An ear twitch brought Fox out of his slumber. Dazedly, he tried to focus as he slowly sat up and looked down... at his paws.

Paws. I have paws!

He promptly leaned over and started licking his balls.

I can lick my balls again!

"I guess I would be that excited if I could do that, too," Noah chuckled as he stepped out of the open bathroom door down the hall, rustling a towel through his dripping hair. He had one around his waist, too, which Fox was actually thankful for since Henry walked in the front door a moment later with several large grocery bags in his hands.

The moment the man saw him he grinned.

"Look who's enthusiastic about self-grooming this morning," he said as he brought the large bags into the kitchen and set them on the counter.

Breakfast? Fox questioned as he hurried to sit at Henry's feet.

He was technically allowed on the counter, but he knew that Noah wasn't a huge fan of it. He was in a good mood, so he figured that he'd behave a little.

"Among other things. You wanted me to make you sushi so I bought the stuff for that, but I'm also too lazy to cook right before a workout so yes, breakfast," Henry said as he started taking things out of the bags.

He quickly put away all of the sushi ingredients, then returned to the other bags as Noah walked in with a simple pair of black swim trunks hugging his waist... minus a shirt.

Put a shirt on, there are children here.

Henry and Noah both stared down at him with raised eyebrows.

"You're eighteen now."

Oh. Right.

He wasn't even sure why he wanted the guy to put a shirt on. He definitely didn't mind the way he looked, but for some reason it bugged him that Henry was openly staring, too. Noah was his to stare at.

"What are you both staring at me like that for?" Noah asked as he looked back and forth between them.

Henry smirked and leaned over, stealing a kiss from Noah's cheek that had the man scowling at him.

"He doesn't want me to see you without a shirt on."

Fox twitched an ear and hurried to the bathroom to relieve himself, not wanting to deal with whatever situation he'd just created by mistake. Two sets of chuckles followed him, making his hackles stand up.

I should pee in the darn corner.

He expected one of them to comment on his jab, but neither responded. It was oddly quiet in his head as he did his business... where he should, then headed back toward the kitchen. Right before he stepped inside he heard something drop and bounce on the floor, drawing his attention downward as he walked in to see Noah hurriedly picking up a plastic cup while Henry ducked behind the open refrigerator door.

Did I miss something?

Returning his attention to Noah as he sat down, Fox tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. Noah couldn't seem to meet his eyes as he hurried to turn and set the cup in the sink, then turn back to face him with an awkward smile.

"I'll get you your breakfast from the bag," he said hurriedly, but Fox wasn't quite focused on what he was saying.

Did you get bit by a bug? There's a big mark on your neck... but I don't remember it being there a few minutes ago.

There was an abrupt, loud banging sound from the fridge before Henry backed away from it, rubbing the top of his head as he hissed out a strained breath.

Noah was turning bright red, and Henry's ears were also beginning to change to a nice, obvious pink color.

Henry! What did you do to my man?

"My?" Noah coughed out quietly behind his hand, his eyes looking back and forth between Fox and Henry a few times, confused.

I told Henry to leave you alone, and you need to put a shirt on.

"Why? You've seen me naked. I figure that it's perfectly fine to be walking around my own house without a shirt?"

Fox pinned his ears back and turned to face away from the two. He wasn't sure why he was annoyed, honestly, but he was. He wanted to argue, but he really couldn't come up with a decent response.

Noah was suddenly kneeling down in front of him a moment later, a stern look on his face as he poked Fox's nose. "And why, pray tell, does he need to leave me alone?"

Tucking his tail, Fox refused to look into Noah's eyes, and instead found his paws uncomfortably fascinating to stare at. His heartbeat started to pound in his chest, but before he could make sense of it, Noah was rustling the fur on his head and setting a take-out container in front of him.

"I figured that you would want breakfast before we go out to the community center," Henry said, drawing Fox's attention over his shoulder for the briefest moment before he returned it to the large amount of food in front of him.

