Atlas smiled a little and tilted his head down to kiss Emrys' forehead. He loved how Em curled up to him, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He looked back up at the ceiling then closed his eyes. He could probably sleep more if he wanted to and since Em was still sleeping he decided there was nothing better to do.
(skip to them both waking up?)
(Sure!)
Emrys woke up with a sharp gasp and a deep-seated sense that something was wrong. He didn't know what, could barely even put a name to the emotion, but he felt it soo deep in his bones that it ached. "Atlas?" His voice came out sharper than he meant it to.
Atlas jolted awake, not actually meaning to fall asleep before. "Huh? Oh, is everything okay, love?" He asked. He noticed Emrys' uneasiness and got a little concerned. It could just be the feeling you get after a nightmare, but he wouldn't just brush it off as that in case it wasn't.
Em swallowed, eyes scanning nervously across the room. He wanted to find what was wrong– to grab it and fix it and tuck it away so the stupid feeling would just leave him the fuck alone already– but everything was exactly as it had been before he fell asleep. He scratched at his arm absently, needing to ground himself with some sort of physical sensation. "I… I dunno, I think so?" His eyes were downcast. "I had a bad dream, I… um… I think it's just that."
"Are you sure that's it? I mean that's all it could be, easily, but sometimes feelings like that are somehow connected to things that will happen or have actually happened. And you looked really concerned and like something was very wrong." Atlas said, trying to comfort Emrys by lightly playing with his hair. "Should I call Cadmus or Harley or even management to make sure everything's okay? Just for reassurance?"
Emrys bowed his head beneath the touch, leaning closer to Atlas. He startled when he brought up getting management involved, shaking his head with as much energy as he could muster. "No! No, we…. we don't need to do that, we don't need to bring management into this. I… I'd like to see Cadmus and Harley though, they always make me feel better after nightmares."
Atlas nodded, "Ok, do you want to go see them right now?" He asked, lightly resting his lips on Em's head. He was glad Emrys didn't want to get management involved, he didn't want to as well. But if it would have made him feel better, he would have been all for it.
Emrys shook his head, curling closer to Atlas with a soft whine. "No, I…" He paused, trying to find the best way to say what he wanted. His head was frustratingly foggy, but eventually, he managed. "You said you could call them? I… I don't wanna have to find them right now, and I don't want you to leave."
Atlas smiled, sleepy Emrys was very cute. "Sounds great, I don't want to leave either. I'll call them right now if you'd like?" He said removing his hand from Emrys' hair and grabbing his phone off the bedside table.
Em nodded, reaching up to rub some of the sleep from his eyes. His hair was all messed up. There was a sweet little smile on his face as he watched Atlas grab the phone, something soft and grateful in his eyes. He was still cuddled up against Atlas's chest, half nuzzling his neck as he waited. "Yeah, yes please."
"Okay, great. I'll do that." Atlas mumbled. He pulled up Cadmus' contact and pressed 'call'. He put it up to his ear to make sure Cadmus picked up. He pressed a kiss to Emrys' forehead while he waited.
Em relaxed a little as he watched the call go through, slumping up against Atlas's chest with a relieved sigh.
Cadmus picked up after half a minute or so, sounding half asleep and very grumpy. "Listen asshole, I get that you need advice sometimes and that inspiration comes at weird times and sometimes management does dumb shit real early in the morning but for the love of god, please wait until at least 12 to spring it on me. Some of us need our beauty sleep, Fox."
"Fuck your beauty sleep, princess. Anyway, this is about Em and not me. He had a nightmare last night and he wanted to talk to you." Atlas said, laughing a little. He glanced down at Emrys then out the window.
"Better a princess than a fucking peon like you," Cadmus shot back, though he quieted when Atlas brought up Em. There was the sound of shifting sheets as he got out of bed, and then a grunt and a thumping sound, like he fell. Emrys couldn't help but laugh at it, meeting Atlas' eyes with a wavering smile.
"Fucking fine, I'll be there in 10 minutes. AND I BET YOU WANT HARLEY TOO DON'T YOU??" He raised his voice for the last part loud enough that Em could hear.
Em smiled softly and reached for the phone, giving Atlas a questioning look. "Could I…?"
Atlas winced when Cadmus raised his voice, pulling the phone away from his ear. He returned a smile, nodding while he gave Emrys the phone. He returned his hand to Em's hair as he listened to him talk to Cadmus.
Em sighed happily, practically melting up against Atlas' chest as he was petted. "Hey," he murmured. His voice was scratchy but soft. "Y'don't need to yell, 'm here with Atlas. I… um… I do really want Harley, could you bring him over?" Normally his tone would be even and cool but right now, worked up the way he was, all his emotion bled through into the words, coloring them with hope and insecurity.
Cadmus laughed gently from the other side of the line. "Course I can, babe. We wanted to drop by and visit you anyways, is Atlas taking care of you? Are you feeling alright?"
"He is. I… I'll see you soon?"
"You will, Em, just hold tight. We'll be there in 5."
Atlas almost slipped into a frown when he heard Cadmus call Emrys 'babe', but he kept a straight face. He, instead, smiled. "Do you need anything else before they get here?" Atlas asked, giving Em a small squeeze. He watched the clouds outside as they poured out rain.
Em passed Atlas his phone, kissing him on the cheek with a grateful smile. "Just some kisses," he answered, managing to scrape together a small smile for his boyfriend. "And… um… I like it when you squeeze me close, it… it feels more secure. More real."
"Works for me, I like kisses and squeezing you close. You know, I love you so much. Thank you so much for dealing with my last night, I really appreciate it." He said, looking back down at Emrys, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend then place his forehead on Em's.
Emrys kissed him back, shuffling a bit so he could loop his arms lazily around Atlas' neck and lean in for a second, softer kiss. "I love you too, Atlas. I'm glad you trust me enough to let me help you when you get upset, and… it's really no trouble to comfort you. I always want you to feel better, so… helping you is just natural to me."
Atlas couldn't help but smile. "I've trusted you almost since we first met. You're easy to trust since you don't judge and you actually care about people. I really like that about you." He said, looking into Emrys' eyes.
Em smiled back, a little more worn around the edges but just as happy. He blushed at the compliments, but he didn't look away. He couldn't- not when Atlas was looking at him like that. "Yeah, I… I always wanted to be someone people could talk to, I guess. I'm glad I got to meet you. I… I'm glad we got to be friends."
"Me too," Atlas said, smiling, growing more as he saw Em's smile and blush. He pecked the tip of Emrys' nose. "Hey, I think it's been more than five minutes, they're late." He said chuckling a little.
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