?"

"Yes" she whispered, placing her hand over his chest, trying to hold onto something as the realization finally hit her. It was as if somehow all the pieces on the puzzle got together without her wanting it. It was the answer to the question they had in mind since she walked into that room. "Son of a bitch. Who's the only person outside friends and family who hated you since he met you and who knows we are dating since 2019?" she asked looking at Michael's eyes.  

It took him a second, but then she saw the second the realization also hit him. She could see in his eyes the second he understood of who Maggie was talking about, but more than anything she could perfectly see the second his face went from the loveliest guy in the world to the most dangerous man that could exist. "I'm gonna kill him" Michael affirmed under his breath, hugging Maggie closer to his body.

---

Taglist

@jamminvroomvroom  @starlightoctavia @dr3lover @monte-carlando  @brightlightsinlife​ @a-distantdreamer​ @callsign-echo 

[unluckyhoneybee]

Could you write something where yours and Michael Italianos' son finds a picture of your wedding and cries because he wasn't there like this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd9gISlpEV-/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Note: this is the cutest thing ever.

"Elliot, baby."

"But mom..." Your son was crying in the middle of the living room. There was no comfort for him. Nothing you had said helped him.

The door opened and Michael came into the house, frowning when he heard his son crying so bad.

"What is going on?"

He let a hand fall in your waist and kissed your cheek. You sighed and looked at him.

"See that? It's our wedding photo. He found it and started crying because we didn't invite him."

Michael covered his mouth trying not to laugh.

"Don't, Mike. It's worst" You bit your lip.

"Have you talked to him?"

"Obviously, this is like the third stage. First came curiosity, then anger and now-"

You were cut by a loud and dramatic cry.

"That. Now that. He is gonna have a sore throat tomorrow, but I don't know what else to say?" You rubbed your tremple. You hated to see your kid like that, it broke your heard. Even more for something that stupid.

"Let me talk to him"

Michael kissed your forehead and you smiled.

"Hey buddy. What is going on?"

Elliot realized then that his dad was back from work.

"Dad!" But as soon as he looked at the object on his hands, he pouted and started sobbing again. "You didn't invite me to your wedding!"

"Elliot, baby..."

"You don't love me?"

Michael and you shared a look. How was that kid so dramatic?

"Elliot..."

"No! I wanted to go!"

"Elliot, come here"

Michael and Elliot had a tight bond. They understood each other perfectly.

When Michael picked the kid on his strong arms and sat on the couch with him on his lap, Elliot hid on his chest sobbing.

"Elliot, buddy. How old are you?"

Elliot showed four fingers.

"Four, yes" Michael caressed his hair. "Do you know when mum and I got married?"

He said no with his head.

"Six years ago."

Elliot didn't properly understood what years were yet so he looked at his dad with a quizzing look.

"You would need to be six years old or more to be at out wedding"

"But I wanted to go!"

"I know, baby. But you weren't born yet. You were born two years later" Michael showed him two fingers and Elliot grabbed his hand.

"Why?"

"Because mum got pregnant then"

"Pregnant?"

"When you were on her belly."

Elliot nodded.

Michael cleaned his tears carefully.

"Can you marry again?"

We both looked at each other and laughed.

"Do you want mum and dad to marry so you can go?" You said tickling is belly.

He nodded looking at you with his best puppy eyes.

"We can do something"

"Yes, please".

Michael and you chucked.

Elliot curled himself on Michael's chest and he hugged him tight.

"We love you a lot, okay? So so much" He whispered.

"More than wafels?"

"Even more!" Michael kissed his cheeks and Elliot laughed.

[unluckyhoneybee]

When you told them, Michael gave you the biggest hug but Daniel cried. It took him a good fifteen minutes to calm down.

They were so happy, floating around you and talking to the belly, even though the baby was only a few cells for now.

You kept it secret at first. Only your families and close friends knew. Your relationship was a bit delicate for the public and the boys were worried for you. You were pregnant with their kid after all and fans could be cruel.

The first month's were awesome. They were the best dads ever. They were always bringing things for the baby, they built the room fast and had planned everything. Mike had researched about the food that will work better for you and the baby and Danny was the one running to the store when you had cravings.

But then the first ultrasound came. The doctor looked at them and said "Only the dad". They shared a look at shrugged. "You first, mate" "No, you go first" both idiots end up staying.

And... Surprise surprise... Two babies for two dads. Twins! You were pregnant with twins. Two baby girls. The three of you cried.

The news hit everyone hard. If they were happy, now they were all more than excited.

"I like Elia" Michael whispered while running his hand up and down your belly. "And I like Olivia" Danny whispered covering Mike's hand with his. "I love them. Elia and Olivia"

When the bump started showing, Daniel told his fans. It was messy at first, but then they understood and were dying when you posted pics of the guys with the bump.

