Chapter Text
Haru absolutely hated elevators. From the horrible lurch when they first started rising to the shaky, settling sensation when they stopped, and the ever-present smell of someone’s sick.
Nope. Nothing good about elevators.
Unless you live in a high-rise apartment building and somehow got placed on the seventeenth floor which is much too far from the complex’s pool and also way too many stairs to walk multiple times a day.
Which meant that for as long as Haru was interning in the city, he was stuck taking the elevator every day. When he accepted the internship with the graphic design company, he didn’t expect much from “free” housing. But really, seventeen flights of stairs? He was still in good shape from swimming in high school, but no one should ever have to walk up that many stairs. It had to be bad for your knees or something.
But it was Friday afternoon and Haru had nowhere to be on Saturday and Sunday (except for the pool, but that depended on whether or not screaming children would be present—he would settle for his bathtub if that were the case), so with two arms full of groceries, he pressed the button for floor seventeen. As the doors started to creak close, Haru leaned heavily on the wall, taking a deep breath in, when—
“Hold the door, please!”
Haru’s foot popped out quickly, smacking the sides of one of the elevator doors, a literal knee-jerk reaction. Had he not been leaning on the wall, he would have lost his balance and his groceries would have gone tumbling. The thought of his mackerel being wasted on the floor irritated him, and combined with the anxiety he was already feeling being in an elevator, it was easy to say he was not thrilled to see whomever he was holding the door for.
6 feet of broad shoulders, sandy brown hair, and the most vivid green eyes Haru had ever seen quickly stepped into the elevator, a thousand apologies and thanks spewing forth from the stranger’s mouth at the same time. He didn’t hear a word of it.
The grip on his groceries must have worried the other man, because kind eyes and sweet lips (wait—what?) were closing in on him, and finally Haru started paying attention.
“—again for holding the door. Did you want any help with those bags?” Haru pulled his bags closer to his body, unnerved by the sudden lack of space between himself and this… Magnetic stranger.
“I’m fine.”
The bluntness of Haru’s response physically moved the other man away. The green of his eyes was enhanced by the flush in his cheeks and Haru found himself wondering if it was possible for eyes to really be luminescent like that. It was like staring straight at two clear-cut peridot gems. Seriously. Was he wearing colored contacts?
“Sorry,” the stranger began, rubbing the back of his neck, “I didn’t mean to imply that you looked like you needed help, I was just grateful that you held the elevator open. Most people will just let it close and I’m running kinda late, and need to get to my—”
A grinding and clanging sound echoed in the elevator as it shuddered and came to a halt. Haru felt a shiver roll down his spine and he pressed himself even harder against the wall of the elevator. His companion merely groaned and ran a hand through his hair, looking at his phone and then groaning again.
“Oh god, now I’m definitely going to be late, and I don’t have any reception in here…”
Haru’s eyesight flickered for a moment, locking on the emergency button on the panel but unable to move. His breath came in forced blows from his nose as he realized they were already near the fifteenth floor. If the elevator cables snapped or the power cut out or…
“Hey, are you okay?”
The pain in his neck made Haru aware of just how tense he was when his head snapped up to look at the stranger. He nodded stiffly, but his jaw was clenched tightly, trying to suppress the tingling sensation rising in his throat. If he kept thinking about how trapped he was right now, he was definitely going to be sick.
“Well, my name’s Makoto,” the green-eyed man went, moving to the emergency button to press it. “And I really hope we get out of this elevator soon. You probably need to get your groceries to a fridge!” Makoto laughed hesitantly, as if trying to break the ice. Haru took a deep breath and nodded, focusing on the distraction Makoto was trying to provide.
“Mm. I need to get some of my mackerel to the freezer. It was on sale,” Haru added, “I bought a lot.”
“Mackerel, huh? I’ve never been able to cook fish. I always end up ruining it,” Makoto slyly pressed the emergency button again, using his body to block it. Why was he trying not to let Haru see? “Though, I can’t cook much to begin with. Instant noodles are about all I can handle these days. My mom worries that I’m going to starve while I’m in college, but I’m capable of finding my way around a cafeteria.”
“Of course, it’s not like I have time to really cook for myself anyways. I’m a lifeguard at the university pool and it takes up nearly all of my spare time outside of class.”
“You swim?” Haru inquired, a little bit of tension seeping from his body.
“Well, not much anymore, but I used to when I was in middle school. I’d like to join the school’s swim team, but I don’t think I’m good enough, so I just lifeguard. It’s a really easy job considering hardly anyone uses the pool outside of the swim team. It’s practically empty during the school day.”
Haru’s eyes lit up and he could already imagine swimming laps in an empty pool. God, that would be such a relief compared to the poorly maintained pool here at the apartment complex.
“Do you, do you think that they would let non-students use the pool?” He inquired, his usually monotone voice marred by the hopeful inflection in his final word.
