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 Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 5:58 pm
Atticus couldn’t stop from smiling shyly when Elliot praised him. He didn’t think it was that smart, but if Elliot thought so, then it must have been true.
He was glad to hear Elliot wanted to take pictures of them, because he really wanted to have a picture of Elliot to look at, but he blinked curiously when he was asked not to think Elliot was silly.
“I would never think you’re silly,” he said quickly, and then paused, and then backtracked with a shake of his head. “I mean, if you’re trying to be silly then that’s different, but if you do anything for me or get something for me that you don’t want me to think is silly, then I won’t!”
Okay, he was pretty sure that made sense. Sort of. He hoped it did. He just really liked Elliot and didn’t want him to think he didn’t appreciate him.
“I, um, got you something too,” he admitted, and glanced at the bag he was carrying.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:05 pm
Elliot blinked and glanced over his shoulder as he started rummaging through the bag. “Oh, yeah? Do you want to do one two three or should I go first?”
He stood strategically as he stood, so he could partly see Atticus even as he kept the bouquet hidden and pressed close to his chest so it could still be a secret.
It wasn’t anything too dramatic; it was full of white flowers, and soft pinks and purples. He thought Atticus might like the colors, and the flowers themselves just looked elegant but also cute. He thought it was fitting, at least because he didn’t want it to be too overwhelming. It was only their first date, he didn’t think he was supposed to show up with two dozen roses.
He seemed excited, rocking on his heels a bit as he waited; he didn’t want to mess up whatever surprise Atticus had planned so he wanted to give him time to get ready so he didn’t ruin whatever he had in mind.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:23 pm
“Let’s do one two three,” Atticus decided, because he figured it would be best to help them both if they were nervous. He wasn’t really nervous about Elliot! He just wanted to do all of this right. And if Devyn was getting Michael flowers, then of course Atticus should get flowers for Elliot!
Atticus leaned over his bag and carefully unzipped it, glad that the small bouquet hadn’t been crushed. They’d packed it in a way that it was protected, but he was still worried about it starting to look wilty.
The ones he’d picked out for Elliot were white, purple, and blue. Because it reminded him of his eyes. He didn’t want to go overboard, but there were so many things to choose from, he would have to go back at some point and get more for him.
Well, if he liked them.
He waited until it seemed like Elliot was ready, and then, “One… two… three…-- Oh! Elliot, they’re beautiful,” he gasped as he turned, holding the bouquet in front of him for Elliot to see and then…
Atticus couldn’t help the giggles from bubbling up into laughter. But he shook his head, wanting Elliot to know he wasn’t laughing at him!
“I’m glad we thought the same thing!”
And because he was so touched by Elliot’s kind gesture, he quickly closed the distance between them so he could give him a kiss. Not just a peck, but one that lingered on his lips for a couple seconds before pulling back. “Thank you, Elliot.”
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:53 pm
Elliot busied himself with straightening up the flowers so they’d look their best when he handed them over. As soon as his eyes landed on the flowers his face lit up and he laughed. The situation itself would have been enough on its own, but Atticus’ laughter was contagious and Elliot couldn’t help himself.
The kiss kept him distracted for a moment–and he really liked it. Enough that it kept him quiet, and all the words flitted out of his mind for a few seconds.
When they parted, it was with a wistful sigh. “I’ve never gotten flowers before,” he said. “Or a kiss like that. I love it. Both of them. I mean, the flowers, and the kiss. And I’m sure I’ll love the sandwiches too.”
When he had his bouquet, the first thing he did was inhale the aroma.
“...Atticus,” he said after a few seconds, but the smile never faded. “Did you bring chocolate, too? And poetry?”
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:07 pm
Atticus cradled the flowers Elliot got him in his arms, breathing in their scent, but then gasped and hid partially behind them with Elliot’s questions.
“Yes?” he squeaked, but he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. He felt giddy and happy. His heart was fluttering again, and he beamed brightly at Elliot, but was very clearly amused by their decision to follow Devyn’s plan for courting or whatever he called it.
“This is already the best first date anyone could have asked for,” he laughed, lowering the flowers from his face so he could show Elliot that he was absolutely smiling. “That’s so funny, though. Thank you, you’re so very thoughtful.”
And he was glad Elliot wouldn’t think it was silly for him to bring chocolate or poetry! But before he could get distracted with wanting to kiss him again, he turned to look at the basket he’d brought and then to Elliot’s.
