#leoxaura

[gollldrush]

@goldenboybridgers another au!

The lights are almost blinding from her view backstage. It’s hard to see the masses in their seats, screaming and cheering at the announcement of the winner for best country song. Her nose wrinkles as she tears at her cuticles, repeating her speech over and over for presenting artist of the year. She’s still reeling from winning best new artist – seemed appropriate they’d have her announce for this.

As she’s ushered out onto the stage, she smiles and waves to a round of applause. Thankfully everyone quiets on time so she doesn’t need to do all the awkward shushing. Her hands clasp behind her back as she grins and leans into the mic.

“Good evening!” Leo calls, her voice a bit unsteady as she feels the hundreds and hundreds of eyes on her, another wave and awkward bow as people clap and cheer. “Thank you, thank you! As- as many of you know, this year’s winner is a powerhouse and staple in this industry. We’ve all been charmed by their-“ A pause for people to start clapping. “-their larger than life personality, unique lyrical style, and poppy sounds. I’m proud to present this year’s Artist of the Year award to Aurora Bridgers!” Leo leans from the mic and begins clapping as the whole place erupts into cheers.

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“N-nothing.” A tense smile as she motions for the door, trying to get zem to open it before they freeze out here. “I just…”

Her teeth scrape against her bottom lip as she huffs out a sigh – eyes drifting off him and towards the house. She hadn’t really been sure what she wanted to say. Maybe some more ‘it’ll all be okay’ bullshit. Or some hallmark-sounding plea for zem to stop thinking ze had to do this all alone. But the words fail her now, suddenly feeling stupid for even stopping Aura in the first place.

“I just want you to know that… um. You don’t ever have to hide stuff from me. Even if things get hard. I just… y’know. Wanted to repeat that, since you’re so stubborn.” A half-smile and she rolls her eyes, ushering zem into the house.

“Is there anything I can do to help you right now?”

A silent nod when she agrees to come with him, hiding a heavy cough into the crook of his elbow. Another sniffle, wrinkling his nose a little as he tiredly follows Leo out the door. They step outside and a chill runs down zir spine immediately and ze’s wishing so much that ze had brougth a jacket. Home was close, at least. A sneeze hidden against zir shoulder has zem pausing just long enough for Leo to grab zir arm.

Half-lidded, sunken gaze lifts as he glances over at Leo, digging in his pocket for a fresh tissue. He sniffles, blinks at her as if he’s waiting for her to say something until…

“Wait, what?” Ze shifts, leaning against the door of the house lightly. A shiver, arms wrapping around zemselves to try and warm up. Ze flashes a tight-lipped smile, trying to ease the nerves ze can see in her face. He clears his throat, trying to get his voice back a little, though it hardly helps.

“No, er, what were you goin’a say..?”

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@goldenboybridgers

“Are you kidding me?!” Leo is red in the face – holding up a baggie full of white powder that she’d fished out of the pocket of zir jacket. “Was this for you? Or was this for someone else?!”

The bag is tossed directly at zem. She begins to pace afterwards, wringing her hands together. This had been a constant fight between the two of them. All zir promises of rehab, of no longer selling, it was all lies. And she couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m so done with this shit, Aura! I’m done!” Her hands toss in the air and she shakes her head, tears brimming in her eyes. A moment later her stomach lurches but thankfully nothing comes of it. She’s ranting and raving, her rage boiling over and absolutely exploding. “You’re done with this life! Do you hear me? You’re done with it! I’m sick of spending every single day wondering if you’re fucking high or not! I won’t have you do this shit around the fucking baby!”

The word leaves her faster than she can stop it. Suddenly, her hand clasps over her mouth and she stares at him wide-eyed. Entirely silent except for the way she’s heaving in breaths after yelling.

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@goldenboybridgers continued from here

It was a surprise that this had been so easily kept a surprise. With the help of Donovan and Ziva, she’d been able to secure a plane ticket and ride from the airport to Aura’s hotel. Everything had been done so discreetly that, thankfully, not even the media had caught onto her taking a sudden trip.

