SIX HOURS; kim jongin

Hour Six

3:10

As it came to the fifth hour since they got stuck in the elevator, the heating stopped working.

It started with a couple of clunks and a wheezing noise, which made both of them look up towards the vent in confusion, and then the steady hum of warm air stopped.

"What the-" Leia started to say.

"Heating." Kai said, cutting her off with a weary sigh.

Leia let out a soft sigh of resignation.

It didn't take long for the metal elevator to get cold, despite Leia and Kai's body heat, and soon, both of them felt goosebumps dot their skin, their bodies tensing against the chill. Kai wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his hands up and down his bare upper arms, and Leia drew up into herself, hugging her legs tightly.

Despite the fact Kai was in just a t-shirt, Leia seemed to feel the cold worse than he did – it wasn't long until she was visibly shivering, her small body trembling as she tried to hug herself tighter and keep her warmth.

"C'mere." Kai said, after a little while, when her shivering got a little worse.

"Hm?" she blinked, and lifted her head, meeting his gaze.

"Come here," he said again, and held an arm outward as a gesture of what he was offering, waving his hand in beckoning.

Leia frowned a little. "Wait, what?"

"Come and hug me." he said, and he almost burst out laughing at her reaction – she blushed again, mouth falling open, frowning in confusion.

"Wh-why?" she asked, and he wasn't sure if her stammering was due to the cold, or her being flustered at his proposition.

"Body heat." He said, with a knowledgeable nod. "We'll be warmer if we share our body heat."

"Oh, uh-"

"It's just a hug." He said, raising an eyebrow, half smiling. "For warmth."

Leia hesitated, biting down on her bottom lip once more, her eyes flitting over Kai, from his extended, tan, nice and toned arm, across his broad but slim chest, to his expression, which was a mixture of amusement, sincerity... and what seemed maybe like hope in his dark eyes. He was stupidly attractive, really. She'd never been in denial that he was good looking, but... she was reaching the stage where she was almost past denying that she was even just... a little attracted to him. That was the problem, though! She couldn't just go and then... snuggle him!

But it was just a hug. For warmth.

So, letting out a soft, shaky breath, she pushed herself to her feet, and walked over to him, sitting herself down hesitantly, making sure to leave a little space –

Kai's arm wound around her, his hand coming to rest on her upper arm, and he used his hold to pull her into him, as close as he could, Leia sucking in a gasp of surprise as he did. "There," he said, when she was huddled up against him. "That's not so bad, is it?"

It's... it's not bad at all she thought, biting her lip, and after a moment, relaxed her stiffness, figuring she was there now, so being tensed up would just be silly... so she huddled so she was comfortable against him. He really was warm, and it was helping a lot actually... and he smelled nice. She couldn't help but notice it, being this close to him. She wasn't sure what it was. A mixture of some kind of aftershave, and boy smell, or maybe it was Kai smell. Whatever it was... yeah, it was nice.

She laid her head on his shoulder, after a moment, and after a moment more, he leant his head against hers. Leia couldn't help but notice how well they fit together like this... how nice it felt. It felt right. Like... they were a perfect fit. 

"Y'know..." Kai said, after a long while, Leia feeling his words vibrate through her head from his, and she nearly giggled at the sensation. "We'd be even warmer if we were naked."

Leia groaned, raising a hand to smush against her face, smiling despite herself. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously! It's actually a scientifically proven fact-"

"Yeah, I know." She said, then snorted a laugh. "Just stop talking please." She gave his chest a playful light hit – right over where his heart was, which she felt beat for a moment, before she quickly tucked her hand between her legs. "Don't be a fuckboy."

Kai let out a breath of indignation – it was now cold enough it fogged out in front of him. "A fuckboy?"

"Yeah. Don't be one." she said, with another soft giggle, closing her eyes and feeling a strange wave of contentment rush through her when his arm around her tightened just a little. "I've actually started to like you, don't ruin it."

"Like me?" Kai asked, and she could tell, without even opening her eyes and seeing it, that he'd have that stupid and attractive half smirk on his face again.

"Yeah. Like." she said, her own lips pulling up into a smirk.

"Like like?"

"Be quiet, Kai."

Surprisingly (even for himself), he listened, and didn't say another word. But his heart beat a little faster, and his smirk grew a little more.

After a little bit, Kai started to hum softly, under his breath, and Leia recognised the tune, but it wasn't until he softly began to sing 'if you love somebody, better tell them while they're here, cause they just may run away from you' that she realised it was one of her favourite, feel-good songs – On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons. She sighed with happiness, murmuring "I love that song."

Kai paused, saying "So do I," before continuing with the next lyric "You'll never know quite when, well then again it just depends on, how long of time is left for you." As he sang, he began to slowly move his thumb up and down on her arm, a soothing, gentle motion.

When he was done, Leia sighed again, and asked "Do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

Kai's thumb stopped its gentle rhythm, and subconsciously, he drew her against him even closer. "Just know that if we don't, and one of us has to turn to cannibalism to survive, I offer myself."

Leia snorted a laugh.

"Though, I can't promise I'll taste as good as the brownie or anything."

Leia's snort became a full blown peal of giggles, and she turned her head slightly to press it into Kai's shoulder. Kai smiled, wide, and briefly wondered if she noticed his heartbeat pick up a little.

After a moment, when her giggles petered out, she shifted her face away from his shoulder again and sighed softly. "I don't think I could eat meat raw though."

Kai snorted. "So is that your only problem with the idea of cannibalising me?"

Leia giggled again.

After that, a hush fell upon the pair, who stayed as they were - comfortably huddled together - for the next forty-three minutes - which was when, with another series of clunks, the elevator was suddenly filled with light and began to move once more.