“Here, let me help with the blankets,” he offered, placing his flowers down on the cooler with the sandwiches so he could hold out his hands to take two of the corners.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:30 pm
Elliot laughed again, with the same amount of enthusiasm and glee as before. “No, I can’t call it silly. I did the same thing. I mean! That’s why I wanted the chocolate muffins. And I didn’t bring poetry, but I told you my dad used to be in a band. I brought some of his old song lyrics. They kind of rhyme.”
He laughed again, and passed Atticus one side of the blanket so they could spread it out. “This one is supposed to help with the insulation, it should keep the cold off of us. But there’s a second blanket we can put on top of it that’ll be more comfortable. I didn’t want to ask my parents for dating advice, they’d immediately know why I was asking. And Devyn seems to know what he’s doing! I mean, he got married once, and won over Michael. So he has to know what he’s talking about at least a little bit.”
It was easy to listen to Devyn, even if he said silly things sometimes. It was comforting in a strange way, sort of like listening to a favorite teacher, or his parents, but he couldn’t really put his finger on why. He liked hearing about Alastor, and about Percy. He liked that Devyn wanted to look after and take care of Atticus, and he liked that he always seemed to go out of his way to do so.
It made Elliot trust him. And, if Devyn thought that was the right way to court someone, it meant that must have been how he wanted his son to be courted. Or to court.
Elliot liked it both ways, and he was already enjoying this date–and it hadn’t really even started yet.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:40 pm
“Oh, that’s so cool that you have his old song lyrics. I bet they’re great. Especially since I’m pretty sure I know who he wrote the song for.” Asher and Oliver had been together for a long time, so hearing about them doting over each other wouldn’t be surprising.
Atticus took the blanket to spread out, nodding in understanding when Elliot explained that there was a second one. “That’s really smart,” he decided, and reached out to help spread the second blanket over the first.
Once that was done, he took hold of both of Elliot’s hands and gently pulled him closer so he could direct him to put his arms around his waist, while Atticus then lifted his arms to drape over Elliot’s shoulders and pull him close for another kiss.
“I’m so lucky to have met you,” he sighed contentedly when he pulled back, but remained close so he could rest his head against Elliot’s shoulder for a moment.
Atticus was incredibly grateful to Devyn for helping him with… so many things. He’d been nervous about the date, but Elliot obviously agreed that Devyn had some good suggestions.
“But I think I’ve distracted you from eating long enough,” he laughed quietly, and did his best to hold onto Elliot as he moved to sit down, sitting both next to and facing him.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 3:51 am
There was something different about this level of intimacy. It wasn’t anything scandalous by any means, and they’d held hands or hugged or even kissed before, but this was different.
He flopped onto the blanket with great enthusiasm. “It’s okay, you’re the best kind of distraction. I forgot I was hungry.” He smiled and leaned against Atticus, mindful not to put too much weight against him in his effort to stay close to him.
“I have a third blanket, in case we get cold. But I feel pretty warm right now.”
He pulled his basket close and extracted a few things–and paused to smell the flowers again. “I love these a lot, good pick, Atticus. I don’t think flowers have ever smelled so nice. Oh–the lyrics.” He paused and then laughed, shaking his head. “Some of them are really funny. Some of them are cheesy. Some of them are really angsty. But some of them are romantic. They didn’t record all of their songs, but I bet he could play some for us if we asked. I’ll ask to borrow dad’s iPod–the one he listens to when he needs to calm down?” Elliot didn’t really get into the habit of specifying which father he was talking about when he spoke, but Atticus knew them well enough that he just expected he’d be able to tell them apart, “He’s got all of dad’s songs there. I think it’s sweet that he listens to my dad singing when he needs to calm down. But music’s kind of like poetry, right? I didn’t want to just look up ‘poems for your first date’. And I didn’t have time to think about one. All I got was ‘Atticus, Atticus, Atticus,’ on repeat, and that’s pretty lame considering I’m usually pretty good with words.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 9:07 am
Atticus didn’t need Elliot to clarify which of his dads he was talking about any more, so he smiled knowingly as Elliot spoke.
“I think that’s really sweet, too. And music is definitely like poetry,” he nodded, but then he laughed a little awkwardly, and wiggled a little where he sat. He reached over to pull his cooler closer, and dug out their sandwiches first, and then the fries to share. A little container with a few different condiments, all separated and in their own little space, was pulled out as well.
