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Description
   Hayner glared at the elevator as it lifted without him, the last person apparently incapable of holding the doors for just ten seconds for him. Grumbling, he settled to wait, jamming his finger against the grubby 'up' arrow and sighing huffily.

   After a while, a blonde boy he didn't know came over to wait beside him. Hayner raised an eyebrow – he didn't recognise him, and he came here every day. Well, that was a joke, he lived in the hospital nowadays. He should recognise this guy, he thought, if he was using this elevator. This was one of the smaller lifts, though, for the use of those not in an emergency situation - it was due for maintenance in a few days - and new patients generally went up in the more easily found elevators at the front of the hospital. Maybe he was an outpatient – he wasn't wearing a hospital gown. Hayner was, but he was luckily able to wear his trousers under it. But now he thought about it, he did know the blonde from somewhere. Tall, blue eyes, black beanie… He knew he'd seen him somewhere before.

   Eventually the elevator clackered back down again and opened with a smooth groan. Hayner let the other blond go in first, before wheeling himself in behind him. It was with slight jealousy that he glanced at the unknown boy, standing in the corner boredly after pressing the buttons. He wished he could stand. He missed running. And Struggle. Hell, he missed just being able to moan that his legs were aching after walking around all day.

   They started going up, the lift sighing heavily as it moved, almost as though it was weary with its pitiful lot, only going up and down, up and down. However, it ground to a halt long before it reached the floor Hayner was getting off at. He assumed that this was where the other boy was getting out, but he had a confused frown too. The lift tried to continue upwards but eventually shuddered and stopped. Hayner blinked and swore.
"Goddammit. This is why the damn thing needs maintenance." He wheeled over to the buttons and pressed the one with the speaker icon on it. "Hey, anyone there? The damn lift's stuck again. I told you it needed looking at last time. Hello?" He paused and listened to the silence. "Dammit." He pressed the alarm bell to let someone know that the lift was stuck, wherever the alarm led to. Huffing frustratedly, he settled back into his wheelchair.
"This happens a lot, I take it?" the so far silent blonde asked. Hayner turned his chair and nodded.
"Like… Last Thursday was the last time. This thing's a fucking mess. They keep getting the same guy to look at it and it never gets better." He leaned down and reached his arm around the back of the wheelchair, pulling out his DS from the back pocket. Looking back at the blond, he remarked, "We might be here for a while, so what's your name?"
"Seifer. You?"
"Hayner. As you might be able to tell by the damn dress, I'm an inpatient. You?" Seifer shrugged.
"Visiting my sister. She's been here a couple of weeks – had appendicitis. She's supposed to be coming home next weekend."
"Lucky her." Hayner's slightly bad mood worsened a bit. He missed being home. He missed his friends. Yes, they came to see him, but… It wasn't the same. They knew he was lonely and came as much as possible, but even he could tell they didn't really want to be there – they wanted to be with him, yes, but they… He sighed. "Sorry, that was probably assholish. I'm just in a bad mood." Seifer shrugged.
"Doesn't bother me. Most people call me an asshole. They're probably right." He chuckled. They sat and stood in silence for a while, until Hayner's DS started beeping as he began playing a game.

