late nights || aurora & naveed
naveed believed fairy-tales were told to keep the hopeless romantics on their toes. he never understood those who believed love was out there, he never understood how it all worked. bentley described him as cynical and for the most part it was true. he wasn’t a hopeless romantic like the rest of the world out there but a realist. he told her there were no such things as the ‘prince’ returning for the princess. there was never a happy ending in the real world. people fell in love and fell out of love. people get married and marriage fail. the love doesn't’ stop at the kisses that keep you wanting more. it doesn’t end at the lingering touches but it blossoms from friendships. one minute you’re sitting there swearing to yourself nothing would get in the way, nothing could possibly ruin something so good until you become the catalyst in the equation. some people could take the chance of a lifetime by giving into the temptation and finding an everlasting happiness that comes from it but with naveed it only took himself days of convincing himself to end the thoughts consuming every inch of his mind, day after day as he lied next to her and day after day he’d catch himself seeing her under a new light. a light that exposed parts of her that he saw but something was different. he’d shrug it off – everyone shared bits about them, that’s what best friends did. he saw aurora every night before bed but he woke up to someone he was falling in love. maybe bentley had been right, love was out there and there were happy endings whether or not people wanted to believe so but naveed still had his suspicions throughout the events in his life that made him believe so. how long until he and her would last? how long until one of them decide it wasn’t for them anymore? the thoughts only closed a large hand around his heart, causing his chest cavity to tighten. how long until they were back to being in a cold war against each other? why had naveed brought such into his own mind was beyond him. he was beyond ecstatic that things were working out in this point of his life; where he was laughing with the girl who’s smile lit each star in the sky. he was beaming with happiness every time they kissed, his body aching for the touch and wanting more as each moment passed with it’s ending. he was smiling, a genuine smile upon his pink lips. the smile didn’t stop there but was evident in the way his eyes crinkled with every touched grin on his features. he saw the happiness clearly in aurora and it only continued to match his. maybe he was imagining the whole deal, this could have easily been himself being caught up in another dream but it was all real and even then he had a hard time believing that aurora was here with him. that she was sharing the smiles and the laughs with him and that she was kissing him back. naveed had to give it to those that bragged about this, bragged about their girlfriends – he never entirely understood. he wanted to step out and scream about it, scream that he was in love. he wanted the world to know but for now she was his world and it didn’t get better than that. it couldn’t have. he laughed, heard bobbing back as his hand covered his mouth at her comment. “yeah two suitcases. i kind of love shopping for shoes, it’s therapeutically. you just have to have new things, the best things – i have a persona to keep up with aurora.” he addressed with his eyes averting to the sheets. “oh shut up, i don’t have an addiction but hey – it’s a pretty good damn addiction to have in my opinion.” he retorted followed by his tongue sticking out momentarily. there it was again, her smile that only caught him mirroring one of his own. naveed leaned forward, teeth grazing the tip of her nose. “it was my idea but now ..” he peered down at the places where her touch had left him high, “i was going to say i regret it but what can you do? at least i have the sheets to keep me warm. not like there’s someone else in here.” his voice trailed along with his eyes as they turned to the ceiling. his head tilt slightly back, occasionally looking to her from his positioning. there was something addicting in the way his lips moved against hers. he was on a ride he didn’t want to get off. he had to tell himself it wasn’t right, it wasn’t at the right time but he was consumed by the thought of running his fingers along the familiar porcelain skin. it was hard to keep his mind from wandering from wanting more, even so when he was being pushed down towards the bed. he called out her name in one single breath, wanting her lips to never leave the place from his neck. but as soon as it had happened, it was over and he was lying there with eyes fluttering open with her absence. he turned his head, face flushed from what had just happened. he ran his hand over his face, “you’re making this really hard.” he said, managing to grin at her. “alright get up, get that shirt on before i’m kissing you again.” he told her, leaning over to press a small kiss to her forehead. he rose from the bed now – maybe that’d keep him from giving into the thoughts bouncing around in his mind. he only paced before the foot of his bed as he detached himself from her. his index tapped on his bottom lip with his gaze fixated on her. his arms stretched above his head followed by a yawn, “all this excitement left me feeling tired. now..” he started, walking over to the bed once more and taking a seat, “.. i know i’m going to have the best nights sleep in a while.” which was true, it was slightly odd to lie in a bed completely unfamiliar to him without her by his side. his body took shape of her bed, finding comfort in her sheets and the mattress and her. without it, he was left restless and lacking the sleep he really needed.
