Title: Stars

Author: GageWhitney

Rating: T

Pairing: Nathan/Audrey

Disclaimer: Very much not mine.

Summary: There's no one else around, and as she recalls a story he once told her about a meteor shower and the Reverend's daughter, she wonders if that's on purpose.

Note: My first time publishing fic of any kind. Comments are welcomed and appreciated, including constructive criticism.

She's very aware of his body's proximity to hers, the fabric of his soft grey t-shirt brushing against her bare arm and the way her foot is perpetually leaning, propped against his leg as if being pulled by a magnet.

("Meteors tonight," he'd said at the station earlier. "We should go check it out.")

It's close to one in the morning and they're on a grassy hill, not far from the local park and her motel room, stretched out on a scratchy old blanket pulled from the depths of Nathan's truck.

("No bug spray?" she'd questioned, and he assured her she wouldn't notice the bugs while she scratched at a phantom bite on her hand.)

There's no one else around, and as she recalls a story he once told her about a meteor shower and the Reverend's daughter, she wonders if that's on purpose.

They stare up at the sky, and she marvels at the number of stars. "An advantage of small town life," he tells her. "You miss out on that in a city."

"Where's the Big Dipper?" she asks. He points it out for her, and she says in a quiet voice that she's never really seen it before. He tells her she's practically a local now.

They lie on their backs, the chirping of crickets and the smell of the grass surrounding them, and keep watchful eyes on the stars above.

"Do you believe in UFOs?"

He snorts. "At this point, I believe in Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster."

She gasps and points every time a flash of light streaks across the sky without really meaning to. "Did you see that?"

Nathan chuckles at her enthusiasm and says, "I told you it was worth it."

At some point, the meteors are fewer and farther between, and they're just there, talking, not talking, and it's getting colder and she's getting braver. She scoots impossibly closer to him, and is pleased that he lets her.

"Nathan." It's almost a question. She pushes herself up on one elbow and hovers over him when he doesn't respond. She studies his face, the moonlight casting shadows, and there's a question in his eyes as he stares back at her.

She finds nothing to stop her, so she leans down and brushes her lips over his.

After a moment, she pulls back to say something – is this all right, I'm sorry, maybe – and he tugs her back to him, one hand tangling in her hair, the other gripping her hip. She sighs against his mouth and lets herself relax against him. His stubble feels good against her cheek.

The hand on her hip starts wandering, fingers dancing up her side, pulling the fabric of her shirt with them. Her hands are on his chest and her tongue is in his mouth and there's a mosquito bite on the back of her left knee, and everything is as close to perfect as it ever has been.

"I think we should test out your theory," she says as he kisses her neck.

"What theory?" His breath hitches as one hand slides under his shirt and skims along the line of his pants.

She grins down at him. "That meteor showers are, in fact, better naked."