Bushels of Bad Habits

It was the day of the funeral that I decided I needed to find a new way to comfort Spence; holding him and playing with his hair didn't quite work anymore, even though it seemed he liked it.

I had already tossed out a whole list of of idea's out; singing, food, walking, yoga, drum playing, therapy, a vacation, religion, and exercise are just a few of them, each tossed out for their own obvious reasons. I didn't want him becoming obses or Jesus obsessed, he was already weird enough. And, at the time, I was pretty sure he was almost positive that there was no god of any kind watching him, no angels to protect him.

It'd been my third day of brain-storming when Ryan finally gave me the answer I had been looking for.

We were at band practice, just sort of goofing off and lyric and song writing. It was one of those day's when normally we would go out to eat. But, after the news we received last time, we decided to just get Chinese instead. Brendon and Spencer went out to get it while Ryan and I stayed back to clean off his dining room table. Which, just for the record, had one of everything you can imagine on it.

"So, how's Spencer doing? Any better?" Ryan asked once we were sure Brendon and Spencer were down the street.

"I don't know. He's always so...tense. Of course, he still cries every-now-and-again, but he's constantly on edge. I've been trying to think of a way to get him to relax for days now. But, I keep drawing a blank. Any ideas?" I explained as I put a pile of dishes in his sink.

"I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to ever tell Brendon I told you." Ryan smiled.

"Deal."

"You know what he does once a week to keep as loose as he is?"

"What?" By then I was genuinely interested.

"He takes a warm bubble-bath and has me give him a good rub-down." Ryan's smile grew a little wider.

"Really? I mean, that's perfect, but...seriously? That's how he does it?" I was a little surprised.

"Mm-hmm. Don't tell him I told you." Ran chuckled as he started to do the dishes that I placed in the sink.

"Okay. One question. How do I get Spin to do this? I can't just go home and say, 'Hey, go take a candle lit bubble-bath so I can rub you down', he'll think I'm crazy."

"That's easy." Ryan said over his shoulder. "When you go home, tell him to take a hot bath, that it'll help. But, before you do that, lay out the candles -unlit- around the room and leave a book of matches with them. As for the bubble-bath part, just leave the bottle on the edge of the tub. A few candles there for sure. He'll follow it. Then, when he gets out, surprise him with a foot-rub and from there go to his shoulders and neck to his whole back." He turned around and smiled.

"What if I mess up though?" I wasn't skeptical about the plan, just my skills.

"How so?" Ryan sounded confused.

"What if I can't give a good massage?"

"Have you ever given one before?"

"No." I felt like blushing at the truth.

"Practice on me then." Ryan still stood at the sink, his back to me, doing the dishes that I kept picking up off of the table.

"What!?"

"Yea."

"What if Brendon and Spencer come in and find us?!" I was slightly shocked.

"Relax. I'll tell Brendon I had a kink in my neck, and sine you were the only one around...." Ross had a loop-hole for everything.

"If you say so." I walked up behind him and put my hands on his shoulders.

We just stood there, Ryan had even stopped doing the dishes.

"Do you know how?" He finally asked after few minutes.

"No." I blushed at the truth this time.

"Okay. Rub your thumbs in circles and at the top sort of pull up with your whole hand. Give a little bit more pressure every so often, and switch spots...only slightly though on his shoulder's. With his back and feet, when you switch, let the switch be noticeable." He instructed me, his words laced with humor.

I followed Ryan's instructions carefully and exact. at times I gave just a bit more pressure then I already was or I'd switch spots, just slightly to the right or left. And, I gotta admit, it was the most awkward thing I'd done. It just felt like, somehow, I was stealing Ryan from Brendon. That's when I noticed he was leaning over the sink, his hands gripping the edge for what seemed like his life.

"That bad, huh?" I sounded sarcastic.

"That's almost amazing. Left." Ryan was almost breathless.

"Want me to stop?" Now, I was confident.

"No. But, they're gonna be back soon. And, one I don't need Brendon seeing this, and two we gotta finish cleaning the table off." Ryan chuckled. "And, Jon. Little tip, it usually leads to more. So, be careful...unless that's what you want."

"He's my brother not my lover" I rolled my eyes.

"That makes three of us." He smiled.

"Brendon's all alone...I feel sorry for him."

"No, he's not. Brendon is my fiance"

"Yea, that's about the truth." I laughed as I wiped the table down.

"No, Jon." Ryan raised his left hand to me, reviling a gold ring. "He really is my fiance."

"Well, congrats dude!" I smiled.

We got back to Spencer's at what had to be about ten. I went to my room as he sat on the couch. Quietly, I pulled out one of my suitcases I had never unpacked, looking for one thing. Instead I found Dylan's cat-nip. I took out the small plastic container and put the case away. I turned around, where else could it be? As it turned out though, it was sitting on my night-stand. Sensual Amber Bubble-Bath. Don't ask why I owned it, just accept the fact that I did.

The candles were next. I managed to find about ten of them, which was the perfect number for Spin's small bathroom. I followed Ryan's directions to a 'T'. There were four around the tub, two each to their own corners. I left the bubble bath between the two I set on the edge. The rest were around the sink, a lighter accompanying them since I couldn't find any matches. Now, All I had to do was get Spin to take the bath.

"Hey, Spin...?" I asked as I put my hands on his shoulder's, his head was in the fridge.

"Huh?"

"I think you should take a bath, unwind." I started walking him to the bathroom.

"That doesn't sound half bad. But, it's so late." He tried to turn around.

"Good." I didn't let him.

And, without another word, I opened the bathroom door and shoved him in, slamming it behind him.