Austin wouldn't say that their vacation had been anything more than uneventful. But he had a feeling that Ally didn't mind the laziness as much as he did. Maybe it was because he was actually getting sleep and eating meals frequently back at home, and she, obviously, was not. With only three short days of their trip left, Austin could sense the tension beginning to rise about the obvious elephant in the room. The entire time they were there, they avoided any talk about the office and work like a sore thumb, but now, being so close to the end, they both knew they couldn't avoid it any longer.

What were they going to do when they got back home?

It seemed like a simple question really, but to Austin and Ally, it was one that brought utter confusion and strain to their brains. One that made them both stop in their tracks and wonder what the hell they would possibly do. They couldn't run off and take a trip every time John started to over work her, hell, they couldn't even refuse to come in. The two sat quietly across from each other, gazes locked on the plush patterned rug that sat beneath their feet. Austin was unsure of where to start, there was a lot to be said, yet so much he just couldn't think of no matter how hard he tried.

"Sometimes, I ask myself if I'm really capable of doing this," she spoke not bothering to meet Austin's eyes; "I mean, is this really worth fighting for anymore Austin? That man is bat shit crazy and almost anything we do will fail and end both of our careers because he's ruthless and doesn't care about a single souls well being besides his own." She inhaled a shaky breath, a tear rolling down her cheek as she averted her gaze towards the window, where the sun was beginning to make its grand entrance for the day; "What if we're fighting for something that will not only end our careers but won't last?"

"I would be lying if I said that I didn't think the same thing sometimes, its pretty inevitable with the way things have been going. But that's what John wants, he wants us to give up on trying to be together so he can swoop and and try to scoop you off of your feet and be the one to love you. He didn't expect us to get along, let alone decide to actually be together... So, I don't know, maybe we are fighting for something that might end in the long run, but at least we're fighting for it right now because we both care about each other too much to just let things go," he replied, leaning forward and placing his hand on top of hers for reassurance.

She smiled a smile laced with unease and sadness, wishing there was a way she could just make John and all her problems disappear with one snap of her fingers; "What the hell are we going to do then Austin? I can't live with this man threatening my career for the rest of my life, I can't deal with his jealousy and I definitely cant deal with his attitude."

Austin shook his head, heaving a sigh as he sat back in his chair; "I don't know," he muttered; "Goddamn it I don't know!" He exclaimed, he felt his blood begin to boil. He couldn't stand that vile, evil man, John. He couldn't stand to breathe the same air he breathed and walk the same sidewalks as him. He signed that contract on behalf of Ally and here she was, suffering because of a decision that he made on a whim.

"That man, Ally, he's evil. He doesn't know what the definition of having a heart is, hell he doesn't even know what its like to feel real feelings, because if he did, he wouldn't be laughing at your pain, he wouldn't be putting you through this hell, he wouldn't be overworking you because of his own sheer jealousy and hatred towards me," he said, his heart beating rapidly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, calm down, maybe this isn't what we should be talking about right now, we still have three days of our trip left and I don't want you to be angry and wondering what to do for the rest of it," Ally replied, a concerned look tugging at her brows.

"We can't put this off until the very last second Ally, I don't want to discuss this on a plane on the way back home, I want to talk about it now so we can get it over with."

"But It makes no sense to talk about a situation that's obviously sending you over the edge, we've had such a calm and relaxing trip so far I don't want to ruin it by talking about this," said Ally.

"We have to come back down to earth eventually Ally, and right now might be the best time for it to happen. That way we'll know what we're going to do and then we can spend the rest of our time here doing whatever the hell it is your heart desires," he said, trying to avoid the pained expression in her eyes as he yet again disagreed with her.

"Maybe I'm right then," she stammered; "Maybe we should just plan on divorcing when this stupid contract is up and go our separate ways, its better than constantly having to wonder what John is going to do or say next, hell its better than feeling the way I feel right now. A huge percentage of our relationship is wasted talking about my asshole of a manager and I can't help but wonder if the hatred he has towards us being a thing is whats keeping up together."

"It's upsetting I know, but I cant give up on us without a fight," Austin said, averting his gaze from hers.

"Then tell me what the hell we're going to do," she quipped; "Tell me what the hell you want from me so that we can work together to make it happen."

"Why don't we just pretend like we don't like each other anymore once we get back, we can make him think that this trip was a living nightmare and that we never want to speak to each other again. Then when the time comes, drop him as a manager and then meet with a lawyer to place a gag order on him so that he can't say anything about the contract," Austin spoke, surprised that his quickly thought up idea was actually a really solid one.

