"Isle of Lovers: Reader X Thomas and Friends Humanized Characters Fanfic"

Unexpected Surprise

There were only three days left until Christmas. You were running your daily routine when Sir Topham Hatt called you.
"Y/n?", he said.
You turned to see him coming out of the station building with a white object in hand.
"Good Afternoon, Sir!", you said chipperly. "What is it?"
"After your shift, would you mind giving the Flying Scotsman this letter?", he asked handing you an envelope.
You took it with curiosity.
"No problem, Sir. I'll be right on it!"
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "Thank you, Y/n. Now, I have work to attend to."
And he headed back to his office.

After your shift, you headed over to the boarding house. You made your way over to where the Flying Scotsman was staying, which was in Gordon's room in room '104'. You knocked once you got there. After a few seconds, someone answered. The door pulled back to reveal a shirtless Flying Scotsman, with a towel draping over his shoulder. He had on grey boxer-shorts. There were water droplets still fresh on his skin so it was apparent he just got done bathing.
"Hello again, Y/n!", he said.
You were shocked and felt a bit awkward for just standing there.
"Oh, uh, sorry for interrupting you", you sheepishly said. "I have a letter for you from Sir Topham Hatt."
You handed it to him.
"For me?", he said looking at the letter.
He opened it and read it over aloud, mumbling for the most part.
"He wants me to attend the 'Christmas Party?'", he said thinking out aloud. "I'd be more than happy to attend!"
He looked to you.
"Thank you for delivering this to me. I'll tell Sir Topham Hatt that I'll attend first thing tomorrow!"
You smiled. "That's great!"
"Yuck! Could you maybe not do that here", James snorted walking by you two heading over to his room.
You chuckled as he left, closing his door behind him.
"Nevermind him", you said. "He's always like that."
The Flying Scotsman chuckled. "He is. Every time I visit, he's the same old James. I think he's not very fond of me."
"Is it because he thinks you're more 'splendid' than him?"
He smiled. "Perhaps."
You shook your head.
"James, James, James", you said.
You guided your attention back to the Flying Scotsman.
"Well, I..... can't wait to see you at the party."
He smiled back to you.
"Me too."

