Ravi hurried through his shower once Trever had finished his own. He kept his eyes to himself, even though the other man seemed to have misplaced his shirt and walked out of the bathroom without one. 

He would be a good dog! He would!

Once done cleaning himself he dried his hair as best he could, then got dressed. After a quick tooth-brushing, he eyed Trever's hairbrush, but immediately decided against requesting to use it. His tangled hair would be the death of that little thing. 

Definitely need a haircut. I want to be able to take care of it. 

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to get a brush through it.

Master Trever did say that I could get a haircut. 

He didn't want to spend more of the man's money, though... but if he wanted to get a job, he had to look decent, and right now he definitely needed to get his insane head of curls in better order. 

I will pay him back for everything once I start making money. 

Of course, he'd never actually had a job before, nor had he made any kind of money in his life, but he was determined to try. So, licking his lips, he took one final glance in the mirror, even spinning in a circle once to make sure that he looked as good as he could, then opened the door and walked out. 

"Oh?" 

To Ravi's relief, Trever was now fully dressed... but unfortunately, he looked insanely good in a pure black suit and dark red bow tie!

Good dog. You're a good dog. It's okay to like him, even if he doesn't like you that way yet, he reminded himself, earning a slight head tilt from Trever that made Ravi's heart skip a few extra beats. 

"You are a good dog," Trever responded after a moment, making Ravi heave an internal sigh. 

He really needed to be careful with his thoughts since Trever could hear bits and pieces of them off and on. 

Forcing a smile, Ravi nodded and walked over to his clothing box, intending to pick up the mess he'd previously made while looking for his current outfit, but to his surprise, everything had already been returned to it and the lid had been zipped closed. 

"I put all your stuff back since you seemed to have the clothing you wanted..." Trever said with a nervous smile. 

Ravi quickly nodded again and pulled up the little handle so that he could wheel the bag. 

"It's okay. I got everything I needed out of it. Thank you for putting the rest away while I was showering," he said before heading to the door and opening it after tugging on his shoes. 

He stepped out first, then held it open for Trever before falling into step just slightly-behind him on his left side. 

The look on Trever's face, and especially the raised eyebrow, made Ravi hesitate, worried that he might be being too forward, but when Trever just ended up smiling, he knew that his decision hadn't been an issue. 

It wasn't that he hadn't walked beside the man before. He'd done so several times, but he was used to being second, and second meant walking obediently behind your master. It would take him a while longer to get completely out of the habit, but he was doing pretty well with it already.

Holding his head a little higher, Ravi happily walked with Trever to the car and helped get their stuff situated, then hopped in the passenger's side. 

"Ready for some food, then a haircut?" Trever asked as he got them out of the parking lot after running inside for just a moment to return the keycards. 

Ravi was about to nod his agreement when his hands began to fidget in his lap and he bit his tongue. Trever seemed to notice his unease but instead of questioning him, just continued to drive, allowing Ravi all the silence he needed to get his thoughts together into words that he wanted to say. 

It took nearly five minutes of patience, but it was worth it when Ravi swallowed down his remaining worries and smiled slightly up at Trever. 

"Master Trever, may I get a haircut first?" 

Without missing a beat, Trever spared him a quick smile and got into the left lane, then stopped for a red light. 

"Of course, I saw a place nearby on my phone that had great reviews and takes walk-ins. Let's try there?" he said as he did a U-turn once the light turned green again.

"That sounds good," Ravi replied, feeling a little relieved that he'd managed speak up and ask the question he'd wanted to. 

He was content for a whole three minutes before they pulled into a parking lot. Then stopped in a spot. Then the car turned off. 

Oh no. 

His hands twisted together tightly in his lap, the pull of the skin hurting but just-barely managing to keep him from crying at the sight before him. 

Too many people. Way too many people. 

"Hang here for a minute, okay Ravi? I promise I'll be right back, alright?" 

It took Ravi a moment to even realize that he was being spoken to, and another couple seconds before he could peel his wide eyes away from the busy storefront and meet Trever's. 

"Just stay here, okay? You're not going inside right now," Trever said, clearly trying to sooth his nerves. 

It didn't work all that well, but it did do just enough to get a jerky nod from Ravi, which, in turn, made Trever smile and reach over to pat his head twice before getting out of the car and hitting the automatic lock from his key fob. 

