A/N: I'm gonna be increasing the amount of swearing from here on out. Not by much though.

Chapter 2

Tech slid into the small bathroom at the back of the lab, which was mostly just a shower stall. It was convenient for washing away any gunk from work, without having to go over to one of the more frequently used bathrooms. Not to mention this one was designed especially for cleanup, with everything leading down to a drain in the floor.

Tech slid the door closed, then preceded to, purposefully, bang his head against the wall. God, he had been so stupid! Why did he do that? I'm uncomfortable so I'll just take off my shirt, why not? Tech wasn't stupid, the way Rev was acting was obvious. He was clearly uncomfortable, and Tech had made things really awkward for him. He knew work fatigue when he saw it and that definitely was not it. And then there was the hand on the shoulder; why did he do that? Looking back on the whole scene he couldn't help but find everything he had done to be so cringeworthy. Rev was such a good friend, and Tech never intended to do anything that would make the bird feel uncomfortable. He had done his best to play off the whole situation as casually as possible, but the instant he saw the awkwardness in Rev's eyes he felt so ashamed. Tech let out a sigh, thinking of what to do next.

If nothing else, then he at least needed to take a shower. He could still feel the grease and oil all over and it made him feel gross. He began undressing what was left of his clothing. He unbuckled his belt, undoing the zipper on his jeans, then, slipping his thumbs behind the elastic of his briefs, slid down both the jeans and underwear at once so that he was completely exposed, naked. He then pulled open a small hatch to the laundry chute and dumped his remaining clothes in. There was a certain jubilant freedom when it came to not wearing clothing. Some of Tech's fur had begun to prick up from being let loose, but most of it remained matted down, still covered in substances from work. He took a brief moment to stretch out like this, reaching his hands up, standing on his tippy toes, before cracking his back and knuckles. After double checking to make sure the door was locked, he strolled over to the shower and turned the water on. He then instantly leapt back, due to its freezing cold temperature. It soon heated up however, and he could begin.

The grease and oil had gotten everywhere and cleaning it all out proved to be nearly impossible. Tech had to go over every single part of his body at least three times, and when he began nearing the end he was wondering if he would have enough shampoo leftover.

During the process, his mind couldn't help but think back to Rev. How serious was this going to be? Would it be something they would need to talk about later? Tech hoped not, all he wanted to do was put the whole scene behind him. The more he thought about it the more he cringed at his actions. At least it was just Rev that was there. He hoped Rev wouldn't go telling one of the team members. No, that was unlikely. Then again, Slam was a very good listener. Who was he kidding? Rev wouldn't tell, he's not the type. The real question was whether or not this would begin to cause a rift in their friendship. Would they be able to just laugh it off? It was possible, just a matter of how Tech handled the whole thing. He should have just been upfront instead of trying to play it cool! He should have just said that he knew Rev was uncomfortable and moved on. It was too late for that now though. Why was he so desperate to take the shirt off in the first place? The shower was literally so close! Since he and Rev were such good friends, he didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Was Rev not as comfortable around him as he thought? He did have a way of demeaning the bird from time to time. The way he closed his hand around Rev's beak to shut him up, he did it without hesitation, without thought.

It took a while, but Tech eventually finished cleaning up every crack and crevasse of his body. Looking down, the water seeping into the drain was a gross black. Tech could feel the weight of the water clinging to his fur. The room had grown quite steamy, and it was getting difficult to see. Tech pressed a small button on the side of the wall, and immediately two powerful fans kicked in. The steam cleared out of the room very quickly, leaving one very cold and naked coyote standing in the middle of it. Tech pressed a second button, just below the first, and vents immediately opened up all around him, blowing in powerful gusts of warm air. Some people used towels; Tech had moved beyond towels. Admittedly though, he always felt a bit flustered whenever the blasts of air hit his privates. He turned the vents off and walked over to look at himself in the mirror. Both the mirror and sink in that bathroom were particularly small, but he was still able to get a fairly good look at himself from the collar up. He was quite a bit fluffier than usual, but seeing as he was never one for personal appearance that didn't bother him much.

What would Rev say if he could see him like this? Tech shook his head, wrapping his knuckles against his temples to get the thought out. Where did that come from? Thinking of Rev at a time like this was highly insensitive of him. Besides, he still needed to patch things up before going back to normal. Maybe he was making a bigger deal out of the whole thing than was necessary. For all he knew Rev was talking with the guys about what to eat, and had already moved on from the whole situation. He pressed a button on the far wall and some clean laundry popped up, fresh and folded. Unlike the other bathrooms, Tech had installed this direct pipeline to his closet, so that he wouldn't need to worry about having a backup set of clean clothes ready to go every time he showered here.

As Rev walked out of the lab, he intended to go straight to the shower and then to his room for a fresh set of clothes. Instead, he stopped by the main living room where the rest of the Loonatics were hanging out. At least most of them were. Ace, Duck and Lexi were all discussing what to have for dinner, but Slam was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey-guys-sorry-to-interrupt-although-I-guess-this-isn't-too-much-of-an-interruption-since-I-am-just-chiming-in-on-the-conversation-you-were-already-having" As per usual, Rev was quickly interrupted.

"Look doc, we're just trying to decide what ta get here. Do ya have a suggestion or what?" Ace Bunny asked.

"Oh-right-well-uh-Tech-and-I-are-just-good-with-whatever-you-guys-decide-as-long-as-it's-not-something-super-crazy-not-to-imply-you-guys-would-get-something-super-crazy-I'm-gonna-go-now" With that Rev zipped away. Ace and Lexi exchanged glances, trying to piece together if anything was up.

