Ravi slowly sat up in the darkness of their hotel room. He shivered a little as the heavy blanket slid from his body to settle in his lap, but he didn't pay it any mind. His full attention was focused on something else entirely. 

Looking to his left, he slowly, carefully, turned his body until he was mostly facing the sleeping man beside him. His wild dog's eyes shone through his human ones, giving him decent night vision. He could feel his dog's eagerness well up within his chest but he hurried to push it back down. 

Be good. I can't be like you when I'm in my human form. I don't want to make him stressed. 

He'd never truly liked someone enough to want to literally pounce on them in the middle of the night, let alone while in human form. His body felt oddly hot and his fingers itched to touch Trever, but he knew better. Just being allowed to sleep beside him in his human form had been an unexpected treat... but he wanted more. 

Leaning forward as he bent his legs, Ravi pressed his forehead to his knees and wrapped his arms around his legs. 

I'm a bad dog. 

He stayed that way for several moments until his mouth began his bad chewing habit. Deciding that he should at least put something in it since he didn't want his jaw to hurt from grinding his teeth together, he quietly slipped from the bed and after a short search of the room, found his ducky. 

"Mm, Ravi?" 

Trever's gruff, sleep-laden voice sent a different kind of shiver down Ravi's spine as he straightened a little more, then turned as he clutched his ducky to his bare chest. 

"Oh, you wanted your duck?" he mumbled, still clearly half-asleep. 

I want to touch you, but I don't want to make you upset so I grabbed it instead.  

Ravi quickly gave a jerky nod in the darkness, then took a step forward, but didn't move any farther. He kneaded his bare toes into the worn, dark blue carpet and held his duck closer, not wanting to seem strange by lifting it to his human mouth... even though that had been the original plan.

"Come back to bed now... since you got it," Trever said quietly as he settled back in and closed his eyes. 

Ravi nodded again, but he just couldn't make his feet move forward anymore. Thus, he remained standing there for nearly a minute before Trever blinked his eyes open again and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. His hair was an absolute mess and Ravi had to squeeze his duck a little tighter against himself to keep from moving forward any farther. If he got closer, he'd tug at his hair. 

"Ravi? What's wrong?" 

I... I'm wrong. My old master wanted to do these things to me, but I'd hated it. Master Trever will definitely hate it. I have to behave. 

"I-I need to take a shower!" he abruptly shouted before turning and darting into the tiny bathroom behind him. 

He could hear Trever getting out of bed as he ran, but he didn't dare let himself stop until he was beneath the cold spray of water in the tub. His boxers were soaked through in seconds, making it even more obvious that he was having a strange reaction. He'd only ever gotten the awkward hardness between his legs right after waking up in the morning, but it was incredibly rare. It had never happened at night, and never when he was near someone else!

"Ravi, what's going on? Are you not feeling well?" 

Ravi quickly yanked the curtain more tightly closed, then sat down on the floor of the shower and hugged his legs. 

"I'm fine, just c-cold," he mumbled, then realized his mistake and stuttered out, "h-hot. I'm just too hot."

The quiet patter of water was the only thing that could be heard in the bathroom for nearly five minutes before he heard Trever hum softly. 

"Please talk to me, sweetheart. I promise I won't be mad, no matter what you say. We can figure out whatever's going on," he eventually said. 

Ravi gave a quiet squeaky grunt in response, though it was more his dog pushing the sound through his human mouth. It wasn't that he wanted to leave him hanging, but he just didn't have any words he wanted to say. 

"You... do you want to change back into your dog form for a little while?" Trever asked after another minute of silence. 

He did. He really, really did, but he refused. 

I don't want to rely on my dog all the time. 

"Yes sir... but I won't." 

There was quiet for another moment before he heard Trever get up and leave the room. 

I'm sorry I'm making you stressed. I didn't want to bother you. 

At least his body had calmed down enough to not be uncomfortable anymore. Now he was just stressed and his heart was beating super hard against his chest. 

"Ravi, can I hand you something?" 

Hearing Trever's voice suddenly, Ravi looked up, frowning in confusion. 

"Y-yes sir," he replied, his teeth chattering from the cold of the water spraying on him. 

He heard a faint rustling sound, as if Trever was taking something out of a grocery bag, then he saw a small dark red package of something being nudged past the curtain near the front of the shower. 

Jerky? 

"You seem to clench your jaw and grind your teeth when you're stressed, so I picked up some jerky at the last gas station we stopped at while you were picking out a drink you wanted. I hope you don't mind it?" Trever said nervously. 

