Incurable

Forty Nine

Mitch and Scott had now successfully made it back to their room, Mitch leading Scott to sit on his bed.

Scott just smiled up at him, curious as to what was happening.

"I wanna show you a shirt my mom got me! She gave it to me at the last visitation."

Scott nodded a few times, still beaming up at Mitch like he was the creator of the universe.

Mitch giggled, as his excitement bubbled over, and hurried over to his closet to grab said shirt. "Close your eyes!"

Scott obeyed, both hands over his eyes.

Mitch quickly changed shirts, not making more than a few noises here or there, until he turned to face Scott. "Okay. Honest opinions?"

Scott removed his hands from his face, but let them fall to his mouth as he stared at Mitch in shock.

The shirt was nothing fancy, just a loose fitting sweater that revealed Mitch's prominent collar bones, but Scott still thought it was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen Mitch wear.

Scott approached him slowly, eyes wide, hands still over his mouth as he stared intently at Mitch's shirt.

"Scotch? You like it?"

Scott nodded a few times, finally meeting Mitch's eyes. "Gorgeous."

"Really? You think so?" Mitch looked down at his shirt. "I like it too."

Scott suddenly hugged him tightly, not sure how else to make Mitch feel beautiful.

Mitch giggled, hugging him back. "Why, hello. You like it that much?"

Scott nodded, though his head was still against Mitch's shoulder. "Stunning."

*******

Kevin and Jake helped Alex walk back to his room, though he asked to go to Kirstie's for a minute, so they walked him down the hall a little further.

Which explains why Kirstie and Alex were now sitting beside each other in Kirstie's room.

Alex pointed at the other bed. "Who's she?"

"Oh, I don't have a roommate. I don't know why."

"Maybe I should've just stayed in here when I was hurt."

"You could've. Though... I doubt the nurses would have let you."

"I mean... That's probably true. I'm excited that you're getting out, by the way. You've come a long way."

"Thank you. I'm sure you'll get out as well."

Alex crossed his fingers. "Here's hoping."

"Anyhow... It's almost lights out. What did you need to talk about, Allie?"

"I just wanted to ask... If anything happens with me and Jake... Is it okay if I come to you about it? Scott's a good listener and all, I just... Sometimes I need feedback."

"Oh, of course! I'd love to help you out. Whenever you need anything."

Alex smiled at her, standing from the bed slowly. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." 

She was there in an instant to help him walk back to his room. 

As soon as they got to the room, Jake grinned at Alex and patted one side of the bed he was currently laying on. "Come here, Al." 

Though Alex didn't really want to, he did it anyway. He regretted the decision even more after Kirstie left the room. 

*******

In the morning, when Avi opened his eyes, he noticed Kevin standing by the window with a small smile on his face. 

Avi moved to sit up, squinting at Kevin. "Morning? What are you doing?" 

"There are cute birds out here, Avi. Come here and look." 

Avi reluctantly stood up, briefly stretching, before wandering over to the window. "Where?" 

Kevin pointed toward the ground, where a few birds were chirping in the grass. "Look." 

"Aw... They're so tiny..." Avi took a small step closer to the window, grinning widely. 

Kirstie knocked on their door suddenly, wandering in and waving at them. "Good morning guys!" 

Avi moved to make room for her by the window. "Kit, come here. Look how cute." 

"Oh, are Scott and Mitch outside already?" She asked genuinely, walking over to stand where Avi had asked her to. 

Avi laughed, Kevin grinning at her as he responded. "No. I found cute birds." 

At this same time, Mitch skipped down the hall to say hi to Alex, now that he'd taken his morning medications. 

Mitch knocked a few times impatiently, and then threw the door open, though he couldn't get the words out after the image passed through his head.

Alex and Jake were in the same bed, but that wasn't the shocking part. Alex was actually asleep. 

Jake stood up, noticing Mitch and smiling at him. "Hey. What's up?" 

"The nurses are coming around. I just wanted to say hi to Allie, but..." 

Jake glanced behind himself at the sleeping boy, grinning at him. "I know. I've never seen him sleep this long. Granted, he did wake up in the middle of the night as usual, but he was actually able to fall back asleep. Which is a nice change of pace, I think." 

Mitch skipped past Jake then, jumping into the bed and cuddling up to Alex while pulling the blankets over himself. "Your bed is so nice!" 

Alex peeked an eye open. "It's exactly like yours, little guy." 

Mitch gasped, reaching out to touch Alex's face. "Oh, you're awake! Hi!" 

"Hey." He mumbled, rubbing one of his eyes as he tried to wake up as quickly as possible. 

Scott hurried into the room then, eyes wide in fear, but he let out a relieved breath when he saw Mitch sitting by Alex. 

Jake walked to the bathroom, giving Scott a wink as he went by. "Don't freak out. He's not going anywhere without you." 

Scott just frowned, standing in the doorway, staring at his hands. 

As the bathroom door closed behind Jake, Mitch turned over on his back to open his arms toward Scott. "Come here. Mitchie needs a cuddle." 

Alex moved over as much as he could, Mitch turning to face him so Scott could lay behind him.

Alex spoke suddenly, after Scott had gotten comfortable. "Guess who's going to see their counselor today regarding an early out?" 

Mitch gasped. "Scotchie is! Are you doing it too?" 

"Yeah, I am. Well... Fingers crossed for the both of us then, huh?" 

Scott nodded, but then nuzzled his nose into the back of Mitch's neck so he could go back to sleep. 

He knew he'd be disappointed if the early out was denied, so he decided not to get his hopes up. And instead, he took a nap.

****