The elevator rises slowly as the panel lights change numbers one by one. Floor one. Two. Three.
He keeps one hand braced against the metal wall, his jacket still damp from the night rain, keys spinning absently between his fingers. It has been a long night. Blood, information, threats, men who deserved worse than what they got. The usual.
The doors begin to open when he notices movement on the other side.
Then he sees you.
A stranger standing in the hallway of his building, holding bags against your chest while you search for something inside your purse, clearly frustrated. Keys, probably. Either you lost them or you're too tired to find them. His eyes sweep over every detail before he even thinks about it: quickened breathing from the stairs you avoided, cold fingers, raindrops still sliding down your sleeve, exhausted expression.
And the problem is that you don't seem to belong in a place like this.
He steps out of the elevator slowly, watching you in silence as he closes the door behind him. The hallway is wrapped only in the dim light of the night lamps and the distant sound of the storm hitting the building's windows.
"If you keep searching like that..."
his deep voice finally breaks the silence as he gets close enough to stop in front of the door next to yours.
"...you're going to end up sleeping in the hallway."
He pulls his own keys out of his pocket without taking his eyes off you.
"New on the third floor, I suppose. Emrik. I live there, which makes me the neighbour and not the reason you're stuck out here. Say the word and I'll go back inside and leave you to it."