Chapter Text
Cellbit was entirely too sleep-deprived to be awake at this time, the ripe hour of 6:20 in the morning, stood on the cold train platform in the drizzling rain as the first train of the day rumbled into the station.
He wasn’t sure why he kept doing this to himself. All his friends had tried multiple times to get him to find a new job somewhere closer so he could get more than an hour’s sleep a night. Waking up at five every morning was not a pleasant experience, and it’s not like the job is his dream job or anything. The excuse he gave every time his friends stopped by after a shift, only to find him half-asleep on his sofa was, ‘It took me so long to find this job, don’t make me find another one.’
It wasn’t a lie, per se. Cellbit had been unemployed for nearly a solid year before this job hired him, and everywhere he applied for in this field closer by had rejected him. This place was the closest, and leaving would probably mean finding something even further away or an entirely new job. Neither of these things was he willing to do.
While it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t the whole truth either. See, the other main reason was the stranger who got the same train as him every morning he did, getting on a stop after him and getting off sometime after he did.
Cellbit had never spoken to this stranger and didn’t even know his name, but there was some cordial thing between them. Cellbit got on the last carriage, sitting on the second seat closest to the door so he still had a window, and he’d normally pull out his phone and fiddle for the far too long journey. Ten minutes later, at the next stop, he would get on the same carriage and would sit on the other side of the aisle, large headphones covering his ears as he slumped into his seat with a gentle smile and small wave, something that Cellbit returned.
And they wouldn’t look at each other for the rest of the journey. Or, the stranger wouldn’t look at Cellbit, but Cellbit, ever shameless, often caught glances at this stranger. And could anyone blame him? He was cute as shit! Scruffy, dark brown hair held back with a bandana, stunningly soft brown eyes that always took Cellbit’s breath away, and an infectious crooked smile.
In short, the real reason Cellbit wasn’t willing to find another job was the stranger he had a crush on.
That morning was a little different, though. Cellbit hadn’t slept a single minute as his boss had requested he finish a project he was meant to have a week to complete for the next day. That request was made at 8 p.m. the night before while Cellbit was relaxing after finally getting home.
He’d desperately tried to finish up the project that night, working through the night until his eyes were red-rimmed and his vision blurry. Even now, as he stood on the platform in the pouring rain and freezing cold, his hands shaking with the amount of caffeine he’d ingested through the night, he hadn’t finished.
He was so close to being done that maybe another hour or so of his two-hour journey would do it. So, as he stumbled onto the carriage, laptop in his bag and God only knows what number coffee in his hand, he passed by his usual seat, aiming for a table seat so he could just fucking finish.
He set up as quickly as possible, bringing up the programme and getting started before the train pulled away. He was far too caffeine-high and focused on his project to even realise he’d reached the next stop. His stop.
The only point he realised was when something shifted in his vision above his laptop screen. His eyes darted up and immediately met soft brown ones.
He was sat on the other side of the table from him.
As if nothing was different, the stranger smiled, waved and settled in as the train pulled away. It took Cellbit a few moments to recover and return the gesture. When Cellbit still didn’t continue, his sleep-deprived brain still catching up, the stranger smiled awkwardly with a shrug. Somewhere deep in Cellbit, he knew what that shrug meant.
‘You weren’t sat where you normally are.’
This was both nowhere near good enough of a reason and the best reason in the world for this beautiful man to be sat across from him. Eventually, Cellbit accepted this and continued hesitantly before finally managing to get back into it and carry on as before.
Every so often, the stranger shifting would catch Cellbit’s eye and he’d glance up, but the stranger never looked back, mostly playing on his phone.
After a while, the last of Cellbit’s coffee ran out, and he immediately picked up the pace on his project as he knew how long he’d now been awake, and had a vague idea of how many coffees he’d drank in the last 12 or so hours, he maybe had half an hour before he completely crashed.
Sure enough, half an hour later, and about 1 hour into his journey, he felt his energy levels drop just as he performed his final save. He leant his head back, stretching with a groan and momentarily covering his face. When he dropped his hands, he spotted the stranger watching him with narrowed eyes. Cellbit felt scrutinized for the small moment he was still awake enough to be aware of what was happening.
However, exhaustion hit him like a truck, and he barely had a chance to close his laptop before he passed out on top of it.
*~+~*
Cellbit awoke slowly, barely aware of his surroundings, to the feeling of a weight on the side of his head. He thought he could hear someone saying something, but he couldn’t quite make it out. He tilted his head with a quiet, unhappy grumble.
“Mais cinco minutos.” he huffed, burying deeper into the soft cushioning.
