Arthur was running late. He couldn't believe he had slept in! He didn't think he was that drunk last night. Damn Francis, making him go out drinking when he had to work the next day.

Arthur quickly rushed into the office building he worked in and nearly ran for the elevator to catch it. He was clumsily holding on to his briefcase and found that the number 6 was already pressed. He let out a relieved sigh, and drooped his shoulders. He might make it somewhat on time, his boss might not kill him…

"Whoa, dude, what's the rush?" someone laughed as the elevator doors closed. Arthur looked at the man in confusion. He looked familiar. Maybe he worked in the same office as he did…

"Late," Arthur panted out. The man shrugged. It was quiet in the elevator, except for the horrible music.

Then there was a small ding as the elevator opened to the second floor, letting people in and other people leave. The doors closed as people situated themselves in and the elevator moved again. This time, two people were just chatting happily.

Ding! Third floor and people only got off, including the chatting people. The elevator moved again and Arthur shifted uncomfortably. How slow would this elevator be? It might have been faster to just take the stairs. He stared impatiently at his watch and silently cursed himself when he realized he left his phone in his apartment in his hurry.

Ding. Fifth floor and two people got off. That just left Arthur and that man. The doors closed slowly and the elevator groaned, moving far slower than usual.

"That doesn't sound good," the man looked up.

"It's an old elevator, it does this all the time," Arthur sighed. This was true, this building had been around for a while. It was 10 stories, so it needed an elevator. In the three years Arthur had worked here, he heard the elevator groan and whine all the time.

Suddenly, though, the elevator stopped, making the two trip a bit.

"Does it normally do that?" the man asked. The creaking was getting louder.

"Bloody hell, I think it's going to fall," Arthur immediately dove for the buttons on the elevator, desperately hitting the call help button.

"Shit!" the man yelled out as the cab fell a bit. He went to press the button that opened the doors, but the light in the elevator suddenly went out. It was perfectly quiet for a while before the man started talking. "Dude, this is totally creepy."

"You don't have to tell me that!" Arthur snapped at him. "And get away from me! If we'll be stuck in here, I don't want you-" Arthur was cut off when they heard a giant snap and the cab started falling. It was all Arthur could do to scream. It was pitch black and he couldn't even move around. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world.

Until they crashed to the ground, Arthur heard a crunch, felt a massive pain in his head, and passed out.

Arthur slowly woke up, but when he opened his eyes, it was pitch black. He tried moving his hands to help him sit up from his lying position, but his right arm erupted in pain.

"Ack!" Arthur cried out, quickly moving to cradle his injured arm.

"You're awake," the man from before said happily and Arthur heard someone scurry next to him.

"What happened?" Arthur asked, trying to collect his thoughts.

"The elevator dropped," the man stated. "We fell and you passed out, I don't know how I didn't. But, when you fell, I could have sworn I heard a crunch. Are…Are you okay?"

"My arm hurts like hell," Arthur gritted his teeth.

"Here, let me help you sit up," the man offered and Arthur felt hands on his shoulders, helping him until he leaned against the wall of the elevator. "I-I've been awake for a while so my eyes have adjusted to the dark."

"Nice," Arthur winced at his arm. His head hurt a bit, too. "How long has it been?"

"Not even 20 minutes," the man shook his head. "Um, I'm Alfred, by the way. I figured if we're gonna be stuck here, we might as well get to know each other."

"Arthur," Arthur sighed, resting his head against the wall. "Do you know if help is coming?"

"No," Alfred sighed. Arthur was started to vaguely see a shape in front of him and he assumed that was Alfred. "The power's out, so we can't use the call and I…fell on my phone when we dropped. Do you have a phone, by any chance?"

"I was running late," Arthur sighed. "I forgot my phone in my apartment."

"Darn…" Alfred sighed. "Well…do you think your arm's gonna be okay?"

Arthur tried moving his arm or his hand and it near erupted in pain. "I don't think so," Arthur winced. "I-It may be broken."

