Atlas continued to kiss Nikolas for a little longer. He pulled away ever so slightly, studying Nikolas' face. He had a very soft smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes. "You know… I," he took a breath, nervous again for no reason, "I love you, Nikolas." He murmured, nervously. That had been the first time telling someone, besides his family, he loved them in a very long time.
Nikolas paused, caught off guard. He's never had anyone to really tell him that, besides Tess—though her expression of love was much more New-Yorker than Atlas' and to be expected. There was also the thing about how little they've known each other. But then Nikolas' head played through scenarios where he wouldn't have ever met Atlas. It was all so dull and didn't have that spark of something that he always felt whenever he was around Atlas. And then his head switched to scenarios with Atlas. From the moment they sang together, Nikolas has been hooked. As he thought ahead to the future where he was still with Atlas, he loved it. He loved the brightness and smiles and laughter. I love Atlas. His silence stretched on as he thought, but the moment he came to that realization, he moved. He brushed his fingers over Atlas' lips, loving how soft they were and how they felt pressed against his. "…I love you too," he whispered, eyes flitting back and forth between Atlas' eyes.
Atlas grew increasingly anxious and insecure as the silence continued. Maybe he had said it too early, after all, it's only been a day since they met. He studied Nikolas' face for clues to what he was thinking. He rethought everything up until that point, afraid he ruined everything, again. The silence was breaking him, still sensitive from the incident. He felt like everything was crashing down on him.
But when Nikolas started speaking. When Nikolas started speaking a wave of relief and happiness washed over Atlas. His lips grew into a wide smile, just like in the cafe earlier that day.
Nikolas smiled as well and buried his face into Atlas' neck. "I'm sorry for taking so long to say anything. I just… I'm a foster kid. No one's really loved me since I was ten, except my sister, and then I was told she died two years later. After that, I only had Tess, and it was more out of necessity than anything. So… Yeah. There's my shitty excuse for stressing you out. I'm sorry," he repeated, wrapping both arms around Atlas' waist and holding him close.
"Oh no need to apologize, love, that's a totally valid reason. That's a long time of not being loved, so I guess I'd better give you extra now to make up for it." Atlas said resting his chin on Nikolas' shoulder. He tightened his grip around Nikolas, closing any remaining space between them.
Nikolas chuckled, then turned his head slightly so he could kiss Atlas' neck. "It's much appreciated." He sighed softly, his breath fanning over the man's skin, and left another kiss. "I should tell you, the place I'm taking you only has one bedroom. I'm willing to take the couch, though, if you…" he trailed off, feeling slightly nervous and awkward. He wasn't implying anything, just didn't know what Atlas was comfortable with.
Atlas giggled a little. "You're worried about sharing a bed when we're sitting like this in a car?" He kissed Nikolas' neck. "Just kidding, I like how you like to make sure I'm comfortable with something, I appreciate it. But I'm also not kidding… you don't need to worry about it, I'm happy to share a bed." He explained, realizing he kind of dragged on. He sighed.
Nikolas shivered when Atlas kissed his neck, grip tightening around the other male some. Do that again, he thought abruptly, then mentally shook his head. Dammit. He found a weak spot. "Sounds good," he murmured once he found his words, "And I'm going to keep asking, Atlas. I'm not just going to force you into things without making sure you're okay with it. That's not what I do, or what anybody should do."
Atlas smiled, he did really like that about Nikolas. More people should be like that. He's had many people force him into things. "I'm glad, thank you so much for that." He whispered. He lied his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, smiling.
Nikolas hummed with a smile, both glad and disappointed that Atlas hadn't done it again. "Anytime," he murmured. As he snuggled into Atlas, savoring his warmth, he groaned dramatically and pressed a slightly longer kiss to the male's neck. "I don't want to make you move," he complained.
Atlas giggled at Nikolas' overdramatic groan. "I mean, you don't have to if you want to stay here all night instead of going to do your plan." He said jokingly, he did want to see what Nikolas had planned. His face was facing Nikolas' neck so he kissed it again, copying Nikolas. He stopped and rested his head, closing his eyes.
Nikolas shivered again when he felt Atlas' lips on his neck. Damn you, he mentally scolded, even if he unconsciously leaned into him after he pulled his lips away. "Oh, I'm definitely taking you there. It's my all-time favorite place, and I can't wait to take you there. I just have to work up the motivation to let you move a foot away," he ended with a grumble.
