**ROUGH COPY**
Michael-
"Oh..? Haha... Yeah I don't think I'd fit in there. I'm pretty tall. Thanks though. I can use your bathwater though, we do that at my house sometimes."
Andrew looked at the bubbles, eyes barely above the waterline. He came out slowly, shaking his head a bit.
He shivered as he sat up, resting his arms on the side.
"Mike, you don't... you don't have to do that. I... I just think there is so much left undone. I want to pretend it didn't happen but I know that there are serious threat parts for this coming in the future. I feel like there won't be much left of what we used to do at school when it is all done. And... and, I..."
Andrew swallowed hard. "I talk too much... I'm sorry." He proceeded to lather up a washcloth from the depths of the water with a half-sized bar of soap.
Michael-
"Hey you don't really talk too much. Sorry. You worry too much though. I don't know what's going to happen, but what can we do? Worrying is not going to help."
Andrew slid over in the tub, half-leaning out to look at Michael.
"You always this right? I mean... well, I..."
A deep crimson blush rushed to his face like the steam onto the slightly cracked mirror.
"I... I don't know what else is there. I want to, like, do more than I ever thought possible, Mike. I want to really, uhm, like live! And do it my way, you know... no rules. But..."
He reached out across the space, touching the long tuft of hair and brushing it to the side.
"Will you... with me... uhm... like... do you... uh..."
He felt the need to sink deep into the tub.
Michael-
Michael laughed, and then realized he would probably be very upsetting to the sensitive lad. He sat up and dared to glance over a couple of times.
"You mean... you wanna do stuff?"
Andrew blinked, casting sideways glances over at the frosted window pane.
"Was... was I that obvious? How am I going to be a good actor if I can't hide my feelings..."
He groaned and sank down, his bottom cresting out of the water a little bit, like a pair of mountains with bubbly snow peaks.
"I mean... I... I don't know anything and... you're so nice. Look... I really like you and... I know I'm not an older guy or anything and... I'm just some dumb kid or whatever but... like, what am I... uhm..."
He rose up, his navel just above the soapy water line.
"Do you want me? Really?"
Michael-
Michael looked surprisingly bashful, and looked at his hands studiously, picking at his nail-polish.
"Uhm... you know the nice thing about older guys? ...You don't have to... Well, they do all the work for you. Haha... Um, I dunno. I like you, just like I said to the goat-god or whatever...."
He smiled, letting it linger for longer than he usually allowed it.
"You're really funny. Well, if you promise it will help you relax… Maybe."
Andrew grinned leaning over and kissing Michael on the nose.
"I won't hold it against you, either way, Mike. I... I won't pry anymore. But... I, uh, what if I wanted to, like, do the work?"
Andrew shivered a little bit, hanging almost half out of the tub, the snowy peaks of Mount Buttocks slightly visible over the porcelain tub.
"I mean, it shouldn't be, like, uh, work, right? Isn't there passion and hand holding and, uh, the look of
love and fireplaces and stuff? Well, maybe not a fireplace, but... like, I don't want to do stuff... like, have a man just... I dunno... have his way with me. I want, like, lo-..."
He let the last word fall off. Andrew turned his head to the side, appraisingly.
Michael-
Michael tucked his chin on to his knees, closing his eyes wearily.
"Man... Love should be easy."
Andrew reached out, damp hand touching the stubble gently. He opened his mouth to speak something about the easy of love. This fool proof plan was no match for gravity and soapy surfaces. Andrew let loose a gasping 'Oooph!' as he slipped out of the tub, the water following quickly after it rebounded from the other side. He tried to grapple Michael to keep from falling, only landing on the partially tiled ground like a wet fish. He thought to himself
Love is supposed to be easy! It really is! "Ughnnn. Wow..."
Michael-
Michael scrambled to help the slippery boy, ending up jabbing him with various bony joints and limbs in the process.