"Alright, um, hold on," Alfred said and Arthur heard some shuffling. "Here, we can use this as a sling. Just help me out a bit because I can't see perfectly."

"Right," Arthur sighed and sat up from the wall. He couldn't help but be curious about what Alfred was giving to him as a sling. They were both dressed formally, it was probably just his jacket. Was he wearing a jacket? Arthur felt something soft go around his arm and he winced a little bit. Alfred soon had the other part of the object around his neck and he tied it.

"Okay, I think it's good," Alfred stated. Arthur rested his arm in the sling and it hurt a little bit, but the pain soon subsided.

"Thank you," Arthur stated. "I-I'm sure people are trying to help us, they must have heard the lift crash."

"Right," Alfred sighed. "Well, we might as well pass the time by getting to know each other."

"Alright," Arthur sighed. He wasn't about to start a conversation, though.

"So…uh…what do you do in this building?" Alfred asked. "What's your job?"

"I just do paperwork in a cubicle," Arthur sighed. In all honesty, he wanted to be an author, but until he could publish, this job would have to do…

"Me too," Alfred laughed slightly. "Which office?"

"Level 6," Arthur stated.

"Me too," Alfred said happily. "How long have you worked there?"

"A few years," Arthur sighed. His arm experienced a sudden twinge of pain and he winced at it.

"I just started a month ago," Alfred chuckled slightly. "This elevator always freaked me out."

"This is all very interesting, but-" a very loud knocking at the elevator doors made Arthur stop.

"Hello?! Is anyone in there?!"

"Yes!" Alfred and Arthur yelled at the same time. Alfred moved over to the door quickly.

"How many?!"

"2!" Alfred yelled in response.

"How long have you been in there?!"

"Half an hour!" Alfred replied.

"It could take a while to get you out! You went through the basement and into the ground a ways!"

"Okay!" Alfred nodded, at least Arthur figured that's what he did. He could still barely see him.

"We will give you updates as we go! Don't worry, you're not alone!"

"Okay!" Alfred said again and then started talking to Arthur. "Well, at least they finally got here."

"What in God's name took them so long?" Arthur scoffed and winced once more at his arm.

"Well, we did go through the basement," Alfred chuckled slightly. "I mean, it must have been a little hard to get to us, considering the elevator doesn't even go to the basement."

"We went through the floor?" Arthur gaped.

"Well, we were moving really fast and this thing weighs a ton. I'm sure it could be possible," Alfred's murky figure shrugged.

"How did this thing not break?" Arthur asked.

"If you walk across the floor, you can really tell parts of it broke and parts of it bent, pretty bad," Alfred said. "One corner doesn't even exist anymore. I think it's concrete. You know, we should count ourselves lucky to be alive."

"I will once we get out," Arthur sighed.

"You're a bit of a downer, you know that?" Alfred laughed.

"How can you be so bloody calm during a situation like this?" Arthur snapped.

"I figure there's nothing we can really do," Alfred stated innocently. "Why worry if I can't do anything?"

"How optimistic of you," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, I am doing something," Alfred stated. "I mean, I'm keeping you more or less calm. I'm sure if you were by yourself in a fallen elevator with a broken arm you would be freaking out."

"My hero," Arthur scoffed.

"That's what I was going for!" Alfred said proudly.

"You are an idiot," Arthur stated.

"Arthur?!" a new voice came from the elevator doors.

"Francis?!" Arthur asked. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard you fell in an elevator, mon cher," Francis laughed.

"Who's this?" Alfred asked and Arthur face-palmed. He knew what Francis would say next.

"Oh, so you have someone in there with you. How intimate," Francis snickered.

"Nothing is going on in here!" Arthur yelled and suddenly his arm started hurting even more. "God, my arm…"

"Do you think you'll be okay?" Alfred asked.

