This was done because of a dare by @iPraiseHIM. I dedicate this to her.
Scott walked into the dark apartment. It was unusually quiet, a fact that instantly put him on edge. When Wyatt didn't bound into the foyer to greet him, he knew something was wrong.
"Mitch?" he asked. A few minutes passed with no reply.
He tried again. "Mitch? Stephanie? Are you here?"
Scott began searching the rooms in an effort to find Mitch. The brunette had told the blonde he planned on staying in. They had agreed on grabbing some food after Scott returned from the gym that morning. Scott knew Mitch wouldn't miss out on food. So, where was he?
Scott scoured each room and couldn't find him. His next plan was to call Mitch's phone. The call went straight to voicemail.
By now, an hour and a half had passed. Scott was very worried. He knew Mitch could take care of himself, most of the time anyway, but it was very unlike the smaller male to leave and not answer his phone or leave some indication of where he went. Scott decided to call Kirstie and see if she knew where Mitch was.
"Scott?" Kirstie answered.
"Kirstin, do you know where Mitchell is? He wasn't home when I got back from the gym."
Kirstie sounded slightly worried. "No, I haven't heard from him today. Did he answer his phone?"
"No, that's why I'm so worried. He hasn't mentioned hanging out with anyone today?"
Kirstie thought for a moment. "Not that I can recall. I'm sure he just went for a Starbucks run or something. If he's not back in an hour or so, call me back, and we can figure out what to do from there."
"Alright, thanks Kirstin."
The call had only slightly reassured Scott; he was still anxious. He tried calling Avi and Kevin to see if they had seen Mitch.
"Hello?" the bass voice said on the other end.
"Avi, have you seen Mitch today?"
"Uh, no I haven't. Why? Is everything okay?"
"I don't know. Mitch isn't answering his phone, and he didn't leave a note to say where he was going."
"That's unlike him," Avi said, "but I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure he'll be back later today."
"We had planned on grabbing some Chipotle when I got back from the gym. It's not like him to miss out on food."
The bass hummed. "If he gets back, let me know. If not, I guess the best thing to do would be to file a missing person's report. I'll call Esther and see if she knows anything."
"Okay. Thank you, Avi."
They ended the call. Scott dialed a different number.
"Yo," Kevin answered.
"Kev, is Mitch as your place? Have you talked to him at all today?"
"No, homie. I haven't. Do you need him for something?"
"Not really. I just returned from the gym to find him gone, and he said he wanted to stay in. I'm really worried about him."
"Well, man, I don't know what to tell you. Just wait it out, I guess. He should be fine."
Scott sighed. "Thanks, Kevin."
"Catch you later," Kevin said before hanging up.
Scott paced in the living room. He glanced at the clock to see two hours had gone by since he had returned to find Mitch gone. It wasn't unusual for him to worry about Mitch, but lately, he had spent a lot more time paying attention to Mitch's location at all times. The thought baffled the blonde. What was happening? He never worried this much about the others. He would assume they had went out with someone else and forgotten about lunch. What was difference between Mitch and the rest of his friends?
Actually, now that Scott delved deeper into his mind, he had been focused on Mitch more than anything else. It was just the other morning that, upon seeing Mitch in the kitchen fixing coffee, the errant thought of how beautiful the brunette looked ran through his head. He had always claimed Mitch was gorgeous, and while he was ever happy to tell the man he was, there was more meaning, more emotion behind it this time. The fondness Scott felt for Mitch had increased exponentially over the past few months.
The door opened, interrupting his contemplating. There stood Mitch with Wyatt in his arms. "Mitch!" Scott yelled as he stormed toward the startled man.
Wyatt was also startled by Scott's outburst. He jumped hastily from his master's arms and ran into the bedroom. Scott paid no attention to the cat and, instead, took the shorter man into his arms.
"Um, Scottie? Not that I don't appreciate the affection, but you usually don't greet me like this when I return. What's up?"
Scott said nothing for a while, just enjoying the feeling of Mitch in his arms. He took deep breaths, savoring Mitch's scent and warmth. "You scared me," he admitted.
"Scared you?" Mitch asked, pulling away from Scott's arms to look up at the taller man. "How did I scare you? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"
Scott nodded. "I got back two hours ago to find no way of finding out where you went, and your phone went to voicemail when I tried to call you. I thought you said you were going to have a lazy day until I got back from the gym."
Mitch patted Scott's shoulder, signaling to the blonde that he wanted to get further into the apartment. "I'm sorry, Scottland. I forgot my phone in the apartment. Wyatt hadn't eaten his food from yesterday, and when I put out more this morning, he didn't act interested in that either. I was worried, so I took him to the vet for a checkup. I would have left a note, but I was so worried about him that I just grabbed him and left."
Scott sighed in relief. "Is he okay?"
"Yes," Mitch nodded. "The vet said that he was a bit dehydrated and that was why he wasn't eating correctly. But, it's okay. She gave him some antibiotics, and he should be good by tomorrow if not later on today. We have to give him little bits of food every few hours or so for the next couple of days. If he acts interested in more, we should feed him more. If he doesn't eat at all, then we need to return for further tests."
Scott closed the door and followed Mitch to the living room. They both sat down on the couch, and Mitch turned to Scott. "Oh, shit! I totally forgot that we were supposed to go eat! Do you want to go now?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah, if it's okay with you."
Mitch got up to go freshen up before going out. Before he left the living room, he leaned down and kissed Scott's cheek. "Thank you for being so worried about me, Catherine."
Scott blushed and watched Mitch leave, admiring the younger man's backside. Scott wasn't for certain what these new, intense feelings were or what would come of them, but he was certainly glad to have his Mitchie back where he could make sure he was safe and cared for, by no other than him.
