Push.

25. Well, I Will.

Author's Note: Finale :( Feel free to read the author's note at the end.

25. Well, I Will.

Mitch entered their apartment just before dinnertime, but stopped in the threshold when he saw him.

Scott was seated at their kitchen table, rubbing his eyes with his palms, his neck flushed.

Mitch circled behind him, wrapping his arms around the broader shoulders, before placing a kiss to the top of his head.

Scott didn't flinch, despite not seeing the contact coming. He melted into the touch, a sign of ultimate trust and comfort, and pulled his hands from his eyes.

Mitch eyed the computer screen in front of him. A giant word document sat glaring at them.

"Bad day?" Mitch asked, reaching up a hand to run through the blond strands.

"Just tired."

"Well, lucky for you, we have a nice, big bed that will help with that. If you forgot where it is, I would be more than happy to show it to you."

Scott laughed. Mitch's favorite sound. Definitively.

"This is due at midnight. It's my last one. Then I plan on staying in that bed with you until graduation day."

His voice held a gruffness that indicated that he might fall asleep sitting up if they weren't careful.

They had both been working themselves to the bone. Mitch had completed his last final exam of his undergraduate career just yesterday. This paper was Scott's final one for his master's degree.

Mitch shifted his embrace, walking around the front of the taller man and settling down on his lap. He found the crook of his neck and inhaled.

Vanilla and cedar.

Two years later, and he couldn't get enough of it.

Fingertips trailed up and down Mitch's spine, lazily, as Scott gazed at the computer screen. Mitch placed a kiss to his cheek before speaking. "I'll take care of dinner. You just get this done as fast as possible. Deal?"

Lips were pressed to Mitch's throat in response, and he hopped off of his lap, feeling content.

He worked quietly in an effort not to disturb his boyfriend's train of thought. He found himself zoning out as he watched him type, admiring the way that he bit his lip while he was deep in thought, the way his eyebrows furrowed when he clearly confused himself, and the way that his knee bounced up and down, clearly to a rhythm of a song that was stuck in his head.

He loved all of those things about him.

He allowed his mind to wander as he chopped some vegetables.

It had been just shy of two years since the last time he saw his hallucination. He found that he didn't miss it in the slightest. Scott's plan had worked perfectly. As months went by and it hadn't returned like some horrible nightmare, Mitch found himself opening up to Scott Hoying more and more.

Within six months, it was as though every negative thought about giving himself completely to someone was gone.

Was he free from his demons? Absolutely not. Hallucinations and delusions had certainly taken other forms. But they were few and far between, and with Scott there, it wasn't so terrifying, anymore.

Dr. Chastain frequently called Mitch her biggest success story during their sessions. Sure, she was always joking, but he was pretty sure that there was some truth to it.

He was proud of Scott, too. Mitch knew that he could be snippy. He knew that he wasn't always as sweet as Scott deserved. But Scott was doing an incredible job of pointing these moments out to him, and Mitch was proud of himself for listening and changing his behavior, instead of becoming defensive or running away.