#elevators

[odinsblog]

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[mapsontheweb]

Elevator State of Mind

by Dividend_Labs

[fandomgirlz01]

Elevators

Joe Keery X Reader

Imagine on fandom instagram?: No

Prompt or Request or Requested Prompt?: No

Style of Writing: Fic  

Rating: PG-13 ~ For fluff and cuteness, but more adult commentary or even some triggering content. 

Edited: Yes

Word count:  6,015

Post Date & Time: July 27th 2024 at 12:17 AM

Ko-fi

Master List

Warnings Here 

You can listen to the story be read out loud here {coming soon}. 

Summary: Joe Keery the Readers very best friend, helps the Reader though one of her biggest fears as well as clams her anxiety until they can get the help they need. 

Authors Note: I know they actually usually film in Atlanta GA, so for the sake of this Fic let’s just say she goes with him and they rent a place out. She works from home so she’s capable of going with.

You’re Pov: 

“Oh my gosh, it’s really 12:00?!” I exclaim as I look at my phone. 

“Umm, yeah. Why?” Natalia asks as she looks at me with concern. 

“I have work on the set in the morning and don’t have my car. I need to take the bus or walk, but now I can’t do either cause it’s so late,” I explain as I pack up some of my stuff in a hurry. 

“Hey. Hey. What’s going on?” Joe asks, reaching out for me as he walks over from where the guys were hanging out. 

“I need to walk home. I have to be at set in the morning,” I quickly explain as I continue to pack up my stuff. 

Once all my stuff is packed up, I quickly rush out a goodbye to everyone before rushing over to the door. I go to open the door, but someone pulls me back. 

“Hey. You are not walking home this late at night, and while it’s storming? No way. I’ll drive you,” Joe offers as he pats his pockets, looking around for his keys. 

“No, J. It’s fine. I’ll get home by myself. I really don’t wanna ruin your time with your cast members. You see me every day, you don’t see them as often as you do me. Spend time with them,” I express and he shakes his head before letting out a small ‘aha’ when finding his keys. 

“If you think I’m letting my life-long best friend walk home in the rain, then you're nuts. Plus, I live there too,” he professes before turning around to the other actors in the room. 

“Goodnight, guys. I’ll see you all bright and early on set. I’ve gotta get y/n home,” Joe quickly explains to the others. 

“Goodnight! See you in the morning!” Noah yells out from across the room before some of the others chime in with ‘goodnights’ to the both of us. 

Joe picks his jacket up off of the back of the couch before coming over to me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I smile as I wave to everyone. 

“Goodnight then, I guess!” I yell out and I get a few “goodnights” back as the girls wiggle their eyebrows at me, making me give them a death stare. 

Joe pulls me out of the room and the door closes behind us. We head down the hallway and I start to feel a little guilty. 

“Joe, really, if you want to go back you can. I’ll be fine,” I explain and he shakes his head. 

“If you had your car, I’d be ok with it, but I know it’s in the shop, so no. It’s ok. Really, I’m fine to drive you home,” he informs me and I only nod before a grin takes over my face. 

“I wonder why my car’s in the shop?” I joke as I nudge his side lightly with a smirk on my face. 

“I wouldn’t know why…” he jokes back, playing innocent and I giggle. 

“It couldn’t be because somebody backed it up into a pole when borrowing it now, would it?” I tease him again as I poke his stomach. 

“I have no clue what you're talking about,” he plays coy, shaking his head and I roll my eyes. 

“You definitely know what I’m talking about,” I remark with a smirk and he rolls his eyes now. 

“Ok… there’s a very small chance you may be right…” he jokes as he holds his hand up with his fingers pinching together. 

“A small chance?” I ask, only to giggle when he throws his arms up before letting them drop to his side. 

“Ok, fine, there’s a big chance,” he finally admits sheepishly and I giggle as we come to a stop by the elevator. 

He reaches forward and presses the down button before standing back upright next to me. I eye the door to the stairs for a moment before looking back at the elevator. 

“Bubs…” I whisper out as I bite my lip and he lets out a small “hmm” before turning to look at me with an eyebrow raised. 

“Can’t we just take the stairs?” I ask as I express my fear while he puts his jacket on. 

“Y/n, we’re on the top floor of the Hampton. We’re thirty floors up, sweetheart. Do you really want to walk down thirty flights of stairs?” he asks with an eyebrow raised and I shrug. 

“I don’t know… I just really don’t want to get in that elevator,” I whisper out as I shuffle my feet while refusing to look up at him. 

“Don’t worry. I’m right here with you, ok? I’m right here. I promise you’ll be ok,” he promises as he pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me. 

