Shout out to miss _opheliac for writing the majority of this. 

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There had been many moments in Scott's life recently where he had felt completely overwhelmed by everything that was going on around him - too many unexpected things, too many curve balls thrown at him that he wasn't prepared for or didn't know how to catch. If he had thought that his world had been turned upside down with the whole universe travel thing, what was happening right then was the so-called drop that would make the glass overflow.

He wasn't sure how he was managing to hold back the hysteria that so badly wanted to burst out of him, but by some miracle he was doing it.  He wasn't sure what his face looked like in that moment, but looking at his other self stare back at him with wide blue eyes, he figured he had a pretty close guess. There was nothing more he wanted than to keep his gaze on Mitch's face, to look at those features that he hadn't been able to watch for so long, but the few differences between his Mitchy and this boy in front of him were enough to throw him off.

It didn't help that Mitch looked absolutely shocked, his brown eyes shifting between the two identical men. He sure looked like he had questions, lots of them.

------

If there were ever a moment where Mitch was sure he was losing his mind, then that moment was it.

"Is this ... really happening?"

Maybe it's a dream.  Maybe it's a long lost relative? Vegas impersonator?  Hallucination?

The doppelganger looked as if he were about to pass out... or hurl... or maybe just break down in tears or all of the above. 

Neither of the look-alikes appeared as if they were going to speak any time soon and Mitch's brain was close to combustion.

"This is so weird." Scott.. well his Scott, whispered out. Mitch looked between the two and every glance back and forth left him increasingly more bewildered.

He tried to think of a logical explanation but his brain was experiencing Scott overload and all he could blurt out was "who..?"

"Me." His Scott was staring at the other copy of himself and he lifted a finger to point. "You're me. I mean... you look just like me." He turned to Mitch, an eyebrow raised. "He looks just like me." 

"Thank you Captain Obvious. Your observation skills astound me."

"Is that really what I look like?" Scott whispered as if the other person in the room couldn't hear him.

Mitch just rolled his eyes and finally asked the stranger the important question. "Who are you?"

---

Watching the two had been oddly entertaining, in a way that Scott wasn't quite sure how to explain. It was weird to hear himself - well, his other self - talk, his voice richer than he would have ever thought. And Mitch's, god.. he hadn't noticed when he had first spoken to him, too busy trying not to panic right in front of him, but even his voice was a bit different. It was higher and smoother, washing over him like warm water. It made his head spin and his heart ache, and yet he wanted to hear more, a masochistic need to have the boy talk to him again.

He couldn't help but observe how the two of them interacted, talking back and forward in a rhythm that sounded like it had been perfected over the years. It made his lips curve into a sad smile - Mitch and he were just like that. A similar kind of affection was laced in their words too.

He was so busy with his inner thoughts, he almost missed the moment Mitch stopped talking to the other Scott and went back to speak to him. And what a question he was asking! There was no simple answer to that. "I'm.." he started, before closing his mouth, unsure of what to say. While I'm Scott would be the right answer, at the same time it wasn't. He was Scott, but another Scott existed in this universe. His spot was already taken.

Still, he couldn't deny an answer, not to Mitch - not when he was looking at him with those big brown eyes that he had missed so much, not when he was once again the focus of that beautiful boy. His eyes shifted to his look-alike for just one second, biting his lip while wondering if he should just tell the truth and risk being mistaken for a total crazy - or make up a story on the spot.

His mouth decided before he could make up his mind. "I'm Scott. Uh." He cleared his throat, feeling even more overwhelmed at all that attention and sensing where the conversation was leading to. "Kind of. I mean, my name is Scott."

---------

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be." Mitch shook his head a bit, the heat and the situation beginning to get to him.

"Wait is this some kind of weird hero worship plastic surgery thing?" Scott took a step towards the other 'him', eyes narrowing slightly as he scrutinized his face. "You even have the jaw..."

"Shut up, Scott. ... Hoying. You." Mitch pointed as he grew more frustrated. "You..." he pointed to the doppelganger, "elaborate."

"I.. uh, you're not gonna believe me. I'm Scott. Scott.. him. You, I mean. Well no, I'm me but I'm also you and - can I please start all over again?" He raised his hands to rub at his face, clearly troubled. "I don't even know how to say this."

Mitch nearly jumped out of his skin as a sharp knock on the door interrupted the 'Scott not Scott's explanation. He could hear the knob turning and he made it just in time to push the door closed again when it managed to open just more than a crack. He quickly turned the lock and backed away.

"Seriously, guys you just came from hair and makeup I know you're decent."

Esther's voice sent the two into a panic.

"Hide him!" Mitch whispered harshly at Scott who looked a bit like a deer (or a giraffe) in headlights.

