The elevator door opened with a quiet hiss. König stepped inside before he even had a chance to notice that someone else was already in the elevator. He took a big step in, bowing his head slightly because he was too tall. His massive form immediately filled the small space – top of his head touching the ceiling, his shoulders nearly as broad as the door. The whole elevator even took a small dip, sinking just slightly lower than before, under the weight of this mountain of a man and his mass of muscles.

But then he stilled, and hesitated before stepping further in. Because you were there. Just standing in the corner by the button board, face blotched and stained with tears. You got startled when he walked in, his presence imposing and intimidating not only due to his size, but also because he caught you in such a vulnerable moment. You quickly sniffled and faced away from him, clumsily wiping off your tears. And you tried very hard not to cry, not to make a scene.

As the door closed shut behind him, and the elevator started moving again, König awkwardly tried to make himself seem smaller, less intruding. He stood stiffly against the wall, avoided looking directly at you, and squirmed to turn slightly away and give you at least a little ‘privacy’ in this cramped space. This was a torture, for both of you.

And you couldn’t hold back your tears, no matter how hard you tried. You kept sniffling and whimpering, and König felt as if he shouldn’t be here, as if he shouldn’t have seen this. And of course, he knew that he looked scary, so he felt bad for putting you through additional stress while you were already very clearly upset. He was terrified that he was making things worse for you.

Eventually, he couldn’t stand this anymore. The elevator seemed to purposely be taking forever, dragging slowly while the two of you were trapped in the most awkward situation imaginable. König cleared his throat, and attempted to ease the tension that was palpable in the air.

“Sorry. I did not mean to frighten you.” he said, shifting from foot to foot.

You looked up at him even more startled, holding back tears until this cursed elevator ride ends.

“You do not have to stop crying because of me.” he added. “…you are hurt?”