Time After Time

Or Maybe Not

Scott fell back onto the couch, letting out an exhausted sigh. His limbs were aching and the skin on his hands felt strange due to all of the cleaning products he'd had to use. He and Mitch had managed to clean the entire kitchen (which took three whole bottles of disinfectant spray) and rearrange their bedroom. Scott had given up his old room and what was Mitch's room was now theirs. They had both agreed that they should sleep apart occasionally, to give one another space, but it was clear that neither particularly wanted to. Scott watched as the small brunette strolled into the room holding a laptop.

"We've got to get this shit edited - it needs to be posted tomorrow," the countertenor stated, sitting next to the blonde.

"Can't we do it later?" Scott whined. Mitch shook his head and placed the computer onto the older man's lap.

"Nope," Mitch giggled, popping the 'p' as Scott began to hunt for the files. "Hey, where's the remote?" the brunette asked.

"What're you going to put on?" the baritone questioned, handing his boyfriend the television remote. Mitch shrugged and hunted through the channels for something good to watch. Settling on watching Spongebob, he leaned his head on the blonde's shoulder. "Oh, I love this episode!" Scott smiled.

"I know," the countertenor grinned.

"By the way, when I said we needed to edit this video, I meant both of us, not just me," Scott deadpanned. The other man looked worried for a second before the older man burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter, "It's fine, Mitchie! Besides, if you try editing it, you'll probably delete half of it or something," he joked.

"But you're tired, and I'm just being lazy."

"It's fine, babe. Relax a little, okay?" the baritone said calmly, wrapping an arm around the brunette, who was looking away.

"I'm sorry... I'm a terrible boyfriend - you don't have to be with me, I know I'm useless," Scott could hear the way Mitch's voice cracked and knew instantly that the countertenor was crying. He gently lifted the smaller man's chin and gazed into the other man's red rimmed eyes. That pair of brown orbs showed a mixture of guilt, fear and pain and the weight of the hurt crushed Scott's heart within a second. He pressed his lips gently to Mitch's.

"You are amazing, okay? You're my everything and I want to be with you more than I can possibly say. There aren't enough words in the world to describe how much I adore you. And you're most certainly not useless - you're perfect, okay?" he whispered, looking softly into the other man's crying eyes. Mitch's bottom lip quivered as another stream of tears ran down his face. "Okay, we'll stop editing for now, and just lay here together," Scott continued, pressing save and beginning to close the laptop.

"It needs to be done now," Mitch murmured. Scott placed the machine on the floor and then pulled Mitch as close to himself as he possibly could.

"No, it doesn't. Right now, all that matters is making sure you're okay," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of the countertenor's head. The brunette continued to cry as Scott comforted him.

"I'm sorry. I must be so annoying," the smaller man choked out.

"You're not, you're not," the blonde said softly, pressing multiple light kisses to Mitch's head. He pulled the younger man's head into his chest and held him close, "You're many things, Mitch, but annoying isn't one of them."

"We need to do the video," Mitch mumbled, trying to pull away from his boyfriend. Scott felt nothing but pain, and seeing the brunette cry - it felt as if he had a knife wedged deep into his heart. He wanted to smother every last inch of Mitch's sadness, to drink every last drop of his tears. He wanted to fight away everything that scared the countertenor, he wanted to squeeze out the guilt and kiss away the pain. He'd always wanted to be the younger man's painkiller, but, in the past, he'd only been pushed away. A blanket of fear washed over him - if Mitch was to get worse, would he shut Scott out again, even though they were a couple now? 

"Mitch, don't leave," he murmured, letting the other man go. Mitch glanced up at Scott, and pity flashed briefly across his face as he weighed up his options in his head.

"I just don't understand why," Mitch whispered, sitting upright.

"'Why,' what?"

"You could have anyone on this planet. Why do you want me?"

"Because I love you, Mitch. You. Not them, but you," Scott's voice was suddenly a little louder, and full of confidence. He knew how he felt, and he knew that he didn't want anyone else.

"But I'm damaged goods, Scott. I'm fucked up," the brunette sighed, tears burning in his eyes again.

"You're not," Scott whispered, tears forming in his pair of blue eyes.

"I feel like I am," Mitch mumbled. This is what they've done to him, Scott thought, anger beginning to build up inside him. He wanted to hurt the ones that had brought all of that pain and self-doubt into the younger man's eyes. He wanted them to view themselves in the same way that the broken brunette saw himself. But, more than that, he wanted Mitch back. He wanted the fun, smiling Mitch back, because he knew that the man who was shedding thousands of tears was not the real Mitch at all.

"I'm going to help you," the baritone told his boyfriend, taking one of the other man's small hands, "I love you."

"I love you too," Mitch whispered as his tears began to slow. He curled up, head resting on the blonde's shoulder, and fell asleep. Awkwardly shuffling, and gently moving the younger man, Scott picked the laptop up from the floor and carefully allowed the sleeping man to rest his head on one of his broad shoulders once again. Scott was going to get that video edited before Mitch woke up - he wanted to at least try to make the man he loved smile, and showing him the new episode would surely cheer him up.