"Christ dude! You're a spazz, but it's pretty cute."
He laughed, looking embarrassed as he tried to help Andrew up.
Andrew shivered against Michael. He looked up and then tried to smile. The smile transitioned quickly into something more devious. Chances are it wouldn't work, but Andrew wasn't going to let a little thing like chance get in his way. He tried to pull Michael into the tub with him.
"Spazz? Really? I... I bared my soul to you, Michael Simpson. I deserve a spazz moment!"
If it failed, he'd at least splash copious amounts of water onto him and his clothes.
Michael-
Michael tumbled in on his side, laughing loudly, water positively dumping out of the tub and all over the environment. He was half in and half out the bathtub, legs going everywhere, everyone getting squished and jabbed and water going up noses and ears all over the place. But... it was fun. He laughed, and wrestled Andrew playfully, his black shirt sopping wet. The terror of looming death was forgotten, at least for the moment.
Andrew let the moment play on, until that peak of exhaustion, the glazed eyes, the blaring fact of his own nudity and his blush catch up with him.
Maybe love was easy? He panted, leaning closer towards Michael, eyes half-closed.
"I think we can make it easy, if we try, Mike." Andrew started the slow lean forward.
Michael-
Michael kissed him without a hesitation, without the drama of a romance movie. He still laughed between kisses.
"You *smooch* called me Mike. *smooch* I like it." He leaned back a bit, and looked at Andrew more seriously, stifling the smile that wanted to break out. "Thanks... for not making Lost Boys references at me."
Andrew smiled in between the kisses, playing with the back of his now dripping neck.
"Mike... you need to smile!"
He poked the man in the middle, then took his hand. The interlacing fingers merged together.
"I want to make you smile. I don't know why, but I like it when you smile."
He reached over and grabbed a pair of clean towels, drying off as quickly as humanly possible before dropping them on the floor... to sop up the water that spilled, yeah. Andrew looked at his feet, blushing fiercely. He layed his head against Michael's wet chest.
"It feels right, y'know? Like, this is good."
Andrew wrapped his arms around Michael, his head resting gently against the man in the tub.
Michael-
"Yeah... You're cool. I'm glad we didn't die. You know that sounds so stupid, but it means a lot. I didn't really care about dying before, but now I wouldn't want to. I'd worry about what was gonna happen to you. That's funny..."
Michael leaned back into the water, dipping his head into the now luke-warm suds and emerged like he was being lifted from Baptismal font.
"We should become wizards."
Andrew sat on the wet towel, looking over at him with a quizzical look.
"Wizards?"
For a moment, Andrew fell silent and just handed Michael his soapy washcloth.
Did I make him hit his head? Andrew shrugged, then set his eyes over the tub's rim, looking at the wet man and wondering if he was going to wash. He felt his lips curl into an impish grin.
Michael-
"Haha yeah... I just thought, there's magic right? A fuckin'... demon goat and whatever. I wonder if we could become good wizards to fight the cult. I dunno. That would be cool."
Michael pulled his shirts off and playfully tossed them at Andrew. He was thin, but with broad shoulders and already sprouting some dark chest hair.
"I don't got anything else going on. You can go ahead and be a movie star though."
Andrew blinked, then reached back over for the washcloth. Snatching it, he added more soap. His words were initially pensive.
"So... do you think... I mean, really? Be, like real wizards? That... that sounds like... YES!"
He leaned over the tub, and began to work on his chest, gently washing way the trials of the last few nights, taking tender care.
"That's brilliant, Mike! Really! Why can't we do that!"
He grinned, and blushed just a little, letting the cloth pass over Michael's form.
Michael-
"Yeah like... buncha middle-aged dorks can do it, bet I can. I just thought, it was kinda cool being in that other place. Life is kinda boring. I hate thinking a bunch of yacht-club fucks are getting to have more adventure than me."
He watched Andrew for a moment.
"You gonna stay here? I don't really have any other options."