Chapter 2 Same Carriage #2
And, although he wasn't ready to admit it, he wanted to know whether the man would be standing at the same pole tomorrow.
For now, though, Kai was content to watch him try not to stare.
And when the man glanced at him again a few moments later, Kai caught him in the act.
This time, instead of looking away, Kai smiled.
The man's expression immediately gave him away.
He had been caught.
Again.
Kai decided he liked this game.
Same Time Tomorrow
The train moved out of the station, carrying them deeper into the evening rush, and Elliot found himself wondering how the conversation had become so easy.
Only a few minutes ago, he had been nervous about saying the wrong thing.
Now he was standing beside Kai with the faintest smile on his face, waiting to see what the tattooed stranger would say next.
Kai seemed pleased with himself.
“You're less quiet today,” he observed.
Elliot adjusted his glasses. “You talk enough for both of us.”
Kai's eyebrows lifted, and then he laughed.
It was the first time Elliot had heard him laugh properly. The sound was deeper than his speaking voice, rough around the edges but unexpectedly warm. It made Elliot smile before he could stop himself.
“There you are,” Kai said.
Elliot frowned slightly. “Where?”
“That.”
“What?”
“That smile.”
Elliot's smile disappeared almost immediately.
Kai shook his head.
“See? Gone.”
“You're strange.”
“So I've been told.”
Elliot looked at him for a moment. There was no defensiveness in Kai's response. He said it as though he had heard the same thing enough times that it no longer mattered.
Something about that confidence fascinated Elliot.
At work, every word was measured. Every joke was carefully chosen. Every opinion had to be presented in a way that wouldn't make someone uncomfortable. Even disagreement had to be softened until it barely sounded like disagreement at all.
Kai seemed to have no such problem.
He said what he thought.
He laughed when something amused him.
He teased Elliot without worrying whether Elliot would take offense.
And somehow, instead of finding it rude, Elliot found it refreshing.
“You're really not worried about what people think of you, are you?” Elliot asked.
Kai glanced at him.
“Should I be?”
“Most people are.”
“Most people waste too much time.”
Elliot considered that.
“You say that like you don't.”
Kai gave him a sideways look.
“I waste plenty of time.”
“Doing what?”
“Annoying people.”
Elliot laughed.
Kai smiled as though he'd been waiting for that reaction.
“There. Again.”
“What?”
“You laughed.”
“I know what laughing is.”
“I wasn't sure. You looked like you needed practice.”
Elliot shook his head, but he couldn't stop smiling.
“You're impossible.”
“That's another thing people tell me.”
“I can see why.”
Kai leaned slightly closer.
“You're getting brave.”
Elliot immediately became aware of the small distance between them.
“I've always been brave.”
Kai's expression suggested he didn't believe him.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You looked terrified yesterday.”
Elliot remembered being caught staring at him.
“I wasn't terrified.”
“You nearly missed your station.”
“That had nothing to do with you.”
“Sure.”
Elliot rolled his eyes.
Kai laughed again.
There was something strangely comfortable about arguing with him.
Elliot wasn't used to this version of himself.
At the office, he would have softened the exchange, apologized for the sarcasm, or redirected the conversation toward something safer. Here, surrounded by strangers who would forget him the moment they stepped off the train, he felt less concerned about being perfectly behaved.
Maybe that was why he kept looking at Kai.
Maybe it wasn't only attraction.
Maybe it was the freedom Kai seemed to represent.
The train passed through another station.
A few passengers stepped off, leaving more room in the carriage. Elliot shifted his bag onto the floor between his feet and relaxed his grip on the pole.
Kai glanced at him.
“You look different today.”
Elliot looked down at himself.
“How?”
“Less like you're about to attend a meeting.”
“I just left work.”
“Exactly.”
Elliot laughed softly.
“What do I look like now?”
Kai studied him.
“Like you're tired.”
“That obvious?”
“To me.”
The answer was unexpectedly gentle.
Elliot looked at him.
Kai's expression had changed. The teasing was gone for a moment, replaced by something quieter.
“You should sleep more,” Kai said.
“I'll put that on my list.”
“You have a list?”
“I have several.”
“Of course you do.”
Elliot smiled.
Kai shook his head.
“You really are an office boy.”
“And you're really a tattoo guy.”
“Tattoo artist.”
“Is there a difference?”
Kai looked offended.
“A huge one.”
Elliot laughed again.
Kai began explaining the difference, apparently taking the distinction much more seriously than Elliot had expected.
He talked about the difference between designing something and simply copying a reference, about how much skill went into understanding skin, composition, placement, and how a design changed with the shape of someone's body.
