Work Text:
Beep, Beep, Be–
The blaring alarm was silenced by a strategically thrown pillow. xB groaned as he pulled the heavy blanket up around him. He sank into his bed and his muscles ached in refusal at doing anything but laying down, snuggled into a nice warm bed. Unfortunately for him, it was Friday. But it was so close to the weekend he could taste it.
“One more day,” he said groggily, “just one.” Every fiber in his body protested as scooted to the edge of the bed. Rubbing a knuckle into his thigh did ease some of the ache. Regardless he got up and wandered into the bathroom.
After fighting to get his clothes off, he stood in the shower as it warmed up. The cool water slowly trying to a comfortable warmth allowed him to relax a little. The tension in his shoulders melted with the running water. For a bit, the soreness left him. However, the moment he moved it came rushing back. With a heavy sigh, he started actually taking a shower and not just standing in the running water.
Lazily he turned the shower off and pulled the curtain back as cool air swelled at his feet. A loose towel was wrapped around him as he pulled a pair of clothes out. Which in reality was a white t-shirt with black sweats that covered dark turquoise trunks. They were comfy yes, but they were more easily changeable and above all they were not flashy.
xB finally glanced at the clock that had still been covered by the pillow and frowned. He quickly grabbed his jacket and a swiftly made bagel with some coffee. Which rested on the table by the door while xB wrestled with his shoes. Trying to not drop his sloppily made breakfast.
As soon as the door opened, he was met with a chilly breeze. He fought to get his even colder keys to lock the door before making his way to the ancient elevator which he was pretty sure hadn’t been replaced since the 90s.
xB pushed the elevator buttons far too many times till the light finally acknowledged him. The elevator creaked on its way up all the way from the last floors it was on. xB sipped his coffee as he waited for the old relic to make its way up and took nibbles out of his bagel.
After a minute, the noise came to a stop and the clanky door opened.
“Right on time as usual,” he amused himself, “if that was always being late.”
Though the thought was less directed at the elevator and more at the rushing foot steps. Almost by habit, xB held the door open. Not a few seconds later a tall man slipped into the elevator completely out of breath.
“ ‘Morning guy,” xB hummed, taking another sip of his coffee as the doors closed.
The man, Hypno, raised a hand bending over to catch his breath, muttered a ‘hey’. xB giggled to himself and watched as the numbers counted down.
It was a comfortable quiet between them, it always was. Everyday xB would leave on time and hold the elevator as Hypno would rush out his apartment, somehow always late. Only really passing a few hellos till the next day. This day, this morning was no different.
Hypno's raspy breath had slowed down but he was still bent over tracing patterns into the floor, still lost in thought. xB was humming to himself when there was a jolt and the loud elevator became silent. Hypno snapped out of his trance and immediately shot up. Looking at xB who was staring at the unmoving floor number.
“I hate to be that person but what just happened?” He asked.
xB rolled his eyes, “How am I supposed to know? I’m not an engineer.”
“Nooo, Really~?” Hypno spat with sarcasm dripping off his tongue.
xB stuck his tongue out and walked over to the button panel. Pressing the lobby button did nothing, nor did any of the buttons. The once comfortable quiet was now interrupted by the rapid clicking of buttons and Hypno’s loud thoughts.
“Hypno, I can feel you breathing down my neck.” xB remarked.
“Oh, sorry…” He whispered, hiding in his oversized trench coat. They both stared at the panel as if it would do something, anything. It did, in fact, do absolutely nothing.
The silence now ringing in their ears, xB breaks it; before it broke him. “This is where we assume our elevator finally decided to resign and we have to call for help, right?”
Hypno shrugged, “I guess so,” which was more asked than stated. xB pushed the red ‘call’ button and they waited.
After what felt like an entirely someone finally spoke, though it was creakily at best – “Hello? How may I assist you?”
Hypno perked up, “Hey, so uh… We’re stuck in the elevator, and uh need some help.”
For a second there was no response and Hypno was about to repeat himself when the voice got back to them. “For how long?”
xB scuffed, “Seriously guy? That’s your second question? Not ‘are we alright’ or somethi-” Hypno covered xB’s mouth before answering the voice. “Oh, like a few minutes?”
