Work Text:
It's a while before they're able to get Robert to the hospital and get everything straightened out in the gym, and once they do Audrey settles into the passenger seat of Nathan's truck with a sigh. It's been a long couple of days, with one thing after another after another, and a few minutes of quiet is exactly what she needs before they resume their search for Arla.
Audrey tilts her head back against the seat and closes her eyes. She's been hit with so much information in the past twenty-four hours she expects her thoughts to be racing, sorting through it all, trying to absorb what it all means, but her mind is curiously, comfortably blank. When the driver's side door opens she doesn't even bother opening her eyes, just tips her head in that direction and listens to Nathan climb in. He puts on his seatbelt, puts the key in the ignition, but doesn't start the truck. "You awake over there, Parker?" he asks, quietly enough that he wouldn't have woken her had she truly dozed off, and she smiles before opening her eyes.
"Yeah," she says. "Just appreciating the quiet. I get the feeling it'll be a while before we get any time to relax again."
He nods in agreement but doesn't say anything, not taking his eyes from her, and when she realizes she's staring right back Audrey blushes and averts her gaze.
"We, um." She lets out an awkward, breathless laugh, her eyes darting around the darkened interior of the truck, and she can feel the way Nathan's still looking at her. "We should get going. Everyone's waiting for us."
'Everyone' is Duke and a couple of people he trusts for backup, Dwight when he gets finished with tonight's incident, and maybe Vince and Dave if they've managed to stay up this late – hardly the large group of people she's making it out to be. Nathan doesn't call her on it, though, just reaches for the key without comment.
The trip back to the Gull is quiet, neither of them in the mood to talk; Audrey knows they're going to have to rehash everything with the others anyway and she just wants a little bit longer not to think about how few hours she has left, and how much they still have to do.
She can't stop herself from watching Nathan, her gaze wandering over to him, studying his profile, memorizing his features as if she could somehow remember him even if she forgets everything else. It's ridiculous, she knows – if she can't even remember having a baby, can't remember her own son, then it isn't likely that she'll remember Nathan no matter how very much she wants to – but part of her still hopes.
He keeps glancing over at her, too, in between watching the road, and every time their gazes catch and hold she feels a strange sort of tension thrum through her.
It takes her a while to realize that it's anticipation.
It's been almost two hours since that dance, two hours filled with the usual adrenaline rush from figuring out the answer, chasing down Robert, almost being attacked with a wrench, trying to get Arla before she left the school, getting Robert stable, updating the paramedics on his injury, and calling in Dwight to tidy up the loose ends. All of that, and her body still remembers the feeling of Nathan pressed against her, of her hand in his, of his breath warm against her face as he shared his memories of high school. Every half-shy look they share is building on that feeling, and if this were the end of a normal date – or even if they were just heading home after a case and not working against the Hunter's deadline – Audrey has a pretty good idea of how this night would end.
The meteor storm is coming, though, and they don't have time for anything except finding a way to keep her here. Maybe, she thinks wistfully, they'll be able to beat the cycle this time around, and she and Nathan will have the time they need to figure this out.
She's been so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't notice they've reached the Gull until the Bronco comes to a stop. She's a little slow bringing herself out of her what ifs, and by the time Audrey undoes her seatbelt and opens the door, Nathan's already come around to her side. Although he's never done so before she doesn't think twice about taking the hand he offers, putting her other hand on his shoulder for balance, and only recognizes her mistake when she realizes exactly how close to him she is once she slides out of the truck.
They're standing in much the same position as they were when dancing, one of her hands in his, her other hand on his shoulder, nearly pressed together, only this time there's no one else around and no immediate worry of a murderer nearby to distract them. And now, as then, she finds herself staring at his mouth.
They should head inside, regroup and figure out what they're doing next, but neither of them moves.
This, Audrey thinks, is what she should be worrying about, if her life were anything close to normal: where she wants this relationship to go, and how fast, and can they balance it with work without making a mess of things. Not whether she'll even still exist this time tomorrow.