"We don't even know who he is!" Scott gestured to the copy who was still standing there awkwardly. 

"Do YOU want to explain him to Esther?" Mitch inquired while frantically looking around for a hiding spot.

"I'm still waiting for someone to explain him to ME!" Scott stood there unmoving until Mitch shot him a sharp gaze to which he responded with a roll of eyes. "There's nowhere to hide him. It's not like he fits in a cabinet."

"What are you guys doing in there? Open the door!"

"Um... problem with my... zipper." Mitch made a face as the words left Scott's mouth. He mouthed What the fück to which Scott mouthed back I panicked! with a shrug.

Esther became quiet. "You know what... I don't want to know. Be backstage in 5 I have to check your in ears."

Mitch moved back to the door and listened until he was sure she was gone. As soon as he was certain he turned and smacked Scott on the arm.

"Oww." Scott pouted and rubbed at the sting. "Why is he OUR responsibility!?"

Mitch had already passed him and was headed for the 'other' him. He stood directly in front of the man who looked like his best friend and tilted his head just a bit as he regarded him. "I don't know who you are and there's no time for an explanation. Regardless, we can't just let you go roaming around. They'll toss you on stage and imagine THAT headline."

"I don't.. stage?"

"So what are we going to do with him?" Scott inquired.

"He's a person, Scott. He can talk. We can ask him what he wants to do." He never let his eyes leave a pair of sky blue eyes that if he hadn't known better he would swear he'd looked into a million times. "I know you don't know me but if you just stay here and lock the door until we come back ... you'll be ... safe."

"He's not under attack."

"No, but you're about to be." Mitch shot him another look before looking back at the doppelganger. "You can watch the show in here. I mean... you didn't have tickets did you? I guess you must have to have gotten in the building."

"Actually, I didn't. I mean.. it's complicated, but -"

"Yeah... he needs a ticket to get into a show that HE's putting on!"

"Scott-"

"Mitch he's WEARING MY FACE! WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIM except that his name is SCOTT and he says he's ME!"

"He's standing RIGHT here! He's a person! He hasn't tried to kill me yet and he looks scared not hatchety murdery. Let him speak!"

"WHY!? If he's not here to kill me and replace me then why the fück is he here!?"

"I'm not here to kill anyone, I swear!"

"Ok, I get that you're panicking. This is ... ok wait. You go breathe over there."

"No, I want an explanation!"

"There's no time. If you would shut up and go calm your shít I will handle this and we will go put on a fücking amazing show and we will come back to this room and you'll get your explanation, ok?"

"Mitch..."

"No. Professionals first remember?"

Scott just shook his head but didn't move so Mitch decided to end the debate and turned to the other Scott.

"Look.. I need you to stay here and not wreak havoc around the venue. If fans or crew or anyone else sees you they will think you're him and it won't end well. Just please stay here. Please."

"Or you could disappear too. That would be acceptable." Scott mumbled as he watched the other man warily.

Mitch didn't dignify that with a response, simply watched the other Scott stare at him with an intensity he felt in his chest. He shifted to hide the sudden uncomfortable, yet comfortable feeling. Who the hell was this guy?  

"I won't go anywhere, I promise. I..I will stay here." The guy smiled then, but something was off in the way the corners of his mouth curled up. "You can trust me..Mitch."

"I hope so."

----

As he watched the two men disappear behind the closed door, once again leaving him alone in the unfamiliar room, Scott could almost feel himself choke on the air surrounding him. The weight of the situation finally dawned on him as he reached behind to pull the first chair that he could find, sitting heavily on it, suddenly far more exhausted than he had ever been.

There were so many different thoughts swirling in his mind, so many questions that made him dizzy. He was still trying to force himself to believe that all of it was really happening, that he truly was in a different universe. That he had not simply hit his head and lost his mind.

Standing there and watching Scott - the other one - had been a mystical experience. He had observed himself in the mirror before, and he thought he had a pretty good idea of what he looked like when he was walking or talking. But this time it wasn't just a reflection of himself - it was him. Or, at least, it was supposed to be him. Scott wasn't sure that, if the situation had been inverted, he would have freaked out like the other had. Well...maybe. One thing he was sure of, though, he would have never accused him of being a psycho murderer or  whatever he was going on about.

And this Mitch... He was trying not to focus too much on him, not sure how much more his heart could tighten before it stopped working properly. While parallel Scott had looked almost exactly like him, just paler and way more built, parallel Mitch looked very, very different from how his Mitchy had looked when he was still alive.

It wasn't just the different look, or the edgy hairstyle or the piercing in his nose - it was the way he carried himself, almost like he was aware he was the center of attention the moment he entered the room. He couldn't blame him, though - he almost hadn't been able to take his eyes off him. And from the brief exchange he had seen, he was sure that this other Scott couldn't either, and maybe even more so.

