When Jack woke up he was alone in the bed, but the covers were still covering him as if he had been tucked in. He could smell cooking from downstairs, nothing too sweet to the nose but the promise of food was enough to satisfy him. Surviving on old chocolate bars and rotten fruit he found in Rapture was not a steady diet. He slung the covers away from him, sliding out of the bed and padding down the metal stairs. They froze the bottom of his feet, but it was refreshing more than numbing. Atlas was sitting on the wooden rocking chair, eating from a chipped bowl with steam arising from it.
"Good morning." Jack waved, pulling up a chair to sit next to Atlas.
"Found some porridge, you can literally taste the age in it." He chuckled, his voice was heavy from sleep.
"Sounds delicious." Jack smiled, pulling at the wood of the chair.
Atlas then got up, tossing the bowl aside on the counter where a large pot lay. He poured some more of the sloppy porridge into another bowl, for Jack, and then wiped the sweat from his forehead. Atlas reached out to Jack, passing him the hot bowl and then returning to the counter. His bony fingers clung to the edge of the counter, leaning his back against the ready-to-collapse counter. The light that grew in Jack's jade eyes brought a smile to Atlas's lips, he only ever wanted to see the boy happy. He had been through so much, being born a lab rat and being forced to wander through the debris of his past as another little experiment. At least it would let him love the small things, Atlas thought, like bowls of old porridge and a warm bed.
"Did you sleep well?" Atlas asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Never better." Jack covered his mouth as he spoke, not wanting to be rude.
It wasn't a lie, risking his life on cold Rapture floors wasn't his dream sleeping arrangement. Not to mention waking up after Tennenbaum had rewritten his DNA. Feeling embarrassed because a muscular man was sharing a bed with him was a welcome problem in comparison.
"You talk in your sleep. Did ya know?" Atlas opened the doors of the counter, searching for something.
"Oh." The redness shyly grew back into his cheeks "What did I say?"
Atlas closed the counter doors, returning to his previous position. With a meal in his stomach and a good night's rest he was falling back into his comfortable habits. The ache for a cigarette grew in his lips, in his throat and his lungs. It felt like it had been forever since he had smoked, always too focused to realise that ache. There had to be a pack sonowhere, and when his eyes searched the room he saw Jack with dusty cheeks. He was still waiting for an answer.
"My name." Atlas finally answered "At least it was all I heard."
The blush grew richer in Jack's cheeks, as he now fiddled with his fingers. Then Atlas slivered back into the rocking chair, closer to Jack than he needed to be. Jack stopped the shiver from shaking his spine, and tried his best to hide the blushing.
"What were you dreaming about?" Atlas persisted, straightening the collar of his shirt.
Jack then became very aware of his own bare chest, suddenly feeling exposed. Atlas still managed to look presentable, he had abandoned his tattered hat. This allowed his almost ashen hair to begin curling on his head. He had taken back his shirt, buttoned up and held by the sleek suspenders. Jack simply sat messy haired and shirtless, which wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't so plain. Sure, there were promises of muscles hidden beneath his skin, but nothing as impressive as Atlas. He tried to look anywhere but in Atlas's eyes, seeing a familiar jumper folded up in front of the stove.
"I can't really remember." Jack lied, walking over to pick up the woolen mess.
It was still covered in blood stains, the wool messy and tearing apart. Yet it was still familiar, and it would be nice to be fully clothed. It smelled of salt and heat, brushing his nose as he pulled it over his head.
"I remember Rapture, and you were there." He began, trying to sound as casual as possible.
He felt the wool itching at his skin, leaving red marks all over. It was thick if it was anything, providing enough warmth and comfort for Jack to sit back beside Atlas. His eyes followed Jack as he walked, sitting in a more relaxed way on the chair.
"That all you remember boyo?" Atlas was beginning to sound bored.
"Seems that way." Jack smiled after pausing to pretend to think. "What did you dream about?"
Atlas swallowed, his throat feeling very tight all of a sudden "My wedding day."
The cheeky glint in his eyes was drowned in sadness, his wedding ring growing heavy on his hand.
"It was a beautiful day, she was beautiful." Atlas spoke just above a whisper.
"I wish I could have been there." Jack replied, putting his hand on Atlas's shoulder and squeezing it.
It wasn't an empty lie, just to make him feel better. To see Atlas so happy with his wife, dressed in a suit. He knew he shouldn't have been focusing on what Atlas looked like on his wedding day, but he couldn't help it. Perfectly tailored trousers running thinly over his long legs and a pristine white shirt clinging to his chest and muscles. Selfish, Jack branded himself as. Atlas was going through pain greater than he could ever imagine and he was practically drooling over this broken man.
