Taste of Iron

Thirteen: Who Needs You Most

Thirteen: Who Needs You Most

"This is Ava, Taylor and Esteban!" Emil introduced, looking way too excited while doing so. "And guys, this is Atlas."

"Hi," the head chef muttered, feeling rather awkward.

"He's cuter than how you described him," Ava noted. Atlas blinked, wondering just how much Emil had talked about him to his friends.

"He is very cute," Emil nodded in agreement.

"His hair is so blue," Taylor stated in awe. "Do you dye it yourself?"

"Uh, yeah," Atlas replied.

"Nice. If I wanted to dye my hair would you help me out?" Taylor questioned. "I was thinking something funky. Like green or pink."

"Sure?" Atlas was confused. The giant gangster wanted to dye his hair pink?

"Speaking of hair, I should probably get mine cut too, huh?" Emil said as he ran a hand through his strands, that were getting longer than his usual style.

"I think you'd look nice with long hair," Atlas pitched in before he could think twice about what he had said.

"Yeah?" Emil smiled, before looking at Ava. "Cancel my barber's appointment."

"You don't have a barber's appointment."

"So make an appointment, and then cancel it!" Emil exclaimed.

"Idiot," both Ava and Atlas said simultaneously. They glanced at each other, a smirk on Ava's lips and an uncertain frown on Atlas's. Maybe, just maybe, Atlas was going to get along just fine with Emil's buddies.

"Great," Emil mumbled, "now I've got two people calling me an idiot."

"Did you guys order? I'm hungry," Taylor stated as he grabbed the menu.

Much to Atlas's relief, the attention shifted from him to the food. He exhaled softly, his fingers pinching the hem of his shirt as he stared absent-mindedly out of the window. A hand just above his knee caught him off-guard, making him look at Emil who was sitting beside him.

The crime boss shifted closer to Atlas, making the chef gulp. Emil had a soft smile on his face, and Atlas could sense that the man seemed concerned about something. Atlas bit the inside of his cheek as Emil leant forward, his face just a few inches away from Atlas's, before he turned his head to whisper in Atlas's ear instead.

"Let me know if this is too much for you, yeah?" Emil said, keeping his voice low so that only Atlas could hear him. The rest were too busy deciding what to order anyway. "We can just get the food packed and get out of here. I wouldn't mind. I know my friends can be a lot."

Atlas was a little stunned. He wasn't expecting Emil to be this observant and considerate. The head chef couldn't help but feel his solid heart melt just a tad bit. Emil listened to him. He remembered that Atlas liked puzzles. He also noticed Atlas, like really noticed him. From his quirks to his comfort or lack thereof, he was attentive to all of it.

"I'm fine for now," Atlas replied.

"Okay. Just say the word if that changes and I'll make an excuse to leave," Emil added. Atlas nodded, unable to take his eyes off the brunette as Emil shifted back to his original place.

Gabby came back to take the rest of the orders. Atlas felt the same uneasy feeling return in his stomach as he watched her talk to Emil and the others like they were long term friends, which to be fair, they probably were. The worst part was that she seemed really nice and sweet, so the chef not only felt unsettled, but also guilty.