Atlas smiled, almost surprised Nikolas actually agreed, in a way. "Of course I would be willing to work with you! And I've only seen the 'hot' part of that, not the 'mess' yet. You could do drums and I could learn to play the guitar and sing. You could also sing!! If you actually want to of course." He said, getting over-excited. He squeezed Nikolas' hand a little, of course in excitement.
Nikolas laughed at Atlas' enthusiasm, happy that he was so excited but also thinking about how adorable the other man looked while he gushed. Nikolas let go of Atlas' hand, though his touch didn't go far. His hand slid around the man's waist and tugged him close so he could press his lips against his head. "You're so cute," he cooed with a bright smile, "And I'll think about it, the job thing."
Atlas smiled widely. He loved being like this with Nikolas. At this point, they both like each other quite a bit, but they just haven't made anything official. "I'm so glad, I really hope you take the job, but I would understand if you didn't." He said, wrapping his arm around Nikolas' waist as well. He leaned his head on Nikolas' shoulder as they continued walking.
"It's definitely not a no," Nikolas elaborated, smiling as he felt Atlas' arm around his waist and head on his shoulder. If anyone was to see them right now, they'd likely instantly think they were a couple. And honestly? Nikolas wasn't opposed to that in the slightest. He looked down at the male tucked into his side like a puzzle piece, his expression soft and happy. "Singing with you was fun, so I'd be an idiot to completely reject doing anything like that with you."
"It was really fun, thank you for actually doing that with me. Even if you don't permanently join me, you will always be able to sing with me on a few songs." Atlas said, looking up at Nikolas. He slowed down as they got closer to the cafe. It was definitely a small one. He opened the door and went in after Nikolas. The register was to the left of the door with a whole bunch of tables everywhere else. There were also a few couches with pillows.
Nikolas smiled down at Atlas gratefully. The previous anxiety about singing was but a distant thought as he pictured doing that more. Plus, he and Atlas could do it whenever at home because they were neighbors, so it'd help him with his self-consciousness. Nikolas snapped out of his thoughts when they stepped into the cafe, eyes darting around to get a good look at the place. "Huh. I haven't even been in here for a minute and I really like it already." It was really homey and simple. He hoped the food was good too.
"Oh man, I'm so glad. It's one of my favorite places, so we're definitely going to go here a lot if you like the food. Which I bet you will."Atlas said as he went up to the counter. He stayed back so they could decide what to order. He looked up at the menu above the counter. He stayed close to Nikolas, keeping his arm around the man.
Nikolas laughed softly and followed after Atlas when they approached the counter, but stayed back so they could figure out what they wanted to order. His eyes scanned the menu as he hummed and tilted his head in thought. Everything seemed good, at least they sounded good. Maybe he'd request some recommendations from Atlas. "Remind me to bring you here if I want to get on your good side," Nikolas said without looking down at the man pressed into his side.
"Oh definitely! But you'll probably always be on my good side at this point." Atlas said. He continued to look at the menu as he leaned his head in the man's shoulder. Something as simple as standing in a cafe close to Nikolas made Atlas unbelievably happy. He couldn't figure out why and how he felt that happy, but he wasn't complaining. To be fair, it is the happiest he's been in a while. "Do you know what you're getting?"
Nikolas smiled to himself when Atlas said he'd always be on his good side, feeling quite flattered for some reason. He didn't think he had done anything to really warrant such confidence in his relationship with the man, but he'd take it. When Atlas asked leaned his head on Nikolas' shoulder, then asked what he was getting, Nikolas lightly rested his head against the other's and hummed. "I don't really know. It all looks good. Any recommendations?"
"Hmm… well I only usually get pastries or deserts, but the rare times that I get a meal I like their chicken noodle soup, avocado beef sandwich on an everything bagel, or the super caesar salad. And I'm pretty sure all of their pastries are amazing, so no worrying about that." Atlas explained. He usually stuck to the same things with normal foods but was much more adventurous with deserts.
Nikolas hummed and thought it over. "I'm kinda in the mood for pastries, not gonna lie. That, and coffee. Always in the mood for coffee," he said with a slight chuckle. He then looked down at Atlas and lifted his head some to get a better look at him. "What about you?" he asked, "What're you thinking of getting?" He wasn't really feeling a normal lunch, and pastries sounded divine right about now. It's been some time since he's eaten some.
"I'm glad you said that. Pastries are superior. But in this territory, I can't recommend you anything since I love everything." Atlas said smiling while looking into Nikolas' eyes for a bit. But he looked back at the pastries after a little. "I'm definitely always in the mood for coffee as well. They make really good coffee here. If I buy coffee somewhere I prefer to go here."
