A/N: I do not own Austin & Ally.

Hi, I'm an A&A reader, not a writer. I write a bunch of Victorious fics though if you watched that show. I also read and wrote for SIU, but mainly I write for Victorious. Anyway, I decided to give Austin & Ally a shot because it's a great show... for the most part. Auslly is just adorable. Anyway, this is a four-shot. Enjoy!

FALL

"Good evening, this is the captain speaking. As you can see the weather is slightly grey so we will be flying slower than usual. But rest assured we're in good hands. We'll be taking off momentarily. Thank you for choosing Coastal Airlines."

He heard that almost every other week of his life. He practically lived in the air. Austin Moon, Hollywood's hottest music producer, had clients spread across America. It was his job to visit them in their cities to make sure his clients were still satisfied with his team. He couldn't complain, though. Austin was an only child. His parents lived in their hometown running a successful Fortune 500 company. He wasn't married and didn't have kids. He did have a girlfriend, but she was too busy with her budding modeling career to take notice of him lately. And his Hollywood loft was too large of a place to not be lonely. At least when he had trips, there was always something to do. Nothing really to look forward to, but at least he was distracted. Distracted enough to not realize how empty his life really was, how even in his plane rides, he would sit alone, showing him how empty his life was.

"Excuse me. Hi, is this seat taken?" A petite brunette standing before him asked.

"Uh, no, by all means, sit." He said. This was a first in a long time. He wasn't complaining, however. He was just surprised to have someone sit next to him. Austin didn't take up much space. He didn't utilize his time in the plane to do more work. He was a workaholic, yes, but he wasn't crazy. He usually drowned out in music and caught up with some sleep. And when she found time, he would video chat with his girlfriend.

The brunette sat next to him, considerate and somewhat calm. She seemed anxious, though she didn't tense up anywhere else but her eyes.

"This is your captain speaking, for your safety the seatbelt sign will be turned on until a few minutes after takeoff. Since it's windy, there will be heavy turbulence."

That's when she showed it. Her entire body tensed. Austin could see from the corner of his eyes that she probably wasn't used to it. Even sitting in business/first class with very comfy seats, she was scared. They put their seat belts on and waited for takeoff. He could hear her taking deep breaths and closed her eyes. She seemed like a nice girl, he thought to himself, and not stuck up like a lot of people in first class. So he decided to talk to her.

"Miss?"

"Yes?" she said getting snapped out of her focus.

"Have you ever heard of that science experiment in Australia a few years ago? It was about shoes."

"No, I can't say I have," she slightly loosened up. She was a sucker for intellectual conversations, so she paid attention to him.

"Well in Australia they do a lot of pioneering science and one of the inventions was AI shoes, or 'shoes with brains'. A buddy of mine got a pair. They were great for him, you see he was a bit of a partygoer, so when he couldn't remember the way home or something, his shoes would walk him home. But they were too smart - they wanted more out of 'life'. So one day the shoes walked out in the middle of the night and stole his car. They wanted to see the world. They couldn't see to drive, though, and crashed into a river. Sadly, they 'died'. My friend was really torn up about it, you see, and he went to see this priest about it, the priest told him that they went to heaven - do you know why? "

"Uhh… why?" she was intrigued yet utterly confused.

"Because, as it turns out, shoes have soles," he said non-chalantly.

The girl laughed a bit loudly earning stares from nearby passengers.

"Oops, sorry," she told them and turned back to him. When they made eye contact the two bursts into laughter, not caring if people were staring again.

"That was such a horrible joke, no offense," she tried calming herself.

"Oh believe me, I know," Austin chuckled.

"What are you, a comedian?" she giggled.

"No," he shrugged, "just wanted to find a way to distract you".

"Huh?" she asked. He was about to answer when the speaker turned on.

"Thank you for your cooperation, the seatbelt sign will turn off now."

She realized that he had distracted her from the takeoff. She looked over at him and he smiled, simply shrugging implying to her that 'it was nothing'.

"Thanks," she said.

"I remember the first time I rode a plane. It was during a snowstorm. Now that wasn't pretty turbulence. But you get used to it."

"Well after three years of flying, you'd think I'd be used to it by now," she admitted.

"Wait, so you're saying you've been flying for three years and you're still scared?"

"Something like that," she said. "Are you going to laugh now?" fear was obvious in her tone.

