Seven Levels Below

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That had been the first time Mitch had been made aware of Scott's much different strengths—literally—than his. Scott only continued to add to the slowly forming image of a strong, sweaty, (preferably shirtless), hero in a movie where Mitch was the funny sidekick who was absolutely obsessed with him and had managed to develop a massive crush, despite the hero's inevitable female love interest and marriage by the end of the movie. Mitch was fine with that though. Honestly! Sure, he knew he wasn't gonna magically get the guy in the end, but he had another best friend who was awesome, and funny, and sweet and caring and so smart, (and hot as hell), and that was plenty enough for him. Besides, there wasn't a female (or male, his brain taunted) love interest in the "movie" yet.

A few weeks after the second market incident, Mitch, Scott, and Kirstie were hanging out in Kirstie's apartment, laughing as Scott attempted to paint Mitch's toenails an awful lime green.

A knock at the door had them pausing in their giggles and attempts at saving Mitch's toes to eye each other curiously as if someone had managed to invite another one of their million-and-a-half friends to join them. Kirstie sighed and pushed herself off the floor, where she had collapsed in tears after Scott had attempted to paint a portrait of Wyatt on Mitch's big toe, to answer the door.

The squeak of alarm upon meeting Serial Killer #1 again had Kirstie stumbling back across her kitchen and Scott popping up next to her to offer a steadying hand and greet the man in the doorway.

"Uh, hi Kevin. Ben." He nodded to the lighter, brown haired man standing next to Kevin. "Long time no see," Scott's joke fell flat, still squeezing Kirstie's hand as she took a breath at the calm but tense atmosphere that vastly differed from the last time she had met this "Kevin".

"Good evening, sir." Kevin crossed his arms across his chest.

Mitch had to bite down a nervous laugh from his perch on the couch as he realized how much of a good cop/bad cop scenario they appeared to be in.

"Can I ask what you're doing here?" Scott tried again at the lack of explanation from either Kevin or Ben.

"Sir," Kevin sighed. "Your coronation is only a few months away. You can't just keep leaving the palace randomly without telling us where you're going, at the very least."

Scott opened his mouth to argue, his frown already primed for an intense debate, as Mitch had learned over the ongoing argument about pineapple pizza.

"Scott." Ben cut him off before he could begin. "Don't be a moron." Oh, Mitch likes this Ben guy. "You're not the only one who could be hurt by random violent anarchists." A pointed glace at Kirstie hanging on Scott's arm and over towards Mitch, still sitting with his feet covered in lime green nail polish in the living room, had Scott twisting to check that, yes, Mitch was still there and okay, and prompted the fight to drain right out of the tense shoulders and clenched jaws.

"I'm not dragging around a security detail whenever I decide to come see my friends." Scott glared at Kevin, who glared right back. Mitch wondered if Kevin was that ripped just so he could stare down Scott better. They looked like they might have had some practice considering how intense the staring contest had quickly gotten.

A sharp giggle broke the tense silence in the room and had all four mens' heads snapping towards Kirstie as a blush crept across her cheeks.

"Sorry!" she clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was clear that she was still grinning. It wasn't hard for Mitch to find the culprit, with Ben smirking right back at her, much more comfortable with having interrupted the glaring.

Scott sighed. "I can tell you when I'm coming and going, and I'm sure you can usually guess as to where, but I'm not bringing other people with me. I can take care of myself—and others—if I need to."

An opening mouth from Kevin had Scott holding up a hand quickly to stop him. "Nope, non-negotiable. Take it or leave it."

Ben brought the nice cop back out as he reached out for Kevin's shoulder gently. "I don't know what you think would happen if we chose to 'leave it', but as long as you keep your word, a general heads up would be much appreciated for right now. Can't say it'll work as well when we get a bit closer to crowning-time."

A curt nod from Scott seals the uncomfortable deal and has Ben, still eyeing the blushing Kirstie with a gentle smile, stepping back into the hall to wait for Kevin.

"Be careful with yourself, brother," Kevin's tone softened slightly as he uncrossed his enormous arms.

Mitch couldn't help himself. "Yeah, Scotty. You better listen to Mr. Swole over here."

Scott shot him a jokingly betrayed look as Kevin met Mitch's eyes and, shockingly, grinned at him and gave a little nod of approval.

"I assume you're the famous Mitch then," Kevin smirked as he glanced back at Scott, whose face was racing to match Kirstie's red cheeks. "Make sure he behaves, yeah?"

Mitch raised his eyebrows at Kevin's request, but agreed lightly nonetheless. Then with a "Have a good night", Ben and Kevin were walking away and the door was closed behind them, leaving the trio in another long silence as they all stared down at different spots on the floor, hoping for something to break the quiet again.

Mitch volunteered himself as tribute.

"So, Kirstie, how about that Ben guy?" The devilish glimmer in his eyes met her wide, shocked ones.

Scott barked out a laugh at Kirstie's indignant, "I don't know what you're talking about Mitchell!", and they fell back into their easy banter as they returned to Mitch's toes to try to salvage what was left of Scott's artwork.