Color

Seventy

(A/N)

Thanks for being patient with me, y'all. Adulting is hard xD

**

Alex walked up to the house, seeing Avi sitting on the porch with a beer in his hand. 

Avi looked up at him, and didn't say anything.

Alex decided to start the conversation. "You hate being outside."

"Yeah. Well. I'm just waiting for the porn to stop."

"Oh, are they..? Oh." Alex slowly took a seat beside him, refusing to look at him. 

Avi offered his beer. "So how was it?"

Alex shook his head though. "No thanks... It was fine, I guess. Everyone's really nice."

"Good... When do you find out?"

"In a few days I think."

And then it was quiet. Not really uncomfortable, but quiet enough for them both to be reminded of their argument. 

Avi wasn't usually the one to resolve it, so he didn't, for fear of making it worse. 

Alex finally leaned against him briefly, resting his head on Avi's shoulder. "Sorry..."

"You're not the one that should be saying that, Lex."

"Yeah I am... I should've asked you before I set up the interview, I just... I knew you'd say no."

Avi took some time to think about his words before he spoke. "Listen... It's a nice gesture, and.. I'm sure Scott would be grateful if he knew. But I just think you're overwhelming yourself. And I worry for you."

Alex hummed softly. "I know... But I'm doing the right thing. It's not right or fair of us to be taking advantage of Scott's life savings like we are."

"I don't wanna have this argument again, babe... But... What if I told you I'd get a job? Would you reconsider?"

*

Kirstie came home that night, Kyle trailing behind her.

Mitch immediately tensed up when he saw them. "Hey, Kit."

She grinned at him. "Hi! I was just grabbing a change of clothes for our date tonight."

Kyle could see Scott standing in the backyard, so he began to walk that way with a grin. 

He was shocked to see Scott with a cigarette between his lips, so he closed the door behind himself quickly so nobody else would catch him. "What are you--?"

"It's not lit, I swear... Mitch confiscated my lighter a while back."

Kyle paused and walked up to him. "Jeez... This is like that book with the cancer kids."

"This ain't a book." He snapped. "It just helps sometimes, that's all."

"Sorry. You probably wanna be left alone, my bad."

Scott shook his head quickly. "I'm not trying to be a dick, but obviously I didn't step out here for a fake cig because I was in a super great mood."

"No, I get it. Sorry to bug you."

"It's fine, just... Don't tell Mitch."

"What if he comes looking for you?"

"Then you keep your mouth shut."

Kyle nodded once, thoroughly getting the hint that he needed to fuck off. "Copy that."

Scott stood outside for a while longer, hoping the cold would distract him from wanting to light his cigarette. No such luck though... So he considered going inside and drinking a little, but knew Mitch would stop him. 

He shook his head quickly. He'd become addicted to so many things, and no matter how hard he tried to shake them, he couldn't. But one thing that always made him forget about it, was Mitch. So that's where he needed to be. 

Scott hid his cigarettes again, before heading inside. He pushed past Avi, to find Mitch sitting on the couch beside Alex. 

All Scott could hear was Alex responding to whatever Mitch had said. "That's true, but we still have to be civil, Mitchie."

Scott walked over slowly, and without saying a word he faced Mitch only to put each of his knees on either side of Mitch's thighs, before lowering himself-- slowly, for fear of hurting Mitch-- onto Mitch's thighs to sit there facing Mitch's confused expression.

Mitch had never seen Scott do something so-- for lack of a better word-- Mitch-like. Scott always refused to sit or lay on Mitch, because he was convinced his body mass would break Mitch's bones. 

Mitch put one hand on each of Scott's thighs, just under his hips. "Aw, honey, what's wrong?"

Scott shook his head and spoke softly. "Didn't mean to interrupt." And then he leaned forward to rest his forehead on Mitch's shoulder so he was out of the way of Alex and Mitch's conversation. 

One of Mitch's hands moved up to Scott's back, and he aww'ed again, softly. "Baby, talk to me. What's going on?"

Scott shook his head and didn't respond. 

Alex, from the outsider's perspective that he had, was very confused. He couldn't decide if what was going on was cute or awkward, considering how much bigger Scott's body was than Mitch's. 

Mitch didn't seem to mind though, not having a problem with Scott's weight on his thighs as he ran a hand up and down Scott's back. "Sweetheart... Aw... I've never seen you act like this."

Alex stood from the couch. "I'll give y'all some time to talk."

Mitch nodded, glancing at him. "Thank you. We'll continue later."

Scott waited for Alex to be out of the room before he spoke quietly. "I really wanna smoke, Mitchie..."

"Why? What's stressing you out?"

"It's not just stress, babe... I just really need a smoke."

"Okay well you can't, remember?"

"I know... That's why I'm here. Because... Because you're the only addiction I have that I will allow to hurt me, and I'll still come runnin' back to."

Mitch paused briefly. "Oh, I get it... I need to stop reprimanding you about it, and start helping you. I understand."

Scott spoke again, even softer. "Please?"

**