DemoGrassi

thirteen

Another chapter in honor of the new superfruit video ;)

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Mitch gently runs his fingers through the blonde locks, smiling down at the man curled on his lap.

Scott sleeps peacefully, but his grip on Mitch's hand never loosens.

Suddenly, the door to Mitch's room is thrown open, and in walks Mr. Grassi. Mitch grits his teeth, briefly glancing down at Scott to see if he will wake up — he doesn't, thank the lucky stars — before looking back up at his father.

"Is there no such thing as knocking here or something? Did I not get a memo?" Mitch says irritatedly, speaking firmly but still quietly so he doesn't wake Scott up. Mr. Grassi rolls his eyes and goes to answer before his eyes flicker down at Scott and he freezes. His eyes slowly travel back to Mitch, and he opens his mouth to question it when Mitch interrupts him.

"No. You're not going to give me sh*t about this. He's had a traumatic day, and if you're just going to scold him for being on my lap or whatever, I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell you to leave."

Mr. Grassi closes his mouth and is silent for a moment before he remembers why he came in the first place. "Mitchell, I have some good news — or bad news, depending on how you look at it. I talked to Mr. Bush, and he's sending Travis over for dinner tomorrow to apologize for his actions," he finishes awkwardly and somewhat guiltily. Mitch simply sighs, running his fingers through his hair. Scott makes a small noise in his sleep when he doesn't feel fingers through his hair anymore, and Mitch can't help but smile a bit, bringing his fingers back to Scott's hair. Mr. Grassi watches the interaction, his lips pressed together and a nervous look in his eyes.

"What time?" Mitch says eventually, keeping his gaze on the sleeping Scott on his lap. "6:00," his father answers, and Mitch nods. "Okay. Thank you. Goodnight, Father," he says softly, and Mr. Grassi smiles slightly. "Goodnight, Mitch." He ducks out of Mitch's room, the soft click echoing in the quiet room.

As if on cue, Scott's eyes flutter open, and he stares at Mitch for a few seconds as his eyes focus. Mitch smiles down at him, hiding his weariness and fear. "Good morning, sunshine," Mitch says jokingly, and Scott smiles tiredly, clambering off of Mitch's lap. "Is it really morning?" he asks, and Mitch chuckles. "No. In fact, I was just about to go to bed," he says, and Scott nods while holding a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn.

"Okay, sir." Scott forces himself to get off of the bed and he slowly trudges to his own cot. Mitch watches him, slightly confused, until he remembers that Scott is technically supposed to sleep there and not in Mitch's bed like he's been doing. Scott flops onto his cot and closes his eyes, already half-asleep. Mitch watches him for a moment, smiling softly, before jolting and realizing he should be doing the same thing.

He slowly lays down in his bed and closes his eyes, trying to get comfortable. However, he misses the feeling of Scott's strong arms around him. Mitch debates what to do in his head, chewing on his lip as he thinks.

Eventually, he sighs. "Scott?" he says softly into the darkness. "Hmm?" Scott tiredly mumbles, still half-asleep. Mitch opens his mouth and closes it again, hesitating, but finally opens his mouth to speak. "Could — could you lay with me?" Without a word, Scott gets out of his bed and flops onto Mitch's, laying there at the foot for a moment before pushing himself up and crawling to Mitch. He wraps the smaller man in his arms, lays down, and goes back to sleep.

Mitch lies awake, simply enjoying the feeling of strong and safe arms around him. Whenever Travis would "hold" him, it was more like make sure he can't move to resist. But now, though, Scott was holding him because he wanted to.

And before you say that Mitch commanded him to do that, technically he didn't. Mitch only said to lay with him. Scott added the holding all of his own accord.

Scott shifts in his sleep, subconsciously bringing Mitch closer. Mitch smiles slightly, feeling safe and warm in Scott's arms. He burrows deeper into Scott's arms, finally allowing himself to close his eyes and go to sleep.

+++

"Wake up! Wake up! Both of you, wake up! I mean, you're cute and all cuddling like that, but Father needs you to get up."

Mitch jumps awake, eyes frantically searching his room for the source of the noise. He finds it coming from his sister, half yelling at them to get up and half fangirling over the fact that "her otp slept together".

Scott tiredly rubs his eyes and sits up, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around Mitch again and pull him back down to sleep. Instead, he rests his head on Mitch's shoulder, closing his eyes again. He hears Mitch's quiet chuckle, and then his familiar, soft voice. "Scott, you need to get up." Scott groans, but supports his own head again and opens his eyes. Mitch smiles at him before turning to Jessa.

"Alright, alright. We're up. Now shoo," he says. Jessa playfully pouts. "Aw, but I wanna see you get naked!" she says, and Mitch makes a face. "Ew. You're disgusting. That's called incest, Jessa." She makes a face right back at him. "No, not you. Him," she says, gesturing to Scott. Scott's eyes widen, and he instinctively inches behind Mitch. Mitch's eyes darken, but he doesn't say anything other than, "No. Get out." Jessa chuckles, turning to leave. "I was joking, you know!" she calls over her shoulder, but the door closes before Mitch can reply.

Mitch seems to deflate, his bravado gone and façade dropped as soon as Jessa leaves. He seems smaller than he usually is, and suddenly the bags under his eyes are more prominent.

Mitch rubs his eyes, trying to keep from crying. Travis is coming. Those three words swirl around his head, taking up every single thought and consuming his very being. Travis is coming, and there's nothing Mitch can do to stop it.

Mitch is scared.

He's so f*cking scared.

Travis is coming. The very same Travis that hurt him, used him.

The very same Travis that hates Scott's guts.

Mitch is scared.

Mitch is scared that Travis will hurt him again. Mitch is scared that he'll be tied down and no one will hear his screams.

But mostly, he's scared that Travis will hurt Scott.

That would hurt him more than anything.