Lifeline (Scomiche)

Eight

"...Mitch? Mitchie, wake up."

Mitch suddenly became aware of himself and something touching his shoulder. There was something covering his face and it smelled like home but he couldn't recognize where he was. He didn't care enough to try to understand and his muscles started going lax again when he was pulled back out by a familiar voice.

"Mitch. Wake up, baby. It's time to go."

"Hmm?"

He felt whatever was covering his face slide off and wanted to whine in annoyance when he saw light through his eyelids. He fluttered his eyes open and realized he was still in the salon's break room with Scott sitting next to him, one hand on his shoulder and the on the jacket that must have been covering him. He lay there and lazily blinked up at him, disoriented, until Scott spoke up again.

"Come on, Mitch. It's time to go home."

"I'm sleeping?"

"Yeah, you fell asleep studying a few hours ago. I already put your books and stuff in your bag. I'll carry it to the car." He stood and walked over to where he'd set Mitch's backpack, glad he'd mentioned it to him or he would have forgotten. He threw it over his shoulder and turned back around to see Mitch still laying on the small, uncomfortable couch. He waved him over, beginning to get impatient. "Up, Mitchie. We have to go. Esther has to lock up."

"Carry me?"

"I can, but I'm walking the girls to their cars. Are you sure you want them to see that?"

Mitch sighed in defeat and pushed himself off the couch, stretching a little before grabbing Scott's jacket and following him out of the break room. He wanted Scott to pick him up and do the walking for him so that he could shove his face back into Scott's jacket and fall asleep, but he was a grown ass man and didn't want to be made fun of so he decided to tough it out. He listened to Scott's coworkers chat as they waited for Esther to lock up the store, Kate and two other girls standing in a group with them until Esther joined them. He walked walked around the parking lot with Scott to make sure they each made it safely to their cars, already familiar with Scott's gentlemanly routine, and by the time they got to Mitch's own car he was wide awake. He let Scott open the passenger door for him and climbed in, getting cozy in his seat. Mitch took his backpack when Scott passed it to him over the compartment between their seats, setting it on his lap and giving it a hug. Scott started the car and buckled himself in before turning to Mitch with a little sigh, trying to clear his mind.

"Did you have a good nap?"

"Mhm. Work?"

"It was okay. Tiring."

"Sorry."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, letting the car warm up. Mitch watched Scott close his eyes and lean his head back against the headrest and felt guilty for his four hour nap, wishing he'd stayed awake and at least watched Scott work if he wasn't going to spend the time studying. He stayed silent until the chilliness of the car seemed to die down a little and Scott straightened up, stifling a yawn.

"Hey, Scott? Want me to drive?"

Scott shook his head no but didn't pull out of the parking space. He stared ahead through the windshield into the dark and fiddled with the keychain hanging from the ignition for a minute before sighing tiredly and unbuckling his seatbelt.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not. I'm awake now. Switch me."

He got out of the car and walked around to the drivers side, letting Scott climb over into the passenger seat inside. Mitch pulled the car out of the parking spot, cringing at the thought of Scott's normal nights here. He sometimes forgot how scary it must be to ride home on a bike from the salon, and Scott did it nearly every night. It wasn't very far from home but it wasn't the safest area to bike through either, and even in the car Mitch felt a little bit of anxiety making his way out of the dark, creepy parking lot. The first thing he needed to do once he started getting his own paychecks was to buy Scott a car so that they could stop juggling one between them. He drove in silence and was tempted to take his eyes off the road to look over at Scott when he let out a small, distressed moan as they approached home.