Lucius was going to lose his mind in a different way now, because panic was starting to rise like lava out of a volcano. Corbin was going to notice. He was going to notice, and he would be disgusted and he would leave again. This time, though, he'd never come back. 

"Lucius," Corbin said and he was briefly dragged out of his thoughts. He was holding out the shaving cream bottle. Smiling, a little, at him. A tiny, shy thing, though he knew Corbin would reject that descriptor if he voiced it aloud. Lucius hoped the twitch against his stomach looked more subtle than it felt. "Relax. Hold this for me."

Lucius took it and held it over his lap, using it as an excuse to block himself in the crotch area. Maybe that was the point? Had Corbin already noticed, then?

Lucius considered, with no small amount of horror, that he had. He dismissed that possibility just as quickly. If he'd noticed, he would say something. Corbin never passed up an opportunity to make him morbidly uncomfortable, and that was in his best mood. In his worst, he'd already be gone.

His eyes were stinging. His nerves were fried. He stared down at Corbin and he stared back.

"Relax," he said again, picking up the razor he'd temporarily set aside. He held out his hand, palm up, and Lucius squeezed some of the shaving cream into it. "We're almost done. You're fine."

"Of course I'm fine," Lucius said. What was Corbin even talking about? "I really can just finish by myself—"

"Don't be annoying. I said I've got it."

"Corby—"

"Shut up. Spread your legs a little more."

Lucius, after hesitating for too long, did as asked. 

Corbin followed the same formula. Layering the cream and shaving against the grain. Higher and higher. Lucius chewed at his bottom lip as Corbin's hands nudged against the towel, blocking any further progress.

"You gonna move it or are we finished?" Corbin asked. He flicked it with this index finger.

"Corby."

"What?"

"God."

"You're not subtle," Corbin said and Lucius jumped. He laughed at the reaction, abruptly snatching the shaving cream bottle back, and yeah. He definitely knew, and he thought it was funny. "You're such a loser. I'll turn and you can adjust yourself. Give me some room to work."

"But—"

"I won't tell you to relax a fourth time."

As promised, Corbin briefly turned around. Lucius, slowly, folded the towel so it sat shorter. High enough that most of his thighs were exposed and his intimate bits were hidden away. He wasn't even half mass anymore. His erection was damn near leaking, and he adjusted that, too. It was only a wonder he hadn't gone completely soft.

Corbin knew. He found it funny. 

How strange.

"Um, okay," Lucius said. His voice sounded ridiculously weak. "You can... turn around now."

Corbin turned, looking up at him through the fan of his lashes. "Almost done."

Lucius nodded as if it'd been a question. 

Corbin had to settle a little closer, this way. Had to lean in and bend down. Had to hold the skin of his thighs taunt and be just a bit more careful. 

Lucius's breathing had gained momentum. Heavy and charged. Adrenaline coarsing through his body which was clearly confused to be touched this way. Preparing for things that weren't going to happen.

It wasn't until Corbin trailed a hand past his towel, up to the crevice where his thigh met his crotch area, that Lucius let out an odd sound. High and breathy. Surprised but also... something else. Something that he wasn't supposed to acknowledge.

"Most girls would shave here, too," Corbin said. What was he doing? He wasn't stupid. He had to have known where his hand was. How dangerously close it was to touching his bare genitalia. "Everything but what's hidden behind their panties. Sometimes there, too."

"I'm not a girl," Lucius breathed out, feeling vaguely lightheaded. "What are you doing?"

"Do you usually get hard that fast?"

"What kind of question is that?"

Corbin shrugged. "Just curious."

"You've been very curious these past few days."

"Sate me, then."

Lucius could have choked. Did he know how that sounded? Was he actively trying to make his problem worse?

"Well, you're touching my thighs, you know? Like, skin to skin contact. It's a lot."

"Hand me a towel."

Lucius, with an embarrassingly shaky hand, did as asked. Corbin wiped his skin down, slow and soft. Removing any of the cream that had stubbornly stuck behind. Then, he produced another bottle, smaller and seemingly appeared from thin air. He squeezed its contents into his hand and then rubbed the lotion together. 

Then he slid both of his hands, warm and slick, up either of his legs. Opposite the heat of his palms, the lotion left behind a cooling feel. He massaged it in, squeezing into his muscles every now and then. Lucius couldn't tell if he was doing it on purpose. He couldn't tell why he was doing it either way, and it was enough to make him feel as if he might truly burn out of his own skin.

Like before, he worked up. Curled his fingers into his thighs and then relaxed them, smoothing along. Higher, hitting every angle. Higher, pressing and rubbing. Another pause, past the edge of the towel around his hips.

Corbin brushed his hand in the crevice of his thigh, watching his face so closely Lucius felt as if his gaze might truly burn through him. It was better this way, though. Better than him looking down and seeing the way his erection jumped from where he'd tried to tuck it away. "Very sensitive skin, then."

"It's not—" Lucius cut himself off, groaning quietly. "I'm not... It just feels weird. You wouldn't do any better—"

"You mean you think I would pop a boner if I was in your place?" Corbin said, blunt and amused. "You think you and I have the same level of self control?"

"Wow," Lucius breathed. He laughed a little. He refused to call the sound hysterical, but someone else might. "It's not about self control. It's just... a lot. If you're as healthy as I am, I bet you would."

"You're so easy, Lucius."

The words could have been purred. Flirtatious, even, but there was no way. Lucius was imagining things. Internally making everything a lot weirder than it truly was. 

He was being made fun of. That much was clear. Teasing could take so many different tones, though. It could lead to so many different things.

