His other half desperately wanted to pin the adorable man sitting across from him on his back, on the table between them... but he knew that he couldn't do such a thing without permission. He also never started a relationship in front of others. A lot of people in the BDSM community loved to put their submissives on display, but he wasn't one of them. At least, not when first getting to know someone. 

Getting to know someone? He's got a plane ticket out of here for tomorrow. 

His other half ran around in his mind as if it were running a race against itself, and losing. It was surprisingly, somehow, more dominant than even himself. Which was why it stayed inside, always. 

"Wyatt?" 

Blinking out of his thoughts, he looked across the table at Blake. The man had a curious expression on his face, and that slightly nervous smile? He couldn't fathom how someone could look into those beautiful, gentle eyes and not realize that they had hurt him. Over and over again. 

Or they just didn't care to see it. 

"Wyatt, your food is going to get cold," Blake said, snapping him out of another round of thoughts he was about to lose himself in. 

I'm being so rude right now. 

"I apologize, I don't normally lose myself in thought," he said, completely embarrassed as he began working on his large breakfast of egg whites, potatoes, and bacon. 

He heard Blake give a little chuckle before replying and drawing his eyes back up to him. 

"It's totally fine." 

It really wasn't. At least, he thought so, but he wasn't going to argue. If Blake wasn't upset with him for accidentally ignoring him, then he wouldn't bring it up again. He decided to just make sure that he focused for the remainder of their meal, which was actually pretty easy, especially when Blake finished his food in a flash, then began cutting up the huge stack of blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes Ravi always insisted on having when they went to their favorite breakfast place. 

"Ah?" Blake said as he lifted a big forkful of food toward Ravi's wiggling dog. Thankfully, while Ravi loved to be fed, he wasn't a fan of syrup on his pancakes and preferred them with only a little bit of butter melted into the top of the warm dough, so there wouldn't be a sticky mess to clean up. 

 It didn't take but a second for Ravi to lunge at the fork with a playful growl, then down the pieces of pancake that had been offered. 

"Ravi, behave," Wyatt said as he pointed his fork at the overly-excited pup. 

That was his one and only downside. He struggled to control his energy and often overreacted to simple situations, startling, and sometimes even accidentally, hurting others. 

That was the main reason why Ravi had allowed himself to be claimed by one of the strictest doms in town. He hadn't liked the idea, but the pup hadn't been under his care at the time, so he'd had no say in his decision. The only thing he did tell him when he saw him beginning to show worrisome changes in his personality was that if he ever needed help, he could come to him. 

And he had. Two days ago. 

He would never forget the way he'd had to cut off the constricting prong collar from his neck or the injuries he'd seen when Ravi was finally able to shift again for the first time in months. He'd been abused and treated like a dog that was worth less than nothing. 

I never thought I'd see him so happy again. 

He really hadn't wanted to even reprimand him for his current over-excitement, but while his canine form was adorable and sweet, it also had very sharp teeth that were meant for causing damage. Hyper was fine, but it did have to be kept within reason, for others' safety. 

Blake actually reached up and gave Ravi a gentle pat on his fuzzy, left shoulder as he got himself calmed down a bit. 

"What a good boy." 

It was relief to know that the guy knew not to pat his head. Especially when he was overstimulated and had previously been abused. Protecting ones' head was usually the first automatic response for any animal in a stressful situation. Trying to pet a nervous animal on its head was just asking for something bad to occur. 

When Blake turned back to facing forward for a moment to sip at his iced tea, Ravi leaned closer to his own remaining portion of pancakes and sniffed them hungrily, then looked across the table at him before giving a tiny, pathetic, barking whine. 

"You know, you are capable of picking them up yourself," Wyatt said in a knowing, chastising tone... even as he reached across the table with his fork and cut a big chunk out of the stack of pancakes, then gathered them onto his fork and offered them to Ravi without an ounce of hesitation. 

The pup happily accepted the offering and gobbled the food down quickly before suddenly darting beneath the table, only for his head to pop up right next to Wyatt as he glanced across the table at his remaining pancakes, then up at Wyatt before licking his lips a few times. 

