Chapter 53

Of course they passed, because of course they did. Alex and Mitch scored a little higher than Kirstie because they'd taken the harder jobs in the last activity. She didn't mind though, because her original score was higher, so Avi would probably just keep that one. Alex was relieved that the test was over, but couldn't help but glance through the one-way mirror to the table with the punishment items on it, before they turned to leave. Mitch saw him stop walking, and set his hand on Alex's lower back to push him out of the room. "Nuh uh, no more. We can't keep living in that mindset, Allie. That isn't our reality anymore. Now it's just... A distant memory. And that's where it belongs." Alex nodded a few times, but his face had fallen, and he looked down to meet Mitch's eyes with his own miserable ones. "I know." "Allie, please don't be upset. You're supposed to be this little ray of sunshine that I keep in my pocket for when I feel sad." Alex smiled a little, face lighting up. "I'll be your ray of sunshine! What an honor it would be." Mitch giggled a little, turning his head to kiss Alex's upper arm. "You're so wonderful. I'm so glad you finally have people treating you the way you deserve to be treated." Travis walked around the two of them, and then stopped in front of them to cease their footsteps. "Hey. Seriously. Are you guys okay?" Alex put an arm over Mitch and pulled him into his side. "Yes, we're perfect! Thank you!" He leaned in toward the Alpha a little. "Mitchie thinks I'm a ray of sunshine! Isn't that cute?!" Travis glanced to Mitch quickly, seeing the short Omega smiling up at Alex fondly. "Yeah. It's adorable, babe." ******** Upon arriving back at their house, Todrick was standing in the driveway with an apron on. He only looked up when Avi parked the car. Alex was the first one to come running, throwing both hands onto Todrick's shoulders. "What's wrong? You look heartbroken! Where's Kevin?!?" "He's inside with Grace. Please stop shouting, Al. I can't handle it right now." Alex frowned at him, and threw his arms around Todrick, picking him up off the ground. "Please tell me what's wrong. I will do anything I can to help you, because I love you very much and I don't want you to be sad." Todrick hugged him back, but didn't respond to him. Avi encouraged the Omegas to go into the house, before standing in front of Todrick, who was still being lifted by Alex. "Is something wrong, Beta? Where's Kevin?" "With Grace." He responded shortly. Scott was beside him then, Mitch behind him as well. Scott set a hand on Todrick's shoulder. "Toddy?" "Hmm?" "Why are you wearing an apron?" "I was making Alex's favorite meal... Remember?" "I remember. Did something go wrong?" Todrick frowned even more, wiggling away from Alex to stand on his own feet. "I messed it up... I ruined it." Alex held onto one of his hands. "It's the gesture that matters, T. It means a lot to me that you were thinking of me." "But I ruined it." "So what?" Avi held up a hand. "How did you ruin it exactly?" "I... Kevin was in the bathroom, and Grace started crying, so I went to tend to her and I didn't come back in time, and... It burned." Mitch spoke up then. "We could always just go out to eat and order what Alex wanted." Alex shook his head. "It's only good the way Todrick makes it. Because he's an amazing cook. But we can just do it some other time. Try again tomorrow, T?" Todrick looked down at his hands. "I just feel so bad... Kevin is in there now, making something else for you guys to eat. And that just makes me feel worse." Mitch tapped Scott's shoulder then. "Can I go say hi to Kevin?" Scott grinned down at him. "You can do anything you want, baby. I'll meet you inside, okay?" Mitch nodded, and then quickly walked in the front door and to the kitchen. He saw Wyatt on the floor, and snatched him up before he got to Kevin. He gently tapped Kevin's shoulder. "Hi!" Kevin grinned at him. "Welcome home! How did the test go?" "I passed, but... My first test score was better so I'm just not gonna mess with it." "Ah, I see. And Alex?" "He passed. Again. Big surprise." Kevin chuckled, stirring a pot of some kind of pasta. "Good for him. Good for both of you." Mitch placed Wyatt back on his feet, though the small cat continued to step on his feet to get his attention. "Can I help at all?" Kevin glanced around the counters, trying to remember what he was even doing. "Sure, um... If you grab those pieces of chicken over there... Would you be comfortable cutting those up to put in the pasta?" "Okay! It's been a while since I've done something like that, but I'd love to try it." Kevin just smiled. "If you have any questions, I'm right here." When Scott walked into the house, Wyatt ran over to him and scratched at his pants, also looking for attention. Scott scooped him up and grinned. "Hi, baby. Where's your other daddy Mitchie? I know you like him more than me." Avi walked in right behind him, Kirstie walking toward him with Grace in her arms. Grace saw him immediately, and made grabby hands toward him, mumbling the words she knew. Avi hurried over to her, holding his fingers toward her so she could hold onto them and carry on her conversation with him. Avi just smiled at her. "Hi, little one. How are you?" Grace spoke a little louder, the only words Avi was able to decipher were 'Dadda' and 'Mamma.' Kirstie met Avi's eyes, before looking back down. "That's very interesting, Gracie."