AN: Hi! So this came about as a special request from AlexaLux. I took a few days off from writing this because I went to see the band in Atlantic City this past Sunday. It was SO amazing! Anyway, this is a smaller piece. I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy. Ja ne! 

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Where the hell was Mitch!? Scott had been searching for the past half hour and the slim brunette somehow kept eluding him. He was not in the mood for these games. He would tear apart this whole venue if he had to. He took a peak in all the dressing rooms to see if Mitch was in one of them but nothing so far. He completely ignored Kevin wanting to know what he was looking for. He had no time to talk. He needed to sort out this mess with Mitch.

He looked in the common area for the third time now. He had searched everywhere from the hallway leading to the stage to the private backstage spots. Maybe Mitch had gone on the bus? But that would mean going outside and Mitch wouldn't take the chance of fans spotting him pissed off. Rumors flew fast in the fandom. It was a bit scary, really. He looked down at his phone to see that the show was going to start in a few minutes. That meant he had only a little over an hour to find Mitch before they went on stage.

He ran his hand through his hair. Maybe he should go back to his own dressing room to recoup? Running himself ragged wasn't going to help anything. Besides he had totally blown off his boyfriend when he went after Mitch. Ugh! He was not looking forward to that conversation. It definitely looked bad on his part with disregarding the guy he was actually with to chase his ex. Especially after how that whole situation happened...

Scott dragged his feet through the door of his dressing room. It looked like his boyfriend was avoiding him, too. Great. He couldn't even pretend to be okay until showtime. He turned around to lock himself in the room and was met with Mitch sitting down, glaring daggers at him. He jumped back, a very unmanly squeal coming out his mouth at the shock. "Took you long enough, didn't it?"

It took a few seconds for Scott's heart to calm down and to breathe right. Mitch would be the death of him, he swore. "How long have you been in here!? I've been looking all over this place for you!"

Mitch rolled his eyes, his arms crossed defiantly. "Oh, I'm sure. And I came in about ten minutes ago. Your boyfriend happened to be dealing with Citizen Queen so the room was already empty." Mitch was still glaring at him. As if he was the one in the wrong!

Scott ground his teeth to keep from blowing up. "Mind telling me why you stormed off on me? That was uncalled for. I was sticking up for you."

Mitch's eyebrows rose up. "Uncalled for," he said indignantly. "What was uncalled for was you butting in on something that was none of your business!" This got Scott heated. He would never apologize for defending Mitch's honor.

"You are my business! I was not going to stand around and let you be put down by the person who is supposed to love you," he hissed out. Mitch sat up straight, his eyes growing wide with rage. If he was a bird, his feathers would be ruffled right then.

"That is my boyfriend! We were having an argument. You know, those things that can happen from time to time between people? It was not as serious as all that." Scott rolled his eyes and scoffed. "What is your problem?"

He couldn't let this go. Mitch was really pushing all the buttons. "My problem is you letting someone walk all over you just so you can stay on their good side. As if that will keep them with you."

Mitch's face was growing increasingly red. "EXCUSE ME!? What kind of presumptuous shit is that!? You know nothing about my relationship! So stay out of it!"

Scott was standing tall, hovering over him. "What, afraid of the truth? Mitch, he was saying you cared more about attention and the band than you did being with him. And that you were probably cheating on the road. Don't think I didn't see his eyes flick over to me when he said that. He was so loud, everyone in the hallway could hear it."

Mitch got up to his feet and got in Scott's face. He may not be nearly as tall but he was still extremely intimidating. It was a wonder how teenage him had ever had the guts to admit that he liked Mitch. Those dark eyes were terrifying. "Stop trying to twist things to fit your little narrative in your head. Things got a bit loud but you had no right to interject yourself into the conversation and threaten him! It is between me and him. This isn't a three way conversation."

"So you get to put yourself in the middle when Alex and I fought but I can't do the same? Isn't that just a bit hypocritical, Mitchell?" Mitch narrowed his eyes at him. He hated his full name and barely used it.

Scott could feel the Mitch's breath hitting his chin as he glared up at him. "He was being clingy and foolish and stressing you out for no reason. Besides, we all lived together. I kind of needed to resolve it otherwise me and the others would have had to suffer, too. That is completely different to this. We don't live together anymore. You don't get to barge into my personal life like back then."

Mitch's rebuttal brought back memories of the constant back and forth between him and his ex in 2015. And also of Mitch's calming presence and taking care of him when he just wanted to explode. "It doesn't matter if we live together or not. I will always be there for you. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Especially after what happened last time."

