Of Beauty & Beast (Scomiche)

6. Home Sweet Home

Mitch yawned and rolled over in bed, reaching a hand out towards the tall lamp that should have been there. When his fingertips met the wood of a bedside stand instead, his body went rigid and he blinked his eyes open in the darkness. The room Mrs. Richardson had provided him with when she took him in was bare except for a full bed and a lamp, and he never stayed the night at his friend's house.

So just where was he?

He quickly sat up to recline on his elbows. Moonlight streamed through glass doors and windows ahead of the bed while the rest of the room was bathed in obsidian, but there was enough light for him to stare out the doors with his mouth parted in disbelief. His temporary room didn't have a polished deck that he could step onto any time he wanted, nor did it have a gorgeous view of the very forest he'd been contemplating on entering once again. But he knew whose bedroom did.

Mitch sat up completely now, and hesitantly pushed the thin covers from his body. He swung his legs over the side of the four poster canopy bed and slid from it, trying to find his voice.

"B-Beasty...?" he softly stuttered, barely hearing himself speak over the violent pounding that was going on within his ribcage. He squinted in the direction of the doorway and waited.

He could have produced his trusty sphere of light at any moment to expose his surroundings, but a part of him was sure that this was only a vivid dream. And if that was true, he didn't want to wake up yet. He had to see him first.

Mitch took a few steps forward, coming to stand closer to the door. One of his hands rose on their own accord to fiddle with the ends of his messy hair while he anxiously awaited a response. When a minute of quiet passed, he took a calming breath and repeated himself a little louder this time.

The silence that again followed seemed like it was going to stretch on forever but then heavy footsteps sounded, accompanied by the clicking of claws against dark hardwood floors. Eyes appeared in the doorway seconds later. Glowing, powerful eyes. The same blue orbs that had haunted Mitch's dreams every night, and his knees weakened at the sight of them.

Time seemed to drag until the ceiling lights were finally flicked on. Then, Mitch lost all the air in his lungs next. He dropped his hands from his hair and tried not to cry. His Beasty was crouched across from him, furry head cocked to the side and watching him. He looked as jaw-dropping and mystical as ever.

But now that Mitch knew that they were really together again, he didn't understand. He had no idea how he could have gotten here because it wasn't by his own two feet, that's not a possibility. The last thing he remembered was waking up at Mrs. Richardson's house this morning. Or did he go out after that? Was that even today?

Both relieved and confused, he stared at Scott, who had still not moved an inch. He wanted to touch him and feel him, to question him about what was going on and to hear his voice, but Scott wasn't in a form that could answer him. The usually blonde man was shifted into a creature Mitch hadn't seen him become since they were children. He only recalls Scott ever turning into his beast when the older boy felt like someone or something was endangering Mitch. But back then, he wasn't so big and scary. Mitch can tell that if Scott stands now, he'll be at least 7 feet tall.

So what managed to bring that protective animal to the surface at the same time they were brought together again made Mitch curious. And wow, this was so not how he imagined their reunion would be, but it was better than no reunion.

Mitch ignored the still-flowing questions in his head, he'd had enough with the distance between them. He finally took an unstable step towards his old friend. Noticing the wobble of his knees, Scott was there in a split second to keep him from crashing to the floor, which Mitch was thankful for. He gladly fell into a sturdy chest instead. Tears welled at the waterline of his amber eyes despite him not wanting to cry, and Scott's soft fur became crushed between his tightly curled fingers.