the book of fluff (that usually isn't)

break a little pt. 2

"911, what's your emergency?"

"M-My boyfriend, he's unconscious, I- I don't know what happened—"

"Alright, sir, calm down. Give us your location, we'll send an ambulance right away."

Mitch was still crying when the ambulance arrived, wondering what on earth had happened last night.

+++

Mitch was curled up in the chair by Scott's hospital, tears steadily flowing down his cheeks, when Scott woke up. He looked around confusedly, but his breathing hitched in fear when he saw Mitch and pressed himself as far away from as he could get, pulling his hand away from Mitch's grip and holding it to his chest. Mitch looked up at the movement, and he immediately let out a sob of relief, not noticing the fear in Scott's eyes. "Oh, thank God you're okay... What happened? I- I woke up and you were unc-conscious."

When Scott realized that Mitch was too drunk to remember anything that happened, he didn't know what to do. Should he tell Mitch that he was the one who beat him and knocked him unconscious? What if he got mad?

"I fell down the stairs," he murmured eventually, forcing a small smile at him. "It's okay. I'm fine." Mitch sobbed softly in relief and rested his head on Scott's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I woke up this morning naked with some other guy. I think we had sex," he whimpered guiltily, and Scott's heart ached. "It's okay," he whispered, though he knew it wasn't.

Mitch squeezed himself in bed next to Scott and cradled his head against his chest, but this time, he noticed the way Scott flinched away when he got too close. "What's wrong?" he whispered, caressing his cheek. Scott's breathing hitched and he quickly averted his eyes. "Nothing, M-Mitchy. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You flinched away from me." Mitch paused, and suddenly realization dawned on him. "Oh. Did- Did I do this?" he whispered shakily, slowly withdrawing his hands from Scott. Scott shook his head much too quickly, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "No, Mitchy. I f-fell down the stairs." A lump formed in Mitch's throat and tears brimmed in his eyes. "Oh, my God. I did this," he whispered, his breathing quickening as he scrambled to get out of the bed. "Oh, my God. I-..." He stared at his own shaking hands, his eyes wide with fright. "I'm a monster." Scott yelled at himself for letting Mitch figure it out. He yelled at himself for being afraid of him. "No, Mitchy, it's okay. I was annoying you. Please don't say that," he said quietly, and he scooted over to give Mitch room. "Come back." Mitch shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself, trembling. "No. I can't go near you. I put you in the fucking hospital, Scott," he sobbed softly, pressing himself as far away from Scott as he could get. Scott's breathing picked up, and a lump formed in his throat. "It's okay. It was my fault, I swear. You wanted to have sex with that guy but I was being selfish so you got mad at me. It was my fault," he whimpered, his heart aching at the thought of the words Mitch said the night before. He told himself over and over that Mitch didn't mean them, but as people always said, a drunk mind speaks a sober heart.

Mitch sobbed softly and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I can't- I can't stay with you anymore. I p-promised I wouldn't hurt you and I wouldn't cheat on you and we'd be happy, but I did both of those things. You deserve so much better." Scott shook his head frantically, starting to tremble. "N-No, Mitchy. Please don't leave me," he whimpered, reaching for him desperately. "It's ok-kay. Don't leave. Please." Mitch sniffled and rubbed his eyes, but he decided he'd stay for now. He couldn't leave Scott, the one he'd almost killed, if he wanted him to stay. "I'll stop drinking," he whispered as he crawled in bed beside him. Scott sighed shakily in relief and immediately latched onto his side, burying his face in Mitch's neck. "You don't have to do that, Mitchy. It's okay."

"You keep saying that, baby, but it's not. I literally beat you to the point of unconsciousness and slept with another man last night. Again. You wouldn't think it was okay if you were the one doing it to me, right? You wouldn't allow yourself near me for fear you'd do it again. I was drunk last night. And everything was going so well before. If I stop drinking, there won't ever be the possibility of that again."

Scott wanted to say that he could make Mitch mad and Mitch would beat him again, but he didn't. "But you love to drink. I don't want to take that away from you."

"Scott," Mitch said softly, cupping of Scott's cheeks and tilting his head up so he had to meet his eyes, "if it means I could stay with you, I'll do it. Anything for you. I love you so, so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm sorry I've put you through so much, and I understand if you want to leave me. And I know I said it before, but this time I'll be better. I won't drink, and we'll be happy."

Scott's breathing hitched at the thought of marrying Mitch, and he couldn't help but nod. "Okay," he whispered. "But if you're not drinking, I'm not drinking." Mitch softened and pulled him into his arms, holding him as tightly as he dared. "Thank you, Scotty. I love you." Scott blushed at his words, and he decided right then and there that he would never get tired of hearing Mitch say them. He pushed the memory of Mitch telling him he didn't care about him away and allowed himself to melt into Mitch. "I love you more," he mumbled, closing his eyes and burying his face in Mitch's neck. Mitch gently held his head there, pressing a kiss to his hair. "I love you most."