The moment he calls, she feels her breath catch in her throat. Like maybe ze’d somehow figured her out and now it was all ruined. But when she answers, all she hears is zir giddy voice slurring over the phone. Talking a bit faster than she can keep up with.

“Hi!” She giggles back, head ducking low as she winds through the massive hallways of the hotel – trying to find his damn room amongst all the numbers. “Oh – yeah, no, it’s – it’s not too early. I miss you too.”

And then she hears a whispered apology. Not to her, it seems, but to someone else entirely. Ice shoots through her veins as she finds his room and hesitates outside of it like she’s waiting to hear someone else’s voice. Only quiet…

The rest of their rambling is ignored as her now shaking hand lifts the keycard to the door. It swings open freely and she steps inside, pissed – not even looking at zem, but at who else might be in there.

“Who the fuck were you talking to?”

[gollldrush]

@goldenboybridgers sent: 🎁 from spotify wrapped meme (accepting). --- 🎵 i'mgonnagetyouback by taylor swift!

"Whether I'm gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike, I haven't decided yet... but I'm gonna get you back."

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@goldenboybridgers sent: "I didn't think it was going to be so hard to talk about it." aura & leo.

“I know it’s not easy, but we need to talk about it.” Her thumb idly strokes the back of zir palm, face held in a look of concern. “Your cousin… that whole thing blindsided me. You’ve never… you know, you’ve never told me about your family. My reaction wasn’t right, but after everything… I hope you can kind of understand why I didn’t believe it at first.”

Leo’s gnawing on her bottom lip to the point it threatens to bleed. Hand withdraws only so she can chew on the skin around her nails instead. Anxiety ticking away like a bomb in her chest that’s set to explode. These conversations were rough, though she knew they were rougher on zem.

“I love you, and I want to know. I’m sure there’s nothing you can tell me that’ll shock me.” If only she knew.

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@goldenboybridgers sent: [wake] for aura to wake up to leo at the side of their hospital bed.

It was a rough night – maybe one of the worst so far. When ze’d slipped into a state that could only be described as catatonic after hitting the floor, she’d fully panicked – called 911, begged his nurse to come as fast as she could. Donovan had taken her to the hospital right behind the ambulance – too hysterical to ride inside of it.

She stayed right next to him for hours, her hand twined in his fingers with her face buried against his arm. She listens to zem breathe – exchanges glances with the heart monitor. The doctors said everything looked good. Not to worry. How was she supposed to do anything else?

At some point she’s fallen asleep, woken rapidly by the sound of her name being called. Blinking, she lifts her head to see zem wide awake, staring at her through a fog of confusion.

“Hey, sweetheart.” A little squeeze to his hand. “Hey… we are in the hospital. You had a bad fall.”

[gollldrush]

@goldenboybridgers sent: "We'll be alright." aura & leo, baby au.

The pregnancy had been much harder than anticipated – hospitals stays for days at a time, IV treatments for fluids and nutrients. Various talks of tube feeding if she still couldn’t keep anything down, couldn’t get herself to eat.

Leo’s curled into Aura’s side in the hospital bed, her tear-stained face hidden away against zir chest. Her breathing is slow and ragged as she tries to calm the sudden wave of nausea. While zir words are meant to be comforting, it’s hard to believe in what ze is saying. Especially in one of these low swings where it felt like she might be dying.

“I just want to go home.” She whimpers, blinking back tears – though the effort is useless, as she cries anyway. “Why can’t – why can’t they just do this at home?”

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@goldenboybridgers sent: [ intrude ] receiver walks in on sender treating their wounds

There’s a song humming from her lips as she switches clothes from the washer to the dryer. With her headphones in, she doesn’t hear Aura coming through the front door – not the accompanied stumbling of zem going up the steps. Honestly, she hadn’t been expecting zem home until much, much later.

So imagine her shock when her toes squish into blood on the rug in the upstairs hallway, and the absolute chill that runs down her spine upon seeing his keys discarded on the ground right outside of the bedroom. Her grip on the laundry basket turns almost painful as she creeps closer, nudges the door open with her foot.

“Babe…?” Her pulse is leaping in her throat, shaky hands leave the basket on the bed as she follows the trail of blood to the closed bathroom door. “Aura…?”

