It's Been a Long, Long Time

15. Gone

15. Gone

Mitch came home after his therapy appointment a week later, feeling light on his feet.

Living together was going just fine. Mitch found great joy in the similarities between Scott now and the way he was back when they last lived together, but he found even greater interest in how he had changed.

He was a bit less silly, but he was still very funny. His humor had become drier and wittier in recent years, which matched up well with Mitch's personality.

He was still a very hard worker. Even despite his injuries, Mitch found him on his computer more often than not, responding to emails, on meetings with other producers and writers, and continuing to work on his current projects as though he hadn't missed a beat. He simply had to do this remotely, for the time being.

Something that he couldn't avoid noting was that he had become even more handsome with age. His eyes were somehow more piercing, his cheekbones and jawline even more defined. But his face still held a gorgeous youthfulness that had only been enhanced, somehow.

His body had filled out a bit. He was broad and more muscular. Mitch had certainly noticed this whenever they would lay together on the couch. He had always admired Scott's long, lean musculature when they were younger, but this suited him beautifully.

Anyone with eyes and ears could see that Scott was still desirable, despite what had happened, and despite how the man currently felt about himself.

His body continued to heal, but Mitch waited nervously when Scott left for a check-up regarding his liver and kidney function two days ago. His ribs were completely healed, and his pelvis was looking promising, according to Scott's report upon coming home. There was still no news regarding his spine, and the fact that his liver and kidneys weren't working perfectly yet made Mitch uneasy.

Mitch was getting along extremely well with Leah and with Amy. He couldn't help but feel cold when he spoke with Luke and Sam, and he kept all conversations with both of them as short as possible.

His therapist found this to be funny.

He found Scott in the living room, typing on his computer when he came home. He flopped down next to him with a smile.

"I have an idea."

Scott smirked and shut his laptop, putting it to the side. Mitch had always loved how Scott gave him his full attention. "I'm all ears."

"Let's revive the best show on the internet."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Mitch laughed. "Just once. Wanna sign in as Superfruit and do a livestream? See if anyone still follows us, after all of these years? It could be funny."

But Scott didn't smile.

"What?" Mitch asked, searching his eyes.

The man shrugged. "I don't think it would be very nice."

"Okay. Why not?"

"I don't know. It's kind of... baiting, isn't it? I don't want to give anyone false hope, even if it's only a few people who would still give a damn."

"Why would it be false hope? We wouldn't tell them we're going to be releasing music. We would just give a little life update, tell them how you're doing with your recovery, wish them all well. Tell them we still care about each other and about them."

He stared into Scott's eyes. Something still wasn't right.

"Are you... are you worried about false hope for them? Or for yourself?"