sing | scömìche

home

It was later.

Darkness shrouded the streets, only broken by the occasional feeble glow from a street lamp.

Scott was walking home, moving gingerly. He was shivering almost violently and tear tracks were on his cheeks.

Suddenly, he heard a small whimper. Scott froze, tilting his head and listening closely.

The whimper sounded again, and Scott slowly followed the sound to an alley. It was even darker in there - Scott had to wait for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he saw a small boy trembling in the corner. The boy whimpered again at the sight of him, pushing himself farther away. Scott frowned and tilted his head. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly so as to not scare the boy. The boy trembled harder and watched him with wide eyes. "Um, what are you doing out here? Are you homeless?"

The boy slowly nodded, another small whimper escaping his lips. Scott hesitated, but the goodness of his heart overrode his brain. "Y-You can stay with me if you want. What's your name?"

"Mitch." His voice was so quiet Scott could barely hear him.

"Mitch. That's a nice name. I'm Scott," Scott said quietly, smiling slightly. Mitch looked up at him and slowly stopped trembling, shakily standing up. "Come on. Let's get you home, okay?" Scott murmured quietly, and Mitch hesitated before nodding. Scott smiled again, yet more nervously that time, tentatively turning to walk home. Mitch didn't move, and as soon as Scott realized Mitch wasn't behind him, he stopped and turned back around. "Mitch?"

Mitch's breathing hitched and his eyes darted around nervously. Scott tilted his head, confused. "Can I, um, h-hold your hand?" Mitch asked hoarsely, jumping at a noise from the street. Scott blinked, but nodded, holding out his hand. "Of course. Is something wrong?" Mitch was quick to grab Scott's hand, relaxing immediately. "N-No. I was j-just s-s-scared," he said quieter, embarrassed. Scott nodded and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

They began the walk home, Mitch occasionally flinching as a car drove by. Every time he did, however, Scott would squeeze his hand, and he relaxed immediately.

When they arrived, Scott blushed a bit, ashamed. "S-Sorry, i-i-it's not much," he said quietly as he unlocked it, but Mitch looked around curiously. "No, it's lovely. Th-Thank you so much," he said softly. "N-Not many people would take someone in need into their home. Th-Thank y-y-you." Surprising both of them, Mitch threw his arms around Scott and buried his face in his chest, a small sob escaping his lips. "Thank y-you so m-m-much..." Scott slowly hugged him back, forcing himself to relax and ignore the pain that flared up in his stomach. "I couldn't just leave you there," he said quietly, and Mitch sniffled, holding onto him tighter. "S-So many people have."

The pair stood in each other's arms for probably too long before Mitch forced himself to pull away, sniffling and wiping his eyes. "S-Sorry. I-I-I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. You're perfectly fine. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"I'm a little hungry..." Almost as though on cue, Mitch's stomach growled loudly - it had been weeks since he'd eaten. Mitch blushed and wrapped his arms around himself, but Scott just smiled slightly. "I'll get you some food," he said quietly, walking into the kitchen. He opened a safe in the corner and brought a small wad of money out of his pocket, gingerly placing it inside. Other than that wad of money, the safe was empty. Mitch watched him curiously, tilting his head.

After Scott closed and locked the safe again, he moved over to his fridge. Very little food was inside, but Scott simply scanned the contents and brought out some bread and peanut butter. He quickly closed the door and made Mitch a sandwich.

Even though he acted cool, Scott was freaking out on the inside. He didn't have enough money to pay for another person to live there - he barely had enough to care for himself.

Scott gave Mitch the sandwich after he finished making it, and it was gone before he could even blink. Scott just smiled. "Do you want another?" he asked, and Mitch hesitated before nodding timidly. Scott nodded and made him another, and Mitch ate that one in less than a second. Scott laughed despite himself. "Another?" Mitch blushed and wrapped his arms around himself, shaking his head. "No, thank you," he said quietly. Scott nodded again and put the bread and peanut butter away, then smiled lopsidedly up at Mitch. "Let's get to bed, yeah?"

Soon enough, Scott had tucked Mitch in his bed. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quietly, and Mitch slowly nodded. "Thank you," he repeated, but Scott just smiled and left the room. Mitch watched the place he last saw Scott, some part of him hoping he would come back.

Scott let out a shaky breath and walked back into his living room, curling up on the couch. He closed his eyes to sleep, even though he began shivering again quickly. However, he didn't get up to get a blanket - he didn't have one.

Mitch hesitated for a moment before quietly getting up and creeping down the hall. "S-Scott?" he asked quietly, and the blond jumped, quickly looking up at him. "Hmm?"

"Y-You can sleep in the bed too if you want..."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Mitch nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."

Scott hesitated, but stood up again. "Okay." He allowed Mitch to lead him back to his room and laid down next to him in his bed, pulling the covers over them. "Goodnight, Mitch."

"Goodnight."

Mitch slowly fell asleep, Scott following not long after. However, the sleeping Mitch subconsciously curled closer to the only source of heat in the room and set his head on Scott's chest, and the sleeping Scott subconsciously wrapped his arms around him and slept with Mitch in his arms.