"No," he earnestly said. "Everyone's different."

This certainly caught her off guard. How can he be caring and considerate when they've only known each other all of fifteen minutes?

"So, are you flying for business?" he changed the subject slightly.

"For the most part, yes. What about you?"

"Always. I've been flying for nearly eight years. It's part of my job."

"Wow. So you're always here like every month?"

"Try every other week," he told her.

"What?!"

"Don't worry, I'm not a secret agent or anything," he chuckled at her expression. "I'm a music producer."

"Really?" she was impressed. "Do you have a musical background?"

"Yeah, well I used to sing in a band, but then we broke up and as much as I'd love to go solo, that's not me. So I figured since I knew a lot about music, might as well make it my career."

"Oh I see," she nodded.

"What about you? Play any music?"

"Just piano but really for fun."

"So what do you travel for?"

"I'm a journalist. I live in the east coast and since I became head writer, I go back and forth to both our headquarters in the west and east."

"Well, well, well Miss Wall Street," he smirked.

"I'm not that great. I write for the entertainment and lifestyle section for both publications."

"Impressive," he nodded.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"So, do you ever fly for anything besides business?"

"Besides going back home from the business trip? Nope."

"Busy?"

"You have no idea."

"Well you're preaching to the choir. Same here."

"When was the last time you ever had a chance to relax?"

"In all honesty, I have no idea. I've just been so consumed with work that I forget to take a break."

"Me too. I think the last time I ever took a real break was in college. But even then I had an internship."

"Yeah, college seems about right for me too," he chuckled.

All too soon, they were both sucked back to reality when his phone rang and her palm pilot buzzed.

"Ugh, work," they both said at the same time. They chuckled a bit before going on their devices.

When the pilot announced their landing, she tried her best to keep her composure when she put her seat belt on while continued to write an email on her palm pilot. He sort of sensed it and placed a reassuring hand on her wrist, signaling to her that he was right beside her. She beamed at the contact as they stayed glued to their phones.

By the time they reached the terminal and Austin ended his call, he realized she had left and that he never caught the woman's name. A part of him shrugged it off, but deep down, he hoped to see her again.

"Maybe next time," he told himself and walked off.

*Ring ring*

*Ring ring*

*Ring r-*

"What-up my brotha?!"

"Austin! What-up?!"

"Hey Dez!"

"Where are you man?"

"San Francisco. I'm waiting for my flight to JFK."

"You going to visit big daddy Dez any time soon?"

"Sorry, bro. Duty calls. I'll be in the east coast for an album release party but not Florida."

"And to think that after you quit the music business, your next job makes you travel more than when you were the talent."

"I'm sorry, Dez. But hey, you're busy too you know. With your girl and everything."

"Yeah, I know. I just miss my best friend that's all."

"Me too, bro."

"So how's the job anyhow?"

"It's going great man. It seems like a good year for everyone. I've got new clients and some of my old clients are ready to spread their wings."

"Man you need to slow down."

"What do you mean? I'm fine with all this work." Austin asked as he hailed a cab and put his things in the trunk.

"That's the problem. You keep yourself busy and you say you can handle yourself, but even independent people need friends."

"Uh, and what are you?"

"Yeah that doesn't count. The last time I saw you was two years ago. And hey, I thought we were brothers," he joked.

"Yeah, brothers from another mother, you know it!"

"But seriously dude, every time I talk to you it's about the job. When was the last time you took a breather? No, when was the last time you had an actual conversation with a person outside of your career? And if you say two years ago, I'm going to kick your ass."

"Au contraire my redheaded friend. I actually had a conversation this week."

"Really? With who? The taxi driver?"

"Very funny, Dez."

"Ok, then who?"

"A passenger on my flight here."

"Was it an actual conversation or like 'do you want a bag of pretzels'?"

"Actual. It lasted the entire trip. Well a good amount of it. Then we both got caught up in phone calls and emails. But I'd say we talked for a good hour."

"Wow, one hour with another actual human being. I'm impressed. Did you initiate the conversation?"

"Sort of. We talked because I had the only empty seat in first class."

"All right. So did this guy try to throw his little business spiel at you?"

"One, no. We didn't talk about business other than tell each other what we did. And two, not 'he', it's 'she'."

"Oh, so it's a girrrrl?"

