Downtown (auston matthews x oc)

-fifteen-

𝓝𝓸𝓻𝓪

Nora and Auston went back and forth asking questions for well over two hours. She learned he was afraid of snakes and would never go sky-diving; his favorite color was green, in general, but his favorite color to wear was black. He didn't like sad movies, since they would almost certainly make him cry, but horror movies rarely bothered him because he didn't believe in ghosts. His favorite family vacation was a trip to Florida when he was eleven, and he'd taken some online university classes despite foregoing traditional college to play hockey in Switzerland before turning pro in North America.

Somehow, Nora avoided the subject of her parents' death, even though Auston asked about her childhood and what her folks were like. She didn't want him to know that their loss still kept her up some nights, and the loneliness she felt in their absence was palpable no matter where she went. Besides her few friends, Nora really was all alone.

Which is perhaps why she was so comforted by the gentle rise and fall of Auston's chest beneath her head, the absent movement of his fingers on her side. Nora didn't want to fall asleep, didn't want to stop talking to him, laughing with him, but her eyelids were getting heavy.

Auston, apparently noticing it, chuckled, "Want me to get going, sleepyhead?"

Nora sighed and lifted her head a little to look at him. She didn't want him to go, but she couldn't find the words to tell him. She settled for, "I'm not sleepy at all." The words were slow and far from convincing, which is probably why Auston laughed and pulled her tighter to his chest.

"Sure you're not," he teased. "You work tomorrow?"

Nora nodded against him. "Five p.m. to four a.m.," she replied. "Thank god it's not a weekend—then it would be until six a.m."

"Jesus," Auston scoffed. "How do you even function?"

She shrugged—because honestly, she wasn't sure. Truth be told, functioning might not have been the right word for whatever she'd been doing since her parents died. She was just going through the motions, seeking comfort in the routine and mundanity of things. It hurt to think too hard about it.

"Well, I'll let you get some sleep," concluded Auston, voice soft, though he didn't actually move to get up off the bed.

"Okay," Nora whispered, starting to lift her head. She blinked up at him, eyes glassy with exhaustion, but he still looked at her with the sweetest adoration. It made Nora melt a little.

Gently, Auston nudged her chin upwards with his fingers, gaze fixated on her lips. Unable to convince herself against it, Nora slipped her hand behind his neck and pulled him down enough to meet her. The moment she started kissing him, Nora knew she wouldn't be able to stop. Fortunately, it didn't seem like Auston had any interest in stopping, either, because he eagerly edged open Nora's lips with his tongue, wrestling his fingers into her hair as he did it.

A little moan escaped Nora's throat when Auston rolled her onto her back and slid his grasp to the underside of her thigh. Nora angled her head just an inch, deepening the kiss. The feeling of his tongue against hers only made Nora more desperate for him: her body was aching to be filled by him—all of him—even though Nora knew it was wrong.

When Auston pulled back from her lips, his mouth found her neck, which nearly sent Nora over the edge. "Auston," she whispered.

"Hm?" he hummed against her skin, leaving a trail of kisses down to Nora's collarbone. 

Nora could hardly form a coherent sentence. Somehow she managed, "We shouldn't."

He lifted his head to brush her lips with his own again. "Shouldn't what?" he murmured, gaze soft. He ran his palm over her hair, and she sunk into his touch with a sigh. "Shouldn't have sex?" he prompted.

Weakly, Nora nodded. "I told you," she started, but Auston didn't let her finish.

"You're not the super cool chill girl," he finished for her, smiling. "I know."

"I'm not good at just sleeping with guys," she murmured, embarrassed. Auston leaned down to kiss her softly again, and she added, "I get attached."

It was the understatement of the century, though Nora would never admit it. She craved comfort, especially after everything that had happened, and anything that fell outside of routine order was decidedly not comfortable. Already, Auston was occupying too much real estate in her brain. She didn't want to miss him when he inevitably left her behind for someone or something else.

Still, his touch against her cheek was so soft and kind that Nora was close to throwing all her anxiety out the window for him. Auston said nothing for a few moments, eyes tracing Nora's expression, before he inquired, "You think you'd get attached to me?"

Nora didn't want to say she was worried she might already be well on her way to getting attached, so she settled for a quiet, "Maybe."

Auston took a deep breath and sunk closer to Nora. "What about if I thought I was gonna get attached to you?" he murmured.

It caught Nora off-guard. She blinked up at him, eyes a little wide. "I'm not worth getting attached to," she assured him, voice weak.

Auston furrowed his brows at her, clearly unconvinced. Instead of offering a reply, he kissed her again, letting his lips linger on hers. His touch made Nora's whole body feel like liquid, made her heart pound faster than she thought possible.

After another beat, Auston remarked, "I think you're wrong."

"Wrong?" echoed Nora.

He nodded. "Wrong about you not being worth it," he sighed.

"You don't even know me," Nora reminded him.

"No," he replied, "but I want to."