Color

Fifty

Scott peeked into Alex and Avi's room the next morning, smirking a little at what half naked parts of their bodies he could see that weren't covered by blankets. 

He closed the door softly, and walked back into the kitchen. "Yeah, they definitely fucked."

"Scott, I didn't ask." Mitch snapped, his back to Scott as he carried on making breakfast.

"I know but like-- I knew it."

"Congrats? As if you couldn't tell by what happened on the couch last night?"

Scott just scoffed at him, leaning his lower back on the kitchen counter. "Someone's grumpy."

"Yeah well maybe if his partner hadn't woken him up a hundred times last night, he wouldn't be."

Scott pouted a little. "A hundred times..? Not even twice. And excuse me, nightmares are not my fault."

"No, they aren't. I know that. But if you'd just let me talk to you so you could fall back asleep, instead of laying on top of me to be funny and making me too uncomfortable to sleep--"

"It was just a joke, Mitch."

"I know, but you fell asleep there!" Mitch responded exasperatedly, still refusing to look at him. 

"On accident. You could've pushed me off."

"No, I couldn't have. Because when you fall asleep you're like a thousand pounds heavier."

"Okay, that's a mild exaggeration."

Kirstie skipped into the kitchen then, grabbing a piece of toast off of the plate beside Mitch. "Hey, babe." She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, before turning to skip over to Scott. 

Mitch turned to glance at her, about to make an offhand comment about how chipper she was this morning, until he noticed that she was already dressed with her hair and makeup done to an extent. "Where are you off to..?"

"Kyle invited me to a thing with his friends." 

Mitch just rolled his eyes, and turned back to breakfast.

Scott squinted a little. "Kirstie, I don't think you should--"

"No, it's totally safe. Don't even worry about it." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then set her half eaten toast on the counter before rushing toward the front door. "I'll see you guys later!"

Scott turned to watch her go. "Text me if you need anything."

Kirstie didn't respond, but nodded at him before she closed the door so he'd know that she heard him. 

Mitch was shaking his head when Scott looked at him again, and Scott picked up the leftover toast and started eating it. 

Scott took a step toward Mitch. "I'm sorry I kept you up all night, babe. I can finish breakfast if you want."

"You think I want to see this house go up in flames? Thanks but no thanks." He snapped again, still refusing to give Scott any eye contact. 

"I'm serious, babe. You didn't need to get up this early, if you didn't want to."

"Honestly, Scott? Could you please get out of my personal space right now? I just need to be alone for a little while, that's all."

"You'd rather be alone than..? What if I ran you a bath or put on your favorite movie, or--?"

"How about you get out of my face? All I'm asking for, is like twenty minutes without you being obnoxious in my direct vicinity."

Scott nodded slowly, ignoring the sting of those words because he knew Mitch was just upset. "Okay... Sorry."

Scott paused to think about it for a second, glancing down at what he was wearing before walking toward the front door to grab his keys. 

Mitch heard the jingle of the keys, and he glanced back. "So now you're going somewhere too?"

Scott froze, and then sighed loudly. "Mitchell, you're giving me whiplash right now. Do you want me to stay or not?"

Mitch reconsidered, and then turned back around to his food. "I don't care. Just be back in twenty to eat this."

"I'll try. Just wake Alex and Avi up and then they can eat it."

"Scott, I made breakfast for all of you. So I'll be damned if I let you skip out on it. Just... Be back soon, got it?"

"Got it."

*

When Scott walked back in the door, he had a coffee in his hands. He tossed his keys aside onto the table by the door, and nodded at Avi who was now sitting at the table eating breakfast. 

Avi nodded back, before looking down at his food, and pointing to something on it as he leaned toward Alex. "What the Hell is this?"

"Spinach, honey." Alex replied softly. 

"Spinach?" Avi said, sounding appalled. "I ain't no damn Popeye."

"Then eat around it, baby." Alex spoke gently, as if speaking to his child. "Mitch was just trying to put something healthy in it to guilt me into eating it."

Mitch was sitting across the table from them, and he rolled his eyes at Scott's back when Scott turned to close the door behind himself. It was just like Scott to avoid conflict by going out to get a coffee, and likely talking to all the attractive people in the store.

Scott could practically feel how annoyed Mitch was, so he walked over and sat down beside Mitch, pressing a quick kiss to Mitch's cheekbone. He then gently slid the rose out of his sweatshirt pocket, and put it on the table in front of Mitch. "For you."

Mitch looked up at the rose, and then eyed Scott in an unimpressed way. "Really?" He asked, sounding more annoyed than he had sounded when Scott left.

Scott nodded once, and then pushed the coffee toward Mitch too. "Accept my apology..? I hadn't meant to keep you up all night, babe."

Mitch stared at the coffee. "That's mine?"

"Obviously. You think I'd go out to get coffee without bringing one home for you?"

Mitch finally felt Scott's kindness begin to chip away at his anger. "Aw..." He smiled a little. "Thank you, honey."

Scott just gave him a less than confident smile. "Forgive me?"

Alex finally giggled a little, eyeing Scott. "In trouble again, huh?"

Mitch finally leaned over, one of his hands underneath Scott's chin as he kissed him once. Mitch then grinned at him, and looked into his hopeful blue eyes. "I forgive you, I guess. But I'm still exhausted."

"I know. I'm so sorry. We can nap after breakfast if you want. I mean... You can nap. If you're still annoyed by how obnoxious I am, I can leave you alone."

Mitch just shook his head slowly. "We'll see... Eat your breakfast for now, okay?"

"Can I do anything else first..?"

"If you really need something to make you feel better, you could go make our bed. And after you eat I'd like some help with the dishes..?"

"Done and done." Scott replied quickly, pressing a kiss to Mitch's forehead as he jumped out of his chair to rush down the hall. 

Mitch shook his head slowly at Scott, before looking down at his food. 

Avi stared at him. "You called him obnoxious..?"

"Yeah, kinda. But it's just because he kept me up all night and I woke up in a bad mood. He knows I didn't mean anything by it."

Avi nodded slowly. It wasn't really any of his business. "Alright... Just asking. I mean... If you don't honestly feel that way, make sure to tell him. He takes the shit you say to heart, y'know?"

"I know. I will, I promise."

**