Closing the door to the bedroom, Owen ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Fox had passed out after eating nearly three whole pancakes, and considering how loud he was snoring, he doubted the guy would wake up anytime soon.

Time to finally have a soak.

The second that thought left his mind Owen felt eyes on him and glanced to the left.

Of course.

Amos was lying on his back, having flopped over onto the carpet. Only his shoulders and head were visible beyond the edge of the wall as he stared up at him with a look in his eyes that Owen was all too familiar with.

"No, you can't join me."

Since he'd already taken his shirt off to give to Fox, Owen simply walked into the bathroom and quietly shut the door.

You would know where my chin has been, by the way.

Owen pursed his lips tightly at the comment and removed his pajama pants, letting them drop to the floor before stepping out of them.

I wasn't thinking straight, Owen replied after a tense minute in which he got the water started and checked the temperature. He didn't like his baths too hot, like Fox's insane noodle cooking temperature, but he did want a tiny bit of a sting to his skin when he sat down in it.

Of course not. You were thinking gay.

He wasn't even going to grant that sentence a response. While the water began to rise, he added a small bit of Epsom salt and a small amount of eucalyptus bubble bath. It might have seemed odd for an adult male to us bubbles, but he just didn't like seeing himself when he was taking a bath. He definitely wasn't self-conscious, but it just felt more comfortable to have a few layers of bubbles cover the expanse of the tub. The scent was also pretty nice.

A faint tap against the door drew his attention after he finished putting the bag and bottle he'd used back beneath the sink where it belonged. It didn't sound like a knock...

Looking down, he noticed the shadow and realized that Amos had sat down against the door. Licking his lips, he turned back toward the mirror and stared at himself.

"You should go visit him."

There was no response from the other side of the door, and Owen didn't expect one. He knew that it had been a low blow, but Amos needed to do something about it. When the man remained silent even after the bath had filled, Owen shook his head and turned off the water, then carefully stepped into the hot water.

His words weighed heavily in his mind as he leaned his head back against the small suction pillow he'd bought for relaxing. He didn't regret what he'd said, he rarely ever did, but he knew that Amos was struggling with the situation and bringing it up would hurt.

Someone had to say something, though, and Fox doesn't know.

"Keep it that way. He doesn't need to," Amos finally whispered from beyond the door.

"Of course. It's your situation. I won't tell anyone anything."

There was silence for another long stretch of time, so Owen allowed his eyes to close and tried to relax his tense muscles.

"You know you want my hands on you."

Owen's eyes rolled up at the ceiling as they blinked open.

"Of course," he said sarcastically before dipping his head underwater for a moment.

When he resurfaced he rubbed the soap from his face, then reached for the towel he'd hung on the bar to his left, only... it wasn't there. Retracting his arms, he heaved a sigh and scowled.

"Amos."

"Present!" the man said cheerfully, clearly inside the room, and quite close, too.

"I didn't say you could come in," Owen grumbled, lifting his hand up, silently asking for the towel since he couldn't see.

Instead of handing it to him, Amos gently patted Owen's left eyelid and forehead with it, then moved his attention to his right side. When he felt content, he leaned away, taking the towel with him.

Thankfully, he did a good enough job and Owen was able to open his eyes again without any burning from the soap or salt. Amos was sitting right next to the bathtub, his shirt somehow missing in action.

"I figured you wouldn't mind the view, but I also didn't want to get neutered, so pants are still on... sorry," he said with a sheepish grin.

Stop looking cute. I'm not letting you feel me up. It was sarcasm, not an invitation.

Amos' grin widened as he leaned his head down against the edge of the bathtub and smiled earnestly.

"Owen called me cute!"

Owen saw what was about to happen and quickly reached out to cover Amos' mouth as he sat up a moment later and turned and opened it, clearly intent on repeating his sentence to a sleeping Fox. When both of his damp hands sealed over the man's mouth, a near-silence took over the small, humid room. The only thing that was heard was the quieting rhythm of the resettling water Owen had displaced with his abrupt actions.

The faintest feeling of something warm pressing against his fingers sent a shiver down Owen's spine, but he refused to remove his hands. Amos' mouth was dangerous, in every aspect. He definitely didn't want Fox waking up to this kind of situation.