Ally quirked a brow, wondering if pretending to hate Austin would actually help her situation anymore, they would have to be extra careful with each other, no kissing in the office anymore, hell not even any spontaneous office chats anymore. But it was worth it if she could finally get John off of her back once and for all, and it wasn't like they'd never get to speak to each other, in fact they lived together. Plus, with the way things were going for Ally, not much would change, she rarely saw much of Austin at the office anymore anyway, often times she didn't even speak to him until she got home.

"If you think we're capable of pretending to hate each other, then I guess I have no choice but to agree. I don't know how much longer I can deal with John breathing down my neck because of you."

Austin cracked a goofy smile, happy that his wife finally agreed with one of his ideas for once. Hopefully he wouldn't regret this idea in the long run.

"I know with you, I can get through anything. We can do this," he replied, leaning forwards and kissing her passionately on the lips.

~œ~

After their heated conversation, Ally decided to take a dip in the pool to relax. She hated wasting her time thinking about John, he didn't deserve to spend so much time fogging her thoughts. She floated silently on a yellow blow-up pool accessory that Austin thought would suit her well, wondering about any and everything that didn't contribute to John.

"Its been a good three hours since you came out here and you've been sitting in the same position since then," Austin teased, standing at the edge of the water.

"I know, but its just so beautiful out here, and the sun feels so good. I don't know how I'm going to leave all this behind in three days," she said, removing her sunglasses and squinting against the sunlight to get a better look at her husband.

Austin tried to avoid thinking about how amazing she looked in her red and yellow bikini, in fact, whenever they swam together he would make sure to distract himself by splashing water at her or closing his eyes and floating on his back, pretending to relax. However in that moment, it wasn't something he could avoid, he wasn't dressed for swimming, in fact he sported a faded black pair of cargo shorts and a buttoned up short sleeved shirt. He was sure the outfit itself wasn't too good looking, but they were on vacation for crying out loud, for once he didn't have to care about how he looked everywhere he went.

"Why don't you come inside and have some breakfast, you didn't eat this morning after our conversation and I'm sure you're hungry. I made pancakes and bacon," he replied, deciding to completely change the subject and forget about those thoughts that were beginning to send him over the edge.

Ally rolled her eyes but obliged, paddling to to the edge of the pool with her hands and pulling herself off of the pool float in one swift motion; "Food does sound nice right now I guess," she muttered to herself, as she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body.

"I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to pretend to hate you when you're this good looking," Austin spoke, following her as she entered the kitchen.

She chuckled and met her husbands gaze for a split second; "That's why we live together, so you don't have to silently suffer for the next year and a half."

"A year and a half huh?" he said; "I didn't process that it's really gonna be that long until your contract with John is up. We have to keep this charade up for a long time, I hope it doesn't start to take a toll on our relationship."

"Look Austin, you said it yourself, we're not gonna lose this war without putting up a fight, if anything this will just make us stronger," she said, grabbing a plate from one of the cabinets and forking two pancakes onto it; "Plus, we're still on vacation. We've discussed what we needed to and now we can forget about it until we're at the airport back home. Until then, I think we should just enjoy each others company while we can, who knows what life is going to be like when we get back there."

"I know, its just really hard to not think about, hell its basically what our lives have been revolving around for a majority of this relationship. And that's not necessarily a good or a bad thing, its just really annoying that talking about him is what we're used to," he responded.

"Well starting right now, unless we absolutely have to bring it up, John's name won't be mentioned again in our everyday lives. We're going to pretend like he doesn't even exist outside of the office, or better yet in general," she replied as she took a big bite of her pancakes.

Austin simply nodded his head, watching as Ally rambled on about how good his pancakes were. He wondered if it would really be that easy to forget about someone that had such control over their life at all times.

~œ~

"Movies are really stupid, and I don't want to watch one," Austin argued, folding his arms across his chest.

"You're so unfair, we've been doing everything you want to do and now that I finally want to do something you won't even do it with me," Ally said, pouting her lip.

"Yes but, you've even said it before with your own mouth, we know most of these people so its weird watching them in movies, especially since most of them are royal ass holes," he replied.

"Yes but, if you're like me then you can look past their shitty attitudes and enjoy the damn movie."

"Can't you pick something else for us to do? Like play a board game or bake some cookies or hell even write some music," he whined, throwing his head back to emphasize his displease.

Ally shook her head, wondering how it was possible that she, of all people, fell for a whiny, over dramatic brat. It was cute and even a little bit funny sometimes, but in that moment Ally couldn't help but hate that side of her husband.

"Since you're so up in arms about watching a damn movie why don't we light some candles and listen to some music," she suggested, grabbing her empty wine glass off of the table and ushering into the kitchen to place it in the sink.

"See, now that's an idea I can get behind!" Austin replied, visibly perking at her suggestion; "I'll go grab some candles, you pick the music and we'll just relax with each other."

