Black And White

Seventy Six

Scott turned the car off after parking in Mitch's driveway. "Can I come with you so I can change my shirt?"

"Yeah, of course." Mitch pushed his door open, but cringed a little when he tried to move his torso to step out of the car. "Would you maybe..?"

Scott glanced over at him, quickly getting the message and hurrying over to Mitch's side of the car. He held a hand up to help Mitch step down from the truck. "Sorry, babe..."

"Don't be. I think I'm overdue for my medication, that's all. It's normal."

"But... Are you okay? I can maybe ask Avi to trade cars with me until you feel better. His is shorter and it'd be easier for you to get in and out of it."

Mitch clung to Scott's arm as they walked up to the door. "No, no don't be silly. It's okay." He cringed a little at each step, very excited to see the front door. "We gotta hurry."

Scott frowned at him, and then bent down a little to slide his opposite hand under Mitch's knees to pick him up like a bride. "I gotcha, it's okay."

Mitch groaned a little, placing a hand over his injured ribs. "They should be on the kitchen counter."

Scott fished Mitch's house key out of Mitch's front pocket, before trying to balance his boy with his hand and elbow, using the hand that was previously under Mitch's knees to unlock the front door. "Take deep breaths for me, baby. I'll take care of you."

Mitch obeyed him, allowing Scott's voice to distract him from the pain. "Okay."

Scott listened to him take a few breaths, before he slowly walked into Mitch's home, careful not to jostle him too much. "You're doing so good, baby. You're so strong, I'm so so proud of you."

Mitch grinned a little, as he felt Scott lay him down on the kitchen counter, Scott's hand lowering his head slowly. "Just lay here a sec while I grab you some water. Keep breathing, Cutie."

Mitch watched Scott hurry around the kitchen to half fill a glass of water and grab a pill for Mitch. "Thank you." He mumbled, hand still pressing his wounded ribs to calm the pain a little.

Scott then put an arm behind Mitch to help him sit up, keeping his hand there even after Mitch was comfortable just to be sure. He then offered the water to Mitch so he could take his medication.

Mitch quickly did so, and then handed the glass back over. "Thank you."

"Stop saying that, honey. It's no problem at all."

Mitch nodded slowly, as Scott leaned over to kiss his forehead.

Scott put the glass back, scooping Mitch back up into his arms to carry him into the living room to lay him on the couch carefully. "Just wait here for a bit, okay? I'm gonna go get your stuff out of the car and put it in your room. Are you okay here for a minute or so? Can I get you anything?"

"Nope. I'm all good." Mitch assured, and Scott turned to hurry back outside.

It took him all of thirty seconds to come back, not that Mitch was counting or anything.

Scott grinned at him, closing the front door before he placed Mitch's backpack on the coffee table. "Is it okay for me to go through this? I just wanna grab your wallet before I put it in your room."

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Do you need anything else out of here?"

Mitch shook his head, so Scott walked away to toss Mitch's bag into his room, before he came back.

Scott then held up the two jerseys that Alex had given him. "Which one do you want, babe? I don't think you'll need a jacket, so."

Mitch hummed. "I want you to wear the white one."

"Mkay." Scott handed the black one over. "Why doesn't he need these today? How many jerseys does he have?"

"Four. These are for away games."

"Oh... That makes sense. Cool." Scott tossed his own shirt onto the back of the couch, and Mitch smiled up at him.

Scott blinked down at him. "What are you staring at?"

"The man I love." Mitch mumbled, before giggling a little. "Will you please help me do this?"

"Of course." Scott hurried forward, tossing his own jersey over his shoulder for temporary keeping, as he helped Mitch sit up again and took the darker jersey to put on Mitch's shirt for him.

Mitch hissed a little as he rose his arms, the action of elongating his torso hurting his ribs a little bit.

Scott froze for a second. "Hey, easy. Just take it slow, babe. That pill will kick in any minute now. I'm here to help you."

Mitch nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as he raised his arms again for Scott to help him pull his shirt up and off, before sliding the jersey onto him.

Mitch relaxed then, allowing Scott to adjust the jersey so it looked nicer. "Does it look okay?"

Scott grinned at him. "Absolutely. You look so cute."

"Thank you." Mitch giggled, looking down at himself as well. When he looked back up at Scott, who was still partially bent over him, he grinned and reached out to poke his stomach. "Will you wear Alex's jacket and... Leave it unbuttoned?"

"Pretty sure the school administrators will have something to say about it."

"But... You're so handsome. Maybe they'll look past it."

Scott watched Mitch's eyes scanning his stomach, and he couldn't find words. For some reason he was stuck on how sincere Mitch looked.

Scott suddenly covered his stomach with his hands, feeling too exposed under Mitch's eyes. "Oop-- Sorry, babe, I forgot how much you hate that."

"Hate what?" Mitch reached out to pull one of Scott's hands down. "Don't cover yourself."

Scott took a step away from him. "You hate when I let that hair grow all crazy."

"When have I ever said that?"

"You didn't have to say it. I can just tell." Scott hurried to toss his uniform over his head, pinching at the tightness around his shoulders. "I always forget that Alex isn't as broad as I am."

"Scott, don't change subjects like--"

"But at least you look good. You ready to go?"

"You're seriously gonna--?"

"Let me help you up, baby." Scott interrupted again, reaching out to help him stand.

Mitch tried to stop him. "Wait, we need to talk about--"

"No. We don't. Come on." Scott tried to pull him up, but Mitch pushed on him so he'd let go.

"It's important that you know that I don't mind any hair on you, Scottie. I love you exactly how you are."

"It's not important. It's really not." Scott tried once more to pull him up, but Mitch cried out at Scott's tug on his upper body. Scott immediately flinched away with wide eyes. "Shit, sorry."

Mitch closed his eyes, pressing his hand on his ribs again where it was now throbbing in pain. "It's fine." He snapped.

Scott just stared at him. "I'm so sorry... Do you want me to leave?"

"Leave? No. We have a game to get to. And I can't drive while I'm on these meds."

Scott shook his head quickly. "You're right... Sorry, I didn't mean to overreact like that... I didn't mean to hurt you, babe. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Help me up." Mitch held out his hands, and Scott very carefully helped him stand up.

Scott stared at him for a little longer. "Are you ready to go, Cutie?"

"Mhmm. And just.. To re-emphasize... I love all the hair on your stomach. I really do."

"Sure."

Mitch's smile fell a little. "Don't give me that. I'm being serious."

"Okay."

Mitch rolled his eyes. "You're such a pain. But you look damn good in that uniform."

**