"I've never thought I'd get to see Ivan Braginsky again."

As soon as the Russian heard those words, he wanted to disappear.

Just as with Alfred, the voice uttering those words or more exactly the guy saying them was someone Ivan could recognize (not as gladly as with Alfred) but it was unmistakably the voice of Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Thinking back, Ivan guessed that he had some kind of relation to his boss, they shared their last name after all or perhaps it was just a coincidence. Anyways, facing the guy was something Ivan was weary of doing. If Alfred had been his frenemy during High School, Gilbert was a declared enemy at the time, bothering him whenever they crossed paths.

So, in an act of pure cowardy and shame, Ivan decided to ignore Gilbert's question, not acknowledging his presence. It was believable, right? A crowded train station had a lot of noise and he was focused on his upcoming train and not his surroundings. The bench he had to share with an old lady was facing the rails, and the old lady was playing with Boris through the holes of the cat carrier it was in. So, yes, he could pretend he heard nothing.

To the Russian's dismay, Gilbert wasn't discouraged and approached him, standing in front of him and greeting him, as an old friend would do so, offering his hand to shake. Ivan glanced at him and took his hand slowly, the old lady saying something about friendship and how nowadays it was so different. Gilbert laughing, that annoying laugh of his and greeting the lady too. Ivan was uncomfortable, to say the least, Gilbert chatted for a couple of minutes more until she left.

Then taking her seat, Gilbert chuckled. "You are still as socially awkward as you were back then."

Ivan nodded, glancing at his phone. His train was yet to come.

The footsteps of the people hurrying to greet the newcomers were close. Ivan wondered if Gilbert was waiting for someone. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Boris hiss.

Turning his attention to the cat he saw Gilbert frowning and retrieving his hand. "So… are you going back to the good old town?" Gilbert asked.

Ivan sighed, frowning sightly. "Yes. what about you?" His eyes were fixed on the others hand, Boris had managed to bite him.

The other smiled mischievously and waved his hand. "I think we'll be sharing the same train."

Ivan frowned deeper, glancing back at the trails. Gilbert's laugh filling his mind, he couldn't stand it for more than half an hour, it was going to be a long day.

Gilbert patted him on the back softy."Just kidding, gosh, your face was pure dread, am I really that bad of a company to you? "

Ivan shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "Well-"

"No, I get it, I was mean but it was fun, you were so helpless back then but you could hit pretty bad too, you know?" -Gilbert snickered- "The point is, we shouldn't held a grudge against each other."

Ivan looked back at him, he was still as pale as he remembered him, he kept that cunning smirk in his face. But he had obviously grown as he himself had done. Ivan shook his head. "I don't."

The stremolous laugh came again. "Typical, you moved out of town and you moved on from the problems there, right? Why are you coming back?" -he elbowed the Russian lightly- "Want to revive an old flame? I always suspected-"

"I'm going to visit my sister..." Ivan replied swiftly, not wanting the other to start with his ranting.

Strangely, Gilbert seemed to be surprised with his answer, replying after some awkward silence. "Well, that's quite anticlimactic, although the objective of my trip is similar, I have to make sure my little brother is not being too uptight, he stresses way to much, it is my duty as his brother to lift some weight out of his shoulders."

Ivan fidgeted with his hands. "I see."

"Did you knew that Jones still tries to chase after Kirkland?"

The russian frowned, hearing the mocking tone Gilbert had used. "Yes, Alfred is my friend and he told me, any problem with that?"

The other raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Of course you'd be friends. Chill, no problem, I was trying to keep the conversation going as you seemed to be quite bad at it. I will visit them too, Mathew was complaining a lot about work so I'm going to guilt trip my little brother."

Ivan knitted his brows together, he misunderstood his words, not knowing that he kept contact with Alfred's brother.. He was going to reply back but refrained as the heavy sound of the upcoming train would have cut his words.

Gilbert patted him on the back again and stood up. "Well, that must be your train, hurry up before it leaves you and we ended up talking more."

Ivan laughed at his comment and they bid goodbye. The Russian making sure not to leave Boris behind as the cat was awake and mewling from the movement and noise.

Just as he was entering the wagon, he heard Gilbert's voice again, he was near the entrance waving his hand. "Braginsky, tell Wang that my brother would appreciate if Honda would contact him, for business."

Ivan frowned and retorted. "But I don't talk with him anymore."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and winked. "Yeah, sure." Then he resumed his way back, getting lost from Ivan's sight.

Once seated, he was glad the other passengers weren't as talkative as Gilbert had been.

The russian pondered what the other had told him. Alfred has suggested to reach out to Yao too. A strange coincidence but the idea was stuck in his thoughts since then and it didn't seem as impossible as it had been years back.

If Katya had some time, they could visit the old school together and he could use her to escape from awkward silences and the dreadful scenario of talking to him alone.

Ivan glanced at the window, chuckling at how he was making up a whole scenario that hadn't even happened. Gilbert was right, he kept on being his old awkward self, and perhaps he had more than just one reason to visit his hometown