LXXVI. GRACE—CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

          "So," Grace began, pursing her lips as she lifted her feet to rest on the dash. "Remind me again why you booked a flight for 12:30 in the morning?"

          "Well, technically it was Ellen, but it's kind of nice, actually," Sebastian replied, one hand gripping the steering wheel as the other reached over the place his drink back in the holder. "I like flights at night."

          Grace gave him a close-mouthed smile, her hands warming once she grabbed her drink. "Well, good thing I got coffee."

           "Oh, no, what would you do without coffee?"

          Grace squinted her eyes at his sarcasm, knowing fully well that he couldn't see her. "Die."

          "I highly doubt that would happen."

          Grace ignored him, instead releasing a sigh. After quickly checking the time on her phone, she reached forward and turned on the music. Sebastian had made them leave an extra few hours early, saying something like, "It's two hours to the airport, and we still have security to go through and everything. Plus, I feel safer having an extra hour and a half just in case something happens." Grace rolled her eyes when he said that earlier. He was so paranoid.

           When Superunknown's Black Hole Sun came on the radio, a small smile took over Grace's face. Her dad used to sing this to her in the car on their way to hockey games when she was little, saying it was his tradition before something good was to happen, and that it was now her tradition, also.

          Grace could remember being strapped securely in the passenger seat of the car very clearly, because it was around the time where she reached the weight limit to sit in the front. Ever since then, Grace would sit beside her dad on the way to the hockey games and sing along to the same song with him, her tiny arms dancing wildly with the drums; nowadays, she was just glad her fingers moved with the instrument instead of her arms.

          Grace smiled lightly at the memory, leaning her head back against the headrest as her hands rested on her thighs. Sebastian watched as she began to absentmindedly drum along with the music, singing quietly to herself as she looked out the window on her right. He remembered telling Elizabeth that this was one of the many things he loved about her.

          No, that he loves about her.

          And, as if had felt him glancing at her, she turned her head towards him, grinning widely before she spoke up: "What?"

           "Nothing, just watching," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper as his hand moved to her thigh, her hand then resting on top of his.

          It wasn't long before she started singing along again, and Sebastian could feel her fingers drumming against the back of his own. He then joined in with the quiet singing, Grace looking towards him when he did so, admiration glinting in her eyes.

          And then, oh so suddenly, something that had become her and her dad's tradition all those years ago, had now become Sebastian's tradition, also.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I expected this chapter to be so much more sarcastic than it was??? But, ya know, shit happens so, I'm rolling with it.

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