"You're impossible. You know that, right?" Wyatt said as he reached over again and cut the remaining pancakes into two portions, then stabbed one stack with his fork and brought it over to a wiggling Ravi. 

The second his fork was close enough Ravi chomped down on it, then pinned his ears and looked up at Wyatt apologetically. He'd gotten too excited again. Since he already realized that he shouldn't have lunged for the fork, Wyatt let it go without a reprimand and Ravi quickly ducked back under the table to eat his new mouthful of food. 

When he showed up again, it was to take his place back beside Blake. Of course, that took the guy's attention immediately and brought a smile back to his face as he turned to face him. 

Ravi immediately made a little grumbly sound as he looked down at his last little bit of pancake. 

"Someone really likes to be fed, huh?" Blake said as he reached over and got the remaining pancakes onto his fork, then actually lifted it toward his own mouth. 

Confused and suddenly extremely worried that he might not actually get to eat that last super delicious bite of his pancakes, Ravi looked over toward him, but Wyatt simply leaned on his left arm and stuck his tongue out in response. 

The look on Ravi's face immediately morphed from confused worry to sheer terror as he noticed Blake take a nibble of the edge of one of the pancake pieces. He quickly reached up with one paw and tapped the man's arm as gently but quickly as he could while whining and opening and closing his own mouth, simulating that it was supposed to be himself that was eating that last forkful of goodness!

Wyatt watched silently, unable to hide his grin as Blake made a face, then reached over and held the fork out to Ravi. 

"Never been a fan of blueberries," he said with a half-shrug as he offered him a wide smile before turning to watch Ravi finish off his last bit of food. 

Wyatt straightened back up and gestured for their waitress to bring their check when she had a moment. She brought it over a minute later, but before he could take it, Blake reached over and picked up the little slip of paper. He quickly went over the items and numbers, then took out his wallet and pulled out several bills, then handed them, and the ticket, back to the woman. 

"Keep the change, and thank you," he said, making Wyatt's heart thump a little harder in his chest. 

He absolutely loved it when people showed their appreciation to wait staff. Their job wasn't easy, as he knew from experience. He'd absolutely hated it, but the job had been a necessity at the time. It had put food on his table. 

"Ready to head back?" Wyatt asked as he got up and pulled out his own wallet. 

Blake watched him toss another ten dollar bill on the table as he scooted from the booth after Ravi hopped down. He didn't bother commenting on it, but Instead, he gave him a knowing smile and nodded before grabbing his new coat and heading for the door. 

The moment they stepped outside Blake stretched his arms over his head and gave a content groan that did things to Wyatt's insides that it shouldn't have. He wanted to grab him from behind and hug him so tightly that he looked up at him with a nervous, yet-curious, expression... but he knew better than to entertain the thought. 

Now you need to behave. 

They began walking back toward the hotel when Ravi suddenly darted across the empty street, startling both of them and making Blake hurry after him after checking to be sure that no cars were coming. 

Should have known that he'd get drawn over there after breakfast. 

The only thing that could distract Ravi from having fun was food. Now that the food barrier had been removed, he hadn't hesitated to run across the street and straight onto the playground equipment he'd been barred from while in his previous relationship. 

Shaking his head, Wyatt couldn't hide a smile as he jogged across the street, too. He came to a stop beside Blake as the guy was about to drape his coat on the back of one of the cold park benches. 

"On... please?" he requested, wanting to make it an order, but knowing that he didn't have the authority to do so. 

He saw the man about to reply but quickly added, "you just recovered from a cold and it's still really chilly out here." 

Blake still didn't seem like he wanted to put it on, but he relented after a few moments with a sarcastic sigh that somehow irked his overly-dominant self. 

He's not yours, so get over it. 

And he did, immediately. Especially when Blake not-only tugged the coat back on, but zipped it up. 

"Thank you," Wyatt said, showing his appreciation right away since he knew that he hadn't wanted to do it. 

Blake suddenly stuck his tongue at him, quite immaturely, then turned and ran after Ravi who was happily bouncing around on the raised platforms, clearly heading for the twisting slide at the top.

He... really just stuck his tongue out at me. 