We stand there for a few minutes just hugging when we both hear the ding. We pull apart and turn to see the door wide open. I take a gulp and Joe takes a step to get in, but I freeze in my spot. 

“Princess, it's really ok. Come on. I’ll stick with you the whole way down,” he explains as he turns back around to look at me. 

“Joe… I… I can’t…” I whimper out and he grabs both my cheeks softly as he keeps eye contact with me. 

“Hey. Hey. You're ok. You can do this, y/n,” Joe speaks calmly as he now starts to rub my right cheek. 

“I don’t know, Joe, it’s gotten a lot worse now,” I explain and he looks at me, confused. 

“How did you even get here earlier, then?” he asks and I try to look away sheepishly, but he just keeps my face in his hands. 

“I, umm… took the stairs. After Eleni {pronounced: E-lane-ie} dropped me off from work on the set, I took the stairs,” I explain embarrassedly and he shakes his head. 

“You could have just called me to come down and get you. I would have,” he affirms and I shake my head now that he’s let go of me. 

“You had work today too. You must have been tired. I didn’t want to make you even more tired,” I explain and just as I finish, the doors slide closed. 

“Damn, we’ll have to get the next one,” Joe mutters as he turns back around and presses the down button again. 

“I don’t care if I’m tired, I still would have come down. Plus we work on the same set, just have different hours,” Joe informs me with a shrug before he turns back to look at me. I fight off the blush I can feel creeping up the back of my neck. 

“I don’t get why we can’t just take the stairs…” I comment timidly and Joe lets out a laugh. 

“Y/n, seriously. It’s thirty flights. You’ve already done enough stairs today. I’m not letting you do more,” he explains before shaking his head and laughing a little more. 

He looks at me and immediately his face changes from amusement to worry when he sees just how frightened I am. He sighs and lets out a small ‘I’m sorry’ before he puts his arm around my shoulder. He moves so he can fully hug me now and rubs the upper part of my arm with his thumb. I wrap my arms around his waist and burrow my head into his shoulder. He holds onto me a little tighter for a moment before rubbing at my scalp to sooth me. 

“I’m right here. Haven’t I always been?” he asks against the side of my forehead and I nod, making him smile. 

“Yes. Yes, you have been,” I agree with him, biting my lip before pulling away from our hug. 

“Well, come on, then. I promise you'll be fine,” he promises me as the elevator dings again, making me jump. 

“I know you're scared, but these things barely ever break down. Plus, you're with me. I’ve got you,” he tries to reassure me again before placing a kiss to the side of my forehead and for a split second I almost forget where we are. 

Soon the doors are sliding open and I feel my heart start to beat frantically, but it’s definitely not because of the happy feelings I normally get when with Joe. His hand falls from my shoulder, but he keeps it on my lower back as he softly guides me inside. I push myself as close to the back wall as I can while he pushes the lobby botton. Not even a minute after he pushes it, the doors slide closed. I take a deep breath before looking at the ceiling above me and letting a shaky one out. 

I grip onto the railing until my knuckles are practically completely white as I wait for it to all start. The elevator gives a light shake before starting to go down and I move my grip from the railing onto Joe’s arm. He lets out a small laugh before pulling his arm from where I had latched myself to him and putting it around my shoulder. He pulls me into another side hug and squeezes my arm lightly, effortlessly making me feel slightly safer. 

“See, it’s ok. We’re fine. We’ll be in the lobby before you know it,” he explains with a light smile and I wrap both arms around him before nuzzling into his side more. 

“I guess you're right. Nothing's happening,” I sigh as I squeeze him a bit and he squeezes my shoulder back. 

It’s quiet and calm for a few minutes until the lights start to flicker. I look at the screen that tells us the floor number, but it glitches from twenty-eight to twenty-seven and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. The elevator comes to a jolting stop, making me and Joe sway back and forth as he keeps his hold on me. The lights go out, leaving only an emergency light as the only source of light. I look back up at the number to see it still glitching, only this time it’s going between twenty-seven and twenty-six. I feel my heart start to race again as I realize what’s happening and I start to shake in fear. 

“Shit. Princess, it’s ok. We’ll be ok. Press the emergency button. I’ll try 911,” Joe explains as he pulls away and holds me by the shoulders before pulling his phone out. 

I step forward or at least I think I do, but I really don’t. I stay where I am, frozen for a moment before taking a big gulp and walking over to the buttons. It takes me a minute of looking over all the buttons, but I soon find the one with the big red E on it. I lick my lips and press it in hopes that the lights will magically come back on. When they don’t, I panic before starting to press the button over and over again. 

