Celeste woke up the next morning to the sound of mourning doves cooing outside of her window. The space where Sebastian lay last night was empty, and she felt a wave of disappointment upon realizing this. As she slowly got up from the bed, she put on her clothes and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

She noticed Sebastian had taken his clothes from the dryer. The apartment was empty. The same wave of disappointment hit her heavier this time. I can't believe he left.

After she came back from the bathroom, she went to go grab her phone, hoping he had left some sort of message to explain why he didn't want to see her again. Maybe the sex was that awful? Maybe he doesn't want to deal with my baggage? I just.. can't believe he made me a promise.

Nothing.

Not a single message of explanation.

She put her face to her hands, the tears starting to roll down her face. She felt so foolish. She wanted to disappear, hoping her hands would slowly swallow her into a black hole of nothingness.

Suddenly, her front door opened. Her face still buried in her hands, she was so afraid to look up. Did Dallas finally find me?

A sweet male voice sounded, dulcet and soft. "Celeste… are you okay?"

The farmer looked up, excitedly leaping out of bed and rushing towards the man. It was Sebastian, wearing yesterday's clothing, his hair sticking to his face from sweat. She put her arms around him and squeezed him so tightly his bones cracked. "You're still here."

"Of course, I am." He cradled her softly in his arms, running his hands through her hair. When she finally pulled away from him, he looked at her and said, "I watered all your crops, tried to make your life a little easier today. I also left some food for the chickens. Not sure if I did it right, but they seemed to enjoy it." He nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, Sebastian!" Celeste kissed his cheek.

"We should talk to my mom about her installing some burglar bars on the doors and windows. So you have some sense of security."

Celeste nodded, seeing the seriousness in Sebastian's face.

"Now get dressed. I'll wait for you. We can head on over to my mom's to talk to her about it."

After getting ready, they walked together hand-in-hand to Robin's home north towards the mountains. Celeste felt butterflies in her stomach and her palms started to get clammy. "I'm sorry, uh…"

Sebastian turned to look at her and grinned one of his alluring half-smiles. Celeste felt herself melt, her legs feeling like jelly, remembering the time she met him in his basement in Robin's house.

When they got to the front door, Celeste found herself letting go of Sebastian's hand, crossing her arms in trepidation. He pushed the door open and they were greeted by Robin's warm smile in the foyer of her home as she walked toward her counter. "Sebby! I didn't see you at all yesterday!"

When she noticed Celeste following in after him, Robin smiled to herself. "Farmer Celeste! It's nice to see you so early in the morning."

Celeste gave her a timid smile, blushing slightly in embarrassment, hoping Robin wouldn't recognize the reason Sebastian and she were together so early in the morning.

"Do you two want some breakfast? I just finished making some wonderful eggs, pancakes, and hashbrowns. Maru and Demetrius just finished, and I was about to put the leftovers away. I called for you, Sebby, but since you didn't answer I assumed you left before we got up."

Yeah, left before everybody got up….

"Yeah, thanks mom. But we have something to tell you."

Robin's eyes lit up. She was almost expecting it, her reserved son to tell her that he's been seeing this bubbly gal. She was hoping it would bring him out of his shell, open him up more. She was glad he had Sam and Abigail as friends, but their extroverted attitudes didn't seem to do enough to Sebastian to make him not self-isolate as much as he did. Robin hoped for this moment since the moment the farmer had moved into town. Yeah, she always fantasized about her son with the new farmer; she just thought they'd be a nice pairing. And she definitely noticed the looks they gave each other. Mother's intuition.

"Is that cool, mom?"

Robin didn't hear a word he said, but she didn't have to. "Oh Sebby, yes, I'm so happy for you two."

"Happy?" Sebastian was confused and getting angry. "Mom, Celeste could very much be in danger!"

"Oh, don't be silly! You're such a weird boy."

As Celeste and Sebastian stood there, giving Robin a look of pure disgust, she started to realize that they weren't talking about the same thing. The regret in her face made Sebastian realize this as he corrected her.

"MOM. We need you to build burglar bars in Celeste's home. As soon as possible."

"I… okay. I'll get to it right away."

Celeste uncrossed her arms and put her hand in her pocket, pulling out some money she had been saving. "I was holding on to this for a down payment on a kitchen, but… if it's not enough for the bars I can pay you back once I make some more."

Robin heard the seriousness in Celeste's voice and noticing the glossiness that formed in her eyes.

"Celeste will be staying with us until you can finish it. I told her she can stay in my room so she wouldn't have to inconvenience anybody."

