reflection | scömìche

chapter twenty-five

i'm sorry i disappeared, if i'm being honest i completely forgot about this book

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was another six months later, and Mitch had gotten worse. He was so thin, you could see his ribs, and his eyes were dull and sunken. It was like all of the life had been sucked out of him.

He still thought about Scott every day. Luckily, the kingdom hadn't gotten the message that he'd died, so Mitch still had hope that he was alive and would come back for him. He definitely needed all the hope he could get if he wanted to survive much longer without him.

At the moment, Mitch was curled in his room, his eyes unfocused. Distant laughter from the dinner table echoed down the hall, but the sound of the knock on the door seemed to reverberate through the house. Mitch didn't make any move until his father's voice came from the kitchen. "Go get it, Mitchell!" Slowly, reluctantly, Mitch got up and trudged out of his room and down the hall to the front door.

He stared at Scott for a full thirty seconds before it registered who he was. "Oh, my God," he sobbed, attacking him in a hug. Scott sighed shakily in relief and hugged him back, burying his face in his hair. "I missed you so much, baby," he whispered, but Mitch could only cry harder. He finally felt whole again. Scott held him as closely as he could, eventually picking the boy up and holding him on his hip. However, a frown immediately formed on his lips. "Princess, you're so light... Have you been eating? Is your father feeding you?" he asked worriedly, although he suspected he already knew the answer to that question; he could feel Mitch's ribs even through their shirts. Mitch whimpered and buried his face in Scott's neck, holding onto him as tightly as he could — which, granted, wasn't very tightly. "I don't want to talk about my father, sir. C-Can we please go h-home now? P-Please..."

"Baby, please tell me if he hurt you. I'll kill him for you, just say the word."

"N-No, it's okay. I just want to be with you forever and never have to see him ever again."

"And you will. I promise you will. If he hurt you, though, I will have him punished. I told him not to lay a hand on you."

"I just want to be with you again, sir," Mitch whispered pathetically, nuzzling his face deeper into Scott's neck. Scott softened and kissed behind his ear. "Alright, princess. And you don't have to call me sir anymore. You're my boyfriend now, not my soldier. Let's get your stuff, okay?"

As if on cue, Mike's voice came from the dining room. "Hurry the fuck up, Mitchell! What on earth are you doing?" Mitch flinched and clutched onto Scott's shirt to keep him from getting away. Scott's eyes darkened, but he calmly came inside, closed the door behind himself, and limped into the dining room with Mitch still on his hip.

The talking stopped when they saw him. Scott regarded Mike and his guests coldly, holding Mitch possessively. "I'll be taking my angel now. If you ever try to hurt him again, I will not hesitate to rip you to shreds. Do you understand?" he asked with deadly calm. Mike swallowed and nodded. "Yes, General." Scott nodded slightly and left the room without giving him a second glance.

"Where's your room, love?" he asked gently, absentmindedly tracing Mitch's spine. Mitch sniffled and finally emerged to point in the general direction, and Scott followed them to Mitch's bedroom.

Scott packed all of Mitch's clothes into one bag and left the house without another word to Mike or his friends. He ignored the crowd of the townspeople that parted for him, making his way to the train that was waiting for him. Mitch didn't let go of him once, unable to bring himself to face the world.

They were the only ones in their train car. Mitch sat curled in Scott's lap with his face still buried in his neck, letting his comforting scent calm him down. Scott ran his hand along Mitch's back, cooing gentle words into his ear. Mitch slowly relaxed and managed to convince himself to emerge. "I love you, Scotty," he whispered, and Scott smiled slightly, cupping his cheeks. "I love you too, princess," he murmured, connecting their lips.