'I am late... I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!' the young Lionel Shepard thought to himself, running with his train ticket in one hand and his luggage in the other. On top of that, he carried the extra weight of his backpack on his shoulders. And to add to his problem, the scorching, Veursian Summer heat came of no aid to him.

His eyes remained on the train ahead of him - his train, however, the platform was empty. It was about to depart. He only hoped that whoever was in greater power granted him one more minute so he could make it. If the Summer heat wasn't in his favour, he thought that at least one thing had to be.

And in that moment, he saw a man in a uniform emerge from one of the opened doors of the train. The conductor.

Waving up his freer hand hands, he hoped to gain the attention of the uniformed staff, in turn causing the ticket in his hand to wave in the motions of his hand. "Hey, Please!! I'm late!! I know I am!! But please!!".

As if his request was answered, he managed to make it onboard the train, with the conductor helping him pull Lionel's luggage onto the train.

"Thank you..." he gasped out, managing to get a second's worth of break.

Behind him, the door closed and with the honk of a horn, the train slowly began its way from the station. "Would you like me to help you with the baggage, Sir?" the conductor inquired.

Lionel looked at himself before looking down at his luggage. "I think I can manage, thank you!". But his words proved otherwise when, just as he was about to move forward, he pushed his luggage, causing it to the ground.

With them both lowering to get it, the conductor managed to get a hold of it first. And so, raising it back up, he held it in place until Lionel had a grip on its handle.

"T-thank you..." Lionel spoke, his gaze lowered in slight embarrassment. "Perhaps, a little helping hand wouldn't hurt...".

"No worries, Sir. Leave it all to me," began the conductor. "Where do you sit?".

With Lionel showing the man in front of him his ticket, the two were on their way. Passing through 2 carriages, they stopped at the entrance of the third one.

"I will have to leave your baggage in the racks here, due to safety precautions. But you may tend to it whenever you need it, of course.". Taking a mere pause, the conductor took in a deep breath. "Do you need any assistance finding your seat?".

"No thank you, I think I'll manage," Lionel responded. "Thank you for your help and utmost politeness.".

"Thank you for your kind words, Sir. However, it is my job.".

Lionel nodded to his words.

"If you need something more, please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the staff onboard," the conductor added, a small smile patched on his lips.

"Will do, thank you again," Lionel replied before going his way. And that was to find his seat.

The cool air from the running air conditioning was a pleasant change as opposed to the windless, warm air on the other side of the metal shell of the train.

Lionel switched his gaze frequently between his ticket and the space ahead of him, so as to not miss his seat but to also not bump into anyone - respectively. A mere sigh marked the end of his quest to find his seat.

So, shrugging the straps of his bag from his shoulders, he took a grasp of it before lifting it to the overhead storage compartments for baggage. Looking down, since the entirety of the seating configuration throughput of the train was 2-2, he noticed someone was in his way of getting to his pre-booked window seat.

The man had a suit on as well as earphones in his ears. He was typing away something on his laptop.

Looking left and right, Lionel tried to find an extra seat he could move to so as to not interrupt the man at work. However, it seemed as though the carriage was filled to its capacity. And he wasn't willing to walk to another carriage since he considered such unnecessary.

So, clearing his throat. "Excuse me...". No response. The man was still typing away.

Lionel attempted to gain his attention once more. "Excuse me, Sir.". He even lowered himself ever so slightly as if hoping his words would gain more of an impact. However, his try was unsuccessful once more.

If anything, other passengers responded to Lionel by turning their heads and looking his way. It wasn't until the older woman who was mid-reading her book gently tapped the table by the man's laptop, and seemed to have grabbed his attention.

Though inaudible, the man grumbled something under his breath before looking up at Lionel. As if he felt Lionel's presence, but tried his best to ignore him.

However, when Lionel's eyes met his, Lionel was struck with a buzz that travelled through his body. He was mesmerised by the intensity of his eyes. "What can I do for you?". His voice further matched the fierce sensation Lionel gathered from the man's gaze.

Without Lionel's notice, his throat dried up, making it harder for him to speak back up, but he made an attempt anyway. In turn, "My seat..." was all he managed to blurt out before pointing to the free space by the window.

With a mere sigh and a slight roll of his eyes, he plucked his earphones from his ears before standing up. "Come on..." he spoke, nudging his head, signalling for Lionel to reach his seat.

