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“I’m a little more used to these things now,” Taylor says, stepping inside the elevator with Link. “Makes my legs hurt less from stairs.”
“Yeah, makes sense.”
Another wave of thunder comes crashing from outside as the elevator doors shut, and Link flinches.
“You okay man?” Taylor asks, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been jumpy all day.”
“I just don’t see why we needed to go to D.A.D.D.I.E.S. today of all days. What if we get struck by lightning?”
“We’re indoors,” Taylor says, clicking the button for their destination. “And besides, the longer we put off packing things up, the less likely we are to do it. That’s what my mom always says.”
A particularly loud crash of thunder makes them both flinch this time, and Taylor feels the elevator start to shake. It’s probably the wind?
They both scream when it comes to a sudden bumpy halt, knocking them off their feet as the lights go dark. Taylor’s fall is broken by Link’s arms wrapped around his back and a hand on the back of his head at the last second. His head still hurts a little from the impact.
“Are you okay!?” Link asks, not moving at all, and Taylor finds it hard to respond from the weight on top of him.
His struggle seems to give Link the hint, and he sits up, his hand still under Taylor’s head.
“I’m okay, I—ah—” he sits up, probably too fast considering the dizziness and nausea that hits him like a wave. “Is your hand okay? Lemme see.”
“I—I can’t see anything.”
Taylor carefully lifts Link’s hand off the floor. He can see it fairly fine. He can see everything okay. It’s just all in black and white.
“Can you bend your wrist?”
Link does.
“Each of your fingers?”
He bends his thumb, then his index finger, then he stops.
“Can you bend your middle finger?”
“No.”
Shit.
“Okay, what about the other ones?”
The others seem fine. Okay. Good. That’s good.
“Okay, okay, okay, I—I think I have some tape in my go-bag…” Taylor reaches for the straps of his bag and finds nothing. “Shit, I took it off, I don’t have anything on me, I never take it off! Why the fuck did I take it off?”
Taylor feels Link’s hand start shaking, and he hears the rapid breaths before getting a look at his face, wide-eyed and paralyzed with fear.
“Link, hey, it’s okay, a broken finger isn’t that bad. I’ve been there. You—you’re right-handed, right? ‘Cause then you’re like, fine, and at least it’s not your foot—”
“Are we stuck in here?” Link asks.
“Uh…” Taylor glances over at the elevator buttons. He’s not close enough to reach them from over here on the floor. “Keep your finger straight,” he says, gently letting go of Link’s hand and getting up to investigate.
The lights on the buttons are completely shut off. Taylor presses the open button. Nothing happens. Just to be sure, he presses every single button, including accelerate, which, in hindsight, would have probably made things worse had it worked. The emergency button isn’t doing anything either. Well, maybe it’s alerting someone, but he’d have no way of knowing.
He pulls a switchblade from his pocket and tries to pry the doors open, but that results in the blade snapping and getting stuck between the doors.
“Yep. We’re stuck.”
Taylor hears Link start hyperventilating at that, and he rushes back to kneel in front of him, with a hand on his shoulder and the other holding his uninjured one.
“Link, breathe. We’re gonna be fine.”
“We never should have trusted these stupid things!”
“This is the first time they’ve failed us,” Taylor says, pulling out his phone and texting the group chat for help. No one responds at first, but maybe after a minute. If the message ever goes through.
“Yeah and everyone only dies a first time, Taylor!”
“We’re not gonna die,” Taylor says softly, moving his hand from Link’s shoulder to his cheek. “Just breathe. You trust me right?”
Link nods, taking a deep breath.
“Then you need to trust that we are not about to die. Because I say so.”
“Okay,” he whispers, breathing deeply. “Okay. I just. I don’t like small spaces.”
“It’s okay. Just, uh, close your eyes. Imagine we’re just hanging out… in your room.”
Link shuts his eyes and nods.
“And… um… we’re sitting on your hardwood floor,” he continues, studying Link’s face. It’s contorted and scrunched up in anxiety, but even that can’t take away from its beauty. Even without any colour, Taylor can still see his freckles spotting his nose, his cheeks, his chin. His eyelashes are long. Taylor’s always loved Link’s eyelashes.
“We… um… just finished playing video games, so now we’re taking a break by sitting on the floor, and, um…”
This situation is dire. And yet the only word that comes to Taylor’s mind is kissing .
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
“What?” Link asks.
“I—I dunno, just, just trying to think of things to say… uh…”
“I have. No. I haven’t.”
“What?”
“I mean… do you remember that life simulation we were forced into?”
“Oh, right. You got married, didn’t you?”
“Mhm. I don’t know if those kisses were, uh, real. I try not to think about it.”
“Ah, sorry, okay, new topic.”
Maybe Taylor could talk about himself. But what is there to share that Link doesn’t already know?
“You know how I’m like... the most charming, flirty, romanceable guy alive?”
“Sure.”