"It's my arm, Alfred," Arthur sighed. "It's not like I'm going to die from it."

"Hello?" the person from before asked now. "Um, Arthur?"

"Yes?" Arthur asked.

"Who else is in there?"

"Alfred, sir," Alfred stated.

"Yes, well, Alfred and Arthur," the man stated. "We have found that the elevator is stuck under a pile of rocks. We can get them off, but it will rock the elevator."

"Okay," Alfred nodded. "Should be no problem."

"As long as I can manage to keep my arm still," Arthur stated.

"Sorry? What?" the man asked.

"Artie broke his arm," Alfred said before Arthur could.

"Artie?" Arthur asked.

"Alright, we will try to get you out as soon as possible," the man stated.

"Artie?" Arthur asked again.

"It's a nickname," Alfred said simply.

"My name is Arthur," Arthur stated.

"I know that," Alfred laughed. "But this is a nickname."

"I don't want a blasted nickname," Arthur stated. "I don't even know you."

"And now would be a great time to get to know me! What else will we have to do while they try to get us out?" Alfred asked.

"Fine, we can try this again," Arthur sighed.

"Okay, my name is Alfred F. Jones," Alfred said and Arthur saw the blob that he assumed was him sit in front of him. "I love horror movies and ice cream. I hate the cold, I'm terrified of ghosts…Um…what else? Oh! I was great at sports in high school! I was a physics major, my best friend is Kiku, a Japanese dude. I have a step brother who looks just like me, his name's Mathew. My favorite food is hamburgers. I love coffee! It's the best! I hate having to wake up so early for work."

"Do you ever stop to breathe?" Arthur asked.

"Of course!" Alfred laughed. "Okay, tell me a little about you."

"Alright," Arthur shifted slightly to try and get his arm to be in a more comfortable position. "My name is Arthur Kirkland, I like tea. I'm originally from London, England. I have four brothers, all of them back in London. I like writing and I personally hate this job."

"Have you gotten anything published?" Alfred asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Not yet," Arthur sighed. "Once I do, I'm definitely quitting this job."

"Yeah, this job's not very great," Alfred laughed. "They have shitty elevators."

"Perhaps," Arthur chuckled. "So, where were you born?"

"D.C." Alfred said happily. "On the fourth of July, too! It was, like, the best day ever to be born!"

"I see," Arthur laughed.

"Yeah, that was apparently the best firework show in years!" Alfred said happily. "And I came out just in time for my mom and I to watch it! I can't remember it, obviously but-"

The cab suddenly crashed over to the side, making Arthur all but slam into the wall.

"Whoa," Alfred nearly yelped and Arthur felt something heavy land on top of him. His arm erupted in pain, with most of the weight on top of it. He yelled out in pain.

"Ah, jeez, I'm sorry!" Alfred muttered and Arthur opened his eyes when he noticed that his voice was close to his face. Sure enough, the murky shadow that was Alfred was right in front of his face.

"Well, get off!" Arthur yelled, the pain in his arm getting steadily worse.

"I'm trying," Alfred stated and suddenly the weight off him was lifted. But Alfred's face didn't move away from him.

"And why won't you move?" Arthur sighed.

"Maybe because the elevator is on its side?" Alfred asked.

"And you can't just lie down beside me?" Arthur demanded.

"Did it ever occur to you that I'm kinda injured, too?" Alfred sighed. "It's a little hard, okay?"

Arthur blinked a few times. "Alright, then," he said simply.

"Sorry…" Alfred mumbled. Arthur could vaguely see him start to move when the elevator rocked again, making Alfred apparently loose his hand and foot placement. He came crashing back down on Arthur's broken arm again, but this time something else collided as well.

Arthur felt a warm pressure on his lips for probably a couple seconds before it completely vanished, leaving him to blush like mad and stay speechless and Alfred quickly moved off him.

"Oh, God…" Alfred muttered as he moved.