A smile of appreciation grew on Lionel's lips. "Thank you very much.". With that, quickly, he plopped himself down onto his seat, relief running through his body.

"I assume the train got held back because of you..." he spoke out just as he sat down and took hold of his earphones to put them back into his ears.

"Was it?..." Lionel inquired. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't know I was being waited on.".

"It should have left on time, left you behind, to teach people like yourself to be early as opposed to late," the man shot back.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is your problem?..." Lionel's words left his mouth before he could stop them.

All this time, the man beside him had his eyes on his device, but such a question of Lionel's caused him to turn his head so that his eyes could meet Lionel's.

"You were late. That's what my 'problem' is," he responded, his gaze sharpening ever so slightly. "On top of that, you had to interrupt me and my work so I could stand up and let you sit.".

"In my seat..." Lionel finished his sentence, thinking as though his sentence required a conclusion. But noticing his gaze become that bit more intense, he knew he shouldn't have said anything. "Look, I'm sorry. The traffic in the city centre held me up, had the roads been clearer, I'd have made it on time... Perhaps, maybe I'd have been early.".

"Leave the poor lad alone..." Lionel heard a woman's voice. It was the same woman who had a book in her hands. She had her eyes on the man next to him, she was talking to him. "Besides, a 5-minute delay won't kill anyone, would it now?". Then clearing her throat, her eyes moved to Lionel. "I know how bad traffic can be in the city, so don't you worry about anything.". She then let a small smile grow on her lips. "Besides, looks like the holiday bug hadn't bitten him yet.".

With a mere chuckle coming from the woman, it caused another smile to grow on Lionel's lips. All the while, the man beside him grumbled a few more inaudible things under his breath before letting out a sigh.

Sensing that the commotion reduced to nothing, the woman went back to reading her book. However, not the same was said for the tension between the two.

Lionel felt swirling within the pit of his stomach. He knew that his travel companion now disliked him and there was 2 days' worth of travel until they reached Porto Biondo, Douleur.

He knew that throughout his travel, he had to minimise his communication with the man next to him. It would be impossible not to talk since he was in the way of the train's exit. But he knew, that to avoid exchanges like the one they had a minute ago, he had to avoid being in his way.

Listening to his own advice, Lionel turned his head and looked out the glass barrier that separated him and his fellow travel companions from the harsh warmth, his eyes looking at how they zoomed past all the bushes and trees and the grass that yellowed from the scorching heat.

From his pocket, he pulled out his earphones before inserting the jack into his phone. With that, he turned on some music as he allowed his head to rest against the window.

He thought over everything he booked for his holidays. The hotel he was due to stay at was only a 5-minute walk from the beach. The sand was said to be a white-gold colour, and that the water was so clear, you could see your feet on the seabed.

Lionel couldn't remember the last time he went on a holiday to the beach, it was usually his Winter expeditions to the vast mountains of Iwa. There, his parents owned a big holiday home in a large town called, Montegrad. At about 35 kilometres from the capital city, it usually took just over 45 minutes to commute. But snow usually made things much worse.

Snow. Something he didn't have to worry about in Veursau. It rarely ever snowed in the Veursian capital. And when it did, it was usually sleet. Snow mixed with rain.

Soon enough, sleep slowly began to creep up on him and before he knew it, everything went dark as his eyelids shut.

Not long passed before Lionel began to wake back up. Seconds passed before he noticed his music was still running and they were still rushing through the flattened terrain of Southern Verusau.

Taking one of his earphones out of his ear, he heard a mere argument. By the voice, he knew it was the man beside him. The Grump, that was what he was going to call him. The Grump.

So, with him pausing his music for the time being, he turned his attention toward him, but discretely. Just so Lionel could see what was happening.

A nod of the man's head caught his attention before Lionel noticed faces on his laptop screen. he was in a meeting. 'A meeting onboard such a setting?'.

Slowly, still mid-thought, Lionel moved his gaze to the elder woman who sat adjacent to him. Having her book closed, on the table in front of her, he noticed the way she had her head laid back against her seat, asleep.

Up until then, he hadn't given much mind to the fellow passenger who sat across from him. It was a youthful woman, who - just like him up until a minute ago - had her earbuds in her ears and listened to whatever she was playing on her phone, with her gaze pointed out the window.

