Bits and Pieces

Constellations

Here's another drabble that got out of control. Consider this as taking place in the Glasgow universe, shortly after Dublin Dawn, but it stands on its own as well. I clearly don't know how to take a break, but they just keep giving me more and more to work with.

Pour mes amies.

*****

Mitch woke up twenty minutes before the alarm, but he wasn't mad about it. He liked this quiet time to look over at the sprawled, sleeping giant next to him in the big hotel bed. This had been the most amazing week of his life, and that was really saying something, as his life was always pretty fantastic lately. Since he and Scott had made things official though... It was like his own little heaven on earth.

There had been some nights spent on the bus, nights when they couldn't fall asleep in each other's arms, but would text one another until they fell asleep. Other nights, one of their hotel rooms would lie empty, while the other was destroyed by their aggressive coupling. As amazing as the nights were, Mitch almost loved the mornings more. Either sitting across from Scott on the bus as they ate their cereal, shyly avoiding his sleepy blue gaze, or here in a plush bed, watching his back rise and fall as he slept--it was all magical.

It had taken Esther a few days to warm up to the idea of Scott and Mitch now being a package deal that once again required only one hotel room. Mitch could tell she was hesitant to cancel the extra room, but with Paris as their next stop, and no sign of their affection fading, she decided to take the risk. When they checked in, however, there had been a misunderstanding. Rather than Scott's and Mitch's reservations being combined, they were both canceled, and the hotel was fully booked. The only room available had been a suite on the top floor, featuring two huge bedrooms, a massive lounge, and the biggest bathroom Mitch had ever seen. Esther cringed at the idea of paying for two nights in that palace of a room, but the hotel assumed responsibility for the mistake and begged to upgrade them for free. No one could argue with that.

Mitch had been to Paris before, more than once. He hadn't seen all there was to see of course, but no tower or museum could tempt him to leave Scott's arms for any length of time. They spent their off day using their marginally passable French accents to call down and order food and champagne, which they indulged in between rounds in their ongoing naked wrestling match.

A slow stretch of his limbs this morning confirmed that Mitch was still sore all over and in no way ready to initiate anything physical. He let himself just look on as the sunlight glowed over the bit of Scott's skin visible around the blankets.

There was a trio of freckles visible in the shadow of Scott's left shoulder blade. Mitch stared at them, connecting them with a line in his mind and being reminded of something that he couldn't quite place. Another few minutes and he realized where he'd seen that slightly bent line before. It resembled the three stars at the center of the constellation Orion, the part that made up the hunter's belt.

The idea came to him in a flash of inspiration, and a smile broke over his face as he slipped out of bed carefully and quietly. He switched off the alarm on Scott's phone, choosing to wake the boy more gently. Then he rummaged through his bulging makeup bag until he found what he was looking for: a black eyeliner pen with a fine felt tip. This wasn't an item he used often, but it was perfect for his needs now.

He climbed delicately back into the bed and with a steady left hand, connected the three dots. He had his pick of freckles to complete the design, and chose two above and two below the slightly uneven "belt" until he had a reasonable copy of the constellation he'd seen so often in the sky. It looked like a rectangular torso with a cinched waist, or else like a slightly crooked hourglass.