The next day was all rustle and bustle. Passengers were coming in left and right, practically every ten minutes. It was Christmas Eve day so saying that there would be a lot of traffic was an understatement. You had a bit of a break between passengers coming in. You looked over to the clock to see it was only 1:38 PM. You turned back over to the tracks. A chilly breeze came from them, blowing your scarf up.
"Hey.... Y/n", a familiar voice called out.
You turned to see the Flying Scotsman walking over to you, only he was in a regular attire.
"Oh, hey again. What are you doing out here?"
"Well, I um, was just about to go let Sir Topham Hatt know of my presence at the 'Christmas Party'. I may or may not had just got up and remembered."
You chuckled.
"As long as you get it done, that's all that matters", you said, looking out for more trains.
He nodded.
"Yeah. Anyway, let me go ahead and go over there before it slips my mind once more", he joked, leaving you to your own devices.
You just whistled off another passenger coach when the Flying Scotsman returned.
"Oh, you're still here?", he said, walking towards you.
"Yeah, today is a busy day for passengers to be coming in. I say that like this isn't my main job", you laughed.
He looked to you. "Really? This is your job?"
"Well, technically my second one. My first one is helping in the shunting yards in the mornings and this is my second job in the afternoons. The evenings I have off. Well, for now. I think Sir Topham Hatt might give me another job come next year."
You looked to see Flying Scotsman deep in thought.
"Um, are you... alright?", you asked kindly.
He came back from his thought. "Sorry about that. It's just... you have such a normal job. Unlike me."
You were confused.
"What do you mean? You're a celebrity. You don't have to work for anything!", you chirped enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but that's the problem. It IS being a celebrity. I.... I can't just be...'normal' anymore."
He looked off to the distance.
"It's not like I'm ungrateful but, I do want more from life than fame sometimes...."
He sounded genuinely upset. Like someone who didn't have time to fully enjoy their childhood. An idea then came to mind.
"Then, why don't you help me with conductor duty?", you asked kindly. "I asked Gordon to help me when his engine was out of commission and he despised it. But maybe, you'll like it better than him...."
The Flying Scotsman looked to you with an appearing smile that made you smile.
"I'd love to", he said.
He got a whistle and flag and went at it. He was a bit off key at first but warmed up quickly. He was having quite a lot of fun. You could tell through his body language and tone of voice. You figured he hadn't had this much genuine fun in a while. By the end of the shift, he seemed like a whole new person. He was energetic and smiling from ear to ear.
"Shifts over!", you called out to him.
"Aww, but I was enjoying myself!", he said walking to you.
"I know but I can't run overtime."
He put his equipment back and caught up to you near the sheds. The sky was practically dark now that it was winter, and the sun was setting faster than in the summer.
"Uh, Y/n?" Scotsman said.
You stopped and looked to him.
"What is it?"
"Well, I'm not going to have free time tomorrow since the party is then and then I won't have time after that since I'm probably going to be leaving the day after Christmas so..."
He met your eyes.
"Would you want to join me for an evening ride? You know, looking at Christmas lights and other decorations?"
You were dumbfounded. You didn't think he'd ask you such a question.
"I, well, um I'd.... I wouldn't mind if you don't mind. I mean, I haven't done that in quite some time."
The Flying Scotsman's face lit up.
"Then, shall we?", he said holding his hand out to you.
You smiled and took it. He helped you up into his engine's cab before he started up its fire, warming it up in there. Not before long, his engine was producing steam. He blew the whistle lightly before heading out.
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   The land was filled with lights and decorations all over. It felt like venturing through a Christmas song. The white stars twinkled up above along with the cool, crisp air that flowed about. The white snow reflected the many lights, appearing like there were lights in the snow itself. It was beautiful and equally nostalgic.
"This is wonderful", you said turning to Scotsman.
He chuckled. "I figured you'd like it."
The showcase continued.
"How long has it been since you've done this again?", he asked.
You smiled.
"Years. I remember I was maybe nine or ten. My mother used to take me out to see Christmas lights all the time when I was younger. But I guess once I got older, she just stopped since she figured I was old enough to not be enchanted by holiday lights. But, here I am. Still enjoying them."
The Flying Scotsman cracked a smile.
"All mothers seem to function like that. They feel once you get a certain age, you need to be cut off from things like that. Fathers might be worse though, especially when you're suppose to be a man", he finished with a chuckle.
You looked back outside.
"Yeah."
He glanced over to you.
"Speaking of, how's your father?"
Your heart wrenched a bit. You hadn't heard anything about him in years but you still decided to answer the question. You turned to him.
"He's um, er, hmm ok, I mean, as far as I can remember growing up. He was gone most of the day, since he was a hard worker, supporting his family. He actually used to work here when I was younger."
"Really? Why did he stop?"
"He got in a bad accident. Everyone was surprised he even survived."
Scotsman fell silent.
"After that, he retried to work elsewhere. He became an explorer, setting sails for other seas."
"Oh. Did he bring back any treasure?", Scotsman joked, closing one of his eyes to imitate a pirate.
You giggled.
"No, he didn't. I..... actually haven't seen him since...."
Scotsman looked over to you.
"Do you have any idea of where he could be?", he asked.
You shook your head.
"Not a clue. His ship was last heard of being off the coast of the Mainlands. That was fifteen years ago."
You looked back outside.
The engine then stopped. You perked up before looking to the Scotsman. He let off steam then turned to you.
"As a fellow explorer myself, your... your father will come back. I... I know it."
You smiled weakly before looking down to the ground.
"I hope so too."
You looked up to see the Flying Scotsman in front of you. He placed his arms around you before pulling you into a confronting hug. You were caught off guard but appreciated it, nonetheless. He was surprising warm. You hugged him back. You weren't sure why, but you found a lot of comfort just being in his embrace.
"Y/n. I'm going to... I'm going to stay until New Year's Day. If.... that's ok with you....", the Scotsman said gently with a hint of shyness. You nodded your head, rubbing it slightly into Scotsman's chest.
"Then that's just what I'll do", Scotsman said bringing his hand onto the back of your head, rubbing it sweetly.
You two stayed there for a few as the stars continued to twinkle above.