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Warm wind blew through Mitchell’s brown hair, blowing it out of his eyes. His eyes struggled to adapt to the brightness around him. Is this how vampires felt? A jarring juxtaposition from the eternal night he had grown accustomed to, standing in the middle of a parking lot two blocks from Main Street. His car had almost certainly been towed. Birds squealed above him, returning from their winter migration. He threw his duffle bag, enchanted to be bigger on the inside so as to hold all the trinkets and gifts he had collected the past year, over his shoulder as he began to walk towards the main road. His best bet moving forward was to try and find his old roommate Kevin.
Roommate was a generous description for the situation, having just been sleeping on his couch for a few months prior to his departure. Before that they’d been childhood friends, even briefly playing in a band together before Mitch’s mother threw a fit. There was no doubt he’d been worried.
Muscle memory guided him, very little looked the same anymore, the once small college town having been consumed by the growing urban sprawl. All new shops in old buildings. The smell of fresh bread emanated from a corner shop, a bakery that had been there since he was a child. His mother had taken him there once and when he was still actively in school he’d stop by at least once a week for coffee and a bagel. His stomach growled, he hadn’t eaten that morning. The stress had made him too nauseous.
Reaching into his bag he fumbled for his wallet that was buried under clothes, books, and games. His fingers landed on the worn leather and he pulled it out, opening it and inspecting the contents. No cash, go figure, His card had probably been frozen too. He groaned in annoyance, drawing the attention of passersby who picked up their pace as they passed. Who knows how much shit he would have to sort out now?
Disappearing did have to have some drawbacks, otherwise everyone would do it.
He shoved the wallet into his pocket and rounded the corner leading to a series of apartment complexes where Kevin had lived. Hopefully he still lives there because there was no way he was going to go to his parents. The apartment was worn down, barely fit for habitation by anything but rats. And students.
Mitch stood outside of the door, staring up at the brass 304 . His mind swam with questions and he couldn’t seem to make it shut up. Will he be angry? Tentative raps against the door. Does he even still live here? A clatter comes from inside and he considers running, turning tail down the steps and never coming back, but his legs are locked in place. Footsteps approach and he hears the slide of the chain lock before the door cracks open.
He looks different now, dark messy hair reaching down past his shoulders, His face is shadowed by light stubble. He’d always been worried that he’d never be able to grow anything. He’s shirtless, revealing a fresh tattoo on his chest still covered by saniderm. He’s leaned against the door, eyes wide and jaw open as he stares at Mitch.
“Hey babe, who's at the door?” A woman's voice cut through the silence as she walked into frame just behind Kevin. She was cute, petite with medium length brown hair. She too was shirtless and Mitch realized he'd interrupted something. Kevin still hadn’t spoken, hadn’t taken his eyes off of Mitch.
“Oh! Sorry, I uh, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I'll just come back. Later.” He forced his still legs to begin backing up as nervous words tumbled out of his mouth, but stopped when Kevin grabbed his hand, staring down at their fingers then back up at his face. He seemed almost scared.
“No wait!” His voice was definitely panicked and he took his eyes off Mitch to look back at the confused woman. “Sorry Cassie, I’ll explain later but I really need to handle this now.” He dragged Mitch into the apartment, practically throwing him inside and closing the door as the woman, Cassie , nodded quickly and walked to the bedroom. Kevin was still holding onto him, now so tight that his black nails contrasted against white skin that was losing its circulation.
Cassie soon came back fully clothed, prompting Kevin to release his death grip and walk over to her in the entryway. Mitch stretched his fingers, a satisfying pop coming from his knuckles while they spoke.
“Look, I promise I’ll call you. This is just… really hard to wrap my head around right now.’
“Is that..?” Her voice was soft and she sounded so sweet. Babe . Were they dating? He hopes so, Kevin always was the type to need someone.
“Yeah…” Why did he sound so sad? He must've been angry after all and just couldn’t express it in front of her. Or maybe he was going to bottle it all up. How unfair, didn’t he know Mitch would always be there when he needed someone to take it out on?
The door creaked shut and Kevin walked back into the living room, returning to his staring. Mitch felt scrutinized under his gaze, like it was trying to peel off his skin and look at his soul to the sin within. The Lion and the Gazelle.
“I uh- I missed you man.” Those few words were all it took for Kevin to throw himself at Mitch, latching on tight and pinning the smaller man against his chest. He sounded like he was crying, small gasping breaths and an uneven rise and fall of his chest. He held him back just as tight, warm skin under his cold fingers as he rubbed his back. Kevin began truly sobbing into his shoulder, tears and snot soaking through the fabric.
“I thought you were gone , that I’d lost you .” Oh . Mitch felt like an asshole, how could he say that he'd always be there when he hadn't been? He’d never thought about just how hard this would hit Kevin. And how could he have forgotten? He was there when Kevin's mom died, there when his dad left him before her funeral even happened. You don’t go through that without developing some serious abandonment issues.
