30 Days of Drabbles

29: Patient

Prompt: Patient
Warnings/TWs: none
Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, kinda, Outsider POV, kinda, idk man, Mitch Uses She/Her Pronouns  

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"What are we doing, Scott?" Mitch whispers softly, finally bringing her gaze up to match Scott's. The tone of her voice breaks Scott's heart. It's fragile, vulnerable, all things that Scott doesn't associate with his bold, beautiful friend. "What is this? What are we?"

And the thing is, Scott wants to reassure her, wants to reach over and pull her into a hug, but he can't, because he doesn't know the answer. He doesn't know what they're doing. He doesn't know what they are. Well. They're good friends. Best friends. Somewhere more than best friends, because most best friends don't give each other goodnight kisses and share a bed and go everywhere together, and most best friends don't stay single by an unspoken contract for almost as long as they've known each other. Scott doesn't know what this is.

"I don't know, Mitch, I really don't. We're friends. Best friends. Are we more than that? Have we ever been more than that? Will we ever be more than that?" Scott replies a beat too late, voice just as soft as Mitch's.

One beat passes. Two. Three. Then it's ten, then fifteen. Twenty. They hold the eye contact, and Scott doesn't feel like he needs to look away. Thirty.

Mitch stands up, and Scott mirrors her. He's the first one to step forward, folding her tight into his arms as she buries her face into the junction of his neck and shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Scott, I'm so sorry," she says, muffled, and Scott squeezes her tighter.

"Nothing for you to be sorry for."

There's ten beats of silence.

"Are we okay?"

Scott nods. "Yeah. Yeah, we're okay, lovely."

"I love you," Mitch murmurs, pulling back a little and brushing a kiss across his cheek as she does. Scott cups her face gently in his hands and presses a kiss to her forehead. They're okay. Every cheek kiss and forehead kiss pattern is a semblance of normalcy, a reassurance that everything's okay even when it's not. Mitch always kisses his cheek. Scott always kisses her forehead. It's their okay.

"I love you too," Scott lets his lips brush Mitch's forehead one more time before she tucks herself back into his arms.

Scott's mum turns quietly from where she's been semi-concealed in the shadow of the doorway, and sighs softly when she's out of earshot. She'd heard the whole thing, and as much as she wants to step in and intervene and help them figure out what they are and what they're doing, it's not her place. She can only help if she's asked to, and she hasn't been. She sees the way Scott holds Mitch so, so tight, but she can also see the way Mitch digs her fingertips into Scott's back like she never wants to let go. She can see the way Scott gets lost so easily in Mitch's eyes, but she also sees the way Mitch's gaze lingers too long when Scott's not looking. She sees the way 'lovely' rolls so easily off Scott's tongue, one syllable more than she knows Scott wishes was okay, but she also sees the way Mitch's face softens at the pet name and the way she treats Scott with a particular gentleness that she doesn't spare for anyone else.

It's not as unrequited as Scott thinks it is. The problem is that Mitch's scared, terrified, even, to let herself feel what's obviously there. She doesn't want to ruin what she and Scott have, so they keep denying their feelings for each other and it's sad to watch, because she knows they'll just end up hurting each other more if they don't sit down and talk, but she has to be patient.

She has to be patient and let them figure it out themselves.

She tells Scott to be patient when he comes to her later with tears in his eyes, because Mitchy only loves me as a friend but I love her so much more than that.

Scott, darling, I know you don't want to be, but you have to be patient with her. She's scared to say where she's at, scared to trust her feelings.

Scott doesn't want to be patient. He loves Mitch for everything she is, for her wit and her beauty and her bravery. He loves how brave she is, choosing to use feminine pronouns as a boy in Texas and not standing for any bullshit from people who disagree.

He doesn't want to be patient, but he will because it's Mitch, the love of his life, his best, oldest, and closest friend. He'd wait forever for her if he had to.

Someday they'll have it all, but for now, they'll stay undefined and unspokenly committed to each other for forever.

-fin.