“Michael said his brother used these, so… just in case we wanted options,” he explained, wondering if he was going a little overboard with trying to make everything perfect.
“Um. I definitely just picked up a card. I’m sorry,” he winced awkwardly but was still smiling.
“I didn’t have a lot of time, and if I did I would have painted you something. Art is like poetry, right? Maybe not as literal,” he sighed, and then cleared his throat as he nervously shuffled with something in the bag, and then seemed to get cold feet about it, and turned back to Elliot instead to smile at him. Because how could he not smile when Elliot was so sweet and considerate and caring?
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:11 am
Elliot reached for a fry and snacked on it approvingly. “Art is definitely like poetry. A picture’s worth a thousand words, right?” He smiled and reached for another, this time opening the sauce nearest to him. He dipped it and then held it up for Atticus to try first.
“Whatever you picked out, I bet it’s really nice. I don’t think raiding my dad’s old lyric book is that much different from picking up a card, so you don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m excited, I bet it’s great.”
He placed his free hand on Atticus’ knee and squeezed reassuringly. “You don’t have to be nervous about it. Promise. But, no pressure.” He wasn’t going to make this awkward by pushing Atticus into anything he wasn’t ready for or didn’t want to do.
“I wish I was more creative. I can’t write music or play instruments, or paint. I’ll have to find something else. I want to do something special for you. You make me want to make things. Even if I don’t have the skill for it, you know?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:40 am
When it was offered to him, Atticus was happy to eat the fry right from Elliot’s hand, and giggled about it because it was a litte silly, but he was also having a lot of fun. This wasn’t much different than when they usually hung out, but there was something more to it that he couldn’t quite explain, but he liked it a lot.
Especially with Elliot’s hand on his knee. Which Atticus covered with his own hand and traced little shapes over the back of Elliot’s hand with his fingers.
“I think you’re very creative. You always have really good ideas for solving things that I would have never thought about if you didn’t suggest it,” Atticus reminded him. He was often in awe of Elliot’s ideas, and had come to rely on Elliot’s ingenuity.
“I mean… maybe it’s not the same as playing music where others can hear, or painting so others can see, but I really appreciate your creative problem solving,” he said with a smile and gave Elliot’s hand an appreciative squeeze.
“But,” he said after a moment, “If you want to make things, I would be happy to help, like with how you help me all the time.”
He glanced over at the basket again, and drew in a deep breath, then let it out as he reached over to pull out the card he found when he was with Devyn.
“I read this and liked it… but then I saw it was written by someone else named Atticus so I thought it made it even more fitting,” he explained, even as he was very obviously nervous. He had half a mind to just hand the card over -- it would be less awkward for Elliot to just read it. But Elliot and Oliver especially had been spending so much time working with him and being encouraging that he thought it wouldn’t be fair to them to not try.
So with his face already flushing red, more from embarrassment at how slow and still studdery he sounded, he read.
“When I first -- Oh… When I saw you first, it took every ounce of me no -- not to kiss you. When I saw you laugh, it took every ounce of me not to fall in love. And when I saw your soul -- it took every ounce of me. Um… that’s it.”
And it definitely could have been better, but it was a lot better than him not being able to read out loud at all before.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 12:15 pm
Whatever hunger Elliot had was forgotten; he looked at Atticus with all of his attention. He was patient as he spoke, and encouraging, and when he’d finished reading, Elliot leaned forward to kiss him again.
“That’s really romantic. I like it a lot, Atticus. Thank you for sharing it.”
He was smiling so much that he could feel it in his cheeks, and he reached forward for another fry–one for himself, and then one for Atticus. “I’ll get my dad’s book in a minute, I’ll read some to you. He’s let me read this one before so I didn’t like, steal his journal or anything. I know he’s got others, but this one he shares. Maybe I should make a journal,” he mused.
“Not poetry or anything, but just thoughts. And then when it’s full, I can give it to you. It’s not really creative, I guess. But if I was going to do anything, if I was going to paint you pictures or something, I would absolutely need your help. Maybe we could hold hands and you could help me guide the paintbrush,” he teased, but there was some truth in it.
“But you know, there is one lyric he wrote–it’s in one of his songs, I don’t need the book to tell you, but it’s ‘I didn’t know myself until I knew you,’ and sometimes I think about that. Like. Who was I before I met you, you know? I was always me, but I wasn’t all of me. And every day I’m with you I feel like I know a little more. And I like who I am more now that I met you.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:08 pm
He didn’t expect Elliot to make fun of him for not being able to read very well, but he was still relieved when he didn’t. It made him feel like he was maybe doing something right, or getting better. And he wanted to get better so he could be someone Elliot could be proud of. Well, more proud, because he’d already said he was proud of Atticus before.