Hmm. What kind of situation is this? Amos asked as he nuzzled against Owen's palm until he finally relaxed his hold the slightest amount. The awarded freedom was quickly snatched up by Amos, who languidly pressed a kiss to the inside of Owen's wrist.

Not trusting his voice, Owen replied through their bond.

It's not a situation.

Leaning his head back slightly and to the side, Amos smiled with his eyes.

This is nothing, hmm? Once we walk out of this bathroom, what happened doesn't exist, then.

That wasn't what he'd meant, but the heat building in his body from the water... clearly, from the water, was making his mind fuzzy.

"Owe," Amos mumbled as his mouth began to travel up along his arm, leaving little, sloppy kisses. "You're hot as fuck."

He couldn't argue. He had definitely sat in the water far too long.

Stop staring at me.

He turned his head away to glare at the white tile wall, but he couldn't stop himself from fidgeting as Amos' lips continued to travel up along his arm until, finally, he let his tongue slip free and gently lap at his shoulder.

"S-stop."

Amos immediately jerked away, removing his hand from Owen's arm and settling it on the edge of the tub as his other dropped to his knee. Thank god the guy had a strong off-switch, and it only took the one word to snap him out of it immediately.

He intended to tell him to get out, but the words that came out of his mouth didn't quite match that sentiment.

"I-I need to breathe."

Owen refused to look at the guy beside him as he panted, his eyes still on the wall, his shoulders straight but stiff. Eventually, slowly, he managed to relax and get his breathing under control. At some point during that time, he felt Amos' eyes move off of his body, allowing him to finish calming down, then finally look over at him.

Amos was staring at the door, a faint sheen of sweat fainting noticeable across his brow, no doubt from the temperature in the room and their bit of... whatever they had been doing. He seemed to notice that he'd recovered and grinned, but didn't turn his attention back to him as he spoke.

"Your nipples are so hard. I want to feel them between my teeth."

Feeling absolutely no remorse for his next action, Owen swiped his hand across the top of the hot water and sent a pretty good sized wave of it at Amos. The guy was too surprised to even be able to react and took the attack from behind, immediately getting drenched and covered in a thin layer of bubbles.

That was actually pretty impressive. Proud of myself.

Owen felt his mouth suddenly go dry after that thought when Amos slowly turned toward him, though. A few drops of water slid from his messy bangs and traveled down his left cheek. His eyes were aglow with mischief as his body turned to face Owen again, but it was hard to focus on anything but the tongue calmly swiping across Amos' lower lip.

"Owe... if you wanted to make me wet," he began to say as he let his head slowly shake back and forth. "All you had to do was look at me like that."

Like what? I'm not looking at you any differently!

Except, he had no idea what he was looking at him like. He was just, looking at him. How could he not? The man was imposing, and had the body to back it up. He was built, but reasonably-so. Compared to Amos, Owen definitely felt... less? He knew that he could handle himself in a fight because of his aggression and he was a very dominant person in general, but compared to Amos, he would never win. The man simply let him get away with things because he—

Because he? Because he what?

Amos tilted his head, then folded his arms on the edge of the tub and leaned down to rest his chin on top of them. It looked a bit funny since he was a bit too tall for the action, but also somehow cute.

"Because he what?" he asked, mirroring Owen's thought.

Owen glanced away for a second and shook his head. This really wasn't the time, or place, for this kind of thinking.

"Because he's always loved you? Even though he knows that we both want to pin each other down and refuse to give an inch. To tear at each other's hair and clothing. To dominate and refuse to be dominated. He still wants to be beside you for as long as you'll put up with him."

Owen was about to argue that he wouldn't tear Amos' clothing off, but the guy seemed to realize what he was going to say and looked down at his bare, wet, toned chest, then back up with a raised eyebrow.

Feeling his face heat uncomfortably, Owen sealed his lips shut, only for his eyes to widen when Amos leaned in and gently pressed a kiss the edge of his mouth. He moved away immediately afterward, then pushed himself to his feet as he spoke.

"We'll talk about visiting my dad another time. Come to bed soon?"

Owen swallowed down his nerves and nodded, earning a smile from Amos before the man quickly brushed his teeth, then stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind himself.