"Oh I'm glad, I'm really excited to see where you're talking about. From what you've said, it sounds amazing." Atlas said quietly. "Should I just move so you don't have to do anything?" He asked. Of course, he didn't really want to move either, but he'd rather move now and go than stay for a lot longer.
Nikolas sighed and reluctantly pulled back, loosening his grasp on Atlas. "I suppose," he murmured, then smirked and snuck in a kiss on the male's lips. For this, he didn't pull away very quickly, wanting to savor it for a bit so he could keep the feel and taste of Atlas' lips on his while he drove. It was a poor wish, as he knew it wouldn't last, but it was worth it to kiss him again. He loved his kisses.
Atlas was about to scoot to the other seat, when he was caught in a kiss causing him to melt against Nikolas' lips. His kisses were perfect. He continued the kiss a bit longer before pulling away, in need of air. He smiled softly while gazing into Nikolas' eyes. Hesitantly, he moved to the seat over.
Nikolas watched Atlas go with a dramatic pout, though he was glad Atlas was feeling better. When they were both buckled and settled in, he started his Challenger with a slight roar, then backed out of the parking lot and got onto the road in no time. It'd take a little bit to get out there, but it wasn't nearly as far of a drive as his last residence had been before he moved. He was silently glad that it was in between the two places he had lived, not willing to give that place up.
Atlas turned to the window to look out it. He liked watching the buildings and people and cars go by. He leaned his head on his hand that was resting on the armrest. He glanced back at Nikolas, smiling. It was all absolutely amazing, if he didn't think about his music. He thought about the day, so many ups and downs. The good almost outweighed the bad, but it definitely didn't completely.
Nikolas glanced over at Atlas, catching his gaze, then smiled softly and looked back at the road. He stayed silent for a moment, then murmured quietly, "Alexis." It was sudden and completely random, so he explained in the same quiet voice, "Alexis is my birth name. I, uh… I wanted to start a new life when I was put into the foster care system. Hoped things would get better. It didn't. So I kept changing my name, hoping it would. I stuck with Nikolas when I turned eighteen and was kicked, but took on my birth surname once more and legally changed it to that. Helps that it kinda makes me fit in a little more with Americans."
Atlas looked over to Nikolas when he started talking. A smile slowly grew as he listened. "I like it, it's a nice name. Would you be angry or uncomfortable if I called you Alexis sometimes?" He asked, watching the road in front of them.
Nikolas glanced over at Atlas and smiled softly, glad that he wasn't getting on his back for basically lying to himself and the world about who he was. He looked back at the road as he said, "No, I wouldn't. You can call me Alexis whenever you want, though of it's around people who know me as Nikolas…" he trailed off with a slight smile, clearly not upset by the subject.
Atlas' smile grew, he was excited. "I'm glad, but I totally understand, if they only know you by Nikolas, I'll only say Nikolas." He said. He gigled thinking of a name they could be together for a band. "We could be call Double AA's if we made music together… you know, like the battery…" He laughed again at his joke. It wasn't very good, but he, for some reason, loved silly and dumb jokes like that.
Nikolas chuckled, smiling over at Atlas to admire his smile and laughter. "Don't think we'd get much attention with that," he teased with a hum as he looked back out the windshield. "I actually might be part of an official band, soon at least. Some old friends are either here or headed down with the intention of starting it back up again. That makeshift band I mentioned, the one where I was given the name Draco for?"
"That's awesome!! I can't wait to hear your stuff once you… release it." Atlas stumbled partway through the sentence at the thought of releasing music. He pushed away the thoughts of the problem, that still wasn't resolved, just postponed. "Um, do you think you're going to totally try something new and different from anything you did in school? Or are you going to do something similar?"
Nikolas rubbed the back of his neck as he mulled over on how to answer that question. "Doubt it's actually going to get released," he murmured, stalling a bit before sighing and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in a random drumbeat he had memorized from a favorite song. "I…uh…never really went to school. I mean, sure, I went to high school on and off, but college is a no-go."
"Oh, sorry… um, well I guess I meant when you guys were in a little band together," Atlas said softly, not meaning to have dampened the mood. "I was a college dropout. In high school, I had my mind set on getting at least a master's degree in music and one in business. I did both band and choir in high school, band taught principles of music and the music theory better than choir did. But I wanted to sing too. But once college rolled around, it was too stressful, I put too much on my plate and you don't need a degree to sing. I bet over half the popular artists don't have one" He said, rambling. He shook his head to himself for oversharing. Nobody asked so why did he have to explain anything. "Would I be able to hear your guy's music even if it wasn't released?" He asked, looking over at Nikolas again.