This story makes my brain hurt. Thinking is hard. Hopefully the next bit won't take as long to get out as its mostly written at this point. Sorry this is short ... and confusing.

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Mitch lay awake that night, his best friend wrapped snuggly around him.

He probably should have insisted the blonde man sleep in his own bed, not only because of Alex but also because he had a lot of thinking to do. The entire day had been a whirlwind of contradictions and this was no exception. While he was absolutely terrified of what Scott's confession could mean for their future and was at a loss as to what to do about it, that man was still his best friend. He was still Scott and no matter how unstable everything seemed at that moment, being in his arms, surrounded... warm and comfortable... he felt safe and content and ... loved.

"You should sleep,"

The groggy voice pulled him from his musings and his body automatically responded by snuggling back into the warmth of his friend.

"We're in the studio tomorrow... today... whatever. You'll be grumpy if you don't sleep."

He couldn't help but laugh just a little at the puffs of breath and the ghost of lips moving against his back. He'd always loved when Scott got super nuzzly and cuddly.

"I didn't mean to wake you." His hand slid over top of the one Scott had laid out on his bare stomach. He acknowledged that it was way more intimate than they probably should allow themselves to be, but at the same time he couldn't make himself pull away. He added that to his growing mental pros/cons list.

"I wasn't asleep, just enjoying this ... you .. while I can. I mean.. while you let me."

Mitch couldn't help but sigh. The guilt he felt was unfounded, but he knew how much his uncertainty & confusion was hurting Scott, whether he meant to or not.

"I'm not trying to guilt you..." Scott began, knowing exactly what was on his friend's mind.

"I know." He felt like he should say more... that there should be more to that sentence, but he couldn't quite decide what else he wanted to say. There was a strong urge to roll over, to look at his beautiful best friend and kiss away the pain he heard so clearly in his voice, but he couldn't. Scott had Alex... he had Connor... sort of. He wouldn't risk more until he was absolutely sure what he wanted.

Yes, they'd already talked for hours just trying to sort it all out, but somehow they didn't really get very far and he still had too many questions that needed answers before he could make his final decision. It wouldn't be fair to either of them or to the men in their lives to rush it. That fact didn't change the insistent urging from his heart to jump and never look back. His body seemed keen to oblige, but his mind remained locked in a fierce tug of war, keeping him from doing anything he'd regret.

"You're thinking so loud I swear I can hear it. Just please put it away until tomorrow. If you want some space, I'll give it to you... just not tonight. Please? I know I shouldn't ask for it, but.. "

Mitch didn't answer with words, just intertwined their fingers and pulled Scott's arm tighter around him, snuggling back into him again and letting that warmth surround him.

They lay in silence for just a bit before he felt the tip of Scott's nose nuzzling into the hair at the base of his neck, eyelashes giving him chills as Scott shifted to get comfortable.

"Night Scott." He smiled to himself when he felt Scott's reply more than heard the whispered words.

"Sweet dreams, Mitchie."

---

The next morning when he woke, he was still warm from the heat of another body even though he was alone. He couldn't stop the smile from creeping up his lips, as he wrapped himself in the blankets and slid over to the other pillow that still smelled like Scott. He snuggled down and let himself just bask in the safety of it all, finally drifting back to sleep.

Later when he woke it was to fingers sliding up and down his arm.

"Mitchie? C'mon, babe, you have to wake up."

He pouted, and groaned, burying his face in his Scott scented pillow and turning onto his stomach. "nooooo"

He heard Scott chuckle and the sound of it caused another knot to form in his stomach.

"I bought breakfast... and coffee." Scott enticed, fingers moving to run down the top of his spine.

He hummed out a sound in response, similar to a purr. He began to relax again until those fingers abruptly disappeared. He turned his head to the side just enough to crack one eye open to glare at the other boy.

Scott smiled warmly. "Come on, Your Majesty. We have to be at the studio by 10." He pulled the covers off of Mitch and a hand connected with a loud smack to his backside. "Up!"

"Owwww..." Mitch pouted/whined and waved his arm out to try and hit him. "Go away..."

"If you're not up in 5 minutes I'm coming back in here and the next one will be harder," Scott said in a sing-song voice as he left the room.

