Chapter 115

The rest of the Pack returned home around dinner time, and Alex had almost forgotten to make the meal, as Avi had told him. He was running around the kitchen, not even fully dressed, trying to rush and make the best dinner he could think of, something that Todrick had taught him how to make. Scott said something about the wrap on his hand bothering him, so Jake was now sitting on the couch beside him rewrapping it. Mitch was just sitting on the other side of his Alpha, one hand on Scott's thigh while Scott kept his arm over Mitch's shoulders. Mitch stood up at one point, to go help Alex in the kitchen. Alex was searing meat, and putting them on eight different plates. He was currently on veal number four out of eight. Mitch watched him for a little while, and then finally spoke up. "Hi, Allie." Alex looked down, a wide smile on his face. "Hi! How are you? Can I get you anything?" "No. I'm fine, thanks. You?" "I'm great! Thank you for asking." Alex grinned and then turned back to what he was cooking, setting down two more pieces of meat on their selective plates. "Have the others come back home yet?" "Not yet. You've got time." Alex's shoulders finally relaxed, and he nodded, laying down the last two dinners to cook. "Oh thank goodness... I was so afraid that Avi would show up and start yelling at me for not being done. Or Todrick would be disappointed because I didn't execute proper time management." Mitch stared at him for a second before answering. "You have such an odd way of thinking." Alex looked down to him again. "Really? Is that... Bad?" "Sometimes." Alex pouted, eyes turning back to the meat he was cooking. "Really? Oh no... Why?" "You're too nice, sometimes. Like... To a fault." "Oh.. I'm sorry. I hadn't noticed." Alex responded quietly, pouting. Mitch shook his head a little, still staring at Alex's face. "See? I just said something relatively mean to you, and you apologized." "It wasn't mean. And... I'm good at taking criticism." "But you--" Mitch stopped himself, and suddenly grabbed one of Alex's arms and shook him as much as he could. "Alexander Kirk, you just gave yourself a compliment!" Alex smiled at him, trying to match his excitement even though he didn't really understand why. "Yes I did!" "Oh my God, how cool is that?! I've never, ever, ever heard you compliment yourself. Good Lord, what has Jake done to you? I'll have to thank him the next time I see him." "Okay, Mitchie." Alex replied, still not quite understanding the situation. He took out the last two pieces of veal, laying them in the last two plates. Mitch grinned widely, watching Alex work. "That just made my day, you don't even know." Alex smiled back, and then moved to take the hot frying pan to sit beside the sink, so he could remember to clean it when it cooled down. "Watch out, babe. Don't want to burn you." Mitch took a small step back, and his smile widened. "Did you just call me a babe?" Alex set the pan down, and then turned slowly, eyes wide. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that would upset you. I won't do it ever aga--" "Alex!" Mitch grabbed both of Alex's arms, shaking him again. "It didn't upset me! I actually think it was kind of adorable." "Oh... Oh, good then! I'm glad to hear that." Mitch let go for one second, and then grabbed Alex in a tight hug. "God, I'm so proud of you, Allie." Alex hesitantly set his hands on Mitch's back, and then bent a little to hug him back, resting his chin on Mitch's shoulder. "Thank you. I know we don't... We don't like to talk about our other Pack. But.. I just want to thank you for being there with me. And.. Never giving up on me." Mitch squeezed his eyes shut, hugging him a little tighter. "You're welcome, Allie... I love you." "I love you too, Mitchie. Even when you yell at me. And even when we argue. I'm still just... So glad I met you." Mitch took a step back, and wiped one of his eyes. "Stop that. You're making me cry." Alex gasped and bent a little to look Mitch directly in the eye. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." "It's okay. I deserve it, for all the mean things I say to you. I promise I'm working on it. You.. You're too nice to take treatment like that." "No, no... It's okay. Don't feel guilty, I don't blame you at all." "But I--" Mitch was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Alex gasped loudly, and pulled away from Mitch completely. "Oh God. I'm going to get punished." Mitch was by his side in an instant. "You won't get punished. What can I do to help?" Alex looked around quickly. "Would you mind setting the table for me? I'm sorry that I wasn't more organized..." Mitch nodded once, turning toward the dining room, until Alex snagged his arm and pulled him back gently. Alex met his eyes with wide blue Omega eyes. "Wait, you don't have to do that. I'm sorry for asking." Mitch rolled his eyes and snagged his hand back. "God, what is wrong with you? You're not asking me to jump off a cliff or something." He grumbled the last part, walking toward the table again. Alex didn't have time to argue with him, so he just turned back to finish making the pasta that he had planned to put underneath the veal, along with the side of vegetables he'd already prepared. Mitch glanced at the door for a second, seeing Jake greeting the others, Kirstie plopping herself down beside Scott on the couch to ask how he was feeling. He smiled a little, and then turned to start putting charger plates in each spot, before lining silverware up as well. Although he should've known better, because Scott was standing behind him in an instant. "Do you need help, Sweetheart?" Mitch just shook his head, still placing things where they belonged. "No thank you." "I can go grab the cups for you if you want?" Scott offered, speaking almost directly into Mitch's ear because of their height difference. "If you absolutely must. I don't know why you feel like you always have to be helping someone, but. That's none of my business." Scott chuckled a little, and then turned to walk into the kitchen for the cups. Mitch turned his head to smile at Scott's back, and then turned back to the task at hand. Kevin and Todrick took their seats at the table, Avi following them a moment later. Mitch lined up Avi's silverware on the napkin he'd set down, having to reach past Avi to do so. "Excuse me, Sir." Avi didn't say anything at first, but then spoke up. "How's Scott?" "He spent most of the time sleeping, and I made sure he relaxed the entire time you were gone. Icing his hand every now and then." Mitch explained. "Good. Thank you, Pup." "You're welcome, Sir." Scott walked out of the kitchen then, holding a big stack of cups in one hand. He set them down on the table, and then tried to struggle with pulling them apart without using his dominant hand. Mitch walked over quickly, giggling a little. "Alpha, let me help you." "I can do it. Don't you worry about me, honey." Scott responded, although he continued to have a very hard time pulling the cups apart. Mitch just shook his head, and reached past him to help him anyway. He began placing cups beside each plate setting. Scott frowned. "I feel useless." "You're not useless, don't be silly." Scott made a sad noise and then headed back into the kitchen to see if he could help Alex.