(These two finally talked to me... a little lol) 

"Hey..." 

Jared glanced up from the book he was reading, nudging his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he straightened in his chair. 

"Hey Knight." He replied, waiting for him to say what he came to. They had been kind of awkward since he'd kissed him a few days ago, but it definitely wasn't as bad as before. 

When Knight just stood in the door looking down at his feet, Jared sighed and removed his glasses to fold and set aside. He then set his book down with them and raised an eyebrow at the guy. The silent invitation did the trick. Knight walked forward, clearly trying to withhold his excitement, then slipped onto Jared's lap like a kitten silently begging for attention. 

Jared watched as the guy straddled him and leaned forward. Without a word, Jared reached up and wrapped his arms around Knight's waist. He felt him nuzzle into his hair and rest his arms on his shoulders. The gesture drew Jared's eyes upward, his head tilting backward just enough to see Knight staring down at him with a devilish smirk. 

"I don't want to know what thoughts have spawned that smile," he said with his own slight grin. 

Knight pursed his lips, trying to keep his smirk from growing wider, no doubt. 

"Talk to me, my chicken." 

Knight finished getting settled in his lap, then leaned up just enough to press a chaste kiss to his lips. Jared returned it gently, then leaned back to break the contact. "How has your new job been going?" he asked as he unconsciously played with the waistband of Knight's work pants. The guy looked decent in them, but he preferred him naked. Not that they had done anything yet, but still. 

He got a response after a few moments of Knight rearranging his hair. The guy had an obsession with preening him, even if he wasn't in his hawk form. It didn't really bother him, though, so he let him have his fun. Sometimes it was actually nice to just let the guy play with his hair a bit. 

"It's okay. When we have a chase or something it can get pretty cool. It's much easier for me to keep up with a bad guy than a dog when running through residential places. We kinda work together," he said as he nuzzled into Jared's hair and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Your hair always smells so good." 

Jared reached up with a quiet chuckle and ran his fingers through Knight's dirty hair. "It happens when you wash it regularly, my dirty bird." 

The smile he got in response to his comment as Knight leaned back a bit had him shaking his head. 

"You're not getting in bed looking and smelling like that. I don't care how cute you are when curled up next to me." 

Knight stuck his tongue out but slid from Jared's lap before grabbing the guy's hand and tugging. 

"I already took a shower this morning," Jared said even as he stood up and let Knight pull him along. They hadn't actually bathed together, even after realizing that they wanted to grow closer. Knight was quite jumpy, still not one-hundred percent trusting that Jared wasn't messing with him, and well, Jared wasn't used to touching in general. Even being looked at sometimes bothered him.                                                                        

Granted, Palace had been more than willing to offer them unwanted insight on how to screw each others' brains out properly, but they'd both managed to dodge most of what he tried to say on a daily basis. Just thinking about it made Jared cringe. 

"Do I really smell that bad?" Knight asked, staring up at him where they had evidently stopped right inside the bathroom. The guy then lifted one arm and sniffed, then cringed and hurried over toward the shower. 

"Sorry, I actually do smell like crap. No wonder you didn't want to let me do you," he said jokingly as he got the shower going, then quickly removed his clothing and hopped in. 

Jared watched the whole show as he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. Knight's comment brought a small smile to his face. When the guy disappeared behind the curtain of the shower Jared moved away from the counter and walked up to the shower. He heard the top of a bottle pop open as Knight got busy scrubbing his body. He really didn't want to actually get in the shower with him since he'd already had one earlier, but he did want to watch...

With a slight shrug Jared tugged off his shirt and dropped it into the pile of clothing that Knight had made, then nudged the curtain forward a bit from the back before stepping over the edge of the tub with one foot while leaving the other on the tile. He then sat down with his back against the wall, enjoying the view. Knight had his back to him and was scrubbing the soap from his hair as he leaned under the spray of water. His backside was firm and lightly tanned like the rest of him since he spent so much time without clothing on as a hawk. One would think that the feathers helped out a bit, which they probably did in terms of burning, but at least for shifters, it allowed them to tan decently, too. 

Jared unconsciously licked his lips as he took in all of the man's smooth skin and slim build. Every single action he made had muscle that had been previously invisible make itself known just enough for a glimpse here and there. 

Hungry? 

Jared let a quiet rumble slip from his throat, his lion replying to the thought Knight sent through their bond. He hadn't eaten yet, but his stomach could wait. His eyes were enjoying their feast first. 

"Always," he replied as he watched Knight turn around to face him, giving him a perfect front view. 