I only can hope that someone will answer our emergency, but my brain tells me to just keep pushing it even though nobody has. I feel a hand lay on my back and another one comes up to pull my hand from the panel of buttons. I look up at Joe and he pulls me into a hug and just holds me as he puts his phone up to his ear. 

“Hi, 911. What’s your emergency?” I hear a lady’s voice come over the speaker of the phone. 

“Umm, hi. I’m currently at the Hilton hotel, but uhh, I think the power must have gone out or something because we are stuck in the elevator,” Joe explains to her in as calm of a tone as he can so I won’t panic further. 

“Ok. Can you tell me what floor you're on?” The dispatch lady asks and I feel him move his head to look. 

“Umm, it’s glitching between twenty-six and twenty-seven, so maybe on twenty-six,” he replies and she gives a small ‘Hmm, ok’. 

“Are you alone, sir?” she asks and he shakes his head. 

“No,” he replies as he gives me a light squeeze again. 

“Can you tell me who’s with you?” she asks and he again nods even though she can’t see him. 

“Yeah. It’s just me and my girl here,” he responds back to her and my eyes widen. 

He’s never called me his girl before. It’s always been sweetheart or sweets or my best friend, but never his girl. 

I zone out as she asks him a few more questions and I don’t catch them at all, but soon he’s hanging up with her. He looks down at me before sighing and leading me over to the wall to lean me against it. 

“Sit right here, ok? I’m going to go call Natalia or Charlie, ok?” he asks and all I can manage is a light tiny nod as a tired feeling washes over me. 

I watch as he walks over to the other corner and types something out on his phone. He brings it up to his ear as his other hand rubs at his face. I feel shaky so I slip down the wall and pull my legs up to my chest before resting my chin on my knees. Hot sticky tears start to roll down my cheeks as I watch him scratch at his chin. Panic attacks aren’t a new thing for me, not at all.  

They've followed me all the way up into adulthood and Joe has seen almost every single one since we were about nine. This, however, is the worst one that I’ve had since I was maybe twelve. It didn’t help that I always overthought things growing up. Joe was always there to talk those thoughts out with me as he is now. But this… this was my absolute worst fear playing out in front of me. I remember all those nights in high school where I’d text him about how my brain just wouldn’t shut off and that I couldn’t sleep. 

He’d always known that was me telling him I felt an attack coming on. So he’d rush over from his house next door and cuddle with me to calm me. At first my dad never understood, until suddenly he just did. He started leaving the back door unlocked for Joe and I later found out my mother had told him how calm Joe made me. 

“Hey. Me and y/n are kind of umm… stuck…” he explains into the phone, sort of snapping me out of my thoughts. 

“Of course I’m fine. It’s y/n I’m worried about. She’s on the very edge of having a big attack,” he whispers into his phone and he rubs his neck as he listens to whoever he called. 

“Yeah. No. I’ll be ok taking care of her. I’ve been with her through almost every attack. I know how to keep her calm,” he tells them before pausing to listen to them. 

“Yes. I already called 911, they should be here in like five to ten minutes,” he answered whatever question was asked before shaking his head. 

“Umm, I don’t know. Could you guys just be down there when they do get us out?” he asks and nods to a few things that are being said. 

“Ok. Yeah. Thanks, man. We’ll see you soon,” he gives his goodbye before hanging up the phone. 

He shoves his phone back in his pocket before turning around. He looks down at me before frowning and coming back over. He lowers himself down next to me before putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side again. I start to cry harder and he rubs my back as he coos softly to me. I basically sob into his shirt while gripping it and he just keeps massaging my back lightly while continuing to coo soft nothings in my ear. 

“Hey, take a breath for me, please? Come on sweets, you can do it,” Joe’s voice comes out soft but authoritative as he still holds onto me. 

“Hey. There she is…” he says proudly as he softly holds my cheeks in his hands and rubs my cheek for a moment as he gives me a soft smile. 

He pulls away from me for a split second and takes his jacket off before he drapes the jacket over my shoulders. Then he quickly pulls me back into his side as he kisses the side of my forehead again, making me start to feel a little safer in his arms. 

“It’s ok, sweetheart. I’m right here. I’m not leaving. Just pretend we’re home and cuddled up in your bed,” he tells me as he rubs his thumb in circles on my lower back under his jacket. 

Back when Joe first found out he got the role of Steve, we were both so excited that his career would be taking off. Then we were sad because he had to move out of our LA apartment to go film. Not wanting to be away from me for long, he got me a job on the set as the “assistant” to the Duffer Brothers with production plans and decisions. So together we both moved to a new apartment and started our new jobs together. The girls always refer to us when we walk up as “and they were roommates!” before bursting into giggles. I schedule almost everything for Ross Duffer and sometimes I sit in meetings for him or I stay really late to help him with whatever he’d be doing on set. 