All the anger washed from Mitch's face instantly at those words. His eyes looked haunted by the ghost of his last relationship. "Scott....you don't have to do that. This....this isn't like then. It's different now....I'm different now....You don't have to put on armor for me," he answered in a soft gentle voice.

Scott's heart jumped at Mitch's voice and at his eyes which showed so much care for him. He could fall into those arms so easily. "Mitch....I promised you. I promised your dad. And I promised myself. I am not going to sit by and let you fall apart again. Staying in this relationship won't erase things. You deserve to come first. Guys come and go. But there's only one you. I am not going to fail you again."

Tears rushed down Mitch's face hearing him. "Scott..." he breathed out as if unintentionally. He reached up and touched his cheek, stroking Scott's cheek bone with his thumb. Looking into Mitch's eyes it was like a window into the past and he was seeing the moment after the break up in real time.

Fall 2013....

The living room had never been so silent since they had moved into together a few months before. All Scott could hear was the ticking of the clock somewhere. He didn't even remember them getting a clock. Mitch was probably the one who bought it. He was like that. He could see Mitch shift on the other side of the couch from the corner of his eyes. Mitch looked so defeated and had wrapped his arms around himself as if it would protect him from everything. Scott wanted to hold him in his arms but Mitch was not feeling okay about that. He had been self conscious for months with his weight gain. So instead, Scott vowed to sit there and wait for Mitch to initiate anything. He'd sit as long as Mitch wanted. He'd cut off his phone and put it away. Mitch had his undivided attention.

Scott didn't know how many minutes passed before Mitch spoke up. "I should have known something was wrong. I should have done more. Maybe then....".

Scott's head snapped in Mitch's direction at his self shaming. "Don't say that," he roared. "It is not your fault that Travis is a moron. He knew when he met you that you had bigger dreams. He's the one who couldn't take the heat. You did nothing wrong."

Mitch shook his head as tears clung to his eyelids. "I should have talked to him. I should have taken care of myself. I let myself fall. If I had never auditioned for The Sing Off, this would have never happened."

The anger bubbled inside Scott. "IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SING OFF, HE WOULD HAVE NEVER MET YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!" This coldness settled in Scott's stomach as the reality of it hit him. He was the reason that Travis even came in the picture. He had never thought that Mitch would want to date him. He had never imagined his former friend would try to get with Mitch. He hadn't even known Travis was into guys until Mitch caught his eye. His stomach churned. It wasn't fair! He saw Mitch first! Mitch was his! At least....he was. He tried keep the bile from coming up his throat as memories of Mitch with Travis assaulted his mind.

There was something really wrong with him. He had a boyfriend but he was still hung up on Mitch. He should be over their brief relationship. It was over three years ago! But....he couldn't. Something told him that he had gotten it right. That he had won a one in a million prize by finding Mitch so young. That he found that fabled 'The One' or 'Twin Flame'. Yet, Mitch was resistant to believe that. He didn't believe it was that easy.

"Why is it that every guy I am with leaves me?" Scott's heart shattered at how broken Mitch sounded. His voice was weak and shaky. Looking over, his normally shining beautiful olive skin was pale. His lips kept quivering.

"That's not true," Scott replied, reaching over to grab Mitch's hand in his own. He so desperately wanted to pull Mitch into his arms, weight be damned. He didn't understand why Mitch was so hard on himself. In his eyes, Mitch was the most spectacular person he had ever met. He was smart, clever, funny, loving, daring, sassy, and so freaking gorgeous it hurt. Why couldn't Mitch see what he saw?

"YOU DID," Mitch screamed back, pulling his hand away. Scott's heart stopped for a second. What....what did he mean by that? Was he....?

Scott moved closer to Mitch on the couch, cautious. "Mitch...are you talking about when I went to college? I...I don't understand."

Mitch silently cried, his eyes closed. "When you said that you were applying to USC, I felt like I already lost you. I knew you would get in. How couldn't you? You're so amazing." Scott's lips twitched into a sad smile but quickly dropped a second later. "And I knew that I couldn't put myself through being with you but then you leaving. So I broke up with you. I figured that since we hadn't been together long, that it wouldn't hurt as much. I was so wrong. It was like I lost a part of me when we broke up. You prospering in LA at USC was the nail in the coffin."

