Seattle, 1 am, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 29th floor, corner room

Thorne closed his laptop and called it a day. He had answered most of his standard questionnaire. The rest could wait until tomorrow.

He allowed himself a few minutes to stretch and massage the knots from his shoulders. Hitting the hotel's gym for a swim or a bit of exercise had sounded tempting two hours ago but now that too could wait until tomorrow before his flight back to Los Angeles.

Instead, Thorne looked through the mini-bar, grabbing one of the beer bottles. He could stretch out on the small couch and watch TV but he wasn't in the mood for it tonight. He picked the armchair instead. The city landscape spread out in front of him, the skyline and streets glittering.

Everything was silent except for the distant noise of the traffic.

It was lonely.

It was an unbidden thought Thorne didn't often entertain and he quickly shut it out by looking through his phone.

The most recent activity was by a group of his old high school friends who had posted pictures of their night out, watching the game at a sports bar.

The game. Thorne had completely forgotten about it.

He gave the end result a superficial glance but it didn't matter. He had missed it while he was writing his report. But even so, it was no fun to watch alone.

There it was again, the word that Thorne tried to shut out. So, he missed a game. Big deal. Here he was in a fancy hotel and he could easily go find a nice bar or club to meet new, exciting people. Thorne cherished opportunities, freedom, change. His job made it possible for him to have no ties and that's how Thorne preferred it.

Usually.

Tonight though ... maybe he was just tired. He traveled a lot, and the fancy hotels started to blur together. Almost every day, he woke up in a different room, always answering the same questions for his job. It was only natural that he was sometimes ... less enthusiastic about everything.

Thorne sighed and took another sip of his beer. His thoughts wandered to the blonde woman from the airport. Or rather, airports.

Cress. Her name was Cress.

He didn't even notice that he started to smile when he remembered how she, standing on her tip-toes while still managing to be smaller than most people around her, screamed her name at him. He wondered if she remembered his? They only had a moment where he made up his mind that he would use the opportunity to finally introduce himself properly. But the moment had been fleeting and who knew if she even cared to remember.

Where might she be, right at this moment? Was she waiting at an airport or already flying towards a new, unknown destination? It seemed like he only ever saw her at an airport, running off to catch her next flight. It was strange to think of her anywhere else, not carrying her suitcase with her. Not looking like she was on the go.

But maybe she was at home for once, having fun with friends, family ... maybe a boyfriend? Was there someone waiting for her while she went from place to place?

Cress seemed to travel just as much as he did and he wondered if she sometimes just felt as lonely and out-of-place like he did now.

Wherever she was.

Seattle, 1 am, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 28th floor, corner room

Cress scrolled absentmindedly through her activity feed, sipping on a hot cocoa from time to time.

She had made herself comfortable in the big armchair at the window that over-looked the city. She wore a bathrobe the hotel had provided and while it was new and smelled fresh, it was not the familiar fuzzy robe she wore at home.

When she was at home. It seemed like she was hardly there anymore. The small flat stayed empty while she traveled around.

Usually, Cress liked traveling and this hotel her new clients insisted on booking for her was way nicer than usual. Her room was spacious and the staff had made sure that she had everything she wanted.

All Cress wanted at that moment, though, was not an extra pillow or room-service. She wished she had some company, someone to share this amazing view with. But she didn't enjoy it as much as usual, the sparkling lights that had made her gasp with wonder the first few times she had seen the different skylines.

Instead, she scrolled through her phone, her eyes lingering on the new photos one of her college friends had posted. With a glowing smile, she held up a tiny bundle, the blue blanket nestled around a tiny baby. A beautiful baby boy, as the proud parents let everyone know on their page, including the name, size, weight and whatever they deemed important to share with the world.

And why shouldn't they? They were happy and ready to start a new part of their life. The last time Cress had seen her was two years ago and since then, her old friend had had met her boyfriend, gotten engaged, married and now they welcomed their first child.

Two years ago was when Cress started traveling for her job too. Which was all she had done since then. Working and flying from city to city.

It was strange to think that she was always on the move but in her own life, nothing seemed to move forward.

Cress didn't think she was ready to get married or have kids yet but she felt everyone was moving forward while she was still trying to figure out where exactly she wanted to go.

With a sigh, she liked her friend's picture and added some congratulations before laying the phone aside.

Taking a sip of her now lukewarm cocoa, Cress couldn't help but think of the man from the airport. Or airports, more like it.

Thorne. His name was Thorne.

She couldn't help but blush when she remembered how he had introduced himself. He had seemed so confident and like someone who seemed used to taking chances as they came. Even though her cocoa had cooled down, her hand seemed to warm up as Cress thought how he had touched it on the walkway. She hadn't seen him since then.

She wondered where he could be right now? Cress had only seen him at airports but it wasn't hard to imagine him anywhere else. He had the air of someone who was at ease no matter where he was. Maybe he was out in town, having fun with friends or maybe a girl? A guy like him probably had a girl in every city, ready to show him around. Or maybe he had a girlfriend. Wife? Did he have a ring? Cress couldn't remember. But when he wasn't talking to her, he was usually surrounded by people, all enraptured in whatever it was he was saying.

Cress hoped that Thorne was having a good time and didn't feel as lonely and out-of-place as she did now.

Wherever he was.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I can't tell you how motivating it was to read how much you all liked it. I hope you continue to enjoy my drabbles. :D

I have no more drabbles written in advance, so updates might take a bit longer. But we're slowly getting to the point where they meet for longer. As for the next drabble, I think it would be a shame to write an Airport AU and not have a suitcase mix-up, wouldn't it? Especially since Cress and Thorne have the same suitcase ... ;)

As always, many thanks to lovelunarchron. Without her, I wouldn't write at all and especially nothing that is free of any grammar mistakes and wonky expressions.