A/N: I own no Baccano! A shame, truly…

Tony's Heart Flies Across the Rails from Chicago to New York

1932:

Long gone.

That was Tony.

Long gone.

Claire squeezed Chane's hand tightly.

She squeezed back. It was comforting to him, if only just. But. Chane could speak volumes with no words at all.

She didn't understand it. His pain. No. She wouldn't understand things like that for a long, long time. Not she, who had never been loved. Not she, who had never had a friend in the world. Even her father had never said he loved her.

His loss.

Because. Chane was an amazing woman. And Huey was missing it. Too wrapped up in his tests and his theories and his formulas. An utter shame.

Claire knew he wasn't shaking. He wasn't. No.

Not shaking, as he looked up at that train. And those were not tears prickling at his eyes. Claire was not weak enough to cry for sadness. He smiled instead. It was that time. That time again.

He could hardly believe it had only been a year. It seemed like so much had happened since then. And he had seen his family. Seen the Gandors once again. And brushed it off like he hadn't been gone for so many years. Gone for…

He couldn't even remember. How very long.

But. He wasn't here for that.

And Claire saw, through his reddish bangs, could see Chane's lips lift, just so slightly in a comforting smile. God, she was beautiful.

She nodded, and they stepped onto the train together. The Flying Pussyfoot. It was that train. Tony's lady.

And. Claire actually knew a lot about Tony.

Tony had had no children. No wife. His only love was the rails and the people who rode them. Every family that boarded was Tony's family. Every businessman was his coworker. Every child was his very own.

That was how Tony was. He'd had such a deep heart.

Tony had been wild in his youth. A thief, on the streets of Chicago. Like so many others. And yet… He'd set himself right, in the end. Seen the light. Saw it when he saw the trains.

He fell in love with them. Love at first sight.

And he had begged and pleaded and finally, finally been accepted, and there he was, and he was Tony.

Tony's birthday was May 3rd. He could have taken the day off. He never did. He'd said the best gift, for him, was to see the people milling through the train, to get a smile or a nod as he passed. And, he told Claire, he was so very lucky, because he got these things every day.

Tony was gone.

Tony, who had all but taken Claire's hand. Helped him feel the life of the trains. Helped him live in a way entirely new to him. Helped Claire feel open compassion; for so many people, on such a new level. The protectiveness Tony felt for his passengers, Claire inherited.

And, Claire knew, that of all his five reasons, Tony was the most complete. Curiosity and Convenience had been first. But. Tony had been the most important. Tony was always the most important.

Tony the father. Tony the teacher. It was a bond Claire held close, in a world where betrayal and death ran rampant. And now…

If only.

He wished.. Claire wished that Tony could have met Chane. He would have liked her. Said she was a smartly made woman. Told Claire, only half-joking, not to propose and run. Would have told him that he wouldn't get another lady this lovely in his life again. And then he would have turned to Chane, and seen the depth in her eyes.

Because it was there. Depth.

Oceans of emotions, tumultuous. Swells of fear, pain… Confusion.

And… Love?

Claire could hope so. But.

He knew he could take things slow for Chane. Because. She was worth waiting up for. Claire was impatient. But he could feel it slipping away as he gazed into her eyes. He would wait forever. No. Longer than that.

And. It wouldn't be half as fun to just have a happy ending and be done with it. Not that Chane would ever be boring. No. She was fierce and warm and bright and witty, and he loved her, loved her more than he had ever loved anything.

And that was why.

It was why he had to share this part of himself with her. This part he hadn't even shown the Gandors, his brothers.

The part of him that lived on, on these rails. That could sense that Tony was there, too. And it was like he had never left.

Like who had never left?

Claire?

Or Tony?

Maybe both.

And he grabbed her wrist, and stood atop the train, felt the breeze slapping against them, took a deep breath.

Yes.

A part of this would always be home. With the wind in his hair and Chicago at his back, racing on towards New York. This railway was home. It lived, breathed, its essence was Tony. He was this train, these tracks, this route.

And then Claire turned to the woman he loved.

Yes, the rails were home. The rails were Tony.

But.

Home is wherever Chane is.

And being here with her was more perfect than he could ever imagine.

His world was a utopia in this moment.

It had gotten just a little bigger.

And it was so sweet.

And Claire could taste victory on his tongue.

The stars were glittering above them, winking gladly.

Claire threw out his arms.

He was flying again.

And he couldn't ask for any better company.

おわり