Just the thought of someone doing that to him normally would have garnered a reprimand, but damn it if he wasn't enjoying not having that power over someone, for once. 

Even as a kid, he hadn't been one to mess around on the playgrounds or parks. He'd worked ever since he was fifteen, and had never had time, or friends, to play with. Then, when he was older, he got into the BDSM scene and any remaining childish features he still held onto had disappeared. 

Hearing a cackling bark directed at him, Wyatt looked up to see Ravi hopping up and down on his front paws and swinging his tail wildly as he looked over at him. 

"I'm good, brat. Go ahead and get some of that energy out," Wyatt told him as he slid his cold hands into his pockets. 

Blake appeared next to Ravi a few moments later, his hair messily blowing in the cold wind as he reached up and grabbed a metal bar to help him balance as he climbed onto the same little platform and knelt down next to Ravi. 

Definitely glad he put the coat back on. 

"He's just gonna stand there and watch, huh?" Blake said, clearly making sure that his voice was loud enough to carry over to him. 

When Ravi tilted his head and turned toward Blake, who was just getting comfortable on his belly, he seemed to realize what the man was getting at. Because, not a second later he was looking between them, then hopping up and down like crazy and barking his way for a second time. 

"I'm too old for that stuff, you stubborn pup," he yelled back, even as he took a single step closer... just to make sure that his voice carried to them through the strong wind kicking up around them. 

He wouldn't be surprised at all if it snowed again soon. 

"Hey Ravi, I think he doesn't want to play with us. He probably wouldn't be able to keep up, though..." Blake said after tugging his hood up over his messy blond hair and grinning sideways up at the pup as he leaned up on his arms. 

Wyatt saw what was about to happen, but even as he started running forward, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop it from starting. "Ravi, wai—!" the pup had tilted its ears up and head downward as its tail stopped wagging for a whole three seconds. Then it happened. 

Blake let out a startled yelp when Ravi's dog suddnely dove beneath the guy's hood and promptly began licking his face with an eagerness that shook his little fuzzy body like one of those overly-dramatic cartoon alarm clocks that would vibrate themselves right off the nightstand. That was Ravi when he got into a licking frenzy. 

"Ravi, stop!" Wyatt shouted as he finally got close enough to make the pup hesitate in his attack. 

The dog was panting heavily as its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth. It quickly licked its lips several times before glancing between himself and Blake with wide, chaotic eyes. When it dove back in to try and steal a few more frantic kisses from Blake, who was now holding his hood over his face as tightly as he could with both arms, Wyatt hurried the rest of the way over and promptly picked Ravi right up off of the playground equipment and held his grumbling pup over his left shoulder as he reached up with his right hand to check on Blake, but hesitated to touch him. 

When the guy finally seemed to realize that Ravi had been removed from the situation and couldn't lick him anymore, he hesitantly rolled onto his back and let his arms fall to his sides, allowing his hood and hair to partially fall over the edge of the metal equipment since he'd rolled closer to the edge during Ravi's onslaught. The little puffs of warm air that rose like steam from his panting, parted lips made Wyatt's heart try to suddenly jump into his throat. 

He was trying to figure out something to say when Ravi wiggled on his shoulder and grunted behind him where his front half hung, the sound drawing Blake's attention and making him tilt his head back far enough to lock eyes with him. Even though he was standing and Blake was lying down, the equipment was at just the perfect height to put them both at an even eye level. 

Those eyes are so entrancing...

Even with the slightly-squirming pup still being held over his shoulder, Wyatt couldn't find the strength to look away. 

Even as snow began to softly drift down from the graying skies and settle upon their still forms, he still couldn't look away. 

What did finally break their focus on each other was the sound of a squealing child as they ran over and began climbing on the other side of the equipment. 

With their moment broken, Blake rolled over and pushed himself up, then slid from the equipment and landed in the thin layer of snow right in front of Wyatt's shoes. 

"We should head back," he said after a moment of awkward silence. 

Realizing that he still hadn't stopped staring, Wyatt quickly cleared his throat and nodded, then set Ravi down and turned to start heading back toward their hotel, tugging the hood from his own jacket up over his head... if only to keep his reddening ears from being seen.