HUMAN

Chapter Twenty

A/N: Cute and fluffy, but... to be continued ;) 

I Love You Always Forever (cover) - Betty Who

***

It only took them an hour to down the entire bottle of wine, as they relaxed on the couch, finding comfort through fits of laughter. Mitch put his confusing feelings to the side, just happy that Scott arrived home safe today. It didn't matter what their relationship was, as long as they had each other. He somehow made everything better. His presence was calming. They were flipping through worn-out pages of some old gossip magazines that they found on the bus, feeling a great amount of sentimentality towards the incredibly trivial things that used to be so "important".

"I wonder if there are any Kardashians still floating around out there," Mitch considered. "Or Beyoncé. She probably has some secret, Illuminati, underground shelter for all the A-listers that no one else ever knew about... That's it! Beyoncé is Santos. Mystery solved."

"And she didn't invite us? Hmm.. unlikely," Scott joked.

"Huh, this article says that Oprah was considering running for President. How great would that have been? I love that queen." Mitch said.

"Again?" Scott asked, nonchalantly.

"What?" Mitch laughed and gave Scott a confused look.

"Wasn't she a politician before her show and... like, her network stuff?" Scott asked, embarrassed he just said something stupid.

"No, sweetheart. Not at all, I..." Mitch rubbed Scott's arm. "It's a really good thing you're pretty."

Scott's jaw dropped, "Can you not drag me on your birthday, the holiest of days, please?"

They both laughed, but quickly moved on, to not add to his embarrassment.

"Oh my God. I almost forgot. I found something for you when we were out too," Scott said.

He reached into his backpack.

"I know you were really excited about going to Iceland again for your birthday this year and this won't make up for it at all. I know. But, with everything going on... We're supposed to count our blessings, appreciate the little things, right?"

"Right..." Mitch confirmed with furrowed eyebrows. Scott handed him an oddly shaped, almost circular gift, poorly wrapped in an old newspaper. He eagerly watched as Mitch began to unwrap it. He then covered his mouth with his hands and clenched his teeth in anticipation. Mitch finally freed his gift from its wrapping. "No... How???" 

Mitch stared at the vintage Walkman in his hands and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. It had a small pile of spare batteries set on top of it, wrapped with a pair of bejeweled, burgundy earbuds. It was set on a small set of CDs: including Now That's What I Call the 90s, Imogen Heap's Ellipse album, and the Wicked cast recording.

"Scott... Are you kidding me?"

Scott looked embarrassed and started to ramble, while Mitch just stared, bewildered. They were all supposed to just try to stay alive, to survive every day. But, Scott took precious time during an incredibly dangerous situation to pick Mitch out a perfect, sentimental gift for his birthday. What would motivate him to do something so thoughtful... and so selfless? Then... it hit him. This wasn't one way. It couldn't have been. He watched, fondly, as Scott continued rambling.

"If you think it's stupid, I totally understand. I just thought, music always seemed to make you happy, ya know? It was a huge part of your life that just, kind of like- with everything that's happened, it disappeared. It-it wasn't an important part of your day anymore... and maybe it should be. This could be an escape for both of us, like it was before. I just figured you could use that right now. Plus, it's been way too long since I've gotten to hear you sing. I know you try to be respectful of everyone's space and don't want to hog the electricity. But, I figured you could take this outside and just belt it out, whenever you want to and wherever you're comfortable. I'd like to hear it though. You have a pretty voice."

Mitch lunged at Scott, grabbing him and hugging him so tight. He was nearly smothering him to death. Scott quickly wrapped his arms around him too, as they melted into each others warmth. Mitch found such solace in Scott's arms. In this moment, he came to the realization that this familiar embrace always was his favorite, safest place to be. There was nothing wrong with that. If it made him happy, how could it be wrong? His suffocatingly tight bear hugs offered more feelings of nostalgia than any sentimental magazine, childhood memento, or old album ever possibly could. His touch, his smell, the way he always tucked his head into Mitch's neck and then clutched onto his shirt towards the end of their hugs. He wanted them to stay in this little, perfect space forever, as if nothing had ever changed.

But it had.

Nothing was the same anymore. Except. They still had this, right? They still had each other? They both desperately hoped they always would.

He looked up at his best friend who was just staring down at him with a small, crooked smile. Scott searched his face, momentarily glancing at his lips, as if he were wishing for even a tiny hint of a smile in return.

"Your eyes..." Mitch whispered, immediately wanting to take those very words back. But, he was hypnotized, frozen in the moment and he didn't quite know why. He's seen those eyes a billion times before, but right now....they were unbelievably blue. As the world around them merely seemed to get darker, Mitch could only focus on how bright these boy's eyes were.

Were they always this shade of blue, he thought to himself. Without realizing what he was doing, he began to gently weave his fingers through Scott's hair... indefinitely unwilling to break eye contact. He wouldn't dare. Not even for one second. Not for a millisecond. Not possible.

"I think they're my favorite color," Mitch stated, this time with no regret in his voice.

"I thought your favorite color was burgundy," Scott said with a coy smile, proudly exhibiting the tiny cluster of laugh lines that always bunched up near the corners of his mouth whenever his smiles were really big. Mitch bit his lower lip at the sweet sight and, before he could process his next move, he was already pressing his lips to Scott's. Scott pulled back for a very brief second, before he faintly smiled and leaned into Mitch's arms once again. Their lips moved perfectly in sync with one another, as if they were always supposed to be like this.

I guess some things had changed. 

***

"You've got the most unbelievable blue eyes I've ever seen. You've got me almost melting away. As we lay there, under a blue sky with pure white stars, exotic sweetness, a magical time."