Pairing: Austin/Ally
Prompt: "... but it just doesn't feel right performing without her." Line from This One's For Keeps (1. Torrey)
Austin's POV
He thinks about what he said to Torrey, that day when Ally got sick at his performance and he took her home, completely ignoring his obligation to perform at Torrey's sweet sixteen party- which was, technically, an obligation he was free from. He had told Torrey that Ally could have gone home with the help of a number of people, but out of all the people she could've gone home with, he had elected himself.
What was the point of performing if she wasn't there with him? It's like he had told Torrey, "It just doesn't feel right performing without her." Like that time when she and Dallas had been flirting during his performance. After he had finished singing "Not A Love Song", he slapped hands with the guitarist, pointed at the drummer like hey, man, wassup? Nice job!, then turned to Ally, expecting her to be there so he could point at her (hands in the shape of a gun, but not really(1)), wink, and click his tongue. But when he turned around, he saw her flirting with Dallas, so he just stuck his hands in his pocket and hid his disappointment behind his grin that suddenly felt fake.
So, now, every time he performs, she mustmustmust be there, or else he just doesn't feel right. Having her there provides a sense of familiarity, behind the unfamiliar stage and the stranger's faces staring at him from the audience. He doesn't get nervous, nope, that was never a problem. But Ally fucking Dawson has unraveled the cool, calm, and collected Austin Moon- completely flipped all his ideals; turned his world upside down.
And he likes it. He thinks that he almost loves it. Because she's Ally, he's Austin, and they fit in a way that says Austin&Ally.
But for now, they are Austin & Ally, and their hugs are longer than better-than-best friend's hugs should be, their hands touch every so often(2)and not too coincidentally, and they stil sit too close together on the piano bench(2).
She is his songwriter, better-than-best friend, and pseudo-girlfriend.
He is her rockstar/singer, better-than-best friend, and pseudo-boyfriend.
Sometimes he wonders if he has a masochistic streak, because it can't be good for his health when she comes home (home is the Sonic Boom, not her house or his house, but the place that they do everything together) smelling like a stranger's cologne(3) and not of her normal strawberry-infused-with-Ally scent that sends his head spinning. But still, he stays around her, hands brushing all the time now, hugs becoming snuggling, and the space between them on the piano bench is suddenly reduced to nothing.
But then one day he returns to find her smelling like cinnamon and overpowering Axe and it's absolutely disgusting. Plus, the stranger is standing there, like he belongs at her side. He wants to scream and shout at him, to tell him to back off and that fuck, you don't belong there, right next to her, I do. But he controls his anger and smiles and plays nice. Then, as the stranger is leaving (thank fucking god), he kisses her on the cheek, smiles as Ally blushes and fidgets, and leaves. Austin's blood is boiling, because she doesn't smell like Ally anymore, and he has the overpowering urge to punch something. So he does.
The next thing he knows, there's a sharp pain in his knuckles, and the double-reinforced walls are still in pristine condition. There's blood everywhere and Ally's screaming at him, dialing 911 on the phone as fast as she can. All he can do is slide down the wall and stare blankly at his bloody fist.
Sighing, he covers his face with his good hand, sticking his head in between his knees. He wonders how a girl can do this to him, then remembers that it's Ally. Of course she can do this to him. He wants to say something to her, but can't quite manage to swallow, because the air still smells like cinnamon and Axe, and it's fucking killing him.
The ambulance comes screaming down the street a minute later, and he's brought to the ER where his hand is treated. At the age of 21, he no longer needs parental permission, so his hand is fixed immediately. An hour later, he comes out of the ER, to the bright red convertible that he bought her when she turned 18- because after years of hard work, he and Ally were finally rich and famous, her a famous singer/songwriter, him a famous star. Though they are rich and famous, they've kept Sonic Boom, living together in the two levels above the store. He peers inside the car and finds an asleep Ally. Chuckling tiredly, he opens the door, picks her up and deposits her gently in the passenger seat, all with one hand. Then he plucks the keys from her hand and starts the car, driving one-handed all the way home.
The next morning he wakes up to the smell of pancakes and is momentarily disoriented. He pads quietly down to the kitchen, not bothering to put a shirt on. In the kitchen, he sees Ally making pancakes, humming lightly under her breath.(4) His breath catches, because it finally smells like strawberries-and-Ally again, and the revolting smell of cinnamon and Axe is gone.
He makes his way across the kitchen to her, and wraps his arms around her waist, kissing her shoulder. This is farther than he's ever gone before (kisses-on-the-cheek, kisses-on-the-lips, been there, done that, mostly by accident). "Morning, Ally," he murmurs against her skin.
With an almost-audible gasp, she turns around- smack-dab into his chest. "Austin!" She opens her mouth again, probably to start yelling at him for punching the wall.
He cuts her off, grabbing her wrist and groaning. "Ally, I know you're mad, but can I have breakfast first?" He sends her an adorable pleading look, and she caves.
"Fine," she snaps. "But afterwards, you're telling me why you punched that wall last night."
He nods agreeably, sitting down at the breakfast island, watching as she flips the pancakes one last time and deposits them on a plate- his plate. "Thanks," he murmurs, digging into the pancakes enthusiastically and ignoring her pointed stare, knowing that the moment he looks up, she would start interrogating him.
Finally, Ally gets impatient and rips the fork out of his hand, throwing it into the sink and crossing her arms against her chest. "Talk," she demands.