Whoever had been talking paused to laugh quietly and the weight on the side of his head shifted. Something started to scratch gently at his scalp and Cellbit let out a content sigh.
“Eres como un gato…Lo siento, Señor,” a voice said. “I think I understood what you said. Either way, I’m trying to wake you up so you don’t miss your station.”
Miss my station? What-
Cellbit shot up with panic, eyes wide and darting around as he tried to place himself. He was still on the train, which was still moving, but the morning sun was peeking over the horizon. He immediately recognised the scenery as being about five minutes away from his station.
Allowing himself to calm down, he finally looked over at the stranger in front of him. The stranger’s handsome face was light with a crooked grin at Cellbit’s panic and his hand was slightly raised still. Had he been… Cellbit frowned, mumbling a few curses under his breath and the stranger raised an eyebrow as Cellbit went to put his stuff away.
Only, his laptop was already stowed away in its case, slotted into its space in his backpack, which was lying beside him on the table, his coat was draped over his shoulders, almost like a mock blanket, so he just had to slip his arms in.
Had the stranger put his stuff away for him? But, he was certain he fell asleep on his laptop. But, his laptop was in his bag and there was a bunched-up jacket where his head had been. Did that mean…
The stranger coughed awkwardly as he watched Cellbit come to the realisation that he helped him. Again, the stranger shrugged as the conductor announced his station.
“I didn’t want you to miss your station, but you also needed the sleep,” he mumbled, a light blush raising on his cheeks as he awkwardly took his jacket back.
“Oh… Uh… Obrigado… Uh… Thank you…” Cellbit stammered out as he shouldered his bag.
“Roier. Me llamo Roier.”
Spanish? I can do Spanish. Cellbit thought. “Oh, well, me llamo Cellbit.”
Roier’s smile lit up his face again as Cellbit gave his name. “Mucho gusto, Cellbit!”
That was the last thing they could say before Cellbit was dashing down the aisle to the doors to step off, his mind racing with the way Roier said his name.
He could get used to that.
*~+~*
That evening, Cellbit stood at the station again going the other way to make his way home. His eyes were drooping heavily and stung, his shoulders aching from hunching over his work desk all day, and that hour’s sleep he got earlier really didn’t do much in the long run. He’d been tired before, hell, he lived in a constant state of exhaustion, but this was different. Worse, somehow.
Once again, the train pulled into the station, he climbed onto the last carriage through the last door and sat down in his usual seat which was mercifully empty. He wasn’t sure his brain could figure out finding a new seat at that moment. He allowed his bag to drop to his feet and he sighed deeply as his head fell back against the headrest with a thud. After a moment, he just about registered a warmth at his side. He opened his eyes slightly and, once again, was met with warm brown eyes and a crooked smile.
An arm weaved around his weary shoulders and guided him against his shoulder. “Duerme, Cellbit,” he whispered, and who was Cellbit to say no to a voice like that?
With a sigh, he relaxed as much as he could at the slightly awkward angle, Cellbit was apparently a little taller and fell asleep almost instantly.
He could feel embarrassed about the situation later.
*~+~*
Cellbit woke sometime later, not entirely sure when. The train was dimmer than before, indicating the sun was either going down or had gone down which, at this time of year, meant he was nearing home.
He knew he should just get up and work out where he was, but he was too comfortable. He was lying down now, not entirely sure when that happened, and he could feel a hand gently carding through his hair.
If he was a little more confident, he might have joked that Roier clearly had a thing for his hair as this was twice now in as many interactions, but it just felt so nice. He allowed himself a few more moments of trusting Roier to wake him when he was about to leave and closed his eyes, melting into Roier’s lap with a happy noise when Roier scratched just right at the base of his skull.
Above him, Roier huffed out a small laugh before mumbling, “Muy bonito. Es tan suave como pensaba.”
Ah. So, Roier had a thing for his hair. Cellbit had to stifle his smile as Roier twirled his hair between his fingers. After a few quiet moments, Roier rested his hand on the side of Cellbit’s head. “Me pregunto cuál es la palabra ‘bonito’ en portugués.” he mused.
Huh? Portuguese? How did he know? Cellbit decided at that moment to shift and show he was awake, too curious to stay ‘asleep’. Did he figure it out purely from his accent? That would be amazing if it was true.
“Good morning.” Roier smiled as Cellbit stretched out, mumbling a greeting. Cellbit squinted at Roier for a moment.
“How did you know I’m Brazilian?” he asked.
Roier immediately went bright red. “Oh, uh, this morning you said a word I didn’t recognise, but you sounded so comfortable saying it that I assumed it was your native language, so I looked it up, and it was ‘thank you’ in Portuguese. So, I put two and two together.”
