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It had been at least a couple of weeks since they had boarded the magical train they were stuck on, a couple of weeks since those bright green numbers had been seemingly tattooed onto their palms. At least, they thought it was two weeks. Keeping track of time on the train was more difficult with their unnatural sleep schedules, and it didn’t help that the sky outside was always that ominous orange that never seemed to shift in hue.
The trio had been traveling for a while, away from the other denizens and towards what Kez had dubbed “Casa De Kez”, where they would hopefully meet up with Morgan, if Morgan hadn’t already left yet. Nevertheless, they were tired, traveling from car to car with little to no places to sleep.
There was a steady stream of silence between Min and Ryan, only bubbles of quiet yawns and stretches that turned into groans, along with the constant stream that was the sparkles seeming to emanate underneath Kez’s metallic body.
“So…” Kez finally started, deciding to break the silence, “Maybe next car you two corpses can finally rest before you, like, actually turn into corpses.”
A small laugh escaped Ryan, followed by an even smaller yawn, “Sure, Kez. Like this hellhole of a train would give us anything useful. I’m pretty sure the next car is gonna make us run for our lives, probably because you have so many enemies.”
“Hey!” She squealed out almost immediately in response, floating rather close to the long haired male’s face. “I’ll have you know they’re frenemies.”
“Mhm.”
“Yeah! Th-they are. I just— we’re friends. Just like you and Min are friends.”
“I-“
“This is different, Kez.” Min quickly cut in, glaring between the two. “We’re not actively trying to kill each other over a tea stain.”
Kez clicked her tongue (Did she even have a tongue? One of them would have to ask later) and rolled her beady eyes, floating between the two. “Yeah they were pretty angry about that one, huh?”
The uncomfortable and heavy silence followed immediately after, the clanking of the unbearably uncomfortable metal boots across the shaky metal platform was all that was heard.
They reached the other side towards the next car, a desperate look outside the train towards the sky once again followed.
The two had been looking out towards the sky in silence the past few cars, maybe it was because they were sleep deprived, maybe they missed home, or maybe it was just the swirling cloud in the skyline that never seemed to let up to a calm and clear sky. It was terrifying, and both were willing to admit that.
After a few minutes of idle staring, they had finally decided to open the next car door, the faint and unfortunately familiar sound of the handles turning and clicking open followed suit.
“Oh my fucking god…” Min had grumbled out, not sure if it was relief or annoyance himself.
The room was blank, pure white from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. It was rather bright, almost like an artificial light, though no lights could be seen around the area. It was around the size of the actual exterior of the train cars, at least approximately in size.
The one thing that set this car apart was the singular bed that lay dormant and unused against the wall. It was a twin-sized bed, which would serve as an issue, but not only that, but it was partially framed like a car. Ryan had had one similar when he was a child, but this one was sporting a very unfamiliar ‘95’ on the side, along with a lightning bolt that jutted out from the side. At the foot of the bed sat a smiling mouth, and a logo for ‘Rust•eze’ just above it’s headlights, though upon further examination the bed didn’t seem to be a sentient being, like Kez.
“What in the hell…?”
Ryan seemed to be pleased by this revelation that the next car was a place for them to rest, despite the blinding lights of the room inside. Kez seemed to agree, as the trio had entered the room without a second thought.
Then, the door had shut right behind them, and when Min tried to turn the handle, it wouldn’t budge. Great. They were stuck in the car with the bed and no idea how to get out.
An arm had carelessly strung around Min, causing him to slightly flinch at the contact. He turned towards Ryan, grimacing slightly at the rather smug face the other was making.
“Kachow.”
“What?”
“Ka… Kachow?”
“Ryan, if you’re trying out a new catchphrase I think you need to go back to the drawing board. Kachow? I mean- what does that even mean?” With that he grabbed Ryan’s arm and tossed it off of him, crossing his own arms tight against his chest as he walked towards the only object in the room that wasn’t alive, the bed.
Kez floated up behind Ryan, settling gently onto his shoulder as a way to seemingly comfort him. Ryan seemed to take the gesture well, running a hand gently across the top of her metallic body.
