(This chapter had to be fixed as it had some bad mistakes. I've been terribly stressed kicking someone out of my house so my mind wasn't really there when I wrote the last update. Please let me know if there are any other issues in coming chapters and thanks to those who pointed them out this time. 

Trever did end up shifting in chapter 13 and wasn't aggressive, so I fixed it to be a reaction from stress and edited some parts.) 

No one had kissed him since he was a tiny kid, and that had only been his grandparents. Unfortunately, he'd hated it, even though it had just been on the cheek and nothing special. He'd just... hated it. 

You promised five minutes, though. 

He did, and he would never break a promise... even if he was so incredibly uncomfortable staring up at a young man who had done something that was stressing him out so badly. He told himself to keep counting the seconds and not pay attention to Ravi's terrified, nervous, near-sickly expression, but he just couldn't focus on the numbers. Instead, he decided to withdraw into himself, leaving his expression blank for the last three and a half minutes. 

"M-master Trever?" 

He heard Ravi's voice, but couldn't process it well enough to respond. 

"M-master Trever, it has been five minutes... I think." 

Has it? 

He wasn't ready, but he knew that he couldn't just keep hiding in silence, either. 

"Okay," he whispered in a defeated tone. 

When he didn't say or do anything else, Ravi began to cry, though he didn't look away. 

I can't handle this. It needs to stop. I can't be the person you want me to be. 

He was just opening his mouth to make the worst decision of his life, or at least of the year, when Ravi lifted a shaky hand and settled it atop his head. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

No words ever left his mouth to try and stop the gesture, however, and Ravi's eyes widened to saucers as his jaw dropped in shock. His hand also didn't dare move from where it had settled atop Trever's head. 

This... will not end well. 

He could already feel his anxiety skyrocketing... and it had already been terrible! 

"Master Trever's dog suddenly came out..." Ravi whispered, still in shock. 

The fact that his shift had forced its way out was no surprise, but it wasn't a good thing in such a stressful situation. It didn't understand the situation, only that it had happened and that it was still happening since Ravi's hand was still settled atop his head. 

You need to move your hand...

He groaned inwardly at his complete inability to communicate. They had caught a tiny bit of each others' thoughts a few times, but it hadn't been reliable... and he really needed it to be reliable right then.

He could feel his beast's cold stare as it held Ravi's eyes as he fought to regain control, but he knew that it was fruitless. It was way too stressed to listen to him right then. It was the main reason why he was so adverse to others touching him. His animal was generally a loner in the wild, though they did form pairs to mate. Unfortunately, his just got too aggressive whenever a stressful situation came up to ever consider a significant anything. His territory and things were his, there was no sharing unless the other person was an absolute submissive... and such a thing was extremely rare and still would come with stressors. It was safer alone.

His other unfortunate issue was that while he could keep it inside quite well, even during triggering stressful situations, the simplest thing... a pat to his head, would drag it out in an instant. That was the other big reason why he wasn't a fan of people getting close to him. Touching others, hugging and patting, was a normal thing most people would do during stressful situations. Well, it definitely wasn't something that should be done with him. 

I'd let my guard down too much. I know I shifted for him once, but even then he was handsy. Now that I'm extremely stressed, my shift isn't going to be as lenient with the excessive attention. 

"Master Trever," Ravi said a little louder, his voice a tiny bit more confident.  

I can hear you, but I can't control him right now. 

"Master Trever is so beautiful," he said as he finally removed his hand from atop his head, likely to get a better overall view of him. 

The moment it slipped away from his fur, Trever's beast slowly pulled its lips back to reveal a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. A rough, deep, warning growl accompanied the gesture.

Stay very still. Don't look him in the eye. 

Ravi still clearly couldn't hear him as he got more and more excited, not registering the obvious warning that was being given to him... or maybe, not caring about it as much as he should have.  

Thankfully, Ravi's other half had some good instincts and reflexes. The second his shift lunged, Ravi was in his own canine form and darting out of the tiny bathroom. Trever tried to reign his animal in, but it refused to listen. It blurred into the bedroom and didn't hesitate to pounce up onto the bed where Ravi's own canine was bowing playfully at him.

Now isn't the time to joke around, Ravi! 

Of course he didn't listen. Instead, he yipped and wiggled his fuzzy backside in the air, then dodged a millisecond before he would have been grabbed! 

Darn it!

Their crazy game of tag tore up the room as claws and jaws, mainly his own, bounded and bit. His beast managed to nip Ravi's tail twice, but the pup wasn't a push over. His claws were also quite sharp and his aim was spot on, leaving Trever's own pup with two cuts across its face. 

By the time he actually managed to corner him in the tiny, open closet near the bathroom, Trever's beast was panting hard... while Ravi's dog was still wiggling from toe to tail. 

That energy is scary. 

He could tell that his own animal was running low on steam, so he began trying to really push for control. It resisted as it hunched forward, growling quietly, but, surprisingly, Ravi finally stopped wiggling and allowed his hackles to rise as he pulled his lips away from his own sharp teeth. 

The sudden display of reciprocated aggression actually made his own canine hesitate. He'd never seen it actually be cautious when it was out and feeding off his stress. But then again, no one had ever dared get in its way the few times it had managed to wiggle free from his control. They always just got the heck away from him and waited for his beast to calm down. 

Damn, Ravi looks vicious...

His own animal slowly backed away as it let out a confused, nervous laugh. The sound wasn't like that of it's more popular cousin, as it wasn't a true laugh, but it was still reasonably unique. The sound seemed to pique Ravi's interest, because his ears pricked up and he tilted his head, closing his mouth and relaxing his hackles slightly. 

