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The breaking day was yet quite chilly as I jumped on. It was crowded. Someone was mumbling angrily at some poor girl who was trying to lift her heavy bag up on the rack but did nothing to help. I grabbed the bag and tossed it up to the shelf. For a tall guy like me it wasn’t a problem at all. I got a shy ‘thank you’ in response and smiled back at her. Walking through the stuffed train corridor was always a bit irritating. People pushing and shoving, trying to get on their seats as fast as possible. This time I wanted the same, for some reason. Usually, I was much more low-key in tense situations like these but I needed to get this train moving fast.
But there’s not much you can do. So, I walked in line with my suitcase trying to find our seats. Or sleeping car to be exact ‘cause we’d be travelling throughout the night until we’d get to our destination: on the set of the new X-Men movie. Filming would start in a couple of days.
I hadn’t seen James in a long time. It was probably even more than six months since we last got together for a dinner with some of the other X-Men cast who happened to be in town the same time. The schedules were always so hard to combine.
We do some occasional chatting over whatssapp about some crazy stuff you couldn’t tell anyone else and you know the other would totally crack up to. Lately, my phone had been buzzing more often now that the first day of filming was getting closer and closer. I didn’t mind, just the opposite. In fact, every time I heard the buzz I jumped, and my heart did too. “What the hell are you smirking about”, my friend would ask me several times when was lost in vigorous typing on my phone.
Our friendship had deepened over the years. It's like an unspeakable truth. We both know we can trust each other and have an ally in one another. Even if we didn’t get to see each other often enough the friendship and chemistry has always been there, from the very beginning starting from the Band of Brothers. As has the humour. When we see each other again we start to chat like no time has passed at all. This is exactly what I was looking forward to, very eagerly. I realised I’d really missed the long face-to-face chats and the crazy witty, suggestive humour between us.
Although we’d always been throwing some kinky-ass comments to each other and with the other cast members, too, the more-than obvious Cherik ship, or the Fassavoy for that matter, would just add up more layers to the joking. And of course, what wouldn’t we do for our fans! In fact, we were asked to do so, to joke around with a bit raunchier tone on our promo interviews – although concerning James, one doesn’t even need to ask. It was there already, it came naturally. That guy, he’s just a bit more on the wild side, so to speak. So, we were working with the rumours just for the fun of it. We did promise to have as much fun as we could when getting into this franchise together.
“Car number 35, that’s it”, I thought as I eyed my ticket. I opened the windowed door, put my belongings to the top shelf and sat down to the right-side bench. The cabin had two benches on both sides and two loft beds as well. Not bad at all for a nice little catching-up. It was an intimate setting and would definitely serve us well, not having to listen to other passengers and to be able to just talk. That reminded me we would all live in a caravan village the next five months or so. Also something I was expecting already. All the cast and crew living at the same quarters, surrounded by good friends.
I stopped for a while to look out from the window. I didn’t really recognise where we were at the moment but according to the announcement coming from the speakers there were still a couple of stops before James’s. Maybe I’d read one of the books that I brought along. Or listen to some podcast. I couldn’t really decide which was better, to read a good old-fashioned book with a proper bookish smell on it or the easiness of a digital age: to listen to a book or to read it from a tablet without having to carry them all with me. Well, I brought the best of both worlds. “Even more to carry.. Well done, Michael”, I mumbled to myself.
As I was starting to get carried away with the book that I’d chosen for the morning’s pass, listening to the sound of the train just chugging on, I heard a couple of quick knocks on the cabin door. I saw a very familiar face looking at me with a grin through the cabin door’s window.
“Michael, g’morning, mate!” James opened the door in a rush just to get in fast, away from the busy passengers walking by. Through the momentarily opened door I heard a fuss and loud talking but when James closed the door behind him it was quiet enough again to concentrate in the moment.
“And what a great morning it turned out to be!” I greeted him back.
For a short while we just stood there. James dropped his back bag and suitcase on the floor and just smiled looking at me, and I looked right back at him. There was a very wide smile on both of our faces and the air was filled with the enthusiasm over our much anticipated reunion.
“Wait ‘till I get settled..”, James said and quickly turned to grab his belongings.
I helped placing his heavier suitcase to the top of the shelf while he threw his smaller bag up himself. James took off his brown leather jacket that I’d seen before many times on him (I have to say it suits him well) and threw it to the bench behind him. He then faced towards me spreading his arms: “Michael, old friend!”