Oh, right. That.

He wasn't really interested in going, but they had made a deal. And, it was something to change the subject, which he was actually grateful for.

Thank you, he grumbled before digging in to the large stack of chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and eggs. He made the food disappear with ease, and when the container was empty, there was a piece of toast offered from Noah that he eagerly gobbled up, and two pieces of sausage from Henry's remaining meal.

"I'm not sure where you put it all, kid," Noah said jokingly as he tossed out his empty container and set his fork in the sink, then headed for his room. Henry started to follow him, but Fox quickly ran in front of him, stomping one tiny paw on the man's shoe as he pinned his ears back and looked up to meet his unamused stare.

Not a minute later, Noah was walking back out of his room with a long black tank top on. It wasn't much better than not wearing one, especially considering the look Henry was giving him, but Fox knew that he wouldn't be able to change Noah's mind.

"Looks like we're ready to go?" Noah asked Henry with an excited smile that Fox wished were turned toward him.

What is wrong with me?

"Lots of things. Fox is coming with us, by the way," Henry said with a nod toward the door before heading that way.

Noah stayed behind, surprise on his face as he looked down at Fox.

"You actually want to go? There will be a lot of people," he said, making Fox curse himself. He shouldn't have agreed to go... but he had.

Giving out an already-tired sigh, Fox trudged toward the door, despondent about the day he was about to have. He was just about to the door when he felt his body suddenly being lifted up into Noah's arms.

"Oh, come on. It won't be that bad. I bet you might even have fun," Noah said as he pressed a nonchalant kiss to Fox's fuzzy head and opened the door.

It was drizzling the slightest amount outside but the temperature was thankfully not too chilly. Once the door was locked and Fox was strapped into his harness and seatbelt, with Henry reluctantly in the back, they were on their way.

"Do you like any sports, Fox?" Noah asked as they made the short drive to the community center.

Fox twitched an ear and shook his head. When he was still spending most of his days as a human, his parents had tried to get him into any kind of sport that might spark his interest in staying human, but none of them really caught his attention.

"Maybe things will be different this time, but you don't have to participate in anything if you don't want to," Noah said as he turned into the large parking lot.

Thankfully, there didn't appear to be many cars. Probably because of the encroaching weather.

Fine with me.

As far as Fox was concerned, one human was one too many.

"Come on, you dorks," Henry said as he got out of the backseat and grabbed the duffel bag he'd brought with his and Noah's stuff in it.

Once he was unbuckled from his harness and belt, Fox followed Noah out the driver's side of the car. He was about to jump down into a massive puddle, but was caught in mid-air.

"Unless you want a bath the second you get ho—wait. You're you. Of course you want a bath," Noah grumbled, rolling his eyes as he tucked Fox's body beneath his left arm and carried him toward the entrance to the massive building.

Yes, I'd love to be cooked again, and I can walk. I have four paws, not two feet.

"Good to know, punk," Noah replied as they stepped inside the large building and he finally set Fox down on the dull, cold tile floor. While the two men went over to get towels and locker keys, Fox meandered around the area, winding up at the large floor-to-ceiling windows that looked into the indoor swimming pools.

I wonder if one of those will cook me...

"They aren't that hot, brat," Henry said as he walked over with a basketball tucked under his arm. "Noah is going to get you signed up as our guest and renew his own registration, so he'll be a bit. Just come with me for a little while?"

Since Noah was already out of sight, Fox reluctantly followed Henry away from the pool area and into a separate, but just as large room of basketball courts. There were maybe fifteen people total, spaced out far enough away that Fox didn't really mind them being there. In fact, he ended up drawn over to the side of the courts where a massive floor to ceiling mirror was set up all the way along the whole room. It was actually pretty cool to watch the balls go flying here and there.

While Henry was invited to a game with an already-playing group, Fox began chasing the balls that went rolling... in the mirror's reflection. His tail flicked rapidly here and there as he ran the length of the mirror many times, the constant motion getting his heart pumping as he swiped, dove, and snapped at the fake basketballs in the mirror.

