Work Text:
Sarah stood on the platform of Gear Station, waiting for her train and spacing out as the crowd around her went about their day. They all had places to be or people to see, lives and things that were important to them. Some were going to work, most of them, probably, but others were on their way home. Going back to their families or maybe an empty home, not that it really mattered to her.
All she cared about was catching a train, not because she had anywhere she really needed to be, but because she liked riding on trains. They were a mode of transportation that gave her time to think or write or just stare out the window and pretend everything wasn't a mess.
So she waited.
The loud voices around her merged and became one jumble of sound that grated on her ears; it was a sensation that she had gotten use to, but she still didn't like it. Unfortunately, she had forgotten her headphones in the hotel room after Lida had dragged her out of bed for a "fun day of exploring" that had not, in fact, been fun.
Now she was "lost" in Unova; that part was unimportant to her, and without a way to drown out the noise, a much bigger deal.
Her phone buzzed, probably a text in the group chat or her private messages, asking where she was and apologizing for leaving her. She didn't blame them, because she had gotten lost on purpose. It took a lot out of her to smile for them right now, so she had been just a little too late to make the train doors after using the bathroom.
Eventually, the next train pulled up and out stepped another wave of people. She waited for them to get off with a bored look on her face, wondering if she should stop somewhere for a burger when her thoughts were interrupted by a very loud, very familiar voice.
"All aboard!"
Her head snapped to the owner of that voice, taking in the man she had grown fond of in Hisui, looking cleaned up but otherwise exactly the same as she remembered. Her phone fell from her hand, the rotom in it the only reason it remained intact instead of crushed under foot. She would recognize Ingo anywhere; the years they spent together flooding back like a movie reel, making her take a half-step forward before she stopped herself.
He was busy.
And she wasn't sure she should reveal herself and risk... She shook her head and fixed her eyes on him one last time, her hand raising only just enough to wave goodbye to her old friend, whispering his name softly.
As if he had heard her, his head snapped in her direction, mouthing the fake name she had been going by since the professor had found her on that beach. He looked shocked, and she smiled at the sight, amused by just how cute he could be.
Then his face changed, the small smile she had seen many times splitting his face and lighting up the air around him. As if by magic or mirage or hallucination, she saw him as he was in Hisui and wondered if he was seeing the same thing.