for a moment aurora could pretend it had always been like this. that there was never a time where they hadn’t been happy. that there was never a time when they had been fighting, months and months spent ignoring each other. for a moment aurora could imagine that it had been just now when he had told her he loved her, and she had said it back straight away. that it hadn’t been over a month ago inside a closet, that she hadn’t run away like a child spooked by a dream. but that wasn’t the case. and as much as she wished it had happened that way, all smooth and fairy tale-like, it hadn’t. but nothing with the two of them had ever been conventional. no, straight from the start it had all been by chance. where would she have been now if he hadn’t shown up all those years ago to watch her race? would they still have found each other? would she have been in the arms of another? fast forward, then. what if that night at the charity gala when they were dancing, bodies pressed closer than they had ever been, he hadn’t pulled back? what if he hadn’t gazed into her eyes, expression unreadable, and kissed her? would they still be here now? or perhaps a better question would be what would have happened if aurora hadn’t fought it. instead, what if she had accepted the fact that the very moment his lips pressed against her for that first time, something had flashed within her. it was a simple moment, a warm stirring of her chest. one moment he was looking at her and the next he was kissing her, and all she was thinking was oh, this is something. but she’d reacted in the complete opposite way. she ran away like a fool, like a coward. she’d yelled at him for ruining their friendship, allowed him to blame himself for making such a careless mistake when the whole time she knew it was something she’d been hoping he’d do for months. because at first, yes, it was friendship. a real friendship like she’d never known before. a friendship with someone compassionate and thoughtful, a friendship with someone who kept the bed warm. but she’d fallen for him already, before that night he first kissed her she’d already known it. she’d never admit it, but she had known it. aurora didn’t know when it had happened-- if naveed were to ask her to pinpoint the day she knew she was in love, the girl would never be able to answer. one day everything was normal and the next she’s looking at him, really looking at him. and like a bullet in the back it all hits her, how stupidly in love with this boy she was. but aurora had never told him, and because of that it didn’t matter. so even further forward, then. to those long months spent apart. to the way his absence in her life felt like something physical, and ache she could not heal. not with all the drugs and alcohol in the world, not with the foreign streets of every city they visited. there was nothing aurora could do to stop herself from missing him, from noticing the way the bed felt empty without him there. and then even further down the road, then. to that moment when they’d both been drunk to the point of giddiness. to that evening she spent kissing him for the first time since the dance, too intoxicated to stop herself from acting on her feelings. but she had left then, too. after waking up in his bed she hadn’t stayed, she hadn’t let him see her. aurora left without a trace, letting the boy believe it was all a dream. she’d convinced herself she was doing him a favor, sparing him from being with such a horrible person. but in return she’d made herself even more miserable, unable to cope with the fact that she was already stupidly in love. and then even further forward to the moment that had changed it all. that childish dare that landed the both of them in a closet, lips locked in an act of passion. she’d never forget the way he looked at her, eyes wild, as if it was the first time he’d ever set eyes on her. when he told her he loved her she had felt her heart jump into her throat, both in unadulterated fear and happiness. and so she had ran again, as if running from him could have solved it all. as if pushing him away, pushing her own feelings away, could erase the fact that she’d spent months wishing she’d had the courage and the audacity to have told him those three same words. if aurora had spared them those torturous months apart, if she had told him she loved him from the moment she knew, would they have been as happy as they were now? or would they have gotten together only to fall apart, another mistake aurora was no doubt bound to make in the future causing them to split? or would they be like this forever, two people irrevocably in love? maybe all the what if’s in the world would mean something to aurora later, but as for now she wanted nothing to do with those kind of thoughts. all she wanted to do was focus on the here, the fact that she told him she loved him ad she’d meant it. the fact that now they were together for the first time in months, and she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life. “i learn new things about you everyday, nav. any more secret addictions i should know about?” she teased, eyes alight in mirth. “oh totally, there’s nobody else in this room you can cuddle with to keep warm. what a cold and lonely night it will be for you.” aurora played along, unable to keep from grinning. once she was kissing him it was hard to stop, the way his body felt against hers more addicting than anything she’d ever gotten high off of. control was never aurora’s strong suit, but around naveed it was even harder. against his hands she melted, in awe at his ability to turn a forest fire like her into nothing but running water. lying next to him she let out a laugh, fingertips brushing the side of his face. “oh, i’ve noticed.” she shot back with a smirk, unable to help herself. aurora was smiling again as she obliged to his command, sitting up so she could retrieve the shirt he’d lent her and slip it over her head. the damn thing smelled like him-- and like any female protagonist in a romance film, it made her beam just that much brighter. this is what it’s supposed to feel like, she decided. this is the feeling people fight so hard for. as soon as he yawned she was doing the same, not having realized just how tired she herself was without taking away the distraction of his lips on hers. aurora crawled into the spot next to him, lifting the sheets above them both before resting her against his chest. it only felt natural to curl up against him, their bodies fitting perfectly together for the first time in months. the girl wanted to grab his hands, to hold his face between her fingers and look at him. she wanted to promise him that it would always be like this. she wanted to ask him to never leave her, to keep on loving her for as long as they had. instead she continued to lay there, listening to the steady beat of his heart, the gentle rise and fall of his chest every time he drew a breath relaxing her. “i love you so much, naveed khan.” she stated after a moment with a soft intensity, eyes fluttering shut in an attempt to induce sleep. “i promise i’ll stay.”