Mitch sighed and hugged the pillow tight one last time, stretching and trying to shake the cobwebs. He huffed a bit but pulled himself from the bed and headed out to find Scott sitting on the counter, digging into what appeared to be an omelet.

He stretched his arms over his head and watched the peppy blonde through narrowed, sleep hazy eyes and with a cocked eyebrow as he shuffled into the kitchen.

"The Queen finally decided to grace us with her presence," Scott said cheerfully as he shoveled another bite of food into his mouth.

"Who are you and what have you done with Scott?" He grumbled out as he slid onto a bar stool.

The blonde's smile just grew and he pushed Mitch's Starbucks cup across the counter towards him. "I slept like a rock last night."

Mitch didn't answer, just kept wary eyes on the other man as he took a sip of his coffee. Scott was usually just as grumbly and useless as he was in the morning. He wasn't used to this level of cheer quite so early in the AM.

Scott just laughed at him. "just because I voluntarily woke up early doesn't mean I'm a pod person."

"... pretty sure that's exactly what a pod person would say."

Scott rolled his eyes dramatically and Mitch just continued to stare. The scruff beginning to grow on Scott's face was killing him. He wanted to beg him to shave it off if only so it wasn't torturing him every second of every day.

"You have an hour and a half to eat and get ready." Scott shoved the last bite of his food into his mouth before hopping from the counter. He looked so damn happy as he disposed of his trash and hummed his way back to his own room.

Mitch just watched him go, staring at the still open bedroom door for a sec before shaking it off and digging into his breakfast. He didn't want to assume their ... revelations or the cuddle session they'd had the night prior had anything to do with this wonderful mood his friend had woken up in, but just the idea that it might be caused the back and forth between elated and guilty to start up again. He had no idea what he was going to do and the more the thoughts weighed on him the deeper his frown and his mood sank.

He couldn't think of anything else as he showered. He and Scott needed to talk. Scott and Alex needed to talk. Decisions had to be made and he didn't even know where to begin. Which talk comes first? Should he make Scott choose before they had their talk? But how would that work? He hadn't even come to terms with his own feelings how was he supposed to deal with Scott's too? Was he worrying over nothing?! Was Scott asking him to make a decision? Did Scott really want him in the dateable sense or just ... oh hey, I love you but I have a boyfriend so welcome to awkward town? Could he look Alex in the face ever again without guilt & jealousy burning through the lining of his stomach?

He suddenly felt nauseous.

He tried singing to himself to distract him for awhile. It only sorta worked.

He hoped whatever wacky Scott was smoking would wear off, but when he finally emerged from his room Scott was loading the dishwasher while dancing and singing to music booming from his iphone.

He smiled to himself and videoed as much as he could get away with before Scott caught him.

"If that shows up on snapchat I will murder you. Is that a new shirt?"

"Mmhmm. You ready to go?"

"You look nice. I'm almost ready just give me one sec." Scott finished up what he was doing and then disappeared back into his room only to reappear a few moments later. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked over to Mitch and held out his hand. It took Mitch a second to realize why.

"Um... why are you giving me your meds?" he raised an eyebrow unsure of Scott's current thought process.

Scott just laughed, a blush crawling up his neck and cheeks. "No. I'm not giving you my meds. I just want you to see that I'm taking them. See?" He dumped the pills in his mouth and swallowed them down with a drink of water.

Every tense muscle and heavy feeling festering inside of Mitch immediately softened. The honesty... the eagerness to show Mitch he was going to make good on his promise... was just too much. It took a lot of restraint to resist the urge to wrap his arms around the goofy man's middle and squeeze.

"Babe, I trust you. You don't have to show me. I believe you."

"Are you sure? I mean if you want you can keep them and make sure I take them every morning or I can just wait until you can watch me take them every morning ... or..."

"Really, it's not necessary. You promised you'd take them and I believe you. End of story."

Scott's smile was bright and he wrapped Mitch up in a smothering hug for a moment, nose buried in his hair.

Mitch giggled just a bit when he heard the quiet inhale.

"Cmon. I'll drive." Scott offered as he pulled away.

"No arguments from me. Lead the way pod man."