Hello hello! I hope your weekend was peaceful.
So, new PTX are on 🔥🔥🔥 and LSB was amazing. Kevin was the business suited daddy, Kirstin oozed even more sex appeal, if that's even possible. Scott - well, endless legs and silver short shorts, say no more. And Mitch was the mermaid of our dreams... damn but that boy wears makeup so well.
They had a blast doing it, that was obvious. 👏🏾😍✨
Anyway, back to Mavi. We have protective!Mitch again, looking out for my darling Avriel. Cute and fluffy to the max. Enjoy.
Pentatonix began the second leg of their US tour, and everything stepped up a gear. Their Christmas album was due out, they were riding high after their collab with Dolly Parton singing Jolene went viral, and Superfruit released the first song from their side project too. It was inevitable that someone would show the effects of their high intensity lifestyle, but it was not Kirstie or Mitch this time.
Unusually, it was Avi who woke on his bus with a sore throat and slight fever.
"What up, homie? Not feeling it this morning?" Kevin asked.
Avi's answer was a cough and shake of the head. "Feeling crappy," he whispered.
'Woah, can barely hear you. Not like you to get sick. Here, let me find you some ibuprofen." Kevin produced tablets and a glass of water, both of which Avi swallowed down. "Better let the others know." He phoned Esther, and soon the buses pulled over so she could come and review the situation.
Once Esther was in the picture, she took charge. "Okay Avi, hot tea and vitamin C and vocal rest for you."
"But Est, I-"
"No arguments. I know you don't usually get sick, but you know the rules."
Avi tried to stand up, but Esther easily pushed him back onto his seat. "Stay."
Kevin was apologetic. "We need to review that new arrangement, so I'll see you later. Can I get you anything else before I go?" At Avi's shake of the head he said, "Lie down, try to sleep."
"That I can do," Avi rasped.
"No talking!" Esther said. "We'll arrive in a few hours, but we have to keep going."
Avi gave her a weak thumbs-up and watched Kevin and Esther leave. Soon the bus started to move again.
He finished the tea Esther had made and wrapped the blanket around him. He hated feeling ill and letting the group down, but couldn't muster the energy to do more than hold the TV remote. He found nothing of interest, and with a sigh he put in his headphones and flicked through his playlists. With the familiar soothing sound of choral music in his ears, he relaxed on the seat and closed his eyes. The headache was fading, and he thought he'd get back in the bunk when he felt better.
Someone called his name, and their hand gently pressed against his forehead, just like his mom used to do when he was young. Avi was warm, and when his eyes fluttered open he felt dislocated for a moment. Someone was taking out his earphones gently. He couldn't focus.
"Wha- what's up?" His voice was gravelly. "Est?"
"Not exactly, guess again," a soft voice replied.
Avi blinked, and the blur in front of him resolved into Mitch's face. "Mitch? Shouldn't be here." Avi coughed and sat up, slightly more awake. He pushed the blanket to one side.
"I'll assume you have my best interests at heart. Or, I could take offence and leave." Mitch raised an eyebrow. "I don't usually do nursing duties, so if you don't want me here..."
"No, please stay. I feel like death though."
"Hmm, Esther warned me you're on vocal rest. So no more talking, although I can tell you that rumble is very sexy. Very sexy indeed. You need to save it for tonight."
Avi nodded and gave a thumbs-up. "Super powered bass notes," he whispered.
"Now then, what did I tell you?" Mitch put a finger to Avi's lips. "No talking. Here's some more water, and I'm going to make you some tea, since you're a weirdo who doesn't like coffee."
Avi simply looked up at him, and nodded. He didn't try to remove Mitch's hand. He couldn't seem to make his limbs move.
"There, I like you all obedient and submissive. I could get used to this." Mitch winked and moved away to switch the kettle on. He squirted some alcohol gel onto his hands, and made a show of rubbing it onto every surface of his hands.
Avi watched him, but his lids soon drooped again. He felt so tired, his head throbbed and he just wanted to go back to bed. Mitch was there, and he didn't know why. But he was grateful for the mug of tea and pack of tissues that Mitch placed next to him, and he signed 'thank you'.
"My pleasure, daddy. I live to serve." Mitch smiled at Avi's roll of the eyes. "But now I'm here, I suppose I could try to make you feel better. Drink, drink!"
He stood in front of Avi and tilted his head. "Your hair is a disaster. I know what you need."
He found Avi's bag, then rummaged through it till he found a comb. "Okay, turn to the side." He settled himself behind Avi and started combing his hair. "This is really long now. Are you never going to cut it again? It's so curly and soft."
Avi was a little surprised, but allowed Mitch to continue. It was lovely to have his hair combed out, it always got so tangled. Mitch very gently worked out the knots. Then he put the comb down, and started to massage Avi's scalp. That really felt very good, and Avi breathed out, letting his head relax against Mitch's fingers as they drew random circles on his scalp.
