Aos Sí

3: Quiet Moments

I chose the pocket of his jacket as my bed. Mostly because it was the only way we both knew I'd be safe. He didn't really feel comfortable leaving me in his bag, and I wasn't about to risk anything happening if he happened to move drastically in his sleep.

Not that it mattered. I couldn't get to sleep. And after an hour of trying, I just got up and went to the window. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to open it, just a crack. The ocean lay in expanse beyond the safety of the plane. It shimmered in the light, far smoother then I would have thought.

I don't know how long I sat there. I let my mind wander, thinking of Seán and Signe's home. Of my parents. Of the world and how much bigger it was after being Seen. I thought about those first few days, before ... it... showed up. How excited Seán had been to talk with me.

I heard a soft grunt behind me. I looked over to see Seán looking over his arm at me, a little blurry eyed.

"You should be asleep, aos sí."

I swayed a little to an unheard beat before asking, "Aos sí?"

He sat up and stretched with a yawn. "'s Irish fer People of the mounds. Faefolk." He grinned at my excitement. "Yeah, figured you'd like it. Didja sleep?"

I deflated a little and shook my head. "I can... feel way too much. I'm used to creaks and settling of the wood in walls, but this is... Something else."

He let out a quiet 'Oof', "Yer gunna jet lag somethin' fierce."

"...Jet lag?"

--

Seán didn't fall back asleep. Instead, we spent a while talking about the trip, who he planned to meet. What I planned to do. It was rather inconclusive since neither of us knew how to handle the whole hotel thing. Signe had intended to be back at her parents' house, where I could have stayed in her childhood room.

While both awkward about it, we decided to just play it by ear. There wasn't much we could do at this point.

I think I passed out at some point. Mostly because I woke up in a much more familiar sensation of Seán's pocket gently swaying in cadence with his walk. Hooked on the edge of it was his thumb, which I tapped twice to let him know I was awake. After a moment, his hand slipped away, revealing the outside world.

The sheer amount of people made me retreat further into the pocket, if the child that saw me shortly after peeking out didn't. Once we were properly outside, I chanced a look again.

Holy hell was it hot.

Seán remained relatively quiet as he got a ride.  When we got settled in the hotel, I realized why. He let me out onto the desk, then collapsed onto the bed.

Right. Jet lag.

I frowned, looking around. There wasn't really... well, anything. It was a Bean's hotel room. So, I stretched out the kinks from my extended pocket ride and climbed down. I was certainly thankful my time with Seán and Signe hadn't dulled any of my mobility. The real test though, was getting up on the bed on my own. I didn't really want to disturb him - though from my current position I wasn't sure he'd hear me anyway.

I was half way up when he started to move. I let out a surprised yelp, clinging to the sheets. The mattress shifted way more then I thought it would. The problem, of course, was that my surprise led him to moving a bit more erratically in worry.

My foot lost its hold, causing me to slip, which resulted in panic, which led to me losing all sense of focus. I tried to grab the sheets again, but there was no good place.

I braced myself to hit the floor and instead bounced on something much softer. I shook off the confusion and looked up to see Seán looking baffled. We both got our bearings.

I had landed on his outstretched hand, his shoulders and head the only things visible from my angle. I felt my face heat up. "I thought you were asleep."

His chuckle made my entire body shake, then he carefully lifted me to the bed. I stumbled onto it, then sat down to wait for him to shift back fully onto the bed. He kicked off his shoes before going limp on the mattress with a small groan.

"Fuckin' flights always take it outta me."

"It's a long ass flight," I replied, making my way over to his head so he wouldn't have to keep searching for me. As I sat back, he watched, a bit of hesitation swimming in those baby blues. I gave him a quizzical look.

"Dun think ya've ever sat this close for a talk."

"Well, I'm not about to shout across the room, and someone forgot to pack my cellphone." When the joke looked like it wouldn't hit right, I quickly added, "Me. That person was me."

That drew a tiny laugh from him. "I shoulda been more careful."

I kicked his arm a little with a huff. "Literally no one could have planned for what happened. The driver was late, I got caught by surprise while sitting on the edge of a shelf, you thought I was elsewhere. No one's fault."

He stared at me for a brief moment, a little shocked. "Did you just kick me?"

I blew a small raspberry. "I would have elbowed you but I didn't want to get up."

That got a full laugh. I grinned a little to myself. Maybe this would be good for both of us.