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They knew each other—they always did. They had seen many sides of each other on that lonely train they rode, but out of fear, out of intimidation of a boundary they innately knew should never be crossed, they never reached out to each other. He would sit on the train and wait to see the man that always boarded the next stop beyond the end, and He would board the train to see the man that was always sitting—always waiting.

Perhaps a part of them knew. Perhaps they knew that they weren’t strangers anymore, but partners of a kind. Even though they yearned for this, they would never speak to reveal themselves.

He would always wave the man that only rode the train for one stop goodbye, letting his heart go with him despite his wishes that he would just stay.

And He would always disembark, watching the train doors close between him and the other man that stared at him politely—(or perhaps it was yearning?)—watching his own heart depart with the man he always wished would just come with him.

At the end of it all, Minseok still didn’t understand what it all meant—the truth behind the many different landscapes he’d seen, the man that greeted him on those magical rides, and the mysterious train that carried him beyond the end; the start of it all.

“I’m just a mere conductor.” The stranger had said with a smile. Though he said that, Minseok had a feeling he was more than that—an entity unknown, yet so painfully familiar. He carried an air about him like he didn’t belong, like he was an outlier in a universal equation and his presence threatened to tip the balance.

“You seem to know a lot more than what you say though.” Minseok argued, though he wasn’t necessarily mad. He was curious, compliant—maybe even a little bit happy.

“I probably do.” The man said as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

“Can I at least ask you one question?” Minseok questioned. It looked up at the stranger—Lu Han—stopped in front of him, small smile still in place.

“Of course.”

“Were we supposed to meet?”

Lu Han didn’t answer for a very long time. He busied himself with studying Minseok’s face, eyes roaming across his features, taking in every detail. The taller man slid off his gloves and stuffed them loosely in his pocket before he reached up to caress Minseok’s face. It was a bit cheesy, and Minseok probably should have felt alarmed that he was letting a stranger touch him so easily—but was he really a stranger?

“Probably not.” Lu Han finally answered, his thumb brushing over other’s cheekbone.

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