Then the birth date came close and luckily they had the break. Michael was always checking on you, helping with exercises that will make the labor easier and relief the weight of carrying to babies. On the other side, Danny was panicking.

And you were alone with him when your water broke.

"Dan?" "Yes?" "Um... The babies..." "Are they kicking hard?" "No, they are coming" And he literally screamed.

The labor was long, but both guys were there and tried to help you. Michael helped delivering the first baby and Danny the second. You were crying when they laid the girls in your chest.

"Who is who?" Daniel asked softly once you were in the room. The families had already left after before meeting their grandchildren. You looked at them. They were in the crib together, closed to each other and grabbing hands.

Danny pushed them closer to you. "She is Olivia. And she is Elia" They trusted your mother instinct.

At home they were the best dads. The girls were healthy and already showed different personalities. Elia was energetic, she hated sleeping, she was always moving. Olivia was calm, she loved to observe her surroundings and discover new things. They were polar opposites but attached to the bone. Just like their dads.

Dada and Papa, or Dan and Mike, where so in love with their little girls. You always had to keep an eye on them because they wouldn't let the girls on their cribs or would spoil them so much. The fight for them to sleep in your bed was a common one. But the bed wasn't enough for five people.

One day, the first time you went to the hairdresser after giving birth, you opened the door to find them on the sofa. They were watching some sport on TV, each one with a baby on their chest. Olivia was with Danny and Elia with Mike. You took photo. They were so inmersed on the game that they didn't noticed you.

"Hey" Danny called Mike. "Mhm" "Wanna swap?" Mike smiled and nodded. They carefully swapped the babies. "They feel different, mate." Daniel said and kissed Elia's cheek. "Yeah, I know."

Mike cuddled Olivia close and Daniel leaned on his side.

"I'm in love. I have never been so in love. Really. I don't know how I got so much luck" You said walking to them. They both smiled and looked at each other. Mike leaned and kissed Danny's lips, then Danny pulled you close. You nestled with them in the sofa.

Your not so little family was peculiar and sometimes it was hard. But you loved them so much. It was so special.

[unluckyhoneybee]

Could you please write about micheal Italiano looking after you when you have fainted please I feel like he would know exactly what to do

I woke up on a MI mode.

French GP was so fucking hot. You worked for McLaren and the garage was so fucking hot. You had been feeling a bit dizzy for a few minutes, but you couldn't take your eyes from the screen in front of you. There was some data from Danny's quali you needed to get shorted.

Michael also there. Pretty close the whole time.

Suddenly, when you moved to fast after they called your name, you felt everything moving around you and then it when black.

When you opened your eyes, you were laying on the floor, someone was fanning you and you had something cold against your face.

"Hey, hey. Welcome back" You heard a voice as you tried to recover your senses. Your sight became clear and you saw Michael there. He looked worried. He was lifting your legs. "YN?"

"Mmm yes... W-what happened?" "You fainted. It was the heat."

The train got closer to you face and touched it. "You are still warm. Make some space please, she needs space" He ordered people around you. Then he gently grabbed you and put his arm around you to help you sit. "That's it, slowly" He was so gentle and careful and his arm felt so strong around you. You grabbed into him because you were still dizzy.

"What are you feeling?" "I'm dizzy" "Okay, let's go somewhere more fresh"

And suddenly Michael was carrying you to some room. You were blushing and not for the heat. When he had settled you in a private and cold place, he kept in front of you and touched your forehead.

"You are still warm" He stayed with you for a long time, giving you water and checking you didn't gulped it because it would be worst.

"You have ti drink more water. And if you feel bad just tell someone because you could have hit your head with something and it would be worst." He was genuely worried.

"Yeah, I needed to finish" "Your job is not more important than your health" "I know..." "Take care please..."

Michael had always been that cute?

"For now, I'm gonna stick with you and make you drink tons of water."

"And then?"

"Then I will take you to have dinner to check you eat enough"

[unluckyhoneybee]

I love you’re MI x DR fic it was amazing 😍.

I have an idea if you’re feeling in a writing mood, something focusing on protective Michael.

I loved this phrase "Don't you dare to hurt her, right?”

Maybe like she’s a bit younger than him and had a really bad relationship previously and once they’re really happy & settled they bump into him again and she is freaking out but has no idea how to tell Michael because she doesn’t want him to cause a scene or rock the boat.

Hope you have a great day ❤️❤️

Warning: mentions of an abusive relationship.

Michael was the perfect boyfriend. He was caring, loving and understanding. He truly was everything you once asked for. Everything you dreamt of when you were trapped in your past relationship.

Michael was older, so at first it was scary for you. You felt insecure and really thought he would get tired of you. He would go and find someone older. But no. He stayed. He showed you what love is and how someone should be loved.

But one day when you were out with Michael, you saw a familiar back. You thought you had imagined it. But a few minutes later, you saw him there.