Ravi began chewing on nothing as he watched him leisurely walk right into the shop. He had to wait in line for a few moments, but then he was talking to the person behind the greeting desk. 

I'm so glad I didn't eat yet. I would have thrown up and messed up master Trever's car. 

He waited impatiently as Trever discussed something with the person, then, to his surprise, walked farther into the shop. His heart immediately jumped into his throat when the man disappeared around one of the long privacy screens near the back of the building. Even his dog wasn't a fan of losing sight of their master and it let out a little whine through Ravi's human lips as proof. 

He was just beginning to chew on the inside of his cheek when he felt his pocket vibrate. 

Pockets don't vibrate, was the only thing his mind could register for a few seconds before it connected the dots and allowed his hand to slip into his hoodie pocket and retrieve his phone. He hit the accept call button right before it would have gone to voicemail, then lifted it to his ear. 

"It's a video call, sweetheart," Trever said with a tiny hint of humor to his words. 

Ravi quickly moved the phone away from his ear and pursed his lips as he looked down at the image of the other man on the little screen. 

"I'm in the back of the shop. They have a quiet area back here where no other people are allowed," Trever said as he moved his phone so that it showed the area he was in. 

Oh... there really are no other people there. 

It was also dimly lit, but not so much so that it would be hard to cut hair. 

"I also had them turn off the music, so it will be nice and quiet. Just you, me, and the barber. Is that alright?" 

He could probably do that... but getting to the back of the store? Ravi glanced up from his phone several times, trying to see himself walking through that suffocating amount of people. 

He couldn't. 

There was a muffled sound from his phone as Trever asked someone something, but Ravi wasn't paying enough attention to catch it. Instead, he returned his attention to the screen and waited until Trever was looking at him again. 

"They said that you can come in the back entrance, too. No other customers will be there and I can even drive the car around and park right next to the door," Trever said, making the stifling stress that had grown in Ravi's chest slowly disperse. 

It didn't disappear completely, because he still had to let someone he was completely unfamiliar with near him, and with a sharp object, but master Trever would be there. 

"Yes sir, that is okay," he finally responded, earning a bright smile from Trever before he promised to come get him right away, then hung up. 

Ravi waited like a good dog, and like a good dog, was rewarded with his master's attention as soon as he got back inside the car and shut his door. The hand that reached over toward him made the world a better place, and as soon as it was close enough, he reached up and grabbed it. 

Of course, he knew that Trever wouldn't be happy with too much touching, so he made sure that his grip was very loose as he gently but quickly brought that hand closer until he could lean his cheek against its palm. 

He felt the man's wrist tense beneath his fingers, but the reaction subsided almost immediately as another hand reached over and patted his hair. 

"I'll need that back to drive, bud," he said teasingly. 

Ravi licked his lips and just-barely held himself back from licking Terver's hand as he forced himself to lean away and release his captive... for now. 

"Thank you, Ravi," Trever said as he got the car started again and drove it around to the back of the large strip mall area. 

They parked right next to a bright blue door, and instead of hesitating, Ravi jumped out of the car the moment it was turned off again. 

Trever looked surprised, but his smile remained firmly on his face as he got out and locked the car, then hopped up onto the sidewalk where Ravi was waiting, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.  

As soon as he got close enough, Trever reached out and, without needing any other hint, Ravi gladly took the man's hand it in his own. Instead of waiting for his master to open the door, Ravi took the initiative and grabbed the handle, then swung it open. 

He held the door for Trever, then clenched his jaw as he hesitantly walked toward the young woman standing beside a large barber's chair. 

"Hello, young man. My name is Angela and I'll be cutting your hair for you today," she said with a cheerful tone before giving him a closed-mouth smile. 

No teeth was good. No teeth meant no threat... usually. 

"I see that you've already washed your hair. Do you mind if I brush it out for you?" she asked as Ravi nervously walked closer, but stopped about three feet away, not quite ready to move farther yet. 

"U-um... it's not good hair. You will need a really good brush," Ravi mumbled as he stared down at his phone's blank screen, refusing to meet her eyes. 

Trever had stopped a few feet away after Ravi had made himself release his hand, but he could still feel his attention on him. It took a lot of effort to have let go in the first place, but he needed to start being his own dog... at least, a little bit. Once in a while. At least once a day. For a few minutes. And those minutes were right now!

