The Long Journey Home
Fandom: Eve
Rating: K
Genre: Romance, Humor
Pairing: Implied Eve/Will
Word count: 877
Summary: [Based on a Tumblr prompt] A stranger observes on a long train journey. Implied Eve/Will ONESHOT.
AN: Inspired by real life! I went to London yesterday and the trains were running late, and there was this couple sitting in the seats opposite us being all cute - it gave me the idea to write about one of my OTPs from the point of view of a stranger. Hope you all enjoy.
DISCLAIMER. I do not own Eve.
Prompt: Imagine Person A of your OTP reading while Person B dozes on their shoulder.
Your train is running late.
Forty minutes late, to be exact.
Gripping the handle on your suitcase, you try to navigate your way through the hectic chaos in the aisle in search of an empty seat that isn't reserved. You could have booked a coach ticket. You should have booked a coach ticket. Granted, it added an extra two hours to your journey, but, right now, that coach is moving a heck of a lot faster than this train currently is.
You have to reach the end of the carriage before you spot a couple of vacant seats, seated around a table. Two out of the four are taken up by a couple of teenagers, caught in the middle of a hearty discussion about something or other; you feel highly uncomfortable interrupting them to politely ask if the seats opposite them are taken. The girl - a blonde - pauses mid-sentence and blinks at you in confusion, replying in a soft American accent that of course there's no such obstruction to the seats; the boy - her boyfriend, you assume, going by how close they're sitting - gives her a nudge and tells you to go ahead and sit down in whichever seat you want. With a grateful smile, you toss your suitcase in the handy storage space above the seats and slide into the window seat, wrapping your coat tighter around yourself. The doors haven't closed yet, due to the delays, and cold night air is breezing back and forth along the carriages. You decide to busy yourself with trying to pay attention to whatever the conductor is saying over the speakers, apologising for the delay, reeling off the details of the train you are currently on, that your journey time to the end of the line will last approximately three hours, that there's a catering service in G carriage if anybody would like any refreshments during their journey, and, finally, that the service is due to depart shortly. The teenage couple opposite you don't look particularly interested in this information; they're back to chatting amongst themselves. You hear the names Nick and Katherine and Lily and Abe mentioned in amongst their hushed conversation. School friends of theirs, you presume - apparently, this Nick person supposedly likes Katherine, and the rest are having some kind of bet on whether or not they do something about it. Most of the other details fly over your head a little bit; you've had your own fill of teenage drama. No need to get involved in anyone else's.
The train suddenly launches forward, sending many of the other flailing passengers into a messy heap; you count yourself lucky that you weren't involved in that. You glance back at the couple opposite. The girl has taken a chocolate bar out from somewhere and has pushed it along the table towards her boyfriend.
"Eat," she insists.
"Really, Eve, I'm fine -"
"Research data says that human teenagers need between two thousand two hundred and two thousand three hundred calories each day to stay healthy; you have yet to consume between that amount!" She looks genuinely worried for him. "You do not want to become unhealthy, do you?" He looks like he's about to argue with her, but then, clearly, thinks better of it, unwrapping the chocolate and breaking a piece off to ease her mind.
You decide to place your ear buds in your ears, watching the world sailing past outside, but there isn't much to see in the dark, and the reflections on the glass from inside the brightly lit train are so sharp that you find yourself watching the teenage couple again. The blonde - Eve, the boy had called her; such a pretty name - has taken out a book and is flipping through it (she must be skim reading it; no one can read that fast) whilst her boyfriend dozes on her shoulder, head nestled against the crook of her neck. Her head. without her realising, lulls to rest on top of his as she flies through the pages of her book. The peaceful sight is so adorable that you have to smile. Eve catches you looking at their reflections, and, unable to hide your interest, you venture to start a conversation.
"You and your boyfriend are sweet," you say, voice quiet so as not to wake the sleeping boy and disturb the moment.
"My what?" She looks partly confused and partly curious. "What's a...boyfriend?" She starts to gently shake the boy next to her. "Will! Will, what's a boyfriend?"
"Huh - What?" He squints against the harsh lights on the roof of the train carriage.
"This passenger told me that me and my "boyfriend" are sweet," she relayed. You shuffle in your seat, embarrassed. "What does that mean? What is a boyfriend?"
"Um..." Will looks to you for help; Eve continues to watch him expectantly, patiently waiting for an answer. "Well -"
"If you'll excuse me." You quickly rise from your seat, interrupting him, despite the turbulence of the moving train, which is now running at full speed to make up for lost time.
Maybe it's time you went to find that catering service the conductor was telling everyone about.