Cadmus was already in the pool, chest heaped up on the edge so he could chat with Harley, who was kicking his legs slowly in the water and looking utterly enchanted with his bandmate. Emrys couldn't believe they hadn't confessed to each other yet. "Well you are a pretty great leader. I mean… you've always done well with the band, I'm pretty sure we all look up to you."
Atlas was getting ready to apologize for being late, when he heard Cadmus talking to Harley. He turned and whispered into Em's ear, "Especially Cadmus, just in a bit of a different way than we do." He smiled, holding back a laugh.
Em muffled his laugh against his palm, elbowing Atlas gently. "Hey, no joking, I'm gonna ruin the moment with my laugh and then where would we be?"
"Then stop laughing, love," Atlas said smiling. He looked at Emrys, then at Harley and Cadmus, continuing to watch them, just hoping they would confess.
Em elbowed him harder and then quietly led him into the pool area, careful not to disturb HArley and Cadmus as they talked. It was clear something important was happening between them. Cadmus had started to climb out of the pool, spilling himself up into Harley's lap and wrapping his arms around his neck and… and…
"Oh!" Harley jolted, gently pushing Cadmus back as he saw Atlas and Em. There was a blush on his cheeks. Cadmus looked heartbroken. "Hi! Sorry, we got here early, I… um… I promised Cadmus a favor so we just kinda… zipped right down."
"Oh, I see…" Atlas said giggling, "I was about to apologize for being late since we kinda had a laughing fit for a while, but I guess there's no need to apologize." He continued with a silly smile. "But you know you guys don't need to be embarrassed by anything, what you're feeling is normal." He continued to the pool. He went around to the other side of the pool, facing Harley and Cadmus. He jumped into the water, his hands making the shape of a heart at the two guys.
Cadmus laughed halfheartedly and splashed at him with water. "Oh c'mon Fox, you know Harley and I are as platonic as they get. We've been friends for longer than any of you, and unlike Em years upon years of bonding isn't my idea of foreplay."
Em frowned, flicking him on the forehead before he jumped in the pool. "Don't be so rude just 'cause you're embarrassed, Cadmus."
"Yeah, you two are as 'platonic' as me and Em." Atlas said, laughing as he swam to Emrys, kissing him to make a point to Cadmus and Harley. He smiled at Emrys then plunged himself underwater again, swimming far away from Cadmus and Harley. He knew something was probably on its way for his comment, so he better be prepared for it.
Cadmus gave a soft little shout, more subdued than normal, and then swam over to grab Atlas around the waist so he could dunk him. It was a little rougher than normal but still playful, and he let Atlas slip away after a few minutes. "Listen, we're just friends! Back me up here Harley!"
Harley sighed, kicking at the water. "I'm whatever Cadmus wants me to be."
Atlas gasped for air towards the end of him being dunked. He went to where he could comfortably stand and breathe, taking in air. "Well, Cadmus, sounds like Harley wants more, ey, Harley?" He said, looking between Harley and Cadmus, stealing a glance at Emrys as well.
Em laughed softly, swimming forward so he could tug Harley down into the water with them. "I mean… I don't want to push you guys but… Harley, you don't seem like you really wanna stay friends. And… I don't mean to spill anything, but… Cadmus doesn't seem too happy with things either.
"Yeah, and you two are almost doing a worse job at hiding your feelings than I did… you know it wasn't a good job at all," Atlas said, giggling to himself, recalling how bad he was at hiding it. With affection and feeling towards people, he's very outward and open.
Em laughed, wandering over to lean on Atlas as Harley waded over towards Cadmus. "Yeah, you to obviously want each other, why not just admit it? I mean… we can go if you want a little privacy, but still, I think you should have a chat about your relationships."
Harley hummed thoughtfully, taking Cadmus' hand and running his thumb gently over his knuckles. "I'm okay with whatever you want, Cads," he murmured gently. "You know I've always got your back."
"I…" Cadmus blushed a bright red, squeezing Harley's hand gratefully. "I think a little alone time seems about right, actually. Could y'all go somewhere else?"
"Definitely! I wish you two the best of luck with whatever you need to say and stuff." Atlas said with a soft smile. He took Emrys' hand, immediately lacing their fingers. "Do they have towels out here?" He asked Em, looking around for them.
"They don't, they're in the main lobby." Em squeezed Atlas' hand happily as they stepped out of the pool, though he let go of it as they got back inside the hotel so he could grab them some towels. "Here, how d'you think Cadmus and Harley are gonna do?"
Atlas took the towel and wrapped it around himself. "I have no idea. I just hope they are honest and truthful to each other and don't avoid anything. I'm actually really rooting for them. Two couples in our band, hiding it from management… sounds pretty fun to me."
Emrys laughed, leaning over to peck Atlas on the cheek. "I feel the same, I guess. Minus the part about all of us going behind management's back. I just hope they'll be able to talk honestly about how they feel, 'cause I know Cadmus'll probably try to talk his way out of it the same way he does everything else."
"Yeah… Harley actually looked kinda sad when Cadmus was saying they were 'just friends'. Of course, I don't think Cadmus actually thinks that, but yeah Harley looked a little disappointed." Atlas said, leaning his head on Emrys' shoulder. He smiled, so happy to have such an amazing boyfriend.
"Yeah, he really cares about Cadmus. They're… important to one another, have been since they met." Em shrugged, smiling softly at Atlas. "I'm sure they'll figure it out though. After all, they had us to set up that little rendezvous for them, I'm sure they'll come around soon."
"Yeah, and they won't need to worry about other people interupting them since it's not 10:00 yet." He said smiling up at Em. "You think we're gonna go back to the pool and hang out once they get everything sorted out?" Atlas asked, hoping they were going to.
Em laughed at his hopeful smile, humming as he thought. "Well I guess there's no harm in coming back at 10 and seeing if they're put together enough to swim. It's only gonna be another 30 minutes or so."
"That's probably plenty of time for them. Do you wanna go back to our room while we wait or should we stay and wait in the lobby?" Atlas asked, looking around to see if there even was place to hang out in the lobby.
"Room. I wanna see if we can have a little private time together before we hang out with Cads and Harley all day." Em took his hand, pulling him gently towards the elevator. "And I also kinda wanna kiss you before we have to hide in public."
"Sounds perfect to me. I was hoping you'd say that actually." Atlas said, smiling and walked alongside Emrys as they got into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, he planted a small kiss on Em's cheek. He leaned his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, watching the numbers increase.
Em kissed his temple gently, squeezing Atlas a little closer to his chest as he smiled. "I'm glad," he murmured, giving Atlas a fond look. "It's gonna be so hard not to act all lovey dovey with you in that aquarium."
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