Nikolas blinked out of his daze when he heard Atlas' name called, then nodded and let go of the man's hand so he could go get their stuff. He would've preferred to get it, but Atlas was gone before he could protest. Not to worry, he told himself as the man and the food arrived, he still had their real date where he could pamper Atlas however much he wanted and was allowed. "Smells delicious," he murmured.
"I know, right?!" He smiled, giving Nikolas his coffee and pastries before sitting down and taking his things. He took a sip of his coffee, smiling even more. "Perfect as always…" He looked at Nikolas so he could watch his reaction to everything.
Nikolas chuckled and softly thanked Atlas as he took his coffee, blowing on it some so it didn't burn his tongue. "So maybe I shouldn't be drinking this with a tongue piercing," he murmured with a smile before taking a sip, noticing that Atlas was watching him and holding his gaze with his own curious one.
Atlas took another sip as he held Nikolas' eye contact. He continued smiling, excited to hear Nikolas' reaction to, in his opinion, the best coffee in the world. The cafe roasted their own coffee beans and ground the coffee themselves, and they seemed to have the perfect flavors and amount in each drink. Atlas had no idea how they made it so perfectly, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
Nikolas hummed and tipped his head to the side as he slowly licked his lips, tasting the coffee—and knowing that was what Atlas was waiting for. He briefly flicked his gaze out the window for a second as he tapped the metal barbell against the roof of his mouth, then looked back to Atlas with a lopsided smile. "I can honestly say this is the best I've ever had, and I've had a lot of coffee. Props to you for finding this place and showing it to me."
Atlas smiled even wider. "Oh man, I'm so glad you agree!" He said excitedly. He bounced his shoulders a little, very happy. He ripped off a piece of his cinnamon roll and took a bite. It almost melted in his mouth, especially the frosting. He was, of course still smiling, at this point, his mouth should be sore.
Nikolas chuckled as he watched Atlas, nursing his coffee so he didn't burn his mouth—really, he shouldn't even be drinking it while it was hot with metal in his mouth, but he's always lived dangerously. So he just let his gaze dart around Atlas' smiling face for a bit before reaching over and poking the man's cheek. "Keep smiling like that and you'll end up hurting yourself, cutie," he teased, his smile hidden behind the lip of the coffee mug.
That just made him smile more, just maybe a bit more shyly. "I know, I know. This place just always makes me happy and now it's making you happy which makes me even happier, I can't stop." He said before taking another bite, trying to stop himself from smiling so much because he knew Nikolas was right. He busied himself by pulling his phone out of his pocket and looking at the time. They still had time, but not a lot.
Nikolas laughed softly and shook his head, pulling his hand back after lightly tweaking Atlas' nose. "I'm assuming we have to hurry up?" he asked, then took a bite of his crown pastry and closed his eyes as he savored the flavor. Oh yeah, I'm definitely coming back here. He was glad Atlas had brought him here. For one, Nikolas got to talk to him more and just be around him more. Secondly, the food and coffee was absolutely divine. It'd be worth going to on his own more often, or even with Atlas of they simply wanted to hang out.
"Eh, not really. We can always take our food and drinks with us. We'll be fine to stay here for five to ten minutes before we should start heading back." Atlas explained, setting his phone on the table. He glanced out the window then back to Nikolas. "And I'm assuming that pastry is absolutely amazing?"
Nikolas cracked open an eye and offered his usual lopsided half-smile. He finished his bite, then ran his thumb over his bottom lip as he hummed a yes. "Delicious. You've definitely got me hooked on this place. I'm gonna have to get a job so I can keep coming here." He chuckled at that thought, then set down his pastry to drink from his coffee a little more, the slight burn from the heat duller and ignored.
"Well, if I can get my music career going better then I can take you here as much as you want. And if you join me and our music career takes off then you can go here whenever and not worry about anything." Atlas said, playfully, almost as if to bring up the offer again in a "discrete" way. He sipped his coffee, watching Nikolas.
Nikolas rolled his eyes at the 'discrete' offer, then let out a breath through his nose as he finally let himself think about it seriously. Atlas' usual music wasn't exactly his usual style, but maybe if he was able to juggle two things at once… I'd have to make a few calls and hunt down a few people, then figure it out from there. He met Atlas' eye and smiled softly as he set his coffee down. "I'll join you."
Atlas' face lit up. That day had been full of wonderful things–all because of Nikolas–this was no different. "Thank you, it's gonna be so much fun and we can make a name for ourselves and we can change or mix up styles if your not a huge fan of mine and we can write songs together." He said, almost rambling. He stood up and went around the table to Nikolas. He bent over slightly, leaning his face closer to the man and, once again, kissing him and smiling all the while.
