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Devon exhaled softly once he heard the muffled click of the bathroom door shutting behind him. Before he even allowed himself a moment to think, he instantly went to undress, then switch the shower on and wait for the hot water to come through. In the meantime he fiddled with his towel, and grabbed his soap to pass it between his paws, trying to distract himself. Then he brought it into the shower with him and welcomed the comforting warmth of the water on his fur.
However, with nothing but the steady stream of hot shower water to focus on, he couldn’t stop the tide of unnerving and inappropriate thoughts, all in a tangled mess in his head.
At first, he let himself absorb the shock and awkwardness of the interaction. Arvo had been sniffing Devon’s tank top, for chrissake. What did the kid expect? Of course it was going to be awkward. Did he have any idea what he was thinking?
But the beration, even in his own damn head, made his own guilty feelings grow. He hadn’t yet let himself think in any real capacity about his feelings towards Arvo. He’s a student, and that should be final. He’s not a friend, and definitely not… Devon shouldn’t be feeling…
The panther sighed and leaned his head against the glass panel of the shower in front of him, pressing a paw against it too. Attracted to him .
Devon had known exactly what Arvo was doing the moment he walked into the room, and he couldn’t deny what the first thought that had popped up into his head was.
He’s gay too?
It shouldn’t even be a thought in his head, let alone the first one. That faint flicker of hope shouldn’t have ignited in his chest.
He shouldn’t feel anything like this towards a student. But now he’s thinking about it, Devon supposed he’d always found the tiger rather cute. He’d never admitted it before, but in this moment, locked away, to himself, he finally could. But today, Arvo had also been willingly spending time with him. He was a kind and determined soul, Devon quickly realised. He’d already grown fond of Arvo’s competitive side, but even more of his compassion for people he cared about. And I’m one of those people… apparently.
Devon smiled to himself. It felt genuinely nice to be making a new friend. He just wished he didn’t have to go and fuck it all up by having these unsuitable thoughts about the kid.
But now… something has shifted. All this is flooding over him now because the barrier has been broken, by the fact Arvo is gay, too. Not only is he gay, or at least not straight, but he reciprocates Devon’s own feelings, even if he’s only just now dared to fully admit to them.
When Devon closed his eyes, he could only imagine Arvo inhaling Devon’s own scent from his tank top.
Devon shot his eyes open wide when he realised the sharp awakening of feeling in his groin, and shook his head, forcing the thoughts away.
Instead he focused on washing his fur thoroughly but quickly with the soap, and then stepped out of the shower, switching it off.
He grabbed his towel and dried his fur roughly. Before it puffed up too much, he inhaled slowly and just patted himself down, calming down his fur and mind. He hung the towel over a rail and padded towards the mirror, leaning against the sink and staring at himself. With his eyes, traced the slight bags beginning to form under his eyes due to his age. Then he shut them.
“What is happening to me?” He murmured to no one.
Devon took a few more deep breaths and continued with his routine, getting dressed into his pyjamas and brushing his teeth.
After he replaced his toothbrush in its holder, he shook his fur to clear his mind. No more of that, now. Get some rest and forget about it. Arvo is a nice student, and a potential friend, nothing more.
Satisfied with his personal pep talk, Devon headed out of the bathroom, focusing his mind on sleep, and not the way Arvo’s eyes lit up slightly upon seeing him re-enter their room.