Lifeline (Scomiche)

Five

He rubbed Mitch's back, relaxing a bit as the brunette snuggled against him. "I think I'm gonna put in a noise complaint tomorrow. He gets so close to being abusive every single time they fight like this, you know? Like the threats and the screaming and crying, it's all too much. I hope she does call the cops on his ass, I want them to break up so bad. Could you imagine living like that?"

Mitch softly shook his head and felt Scott lift the blanket for a second to press a kiss to the top of his head. Part of him wanted to fall right asleep all wrapped up like this but he could tell Scott wanted to talk to get his mind off of the angry couple exploding at each other next door. He closed his eyes and whispered back, hoping Scott could hear his quiet voice through the blanket. "No, I couldn't. We're so lucky."

"We are. Especially me. You're always so good to me, Mitchie. You're my best friend, you keep me going. We're never gonna be like them."

"Never. Love you too much."

"I know you do. You're my everything." He trailed his hand up a little higher, rubbing between Mitch's shoulder blades. "How was your day? Did you have a good shift tonight?"

"Uh huh." He snaked a hand under Scott's shirt and let it rest on his abdomen, wanting to touch him. He thought about telling Scott that he was too tired to talk anymore but pushed the though away. Scott was being so sweet and lovey and all he wanted was a conversation to distract him and put his mind to rest. How could Mitch take him for granted and ignore him when he knew he could've just as easily ended up with someone like that awful man nextdoor? Mitch knew that he was Scott's comfort and that it would be cruel to leave him hanging when all he wanted was to hear Mitch's voice, so he tried to think of more to say. "It was fine. I was in ER tonight so it was kinda hard. I hate the emergency room. I have to see the worst things in there."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Once your rotations are over you'll never have to do ER again. Was school okay?"

"Yeah, I got a lot of studying done in between classes. Oh, Alex invited me to his house party Friday, you wanna come?"

Scott tried to remember his work schedule for Friday and was relieved when he realized he was free. Alex was one of the two friends he'd made freshman year who'd gone into nursing with Mitch and he was always happy to see him. He liked that Mitch's friend group and his own had at least had some overlap while he was in college, it had let him keep a connection with them after Scott dropped out. "Sure! I'm free after six. Is Kirstie coming?"

"Probably. If she's not already she will once I tell her you're gonna be there. She loves partying with you."

"I know, I miss her. What are you gonna wear?"

"I don't know." Mitch tried hard to stifle a heavy yawn. "Clothes."

"Can I do your hair and makeup?"

"Mhm. Of course."

"Yay." Scott smiled, moving his hand lower to rub Mitch's side. "Are you gonna get wasted?"

"Probably."

"That's okay, I'll drive. Hey, when do you have to be up?"

"Eleven. I have a lab at noon."

"Oh, shit." Scott glanced at his watch and felt selfish for keeping him up so late. It was nearly 5am and Mitch hadn't gotten any sleep, whereas he'd been in bed since before midnight. "Sorry baby, I'll leave you alone. Sweet dreams."

He didn't even get a response. Mitch's body was already getting heavier on top of him as he drifted closer and closer towards sleep while Scott rubbed his back until his arm got tired. Half an hour later Scott gave up on sleep entirely, just laying on the couch and enjoying being at home. It was nice to just lay on the couch with Mitch's weight pressing against him. It was comforting. Mitch looked like an oversized burrito with the blanket loosely wrapped his whole body all the way up over his head and Scott wished he had his phone so he could take a picture of him laying on top of him like this. They hadn't had to sleep in the living room for a long time and when the dim light from sunrise began to filter through the blinds Scott began to notice how bare it was, particularly the walls. He made a mental note to try to fix that by hanging up some pictures or paintings or something once he got a chance to.

By the time he only had an hour before work, he was finally getting sleepy again and he hated himself for it. He carefully got off of the couch and went to the bedroom to change for work, coming back into the living room with his own pillow to prop up against Mitch's head so that the sunlight wouldn't get in his eyes and wake him up. He quietly made his lunch in the kitchen and packed it away before deciding to make Mitch something, too. It had been a long time since he'd made Mitch's lunch since he was always so busy and he missed doing it. It was comforting to know he was being sent off with a good lunch rather than having to check Mitch's wallet in secret to make sure he was spending the weekly lunch money Scott wordlessly slipped into it every Sunday night.

He left him a nice little note on a post-it and pressed it onto the baggy he'd put Mitch's sandwich in, setting it next to his backpack so that he wouldn't miss it. He checked his schedule on his phone one more time as he made his way downstairs to unchain his bike from the racks. All he had to do today was smile from behind a cash register from 7am to noon and then work at Esther's salon from 1pm to 8pm. That was doable. Only about fourteen hours until he could come home and sleep again, hopefully without any interruptions this time.