"It's fine," Arthur shifted a little bit. He noticed that they were sliding a little bit towards where he figured the ceiling was. "Just an accident, right?"

"Yeah," Alfred chuckled slightly. "Can you tell we're going towards the roof?"

"Yes," Arthur sighed. "What the bloody hell are they even doing out there?"

"Who knows," Alfred laughed.

"There!" a new voice yelled from the door. "We're clear!"

"Open it then!" the voice from before ordered.

There was a loud creak and suddenly, a crack of blinding light appeared in front of them. Arthur shielded his eyes with his non injured arm and closed them tightly.

"Damn, that's bright," Alfred muttered. "Guess it wasn't such a good idea to get used to the dark, eh?"

"Yeah," Arthur sighed and felt his head finally hit the ceiling.

There was even more creaking and the light became brighter.

"There they are!" someone yelled, their voice far louder, making Arthur wince slightly.

"Coming," Alfred muttered and Arthur felt shifting in the elevator. He opened his eyes, having to blink a few times to get used to the brightness, and felt someone pick him up.

"Wh-what?" Arthur muttered as he was deposited into the bright light and onto a bumpy ground. Arthur couldn't even look at Alfred because several people surrounded him suddenly. One person shone a flashlight in his eyes, another undid their makeshift sling and started examining his arm. Several more were asking questions Arthur was struggling to answer.

"What's your name?"

"How old are you?"

"Do you know where you are?"

"Who was with you?"

"A-Arthur Kirkland, I'm 23. I'm at my office building. Alfred was in there with-"

"What's your job here?"

"Where do you live?"

"Do you have any family?"

"Friends?"

"Slow down!" Arthur yelled at them and the flashlight went away. "Bloody hell…I just do paperwork, I live in an apartment downtown. All of my family is in England. And I'm pretty sure one of my friends is here now."

"That would be me," Francis said proudly, standing above everyone else.

"What are you even doing here?" Arthur sighed, looking up at him.

"I heard you were in an accident," Francis shrugged. "I figured you might need someone around to support you. However, that shirtless man carrying you out of the elevator tells me otherwise."

"Shirtless?" Arthur asked.

"Hey!" one of the voices from before yelled and the people around Arthur snapped their attention to him. "I could use some more people over here!"

A few people nodded and immediately scurried over to where the man was. Arthur was able to get a glimpse at another man, finally. It looked like the man from the elevator, except the shape he was in, made Arthur's jaw drop.

He had dirty blonde hair that seemed to be matted everywhere and his tanned skin was completely covered in cuts and bruises. His face seemed to be lined with blood. He had broken glasses covering bright blue eyes that were drooping with tiredness. He had on a weak smile and it was obvious at least one of his teeth had something wrong with them. His chest was bare and Arthur realized his sling was made from his shirt, but that revealed both a very toned chest, but also one covered in blood and bruises and cuts. His pants were torn and he only had one shoe on. He was leaning against the tilted wall that the elevator was, making it look like he didn't have enough strength to even sit upright.

"Bloody hell…" Arthur muttered as the people surrounded him and set to work. He could hear the sound of a siren coming from somewhere above them.

"Oui," Francis grinned. "I would crash in an elevator if it meant I could get someone like that."

"You are such an insensitive prat!" Arthur spat at him.

"Arthur?" the person checking his arm caught his attention. "We'll need to bring you to the hospital to check for anything serious. So far, it just looks like a broken arm and a few cuts."

"Yes, ma'am," Arthur nodded his head. He saw people wheeling down gurneys from the stairs that were apparently close by.

"We can't let you walk just yet," the person explained. "So you will be carried up the stairs."

"Okay," Arthur nodded. Soon, he and Alfred were loaded onto gurneys and lifted up the stairs. They were stuffed next to each other into an ambulance waiting just outside the office building. Soon after the doors were closed, one of the few people in there with them started asking more questions.

"Can you two tell me what happened?" the man asked and Arthur saw that Alfred seemed to be on the border of consciousness.

