Bandom Bingo

Elevator

Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader

Word Count: 1096

Warnings: Angst, arguments

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this one :)

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Your calves started to burn as you followed after Josh, trying - and nearly failing - to keep up with his long strides. Cool wind whipped at your cheeks and slipped up the sleeves of your sweatshirt, sprouting goosebumps all along your arms. Josh had his hood pulled up over his head, hiding his typically bright green hair. You picked up your pace, hoping to get close enough that you could talk to him without yelling over the wind.

"Josh, can you please slow down? My legs are starting to hurt."

Your question was met with silence. The deep breath you took to try and alleviate the pain only made your lungs burn from the icy chill. You pulled your sweatshirt up over your mouth and nose, hoping the warm fabric would help the sting.

With each aching step, you started to grow frustrated. The rest of the crew had gone out bowling to celebrate another successful show, but you had bailed to instead go back to the hotel with Josh, thinking that once you two were alone he would actually open up to you about why he was upset. Instead, you had only been met with silence and him nearly jogging his way back to the hotel, leaving you scrambling to catch up.

He hadn't been this way all night. In fact, the two of you had been getting along pretty well up until dinner, playfully nudging one another and cracking jokes. It was just like any other day. Then you had said something at dinner and Josh's whole demeanor changed, his smile wiped in an instant. You couldn't even remember it now, it had seemed so insignificant at the time. Had you known it was going to be such a big deal, you never would have said it.

By the time you finally stepped through the front doors into the hotel lobby, your nose was thoroughly running and any exposed bits of your skin had been turned bright red by the wind. Josh didn't even slow down as he crossed the floor towards the elevators, obviously eager to put as much space between you and him as he could. You only stopped to breathe for a moment before following after him; the second that he got himself behind a locked hotel door, you knew any chance of talking this out was gone.

You barely managed to catch the elevator doors as they closed, making your frozen hands sting from the contact. Josh watched you carefully as you stepped in and leaned against the wall, tucking your hands back up inside your sleeves to warm them up faster.

"What floor?" he muttered.

"Nine. Same as you."

Josh punched the button again, even though it was already glowing a faint yellow. You watched him, waiting to see if he would say anything else, but he didn't even turn enough to make eye contact with you. Deciding that enough was enough, you gave in and spoke first.

"Alright, are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

"Nothing is going on."

"Don't play that game with me, Josh. I just followed you half a mile back to the hotel in the freezing cold while you didn't so much as look at me because I knew something was wrong, so you might as well tell me now."

"I didn't ask you to do that."

"God, sorry that I care about you, I guess."

"Do you care about me?" Josh said. His voice was raised now and he had turned to look at you. After seeing the look in his eyes, you almost wished that he hadn't. "Because you sure didn't seem to care about my feelings when you laughed off the possibility of us ever being more than friends."

"It was a joke, Josh! We make jokes like that all the time!"

"No. You make jokes like that all the time."

You started to bunch up your sleeves even tighter in your fists, relieving only a small portion of the tension you were feeling. As much as you wanted to scream at him, you knew you could never do that to Josh. That, and you were in an elevator.

"Why does it even matter so much to you?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Apparently."

"I'm in love with you, Y/N." His voice dropped back to a normal volume after his confession. "And I've been trying to show that to you all week, but every move I try to make just gets brushed off as a normal friendly interaction by you. I was planning to tell you tonight, but then you made that comment at dinner and it killed any confidence that I had, but here we are anyway."

The anger you had been feeling just a moment ago was gone, replaced by adrenaline or something else that you couldn't quite place. Your brain was grasping for something, anything, to say in response to him, but it couldn't find the right thing. Instead, you did the only thing that you could think to do.

Josh's lips were cold as you crashed yours against them. He was taken aback at first - you could tell by how stiff his body was - but once everything clicked into place, he relaxed and dug his fingers into the thick fabric of your sweatshirt, pulling you closer. You deepened the kiss, letting your fingers get tangled in the dark strands of hair near the nape of his neck.

Neither of you pulled away until the elevator dinged, signaling that you had finally arrived at the ninth floor. You briefly considered hitting another floor so that you and Josh would have a moment longer together, but figured there was too much risk of other people getting on. Your cheeks were burning as you untangled yourself from Josh and stepped out into the hall.

"Listen, I'm sorry for making all those jokes, Josh. I never meant to upset you."

"It's ok, you had no way of knowing."

You nodded and rocked back and forth on your heels, trying to figure out what would happen next. Josh's room was at the opposite end of the hall from yours, but you weren't exactly looking to put an end to the night yet.

"So," you drew out the word. "Now what?"

Josh pressed his lips together, though it did next to nothing to hide his sly smile.

"Room service dessert and cheesy movies in my hotel room?" he asked, gesturing over his shoulder.

You smiled, immediately wrapping yourself around Josh and leaning into his side. "Deal."