A/N: So this is a one-shot loosely based on the song "Congratulations" by Blue October. You should all listen to it before or while reading this story. It's better that way. I do not own Austin & Ally or the song.

Austin Moon was back in Miami for the first time in two years. It was weird, stepping off the plane. Everything looked the same. It was comforting, in a way. If Miami was the same, maybe his friends were the same too.

His family had moved with him to L.A. when he got his big break right out of high school. Team Austin had split up in favor of letting him chase his dream fully. He still talked to all of them; not as often as he would have liked, but enough.

And then he saw them. They were all there at the airport, waiting for him. A tall redhead was holding a sign saying, "Welcome home Austin!" while a short Latina was standing next to him with what looked like boxes of candy. And next to them was an all too familiar girl.

Ally Dawson looked exactly as he had left her; she was still on the short and skinny side, although her hair was shorter. It now barely reached her shoulders, curling just at the ends. And in her hands was the leather bound book that held the secrets to his success- her beautifully written songs.

Just as he began to rush towards his friends, a wave of cameras showed up, almost engulfing him; paparazzi. He sighed but held up a hand and smiled for the cameras. He broke through them to find the three people waiting for him. Dez grabbed one of his bags of luggage while Trish reached for the one he was pulling behind him. This left Austin with only a backpack on his back and Ally with all the welcome back treats. They made their way towards the exit, paparazzi stalking them the whole way.

After they had all piled into Dez's car, the cameras were left behind and a silence fell over them.

Ally tapped Austin on the shoulder and he turned around to look at her. She and Trish were smiling and the latter one held out a chocolate bar for him.

"Welcome back superstar," Ally said.

Austin felt a smile break his face. He was home.

"Here we are!" Dez said, pulling into a driveway of a rather large house. Austin noted the balcony on the front of the house and the beautiful landscaping of the front yard. He couldn't help but feel disappointed that he would most likely be avoiding these places; they were too easily accessible by the public.

This was his vacation and the last thing he wanted was to deal with some ridiculous fake scandal about him and his friends. Especially Ally.

"Austin!" His head snapped at the sound of his name. Trish was tapping on his window with a grin on her face. "Come inside, dude!"

He smiled slightly before getting out of the car and walking towards the house. Dez had already been inside and had left the front door wide open. He peeked his head out to see what was taking them so long.

"Austin, you never moved this slow! Are you getting old?"

"Only as old as you," Austin quipped which made his best friend smile.

Austin followed Trish into the house and Dez closed the door behind them. Ally returned from some unknown part of the house, still clutching her journal/songbook. Now that they were behind closed doors, he felt himself relax.

Ally rushed up and hugged him. It felt nice to Austin; warm and familiar. He laughed when Dez joined the hug and continued laughing when he heard Trish say, "I guess we're hugging!"

They stayed there for a minute, Austin soaking in the friendship he had missed for the past few months. (The last time he had seen his friends was in New York on New Year's Eve.)

"Welcome to my humble abode," Dez said, making a sweeping motion with his arm. "Ally and I already took your bags upstairs to your room. Which we will show you at the end of the tour of the house!"

With that, the redhead led him through the house, pointing out things and allowing Trish and Ally to make commentary about certain things. Trish had gotten excited about showing him the large poster of himself that hung in the living room, while Ally was most delighted about the small music room in the house.

"Dez, you don't play music. Why do you need a music room?" Austin asked.

"He made it for me," Ally answered, shooting a smile at Dez. "Since I'm over here all the time."

"And I need music for my films. Ally helps with that," Dez explained.

At the end of the tour, it was revealed that Austin was in the guest room on the back side of the house.

"You should be safe from prying eyes," Dez told him.

"Thanks, Dez. I'm so excited about this week!" They did their old handshake which made both of the girls roll their eyes.

"Austin, you should take a nap," Trish suggested. "We'll go start dinner and wake you up when it's ready.

Despite the restlessness he felt, Austin agreed. His friends left and he listened as their footsteps faded down the staircase.

After dinner, Austin was prepared for full on Team Austin time. Instead, Dez said he had to run out to get groceries while Trish needed to go see her brother. So he and Ally were left alone.

They decided to sit outside, where Dez had begun a garden. There was a green wooden bench in the middle of it and he and Ally sat on it.

He noticed that Ally was still holding onto her songbook when she cleared her throat.

"Austin."

He looked up at her, smiling. But his smile faltered when he saw the serious look on her face.

"Austin, I have to tell you something." His heart started pounding and he felt his chest constrict.

"I have to tell you something, too."

The truth was, this wasn't just a vacation for Austin. When his friends had come to see him perform at New Year's Eve, he realized something he wished he had realized earlier- how he felt about Ally. With his biggest dream now checked off, he had room for another dream. His new dream was to marry the girl sitting in front of him.

He looked into her big brown eyes and noticed how they were glistening.

"Don't cry, Alls. What's wrong?" he asked, reaching up to touch her cheek.

"Austin, I-" she shook her head and looked at the book in her hands. "I want you to have this," she said, handing the book to him.

"Ally, I can't-"

"Please, Austin. I want you to take it." The pain in her voice made his heart hurt. He sighed and reached for the leather bound journal in her hands.

And only after he grabbed the book from her did he see it: the diamond ring gracing her left ring finger. He set the book down and grabbed her hand.

"You're getting married?" he breathed, staring at the ring. His thoughts were racing, trying to figure out when, and why, and- "Who?"

Ally's head dropped. She shook her head ever so slightly, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Ally, stop."

"No, it's just- I'm so happy. I'm scared you'll be mad we didn't tell you."

"Ally, if you're happy, I'm happy. We who?"

"Dez and I are engaged."

Austin felt his heart break. He suddenly felt a pain he had never imagined possible.

Fighting every instinct in him he managed, "Congratulations. Ally, that's great!" He hugged the small girl.

After they broke apart she looked up at him, a wide smile on her face. "I'm so glad you think so. Dez was too afraid to tell you," Ally laughed.

Austin felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He shook his head. "Dez is so weird. I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks, Austin. What did you want to tell me?"

He looked into her brown eyes, shining with a happiness he had never seen before.

"Just- it's really good to see you, Ally-gator," he said.

A/N: Read & review! I know, this is like super angsty. But angst is what I do best.