"Well, we just have to outsmart them… which I'm not sure we can do, but we can always try. We don't have Harley and he's very smart and Cadmus is very passionate and puts his all into things. So we're basically screwed." Atlas rambled on. He glanced to the other couple as well, letting a light sigh escape his lips.
"Eh, we'll probably be able to beg for mercy aster they prank us a few times, and anyways… oh. Oh, it's time to pay, Harley!'" He tugged on Harvey's sleeve lightly directing him to the rather appalled looking lady behind the desk. She probably recognized them.
Scratch that, she definitely recognized them. As they were wandering over to the actual enterance she got them to sign an aquarium brochure for her niece.
Atlas smiled at the lady, happy to see a fan of them, from time to time he forgets how popular they are. He had removed his arm from around Emrys as they continued into the aquarium, hoping someone hadn't already taken a picture and a rumor that they were dating was already going around. Not that he didn't want the fans to know, it was just management that he didn't want finding out.
Em took his hand hesitantly, hoping whoever saw could chalk it up to them being friends and not wanting to get lost in the gigantic aquarium. Harley tucked the tickets away in his wallet and then gathered them around with a stern glare. "Alright, we're meeting up at the penguin exhibit in exactly two hours, and if you don't make it you don't get any souvenier money. Sound good?"
"Works for me, see you two in two hours and one minute," Atlas said before looking at Emrys. He smiled, glancing down at their hands and laced their fingers. "Where do you wanna go first, Em?" He asked, smiling brightly and very excited.
Harley rolled his eyes and grabbed Cadmus by the hand, grumpily towing him off towards the sharks. Cadmus couldn't look more thrilled, barely pausing to wave goodbye to his other bandmembers before he was off.
Emrys gave Atlas a soft smile and pecked him on the cheek. "Anywhere you want."
"Oh man, why do you have out the decision on me?" Atlas said, unable to take the smile off his lips. "I guess we could just wander?" He asked, looking at Emrys. There was so much to see and it was hard to decide, especially if Atlas didn't even know what all was there.
"Alright, alright, maybe jellyfish then?" Em pulled him over to one of the many maps, lighting up when he found the exhibit. "They're on the third floor, and I'm sure they'll be totally adorable!"
Atlas smiled. "Oh that sounds good! I bet they will be!!" He said, pecking Emrys' cheek without thinking much of it. He had to be a lot more careful in a very populated place like this, of course, he was used to being in the hotel and in private.
Em winced slightly when the same thought occurred to him, but he didn't have it in himself to be mad. He liked Atlas' affection, he didn't want it to stop because he decided to chew his boyfriend out over a couple tiny kisses. "Well let's get going then! We've only got two hours, and I'm sure that's not gonna be the only interesting thing they've got in here!"
Atlas gripped Emrys' hand tighter and ran to the nearest flight of stairs. "C'mon, love!" He said as he started going up the stairs. By the time they got up the first flight though, he was already tired and he settled for walking up the stairs like everyone else.
Em let Atlas drag him up the stairs, laughing breathlessly as he was forced to slow down. He was tired too, but he worked out often enough that he wasn't too worked up. "Maybe we should walk, Atlas. This is a public area, it's not exactly polite to go sprinting around willy nilly."
"Well, you said it yourself, we only have two hours, and there's five stories worth of things to see," Atlas said, taking a lot of breaths, still trying to catch his. "I mean, kids run around all the time, why can't we? Adults don't need to be so serious all the time."
"Adults in globally acclaimed bands with strict managerial staff do." Em tugged him up the stairs, hooking a left at a big shark statue and heading for the jellyfish cove he'd found on the map. "And it doesn't look like you're holding up great. I think it'd be nice to walk. We'll see more stuff that way."
Atlas sighed. "Yeah, you're right. That was too much work." He said with a small giggle. His eyes caught sight of the jellyfish, already amazed. As they got closer, the jellyfish just got cooler.
Em grinned when he saw how amazed Atlas looked, pulling him closer to the first tank so they could both put their noses up against the glass and watch the jellyfish swim around. The first ones they saw, moon jellies, were graceful little things, without individual stingers. They were backlit by some kind of blue light that made them look ethereal, like ghosts instead of fish. "Coooooool," he breathed, watching them glide through the water.
Atlas' eyes were wide as he watched the jellyfish. Were these creatures even real? It was absolutely mesmerizing and he was definitely glad they went here first. "These are amazing…" He whispered against the glass.
"Yeah, they're super cool." Emrys watched them swim for a few more moments before he left for a new tank, pulling Atlas with him. There was only one, huge and dark blue with long graceful tentacles that drifted sedately through the water. It looked almost like it was flying.
The single jellyfish was just as amazing as the other ones. It was incredible that creatures like these even existed. Atlas was from a smaller city, at least one without an aquarium and it was not even close to the ocean, so it was strange that these kinds of creatures lived on the earth when he had never seen them in person like this.
They wandered around the jellyfish exhibits for a while before Emrys caught some sort of tropical fish exhibit out of the corner of his eyes and pulled Atlas over to that one to take a look. It seemed like there were thousands of them, each one bright and frilled and uniquely beautiful. A huge school of silver fish darted in the background, making the others stand out even more against their gleaming background.
"Imagine being a fish… life would be so easy and free, even if you were in an aquarium. But I wouldn't have a relationship like we do, so I'd rather be a human." Atlas said softly, the thought just kind of spilling out of his mouth. His eyes were still wide in awe, just amazed by it all.
Em laughed and leaned over to kiss him without thinking. He didn't notice the awestruck girl standing off to the side, camera at the ready, too caught up in how adorable his boyfriend was. "Yeah, I think I'm with you there. I love you too much to go become a fish."
Atlas nodded, thinking about it. "Oh! What about mermaids! They're fish, technically, but also capable of human relationships!" He said, a little louder than he meant too. He too didn't notice the girl. He probably wouldn't notice her unless she came up to them or Emrys noticed her and said something about it.
Em laughed and nudged him on the arm. "Maybe don't yell in the crowded aquarium, Atlas. But… I'd be mermaids with you, I think that'd be fun. Also I was kind of obsessed with Ariel as a kid, so it'd be like living a childhood dream."
Atlas giggled, looking around the section they were in. Most of everyone had turned back to the exhibit they were looking at. "Sorry, love." He said, giggling some more. "You know how there are some companies can turn you into a mermaid for like a day or something? We should totally do that! Maybe a photoshoot with it!… OH! Maybe we could use said photoshoot as a way of telling our fans we're together!!"
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