Elliot listened.
There was an unexpected passion in Kai's voice.
The roughness disappeared whenever he talked about his work.
His hands moved as he explained things, revealing more of the tattoos covering his arms. Elliot found himself watching those hands again.
Kai noticed.
This time he didn't tease him immediately.
Instead, he looked down at his own arm.
“You like them?”
Elliot realized he had been staring at the tattoos.
“Yes.”
Kai waited.
Elliot searched for the right words.
“They look like they mean something.”
Kai's expression became more thoughtful.
“Some do.”
“Some don't?”
“Some are just things I liked.”
Elliot smiled.
“I expected you to have a complicated story for every one.”
“You're giving me too much credit.”
“Maybe.”
Kai looked at him.
“You always analyze everything?”
“Probably.”
“Must be exhausting.”
“It is.”
“Then stop.”
Elliot laughed.
“If only it were that easy.”
Kai didn't answer immediately.
The train entered another tunnel, and the windows became dark again. Their reflections appeared side by side.
Elliot looked at his own reflection.
He looked tired.
But he also looked different.
Lighter, somehow.
He realized that he hadn't thought about work for almost twenty minutes.
That was unusual.
Kai noticed his expression.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're thinking.”
“I do that.”
“Too much.”
Elliot glanced at him.
“Maybe.”
Kai's voice softened.
“You don't have to do it here.”
Elliot looked at him.
“What?”
“Whatever you're doing in your head.”
Elliot didn't understand at first.
Then he did.
Kai wasn't asking him to explain.
He was simply telling him that he didn't have to keep performing.
Something tightened in Elliot's chest.
“You don't know me.”
Kai shrugged.
“Not yet.”
The words stayed with Elliot.
Not yet.
He looked down, suddenly unsure what to do with the warmth spreading through him.
The train slowed as they approached another station.
Elliot checked the display.
His station was getting closer.
He felt disappointed again.
Kai noticed.
“Getting off soon?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Elliot looked at him.
“Good?”
Kai shrugged.
“You'll stop staring at me from the platform.”
Elliot's mouth fell open slightly.
“I don't stare.”
Kai smiled.
“You're doing it right now.”
Elliot looked away, trying not to laugh.
“You're very arrogant.”
“Probably.”
“And annoying.”
“Definitely.”
“And you think you're funny.”
“I am funny.”
Elliot looked back at him.
“Debatable.”
Kai stared for a second before laughing.
“You're getting better.”
“At what?”
“Talking back.”
Elliot smiled.
Maybe Kai was right.
Something about being with him made it easier.
There was no manager listening.
No colleague evaluating his words.
No family member expecting him to behave a certain way.
There was just Kai.
A stranger he had met yesterday.
A stranger he was already looking forward to seeing.
The train slowed again.
The station announcement came through the speakers.
Elliot's heart sank.
He reached down and picked up his bag.
Kai watched him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The doors were about to open.
Elliot stepped closer to the exit.
He glanced back.
Kai was still looking at him.
There was something different in his expression now.
Less amusement.
More interest.
Elliot wondered whether Kai felt the same strange pull he did.
The train came to a complete stop.
The doors began to open.
Just before Elliot stepped onto the platform, Kai spoke.
“Same time tomorrow, pretty boy?”
Elliot stopped.
The nickname sent a small rush through him.
He turned around.
Kai was leaning casually against the pole, looking far too pleased with himself.
Elliot could have said yes.
He could have smiled and made some teasing reply.
Instead, he adjusted his glasses and gave Kai a deliberately calm look.
“I'll see.”
Kai's smile widened.
“That's not a no.”
Elliot stepped onto the platform.
“No,” he admitted.
The doors began closing.
He remained there for a moment, looking through the glass.
Kai was still watching him.
Elliot smiled before he could stop himself.
Then the train pulled away.
He stood on the platform until the last carriage disappeared.
Only then did he turn toward the exit.
He told himself that tomorrow depended on his schedule.
He had work.
He had responsibilities.
He had no reason to rearrange his evening for a man whose name he still didn't know.
Yet as he walked home, he already knew he would be standing beside that same pole the following evening.
He would probably pretend it was a coincidence.
He would probably tell himself he was simply taking his usual train.
And he would definitely not admit that he was hoping Kai would be there.
But when the next evening finally came, Elliot found himself leaving the office at exactly the right time to catch the same train.
He didn't hesitate at the platform.
He didn't question the decision.
He simply boarded the carriage, walked toward the familiar pole, and looked around.
He was searching for Kai.
And when he saw him already standing there, Elliot felt an unmistakable rush of relief.
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