New York • Sean & Kaycee

The Accidental Admission

As the plane prepared to descend, Kaycee was woken up by an incessant movement against her knee. She cracked her eyes open to find that Sean was nervously bouncing his leg up and down, tapping a frantic rhythm against his kneecap.

"Sean." She groaned, untangling the arm looped around his and straightening up in her seat. She cracked her sore neck and rolled her stiff shoulders.

"Sorry, sorry." He whispered, halting his tapping to rest a hand on her knee. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, a bit." She sighed, moving to stretch her arms.

"Sorry," Sean apologized again. He looked away, bringing his gaze to the open window sill. They could already see the endless lights of California, a shining galaxy of stars below them.

Kaycee took the opportunity to finally steal a good look at her partner. A far cry from the excited boy who sat next to her last year, Sean looked like he hadn't slept through the whole 9-hour flight - eyes bloodshot and hair disheveled from, no doubt, countless rakings. He had stopped bouncing his knees, but his hand was still tapping against his thigh.

"Hey," She reached out and placed a comforting hand over his, stilling his frantic tapping. "What happened to the whole 'we're going to be okay' speech you gave?"

Sean sighed and flipped his hand over, intertwining his fingers with hers. "I'm just nervous. I realized that we never really planned on how to actually tell them. Like, do we say it before or after dinner? Do we tell our parents separately or together? Shouldwetelloursiblingsfirst?Dowe-"

"Sean, breathe." Kaycee reminded him with a squeeze of her hand. The rambling boy sucked in a deep breath mid-sentence, letting the words catch in his throat. She laughed, watching him struggle to swallow down whatever else he was supposed to say.

"We'll know when the time is right, okay?" Kaycee comforted, tracing patterns at the back of his hand with her thumb. "The more we think about it now, the more we'll work ourselves up and give it all away. We still have to get through the ride home, plus dinner with our families."

Sean nodded, knowing she was right. He sometimes allowed himself to be consumed by something, pouring over it day and night, nitpicking until it was all broken down to pieces. But that's where Kaycee came in. She was the peace in his soul, the calming voice that called through the noise in his head and beckoned him home.

Kaycee would often credit him for being the steady, rational one in their partnership, whereas she was the emotional, unstable one. But Sean always felt like that analogy was wrong. They were pretty good at give-and-take, sharing the weight of the world on their shoulders in equal measure.

With the armrest between them pushed up, she tugged him closer and tucked her head between his shoulder and chin.

"Just breathe, okay?" She continued, her voice the most soothing sound in the world. "We have a few more minutes until the plane lands, and I really just want to spend it being here with you."

Finding relief in her certainty, stillness finally settled over Sean. He melted against her instinctively, unable to resist the warmth she provided. The pair closed their eyes, willing for the time to slow down, and crossing their fingers for the best.

---

Once they had collected their luggage, Sean and Kaycee slowly walked hand in hand towards the Arrival gates, neither saying a word. As the exit loomed closer, their feet seemed to feel heavier. They were all too aware that just outside those doors were Sean's family, ready to pick them up.

"Kayc," Sean broke the silence and pulled her back, gently slowing them both into a stop.

"What's wrong?" She asked, seeing the worry flash in his eyes.