"Dez, no. I didn't even think of her in that way. It was just a friendly conversation between two human beings. Why are you always jumping my gun with every person I talk to, especially girls? I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Because, we're not in college any more, and you barely have time for yourself. You used to be girl crazy back in the day. I'm surprised I've got the steady girlfriend right now and you're content with letting your so called 'girlfriend' go weeks in a different city without talking to you."

"Well music is my first priority, man. And what Cassidy and I have is trust."

"Oh puh-lease. Says Mr. Suave. Ok I admit, you were a man whore back then, but-"

"Man whore?"

"Yes. A man that's a whore. That's you, Austin. You had a new girl every week sophomore year of college."

"Whatever man, I'm not a man whore anymore. Remember Cassidy?"

"Yes I do. That was my second point. Right after graduation we hit the Sigma party and you were wasted beyond your years but you said that you wanted to grow up and get serious. Which is why when you met Cassidy, things changed. You two have been dating almost as long as all the girls you've dated combined. And now you're a better person."

"Ignoring the beginning… But really, man?"

"'Course! You're ready for love. So stop saying you're too busy for it. Love doesn't have an appointment. It happens when it wants to happen."

"Dude, I have a girlfriend!"

"Right. We'll see about that."

"Dez…"

"I'm just saying you could do better man."

"I get it, you don't like her. But she's still my girlfriend."

"Fine, fine. Anyway, back to your lady friend."

"She's not my lady friend. She's not even a friend, I think."

"Not friends? Oh wait, were you two arguing? That's why you don't like her!"

"No, we weren't arguing, it was a really chill conversation, probably something both of us needed in a long time. But I think it was just two strangers on a plane having a nice conversation. That's all."

"Oh well that's boring… anyways, I got to go. Dinner with family tonight."

"Tell your parents I say hi, buddy."

"Sure thing, bro. Take care of yourself!"

"Bye!"

*click*

"Oh man, what am I going to do with him?" Austin chuckled to himself.

After handing over his ticket and boarding on his flight back home, all Austin wanted to do was drown out in music and let his eyes flutter shut. There was nothing else that was important to him than a peaceful sleep. Except…

"Hi, is this seat taken?"

Austin looked up, about to curse at the person who was keeping him from his slumber, when he met eyes with her.

"Hey!" they both exclaim.

"It's you again," he smiled.

"It's me, yep," she matched his smile.

They stayed there, awkward air passing.

"Please. Sit," he gestured at the seat next to him.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"So, going home?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Nope. Just another business trip."

"Aw," she fake pouted.

"Told you, I barely live in my house. Which makes me wonder why I have a house and not an apartment or condo."

"I knew I'd be traveling a lot so I sold my house and rented an apartment too just a year ago."

"Sounds like a good idea, if I ever have the time to hire a real estate agent and if I do move, find a good time to move."

"So, where have you been aside from home?"

"Pretty much every state but in the Midwest, and a few northern states from the West."

"Wow, that's like three quarters of America," she was impressed.

"Oh crap, you're right, huh?" he realized.

"And how long have you been traveling?"

"Well, my dad was in the military, so we lived in the big military towns. And I live in the West Coast. From my job alone, I probably covered almost 20 more states."

"Well that's… Wow."

"What about you?" he put her in the hot seat.

"Uh, well I lived in the same place all my life. Then when I went off to college, it was out of state. After I got my job, I've only been to the major metropolitan cities because of it. So like, barely 5 states if anything. But I'm fine with that since I hate flying and all," she giggled, earning a smile from him.

"Well maybe I can fix that," he coyly said.

"Oh yeah?" she grew a pink tint on her cheekbones.

"Yeah," he defended. "I'm a fun guy. You'll love flying with me!"

"Ok," she giggled. "Hey I have a question. Since you've been all over the place, where was your favorite? You've got to have a favorite."

"Yeah, of course I do." He said. He thought about it first. "Well, as cliché as it sounds, I've been to many places, but there really is no place like home."

She stifled a laugh, but couldn't help it.
"Hey!" he mocked being hurt.

"I'm sorry, it's just so cliché!"

"I know, I know," he laughed as well. "But I have a good reason. I mean, I love where I live, and I love my hometown. They're both my homes. But there's still one place I haven't been to that I'd love to go to some day."

"Really? You've covered almost all of America and just the dozen states you have yet to visit, one of those just happens to be the place?"

"Yep,"

"Wow. Who would have thought."

