The Pact (Scömìche)(completed)

15 Connections and games

A/N

Longer chapter, to fit in all the drama...

The movie flew by, with lots of singing and laughter. Scott relaxed, happy that his first choice went over so well. When it ended he put the lights on, and while people stretched and took comfort breaks, he jumped up to replenish the food and drink.

"Scott, sit down." Esther came over and pressed him back into his seat. "Everyone here is perfectly capable of getting what they want."

"But-"

"No buts." She sat next to him and swung her legs over his lap, easily fitting into the space. "Now, stay."

Scott threw up his hands in mock-defeat, and when a glass of wine appeared in front of him he glanced up.

"You still like red?" Mitch asked.

"Yeah, now and again. Could you bring one for this lady here, she's pinned me to my seat and won't let me get up."

"Sure, we can serve ourselves y'know."

Scott took the glass and sipped, avoiding eye contact.

Soon Mitch returned and passed Esther a glass of white wine.

"Grazie," she said, blowing Mitch a kiss. He took a seat next to Kirstie and started chatting.

"Does everybody but me know Italian?" Scott muttered.

"Come on, thank you is pretty basic. Darien took me to Venice for our tenth anniversary, in fact we double dated with Avi and Saskia. A few words go a long way to breaking the ice." Esther took a long drink, half emptying her glass. "That's nice."

"Okay, maybe you can teach me later. Right now, we need another movie."

Scott clapped his hands. "Okay, suggestions for movie number two, go!"

A chorus of suggestions and small arguments met him, and he put his hands over his ears with a smile. The films named varied wildly, and not all were available on his media player. Of course he could download them, but that would take time. He didn't want to kill this warm, spontaneous vibe.

He couldn't have been happier than in that moment, with Kirstie shouting random movie names while sitting on Jeremy's lap, Kevin looking up some detail on his phone, Lynn pouring drinks and Avi whispering in his wife's ear, making her giggle and play with his hair. And Mitch watched them all. He looked up and caught Scott's eye. He didn't look away, and for a moment understanding sparked between the two men.

This is what we needed, what we've missed, what we lost when we moved on.

Scott watched Mitch's smile widen, bringing out his dimples. Then Kirstie came over to explain why her choice was obviously the best one. Scott joined in with the lively discussion. The connection was broken, but he didn't mind. He had shared something with Mitch, however brief, and that was what mattered.

It took thirty minutes to choose the next film and get settled again. The latest James Bond movie was sufficiently glamorous and thrilling by turns to keep everyone interested. Theatrical whoops and whistles accompanied the scary or sexy scenes.

At the end of the movie the signature theme played, and Mitch started to sing along. The rest of the group fell silent.

One by one, each singer joined in. Kevin added the beats, and Avi supplied bass. Scott, Jeremy, Kirstie and Mitch sang, and in the dark six voices created a little magic, weaving around each other and filling in where they didn't know the words. Hesitant at first, by the end of the song they were giving it their all. Scott's voice cracked, but it didn't matter. Lynn, Esther and Saskia broke into applause.