I also help make sure everything on set is to the actors and actress' likings. We did keep our old apartment for when we were back in LA, but for the most part we both stay in Atlanta more times out of the year. I just have more hours and a lot of work sometimes, so Joe and I always drive separately. As of lately, though, we have been carpooling a lot of the time. My sobbing slowly starts to calm down, but as I do I start to feel dizzy. I let out a light whimper and I nuzzle my head into his neck. 

“I promise we’ll be fine. I’ll get you out of here no matter what and when have I not kept a promise to my best girl, hmm?” he asks as he grips onto my hip and I jump, making him chuckle a little. 

“Joe… I’m dizzy…” I groan out and he nods before placing another kiss on my forehead. 

“I know. You always get dizzy after an attack. Just relax, ok. I’m not leaving you. I wouldn’t be able to leave you like this. It’d hurt too much to walk away. I love you, sweetheart,” he explains, his voice becoming breathless at the end as he pushes some of my hair away from my face. 

My eyes grow wide as I look at him and he just gives me a small smile as he shrugs. He reaches up to my cheek that’s not against his shoulder and wipes a still falling tear. 

Did Joe freaking Keery, my best friend since literal diapers, the guy I’ve lived with since graduating high school just tell me he loves me? No. I must just be imagining it after that attack…

“Do you wanna lay down? You still haven’t gotten your color back, sweetheart,” he asks after a moment and I nod before slowly moving. 

I start to lay down with my cheek on his thigh and he lifts an arm before laying it on the upper part of my arm. I keep his jacket around me like a blanket and close my eyes as he starts to rub my head. He starts to hum one of the new songs he’s been working on and I let a light smile take form on my lips. Soon his humming stops and it grows quiet for a few minutes. I can only assume that we’re both desperate to think of a way out of this elevator, but the more I think about it the more panic starts to set in again. 

“J…?” I whisper out with a hoarse voice from crying and I move to look up at him. 

“What, sweetheart?” he asks as he looks down at me. 

“Can you please, please, please just distract me? The silence is driving me insane and I don’t wanna overthink everything,” I admit and he smiles softly at me. 

I push up off of him and he quickly wraps his arms around me, pulling me so I lean against him. I snuggle my face into his chest and he lets out a chuckle. 

“Sweets, that tickles,” he notes as he laughs and I just shrug. 

“Wait a minute, were you trying to do that?” he exclaims when he sees a coy smile on my lips. 

“Maybe… you deserve it, though!” I joke and he rolls his eyes. 

“Why! You sneaky little thing!” he shouts before he gives my side a little pinch. 

We laugh for a few minutes before it goes quiet again so I slap his shoulder. He rubs at the place before shaking his head. 

“What was that for?” he asks and I shrug. 

“Talk to me. I can’t do the silence,” I explain and he nods his head. 

“Ok. Ahh, let’s see… Do you remember freshman year homecoming?” he asks and I nod. 

“Yeah. You almost did a Steve that night and got into a fight with Jimmy Kavinsky, Peter‘s little brother,” I remark and he rolls his eyes. 

“I didn't turn into Steve! I would have done a lot better than my character in a fight,” he proclaims and I give him a ‘really?’ look. 

“Joe. Jimmy’s always been bigger than you,” I deadpan and he groans. 

“That’s not the point!” he shouts in frustration and I grab his hand. 

“Ok. I’m sorry. What was the point?” I ask him calmly and he smiles. 

“The point is that I was there with Sarah, but I thought you were the most beautiful girl there,” he exhales exasperatedly from how fast he had been talking, rolling his eyes at himself as I smile, squeezing his hand encouragingly. 

“Then when I saw the look you had when Jimmy ditched you for Victoria, all I wanted to do was beat him and make you smile again,” he continues shaking his head as he frowns. 

“It wasn’t right to me that he put a frown on your face. You should always have a smile and if anyone took that away…” he finishes off with a sigh while refusing to look at me and my eyes tear up for a second before I reach up for his cheeks.  

“Awe, Joe…” I coo softly at him as I jokingly move his face around for a second. “If it helps, I didn’t want to go with him in the first place…” I remark and he gives me a confused look. 

“What? But you talked about it for a week before he actually asked you,” he mutters and I shake my head, letting go of his face as I now play with a loose thread on my shorts. 

“I only decided to go with him because you hadn’t asked me yet, you doofus,” I joke with him, now finally looking at him again and he still looks confused, so I sigh. 

“Allison stupidly got it into my head that Jimmy liked me and that he should take me since you, and I quote, ‘oh so obviously’ weren’t going to ask apparently. So I became laser focused on him. As I do with everything I normally shouldn’t be focused on,” I explain with a light shrug and he perks up. 

