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 Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:24 pm
“Well, if you do it’s not the end of the world,” Elliot laughed; he pushed himself up and opened his arms to invite him into a hug.
“I think that’s the fastest way for you to clear out all those extra emotions, if you cry? So I don’t mind. But at least let me hold you if you’re going to. Or if you’re not, there’s no prerequisites to a hug. But I meant, if we don’t like dating, or if it gets weird. If we have to break up. Not that I want to, but I know you try not to hurt anyone’s feelings, so I just figured that we should be straightforward about it. I don’t ever want you to feel trapped or settle for anything but the best for you, okay? So if it gets weird, just tell me and we’ll figure it out. But if dating is figuring out who you’re compatible with or whatever, I think we get along really well already.”
And they were young, it’s not like they had to figure out kids or getting a house or anything. And they deserved to have fun! And he liked Atticus! So why shouldn’t they at least try?
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:31 pm
Atticus didn’t have to be asked twice. He immediately inched forward so he could -- oh, he didn’t inch forward far enough so he ended up just collapsing into Elliot’s arms, but that was okay, right?
“I really really like you,” he sobbed, since he was told he could cry. “You’re so nice and you care so much about people -- not just me. And I think that makes you a perfect knight.”
Elliot was certainly his knight, shining armor or not. And he would have told him how much he looked forward to going on dates with him -- official dates -- if he wasn’t blubbering with tears.
Maybe Atticus had been hoping for this for a while, but he never wanted to make it too weird by pushing it on Elliot when he wasn’t sure if Elliot even wanted to. And Elliot was so nice that of course he would have agreed to date him.
He couldn’t imagine wanting to break up with Elliot, but he appreciated how realistic he was, and how he wanted to work things out between them no matter what.
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:50 pm
“I know,” Elliot tried to soothe; Atticus had all but confessed shortly after they first met, and maybe some of Elliot’s hesitation came from being worried that Atticus was just in a vulnerable position. Now, he knew him better, and Atticus had a totally fresh start–he could have picked anyone in school to have a crush on, but it was still Elliot. To which, of course he was flattered, and the more time he spent with Atticus, the more he realized he didn’t really fit into the category of ‘best friend’ so easily.
You didn’t usually kiss your best friend and like it, he supposed. Or, you did. If you were dating your best friend.
“That you like me. And you tell me those other things all the time, too. And I like you, too.” He hugged him, and tucked him close, and peppered the crown of his head with kisses because he knew Atticus liked those anyway.
“And you’re nice, and you care about people, and you’re a perfect knight, too. We’re a really good team! We always have been. And we always will be.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:56 pm
“We do make a good team,” Atticus agreed through his sniffles, although he was trying not to get Elliot’s clothes too soaked with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m just… really happy. And excited. And nervous. I don’t want to mess up, because--”
Oh… would it be incredibly clingy of him to say that he didn’t know what he would do without Elliot in his life? Even if they were just friends, what was he supposed to do if they couldn’t sit around and talk about things like art and baseball and the newest challenge Elliot has for his debate club or the new paints that Atticus saw at the art store.
Well… he could still talk to Elliot about all of those things, but he didn’t think they’d be able to sit right up against each other and hold hands if they were just friends again.
Maybe he was worrying over nothing. He should be happy! He was happy!
Oh, but he should probably start looking more put together if he was going to be dating Elliot. So he used his pajama top to try and scrub some of the tears from his face. And maybe he was taking the time to enjoy the kisses on the top of his head.
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:25 pm
Elliot didn’t seem to mind any tear-soaked clothes; he was going to change out of his pajamas eventually so he wasn’t too worried. “You’re not going to mess up, Atticus, I promise. Just be you. That’s who I want to date, anyway. There’s nothing to be nervous about, I’m just me and you’re just you, and we’re just going to go on a date and see what happens. It’ll be okay. Even if it’s the worst date in the world, I bet that just means we’ll have some funny stories to tell afterwards.”
A few more kisses, just to make sure he was okay, and then Elliot smushed his cheek atop Atticus’ head. “You’re perfect just the way you are, okay? The only thing we have to be nervous about is how we tell Devyn and Michael and my parents. Because I know they’ll all be happy for us, but I also know that they’ll be nosey. So maybe we should make our first date sneaky so we can slip out without them doing all those silly things–well, you know my parents. They’ll probably make us take a ‘going on our first date’ picture or something,” he laughed.
But, he didn’t sound like he’d have been traumatized if they’d wanted to; he loved them and it seemed almost impossible to actually embarrass Elliot. He just wanted to make sure Atticus had a chance to prepare himself.
