The bath water was partially filled by the time Blake walked into the room. He'd expected him to be carrying Fen on his back, but, well, he technically was. Fen's snake wrapped awkwardly around Blake's body, moving constantly as if trying to get comfortable. 

"Here," Pyre said, hurrying over to the two and reaching out to grab Fen. 

Blake backed up a few steps, holding up his hands slightly. 

"Be careful. His snake can be very aggressive," he said, making Pyre roll his eyes. 

"Good, it can bite me," he said as he grabbed the snake and began uncoiling it from Blake's body. 

The poor guy looked about ready to have a panic attack, but Pyre wasn't worried. He'd messed with Fen's snake plenty, and even though it hissed at him often, it never bothered even trying to nibble at him... unfortunately. 

He had it off of Blake in two minutes flat. Before it could wrap around himself completely, though, Pyre tugged off his borrowed shirt. 

"There we go, problem solved," he said with a grin that Blake definitely didn't mirror. 

Instead of worrying about it, Pyre simply gave a one-shouldered shrug and turned, then climbed right into the hot bath water. 

He wasn't one for cooking himself, but he definitely didn't mind warming up. So, while Fen's snake coiled around his lower and middle half, Pyre crossed his arms on the edge of the tub and leaned his chin down to rest on top of them. 

"I'm... really confused. His snake isn't usually very friendly," Blake said as he took an awkward step closer, only to stop short when the aforementioned reptile lifted its tail above water to rattle out a warning. 

Blake seemed like he was about to say something else when the door to the bathroom creaked open, drawing their attention behind him. 

Gin!

The guy looked like he was still half asleep as he rubbed at one eye and yawned. His shirt was all wrinkled and his hair was an absolute mess... and he desperately wanted to lick him from head to toe. 

A faint rattle from behind him made Pyre glare down at his shoulder, where Fen's snake had decided to rest its head. 

"Don't give me that. You're the one who's partially wrapped around my junk right now, not him," he said in disappointment. 

Of course, if it was the human Fen, he'd be all for it, but he wasn't really into snakes... unless they were the kind you find between a guy's legs. 

 The rattle sounded again, making Pyre's expression deadpan. 

I'm not even going to comment on the fact that you are, in fact, partially between my legs. 

He quickly refocused his attention on the two men in front of him, because, quite frankly, he must have missed one hell of a story, because Gin looked so excited, in a sheepish way, to see Blake standing in their home. 

"Hey there, Gin Bear," Blake said with a smile that told Pyre there was definitely something else going on between the two. 

"You know the story here, Snakey?" he asked, earning a quiet hiss from the snake before it flicked its tongue twice and seemed to lose interest. 

"Got it," he muttered as he watched the show play out before him. 

Gin was the one to close the distance and envelope Blake in a massive, tight hug. He even lifted him off the ground for a few seconds, but the guy didn't seem to mind at all. 

Oh, wait a second. 

Pyre leaned a little closer and narrowed his eyes. 

Did I just see what I think I saw? 

"How are you doing? It's been so long since I've seen you," Gin said cheerfully, clearly overjoyed with the man's visit. 

Blake laughed as he was snuggled in Gin's arms, then quickly straightened out his shirt the moment he was set down. 

"I've been well. Very busy with work," he said with a smile that made Pyre suspicious. 

He knew that look. It was one he had perfected, evidentially much better than Blake, over the years. 

Don't get involved. 

Granted, he didn't seem to need to, because Gin clearly knew something was up, too. Perhaps even before he had caught it? 

Maybe even before he walked in the door. Is there something that's been going on that's making Blake uneasy? 

His kindness at the office hadn't been fake, but right now he seemed incredibly nervous... but that hadn't started until Gin appeared. 

The thought that they might have had something bad in their past together made him suspicious, but he quickly dropped the idea when he remembered who he was dealing with. Gin was a loveable teddy bear. There didn't seem to be a mean bone in his body, and he also seemed super excited to see their doctor friend... so what was up? 

Gin didn't seem like he was interested in beating around the bush, at least, because he didn't hesitate to reach for Blake's shirt. 

Normally, Pyre would be all for it, but he knew that it likely wasn't what he wanted to see. He could also tell that Blake was extremely uncomfortable, but wasn't willing to push Gin away, either. 

He's being abused in some way. 

Gin's hand stopped, tightly grasping the bottom hem of Blake's shirt. 