“Wait, you wanted me to ask you?” he asks, eyes lighting up in excitement and I giggle. 

“Yes, Joe. I’ve only had a crush on you since we were ten, but who’s keeping track?” I joke with another lame shrug and he shakes his head. 

“Wait, so I could have asked and you would have said yes?!” he shouts in shock and I giggle, nodding. 

“Aww man, I’m such an idiot!” he exclaims as he rubs at his face, making me giggle again as I grab his hand and pull them away from his face. 

“If it makes you feel better, I couldn’t stop thinking how handsome you were that night. I also just wanted to just run my hands through your hair,” I explain with a light smirk and he chuckles. 

“What is it with you and my hair?” he asks me and I grin. 

“What?! It’s just so cute and soft…” I murmur and he chuckles. 

“It’s also not so bad when you have the Steve hair added to it after filming too,” I sheepishly admit and he smirks. 

“So you have a thing for my hair, huh? Well I actually have a thing for yours too,” he explains as he reaches out to toy with a strand of mine. 

“Your hair is actually just one of the many reasons I love you,” I whisper out as I look away. 

It’s quiet for a minute and I decide to chance a look at him. When I do, I see his mouth slightly parted in shock and his eyes wide. 

Was it really so bad that I love my best friend? 

“I…I’m sorry. You probably meant-” I start to try apologizing, but I’m cut off when he slams his lips into mine. 

At first I’m still in shock from being in the middle of saying something, but I slowly start to kiss back. My arms reach up and wrap around his neck as his hands stay firmly on my hips as he pulls me ever so closer. I find my hands moving up to grip his hair as he squeezes my hips. 

Kissing him brings a pleasant warmth to my chest as he brings his hand up to my neck and holds me even closer. I feel his thumb rub my neck ever so sweetly, making more and more butterflies swarm my stomach. The kiss only lasts a few more minutes before we both pull away, breathing heavily. 

He rubs his nose lightly against mine and I smile softly as his hand now lays on my cheek instead of my neck. He smiles softly as he pushes some of my hair out of my face and I feel a blush start to kick in so I shove my face into his neck, making him chuckle. 

“Why you hiding from me, huh?” he asks as he squeezes my shoulder and I blush harder, shaking my head. 

I start to say something, but get cut off by a loud ding and suddenly to our surprise, the doors of the elevator are sliding open. We both look up as they open, seeing Charlie and Natalia standing next to some paramedics. Slowly Joe helps me get up as he gets up too and he quickly hands me over to a paramedic. 

“You go get checked out. I’m going to talk with Charlie and possibly the technician over there,” Joe tells me, but I grip his hand and shake my head. 

“Not without you. Please…” I almost whimper, not wanting him to leave my side and he squeezes my hand. 

“Sweetheart, you're ok. I promise I’ll come right back over in a minute. Natalia, will you stay with her?” he asks her and she nods. 

“See, Natalia will be with you. I’ll be quick I promise, just wanna understand what happened,” he explains softly and I sigh, nodding before letting his hand go. 

“Come on. Let’s get you looked at, yeah?” Natalia asks as she guides me over to a chair and one of the paramedics comes over. 

“Hi. My name is Hen. I’m just gonna look you over and make sure you’re doing ok, alright, sweetie?” she questions and I nod to let her know that I’m ok with it. 

“What happened in there, y/n? Are you ok?” Natalia queries as she fusses over me while I take a seat in one of the lobby chairs. 

“I’m fine. Joe kept me sane,” I tell her as I look over at him and he looks over at us. 

“Omg! You guys kissed, didn't you?!” Natalia exclaims at me with her eyes wide. 

“No…” I reply, trailing off as I refuse to meet her eyes. 

“Oh they so did,” Hen comments with a chuckle and I feel a blush creep up my neck. 

“Ok… yeah, we did…” I admit, biting my lip and Natalia just grins. 

“Y/n. Oh my gosh. It’s actually happening. I knew you guys would end up together. I told you,” she excitedly pushes my shoulder lightly. 

“Yeah, yeah,” I reply with a playful eye roll. 

Hen now asks me questions, if I could breathe properly and checks my heart rate as well as checking my blood pressure. Natalia hovers and it makes me roll my eyes with fondness at how she worries over me. Charlie and Joe stand over to the side talking with the tech, but Joe keeps looking over at us every so often. 

“Well. You’re doing okay, I would just suggest that you rest up a bit after all this,” Hen informs me and I nod tiredly as I feel the exhaustion come over me. 

“And here, take this,” Hen adds as she holds out some Advil for me along with a water bottle. 

