Ryan was almost back to his old jock self. His earned muscles gleamed with the sweat of exertion as he gripped the sides of the tub.
"It's about time, Vinnie," he said before wincing. A pain like being jabbed with several needles occurred around his waist. Before his eyes, and in front of watching Vinnie and Lou, glowing letters emerged on his abdomen. "Property of Lou Cost."
"What..." His mouth went dry and his hard-won body retracted back into three ounces of cotton fabric and stretchy straps.
Lou snickered, reached into the tub, and grabbed the jockstrap. "Looks like I own the jock and the strap," he remarked.
"You can't own him, Lou," Vinnie tried to argue. "He's a person."
Lou pulled Ryan back over his privates despite the jock's confused protests. "He's property, bro. You saw for yourself."
Vinnie opened his mouth to argue, but realized Lou was right. At least for the time being, Ryan was property. Lou's property. The path back to his human self rested with getting Lou's unequivocal consent, and the way Lou groped at himself through the jockstrap form of Ryan, that didn't look like an immediate possibility.
"I'll be in my room," Lou said. "Getting... well, enjoying my property."
And with that, he left the bathroom, leaving his older sibling speechless for a change.