Seeing a chance to try and land another nip, Trever's beast lunged, but it had miscalculated Ravi's speed, again. While Ravi's dog was built slim but decently-muscled for hunting in a pack, Trever's striped hyena was built a little more compact but with thicker muscles, and while the animal could hunt relatively well in the wild, they were more well-known as scavengers in their native range. 

They were also usually quite cowardly around people, but his hyena evidentially hadn't gotten that memo.  

They bounded around the room for a few more moments before Trever's silver and black striped hyena finally collapsed onto the bed where it had been considering one final lunge. It hadn't been worth it, and thus, he'd decided not to waste anymore energy. Panting heavily, it kicked its back legs out to either side and glared at Ravi's little dancing dog back by the bathroom door. 

They were both cut up a bit, but the damage was minimal... at least to them. He was definitely going to have to pay the hotel for their bedding and the carpet, but that was totally fine. He was just relieved that he hadn't hurt Ravi badly. 

He still seems oddly excited that I shifted again. Even after I tried to use him as a chew toy.

In fact, Ravi shifted abruptly at that moment, making Trever's hyena lift its fuzzy head and pin its ears back. It didn't even bother growling anymore, though. It was well and truly exhausted. 

"Master Trever's dog is super pretty!" Ravi said excitedly as he leaned forward on his hands with the biggest smile he'd ever seen on his now scratched-up face. 

His hyena didn't seem interested in the flattery and practically scoffed at him as it turned its head away and lowered it to rest on its paws. 

 This definitely could have gone much worse, but I don't understand why I still can't get a hold of him. He's not letting me have any control. 

"I'm so happy I got to meet you again Mr. Silverdog," Ravi said, making his hyena glance back at him and narrow its eyes. 

That... is a terrible nickname. 

His hyena seemed to think the same thing, because it grumbled and lifted its lip slightly, but then gave up and huffed out a tired sigh. 

Ravi looked like he was about to say something else when he seemed to get an idea and quickly darted into the bathroom. When he reappeared a moment later, Trever's hyena abruptly lifted its head back up and tilted its ears forward. It's nose flared a tiny bit, too. 

"Do you want a snack? We played for a while, so you must be hungry, right?" Ravi said as he sat back down near the bathroom with a towel around his waist and opened the bag of jerky he'd been chewing on earlier. 

Trever's hyena immediately hopped off the bed and sauntered closer, stopping only a meter or so away before leaning forward and sniffing the air again. It had thankfully calmed down enough to at least let the food dissolve its remaining frustration. 

"I'll share," Ravi said happily as he fished out a large piece of jerky and gently tossed it toward him. 

It landed only an inch away from his paws and was immediately snapped up and crunched to bits. 

"It is pretty good, huh? Master Trever always picks out the best stuff," Ravi said as he put a small piece into his own mouth, then tossed Mr. Silverdog another one.  

He couldn't argue, it was pretty good. That's why he preferred that brand whenever he wanted to chew on something. The new flavor was also quite delicious. 

They worked together to finish off the bag of jerky, with his hyena sneaking forward here and there until he was surprisingly close. 

"That's all I've got for now," Ravi said with a calm smile.

Mr. Silverdog twitched his nose and turned away since the food was now gone, then wandered  into the small bathroom. He calmly walked over to the bathtub, then hunched forward until his wet nose bumped against a soft stuffed animal. 

Oh no, ducky. 

"That's mine," Ravi said in a stern voice that he'd never heard come from him before. 

His hyena glanced over its shoulder and grumbled quietly, but Ravi wasn't deterred in the least. In fact, he was already on his feet and walking into the room. He knew that his hyena wouldn't leave the toy, however, and wasn't surprised at all when it quickly snatched it up and hopped into the tub before turning to face Ravi and snorting. 

It's not edible, bud. It's just a toy... and it really isn't yours. 

Of course, it didn't care. It had stolen a meal from the other dog fair and square. 

"That's mine Mr. Silverdog," Ravi repeated again, but thankfully didn't seem interested in acting aggressive. 

Trever's hyena bristled when Ravi took a step closer, but relaxed slightly when he sat down with a closed-mouth smile on his face. 

"I'll tell you what, though. I'll let you have it... but only if you let me do something in return," he said, making Trever's hyena tilt its head and squeak the ducky once. 

Ravi seemed to take that as curiosity, because he spoke up again. 

"I'll trade you that awesome, squeaky ducky, for one simple head-pat. I pat your head once, and you get the ducky forever," he said, making Trever's heart flip in his chest. 

You... are a genius. Please, please work. 

He knew that his hyena didn't like being touched, at all, but if someone patting his head could push the shift out, then perhaps it could also put it back. It also wasn't stressed much anymore, so it should be easier to deal with.

The hyena tilted its head this way and that, clearly considering his words. It was a pretty reasonable trade. A moment of annoyance for a squeaky meal that could fill its belly... but not really. It would just be a vet bill or an hour or two of throwing up, but it didn't know that. 

Thankfully, after about two minutes of thinking over the deal, his hyena hopped out of the tub and slowly inched its way closer to where Ravi was sitting patiently. 

When it stopped a short distance away and grumbled, Ravi gave a quiet chuckle right back. 

"You're a sweet dog." 

He really wasn't unless he, himself, was in control. His actual hyena was kind of a butthole to most people, but Ravi somehow managed to calm him even when stressed out. 

Well, he wore him out, but I guess that still counts since he's not being aggressive anymore. 

His hyena turned slightly and set the ducky near its right back leg, then slowly leaned its head closer to Ravi millimeter by millimeter. Once it got within reach, Ravi slowly lifted his slightly-turned left hand and allowed Trever's hyena to nudge its fuzzy head into his palm. 

It only took that one second to drastically change the situation. In an instant, Trever was back in his human body and leaning into that warm hand as his exhausted eyes stared calmly into Ravi's excited caramel ones.