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ATTICUS SHIFTED BACK and forth, bouncing from one foot to the other as he waited. He couldn’t seem to keep still.

Was he nervous?

He didn’t get nervous. Not for dates. But why did he feel like his insides might float right out of him?

Atticus checked his phone for what was probably the thousandth time, stepping closer to the building. No new notifications, and only two minutes had passed since he’d last looked. He exhaled slowly, breath puffing visibly before him in the chill night air.

Not only did Atticus not get nervous for dates, but he was also never early for them. Except this time he had been. Half an hour early, to be precise.

Maybe it was because he had no clue what they were going to do? Well, he sort of had an idea, since he’d been standing and waiting outside of what was clearly an arcade-slash-laser tag center. Atticus had triple checked the address. He was at the right place.

He didn’t mind giving up control. He just wasn’t usually asked to. But when his date had sent him a text with nothing more than I’ll take care of the plans , it had made Atticus feel a little giddy. A little more excited than he normally felt for a first date .

He forced himself to put his phone away, swearing that he wouldn’t look at it again.

There were only a couple minutes left until their agreed upon meeting time anyway.

Atticus slipped his hands into his coat pockets, glancing around at his surroundings, looking for a face he’d only ever seen on a screen.

People passed by, barely sparing him a glance as they went about their night.

A few walked right by him, entering the arcade.

Atticus wondered if any of them were also on a first date.

If they, too, had butterflies in their stomachs and silly smiles trying to spread across their faces.

Was he the only one feeling such nervous anticipation?

Maybe Atticus was so anxious because he kept thinking about it as a first date.

He didn’t really do second dates. Not for a long time.

He’d had a sort of thing going with his teammate, Orion Harper, but that had been more of a friends-with-benefits situation, no feelings attached.

Just how he liked it. Atticus wasn’t really made for the long haul kind of relationships.

It was more fun to live in the moment, to have a taste, to always be ready to see what else the world had to offer.

But this time… he really was already looking forward to a second date. Which was silly, because the first one hadn’t happened yet. They hadn’t even met in person. Atticus thought that he was probably being a little ridiculous, but he also thought that he probably didn’t care.

A flash of a familiar hairstyle, black with teal ends, caught his eye as he continued to scan the sidewalk.

Those butterflies in his stomach seemed to go into overdrive.

Atticus could feel a flush building on his cheeks and hoped desperately that the cold would be a good enough excuse for it.

A pair of wide amber-gold eyes met his own.

NotYourKitten- no , Kai, Kai Reid, Atticus needed to stop thinking of him by his gamer tag- looked gorgeous.

An oversized, simple gray hoodie, big enough to show off the sharp points of his collarbone.

Fitted black joggers that had Atticus wishing the hoodie was a little smaller and didn’t fall quite so far past his waist. Kai had told him to dress in something comfy, but Atticus was pretty sure he didn’t look that good in athletic wear.

His own joggers and t-shirt outfit suddenly felt inadequate.

A small smile played on Kai’s lips as he approached. His two-toned hair was pulled back, tied into a messy bun at the nape of his neck, shorter strands escaping to frame his face.

“Uh,” Atticus began. “Hi Kai.” He grinned to mask the horrifying embarrassment of his eloquent greeting.

Kai stopped before him, standing just far enough to be out of reach, but close enough that Atticus could see that his cheeks were also a little pink. Good, so the cold would hide his mortification.

“Hey,” Kai said with a smirk. Atticus felt so awkward.

He’d been looking forward to this date for two weeks, but he felt lost at how to proceed.

Should they shake hands? A hug? Why was he flailing, Atticus never flailed on dates.

He was charming, he knew how to talk to people.

Why did this feel so different, so much more significant?

“Nice to finally meet you,” was all he could settle on, a crooked grin pulling at his cheeks. Kai watched him, gaze steady and scrutinizing, that small smirk still playing on his lips. It made Atticus want to squirm. He looked down, biting his lip before continuing. “So, laser tag?”

“Yeah,” Kai said. “Come on.”

Atticus followed him in. They walked close, arms not quite brushing with every step.

