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 Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:57 pm
Elliot laughed again, and it seemed like any nervousness had dissipated. “Good thing you had that in mind, I’m happy with how things wound up. And now we’ve got someone for everything. Between my parents and yours, I think we’ve got all of our bases covered. I’m glad you don’t have to be lonely anymore.”
He had a few more fries, but he was quick to take a bite of his sandwich. He sighed contentedly; it was warm and it was delicious, and this whole date was perfect. The butterflies had settled and he couldn’t imagine it getting any better than this. He liked the way Atticus drew on his leg; it tickled, but not so much that he felt like he needed to squirm away.
“I’m glad you’re going to get to do all of these fun things, too,” he admitted. “Like Halloween things. I’m glad we get to spend the night, or just hang out. I’m glad we get to go to school together. I’m glad for a lot of things.” He spoke around his bites and was animated and enthusiastic about all of it. “I probably don’t say it enough, so I just wanted you to know that I’m really happy about all of this. Thank you for being my friend, Atticus. Oh, well, boyfriend, too. I’m liking that a lot so far.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 7:13 pm
Atticus’ smile grew, if that was even possible. Along with the red in his cheeks.
“Thank you for being my friend and boyfriend, too,” he beamed, trying hard not to wiggle where he was sitting with excitement. Oh right, he should be focusing on eating his sub. He took a big bite so he could try and focus on something other than how great Elliot was, but he was smiling even as he chewed.
“Oh, we should take pictures before we forget that, too,” he said suddenly. He’d already taken a few large bites from his sandwich, so he could afford to take a break. And he wanted to get pictures taken before he ended up with chocolate all over his face from the cupcakes.
“Here…” he wrapped the rest of his sub up enough to set it aside, and then shifted a little so he had his back to Elliot and leaned backwards enough to rest against his chest, knowing Elliot wouldn’t let him fall.
“You might have a better reach,” he sighed, after trying to hold his phone up to get both of them in the frame.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 7:22 pm
“Oh! I forgot,” Elliot said, this time with his mouth full. He hurriedly chomped at his sandwich while making himself comfortable. He wrapped his arm around Atticus and leaned forward a bit so he could best support him, and smiled up at the camera so Atticus could take a few pictures.
“Yeah, let me try something,” he said, and reached out to hold the phone. He gave Atticus a moment to adjust and then took a few more pictures, and then made sure he was taking pictures as he kissed Atticus’ cheek, specifically so they could have that, too.
And then, when he was done, he passed Atticus his phone back. “Send me your favorites. I want to keep the ones you’re happy with. Well, I want to keep them all, but I want you to be happy with them. Hey, can we be a cheesy couple that makes scrapbooks? My dads have some pictures printed out and I just like that a lot. I know we could put them online and all, but. I don’t know, I figured that you’re really creative, so I bet we could have a really pretty one. And we could spend time together getting it right. Or we could pass it back and forth and just have special pages for each other, too. I don’t know!” he laughed, and rested his head against Atticus. “I’ll have fun with you no matter what. I just want to have a lot of special memories with you. Too bad we can’t make a Moon scrapbook, too. I’d like to keep track of how much we fix up. You know, something we can leave to whoever comes after us.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 7:52 pm
Elliot got a brightened smile from Atticus for the kiss to his cheek, and he leaned back a little further so he could wiggle down and lay across Elliot’s lap for at least a little bit while they talked about scrapbooks.
“That sounds like a lot of fun! We could make a scrapbook for the Moon! We might not have pictures we can print out, but with how good you are with words, and me drawing things, I think we could get something pretty nice done,” he hummed as he reached up to place his hand on Elliot’s cheek. He knew he was distracting him from eating, so he wouldn’t stay there for long. He just wanted to share some of his warmth for a moment.
“I would really like to do a scrapbook with you. We can do all of that. Together, or a couple pages on our own. Surprise each other with a page or two, maybe? I don’t think it’s cheesy at all. I think that sounds really special.”
And it choked him up a little with emotions, but he was being good and not crying about something as simple as a scrapbook! Yet.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:07 pm
With Atticus in his lap, Elliot fed him another french fry, and deliberately avoided reaching for his sandwich to take another bite because he didn’t want to accidentally drop sauce into Atticus’ eye or something ridiculous and ruin this whole date.