"Did he seem high strung to you?" Lexi asked.

"How can you tell the difference? he's always high strung!" Duck snorted, "Unlike myself, who is the perfect picture of poise and tranquility." Both Ace and Lexi rolled their eyes at that one.

Rev could still feel the intensity of his heart beating as he finished up his shower. The farther he got away from the moment, the more he was able to calm down, but every time he thought about what had happened the feelings inside of him started up again. He had a hard on the entirety of his shower, and it took all of his willpower to not jack off with it. Tech was his friend, and would only ever be his friend, the sooner he came to accept that the better. It wasn't long before he found himself in his room with the door closed, a fresh set of clothes on his back. Dinner wouldn't be for a while, so he had time. Rev sat down on his bed, door closed, head in his hands. If he didn't tell someone about the way he felt soon, then he knew he would just go back to bottling up his emotions again. If he told someone then that made it real. A part of him didn't want to do it. A very strong part of him. What if he told someone and then it turned out he was actually straight, or even bi? Who was he kidding? He had already admitted to himself the way he felt, and that was that. He was going to do it. He was going to do it right now!

He picked up his phone and typed a single word, "Hi". It was a moment or two before there was a response. There was only ever one option as to who he would tell first, and it definitely was not going to be his teammates or his parents. Rev stayed glued to his screen. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity though was mostly likely just a few minutes, the dots denoting the other person typing began to appear.

"Yo" his brother, Rip Runner, texted back.

"R u ok to talk?" Rev asked.

"Ye"

Rev exited out of his text messages and called Rip. It wasn't long before he answered.

"Hey" Rip said in his weary, unenthusiastic voice. He always sounded like that.

"Hey, um, look I don't want anyone listening in on us. Are you alone? Is this a good time?" Rev could hardly believe he was actually doing it; he was more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life.

Suddenly, a masculine voice could be heard in the background, "Who ya chatting with son?" It was their father, "One of your little friends?"

Rev heard Rip sigh on the other end, "Yeah dad, it's just one of my friends calling about some school work. I'm gonna take it into the other room."

"Alrighty son"

Rev heard a door being opened and closed; any background noise had stopped. Rev didn't want to be too affectionate, but he was fully aware of what Rip had done. Both of them knew their father all too well. If Rip had been honest and said that his brother was on the phone, then their dad would have taken over and any intimate conversation would be cut short. Rev knew that Rip didn't know how much this meant to him, but he appreciated it none the less.

"Ok, I'm alone" said Rip, monotone. This was it, Rev had to say it, but how?

"Thanks, um, anyway… I uh" Rev was struggling to find the right words.

"Bro whatever it is I won't care so just tell me."

"Ok, ok. Look, what I'm about to tell you is something very personal, and it's something I've given a lot of thought to. Now promise me you won't go telling anyone, especially mom and dad."

"Sure, whatever." That was about the closest thing someone could get to a promise when it came to Rip. Rev took in a big breath, he was going to need it.

"Ok, so here it goes. I uh, I like men. I mean uh, I'm gay. Well, I think I'm gay. I might be gay. I like men so that lead me to believe that I am gay. I mean, that's what being gay is, at least if you're a guy, not so much if you're a girl. I'm definitely a guy, so uh, yeah pretty gay. Well, not pretty gay. I mean I hope I'm considered pretty, and I'm also gay, but more so gay in the technical sense of the term you know?" Rev stopped. The whole thing had come out in a far sloppier manner than he had intended. Once he began talking, nothing he said sounded quite right. He knew his brother was not the judgmental type, but in spite of this he could not help but try and phrase everything as perfectly as possible. To Rev, the end result was quite the opposite, a clumsy unstructured speech, delivered in the most ineloquent way feasible. Rip had allowed him to go on without interruption. It wasn't one of his speedy rambles either. This one was slow and clunky, not like him at all.

Eventually, there was an uninterested, "Ok" from the other end. Rev was somewhat confused at first. Was there some miscommunication? Had their phone connection been interrupted? He had expected an underwhelming reaction from Rip, but this was barely a reaction at all.

"That's it? That's all, just ok?" Rev asked nervously, "You understood the I'm gay part?"

"Yeah" Rip said, once again without emotion.

"Ok, well uh, you're the first person I told, so don't go talking about this to anyone."

"I think your overestimating how much I care about this"

"Especially mom and dad ok?"

"Even I'm not that much of an asshole" with that Rip hung up the phone.

Rev breathed a sigh of relief, as well as one of absolute terror. He was unsure as to how he was feeling both at once, but he would be lying if he said that an immense weight had not been taken off of his shoulders. It was out there now, it was real. Every time he saw his brother, it would be a reminder, someone else out there knew his secret. At least, it was his secret for the time being. Rip had been so nonchalant over the phone. Rev couldn't help but wonder whether or not Rip actually meant it. Was it all just an act to try and seem cool, or was he actually being honest with him? Rev couldn't help but wonder if Rip was actually telling his parents in that moment. It was a paranoid thing to think, but it was possible. No, Rip wouldn't go doing something like that. He might have had inferiority issues, but he wouldn't go doing something as dirty as that in order to become the favorite. Then another thought came to mind. How would his parents react if they ever found out? Sure, he wasn't in a relationship now, but some day in the future he might be. If he was really committed to someone, then his parents would have to meet him eventually. He couldn't just go on hiding this relationship forever.

Rev shook his head. What was he talking about? He was getting so worked up over these imaginary theoretical scenarios. Right now, the only thing he needed to worry about was dinner, dinner with his friends… which included Tech. maybe he had a bit more to worry about than initially anticipated.