Color

Hundred Twenty

Kirstie finally came home, heading directly into the kitchen. 

Mitch was sitting at the table, doing his homework. He glanced up. "Hey."

"Hey." She responded shortly, without picking the conversation back up.

Mitch decided he didn't care enough to strike up any conversation either, and he went back to his work. 

Scott walked down the hallway then, heading toward the kitchen as well. 

Mitch sat up again. "Babe..? I thought you went to work?"

Scott quickly frowned, and took the seat beside Mitch. He opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he made eye contact with Mitch, he sighed in defeat and rested his forehead against the table. 

Mitch placed a hand on Scott's back. "Oh, honey... It's okay if you called in. You've had a hard couple of days."

Scott spoke from against the table. "I did. I totally called out like a big baby. Got Avi to cover it though."

"That's totally okay, babe. You don't have to be disappointed in yourself for that."

Scott groaned loudly, keeping his forehead against the table. "I just want to sleep. Like, all day."

"You're free to do that, baby. Want me to come lay down with you..?"

"No. You need to study."

"I can bring the book with me." Mitch offered. 

"You're bringing a book to bed? Gross. But I accept."

*

Scott was asleep within less than five minutes. With his head on Mitch's chest, Mitch was reading with his book resting on his stomach. 

Mitch put him to sleep easily, by continuously running his fingers through Scott's hair. 

He continued to do it, only pausing to flip pages. 

Scott woke up after Mitch finished reviewing two chapters, and Mitch had no idea how much time had passed, just that he'd finished the two.

Scott hummed, turning his head to kiss Mitch's shoulder. "How's it going? Is your big, beautiful brain full of knowledge?"

"Yes, very much so. I now understand the difference between all the laws of thermodynamics."

"Woah... Why did that word turn me on? Probably because of the way you said it."

"You think that's hot? You should hear me describe molecular substances."

Scott sat up enough to meet his eyes, before smirking and letting his eyes fall to Mitch's lips. "Please do."

Mitch just giggled, and leaned forward to kiss him once. "God damn... You're like an exothermic reaction, spreading hotness all over the place."

Scott blinked at him. "That's really sexy, I think."

Mitch giggled again, closing the book in his lap so he could put both hands on Scott's face to kiss him properly. 

Scott was into it for a few seconds, before he turned his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you from studying."

Mitch whined at him. "Baby, come on. I've been pouring over this stuff for hours. I can take a break."

Scott faced him again with a pout, sitting up to lean his back against his own pillow. "You know I hate getting in the way of your school stuff."

"You're not in the way. I still have another day to study anyway."

Scott just shrugged, before getting out of the bed. "I hope I wasn't asleep long..?"

"I don't think so."

Scott opened the bedroom door briefly, to peek outside and look down the hallway. "I feel kinda bad for letting Avi take my shift at work. I should be able to handle my dad's chaos by now."

"Nobody is expecting you to be 100% okay after all this, honey. We all take time to heal."

"I know, I just... I feel bad, he's had to deal with all my bullshit for so long..."

Mitch shook his head, still laying in bed. "Babe. Everyone in this house is just trying to help you out. Stop feeling guilty about it."

Scott frowned, and turned to face Mitch, closing their door behind him. "Fine. I'm gonna take a shower. Please keep studying... I don't want to nag you, I just... I just want you to be the best you can be. I hope you know that."

*

Scott was only in the shower for a few minutes, before he heard the bathroom door open.

Which was a fairly normal thing. Mitch loved to come in and pretend to be combing his hair, while he just stared at Scott in the mirror.

This time though, Mitch jumped up to sit on the counter. "Scottie? Can I talk to you about something?"

Scott continued washing his hair, but responded affirmative. "Of course, baby. What's up?"

"I know this is probably the wrong time to have this conversation, but... Would you ever talk to me about what those men did to you?"

Scott froze, just standing under the spray of the water without saying a word. 

Mitch spoke suddenly. "I know it's a terrifying subject for you, and.. And I know you hate feeling weak, or taken advantage of, I just... I thought it might help."

Scott still couldn't move.

"Like, I know the basics of it. I have like, the cliff-notes of the occurrence." He paused. "I overheard Avi saying how traumatized you are, because of what happened. And.. Every time someone brings it up, you get upset and tense, and... I don't know. I just thought it might help to talk about it."

Scott was finally able to form a few words, with gritted teeth. "I have talked about it."

Mitch spoke in the kindest tone he could find. "I know, sweetheart. And I can't imagine how difficult that must've been. I just... I want to help you heal from it. I'd love to help in any way I can."

Scott felt like he couldn't breathe. "You want to hear... What they did to me?"

"Only if it would help. I feel like... You've locked it away in the deep corners of your brain, to protect yourself from it. But it's still able to hurt you from there, baby. It comes out whenever it wants, and it makes you upset."

"So then why would you..? Why do you want me to bring it out and talk about it? That's gonna make me feel worse."

"Maybe... Maybe that's what you need. I think you locked it all away before you could fully process what happened. And in doing so, you gave your past the power to hurt you, even now. But if you'd just... Let it hurt. Let it do what it has to do, and then you can heal from it."

Scott suddenly turned the water off, satisfied with the state of his hair anyway. He stood completely still, and spoke softly. "I don't want to hurt anymore, Mitchie."

Mitch couldn't stand it, and he hopped down from the counter. "Come here, baby. Let me see you."

Scott felt tears form in his eyes, at the thought of how emotionally exposed he felt. Technically he was physically exposed as well, but that didn't bother him as much. 

He stood there for a few moments, and then turned to walk out of the shower. He stood in front of Mitch, letting his wet hair hide his eyes to make it easier on himself. "You want all the details..?"

Mitch frowned, and reached up to wipe away the wetness that he knew were tears, not just water. "I want to hear whatever is going to make you feel better, sweetheart. If it helps to share all of it, then I want to hear all of it. It's not your burden to carry anymore, honey."

**