Color

Hundred Nine

(A/N)

Wherever y'all are at in the world, I hope you're being safe. My college campus literally closed down today. 

Love u lots - pls wash ur hands

**

When they arrived back home, Mitch and Scott went back to their room to finish their discussion. 

Alex sat back down on the couch, staring at the blank television. 

Avi sat beside him quickly. "I'm gonna do some laundry, you want me to do yours too?"

"No, no, I can... I can help you."

Avi frowned at him. "Babe, I know it's bothering you that everyone's arguing. But I'm not worried about us, okay? We've learned to communicate better, because of the shit that went down in high school."

"Yeah I know. I'm not worried about us either, but that doesn't mean I can't be worried."

Avi sighed, and stood up. He held a hand out to help Alex stand too. "You just need something else to think about. So come on, let's go do the laundry."

Alex held both his hands out to be pulled off the seat, and then let his hands slip from Avi's hold and slide around his waist instead to hug him. 

Avi froze at the intimacy, and then relaxed into it, and hugged back. "Hi." He paused. "Sorry that was awkward, I felt weird."

Alex pressed a kiss to Avi's shoulder, as he pulled away. "Alright, let's do laundry then."

*

Alex was holding a laundry basket full of clothes, as he walked outside to get to the laundry room.

He flinched, seeing Kirstie out there and feeling startled. "Oh hey. I was wondering where you were."

"Hey." She responded shortly, phone in hand, as she sat at the small table on the patio. 

"What are you doing?" He stepped closer, and noticed the cigarette in her hand. "Sorry, let me rephrase, what the fuck are you doing?"

"Texting my mom. Why?"

Avi walked out behind Alex, holding his own laundry. He sidestepped Alex to walk into the laundry room, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. 

"That's not what I'm talking about." Alex began. "Why are you smoking? When did you start doing that?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know, I guess." Kirstie responded nonchalantly, still staring at her phone. "Kyle just does it a lot, so I figured I could try it."

"No, that's not-- Kirstie. Can you please look at me when I'm talking to you?" Alex begged, not angry but still upset. 

She looked up. "Wow, you're really upset by this. Weird, considering who your boyfriend is."

Avi spoke loudly from inside the laundry room, with the door open. "Uhh, what do I have to do with it?"

Alex just shook his head slowly. "I don't know why you'd say that to me. That's really unfair."

"Well, why don't you leave me alone? My point was that you're allowed to make bad decisions, why can't I?"

Alex stepped away from her. "That was really rude."

Avi leaned out of the laundry room, and tried to get Alex's attention. "Come here, babe, so I can start the washer."

He hated that Kirstie chose this moment to hurt Alex's feelings, because Avi was working to put him in a better mood. 

Alex quickly turned to walk toward him, not wanting to be with Kirstie for another second. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just... Here." He reached out to take the basket from Alex, and turned to walk back toward the washing machine. 

Alex felt awful. He stood beside Avi, watching him fill the washer. He spoke softly. "Av, I don't think of you as a bad decision, I hope you know that."

"Of course I know that. She's just upset, so she's attacking something she knows you care about. There's no truth in her words when she's angry."

Alex looked down at his feet. "Okay."

*

Scott finally laid down, one arm behind his head and the other resting on his stomach. "I'm just sorry it got so bad, Mitchie... I'll take you out anytime you want, you know that."

"I know. I just... Wanted to catch up with Kirstie, and I got wrapped up in what was going on." Mitch sat down beside him on the bed next to Scott's leg. 

Scott was staring at the ceiling. "I just don't want to argue anymore. I love you so much, and... And you deserve the world. I know you're worried about Kirstie... Maybe we can go on a double date or something."

Mitch smiled, placing a hand on Scott's thigh. "I'd like that a lot. Thank you."

Scott nodded slowly, slipping his hand down to grab Mitch's hand. "I just hate being in a bad place with you. And I guess I needed to listen to you. And I should've trusted you, that you're a responsible adult, and you can take care of yourself."

"Well yes, I can. But it wouldn't have been a huge deal for me to just let you know where I was... So I guess we're both wrong. But it's okay, because we are adults, and we can improve upon this."

Scott looked at him and smiled. "Deal. We're sorry, we apologized, and now we're better. It's all good."

Mitch grinned, and leaned down to kiss him. He finally felt himself relax, having been stressed ever since he got home from that night out. 

Scott reached up to slide his hand along the back of Mitch's neck, and he broke the kiss with a smile. "Damn it, I missed you."

**