(A/N)
SORRY SORRY SORRY OMFG
I'M STILL AT STATE
I LOVE YOU THOUGH
I'M SORRYYYYYYY
********
Jake went back to his own hotel room after about an hour of Alex sleeping on him.
He decided he didn't want Alex to get attached to him before Avi's pack had to leave.
Alex walked back out of the bathroom, relieved to have clothes on again, but his smile faded. "Where'd Jake go?"
Scott patted the bed beside him. "He had to leave. Come here, Al."
Alex walked over and sat beside them, Mitch hooked to Scott's other side.
Scott gave Alex a sad smile. "You should sleep some more. You've got lots of healing to do."
Alex pouted, setting his head on Scott's shoulder. "But I'm bored... And I miss Jakey..."
"You've only known him for a few hours, Xander."
"So? How long did you know Mitchie before you knew you liked him?"
Scott nodded slowly. "Good point."
Mitch looked up at him. "Wait... How long did it take?"
Scott just smiled and shook his head. "Not long."
"Like... A week?"
"More like... Two seconds." Scott replied honestly.
Mitch giggled. "No, I mean it. Really. How long?"
"I'm serious. Almost the exact second I saw you. Then you pushed it over the edge as soon as you spoke to me for the first time. Then I shook your hand... And you laughed at me for such a formal greeting... So you gave me a hug. And by then I was already so far gone for you..." Scott recalled, smiling at the wall across from them while he pictured it.
Mitch giggled. "I remember... I remember when I tried to hug you, you had to bend down a little to return it." He gasped and turned to sit in front of Scott to grab his full attention. "I remember the first thing I thought when I met you! Want to hear it?"
"Of course."
"I remember thinking 'jeez, he's tall.'" Mitch's face couldn't be more excited, as he stared at Scott waiting for his reaction.
Scott chuckled a little. "You know what I thought?" He paused. "Something along the lines of, 'Aweeeee.'"
Mitch giggled. "Really? That's cute!"
"You're cute." Scott replied offhandedly.
"Oh, stop." Mitch answered with a slight blush.
"You stop."
Alex giggled then. "Aw. I want one."
Mitch put his hand on Scott's leg. "Get your own, then."
"I don't mean him. I mean a cute relationship. I want one."
Mitch stood up quickly. "You can have one! I can show you which room Jake is in!"
Alex jumped up. "Really?! Show me!"
Scott grabbed one of each of their arms, pulling them back. "You absolutely will not. Neither of you are leaving this room until Avi comes back."
Mitch pouted. "Why not?"
Alex frowned deeply at the same time. "I just wanted to say hi..."
Scott shook his head. "Do neither of you understand the severity of what's going on? Alex, you could've been killed. And Mitch, I suggest you take this seriously. They're targeting you."
Both Omegas just stared at him.
Scott sighed loudly. "Are you being serious, or are you just scared to speak?"
Mitch glanced at Alex, who was looking at the floor.
Mitch sat down by Scott, and grabbed his hand.
Alex looked from Mitch, to their combined hands, to Scott's face. "I just wanted someone to hold me."
"Al, you've only been away from Travis for a little while..."
"But the pain and unhappiness have been around for a long time."
Scott shook his head once. "But that doesn't mean--"
"It's fine. Nevermind. Being sad all the time is actually one of my favorite things to do." Alex sassed, sitting down on the other side of Scott in a huff.
"Alex, I didn't mean... I don't want you to be upset. I just want you to be careful with who you associate with, and why you're doing it. You came to me when you and Travis were arguing because you needed someone to fill the void. Is that who Jake is? Because if he is, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons." Scott explained.
Mitch leaned forwards to look past Scott at Alex. "You shouldn't interupt an Alpha."
Alex held his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. So very sorry."
Scott put his arm over Alex's shoulders and pulled him into his side. "It's fine. I'm not mad, Xander. I just want you to be careful. Any Alpha would be lucky to have you. But it isn't necessarily the other way around. I want you to find someone that is worth your time."
"I appreciate you looking out for me. But... It's not really the quality of the person anymore. Jake seems decent. And decent is what I need right now. I need someone to look after me before something awful happens. Like... I'm not Marked anymore. And what happens if Matt takes me away again? What if he Marks me? I'd have no other choice. But at least with Jake.. I have someone."
Scott frowned at him. "You don't have to give yourself away just to feel protected. I'll look after you."
Mitch set his hand on Scott's leg. "But... What about me?" He whimpered.
Scott turned and pulled Mitch into his other side, kissing his forehead. "I could never forget about you, my love. I just mean that if Alex needs someone--"
"No. Stop it."
"Mitchie, please don't--"
"No, you listen to me this time. I've sat here and been a good sport about everyone you've brought into our relationship, and I'm sick of it. It's either me, or Alex. You have to make a decision and stick with it. Because I'm not going to be your groupie anymore." Mitch finally stated confidently.
Scott stared at him. "You... What? What did I do?"
Mitch groaned. "You know what? Nevermind. We'll talk about it later."
Scott frowned at him, Mitch's rant being the only thing he could think about.
He always tried so hard to make Mitch happy, even when he got little in return.
And still, there was something he was doing wrong?
Alex didn't want to argue anymore, so he interjected. "I'm going to take a quick nap, if that's alright. You two... Do whatever it is you do."
He removed himself from Scott's comforting arm, and laid down on the other bed, facing the wall so that his back would be towards the other two.
Scott was still pouting at Mitch. "I've... Been ignoring you?"
"Don't do this to yourself. I only said it because I didn't want you to choose someone over me."
"But the fact that you think I would even consider--"
Mitch stood up abruptly. "I have to pee."
Scott just stared at him, too disappointed in himself to form a coherent answer.
Mitch turned to go to the bathroom, and hid in there for a solid five minutes.
When he walked out, Alex was sleeping like a log already, and Scott was still sitting in his exact same position, staring at the floor.
Scott barely even blinked while he zoned out, eyes on the floor.
In that moment, Mitch wondered how someone who looked so physically dangerous, could appear so emotionally vulnerable at the same time.
********