"I have fantastic brushes, and if one doesn't do well, I can switch to a different one until we find one that works well for you. I also have a little conditioner bottle that I can either spray in it to help, or just spray it on the brush and my hands and work it in that way," Angela said as she calmly began walking closer to the barber's chair. 

Without really thinking, Ravi followed her with small, short, tiny steps... but he still followed. 

Two minutes later he was seated at the very edge of the chair. His right hand was gripping the armrest tightly as his left hand held his phone. 

Thankfully, Trever had walked closer, too, and pulled up a seat next to a small mirror hanging on the wall to Ravi's right. 

"Do I have to look at the mirror?" he asked quietly as he looked away and down at the dark floor. 

"No sir, you can look wherever you'd like. I'm going to start and just see what brush we are going to need, alright?" she asked as she pulled over a small tray on wheels that had only different brushes sitting on it. 

There are no scissors...

"Okay," Ravi said in response, though he didn't even try to look higher than that tray. He had no reason to look higher. Master Trever was there, watching over him. 

The first few moments of the woman trying to brush his hair had him extremely tense, but as she set that brush aside after a few moments and chose one with wider-spaced bristles, he relaxed a tiny bit. Another thirty seconds passed before she swapped that one out for an even wider one, then walked away for a moment and sprayed here hands with something from a bottle. She didn't even seem to mind that she was getting it all over her nice brush, too. 

When she returned, she set the bottle aside and out of sight, then made sure that her hands lowered down to where his field of vision was before reaching back up with both of them. 

"I'm going to just sift my fingers through your hair so that I can get some detangler in it, alright sweetheart?" she asked as she gently began to tug softly at his matted hair once he gave a slight nod in response. 

The cold, non-scented product was a bit annoying at first, but when Ravi finally began to feel his terribly-mussed hair begin to unknot bit by bit, he couldn't help but look over at Trever. 

He'd expected the guy to be on his phone, but it wasn't even out. Instead, he was staring right back at him and when their eyes met, a warm smile slid onto his face. 

Reassured, Ravi slowly scooted back in the seat without considering the person working on his hair. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude by moving so much, but he just had to. If he thought about something when nervous, it was extremely hard not to do it. Especially if it made him feel more comfortable. 

The barber seemed perfectly fine with his fidgeting, though, and didn't even say anything as she moved her hands away so that he could do this or that, then returning them to work once he was settled again. 

The whole detangling process took nearly an hour, but when she was finally done with what she could get, Ravi couldn't help but give his head a good shake. His damaged curls bounced like they hadn't in years. They also hung down quite a bit, framing his face instead of just being tied together in a matted afro. 

"You have some gorgeous hair, young man," the barber said as she set her large brush down and switched to a comb, then, finally, took a pair of small scissors out of her smock pocket. 

Instead of beginning to cut right away, she set those items down on the tray next to each other, then walked away, only to return a moment later with a large smock. 

Ravi immediately tensed at the sight of the large drape. He wouldn't be able to move well with that on him. He also wouldn't be able to see his hands. Without even realizing it, he'd begun to shake and lean farther back into the chair, even though he couldn't really go a whole lot father. 

"Let's use this instead," Trever chimed in as he stood up and walked forward, shrugging off his fancy suitcoat. 

But that's really nice...

He knew that he shouldn't use such a thing to replace a smock, but he couldn't find the words to say to decline the offer, so Trever stepped forward and gently guided Ravi's arms through the two armholes. 

"Lean forward a little, sweetheart," he said, making Ravi immediately obey. 

Trever tucked the front of the jacket behind him, then gently guided Ravi backward until he felt the chair settled against his shoulder-blades.  

"There we go. Oh, hang on," he said as he walked away for just a moment before returning with a clean white towel. He settled it around Ravi's shoulders, then stepped back with a satisfied grin. 

"Perfect. Now you won't have to change clothing after." 

Ravi still felt bad for using Trever's nice jacket, but he wouldn't argue. The man even rolled the sleeves up so that he could still see his phone, even though he'd never turned the screen on. It was just another one of his habits that he had. 

"All set?" Trever asked once he was done. 

Ravi nodded with determination before looking at the barber. 

