Noah lay motionless on the expansive hospital bed, his breath coming in ragged, shallow hitches.
His skin, usually a healthy glow, looked strikingly pale under the dim clinical lights, and a fine sheen of sweat trickled down his neck, soaking into the messy sheets.
Beside him, Adam was in a similar state of physical exertion.
Sweat ran down his sculpted chest in rivulets, and the white bandages wrapped around his torso were now marred with small, dark spots of fresh blood where his wounds had protested the intensity of the night.
Despite the obvious strain on his body, Adam was beaming. He looked absolutely revitalized, possessed by an energy that seemed to defy the laws of medical recovery.
With a tenderness that contrasted his earlier ferocity, Adam reached for a clean basin of water and a soft cloth.
He began the slow process of wiping Noah's body down, cleaning away the salt of their shared exertion.
