To say that he hadn't slept well would have been a massive understatement. Seba bit back a groan as he rolled over for the hundredth time, trying to get comfortable though he knew that it was useless. If he hadn't ordered Ruoka to stay in his human form, he would have called him right up onto the bed without a second thought. He was stressed and hungry, and his pup always easily remedied both of those situations. 

He's not a pup anymore. You need to get used to his human form. 

Seba cracked open one tired eye, then blinked twice as he noticed a certain young werewolf staring at him from the edge of his bed, leaning on it with his arms. 

Ruoka lifted his chin from the blankets as soon as he noticed he had his master's attention. His stoic expression immediately changed to one of stifled excitement. 

I feel like you would be wiggling right now if you were in your wolf form. 

"Master, may I come up on the bed now?" Ruoka asked with a hint of nervousness to his words. 

Seba nuzzled a little deeper into his pillow and pulled his blankets up to his shoulders before making an affirmative mumble. He honestly had no idea how Ruoka would react to being allowed up onto the bed in human form, but he had to get used to him. 

The second Ruoka hopped up, Seba raised an eyebrow. 

He's wearing a pair of my long undergarments...

He also didn't just crawl right up to him and nudge himself into his arms like his wolf would have. Instead, he settled about a foot away and looked down at him with a cautious grin on his face. 

He's acting differently than before. 

"Ruoka, what are you doing?" Seba eventually asked when the guy didn't move or say anything else. 

The werewolf tilted his head and frowned. 

"Master doesn't like it when I get too close as a human, and you told me last night that I need to stay in my human form until you allow me to return to my wolf one." 

He... wasn't wrong, but it still seemed like he was holding back a lot. Although, it did make him a little less nervous. 

His mind flashed back to the time he'd been arguing with Ruoka through his master's ability to speak with his wolf side. 

He'd pinned you down so quickly...

Glancing up into Ruoka's calm dark eyes, Seba struggled to make the connection between who was in front of him now, and the man that had pinned him down in his own bed... in front of his master, no less. 

An approving master, hmph. 

Sure, he'd talked about simply taking Ruoka as his heir so that he didn't have to deal with the frustrating societal norms of being chased around by every power hungry human, but still... Just remembering that situation made a shiver run down his spine. 

Hell, even werewolves want me for some reason. 

Sighing, he slowly pushed himself up and, after covering a yawn, looked out his windowed balcony doors. 

It's going to be morning soon... might as well just get up now. 

He was just about to get out of bed when he noticed Ruoka, and more importantly, his appearance. 

Master would have a fit if I was seen walking around town with such an unkempt man at my side.

He didn't want to do it, and he knew that Ruoka would fight him on it tooth and nail, but...

"It's time for a bath, Ruoka." 

The man's expression immediately changed to one of abysmal terror as he hurried to scramble beneath the thick layer of blankets on the bed. 

Of course.

Shaking his head, Seba got up and pulled the call bell three times, signaling to a servant downstairs that he requested bathwater to be brought up. He spent the next few minutes deciding what Ruoka's human form would decently fit into that he already had. The man was thankfully close to his own height, but had a bit more muscle where he was just lanky and thin. 

He eventually settled on a pair of loose trousers and a simple white, long-sleeved shirt. By the time he'd gone through his clothing and made his selection, the servants had filled the tub with warm bathwater. 

Now for the hard part.

Tugging his nightshirt over his head, Seba tossed it to the floor and walked over to the side of the bed. 

"Ruoka, get out of the bed," he said with as much authority as he could muster... which really wasn't a lot. 

When the man just ignored him, he took a deep breath and licked his lips. 

You're still his master. You took off the collar, but he still belongs to you right now. 

Standing a little straighter, Seba narrowed his eyes on the lumps beneath his blankets. 

"I wasn't asking, Ruoka. Get out of my bed, right now," he said, his tone brooking no argument this time.  