Sebastian then pulled Celeste towards the kitchen, away from Robin's earshot.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe here with me." He wiped a tear that was streaming down her cheek. "Now, I need you to eat. I'm going to be in my room doing some work. Join me when you're done."

Sebastian grabbed a cup of coffee and headed down the stairs to his basement bedroom.

After Sebastian finished his work for the day, he went back upstairs to find Celeste in Demetrius's lab, sitting at a table reading one of his quantum physics books.

"I always knew teleportation was possible. I mean, we haven't figured out how to do it yet, but it's not physically impossible!"

Sebastian chuckled and leaned in close to hug Celeste. "Why are you this way?"

"What way?" she said as she slightly pulled away from him.

"So fucking cute." He drew her in closer. She was still sitting down and her head was leaning on his stomach as he hugged her. She heard his stomach rumble from the emptiness. He had only the black coffee from this morning and it was already close to 3 in the afternoon.

She pulled away once again. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. Would you like to go to the saloon to grab some food? I'm buying." Sebastian flashed her a wink. He knew that she had spent the last of her money in getting Robin to build her the burglar bars and wanted to assure her that he was going to do what he could to make her comfortable.

She hugged his hip and pulled up his shirt slightly, kissing his navel and then sticking her tongue out at Sebastian. "Ok, let's go."

As they walked south toward the Stardrop Saloon, Celeste's warm hand rubbed against Sebastian's much colder hand several times. She knew he wasn't ready to have to explain to others what was going on between them, whatever was going on between them, so she knew it wouldn't be appropriate to simply grab his hand.

But she wanted to so badly.

She was hoping that there were feelings behind last night. That she wasn't just a one-night stand.

She knew they were…friends. He admitted on the dock that he didn't feel anxious around her. He seemed to want to keep her safe. Sure, any friend would do that but… the way he looked at her. Was it just lust? Sebastian didn't seem the type.

When they got to the saloon, Gus was cleaning some glasses and Emily was just coming in to start her afternoon shift. Sebastian made his way to the counter and glanced at the board behind Gus displaying the dish of the day. Fish tacos. It wasn't Sebastian's favorite, but he did enjoy them.

"Hey Emily. Can I have two orders of fish tacos please?" The ever-so-chipper bartender happily agreed and went into the kitchen.

Sebastian sat at the bar table, looking down at his fidgeting thumbs. He always seemed to keep his hands busy, whether it be from typing on his computer or smoking a cigarette. His nails were short, as if he had been anxiously biting at them, the cuticles picked at and slightly red.

Celeste stared at him in a daydream, her elbow to the table with her head resting on her hand. She watched as he bit his lips, chewing on the crack that formed. He started scratching on the bar table with his fingers, his worn-out hoodie sleeve pulled up past his wrists.

Sebastian wasn't sure if Celeste had been staring, but he felt anxious sitting up on that bar table. Although the saloon was still fairly empty, he knew that soon people would start to pour in, and the sooner they could have their meal and he get back to his room, the better. As much confidence as he started to gain around Celeste when he was alone with her, being in public made it all fade away.

A soft voice broke the dreamscape Sebastian and Celeste found themselves in. "Here's your tacos, Sebastian." Emily gave him a toothy grin before turning around and returning to work. She hummed as she skipped to the back of the bar, helping Gus prepare for the evening.

Sebastian picked up the plates and turned around, stepping off the bar stool. "Hey, let's sit over here," he said to Celeste as he started to make his way towards the back of the bar.

The music began to play loudly in the jukebox in preparation for the afternoon shift. It was a Thursday evening, and although it wasn't Gus's busiest, he was sure to have several regulars come in tonight.

Sebastian placed the plates on the table and sat in the booth. Celeste followed his lead, sitting across from him. "Have you ever had Gus's fish tacos? No one makes them the way he does."

"No, but I'm excited to try them."

After they finished scarfing down their meal, the first customer of the day walked in: Pam. "Hey Gus, give me a pint of your cheapest stuff!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, silently judging Pam. He wrapped his lips around the straw of the iced water that Emily brought them earlier, staring down at the cup as he slowly sipped upwards.

"Hey, Seb," Celeste said, feeling her heart beat heavily in her chest. He slowly looked upwards at her, continuing to sip his beverage. The condensation on the glass was causing water beads to drop down towards the table.

"I was just wondering… about last night…" As soon as she said it, she regretted it. They've shared several sweet moments since then, and she was wondering if bringing it up would cause any problems. She knew Sebastian wasn't the talker with how long it had taken for him to open up to her, but she wanted to know what he felt about it.

