Scott slept well and only woke up when he felt something soft on his cheek and then heard a soft voice.
"Scotty... good morning."
"Hmm?" Scott hummed and slowly opened his eyes, smiling slightly when he saw Avi. "Morning. What time is it?"
"Just after 9" Avi replied. "You started stirring..."
"Yeah. I was just waking up" Scott replied. "Have you been awake for long?"
"Maybe twenty minutes or so. But you were sleeping so soundly so I let you" the bearded man explained.
"I really slept well" Scott replied. "How about you?"
"The same actually," Avi said. "Anyway. I need to go to the bathroom real quick. Do you want to meditate afterwards or was this just a vacation thing?"
Scott shook his head. "No. This is a habit I really want to stick to. We can go out on the balcony, we'll have the morning sun there."
Avi nodded. "Such a good idea."
~
After they had finished meditating, Scott and Avi got dressed and went downstairs. "Do you want to have some breakfast? I really don't know what I have left in the fridge, maybe we'll have to improvise" Scott explained as he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Oh well..."
Avi peaked into the fridge. "Well if you have flour and sugar we can make pancakes. I also see some fresh fruit to go with it?"
Scott nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he said and got out the eggs and the milk. "Make yourself at home."
"Or I can take care of the fruit? Make it a salad?" Avi offered.
"Sure..." Scott replied while he prepared the batter and then left it to rest while making coffee and setting up the pan. "Okay..." he said as he turned on the heat.
"Are you okay? You seem to be a bit nervous? Don't like frying pancakes?" Avi asked. He was already finished with the fruits and had sat down on one of the stools so he would be able to watch Scott.
Scott grimaced. "Not really. I always end up with half of them burned and Nick..."
"It doesn't matter anymore what he said or did," Avi said patiently and got up. "Do you want me to help you?"
Scott nodded. "Please?"
"Well," Avi said. "First of all, you need to turn the heat lower. You want the pancakes to bake slowly. Then add a little bit of oil..."
Scott liked the way Avi talked him through the process. He didn't make any rude comments, he just helped him and made him feel at ease. That way they each had a platter of really nice pancakes in front of them a few minutes later. There were no wonky ones this time and when the first pancake didn't turn out nicely, Avi just took a bite of it and declared it good either way. They snacked on it while the rest of the pancakes baked.
"These are really good," Avi said.
Scott smiled. "Really? Thanks. Are they not too sweet? I tend to overdo it with the sugar."
"Not at all. As I said: perfect" Avi returned.
Scott exhaled slowly. "Thank you, Avi."
The bearded man just smiled as he continued to eat, but deep down inside he was thinking about how insecure Scott was about something as simple as pancakes. He wondered what else Nick did to fuel his insecurities and made a mental note to watch him closely just in case something else would be coming up.
"Did you ever have to call someone to fix a lock? Because I don't know who to call" Scott asked as they had finished their pancakes.
"I had to replace the lock of my front door only last month and I found a really good company" Avi explained. "I can give you their contact information. They work really fast and good. Do you know how many locks you'll need?"
"Front door and back door? And maybe the garage door as well?" Scott wanted to know.
Avi nodded. "Yes, definitely all of them. I would say that the front door is the most important one but you need to be able to feel secure here at home" he explained.
"True..." Scott sighed softly. "I just hope that they'll be able to change them today."
Avi chuckled. "That sounds like you want to get rid of me" he joked.
"No," Scott said. "I just think that you want to go home eventually..."
Avi hummed. "You're not wrong. I am yearning to be back home, but this right here is more important." He smiled at the blonde and emptied his cup of coffee while he searched his phone. "Here, this is the number."
~
Replacing the locks didn't take long. Scott had decided to get a keyless system that he could unlock with his mobile devices and had a code system for emergencies. Once the locksmith had left, Scott tried out the three locks once more and was happy with them.
"Good?" Avi asked as he came back from the bathroom.
Scott smiled happily. "Yes! They're an investment, but a good one. Thank you for your help. I didn't think about exchanging the locks before, but it feels better right now, knowing that even if he were to come back for some stupid reason, there is no way he can get inside."
"And I'll feel better knowing that you're safe in here" Avi replied as he followed Scott into the kitchen.
Scott nodded. "Yeah... when are you going home by the way?"
"Wednesday as well" Avi replied. "I want to unpack and do laundry today and get everything ready tomorrow. And maybe..."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Maybe?"
"I don't know, maybe you want to go out tomorrow? For coffee or dinner? Depending on when you're leaving on Wednesday" Avi asked.
"Oh, I am only leaving around noon" Scott replied. "And yes, I would love to go out with you tomorrow. I also want to do laundry today. Maybe we can do something fun in the afternoon and then get dinner together?"
Avi chuckled. "Something fun? What do you have in mind?"
"Do you mind if I just plan something? A little surprise?" Scott asked. "I mean only if you want to..."
Avi smiled happily at him, he didn't want the blonde to feel insecure. "Please do," he said. "I'm looking forward already."
"Good," Scott said.
"Yeah... I should get going now, though. I have to get some things done if I want to have time for you tomorrow" Avi said.
Scott nodded. "Same," he said.
Avi booked himself an uber and ten minutes later the two men were saying goodbye.
"Is it weird that I am going to miss you even though I get to see you tomorrow?" Scott asked.
Avi shook his head. "Not at all. We spent the past two weeks together. I am going to miss you as well." He leaned in to hug the blonde and sighed softly. "Goodbye Scott."
Scott kissed him softly and then smiled. "Goodbye. I'll pick you up tomorrow. Let's make it 3.30 pm?"
"I'll be ready."
Once Avi had left, Scott immediately unpacked his suitcase and started the first machine of laundry. Only then he dropped down on the sofa and allowed his mind to rest for a moment and thought about how much the vacation had changed and how happy he was about these changes. Then, he got out his computer and started to plan the date. His idea was something Nick would have rejected immediately and Scott was a little unsure whether Avi would like it, but nevertheless, he decided to go with the initial idea. He made a plan and also booked a table at a nice restaurant for their dinner.
~~~~
