"Noooo!" Atlas argued over dramatically. He shivered once Nikolas finally got off the bed, missing the warmth of his boyfriend's touch. "Ah, I'm cold now…" he said, falling backward into the bed and curling up in the covers. He looked at Nikolas with a melodramatic frown. "Just don't be surprised if I'm still in this bed when you're done with your shower."
Nikolas rolled his eyes, then glanced between the door and his dramatic boyfriend. "Hmm…" He smirked and came back over to Atlas, quickly going between his legs and crawling on top of him. "We'll see about that." Without further warning, his hands dove beneath his boyfriend's shirt and started to tickle him. He was grinning now, silver eyes alight with humor and joy.
Atlas wriggled around under Nikolas' tickles. He started laughing and giggling unable to say anything. "Ahh…. this…. this is… not… ahaha…" He continued wriggling around. He couldn't move with Nikolas on top of him, all odds against Atlas. However, he ended up rolling around enough to fall off the bed, still giggling like a maniac.
Nikolas flopped down onto his stomach and dangled his head over the edge of the bed, chin resting on his crossed arms with a bright smile. "Look at that, you're out of bed," he said triumphantly, "And here I thought I'd have to threaten you with more tickles to get you relocated." Oh, how he adored those giggles of his boyfriend's. They were so cute, and it only brought out his smile whenever he laughed like that.
Atlas was laying flat on his back but soon fell to his side, recovering from the tickles. Slowly he calmed down and stopped laughing, just smiling. He sat up and placed his forehead on his boyfriend's. "I guess you know my… one of my weaknesses." He said, still smiling. He wondered, how was Nikolas so good at finding his weaknesses… or maybe he just had a lot of them so they were easy to find, he surely didn't know.
Nikolas smiled and pecked Atlas' nose. "I guess so," he murmured, then kissed the man's lips one last time before pushing himself up to a sitting position. "Alright, let's get going. At this rate, it'll be lunchtime instead of breakfast," he teased, ruffling Atlas' hair. He really didn't want to end this blissful moment, but he knew someone had to initiate the 'coming back to reality' moment.
Atlas frowned and looked up at Nikolas, slowly nodding. "Yeah, we should get going, enjoy your shower, love." He said, defeatedly. With much effort, he stood up, pecking the tip of Nikolas' nose. With a small sigh, he wandered over to the trunk Nikolas had referred to earlier. He pulled it further into the open. After a few more tries than he should have done, he finally opened it, spawning a little laugh to himself.
Nikolas smiled sadly at the peck to his nose, sliding off of the bed to leave the bedroom. He hesitated, though, when he dwelled on the disappointed and sad look Atlas had worn, and with a soft exhale, he spun back around and came up behind Atlas. Nikolas' arms snaked around his waist, and he pressed a loving kiss to the side of his boyfriend's neck. "I love you," he murmured, nuzzling into the crook of the male's neck.
Atlas jumped the slightest bit, not at all expecting Nikolas to still be in the bedroom. He smiled, leaning against Nikolas. He placed his hand's on his boyfriend's. His head turned slightly and he kissed Nikolas' forehead, then resting his head on Nikolas'. "I love you too. I love you so so much." He whispered, his eyes closed again.
Nikolas smiled and snuggled into Atlas, tightening his hold slightly. "Hey now, you can't one-up me," he teased, then breathed a soft laugh. "You just looked so disappointed when I was going to leave, I couldn't leave without making sure you were okay," he murmured, subtly swaying them both back and forth in a calming manner. Plus, he couldn't resist holding Atlas just one more time—the feeling of his smaller body perfectly folded into his arms was too intoxicating.
"Thank you. I was okay though… just being kinda dramatic. Although, we've literally been within a foot of each other since almost mid-afternoon yesterday and it's hard not being that close anymore." Atlas said softly, swaying with Nikolas. He had been thinking about it, and the only time they weren't in each other's arms was when Nikolas was driving and when they changed into and out of their swimsuits.
"It's 'cause you're too adorable and huggable," Nikolas stated matter-of-factly, then planted a kiss to Atlas' skin. "And kissable. And I'm kinda a physical-contact kinda guy," he admitted, then sighed and adjusted his head so that his face was planted against Atlas' shoulder. "And now that I have you here I don't want to move. What have I done?"
Atlas melted into Nikolas from the compliments. "I don't want you to move either… I'm also a very physical-contact kind of person, and it's a good thing. But we could always stay here, on the floor, for a while. Everyone can wait longer since it's already so late." He said with a silly smile. He swiveled around where he was in Nikolas' arms to face the other male. His arms quickly wrapped themselves around Nikolas' waist and his head rested against his shoulder. "Now what have I done?"
Nikolas chuckled and ran a hand through Atlas' hair, fingers gently untangling some strands. "Do you have to do anything right now?" he asked, tilting his head some. If Atlas didn't have to solve anything immediately, then maybe they could get away with a few more cuddles to settle their cuddle-needs for the majority of the day. "My friends can wait however long I make them wait," he said with a crooked smile, "They don't got much to do anyway."
