Actions Speak Louder Than Fortune Cookies

45 - Burning Up

Sebastian was still stuck on a crazy filming schedule and on Monday, even had to fly down to Georgia again for a days worth of shooting. He flew out at 6:00 am and landed back in New York at 8:00 pm.

When he got off the plane and into the New York airport terminal, he was exhausted. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder and was wearing his usual "I'm trying to blend in" outfit, which overall was working out, thank god, because his social battery was drained and he really didn't think he could talk to any more people today.

He rode the escalator down to the crowded airport lobby and saw Rylee at the bottom in the sea of people, leaning back against a pillar, fiddling with her phone. He couldn't help the small, tired smile that appeared on his face when he saw her.

Sebastian walked over to her and as he got close enough, Rylee caught him in her peripheral  vision, causing her to look up from her phone and smile widely in return.

"Hey baby," Rylee greeted him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Hey you," Sebastian squeezed back, leaning down lazily to place a kiss on her lips.

Rylee blushed lightly at the action, they hadn't really participated in many public displays of affection, but she would be lying if she said she didn't love it.

She was also surprised that he gripped her hand tightly in his, lacing their fingers together.

"You alright?" Rylee asked gently, giving his fingers a quick squeeze in her light grip.

"Mhm" Sebastian commented back, though he still sounded off. "Why?"

"I dunno, just surprised." She said looking down at their linked hands and then back to his face.

"Well I don't know about you, and I'll respect whatever you wanna do, but damn I just wanna show you off. You're gorgeous." He mumbled quietly into her ear.

Rylee's blush had diminished but returned quickly at his words, she nodded. They had been dating for a few months now, and he said she was gorgeous often, but it still gave her butterflies.

They walked out of the airport lobby side by side, hand in hand, out into the street lights of the parking lot. Sebastian was unphased when a few camera flashes went off when they stepped out. He put on a smile and waved, continuing their path. They walked a few aisles down and got into Sebastian's car that Rylee had driven there. She had offered him the keys, but he declined, just feeling too off to drive in his opinion. He wasn't sure what it was. He felt sapped of all his energy, his head mucked up.

She got into the drivers seat and waited for Sebastian to get situated, tossing his backpack into the backseat.

She started driving them in the direction of home and Sebastian was quiet. Rylee thought he would have a bunch of ridiculous stories or things to talk about but instead he rested his head on his hand that was propped against the window, eyes closed.

She let him relax in silence, probably wiped from all the travel today. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that his head kept lolling out of his hand, startling him awake for a moment, before he went right back to the same position. 

He eventually angled himself back enough that he stopped tipping forward and his breathing got slower and deeper. The trip from LaGuardia to Manhattan was only about half an hour, but Sebastian dozed during every second of the trip.

They eventually reached home, Rylee lightly rubbed Sebastian's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. "Sorry, we're home bub, let's head inside."

Sebastian simply nodded, reached back for his backpack and got out of the car. Rylee opened the apartment building door and ushered Sebastian inside. They got upstairs and through their apartment door and Rylee was genuinely surprised with how off Sebastian looked. At first she thought he was just lagging from all the travel, but now he just looked like he was dragging, and pale.