"Th-The elevator started falling when we were near the sixth floor," Arthur stated, having a hard time looking away from Alfred. "When it crashed, I-I blacked out. When I woke up, Alfred was still awake and we were just talking until you got us out."

"Alfred, can you say what happened when he was blacked out?" the man asked Alfred.

"When we were falling," Alfred winced at having to talk, "by instinct, I grabbed onto him, hoping I would receive all the damage and he wouldn't have to. Apparently it worked." His eye lids were started to droop slightly. "While I waited for him to wake up, I was just sitting. It's good to see Artie didn't get too hurt."

"Why didn't you tell me you were so badly injured?" Arthur asked him.

"You needed an anchor, something to keep you calm," Alfred smiled at him. "If you knew I was this bad, you wouldn't have been as calm as you were."

"Alfred that's so…" Arthur trailed off when Alfred closed his eyes. He felt a slight pang in his heart. "Alfred?"

"Relax," the man said. "He's sleeping. He's not dead. Probably a little closer to it than he should be, but he's not."

"He saved me…" Arthur muttered, wanting to reach his hand out to him, but his blasted broken arm got in the way. So he had to settle for looking at the man who saved his life. His hero. "Thank you."

Arthur was pacing the hallway. It had been about a week. He wasn't allowed to see him, in case that would make things more complicated or possibly make him move before he should. He stared down at the cast on his arm. Some of his friends decided it would be funny to sign the cast and Francis took up nearly half of it. Gilbert took up way too much space by writing the word "awesome" all over the damn thing.

He did want one other name on it, though…

"You can come in now, sir," a nurse poked her head out of the door. Arthur immediately rushed to the door and lightly pushed it open with his good arm. The man he was looking for was simply sitting on the hospital bed, attached to multiple machines, staring intently at a television.

"Alfred," Arthur said to announce his presence.

Alfred's eyes immediately widened and looked over at Arthur.

"Artie?" Alfred smiled widely.

"Good to see you alive, idiot," Arthur smiled, letting out a sigh.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Alfred asked.

"I thought we were friends," Arthur stated. "I came to make sure you really were alright. And see it for myself this time."

"The hero's always okay, dude!" Alfred laughed happily.

"You never did get to hear me say thank you, did you?" Arthur smiled slightly.

"Oh, you don't need to," Alfred said. "The hero never needs a thanks."

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve one," Arthur stated. "I'm pretty sure you saved my life. That deserves a thank you."

"Well, if that's the case, I could go for a kiss on the cheek," Alfred said jokingly.

"Thank you," Arthur stared into his eyes. "You really were a hero, you idiot."

"Not a problem," Alfred smiled and shifted slightly in his bed, wincing into himself slightly as he did so.

"How bad are you?" Arthur asked.

"Just some broken ribs," Alfred waved off. "And a concussion. And a shattered knee cap. And a broken foot. And a dislocated shoulder..."

"How the bloody hell did you manage to carry me out of that elevator?" Arthur asked.

"Adrenaline?" Alfred shrugged. "Hey, it's nothing serious and I'll be all healed up and ready to go in no time!"

"When you are, I'll have to give you a proper thank you," Arthur smiled.

"Ah, you don't need to," Alfred shook his head.

"But I want to," Arthur stated.

"So, it's a date, then?" Alfred smiled.

"Sure," Arthur chuckled. He wouldn't tell his hero just yet that he had a crush on him. That could wait for a while. But, he wanted to make absolutely sure that this man liked him, too.

This was the man who saved his life. And he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, until the day he might actually let him die.

Bah, to be honest, I kinda didn't want to update today, on Christmas. But, I bet a few of you are tired of Christmas themed couply stuff, so I updated this one! I wrote it a little bit ago, and I'm pretty proud of it, gotta say. This seems like something America would do. Anyway, happy (insert holiday here)!

Please review!

And I don't own Hetalia!