“I— Sorry Min.” Ryan awkwardly laughed out, walking over to his side to examine the bed. “I don’t know what came over me. It felt like, a cough almost? Or a hiccup? You know some of the cars are weird, I think this one is… a bit stranger than the rest.”
There was a pause, a glance towards Min, and then a soft sigh. Ryan continued when he got no response, “Hey. At least there’s a bed, and at least no one can get in the car since we’re sorta locked in here.” He looked between the two red doors in stark contrast to the white room, then towards the equally red bed frame and sheets. “What even is this car frame supposed to be?”
Min had been the first to step closer, pulling back the sheets and shrugging. “It looks like branding for some sort of animated race car. It has a weird three dimensional look to it… odd. Maybe it came out since we’ve been on here?”
“Maybe. I don’t get why it locked us in here with just a bed from a movie neither of us recognize, though.”
“Mm..”
Kez quietly floated, as quietly as a constantly twinkling bell could and sat (lied?) down on the foot of the bed. Then, all of the sudden, the bright lights of the room had dimmed down to a quiet and gentle blueish green. A mood lightning definitely comfortable to sleep in.
“Oh…” Ryan had started, seeming to get the picture immediately. “Do we have to… sleep here for the door to open? Well that’s not that big of a deal.”
“Do we all need to sleep in the bed for it to open? Maybe we could take turns or somethi-“ The lights in the room started to brighten slightly, as if warning otherwise. “Okay. Okay together at the same time.” The lights dimmed back down.
“Oh, come on! Don’t wanna sleep in the same bed as me?”
“Kachow!”
Ryan paused, choking back a laugh that he absolutely failed at hiding, folding over on himself. “I told you-“ He wheezed out, “I told you it was a car thing!”
A stream of constant and rather rude sounding “Kachow”s from Min had followed suit, until he gained back his ability to speak normally.
“Ryan!”
“What? Clearly this isn’t my fault! It’s the car’s weird side effect thing!”
“Just. Get into the bed.” He pointed towards the bed as he pulled back the race car covered sheets, slipping into the left side of it, “We can both barely fit, probably. It’ll be uncomfortable but rest is rest. Plus, if it’s a way out I’m sure our numbers with go down.”
Ryan tensed up, flushing and turning away for a moment. After taking a couple breaths he turned back, nodding and crawling snuggly into the bed beside Min-Gi. There was a soft and awkward chuckle shared between the two, the covers barely pulling up to reach their shoulders.
Awkward silence and shuffling had followed for a moment, both trying desperately to feel some sort of comfort in the cramped twin-sized red race car bed they were forced to share.
Ryan had turned to face Min, finding that being on his side not only gave him more space but felt generally more comfortable. What he didn’t expect to see was Min on his side too, facing him, and due to the size of the bed they were extremely close.
There was a soft exhale, neither knew who it came from, but it was there as they stared awkwardly at each other.
Min tucked his arm under his pillow adorned with the red racing car and a brown tow truck, finding it in himself to softly initiate a conversation. “Hey…”
“Uhm… hey.”
The faint sound of Kez snoring could be heard in the background, both slightly glancing down towards her before looking back at the other, in what seemed like unison.
“So— crazy car, huh?” Min had hummed out as quiet as he could, “Kachow… and… red racing car bed?”
“Mm… yeah. At least they’re giving us a bed for forcibly sleep in. The car must’ve recognized we were tired and tried to.. accommodate to us? That doesn’t seem like a thing it would do, though.”
“Definitely not. I think it’s just coincidence— or maybe we’re supposed to learn something here?”
Ryan raised a brow, slightly glancing towards the sheet then back towards his taller friend. “Learn what? Kachow? How to both fit in a twin sized bed? Learn who the weird car dude is?”
There was a pause, and then a faint laugh shared between the both of them. It simmered down softly, into just quiet breathing and then staring at one another tiredly.
Then, a soft touch. Neither would remember who initiated it, but their distance made it easy. A gentle squeeze of their hands, a smile shared between the two. A silent and quiet affirmation, a promise, almost.
