"You're an idiot," Aurora said as she drove him back to the hotel.

"Why do I feel as though I'm having deja vu?" Tom asked sarcastically. He was still holding his nose, steepling his fingers over it in order to prevent his blood from dripping anywhere on the interior. He hadn't even buckled his seatbelt. The last thing he needed was Michael giving him a hard time about blood in the car. Or about punching a potential teammate. Or defending Aurora—who should be nothing more than Michael's personal assistant and occasional pain in Tom's ass but—as Tom was realizing—was so much more.

Not that he wanted to think about it right now. Or ever. Those thoughts were dangerous and could very well ruin his relationship with Aurora. What that relationship was, he didn't know. It wasn't something he could so easily put into words.

"Because you constantly make poor choices," she snapped.

"Perhaps," he said. "But kicking Eddie's ass was not one of them. Kissing you wasn't, either."

He hadn't meant to say that. The words just came out before he could stop them.

"Tom," he heard her murmur.

He clenched his jaw. If he wasn't worried about holding his nose to stop the blood, he would have reached over and taken her hand in his. Because the truth of it all was that he wanted her.

The car ride was faster than he anticipated. The minute he was able to step out of the car, he released the hold on his nose and flung the slick blood off of him. He needed paper towels, toilet paper, anything. He looked like a hot mess. At least he wouldn't look as bad as Eddie would when he woke up the next day. That gave Tom a small smile before he tried to breathe and nearly started choking on the taste of the metallic liquid.

"Let's get you in your room," Aurora said. "I think you're still drunk."

"What do you think of me, if you assume I'm drunk after a half hour at a bar," Tom muttered, shaking his head.

Aurora walked beside him as they decided to enter through the back. The last thing Tom needed was any fan who might actually recognize him see him with a bloody nose. Tom wasn't known for fighting unless he felt the need to drop his gloves.

They made it to his room safely. He pulled out his keycard and opened the door. Aurora brushed passed him, going through his closet until she found a first aid kit he always kept with him for circumstances just like this one.

"I'm not drunk, you know," he said as he took a seat in one of the chairs. Aurora opened up the first aid kit and pulled out a large cotton ball. She dabbed it on his nose, trying to soak up the blood. "I would do it again."

She swallowed. "Do what again?" she asked in a low voice.

Somehow, he knew what she meant. "Kiss you," he replied.

Aurora stilled. He wanted to say more, to push her harder, but he refrained. He waited, even if it was the hardest thing for him to do. She took a moment to pause, to make sure the blood from his nose was cleaned up, before disposing of the napkins and tissue in the garbage can. While her back was turned, he snorted excess blood into the bathroom sink. The crimson blood was a stark contrast to the porcelain white, and he quickly turned on the faucet to rinse the blood away.

When she came back, her arms were crossed over her chest, as though she wasn't sure how to respond to what he said even now. Her eyes were on the floor and her body was positioned close to the exit. He wouldn't be surprised if she tried to bolt. In all honesty, he wouldn't blame her. There was something happening between them. Something was changing and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Why did you do that?" she finally asked, locking eyes with him. "Why risk everything just to punch a guy in the face?"

"The guy slapped your ass," Tom pointed out.

"I know," she said. "I know. And I'm grateful. But you also know I would have handled it myself."

"Are you going to give me shit for defending you now?" he asked, his tone dry.

"No." Aurora began to look at the doorless closet, chewing her bottom lip. "You knew I would have handled myself."

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you let me?"

"Just because I knew you were going to doesn't mean you have to," Tom said. He ventured to take a step toward Aurora. When he saw that she didn't immediately back away, he took another one. "Rory, no one should do that, period. And if it happened to you, or to someone else, I would have reacted the same. But because it happened to you…" He didn't know how else to clarify. He didn't know how else to explain. The only thing he could hope for was if she understood.

"When you're with me," he forced himself to continue, taking one last step until he was directly in front of her. "You won't ever have to worry about making a big deal over nothing or me choosing my friends over you or anything like that. I've got your back. I will always choose you."

Aurora lifted up her head. Tom couldn't be sure, but it seemed as though there were tears in her eyes. He wanted to wipe them away with his mouth. He didn't want to see her cry again.

"I know," she said. She didn't sound surprised, which Tom took as a compliment. "I know you will. I just… This is your teammate—"

"Maybe," Tom pointed out. "Nothing is official until the contract is signed. Hell, I don't even know if I'm on—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Aurora closed the gap between them, and kissed him. Tom stalled. He stood frozen in the room, not sure what was happening.