“Good! Yes, I like that a lot. I like the idea of making something special together, and then leaving each other little notes or special pages so when we read through it we can remember how much we like each other and–well, you know. Everything. Hey–”
He looked pensive for a moment and then asked, “What if we got, like, a polaroid camera? Or we could ask Soleiyu if he could help us with some picture printer or something, so we could just hook it up and print? But I like the idea of you illustrating things, too. I mean, I like being up there and it’s neat that it’s a whole mystery for us to solve? But I think it’ll be more effective if we solve the mysteries and get things ready for the next Moon Knights so they’ll have an easier time learning. I don’t want the Code to have to teach them all over again, that sounds like it must be exhausting. Although, I guess that’s not unlike what Michael or my parents do–teaching the same class over and over to a new group every year?”
He hummed thoughtfully and then shrugged. “Well, we’ll see. I just like having projects we can do together. I’m going to have to start making lists of all the things I want to do with you, I don’t want to forget anything.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:20 pm
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Soleiyu is so smart, I bet he already has something like that made,” Atticus insisted. All of the Mauvians he’d met so far were so smart and helpful. It was amazing that they weren’t the ones ruling the world by now. Oh, but he supposed they didn’t have the numbers. And being a cat probably didn’t help.
“We can do both. Print and illustrate. And write! Because we can’t take pictures of sounds or smells, so I’ll be counting on you to describe how the flowers smell when they start blooming again. And I know we’ll get them to start blooming,” he insisted with a smile. “I think it’s a lot of fun to explore and clean up things. Especially since you’re there with me. Oh, but we don’t have to worry about the next Moon Knights for a very long time. We’ve got too much to do!”
He pushed himself up after a few more moments, because he could have sworn he heard Elliot’s stomach grumbling in protest. And Atticus didn’t want him to be hungry! He picked up his own sandwich again to eat, already very pleased with their date. And to think he was nervous about it!
“I think you’d make a great teacher if you wanted to. You’d be great at anything. I can definitely imagine you in a job that helps a lot of people.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:27 pm
“That’s true,” he agreed of their would-be successors. “I’m not going anywhere for a long time, and neither are you. We’ll be geriatric Moon Knights one day.” The thought was amusing, but reassuring, in a strange way that he didn’t realize he needed to imagine until the idea was already in his head.
When Atticus moved and picked up his sandwich, Elliot did the same, and enthusiastically helped himself to a few more bites. It was still warm, even if not as much as before. The sun was on them though, and it helped stave off the cold a bit.
“I don’t completely know what I want to do. A part of me said politics, I want to be able to make a big difference. I want to protect people and make their lives better. But that’s pretty competitive. And I am competitive, but. We’ll see where I’m at next year. I have a lot of options. And I want to pick something that’s going to let me juggle being a Knight, too. And spend time with you. What about you, do you know what you want to do yet?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:48 pm
Atticus could definitely see Elliot in politics. Or even a firefighter or paramedic or head of some charity organization. He could probably do just about anything and be successful, and Atticus was going to support him no matter what.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he admitted. There was a time, not so long ago, that he wasn’t sure he would even make it this far. And had he not met Elliot and then Devyn when he had, he might not have been there. But he didn’t like thinking about that. It was in the past and they were safe and they were Moon knights.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do much as an artist. I don’t think either dad would mind, but I wouldn’t want to put the burden of finances on someone else if I wasn’t able to sell much of my work,” he sighed. He’d been used to taking care of himself as best he could. He was still getting used to people actually looking out for him, and he felt very spoiled by it.
“But I’m going to do my best and learn as much as I can. If I have to, I’ll take a part time job or something so I can use the rest of my time to work on art. Or jewelry. Or maybe I’ll learn from Devyn how to embroider things. I don’t know.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2022 5:52 am
“Oh, those are all good plans. I’m glad, I was hoping you’d do something with art. I bet you could do some ASMR videos or something online, too. You have such a soft, gentle voice, it would be neat to record it while you paint. If I didn’t know you in real life, I could definitely fall asleep watching you paint and just talking to me. Like Bob Ross, except you’re much cuter. Maybe you could do tutorials and stuff. Open an Etsy shop. Do some local craft fairs, have some booths. I mean, no pressure! I know it’s a lot to think about. But your art is important to you. I don’t think you should have to have a part time job unless you want to.”