“I’m so sorry Kev, I never meant to leave you.” Kevin pulled closer, somehow, and buried his nose into the wispy hair at Mitch's neck. He seemed so small.
“I thought you killed yourself.” Oh. Oh no no no . Has it truly been that bad? He raised one of his hands to run through his hair, the scent of his shampoo lingering in his nose. What the fuck was he supoosed to say to that ? To say he hadn’t been on that track would be a lie, but explaining where he had actually been may have been harder than admitting that.
“I-”
“I don't care. You're here now.”
“I still owe you an explanation. I vanished.” It was Kevin though, if anyone would be willing to believe him it would be him.
“It can wait.” Mitch maneuvered the larger man towards the couch by his shoulders. They’d be here awhile, so may as well get comfortable. He sunk into the old couch with ease and Kevin crawled partly into his lap like a child seeking comfort. before he left this would have freaked him out beyond belief, this show of affection so far out of the social norms of his upbringing. But now he’d seen stranger ways of showing love.
And he did truly love Kevin. he’d probably loved him since the day they met on the playground. He can still picture that gap toothed smile, jeans dirtied and torn form playing in the ground. He still loved him as they got older and begun to split apart. It wasn’t Kevins fault though. Mitch’s family had looked at him and saw this sweet boy, with his painted nails and rock music, as a bad influence. They had made Mitch stop talking to him around his senior year and the time since had been the loneliest period of his life. It wasn't until the months leading up to his disappearance that, around the time he dropped out, that they got back in contact. Even after the time apart and how he had been treated, Kevin had still welcomed him in and given him a place to stay. And now he’d gone and done it again. He didn't deserve his forgiveness, or his kindness then, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve it now. But shit , he was glad he had it.
The crying calmed down fairly quickly, but no moves were made to get up even as Mitch's stomach began to riot.
“Sorry to ruin this tender moment but I'm starving , would you mind if we got something?” Kevin sat up and looked at him blinking before he shook his head, hair flying around him.
“Oh! Yeah! Absolutely! Sorry I didnt even think…” His voice trailed off as he stood and began looking around the room. “Let me just find my shirt and we’ll grab something. I haven’t gotten a chance to do groceries in a while so I don't really have anything to feed you.” He grabbed a black band tee off of the back of a chair and threw it on, tying his hair up into a loose bun.
“Why are you stressing about it? I’m the one who showed up entirely unannounced. ” He stood and grabbed his bag, moving it out of the way and into Kevins bedroom. “By the way, do you know if my bank got frozen?”
“Well I’m super glad you did. Show up that is. Oh and yeah it totally is, after we eat we can go get everything taken care of.” He slipped on a pair of tye-dye Crocs and turned to Mitch, smiling and clasping his hands together. He was nervous and had every right to be. What the shit does ‘everything’ mean?
“Define everything .” Kevin scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly and Mitch narrowed his eyes at him.
“Well uh, we need to go to the police station since I kinda, maybe , filed a missing persons report.” Mitch turned around, opening his mouth to speak. He wasn’t given the chance. “It was warranted . Anyways we’ll also need to go to the bank and tell them you’re alive and go pick up your car from my grandparents.”
Mitch groaned and rolled his eyes. “That’s like three things ! Why does life need to be so hard?” Kevin laughed, the remaining tension melting away. Mitch couldn’t help chuckling along with him. “Well whatever, you’re buying.” Kevin slapped his back, hard , and pulled him into a headlock.
“Yeah yeah, I got you.”
They ended up at a nearby cafe popular among the local student demographic. The food was often greasier than it had the right to be and wasn’t exactly Michelin star, but it was good enough, especially when you’re hungover. Not to mention it was cheap, and with big portion sizes it was a trade off many were willing to take. Right now Mitch cred more about the size than anything, it was like he had a damn furnace in his gut. Kevin just stared at him while he ate, eyes wide and amused.
“So uh, probably time to ask what happened? You were gone for a while , no note or nothin’.” Mitch set his fork down and took a gulp of his water.
“It's really hard to explain, and I know it sounds nuts.” Kevin nodded and leaned in closer, urging him to continue. “I was chosen for an exchange program that was.. sprung on me for lack of a better word.”
“Whoa wait, you were kidnapped ?”
“ Well it, I mean.. kinda ? It’s okay though!”
“It’s okay that you were kidnapped ? How the fuck is that okay?”
“Look I said it sounds nuts, but I honestly ended up truly loving it there. It’s like everything I knew about my life got flipped around.” There wasn’t going to be a way to make this conversation fun and Mitch looked down into the coffee that just arrived, avoiding Kevins gaze. “You said earlier you thought I committed suicide, and honestly looking back on it I was on that path. I came to a point where I felt like I had nothing, I was suffocated by my parents and all their expectations and abuse. I felt trapped, like I was drowning while they looked down at me, telling me to man up and swim. All the while they had chained cinder blocks to my ankles and would only release me if I did exactly as they said. But even then I was only slightly closer to the surface.”