He wasn't sure if it would work, but when Ruoka hesitantly poked his head out of the top of the blankets and looked at him with pleading eyes, Seba gave an inner sigh of relief. 

You can do this. He's Ruoka... your Ruoka. He belongs to you. 

"Get out of my bed, now," he said, adding emphasis to the last word to get his point across. 

Thankfully, being more stern seemed to be working, because Ruoka was soon sitting on the edge of the bed in front of him. He was shaking a little, but that was how he always reacted to baths. He wasn't sure why the pup had always been terrified of them when he would gladly jump into a nasty pond or lake to chase ducks, but it was what it was. 

"Remove my undergarments and come get in the bath. We have to go out and get you fitted for clothing, but I will not have us embarrassing my master by bringing a dirty, unkempt man to the clothing shop," he said as he turned toward the bathroom, only to stop abruptly when he felt warm fingers slip into the waistband of his own undergarments. 

"Master said to remove his undergarments," Ruoka said, his voice suddenly much different, and much deeper than it had been a few minutes ago.

Seba quickly turned to face the werewolf, but before he could fully complete the action, he felt the man's fingers slip away from his clothing. When Ruoka came back into view, he was sitting like a pup on the edge of the bed, his hands innocently settled between his bent legs to hold his weight. 

Don't react to it. He's messing with you.

Ruoka tilted his head and smiled slightly. Biting back a scowl, Seba pointed right at his nose, then to the bathroom with his other hand. 

"You, in there, now." 

Ruoka seemed to know that he was stretching his patience as far as he was willing to let him because he finally hopped up and walked into the bathroom without another word. 

Seba hurried to follow and make sure that Ruoka was actually getting into the tub instead of finding some way to procrastinate further. To his surprise, Ruoka had removed the undergarments he'd borrowed, but he was definitely not in the tub. 

Averting his eyes, Seba busied himself with getting out some soap from the cupboard in the room. 

"In the water, Ruoka." 

He saw the man move a bit from the corner of his eye, and when he finally heard him get into the bath, he stood up and turned with the soap in his hand. 

I... can't believe that I raised him to be like this. Surely I didn't.

Ruoka was leaning over the edge of the tub slightly, resting his head on his bent left arm as he stared up at him with a lazy smirk. 

"Water is not so bad in my human form," he eventually said when Seba just stood there staring for too long. 

After all of the years of whining and making me drag your wolf to the bathtub when you got covered in mud chasing squirrels... 

Pushing aside his frustrations over the past, Seba walked over and knelt next to the tub. 

"Good, then you will be bathing much more frequently from now on," he said as he held the soap up for Ruoka to take. Except, the man simply glanced at it for the briefest moment before looking back up at him with raised eyebrows. 

What now? 

"Master always gets in the bath with me," Ruoka said after a few moments of silence. 

Seba felt cold blood rush to his face as he looked away briefly, then back at Ruoka. 

"That was the only way I could get you clean. You have two hands now, you can do it yourself," he said as he reached over and grabbed Ruoka's hand, then set the bar of soap in his palm. 

He was just letting go of it to retract his hand and leave the man to his task, but when Ruoka's fingers suddenly closed around not only the bar of soap, but also his own hand, he swallowed. 

He was about to tell him to let go when he realized that the man's eyes had changed. In fact, his entire demeanor had become more anxious.

He never has done well in baths...

Letting out a relenting sigh, Seba shook off Ruoka's hand and carefully climbed over the edge of the tub and into the warm water. Ruoka was quick to make room for him, but there really wasn't enough room. Seba ended up kneeling between the man's legs as he grabbed the bar of soap and quickly wet it, then reached over the edge of the tub for the empty water basin he'd left there previously. 

He hurried to wet Ruoka's hair and upper body, then get his hair scrubbed into a lather, making sure that there was so much soap that it ran down his face and he had to close his staring eyes. He left him that way as he quickly scrubbed the bar of soap beneath the surface of the water to cloud it, then set it aside to fill the water basin and begin rinsing him off. 