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@goldenboybridgers sent: "what? me? jealous? never." fame!leo & aura.

“You are.” Leo raises a brow, grinning. “Just because he’s handsome doesn’t mean I’m into him.” She resumes scrolling on her phone, glancing up every now and again. “Besides, I have to work with him. It’s not like I really have a choice.”

Plus, where was the harm in it even if she had been flirting with him? It’s not like Aura was her boyfriend. Their schedules were too busy, Leo was still fighting through the finalization of her divorce… a custody battle that seemed to have no end in sight. She’d been miserable for so long, it was her right to have a little fun while she wasn’t completely tied down.

“And I thought you weren’t the jealous type…?”

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“No, Aura, this isn’t good!” Clearly she’s beginning to panic – frantic pacing around the room. She doesn’t want to piss him off, but she doesn’t want to watch him die either.

Would he die?

A hard swallow and she’s tearing her fingers through her hair, the braids snagging in her fingers and making her wince from the pain of it. She’s also a bit too inebriated to be thinking clearly enough to help. The room is spinning on its axis, the walls pulsing a bit… two of Aura. But she’s trying her best to think clearly.

“I think… I really think you need to get checked out! What if – what if something happens to your heart?! I don’t…” She groans – hands covering her face. “Aura I thought – I didn’t know you were that fucked up! If I had I wouldn’t have…” She waves her hand, turning away.

Tears begin to well in her eyes from the stress and sudden feeling of guilt. Like she shouldn’t have slept with zem, shouldn’t have brought up the idea of doing it again. Shouldn’t have let Elliot drag her off because then Aura wouldn’t have punched him, and maybe ze this wouldn’t be happening right now.

“I don’t- I don’t know what to do!”

His heart rate is incredibly low despite the fact that he’d done two lines of coke. The combination with alcohol definitely didn’t help matters. But he was stubborn. Admitting to doing 2 lines felt like a crime in it of itself. He’d just wanted Leo to have a perfect night, why did he have to go and fuck it up with his own problems?

Teeth chatter as a shiver runs down his spin, her hand brushing his forehead causing him to whimper slightly. Another cough, dry-heaving again…Panting…

“I dunno…N— Just…” A desperate gasp for air. “Some…Just a little..! I dunno!!” Ze’s being defensive, clearly wishing to not upset Leo, or make her worry. Even though they’re clearly well past that at this point.

Ze brushes zir bangs back from zir forehead as ze hangs zir head over the trashcan, letting Leo go off somewhere. Ze hadn’t noticed what she was doing, too focused on zir own breathing—on trying not to pass out. She touches zir wrist and ze flinches away from her cool fingers, not lifting zir head.

“No..!” He’s practically shouting it, lifting his head momentarily to look at her through squinted eyes. “No ambulance…I’m fine.” A slow, deep breath, dragging his shaking hands back through his hair. “Just coke, Leo…A- and the alcohol, but n- nothin’ else, I swear!” Another cough catches him off guard and he shudders, closing his eyes again with a soft moan. Face contorts as a choked sob wells up in his chest.

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…Fuck…” 

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A soft whine as ze rubs her temple, pushing herself closer when ze pets down the rest of her face. Head buries against zem as she clings for comfort and warmth. More protesting when Aura suddenly stops touching her – peering up at zem through one eye, face scrunched with displeasure.

“Still friends, then.” She muses, grabbing zir wrist to put zir hand back on her face. As ze pulls her to his chest she settles in, yanking the blankets up and around her shoulders. Eyes close, and then she’s completely silent. A few moments pass and she hums, jolting as if she’d fallen asleep on accident.

“I’m tired.” Her hand is still latched around zir wrist, not giving zem much choice in continuing to touch her face. “Maybe I’ll wake up and feel better.”  

After a bit she stops talking, stops moving – body goes a little limp as she falls asleep. Her hand slips off his wrist and tucks back against her, face burying closer to zir skin. And then she’s out completely.

He jumps slightly when she so suddenly flops down and curls up in his lap. A sweet little smile brushes his lips, though, and he finds himself chuckling slightly at how small she looks...So soft.