He returned his gaze toward the Grump on his left, however, it was for a moment before he moved his eyes elsewhere to not get caught by him. 'It was only due to open up another hole for another argument', Lionel thought to himself. So, just like the youthful woman ahead of him, his eyes looked back out the glass pane.

Despite not wanting to, his mind listened to the conversation that occurred behind him. The meeting. Not long passed before final words were passed and a goodbye was said.

A second passed before Lionel heard the Grump mutter something under his breath. However, this time his mutter was loud enough for Lionel to hear them. "A bunch of ******* idiots...".

Despite his best attempts, Lionel couldn't help but let out a mere snicker. Covering his mouth, he hoped the Grump didn't hear him. And if he didn't have his head turned the other way, he would have seen the Grump slowly turn his head Lionel's way.

But he didn't have to anyway. The Grump's words that followed showed Lionel that he very much heard him. "Good morning, Sleeping beauty...". Sarcasm was all too obvious in his voice.

"But it's the afternoon, not the morning...". Once more, Lionel's words left his lips before he could stop them.

This time, Lionel didn't even have to look his way, he felt Grump's gaze burning his skin.

"You're cute, you know that?..." The Grump responded and without even a second's worth of thought, Lionel turned himself and looked at Grump, seeing he still had his gaze on him.

"Thanks for the compliment, Handsome..." Lionel tried to match the sarcasm he received. However, his sarcasm began to wear off the more Lionel kept his gaze on the Grump himself. That was because he really was handsome, if anything, Lionel thought - after a moment - that he was merely stating facts.

The Grump kept his gaze on Lionel and Lionel kept his on him.

All of a sudden, the Grump allowed a smile to grow on his lips before letting out a mere chuckle. "You're very much welcome... Cutie.".

Despite his greatest efforts, an unexpected reaction was evoked from Lionel. To such, he replied by looking away from the Grump. He looked at anything other than his face. He didn't want to show the slight blush that Grump's words caused to spread across Lionel's cheeks.

However, the Grump found his dose of amusement by looking at Lionel. He knew what he said to him and now he spectated how his work of art - his words - worked their magic.

The Grump leaned back into his seat, anchoring his elbow against the armrest, he used his fist to rest his head on all the while failing to part his eyes from Lionel.

No words were exchanged between the two, to Grump, none had to be. He was as engaged as ever. All the while, Lionel tried his best to get a hold of himself.

But breaking into his curiosity, Lionel turned his head, his gaze finding the Grump still looking at him. "What are you looking at?" Lionel blurted out, his voice softening ever so slightly. With the roughness of his words, his tone only counteracted their meaning.

"I could ask you the same thing..." Grump responded, the small, smug smile still patched on his lips.

"However, I asked first..." Lionel spoke out.

"Alright... I am looking at you...". The Grump acted as if he gave in, raising his hands into the air ever so slightly, after putting it out to Lionel plain and simple. "Now you tell me, what are you looking at?".

It caught Lionel off guard at how he managed to get the Grump to answer with such ease. He expected it would have been a tougher task, given his hard-headed composture. 'Or perhaps, he just has a short fuse...'.

"Well?" he pulled Lionel from his short trance. "I gave you my answer, if you think it's fair play, then you should give me yours too.". Once again, sarcasm was just about detectable in his voice, which made his attempt, or half attempt, at acting innocent with his 'fair-play' talk all the more humouring to Lionel.

"You have a point..." Lionel gave in. However, a smile lurked on his lips, which Grump noticed. He was about to say something about it when Lionel spoke up first. "What am I looking at? Well... I am looking at a Grump.".

"A Grump?" he repeated Lionel's words. The smile reduced to nothing, but only for a moment, for he broke into gentle laughter. "A Grump? Is that how you see me?". Lionel was surprised, but - at the same time - glad, to see that he saw this as something comical.

"First off, you go out on me for wanting to get my seat was what earned you such a name. But I've only 'officially' thought of such when I heard you arguing with your laptop...". Lionel made a brief moment's pause before speaking up again, "And I also don't know your name.".

The Grump pursed his lips ever so slightly, so to try and subside the smile that managed to make its way onto his lips. "Alright... I apologise for making a fuss about you being late. But I like punctuality.". The longer he maintained his eye contact with Lionel, the bigger his smile became. He was cursing himself as it was all against his will. "But you... saying I was arguing with my laptop, they might have heard me and what's more, you'll actually make them think I am a lunatic onboard this train.". Then he let out a snicker himself. "Arguening with my laptop...". Looking back at Lionel, he shook his head in further amusement. "And for your information, I was in a meeting, thank you very much.".

