"Hold the elevator!" A strong voice called.
Bard took a moment to look up, by this time the doors were already semi-closed but through the gap he could see a strong, tall man with long blond locks racing towards him. A breath got caught in Bard's throat but he dismissed it. After all, he'd probably never even set eyes on the guy ever again anyway.
Much to his surprise, the tall man did not slow down upon approaching the doors. Instead, he sped up to ensure that he just made it threw the gap when the doors clicked shut behind him. A confident smile brightened up the man's handsome face and Bard could only stare.
So obviously, it was a shock when the Adonis was pulled to the floor with a sudden hiss of pain.
"Ooouuuch!" The blond man cried from the floor.
Upon sliding through the closing doors, the man's long hair had been blown back meaning that as the doors shut, the hair got captured in the heavy metal. Panicking, Bard shot forward and pressed the emergency stop. The elevator came to a sudden halt, making the man wince.
The man's embarrassment was clear.
"Hi, I'm Bard." He offered.
The man peered up at him with surprise written over his features, "Umm, Thranduil."
"Let's get you out." Bard instructed in a way that offered not argument. He leant behind Thranduil and painstakingly encouraged the precious strands threw the elevator's grasp. There were moments when pain flashed across the tall man's face but Bard took extra care to be gentle.
It took almost five minutes but eventually he was freed from the doors and he couldn't have been more grateful. Thranduil both apologised and offered his thanks more than once after they got the machine going again. Embarrassment still stained his cheeks.
Once the elevator pinged open on the next floor, the two flushed red men were greeted but almost a dozen pairs of suspicious eyes. Elevators had a bad reputation for what happens in them. They had obviously gotten the wrong message.
Mortified, Thranduil began to flee from the scene. Bard took the opportunity and ran after him, catching his sleeve.
"Thranduil..." He asked. He barely knew this man and yet he wanted to know more about him. The embarrassed man peered up at him from where his head had been bowed, "Would you- Did you perhaps want to get a coffee with me sometime?"
A ghost of a smile lit up the man's face, "That definitely wouldn't help the rumours."
Bard's face dropped, "Is that a no?"
"No! Of course it's a yes." Thranduil burst, "I really don't care much for office rumours anyway. Maybe I should get my hair cut though."
"Don't you dare!" Bard flushed red upon his outburst, "I mean-I like it. It really suits you."
They smiled at each other and walked further into the officer. From that day on, Thranduil refused to use an elevator, no matter how many floors he'd have to climb.