“I really like all of your thoughts,” Atticus quickly reassured him after allowing himself to come back out of the daze from the kiss. It wasn’t even that much of a kiss! But his lips still tingled and he couldn’t stop smiling.
“If you did write in a journal, I would treasure it. Maybe I could use it for inspiration for my art,” he wondered, and took a bite of the offered fry, before paying as close attention to Elliot as he had with him.
“That’s really beautiful to think about,” he admitted, feeling warmth in his cheeks again, because he definitely knew what Elliot was talking about. And on an even larger scale, since he was able to pick a name for himself, and not have to worry about being told what to wear, or how to have his hair cut, or if he was allowed to do art. Elliot and their parents were nothing but encouraging, and without Elliot by his side, he wasn’t sure he would be as comfortable as he was now.
“I want to know everything about you, Elliot. And as you start to know yourself more, I’m excited to be able to share that with you. Same with me. Because… yeah, even now I feel like I know a little more about myself every day.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:37 pm
Elliot smiled again. “Well, you get to be the you that you want to be, right? I can’t imagine what it’s like, being told you couldn’t be yourself or that you had to be what someone else wanted. I’m really happy that Devyn and Michael got you. I mean, I think Michael’s great to begin with. I don’t know if he would have been able to do things the same way that Devyn did, so I’m glad that he showed up.” For a lot of different reasons.
“And I like that he’s, you know.” He leaned back to consider it and then shrugged before passing over another fry. “Different.”
There was nothing critical or judgmental about it, Elliot said it and meant it. Devyn was different. He was an alien from another world! Another time! And he didn’t care what other people thought of him–well, not the ones that didn’t matter. So he did his hair nicely, he did makeup nicely. He embroidered his clothes, he could make his own clothes. He’d noticed that he mostly seemed to just wear Michael’s clothes outside, but he’d seen some of the outfits he wore around the house, and little tastes of Alastorian fashion that slipped into his everyday wear.
Of course he’d noticed Atticus’ hair when it was done nicely, or his makeup, or his clothes that were him. Which meant that someone had either gone shopping with him, or helped tailor the clothes to make them fit him. Sometimes, he saw little embroidered gold thread on Atticus’ outfits, and he knew who must have had a hand in that.
And it was good for Atticus to have someone who could do those things–and who did them enthusiastically and unashamed.
And, he liked that he was strong, and romantic, and that he was patient, and that he loved Atticus and was there to take care of him. Elliot loved his parents, he’d gotten good ones. Atticus hadn’t been so lucky at first, and Elliot didn’t know if Devyn was just that way or if he was trying to make up for everything Atticus had to go through. But, he was trying. And Elliot thought Atticus was growing into himself in a way that he wouldn’t have been able to if he didn’t have Devyn there to encourage him.
“Anyway, I’ll do that. I’ll write a journal and if you can make art out of my words, then that’s just another reason why we make a good pair, don’t you think?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:47 pm
Atticus nodded and smiled, and he knew how lucky he was that Devyn showed up when he did, and that he was already friends with Michael, who was friends with Elliot and his parents. Things would have been a lot different if it weren’t for both Elliot and Devyn. And the rest of their parents too, of course, but especially them.
“It was very lonely,” he admitted, but still smiled. How could he not smile when he was with Elliot? “I’m glad things are different now. I’m really happy Devyn and Michael took me in, too. I know your dads would have, but I also know it’s safer this way. And, well…”
He paused for a moment and laughed sheepishly, and reached over to absently draw some shapes on Elliot’s leg because it was close.
“I think I might have mentioned to Devyn that it would be kind of weird to date my brother. You know, if your parents took me in.” He’d absolutely been thinking of dating Elliot back then. Or at least wanting that possibility open, just in case.
“I would love to make art out of your words. But yes, we make a wonderful pair. We even have our Wonders next to each other, so even the Code knows we’re good together,” he pointed out, pleased about all of it.
“Oh!” The sandwiches were finally pulled out, and he passed a sub to Elliot and unwrapped his own. The sooner they finished eating the sooner they could talk more! And maybe hold hands. And kiss again.
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