Halfway through his work Ruoka grumbled and abruptly shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. Seba sat back as the man opened his eyes. His dark, dripping bangs pressed softly against the damp skin along its brow haphazardly, framing his soft brown eyes as they immediately focused on him. 

Seba blinked a couple times as he averted his eyes and held out the bar of soap. 

When the item was taken from him, he began climbing out of the tub, eager to escape the awkward situation. He was just about to lift a leg over the edge when he felt nervous fingers grasp the hem of his soaked undergarment.  

He hesitantly looked back at Ruoka, but was surprised to see that the guy seemed close to tearing up. Seba slowly sank back into the water, worried and confused. 

"Master can stay until I'm done?" Ruoka asked in a quiet, scared voice. 

Seba wanted to tell him that he was a human now and could handle a little bath by himself, but at the same time, he couldn't look away from Ruoka's worried face. Where had that look gone so quickly? 

He's still your wolf... even if he has gotten a little more stubborn and lost his fur coat. 

"I'll stay, but you need to wash up quickly, we have an appointment," he said as he carefully turned himself around in the little space he had, then sat back down. 

He was relieved when he heard Ruoka do as told and hurry to finish his bath. He was done in three minutes flat, and didn't hesitate to climb out the moment he'd finished his task. 

"Dry yourself off with a towel, then put on the clothing I left sitting at the foot o—" His words were cut off abruptly when he felt the wet bar of soap press against the back of his head. 

Looking over his shoulder, Seba was going to scowl at the man for getting his hair soapy, but his frown disappeared when he saw the hopeful smile on his pup's face. 

"I got you wet earlier when I shook my head... and you've been sitting in my bathwater," he said, clearly hoping to be allowed to continue helping wash his hair. 

I guess it can't hurt. I already have soap in it anyways, so I might as well just wash it. 

So, even though he'd already bathed a day ago, Seba bowed his head and closed his eyes. He expected to feel the hands that soon sifted soap through his dampening hair, but when they slowed to a stop and he heard a familiar warning growl from Ruoka, Seba lifted his head and blinked open his eyes. 

 Ah, master. 

Pretennon was standing in the open doorway dressed in a pair of tight black trousers secured by a thick belt low on his hips. A light gray long-sleeved shirt covered his chest and a dark red leather long-coat finished off the look perfectly. His hair was also pulled back into a tight ponytail with only a few lengths of black hair settled about the left side of his face. 

He looks like he is in quite a good mood...

"I just wanted to check on you two before heading out for the day," he said as he pointedly looked between him and Ruoka a few times, seemingly pleased with his observation. 

"Please be sure to feed before you go to your appointment," he added, making Seba quickly nod. 

"I plan to go down to the servant's quarters right after I rinse my hair," he said, earning an agreeing nod from his master before Preto's gaze focused on Ruoka. 

 "That would be for the best. In fact, I'd like for you to no longer feed from your werewolf. I have more than enough servants who are willing to offer blood," Preto said, making Seba tilt his head slightly, curious about the restriction... though not enough to argue it. 

"I can do that. I've fed from him more than enough. I will not do it again," he said calmly, even though his heart was beating a little too fast for his liking. He had no doubt that his master could hear it, too. 

It wasn't that he would intentionally disobey the request, but human blood really did not hold him over like a werewolf's. It also didn't taste nearly as good. Either way, he would just have to get used to feeding more often, and only consider Ruoka if he truly were in dire need of blood, which shouldn't happen. 

"Good, enjoy your trip to the tailors. I look forward to seeing your purchases when I return this evening," Preto said as he offered them a slightly-fanged smile that really made Seba confused, then left. 

Who was he warning with that fang? 

His thoughts were quickly derailed when he had a bucket of cool water poured over his head. He sputtered and wiped at his face until he could see again, then got ready to reprimand Ruoka, except, the guy was nowhere in sight...

What was that about?

(Edited)