Hi guys. Sorry for the long wait in me getting this uploaded - life has been getting in the way and I only just finished it. Thanks to everyone who left me reviews. They really do make my day. Anyway, onto chapter 2 :)

Tuesday

The next day Marco barely made it in time for his train. Some issues at the office had kept him late until they'd been resolved, forcing the blonde man to then make a mad dash for the station and practically dive into the carriage before the doors shut. Unfortunately for Marco, catching his train was where his luck ran out. Tripping just over the threshold, he tumbled awkwardly to the floor, tossing his satchel and spilling its contents as he landed painfully. He snarled out a curse and began to pick himself up, grateful that, like the previous night, the train was not overly busy.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked, and Marco looked up to the kind stranger who apparently gave a damn. He blinked in surprise as he recognised the bright face beneath the equally bright orange hat.

"Freckles…" The word left his lips before he could stop himself, and as Freckles raised an eyebrow Marco just wanted to flop back down onto the floor and die. How embarrassing…

"They're from my mother's side," the younger man commented with a slight laugh, surprising Marco - apparently the weird nickname didn't bother him. "Never grew out of them. Anyway, let me give you a hand. The floor is kinda dirty and that looked like it hurt."

Marco lifted his head again as Freckles extended his hand, hesitating for a few seconds before accepting the kind offer of help, and letting himself be pulled back to his feet. Freckles smiled at him and then stooped to pick up some of the papers Marco had thrown across the floor. "You don't have to do that," Marco mumbled, mortified at how much his brain was stalling when this stranger was being so polite and helpful.

"It's fine, I'd rather help than sit and watch someone else struggle," Freckles told him, straightening and giving the papers a quick dust off. "Here, I think I got them all."

Taking back the paperwork, Marco gave the younger man a small smile of his own, once again relishing in the spectrum of colours that made up his being in a world that looked almost black and white around him. Orange hat, a purple shirt today and baggy blue denim shorts that reached his knees. When Marco realised he was staring he quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat, busying himself by replacing his papers in his bag.

"Thank you for your help," he said quickly, zipping the bag shut to ensure nothing fell out again.

"No worries," Freckles replied, shrugging his shoulders and moving back to his seat. Marco took one across from him and sighed as he sat down. "Long day?" Freckles asked.

"Busy," Marco replied. "One of those where everything seemed to go wrong."

"It looked it when you came crashing in like that. Kinda like me yesterday, huh? What are the chances of picking the same carriage two days in a row?" He grinned and held out his hand again, causing Marco to blink in confusion as his brain once again refused to function properly. "Name's Ace by the way. Freckles is all well and good, but if this is going to become a habit then first names are better."

Marco grumbled a little in embarrassment as he sank in his seat, then reached across to shake hands. "Sorry about that," he apologised. "I'm Marco, and I'm not normally this clumsy or scatter brained."

Ace laughed gently, a sound that instantly seemed to cheer Marco up. What a breath of fresh air this unique young man was, with a tone so bright and cheerful that it defied the oppressive drone of day to day life trapped within the rickety train car. "That's good to know."

Marco found himself smiling again as they settled into comfortable conversation, now past the awkwardness of yesterday and finding it a lot easier to chat to his new acquaintance. At first they just talked about random little things that had happened during their day, and the blonde found himself secretly pleased when he learned that Ace would be taking this same train on a regular basis. All of a sudden Marco had something to look forward to at the end of his day, other than just getting home from work and sprawling across his sofa.

With each stop further down the line more people came and went, too caught up in their own lives and thoughts to notice the steadily forming friendship between two strangers who'd come together, by chance, two days in a row. Ace told Marco a bit about his life and recent experiences as he adjusted to living in the city, and Marco in turn found himself sharing far more than he had ever anticipated with a nearly complete stranger. It was a little unnerving, but also exciting. They hadn't even known each other forty-eight hours yet, and already Marco felt comfortable enough around Ace to be himself and enjoy casual conversation - something he normally had little time for.

"I can't wait to get home and collapse across my sofa," the blonde mused, smiling a little as Ace let out a gaping yawn. "And from the look of things you're ready for your bed."

"Nah, I just get like this sometimes," Ace replied, having a rub at his neck with one hand while he held up the other. A red and white cord bracelet was tied round his wrist, and Marco quickly realised it had a medical tag secured to it for people to see. "I'm narcoleptic," Ace explained. "I take sleep attacks without warning, so please don't think I'm bored or anything."

"Sorry to hear that," Marco told him sincerely, still looking at the bracelet. He shook his head. "I should have noticed that sooner. I have a friend who's diabetic and she has one of those bracelets too."

"Annoying things really," Ace grumbled. "But it's got me out of trouble more times than I can count. Gramps used to yell at me all the time for not wearing it, so I finally got into the habit."

"Better to be safe than sorry I guess," Marco replied. "Have you had it all your life?"

Ace shook his head. "Not when I was a kid; I got diagnosed when I was fifteen." He shrugged and folded his arms behind his head. "It kinda sucks but I've got used to it now. Medication controls it to a certain extent, so long as I'm careful about what I do, and I can lead a relatively normal life."

"That's good," Marco smiled, and decided to share a little more about himself in turn. "Well I'm a recovering insomniac. Not exactly a medical condition like yours, but it's caused a few problems."

"Seriously?" Ace asked, and laughed a little. "Wow, we're like complete opposites in that respect."

"I suppose we are," Marco agreed with a small, secret smile. They really were opposites if he considered everything so far. Ace was bright and cheerful where Marco could appear dull and gloomy, one slept too little and the other too much, and then there was Marco's first impression of Ace - if Marco was a rainy day, then Ace was the sun, capable of painting rainbows across an otherwise grey and empty sky.

Wait, what? He winced at how corny that sounded, even in his own head, and decided to change the subject. Thank god Ace wasn't some kind of mind reader, otherwise that would have turned majorly awkward; Marco was clearly more tired than he realised. Seriously, he needed to get a grip. Luckily for him Ace chose that moment to ask about his work, so it was with some relief that Marco began to explain a bit about his family business.

Eventually however, as with the previous night, the train pulled into Ace's station and the pair were forced to cut their conversation short. Ace made a disappointed sound as he recognised the platform and grabbed his watermelon bag off the floor. "This is my stop," he sighed, climbing to his feet with some reluctance. He then proceeded to send Marco a dazzling smile - one that stilled the blonde man's breath for a moment. "Same time tomorrow?" Ace asked, and Marco lit up at the hopeful tone in the other's voice.

"Sure, unless I don't make it through work," he joked, attempting to hide his disappointment at Ace's departure.

"Well I really hope you do," Ace chuckled, and finally stepped off the train. "Bye Marco."

"Bye Ace," Marco returned, just as the doors hissed shut, and the two were separated once more. As with the previous night, Marco watched Ace's retreating back until the train pulled out of the station, then slumped down into his seat. That second encounter with his new travel companion had been interesting to say the least, as well as rather embarrassing. Had he actually called Ace Freckles? To his face?! He was going to go home and replay that humiliating moment in his head for hours!

Oh well… What was one more sleepless night to an insomniac? One who now yearned to dream in colour, having lived so long in black and white. He smiled; he was looking forward to tomorrow already.

So that's us at the end of chapter 2. I'm trying really hard not to rush this, and tbh I struggled, considering not all that much happens in this chapter. Things will start to progress more in the next chapter though, and hopefully my updating speed will improve too. Please drop me a review if you feel up to it :)