Cellbit’s insides did something wild at this. Butterflies erupted violently. This man, a complete stranger he only spoke to for the first time this morning after months of not saying a single word, only a wave and a smile, had looked up a single word he said offhandedly to find out what language he spoke.
In any other situation, he might find it a little unsettling that he went to that extent over one word, but maybe it’s because he would’ve done the exact same thing if he didn’t already speak Spanish, and maybe it was Roier’s bashful smile, and maybe it was because he was wildly attracted to Roier now, but this was one of the cutest things someone had ever said to him.
Before Cellbit could muster a response, the conductor over the loudspeaker interrupted, announcing Roier’s stop. Cellbit felt himself deflate a bit. “Merda.” he hissed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Same time as always.” Roier chuckled as he stood. Just before he left, Cellbit surprised himself by reaching out and grabbing his arm. Roier looked back at him. “Sí?”
“Uh… Do you have a number?”
Roier blinked. “¿Un número de teléfono? Claro que sí.” he smirked, quickly pulling out his phone and handing it to Cellbit. Cellbit was quick to type in his number, hesitating over his name before typing it in. Roier glanced, hummed, typed a few things and let out a little giggle, turning his phone around to show Cellbit what he’d done.
He’d erased Cellbit’s name from his number, and instead the word ‘gatinho’ sat proudly. Cellbit wasn’t sure before then if his face could get any redder. It surely could. He choked out a cough and Roier laughed brightly.
Roier’s smile was blinding. “Ay, man, you’re too cute!” he said, almost as though he wasn’t aware of what he was saying. The train stopped, and the dinging of the open door echoed through the carriage so, quickly, almost too fast for Cellbit to register, Roier kissed him on the cheek and called, “Buenas noches, gatinho!” before disappearing from sight.
“Boa noite… guapito.” Cellbit responded, almost to himself.
He was in a daze up until he made it back to his house, his face warm and the kiss lingering on his cheek. It wasn’t until he was met with the face of his sister, Bagi, that he snapped out of it.
“How did you get into my… I need you to give me my spare key back.” Cellbit admonished. Bagi, of course, ignored him.
“How was your day?” Bagi asked, a strange expression adorning her face as she guided Cellbit to the living room.
“Same as normal…” he trailed off and Bagi, of course, immediately picked up on it.
“Eu sabia! Assim que você entrou, eu soube!” She clapped her hands. “Tell me everything! What’s their name? What do they look like?” She broke himself off with a gasp. “Is it o rapaz bonito do trem?”
Cellbit pushed Bagi hard enough that she nearly fell off the sofa. “Cala a boca!” he screeched, covering his red face. “Ugh, I regret ever telling you about him.”
“It is! Oh, tell me everything!” Bagi shuffled forward and leant heavily on her knees, a clear sign that Cellbit had her attention.
“Vai a merda,” he mumbled, but it was futile. If Bagi wanted something, Bagi got it and Cellbit was too weak for his sister to say no. So, Cellbit ended up telling her everything, adorned with Bagi’s dramatic gasps and interjections.
“And now you’re all caught up.” Cellbit finished, running a hand through his hair. Bagi was completely silent, mouth wide with the most shit-eating grin Cellbit had ever seen. “Anything you’re about to say, really think about it-“
“Meu Deus!” Bagi interrupted. “That’s adorable! He thinks you’re cute!” Suddenly Bagi darted forward, grabbing Cellbit’s hands in a tight grip. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
“Bagi, no.”
“You have to ask him out! I was planning on coming over tomorrow too to make sure you went to bed-“
“Bagi!”
“But, as you’re absolutely going to ask this Roier to come over, I’ll stay out of your way, and I’ll make sure everyone else does too. Ooooh, Felps is going to love this!”
“Bagi, please-“
“Nope, I am not taking no for an answer. If I come over Saturday afternoon and he is neither in your bed nor there is no sign he has been over, I am going to be very upset with you, and you don’t want me to be upset, do you?” Bagi pulled her infamous puppy-dog eyes that almost had Cellbit conceding.
“Bagi, I learned his name today. You’re going too quickly.”
Bagi huffed dramatically. “Não, caralho, you’re thinking too slowly. He called you cute and kissed your cheek. He let you sleep in his lap and he did that cute shit with your hair! Se ele não tiver uma paixonite em você, eu descubro onde ele vive e falo porque deve ter.”
“I hate you.”
Bagi laughed brightly. “I know. But you’re gonna do it?”
Cellbit paused. “I’ll… think about it.”
“Good enough. Now, how do you feel about Smash Bros?”