Sebastian looked away and furrowed his brow, wondering how Celeste could ask such a question now. "I don't think this is the type of place to have this conversation."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just…." Celeste took a deep breath in. "I hope I didn't come on too strong."

Sebastian stood up, slightly startling Celeste. "Let's go back to my place. Before the saloon gets packed." He pulled out a few dollars from his wallet and left them on the table, walking out the heavy wooden door just before the evening rush started to come on in.

He was quiet on the walk north to his house. After exiting Pelican Town, he slowed down his pace to a leisurely stroll, pulling out his packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He placed the butt in his mouth, placing the pack back in his pocket and flicking his lighter, taking a heavy puff to inhale the sweet smoke.

After passing the run-down community center, he flicked the ashes to the ground, continuing his steady pace. His hand was brushing up against Celeste's, his fingers slowly intertwining with hers, softly gripping. His hand was cold, just as it usually was, even though it was a warm late-summer evening. The sun was heading towards the horizon and the golden hue of the sky bronzed their faces in an alluring glow.

Once they passed the clearing towards the mountain, Sebastian pulled Celeste towards the mountain lake, breathing the last of his cigarette before pressing it to the ground with his boot. He stood at the lake's edge, sun setting behind him, with Celeste to his left, still hand-in-hand. He rubbed his thumb on the top of her hand. He stared at the ripples in the water, keeping his gazed fixed on what was below the surface.

"I really like you."

There was a brief moment of silence as the summer breeze picked up and swirled around them, with the rustle of leaves being heard in the distance.

"I don't know what it is. Since the moment I saw you."

Celeste was staring at the same ripples Sebastian seemed fixated on. Her cheeks started to redden as she felt her hands get clammy.

"Well, I think it's more. I don't know."

Her heart started to beat faster as he continued. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't find the courage to speak.

He squeezed her hand, his starting to warm up from the heat of her own.

"I feel… a little less alone around you." He gulped. "A little less anxious. A little less of a failure."

The ripples stopped, breaking Celeste's trance. She looked up at Sebastian, who was still looking at the water. He stopped speaking, trying to find the courage to continue. He let out a breathy sigh as he turned to face Celeste, letting go of her hand. Her eyes twinkled in the setting sun.

"These feelings are new to me. And… I'm a little confused by them. But they feel good." He let out a small smile, the kind of smile that makes Celeste melt.

The moon started to rise, and the crickets were chirping in summer night. Sebastian looked up at the moon and then at Celeste.

"If you're not too tired, I'm wondering if you'd like to go on a bike ride." Joyously, she agreed.

Sebastian emerged from his garage, smiling a wide smile. "I hoped you would want to come ride with me again, so I got you your own helmet." Tears filled Celeste's eyes as she thought about how obscurely romantic Sebastian was.

Before she knew it, she was at, what felt like, the edge of the world with Sebastian once again. He stepped off of his bike after removing his helmet and helped her off. He opened the storage compartment at the back of his motorcycle and pulled out a folded blanket before leading them to the edge of the cliff once again. Zuzu City was in the distance, the lights shining from the buildings. The moon was slimmer now, barely illuminating the space they moved in.

He sat on the ground, Celeste quickly following, and he wrapped the blanket around the two of them. Her arm locked on to his, the pads of her fingers playfully pressing on to the pads of his. Her other hand grabbed on to the edge of the blanket.

"I don't usually bring anybody here with me." He looked at Celeste, their faces mere inches apart. "Not even Sam. I hope you know what I'm trying to say." Her fingers slipped in between his, a space she was finding herself more and more comfortable. He looked back at the city.

"I know we haven't known each other that long but… you're very special to me."

Sebastian had spoken more today than any other moment she can remember. She spent every moment she could listening. She reveled in him opening up.

"I think…."

He looked back at her.

"I think I love you."

The world melted away. Celeste felt the pulse in Sebastian's palm. Her head was spinning, and she felt like she was losing balance. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to wake up from the vivid dream she thought she was having.

When she opened them, she saw Sebastian staring at her, closer this time, his eyes examining the details of her face. He placed his forehead on hers, his long lashes lightly brushing up against hers, before bringing his lips close to hers.

She closed her eyes again and whispered, "I love you," before his mouth crashed into her own. The taste of nicotine overwhelmed her senses. She felt an addiction for Sebastian growing stronger.

And for that wonderful moment of bliss, she completely forgot about her fears.

She completely forgot about Dallas.