Mitch and Noah

Mitch~ Protective

The nights events he could never have predicted in a million years, and Mitch was torn as he walked shower fresh from the bathroom and took in the cutest man he'd ever laid his eyes on snuggling with the fluffy, white comforter bunched between his legs.

His cheeks were somewhat flushed, and Mitch couldn't help but want to touch them, just to feel Noah's addicting heat one more time.

Mitch had never been as turned on in his life as he'd been with Noah on his lap attached to his lips, and he was glad he'd been able to control himself as well as he'd done at the end. He took in Noah's calmed sleeping features, and his chest fluttered much more than he wanted to think about.

Once again, he felt at war with himself as he resisted the urge to touch Noah's soft, blond hair.

He settled into his bed after disposing of the hidden tissues from his earlier tugs of need, his only thoughts at the time consumed with images of Noah naked in the shower; thoughts that attempted to again take over.

He pushed them away quickly to focus on the things he'd been able to avoid mulling over with the perfect distraction of Noah by his side all day.

Probably one of the best days of his life, and that said a lot, considering what they were heading to deal with.

Correction. What HE was heading to deal with. Family. The one thing he'd been actively dodging most of his life, was coming to bite him twice back-to-back after so many years of successful avoidance.

He finally thought about baby Rowan, wondering what he looked like and realizing he really hadn't heard much at all about the child; He'd heard more about the situation than anything else, which was somewhat concerning to Mitch.

He imagined a dirty, needy baby, with tattered clothes, full diaper, and a smudged face, grabbing at him and screaming, and he shuddered in fear that he wouldn't be what Rowan needed.

The small churning in the pit of his gut was even harder for him to deny as he tossed from one side to the other in bed. The want to have a baby, have a family, had been a huge part of his life goals since he was young enough to care about those things, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was life giving a little push in that direction.

If that was the case, Life had the worst timing fucking possible.

How could he care for and support a baby? Being a lawyer with no firm, meant many more hours in the beginning, especially if he hoped to achieve his only other goal in life, a firm with his name; something he had also deep down been dreaming of.

Simultaneously, the want to keep Rowan, to care for his needs, was growing stronger inside, and Mitch's mind was wandering to thoughts of how he could do it. It seemed like a mountain he couldn't possibly climb.

Turning back to face Noah, he again felt a fluttering in his chest at the sight of him.

Maybe life was trying to give him everything he wanted all at the same time.

The thought came and went fast, as Mitch feared the more he focused on the hope that Noah might want to start something with him, the more it might come true.

Just being around the man made him feel on top of the world; invincible almost. The way Noah looked at him with such innocent admiration, such trust, made Mitch want more than anything to prove that he would never let Noah down; that he could achieve anything as long as those sparkling blue eyes took him in while doing so.

A big yawn overtook him, and he knew he should probably join the now snoring Noah in sleep.

He realized trying to focus on anything but sleep with the drive he had in the morning was probably a bad idea, and he finally let his heavy eyes win their battle to close.

TWO HOURS LATER

The sound of struggles from Noah had Mitch sitting straight up from his sleep almost instantaneously. Rubbing his eyes and looking towards the opposite bed, he could see Noah was still asleep, yet his body and face relayed intense fear, as if he was having a severe nightmare.

Mitch jumped from his bed to Noah's in two swift steps, softly soothing him with circular motions on his back as he used his left hand to gently wake Noah.

He hoped it was only a bad dream and not anything worse, such as night terrors.

Noah's body calmed some under his touch, and Mitch's heart soared as he continued to rub h upper and middle back in slow circular motions.

A month before leaving the firm, he had been legally helping Amelia with a newly grown ward of hers named Jesse, who had spoken of experiencing the night terrors daily. From how Jesse had explained them, it was like living your worst fear over and over while you sleep, and not being able to escape it during, or stop it before.

And everyone has to sleep. One would die without it.

"There there. It's O.K., sweet. You're here with me. Just clear your mind."

Mitch felt silly whispering such intimate words, but he couldn't stop himself, especially considering every word he spoke was truth.

Running his fingers lightly through Noah's thick locks, he again felt his chest blip. There was something about this man that had every bone in his body ready to fight to the death to protect him, and while it was freaky, the feeling on his heart and body was addicting. He knew after the journey he would need to sit with Noah and have a talk. Staring at Noah's face change to one of blissful slumber, Mitch smiled, before reluctantly removing his hands to head to pee in the bathroom.

The sound of a shout had Mitch almost peeing on himself and he quickly flushed and washed his hands as he also threw open the door to check on Noah, who was sitting up and looking like a deer in headlights towards the near corner of the room.

"No! Not here! Leave me alone!"

Mitch ran out of the bathroom and instinctively grabbed Noah around the middle, trapping his arms and pulling him to his chest as he attempted to point towards the dark, empty corner.

"Be careful! She's-"

Mitch's left hand stayed firmly wrapped around Noah's middle as his right went to sooth and smooth Noah's head and hair as he shooshed him.

"Don't worry. I've got you. It was just a dream. There's nobody here but me and you, sweet."

The words and soothing touch had Noah's tense body finally relaxing into Mitch as sobs wracked his body.

Mitch wasn't used to dealing with adults crying in his arms, but with Noah he felt as though he couldn't hold him tight enough.

"There, there. Let me hold you. Do you need a drink or anything?"

Noah grunted in what Mitch assumed was affirmation, and he ran to the mini bar for the 8 dollar water bottle that he would have spent 10 times as much on if Noah needed it help him feel better.

Opening the water, he gave it to a hiccupping Noah, who was no longer looking afraid, but more embarrassed and awake.

He grabbed a nearby tissue box and placed it gently next to Noah, only daring to rub his back again in soft, circular motions as Noah drank almost half fo the water bottle, and blew his nose.

Mitch's arms twitched with the need to hold Noah again, until he was that same laughing man from their car ride earlier.

Grabbing and disposing of the used tissues and placing the water bottle on the cream-colored end table separating their beds, Mitch stood again next to Noah.

"You should try to get some more rest. I can...lay next to you and hold you...if that would help."

Noah hiccupped again and looked up with wet sparkling eyes at Mitch.

"I feel...bad."

Mitch took it as a yes, scooting into the bed with an exaggerated grunt that had Noah finally giggling.

Music to his ears.

"I'm gonna hold you, if that's ok."

He said it softly, as if the louder he said it, the less likely it would be allowed.

He decided in that moment that Noah looked cutest when his ear were as red as his face, and Mitch beamed as Noah answered and flipped his back to him.

"K."