“Truthfully, romance isn’t really my thing.”
“Not your thing?”
“Yeah. I… Like I’m not into it. I mean I still find people hot and stuff but like…”
Okay. Coming out was not the plan, but it’s not like it’ll hurt. Link has gay dads, after all.
“Are you aromantic?” Link asks, opening his eyes. His face is more relaxed.
Taylor swallows down his nerves so loudly he’s sure Link can hear it. “Yeah. Heh, it’s, uh, it’s a little known fact about Taylor Swift.”
Little known would be an understatement.
“That’s cool.”
“Well, I am cool. Uh… you feeling better?” Taylor asks, wincing at the way his voice shakes.
“Yeah, thanks,” Link says, smiling at him, making him feel more flushed than he already was. “Are you okay?”
Taylor takes his hand off Link’s cheek and rubs his face.
“No, yeah, I’m good, I’m good. Just, uh, I kinda went into autopilot there trying to think of things to say to distract you. Wasn’t really planning on. Um. Well it’s not that I wouldn’t tell you that, I just—”
Taylor takes his hand out from Link’s grasp to flap both of them, shaking out the nerves.
“That’s okay. Would you feel better if I told you a secret too?” Link asks, cupping Taylor’s face in his hands, before wincing and leaving only one on his cheek.
“Keep your finger straight!”
“I forgot!”
“Just be careful. And tell me your secret.”
“I’m asexual.”
“That’s cool, Taylor says, putting both hands on Link’s cheeks. “You’re cool.”
“You’re cool too.”
“I’ve never kissed anyone. I mean. Like. Like okay. I’m not into romance, per se, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be into any kind of relationship. Like I… I still get… like… well… crushes. Like, um, I had a crush on Hero… and now—”
Taylor bites his lip.
“So you think you’d enjoy kissing?” Link asks.
“I don’t know? I mean—I’ve kissed my body pillows. But not. Like. Lips. It’d have to be somebody I like. And trust. But I don’t know.”
“I’d kiss you. We’re married after all. It only seems fitting.”
Taylor’s cheeks burn .
“I’d like that. But, uh, maybe we should wait until you can actually see me?”
“Sure.”
Taylor doesn’t know when they ended up with their foreheads pressed together, but they’re pressed together now.
“I texted for help. I don’t think I told you.”
“Okay.”
“I feel like I have to say it now, before you kiss me, I do have a huge crush on you,” Taylor blurts out, scrunching up his face to avoid seeing Link’s reaction.
“Oh, wow,” Link says.
“Is that a good ‘oh wow’ or a bad ‘oh wow’?”
“It’s a surprised one? I dunno, I never really expected it.”
“ Really? Literally everyone in our friend group but you has been teasing me relentlessly for ages. I think even your dads know!”
“Well, the more I know, I guess.”
Taylor opens his eyes and bites down the question of whether its reciprocated.
Link is smiling.
“I think I feel the same way. I mean—I know you’re aro, so probably not the exact same way, but like, I like you. Romantically. I think? It’s a little confusing—”
“That’s okay. I think life is meant to be a little confusing.”
“Yeah.”
“Um… I don’t know if a dark elevator is the best place to do this… but do you, uh, do you wanna go out with me? Wow. Suddenly I’ve lost all my rizz.”
Link leans forward, and plants a kiss on Taylor’s forehead. “Yeah, I do. You said you weren’t into dating, right? So this would be…”
“Do you know what a QPR is?”
“Queerplatonic relationship?” Link asks
“Yeah,” Taylor says, replaying the tingly feeling of Link’s lips on his skin.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. That. Do you wanna… do that with me?” Taylor asks.
“I would like that.”
“Okay.”
Taylor draws his knees to his chest, wraps his arms around them, and buries his head in them, feeling nothing but his intense heartbeat.
“I’m keeping my finger straight,” Link says, just before wrapping both his arms around Taylor and resting his chin on the top of his head.
“Did it hurt?” Taylor asks, with a smirk Link can’t see.
“Not in the moment, but it does now.”
“No, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”
“What?”
“‘Cause you’re an angel!”
Taylor bursts out laughing, and Link chuckles a little, squeezing him tighter.
Right then, there's a whirring sound, and the lights flick back on, and the elevator is back in motion.
“We’re saved,” Link says.
“I don’t wanna move,” Taylor says. With all of the fear and excitement over, a wave of exhaustion hits him immediately.
“Get on my back.”
Taylor does, as he’s no stranger to piggyback rides with Link, and being in the dark for so long has definitely contributed to the sleepiness as well.
He shuts his eyes, burying his head in the crook of Link’s neck as he hears the elevator doors open and the voices of concerned friends and family.
“We’re okay,” Link says.
“He broke his finger,” Taylor mumbles, not letting Link get away with that.
And with that, the rest of the chatter fades away as Taylor drifts off to sleep on his partner’s shoulder.