"I'm easy?" Lucius asked, voice lowered to a whisper. Reckless because it felt as if Corbin was giving him no choice to be anything else. "You're the one down on your knees for me."

The curve of Corbin's lips flattened with his flinch. He didn't move though. His hand was still dangerously close to his groin. If anything, the tips of his fingers dug in harder, and Lucius imagined the dent his nails might leave behind. Imagined being bruised or scarred by Corbin, hidden in a place where only he would be able to see it. Where only the two of them would know it had happened.

"You're perverted," Corbin said. He sounded normal again. Not even in a bad way, and it was a relief. Lucius watched his face as he stood and paced over to the sink, washing his hands. "What'd you think I would do? It's not the first time. Not even the worst time."

"It's not the same and you know it," Lucius pointed out. They'd shared a bed too many times to count, and waking up with morning wood was natural. Expected, even. If you were holding something at the time— someone even— it was also only nature that you might end up pressed against them. You might even end up moving, a little, without really meaning to. "I don't know. Thought you'd be mad."

"I don't think that highly of you."

"What?"

"I wasn't shocked," Corbin said. "You're always doing strange shit."

That was as fair as it wasn't. Lucius wasn't going to dwell on it. As it stood, he didn't think he currently had the mental capacity to do so with a gun to his head. So he moved on to other things. Something he should've said sooner but hadn't really gotten around to it, yet.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For shaving my legs," Lucius whispered. He felt calmer now that Corbin had given him some space. Now that he knew his world wasn't going to end quite yet. "For coming here with me."

For not leaving.

"Get out," Corbin said. He hadn't looked at him since he stood up. He'd instead entered a staring contest with his own reflection in the mirror. "It's my turn to shower."

"Alright."

He left. Waited until he heard the shower running and was certain Corbin wouldn't be leaving the bathroom anytime soon. Then, he took care of himself as quickly and quietly as he could manage, wiping himself clean with some leftover napkins that'd come with dinner the previous night.

He threw on some sweatpants and a baggy shirt, gathered his entire luggage, and went to find Gior. It was a short trip. He was only next door.

"About time," Gior said, ushering him in. The girls were already with him, and it seemed Ian had run off somewhere. Juliet waved at him from where she sat cross-legged on the floor, Elena sprawled out beside her. "Shouldn't take too long to get ready. Where's Corbin?"

"Showering," Lucius said, dismissive. A part of him wanted to tell Gior what had just happened just to see what he might say. Just to ground himself in reality— let him confirm or deny his delusions. But more than anything, he liked the idea of it being private. Something only he and Corbin knew. He laid his luggage down flat, zipping it open. "I'm getting ready first?"

"Why not? You're a collective effort."

"I just feel like I should be the grand finale, you know? The show stopper."

"Please," Elena said, smirking at him. "That's gonna be me. You haven't even seen my dress yet."

"I know for a fact it's not better than mine," Lucius said and Elena grinned wider at a challenge met.

"Julie, babe," she drawled. "I'll let you be the judge. But first we gotta put you together, so take off your clothes, pretty boy."

Lucius laughed, already peeling his shirt off over his head. "Fuck yeah."

He wasn't shy. It wasn't anything all of them hadn't seen before. Julie seemed a bit self conscious to be watching, but she did watch. Or at least Lucius thought she did. Every time they'd begin to make the barest of eye contact, her gaze would dart away. 

"Are you tucking?" Gior asked and Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"Am I what?"

"Tucking," he reemphasized as if Lucius would suddenly know what that meant. "It's like... Making the crotch area look flatter. Like your average woman's. I have tape."

"You want to tape my dick down?"

"I'm asking if you want to. It's obviously not a requirement."

"Hell no," Lucius said quickly. "Doesn't that hurt?"

Gior shrugged. "It can, but it's not supposed to if done right. But fine."

He didn't strip down fully. Not in front of the girls, but Gior followed him to the bathroom and helped with the awkward bits. The underwear they'd chosen was black and simple, not meant to draw any real attention. It was a little snug, though. Gior helped him adjust and this was a different kind of strange than it'd been with Corbin to have someone else's hands so close to his junk.

This felt innocent. Like being touched by a doctor or someone fitting you for a suit. There was a goal and it was simply coincidence that Gior had to touch him to get them there. Only the destination mattered. Not the journey.

"You did a good job shaving," Gior said, gesturing to his legs. Filling the silence with small talk. "I'm kinda shocked."

"I don't know why," Lucius said, laughing a little. Stupidly delighted. "I'm good at most things I do."

"I love that you believe that."

Gior helped him into the corset, next. Once he'd fastened the front, Elena insisted she be the one to pull the ribbon at the back. After a wary second, Lucius relented. She probably wouldn't try to kill him. It'd been a while since he'd gotten on her nerves, and it wouldn't be in her best interest to get any kind of revenge now. 

Later, maybe. Once she'd had her fun. He'd be vigilant then.

She went slow. It was like a firm embrace around his waist, immediately fixing his posture in a way he couldn't really fight against. His back felt rod straight and a little stiff. He tried not to move too much until she'd finished, tying the ribbon at his back into a bow to hold its shape.

"Take a deep breath," Gior told him. Once he did as asked, Gior nodded, satisfied. "Good. If it starts to feel bad later, let me know."

The dress was next. Deceptively harder to get into now that he felt like he couldn't properly bend at the waist, but they managed. He'd almost forgotten just how... open it was. His upper body was hidden for the most part, but his arms were entirely bare. His legs, too, save for the center panel of fabric that concealed the space between his legs. The straps at the hips felt different against skin. He plucked at them curiously.

"Pretty," Elena said, poking him in the thigh with a sharp nail. She grinned up at him. "Gorgeous. And we're not even halfway done."