"Probably just I do the first verse and first chorus. Then you do the second chorus and most of the second chorus. And then we'll finish it off together. Is there anything you want to do specifically?" Atlas said, trying very hard not to think about the kiss. He enjoyed it more than he feels like he should have. He was craving more, but that probably wasn't going to happen again anytime soon. He was going to try his hardest to fight his urges since they had started it all.
Nikolas hummed and tilted his head to the side, doing a quick playthrough of what Atlas had laid out. It didn't sound that bad, even if he was surprised that Atlas wanted him to do so much. He had been expecting to do maybe a small part, and with Atlas, not on his own. A little nerve-wracking, but he'd manage. Now only to brush off that kiss so easily. He couldn't help how many times he glanced over at the other man, thinking about those soft lips. Every time, he forced himself to look back down at the papers without really seeing them. "No, not really. Honestly, I expected to be doing a lot less. It is your song, after all, and it's not like I do this on a regular basis. I'm a drummer, not a singer." There goes hiding some of my self-consciousness…
"Oh, really? I was hoping it was enough! I have plenty of other songs on this album so you're fine." Atlas said smiling. He glanced at Nikolas, then his lips before quickly standing up and looking away. "We don't need to record this song right away since you probably need to practice it. I should get one done while you're working on that one." He explained. He went to the recording booth's door and smiled before going inside and starting to record other songs. Nikolas was in his mind the whole time and he kept glancing through the glass at him.
Nikolas watched Atlas go with a soft smile. There was a lot on his mind now, mostly about Atlas, but he tried to push that away in favor of sitting down and going over his parts. He hummed in favor of actually singing, though the repetition of the melody was helping him memorize it. He started to mouth the words once he thought he had that down, drumming his fingers to the rhythm this time while he started to memorize the words. Slowly, he started to ease up a bit, not as nervous about singing this. It'll be worth it to see Atlas smile.
Atlas finished recording one song then went to check up on Nikolas. "Hey lo-" He quickly cut himself off. "Uh, Nikolas, how's the song going?" He asked. He itched the back of his neck and kept his hand there. "Do you want me to record one more song then we can practice and record the song or do you want to get into it right now?"
"Uhh," Nikolas squinted at the paper, then looked up at Atlas and leaned back in the chair. "I think I'm good to practice now. No guarantee it's gonna be any good though." He smiled and loosely folded his arms over his chest. He was still a little nervous, especially as he looked up at Atlas—at his lips. So he did the first thing that would calm him down: confess his wants while being incognito. He ran his thumb over his bottom lip as he murmured, "Pragmatiká thélo na se filíso…"
Atlas smiled, he was glad Nikolas was ready to work on it. "Ah I bet it'll be fine, you sounded good through the wall so I bet you'll sound even better." Atlas sat down across from Nikolas. "So no need to worry about sounding bad in front of people while we practice, everyone left a while ago." He said before unlocking his phone and going to the background music file for the song. "Um, I'll start it off and we'll go from there, sound good?"
Nikolas licked his lips, then bit his bottom lip, before releasing a breath and nodding. He told himself that it was fine, Atlas has heard him sing before. It was just them, so he didn't have to worry. That helped a lot more than he thought it would, so he just continued to think about that as he waited for Atlas to get the music. "No making fun of me, 'kay?" he joked with a wink and a smirk, attempting to put himself even more at ease with humor.
Atlas started the music then started singing, closing his eyes and smiling while doing so. It was definitely one of his favorite songs from the album and he was very happy to be sharing it with Nikolas. It meant more to him that he thought it would and that just made him happier. He opened his eyes when it got to Nikolas' verse.
Nikolas already had his eyes closed, despite his insistences to himself that he was fine. When Atlas' voice stopped, he waited just the right amount of beats for his verse to start. His fingers tapped on the table along with the beat as he started to sing. The predicted hesitance wasn't there, much to Nikolas' surprise, but he pushed that aside to just focus on the beat and the words, letting his voice fluctuate however it needed to. He found himself rolling his tongue a lot, however, a product of his native language. Seems singing made him slightly slip into his old Greek accent. He barely noticed, however.
Atlas watched Nikolas sing, it was amazing. He couldn't stop himself from looking at the man. Their verses together started and their voices blended together perfectly. He got lost in the sound unhappy about how fast it ended. He looked at Nikolas again, a smile slowly growing. "You're… that was perfect.. you were perfect. You sing so beautifully…" Atlas was at a loss for words. Without any thought, Atlas stood up and went over to Nikolas and wrapped his arms around him. He stepped back a little but stayed close to him. "That was just amazing…"
Nikolas barely got his eyes open when Atlas started talking, and he was pleasantly surprised by both the words and the smile. He didn't get to say anything, however, before Atlas was coming around and wrapping his arms around him. Nikolas instantly returned the gesture, a bit disappointed when the man pulled away but internalizing that. He looked up at Atlas, as he was still sitting, and smiled almost shyly with a hint of triumph. "I aim to please," he said softly, turning his body in the chair to fully face Atlas. He didn't want him to leave his spot. He liked how he stayed close.
