Could I get something for Miles with a crush who also fear elevators? Literally anything honestly ( projecting? What's that hahahaha ) your writing is so good I'm w e a k ;-;
You sure can, pal! I got a lot more carried away with this one than I thought I would, hope you enjoy it because it was a blast to write. ^^ Thank you for the kind words and for reading so many of my things, seeing you in my notifications always makes me smile.Feat. Reader who’s scared of elevators!
Going up to Edgeworth’s office up on the twelfth floor is always a challenge… It’s too many sets of stairs to justify getting some ‘exercise’ so you always have to bite the bullet and get on the elevator. As far as elevators go, it feels safer than most, but you still don’t trust it.
Your eyes cycle between staring at the lit up button and the shiny steel of the doors themselves as you wait for the elevator to come back down. The pit in your stomach is more distracting than usual and you’re fairly sure it’s because of Miles, himself, standing right beside you with the plastic bag containing lunches that you’d brought in hand (when you’d bumped into him returning at the same time, he’d insisted that he carry it). You can hear it crinkle as he shifts it every once in a while, but otherwise the silence between you is tense.
It’s always harder to have to try and pretend like elevators don’t bother you, to pass as ‘normal’.
You aren’t able to linger on such thoughts as the chime of the elevator sounds and the doors slide open. The two of you step on and Miles presses the ‘12′ button before falling back to stand beside you. A deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, you watch the doors slide shut before the elevator lurches upwards. The air almost immediately becomes suffocating in its quiet.
2… 3… 4…
Counting the soft dings that come with each floor gives you something to distract yourself with. A countdown to returning to the safety of solid, unmoving ground to pass the time.
5… 6… 7…
The elevator stutters on its way up, a small and common type of hiccup in its movements. To you, however? It’s all it takes to send your mind into a catastrophizing free fall. Without even thinking about it, you instinctively turn to Miles and grab his nearest hand, the empty one, in desperate need of something tangible comforting.
8…
He practically jumps out of his skin at the contact, blush exploding across his face before creeping back toward his ears. Looking toward you, he opens his mouth as if to say something, but promptly closes it, there’s an almost panicked look in his eyes despite seeming bewildered. It reminds you of how a child looks when you’ve caught them doing something embarrassing. However, his expression quickly shifts by the simple act of his brows drawing down and knitting together, confusion seamlessly transitioning into concern.
9…
A different kind of panic lurches into your throat as you realize the full extent of what you just did. You’d given yourself away and managed to grab your crush’s hand. Turning back away from him, you loosen your grip on his hand in preparation to release it.
Instead, he looks forward again, too, but gives your hand a gentle squeeze before you can pull away. A silent way of telling you that you don’t have to. It… almost feels as if he’s pleading you not to?
So you don’t and curl your fingers back around his hand.
10… 11…
The rest of the way, you can’t stop thinking about the fact that you’re holding hands with Miles. The fact that you’re on an elevator becomes only a minor detail.
12…
You let go of his hand right before the door slides open and step out, walking side by side as you make a beeline for his office. Just glad to be off that stifling hot death trap and into the cool air of the hallway.
He unlocks his office and holds the door open for you before following you inside, all with ease despite only having one hand available. How can he be perfect at everything?
“I’m, um, sorry about all of that?” You let out a nervous laugh as you sit down on the sofa in his office, placing your hands on your knees as you stare into your lap. “I’m just… scared of elevators? A little bit?”
Your face feels like it’s on fire at the admission, it’s such a childish fear to have to the average person. And Miles is so much more than an average person, too, despite his actions in the elevator you can’t help but feel like he must view you as silly or childish now.
“For what it’s worth… I’m… no fan of them, either.”
You look up to him, only to see that he’s looking away with a subtle grimace on his face. There’s either a story there or a similar sense of shame to the one you share, perhaps a bit of both.
That certainly does explain the look he gave you—he must’ve thought you noticed him startle from the same error.
“But let’s speak of this no more,” he says, expression returning to its usual stoic glower as he pulls out the two containers of food you’d brought (although is there still some light pink on his cheeks?). “I believe we have plenty of other more pressing matters to discuss in this meeting.”
You give him a nod and a smile when he stands up and brings your food over to you; unable to help finding his serious handling of your friendly lunch together more than a little endearing. When he hands you the container, his fingers accidentally brush against yours, reminding you of the fact that you’d just held that hand only minutes ago… and how nice it felt. The thought causes heat to prickle along your cheeks once again.
He can’t bring himself to look at you (oh, his cheeks are definitely flushed now) and as soon as you have a firm grasp, he pulls his hand away and promptly retreats back to the safety of his desk.
Maybe… he had the same line of thought?
You give yourself a subtle shake of the head as you open the box and move to take a first bit of your meal. Surely not. He’s probably just flustered by what happened, too, you know he’s not the most physically affectionate person.
Before you can get too lost in thought again, he prompts the conversation by asking about your day and any lingering embarrassment promptly evaporates between the excellent company and food.
