"What?"
Scott looked down his body at Mitch, confused. His stomach immediately dropped when he saw the look on Mitch's face, the shock in his dark brown eyes visible even in the dim light from behind the closed blinds. When Scott didn't respond Mitch slowly sat up, leaving Scott's fully hard cock pressed flush against his lower stomach, the head of it still wet from Mitch's mouth.
"Excuse me? Scott, what did you just call me?"
"I..."
He bit the inside of his bottom lip as he looked up at Mitch, the hurt too obvious in the brunettes face. Mitch was frowning down at him and wrinkles filled the normally smooth space between his dark eyebrows. Scott was alarmed. He hadn't expected this, and he felt nervous and jittery seeing the look on Mitch's face. He swallowed hard. Oh, Mitch was not fucking around. Mitch was not happy with him. Oh fuck. Oh, fuck. Scott didn't want to repeat what he'd said if it had gotten this kind of a reaction the first time, but Mitch was practically fuming as he waited for an answer. Scott hadn't meant it in a bad way. Scott would never seriously call him that, he'd thought it was just normal dirty talk. Scott bit his lip a little harder, noticing the wetness in his own eyes as he grew more and more panicked. "I...um...I called...I c-called you m-my l-l-little s-"
"Red." Mitch cut him off and clenched his jaw, shaking his head. He climbed out from between Scott's legs, sitting next to him on the bed without explanation. He picked a shirt up off the floor, Scott's, and pulled it over his head, mumbling through his teeth. "No. Red. This is over."
Scott looked over to him with his lips pressed together hard, a warm tear falling from his eye when he tilted his head. He quickly wiped it away, both relieved and hurt that Mitch wasn't even looking at him. Shit. How would he even begin to fix this? He was shocked that Mitch had reacted so strongly to the word, especially considering how kinky he claimed to be, and was still having trouble processing what had just happened. His eyes were stinging and he had to pay attention to remember to breathe. He grabbed a stray piece of clothing laying next to him and lay it over his crotch, suddenly embarrassed to be so exposed and visibly aroused while Mitch was hurt. He could practically feel the anger radiating off of Mitch and his mind began racing for something to say. He was relieved when Mitch finally spoke up before he had a chance to make this worse.
"Listen to me. Do not fucking call me that. Scott? Are you listening?"
"Y-" Scott inhaled sharply, closing his eyes and trying not to burst into tears. "Y-y-yes."
"Don't call me that again." Mitch spat out, facing away from him. "Do you hear me?"
Scott nodded hard, hot tears finding their way through his closed eyelids. He tried to keep his breathing leveled but it was getting too hard. He couldn't believe he'd called Mitch a slut. They'd been together months and months and he'd never seen Mitch react to anything like this before. Why hadn't he just asked Mitch first? He'd disrespected Mitch without even wondering if using that word would hurt him. Scott's head began to spin thinking of how furious Mitch was at him and how little he could do to fix it and he finally broke down, his face scrunching as he started to sob.
Mitch sat quietly for a while before sighing and laying down next to him on his stomach. Scott threw his arm over his face to hide behind his elbow, his body shaking with his sobs. Again, he felt a weird mixture of relief and pain when Mitch didn't try to comfort him because god, he didn't deserve to be comforted by Mitch, but a part of him still expected a kind touch or some sweet, hushed words from his boyfriend no matter how pissed he was. The guilt was overwhelming him and the image of Mitch's expression of insult after Scott had said what he'd said was burning into his skull.
"I'm sorry," Scott choked, wrapping an arm around himself. "I'm so, s-so sorry. I'm s-sorry."
Scott could hear Mitch breathing deeply through his own shaky sobs, every inch of his body tense as he waited for a response. He fell apart again when Mitch stayed silent, unable to control his sobbing from fear of what could be going through Mitch's head. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't think. He didn't mean it. He didn't mean it. He wanted so badly to take it back.
Scott nearly wailed from relief when he felt Mitch's hand rest over his chest full minutes later, rubbing him slightly. He quieted down a little, unable to fully stop but trying his best to keep relatively calm. His breath was still coming out in shaky gasps and his head was straining from tension but Mitch was touching him. Mitch wasn't too angry to touch him anymore. Scott wanted to be relieved.
"Hey, Scott? You okay?"
Scott shook his head no, his face crumbling. His voice was so small that he wasn't even sure Mitch could hear it, but if he spoke any louder he'd lose it again. "I'm so sorry."
"I believe you. Just don't do it again, alright?"
Oh, god. Mitch was trying so hard to make his voice sweet and gentle by Scott didn't deserve it. Mitch was the one who he should be comforting after his fuck up, this was so wrong.