   They continued to ignore each other in companionable silence for the next five minutes, until Hayner made a frustrated sound and reached back over his head to press the call button again.
"Oi, anyone there now?" He waited for a response, which came quite quickly.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"Yeah, the bloody lift's stuck again."
"Which one? I'll send someone along."
"Which d'you think? Seven, freaking seven again."
"That wouldn't be Mr Dincht would it?" Hayner sighed.
"Yeah it is. Ax?"
"Mmhm. Ok, I'll get Reno to do a James Bond for you. He'll be there in a bit." Hayner released the button and massaged his arm – it was protesting at being twisted above his head for so long.
"I guess you know the guy on the other end, then." Seifer commented.
"Yeah." Hayner stretched with a sudden yawn. "Man, where did that come from? I sleep practically all day, why am I tired?"
"Being in such close proximity to the embodiment of awesome tends to wear people out." Seifer remarked dryly with a smirk. Hayner snorted.
"If by 'embodiment of awesome', you mean 'weird blonde with a stupid hat', you'd still be wrong." Seifer raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the wall of the lift, arms folded across his chest.
"Oh, kitty has claws." Hayner sniggered at that.
"That's something you'd say to a girl, dumbass. Besides, I remember where I've seen you before now. We used to Struggle sometimes, in the tournaments."
"And I always beat you flat on your ass." Seifer said with the air of finishing his sentence. Hayner glared at him and crossed his arms.
"Did not! I beat you twice."
"Out of how many?" Seifer pointed out with a grin. Hayner glared at him and remained silent. The taller blonde started laughing, and eventually, Hayner abashedly joined in.

   After a while, they returned to silence, and Hayner closed his eyes, thinking of how sunny it had been outside the window, and how much he wished he could climb that tree near the entrance. Without even realising it, his face contorted into a grimace of longing and lingering sadness.
"Hey, you ok?" The not-quite-so-unknown voice asked, a lot closer than it had been before. And there, in that elevator, with an almost complete stranger, Hayner felt something break. He'd been inside for so long, he was forgetting what sunlight and a breeze felt on his face, and he had no idea if he'd ever feel that again. He might never feel that again, or ever go swimming, or Struggle, or climb another tree, or ever… He let out a choked sob, clenching his fists and leaning forwards, trying not to let any of those stupid, stupid, stupid tears out. His legs were a thin as two sticks, and he was certain that even if he ever got out of the wheelchair, he wouldn't be able to walk anyway, due to the complete and utter weakness in them. His shoulders started shaking as all of that carefully constructed hope and optimism came tumbling down. All because of a slightly familiar face that reminded him of what he could never have.

   When warm arms slipped around his shoulders, tentative, unsure, he just leaned into Seifer and pressed his face into his shoulder, arms coming up to wrap around him in turn. He tried to hold back the tears and was surprisingly quite successful, only a few solitary ones soaking into the older boy's collar.

   Within ten minutes, he pulled away, breathing deeply. God, where was Reno?
"You ok now?" Seifer asked, stepping away.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I don't usually have breakdowns in elevators with complete strangers." Hayner wiped a hand roughly across his eyes and leaned back with a sigh.
"Hey, I'm not a complete stranger." Hayner gave the taller male a half-smile.
"Yeah, I've just been crying into your shirt like some damn chick. I think I can safely say I've never done that to any of my friends."
"Well, I don't tend to be all comforting and shit when people are crying, either. So… what's wrong? I mean, why are you…" Seifer gestured to the wheelchair. Hayner frowned.
"Why does everyone ask that?" Seifer shrugged.
"Maybe cos they're interested? Don't worry, it doesn't matter. Just trying not to be a complete stranger." Hayner smiled at that.
"S'ok. Where's that stupid redhead?..." He contemplated pressing the call button again, but didn't. It wasn't as bad being stuck in an elevator when there were two of you.
"Probably gotten stuck in the wires or something. I thought I could smell ginger cooking…" Hayner chuckled and replied,
"He's flattered, I'm sure." There was a faint tapping sound from above them before the lift shuddered back into life and continued to grind its way up to the next floor. Hayner smiled. "At last."

    They rattled up to the level Hayner was getting out on, the seated boy wondering why Seifer hadn't gotten out yet – surely his sister wasn't on that level, if she was going home… He barely registered the taller blonde moving behind him and grabbing the handles on the back of his wheelchair as the doors started to open.
"Hey, what're you-" Hayner didn't get to finish that sentence as Seifer ran forwards, pushing him at breakneck speed down the long corridor, laughing. Hayner, once he'd gotten over the initial shock, joined in, throwing his arms in the air and grinning like mad. It wasn't like running again. No, it was like flying.

