✧˚[ 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ]˚✧ ||| A Sebastian Stan short story

✧˚[ 13 - SOUND OF THE SEA IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW YORK ]˚✧

Big Apple. Melting pot of the world. The city that never sleeps. A concrete jungle of imposing skyscrapers and colorful lights - whether day or night.

Walking through NYC felt like absorbing the essence of an insightful voyage around the globe. Cultures, religions and culinary delights brought together in one empire. And somewhere in between, there was Nika, amidst a lovely garden area, which indeed resembled more a wild jungle in the Amazon than gray concrete blocks.

It was Sunday, close to noon. Voices rang out from the end of the hidden park. Jumbled scraps of conversation reached them. The hubbub of the many people still echoed through all the streets today. Sebastian truly didn't promise too much by saying how amazed she would be at the wonderful secret corners of this busy city. And the longer he raved about his corners, the less Nika worried. He was sweet, wanted her to have a good time and make her feel good. Nothing more. And she allowed herself to enjoy his attention to the full.

That's exactly why nothing kept Nika from doing so. Neither her own concerns, nor the highly flammable pile of dynamite from dormant consequences nipping at her heels. Not a good idea to ignore the dangerously close flying sparks. Nevertheless, she did it, and under the blanket of bright green treetops consisting of sycamores and elms, she wallowed in her fresh, still unspent memories of the last few days.

"Ah-tchoo!"

"Bless you." Pushing his Ray Ban down the bridge of his nose, Sebastian eyed er closely and adjusted them again. "Fourth time already. Hope you didn't catch a cold. Gotta admit, the old A/C needs an overhaul."

"But the clatter is what makes it so charming", Nika grinned about the small theater where they watched the Oscar-winning classic The Piano the night before and sneezed again. She dug out a tissue. "Don't worry. That's just my hay fever. I took something earlier, so it should be over in a minute. But I still feel like crying when I think about it. If she'd just left the piano on the beach, she wouldn't end up going through all that pain, dumping it in the sea."

Sebastian pulled up the corner of his mouth and clicked his tongue once. "Then she might never have found her voice again and wouldn't have gotten the deserved happy end for her and her daughter, though."

"Touché."

Smiling, Nika blinked up at him from under the NY bascap. She thought back to the moment when they left the outdated theater and he gushed about how he could imagine working with the famous director and screenwriter Jane Campion. Or with Quentin Tarantino; a wish so far unfulfilled. Even in the dark, his blue eyes shone so brightly that they were blinding. Now they lay concealed behind the tinted glasses mirroring the high sun.

It was not too cold and not too warm. Sebastian wore his hair in a loose bun. At the sight of the many people on the spacious grounds, however, the non-existent midday heat visibly shot through his tense limbs. Despite not being a fan of crowds herself, Nika wasn't bothered by it for once, but she noticed how he struggled with this much more today.

"We can go somewhere else. Where it's not so busy."

Sebastian took a deep breath and stopped. "Nah, it's okay. I've never been to a flea market in New York. Just thinking of yesterday."

"You mean the paparazzi?" she lowered her voice and now also glanced around carefully. "You think they're rummaging around here? For any celebrities?"

"Ugh. Who knows. Well, actually, it's nothing new. Just didn't mean to drag you into it."

Nika examined the countless faces a little longer, some of which were also covered by sunglasses and hats or caps, and tried to recognize a resemblance to the man behind the black lens, who Sebastian had only spotted by accident in Lower Manhattan. Stars and starlets had a certain relationship with papparazzi. And autograph hunters. It was part of the job. As were the awkward situations when you just wanted to stroll down the street with a friend to show them an antique bookshop. And even if Sebastian didn't know every one of them, the most pushy ones always stuck in his mind.