"Not a lot of people were there, it was a pretty private wedding." Atlas let out a heavy sigh "And what happened after was more than private, if you can catch my drift."
Atlas tried to pull his signature grin, but it appeared crooked and ghostly on his face. He poured his face into his hands, groaning lowly.
"What is wrong with me? My wife and son are dead and I'm here cracking jokes." Atlas grumbled.
"Theres nothing wrong with you, everybody deals with things differently. Taking a positive outlook is completely normal." Jack reassured, squeezing his shoulder again.
"No, no. I'm making a fool of myself, I'm making you uncomfortable." Atlas continued to complain.
"Why would I be uncomfortable?" Jack asked a little to quickly.
Atlas pulled his face out of his hands, his back slouched. He pressed his back against the back of the chair and looked Jack in the eye. It wasn't a look of intimidation, with Atlas's natural kindness slanting his eyebrows.
"Well..." Atlas struggled to find words "Those with little experience in the matter usually get a little bit uncomfortable when it's brought up."
Jack sat there for a few seconds trying to figure out what Atlas was saying "Are you calling me a virgin?" Jack asked, offended slightly.
"Not exactly, that's just how it is." Atlas rubbed the back of his neck, sensing the tone of Jack's voice.
"How would you know either way?" Jack crossed his arms, trying to sound more offended than embarrassed.
"I just figured you didn't have a lot of time in that lab for fucking." Atlas held back a chuckle.
The word rolled off of Atlas's tongue so perfectly, alerting Jack as soon as he said it. He didn't know what it was, but there was nothing he loved more than his accent. He could feel his cheeks heating up, a drop of sweat forming on his forehead.
"See, you get het up just hearing the word!" Atlas proved "If I knew you got so hot under the collar about it I would've cursed less down that radio."
"I am not het up." Was all Jack could think to say.
"Oh really?" Atlas questioned, moving closer to Jack in his seat.
Atlas leaned in close to Jack, and he could feel the hot breath against his skin again. He gripped the arm rest tightly, focused on looked as relaxed as possible. Atlas used a single finger to move the light hair behind Jack's ear before he whispered.
"Then why don't you tell me what your dream was about?" Atlas grew a grin of pride, not moving an inch until Jack answered.
"I-I told you." Jack's mouth felt so dry all of a sudden "I cant remember."
Atlas walked his fingers along Jack's arm, trying to pull a shiver out of him.
"I saw your face when you said my name, it's clear enough Jack." Atlas's lips were brushing Jack's ear lobe as he spoke.
"It wasn't anything." Jack spoke determinedly.
"So this wont refresh your memory then, boyo?" Atlas's tome grew more sultry with each word.
Jack wasn't sure how it had come to this. Minutes ago they were talking about his dead family, and now it was like he was reliving his dream. Except this time it felt a little more like a nightmare, because he wouldn't just wake up to an oblivious Atlas. Jack should've remembered from last night that his reflexes needed work because before he knew it, Atlas was moving. He pushed the rocking chair away from him in such a brute force, and he was already weighing down Jack's hips with his own.
"Atlas, stop it." Jack choked out.
"I was just asking you a question Jack." Atlas punctuated the sentence with a roll of his hips.
Jack feared we would tear the chair arm off with all of the pressure he was putting onto it. He could feel his trousers tightening as Atlas rolled his hips again. What was he trying to prove? Electricity began to fill Jack's veins, a natural reflex for when his brain thought he was in danger.
"What are you doing?" Jack spat, darting his eyes to the floor.
Atlas picked up Jack's chin with two slender fingers, forcing him to look up. Jack stared deep into those blue eyes, for any sign of what Atlas was trying to do. Then, when Atlas breathed out heavily he smelled it. A thick aroma of whiskey lingered on Atlas's breath, and Jack didn't know how he didn't smell it before. He was drinking so early? Where did he even find something to drink?
"Last night." Atlas breathed "When I was changing, I saw your eyes wandering. I saw the beginnings of red cheeks. So how long?"
"How long? How long what?" Jack asked with confusion spread across his face.
That was when Atlas leaned back in to whisper."How long, Jack. How long have you wanted to fuck me." Atlas purred into Jack's ear.
He shivered. Something he had been keeping back for so long. His body shook, only rubbing their hips together again and pulling a quiet moan out of Atlas. Then all of a sudden he stood up, leaving Jack feeling tight in his trousers.
"What did I tell ya? You are het up about it." Atlas chuckled, another proud grin spreading over his face.
"Atlas, you can't just-" Jack began, letting go of the chair arm at last.
"If you want more, I'll be upstairs." Atlas interrupted.
His long legs tackled the metal stairs once again. Jack couldn't help it, it was just like reliving his dream, but this time it was real.