"No, I'm sure I both saw and heard you arguing with your laptop," Lionel revised his claims, a smile on his lips proving to Grump it was all just a game of his, in the unlikely event he didn't hear it in Lionel's voice.

"You watch it, young man, otherwise, you'll have a lunatic on your hands.".

Lionel couldn't help but cackle at Grump's words.

Seeing as such, Grump chuckled along before stopping to take a deep breath, "Did I wake you up though?".

Looking at him, Lionel has a small, devious smile evolve on his lips. "What would make you feel bad? If I was to say yes or no?".

Raising a brow before another smile returned to Grump's lips, he responded, "I'd feel bad if it wasn't me who woke you up.".

"Well if that's the case, then - truthfully - no. You didn't wake me up.".

In a sort of comedic retaliation, Grump pursed his lips ever so slightly. Disapproving of Lionel's answer. "I've got to try better next time then...".

"I'm afraid you do, Grump...".

"Carter," he replied. "My name is Carter.".

"Carter?... Carter..." Lionel repeated. "I like it, it's a nice name.".

Carter let out a laugh, "Thank you, however, my ex thought otherwise. She used to call me Thomas.".

'She?'. Lionel felt his stomach drop to the ground. He hated the way he felt. Without even wanting to, he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't gain such a sudden liking for Carter. 'But I prefer to call him Grump if I were to be honest.'.

All he needed to hear was that his ex was a 'she'.

Noticing the silence that came from Lionel, Carter decided to continue. "She preferred 'Thomas' as it reminded her of her ex.".

"Why was she then with you, if all she wanted was her ex obviously?" Lionel let his mouth loose.

"I don't know, I didn't have enough time to discuss it with her. It's safe to say that we broke up a few minutes later..." Carter elaborated as his gaze went down to his laptop. Silence ruled over their conversation for a few more seconds before Carter proceeded to clear his throat. "What's your name, by the way? We've established I'm Carter, the Grump. However, you haven't told me your name, so that I can see what nickname I can give you.".

His words made the smile return to Lionel's lips, which Carter felt at ease about when he looked back at him.

For a reason unknown to him, the silence carried out by Lionel made him feel a heaviness on his chest.

"My name is Lionel.".

Once more, silence ensued, however, it didn't register within Carter at first.

"Lionel..." he repeated his name. And Lionel felt a mere tingle down his spine with the way his name rolled off Carter's tongue. "Call me stupid, but I can't think of any nickname for you.".

"Maybe it's because it doesn't need one...".

"Touche..." Carter surrendered.

With that, again, silence lay between the two men. The young Lionel and the slightly older Carter. Though the two were oblivious to such a fact.

"Where are you travelling to then, Carter?" Lionel now broke the muteness between the two.

"Doulour," Carter responded as he got back to working on his laptop. "You?" he asked back, briefly lifting his gaze to Lionel.

"Porto Biondo, Doulour.".

"Ah, very nice. I am stop before it.". Carter paused for a moment. "You going for a holiday?".

"Yes, a long-anticipated one..." Lionel replied. "You?".

"Yes, me too," Carter replied.

However, Lionel furrowed his brows. "But then... what's with all other work?".

"Um, that's called poor planning on my behalf," Carter replied, which caused Lionel to giggle to himself. "Not to mention that I also have a business meeting when I arrive.".

"A business conference on a holiday?".

"A curse and a blessing..." Carter replied.

"Can't you attend the meeting while at the beach?" Lionel asked without a second thought upon his words.

"You know, that would be a great idea if it wasn't for the fact that the papers might fly away and into the ocean and that we'd all get severely sunburnt if we all gathered and sat under the sun," Carter responded.

"But... didn't you just have a meeting online?".

"I did... however, this one I have there is in person. An office in enclosed premises is more than favourable. No matter how much I'd want to go swimming...".

Lionel shook his head at Carter's words. "I see...".

"Anyway, it was a great conversation we had. But I must get back to finish off my work.".

And then, as if the conversation they just had hadn't even happened, Carter went back to typing away in his document. To that, Lionel pulled back out his earphones, placed them into his ears and navigating through his phone, he continued listening to music.