He actually was just about to catch one of the fake balls when it abruptly hit his behind, making him yelp and swing around, digging his tiny claws into the thick skin of the ball.

Several deep chuckles drew him out of his momentary panic, lifting his eyes to the group of young men that were now standing a bit too close to him for comfort.

Fox quickly backed away from the ball and bumped into the mirror, making him shrink down and pin his ears back.

Go away.

"It's alright, little guy. We're sorry we accidentally hit you with our ball, I couldn't stop it before it got to you," one of them, a blond young man, said as he stepped forward and picked up the ball with a reassuring smile.

Henry stepped through the crowd a moment later, immediately drawing Fox's attention. The guy was clearly sweaty since he'd been running around a lot, but Fox was out of options and his instincts told him that he needed to find a safe place quickly. Thus, he bolted toward Henry and swiftly climbed his gym shorts and white tank top in order to perch on his shoulders like a scarf.

"Uh, Fox? Do you really have to be right there? I was in the middle of a game," Henry questioned awkwardly, obviously not used to him wanting to be anywhere near him.

You smell, Fox replied, earning an annoyed grunt from Henry before the man who had picked up the ball walked up to him.

"Are they your kid? They're adorable," he said as he started to reach for Fox, earning an immediate warning growl that had him wisely retracting his hand.

Henry reached up and tapped Fox on the nose, silencing him after earning a slight nip of annoyance.

"No, just a friend, but he isn't a fan of people yet."

Never.

"Hey Henry! Let's go take a swim?" Noah called from the door, making Fox disappear from the man's shoulder in a blur.

"Incoming," Henry yelled back as Fox bolted across the massive room to fly into Noah's waiting arms.

Noah grunted with the force of the hit, but Fox knew that he was being dramatic when he fumbled backwards with a laugh and hugged him to his chest, then mussed up his fur.

"Miss me that much, huh?" he asked, earning a grumble from Fox, who refused to leave his arms even as he started getting back up.

Henry arrived right as Noah was straightening back up.

"I need to rinse off real quick so I'll meet you in the lap pool?" he asked, earning a quick nod from Noah before the two left the courts together, then separated once they entered the swimming area.

Fox, of course, stayed with Noah as he walked over and sat his towel on an odd plastic chair that looked like a terrible recliner made out of strips rubber.

"Do you want to come in, or just hang out here?" Noah asked as he set Fox down beside the chair.

Here.

"Alright. Just let me know if you want to come in or do anything else," he said as he reached down and gave his head a pat, earning a habitual swat with a paw that just made him chuckle before he turned and tugged off his shirt, tossed it on the odd chair, then went to get in the lap pool.

Fox got comfortable under the chair, not too pleased with the few children that were running around giving him the eye.

Don't even think about petting me. I'll teach you lessons you don't want.

When they kept returning to a mother who was reading her phone on one of the long weird chairs instead of watching her young children, Fox figured that they were siblings.

This seems familiar.

He didn't want to have to bite one of them, though. He remembered where that had taken him last time.

The two girls started coming close to him again, but what caught his attention was their younger brother that couldn't have been older than three. He was walking toward the changing rooms, which were also, from the looks of the signs, linked to the bathrooms for each gender.

He flicked an ear and growled as the two girls stopped near him. Thankfully, that seemed to scare them enough to run past him toward the edge of the lap pool.

There are two kids near the edge of the pool that probably can't swim yet, he told Noah and Henry through their bond.

Both men popped their heads up above water a moment later and looked toward him, and the girls. They immediately started heading toward them as the smaller girl leaned over the water.

Figuring that his good deed for the year was done, Fox settled back down, only to glance back toward the locker rooms. The boy still hadn't come out. Motion to the right drew his attention to an older man with a massive pot-belly and gray hair. He was walking toward the locker rooms, too, but was looking around often... as if he were doing something he shouldn't.