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:40 pm
Atticus couldn’t help but laugh, too. Even though he thought that would actually be a really nice idea. Taking a picture to make sure they had something special in the future.
“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” he agreed, trying to think of what they could do in addition to what Elliot had already suggested. Really, anywhere with Elliot was perfect.
“Let’s not tell them yet. Not because I don’t want them to know but… yeah I think I would be more nervous knowing that they knew,” Atticus sighed and sniffled a few more times as he pressed his face against Elliot’s chest, his arms still wrapped around him. He didn’t think he was anywhere close to being perfect, but it still made his heart skip when Elliot said he was.
“Thank you, Elly. You always know what to say to make me feel better. I hope I can do the same for you. I don’t want you thinking that you just have to take care of me. I want to take care of you, and spoil you, and make sure you’re treated well. You deserve so many good things.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:48 pm
Elliot laughed again, gently and good naturedly so Atticus would know he wasn’t laughing at him. He was just happy! He couldn’t imagine a situation where he ever wanted to laugh at Atticus’ expense. He only wanted happy laughter, and that was all either of them deserved.
“We’ll take a picture before we go, though. For us. Because I want to make sure that the next time we have a bad day, we have plenty of good memories to look back on and make ourselves feel better. I think that helps, you know. When you have a bad day it can be really easy to focus on all of the negatives. But having pictures of moments that made you smile makes the smile contagious, I think. That’s how it works for me. I’ve got pictures of us on my phone that make me smile every time I see them, I can’t help it. So I want to make sure that you’ve got plenty of things to make you smile, too. But, I just want you to know, I won’t let you forget that yesterday you took care of me and made me feel better. Your magic helped put me back together, remember? We look after each other. And you make me feel better even without your healing magic. I don’t think I could have a bad day with you around. Your smile’s contagious, I can’t help it. I look at you and I’m happy.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 5:52 am
There was no doubt in his mind that Elliot was laughing at him. Elliot wouldn’t ever do something so petty or cruel, and that was something Atticus really loved about him.
He pulled back a little so he could show him a wobbly smile. Not because he wasn’t happy! It was just that he was still trying to calm himself down after crying.
“You make me happy when I look at you, too. I want to make you smile so… yeah we should definitely take pictures. We could always have a picnic in the park. Nothing too obvious. I can ask Devyn to help me make sandwiches if you want to find something to bring for snacks and a dessert,” he suggested, excited about everything.
Even if his heart still hurt a lot from the previous day, being able to look forward to the future helped a lot. And if that future was with Elliot, well… Atticus could have asked for nothing else.
“I guess we should make sure our parents aren’t worried about us,” he hummed as he dropped his head back against Elliot’s shoulder so he could hug him again. “And I think I smell food. I might be a little hungry. Are you?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 7:20 am
Even the wobbly smile was enough to summon a fresh smile to Elliot’s face.
“Super hungry. As soon as you said Devyn could help you make sandwiches, I was afraid my stomach was going to growl. Here,” he paused and gently wiped at Atticus’ cheeks with his sleeve, just to make sure he was okay, and then he took an extra moment to smooth down his hair to make sure Atticus looked presentable.
Elliot did the same for himself, but it was a much less impressive effort; his hair was very eager to get a big start on the day and he knew how fluffy it could get, especially after a good sleep. But, he was in a good mood, and he wasn’t self conscious enough to worry about it. Everyone in the house had seen him with fluffy hair, and he’d done what he could to tame it already.
“I’m ready when you are. It’s starting to smell good, so I think we might have timed it just right. Oh, but. Before we go.” He leaned forward so he could give him another quick little kiss on the lips. “Thank you for being you, Atticus.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 7:45 am
Seeing Elliot smile brighter had Atticus’ smile brightening as well. He held still as Elliot fussed over him a bit, and helped by straightening out Elliot’s pajama shirt a little, so it wasn’t so obvious that he’d been clinging to it.
He wasn’t sure what was going to happen in the future, but he knew he was excited to be able to spend any amount of time with Elliot.
When Elliot kissed him again, Atticus smiled. “Thank you for being you, and for seeing me, Elliot.”
Elliot could have easily ignored him when he first saw him in the stupid dumpster. He didn’t have to sit with him at lunch. He didn’t have to help get him new clothes. He didn’t have to spend time with him outside of class. Atticus felt so incredibly cared for and loved for the first time in such a long time, and he wanted to make sure Elliot felt just as wonderful as he did.
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