The Assistant | Scavi

Visalia

"Two more hours" Avi said happily. "I cannot wait to be home." He was steering the rental car down the highway. Since they had two days off until the next show in Visalia and the rest of the crew already drove back to LA right after the show so they could spend the time at home. 

Avi and Scott had spent the night in a hotel room and only got on the road after a good night's sleep and a big breakfast.

Scott smiled. He knew exactly how his boyfriend was feeling, he had been happy to be back home in Texas all these weeks ago, too. "Mmhm, I cannot wait to meet your parents. Is Esther coming, too?"

Avi nodded. "She is arriving tonight. Has some important appointments today." 

"Uh, nice. I am looking forward to seeing her, too" Scott said. 

"Me too. Her bump is getting huge and she got some new pictures of my niece..." Avi said softly. "I cannot wait to finally meet her."

Scott smiled. "Me neither."

~

After two and a half hours they arrived in Visalia. They had stopped to get some flowers and wine for Avi's parents.

"This is it" Avi said once he parked the car in the driveway. "This is where I grew up." He smiled at Scott. "Ready to meet my parents?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "I am" he said and got out of the car. He grabbed his bag and the flowers and followed his boyfriend up to the house. 

Avi rang the doorbell and only a moment later a blonde woman opened the door. "Avi! My boy is finally home" she said and hugged her son tight.

Scott smiled and waited for mother and son to hug one another.

Then Avi turned to him and smiled. "Mama, this is Scott. My boyfriend, new producer and assistant" he introduced him. 

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Kaplan" Scott greeted her and shook her hand. "These are for you." He handed her the flowers and she smiled slightly. 

"Sunflowers. My favorite. Thank you" she said. "Come on in, you must be exhausted. Tea?"

Avi nodded. "Tea would be lovely."

Shelly nodded. "Good. Do you drink tea as well, Scott?" 

"I do. Avi brought me to it" Scott explained. 

"Good. Why don't you get settled in your room, Avi and I'll prepare tea. Your father should be home any minute now" Shelly said. "Oh and there will be cookies, unless you need something solid? I've been planning to cook tonight for when Esther comes..." 

"We'll be fine, thank you. We had a good breakfast in the hotel" Avi said. 

"Wonderful. I'll see you later" Shelly said and left the boys alone.

Avi smiled at Scott. "Come on let's go upstairs. I'll show you to my room." 

Together the two men walked two stairs up. "Well, this is the so called kids floor. My siblings and I each had a room up here back then and we shared this bathroom over here" Avi explained. "Today, my parents use the rooms as hobby rooms or for storage, but since we all visit frequently, they kept the beds and everything."

"Mmhm, my parents did the same with my sisters' rooms" Scott said. "Well, one of them is now Landon's room." 

Avi chuckled. "Of course." He opened a door to his right and smiled. "This is my room. Come in."

Scott looked around the room. There was a lot of wood, it was cosy and homey. The bed was big, too. "Wow, it's so cosy" Scott said. "The wood is so warm."

Avi smiled. "I know" he said and sighed softly, sitting down on the bed. "Five minutes of quiet" he said and laid back. 

Scott chuckled. "I'll go to the bathroom real quick" he said. 

"Mmhm, door to your left" Avi mumbled.

Once Scott got back, he sat down next to Avi, who still had his eyes closed. 

"Mmhm, I'm awake" the bearded man grumbled. "Just resting my eyes."

Scott chuckled. "You can rest whatever you want. Take your time."

"Nooo, Dad just came home and there's tea and cookies." He sat back up. "Let's go."

Scott nodded. "Sure." He got up as well and followed his boyfriend back downstairs. "Hello Dad" he said softly. 

Michael turned around when he heard his son's voice. "Avriel!" he said. "Hello." They hugged one another, before Avi turned to introduce Scott.

"Hello, Mr Kaplan, it's so nice to meet you" the blonde said and shook his hand. 

"Same here, hello, Scott" Michael greeted back. "Shelly made some tea and cookies. Shall we sit down in the garden?"

"Yes" Avi said. He took Scott's hand and led him outside. They sat down on the bench next to one another while Shelly poured four mugs of tea. 

"Thank you" Scott said. He looked around. "You have a really nice garden" he said. "So colourful. And you're growing your own fruits and veggies?" 

Shelly nodded. "Yes, we do. We're not fully self-providing, but it's nice to have something you've grown yourself" she explained. "I just harvested some berries, we'll have them with chocolate mousse for dessert tonight."

"Sounds wonderful" Scott said and took a sip of tea.

"Mmhm. It's a lot of work, but satisfying. Do you have a garden, too?" Michael asked. 

Scott shook his head. "No. I have a tiny balcony and definitely no luck with plants" he said. "But I've spent quite some time in Avi's garden and I love it there."

Avi smiled. "Yeah... and maybe we can already harvest some cherries once we're back home. You can definitely help me pick the ones high up in the tree" he said.

Scott chuckled. "Of course" he said. "Will you show me how to bake a nice cake with them?" 

Avi smiled back at him. "Yes, I will." He grabbed Scott's hand under the table and squeezed it slightly.

Scott blushed a little bit, but he was also happy that Avi was comfortable enough to hold his hand. He looked over to Avi's parents, who were talking to Avi about someone from the neighbourhood. 

He noticed, however, that both, Mr and Mrs Kaplan eyed their intertwined hands warily, causing Scott to feel awkward all of a sudden. He hoped that it was just because they had get used to their son being with a man, but still, he felt uneasy.

~~~~~~~~~~~