"Marsh?"

Walker stepped out into the crisp, evening air and quickly looked around.

Where is he?

He hurried to the barn, then the chicken coops, expecting to see him wandering around... but he was at neither location.

Hey Rane, do you happen to know where Marsh went? I can't find him in his usual spots and he's not in the house.

It seemed to take his brother a few extra moments to respond, which wasn't normal. Especially when there was a chance to mess with him.

I saw him heading toward the woods. Wanna bet he's digging into Heian's honeycombs?

Walker felt his face pale immediately. He hadn't even thought about what would happen if Marsh found honey! The guy had downed the only bottle they kept on hand, mostly to sweeten teas when Ranger wasn't feeling well, in minutes.

I really hope he's wrong, but I have a gut feeling that he's right.

Running his hand through his hair nervously, Walker sighed and hurried out of the barn.

Don't worry, Heian doesn't mind. Just go get him.

Walker nodded as he walked, getting a good distance away from the barn before stopping abruptly.

Wait a minute. How do you know that he doesn't mind? Are you with him right now?

He heard static from his brother, making him stare back at the barn. They definitely weren't in the house, he would have sensed at least his brother. If they're together and nearby, then the pasture or barn would be where he'd see them... but neither were in sight.

Just go get your bear before he causes more problems.

Awkwardly turning back toward the woods, Walker decided not to question his brother and just made his way toward the two honeycombs Heian kept a little ways onto his property.

I wonder how he found out about them, though?

Shaking off the question, he made his way through the forested area, then stepped out onto a small empty field, long-since ignored with stalks of grass and hay reaching for the sky.

He knew better than to wade through somewhere he couldn't see, so he skirted around the outer portion, then went through another small forest before hopping over a frozen brook and ducking around a few last trees.

Oh, shit.

He had definitely found Marsh, but that was definitely not the form he'd expected him to be in.

Now I know how he'd found them, too.

A plump, chubby bear was greedily munching down on one of the large hives, having easily broken off a chunk of honeycomb from one of the shielding boxes.

"H-hey, Marsh?" he called out hesitantly, unsure of how his bear would react. His ear was too fluffy to really check, but he didn't doubt that the earring holding the beast in had likely been removed somehow.

It flicked its left ear and looked over its shoulder with a snuffled-grunt.

Walker held his breath as he waited for some kind of reaction, ready to run at a moment's notice. It was odd, though. The bear didn't seem nearly as interested in gutting him as it did the first, or second times they'd met. It didn't even bother standing up as it turned back to noshing on the item it held between its massive paws.

I'm kind of shocked.

"Um, you really can't be eating all that, Marsh. It belongs to Heian," he said after a few more tense moments.

The bear ignored him while it finished off what it was working on, then it finally snorted and wobbled forward. The action didn't quite bring it to its feet, so after it tilted backward, it tried again. It took it two more tries before it was able to fumble onto its paws. Bees were still buzzing around its face, but they didn't seem able to really bother him enough to make him walk any faster, or even swat at them.

Walker fought himself to stay still as the huge creature approached. Thankfully, it wasn't acting aggressively and it was dripping honey from its coat in many places. It was clear that he'd glutted himself on the sugary goo behind him.

"Ready to go back home?" he asked as Marsh's bear stopped right in front of him, then slowly started trying to stand up on its hind legs... except, it utterly failed and dropped back down to its fluffy backside in less than three seconds.

Trying to hold back a chuckle, Walker tilted his head and smiled at him.

"If you want to shift, I can carry you back," he offered, then quickly added. "I won't put another earring in if your bear can keep being good."

He wouldn't have done it in the first place if his life hadn't been at risk.

The bear looked at him as it slowly opened and closed its mouth, then lifted a huge paw covered in honey up to gnaw on.

"I don't think you want to chew on that... I'm sure it tastes good, but there are much better things at the house."

He wasn't too sure he was getting through to him, but then, finally, the bear's form wavered, then there was suddenly a naked Marsh sitting before him covered in gooey honey from head to toe.

Sticky.

Inwardly groaning, since he was definitely the cleanlier of the two brothers, he forced his body to move forward and reach down.

Marsh gave him a sloppy grin and reached up, allowing himself to be lifted up into his arms.

So sticky...

It didn't help that Marsh immediately began to nuzzle his honey-covered face against his cheek, then started licking it off.

The walk back was extremely awkward, especially when he had to climb over the fence into their main pasture a while later.

Of course, his brother just so happened to appear from much farther down the fence-line, though he didn't look like he was returning.

Sending someone off?

The second Ranger noticed him, he bristled like a startled cat, then ran back to the house without a single word.

Today is just getting more and more strange.

"If I rub honey on other places, can I lick it off, too?"

This guy is going to give me a heart attack.

Shaking his head, Walker ignored him and made his way into the house and went straight up to the bathroom.

Wait. Why is the door locked?

"Use the spare one!" came Ranger's voice as the shower got started behind the door.

Didn't he already shower this morning before going out? I didn't see him working at all, either.

"Shut up and go clean off Yogi Bear!"

Ah, claws today, then.

He wondered what had happened, but when his brother got snippy, it was best to just avoid him. Thus, he sighed and headed back down the stairs. It wasn't nearly as big of a bathroom, and there was no tub, but it would do.

When they stepped inside, he nudged the light on with an elbow and walked over to set Marsh in the shower. Thankfully, the guy stayed on his feet, though he swayed a little as he got his balance situated.

Knowing that he couldn't simply keep his sticky clothes on, Walker grudgingly removed everything besides his boxers, then walked into the shower and slid the frosted door shut.

It didn't take Marsh more than a second to get his sticky hands on his abdomen while he had his back turned to adjust the temperature.

"Walker, I was a good bear?"

Looking over his shoulder after taking down the detachable showerhead, Walker couldn't help but smile as he turned around to begin gently rinsing the honey from Marsh's face and hair.

"Yes, you were a good bear. I really appreciate the way you behaved."

The guy was quiet for a while after that, closing his eyes and simply letting Walker rinse away his evening escapade.

"I'm sure Heian wouldn't mind giving you some honey from time to time if you ask nicely. That way the bees and their home don't get hurt and they can produce more for you to eat instead of needing to focus on repairing their hive," Walker said as he was working shampoo into Marsh's hair.

The young man grumbled as a response, then looked up through the steam.

"Your underwear is all wet."

You would be looking.

Holding back an eye roll, Walker poked Marsh in the forehead and leaned down so that they were eye to eye.

"Your eyes sure like to wander, hmm?"

He expected Marsh to look away for at least a moment, or even grumble again, but when he squared his shoulders and leaned up to barely swipe his lips across his own, Walker fidgeted and took a step back, putting him against the cold tile wall.

Marsh followed him, reaching for his boxers, though he only slipped one finger nonchalantly into the waistband. When his eyes lifted back up afterward, Walker swallowed, but couldn't find any words to say. Marsh, however, didn't seem to have any trouble replying to his previously unanswered question.

"Only to what's mine."