"Miss. Angela, you can cut my hair now," he stated with resoluteness. 

The woman smiled warmly and nodded, but instead of getting right to it, she leaned forward and whispered something just quietly-enough so that Trever couldn't hear. 

Oh? 

Looking back at the man, who was now staring at him with a slightly raised eyebrow, Ravi thought for a long moment, then said, "master Trever can look away until it's done?" he asked. 

The woman had said that Trever might like to see his new hair as a surprise, instead of watching the whole process. It made him a little more nervous, but he would still be there, just turned around. If anything happened, he'd still be able to help him. 

Trever seemed a bit surprised by the request, but gladly accepted and sat back down after turning his chair to face toward the door. He still didn't pull out his phone, though, and instead, just relaxed a bit more and crossed one leg over the other. 

With that done, Ravi looked up at Angela and nodded for her to continue. What followed was a very tedious process. She added some extra water with a different spray bottle using her hands again, then slowly worked from the left side of his head to the right. 

Thankfully, she didn't mind when he randomly looked somewhere else, but after the second time he realized that she could accidentally cut him if he didn't at least give her notice, so he started training himself to at least tap on the armrest with his pointer finger right before he felt the need to divert his attention. 

They worked together until, finally, Angela leaned back after ruffling his hair one final time. 

"I think we're done!" she said cheerfully, even though she looked quite a bit more tired then when they'd first started. 

Ravi wiggled in the chair as she took the little towel off. He stood as soon as the towel was gone, then quickly took the jacket off before shaking it out, not caring that he was adding tons of hair to what was already at his feet. 

It honestly looked like they had shaved a poodle, not given a human a haircut. There were just so many curls everywhere. 

"Master Trever, I'm done!" he said excitedly as he took a step closer to where the man sat. 

Almost too-slowly, Trever began to turn around. When he wasn't fast enough for Ravi's liking, he hurried to meet him halfway, a wide smile on his face even though he hadn't even looked in the mirror yet. 

It honestly didn't matter to him as long as he looked good to master Trever. If he thought he looked good, then he knew that he looked good!

When their eyes finally met again, Ravi couldn't hold back his excitement and began rocking back and forth on his feet again as he waited for the man's critique. 

At first, Trever actually seemed shocked and mute, but after a few moments his wide eyes and open mouth were replaced with squinting eyes and a smile so wide that Ravi's mouth hurt just looking at it. 

"Come here, let me see," Trever eventually said as he reached forward, toward Ravi's hair. 

Master Trever wants to pat my head! 

The haircut was already a success!

Ravi happily walked forward and leaned his head down just enough for Trever to sift his fingers through the soft, beautiful curls. 

"You look fantastic, hun. And your hair is gorgeous," he said honestly as he rustled it here, then there. It actually seemed like he was enjoying touching his new hair!

The lady needs paid! Definitely, she needs paid a lot! 

Ravi turned around toward Angela, who was cleaning up her little area while still keeping an eye on them and a smile on her lips. 

I don't have money. 

Turning back around, he looked at Trever and opened his mouth, but then snapped it closed and spun around again toward the barber, his clean curls bouncing around his face with the action. 

I don't want to ask him for money, though... but I don't have any! 

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll gladly pay," Trever said as he stood from his chair and stretched, then walked over to the barber as he took his wallet out of his back pocket. 

"Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate it and your work was fantastic," he said as he handed her a hundred dollar bill. 

The woman's eyes lit up as she took the money and thanked him in return, then looked over at Ravi, who hadn't walked with him. He'd just sat next to the woman for two hours... no matter how much he appreciated her work, he didn't really want to be next to her anymore if he didn't have to. At least, not for the rest of the day. 

"Take good care of that beautiful hair, alright young man?" she said with a motherly tone to her cheerful voice. 

Ravi pursed his lips and nodded before promptly turning and walking right out the back door. Trever joined him a moment later, taking the dirty jacket from him to toss in the back seat as they got settled in the car again. 

"There's a nice little park around here. How about we grab something to-go and relax there for breakfast?" Trever asked, already knowing that Ravi was at his people limit for the time being. 

Ravi nudged his shoes off and crossed his legs in his seat as he grasped his ankles and looked over at Trever. 

"Yes sir, that sounds perfect!"