The moment felt immediately ruined, Min-Gi going to say something but only being able to mutter a soft and almost loving sounding “Kachow.”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh, loud. He let go of Min’s hand, pulling himself up by his elbow and having a small coughing fit between his laughter. It couldn’t be helped, he tried to suppress it as much as he could, the laughs only coming in more intense. After what felt like a minute of pure laughing, Ryan had finally settled down, collapsing back into the small bed.
“God, way to ruin the moment, Ryan.” Min huffed out, despite a large grin being on his face as well.
“Yeah.” He was still quietly giggling, his free hand pushing back Min-Gi’s. “It wasn’t your dumb ‘kachow’ spewing mouth, or the race car themed sheets, or the bed. It was me laughing at you.”
There was quiet and suppressed giggling, and a somehow still sleeping Kez’s snores. A soft press onto Ryan’s palm, causing him to shoot his hand away from Min’s face almost instantly, hitting against the plastic of the frame.
“Min.”
“Hm?”
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” He nearly growled, scrunching up his nose. He was lucky the lights were low to hide his burning red face, probably a brighter red then the glasses he forgot to take off. “What were you doing?”
“K..Kachow?”
“Don’t kachow your way out of this one, Min.”
A soft sigh, fluttering eyes that landed half lidded. A glance away, then back, and away again. “Ryan…”
Silence. A long and unbearable silence, laying extremely close together, tired, in this weird red race car bed sporting a lightning bolt on both sides.
Min couldn’t take the noiseless snoring anymore, “Let’s… let’s just go to sleep before we say something stupid.”
Another beat of silence, this one shorter. A shuffling of the bed, and Ryan’s back was facing Min-Gi now. “Yeah. Okay. Goodnight, Min.”
“Goodnight, Ryan.”
Their time was silent, as silent as a snoring bell and constant shuffling could be. Ryan was a restless sleeper, and Min knew it well. They could pass out quickly, but would be moving around all night, and wake up at the slightest noise. That was why they had stopped sharing a bed at their sleepovers when they were younger.
Min, however, wasn’t as blessed with the ability to fall asleep on a whim. He needed to prepare in advance, or at the very least he needed to be comfortable. The tightness between Ryan and him definitely wasn’t comfortable, and in this position they were basically spooning.
It didn’t help that the only way Min had been able to fall asleep recently was to snuggle with a pillow. Where a pillow would usually lie was Ryan’s sleeping self, which Min had still yet to admit he liked more than just a friend, even to himself. But there he was, gently reaching to wrap his arm around Ryan’s waist, pulling him taut against his own chest.
Ryan was immediately awoken to the contact, startled to say the least. He let out a small squeak at being pulled back against Min, his head ever so slightly turning so he could see his friend. There was no denying Min-Gi was snuggling into Ryan’s scalp, half asleep.
“M-Min?”
There was a moment where the grip around his waist tightened, then the feeling was immediately gone. A loud thud against plastic and a sharp inhale that was a replacement for a loud swear.
“Min— n-no it’s okay. I’m sorry I startled you…” He turned away, “I was just surprised. It’s okay. Whatever helps you sleep.”
There was a hesitance, one that Ryan hated in Min-Gi. He would never act on things he wanted, first with their plans to tour Canada, then their show in New York, which he had admittedly had made up to bring Min with him. Now it was this, which was a jump up from pursuing music, but it was still the same behavior.
Ryan let out a small groan, his hand patting along the bed behind him until he found Min-Gi’s hand, gently grabbing it and wrapping it around himself. It took a moment for the taller man to stop tensing up, snuggling back up against his friend, though still silent. Their fingers quietly and secretly intertwined beneath the gaudy race car blankets.
The rest of the night was quiet, but a much more comfortable silence than the one from earlier. It was soothing, peaceful, and almost loving in a way.
Morning eventually came, or what could be artificially made to be morning. The low and peaceful blueish green slowly and calmly becoming a soft pink and orange in hue, like a sunrise.
Ryan was the first to stir, the light waking him up rather quickly. He squinted towards the ceiling above him, groaning softly as he let go of Min’s hand (oh. right.) to cover the top half of his face. He slowly but surely turned himself around to face his friend who was knocked out, taking extra care to not move the hand that was wrapped around him.