"I didn't mean it," Scott stuttered, frowning. His bottom lip was trembling and he didn't want Mitch to see, but he knew his eyes must be pink from crying and he needed to cover those more than his mouth. His arm was only so wide. Shit. His head was beginning to hurt. "I would never call you that if I knew-I'm n-never gonna call you that again. Never. I swear. I'm so s-sorry, Mitch."
Mitch reached an arm around Scott, nudging him to roll over. He did, hiding his wet face into Mitch's chest and trembling as he tried to get more words out.
"I'm so sorry for g-getting emotional, Mitch, this isn't about m-me, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do or how to fix it or...I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'm never, I promise I'll never say it again, I didn't mean it, I don't think you're...I wish I could take it ba-"
"Shhhhhh." Mitch rubbed Scott's back, wishing he would stop. "I forgive you. It's fine, just don't do it again. Calm down, Scotty. What's gotten into you?"
"I was so happy and we were having fun and I opened my big, stupid mouth and-" he gasped for air, choking the rest of his sentence out weakly, "and then you looked at me like that and you were so angryandyousaidthatitsover."
"I didn't mean we're over or anything, Scott. I just wanted the "fun" we were having to be over. Why are you still crying, babe? I already said that I forgive you."
"Youweresoangry," Scott cried, pushing his face harder into the thin cloth covering Mitch's chest. "I'venevermadeyoyangrybeforeandyou weresomadandIdidn'tmeanitmitchIfeelsobadandIdid'tIdidn'tIs-swear-"
"Scott, please. Christ, will you relax?" He pushed Scott away from him, scanning his face. He looked awful. His face was scrunched up and pink and he could feel how rocky Scott's breathing was. It finally clicked in his head and Mitch wanted to slap himself. "What's going on? Is it anxiety? Did I make you anxious?"
Scott hesitated to nod yes but did, knowing that as real as it felt he probably was being tricked into making a huge deal out of this because of his anxiety. He hated that Mitch began to be gentle with him immediately after he admitted it, brushing Scott's hair off of his forehead and wiping fresh tears off of Scott's face as they came. His expression softened and there was a trace of regret in his sorry eyes. He didn't deserve it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Scotty. I didn't mean to make you panic. Forget it. Just breathe, okay? Shhh, no more talking."
Scott began to babble unintelligibly about how Mitch wasn't the one who should be sorry but got hushed by Mitch himself, a slim finger pressing firmly against his lips.
"It's fine, babe. No more." He rubbed Scott's shoulder, looking down at the miserable blond through his dark eyelashes. Scott still seemed so jittery and couldn't even make eye contact. That wasn't good. "I'm over it, baby. I forgive you. I'll explain myself later, I just have a bad history with that word. Exes and stuff, you know how it is. Did you take your meds this m-"
"What?" Scott squeaked miserably, his heartache audible in his voice. "Your-who?"
"Don't worry about it, babe. Did you take your med-"
"Who!" Scott wailed, fresh tears falling down his face and soaking into the sheets. "Who did that! Who called...who called...you..."
"Brady, okay? Babe, this is a conversation for later. Just relax, Scotty, please. Here, hold my hand." Mitch snaked his hand between their bodies and wove his fingers between Scott's, clasping tight. "There you go, baby. Squeeze hard. Squeeze the bad stuff out of your body through your hand. Ow! Good boy. Good, good boy. Shhhh. Listen to me baby," Mitch whispered firmly. "Too much has happened in the past ten minutes and I'm sure it's making your brain hurt. Am I right?"
Scott nodded, his eyes squeezed shut.
"I thought so. Listen Scotty, none of it is your fault, okay?" Mitch had a feeling that some of it was Scott's fault but honestly, he'd forgotten what he was mad about. The panic attack he'd thrown Scott into deserve more attention, despite that whatever Scott had done or said left a bitter aftertaste in him. He'd worry about that later, right now he needed to set his anxious lover straight. "Did you take your medication this morning, honey?"
Scott nodded, his jaw softening a little. He'd responded well to the pet name, and Mitch made note of it.
"Good boy. Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. Since we're already in bed and it's only 6pm we're gonna take a nice, long nap together, okay? And when we wake up we'll go down to the kitchen and make dinner together, whatever you want. It'll be fun. Sound good, honey?"
"Whatever you want," Scott mumbled, moving back down to shove his face in Mitch's chest.
"Okay, whatever I want. Plus cookies. It'll be fun."
Mitch felt Scott tense up again groaned internally, bracing himself for another outburst. He'd thought he was doing a good job.
"But date night? Remember?"
"I'll call the restaurant and cancel in a bit."
"No," Scott whined miserably. "Please? Can we go? Are you angry still?"
"Oh, that's not why, sweetheart. Shhhh, relax."
"I wanna take you out. Please, Mitch. I love you so much, I didn't mean it. I promise. Please, please forgive me."