“How’d you know?” Natalia asks and Hen turns to look up at her. 

“How’d I know what?” Hen asks in confusion and Natalia points to the advil. 

“That she gets headaches after her panic attacks,” Natalia illuminates and Hen chuckles. 

“A lot of people tend to. If you’ve been hyperventilating or anything that includes losing breath, you cut off circulation to the brain so it’ll definitely pack on a headache,” Hen expertly explains and Natalia nods along. 

“That young man that was trapped with her asked my partner if we could make sure she got some just in case. He seems to know you and your panic attacks very well,” Hen tells us as she points over at Joe and I blush lightly. 

“He’s been with me though all of them,” I shyly reply and she smiles up at me before she starts to put some stuff back in her bag. 

“Well I’m glad you have someone to help you though. Not everyone does. Now get some rest, you’ll definitely feel a little drained,” Hen says as she finishes putting her stuff in her bag. 

“Oh, she will be,” Natalia promises, making Hen smile softly as she stands, nodding before she leaves us be. 

“He’s looking over here at you,” Natalia jokingly taunts me. 

“I’m sure he’s only-” I start to again deny anything, but she cuts me off. 

“Here he comes,” she excitedly tells me with a smile and I shake my head in disbelief at her. 

“Hey. How’s she doing?” Joe asks her as he walks up to us. 

“The paramedic said she’s doing just fine. She just suggested that she rests after the whole ordeal,” Natalia explains to him and I roll my eyes. 

“Talia, I have work in the morning. Most rest I’ll be getting is an hour's sleep at the most now,” I retort with annoyance clear in my voice. 

“What! But-” she goes to reprimand me, but she stops when a hand gets placed on her shoulder. 

“Natalia, I got this. We’ll see you soon okay?” Joe softly asks her and she sighs before nodding. 

“You make her rest, you hear me?” she asks him and he chuckles, throwing his hands up in surrender. 

“Don’t you worry. I definitely will be,” he promises her and she nods one last final time. 

“Good. Well then, I’ll leave you guys alone. Y/n, I better not see you on set at all today, got it?” she asks when she turns back to me and I sigh, nodding. 

“Good. Now go and get really rested up. I’ll see you soon,” Natalia finalizes with a smile before nodding and walking away. 

“Come on. Let’s get you home. You need rest,” Joe comments as he holds his hand out for me. 

“But J, I really need to just go home and change,” I reply and he shakes his head. 

“Why are you so stubborn? Let’s just get going, come on,” he groans out as he pulls me up and pulls me into his side as we start to walk. 

“Sweetheart…” Joe sighs out as we start to see his car and I let out a hum. 

“Please just call in sick. I’m sure the brothers will be okay with it. You really had a big one and need the rest,” Joe pleads with me as we get closer and closer to the car. 

“J. I’ll be okay. I’ve made it on set with only an hour’s worth of sleep before. I can live off of none at all,” I joke and he stops us, pulling my hand to make me stop. 

“Please just call in sick,” he begs again and I sigh, letting go of his hand to start walking without him. 

“J. Really, I’ll be okay,” I tell him as I now stand next to the car and I hear him groan in frustration. 

Suddenly I’m being pulled around and I look up into his eyes. I look at him in confusion with my lips parted from the light squeak I’d let out. I stare into his beautiful chocolate brown eyes that seem to be infused with a light green that I’d never noticed before and lose all thought as I only see pure worry swirling around.

“J… I’m okay…” I whisper out and he sighs, shaking his head. 

He doesn’t even say a word, but I let out a confused hum as he lightly pushes me against the car. His hands now find my waist as his lips find mine and my arms come up around his neck. He kisses me for a moment before pulling away, sighing as he leans his forehead against mine. 

“Let me reword that. Call in sick, stay home with me and we’ll cuddle all day and just spend the day together letting you rest,” he pleads with me one more time and then it clicks for me. 

“Okay… I think that we can do…” I whisper out and he slowly grins. 

“Yeah?” he asks and I smile, pecking his lips. 

“Yeah. Let’s go home,” I confirm and now all the worry has seemingly left his body. 

“Ok then. Let’s go home,” he happily agrees as he goes to pull away. 

“Wait,” I call out as I pull him back in. 

“What?” he asks and I just smirk at him. 

“I want another kiss,” I tell him as I rub my thumb along his cheek and he chuckles. 

“Okay…” he agrees before pulling me back into another kiss, but all too soon he pulls away again and I’m left groaning, making him laugh. 

“Come on, you nut. Let’s get you home,” he chuckles, shaking his head. 

“But I want more kisses,” I whine out and he shakes his head as he opens my door. 

“You can steal all the ones you want when we get home,” he tells me as I get in and I grin up at him. 

