Troy turned the water on and stepped into the shower. Lancer followed him in. He shivered a little under the water, clearly unused to having water hit bare skin before.
"It just, falls right off of you immediately," he marveled, watching the water bounce off him. Since the shower was set for Troy's height, as a second person in the shower, it only reached Lancer's abs from where he was standing. Troy turned and adjusted the showerhead. He felt Lancer's big hands rubbing Troy's shoulders and then his chest from behind. He stepped closer and leaned in to kiss Troy's neck. Troy leaned into it and closed his eyes. He could feel Lancer's dick brushing up against him. Troy turned around. He didn't think he'd be ready for that just yet. He instead looked into Lancer's eyes. Lancer was trying to contain a smile.
Troy grabbed the soap from the shelf and squirted some onto his hand. He glanced at Lancer's big chest, which was just below eye-level for Troy, and squirted some more soap onto his hand. Setting the bottle down, he began to rub the soap onto Lancer's bare chest. Lancer shivered again and let out a slight involuntary moan. Troy chuckled and shook his head. He took stock of Lancer's body as he massaged it.
He was very muscular, beefy and cut at the same time. His body hair was surprisingly reduced down to a simple treasure trail that began just below his belly button. There was some hair on his arms and legs, but it wasn't much. His chest was completely devoid of any body hair whatsoever. The muscle was firm and hard beneath Troy's hands.
He was just about to kneel down and admire the treasures below the waist when he heard his phone ringing. And it wasn't just any ringtone; it was the ringtone he set for Mr. Anderson.
"Where is that music coming from? Did your kingdom just lose a battle? It sounds... remorseful," Lancer wondered.
Troy huffed. "No, that would be the sound of my boss from work trying to get a hold of me." He quickly rinsed himself off and stepped out. "He normally doesn't do this, so it could be an urgent thing. I need to deal with this for a moment. Do you...?" He trailed off.
Lancer waved him off. "Go handle that. I can finish in here." Troy smiled apologetically before rushing downstairs where he left his phone. It had started ringing again. Oh god.
"Hello, this is Troy," he said.
"Troy," Mr. Anderson's voice greeted him curtly. "I had been meaning to tell you that Mark spoke with me earlier today about your performance lately. Before you get all worked up, it was a positive review of your talents. I can't say with any certainty yet as I need to discuss this with various people, but I would like to move you up from your current position."
"Uh, really? That's... I don't know what to say, sir," Troy said.
"The new position will come with a slight pay raise and a stipend to get your new office settled how you like it, once we get back into the office anyway," Mr. Anderson continued. "It does have increased responsibilities from your current position. Once I have the official paperwork squared away, we can discuss this further. But I wanted to let you know that your efforts haven't gone unnoticed. Drink an ale tonight in celebration, boy. I'll speak with you on Monday."
"Oh, okay. Thanks, Mr. Anderson," Troy replied. And with that, Mr. Anderson hung up. Troy set the phone down. Normally, Troy would be over the moon, but something seemed off. Why hadn't Mr. Anderson discussed this with him earlier? Why did he feel the need to call Troy directly?
"Everything alright?" Lancer asked, walking up behind Troy. He rubbed Troy's shoulders. "Wow, you seem really tense right here." He squeezed and massaged Troy's shoulders and neck. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure, but wow, you are good at that!" Troy looked up at Lancer. He was completely naked but mostly dry, save for some water droplets here and there. "How are you so good at that?"
"It's a common technique to relax the muscles after battle," Lancer replied. "Many of my fellow soldiers have needed this technique."
"So you're saying you give other men massages regularly?" Troy asked with a sly smile. "Should I be jealous?"
"No, it's completely platonic," Lancer said. He stepped back. "Besides, I'm not... attractive enough for them to return any advances, were I to give any." Troy frowned. That's the second time Lancer has said something like that. Is he really that self-conscious or have people told him straight lies about his appearance?
"Go get dressed," Troy told him. Lancer instantly turned to his clothes and started pulling them on. Interesting. Even as a human, he still obeyed Troy's command. "Before we go get something to eat, let's get you some human clothes that will make you look incredible. How does that sound to you?"
"If that's what you wish," Lancer said with a shrug. Good enough, Troy figured.
Getting Lancer into a car was... entertaining. The "chariot", as he called it, was nothing like he was familiar with. He almost jumped out of the car when it came on. As they moved along, Lancer had gripped Troy's hand tightly to calm his nerves. Troy may or may not have made some comments about someone being a scaredy cat, which may or may not have earned him a glower from said scaredy cat. But as they drove along, Lancer silently absorbed everything around him, for the most part. They quickly shuffled into a clothing store without really drawing too much attention. However, one of the cashiers eyed Lancer's attire curiously as they came in.
"Well, what do you think?" Troy asked Lancer quietly. "Is there anything you'd like?"
Lancer looked at the clothes around them with utter bewilderment. "What do you think would look good on me?"
Troy shook his head. "Lancer, is this something you even want?"
Lancer blushed. "Y-yeah, I guess. But-"
Troy put a hand to Lancer's lips, silencing him. "But nothing. If you want this, then nothing is stopping us from doing this!"
Lancer sighed. "Okay then." His eyes drifted over to a rack of t-shirts. "This looks similar to what you're wearing, although I don't really care for the color."
Troy frowned and looked at his green shirt. "What's wrong with it?"
"Green is the main color of our enemy kingdom's flag," Lancer said.
Troy blinked. "Oh."
Lancer than smirked and whispered, "It looks good on you though." Now it was Troy's turn to blush. They perused the racks, grabbing different clothes and various styles.
After about fifteen minutes, Troy said, "Okay. How's about you try these on?" Lancer shrugged and immediately started to undo the strapping of his armor. "UH... NO!" Troy quickly lowered his voice. "Not out here! You can't just strip in public here. Maybe that's a thing in your dimension but not here!" He gestured to the fitting room. "Go in there and lock the door behind you. You can try everything out in there. If there's anything you want help with putting on, just call for me."
"Troy, I know how clothes work," Lancer replied. He grabbed the pile of clothes out of Troy's hands and walked into the fitting room.
Troy sighed. He leaned against a nearby wall and waited.