“Do you always bring your dates here?” Atticus asked. Kai looked up, considering him for a moment.

“No,” he finally said, pulling out his wallet to pay for their game. “But you seem fun. ”

Atticus could no longer fight back his full grin.

He liked that, the fact that Kai already thought he was fun.

They’d never officially met in person, had only talked through text or while they played games together, after Ori had introduced them.

And there was that one time Atticus had literally run into Kai at a house party.

That was it, the whole extent of their relationship.

But somehow he’d already done enough to show Kai a side of himself that he really enjoyed.

It felt important, like a step in the right direction toward getting that second date.

“Not really great for talking though,” Atticus teased as they picked out their gear. “How’re we gonna get to know each other while we do this?”

Kai rolled his eyes, but his expression was still light. “Is that not what we’ve been doing the last few weeks?”

“Well, yeah, but how am I going to charm you if I’m running around a dark room shooting at you?”

Kai’s eyes narrowed, looking at Atticus in a way that made something low in his belly start to burn. “Guess you just have to figure something out.”

Atticus watched as Kai strapped on his vest and carefully picked up his infrared gun. He glanced around before putting a hand on Atticus’ chest and pushing him back a couple of steps.

“Other team,” Kai said simply.

“Aww! C’mon,” Atticus cried, flinging his arms in the air. “Don’t you wanna see how well we work together?”

Kai rested his gun on his shoulder and fuck it was really hot. He gestured toward the rest of the players getting ready.

“Wouldn’t really be fair if we’re both on the same team.”

Atticus looked around. Kai had a point. They did seem to be the only adults playing this round. He sighed dramatically, earning another eye roll from the other man. Atticus kind of liked trying to pull those out of him. Felt like something he might want to make a habit of.

“Fine,” he said, pouting. “But I’m gonna rally the troops and we’ll kick your team’s ass.”

“You can try,” Kai said with a wink- a wink - before turning away to listen to the instructor.

Kai was right. This was going to be fun .

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of Atticus' face as he crouched low in the shadows. He was posted up in a small, boxy space under a landing, his gaze trained out of a small, cut-out window.

He was maybe taking the game a little too serious.

Before the timer had finished counting down for them to begin, Atticus had indeed rallied the children surrounding him.

It hadn’t taken much, they were all excited to play, and Atticus’ enthusiasm had only fed that fire, kicked it up into a frenzied blaze.

In seconds, he had them hanging from his every word, astonished stares fixed on him as though he were leading them into the greatest battle of their lives.

He outlined a quick strategy, handed out assignments, gave an impassioned speech, and sent the little monsters off.

They had scattered into the dark with a war cry, and Atticus couldn’t help but join in.

He knew Kai had been watching, had been paying attention. He’d seen the affectionate smile he was failing to hide.

Atticus had found his place quickly, had stationed himself in the little box that he barely had room to stand up straight in.

And then, over the course of several minutes, he began to snipe Kai’s teammates, picking them off one-by-one.

Youthful cries of frustration sounded off with each hit, but none of the kids could seem to figure out where the shots were coming from.

There was a problem though. Atticus shifted slightly, giving himself a better view of the playing field. So far, he’d only seen the children.

Where was Kai?

Something pressed against the back of his vest.

“Gotcha,” Kai whispered in his ear, his breath brushing lightly across Atticus’ cheek, sending a shiver down his spine. Atticus heard the click of the trigger just before his vest lit up with a hit.

Atticus leaned back so that he was pressed against the other man’s chest, turning his head so that he could see the face next to his own.

“You ruined my hiding spot,” he said with a grin.

“You’re picking on little kids.” Kai smirked, his words teasing and light. Atticus couldn’t help but let his eyes fall to the soft pink lips so close to his own.

“Am not,” he responded indignantly. “They’re warriors. Pretty sure I just saw one of ‘em mourning a fallen comrade.” He looked down at the side of his gun, noting how long before he could shoot again. “I’m still down for another thirty seconds. Need to figure out a new strategy.”

Kai tilted his own weapon to the side. “Mine’s reloading.”