As Austin disappeared into another room, Ally made her way back into the living room to skim through his never ending collection or records and CD's, she knew it was possible to just simply connect her phone to the Bluetooth, but sometimes popping in a CD and putting away her phone made it easier to forget the life she lived. Sometimes it made her forget that technology even existed. And that was what she wanted in that moment with Austin, she wanted to forget about her phone and the television and the computer and just live in the moment.

For once, she didn't want to care about her decisions, she just wanted to let everything be.

She didn't take long to choose a few artists she wanted to listen to, Michael Jackson, The Beatles and, Whitney Houston were among some of the artists she chose. She popped the CD's into his stereo, making sure to click shuffle so that the sounds would rotate from artist to artist. Then she laid on her back and closed her eyes as Whitney Houston's "Saving all my Love," came swiftly through the speakers.

"I'm back," Austin announced, turning his attention towards Ally; "I see you've made yourself comfortable." He sat on his knees and placed five plain white candles onto his coffee table, lighting every one of them with each flick of his lighter. He then took a spot next to her, grabbing hold of her hand and letting every riff and note of the music cater to him.

It was crazy for him to think about how different things were between he and Ally. It felt like just yesterday when they were spitting insults at each other and refusing to sleep in the same room or even breathe the same air. While their hatred was short lived, it was passion filled, just like the music they wrote together. Ally seemed to be the only person who would ever understand the same pain he went through, his parents simply didn't understand, and Dez couldn't very much relate because he wasn't famous either. Ally though, she understood, with every bone in her body. She knew how it felt to be so overwhelmed to the point where you just want to disappear without a trace, or a word left behind. No one could relate to Austin the last time he was in New York. He had no one to spend his time with, no one to lean on when he found himself crying out of frustration and hurt. He remembered feeling drained when he returned home, he vowed to never go back and even tried to sell the place despite his mothers protests. It was only Jimmy that convinced him to keep it; "One day it might come in handy again," he argued with Austin on that rainy evening. And at that time Austin scoffed in dismay at the mans disapproval, he owned it after all, how dare he tell him what he could and could not do.

However now, being in that moment with Ally. He couldn't help but thank Jimmy for convincing him to keep it, because if it wasn't for that damned place, Ally would still be suffering back at home at the hands of her manager. And if not that- they would be staying in a hotel room where paparazzi would invade their privacy every chance they got, they would never have a true sense of relaxation and they would never get to open the blinds to gaze at the beaming sun and all its glory. They would never have the chance to just be them.

As The Beatles song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," filled the speakers after two hours of not talking between the two, Austin couldn't help himself any longer. His eyes peeled open, squinting against the dim light the melted candles were beaming in his direction.

He lifted himself onto his elbow so he could get a good look at the woman, her brown and blonde highlighted hair spilled perfectly onto the carpet below her as she tapped her free hand against the floor to the beat of the song. She was unaware of Austin's new position, too lost in her own world to realize that the man was gazing at her with pure admiration.

"I love you," he spoke, his voice barely audible against the musics soft hum through the speakers; "And damn its gonna be hard to pretend like I don't when we go back home because I see you through brand new eyes already, every time I see you, my heart goes crazy and I can't keep myself from looking at you and thinking about how lucky I am to know you."

Ally squeezed his hand, opening her eyes and sitting up from her rather uncomfortable position on the floor. She had so much to say, but yet not enough words to form a proper sentence.

"You don't have to say it back," he added; "I don't care if you don't say it back, I just need you to know that you're all I've ever wanted and more."

Ally didn't leave enough time for Austin to continue rambling before her lips crashed into his. It wasn't long before Austin gave an eager response, pulling her towards his lap so that she could straddle him.

She knew in that moment that everything was going to be okay eventually. But even more so, she knew that she loved Austin with everything in her heart, no words could describe the feeling she felt when he wrapped his arms around her at night. Nothing would ever emit to the way she felt when he whispered sweet things into her ear at the studio, telling her everything would be alright, sending chills down her spine. There were so many things she didn't know about the man but despite that she couldn't help but fall for him anyway.

Everything about him was beautiful.

The way they moved in sync, and thought the same things, and laughed at each others corny jokes. That was all Ally ever wanted.

As the two made love filled with passion and lust and desire that night, Ally knew that Austin would jump over a thousand moons just to keep them afloat. And that's what made her happy.

"I love you too, Austin," she whispered as she lay in his arms that night.

They weren't letting go without a fight.

Ehm. Wow I'm updating and it hasn't been months since my last chapter? Thats craaaazy.

Anyway just in case you guys didn't catch that, they had sex. But you know I'm not good at writing sex scenes, and as many times as I tried, it just didn't work out for me, or this story. So use your wild imagination with that.

Glad to see that people are still enjoying this story, hopefully I can type out another one soon!

Until next time De Mi Amor!

Nikki x3