"You still see him..." he whispered, just barely loud enough for Pyre to catch the sentence. 

Blake looked embarrassed for only a few moments before he grabbed Gin's wrist and removed his hand from his shirt. 

"I can make my own decisions," he ground out between clenched teeth as he glared at Gin's chest. 

Hmm, and here I thought Gin was more of a submissive dominant, but he's not backing down. Blake isn't, either, and didn't even let him check for injuries I'm pretty sure are under his shirt, but he's also not meeting his eyes. 

Unfortunately, this wasn't the show he'd been hoping for when Gin walked in so excitedly. He also knew that it wasn't his place to say anything, either, and Fen was quite unable to add input, too. His snake seemed quite disconnected from the drama as it swam about in the warm water, then returned to his body every few moments to rest. 

"Hey Gin?" Pyre said, breaking the tension between the two so that they could look back at him. 

Gin seemed like he wanted to keep talking to Blake, but when he saw Fen's snake's head poke up over the edge of the tub, he hurried over and reached in. 

"I'm sorry, Fen, I fell asleep after my exams," he said as he lifted the venomous reptile's head a little higher so that he could press a kiss to the top of it. 

"I'll go get you some towels and turn on your heated blankets," he said as he quickly got back up and hurried into Fen's bedroom. 

That left just Pyre and Blake, which drew the other man's attention back to him once Gin had exited the room. 

Instead of trying to push him into talking or showing him what he knew was there, Pyre simply nodded toward Fen's room. 

Blake looked hesitant, because that would put him right back into Gin's line of sight, but the other guy seemed to have calmed down and switched his attention to helping Fen, so, after a long minute of hesitation, Blake left to help him. 

"You have some interesting friends, Snakey," he said, earning a slight hiss from the snake, while at the same time hearing something very distant in the back of his mind. 

It was hard to pick up the first time, but as he went over each scratchy word, he put together a sentence he was quite familiar with telling himself. 

I don't want to live like this. 

He felt his body begin to take in a deep breath to sigh out in frustration, but he stopped himself immediately. The main reason he never told anyone he was suicidal was because he'd seen that reaction, so many times, directed at other people who were honestly telling their friends or loved ones that they were struggling with something. 

It could be something as simple as just paying a bill or dealing with the loss of a hamster, but the other person judged their loss before they even bothered to ask how it was truly affecting them. Telling someone was the hardest part, and he noticed that most people often kept their true emotions and grief hidden unless they were accepted by the person they were talking to. Then they began to say what they really needed to. To lean on that person. To cry. 

He'd never gotten to that part. Or really, any of it, because he'd already decided that it was okay to leave early. Hearing those words from Fen's mind, though... 

"Why?" he whispered quietly, the word meant only for Fen's ears. 

Of course, he had a feeling that he knew exactly why. His shift. 

Even after living on the streets more often than his father's house, he couldn't imagine not being able to find a place where he could just be warm that wasn't in the bathtub or working out his body to near-death. It seemed like his heating blankets didn't even quite do it anymore, considering he still seemed to sleep with Gin most nights... if he wasn't there. 

Pushing that thought away for the moment, because he felt as if him leaving might make Fen's mentality worse, Pyre leaned back in the water and tugged the snake against his chest. 

"Can you shift for me?" he asked, but didn't demand. 

He would be totally fine if Fen wished to remain a snake, but when he felt the reptile begin to unwrap itself from around him, he moved this way and that to make it was easier. 

Never...

Pyre tilted his head, mulling over the word. He knew that it wasn't to his question, because he could already feel the man replacing the reptile, but then that meant...

"You hate your shift," he said, understanding the word he'd caught from Fen's thought. 

When the man was finally back in control he wrapped his arms around him, one around his middle and the other higher up on his back. Fen settled his face into the crook of Pyre's neck as his own hands found purchase on his shoulder and around his waist. 

When neither of them spoke for a long while, Pyre let his hand slowly wander up to stroke Fen's damp hair. 

"Does he only come out when you get too cold?" he eventually asked as he stared up at the ceiling, but didn't really see it. 

He felt Fen nod against him, his cold hair brushing his neck. Pyre leaned his head against Fen's a little and hummed, thinking. 

"Have you ever tried to let him out, just to let him out?" he asked, making the man snuggling against him slowly lean away to sit in his lap. 

He had a confused, surprised expression on his face, which pretty much answered Pyre's question. 

