Taste of Iron [MxM]

One: Clean Up On Aisle Atlas

Atlas kept one foot after the other, struggling to breathe. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on as he saw glimpses of his destination in front of him.

“Just a little more,” he mumbled, talking to himself. “You can do this.”

Atlas smiled, he had finally made it. He was almost there, almost. Just a couple more steps and he—

The blue-haired man cursed out loud as he tripped, all the paper bags in his arm falling as his face crashed with the cold, hard ground. He groaned, sitting up as he rubbed his cheek, hoping that it wouldn’t leave a bruise. He sighed heavily, looking around to see all the groceries on the floor, some had even gotten squished under his body weight.

He turned his head, glaring at the TV remote that was clearly the culprit. How did it even get on the kitchen floor from the living room? A mind-bending mystery that Atlas would never figure out the answer to.

Atlas surveyed the damage. Most of the items had made it, though all the eggs were broken and Atlas knew that he had to clean them up as soon as possible otherwise they would begin to stink real bad.

“Should’ve just taken an extra trip,” Atlas muttered as he stood back up and began picking up the groceries. Who was he kidding? He would rather hold ten bags and try to carry them all at once than make two trips to his car.

By the time Atlas was done cleaning up, he was exhausted. He had spent a long day at work, sweating away in the heat of the kitchen where he had recently started as the head chef. He had reached before breakfast service began, and had stayed until after dinner to help clear up. Fortunately, he made it just in time to the grocery store before it closed. Only for his clumsy self to make yet another mess.

Every inch of him felt grubby, and he desperately needed a shower before getting into bed and passing the hell out. He grew excited just thinking about the amazing sleep he was going to have. Oh, his soft, warm bed was just calling his name at that point.

The water washed away the grease and some of Atlas’s tiredness. He lived for moments like these when he could just take some time for himself and de-stress. He walked out of his bathroom, one towel wrapped around his waist as he used another to dry his hair.

Atlas had brought home some leftovers from the restaurant, and thankfully they were unharmed after his majestic fall. Some duck confit sounded—

Atlas paused in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock as his gaze fell on a man he had never seen before, standing right there in his living room. Atlas was frozen still as the two stared at each other, none of them making any move as Atlas dropped the towel he was using to dry his hair on the floor.

The man was tall, he must’ve been well over 6′ though Atlas was not much smaller at 5′11". He seemed to be of Hispanic descent, with dark brown hair and eyes, and a light stubble covering his face. If Atlas had met him outside of these circumstances, he probably would’ve found him hot. But in this scenario, Atlas did not know whether to run at him or away from him.

What should you do if you see an intruder standing casually in your house when you’re only dressed in a towel?

“Before you even think of screaming—” the intruder paused as he lifted a corner of his shirt. Atlas’s eyes followed his actions, gulping at the gun that was tucked in the man’s waistband. “So don’t, yeah? And the same goes for calling the police.”

“Just...just take whatever you want, dude,” Atlas spoke, raising his hands in defense.

“Take whatever I want?” The intruder blinked, looking around the apartment that was filled with old and mismatched furniture. Most of the stuff Atlas had was either left there by the old tenants, or shit that he found for free on the streets. Safe to say, he didn’t really have much.

“Yeah? Aren’t you here to... steal or something?” Atlas frowned, making the man chuckle.

“No offense,dude, but if I was a burglar and I came into your house to steal then I would probably feel pity and leave some stuff behind for you,” he spoke. Atlas furrowed his brows, feeling a little offended.

“Hey, what is that supposed to me—” Atlas paused, looking around his own home to realize that the man was probably right. The newly employed chef didn’t really have anything that was theft worthy. “Fine. What are you doing here then?”

“It’s simple, really. I was running from some guys, entered this building and well...you were the only stupid person to not have locked his door. Seriously, man, do you even know what kind of neighborhood you live in?” The intruder exhaled, shaking his head in disappointment.

Atlas blinked. Was he really getting lectured on safety by somebody that had broken into his house? What did his life come to?

“Uh...” Atlas pursed his lips. Of course, his hands were full when he got back home and he completely forgot to lock the door after he crashed into the floor. Goddamnit, he had been really careless. “Okay. How long...how long are you going to hide out here, then?”

