Color

Forty One

Scott took some time by himself outside, but finally came back inside the house. 

Alex and Avi had gone to bed, but Mitch was still on the couch. 

Scott made sure to lock the door behind himself, before walking over to him slowly. 

Mitch had closed his eyes, and Scott immediately felt bad for making him wait for so long. 

Scott knelt down in front of the couch, reaching out to gently touch Mitch's arm. "Babe..?"

Mitch jumped, looking over at him quickly. "Oh, hey." Mitch suddenly sat up, pushing Scott away a little. "Ew, you smell like smoke. Go put all that shit in the washer. Right now."

Scott frowned a little. "Mitch... Are you being serious?"

"I'm absolutely serious. Change your clothes right now."

Scott sighed and stood up, not saying another word as he walked down the hall. 

Mitch followed him to make Scott feel as guilty as possible. Which he knows is kind of rude, but he was really trying to get the lesson into Scott's head. To ensure this wouldn't happen again. 

Scott didn't even acknowledge him, just walked into his bedroom to take his shoes off and leave them. Then he walked around Mitch to walk back toward the kitchen. 

He then walked outside, down the step and then a took a quick left to walk into the laundry room, Mitch hot on his heels the entire time. 

Scott only glanced at Mitch, before he opened the washing machine and started stripping down. "You just gonna watch?"

Mitch turned the light on in the room, so he could see what Scott was doing. "Can I just say how much easier it would've been for you to change in our room, and then bring the clothes out here afterward?"

"That's so not the question I asked." Scott grumbled, now down to his underwear and socks. 

"You're just gonna walk through the house naked?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Just asking." Mitch responded honestly, before shaking his head. Scott was gonna have to walk outside for a short second before he got into the house again, and he was gonna freeze. "Do you know what temperature it is right now?"

Scott just shrugged. "Nothing compared to how cold your attitude is."

Mitch shoved Scott's shoulder lightly, as Scott now stood completely naked in front of him. "I'm genuinely worried about you freezing to death, and--"

"Okay then let's not stand out here and argue until I get hypothermia."

Mitch squinted at him a little. "You gonna start the washer, or do I have to do that too?"

Scott rolled his eyes, and turned to start the washer. 

Obviously with his back turned Mitch had no choice but to check out his ass.

Scott turned back. "Are we done now?"

When he turned, Mitch caught a good view of his stomach, and it made him tilt his head a little. "Hey, come here a sec?"

Scott wasn't sure what kind of test this was, considering how pissed Mitch was. He stepped forward a little, but not nearly enough. 

Mitch reached out to grab Scott's arm, only to pull him forward. Then he put both hands on Scott's sides and slid down a little, looking up to meet Scott's eyes. "You're losing weight."

Scott just shrugged, still staring at him.

Mitch frowned a little. "Just... Be careful with that, okay? I'm happy if you're happy, but... Just don't take it too far, okay?"

"Yes, mom. Can we go inside now?"

"Yeah. I guess."

Scott walked past him, casually strolling into the house even though he wasn't wearing a single thing. 

Mitch followed him again, now staring at Scott's body from a different perspective. 

Scott first went to a drawer in their bedroom, to grab himself some underwear. "So I'm on the couch?" He rushed to speak again. "Not trying to be rude, just lookin' for clarification."

"Well that depends. Where did you stash your cigarettes?"

"Got rid of them. I swear it."

Mitch hummed softly. "Why?"

"Because... Because I don't ever want you to feel like I'm choosing something over you. Nothing in this world is as important to me as you are."

"So... If I told you to stop drinking..?"

Scott sighed softly, pulling on a pair of sweatpants. "I'd listen. It might be kinda difficult, but... I know you'd help me. And... In the end, if it makes you happy then it's worth it."

Mitch paused to let that sink in. "Please... Don't sleep on the couch."

Scott turned to look at him. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable... If you're truly upset with me, then I wanna give you some space. Don't let me crowd you, or rush you into--"

"No, Scott, I'm serious. Please..." 

Scott walked over to him slowly, and then gave Mitch one of the most gentle hugs Mitch had ever felt. "I'm sorry, babe... I'm sorry we keep arguing, I just.. I have an attitude. And I know it, and I'm working on it. I'm sorry for disappointing you tonight. I swear I haven't smoked that much, and I won't do it ever again."

"Just... At least come talk to me first. Okay? Tell me why you wanna smoke, and I'll do everything I can to help you. I promise."

Scott ran his hand up and down Mitch's back slowly, taking a deep breath before he pulled away. "I will."

"I love you, babe. And I want you to remember that I'm gonna be here for you no matter what. No matter how many mistakes you make, or how many times we argue. You're still my best fucking friend in the world. Alright?"

"Okay." Scott took Mitch's hand in his own, just to stare down at it. "I love you too."

*

Alex was staring at the coffee cup on the counter in front of him. "I don't know, Av... He seemed pretty shaken up about it... I found the cigarette box in the trash can."

"Doesn't mean he won't get tempted again."

"No, I know, but..." Alex shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I just... I have faith in him. I think he's strong enough to mentally overcome stuff like that."

"I think so too. I just mean... Scott gets up in his head about a lot of stuff. And.. Since he didn't have strong parental figures, he's not really sure how to cope with stuff."

"Right, I know. But he has all of us to talk to now. And Mitch, especially."

"Yeah... I guess we'll see."

Alex suddenly looked up, pushing his cup forward a little. "I hope this doesn't make me a pain in the ass, but can you pretty please put a little more sugar in here..?"

Avi smiled at him, turning around to get a small amount of sugar on a spoon. "No problem."

Alex watched, as Avi turned to stir the sugar in to the drink. Alex then looked up to meet Avi's eyes. "Thank you."

"Try it and let me know if it needs more."

Alex obeyed quickly, sipping it, before putting the cup back on the counter. "It's perfect, thank you."

Avi tossed the spoon into the sink, before leaning over the counter to kiss Alex once. "Not a problem, baby."

Alex looked up into his eyes. "Hey... You don't smoke, do you?"

**