"I think you like that," Mitch said as his hands smoothed the hair down against Avi's back. He started to comb again. "I'm gonna deal with this hair, like Kirstie showed me."
At that moment Avi didn't know or care what Mitch meant, as long as he didn't stop. He just made a small noise of agreement, and when Mitch got up he felt the loss of warmth. However, Mitch was soon back with a hair tie, which he showed to Avi.
Avi felt his hair being gathered up and whispered, "Bun?"
"Oh no, I always wanted you to braid your hair. It looked so good in the Perfume video, of course I can't do that style but I can do this." Mitch worked on the hair as he spoke, tugging on it gently. "There, you look beautiful." He tied off the braid and put his hands on Avi's shoulders. "Well, more beautiful."
Avi shrugged and shook his head, turning towards Mitch and signing 'no'.
"C'mon, boys can be beautiful too, I mean. Look at me for instance." Mitch pouted and Avi nodded his agreement. He signed 'yes'. Then he ran his fingers along the braid and gave another thumbs-up.
"You say the nicest things, even when you're not really talking. I think we should take a selfie. Relax, I won't post it anywhere."
Avi frowned and signed 'no' several times, then drew a finger across his throat.
"You'll kill me? How rude. Although... maybe some punishment wouldn't be so bad, if I've been a naughty boy. I could totally see you as a big dom daddy." Mitch tilted his head and winked, and Avi had a hard time not smiling at this adorable display.
Instead he held up both hands and shook his head vigorously. This boy would be the death of him, again, but then he was just taking advantage of the situation. And he was here to cheer him up and make sure things were okay, and Avi appreciated that. So he didn't put up much resistance when Mitch slid closer, put an arm around his shoulders, and snapped three selfies.
"Now, it's time for bed."
Avi had to smile at the wicked dimpled smile on his friend's face. He nodded and got up, wobbling a little. He really wanted to lie down properly.
"I can't believe I just said that, and you said yes? It's like a dream come true." Mitch put one hand to his chest and batted eyelashes at Avi. "Pity you're so sick, or I could get into this. As it is," he sighed, "I can't risk getting ill. But what a wasted opportunity."
Avi felt a glow in his chest, Mitch was being so sweet and he loved being taken care of. It was something that happened all too rarely. He blew a kiss to Mitch and went through to his bunk. To his surprise, Mitch followed him.
"Gotta tuck you in, here's your phone. Sweet dreams, daddy." Mitch's hand lingered for a moment on Avi's shoulder, then he was gone. Avi turned his phone off, settled himself, and was asleep almost instantly.
Avi woke with a start. He had no idea what time it was, and for a moment was disoriented. He coughed, and it all came back to him. Cough, vocal rest, Mitch, braid. He wondered briefly if he'd dreamed the last part, but instead of a tangled mass of curls his fingers touched a neatly tied braid. He smiled and swung himself out of the bunk, realising that the bus had stopped moving.
He stood and stretched, surprised to find he didn't feel too unwell overall. His throat was just a little scratchy, but water and tea would fix that. He padded into the back lounge and downed a whole bottle of water, then went back for his phone.
"I really don't feel that bad," he said aloud, to try out his voice. He sounded gravelly and a bit deeper than normal, but didn't want to push it. He knew that he should save his voice, and that Esther would give him hell if he didn't. Right on cue, she came into the lounge.
"Hey Avi, how's it going?" she said with a smile. She sat next to him and put a cool hand on his forehead. "You don't have a fever, I guess you took some ibuprofen, want another? It must be about time."
"Mhmm."
"Yeah, you better save it for tonight. What's so funny?" Esther frowned a little, while Avi grinned at her. He couldn't help it.
"Okay, well, as long as you're feeling better and not going all whiny man-flu on me."
Avi shook his head.
"And since when do you braid your hair? Or maybe it was Kevin, nothing surprises me about him any more." She brought the pills back to her brother with a bottle of water, and watched while he swallowed it all.
"So now you're awake, we reached the venue and it's all good. Everyone wants to get off the bus and move around a bit before VIP and all that jazz. You are not to speak, okay? We'll let the VIPs know. Just smile and wave." She stood up. "We're gonna get some lunch first."
At this Avi nodded vigorously and signed 'yes' with a thumbs up. His stomach thought food was a great idea. He put on his shoes, grabbed a jacket, and followed his sister out of the bus.
Outside, he was greeted with a chorus of cheers from the others.
"Hey, look who's alive? And rocking a new hairstyle, way to go, Avi!" Kirstie pointed at the braid, but did not come any closer. "I'd hug you, but can't risk it, sorry." She blew him a kiss.
Avi shrugged with a little smile, he understood. Kirstie tended to get colds more often than he did, and she had more singing to do every night.
"Hey, don't worry man, you always got me." Kevin caught him up in a big bro hug that almost lifted him off his feet. Scott and Mitch appeared to be deep in conversation behind Kevin, but Mitch waved before turning back as Scott gathered him closer.
Now that he was properly awake, Avi's hunger demanded attention. He rubbed his stomach and pointed to his mouth.
