Blake was much more fun than Pyre thought he'd be. Of course, the guy was hot as hell and looked great in his doctor's coat and all, but seeing him easily maneuver over Fen's obstacle course in his normal clothing, and at a pace even faster than its creator?

Wait a minute. Has he been up here before?

He caught himself answering his own question when he remembered that Blake had been the one to mention if he'd gone up to the gym at all yet.

Wonder what their relationship really is...

He watched Fen specifically for any kind of reaction to his thoughts, but the guy was hiding everything well as he easily made his way across a second balance beam, then began swinging on a rope that evidently landed you on a platform about ten feet away. He missed his first try at landing, giving Blake enough time to easily do another balancing obstacle and put himself comfortably ahead.

Blake ended up sitting down on the edge of the platform he was on and kicking his feet nonchalantly as he watched Fen finally land correctly with the rope obstacle. He even waited for the man to cross the balancing obstacle. That allowed Fen to get to him and do something that startled not only the guy waiting for him, but also Pyre.

Fen literally tackled Blake to the floor of the platform, making Pyre jump to his tiny paws, then stand up on his stubby back legs.

I can't see! Come on, no censoring!

He inched his way closer to the equipment several times before finally trying to hobble up onto it. Unfortunately, some of the platforms were just a bit too high, wearing him out by the time he got up to the spot to start the first obstacle in his area.

I shouldn't have run around so much earlier.

He got up on his hind legs again as he heard something on the platform the two others were still on. They had moved a little bit, and he could now see Fen's right foot, as well as Blake's shoed left one right up against it.

This is totally unfair.

He plopped his fuzzy but down on the padded platform and sulked, tugging at his stubby right ear a few times before licking his paw. He refused to glance up, even as his curiosity begged him to try and get a better look.

Pyre began to get fixated on licking the back of his paw, focusing so much on it that it took him a minute to realize that he was licking the back of a hand, instead.

Oh.

He flipped it over, wiggled his fingers, and tilted his head.

I'm back.

Smirking, he slowly looked up toward the platform, then licked his lips. It took him no time at all to get high enough to see what was actually going on. Standing on the other side of the last balancing obstacle, Pyre paused, slightly confused.

Just a hug...?

He noticed Fen finally react to one of his thoughts as the guy leaned his head up the slightest amount to look at him over Blake's shoulder. They had switched initial positions. Blake's arms were snuggly wrapped around Fen's head, making it a bit difficult for the guy to move much. It was almost like he was holding him as if he needed to be extra gentle, but couldn't bear to let go, either. His body was also partially on top of the guy, though Fen didn't seem too bothered by it.

Now that he'd actually seen what was really going on, Pyre hesitated on his own platform. He waited there for several moments before he saw Blake finally push himself up and off of Fen, then sat down beside the man as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked toward Pyre.

I guess that's my invitation to join them... I think?

He was more than a bit confused as he easily walked across the balance obstacle, confident in his naked body, though a little nervous about Blake possibly making a big deal out of his scars. When he stepped off on the other side, he felt his heartbeat pick up a little.

"Sorry about that," Blake said, drawing Pyre's attention for a moment before he decided to just sit down on the padded surface. He also leaned slightly forward after a few moments and put his hands at a decent-enough position to hide his extra bits a little.

He was just about to say something to break the awkward silence that followed Blake's apology when he felt a warm shirt being tugged over his head. It settled around him, covering his lap well enough for him to feel more comfortable.

"It's nice to finally meet you in your human form, Pyre," Blake said with a calm, warm smile. "I'm sorry I had to trick you."

Wait, what?

Fen took that moment to push himself the rest of the way up, his flexing abs drawing Pyre's eyes and making his tongue slip from his lips to swipe across his lower one. He really did need to reign in his suicidal tendencies until he could get a chance to lick those abs. They would probably taste so damn good with whipped cre—"How are you feeling? That was your first shift to and from your animal form, if I remember correctly?" Blake said, taking Pyre's attention away from the candy.

"I feel fine, I guess. Maybe a little tired, but I'm glad to finally be back in my regular body," he said, then tilted his head curiously.

"You aren't going to take off your shirt, too?"

His sudden question had Blake shaking his head and smiling as a tiny chuckle slipped from his lips.

"It wasn't in today's plans, no," he said, his eyes crinkling a little at the sides as his smile grew a bit.

So cute.

"Hey, um... how do you know Fen?" Pyre asked, changing the subject.

That had the guy smiling genuinely, but Fen seemed a little uncomfortable with the new topic. Instead of simply beginning to tell him, Blake reached over and gently set his hand atop Fen's messy hair.

He then gave him a quizzical look, almost as if he were asking him a question silently. When Fen blinked a few times, then awkwardly shrugged one shoulder, Blake rustled his hair and removed his hand.

"We used to date, a long time ago."

I was right! Kind of...

Looking between the two, Pyre noticed Fen's nervous body language, but Blake still seemed perfectly chill with his own.

"Did it... not end on good terms?" he asked, not really seeing how that could be possible since the two were just chasing each other around like gorillas in heat. And if he had to guess, he'd put money on Blake being the actual chaser, even though Fen was the one trying to catch him earlier.

The guy just seemed to ooze self confidence, while Fen appeared much more reserved and uncomfortable in most situations.