“As long as it takes,” the man shrugged casually. “It’s pretty late so I have a feeling they’re going to be scoping the area all night. So I’ve got to stay here until I get the all clear from my buddies.”

“Can’t your buddies come and get you now?” Atlas asked.

“Nah, I told them I found shelter for the night so to just stay put.”

“But—”

“Unless you want an all out gang war right in your building?”

“Oh,” Atlas tightened his jaw as he shook his head, before running his hand through his hair. “Not really, I suppose.”

“Good.”

“Uh, so I’ll just go to my—” Atlas was about to turn away and run to his bedroom when the intruder beat him to it by taking long strides towards the chef and blocking his way.

“Listen to me carefully, okay?” He spoke, making Atlas widen his eyes both at their proximity and the sudden shift in the intruder’s tone.

For some reason, Atlas hadn’t been scared before. He was never one to easily get spooked and usually always maintained his cool even in the most stressful of situations. But this was unlike something he had ever faced before. He came from a small town where everyone knew each other and there was barely any crime. And the man in front of him was clearly part of a gang, so quite frankly Atlas did not know how to react.

Atlas said nothing as he stared at the intruder, who took yet another step towards him until they were only inches away from each other. His facial expression had changed, from being casual about everything to looking like he meant business. Safe to say, Atlas was growing to be a teeny tiny bit worried now.

“Don’t even think of calling the police, okay?” He spoke, his voice menacingly calm. “Because even if they arrest me, I will be out. I will be out very soon and once I am...I promise that I will come after you.”

“I...”

“And trust when I say that having me as your friend is way better than being my enemy,” he stated, bringing a hand forward to lightly touch Atlas’s hair. “So tell me, Smurf, do you want to be someone that I owe one to, or do you want to fuck around and find out just what I’m capable of?”

“The...former?” Atlas answered, not sounding too sure. The intruder smirked, patting the top of the chef’s head.

“Great! And don’t even think of trying to signal the guys looking for me, yeah? Because sure, they might empty a clip in me. But the next bullet will go right here—” he said, tapping Atlas’s forehead with his index finger. “They won’t leave an eye witness behind.”

“But you will?” Atlas questioned. “Am I not an eye witness for you too?”

“Eye witness to what? My breaking and entering?” The man laughed. “Come on, that won’t even get me a slap on the wrist. You let me stay here for the night without saying a word to anyone and you’re good. You won’t be hurt, I give you my word.”

Atlas did not know what to say. What if he was simply lying to him? What if the moment Atlas turns his back he gets stabbed? But what else could he do? Even if he somehow managed to overpower the man and call the police... Then he would definitely follow up on the threat. Even if he was behind bars, the man was part of a gang. And his fellow gang members would obviously want revenge on the guy that sent their friend to jail.

Cooperating was Atlas’s best option. Or maybe his only option.

“Okay,” Atlas whispered.

“Great!” The intruder grinned. “Now, I’ll need your phone and laptop and any other device that you can use to make contact.”

“Uh—”

“I know, I know, it absolutely sucks. I can’t stay an hour without my mobile too but come on, desperate times, yeah? So hurry up, amigo!”

“Can I at least get dressed first?” Atlas muttered, realizing that he was still only wearing a towel which thankfully managed to stay on for this long.

“Sure,” he replied understandingly. Atlas sighed in relief as he walked past the man to enter his bedroom. Only for the intruder to follow him inside. Atlas looked back, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

“You know that I can’t exactly let you out of my sight, right?” The dark-haired man deadpanned.

Of-bloody-course.

Atlas nodded, not like he could do anything about it. Thank fuck he wasn’t shy, yeah? He glanced back at the man, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded in front of his chest, his eyes fixed on Atlas.

“I’m Emil, by the way. Thought we should at least be on first name basis now that we’re going to spend the night together,” he spoke with a wink.

What the fuck did Atlas get himself into? And only because he was too lazy to make an extra trip to his car for the groceries?Goddamnit.

***

a/n: hi y’all! guess who’s back?

do let me know what you think of the first chapter!e…