Description
   Hayner glared at the elevator as it lifted without him, the last person apparently incapable of holding the doors for just ten seconds for him. Grumbling, he settled to wait, jamming his finger against the grubby 'up' arrow and sighing huffily.

   After a while, a blonde boy he didn't know came over to wait beside him. Hayner raised an eyebrow – he didn't recognise him, and he came here every day. Well, that was a joke, he lived in the hospital nowadays. He should recognise this guy, he thought, if he was using this elevator. This was one of the smaller lifts, though, for the use of those not in an emergency situation - it was due for maintenance in a few days - and new patients generally went up in the more easily found elevators at the front of the hospital. Maybe he was an outpatient – he wasn't wearing a hospital gown. Hayner was, but he was luckily able to wear his trousers under it. But now he thought about it, he did know the blonde from somewhere. Tall, blue eyes, black beanie… He knew he'd seen him somewhere before.

   Eventually the elevator clackered back down again and opened with a smooth groan. Hayner let the other blond go in first, before wheeling himself in behind him. It was with slight jealousy that he glanced at the unknown boy, standing in the corner boredly after pressing the buttons. He wished he could stand. He missed running. And Struggle. Hell, he missed just being able to moan that his legs were aching after walking around all day.

   They started going up, the lift sighing heavily as it moved, almost as though it was weary with its pitiful lot, only going up and down, up and down. However, it ground to a halt long before it reached the floor Hayner was getting off at. He assumed that this was where the other boy was getting out, but he had a confused frown too. The lift tried to continue upwards but eventually shuddered and stopped. Hayner blinked and swore.
"Goddammit. This is why the damn thing needs maintenance." He wheeled over to the buttons and pressed the one with the speaker icon on it. "Hey, anyone there? The damn lift's stuck again. I told you it needed looking at last time. Hello?" He paused and listened to the silence. "Dammit." He pressed the alarm bell to let someone know that the lift was stuck, wherever the alarm led to. Huffing frustratedly, he settled back into his wheelchair.
"This happens a lot, I take it?" the so far silent blonde asked. Hayner turned his chair and nodded.
"Like… Last Thursday was the last time. This thing's a fucking mess. They keep getting the same guy to look at it and it never gets better." He leaned down and reached his arm around the back of the wheelchair, pulling out his DS from the back pocket. Looking back at the blond, he remarked, "We might be here for a while, so what's your name?"
"Seifer. You?"
"Hayner. As you might be able to tell by the damn dress, I'm an inpatient. You?" Seifer shrugged.
"Visiting my sister. She's been here a couple of weeks – had appendicitis. She's supposed to be coming home next weekend."
"Lucky her." Hayner's slightly bad mood worsened a bit. He missed being home. He missed his friends. Yes, they came to see him, but… It wasn't the same. They knew he was lonely and came as much as possible, but even he could tell they didn't really want to be there – they wanted to be with him, yes, but they… He sighed. "Sorry, that was probably assholish. I'm just in a bad mood." Seifer shrugged.
"Doesn't bother me. Most people call me an asshole. They're probably right." He chuckled. They sat and stood in silence for a while, until Hayner's DS started beeping as he began playing a game.