He definitely doesn't act how I thought he would when I first met him dressed in his leather jacket and dark jeans, but I can't say that I'm disappointed at all. He's still really fucking awesome.

"It ended very uncomfortably, for both of us," Blake answered, making Pyre frown.

He might always think about sex first and foremost, but he definitely wouldn't want his official partner to feel awkward or uncomfortable at all. When Blake didn't continue right away, Pyre turned his attention to Fen, who's face seemed a little more pale than it should be.

"Why did you guys break up?"

Fen began to hunch as he looked down at his hands grasping at his crossed legs. He truly did look extremely uncomfortable. In fact, Pyre was about to say that it didn't really matter and that they could just forget the topic entirely, when Fen mumbled out something that he could barely hear.

He felt terrible for asking, but he had no choice but to respond, "what did you say?"

When he just shrunk in on himself a little more, Blake turned and gently but easily pulled Fen into his lap. To Pyre's surprise, Fen let him, and even wrapped his own arms around the guy's neck and nuzzled his face into the crook.

"He's venomous, Pyre. He'd always been hesitant to kiss anyone because his mother, in her human form, had been venomous but his father hadn't. It was a fifty-fifty chance that he would be, too. So, he had decided early on not to try dating, because, of course, what comes with that? Kissing other people."

Oh, shit.

"We met in high school and hit it off so well that after about a year, I finally convinced him to try dating me."

Dang, that's some persistence.

If he were into trying to win over a single guy, he'd totally set his sights on Fen, too, though.

"Well, he made the no kissing rule right off the bat, and I agreed to it," Blake said, getting a nod from Pyre. The rule made sense, since he hadn't known whether he was venomous or not yet.

That was when Blake paused for a moment and took a deep breath, hugging Fen closer to his chest as he sighed out the extra air.

"We made a mistake and got really drunk one night at a party. Fen was normally really careful about how much he drank, but I told him that I'd get him home safely and that he could enjoy himself there."

Pyre waited with baited breath as the guy paused again, but continued shortly after.

"Well, I did get him home, but not before being an absolute dumbass and breaking the most important, and only rule Fen had for us."

Oh, shit. You kissed him.

"I did."

Now the guy looked downright exhausted as he reached up and ran his fingers through Fen's soft dark hair.

"I was a stupid kid and had desperately wanted to kiss my boyfriend for months at that time. I didn't drink much, either. I wasn't under the influence, I was just being a stupid teenager."

He licked his lips and looked down at his hand as it began to rub up and down Fen's well-muscled back.

"When he fell asleep in the passenger's seat of my car, I couldn't help myself. I leaned over and pressed my lips to his."

Pyre released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, then replied when Blake didn't continue.

"And?"

The guy looked up at him with sad, dark eyes.

"And... I felt nothing. No burn, or sting, or really anything, that might tell me that I had venom on my lips."

Oh?

"So I did something even dumber," Blake said, making Pyre sag his shoulders and frown.

"You deepened the kiss."

Blake turned and pressed his face into Fen's soft hair, clearly trying to hide his own humility and frustration at his past self.

"I did. It was just a little bit, because I really wasn't the guy who did those things. I hated myself right afterwards and got so angry that I barely held myself back from confessing everything when I dropped him back off at home and hugged him goodnight."

But...

"The pain came about five minutes after I dropped him off. Normally, ingesting venom instead of injection it, isn't all that dangerous. Of course, who the hell just drinks it, though? Studies were pretty minimal back then, especially because venomous shifters were not very common. Anyways, I didn't even make it back to my house fifteen minutes away before I had to pull over and call 911. I ended up in a coma in the hospital for two weeks while the doctors tried to keep my body from being destroyed from the inside out."

Holy...

"It was completely my fault, but there was no coming back from that. Once I got out of the hospital he refused to talk to me. He wouldn't answer my calls and he wouldn't come anywhere near me. He practically shut out the world until we graduated, then he disappeared."

Pyre felt his chest hurt for the man still wrapped silently in Blake's arms. He couldn't imagine how painful it must have been to know that the first and only person you'd ever tried to love didn't listen to your one rule and nearly died because they wanted to kiss you so badly that they were willing to take the risk.

"We found each other again several years later when he brought in one of his first cases from an abusive home. It was a little girl that had been left to starve by her father whenever her addicted mother wasn't home for days on end. When he walked through that door carrying that tiny, scared little girl, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He had changed so much, yet, to me, he still looked like that quiet, adorable, nervous kid I fell in love with so many years prior."

Blake slowly shook his head, then leaned his head gently against Fen's.

"I know that I can't fix the past, but I'm so glad that we're talking again and he's allowing me into some parts of his life."

The guy's lips turned up into a slight grin before he lifted a finger to his lips, drawing Pyre's attention to the slow, steady, rise and fall of Fen's back.

Oh damn. He fell asleep.

"It's a little chilly up here without a shirt. Sometimes he just falls asleep when he's cold," Blake whispered, earning an agreeing nod from him.

It was quite chilly, especially since he was mostly naked.

"I'll wake him in a few minutes. Would you mind going down and running a warm bath? He's going to need to warm up or his snake is going to take over soon."

Oh, right.

"Sure, I got it," Pyre said as he carefully got up and jumped right off the edge. He landed safely in the foam pit below, then crawled out. His mind was buzzing with the information he'd just been given, so, for once, he wasn't thinking about anything perverted as he went to take care of Fen's bath.