(A/N: Not sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out, but whatever. Thank you to everyone that's left reviews! :3:3)
A couple weeks passed and an uneasy alliance formed. Dolph trailed around after Punk, kept him company, because apparently he was more tolerable than most people, at least when Dolph was acting normally, because apparently Punk actually missed the company of other human beings sometimes. Dolph felt bad though, because Punk did so much more for him. He looked out for him, stopped the looks and the whisperings, he kept him company, kept the thoughts away, helped with the anxiety and the fear, his shaking hands weren't shaking so much anymore, he wasn't as afraid, felt safer again, like he had started to feel around Jack before he'd gone and screwed it all up. The only thing that really bothered him was the strict no alcohol policy on the bus. He missed it, he missed the comfort in the night, he didn't sleep and the thoughts and fears got worse then, it was hard, and Punk was in his own space during this time. It was hard...but he could deal, he'd dealt with it on his own for a while now, he knew how to handle it. He didn't want to pester Punk more than he already did.
He opened his eyes and stared at the scowling Punk above him, his eyes were sore and he could still feel the bus moving underneath them. Punk looked angry and for a moment Dolph couldn't figure out why. Then his head throbbed and he remembered. He sheepishly grinned up at the angry man, but was met with the angry glare. "You drank on my bus, Dolph." He winced at the tone, knowing that he'd messed up pretty bad. "...Sorry, I just...needed a drink last night." He grumbled at him, but Punk just shook his head. "Not good enough, drinking doesn't solve your problems and it sure as hell isn't allowed on my fucking bus, even if you needed it." He growled at him softly and Dolph couldn't help but to cower slightly. "I'm sorry, Punk." He blinked at him, wanting him to back off a little bit, but of course it didn't work, he just got closer into his space, narrowing his eyes at him even more. "You're lucky I'm not kicking you off this bus, dumb shit!" he snapped at him, Dolph flinching away, eyes shutting closed and pressing himself down and away from the other man. "I-I'm sorry, won't happen again, please...I'm sorry." His heart was thundering in his chest, reminding him of all the times he'd done something wrong, anything wrong, and the fear that went along with it. He was almost scared of what Punk was going to do, even if in the back of his mind he knew he would never actually hurt him. The fear must have been obvious and Punk backed off a little, allowing Dolph to open his frightened eyes, try to calm his heart but it wasn't working so well. He was far in a different place by now, a different time. He cowered even more and gave a whimper, shit, he really shouldn't have drunk last night, he really shouldn't have done that. Disobeying orders was bad, he should know better. He was basically frozen looking up at Punk fearfully, waiting for whatever punishment he saw fit, ready to just take it, he'd done something wrong after all, been bad, and when you're bad you get punished so you don't do it again, he wouldn't learn otherwise. As he continued to stare he saw Punk's anger quickly melt into confusion. "At least fucking tell me next time, okay?" he snapped, the anger trying to stay in his voice, trying to make it override the sudden concern. Dolph shakily nodded, being unresponsive was bad. He watched Punk storm away, shaking in fear as he waited for him to come back, for more to be done. He remained where he was, cowered away in the corner of the couch that had become his bed, trying to be as small as he could. He waited, and he waited, shaking, not daring to move.
He was still like that when Punk came back into the room, wanting to grab a snack from the small kitchen area that was near where Dolph's couch was. Punk frowned as he looked over at Dolph, confused as to why the man hadn't moved from where he had left him, a little uneased by the fearful eyes that were following his every move. "The fuck's your problem, Blondie?" Punk snapped at him, Dolph flinching even further away if that was even possible. "I'm w-waiting to see what you're going to do..." he trailed off weakly. "About the drinking on my bus thing?" Punk raised an eyebrow, and Dolph warily nodded. "We'll talk about it later, when we can actually get off the bus if we need to cool off or some shit, not doing anything about it right now." The older man said calmly, taking a seat and nibbling on an apple. Dolph refused to relax though, remaining as he was, almost not believing him, he'd been tricked into relaxing like that so many times and had it thrown in his face. "Relax, Dolph! Jesus!" Punk got up and sat on part of the couch, reaching over to ruffle his hair slightly, something that had become something they had both done to each other often, but Dolph jerked his head away, turning to look out the window and away from Punk. Distancing himself.
Punk left him alone after that, to his surprise. They were on a long journey, a couple days on the road, he wished this trip was one of the shorter ones, it was taking a toll on him, being so tense and alert constantly. Night time brought more fear; night time was when the worse things happened, the really bad things. He felt his eyes slip closed, and by some miracle he felt his mind drift into sleep, his tension following him into the dreaming world.
Dolph whimpered cowering into the bed, trying to press himself further into the mattress, wanting to disappear, to fuse with it. He didn't want to be there. He tried to move his arms but he found that he couldn't, frantically his eyes looked to them and found that they were bound, of course. He wasn't allowed to move. Punishment. He'd done something wrong again. He shook gently as he waited, the fear of what was going to come growing the longer he remained where he was. He didn't even know how long he'd been there, and he could barely remember why either, all he knew was that it would have been for a good reason, he'd done something wrong and needed to be punished for it, he couldn't get away with it. Had to be taught a lesson. Had to follow his rules. He should know better by now, he'd known the rules for a long time, shouldn't be breaking them anymore, he was bad, why he stayed with him was a mystery when all he did was break his simple rules. He sniffed loudly, feeling the tears start already. He heard a snicker and his eyes were drawn to the sound, seeing him standing on one of the edges of the room, just watching him. Dolph watched with wide scared eyes as the man walked closer, a hand softly trailing down his face, cradling it like it was fragile, something that would break if he wasn't careful. He had to shut his eyes; he knew the touches were deceiving, that it was meant to fool him, to mess with his head. The hand on his face tightened its hold, holding his jaw tight and hard enough to hurt and to bruise. "Open your eyes, whore, you need to see your punishment, no tuning out on me, got it?" he whimpered in reply and opened his eyes, knowing better than to disobey. He felt a sharp sting as his hand connected with his face...
The pain and the impact in his dream woke him up and he was shaking, eyes frantically scanning the room, it was still dark out the window and they were still on the move, a thought that somehow scared him more. He couldn't escape. He was trapped. Still in a half dream state he sprung to his feet, frantically searching for a place to hide, anywhere, he had to get away. The fear was swelling inside him and panic growing stronger, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to go. Trapped. He scrambled desperately, on his hands and knees now, searching for anything that could help him, breathing becoming increasingly difficult as his chest grew tighter and tighter. Shit, he was chocking him, he could feel a hand on his neck and the panic grew, but as he looked around he saw it was just his own, desperately clawing trying to get air into his lungs. Had to get away, had to get away. He was struggling to move, and realised he was being held back, someone was holding him where he was. Did they not understand? He had to get away, he struggled against them but it was weak. "Shh, shh, Dolph, calm down, everything's okay, everything's alright. Calm down." He could feel soft gentle hands moving through his hair in effort to help sooth him and bring him back to reality. The words kept being repeated and slowly he felt his body start to relax, the tremors still coursing through his body but no longer as violent. Safe. He was safe. Was he safe? Punk, Punk had him. He wouldn't hurt him, would he? He could protect him from him. That thought made him desperately try to get closer to the other man, trying to almost fuse himself into him. He needed the protection. Sensing the desperation, Punk wrapped his arms more firmly around him, hiding him away from the rest of the world and keeping him close to him, still muttering quiet comforts. Trying to calm the man down, even if he wasn't sure what it was he needed. Any lingering anger from earlier completely erased by the concern and the strange twinge in his heart as he held the now sobbing man in his arms.