Atlas quickly went around and pulled his chair next to Nikolas. "Can we sing it again?" He asked eagerly. He loved the accent that came out of Nikolas while he sang, he almost wished Nikolas had that accent while talking. He couldn't think about anything else but Nikolas. The thing that confust Atlas though, was the fact that they ment the dey before because of having thin walls in their apartments. How did this happen?
Nikolas smiled as Atlas grabbed his chair and pulled it over to him, happy he had decided to stay closer. When he saw and heard the eagerness in the man's eyes and words as he asked his question, he had a hard time finding a reason not to. "Sure," he said with a chuckle, running his hand though his hair and messing it up a bit. Now that he's gone through it once and got that reaction out of Atlas, he felt better about it, less nervous. He might be able to do this round without keeping his eyes closed so much.
Atlas started the music again and also started singing. He looked at Nikolas while he sang. He was realizing how perfect Nikolas seemed to be. Beautiful hair, amazing piercings, and a stunning voice. At this point, Atlas was head over heels for this man. His voice stopped and he waited to hear Nikolas' again in anticipation.
Nikolas couldn't help but feel Atlas' stare the entire time the man sang. When it was Nikolas' turn, he yielded and turned his head to look at him as well, mouth opening without hesitation as he started to sing. Almost instantly, his accent came back, even if it was just a little bit. He could usually control it, either making it disappear altogether or come back in full force, though the latter was usually for flirting.
Atlas, once again, was stunned. He leaned back in his chair, overwhelmed, and turned his head so he could still look at Nikolas. Atlas joined in when he needed to, loving it all. He couldn't fathom how much he loved the song and Nikolas' addition to it. As the last note rang out, Atlas got out of his chair and stood in front of Nikolas again. He put his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned forward, kissing him again. This is a prime example of how bad he is at controlling his urges. He usually does whatever comes to his mind.
Nikolas, once again, was surprised when Atlas was suddenly in his face and kissing him. That round went even better than the first time, and he was actually looking forward to recording. Their voices blended together almost seamlessly, and the roll of Nikolas' tongue didn't mess with the song as much as he had predicted now that he listened closely to what he was doing. But all that disappeared from his thoughts when Atlas kissed him. It took him a second to react, but when he did it was to kiss him back and lightly grasp at the sides of the man's shirt, not necessarily to pull him closer but more of an instinct to hold onto something.
Atlas smiled into the kiss and didn't stop for a while. He hesitantly pulled back and stared into Nikolas' eyes. He couldn't think about anything except Nikolas, his lips, his eyes, and his voice. "You're perfect, you know…" He whispered, not necessarily to tell Nikolas, but more to put it out there. He then shook his head. "S-sorry… um…" He said looking to the side to try to distract from Nikolas.
Nikolas watched Atlas pull away, then smiled in slight amusement at the whispered words he managed to catch. He ignored the apology, as it wasn't needed, and said softly, "Far from perfection, but I try." He tipped his head to the side and never broke his gaze from Atlas, studying him even if the man wasn't looking at him. "Go on a date with me," he finally said after a stretch of silence, a soft smile on his lips.
Atlas turned his head back to face Nikolas, slight confusion written on his face. "That wasn't a question, was it?" He said smiling a little, "But who am I to turn that down." He couldn't believe what he heard. He had noticed Nikolas never was against either of the kisses, so he shouldn't be so surprised. The song had totally left his mind, he forgot how much he needed to record.
Nikolas' smile grew even more as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "It could be a question, if you really want it to. But that would imply you would want to be able to say no." He couldn't help the slow smirk on his lips rising. From how Atlas had initiated both kisses, he couldn't see him saying no. And seeing that smile made him happier than it should've, yet here they were.
"Ah, I see. Well, there's no need to say no, in this case." Atlas said, his smile growing. He studied the man still in front of him. His hair, his eyes, his lips, his jaw. "Uh, where and when?" He asked. He was usually pretty busy during the day. "When I started singing yesterday is when I normally get home. So I'm always busy until then, at least."
"It's a surprise, and maybe I can pick you up from here tomorrow?" Nikolas tipped his head to the side in question. He had a very specific place in mind, but that would require going out of town and being at night, so perhaps that wouldn't work. Though, he could always ask. "Or, I have an idea for if you want to go later in the day, say sundown-ish." He was uncharacteristically excited about this. He didn't do dates much, or dating in general, but Atlas was really cute and made him smile. He wanted to get to know him better.
"I'm down for tomorrow after work. If all goes according to plan, I will have everything recorded and put together before then and we don't have to worry about it." Atlas said. He was already growing very excited. He wiggled a bit in his excitement. He hadn't been on a date in a very long time, since maybe sophomore year in high school. He was smiling and trying to think of what Nikolas could be planning when there was a knock on the door. Atlas jumped a little and quickly ran to the door. He opened it and there was the main producer.
"Hey, you two ready to record the song? Atlas, you have a lot to do before tomorrow so it'd be great if we could get that done." Said the producer, looking between Atlas and Nikolas. Atlas had forgotten about everything and he looked over at Nikolas, wondering if he was ready.