ooo. prologue
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Atlas rolled over in bed, his body bumping into a warmer one. Considering he was often cold when he slept, a warm body next to him was good, great even. One of his eyelids opened and he peeked at the stranger next to him.

"Hey. Dude, wake up." Atlas nudged the man in his bed.

"Honey! Breakfast!" Atlas's mother called out, her loud voice bouncing off the walls. Considering, his hole family had moved to Seattle, they all moved into one house. Atlas wasn't complaining.

Atlas sighed deeply, whoever was laying beside him was not budging. So, Atlas placed a cold hand on the mans shoulder and pushed, letting his body thud to the ground.

"W-what was that for?!" The unknown man spoke from his position on the ground, acting like he had never been pushed off a bed.

Atlas didn't answer as he stumbled around his room looking for an appropriate attire for his first day:

"I have work. worky, work, work." Atlas let his hand be stretched towards the half asleep man on his floor.

The mysterious man clasped his own hand in Atlas before pulling himself up. "I'm Atlas." The said male spoke.

"Derek." The man—Derek—told Atlas before shrugging on his jacket that had been discarded, most likely in the middle of the night.

"Breakfast is ready Derek. Let's eat." Atlas playful shoved the male out of his room.

The two made their way down the stairs and through the hallways to get to the dining room, which was still full of boxes. But that wouldn't stop Atlas's mother from making a big breakfast for her children.

A mug of coffee, and a glass of water were placed in front of Derek. Who Derek assumed was the mother handed him a bottle of Advil. He gave her a curious glance, which she noticed. "For you hangover." She chuckled, her mind drifting back to when her son and whoever the man was drunkenly stumbled through her home at three am.

"Thank you..." Derek trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.

"That's my mother, Lilla." Atlas told Derek, not bothering to look up from the buffet of food in front of him. 

"Thank you, Lilla." Derek said kindly, he meant it too.

"Of course dear! Now please, dig in!" She chirped waving her hand around to signal the group to eat.

Atlas dumped a great amount of food on his plane. Ready to dig in, until the front door clicked and opened.

"Oliver?" Atlas father looked towards his son, who was walking into the dining room.

"S-sorry I'm late." The younger male who wore sunglasses and had shown up late, apologized.

"It's all right son, your here now." Lilla told her youngest son.

Atlas looked down over at Derek and his plate. He could tell Derek felt slight out of place so Atlas nudged his elbow into Derek. "Try the pancakes, and bacon, they're the best you'll ever have." He told Derek.

Derek hesitantly placed the food on his plate. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry, because he was—he was starving. But he felt like a sixteen year old boy who had a sleepover with a friend. Slowly but surly, Derek took a few bites—it wouldn't harm anyone, right?

Atlas dumped two Advil's in his younger brothers hand before handing him a cup of water, he could tell that he was far more hungover than himself.

Dereks eyes looked between all the family members that were seated at the table. They all looked happy, like they belonged. And oddly, Derek felt like he did too.

Which was a good feeling, a feeling he hadn't felt in awhile.

"Ma, dad?" Oliver lifted his head to look at his parents, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"Yes?" Brian asked as he looked towards his youngest son.

"Thank you two for din—breakfast!" He told the two parents.

Derek couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the mixup between the meals.

"Der, you done?" Atlas asked once he noticed the man beside him had stopped eating.

Derek cleared his throat, "y-yeah."

Atlas stood up, his own plate in one hand and Dereks in the other. He walked into the kitchen with Derek following behind like a lost puppy. Placing the dishes in the sink he turned the water to a hot setting before starting to wash the dishes.

"Are you gonna just stand there or are you gonna help?" Atlas joked, but Derek rolled up his sleeves and started to dry the clean dishes.

"So Derek did you enjoy breakfast?" Atlas asked the man beside him.

"It was delicious. Thank you." Derek told the brown haired man beside him, who wore a smile like nothing bad has ever happened in his life before.

"Don't thank me, thank my ma, she's the cook." Atlas chuckled and pointed a soapy finger at his mother who walked into the kitchen.

"Don't point your soapy finger at me young man!" She told her son, but her voice was full of lightness, making it would like she was joking—which she was.

Atlas scooped up a big handful of bubbles before throwing them at his mother, they didn't get to far—most of them going to Derek actually.

"Did you just do what I think you did?!"Oliver gasped as he entered the kitchen, he looked between Atlas and his mother who were staring fiercely at each other.

Derek took a step back, he couldn't tell if this was one big joke and they did it all the time, or if Lilla was going to hit him over the head with the frying pan she held.

"What's gonna happen now..." Derek asked the now more sober Oliver.

"I'm not sure, I'm guessing she'll throw the pan at him." Eliza guessed as she came to stand beside her twin brother and Derek.

Derek turned around quickly at the new voice, his eyes widened at everyone but Lilla and Atlas standing behind him.

"Hunny! We just moved, you don't want to reck anything. Right sweetheart?" Brian called out to his wife.

"Dad! Shhhh!" The twins shushed their father.

Derek watched Atlas slowly move backwards until his hand could grasp a pancake or two. As soon as it was in his hands he threw it at his mom, who whacked them out of the way.

"Oh no. He's in trouble now!" Eliza chuckled.

Atlas grabbed the bowl of fruit salad before throwing it towards his sister, totally forgetting his guest, who was now being attacked with fruit salad.

"Not the guy with perfect hair!" Oliver cried poking a finger at Derek.

"Oh—oh shit! Derek, I'm so sorry." Atlas told the man with perfect hair and a cheeky grin on his face.

"It's o—"

Derek watched as Lilla dumped a bowl of pancake batter over Atlas head.

"—kay." He finished.

"Ha! I win!" Lilla cheered before handing her son a rag.

"Shoo." She pushed everyone out of the kitchen so she could clean up.

Derek and Atlas walked to the front door, both laughing lightly at what had just happened.

"Well Derek."

"Well Atlas."

"Thank you." The two blurted at the same time.

Both men shared a laugh before Atlas opened the door for Derek. "I hope I'll see you soon!" Atlas called out as he watched Derek walk down the pathway of his home.

"Me too!" Derek called over his shoulder before getting into his car—that was somehow on the side of the road, making him think that him and Atlas had been responsible and gotten a designated driver to drive them home.

Neither knew that they'd both see each other in a mere few hours.