TALK ME DOWN → SEBASTIAN STAN

forty six | real life

"I missed you too," Riley said, her cheeks red from the surprise of it all. "Why are you here?"

"Because I had to help you get ready for the premiere, of course," Elizabeth exclaimed. "And Sebastian couldn't wait until then, so here we are. Anthony just decided to tag along with Chris."

"Where is Chris?" Riley exclaimed once she'd heard his name.

"Right here, little buddy," a voice sounded from behind Elizabeth. Riley looked over at him and smiled, rushing to him and holding him tight. "Hey, you."

"Hi!" she exclaimed, feeling herself tear up. When she pulled back, she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm crying right now. I just can't believe you guys came all this way."

Chris smiled and Lizzie slung an arm around Riley's shoulder. "Well, I think Anthony, Chris and I should go and check in at the hotel. You and Seb might need a little bit of alone time," she said, smiling at the blonde.

Riley's eyes flickered upwards to meet Sebastian's, and he smiled at her, opening his arms for a hug when Elizabeth moved back. When he did so, she walked quickly towards him and curled her arms around his waist once more. They hugged slower and for longer this time, properly. "I've missed seeing your beautiful face, gorgeous," he mumbled, moving back.

She blushed and kissed him lightly, taking his hand, "Let's go in. I need some breakfast."

+++

Riley leant against the countertop, a coffee burning down her throat as she let the caffeine wake her up. Her mouth was easily in a smile and she couldn't find herself to be annoyed at anything. Especially when Seb walked in, wearing only his denim jeans with his brown hair dripping wet.

His eyes scanned her face and he smiled. She couldn't meet his eyes, unable to stop herself from dragging her eyes down his damp torso with a dry mouth. He crossed the room and pressed against her, tilting her head up. "Eyes up here, baby," he said softly, before fitting their mouths together.

"How am I supposed to keep my eyes up here when you walk in looking like that?" she asked, biting down on her bottom lip and letting her eyes move down his neck to his bare collarbone and along his sternum. Then she dragged her fingers, painstakingly slowly, up his torso, along the ridges of his stomach and up to his chest.

When she did that, he groaned and kissed her hard. "And how am I supposed to resist you when you do that?" he murmured, pressing his lips to her neck. A soft sigh left her mouth and she clutched his shoulders tight, leaning all her weight into the counter.

A loud gasp sounded and the pair jumped apart. Sebastian pressed himself into the counter beside her, facing out into the living room so he didn't have to look over at Janie. Riley just blushed, averting her eyes.

"Look who it is," Janie said, her voice accusatory.

"Don't start trouble," Riley replied, tucking her hair behind her ear as her face burned.

"I'm not the one that causes trouble," was her friend's quick response. Sebastian scoffed. shaking his head, and Riley took his hand beside her, running her thumb along the back of it. "Why the hell is he here?"

"Because I'm her boyfriend and I'm visiting her," snapped Sebastian, his blue eyes narrowing at Janie. Riley rolled her eyes, sighing. She thought this might happen, but she expected Sebastian to just stay quiet. "You got a problem with that?"

Janie laughed lightly, before shaking her head. "Still not controlling your temper." She rolled her shoulders and walked across the room, letting silence lapse over the room. Seb sighed, his muscles relaxing from their previous state, before Janie quietly commented, "Somebody hasn't learnt from what happened last time."

Riley's head whipped up and she groaned. "Don't be so immature," she said.

"He's insulting me!" Janie exclaimed.

"You're being a pain," Riley responded. "Just go to your room."

A scoff sounded from Janie's mouth and she turned to the glass she was holding, beginning to pour some orange juice into it. "Why don't you two go to your room?" she said, before glancing over at the pair with arched eyebrows. "Finish what you started when I walked in."

Riley's cheeks burned, and Seb began to choke on the water he was drinking. "Maybe we will," she countered, folding her arms over her chest. Seb looked at her disbelievingly, his face bright pink. When Janie raised her eyebrows, Riley grabbed Seb's hand and tugged him to her room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Before Sebastian could even try to interrupt, Riley curled her hand around the nape of his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers. He exclaimed, the sound muffled, but she continued to kiss him, moving his hands so they were grabbing the hem of her pyjama shirt.

"What's going on?" Seb broke off, his face still amazingly red.

She shot him a warning look and shook her head. "I'm angry at you right now and it would really help if you didn't speak, so we could just do this."

"Why do you want to do it?" he continued.

She let out a soft groan, moving apart. "Way to ruin the mood, buzzkill," she murmured, slumping down on her bed. Seb shuffled awkwardly to sit beside her and attempted to wrap his arms around her. She promptly slapped his hand away. "No."

He nodded and pressed his lips together. "So . . ." he began. "Pretty nice weather in New York. . ."

Riley couldn't help but laugh, letting her forehead rest on her clenched fist. "Damn it."

When she looked at Seb, he had a wide smile on his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grinned, and she felt her heart flutter. The smile on her own lips became less amused, more fond and absent-minded. She hadn't even noticed the sudden change, but she felt a warmth spread through her body, like a blanket being wrapped around her. She searched his eyes, like she was looking for something but she wasn't sure what that something actually was.

"I love you," he said, taking her by surprise.

Her mouth fell open and she made a noise as she tried to speak, but found herself unable to summon any words. When she finally found her words, Seb pressed his index finger to her lips. "No," he said, his voice stern but his eyes playful. "I will not take that back. I know you don't want me to say it, because of that absolute tool, but I cannot lie and say I like you because I don't just like you, Riley Madison James, I'm in love with you. And I am not apologising for that."

When he retracted his index finger, she couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe you said that," she whispered, her face burning and her cheeks aching with her grin. Then she threw her arms around him, not even caring that he was still slightly damp from his shower. She hugged him for a few moments, before drawing back and smiling even more than she imagined possibly. "I love you too."

Even as she said it, tears spilled from her eyes and her heart slammed in her chest. "I'm so impossibly in love with you," she whispered, resting her forehead against his.