Ignore it. It's not your problem.

Setting his head between his paws, Fox tried to focus on the stern talking-to that Henry was giving the two little girls, their own mother still oblivious to their scolding as she flipped through her phone, but his unfortunately-sensitive ears flicked as they picked up something high pitched from the direction of the boys locker room.

You aren't a hero. You aren't a hero. Henry, Noah? There's an issue in the locker room.

Fox glanced around the two pools, but no one seemed to have heard anything, and Noah and Henry didn't seem to have heard him, either.

Of course they can't hear me when it really matters.

He put his head back down, but almost immediately lifted it back up when he heard another yell that no one else could.

Dammit.

Getting up, Fox paced toward the locker room, his hackles rising in anticipation. As soon as he stepped into the open room his ears tilted forward as they picked up weakening cries from the area beyond the lockers.

Bathroom, then.

Flicking his tail, he hurried around the benches and ducked beneath a stall door where he noticed two figures. His mind immediately registered what it had to do out of instinct. The little boy was lying on his back beside the toilet, his little hands gripping the massive one easily squeezing the breath out of his body, its chunky fingers wrapped around his tiny neck.

Fox didn't hesitate to latch his jaws around the man's wrist with a loud snarl, then begin shaking his head back and forth to do as much damage as possible as quickly as possible. The man shrieked and immediately released the boy, but Fox knew that it definitely wasn't over. He couldn't do much about the slam he took seconds later as the man swung his arm backwards into the stall's wall, rattling the entire cubicle, as well as Fox's brains. His vision blurred in an instant, going black for an unknown amount of seconds as he dropped to the dirty tile floor.

"Fucking shit! I'm going to step on your—what the...?"

A dark chortle met Fox's ears, but he wasn't sure what was so funny until he felt a hand on his cheek. His fur was gone.

Oh no. Noah?

"What a gorgeous boy you are. I love the scars," the man rasped gravely as something wet and disgusting began pressing along one of the scars he had that ran along his left collar bone around to the back of his neck. "It wraps perfectly around to the back of your neck," the man said as he easily rolled over Fox's prone body to continue his attentions.

"I can't wait to choke the life out of you with my hands over that beautiful scar."

Noah!

An abrupt slam and screech of metal breaking had Fox internally wincing.

"The hell are y—!"

Three loud grunts later and the man was silent, but the sound of punching didn't end for several more seconds.

"Noah, he's down. Let's get him out of here. The police are on their way and the boy's mother took him," came Henry's voice from somewhere overhead.

Fox suddenly felt his body being lifted and let out a warning growl. He did not want to be touched, no matter who was carrying him.

"I'm sorry, bud, but you can't stay here," Henry said right before Fox was abruptly taken from his arms and tightly hugged against someone else's chest as they ran.

Smell like... Noah.

"That's right. I'm here, Fox. You're going to be fine. You saved that little boy's life," Noah said, his voice oddly breathless.

My head hurts.

"I know, buddy. A paramedic is coming to look at you soon," Noah said as he finally sat down and settled Fox in his lap.

A blanket was soon tucked around him, making Fox realize that he'd been shivering uncontrollably. Something soft was then pressed against the back of his head, making him wince and growl.

"I'm sorry, Fox. You hit your head pretty hard. I'm just trying to stop the bleeding," Henry said as he gently pressed the fabric against his injury.

No hospital.

"I... we can't promise that, bud," Henry said as Noah sighed and pressed a kiss to Fox's forehead.

But you're... vegetarian.

Henry chuckled quietly before replying, "yes, but you're not a fox right now. I'm not trained to take care of humans."

Fox wanted to respond, but his head hurt too badly to think straight any longer.

"It'll be okay, Fox. We'll stay with you, no matter where you have to go," Noah said, then added as Fox nuzzled against his chest. "We're so proud of you, too. Just stay with us until they can check on you, bud, then we'll get you home for a long nap before the dinner Henry promised. Everything will be okay."