"I do, honey, I swear. I'm just tired. I'm not really in the mood to be around people, you know? Only you." That wasn't necessarily true, but Mitch would take lying over having to deal with an ocean of apologies when Scott woke up too late for their date from his anxiety-induced nap, which he definitely would. He'd been excited for their date tonight but being called a slut by Scott had made him too upset to really be sad that they were taking a rain check. "Honestly, I just wanna be near you, nobody else. I love you too, so much. You're beyond forgiven. I wanna stay home with you tonight for lovey time instead of the fancy date. We can even light candles and dress nice and pretend if you want. That would be fun, too. Is that okay with you, or do you really wanna go out?"
"No. No, I only want you, too." Scott melted into him a little, his voice still heavy. "Only you. I love you, Mitch, please. Are you mad at me? Don't lie."
"No, sweetie, I'm not. I promise."
"I don't..." Scott sniffled, confused and tired. "We can talk about the fucker later? I'm heartbroken. I want him to die, Mitch."
Mitch frowned. The last thing he wanted to do after Scott's episode was talk about his abusive relationship with Brady and the associations he'd created around the word Scott had called him, but he did feel bad for losing his temper so quickly and causing this to begin with. He definitely would have to explain himself, even though the thought of it alone was already breaking Scott's heart. Scott was going to hate every second of it, but he'd tell him if he really wanted to know.
"Yes, we'll talk about the fucker if you want. Before dinner, after nap. Sound good, love?" Scott nodded, beginning to talk again, but Mitch cut him off.
"Oh! I almost forgot, we left some business unfinished, didn't we? I'm not horribly turned off anymore, let me finish you off, babe. It'll cheer you up, make falling asleep easier." He quickly swiped the tank top off of Scott's hip and laughed, the blond hiding his flushed face behind his hands. "Scotty!"
"Sorry."
"You're almost completely soft! How did that happen so fast?!"
"I made you safeword. That hurt me, I didn't think I'd ever make you safeword, Mitchy, that's such a turn off. I almost even forgot what "red" was supposed to mean. Shit. I'm so sorry. That's so scary, I co-"
"Okay! Okay, no more of this until after the nap." Mitch climbed off of the bed exasperated, digging through their drawers to find something for Scott to rest in. He tried his best not to convey his annoyance in his voice. Scott couldn't help how much he talked when he was overwhelmed like this, and the subjects he was bringing up were simply too heavy. If he couldn't stop at apologizing for calling him a slut and was already bringing up safewords, he was afraid Scott would take it too far too soon and then Mitch would be the one losing it. "I'm sorry, Scotty. I wasn't making fun of you or anything. I was just being silly, of course you wouldn't still be hard after all that. You want your sweats, baby, or mine?"
"Yours," Scott responded easily, blushing again at the loving gesture. It was sweet that Mitch wanted Scott to wear his clothes. He'd offered them himself, too, even though he was probably still angry. He was tired, though, and it was so nice of Mitch to help him like this. He was the best, best boyfriend ever. Scott could cry. "Mitch?"
"Yeah, love?" Mitch was sliding a soft pair of his own sweatpants over Scott's ankles, tugging them up his legs. Oh, he was helping Scott into them. Mitch was doing the work for him. He really didn't have to. Tears filled Scott's eyes again, too close to spilling over. He couldn't help it.
"I love you so much, Mitch. So much. I'm yours."
"Lift up, babe. Your hips. I love you so much more, darling." He tied up Scott's drawstring and crawled up his body, kissing Scott's cheek before letting the blond curl into him. "I'm yours, too. All yours. Aww, you can cry if you have to, lovely, I don't mind. You don't have to hide your feelings. It's been a long day."
Scott nodded into him. He knew his day had been fine, it had only gotten long after he'd made Mitch angry. God, was he tired, though.
"I still love you, Scotty. And I'm not mad at all, and we can talk about anything you want after you wake up. I love you so much, with my whole, entire heart. Do you believe me?"
Scott shrugged halfheartedly, his mind buzzing and still throwing his judgement off. Mitch brushed aside the slight sting of the gesture.
"You're exhausted. You'll believe me when you wake up, I promise. Because I do, Scott, I love you. Everybody makes mistakes, even you, but it won't change that I love you."
"Especially me."
"Oh, whatever. I think you're perfect."
"No. You're perfect."
Mitch smiled. "Silly boy. Nobody's perfect."
"But you said-"
"Are you trying to discredit me?!" Mitch joked, getting a small giggle out of Scott. He kissed the top of the blond's head, pleased with the little burst of laughter. "I'm just kidding. Okay, it's officially nap time. I'm worn out. Wake me up if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay. Anything?"
"Anything."
"Even just water?"
"Anything."
"Even a kiss?"
Mitch tilted Scott's chin up to give him one before he tried to list off all the other things he might need, and only partially to shut him up. Mostly because he couldn't help it when he had such a sweet, lovely boy in his arms.