He knew that dreams didn’t always come true, but if anyone deserved to achieve their dream, he thought it should be Atticus, and he wanted to do whatever he could to make sure he had that chance.
“I was thinking about taking some business classes. I don’t think I want to be a businessman, but I wanted to understand how to run things. But I bet you could have your own art business. And Devyn already wants to put your paintings up in galleries. So between that and your jewelry? I bet you can do it. And there are a lot of different ways to get some supplemental income. Video streaming is popular, but it’s also a lot of work. I think you should definitely focus on making a plan for doing what you want to do first, and only plan to adapt or adjust if you have to. But you’re the most talented artist I’ve ever met. I think you’re gonna go far.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2022 6:38 am
The idea of Elliot helping him run his own art business was… surprisingly moving. Not that he didn’t think Elliot wouldn’t want to! But that he was already thinking about it was so sweet.
Atticus bit his lip to keep it from trembling with emotion. And he worked hard to keep his eyes dry, but Elliot was saying so many really nice things that he couldn’t help but sniffle a little.
“You really think I could do all that?” he couldn’t help but ask, even though he knew Elliot must have meant it if he said it! “Thank you, Elliot. That’s really, really nice. You have a lot of really good ideas, so if you think I should try any of that, I definitely should, because you’re the smartest person I know. And very clever. And I think you’re really handsome, but also really cute? If that makes sense. I mean, I just like you a lot and you make me smile all the time. Oh, these tears aren’t bad, I promise,” he said as he used one hand to scrub at his face before it got too watery.
“I just mean… I wouldn’t have thought of any of that, so I really appreciate you giving me suggestions. I get overwhelmed thinking about what I’m going to do.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2022 5:47 pm
Elliot was pretty used to Atticus’ emotions, so when the tears started, he just smiled and leaned over so he could pull a pretty little handkerchief from the basket. He shook it out some, but it still smelled like fresh baked cupcakes. It was a pretty pastel purple, soft and faded in color but silky smooth. He pressed it gently to Atticus’ cheeks before passing it over so he could use it whenever he needed.
“Well, if you get overwhelmed, we can break it down into smaller pieces and try to tackle one thing at a time. And it won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t want to try something, or if you try something and don’t like it. And that goes for everything, but if art is going to be your career, I just want to support you. I like the technical stuff,” he admitted. “But I also like big projects. So if you ever want help researching or trying to plan something, let me know? You have my full support. And I don’t want to steal your spotlight or micromanage or anything like that. You’re always so sweet,” he laughed, and gave him a side hug.
“I think you can do anything, Atticus. We can brainstorm together, and if there’s something you want to do, we’ll try it. I’ll support you,” he promised, and squeezed him again. “I want you to be able to do your art and share it with the world and just be you. And you’ve got plenty of time to figure out how to do it. So there’s no pressure. We can research things, and if there’s anything I can help you with, I’ll be there for you. Now and forever.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2022 5:56 pm
Atticus stared at the handkerchief for a moment, before smiling softly at Elliot for his thoughtfulness. He held still (and sniffled a little more) while Elliot dried his cheeks a bit, and then took it so he could dab at his face a little more.
“Thank you. You know me so well,” he said with a quiet laugh as he carefully dried his eyes, remembering he’d put some eyeliner on and hoped he hadn’t ruined it. He was still getting used to wearing makeup, but he liked how he looked with it, and Elliot didn’t seem to mind.
“That’s a good idea. See? You always have good ideas, and I’m very grateful that you do, otherwise I think I would just be even more of a mess than I am now,” he sighed, but still smiled. Oh, and the hug was wonderful, even if it was just from the side. He could have melted into Elliot’s arms and just held him back for the rest of the day, but he knew he should let him finish eating.
“I think you can do anything, too. You’re so smart and funny and wonderful. And you care so much about people.”
His heart had fluttered a little with the thought of now and forever, because that sounded so good. He wanted it so much that he was afraid someone would pinch him and he would wake up.
“Now and forever,” he repeated quietly as he smiled at Elliot, temporarily tear free thanks to the handkerchief and Elliot’s kindness.
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