There was a sigh loud enough to hear through the staticky speaker, “Alright, well someone will be there soon.”
Hypno’s hand suddenly felt moist and he hissed as he squirmed it away, “Ew, gross dude!” xB only shrugged, ignoring him, “Hey, how long till they get here… And we can get out of here?”
There was no answer so xB pushed the button again, “Hello..? Hellooo?” Nothing, whoever was on the other end was gone. Leaving them to their own company.
“Well, that’s great! Fantastic even…” xB shook his head and sat down against the back of the elevator. Hypno, having quit whining, was leaning on the side railing. There was a moment of stillness while Hypno thought how to break it, xB had pulled out his phone. His intent was to tell his work he’d be late, only to come to the realization that the cement brick they were trapped in had no service. How lovely.
xB let the phone rest on the floor and grumbled as he drank his coffee. It wasn’t hard for Hypno to pick up on xB’s growing irritation. He hummed, “I didn’t take you for the type to be so easily irritable and complainy," he noted.
“I’m normally not… But for once I needed to be to work on time! And this week has been exhausting.” xB let out a long breath.
“Yeah? What’s your work,” Hypno nosed. For a minute xB debated even answering, but they had time to kill.
“I, uh, coach for… kickboxing,” xB mumbled while rubbing the back of his neck. Hypno’s eyes widened as he pushed off the railing to be closer to xB.
“Huh, Really? How long have you been doing it for?” And why does your name now sound so familiar? It was a thought Hypno kept to himself but he was lingering on his tongue. xB on the other hand was shocked he even asked and seemed remotely surprised Hypno even asked.
“Mmm, about a year now I think. After I moved into this apartment actually.” When the words left xB’s mouth, he seemed distant as if he was recalling some memory.
Hypno hummed, he could still remember when xB had first moved in and how wary he was of him. He’ll never admit to it but xB has that mean look to him. The kind of look that sends shivers down his spine. Now it made some sense. Hypno’s thoughts were broken when xB returned a question.
“So, what work are you late for every morning?” xB mused. Hypno huffed, “I’m not late, I just really push being on time!” Hypno blew a raspberry, “You know, the reason I’m late everyday is because of you anyways!”
xB furrowed his eyebrows and Hypno went on, “Well, the day would just feel off if I didn’t get to see you.” xB giggled and shook his head. “Mhmm, guy?”
Hypno gave a nervous laugh. “Mhmm! Anyways… I run a pawnshop,” he looked to the side and whispered, “in… uh, downtown.” It’s not that he wasn’t proud of the little shop, quite the opposite really. But it was more of why and on what grounds that could rub someone the wrong way.
Instead xB perked up, “Oh, the one by Papa K’s diner!” Hypno offered a shy smile and nodded. “Y’know I’ve been meaning to go there. It looks really neat from the outside, and oddly homely,” xB hummed.
Hypno’s smile grew a little more and the silence that followed became warm till it was eventually interpreted by a low growl. Hypno’s stomach.
“Sorry, I normally gra-” xB dismissed him. He patted a spot next to him and started to tear his bagel in half, offering the untouched part for Hypno. Mumbling a quiet ‘thank you’ and taking a seat he started to munch on the bagel. Being hungry but not wanting to choke and make a fool of himself, he didn’t immediately inhale it.
Though between bites he did ask, “So what even brought you here?”
xB froze, he hated the question because he hated the answer to it. Truth being told, he wanted to hide and get away from a dead life. In a way it sounded pathetic or at least to him it did.
Hypno frowned, fearing he had asked the wrong question. That he had finally overset the comfortable barrier they had. After the drowning silence from xB’s hesitation, he almost suggested a different question or changed the topic entirely. Instead xB had decided it was better out then in.
With a heavy sigh he started, “I was mad, I had always been angry as a kid. Angry at my family, my community, but mostly at people who beat on others that couldn’t fight back. I guess that’s why I started kickboxing… It felt good to get some of my pent up anger out through a ‘healthy’ means.”
xB went silent and looked at his hands, “About two years ago I tore my ACL in an MMA tournament and broke my nose. After getting out of the hospital, I moved out here trying to get away from… Well, all of it. The questions, the articles, the people really.”
