comfort | sean and kaycee.

third time.

the third time it happened, both sean and kaycee were conscious of what was ensuing, but fatigue had different needs from simple sleepiness, and neither of them wanted to put in the effort of overthinking it.

an airport, on its surface, was a bustling hub of machinery and travel, filled with anxious, excitable passengers and amiable, encyclopedic employees. during the day, the air was composed of confused voices attempting to navigate, the scraping of suitcase wheels on tiles and carpet, the roar of engines as the plane lifts and lands. it was loud and industrious, a testament to humanity's mechanic knowledge and unbreakable will to utilize it. to an outsider, an airplane might carry hope and adventure, freedom and relaxation, with smooth sailing and wonderful views of the world below and heavens above.

okay, kaycee had to admit, the views were wonderful. but at its very core, airports drained its passengers of their energy with its hectic confusion, and it offered them a turbulent, flying beast as a vehicle for recovery.

in short, kaycee rice hated flights. night ones, turbulent ones, ones that demanded you be there at 3 am only to depart at 7 am; all of them put her in a state of uncomfortable anxiety that she could live without. she was never one to be paranoid, but the idea of entrusting her life to a pilot she didn't know spooked her more than she wanted. not to mention how impossible it was to sleep. day flights were tolerable; at least she wouldn't be jetlagged if she landed in the afternoon and during the flight, there was always cloud-watching to amuse her and pass time. but night ones? early AM ones? they jostled and jabbed her, taunting her by taking away all her energy but never offering anything back.

on all flights, kaycee found herself irked, cramped, and overall, wishing her job didn't demand so much travel.

but, as it is central to kaycee's way of processing problems, she considered the bright side. at the very least, her job forced her friends, whether it be the wiggle crew, tricia and amari, or even just her family, to sit next to her and lessen her suffering as the clouds constantly kicked the airplane's cabins.

and tonight, the accompanying friend was none other than sean lew. the airline company had assigned them a night flight and designated their seats so sean and his mother were sitting in chairs that were five whole rows ahead of kaycee and her mom. the two families reached an agreement: the kiddos can sit together and do what kiddos do, and the mothers can sit together and do what mothers do.

and so, even though the cabin was dark to simulate an ideal sleeping environment, kaycee found herself watching downloaded episodes of the office on sean's laptop, propping her weight against the armrest on sean's side and wishing her seat could recline more. she sat in the middle seat, the one seat that had no benefits to it. the aisle seat was inhabited by a thin latina with a comfortable-looking neck-pillow, who had easy access to the bathroom because of her placement; sean's seat, the window one, was next to the wall. he took full advantage of that wall, resting his head against it with his eyes shut and earbuds in, knees bobbing incessantly. but her seat? absolutely nothing.

her eyes were strained, burning and heavy from blankly staring at the glaring laptop and being forced awake for more than sixteen hours. even though she was playing her favorite episodes, none of it amused her. she was so tired, and annoyed, and she so desperately wanted to kick her legs up, break the limits of how much her chair could recline, lay down, and sleep. but the airplane and its cramped quarters immobilized her in a slouch and kept her restless and grumpy. she whined briefly in discomfort, kicking her feet.

someone tugged her black sweater. kaycee glanced and it was sean with his earbuds out.

his mouth moved, but she heard nothing. kaycee paused the episode, took out her earbuds, and tapped her ear to signal for a repeat. sean said it again, this time a little closer, but the constant rumble of the plane engine blocked out her hearing. even though the jets were the obnoxious ones, the snoring lady next to kaycee and the rest of the sleeping cabin necessitated their silence. all they could do is obey. and so, kaycee tilted her head, raising an eyebrow, and sean leaned forward a greater amount. his tangled perm grazed her temple.