Knowing that Mitch gave up their love to preserve their friendship was the hardest thing to handle. Scott had always figured that Mitch just didn't feel what he felt. The fact that he actually did was painful. But like always, they had to push away those feelings for the more immediate issues. He held back the tears and got down from the couch and kneeled down in front of Mitch. "Hey, look at me, Mitch." Mitch stared down at him, his eyes so devoid of life. "I know I left. It was hard for me, too. I felt so lost on my own. Pentatonix came about because I wanted better for you. We are better together than alone."

Scott reached up and caught the tears running down Mitch's face. "Really?"

Scott's heart swelled as he looked into Mitch's eyes. "Yeah. Mitch, Travis is nothing in your grand story. He was wrong for doing what he did. He's going to regret not being here to see you grow into a confident star. I know you think that this is the lowest point, but you'll get passed this. You don't need any man there. You can do this. You want to feel sexy, right?" Mitch nodded. "We'll work in any way to get you to that. With the rest of the band, we'll make it to the top. And we'll have Superfruit to release all our wildness. You hear me? This is only the beginning."

Mitch just cried. "Why are you so determined to do this? Why do you care so much?"

Scott grabbed both of his hands, holding them tight. "Because you are my best friend. I care about you more than anyone else, maybe even my family. I went chasing my dreams without leaving a line for you to grab. I am not doing that again. When Mike agreed for you to be on The Sing Off, he made me promise I would look out for you. I failed him. I let him down. You are not ever supposed to be hurt. I let my guard down with Travis and he tried to take away your shine. Right here, right now, I promise I will always be here for you. Whenever you need me, I will be right there. I won't let anyone hurt you again. I promise you. It's you and me, Mitch. We'll make it, together."

"Scott....". Mitch bent a little down, their foreheads connecting. Scott felt this spark run through his body. Their eyes fluttered close as Mitch held Scott to him. He felt Mitch's nose bump against his own and his breath fan over his lips. This....this was them. He would never forgive Travis for what he did. He would never let any "friends" weasel their way in like this. He didn't know what was going to happen in the future but he knew that he would not give up. He would do anything for Mitch. So there they were, feeling the string pulling them closer to their forever.

Present.....

In the blink of an eye, instead of seeing awkward 2013 Mitch, he was looking at current Mitch. "You were thinking about then, too, weren't you," Mitch said, his voice so soft as if still lost in that moment.

"Yeah....". His heart was beating fast. All the emotions swirled inside him. All the things that had been left unsaid that day. "Mitch, I'm sorry I blew up like that. I shouldn't have done that. I get so heated when anyone even looks at you wrong. I guess I forget it is not my place to act the way I do."

Mitch shook his head, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "Don't say that. You have every right to be that way. You told me in advance that you would protect me. I just....didn't want to deal with the truth. I have been trying to make this relationship work. Except, I don't even know who I am doing this for? Or even why? I am so confused. I want to be with him but then I feel so contained. And I know this is hard for him. I'm sorry he insinuated what he did. I get that puts a strain on things with your boy. I....I don't think I can stay with him."

Scott stared at Mitch. He wanted to study every little twitch and light in his expressions. He wanted to understand him. He didn't want any more miscommunication. "Hey, it's okay. You aren't going to know for sure about everything at once. You need to take time to really understand what you want, truly. He isn't wrong though. You know how we are. We are like two magnets. We naturally gravitate towards each other. And after the way I acted and went after you, I am thinking that things aren't going to work out so well with my relationship, either."

He felt Mitch's nails scraping his shaved down head. It was grounding. "Why do we always drag others into our mess? I just want to get it right."

Scott smiled as he brought his head closer to Mitch's. "We live for the drama I guess. I mean, I am a jealous prick."

Mitch shook his head, his eyes glowing. "You are so cheesy. And you are my jealous prick." Mitch brought their foreheads together. Scott's eyes closed instinctually. He could feel the slightly cool skin against his own and the smoothness of Mitch's rings as he continued to stroke his cheek. He pulled Mitch even closer by wrapping his arms around his waist. He could actually feel Mitch's heartbeat now. Their hearts were in perfect time with each other. "I love you," Mitch breathed out. His voice sounded like velvet. Soft and so so sexy.

"I love you, too," he replied back in the same near breathless tone. Mitch took his hand off his face and wrapped his arm around Scott's neck. His other arm joined it. Without missing a beat, he met Mitch's lips in a searing kiss. Like everything, they flowed easily together. Mitch played with his hair as he massaged his hips underneath his clothes. He didn't know how they were going to explain everything, but he knew that they were finally on the same page. Mitch was in love with him and he was in love with Mitch. Nothing was going to separate them ever again. He just hoped he still had his hearing after their friends and family found out.