Nikolas grinned, his whole face brightening. "I practically live off of coffee, so that's great news. Night owl, so I've been known to not get any sleep for, like, three days straight. Sometimes more." He noticed Atlas has stopped to look at his eyes for a bit, so he did what came instantly to his head; he ducked down and pressed a sweet but quick kiss to the man's forehead, then pulled back with a hum and smile to innocently look around the cafe.
Atlas smiled at the kiss, he loved them coming from Nikolas. "I guess I better make sure you get some sleep, even if you are a night owl." He said, still smiling, "And it's nice standing here and talking, but I bet both me and the lady behind the counter would rather us order and sit down. Do you know what you want?" He asked, looking at Nikolas again.
Nikolas chuckled and rolled his eyes, looking back to Atlas with a smile. "Yeah, I think so," he said, then gently nudged Atlas towards the counter to indicate that he should go first. He wasn't shy or anything, but Atlas has been here before and this gave Nikolas some extra time to figure out exactly what he wanted.
Atlas picked up that Nikolas wanted him to go first. He approached the counter. "Hello! Can I have a large iced mocha, a cherry turnover, and one of your super cinnamon rolls?" Atlas said, smiling all the while. He was familiar with almost everyone in the cafe since he was a frequent customer. But they could never predict what he wanted because he got something different almost every time.
"Of course! Are you two ordering together?" Asked the lady.
Nikolas flashed a charming smile and came up behind Atlas, eyes flicking up to the menu one last time before falling back down to the lady behind the counter. "Yes, we are. Could I have a raspberry crown cake with a blueberry fritter and straight black coffee?" He had dropped the smile when ordering, but he still kept up a pleasant tone, and he flashed the smile once again once he was done.
"Perfect, I'll get those out for ya in a moment." The lady said smiling. She waited as Atlas paid for everything then started getting their pastries and coffee. Atlas reached down and grabbed Nikolas' hand.
"Do you want to sit down and while we wait or do you want to wait by the counter?" He asked, looking up at the man, smiling.
Nikolas swiped his thumb over Atlas' knuckles when he felt his hand fit itself into Nikolas'. He smiled and looked down at the smaller male, his grin growing when he saw the other's smile. "How about we sit down? That way we're out of other people's way," he suggested, glancing around the room at the other people coming into the cafe.
"Good idea, we got a bit so it'll be a little while as well," Atlas said, nodding slightly. He glanced around the cafe before leading Nikolas to a two-seated table by one of the many windows. He sat down but kept ahold of his hand. The cafe was always playing some sort of music, only depending on which manager was in charge that day. Some days it was mainstream pop or RnB, others it was indie or alt-rock. Atlas loved it all, he was never one to be picky about music. In a way, he doesn't really believe in set genres, there are so many crossovers that the lines of different genres are non existant.
Nikolas sat down with a soft hum, taking Atlas' hand in both of his across the middle of the table. His slightly calloused fingers ran up and down the man's hand, some twining with Atlas' smaller ones while the others traced over the different bumps and lines as if memorizing them. Nikolas' attention was solely on his seemingly mindless task, still humming to himself with his head tilted to the side. He didn't know what possessed him to do this, but Atlas' skin was so soft, and he, admittedly, was surprisingly touchy-feely with people he was interested in, almost using his touch to memorize their features.
Atlas simply enjoyed Nikolas' touch along with the music playing in the background, which happened to be Somebody Else by The 1975. He smiled, sometimes looking at Nikolas and sometimes looking outside. Atlas loved how well the two of them complimented each other's personalities. He seemed to be more motivated and energetic with Nikolas and he loved it.
Nikolas fondly stroked up and down Atlas' arm as he got lost in thought, something he often did when it was quiet. Sometimes it was a bad thing, as his head ventured to the dark parts of it, but this time it was good, it was happy. He thought about him and Atlas, how well they got along from the start, how much fun he had had when they sang together, their future date that he was looking forward to. He was honestly excited to see what Atlas thought of his special little spot he had found a while ago before officially moving here. He adored it, especially at twilight.
"Atlas!?!" yelled a voice from behind the counter. Atlas jumped, having almost forgotten that they had food. He looked around wide-eyed then remembered where they were and what was going on. He slowly got up from his seat and hesitantly let go of Nikolas' hands so he could get everything. "You stay here, I can get it all." He said as he started to the counter. They put everything on a tray. He took the tray and brought it over to their table, setting in down.