A hand rests against her head, combs through her hair, then slowly begins to massage her temple. Something his ex used to do whenever he came home intoxicated. A faint hum of laughter. "This part's never fun," he agrees, eyes squinting a little as he looks at her to avoid any of the light filtering in through the blinds despite them being shut.

Zir fingertip runs down her forehead, between her eyes, and along the bridge of her nose, and back again, another soothing gesture ze'd picked up from experience. Ze looks confused and stops the petting, though, when she mentions being angry with zem.

"Were you?" Ze couldn't remember either...Couldn't even remember her seeming angry, but then...Ze had been very drunk.

"Well, if you can't recall it an' I can't recall it, then it's probably nothing," ze assures her before leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. He shifts a little against the bed to stretch out, laying down and pulling Leo up to his chest now. Eyelids fall shut tiredly, a low groan in the back of his throat.

"Mm...No," he hums out in a low tone laced with exhaustion. "Not mad. Never was, I don't think..."

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The mug is taken happily as she sips down the tea. The warmth feels good for her throat, so she’s not as careful with it as she should have been. It scolds her tongue a bit, but all she does is flinch and make a face as she hands it back over. A little too eager to worm back down into the covers with zem.

“Hopefully soon…” She mumbles in agreement, a little smile on her face as he kisses her forehead.

Leo groans as she scoots in closer, practically crawling on top of zem for the comfort. Her face buries into his neck as she yanks the covers over both of them. For a long time she’s quiet and still, besides when she’s turning her head away to cough. Eventually, the medicine does kick in, and she stops feeling so miserable.

“Thanks for taking care of me.” She lifts her head enough to look up at him with her bottom lip jutted out. “I love you.”

Ze lightens up the touch when ze notices the way she's shrinking against the bed, trying not to hurt her, though it seems no matter how gentle ze is it's going to sting a little. Like her very skin was desiring to be untouched. Ze chews zir lip quietly, a concerned frown on zir face as ze watches her scoot closer. A hand pets through her hair, pushes it back off of her face, then returns to rubbing her back for another moment.

He can't help the little laugh that slips out when she asks to snuggle. "Of course, love," he murmurs through giggles, shifting further onto the bed.

He reaches down to pull off his shoes, kicking them across the floor before hoisting his legs up under the covers. A pause when she asks about the tea, watching her try to sit up and frowning more when she can't. He licks his lips, nods, and turns to grab the mug off the nightstand.

"Hopefully that medicine kicks in soon," he hums as he passes the cup. "Careful, it's still quite warm." Another kiss pressed to her forehead, like he just can't help himself..

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Thankful that Aura took the lead, she’s still clearly nauseous as they weave their way through pigs and smears of blood. At one point she totally closes her eyes and fully trusts that ze won’t lead her smack into something disgusting.

“I think – I think I’m done. I don’t want to go any further.” Being high was coming at a full disadvantage as she becomes more and more paranoid. The tightening of her chest makes her feel like she might die in here of a heart attack. Her breathing becomes labored, bones dissolving to a feeling of jello the further they go.

When he screams and screeches, she’s knocked backwards as ze trips over zemselves. Hitting the ground with an oof, she does her best to feel along the darkness to get back up without being trampled. There’s something sticky and disgusting on the floor that has her ready to gag.

Once she’s on her feet, she reaches back and snatches zem by the wrist. They wind through the rest of the house in a hurry, running even though they’ve been warned several times to stop. Leo practically slams through the exit door and pulls Aura along as someone chases them with a fucking chainsaw.

“FUCK THIS!” Leo screams once they get to the ‘safety’ boundary, immediately crumbling to the ground with her hand on her chest. And then she starts laughing.

And laughing. And laughing.

Her laughter isn't helping his confidence, though he's pretty sure she isn't laughing at him, more in fear. Although his own response to the anxiety isn't laughter, there's plenty of yelps and screams at even the slightest spooks, even the eerie atmosphere is enough to keep him muttering "oh my gods" over and over at a million miles a second.