Ah, that’s why his name was so familiar. Hypno had heard some customers talking about it one afternoon. He hadn’t thought much of it. Kickboxers that had bright futures getting side-swept because of an injury wasn’t unheard of. xB’s peculiar case was something he looked into but had forgotten till now.
Hypno chuckled, “I know what that’s like.” The tension in xB’s shoulders melted away. When he looked at Hypno, he was washed with relief by Hypno’s fond smile. It was odd. Almost as if without the full story that he did understand xB. More than he knew.
“I guess it’s only fair I shared too, hmm?” Hypno shifted, not uncomfortably but to better face xB, “I understand being a rough kid, in a rough place. I caused more trouble than good, always getting into fights and breaking things. Not for anything noble but because I was bored or just didn’t like what someone told me.”
He giggled to himself, “Oh and the names they called me! I mean some of them were right but man…” Hypno shook his head and smiled, “It did make running away easy and some… Mmm, interesting individuals took me in as family. They helped iron me out a bit.”
The silence that followed wasn’t harsh but rather filled with comfort. The same kind of comfort a weighted blanket might give. xB mumbled a small ‘thank you’ as he looked down at his hands again. He didn’t know what for but it felt right. xB could have nearly fallen asleep if not for the scrubby carpet he’d been sitting on.
“Hey, still alive in there?” The voice cracked. xB jumped and grabbed Hypno’s forearm, now fully awake. Letting out a breath, xB answered “I think so.”
The voice laughed, “Oh, good. You should be out in a few minutes.” Just as quickly the voice came, it had gone. xB sighed with relief and let out of Hypno’s arm before standing. Offering him a hand and pulling him up with ease. Hypno held back a whimper as his face turned a little pink.
Before either of them could get a word in, the elevator tousled as it started to move again. Not two floors later, they were done in the lobby.
“You’re joking, right?” Hypno snapped, “We were a floor and a half away!” xB broke out into contagious laughter that slowly infected Hypno. “Oh, that’s the best though!”
As the giggling died down, both of them waited as the doors slowly released its grip and opened up. They were greeted by a tall female firefighter that gave a wide smile, “G’day, huh? Sorry about that but you two seem alright.”
xB slowly exited, shrugging his shoulders “It was rather pleasant actually.” A fond smile resting on his face as he thought back to the earlier conversation. A young ginger nurse came up to him, asking various questions. He tried being kind and present but he was watching Hypno out of the corner of his eye. It’s all he could really think about. The lad in question was chatting away to the firefighter.
Hypno was watching as Gem frantically gave xB a check up while he stayed completely unfazed. Turning back to Pearl with a subtle smile.
“What’s got you all chipper?” Pearl asked and Hypno brought his attention to the present.
“I just had a good morning with xB, even though we were trapped in an elevator.” Hypno had said it softly, barely above a whisper. Pearl gave him a firm pat on the back that took the air out of him.
She turned to look in the elevator, “Hey, Hypno I think you left your phone mate,” she pointed out. Hypno patted his pockets, it’s not mine… Regardless he walked back in and picked it up. “It’s xB’s I think.” He stated as he walked past Pearl, “Thanks though!” She nodded and they walked over to Gem finishing examining xB.
As Pearl was giving Gem the green light, Hypno had snuck around getting any kind of check-out and joined xB as they left the apartment.
“Of course you got out of that.” He teased and Hypno beamed. xB had slowed down and frowned, “I forgot my phone.” Once again Hypno flashed a smile and showed xB’s phone off to him, “Alright got you covered.”
xB giggled as he took the phone. “Thanks guy,” he hummed and without skipping a beat added, “And when did you plan on telling me your number’s now in here?”
“H–Mmm… How’d you know?” He pouted. xB shrugged and started walking in the direction of his work. “Just a hunch, I guess,” he gave one last giggle before waving his farewell, “I’ll see you after work, yah?”
Hypno stood baffled for a bit but couldn’t resist a smile, “Mhmm, yeah!”
Walking off he whispered to himself, “Yeah.”