The last time you had seen him, you friend was hugging you. He had exploded in front of everyone in a birthday party. He was shouting at you, calling you all kinds of names. When you had asked him to stop, he had lift his hand. Everything had gone silent. He didn't hit you then. You friends didn't let you go that night and spent whole weeks with you.

When you met Michael at work, you had felt a sense of tranquility around him. It had been at the MTC. You were waiting for your coffee and suddenly a hand stopped a tower of glass falling in front of you.

Just like in that moment, that hand took you out of your thoughts. Michael had rested his hand on your waist and pulled you close.

"It's everything okay?"

You looked at your side. Michael always seemed to see when you were feeling low. He had a sixth sense or something.

"It's everything alright?"

"No" You said out of breath.

You knew you would need to tell him sooner or later. But you scared of doing it now. There was a lot of people around and you didn't want Michael to cause a scene. He adored you and was protective with you.

"What is going on, babe?"

"Michael. I-I need to tell you something."

Seeing the fear in your eyes and the state you were in, Michael felt his heart rate increase.

He nodded slowly and you shot a quick glance at your ex. His eyes followed yours and his hand tensed on your waist.

"Who is him?" He said in a whisper.

"H-he is my ex boyfriend"

He looked down at you and you steadied yourself on his chest. He was scared of what you would say. He could see your pupils, your fast breath and your shaking hands.

"Don't tell me he hurt you" He pleaded.

You didn't had to answer, not that you had time either. Your ex had seen you and was walking to you.

You felt a wave of fear over you and grabbed Michael's arm.

"YN! Princess! Long time no see"

Michael looked at him. You were frozen and couldn't really speak.

You ex tried to reach and hug you, but Michael put a hand on his chest.

"Oh wow. You have a bodyguard now?" He said looking at you.

You were trying to hide behind Michael.

"Mate. Step back" Michael muttered. He was breathing deeply.

"I want to say hi"

"Leave"

Michael straightened his body. He was huge and strong, he could break your ex in a half if he wanted.

"Okay, relax" Your ex said. "I just want to have a talk with her." He tried to reach you, but Mike grabbed his hand.

"No. You won't"

"Are you his sugar daddy or something?"

You wanted to cry. You hated him.

"Michael, please"

"You are still pathetic"

You just wanted to leave.

But Michael grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"I don't want you close to her. Don't talk to her or even consider touching her. If you dare to hurt her ever again, I will end you. Understood?" He was so calm, so collected. You just needed a gentle pull of his shirt to make him move away.

Michael hugged you with a protective arm on your shoulders, pulling you out of the bar. You broke down once you were outside.

"Come here, baby"

Michael hugged you so tight. His body was warm and his hands were big over you.

"It's okay, it's okay, babe. Let it out"

You were shaking. He truly scared you. You couldn't stand being in front of him without getting really anxious.

"Deep breaths with me, okay?"

He made you look into his brown eyes.

"Focus on me. Breath in..."

It took you long minutes to calm down, but Michael guided you through it.

Finally you felt yourself coming back to the real world. You were slightly shaking, but Mike was keeping you in place.

"Okay, I love you. I love you so much." He said. "You are okay, I'm with you. You are safe"

You looked into his eyes and leaned to give him a soft kiss. He smiled on your lips and caressed your face.

"I wanted to tell you but..."

"It's okay, baby. Whenever you feel ready"

You nodded slowly and smiled.

"I love you, Michael. Thank you for... Not loosing it or something."

"I wanted to help, not making it worse."

You nodded and kissed him again. More deeply. He kissed you back and hugged your lower back.

"I love you, YN"

[unluckyhoneybee]

So many thoughts about being a throuple with Michael and Daniel. Like it's honestly my life dream. They'd be so perfect.

So so many thoughts about them.

To me they are like super different, they show different auras but they would complete each other perfectly.

Like Danny is all madness and a little hyperactive boy and Mike is all calm and collected. They would have everything you needed, like the push to try new things and the hand to keep your feet on the earth.

And... On the bed. Oh boy. Oooh boy. Michael would be in charge, I'm sure. That man radiates Dom energy and Danny is such a switch. And they are well trained. The have stamina. So... Long long session if you are at home. If you are not it would probably be like both of them trying to get you off as soon as possible.

[unluckyhoneybee]

Hi!!! I would love to get some requests for blurbs or drabbles or whatever comes to my mind, so if you want to you can come to my ask.

I will sure write about Danny, Lando, Charles, Pierre, Marcus, Mick, Juri, George and Max V.

I would consider writing about Max F, Michael Italiano, Yuki, Alex Albon and Jamie Chadwick, but that would depend on the request.

I'm up to some smut and fluff, of course. But I must tell you that I'm not good with angst, I always end up writing fluffy endings.

I won't write about:

Breeding kink.

Daddy kink.

Anything related with rape and any kind or abuse kink.

Anything related with infantilization.

Knife play.