She starts wondering about what would happen next if this were any other night, free of meteor storms and barns, but that train of thought, she decides, is a very bad idea. Audrey pulls her gaze from his lips to his eyes, but that doesn't help at all because her words still come out more air than substance. "I'm—" She makes herself stare at his shoulder instead. "I'm going to go up and change before we meet with the others."
Nathan brings his free hand up to curl around the wrist by his shoulder, his fingers skimming along her bare inner arm. "I'll come with you."
"I'll be fine." She's watching his hand move up and down along her forearm, the touch so light it almost tickles, and Audrey tries not to think about how his fingers might feel against the rest of her body.
"Arla might be waiting for you."
It's hard to focus on what he's saying when he's touching her like this. "I've got my gun," she manages to answer. "Besides, Arla wants me alive."
"But we don't know why." She has no idea how he's able to carry on the conversation when they're pressed together like this. If it weren't for the faint unsteadiness of his tone, she would think he was unaffected. "I'd feel better checking your place for myself."
He's still running his fingertips along her arm and, god, if she doesn't leave soon, she's not sure she'll be able to. "Nathan," she breathes. "If you come up with me, I'm not sure you'll be leaving."
She feels her face heat with the admission, hears his breath hitch at her words, and then he's stepping even closer, crowding her against the truck so that she has absolutely nowhere to go. Her fingers curve into his shoulder, holding on, and the blood is rushing so loudly in her ears that she can hardly hear his reply. "I'm okay with that if you are."
She's tempted, so, so tempted, but they still have so much to do and Duke, at the very least, will come looking for them if they take much longer. "Everyone's waiting for us. When we—" Audrey falters; even though he clearly wants the same thing, she finds it hard to say the words. Maybe it's too much like tempting fate. She takes a breath, then smooths her hand down from his shoulder to his chest, sliding it under his vest to press over his heart. "When that happens, I want us to have time."
His grip on her tightens, his breathing not quite even and his heart pounding beneath her palm, and when he lowers his head Audrey lifts hers in spite of herself; she's hit the limits of her self-control and if Nathan's going to kiss her, she's not going to stop them from following wherever this leads.
He doesn't kiss her, though, at least not in the way she was expecting. His lips land on her cheek, a mirror of the first time she kissed him, only softer and not as rushed. When he pulls away Audrey doesn't even have time to decide if she's more relieved or disappointed before he shifts and leans back in, his lips landing at the corner of her mouth.
For a long, long moment, neither of them moves. All it would take is the tiniest turn of the head from either of them and his lips would be on hers, and if that happened Audrey doesn't have the slightest doubt about where they would end up.
Nathan's the one who ends up making the decision for them and when he steps back, the night air is cold against her flushed skin. "You should—" He pauses, closing his eyes and breathing out hard before trying again. "You should head upstairs."
He opens his eyes again, looking down at her, and Audrey can only nod her agreement; she doesn't trust her voice just now. She hesitates for a moment, curling her fingers against his chest in one last caress, then takes a step sideways so that she's no longer caught between him and the truck. Once she starts moving she doesn't look back, because she's so very close to saying to hell with it and dragging him up to her apartment with her and she's fairly certain that the expression on his face right now is more than enough to do her in.
She catches sight of Duke standing in the doorway of the Gull and cheeks that have just started to cool flame in embarrassment. Nathan's body would have blocked most of Duke's view and they hadn't even really done anything anyway, but Audrey somehow feels as if she's been caught in the act of something incredibly intimate.
He doesn't say anything, though, doesn't give her a leering look or a knowing grin, just tips his head in a small nod of acknowledgement. She returns the gesture before continuing up the steps to her apartment, certain in the knowledge that if she does end up going away sometime in the next few hours, Duke will have Nathan's back. It's a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.
At the top of the staircase, she pauses to take a breath to settle herself. The skinwalker's still on the loose, might very well be waiting for her in her apartment, and the cold dose of reality is enough to snap her attention back to the here and now. She draws her weapon and clears the deck and her apartment. As she changes her clothes and heads back downstairs, Audrey promises herself that, as long as she has any say in the matter, she and Nathan will, somehow, find a way.
--end--