Hey everyone, welcome back to this story!

So I'm away on vacation for a week now, so the plan is that chapters should start flowing now that I'm away from home, I always prefer writing when I'm away… although I do have my aunt and uncle's dog with me who is an giant fluff-ball who always wants to play so I might get a bit distracted…

So I've decided that I am definitely going to keep a little bit of focus on the relationships between Elliot & Dallas and Trish & Kira, because they are kind of vital to the overall plot, but I will do my best to retain most of the attention on Austin and Ally. However, this chapter will feature them less (if at all) because we have some catching up to do with the other characters! Sorry if you're only here for the Auslly, it will come I promise! But you might as well at least try and enjoy the other characters' storyline, you might find a new OTP along the way… unlikely, but you never know.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own RENT: The Musical (or movie), Austin & Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.

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Chapter 11

Meanwhile, on the other side of the square, Dallas and Elliot had just arrived at the market, coming from Dallas' where they had gone to chill for a bit after the Life Support meeting.

The two hadn't stopped talking and laughing since the second they met, it was as if the second they laid upon each other they knew they were soul mates. And anyone else who saw them together would agree – they'd only met earlier that day but were already the most lovely couple.

They stopped on a corner as they arrived, turning to face each other as Elliot took both of Dallas' hands in his. "So what's the deal, are we like a thing now?" Elliot asked nervously. He knew he had already fallen for Dallas, and hard, but didn't know if Dallas was being so kind to him because he liked him or if he just pitied him after finding him so badly beaten up.

"Honey, we're not a thing." Dallas replied with a smile, looking into Elliot's eyes, whose heart had just dropped about 70 feet. "We're everything." Dallas finished, before starting to giggle.

Elliot had never felt so relieved in his life, as he started giggling along with his now boyfriend, before leaning down to kiss him. However, just as their lips were about to meet Dallas gabbed his hand and ran off towards the market, laughing as he pulled Elliot with him.

"Dallas, you know I can't afford anything here, I just got mugged, remember?" Elliot said as Dallas dragged him towards the stalls.

"Which is exactly why I'm buying you anything you want! It's Christmas, Ell!" Dallas replied, fishing out his wallet from his bag. "What do you want? A coat? A bag? One of each?"

"Please, Dal, I don't want you to buy me anything because I know I'll never be able to pay you back." Elliot reasoned.

"You don't have to pay me back!" Dallas replied desperately. "I don't want you to have to pay me back."

"But I don't want to take anything from you for nothing in return." Elliot replied, feeling bad. "Is there anything I can do for you so this isn't just a one-way thing?"

Dallas looked up at Elliot with a glint in his eye and a small smile on his face. "Yes. One thing."

"Name it." Elliot replied, matching Dallas' smile.

"Love me."

"W-what?" Elliot stuttered, unsure if he heard correctly.

"Just love me. I know you have nowhere decent to live, and you're not happy, so come and live with me and be with me and be happy. I'll cover you. If you really want to pay me back, then you can do it with a thousand kisses. That's all I want in return, babe. Deal?"

Elliot grinned at him, nothing but adoration in his eyes. "I think I can manage that. Deal." He replied, leaning his forehead against his boyfriend's.

"Good." Dallas giggled. "You wanna start the repayments now?" He asked with a flirtatious smirk.

"What an excellent idea." Elliot replied, quickly leaning in to catch Dallas' lips with his.

After a few seconds, Dallas pulled away and turned towards the stalls again. "Now that that's sorted, what do you want?" He asked, inspecting a handbag which looked pretty good but he was certain would fall apart within the day.

"Umm… well…" Elliot said, still feeling slightly awkward about how Dallas had basically offered to buy him everything he needed forever. "That coat's kinda nice," He said, pointing to an obviously-stolen fur coat. "but you know you don't have to-''

"The coat it is!" Dallas proclaimed happily, handing over the money to the vendor, before picking it up and putting it on Elliot. "Perfect!" He said happily. The coat really suited Elliot.

Elliot smiled looking down at the coat now surrounding his body, it would definitely keep him warmer and help to avoid a cold.

"Thanks Dal." He said warmly, staring into his eyes.

"No problem babe." Dallas replied before leaning up to give Elliot a quick peck on the lips. "Hey, isn't that Dez over there?" Dallas asks, looking over Elliot's shoulder and seeing the tall redhead talking to a short brunette girl he hadn't seen before.

Elliot turned his head to the direction Dallas was looking. "Oh yeah, but who's the girl?" He questioned curiously.

"No clue…" Dallas replied. "Let's go find out!" And before Elliot could even think about a response he was being dragged off towards them.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away at the performance space, Trish was frantically trying to help finish setting everything up for Kira's performance, whilst being hounded by one of her colleagues for falling behind on some work regarding a case they had been assigned to together. She was balancing her cell phone between her cheek and shoulder whilst helplessly fumbling with a microphone cable. "I know Steve, I'm sorry, I promise I'll review it over the next few days and we can talk about this on the 28th."

The sound of Kira loudly doing her (completely over-the-top in Trish's opinion) vocal warm-ups interrupted a vital piece of information Trish was being told about their client, and at this point Trish was ready to kill someone.

"Look, Steve, from what I've read already it seems like a pretty straightforward case to me. Sexual harassment with a side of racism – so aim to sue and a settlement will do it. How does that sound for now?" She asked, switiching the phone to the other side of her face and standing up to walk over to the box of cables.

Just as she got across the room she got another call coming in. "Thanks Steve, you're great. Hang on I have another call." She switched lines. "Hello?"

"Hey honey!" Came the reply. It was her father.

"Hi daddy. What's up?" She replied.

"It's Christmas Eve, just wanted to wish you a happy Christmas and tell you we all miss you!" He answered. Trish's family lived in Mexico and she very rarely got to see them, having moved to Miami 5 years ago for a better education and career.

"Aww I miss you too. Love to the family." Trish replied, only half concentrating on the conversation because of the issues the stupid microphone was having that she had no clue how to fix.

"So what are your plans? I hope you're going to take some time off for yourself." Trish's father knew she had a tendency to overwork herself, since she had always been so driven on getting the best results she possibly could – that's why she was such a good lawyer.

"Yeah dad, Kira has her protest performance tonight so I'm helping her with that but we're having the day off together tomorrow."

"Ah that's good." There was a small silence. "So… how is everything between you?" He had always been a little sceptical of their relationship, always wanting the best for his daughter.

"We're okay." Trish replied absentmindedly.

"Just okay?"

"Yeah… we haven't been together long, dad." Trish replied, realising she'd said the wrong thing.

"I know that honey, I just want to make sure you're making the right choice."

Trish was not in the mood for this conversation. "I know dad, it's fine trust me. I'll call you tomorrow. Love to the family." And with that she hung up on her dad and returned to the other line. "Sorry about that Steve. Any progress?"

After a few more minutes of law jargon and fumbling with equipment mixed with mild language, Trish was done. "That's great Steve, thanks. See you soon."

Trish stood up and let out a long sigh as she put her cell phone back in her pocket. Kira came out from her dressing room and walked over to Trish, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Hey babe, how's it all going?"

"We're all set." Trish replied with a proud smile.

"Yay!" Kira squealed with excitement. "Oh I'm so excited for this performance, pookie."

Trish grimaced at the name. "Yeah. Me too."

"Well, I need to go and finish getting ready. See you after the show." With that, Kira placed one more kiss on Trish's cheek and strutted off back to her dressing room.

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Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Again, sorry to all the Auslly lovers who want nothing more than that but these characters are all vital in the long-run!

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Catch you later!