   They continued to ignore each other in companionable silence for the next five minutes, until Hayner made a frustrated sound and reached back over his head to press the call button again.
"Oi, anyone there now?" He waited for a response, which came quite quickly.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"Yeah, the bloody lift's stuck again."
"Which one? I'll send someone along."
"Which d'you think? Seven, freaking seven again."
"That wouldn't be Mr Dincht would it?" Hayner sighed.
"Yeah it is. Ax?"
"Mmhm. Ok, I'll get Reno to do a James Bond for you. He'll be there in a bit." Hayner released the button and massaged his arm – it was protesting at being twisted above his head for so long.
"I guess you know the guy on the other end, then." Seifer commented.
"Yeah." Hayner stretched with a sudden yawn. "Man, where did that come from? I sleep practically all day, why am I tired?"
"Being in such close proximity to the embodiment of awesome tends to wear people out." Seifer remarked dryly with a smirk. Hayner snorted.
"If by 'embodiment of awesome', you mean 'weird blonde with a stupid hat', you'd still be wrong." Seifer raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the wall of the lift, arms folded across his chest.
"Oh, kitty has claws." Hayner sniggered at that.
"That's something you'd say to a girl, dumbass. Besides, I remember where I've seen you before now. We used to Struggle sometimes, in the tournaments."
"And I always beat you flat on your ass." Seifer said with the air of finishing his sentence. Hayner glared at him and crossed his arms.
"Did not! I beat you twice."
"Out of how many?" Seifer pointed out with a grin. Hayner glared at him and remained silent. The taller blonde started laughing, and eventually, Hayner abashedly joined in.

   After a while, they returned to silence, and Hayner closed his eyes, thinking of how sunny it had been outside the window, and how much he wished he could climb that tree near the entrance. Without even realising it, his face contorted into a grimace of longing and lingering sadness.
"Hey, you ok?" The not-quite-so-unknown voice asked, a lot closer than it had been before. And there, in that elevator, with an almost complete stranger, Hayner felt something break. He'd been inside for so long, he was forgetting what sunlight and a breeze felt on his face, and he had no idea if he'd ever feel that again. He might never feel that again, or ever go swimming, or Struggle, or climb another tree, or ever… He let out a choked sob, clenching his fists and leaning forwards, trying not to let any of those stupid, stupid, stupid tears out. His legs were a thin as two sticks, and he was certain that even if he ever got out of the wheelchair, he wouldn't be able to walk anyway, due to the complete and utter weakness in them. His shoulders started shaking as all of that carefully constructed hope and optimism came tumbling down. All because of a slightly familiar face that reminded him of what he could never have.

   When warm arms slipped around his shoulders, tentative, unsure, he just leaned into Seifer and pressed his face into his shoulder, arms coming up to wrap around him in turn. He tried to hold back the tears and was surprisingly quite successful, only a few solitary ones soaking into the older boy's collar.

   Within ten minutes, he pulled away, breathing deeply. God, where was Reno?
"You ok now?" Seifer asked, stepping away.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I don't usually have breakdowns in elevators with complete strangers." Hayner wiped a hand roughly across his eyes and leaned back with a sigh.
"Hey, I'm not a complete stranger." Hayner gave the taller male a half-smile.
"Yeah, I've just been crying into your shirt like some damn chick. I think I can safely say I've never done that to any of my friends."
"Well, I don't tend to be all comforting and shit when people are crying, either. So… what's wrong? I mean, why are you…" Seifer gestured to the wheelchair. Hayner frowned.
"Why does everyone ask that?" Seifer shrugged.
"Maybe cos they're interested? Don't worry, it doesn't matter. Just trying not to be a complete stranger." Hayner smiled at that.
"S'ok. Where's that stupid redhead?..." He contemplated pressing the call button again, but didn't. It wasn't as bad being stuck in an elevator when there were two of you.
"Probably gotten stuck in the wires or something. I thought I could smell ginger cooking…" Hayner chuckled and replied,
"He's flattered, I'm sure." There was a faint tapping sound from above them before the lift shuddered back into life and continued to grind its way up to the next floor. Hayner smiled. "At last."

    They rattled up to the level Hayner was getting out on, the seated boy wondering why Seifer hadn't gotten out yet – surely his sister wasn't on that level, if she was going home… He barely registered the taller blonde moving behind him and grabbing the handles on the back of his wheelchair as the doors started to open.
"Hey, what're you-" Hayner didn't get to finish that sentence as Seifer ran forwards, pushing him at breakneck speed down the long corridor, laughing. Hayner, once he'd gotten over the initial shock, joined in, throwing his arms in the air and grinning like mad. It wasn't like running again. No, it was like flying.