It was a loving embrace between old friends seeing each other again in a long time. Smaller man that he is, his arms naturally went around my waist and his head rested on my chest. Was my heart beating a bit faster and louder now? I hope he didn’t notice. I wrapped my arms around his back. His hair brushed my chin and it smelled good. A little shiver came down on my spine. He did smell oddly good, and somehow his scent brought me back many memories from the previous films and promotion tours. I hugged him tight, as did he.
Okay, I have to part him now, this hug might have lasted a few seconds too long, I thought and let go, however still holding him by his shoulders. “Man, I really did miss you!” I managed to say.
“Me too, man, me too”, James admitted.
”So what have you been up to lately, you look great”, James stated looking at me from head to toe with admiration and licking his lip with a frown as he often does. Somehow, especially now the look felt even more piercing. And it seemed to me he was slowing down his gaze especially at my upper body and arms.
”You definitely HAVE been doin’ some training!” he said while turning his head from side to side as if to get to look at my frame as much as he could under the guise of mere compliment between friends.
Despite the quick flash of embarrassment under his gaze I was still pleased that he had noticed. That means my training was, in fact, paying off. At this point I wasn’t sure if I was slightly blushing or not. That’s not really what I do. I might have looked a bit perplexed though.
His blue eyes were still locked on me. And that frown.. He sure knows how to make someone feel good about themselves just by giving them that flirty look. ”Umm.. yeah, yeah.. I did have this pre-shoot workout schedule that I tried to, you know, obey as well as I could for a few months. I was actually trying to channel Hugh, not that I would wake up to the gym at 5 am. Nobody can keep up with him.”
We both laughed at the memory of us three at the gym and how ridiculous we felt trying to pump the iron as Hugh did and him giving us some advice we didn’t quite get. ”But hey, you look good too”, I pointed out, nodding towards him, ”I see you have already shaved your beard for Xavier. And I love the hair, its so… so wavy and.. luscious and, you know”, I laughed a little for my awkward compliments.
”Thanks, mate. Your worked-out body and my luscious hair. We’re gonna kill it”, he rolled his eyes and sat on the bench.
”You know what I mean, I said and sat opposite to him.
”Do I?”, he asked and lifted his brow a little.
”Is it all yours or are there extensions? The hair I mean”, I asked. What the hell was I babbling, like that was somehow important. Or interesting, for that matter.
”Well, some of them are extension, actually, yeah. I didn’t have enough time to grow my own hair to the length the production wanted”, he answered and ran his fingers through his hair.
I found myself wanting to do the same.
”…Can I?”, I asked surprising myself and reached my hand towards his hair, standing up a little from my bench opposite to him. ”…Yeah, sure. Just don’t pull too hard”, he winked at me and I gave him a little smile for the quick and witty jokes he always manages to deliver no matter the situation.
Was I going to touch his hair now, for real? Well, I asked for it so I might as well enjoy it and try not to think anything more about it than it was. Just curiosity.
I touched his temple and ran my fingers slowly through his soft but strong hair all the way to the back of his neck. At that point I didn’t want to move my hand, I just wanted to stay in that moment. ”Hmm.. You really can’t tell”, I murmured, ”it all feels and looks real.” He lifted his face and looked at me with his - I just must admit - the most beautiful blue eyes. He opened his lips just a little and the look in his eyes was somehow demanding. What was he thinking?
I was suddenly feeling, well.. excited about this sight and what I felt between my fingers. I have always been drawn to his expressive and a bit too adorable pair of blue orbs. But they are much better at a close distance like this, somehow turning even more dark when I was touching his hair. And how come he always had so dewy, cherry tint on his lips? I stopped for a while, just admiring his face. I couldn’t look away.
James didn’t say anything, he just looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite comprehend. Serious? Disoriented? Flustered? …Aroused?
I had to snap back quick or it would get weird. I sat back on my bench behind me a bit confused myself, too. Compared to the moment just a few seconds ago, this time I couldn’t even look at James.
The quick wit of his suddenly came back and he broke the silence: ”Well, it better look good or the 18 hours I spent on that stylist’s chair would only be a total waste of time of a brilliant actor as I am!”
Quick, get it together, Michael!, I shouted to myself in my head. ”Eighteen hours! Wow. That must’ve been a drag”, I said in disbelief shaking my head.
”Still happy I’m not Raven”, James said raising his both eyebrows and widened his eyes looking for an approval.
”Well, I’d be intrigued to see you running around the set half naked with blue body paint. Hard to picture it, though”, I said pondering and looked beyond the train window trying to create some kind of image in my head.
”Stop picturing me naked, man! Leave that to some lonely Tuesday night”, James grinned.