Chapter Text
"What is this? A soulmate test?"
Kimi frowned, staring at the heavy wooden door before them. It had no handle, no latch, just a sentence embossed in gold leaf across the center:
ONLY TRUE LOVE, WITH HEARTS IN SYNC, MAY OPEN THIS DOOR.
"It’s obviously some kind of mechanism," Sebastian was intrigued—he always did enjoy a good logic puzzle. "I bet there are biometric sensors behind the panel detecting heartbeats or body heat. If we place our hands on it simultaneously and push, it should trigger the door to open."
"Bwoah." Kimi looked skeptical, but he cooperated, extending his hand. "Let’s just make it quick. I’m hungry."
They stood side by side, pressing their palms against the wood.
"One, two, three, PUSH!" Sebastian shouted the command.
They exerted force simultaneously.
The door didn't budge.
"Not enough force?" Sebastian adjusted his stance, looking puzzled. "Again. Harder this time!"
Kimi gave it everything he had. His arm muscles went taut, veins popping, as he shoved against the door with maximum force.
The door held fast, completely unyielding.
The smile on Sebastian’s face froze. A sinking feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach.
Ten minutes later.
They tried everything: individual pushes, synchronized shoving, running tackles, even bracing their backs against it and heaving. The door remained shut.
The atmosphere shifted.
What started as grumbling about faulty hotel facilities had morphed into something else. As the words ONLY TRUE LOVE seemed to swim before their eyes, practically mocking them, Sebastian’s brain—always prone to over-analyzing—began to spiral out of control.
"Kimi," Sebastian’s voice trembled slightly. "Why won't it open?"
"Door’s broken." Kimi leaned against the wall, panting and wiping sweat from his brow. "Or the mechanism is jammed. These cheap places are always like this."
"But... what if it’s not broken?" Sebastian stared at the gold lettering, his expression crumbling. "What if it’s real? What if it detects that we aren't actually in love?"
Kimi rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Seb. It’s technology, not magic."
"But we can't open it!" Sebastian finally snapped, irrational panic overriding his logic. "I used all my strength! If it’s not the door, then it’s us! Is it because you don't believe in this? Is your subconscious telling you that we aren't worthy of opening a door that represents 'True Love'?
"What are you talking about?" Kimi was getting annoyed now. He was tired, starving, and on top of that, having his sincerity questioned. "Does it matter if I believe in it? I pushed with everything I had, didn't you see?"
"I didn't see!" Sebastian yelled, eyes red, looking like a startled, angry rabbit. "You’re always like this! Nonchalant, not caring about anything! Maybe the door sees through you. It knows you're just humoring me! You don't actually love me, you’re just used to having me around!"
"If I didn't love you, would I be standing here banging against a wall like an idiot with you?" Kimi’s voice rose, his patience evaporating. "Can you be rational for one second? It’s a piece of wood!"
"It’s an omen!" Sebastian’s voice cracked into a sob as he pointed an accusing finger at the wood. "It’s telling me the truth! We’re done! This relationship is a joke-we can't even fool a door!"
"Fine. Great! If it’s a joke, I’m leaving." Kimi turned, looking ready to kick the door down. "Fuck true love!"
"Go ahead, leave! You can't open it anyway!" Sebastian squatted on the floor, burying his face in his knees, "We aren't compatible... sob... even the door is bullying me..."
Kimi felt a headache building. Sebastian’s sobbing was making him a mess—he was still pissed off, but his chest tightened painfully at the sound of him crying.
He looked at Sebastian curled up on the floor. He wanted to pull him up, but he felt he needed to defeat this godforsaken door before he could solve his boyfriend’s emotional crisis.
"Damn it..." Kimi glared at the wood. He was done wasting energy on this thing. Defeated, he slapped a hand against the doorframe and slumped sideways, just wanting to lean against the panel to catch his breath.
But the wood gave way beneath him. With insulting ease, the heavy door—the source of their entire crisis—glided silently to the right along a hidden floor track. It didn't even make a sound.
Outside, a hotel waiter pushing a room service cart froze. He looked in terror at the scene inside- a German man squatting on the floor with a tear-stained face, and a Finnish man frozen in a leaning pose, looking like he’d just swallowed a fly.
The air solidified.
Sebastian’s sobbing cut off instantly. He looked up blankly, a snot bubble threatening to form, staring at the open space, then at Kimi.
Kimi, still leaning to the right, turned his stiff neck slowly to look at the words on the door: ONLY TRUE LOVE... OPEN THIS DOOR.
If it were a swinging door, the sign would be poetic.
But if it were a sliding door...
"It didn't say it was a sliding door," Sebastian squeezed the words out, his voice thick with nasal congestion.
"No," Kimi stood up straight, his face an unreadable mask.
"So..." Sebastian scrambled to his feet, frantically wiping the tear tracks from his cheeks. "It wasn't testing for true love?"
"Obviously." Kimi straightened his shirt, trying to salvage some of his 'Iceman' dignity. "It only tests for IQ."
Sebastian scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling utterly foolish. He couldn't believe he’d questioned their entire relationship over a stupid sliding door. He looked up at Kimi, who was shifting restlessly, and a wave of guilt instantly washed away his embarrassment.
"So... dinner?" Sebastian sniffled, reaching out to tug at Kimi’s sleeve with a hint of fawning desperation. "You must be starving."
"Mmh." Kimi didn't want to stay in this room for another second. He walked out with long strides. Sebastian hurried to follow, trailing behind him like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
But as they cleared the threshold, Kimi suddenly stopped.
He turned around and delivered a vicious kick to the door.
The force was immense. The sign with the gold lettering was jarred loose, hanging crookedly and comically off one screw.
"What was that for?" Sebastian jumped.
Kimi grabbed Sebastian’s hand, lacing their fingers together tightly, and continued walking down the hall with a dark expression.
"Nothing. It almost cost me my boyfriend."
Sebastian froze for a second. He stared at the tips of Kimi’s ears, which were turning a distinct shade of red.
He burst out laughing.
Fine. They might be two idiots who couldn't operate a sliding door.
But they were two idiots in love.