“You promise?” I playfully ask him and he chuckles, shaking his head again. 

“I swear on my life, sweetheart,” he promises before closing my door and running around to his side. 

“And you wanted to take the stairs…” he jokes with a playful roll of his eyes as he starts the car. 

“Oh…! You…” I call out in my shock as I smack his arm and he chuckles. 

“Hey. I’m just stating the truth,” he shrugs and I smile at him as I cuddle up to his arm. 

“Oh, would you just be quiet,” I roll my eyes at him and he chuckles again as he continues to drive. 

The End

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[chronicallycouchbound]

The elevator in my ADA “accessible” building is broken. It has been for days. No word on when it’ll be fixed.

The fire alarms just went off, briefly, then stopped. There is no evacuation plan. Today is a bad pain day, it’s raining and I had to go grocery shopping (including going up and down some steps) with my in home care worker earlier. I could maybe get to and down the stairs by myself. Maybe. I don’t know if I could get my partner’s cat out with me (I would do my damn best though).

I have neighbors who also are wheelchair users, some who are in heavy powerchairs who live on the upper floors. Me and those neighbors haven’t spoken much outside of basic pleasantries by the mailboxes over the years— I think we’re all housebound. We are effectively strangers but we have shared cries for help. I know their screams and they know mine. Intimate terror.

The alarms have stopped and as of right now I am safe. My neighbors are safe.

I’m focusing on trying to catch my breath and lower my heart rate back to a safe range. I can’t stress enough how traumatic it is to be disabled in an inaccessible world.

[lemonbombsfjl]

In my city, four new elevators and other ♿️ accessability features are being installed at a busy, major train station, thanks to this effort. As I have difficulty walking down (yes, down!) stairs, this makes a major difference to me and so many others!

💙

♿️VOTE!

[thesargasmicgoddess]

There's something about hotel elevators....🤭😈

[elposting]

never listening to spooky mormon hell dream again bc it’s bad luck. i just got into an elevator while listening to it and the elevator fucking broke.

[preet-01]

The plan originally was to write a Brocedes reconciliation fic based on a shared elevator in their Monaco apartment building, but that did not happen

His worst enemy. The bane of his existence. The site of all his fears. The fuel of his nightmares. 

The breath of fresh air. The hope of having all he wants. The moment in the presence of his one eternal love. 

It all comes down to an elevator. 

Pathetic. 

He's a seven-time world champion. The face of the sport he loves and has dedicated his life to. A desirable bachelor anyone would feel lucky to have. He is more than anything ever imagined possible for him and much more than those who wanted to shoot him down. 

But yet, it's in an elevator that he finds his hopes and fears. Locked away in a small cubicle for no more than two minutes is all he ever thinks about whenever he's at home in Monaco. Hoping that he'll find himself locked in there with Him. Fearing that when those doors open He'll be standing there. Wanting and dreading all in one breath, the most horrible juxtaposition of his life. And yet the greatest. 

His therapist would tell him to stop staying in that apartment. To permanently move into the apartment he'd bought in a fit of anger and sadness when He had retired from the sport they loved, dreamt of racing in ever since they were children. But he would have to talk to his therapist about Him for that advice to be given. He would have to tell someone about Him finally, finally verbalize the love, the pain, the sadness, the longing, and the desperation that surrounded Him.

Every time Lewis leaves his apartment and enters the elevator, it is a game of Russian Roulette. But he welcomes it like an old friend. 

Standing in front of the elevator with one airpod in his ear and his phone playing some song Daniel had recommended during a previous race weekend, Lewis does not hear one word of the song. He’ll have to relisten to it or lie to Daniel. For now, Lewis is busy praying and thinking. Whether he prays to see Him or not, Lewis does not know, nor does he wish to figure it out – fearing what either option means for him. 

The elevator dings as the doors slowly open. 

A flash of blond hair and a silk, patterned two-piece set are all he sees before He rushes forward and presses the close doors button. 

The choice is made for him and his prayers remain in question. 

Hitting replay, Lewis listens to Daniel’s song recommendation and texts him before pressing the down button. He only waits a few minutes for another elevator to arrive. 

It’s not the same elevator He had been in, but nonetheless, Lewis feels his ever-persistent presence haunting the space. 

The two-minute elevator ride goes by quickly and Lewis is just as quick to exit a space haunted by all his desires and hatreds. He had not faced Him today, not truly He had taken that out of his hand, but Lewis knows that he won’t always be so lucky or perhaps unlucky. 

_____

Sometimes Nico forgets and pushes the button for floor 32 instead of the button for the lobby. 