"Well what about you? Were any of the five states you went to the place?"

"You would think so, since it's a major metropolitan city, but nope. It's the one place I was never assigned to go to."

"Why not just go on your own?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," she said.

They laughed. As their gaiety subsided, she spoke up.

"Chicago."

He looked at her, stunned.

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"It was Chicago."

"No, my place is Chicago," she said.

"Wow," they both said.

"Are you serious?"

"Very. Chicago is a major city. But the editor in chief always gets dibs so I can never go there for work," she explained.

"Yeah, well there was this one chance where I wanted to go, but last minute my manager decided to cancel the flight because of the weather. I just never went back there again because the client decided to fly over to us."

"This is just a funny coincidence," she noted.

"It sure is. Jeez. I still can't believe it. Was there like a publication or a restaurant you wanted to go to or something in Chicago?"

"See you would think that, and yeah maybe, but I have a real reason to go."

"Me too. It's a travel spot."

"Me too," she slowly agreed looking at him. He looked at her. This was getting weird.

"What's your reason?" he asked first.

"What's yours?" she played along.

"On three?" he suggested. She nodded.

"One, two, three-"

"Sears Tower," they blurted at the same time.

"Shut up!"

"No way!"

"This just got weirder!"

"Not weird, scary!"

They broke into a fit of laughter, and after being hushed by the stewardess, lulled to a steady giggle.

"We have too much in common."

"And too much opposite."

"We're the perfect match then," she winked.

"Want to get married?" he joked.

"Sure, we'll have it in Chicago," she played along.

"At the sears tower," he announced. "It'll feel like the top of the world, you know, like our little mountain top," he chuckled.

She grew serious.

"Oh my gosh, that's what I think about the tower too! That's why I want to go there!"

"Wow," he laughed. "Another freaky thing we have in common."

"Are you sure we haven't met before?" she speculated.

"Nope, I don't think so. And besides, I would have definitely remembered someone like you," he commented.

"Quirky, dorky, weird, socially awkward… Feel free to stop me," she kidded.

"No keep going," he smirked.

"Jerk!" she hit his arm.

"Wow you're small but mighty," he said rubbing his elbow. She beamed in victory.

"So, your mountain top, huh?" she started the conversation again.

"Yeah," he turned to her. "It's the tallest building in the United States. I mean the rest of the world is amazing too, but if I wanted to go anywhere in the world, I'd want to go there."

"I know what you mean. I'm part Italian and I've got family there. I see beautiful photos from relatives and I bet the place is gorgeous. But I was born here, and there's still beauty in America, we just have to remember that."

"You know, you are absolutely right," he smiled at her.

"Did you know they changed the name to Willis Tower? I like Sears Tower better though."

"Me too. It just has a nicer ring to it," he said.

"I know right! Hey, isn't it ironic that the place where I want to go to so bad is the tallest point in America, yet I'm afraid of flying?" she giggled.

"Huh, didn't think about that," he chuckled. Then he thought for a moment before speaking up, "Well, maybe when you reach the top, you'd have conquered your fear. Then you won't be afraid to fly anymore."

"Maybe," she said, a bit speechless from his response. He flashed a lopsided grin at her, wondering why she was daydreaming.

"Hello? Are you there?"

Finally she was snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.

"Attention passengers, we will be landing shortly. The seatbelt sign will turn on momentarily."

"So," he started while putting his seatbelt on, "Will I ever know your name?"

It was a long shot, since they felt pretty comfortable these two instances not exchanging names.

She looked at him, and slightly smiled, thinking about the same thing.

"How about… if we see each other a third time, then maybe we can be friends," she offered.

There was something about her smile that kept him interested, wanting to know more about her. He wasn't sure if it was attraction, or just the fact that he was talking to someone who could become a friend, something he hasn't had in a long time. So, he listened to his gut.

"Deal."

"Thank you for flying with Coastal Airlines."

"Wow, would you look at that, distracting me again from the landing," she informed him.

"It's the least I can do since you kept me company on our trip," he said.

She got up and he followed her out to the terminal. When they reached their luggage carts, she turned to him.

"It was nice seeing you again, stranger."

"Likewise."