Makoto smiled and wrapped one arm around his waist, the other stroking his chin.
“You know, I think I know a guy that might let you in,” he responded. Haru’s breath stopped as Makoto’s smile grew even more. Despite the fact that he was stuck in an elevator, the prospect of swimming made him feel quite elated.
If he didn’t die in this damned elevator.
Why did he have to think that right now? His pulse started racing and the tiny smile that had started to pull his cheeks up had faltered before flattening completely. Makoto caught the change in Haru’s countenance and quickly started rambling on.
“Yeah, and I work pretty much every day, so you could definitely come by whenever I’m working, and you look like a student, so no one would ever question it, plus it’s not a really big deal to begin with. The university is really good about letting the community use the pool as long as it’s well taken care of and a lifeguard is always on duty…”
He continued rambling for a minute until a loud beep pierced the small box and the crackly sound of a man’s voice came through:
“Sorry about the delay boys, we’re just resetting the system now. We’ll have it running in just a second.”
Indeed, after the man stopped speaking, the elevator began moving again with a great lurch that made Haru unsure of whether he’d rather the elevator just not move ever again. A loud exhale broke the silence that followed and Haru was surprised that it wasn’t his own. He looked back up at Makoto to see a hesitant smile.
“I really, really hate elevators,” Makoto offered unexpectedly.
“Me too.”
Makoto’s smile grew confident and made his green eyes shimmer. Haru wasn’t sure that it was the elevator that made his stomach suddenly flip.
As the bell chimed, signaling their arrival at the seventeenth floor, Haru was surprised Makoto start to step off as well. As the doors closed behind them, they looked at each in other surprise.
“You live on the seventeenth floor, too?” Makoto queried, one eyebrow raised and his mouth curved in an attractive half-smile (not attractive, Haru thought—just, aesthetically pleasing. Oh god, those are practically the same thing!).
An abrupt nod affirmed Makoto’s question and also tried to shake Haru’s pesky thoughts away. Makoto’s smile evened out into a full grin and he started walking away towards his apartment. Before he took three steps, he turned and looked back at Haru.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around then…?”
Haru nodded again, readjusting his hold on his groceries. He watched Makoto continue on before realizing—
“Haru,” his name made Makoto pause and look back at him. “My name is Haruka.” This time, Makoto gave him another smile that made his verdant eyes look gem-like.
“A girly name like mine, huh? I think we were meant to be friends, Haru!” He called, laughing as he pulled a set of keys from pocket and turned towards a door. “And if you’re serious about swimming at the university pool, I live here,” he gestured to the door he was currently unlocking, “so let me know when you want to stop by, and I’ll get you in, promise!”
Nodding for the third time in a minute, Haru’s head kept bobbing up and down until he realized Makoto wasn’t looking at him.
“O-okay,” he stammered, his legs finally moving to head towards his own apartment, watching as Makoto disappeared behind his door.
The walk to his apartment felt strange, like he was walking through water. He felt pulled towards Makoto’s door as he passed by it, but he stubbornly kept walking. His hands were full of groceries he needed to put away and Makoto had (briefly) mentioned being late for something anyways.
Well. He’d survived another day in the elevator, even after it broke down, and now his groceries were organized and stored in their appropriate places. But he was bored. And a glance out his window showed the pool was overrun by lots of little dots that he didn’t want to deal with.
But maybe Haru would never have to use that pool again.
//
Makoto yawned—opting for the stairs after the elevator fiasco this afternoon may not have been the best idea after a lengthy biology lab. It was his last class on Fridays, and Makoto still couldn’t understand why he thought it would be a good idea to take a class that lasted from 5 to nearly 9 on a Friday.
He fumbled with his keys and finally managed to get into his apartment, flipping on the light switch to illuminate his tiny studio apartment. Between work and school he was hardly here, and the price was cheap, so at the time it seemed perfect.
Besides. Living here might not be too bad if Haru was just down the hall.
He sighed as he collapsed on his bed, thinking of that afternoon. He hoped he hadn’t come on too strong, but he hadn’t met hardly anyone at school, and he was struggling to make friends. It didn’t hurt that when Haru’s brilliant blue eyes met his, he felt like his heart had stopped and melted, trickling down into his stomach and transforming into a mess of bouncing beans.
But friendship—right. That’s definitely all he wanted. Probably.
Shifting in his bed so that he was sitting up, Makoto stretched and looked towards his kitchenette, suddenly thirsty. However, his eyes were drawn to an inconspicuous little sheet of paper that was lying on the floor near his front door.
Curiosity piqued, Makoto got out of bed and went to pick up the paper. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be a series of numbers written in a neat, blocky script. But the name at the bottom of the numbers made him smile as it all clicked.
Maybe that elevator ride wasn’t so bad after all.
____________________________________________
x-xxxx-xxxx
I’ll hold you to your promise—Haru