Discouraged after countless hours of searching, he trudges inside and collapses into a leather booth, eyes fixed on his table as if pulled by magnets – he doesn't even look up when someone approaches, nor does he give them a moment to ask his order before grumbling, "I want a burger and chips."
His gaze slides to the floor, where it falls upon the waitress' shoes – felt Mary Janes, with knee socks barely clinging to stick-thin legs. "Wow," a soft voice breathes somewhere above him.
"Cass?" he asks incredulously without looking up.
"Only a minute," she whispers lightly, and disappears into the kitchen before Sid can raise his head. (Even though he waits all night, his burger doesn't show up – and neither does she.)
;
Her movement stops completely, pose and expression locked in place because he is Iright there/i, milling about in front of a café that's roughly 4,600 miles from home.
It takes an eternity for him to slowly turn and catch sight of her, and when he does, there's no burst of happiness; instead, he looks dazed, and raises one hand in greeting, pressing his fingertips lightly against the window. Her lips curve into an open smile.
"Wow… you came."
And finally the corners of his mouth jump up because even through the glass, there's no mistaking her words.
;
He gets fed up and begins screaming her name at the darkened sky, eyes shut and face inclined upwards, so that he doesn't notice anything until two slender hands meet his cheeks and gently tug him back to earth, where she plants a soft kiss on his trembling mouth.
"Why do you keep leaving me?" he spits out when they part, frustrated, and she lowers her eyes and hands together.
"That's what I do," she answers, with a tiny bounce in her voice. "My feet …just don't stop moving."
He blinks a couple of times and reaches up to press his toque down. "I can't follow you everywhere, not like this."
"I know. You're right, Sid." Her smile brightens a touch. "But at least you're here now."
;
Formalities tossed aside immediately, she brings him to the little flat – apartment, her mind adds subconsciously, this is New York – Adam left in her care, and it takes about nine seconds to reach the bed in the corner. "Getting to know each other again" is how she prefers to call it – he's got no preference but to keep at it until they're exhausted beyond the ability to stay awake.
Her eyes slide open for no reason at precisely 4:36 A.M., finding their way automatically to Sid, whose mouth is hanging open with a damp spot on the pillow underneath. Cassie's lips quirk into a vague smile, and she reaches out hesitantly, beginning to trace designs on his bare skin – it's a way to claim him, leaving invisible marks on her territory.
In the morning when he gets up and walks to the kitchenette, they're still dancing across his shoulder-blades.
;
After three days of walking around the city, Sid catches a flight to Bristol without looking back.
(Well, maybe once.)