She flashed him a smile and walked off. He didn't keep his eyes off her until she was out of sight. For the first time, he was excited for his next flight.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. No matter how hard he tried. It's not like he chose to. Throughout the week, something would remind him of her and voila, she would take over his mind for the rest of the day. One day he was in the hotel elevator and a little boy was scared, so his mother told him to count to ten as a distraction – he thought of her fear of flying. The next day, he met a new client who informed him that they were from Chicago – their mountaintop. By Friday, he thought the lady at the sandwich shop, his taxi driver, and a woman in a coffee shop looked like her and every time an airplane flew overhead he looked up and thought about her. This airplane girl was taking over his thoughts and he couldn't help it.

But as he kept thinking about her, he wondered if it was any different than any of his past relationships. Then again, he was always the one leaving, always trying to find an excuse to leave. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, he thought. They don't even live near each other, so how would it even work out? And this could just be a petty crush. After all, he did have Cassidy, despite the fact that he agreed with Dez (though he'd never let his best friend know) that he doesn't even feel like they're a couple anymore. Maybe, he was just glad to have someone to talk to face-to-face. His best friend was back at home, last time he ever saw him was years ago. Maybe he just needed a friend. And that's what she would be for him. His new 'friend'. That's if she wanted a friend. Especially a friend like him. Someone who was easy to talk to, to get comfortable around, and be an awesome support system. But would his relationship phobias get in the way of a girl-boy friendship? Easy to find, but when it became serious he'd leave.

She wondered if he thought about her as much as she was thinking about him. The scary part was that she hoped he wasn't thinking of her. She had a boyfriend, let's start there. They've been dating for about two years and he had made her feel special. This was a big deal for her. All her life, she was exposed to broken relationships. What made her think that he wasn't just like any other guy? That she'd fall for his charm only to fall all the way down and hit the ground. It was true what she told him, she was scared to fly- because she couldn't risk that fall. Not after risking it before only to have a rough landing, or if it can even be called a landing. More like a crash. Though maybe their arrangement was what she needed. A platonic relationship with a man, nothing more or less. She'd take it. She definitely needed a friend right now.

Back to the boyfriend. Him? Well he made her feel safe. He made her feel like she'd have a soft landing. And right now, she was still falling for it. Though in the back of her mind, she knew that he wasn't the soft landing he takes himself to be for her. She was just blinding herself from his imperfections because

Bzzzt.

Bzzzt.

"Hello?" she answered her phone.

"Hey girl, how's it going?"

"I'm doing alright, just flying right now. It's about to end soon though. Anyway, what's up? Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine actually. I just wanted to say hi."

"Oh, well hi," she laughed at her friend's randomness.

"By the way, when will you be grounded for a weekend? I want to visit you one time."
"Are you sure you've got time to visit me? Since you know, you're ALWAYS wit your boyfriend," she joked.

"Yeah, yeah. But as much as I love my boyfriend, I need my girlfriend too! So really, when is a good weekend for me to fly over?"

"You don't have to fly over to me, I can fly over to you maybe."

"Girl by the time you have the time to do that I'll be 50. At least if I fly over to you you'll be at home so you can't ditch me for work if you need to."

"That was one time! And you know I said sorry for that already," she still felt guilty for having to work one time when she visited her best friend.

"It's ok, girl. I'm just messing with you. But seriously a nice change of scenery would be nice for me, and I want to visit California again anyway."

"Alright, we'll try to work something out."

"Attention passengers, flight 306 is now boarding," came from the speaker.

"Alright chica, I have to board now. I'll talk you soon. Bye."

She hurriedly tucked her phone away and made it to the business first class section. What she loved about Coastal Airlines was that business first class did not have assigned seating, and most of the time she was able to have a row to her own. That was until she met that guy. The one whom she had befriended, yet still had no idea what his name was. To say she wasn't hoping to see him was a big fat lie. Which was why she was slightly disappointed that he wasn't on that flight and ended up sitting alone when they announced take off. She sighed to herself and looked out the window, chuckling a bit, telling herself she was silly to even get her hopes up for a man she didn't know, and that she had a loving boyfriend waiting for her at home.

"Hi miss, is this seat taken?"

She froze. She recognized that voice. And she hoped her mind wasn't playing with her. Looking up, she made eye contact with her mystery guy.

"No, by all means, sit," she repeated what he said to her before. He must have known too because he chuckled before occupying the seat next to her.

"Austin Moon," he held his hand out.

She looked at him, a smile undeniably plastered on her face and his matched. She extended her arm to take his hand.

"Ally Dawson."