"Now boarding for flight 4576 to Scotland..."
'That's me,' Eric thought as he tore wildly through the airport. 'Why did I ever think stopping for a sandwich was a good idea?'
Vaulting a pile of suitcases, he sprinted for the gate, rushing past the restrooms and-
With a loud crash, he collided with someone exiting the bathroom, sending both of their bags sliding in opposite directions and dropping both men to the floor.
"Holy mother of crap," Eric groaned, sitting up and shaking his head to clear the daze. "Are you okay?"
"I- I think I'll survive," came the reply, and Eric got a good look at who he'd run into.
The fellow was small and slender, so.much that Eric was surprised he hadn't broken all his bones. And he was incredibly cute, which made it that much more embarrassing of a situation.
"I am so sorry," he said, getting to his feet and offering his hand, which the other took. "I'm so late."
"No no no," the small man said, "I was looking at my phone. It's my fault."
"No its not!" Eric insisted, grabbing his bag, "I'm sorry!"
And then he ran off, furious at himself for being such a klutz in front of a handsome fellow.
'Look, it's not like you'll ever see him again,' he told himself as he settled down into his plane seat. 'Forget about it and enjoy your flight.'
So he did, at least until he got.off that plane, boarded the other, and was putting his carry on in the compartment over the seat. It was only then that he noticed the tag hanging from the suitcase. It was purple.
Grabbing the peice of paper, he read the name; Alan Humphries.
"Oh shit," he muttered. There was no doubt about how this had happened; he must have grabbed the wrong suitcase when he'd run into that guy earlier. Alan, as it seemed his name was.
There was nothing he could do; it had been two airports ago that he'd seen Alan, and there was no telling where the man was now.
"Phone number, phone number," he muttered, looking at the tag for any contact information.
"Excuse me, can I get to my seat?" someone behind him said, and he shifted to the side to let them through. As they slid past him toward the window seat, he instantly recognized the longish brown hair and purple cardigan, the same color as the suitcase tag.
"Alan!" He said, and the young man turned around, startled.
"Hm? Oh!" He blushed suddenly. "Oh, it's you."
Eric motioned to the suitcase Alan had yet to put in the compartment. "I think you'd better have a look at that name tag."
Puzzled, Alan glanced at the tag, and his eyes widened. "Oh my goodness!" Looking back up at Eric, he said, "And you have mine?"
"In the compartment," Eric replied, relieved. "Here, give me yours- I mean, mine, and I'll put it up."
Alan rolled the suitcase toward him and Eric lifted it up beside the other before sitting down.
"Well, we're a couple of lucky fellows, aren't we?"
"Very," Alan replies, "But I'm so sorry for the mix-up."
"Don't even start," Eric said. "I was the one in the rush." He held out his hand, as much as he could in their cramped space. "Eric Slingby."
"Alan Humphries," the other replied, shaking the offered hand "But of course, you know that already."
They spent the rest of the flight talking, like they'd already been aquaintances before this flight, and time passed quickly. It went almost too fast for Eric, who found he greatly enjoyed the other man's company. He wondered if he needed a vacation at all anymore, since simply talking to Alan had loosened his work-tightened nerves. When the flight attendant announced it was alright to depart the plane, the two waited as other passengers shuffled by down the aisle.
"Allow me," Eric said when they finally stood. He pulled down both suitcases, double-checking the tags. "Gotta make sure we get it right this time."
"Yes, who knows if we'll ever see each other again," Alan noted, and Eric wondered if he read unhappiness in his tone, or if it was only his own regret ringing in his ears.
They got off the plane still chatting, and Alan tossed out the name 'Lamb's Inn' and Eric stopped.
"Wait, you're going to Lamb's Inn too?" He asked. "That's where I'm headed."
Alan blinked, then laughed. "Really?"
Eric nodded eagerly. "Yup! I usually stay there when I visit Scotland."
"Its my first time," Alan said. "I guess I'm a lucky fellow." Then he blushed. "I mean-."
"I'm not one for destiny," Eric interrupted, "But sometimes life surprises you."
"Exactly," Alan said, smiling. "If...if you're willing to be my guide...?"
Eric grinned and took hold of both his and Alan's suitcases. "You bet" he said. "I'd be happy to show you around. Who knew mixing up bags could be so much fun?"
"Not me," Alan replied, following him to the door. "But I'm glad it happened."
"From now on, I'm losing my bag on every trip in the hopes you pick it up," the taller man chuckled, and Alan laughed, leaving Eric to feel like the luckiest man who ever stepped foot on a plane.