“Kachow…” He mumbled out, his eyes immediately widening as he held back a laugh.
It took a moment before he composed himself, shaking Min-Gi gently as a way to wake him. After a few solid shakes, the taller male finally stirred, his eyes ever so slightly opening.
“Mmn… Ry..an? What time is it…?”
Ryan yawned softly, “The car lights say morning. Did you wanna let go of me?”
“….No. I’m good.”
“Huh?”
“I said nah. I just… wanna lay here with you for a bit longer.”
The sound of familiar sparkles idly floating started up, getting louder until in Kez was directly on top of them, yawning and smacking her metallic lips. “Morning, corpses. Door is open.”
“How do you know?” They both seemed to say in unison, glancing towards each other and then back at Kez.
She shrugged (can bells even shrug?), a small hand forming out of the sparkles under her as she scratched the top of her head. “Just a hunch. The car wouldn’t be normal now if it wasn’t open. Probably. Did you two… want some alone time or something? Mama Kez doesn’t judge.”
Ryan quickly spoke up, “No—“
“No as in yes? I’ll take it as a yes.”
“Kez—“
“I know. I know, I know. I’ll be waiting outside the car for you to finish up whatever you’re doing. It’s whatever.”
Before either could protest that they weren’t actually doing anything, Kez had already flown to the exit, using her sparkly hands to open the door and fly out, leaving just the two of them in the bed and the car.
“Uhm…” Ryan started, finally looking back towards Min-Gi, who had been still holding him by the waist. “Heyyyyy.”
“Hey.” He was speaking softer than normal, more caring than normal too.
“When did you wanna… leave the bed?”
“In a minute. We haven’t gotten a real place to sleep in a few days. This is nice.”
They stared at each other tiredly for a moment, a soft sigh escaping Ryan as he leaned a bit forward and pressed his forehead against his taller friend’s.
“I guess so.” Was the quiet response after a moment, not looking Min in the eye despite how close they were to one another.
There was a quiet, yet sharp exhale at the contact. Then, a soft smile. A smile that was tilting slightly and leaning forwards. There was a moment of hesitance just inches away from
the other’s lips.
“Kachow.~”
Ryan couldn’t help but stiffen up, flushing red with both anger and embarrassment as he pushed Min hard into the plastic, puffing out his cheeks. “That was a jerk move, dude! Gross!”
Min let out a laugh, a genuine one that was clearly being hidden away for some time, even if he was just smacked pretty hard into the red plastic of the race car bed. “Oh please! You weren’t even trying to pull away. You know you wanted it.” He smirked slightly, pulling himself to an upright position as he gently rubbed at the part of his head that smacked against the frame.
“Uhm— I—“ He turned away, sitting up and crossing his arms. “I’m just tired, is all. I didn’t really notice until you were super close.”
“Mhm.”
“It’s the truth!”
“Sure.”
Ryan angrily turned to face Min-Gi, but was met with him being surprisingly close, causing his eyes to widen. His eyes instinctively darted down towards his lips, taking in a hitched breath as he made eye contact with him once more.
Min rolled his eyes, sighing softly. “Do you really want our first kiss to be in a twin sized red… lightning themed race car bed?”
“First? Are you implying there’s gonna be more after this?”
There was a beat of silence and a laugh, Min leaning forward and actually connecting their lips together this time. It was brief, so brief in fact it barely felt like a kiss at all. But it had happened and it was theirs, without Kez to bother them, too.
Min breathed out softly for a moment, pushing himself back. “Maybe. We’ll just have to see.”
With that, he pulled himself out of the small twin sized mattress, to the door and outside with Kez. No other words or looks exchanged, leaving Ryan alone in the bed for who knows how long. He would need time to process alone, would need time to figure out what this weird bed was themed after, and especially would need time to figure out what ‘Kachow’ had meant.
But eventually, they would be moving onto the next car. Ryan’s number had ticked down to 136 for a beat, it moving almost immediately back up to 202 once he glanced at his palm. That eerie green wouldn’t be leaving either of their hands anytime soon.