the pinch's shock causes noah's eyes to open up like fireworks. he mumbles as his cheek is pinched- but the sound is soft and fleeting. a note of affection that lacks the granularity of refusal aside from the slight pain. his cheek blushes under kyle's finger tips.

"bro, i never joke around." noah suddenly feels more bare than he already is. his chest hovers above the bathwater and cools.

as the electrike moves in closer, noah allows morbid curiosity to take hold. his arms take the electrike- and as the dog's muzzle settles into a deceptive stillness, comfort lowers noah's defenses with a sigh.

but the dog latches on.

a terrible ripple of hot shock rolls up his spine and to his shoulders as his nipple is seized by baby dog teeth.

"fuck!" noah howls, his arms swinging forth but swinging back so that he does not hurl glen into the furthest wall. "kyle! i regret this so bad- ow! glen- owwwowowow, this is my favorite nip too! save it- save me!" he leans over the tub as if in search for a lifesaver.

kyle lopez

noah grows pink, the sore spot graced by a soft, childish kiss. dragging his fingertips across the surface of the water, the embarrassed bodyguard splashes kyle with a claw of lukewarm water.

"i didn't need a doctor for wild mushrooms." noah breathes, his face burning. "and i don't need a doctor for this." he's alerted to himself, and he promptly sinks deeper into the tub.

like a submerged soldier stealthing in a swamp or some hero re-dunking himself in the river styx after missing a spot, noah hides.

"u-uh, you can go get that bottle for glen now." noah says.

kyle lopez

"i'll get out of the tub when i calm down a little." his eyes slide south before flicking upward like rolling slots.

noah hums, the bathwater pulsing away in ripples near his lips. with a slight hunch to his shoulders, noah whispers.

"i can't show this side of me to our baby, y'know what i mean?" he stretches an arm out from the water and his body follows as he turns the faucet's handle to cold.

kyle lopez

noah thaws as the affectionate weight of kyle's face rests atop his wet mop. as his boyfriend leaves him with a kiss, the internal timer resets— but the man has a point.

"i still work as one." noah unplugs the drain stopper. "my services are exclusive now." he waits for the syrupy, sleazy line to settle before leaving the swirling tub with an "ayyyy."

as water shakes from his limbs, noah moves in close. he wraps a wet arm around kyle's waist and sneaks under the wrinkled towel as if it were an umbrella. he begins drying his own hair, hand rustling his claimed side of the rag.

noah looks to the electrike nesting in their clothes. another dog of many. he wonders if pokemon babies take on the traits of their owners in some way.

"i'm kind of scared, man." noah transfers the towel over to kyle's head entirely, pushing kyle slightly to rustle it all over his hair. "i don't wanna fuck this up, but i wanna do my part, y'know?"

kyle lopez

a fleecy moment settles upon noah's shoulders. like snow perhaps— but the warmth of kyle's body melts such an analogy. snow is too fleeting. what this is seems forever— at least, noah pines for it to be so.

he murmurs, smile curled in pleasant swoops between his cheeks. noah doesn't bother to cover himself. "okay, okay." noah's easy to convince.

but he does not easily forget.

"we're going to take another bath, right? we can't pretend that this is over, man." noah snickers. "resume after glen's all taken care of?"

kyle lopez

despite how comfortable he has become. despite how accustomed he is to the lilt and swing of this new life, noah does the decent thing for once. for the dogs, he thinks. for the dogs. the peck is enough of a promise, and so, noah grabs the nearest towel to wrap around his waist.

he does not keep kyle waiting. noah hurries out the door, his shape a blurred phantom in the steamy mirror behind him. he grabs onto kyle's shoulder as he tightens his towel around him.

"how about ross? y'know. or wait, cormag?" noah looks around as if sniffing for them. "they're good boys, so we can't go wrong."

noah sees the electrike cradled against the nook of kyle's arm and wonders if glen too, feels the same way he does when held by him.

kyle lopez