This was written for the prompt Claustrophobia from my Bad Things Happen Bingo card over on Tumblr.
You can find me on Tumblr under the name Letthewhumpbegin.
A nervous sigh escaped Rooster's lips as the elevator doors slid closed.
It was strange for a fighter pilot, but confined spaces always made him feel on edge. Inside a jet he was fine, but almost anything else triggered a response in him.
Usually, a short elevator ride he could just handle, but even then he had to use every ounce of his self control not to freak out. And the elevator he had just stepped into felt far from comfortable.
Rooster did his best to keep his rising anxiety in check, but the shaky sigh had given him away already.
Maverick, who stood in the elevator with him as they made their way up for a meeting about their latest mission, glanced over his shoulder at Rooster standing a few feet behind him.
"It's only six floors up, we'll be there soon." The captain reassured, averting his gaze back to the display overhead that told them they were already nearing the third floor.
"I'm fine," Rooster answered.
"Sure you are," Maverick replied sarcastically, "those hands clamped into fists definitely confirm that."
Rooster hadn't even realized that he had his hands balled tightly into fists. He quickly stretched them out again.
"I'm fine," he repeated, even though he knew Maverick had seen through him.
Maverick glanced back over his shoulder, a slight smirk on his face. "Naturally."
The word had barely left his mouth, or the elevator came to a grinding stop. The ceiling light flickered before going out completely, and a persistent beeping confirmed this was not a planned stop.
"Oh, shit…" The fear was instant in Rooster's voice. Where he had been able to control his fear somewhat, it now immediately slipped from his grasp. He was instantly hyperventilating and his heart pounded inside his chest.
"This isn't happening…" Rooster gasped, sliding down against the wall and sinking down to the ground. His hands gripped into his hair, as his gasping, wheezing breaths reverberated around the small elevator.
Maverick quickly pushed the alarm button, before he knelt down in front of Rooster.
"Calm down." Maverick tried to soothe.
"I can't." Rooster's voice sounded higher than usual. "I'm trapped. I can't get out, I…"
His emotions definitely took the better of Rooster now. A ringing sound grew louder in his ears, and a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him. Rooster didn't think it was possible, but his heart pounded even faster inside his chest. Cold sweats broke out all over his body, along with an uncontrollable trembling.
Maverick had never seen Rooster like this. Hell, he didn't even know the kid suffered from claustrophobia. At least, that was what he guessed this was.
"Look at me." Maverick gently reached for Rooster's wrist. Without even trying he could feel the younger man's pulse racing.
Rooster had his eyes squeezed shut. He refused to open them, because that meant actually seeing he was trapped and had nowhere to go.
"We'll be out of here in a minute." Maverick tried, but his words fell on deaf ears. Rooster whimpered loudly, his fear rising even higher.
Maverick wordlessly squeezed Rooster's wrist, hoping beyond hope to find a way to get through to him. Instead, Rooster trampled his legs on the floor and pressed his back hard against the elevator wall, almost as if he was attempting to disappear through it.
"Bradley." Maverick's voice suddenly held the authority of his rank. Rooster stilled, although his panicked breaths still filled the elevator.
The use of his real name, instead of his more oftenly used callsign, snapped him out of it for at least a little bit. He looked up at Maverick through his eyelashes in a futile attempt to keep the small elevator space out of his line of sight.
"I know this is hard, and you don't want to hear anything I have to say," Maverick spoke clearly, "but they'll have us out of here soon. Try to keep as calm as possible."
Rooster's breath hitched in his throat. "How can I? W–we're trapped."
"Not for long anymore, I promise." Maverick did his utmost best to keep Rooster focused on him.
Rooster squeezed his eyes shut once more, clenching a fist around the sleeve of Maverick's jacket. "I n-need it to be now…"
Maverick nodded understandingly. He patted Rooster's shoulder before he spoke. "I wouldn't mind that either."
Suddenly, the elevator jolted. The light overhead flickered back on, and with a grinding noise the elevator seemed to move again.
Rooster squeaked in fright. He raised his arms over his head, curling in on himself.
"We're moving." Maverick rose to his feet as he looked at the floor indicator. "That's a good thing."
Another jolt, another grind, and finally the freeing 'ping' sound as the elevator doors slid open. It wasn't the floor they were supposed to be on, but that didn't matter to Rooster.
As soon as he saw daylight, Rooster was up on all fours, crawling out onto the hallway the elevator opened up to.
The moment he was a safe distance away, Rooster collapsed onto the tile floor.
He lay breathing hard and still trembling all over. He might be free, but the fear of being trapped wasn't nearly out of his system yet.
Maverick knelt down next to Rooster, resting a comforting hand on the younger man 's arm. "Deep breaths, kid. Take all the time you need. We're alright, we're out."
Rooster nodded curtly into the floor, but wasn't able to shake his fear just yet.
Eventually, Rooster lay on that floor for about fifteen minutes before he deemed himself able to move again. He finally, slowly, moved himself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the wall.
Maverick watched his every move. "You good?"
Rooster breathed deep in and out. "Yeah."
"What happened back there?" Maverick ventured the question.
"I guess I never told you that I'm claustrophobic," Rooster answered.
"No…" Maverick had already guessed something along those lines, but having it confirmed still surprised him. "That's not something many pilots suffer from."
"It's weird, huh?" Rooster ran a hand through his hair, chuckling wryly. "When I'm flying it doesn't bother me one bit. Maybe because the jets have windows and the fact that you can see the outside world. And, usually, short elevator rides are tense for me, but… I manage."
"Until we got stuck," Maverick added, understanding how this all came to be.
Rooster nodded with a heavy sigh. "Yeah."
Maverick looked at the state of Rooster, who still seemed not entirely collected again. "Do you need me to call the meeting off?"
"No," Rooster replied somewhat wearily, "I'll be fine."
Maverick held out his hand and pulled Rooster up on his feet.
"Thanks," Rooster mumbled. He straightened his back and rolled his shoulders a few times to try and rid himself of the last bit of tension.
"Okay, I'm good," he finally announced.
Maverick clasped Rooster's shoulder, smirking. "On the way back we'll take the stairs."
Rooster chuckled, glad for Maverick's understanding and non-judgemental reaction to all this. "You bet your ass I'm taking the stairs."