He put his head in his hands, letting out a frustrated sound. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. Roger had told him that he should have come out on the other side in a government facility, somewhere where people knew about who he was and where he came from, someone who could help him settle in this unknown world. He wasn't supposed to meet his doppelganger - or Mitch's.

A buzzing sound interrupted his wandering mind, and he raised his eyes to the tv screen that was hung on the wall a few feet above his head. The screen had been black when he had first entered the room, and he had thought it was simply turned off - he hadn't realized it hadn't been connected. He almost jumped when the room was no longer filled with silence, and instead loud screams surrounded him.

They were coming from the screen.

Scott watched, marveled, as the screams only increased when five people made their way on the stage that was placed in front of what he could now recognize as a big crowd, four boys and a petite girl, all of them holding microphones in their hands. He was even more surprised when he recognized himself - or, to be more specific, the other Scott - and Mitch on his left. Behind them, on a screen so big that seemed to take all the space on the big wall, was a bright colorful word.

Pentatonix. He had no idea what that meant, but it was obvious that this was the show Scott and Mitch had been talking about. He almost felt his breath halt in his throat as he waited for the crowd to slowly go silent, and then he watched as the five people on stage brought the mics to their lips.

The music started, and his mouth almost dropped to the floor.

He had finally discovered the true difference between this Scott and himself - his voice could never compare. There was something beautiful in the way his doppelganger sounded, the richness in his tone, the way it could stretch from low to high, the powerful notes he could hit. He moved on the stage with a confidence that was foreign to him, shining in a way that had nothing to do with the multiple lights that surrounded them. He interacted with the crowd, smiling, laughing, talking, always moving and capturing the attention of everyone, but never keeping that for himself, sharing the spotlight as often as he was the focus.

But when Mitch sang, that's when his breath was stolen and he felt his heart ache in a way that he had never experienced before. Even in his own world, Mitch had had a beautiful voice, higher than most. He could remember the mornings that he had spent in bed, listening with a smile on his face as his fiancé had been in the small kitchen, preparing their breakfast with whatever food they had, singing quietly by himself.

Music had never been something big in their world - there were songs, but not many. They were old and often taught during kindergarten, and no one ever took care to memorize them enough to be able to remember them once they grew up. Even Mitch, whose memory had always been quite remarkable, could remember just a few words and notes, often making them up on the spot.

Scott was sure that, if voices like these existed in his own world, things would have been much different. If Mitch's voice had been like this, he was sure that they would have never had money problems. People would have shown up on their doorstep just to hear him sing, throwing bills at their feet just so they could have more time to enjoy the beautiful sound he could create.

No matter how scared and overwhelmed he was, he felt his shoulders relax as he lost himself in those unfamiliar songs and the way the five voices would combine to create harmonies that his mind could have never before imagined, and he let himself close his eyes and not worry about whatever was about to happen.

Scott let the music surround him, and imagined a world where he could listen to that beautiful sound with his arms wrapped around his Mitch, alive and healthy, and for the first time in a while, he didn't feel so lonely.

~~~

Scott had barely made it through the door when he heard his love's voice painting an uneven melody from the kitchen. He smiled to himself, practically tiptoeing to stand in the doorway and just enjoy the man that life had gifted him.

Even in the ugly orange haze of the sun through the kitchen window, Mitch's skin seemed to glow and Scott wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch. His love still hadn't noticed his presence and for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to interrupt the silly song the boy was probably making up on his own or the lazy smile on his lips as he went about preparing their meager dinner.

"I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot. I wear my wooly woolies in the winter when it's not."

He stifled a giggle as narrow hips swayed a bit in time to their own created beat, but brown eyes quickly caught him and it didn't matter anyway. The way his face lit up like the sun itself made Scott's knees a little weak and his heart a little swollen. He didn't even give Mitch time to speak as he crossed the short distance to bring him into his arms for a lengthy kiss.

Mitch leaned into him when they finally parted. "What was that for?"

"Because I love you. Because you're beautiful. Because I can."

Mitch lifted to his toes to bring their lips together once again, his smile still lingering. "I'm so lucky."

It was Scott's turn to laugh and he pulled back to look at him with a questioning lift of brow. "Are you sure you don't have that backwards, love?"

"I'm sure. You love me and that makes me so lucky."

Scott's grin was uncontrollable. "So will you still want to marry me if I tell you I don't have any pink pajamas."

Mitch smirked and backed away to hop up on the countertop. "Who needs pajamas."

Scott shook his head, smile wide enough to ache and slowly approached the best thing that had ever happened to him. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

Mitch threw his arms around his love's neck and pulled him close. "I love you."

Scott whispered his response against his lips. "I love you more than anything."