The horn of the train sounded seconds before they set off once more. Just as they expected, the inside of the train was hot, the air conditioning failed to work at a high enough rate to cool the cabin down whilst they were stationary.
Finding a book from his bag, Lionel used it as a mere fan, all the while Carter had a napkin in his hand and used it to dry away any wetness he had on his forehead.
"Oh my..." the elder woman who sat adjacent to Lionel began. "I'll never get used to the summer heat...".
"My neither, it's all too much sometimes," Lionel responded, letting out a mere chuckle before his eyes found themselves looking out the window.
"Ain't we lucky we had that cold drink beforehand, Lionel," Carter's voice went off.
"Yeah, but hopefully they'll have some drinks on board the train, I can feel my throat already drying up," Lionel responded, looking Carter's way for a mere second, seeing he had his laptop in front of him before his gaze went back to the window. "Working again?".
"I don't have much work today, luckily," Carter responded before the sound of the clicking of his keyboard took over their conversation.
His words lived up to their expectation as not too long passed before Carter typed in his final words and logged off his laptop.
Lionel was listening to music as he surfed through his phone, with it plugged into one of the outlets by his seat to allow his device to charge. Carter's movement caught his attention. Looking his way, he saw his laptop closed. "Done?".
"Yes, now it's nap time..." Carter spoke as he rested his head against the headrest of his seat. It took him minutes to fall asleep.
From time to time, Lionel averted his gaze from his phone to Carter. He saw the way his mouth was open ever so slightly, with him releasing a rugged breath or two.
Without his notice, a smile made its way onto Lionel's lips. He was sitting beside a man, a businessman, who made him feel all kinds of ways.
"I don't know how you did it, but you did it..." the older woman whispered to Lionel, in turn grabbing his attention.
"I- I'm sorry?".
"You've seen him yesterday, all mean and... and grumpy and now... he's a different person now. You've done something to him!" she spoke out. "I think you might be his summer bug!" she added, sending Lionel a mere smile before looking back down into her book.
"Don't they both look sweet now?..." the younger woman spoke up looking at the older woman beside her.
"Yes, they do," she responded in agreement.
It caused Lionel to chuckle in slight diffidence. "Thank you...".
"It was a mere observation, no need to thank me," she responded with a smile before she looked back down at her phone.
With Lionel parting his gaze from her, he looked back at Carter. He was still asleep. However, he felt something within him swirl a tad bit of sadness. Perhaps it was the fact that Carter didn't hear what the women had to say. 'Would he have opposed to such words? Would he really think that I've done something to him?... And... if so, then what have I to him?... That's the real question...'.
To such questions of his, Lionel remained quiet. If anything, he averted his eyes out the window and looked at the ever-changing landscape of trees and shrubs as they rushed past the wildlife of Arittoria. 'But would it really matter what he thinks of me?... And what I think of him?... We're not staying in the same place anyway, so we can't see how far we've come... Reality has it that we've tomorrow left beside each other until we say our goodbyes...'.
The honk of the horn pulled him out of his trance, he remembered where he was. A full day was left until they departed from each other. 'So I might as well enjoy it while I can...' Lionel thought to himself, looking back toward Carter. He saw the way his head was turned ever so slightly toward Lionel, his mouth still that bit opened as he slept so soundly.
Not long passed before one of the attendants passed down the aisle, pushing a cart. Beverages and snacks.
Once she reached Lionel's row, the attendant served the women ahead of him before she looked at both him and Carter, who was still asleep.
"Would you like a drink, Sir?" She asked.
"Just water please?" Lionel responded.
She nodded before pulling a plastic cup and pouring him a cup full of water. Handing it over to him, Lionel started again, "And could I have another cup of water for the sleeping gentleman beside me, please?".
"Of course, Sir," she responded. And after giving him the drink, she proceeded to further ask. "We also have a wide variety of snacks, if you'd like any.".
Lionel thought for a second. "What do you have if I may ask?".
She handed him something that looked like a menu. "The first two pages of snacks are free of charge, however, the snacks on the last two pages must be purchased.".
Lionel looked through the booklet for a mere minute before making his choice.
"Okay. Would you like to pay with cash or card, Sir?".
"Card, if that's no problem," Lionel responded.
"Not a problem in the slightest!" she replied with a smile on her lips as she took back the booklet before leaning toward Lionel with a card scanner. A beep sounded off as Lionel pressed his card against the small machine. With that, the attendant handed Lionel what he paid for. "Thank you, Sir, Would that be everything?".
"Yes, thank you very much.".