Ze can't believe she thought that one scare was the worst part of the house. Of course it was only going to get worse from there. Unfortunately, ze knew all too well how these things worked...And ze hated them with a passion.

As they wander deeper, slowly approaching the opening of a butcher's shop, ze's muttering more curses and "oh my gods, this is so fucked" has become the new mantra, practically shoving Leo ahead of zem. Ze wouldn't admit it, but there were definitely tears in zir eyes from anxiety and panicked stares, not just from the fog stinging zir tear ducts.

"Fuck," ze hisses when she refuses to move forward. The attendant had been clear before they'd gone in--no stopping, no turning back. Once you're in, you're in. You have to make it to the end and be efficient about it for the sake of everyone coming in behind you. Gods, why had ze agreed to this?

Reluctantly, ze moves past her, grabs her hand in zir own shaking one and tugs her along. For a while, he's completely forgotten how to breathe, shoving aside butchered pigs and wading past smeared blood as quickly as ze could without running since that was also against the rules.

"We're never doing this again," he warns Leo a bit sharply, though it's muttered and panicked, his whole body still tense. When there's another person jumping out at them, he's swearing, jumping right out of his skin and pressing himself back so hard he trips over himself and hits a wall, plugging his ears and screaming bloody murder.

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A puff of smoke is exhaled with a nod when ze mentions how fun it must have been to live on a farm. She had loved it. Loved the creek in the backyard, the open fields – the animals that seemed excited to see her after school every day. Walking the lane to see her friends, catching fireflies… her dad.

“Yeah, it was.” She sucks in air, looking away to take another drag. “I miss it.”

The sound of cars constantly going up and down the street, people yelling, dogs barking – it kept her wide awake most of the night. It was a hard adjustment, and she wasn’t hopeful that it would get any easier. The thought of starting at a brand-new school, with people she didn’t know, had her on edge as well.

“Do you go to the high school or somewhere else?” She’s looking at zem again, eyes drifting down zem then back upwards. He was very cute – and strangely, it doesn’t faze her. Had they met prior to her dad dying, she’d be a bumbling, awkward mess. But now she just didn’t care – was too sad to give a fuck. “I start next week, my mom let me take a week off to um… adjust, I guess.”

Aura gives a warm smile when the girl agrees to come for dinner. “Good,” he hums. “I’ll let her know you’ll be by.” A small gesture to their house across the street. “We’re that one over there.” It’s a small, simple-looking house, but the flowers out front are well cared for, the lawn kept on the longer side but it’s healthy and lush. Like a tiny paradise amidst such a dim neighborhood.

“I- I think she’ll be fine with it. Besides, can always bring your mum round when she’s in town.” Another inviting smile, trying zir best to stuff down the nerves. She was pretty—very pretty—and ze couldn’t help but be a little jealous of her for that.

She mentions smoking then and his eyes widen a little. He clears his throat and, afraid to say no, nods his head. He’d never really been around cigarettes too much. He’d always had weak lungs, but the appeal of something like that was still there. An innate curiosity.

“Oh, uh, no. I mean, go ahead.” A light gesture of zir hand to allow her permission. Ze swallows, looks down at the ground again, considers getting up to go…Ze feels awkward now just sitting there with this girl ze hardly knew. A very pretty girl, no less.

“A farm?” He looks up with interest now. “That’s cool. I’ve never had any animals. Sounds like fun to live on a farm, though.” All that fresh air, open land…

“Oh, um…Not long, actually,” he hums, squinting up at the sky. Brows furrow in thought. “Just a couple of years now.”

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"And I can say you're overestimating your resiliency." Another shake of her head and she leans forward, nudging zir shoulder. Another scoffing laugh at the comment about zir face.

"Beautiful and humble." Rolling her eyes, she climbs into his lap - fingers massaging through his hair. "But that's what I love about you most."

"I dunno, I think you underestimate my resiliency," he teases still with a little grin. He can see the amusement in the sparkle in her eye even if she's giving him that hard stare of disapproval.

"Are you kidding? Nothin' could mess up this money-maker, darlin'!" A gesture to zir beautiful face as pointed out by Leo with a smug little smirk.