Ravi took the little package, then stared at it for a good solid minute before opening it with a shaky hand. He raised a piece to his mouth and bit down, relieved that he had something to chew on. Trever let him eat for a few minutes before speaking again. 

"Would it be okay to turn the water off now? It hasn't gotten steamy, so I'm guessing you're sitting beneath cold water. I don't want you to get sick."

Ravi quickly reached up and turned the water off, then added another piece of jerky to his mouth as he finished off the first one. 

"Thank you," Trever said as Ravi heard him walk about the room for a second. 

He silently wondered what he was doing before a large, fluffy towel appeared through the shower curtain. 

"Please dry yourself off." 

Realizing just how cold he was at that moment, and considering the statement an order, Ravi gratefully took the towel as he stood up on shaky legs. He was mostly dried off after a few moments and wrapped the towel around his waist before, finally, nudging the curtain back and stepping out of the shower. 

"Can I help with your hair?" Trever asked from the doorway as he held a second towel in his hand. 

Ravi really wanted to say yes, but he knew that he shouldn't. His hands still wanted to touch him, but they were thankfully preoccupied with holding the bag of jerky at the moment. 

"I-I got it," he said as he slowly set the bag on the counter, then took the proffered towel from Trever. 

His curly hair was a bit hard to dry well, though. He spent a few minutes trying to get through the insane amount of curls, but in the end it was still going to be damp. 

"I-I really do need a haircut," he mumbled out loud unintentionally. 

"How about later today? We're only an hour or two away from our destination and I'm sure there are a few places that will accept walk-ins," Trever said, making Ravi finally lift his eyes to meet the other man's. 

"Today?" Ravi whispered as he reached up with one hand to tug at his hair as the towel he'd been using to dry it slipped to settle around his shoulders. 

Trever nodded with a tired smile. 

"Yeah, if you'd like to. We can also grab breakfast, either at a regular restaurant or fast food."

Ravi felt his heart twist in his chest, evidently drawing a frown to his face since Trever looked nervous again all of a sudden. 

I still want to touch him really badly. I want to pull his hair and pin him down. 

He'd thought that the idea would go away after he sat under the cold water for a while, but it was still stubbornly pushing him to just try. A voice in the back of his mind whispered that, perhaps, Trever might not freak out. That he might not push him away or send him back to Wyatt with his tail between his legs. 

An awkward shiver swam up his spine as he felt himself grow warm again, and uncomfortable in a certain inappropriate place. Groaning, he dropped down to the closed toilet seat lid and tugged at his own hair as hard as he wanted to pull on Trever's. 

I'm a bad dog. I'm a bad dog. I'm a bad dog.

"Hey Rav," Trever said as he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of him and gently coaxed Ravi's tight fists out of his ridiculously-curly hair. 

"It's okay. Whatever's wrong, it can be okay. Just tell me what's wrong. Are you worried that I'll be upset if you tell me what's going on?" he said, his voice beginning to sound openly anxious. 

Ravi refused to look up, let alone say anything in response. Eventually, Trever slowly lowered his hands, which in turn brought Ravi's down until the man clasped them both together in his larger ones, then squeezed gently. 

"What if I promise that I absolutely won't react until I take at least five minutes to consider what you need to tell me? I won't say a word or do anything."

Ravi sniffled and blinked back tears he hadn't realized had been escaping his eyes for the last few moments. Then, after sitting in silence, shaking for another minute, he slowly straightened. 

"Y-you won't say anything... o-or do anything? For at least a few minutes?" Ravi replied, trying to speak well enough to be understood. 

Trever nodded seriously, not an ounce of hesitation in his actions. 

"I won't say or do anything for at least five minutes. I promise I'll think over whatever you say." 

Swallowing down what felt like a rock in his throat, Ravi gave a shaky nod, but then just stared... unable to make words come out of his shivering lips. 

Thankfully, Trever just stayed still the entire time with a tired smile on his face, but as seconds turned into minutes, and minutes dragged on with not a word, Ravi felt his chance slipping away. Five minutes without being yelled at was better than an immediate refusal. At least it would give him a chance to believe that he wouldn't be rejected. 

Words are so hard, though. 

He could tell that Trever was considering speaking again, but before he could possibly take back his offer, Ravi tugged his hands free from his, then reached forward to slide his fingers into the man's super soft hair. It's so soft. Softer than my own fur. He pulled him closer as he leaned forward, himself. Then he did it. What he knew, darn well, he should never do without the other person okaying it first. 

He pressed a barely-there kiss to Trever's left cheek.