Sometimes he forgets and steps out of the elevator and doesn’t remember until he stands on the doorstep of Lewis’ apartment with his hand raised and ready to ring the doorbell. Sometimes he forgets and rings the bell. 

And each time, he has to rush to the stairwells, hoping that maybe Lewis won’t be home and won’t see Nico standing in the hall when he lives a floor above. 

But sometimes, he prays that today would be the day Lewis opens the door. Sometimes he dreams of what would happen if Nico wasn’t fast enough – just as he was rarely fast enough when racing Lewis – and Lewis saw him in the hall, running from him like he has so many times before like a coward. Lewis had always been the braver one between the two of them – forced to be brave where Nico was allowed, no expected, to be soft. 

So used to forgetting and pressing the button for floor 32, Nico rushes forward and presses the close doors button when the elevator dings. In his fear of being seen by Lewis, he doesn’t realize that the flash of tattooed brown skin and chocolate brown eyes was not some stranger but Lewis until the elevator dings again signaling its arrival in the lobby. 

The difference between them has never been clearer. For all that Lewis avoids him in the paddock, he had never avoided getting into elevators with him. Meanwhile, Nico, who rarely avoids speaking of Lewis, always ran at the first opportunity. 

Nico hates elevators.

A simple cell that should deliver him from his floor to the lobby and vice versa, easily becomes much more. It is a prison in which he’s confined for two minutes with a man that he’d once dreamed of spending eternity with, but now only gets fleeting moments with lest he feel like a coward and run. It is the ghosts of a life he misses terribly that guide him to his salvation and demise, deluding him into believing that they are still two boys who dreamed of a life together and talked about connecting the two apartments that were one on top of the other so they would never need an elevator to be together. 

Now they haunt the same elevators, imprisoning themselves for two brief minutes, just to be in one another’s presence. A simple elevator that they once hated for how it separated them, kept them apart for longer than needed, now is the only thing that keeps them together, forces them to exist in the same space. 

Sometimes Nico forgets, but most times he remembers and that remains the worst thing ever. Elevators are all he has and are all he dreads these days. 

[larjb3]

Okay so here's the thing. I've only recently come to acknowledge and use the word disabled or disability to talk about my life circumstances. So there's that, and there are a LOT of reasons why that took so long. BUT I just used an elevator to go up 1 flight of stairs. I have a lot of energy (which is currently super weird for me because, well, chemo effects) so I almost went for the stairs. BUT I talked myself out of it because quite honestly, my knees cannot do stairs without LOTS of support (like currently I'm wearing compression sleeves on both my knees and even going down the stairs at my house required me to hold on to the railing and wall to still help support myself). So it made me think of the posts I see about encouraging people to know their limitations and use whatever devices or medications to help them and that it's okay to use those things. So past me would have absolutely felt guilt over using the elevator for 1 floor, even if no one else was around to use it, too. But current me (at least for right now) acknowledged in the elevator that yes, I deserve to use the elevator even if it is "only 1 floor" and that I am no less of a person for doing so. I'd call this a win!

[darthbloodorange]

Steve's been acting differently lately. Tony is a little conflicted and confused about what Steve is trying to say.

For the: ✦ @cap-ironman Stony Bingo 2024 Round 2 - Pet Names [September Monthly Mission /Replacing O2] ✦ @tonystarkbingo Round 8 - IMAGE: Focused Tony with a toothpick in his mouth [T3] (Card: 8050)

Word count: N/a - Art Title: Find Out, Tony! Rating: Teens Universe: Marvel Ultimates Pairings: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Warnings: None Major Tags: Humour, Pre-Relationship, Aggressive Flirting, Pet Names, Elevators, Steve is trying…, Mark Tony down as Scared AND Horny!, Flustered Tony Stark, Bisexual Steve Rogers ~ Summery: Steve's been acting differently lately. Tony is a little conflicted and confused about what Steve is trying to say.

_

This joke isn't mine. This was a years-old WIP that I redid. I can't remember where the joke was from, but I think it was a text post I came across on Tumblr?? About a shirt somebody wishes existed or something. I really can't remember.

[celesrange]

Does anyone else feel like they aren’t disabled enough to use the elevators? Like, is there a high chance of me falling on the stairs- yes.

Can you tell I’m disabled at first glance? No. Not unless I mention it.

I don’t know, just using the things meant to help me feels so weird because it’s an invisible disability.

[postcard-from-the-past]

Grain elevators in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Canadian vintage postcard

[plushbunbun-blog]

Shifty and elevators

Shifty fears elevators more than anything in the world and will climb a building if he has to just to avoid it. Will freeze in the middle of it if forced to go inside and will sprint out the moment the doors open (even if the floor is wrong) Well, you can only guess why that it...