Nikolas laughed under his breath at Atlas' rambling, finding it beyond adorable and happy that he was so willing to adjust things to suit Nikolas' preferences. He blinked in slight confusion when Atlas stood up, though his grin grew as he watched Atlas slide into the seat with him and lean over to him. Nikolas was quick to return the kiss, wrapping an arm around the man's waist to draw him just a bit closer as he shifted to better face him. Usually, Nikolas was slow to develop a relationship with someone, or at least slow to let them in and allow himself to care about them on a more romantic level. But Atlas was different. This adorable man had likely pulled Nikolas out of his shell the moment they had sung together—before they had even officially met. The ball had just continued to roll from there.
Atlas draped his arms around Nikolas' shoulders. He scooted closer, closing any gap between the two of them. Yes, Atlas was impulsive, but he was usually pretty cautious with romantic relationships. He had some very bad relationships in his early high school years, causing him to be very careful and cautious. But Nikolas seemed so genuine from the beginning, bringing out the best in Atlas.
Nikolas' free hand came up and lightly skimmed over Atlas' face, tracing his jaw with featherlight fingers and brushing over his cheek. Even his grip on Atlas' waist was gentle and soft. He slowly broke away from the kiss, but didn't go far, dipping his head down to lightly brush his lips over the man's neck. It was just a brush, nothing too invasive just in case Atlas didn't like it. He didn't want to ruin whatever they had between them.
Atlas, in fact, loved it. His eyes started closing until he felt Nikolas pull back. He opened his eyes completely, then remembering they were in a public building, by a window. He, instead settled with looking up into Nikolas' swirling silver eyes. They were unlike any others that he had seen and it intrigued him. "Hey, uh, I know we met less than twenty-four hours ago… but I was thinking it would be absolutely amazing if you would be my boyfriend?" He asked, nervous. He knew he really shouldn't be worried since it was obvious thier feelings were mutual.
Nikolas rested his forehead against Atlas' as he gazed into the other man's beautiful teal eyes, then briefly closed his own as he listened to the question. He couldn't stop the slow smile that bloomed over his lips. Nikolas opened his eyes again and let them trail down to Atlas' lips, the hand on his face moving over so he could gently pull down the man's bottom lip and swipe his thumb over the soft skin. He kept his eyes on those amazing lips as he murmured, "This is usually the time where I freak out and run away, especially after such a short time. But," he added, fingers curling around Atlas' chin as his thumb took another slow swipe over the man's lip, "You're something different, and I'd love nothing more than to be your boyfriend." He flicked his eyes up to meet Atlas' as he grinned brightly.
Atlas had been very prepared to be rejected after what Nikolas first said. He then couldn't exactly believe what he actually heard. His eyes went wide and a smile quickly grew on his lips. He moved one of his hands to hold the hand that was holding his chin. He shifted again, now kneeling on the chair so he was tall enough to hug Nikolas, burying his face into the crook of his new boyfriend's neck. Nothing compared to it. Now this was for sure the best he's felt in a real long time, even the best he's felt all day.
Nikolas chuckled when he was tackled into a hug, happier than ever to see that amazing smile on Atlas' face when he said yes—and to be the man's boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around Atlas' waist, hugging him back with a secure grip on him, as if he was afraid he'd disappear like a dream. He had never thought when waking up today that he'd be in this situation right now with Atlas, yet here he was. Here he was, kissing him because they wanted to, smiling and laughing with him, holding him, being his new boyfriend. Gods, it all felt surreal, but he wouldn't have asked for anything better.
Wow, Atlas couldn't even comprehend anything the just happened, it was all too perfect. He had a boyfriend, a real-life boyfriend for the first time in four years. He would be content with staying in this hug forever, or at least until his legs fell asleep. It was absolutely amazing how well they complimented each other already. The strangest thing though wasn't that they just met the night before, but how obvious they'd been with wanting to be together, yet someone hadn't said something earlier and Atlas had been super nervous about asking him.
Nikolas relished the feel of Atlas' body against his own for as long as he could. He knew they had to get back soon and also finish their food, but this felt more important to him. Besides, how could he even fathom trying to push away Atlas when he was clinging to him like this? It was adorable, and he loved it. Nikolas smiled and pressed a butterfly kiss to the man's shoulder, murmuring against the fabric of his shirt. "Now I have an excuse to kiss you whenever I want."
Atlas giggled a little. "At this point, I've already been doing that. But now it'll be justified and we won't have to worry about it not being okay with the other person." He said, his words being muffled from Nikolas' neck. He lifted his head to look at Nikolas, keeping his arms around the man. He was still smiling like never before.
Nikolas laughed softly, then lifted his gaze when he felt Atlas lift his head off of his shoulder. His gaze was warm as he smiled, loving how bright the man's smile was. It lit up his entire face, and he knew he'd always want to see that smile. Nikolas hummed and, as if to prove his point, leaned forward some so their lips connected.