Witness Protection (Revised Edition)

4

"Dad..." A deep voice echoed from the blinding light. I shielded my eyes as the silhouette of a man drew near. He was well over six feet tall and rather slender. Even with how close we were, I couldn't make many features out past the glare of what I assumed was the sun. All I could see was a smile. A bright, gentle smile that put my heart at ease. It made me want to smile, too.

"I did it! I made valedictorian!" He shouted in my face with enough pride for the both of us.

I was a bit off-put by it, but the joy welled up as I started to realize who was in front of me.
"Really? That must make you one smart kid, then," I raised a brow, still keeping a genuine smile. A sense of pride permeated my being.
"I could never be as smart as you, but I try," The man's smile beamed down at me with the heat of a raging fire. Equally comforting as it was unsettling, it made me realize I was touching his face. His skin was so smooth, like a baby's.
"I'm proud of you regardless of how smart you become." I smiled back, caressing his abnormally squishy cheek. He leaned into my touch and hummed with satisfaction. His head weighed my hand down, and slowly his head moved to reveal the light in its full fury; blinding me. A vast whiteness wiped everything out of my sight.

------

Mitch awoke to the sun's aggressive glare, drawing a faint cringe that made him flip onto his other side. Mason was easy to spot afterward, within his grasp and safely within the boundaries of the rather high hotel bed. It took him a second to realize where he was, and even longer to get to why. The agent wasn't anywhere to be seen. Mitch shivered a little and curled into himself, staring blankly at the wall as he tried to pull his thoughts together.

The brunette assumed he was simply in the restroom and slipped from the blankets to check for himself. However, the restroom was empty and open for use. A jolt of fear shot through his body as the door's lock clicked, and the man's instincts kicked in.

"Ahhh!" Mitch squeaked as Scott barged through the door like the police. He nearly leapt through the ceiling.

The blonde didn't flinch, merely amused by how similar the reaction was to his cat. He slid into the room and shut the door behind him with a slight chuckle, "Glad you're finally awake. I brought a gift, though I was expecting you to be asleep when I got back..." Unbeknownst to Scott, he'd instantly made up for his stunt by presenting a freshly brewed iced coffee.

"Oooh," Mitch accepted it with grace, unhappy that it was vanilla instead of caramel but grateful for caffeine anyway. Scott gestured toward the table near the window, leading them to sit and enjoy their chilled beverages without a single care about the chilling temperatures outdoors.

"So... how old is Mason?" The agent tried to break the ice a bit, mentally calculating how much longer it would take to really get into the meat of his current assignment. A rough guess would be tomorrow or the day after that. He wanted to know a little more about what he was getting himself into, and who he was protecting. If he was a friend of the chief, he had to have some serious connections. Even so, Mitch was so young that he felt like he was babysitting two children.
"He's five months old. Just started teething, actually..." Mitch answered, glancing over at the snoozing baby, "How old are you?"

Scott was slightly caught off guard by having the question redirected, but he also had an excellent poker face. "Twenty-seven." He chimed calmly, hoping the brunette wouldn't ask too many questions, "having a kid so young sounds like hell, especially for someone like you." Scott watched Mitch closely, intrigued by the airy way he carried himself. It was like watching a butterfly in a field, effortlessly flutter through endless flowers. Mitch took a quick breath to prepare himself to speak again, and even something so simple was handled as if it needed to be controlled at all times.
"I do my best to focus on moving forward. It's hard, don't get me wrong... but I can't imagine life without him. Ya know?" He looked out the window and watched the busy streets with a sip of his coffee. Of course, he pondered terminating the pregnancy, and the possibility was one he'd been given support for, but Mitch wanted to see what he looked like. His mother even told him she'd had an abortion at his age. Regardless of his decision, the unconditional support he got made the prospect of early fatherhood easy to stomach.