Scratch that.

He knew what was happening. He didn't know why it was happening or how to respond. Was she in a vulnerable position and kissing her back was like taking advantage of her? He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to make the wrong move and ruin the potential that this could be.

Luckily for him, his mouth responded for him. His lips began to press back against hers. A spark jumped inside of him. Everything he had been holding back under the fireworks rushed forward. He slid his tongue across her lips, needing to be granted access, needing to be able to explore her mouth. When she opened up to him, he nearly groaned in triumph. His hands cupped her face, gentle and yet possessive. She tilted her head back, allowing him to consume her and knotting up his hair with her fingers.

He was hard the second they had to break apart for air. He needed to figure this out. If they kept kissing, it would be difficult to hide. He didn't want to scare her off or have her think that he couldn't control himself when he was around her. He didn't want her to think he was some school kid who made out with someone and popped a boner.

But he did want her.

That much was certain. And he knew there was some part of her that wanted him. If she didn't, she wouldn't have kissed him.

Tom wasn't sure what to do now, so he opted to do nothing. Instead, he pulled her close and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and simply enjoying the moment. He was slightly breathless but he didn't care.

Aurora pulled away from him. Tom's eyes snapped open and he thought for a second he did something wrong. Or worse, that she regretted what she did.

Until Aurora took the hemline of his shirt in her hands and tugged it up. He reached his arms up to help her take it off. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face if he tried.

"Are you stripping me down, Rory?" he asked. He wasn't sure if he should have even said anything in the first place. Again, scaring her off was the last thing he wanted. But he felt so comfortable with her, and he was genuinely happy, that he couldn't stop himself.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked, tossing his shirt over his shoulder. He didn't even care where it wound up, only that it was off his body.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "That would be a terrible idea."

"I never have terrible ideas," Aurora said.

"Nope," he agreed. "You never do. Let's not break an excellent track record and start now."

She grinned and touched his stomach with the back of her fingers. His body twitched in response.

Somehow, their clothing was shed in an equal amount of time together. Each article landed somewhere different—on the desk, the arm chair, on the television. As long as the bed was clear, that was all that mattered to Tom. The entire time they shed their clothing, Tom and Aurora were locked into a heated kiss. He would have to breathe every now and then, but he wasn't particularly bothered by that. He never wanted it to end, to be honest. And judging by the way her fingers caressed his sides and pulled at his hair, it did not seem that she wanted it to end, either.

When she was stark naked, Tom could not help but drop his eyes and stare at her. He tried not to be creepy about it, but he could not help it if he tried. She was beautiful. There was no other word than that. At least, not one Tom knew. But it was beauty in the sense that it was raw and real and he was so wrapped up in it, he forgot that they were in the middle of having sex in the first place.

"Jesus Christ," he murmured to himself.

He watched as a gentle flush covered her upper chest, her neck, her cheeks. He pulled her to him to kiss it away. He thought it was cute, how she blushed at absolutely everything, but he also didn't ever want her to feel embarrassed with him. He wanted her to be herself.

He kissed her again. This time, he let his hands explore her body freely. He wanted to hear what made her gasp, what made her moan, what made her twitch, what made her spasm. He wanted to learn everything there was about her so he would know what to do the next time.

God, he hoped there was a next time.

"Do you have protection?" she asked, when they were both on the verge of collapsing and they hadn't even been joined together yet.

He nodded, not trusting his own voice.

He slipped on a condom. Slowly, so slowly, he positioned himself over her and slid inside of her. He clenched his teeth. He hadn't been expecting her to be this tight, so slick, so warm. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this certainly was not it.

Words started to try and pry his lips apart, as though they wanted to jump out and tell her things. Things he couldn't even fathom right now.

When he started to move inside of her, he did so slowly. If her breathing hitched, if she was moaning, he did not know. He had to drown out everything or else he would lose his resolve and embarrass himself.

"Please."

One word broke through his shields.

"Please, Tom."

His name.

That was the final piece. He was undone and he could not stop himself.

Thankfully, she was on the verge of collapse as well. Together, they shattered, their joined bodies riding the other's pleasure until both were left exhausted and gasping.

Tom kept her close, burying his face in her shoulder. He was too comfortable to get up. He did not want to leave. So he let himself do something he had never done before with another woman.

He fell asleep with her.