Atlas didn't say anything for a bit, thinking about it. His manager was probably trying to get ahold of Atlas to figure things out. And he knew that… but he didn't want to say anything. If he did, they would have to get ready and stop cuddling. He tightened his grip in Nikolas then lifted his head to look at his boyfriend's. "I… probably… my manager is probably really really close to quitting all because of me. But at this point there's nothing I can do about it and he'll probably hate me for the rest of his days…"
Nikolas ran his tongue piercing back and forth over the roof of his mouth, gazing down at Atlas with a contemplative narrowing of his eyes. He didn't want to completely take over Atlas' career and give him a bunch of handouts, but he wanted Atlas to be relatively stress-free about all of this. If he had a manager that didn't like him, then that wasn't good news in the long run. But, there was also the issue of what Atlas wanted. Nikolas couldn't simply take care of everything for him without letting him have a say in the matter—that's not how things worked in life. Ugh, why did this have to be so confusing?
Atlas sighed and buried his face into Nikolas' neck. He closed his eyes and thought about the whole situation, recalling all the events in detail from the day before. The yelling, the disappointment, the lost opportunity, and the anger. Atlas could only hold back the tears for so long, quickly starting to cry, his face not moving from Nikolas' neck. He was shaking against the man, his arms tightening even more, bringing them as close to each other as possible. "Sorry… I know I probably seem weak and.. I don't know… useless, I can't even go one day without crying about something I caused…" He said, muffled against Nikolas and through the crying.
"Hey hey hey," Nikolas whispered quickly, his one hand moving to bury itself into Atlas' hair and trace circles. "You're not weak or useless, Atlas. This is a shitty situation all around; none of it is your fault, alright?" He hugged his weeping boyfriend tightly, swaying again and settling his lips next to his ear so he could whisper directly into it. "I'm declaring a day to yourself. You need and deserve it. People can only handle so much stress, and your manager isn't making matters any easier. How about a day with my friends? Just a chill day, and you can get to know the twins, Tess, and some other people."
Atlas smiled slightly against Nikolas' skin, but it disappeared very quickly. He always thinks of the worst possible situations when he's in this state of mind. "But that'll make him even angrier and he'll hate me even more. He'll never allow me to release the album and he could take my songs from me and use them himself and I'd have no power against it… I don't know how most of it works, I just do the music… at this point nothing's gonna work no matter what I do and I… I can't handle it. I have to fix everything in time for the album release and even then… it won't be very good… everyone already knows the tracklist so if something's missing they'll know and be angry and I'll never be successful and it'll just be a failed attempt at a long time dream… all because I can't be responsible and know when to get things done in time." He ranted, tears falling faster as he spoke. Yes, it was over the top and very over-reactive, but Atlas genuinely thought it was true.
Nikolas pulled back some and cradled Atlas' face in his hands, forcing him to look up at him. "Babe, that's not going to happen, alright? Managers only handle the business side of your musical career, shouldering that burden so you can focus on being creative. Your songs are your songs, and you have control over when you release an album and record songs. If you fire him, you don't lose your property, your music. It's not his to keep." Nikolas briefly flicked his eyes off to the side to paint the proper picture of what a manager is supposed to do. "Tess doesn't have a manager. Never did and never will. One, because she's too hot-headed for anyone to manage. And two, because she has so many connections and a system that works for her. Some of her friends help with the promotion and whatnot, but the way she works let's her find gigs through other people, promote herself through YouTube, modeling, and talking to other artists, and make important decisions by asking for the input of people she trusts. To her, a manager just gets in the way, and, more often than not, using their artists just for the money." His gaze softened as he ram his thumbs over Atlas' cheeks. "I'm not saying to just drop him and never get a manager ever again, I'm simply pointing out that you have more control than it seems he's letting on."
Atlas opened his mouth to disagree but closed it a second later as he thought about it. Nikolas had a point. His manager always acted all high and mighty, like Atlas was working for him instead of the other way around. He looked into Nikolas' swirling silver eyes and attempted a small smile. He had never thought about it in that way, maybe it was time to take back the control of his career and do something about it. "Thank you…" Atlas whispered. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Nikolas' lips.
Nikolas smiled softly and kissed Atlas back, letting his lips linger for a bit before speaking against Atlas' lips. "You're welcome," he whispered back, then trailed his fingers over his boyfriend's skin, wiping away any remaining tears lingering on his cheeks. "So what're you going to do?" he asked, still whispering. This was Atlas' decision, Nikolas simply shined some light on a few things to help him properly make that decision.
"I… don't know yet. I'm going to have to think about it, but I don't think I'm gonna do what I've been doing." Atlas whispered as well, a small smile appearing on his lips. He leaned his forehead forward, touching Nikolas'. "Sorry you've had to deal with this twice now… and I'll probally have many *many more breakdowns like this in my lifetime and during our relationship." He said quietly, not looking into Nikolas' eyes anymore.
Nikolas gently grabbed Atlas' chin to gain his attention, thumb brushing just below the male's lips. "It's fine, Atlas. I've seen, dealt with, and gone through worse," he said softly, almost too quiet to be heard had they not been so close. "Just give me the word, and I can take you anywhere or do anything with you. Anything you want. That suggestion from earlier still stands." Anything and everything—he'd do anything and everything for Atlas if he asked.
Atlas' smile grew as he looked back to Nikolas. He was literally the best boyfriend Atlas could ever wish for. He couldn't express his love for Nikolas in words, so he settled with tightly wrapping his arms around Nikolas and burying his face in the crook of his neck. However, he did that with enough force to knock them both over, Atlas on top of Nikolas again.