He could feel the warmth of a tear rolling down his cheek, he looked back up at Kevin as he wiped it away. He looked horrified.
“I- I had no idea it was that bad. I mean I knew that it was stressful and your relationship was tense but this…When I filed the report, they didn’t even know you’d dropped out. Is that why?”
“Yeah, but don’t beat yourself up over not knowing. I really tried to keep it to myself, everything about how they raised me told me that I deserved it and that it was a family matter not to be shared with outsiders and I would have done anything to make them proud. Part of why I dropped out is because I realized I never would, but while I was gone I finally found out what it felt like to be part of a family.”
“Wait, so you're telling me you formed a family with the people who took you?” He could see the gears turning in Kevins head, trying to wrap his head around the situation. If this part of the story was stressing him out this much, the whole ‘Hell’ part should probably be discussed at a later date. “That makes zero sense. Is it Stockholm or something?”
“I- maybe? Honestly I forgot about how it all started after a few months. I'm not gonna say the entire stay was pleasant, but it got exponentially better. Besides, I learned a lot more than what was taught at the school there. I was put through hell and came out stronger, I’m not gonna let those loveless bastards that dare call themselves my ‘family’ shove me around anymore. I gave everything to them and they just hurt me and fed me a whole lot of bullshit. I learned that I deserve way better than that.” He slammed his mug down on the counter, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. “ I may not know what I’m going to do, but I am never going back to that ‘home’”
“ Shit man, I had no idea. You do seem different though, you certainly look different at least.” Mitch snorted and reached up to tug his hair. It was out of the straight clean style Kevin was used to, not to mention it was longer now, shaggy and reaching down the back of his neck. If the hair was unexpected, just wait until he saw the pact marks. Even if he said that they were tattoos there would only be marginally less confusion.
“ Ha , yeah I do. Personally I really like it, makes me feel like hot shit ya know?” With his coffee cup now empty he turned back to the water, washing some of the grease out of his mouth.
“Yeah it’s definitely pretty hot.” Mitch snorted, water burning his nose and choking him. He forgot how honest Kevin was.
“On that subject, that girl you were with. Tell me about her. I feel like I’ve missed out on so much.” Kevin's face lit up at the mention, a small blush beginning to show on his ears.
“Yeah! Her name is Cassie and she’s super awesome. She works at a cafe close to campus that I’d go to. After a while we started talking and just clicked. We’ve been seeing each other for around 3 months now. She’s actually working on a Masters in Psychology.” It was cute watch him get so worked up. Excitable, like a puppy.
“Hell yeah man, she sounds awesome. I swear I should get an honorary therapists license.”
“Oh is that so?”
“It was an intense family.”
“Alright alright, keep your secrets. You’ll have to tell me eventually though.” He waved at the waitress to bring over the check. “If you’re so skilled maybe you should talk to Cas, give her some real occupational experience .”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” The two of them got up from their seats and left the cafe, walking towards Kevins car and getting in.
“Alright, police time.”
“Aw man, I hate police time.”
“Do you want your shit back or nah?” Mitch huffed and pouted, crossing his arms and slumping down in the seat. “Buckle up.”
“Okay dad .” Kevin started driving while he looked for the belt, then abruptly stopped, sending Mitch's face into the dash. Not hard enough to do anything more than hurt. “Yo what the fuck?”
“Don’t sass me.” Mitch scoffed and rubbed his nose. This was going better than he had thought it would, it honestly felt like the chemistry they’d once had was still there and the relief was palpable. Kevin's head bobbed to the radio as he drove, and they both rocked out as they made their way to the station.
“I guess I just have one more question for now.” He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car, hands still gripped the steering wheel. Mitch hummed in acknowledgement. “If you loved it so much there, are you going to go back?” It was obviously hard to ask, Kevin speaking as though he was reading off a script. Mitch knew the answer he wanted, and he knew that he wasn't going to get it. He suspects Kevin knows too.
“Yeah, I’m going to try and go back.” Kevin inhaled deeply through his nose and looked out the window, firmly away from Mitch. “But I promise it’ll be different this time. I’ll be able to call and text and come visit, I’m not gonna leave you again.” Kevin sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, turning to Mitch with a watery grin.
“You better not. I’ll kill you ya know?”
“Oh get in here you sappy bastard.” He pulled Kevin into him again, he’d give him anything he needed to make it easier. “I’ve got you.”
“Thanks.”
After a minute they separated, Kevin wiping the remaining fluids off his face and hopping out of the car, Mitch following behind him and into the station.