Kevin cackled. "Guess we know what's on your mind, as always."
"Of course, he needs something in his mouth, stat." Mitch stepped up beside Avi. "He can't talk, so he'll probably roll his eyes, shrug and pretend he hates me."
Avi turned and made grabby hands at Mitch while puckering up for a kiss, which made Mitch yelp and dart away.
"Ew, no, gross! I don't want what you've got, get away from me." He hid behind Scott.
"That's not what you said earlier," Scott said with a smirk. Ignoring the death glare Mitch gave him, he continued, "You did spend quite some time alone together on the other bus, ow!" He only laughed as Mitch punched him on the arm, then stalked away to join Kirstie.
"I said nothing of the kind. I simply wanted to make sure he was all right, and braiding hair takes time."
"What, you did that? Clever girl," Kirstie said while looping her arm through Mitch's and patting his hand. "Now, let's go get lunch. I am starving."
Before things could degenerate further, Esther shooed them all towards waiting mini-vans. "Lunch, before I go completely mad listening to y'all."
From his seat next to Esther, Avi looked out at the unfamiliar city streets with a smile. Honestly, it was no trouble to stop speaking, it was second nature for him to listen more than talk. And he was enjoying the advantage of observing people without having to interact too much.
At lunch, Avi felt quite contented. Kevin sat beside him and ordered his food, kept his water glass topped up and chatted away about songs on the upcoming Christmas album.
"Sorry, I feel like I've got verbal diarrhea, but there's still so much to do before the end of the year. I'm just excited, bro."
"S'alright," Avi whispered. "Me too."
"Don't think I can't hear that, you two." Esther leaned behind Avi from his other side and waved a finger at Kevin. "Don't encourage him."
Kevin put up his hands in surrender. "I'm not! I'm doing all the talking, if you gonna be like that I'mma just eat my food. He's probably sick of me going on at him anyway." With that he picked up his knife and fork, and busied himself with his plate.
Avi protested mildly, "I'm right here." He coughed and took another drink of water.
"And that's why I'm here, keep you in check." When Avi frowned at Esther she smiled sweetly in return. "You know I'm right."
Soundcheck and VIP went well, though after the host explained that Avi would not be speaking, there were some fans who were disappointed. But he tried to make up for it by smiling at everyone until his cheeks ached.
Avi was looking forward to his usual pre-show nap. He didn't really need it, since his bass was more thunderous than usual. That pleased him, but sleep was one of his favourite things, and would ensure that his bass would rattle the floor with ease that night. He'd already scoped out the sofa as being ideal to catch forty winks on.
He was setting the alarm on his phone when there was a quiet knock on the door. He cleared his throat, which felt much better, then realised that he couldn't call out as usual. If it was Esther, or Scott, he'd get another lecture. So he went over to the door and opened it. To Avi's surprise, it was Mitch, holding a small blanket.
"So, can I come in?" As he spoke Mitch squeezed past into the dressing room. "It's lovely that we get our own spaces now, much more private. I can't stay long though, it takes time to attain ultimate beauty, even for me."
"Hello, I guess?" Avi said, frowning a little. He was confused about this visit, and keen to lie down before it got too late.
"You shouldn't talk, and don't roll your eyes at me, Kaplan. Here I am, checking on you, making sure you're all right, and this is the thanks I get?"
Avi grinned and signed 'sorry'.
"I should think so," Mitch huffed. "You're about to lie down, and you're feeling good for tonight I take it? So lie down already."
Avi tilted his head, questioning, but then nodded and lay on the couch with his phone next to him. Mitch followed, then unfurled the blanket and tucked it round Avi's shoulders, standing next to him.
"We know you're a hot one, but you have to stay warm, or your voice will be ruined, and the concert will be ruined, and we don't want that do we?"
"No, never."
"Well, I'll leave you to the beauty sleep you don't need."
Avi scoffed at that and opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again in response to Mitch's wave of the hand.
"Uh-uh, I can say what I like and you can't talk back." Mitch sighed and winked at his friend. "This is wonderful."
Avi closed his eyes and settled down. He felt Mitch squeeze his shoulder gently, and smiled. He expected Mitch to leave. Instead, Avi felt breath warm against his ear as Mitch whispered.
"Feel better soon and sweet dreams, bass daddy." The next thing he felt was warm, soft lips pressed to his cheek, and before he could respond Mitch was gone, the door closed quietly behind him. Avi blinked, whispering his reply to the closed door.
"Thank you, love you too."
++++++
Aww, precious.
I think Avi should wear braids more often. And I like role reversal too.
There's just one more chapter after this, but it's a good one. Still PG, but fun. That's in two weeks' time, because Promised will be next week.
Carers need to be cared for as well, sometimes even more than the people they look after. It can be draining. We all deserve to have our needs put first some of the time. And if nobody will do that for you, do it for yourself. Fill your own cup first, then you have something to give.
Stay flawless! 💖