"I'm definitely way too new to shifting to really know anything about it, but perhaps he just wants some time out, too? My panda wouldn't let me even think about returning to being human until he was content with his time out. And even then, you and Blake had to make me super jealous before I could finally push him back. Maybe the only way your snake can get free of your human body is to make you hypersensitive to cold?"

Fen sagged his shoulders as he digested that information, but didn't respond. After a few more moments of thinking Pyre continued speaking. 

"How do you feel when he's out?" 

A shiver quickly wracked the man's body, making Pyre lean forward and tug him back down into his arms and partially beneath the warm water. 

"I don't feel anything. I can barely even see through his eyes and I can't hear too well. It's all muffled and dark." 

So you have no actual control? 

Fen shook his head against Pyre's shoulder but didn't respond verbally. 

"If you tried, could you shift to him at will?" Pyre asked, curious. 

He felt Fen's body tense under his hands, but the man relaxed after a few seconds and nodded against him again. 

"He always wants out." 

The man's voice was getting scratchy, making Pyre realize that he was probably very close to crying. It was time to end the conversation for the moment. 

Smiling calmly, Pyre leaned down a little and hugged Fen's head to his chest a bit too-tightly, then mussed up his hair like crazy until the guy was forced to shake his head and lean back with a grumble. 

When he finally managed to swipe his hair out of his face he was scowling, which just made Pyre smirk wider. 

"Sorry that took a bit. One of the blankets actually shorted out so I ran down to the store and grabbed a new one," Gin said as he walked in, panting hard. 

Blake was right behind him with an armful of towels that seemed like they might be fresh from the dryer. 

Guess naked cuddle time is over now. Oh well. 

He watched, unashamed, as Fen climbed out of the bathtub and was promptly wrapped in two towels. He tied the one around his waist with shaky hands as Blake switched to towel-drying his hair with a third one. 

That actually looks nice...

He'd never really had anyone help dry him, for as long as he could remember. Maybe his mom had done it when he was really young, but those memories were long-since erased. 

I can do it myself, anywa—The feeling of a soft, warm towel settling around his shoulders as he sat up drew Pyre's eyes up to meet Fen's beautiful brown ones. 

He was at a loss for words, which didn't seem to bother the other man as he easily lifted him from the cooled water and hugged him against his chest. 

A large towel suddenly came around both of them as Gin began to dry his back and legs. 

Too bad Fen still has a towel around his waist...

He totally earned the unamused look he got from the guy hugging him as a towel was settled around his own waist. 

"Do you need me to rest with you for a while?" Gin asked as he straightened back up. 

Pyre noted the mostly-hidden hopeful look in the guy's eyes, but when Fen just smiled and reached up to settle a hand on Gin's head, the guy seemed confused. 

"I'm going to rest with Pyre for a little bit," he said, then looked toward the doorway where Blake had retreated to, clearly still nervous. 

"Perhaps you two should talk for a bit." 

He wasn't sure if Gin was the right person for that discussion, but at least he was a very calm individual and didn't push people. He had been upset earlier, and possibly rightfully so, but he'd reigned himself in pretty quickly. 

Before Gin seemed able to make up his mind on if that would be a good idea or not, Blake turned and walked out, leaving him no other choice but to decide right then and there. 

He ended up looking back at them for only another second or so before running after Blake. 

"I hope he's okay," Fen said as he continued to stare at where the two had been. 

Meanwhile, Pyre was unable to help himself. He stole a super quick lick of Fen's upper torso. 

God, the muscles...

He glanced up when he felt eyes on him, his tongue still partially out, pressing against one of Fen's gorgeously-shaped pectoral muscles. 

When the guy raised an eyebrow, Pyre slowly forced his tongue to withdraw, then grinned sheepishly. 

"You... uh, just had something there. I got it..." he said quietly as he averted his eyes for a fraction of a second before returning them to the muscles right in front of his face. 

Gonna drool...

The target of his gaze was abruptly covered when Fen tugged a shirt on. 

Pyre immediately pouted, only to feel a too-big shirt settle over his own head. Fen finished his punishment by pulling on a pair of boxers for himself, then sticking his own tongue out at him before disappearing out the bathroom door. 

Tease! Tease tease tease! Pyre yelled in his mind as he hurried after him, intent on wrestling the man into submission and at least getting his shirt removed. His warm cuddles and poor life advice didn't come cheap!