With another smile, the woman proceeded to push her cart to the next row.
Lionel placed one of the things he purchased beside Carter's laptop, by the cup of water.
As if knowing it was his cue to wake up, Carter opened his eyes before looking down at the table. "Water?...".
"You're awake?" Lionel asked.
"Just woke up..." he responded before a yawn got to him. "When did we get served water?".
"Not even a minute ago," Lionel responded, taking a sip from his cup.
It took Carter a further second to realise the small box of chocolates that sat on his side of the table. "Lionel...".
"Mhmm?..." Lionel responded, looking at his phone.
"Where did these chocolates come from?".
"I got them for you from the cabin attendant," Lionel replied as he took another sip of his drink.
"Lionel..." Carter's voice was wary. "You... you do realise how much this box of chocolates costs?".
"Costs?..." Lionel replied, looking slowly up from his phone. "I am unsure what you mean...".
"Lionel, don't play dumb with me. I travel on trains a lot. And I know well of the snack selection," Carter responded, he damned himself for letting a small smile develop on his lips.
Lionel gave in. "It's my way of saying thank you, Carter... You've bought me that drink, and then that ice cream... and not to mention that salad too.".
Comically, Carter sharpened his gaze upon Lionel. "I hope you knew I wasn't actually being serious when I said you'd find a way to repay me, Lionel...".
"You weren't?...". The smile that grew on Lionel's face showed his dumb play had failed.
To that, Carter rolled his eyes as he chuckled. "You're crazy, Lionel... You know that?". Pausing for a second, he spoke up again. "But thank you, Lionel. Really... You didn't have to.".
"I know I didn't, but I wanted to, Carter.".
"And it doesn't help the fact that I have a sweet tooth..." Carter spoke up again. "These are actually my favourite chocolates.".
"I think they are everyone's favourite chocolates... and for a reason. They are the best selections of chocolates in Veursau.".
Silence descended upon them both as Carter looked down at the box. "I'll save them for later..." He stood up to put them into his bag. "I still can't believe you'd spend so much money on that, Lionel... Thank you again.".
"Don't mention it, Carter," Lionel responded. "It's not like it was worth gold anyway.".
"But it wasn't exactly worth a dime either.". Carter paused, "They cost, what?... Like 20 dollars or something.".
"All I'll say is, for the quality, they're worth the price," Lionel replied.
It caused Carter to let out a small chuckle. "I mean... Alright. True.". Raising a finger at Lionel, Carter added, "However, I will remember this, Lionel... And just to let you know, I have a good memory.".
To his words, Lionel broke into mere chuckles.
With that, quiet descended between them both once more and it wasn't long before they were slowly shown a spectacle on the other side of the glass pane. The setting of the sun.
Slowly, as it reached further toward the horizon, the orange hue from the evening prior took its place back on the train. It also painted the sky and the clouds.
On top of that, the landscape was nothing short of stunning, it just added to the beauty of the moment.
"Carter..." Lionel slowly breathed out, gazing out the window. "Look...".
From his phone, Carter looked to where Lionel pointed. His eyes widened ever so slightly. The view his eyes managed to capture left him with no words. He was speechless.
As if to savour the moment that bit more, the train slowed down but just a bit.
"Wow...". Seconds passed before Carter leaned toward Lionel, so he could get a better view. But, as a result, his hand landed on Lionel's.
Feeling his touch, Lionel turned and looked at Carter, who already had his gaze down on his hand.
As if feeling that Carter was about to retrieve his hand toward himself, Lionel felt a bit of boldness as he turned over the palm of his hand.
Without a second though, he intertwined his fingers with Carter's.
Surprise was painted across Carter's face as Lionel felt himself blush at his actions.
"Please... don't move your hand away..." Lionel managed to just about speak his words out. He felt his throat dry up again as the blush became only more prominent on his cheeks.
So, turning back to allow the orange hue from the setting sun to take the blame for the colour on his cheeks, his eyes looked once more out into the sky.
The startle was still present in Carter, he couldn't help but smile grow on his lips.
His gaze moved from the setting sun to the nape of Lionel's neck and slowly, his gaze trailed to his collarbone and back up to the side of his face.
Slowly, Carter whispered, "I won't...". He gripped Lionel's hand that bit tighter before setting his gaze back out the window.
Along with the view, Lionel savoured this moment he had with Carter. The feeling of him holding his hand. He also noticed how warmer Carter's hand was compared to his. How bigger it felt in his.
"It's moments like these..." Carter began in a whisper, in the hope that Lionel was to be the only recipient of his words. "That I'll remember for the rest of my life.".