"I'll miss you," said Scott softly as he kissed his boyfriend once more. "A lot..."
"You'll have me back tomorrow" Avi replied with a grin on his face.
"I know, but it won't be the same, you know" Scott replied. "Not that I mind, we're doing this at your pace, remember?" Scott said softly.
"I get that, but at least we'll be in Nashville for three nights and I heard there have been problems with the bookings, Esther cancelled Kevin's room, but forgot to book your room. I'm offered to share, because you don't know any of the other guys that good anyway" Avi grinned.
Scott chuckled. "I don't mind sharing" he replied. "Now, get going, Dear, I don't want your parents complaining about me keeping you from leaving."
Avi nodded, but he still held on to Scott. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at 10:30? Esther and Darien will drive us to the airport, no need to get an uber" he explained.
"I'll be ready" Scott replied and leaned in for one last kiss. "Thank you once again for helping me with the suitcase..."
"Of course, Scotty. You're welcome" Avi replied and finally let go of his boyfriend. "I'll see you tomorrow, bye."
"Bye. Have fun tonight."
"Yeah, you too." Scott waved as Avi walked downstairs and once he was out of sight, he went back into the apartment and his room. He still was astonished to see his stuff packed up neatly, especially because he would have needed all night to get it done. But of course, Avi stepped in and helped him and was perfect in doing so. Satisfied with everything, Scott went back into the living room and tidied up the mugs and then got started on dinner.
Since it was his last night at home, he wanted to cook something for himself and since Avi taught him how to cook a simple yet delicious curry a few days ago and was kind enough to give him a blend of some of the spices he had, so Scott would be able to cook the dish for himself and Mitch quite a few times. Instead of the delicious Naan, he opted for rice, because it was a safe choice.
"What on earth smells so good in here? You didn't have Indian without me?"
Scott chuckled when he heard his best friend's voice out of the hallway. "I would never. Dinner will be ready in ten" he called back.
Mitch joined him in the kitchen and chuckled. "Damn, this boy of yours really is a good influence," he said and looked into the pan. "This looks delicious."
"First of all, I wouldn't refer to Avi as a boy, he's such a man. Second, how do you know that he showed me how to cook this?"
Mitch rolled his eyes. "Because you would never cook? At least you wouldn't go all out like this with lots of spices and everything" he explained.
"Mmhm, he gave me the spice blend, actually. And the recipe" Scott confessed with a grin on his face. "But I cooked this all on my own. Only started when he was gone. I just wanted to do something nice for our last night together..."
Mitch smiled brightly at his best friend. "Thank you, this is actually so sweet" he replied. "And it really smells like something I will love. I'll go into the bathroom and then I'll set the table. I'm looking forward. Are we having wine with it?"
Scott stirred the sauce. "Yes? I have a bottle of white wine in the fridge."
"Mmhm, good. When are you leaving tomorrow?" Mitch asked on his way to the bathroom.
Scott rolled his eyes, Mitch had a habit of leaving the bathroom door ajar and continuing the conversation while still doing whatever he needed to do. Scott didn't like it too much, but he was used to it. "Esther, Avi and Darien are picking me up at 10:30" he called back at him.
"Cool. Did you already finish packing?" Mitch wanted to know as he washed his hands.
"Yep. Or well, not me but Avi did. I was overwhelmed by everything and he stepped in and got my stuff all packed up within half an hour" Scott explained, smiling at his best friend when he came back into the room. "He's wonderful, honestly. And... he wants to tell his parents about our relationship today and he also wants to meet my parents when we're in Texas. As my boyfriend..."
Mitch, who had been putting plates on the table, gasped and turned around to his best friend. "For real?"
Scott nodded. "Yes, for real."
"You didn't pressure him, right, Scott?" Mitch asked and then shook his head. "You would never."
Scott chuckled. "Of course I wouldn't. He asked me if I minded him telling his parents and of course I don't. And then I mentioned wanting to spend my day off in Texas with my family and asked him if he wanted to join as my friend. Then he said he wanted to join as my boyfriend. I was... gobsmacked. He has these moments of utter confidence and then he's back to making sure that I know that I cannot tell anyone...." he explained while he plated rice and curry.
"Hmm..." Mitch hummed as he poured two glasses of wine. "I guess he is happy to finally be with you. It makes him not think about his problems. So he thinks it's easy to just go for things, like telling his or your parents. But then his brain starts turning again and then he realises the myriad of problems that apparently are waiting for him and then he needs to make sure that they're taken care of, if it makes sense?"
Scott nodded. "It makes sense. A lot of sense. And while I love the side of Avi that is so... not careless, but rather living in the moment, I know that I always have to keep in mind that there's also the contemplative side I need to take care of." He sighed softly. "I just need to watch him closely. I need to make sure that he won't suffer a severe panic attack. I need to find more ways to calm him down and I need to learn more about the symptoms and..."
"Scotty, you're working yourself up" Mitch cut him off. "Sit down, let's eat and talk, hmm? Because I think that you will do a marvellous job with Avi."
"Yeah?" Scott put down the two plates and sat down next to his best friend. "You think so?"
"Definitely. You did the same for me. Figured out my symptoms, found ways to help me. It's basically the same process just on Avi. The most important thing is communication. And Avi is pretty good at it already. When I asked him how he is doing, he always speaks his mind. He knows that I am not asking to make small talk and neither are you. Apart from that you, of course, need to figure out symptoms, but you have seen him go through attacks, right?"
Scott nodded. "I have. He zones out, starts to fidget, he just looks uneasy..."
"See? There you have it. Apart from that, he trusts you and he will tell you if something is up that might be triggering. I can send you something later. I found an Instagram post which comprised some pretty accurate signs for anxiety and I know most of them, so it's valid. Of course it's different for everyone."
Scott nodded. "I know." He sighed. "I just don't want him to suffer another attack."
"You cannot make them disappear, Scott. They'll come with or without you. The only thing you can try is to be there for him and hopefully, stop them before they get worse." He shrugged his shoulders. "You have to accept this, it'll make things easier for you."
Scott nodded. "I'll try." He knew that it would be hard for him to not be able to help his boyfriend but Mitch was right, he was no superhero. All he would be able to do is to support Avi, he couldn't make his anxiety go away.
"I know. Oh and one last thing before I dig into this lovely smelling dish you just prepared: Please don't insist on him meeting your parents or telling his parents if he doesn't think he is ready. Even if he cops out last minute" Mitch said.
"I would never. Of course I would like my parents to know, but I won't tell him unless he's comfortable with them knowing." Scott sighed. "Thank you. And now let's eat. I want my last night at home to be a fun one!"
Mitch smiled. "Oh we will have a lot of fun" he replied and then took a spoonful of rice and curry. "Oh wow. This is so good. So so good."
Scott chuckled. "Thank you."
~
After a night filled with wine and laughter, Scott laid down in his bed, happy and a little tipsy. He took his phone to send a message to Avi when he saw that his boyfriend had already texted him:
"Hey, Scotty. We're going back home now. Had a lovely night with my parents. They're looking forward to meeting you and are happy for us. Just wanted to let you know. I'll see you tomorrow, Dear :-*"
Scott felt tears of joy prickling in his eyes when he read the message. He was happy that Avi had told his parents and just wanted to give him the biggest hug possible.
"I am so glad that you told them, Avi. And happy that you had a good night with them. I had wine and curry with Mitchy, cooked with your recipe and aced it. I'll see you tomorrow, Sweetheart, have a safe drive home and let me know once you arrived :-*"
"I will. Getting on the road now. Sleep tight :-*"
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