Raj/sunny for jax

It's when Raj's ears dip to horizontal for the fifth time that Sunny starts wondering. The puppy seems pretty fine in her bath, splashing around happily in the shallow soapy water. And yet, knelt together on a towel in his cramped apartment bathroom, Sunny can't help but notice his-- notice that /Raj/ beside him is the one looking anxious.

"Hey, uh… you feeling ok?" He asks as gently as he can manage, stroking soothing lines down Princess Rapunzel's waterlogged coat more for his own sake than hers. Sunny knew that dog grooming was… /hardly/ a cool d-- hang out time, but Raj had sounded so enthused on the phone.

Ears flitter further back and then forward, standing straight up but askew, like Raj can't make them stay there. "What? Yeah! Yes, fuck yeah. This is fun, I'm having fun."

His right ear ticks like a clock skipping from twelve to three, and, disappointed as it makes him, Sunny gets the message.

"You don't have to stay, if you don't want. Shouldn't've asked you to help do my chores 'n shit, it's fine." He tries to not sound as dejected as he feels.

Raj looks confused all of a sudden, and Sunny feels the same expression growing on his own face.

"Hangin' out with my lady the Princess isn't a chore! I had a great time earlier, netflix-and-combing her."

Sunny squints, first at Raj, and then at Rapunzel, yapping happily as she splashes water up at them. And then back at Raj. Considerably less happy.

"Listen, forgive me if--"

"Don't say it. You always start with /forgive me if…/ when you're about to waste ten minutes circling around a /feline-related query/."

"Oh." He bites his lip. "Sooo…"

Raj twists the fluff on the end of one soft ear, which twitches in his grasp. His small brows are knitted, tail doing that flick Sunny is learning means /don't-push-your-luck/. After a moment, he appears to deflate a little.

"…I hate water. There, is that what you wanna hear?"

Despite his best efforts, despite preparing himself for Raj's answer, Sunny can't help a /tiiiny/, wobbly smile at that. Cute.

Raj slaps him with a sloppy backhand against his thigh. "Quit it. Convo over. Princess Rapunzel is gonna catch a cold if you don't stop gloating."

"I'm not! It's… charming. God knows Rapunzel uses the tub the most outta all of us. Maybe I should buy a bath bomb some time, get some use outta the thing."

Raj's ears twitch minutely, with what emotion Sunny didn't know. "I mean, if you're trying to get me naked with you, there are more effective ways."

Sunny inhales so quick he coughs on it. "Oh! I, uh, I didn't mean like--"

Raj shrugs one shoulder, casual as anything, with a telling smirk. "That's a shame."