All he gets out is a pitiful, "But I wasn't done yet..."
Ally rolls her eyes and sits down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder, suddenly too tired to be mad anymore. "So what was that all about? You know, last night? When you freaked out after James left?"
Austin tenses immediately. So that was his name. James. He really wanted to stall, but he knew that Trish and Dez would be on their way to the store soon, after hearing about what happened the night before. So he tells her the simplest version of the truth he could think of. "I punched the wall because I was angry."
Ally sends him a look that said okay, and...?
He sighs and decides, well, what the fuck? Might as well tell her the whole truth. "I punched the wall because he kissed you. Ally, he can't kiss you!"
With a shocked look, she sits back, removing herself from him. "W-Were you jealous?"
He wants to say no, of course not, but he is sick and tired of denying his feelings. "Yes. I was jealous. Ally, I get jealous every time you come home and you smell like a stranger's cologne, and not strawberries-and-Ally. Ally, I had a crush on you when we were eighteen- young and stupid. But I'm twenty-one now, and I'm done denying the truth. I like- no, screw this, I love you." With that, he pulls her to him and crushes his lips against hers. He hears her let out a small gasp, and he grins against her lips.
They're finallyfinallyfinally doing what they've always wanted to do, and they're both thinking that heaven can't get much better than this. Without knowing it, Austin starts backing her up against the couch, his fingers tangled in her hair and hers in his. They both tumble backwards onto the couch, still connected by the lips. He coaxes her lips open- she tastes like cotton candy(5)- and he's in heaven. But suddenly his injured hand is being crushed under their collective weight, and he lets out a pained gasp.
Immediately, Ally pulls away and asks worriedly, "Are you okay?"
Austin just nods and pulls her back to him. She's holding herself up on top of him, and his hands are locked on her arms, helping her keep herself up. His good hand brings her closer to him by the chin, but when they're a whisper apart, she pulls away. Immediately, he's pouting adorably, looking like a child who got his favorite-flavored lollipop taken away.
Ally can't help but laugh, and suddenly she's in hysterics, the reality of what they are doing finally crashing upon her. Soon, there's tears running down her face from her hysterics.
Austin is immediately worried, sitting up cross-legged and pulling her into his lap, her chest pressed against his. Her arms hang loosely around his neck, and his hands are tracing circles into the small of her back. Slowly, her breathing evens out.
"Hey, Austin?" She says the words so quietly he almost doesn't hear it. "I think I love you."
He grins, so hard that it's almost painful. "That's cool. I know I love you."
Sighing, she pulls back to face him. Quietly, she sighs and kisses him gently on the lips. He's delighted, and immediately the innocent kiss turns into something more passionate.
As they come apart for air (oh yeah, you need that to live...), she says breathlessly, "You know, Trish and Dez are gonna come through that door any second now."
He shrugs, kissing her again. "I know." And they keep kissing.
"We could've been doing this over two years ago," Ally tells him. "You weren't the only one who still had crushes at the age of eighteen. Actually, I was kind of in love."
"Let's make up for the lost time," he breathes out, grinning wolfishly at her shy smile.
They're still kissing when the front door opens, followed by the sound of Trish and Dez arguing.
A sudden halt in their arguing means that they've realized that Austin was half-naked, making out with Ally.
"Ohmygod. Ohmygod. OHMYGOD!" Trish squeals.
"... Do you think they're gonna come up for air anytime soon?" asks Dez conversationally, which earns him a slap upside the head from Trish. Promptly, she drags him out the door.
"You heard that, right?" Ally murmurs.
Austin nods. "Yup." Before Trish closed the door behind her and Dez, the faint clicking of a camera could be heard. "There's paparazzi outside Sonic Boom. Actually, Trish and Dez are probably running away right now."
Ally nods, her head buried in Austin's chest. "You know, we're gonna have to answer questions tomorrow."
"I know."
"You know, there's going to be a lot of scandals and stupid stuff in the tabloids about us cheating on each other and stuff."
"I know."
"You know, this is going to be hard."
"I know. You know, I'm willing to try."
"I know. Me, too. Austin?"
"Hmm?"
"We're a strange couple, aren't we?"
"I know, but opposites attract."
"Okay. Uh, if you don't mind me asking, you said something about making up for lost time..."
A/N: Yeah, baby! First oneshot in the series done! Onto the annotations. (1) You know in the episode Kangaroos and Chaos when, at the end of his performance, Austin points at Ally and she gives him a double thumbs-up? Yeah, that pointing thing is what I'm trying to describe. (2) Both of these are excerpts (sort of) from someone else's story. I can't find the story anymore, so if you know what it is or if you wrote it, please tell me so that I can give you credit! (3) This is from heaven smells like cotton candy by watch it burn. (4) If you've read Intoxication by rainbowdipNdotz (which is a great story, by the way, go check it out), then this sounds a little like it. But I promise you, I'm not taking anything from that piece. If I was, I would give credit to rainbowdipNdotz. (5) An idea that came from reading heaven smells like cotton candy by watch it burn. Anyways, this indeed will be a oneshots series, and some of these pieces may relate to phrases or events in This Is For Keeps (another Austin & Ally series that I wrote) or Nobody Ever Said It was Easy (an upcoming Austin & Ally series that I'm planning out right now).
~ Sabrina