Prompt: “Enemies Stuck in a Lift”

Pairing: Baekhyun/Kyungsoo

Words: ~1300

Kyungsoo doesn’t like Baekhyun. That always messy hair, that annoying grin that’s always plastered to his face, the way he will (without fail) flick the hairdryer in Kyungsoo’s face every morning when Kyungsoo is innocently trying to brush his teeth, getting the toothpaste sprayed everywhere. No, Kyungsoo has an evident disdain for one Byun Baekhyun, and it’s not just because he’s the rival lead vocalist of the group.

Baekhyun is quite literally the most annoying person Kyungsoo has ever met, or perhaps even the most annoying person to ever exist in the history of mankind.

“Are you done?” Kyungsoo asks, stomping down the hallways to the kitchen. It’s about 6am and he’s still tired, the rings around his eyes prominent from lack of sleep after months of promotions and photoshoots. Today they have vocal practice together, and Kyungsoo can’t wait to throw heavy, metallic objects at Baekhyun, which has become a kind of custom on days like today; when they’re stuck in a room together for hours and Baekhyun knows just how to push Kyungsoo’s buttons. Baekhyun simply shrugs and continues humming to himself.

“Nah, give me another 5 and the kitchen’s all yours,” Baekhyun responds, stifling a yawn with a hand in front of his mouth. Kyungsoo can smell his morning breath and wrinkles his nose. But Kyungsoo’s tea craving is much stronger than his contempt, and he shuffles into the kitchen all the same.

Kyungsoo stalks over to the kettle on the other side of the bench. He grabs it, fills it, and switches it on, glaring at the reflective metal surface as Baekhyun continues to hum, his voice getting louder and louder, throwing a mischievous glance Kyungsoo’s way every now and then.

Baekhyun picks up the frying pan in an attempt to flip an egg over just as Kyungsoo leans down to take a mug out of the cupboard. Kyungsoo lets out a loud shriek as hot yolk drips down between his shoulder blades.

“, Baek! What the are you doing?” he yells.

Kyungsoo seethes the whole way to the practice room. The car ride across is sat in stony silence as Kyungsoo continually glares at Baekhyun and Baekhyun tries to avoid Kyungsoo’s gaze by staring out the car window, pretending to be extremely interested in the business suits walking into the nearest train station. Not a word is spoken until they make it in the building, across the main foyer, and into a waiting lift.

“What floor were we supposed to be on again?” Baekhyun whispers, hand hovering over the button panel. He bites his lip as Kyungsoo bites a response, fingers quickly tapping ‘3’.

The lift begins to rise, and Baekhyun knows that something is wrong. It’s not just that Kyungsoo is standing as far away from him as possible; not the fact that Kyungsoo’s lips are pressed into such a straight line when he’d usually pick anything about Baekhyun to openly and loudly complain about – singing, behaviour, appearance. Baekhyun’s fears are realised when the lights flicker a little and go out, and the lift lurches to a sudden stop.

“What did you do?” Kyungsoo breathes.

Baekhyun fumbles for his phone, pulling it out of his pocket. He swipes a finger across the bottom and quickly punches in his passcode, as a soft glow from the screen illuminates his face. He holds it up to the panel, finds the panic button, and presses it. Nothing happens.

Kyungsoo hasn’t moved. Baekhyun turns in a quick circle, looking for the small, owl-eyed boy, finally finding him huddled in the corner of the lift, sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chin.

“Soo, are you okay?” he asks quietly.

Kyungsoo’s breathing is shaky. He shakes his head, the light of Baekhyun’s phone illuminated wide and terrified orbs. Kyungsoo’s outfit is a mix of monochrome and black, and all Baekhyun can see is a pale face peeking out over skinny kneecaps. He places his phone on the ground, kneels in front of Kyungsoo, and puts a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. He lets out a sigh, petting Kyungsoo on the head as Kyungsoo’s breathing becomes more and more erratic.

“They’ll figure out we’re missing, and they’ll come and get us in no time!” Baekhyun reassures him, hiding his own fear behind his usual grin. Kyungsoo’s eyes shut tightly as he curls himself into an even tighter ball.

“T-that’s n… n-not the p-problem,” Kyungsoo stutters, panic obvious in his shaky voice. “I have c-c-c… claustrophobia.”

Kyungsoo falls silent. Baekhyun doesn’t really know what to do, so he continues to sit there in silence. He slowly drapes an arm around Kyungsoo’s neck, tugging him tight to him. Not sure if this will exacerbate the problem, he clears his throat nervously, lips parting slightly.

“Look Soo, I’m sorry about the egg thing, and I know you don’t really like me at all… But seriously, why didn’t you tell me about your claustrophobia? Do the others know?”

Kyungsoo squints up at him before burrowing his head in Baekhyun’s chest. He shudders a little; hands shaking as his fingers curl in Baekhyun’s shirt, tugging at lose curl of cotton at the bottom hemline.

“No one knows, I d-didn’t tell anyone,” Kyungsoo breathes. Baekhyun nods in understanding, getting more and more anxious about Kyungsoo’s behaviour. Baekhyun has never seen him like this, so weak, so fragile looking. He feels a slight dampness through his thin shirt and knows that Kyungsoo is crying.

“Soo, just breathe with me,” Baekhyun says, thinking back on what he was once taught in school about how to help people when they have panic attacks. First, calm their breathing. Next, try and stop them from thinking about it. Then… what? He wasn’t sure.

Baekhyun makes a point to breathe in audibly, slow, and steadily. He takes Kyungsoo’s hand and presses it to his chest, coaxing Kyungsoo to follow suit by inhaling, pausing, and exhaling. It seems to work a little, but it doesn’t stop the tremor in Kyungsoo’s hands. Baekhyun decides to slowly whisper encouragement between each breath; he’s not sure if Kyungsoo can hear it, but it seems to make at least a small impact. Kyungsoo slowly uncurls himself after a few minutes, instead lying flat on the floor, head in Baekhyun’s lap. His hands are still squeezing Baekhyun’s fingers tight enough to earn a wince.

Baekhyun continues his encouragement until the ceiling light flicks back on. He gently tugs Kyungsoo up to stand, as the lift lurches and starts up once again. Kyungsoo is shaky on his feet, but his hands no longer tremble. Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief and squeezes his hand reassuringly, as they reach their destination and the doors slowly ease open.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this,” Kyungsoo mumbles, eyes traced to the floor. Baekhyun shakes his head a little as the brooding, confident Kyungsoo he’s more familiar with reemerges and steps out into the hallway.

When they make it to the music rooms, concern is still etched across Baekhyun’s face. He trudges into the practice room, quickly shuts the door behind him, and leans against the wall, eyes gentle and glistening with worry as he faces Kyungsoo.

“You know I’ll have to tell the other members, right? In case this sort of thing happens again?” he says.

Kyungsoo sighs, knowing well that his secret would have been found out eventually. He nods slowly, owl-eyes meeting Baekhyun’s warm and concerned chocolate orbs. Kyungsoo never expected Baekhyun would be the one to find out; he never expected Baekhyun – the one he had so long thought of as nothing more than an annoyance and a rival – would react with such tenderness and gentleness to his own weakness.