dog days ━ scotty valens x male!oc!

2

Chapter Two:

Asher lowers himself into the warm water. He pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. He blinks, unsure of what he's supposed to do in the bath. It's filled to the brim with bubbles and the scent in the air is sort of sweet. Usually his other owners would have him stand outside in his clothes and they would just hose him down. He would then have to wait outside until he dried himself off completely. That would take hours.

"I'm turning around, alright?" Scotty voices quietly. His back is facing the bath, his line of sight held on the bathroom door in front of him. He slowly turns around, gaze falling onto Asher who's huddled into himself, expression confused as he sits in the bathtub. There's a striking purple bruise that runs across his shoulder, it's turning brown around the edges, a clear sign that it's on its way to healing. Scotty tears his eyes away from the bruise.

"You know how to bathe yourself?" He asks, leaning against the sink.

Asher hesitantly shakes his head from side to side. He sucks in his bottom lip, teeth biting over the pink flesh. Feeling awkward, he ducks his head and buries his face into his knees. He listens to the sound of Scotty moving around the bathroom, he fumbles with something and then places it down somewhere, probably on the sink.

There's a quiet, barely there thud and then the scent of coffee and something flowery is right under Asher's nose. He raises his head, turns his gaze to his right and freezes. His hazel eyes widen and his breath hitches in the back of his throat, heart thumping loudly against his ribcage.

Scotty's face is way too close to Ashers own — the tips of their noses are almost touching. Scotty is on his knees, fingers curled around the edge of the bathtub. The sleeves of his button up are rolled up to his elbows and his tie is strewn across the sink. He blinks and after a moment of awkwardness he clears his throat. "Sorry," Scotty murmurs. He licks his lips, pulling a little further away. "I just..." He trails off, taking in the way Asher visibly shakes. "I'm going to wash your hair," Scotty says, ignoring the way Asher tightens his arms around his legs. He reaches for the shampoo and uncaps it.

"I leave for work in an hour," Scotty mumbles, lathering up one hand in shampoo, the other one clumsily settling the bottle beside him on the floor. He grabs the shower head from the side and turns it on. Waiting for it to warm up, Scotty gives Asher a reassuring smile. "So we'll have to be quick."

Asher screws his eyes shut when Scotty raises the shower head over his brown hair. The water from it is a lot warmer than the one he's sat in. It runs down his back and eases his shaking form. When his hair is all wet, Scotty pulls away the shower head, switches it off and settles it back on the side. Asher blinks open his hazel eyes, gaze held onto Scotty's hands and how they reach for him. He flinches on instinct when Scotty's fingers tangle themselves into his hair. He's so used to people hurting him, he wouldn't be surprised if the older male did too.

"Easy," Scotty murmurs. His hands are gentle as he slowly runs them through Ashers hair. His fingers untangle stray knots, spreading the shampoo all around. Asher stares at him, dumbfounded. Was Scotty not going to hurt him? Was he not going to yank at his hair and call him stupid? Worthless? Less than than dirt?

A ringtone pulls Asher from out of his stupor. Scotty wipes a hand on a nearby towel and pulls his cellphone from out of the pockets of his slacks. He flips it open, pressing it against his ear. "Valens. What is it?" He asks. His other hand slowly trails from Ashers hair, fingers loosely wrapping around the side of the younger males neck.

Asher stills completely.

His neck... is the most vulnerable thing about him.

Scotty furrows his brows, listening to whoever it is that's on the other side of the phone. By their voice, Asher knows it's another man — he can't even listen in on what they're saying. Ashers too busy concentrating on the hand that Scotty has around the side of his neck. It's heavy and warm and it's making him anxious. Scotty hums and the thumb he has pressed against his neck moves to softly rub over the spot just underneath Asher's jawline.

He mewls, loud and soft and abrupt.

Scotty snaps his gaze towards Asher, dark eyes wide. His lips part as if to say something, but he gets cut off by the person on the phone; 'What is that? A cat? A dog?'

Swiping a tongue over his lips, Scotty lowers his line of sight to where his hand is around Asher's neck.

"You could say that," Scotty answers, voice low. He notices the way Asher's chest heaves with each breath, like he's trying to calm himself down. His eyes are blown wide with fear and his teeth are biting away at his lips again. "I'll be there in a bit," Scotty says into the phone and then shuts it closed before the other person can say anything else. He pulls his hand slowly away from Asher's neck, watching the way the younger male almost jerks away from the movement. "I'll go get you some clothes, so clean yourself up quickly." Scotty stands to his feet, grabs his tie from the sink and escapes the bathroom.

When Scotty returns to the bathroom about ten minutes later, Asher is out of the bathtub and stood in front of it, waiting patiently. The fluffy towel that Scotty had left behind for him is thrown over his shoulders and pulled around to his chest, the edges of it falling just below his knees. Asher is completely wrapped up in the towel. Little droplets of water are slowly trailing down the side of his face and lower onto his neck. His brown hair is wet and curled over his forehead. He blinks up at Scotty, tilting his head to the side almost like a puppy.

"Put this on," Scotty places the clothes in his hands on the edge of the sink. It's just a hoodie and some sweatpants, both of which he's sure will be too big for Asher. "I'll be back later. The TV's already on and if you get hungry there's some food in the fridge." He fixes his suit jacket and peers over Asher's shoulder to see the bathtub unplugged and the water drained.

Scotty pauses, rubbing the back of his neck. "You'll be good?" He asks.

Asher holds the towel closer to his body, ducking his head, his brown curls falling further across his forehead. He nods his head ever so slightly.

——

By the time Scotty returns back home, it's the middle of the night. He enters his apartment quietly, maneuvering around it blindly in the dark. Settling his keys on the cabinet in the hallway, a pale flickering light catches his attention from just underneath the living room door. That meant the TV was still on. Maybe Asher was awake? Shaking his head, Scotty walks towards the living room and carefully opens the door, peeking around it.

The TV is still on, just as he had thought it was. The volume is low and the program playing is a rerun of an old episode of MacGyver.

Scotty steps into the room to switch it off and flickers his gaze around for the remote, only to find Asher curled up with it in the middle of the carpet. His face is pressed into one of the cushions from the sofa, expression soft as he sleeps. Scotty feels amusement settle itself in his chest. He crouches down lower to the ground, head tilting as he eyes Asher.

"We have the guest bedroom for a reason," he murmurs quietly. Asher is only dressed in Scotty's hoodie, the ends of it covering up his thighs, his legs bare and pale. The tips of his fingers are peeking out from the cuffs, hands rested on the cushion beside his head. Scotty furrows his brows, "and I remember giving you pants."

He doesn't get an answer. Asher merely snuggles his face deeper into the cushion.

1417 words//unedited.