scott waved his hand to open the doors to the castle, playfully calling, "honey, i'm hooommmeeee!!"
a small boxer puppy was sprawled out on top of scott's pillow in their bedroom, his head resting on his paws as he waited for the older man to come back.
scott laughed at himself and walked into their bedroom, looking around confusedly when mitch wasn't in there. he didn't see the puppy. "baby?"
the puppy looked up when he walked in and barked excitedly, and jumped up to run over to him.
scott jumped at the sound and looked down with surprise. "hi?"
the small dog got up on his back legs to paw at scott's thighs, his tail wagging uncontrollably.
scott uncertainly crouched down and petted the puppy, murmuring a soft, "do you know where my baby boy is?"
the puppy barked again, looking up and meeting his eyes.
scott sighed quietly and sat down, bringing the puppy into his lap to hold him to his chest. "i thought they couldn't take him away," he murmured sadly. he made a small noise and buried his face in the puppy's fur. "i can't believe i lost him. i loved him."
the dog barked quietly and pulled away, blinking a few times to turn his eyes pink.
scott didn't notice, blinking a few times. even so, he couldn't stop the tears that began streaming down his cheeks.
the puppy whined quietly and nudged scott's cheek with his nose.
scott held the puppy close, a soft sob escaping his lips.
the small dog whimpered and nudged him again, more frantically this time, pawing at his chest.
scott curled up and buried his face in the puppy's fur, sobbing louder.
the puppy barked and nudged him hard enough to turn his head and looked him straight in the eye, his eyes lightening to the same rose gold they turned when scott was near.
scott whimpered, but opened his eyes, and immediately sobbed again with relief when he recognized him. "you scared me, baby..."
mitch whimpered quietly and snuggled against his chest.
scott quickly wiped away his tears, sniffling quietly. "why are you a puppy?" he asked, laughing weakly.
mitch met his eyes and barked quietly, his tail wagging again.
scott smiled through the last of his tears and curled up again. "can you turn back? i want to kiss you."
mitch whined and pawed at his chest again.
"please?" scott sniffled again and wiped his eyes. "you can turn back right after."
mitch hesitated before changing back and glancing up at scott.
scott smiled weakly and whispered a small, "thank you," before leaning forward to press their lips together.
mitch kissed back gently, cupping his face.
scott pulled him closer, more tears leaking out of his eyes as they kissed. he couldn't believe he'd almost lost his baby.
mitch frowned slightly into the kiss and swiped away the tears quickly.
scott held him even closer, not wanting to let him go lest he slip away.
mitch pulled away gently and frowned at him. "i'm sorry..."
"it wasn't your fault," scott croaked, pulling him against his chest.
mitch frowned more but stayed silent. "scottie, we should get off of the floor," he murmured.
