Distant

{23}

Mitch stayed in Avi's embrace for the longest time, feeling loved. The support group was surprisingly great. He cried for what seemed like the entire time, but not once did somebody in that group judged him.

They know how he feels. They know his pain. They know how it felt when they realized that they will have a child. Almost everyone in the group will put the child up for adoption and the rest of them will keep the child, just like Mitch. Rick listened the entire time and teared up himself. He knows how Mitch feels. The tenor had to thank his doctor later. Without her, he wouldn't have met people who knows how he feels.

"I'm sorry that I left without saying anything," Mitch whispered, brushing his fingers through Avi's hair gently. "I should've said something."

"It's okay. All I care about is that you're okay," Avi replied, putting his head on Mitch's stomach. He widened his eyes and took his head off of the stomach. "What was that?"

"It was Adira. She was kicking," Mitch answered, laughing. He then shook his head playfully when Avi superfrowned. "What, are you going to ground her?"

"Yes, I am. Adira, you are grounded until the day you are born. Understand?"

Mitch laughed loudly, tears falling down his face. Avi smiled and wiped the tears away, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.

*I can't wait until I could hold Adira. I'll be the best father in the world.*

~~~

"I have a surprise," Scott yelled out randomly. Mitch and Avi looked at him, not jumping once. Scott is so loud that whenever he yelled, nobody even jumped. They just nodded. "Close your eyes, Mitchy."

"Oh, gosh," Mitch replied, closing his eyes. Scott went behind him and covered his eyes, making him tense a bit. Scott then dropped his hands and put them behind his back.

"Do you not want me to do that? I'm so sorry."

"You're fine," Mitch answered, his eyes still closed. "Evan did that a lot before he...yeah."

Avi shook his head angrily. Even though Mitch got comfortable with touch a little bit, Evan still haunted him everyday. He got scared easily and there always something small that scared him to no point. Scott then took Mitch's hand, leading him down the hallway.

*I'm going to hurt you, Evan. Just you wait.*

~~~

Scott them lead Mitch to the nursery and Avi gasped quietly. Scott smiled back at him and moved out of Mitch's way.

"Okay," Scott began, getting more excited. Mitch shook his head, laughing a bit. "Open your eyes."

Mitch did so and he gasped. The first thin he saw was little stars painted across the walls. Mitch looked up to see stickers that resembled stars. A painted moon was in the middle too. Mitch then looked to the crib, his heart beating fast with happiness.

Adira was spelt out with stars over the small crib, shining brightly. Mitch looked at Scott, tears welling up in his eyes. Scott then extended his arms and Mitch hugged him quickly, sobbing quietly.

"The perks of having an artist for a boyfriend," Scott told him playfully. Mitch laughed and cried a bit more. "I'm happy you like it, Mitch."

"I love it. Thank you so much, Scott."

"It seriously is beautiful, Scott," Avi spoke up, looking around the room. It was obvious Scott worked nonstop on it. "You're going to be the best uncle ever."

"And you're going to be the best dad ever," Scott replied, winking. Avi rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Why are you crying so much, Mitch? It's just a room!"

"It's not just a room," Mitch argued, wiping his eyes. He then took a shuddery breath. "I'm crying for two reasons. I'm crying because you are the best friend a person could ever have and because of hormones."

Scott laughed, shaking his head. He then cleared his throat, staring at Mitch's stomach. He then went on his knees and began to talk fast.

"Once upon a time, there was a handsome man called Scott Hoy-"

"Bye, Scott," Mitch interrupted, walking off. He began to laugh when Scott told him to come back. "Avi, come on, babe."

Avi left and laughed when Scott said something along the lines of 'I hate you both'. He couldn't help but look down at Mitch's left hand. He imagined a ring on there and smiled softly.

*I hope he'll say yes.*

~~~

"I hate everything!"

Avi turned around to see Mitch come stomping in angrily. Mitch sat down, crossing his arms.

"What's the matter, babe?" Avi asked gently. Mitch looked at him and if looks could kill, Avi would be in Heaven right now. "Why are you so angry?"

"I can't get a cup out the cabinet," Mitch murmured then began to cry. Avi stood up immediately and sat down next to Mitch, realizing that his boyfriend is having mood swings...again. "The cabinets are so far up and my stomach is preventing me from getting anything even though it's small. Why am I crying?"

Mitch then cried loudly, causing Avi to hug him gently. Scott then walked in and stopped at the sight. He nodded awkwardly and Avi repeated the action. Scott then sat down, staring at the crying tenor.

"What is he crying about this time?" Scott asked, jumping when Mitch let out a loud sob. Avi sighed and looked at Scott, laughing a bit.

"He couldn't get a cup from the cabinet because his stomach prevented him from doing so," Avi replied, rubbing Mitch's back gently. The tenor calmed down a bit but sniffled every once in a while. "It's quite hysterical."

"Yesterday he cried because he realized how blue my eyes are and how similar they are to SpongeBob's. He then got angry because of Mr. Krabs being greedy," Scott shared, laughing a bit. "He said, and I quote, 'Mr. Krabs is a terrible man that deserves nothing. Stupid crab. I'll boil him if I can.' He's really funny."

Avi nodded and smiled a bit when he heard Mitch snoring quietly. He then rubbed Mitch's stomach gently, wanting to see Adira right now.

"I can't wait to see you, little Adira.
Daddy loves you."

Avi smiled when he felt a little foot kick up. He loved talking a lot around Mitch because Adira kicked like crazy. It made Mitch yell at him lovingly because Adira kicked...hard. He kissed the stomach gently, smiling up at Scott.

"I love you, Adira."

A/N: Avi is going to be a good dad.:) He loves Adira so much, haha. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I love you all very, very, very, VERY much.:)

-Maddie🐧🐧🐧