Lifeline (Scomiche)

Four

"Mitchieeeeeee."

Scott stroked the back of Mitch's head with his fingertips until the boy tilted closer to his hand, slowly fluttering out of sleep. He peeked one eye open to see Scott laying next to him propped up on his elbows. Scott was dressed and groomed and ready to go and Mitch wondered if he'd already made plans for them today, glad that he might not have to choose something himself. He stretched his legs out, holding Scott's hand back against his head when he felt him start to pull it away. It felt nice to be woken up so sweetly compared to the screaming alarm clock and empty bed he usually woke to every morning.

"Morning, sleepyhead. Did you sleep well?"

"Ohh yeahhh." Mitch sighed happily and rubbed his cheek against his pillow, wishing he could lay here all warm and comfy and have his head rubbed forever. "You?"

"Yup, I'm fine. I have bad news though. One of the hairdressers called in sick this morning and Esther wants me to cover their shift."

Mitch forced his eyes open, finally putting together why Scott was already all dressed up. He'd woken up assuming he'd overslept or something, not that Scott was about to leave for the salon. "Noooo! I thought you said I could have you to myself all weekend?"

"I know, I'm so sorry. She said I didn't have to come in since it's Sunday and it's gonna be kinda slow but I really should go, right?"

Mitch sighed in disappointment. "Yeah, I guess you should. When do you have to go in?"

"At 10, so I still have an hour. I'll be back by 7:30 though, we can still do something fun tonight. Right?"

"Yeah, sure." Mitch wiggled out from under the covers and stood up to stretch some more, his muscles stiff with sleep. He was a bit saddened by the change of plans but he felt so rested and pleasant that he couldn't complain. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't feel tired and he was thankful to feel so good. He smiled at Scott before making his way into the hallway to go to the bathroom and wash his face, raising his voice a little to talk to Scott while he was still home. "I had fun with you last night. Maybe we could go again when you come back?"

Scott smiled to himself, thinking about how great of a night they'd had while Mitch brushed his teeth across the hall. After shopping he'd taken Mitch straight home and helped him through his little anxiety attack, tucking him into bed after he'd calmed down to take a long nap. A very long nap, five and a half hours to be exact. Mitch had woken up around sunset feeling a lot better and more than happy to go to the park with Scott to walk around and see the Halloween set-up. Every year the huge park got decorated in the middle of September with lights and props and scenic displays and it was a very coupley, stereotypical date idea but they did it multiple times every year and they both loved it. They bought hot chocolate and took pictures together with the rows of carved pumpkins to send to their parents and it was altogether a great trip. They'd gone home and watched movies on Mitch's laptop until the early hours of the morning when Scott finally dozed off and Mitch followed suit soon after.

"We can go again if you want. There's so much else to do in LA, though, and I wanna do it all with you."

"Oooh, you wanna do it allll with me?" Mitch teased, roaming back into the room. Mitch thought about trying to make Scott breakfast or something just as a thank you for everything he'd done yesterday but he could barely cook when he did have time and Scott was leaving in less than an hour. He would probably cause a kitchen fire at best, and he wasn't in the mood for one right now. If Scott was hungry he could take care of it himself. Mitch gave in and crawled back under the covers and wiggled as close to him as he could with Scott still propped up on his elbows, texting away probably to someone from the salon. Mitch tilted his head to the side to watch him as he tapped at his phone screen, lowering his voice a little. "All of it? Mmmm. You wanna do everything with me, don't you, Scotty?"