When the guy simply smirked and walked toward him, Jared slowly lifted his eyes so that he could keep his gaze locked with Knight's. Memories swam through his mind, showing him how different things had been before him and Palace had left. Knight had been quite whiny and pushy, but now that Jared was getting to know him better, he knew that it wasn't just those things that were weighing the man down. All of the insecurity and stress from years ago had finally begun to dissipate from Knight's warm eyes.

Knight stopped in front of him and leaned over to put his damp hands on Jared's bare shoulders. His eyes were calm but held a hint of excitement that Jared was beginning to enjoy seeing when the guy looked at him. Using his grip there, Knight carefully lifted one leg and straddled his lap, then settled down, soaking his pants and the floor with warm water. 

"What are you thinking about, my kitty?" Knight whispered as he leaned closer, pressing his lips to Jared's for a brief moment before leaning back with a genuine smile. 

Matching his grin, Jared reached up and tucked a strand of hair back behind Knight's ear, only to watch it slip free a moment later. Shaking his head once, he wrapped his arms around Knight's damp back and tugged him against his chest in a strong but comfortable hug. He felt the man take in a long deep breath before exhaling it slowly as he nuzzled into the crook of Jared's neck. 

"I think you know exactly what's on my mind right now," Jared replied quietly as his hands began to wander over Knight's slick body. 

He could sense the guy's unease as his hands got closer to his backside, but Knight bit his lip and tensed. Feeling his body go taut beneath his fingers had Jared pausing immediately. Knight leaned back in response, his expression one of confusion and worry.  

"Talk to me, my chicken. What do you want me to do?" he asked as he stared into Knight's eyes, not wanting to misread the situation again. 

Knight opened and closed his mouth several times as he averted his eyes downward. Jared could sense the turmoil in his mind and simply waited, letting the guy figure out exactly what he wanted out of their current situation. Either way, though, he knew that his brother was going to have a fit about the water bill if they didn't shut the shower off soon. 

When Knight carefully slid from his lap, Jared lifted an eyebrow and watched as he went over to the spigot to turn off the water. Once that was done, Knight returned to stand in front of him, a determined look having replaced his previous ones. Jared waited calmly until Knight gently lowered himself to his knees, then reached forward with his right hand. It settled atop the obvious bulge in Jared's wet pants before Knight lifted his eyes back to his. 

"I want to see you naked." 

He had, several times, but Jared couldn't really fault him for wanting more considering how often he got to see Knight without clothing on. The guy even undressed for him whenever he asked the past few days... but he rarely returned that favor. 

"It's okay if you don't want to," Knight said quietly as he wrapped his arms around Jared's lower torso, hugging him gently. "I know that you're not always comfortable like that." 

He really wasn't, but Knight never pressured him into doing anything. Sure, he joked and nudged at him a lot, but there was never a demand. If he wanted to wear sweatpants to bed instead of being naked, he did. If he wanted to shift back from his lion behind a closed door, he did. He'd never really been made fun of or assaulted in h is life, but nudity had just never been his thing. 

Standing up, Jared stepped into the bathtub and reached down to undo the button to his pants. Knight had backed up but remained on his knees, watching with wide, nervous eyes. As Jared worked, he glanced up at Knight several times. "Don't worry. I'm doing this because I decided that I want to. You aren't forcing any part of this." 

Once his pants and boxers were off, Jared tossed them out of the shower, then leaned over a wide-eyed Knight to turn the water back on. 

"You still smell, my chicken," he said as he turned and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. 

When he turned back around Knight was standing right in front of him, an excited puppy dog look on his face. Jared raised an eyebrow as the guy looked at him from head to toe, then smiled widely as he ducked his head for him slightly. 

This chicken...

"Spoiled poultry," he mumbled as he squeezed a good amount of shampoo into his hand, then began working it into a thick lather in Knight's dirty hair. 

"You're going to start showering more, you dirty bird." 

Okay. Was Knight's reply as he leaned into Jared's chest, clearly enjoying the attention.  If you'll touch me like this more often when I get dirty, I'll shower whenever you want me to. The innuendo in his voice was impossible to miss, but Jared decided not to comment on it.  

As he stepped back to rinse his hair, Knight replied. "We really should shower together more often. I like looking at you, and I'm sure you don't mind seeing me, either." 

Jared bit back a grin as he stepped around Knight, being careful not to block the flow of water and give himself away while the guy finished rinsing out his hair. He waited silently until Knight turned toward the back of the shower, where he had been standing seconds ago, then opened his eyes. 

"He left...?" 

When he saw Knight's shoulders hunch in upset Jared stepped forward, blocking part of the spray as he reached around him and hugged his back to his chest. 

"I don't plan to do that, my chicken," he grumbled as he nudged his face into the guy's neck, then nibbled a tiny bit. "You're stuck with this grumpy lion."   

(I love writing shower scenes lol)