A little something I wrote a while ago for the amazing writer StarlightOnInk. I don't know if I'll continue this story, so I'm just going to post this now. Maybe if I have the time and inspiration, more chapters will follow some day (o if enough people ask for it, that's always a great encouragement).

xoxox

Alfred whined pathetically when he pulled his sweaty cheek from the table top. Whose idea was it to have a meeting on one of the hottest days of august? And on a supposed day off to booth; the meeting had only been planned last minute because there had been a slight change in the article that was going to be published in next week's magazine.

His eyes listlessly shot to the watch on his wrist. Only a few more minutes, then he could escape from this hellhole. Go home, take a refreshing shower, and maybe ask his brother if he could come hibernate (summerbrate?) in Canada.

"And that concludes this meeting."

As soon as those blessed words left his boss' mouth, Alfred jerked up. He quickly stuffed his papers into his bag and raced towards the door, not even bothering to grab a cup of water or some coffee before leaving. Quickly mumbling some goodbyes and sending smiles at his colleagues, he sprinted towards the door of the elevator. The sooner he was downstairs, the sooner he could get out of this stuffy suit.

The doors slid open, and he forced his way through the gap, too impatient to wait. His finger rammed the button of his floor of choice, and he sighed in relief when the doors started to close again.

"Ah, wait!"

Alfred had to keep himself from groaning when an arm was placed between the doors, forcing them apart once more. The other stumbled inside, sighing happily as he situated himself next to Alfred.

"Jones," came the pleasantly deep voice of Ivan Braginsky.

Alfred replied with a short nod. He really wasn't in the mood for any small talk right now, especially not with a man who had such a high reputation in the company. Alfred himself was only an interim, still needing another few weeks before he would be officially hired.

"The weather is quite hot today, is it not?" Ivan began, pulling at his tie to loosen it a bit. Alfred secretly glanced at the bandage covering his neck; everyone he'd asked about it had told him not to bother. Ivan didn't give away his secrets easily.

"Sure is," Alfred agreed, blowing out air. The elevator was almost at the ground floor. Just one more…

Then suddenly, the rectangular box shook and threw off their footing, before coming to a complete stop.

"What- what happened?" Alfred asked, head snapping around.

Ivan tried pushing a few buttons, then frowned.

"Hmm, it seems our elevator stopped working."

"Meaning?"

"We are stuck."

"Shit."

Alfred slammed his hand against the doors as Ivan pushed the alarm button, making a loud blearing noise ring through the small space. The younger whined and groaned, pulling at his hair while the other eased himself onto the ground.

Why did they have to get stuck on what could be counted as the hottest day of the entire year?!

"Sit."

Alfred whirled around, scrunching his eyebrows at his companion. Ivan smiled up at his confusion, light-heartedly patting the empty spot next to him.

"We will have to wait until help arrives. Might as well make ourselves comfortable, right? We are lucky we did not get stuck after hours, at least now there are still plenty of people present in the building."

Alfred uncomfortably jumped from one foot to the other, tapping a finger against his hip. Then he sighed in surrender, and let himself flop down in the most (un)elegant of ways. Ivan chuckled, but quickly averted his gaze when Alfred gave him an annoyed glare.

They waited for what felt like hours in uncomfortable silence, keeping their gazes fixed on the flickering button that meant help was on its way. But the longer they waited, the hotter the small space seemed to get. Alfred soon felt like he was suffocating, that there wasn't nearly enough air for two full-grown men. He pulled uncomfortable at his collar, feeling the puddles of sweat spread under his armpits.

"I think we better take our jackets off," Ivan finally suggested.

"Huh?" Alfred turned towards his senior, shocked to find him already undoing his buttons.

"We- we are at work you know?" he quickly reminded, but that notion didn't seem to disturb Ivan at all.

"I know. And I think our boss would rather have two living employees than have to pay for a hospital because we fainted from overheating."

Alfred still looked a bit uncertain, but finally began to take off his own clothes as Ivan shrugged off the expensive grey jacket. Underneath was a neat white undershirt, which the Russian began unbuttoning as well. When he caught Alfred staring, Ivan smiled patiently.

"By only taking off my jacket, I do not think I will be able to survive."

"Oh- right."

Alfred looked a little more enthusiastic as he took off his shirt as well, letting out a sigh of relief once he could no longer feel the fabric sticking to his naked skin. Alfred was used to sweating, him being a regular member of the local gym, but that didn't mean he had come to appreciate sweat even the slightest bit.

Alfred noticed Ivan taking in his appearance, and shyly crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't want to be observed with such a scrutinizing look, as if he were a piece of meat- wait a minute, why was Ivan even looking at his naked body?!

Alfred let his eyes roll to the side, sizing up the other from under hooded eyelids. He had to admit his co-worker didn't look too shabby, even as he fanned his sweaty body with some papers he had recovered from his suitcase. Broad and sturdy-looking, but with a soft belly and some platinum puffs of chest hair to smoothen out his appearance. His skin was almost snowy pale, nothing like Alfred's own sun-kissed tan. It made him look quite exotic, like a delicious treat Alfred wanted to plant his teeth into-

Alfred looked away with a flush when his consciousness caught up to his thoughts. What was even worse was that Ivan was smirking at him with an all-knowing look in those lovely purple hues of his, as if he knew exactly what his younger colleague had been thinking.

"Why do we not take our pants off as well?" his pleasantly accented voice broke the silence.

Alfred had to be beet red when his head jerked around, staring at that grinning Russian open-mouthed. Before he could reply however, the elevator came into action with a jolt.

"We're going down again!" Alfred peeped, glad he had an excuse not to answer to that (tempting) offer. He swiftly pulled his shirt back on, wanting to look at least a little decent when they would be allowed out. It was already hard enough to cover up the permanent crimson on his cheeks, or the frantic glint his eyes had gained.

He stood up, straightening his figure and putting on his best toothpaste commercial smile. Right before the doors opened, he felt a hand being clasped around his own. His eyes widened in surprise when his fingers were pried open, and a little piece of paper was placed between them.

A voice breathed hotly into his ear, curly hair tickling at his cheek and jawline.

"If you are interested, I always go to this establishment for lunch. And I would be delighted to see you there some time."

Then he pressure was gone, the doors opened, and Ivan stepped out before him. Looking over his shoulder, the Russian gave a smile and a small wave before disappearing.

Alfred still stood frozen in the elevator, paper pressed against the palm of his hand, heart fluttering in his chest, and hot in more ways than one.