The 11pm train
He heard his own heart pounding in his ears, his breath way too loud.
Why had that damn delivery taken him so long anyway?
He grit his teeth to stop the frustrated sound from slipping between them, not wanting to waste his breath that he needed to run faster.
It was nothing life-threatening; he wasn't in danger, nor did the world depend on him arriving on time but-
He swore – this time for real – when he almost tripped up the stairs, his glove claded hands catching the fall just before his face met the stone-stairs.
His gaze went to the battered watch on his wrist, which was just hitting 11pm.
A shrill sound rang in his ears and he looked up from his position, a loud "No!", escaping his lips when he saw the train leaving – without him.
Yusei sat down on the stairs, burying his face in his hands, huffing.
He was so stupid.
Had he not talked to Crow for that long, he wouldn't have missed the train and therefore the last chance to get home today.
It would have been a thirty minutes ride, not long for the train, but way too long to go by foot, especially with how late and dark it already was.
What was he supposed to do now?
Closing his eyes, he thought about the possibilities he had now, which, to be honest, weren't much.
Crow wasn't home, which was why Yusei had done the delivery for him in the first place, so he couldn't go back to his flat. He was sure that his friend wouldn't mind, but he was uncomfortable at the thought of just staying there without his knowledge, plus he couldn't really spend the money he needed for the train for another bus ride there.
But he couldn't really stay here either, since he already felt the chill of the night air seeping into his bones. It was July, it should really not be that cold.
Yusei shook his head, annoyed at himself and everything else, and was about to stand up to at least get somewhere warm, when he saw someone appearing at the bottom of the stairs.
The person took two steps at once and was just as out of breath as he had been, but there was another sound that was mixed underneath it.
Laughter.
Before Yusei, in his state of misery, could figure out what on earth that guy thought was so hilarious about a deserted, cold train station at 11pm, the figure was already brushing past him, completely ignoring the fact that there was someone just sitting on the stairs.
"Well, I should have known".
Yusei turned around to look at him and his eyes widened when he saw him doubling over with laughter, his hands on his knees and his shoulders shaking.
He was crazy.
Yusei had missed his train home and was now stuck with an insane person.
Wonderful.
Without much thought he reached into his pocket, wondering if he still had a screwdriver or something similar from his work in the morning to defend himself with if it came to a worst case scenario.
"What are you doing there, anyway?".
The man suddenly addressed him, his voice still carrying a bit of amusement in it.
"Enjoying the night?".
Yusei simply stared at him, his mouth opening without him really wanting it to.
"I missed the train".
It was a very obvious answer, and it somehow made him feel incredibly stupid.
The stranger grinned brightly, before he walked over to Yusei, casually crouching down and extending a hand to him.
"I'm Judai Yuki. Your train-misser in crime."
Judai gave him a cheeky wink, clearly waiting for Yusei to introduce himself.
He decided it wouldn't hurt to at least have someone that could maybe help him in his sad situation, which is why he discarded his worries and took Judai's hand, shaking it once before answering.
"Yusei Fudo".
He then noticed that it would probably be a good decision to get off the stairs now, knowing that staying on the cold concrete for too long would make him get sick and he really couldn't afford that at all.
Standing up he noticed that he must be a bit taller than the other man, since Judai was as tall as him while being a step above. The position made him uncomfortable in a strange way, especially with the way Judai's gaze stayed on him, which is why he walked past him to the boards showing the times of arriving and departing trains.
"That was the last one!", Judai informed him, a tiny giggle escaping him again.
Why was that thought so funny to him?
"Yes. Which means I'm stuck here", Yusei mentioned, his tone more aggressive than he had intended.
He wasn't like that usually, not at all.
And he really didn't want to leash out at Judai, but something about him being so cheerful even though they were both facing a night of too many hours and too low temperatures made him lose his temper.
"Oh, me too!", Judai exclaimed, his voice suddenly growing excited, before he started to walk down the stairs.
"Come on, we should get something warm then. It's freezing out here".
Yusei simply shook his head, not understanding this exaggerated happiness at all. He still found himself joining the strange man back into the main hall of the train station.
Something about walking around in an empty hall with almost all the lights of the small station off was incredibly eerie.
Well, a lot of things were, actually.
Yusei wasn't afraid of the darkness at all, but it still made him tense up, especially considering the circumstances.
After all, there was still a stranger walking next to him who could turn on him any time, if he wanted to.
Something about him told Yusei that he wasn't really having any intentions that went into that direction though.
Instead his gaze was wandering around to look for some place that possibly still sold coffee or tea at this time, while he hummed an out-of-tune song under his breath.
"There! I knew it!"
He suddenly darted off across the large hall, to an old man behind a counter that looked startled at his quick approach.
"We're closing-".
"Two coffees please!"
Judai gave him a huge grin and Yusei was about to flee out of pure embarrassment.
What was it about him that seemed to drag all of Yusei's emotions out at once?
The old man just sighed, admitting defeat quicker than probably any of them would have thought.
Maybe he already knew Judai or he just thought that as soon as he would get them out of sight, the quicker this was over.
Or a mixture of both.
He handed Judai two steaming plastic cups of coffee, which he carefully placed in front of him.
"That would be 4,40, please".
Yusei tensed as he heard the sentence, a cold feeling seeping into his guts. He hadn't even thought about this.
He didn't have any money left, since he still needed to pay for the train in the morning and-.
Shit.
"Judai? Listen, I-".
"It's fine, Yusei. Don't worry", Judai interrupted him, turning around to give him a reassuring smile, before he reached inside the pocket of his dark jeans and took out some money to hand to the man.
"Thank you", Yusei said, walking over to him to take the coffee, feeling the corners of his lips twitch up at the warmth that immediately seeped into his fingers.
It was incredibly nice of Judai to just pay for him, considering the fact that he didn't know him at all.
Maybe he wasn't insane after all, but just a very happy person?
It was definitely a nicer thought.
"Do you wanna go sit outside though? We now have something to keep us warm, so... I don't really like it in here, it's kinda spooky, don't you think?".
Yusei noticed that Judai didn't look at him when he said those words, but instead kept his gaze firmly on the liquor in his cup. His posture suddenly seemed tense, his fingers even shaking slightly when he reached for another pack of sugar to sweeten his coffee with.
The old man had turned off the lights of his shop as well and now the whole train station was only barely lit up by some few stray lights.
"Sure", Yusei said slowly, feeling thrown off balance by the change in Judai's behavior.
He wondered what could have caused it, but the only thing that had changed where the lightening and the other man didn't seem to strike him as a person who was afraid of the dark.
Judai smiled at him, relief hidden in his gaze, before he quickly turned toward the exit and lead them
Yusei kept his gaze on the back of his head, confused and somehow feeling determined to figure out what had just happened.
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the first part of the story! This is gonna be a two-shot, meaning that one more chapter will follow after this. It will probably be longer though.
It's my first attempt at Starshipping - I've just fallen in love with these two! I was inspired by homura-bakura and I would be very happy if you could check out her works around here or too!
I would love to hear your thoughts, either here or on tumblr (caslikesthemaccarena)!