“Uh, see, no. But it’s not that simple. I actually have two partners now,” he said, gauging for a reaction.
She smiled, circled something in her notes, and then looked at him. “How about we just don’t get sidetracked yet and you tell me about yourself. What are your partners like, what do you do for a living, and so on. If you have any concerns, things you think you might want to talk about with me, tell me. Even if we don’t get to them today, I’ll make a note and we’ll go with it.”
“All right, I can do that,” Leaf agreed. He took a deep breath and sort of huffed it out. “I’ve been in a monogamous relationship with my partner Seth for a decade now,” he started, and didn’t stop until his time was up for the day.
On his way out, he remembered Dev’s suggestion. “Hey, Doc,” he said, turning back.
“Yes?” She smiled at him, looking open and not at all like a stern authority figure Leaf had partially expected a therapist to seem like.
“One of our dogs, the eldest, a pit bull, she’s a trained emotional support animal. Could I bring her with me next time? Or after that, depending on when I get to the heavy stuff?”
Dr. Reynolds nodded. “Absolutely. Anything that helps you with your therapy like that is completely negotiable. I have other patients who have emotional support animals with them, so it’s fine. Just, as you arrive, you have to be careful with a bigger dog like that in case there are people in the waiting room.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s a well-behaved old lady, but I get what you mean. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll see you on Thursday.”
“Can’t wait to meet your dog. Service animals are so fascinating to me!” she called after him, making him laugh quietly.
Yeah, he’d get along with this shrink just fine. It was the actual… shrinking that worried him still.
THAT EVENING,after a dinner where he’d recapped the therapy session to Dev and Seth, they all gathered on the couch to watchLucifertogether. The show was so much fun, and Leaf enjoyed the play of emotions on Seth and Dev’s faces when something happened on the screen that surprised or amused them.
They took a break to get drinks after one episode.
“I’ll get those. I need to stretch my back,” Seth said, heading to the kitchen.
Dev scratched his jaw and frowned. “I’ma go take a leak. Be right back.”
Leaf stayed on the couch as Grace and Weasley cuddled on a dog bed nearby, with Missy on the floor next to them. They still needed to let the dogs out and feed the kitten before they could go to bed. Leaf had grown to love bedtime, cuddling up with Seth and Dev. They’d all been too tired for sex, other than leisurely hand jobs either in bed or in the shower in whichever configuration they happened to be at the moment. It didn’t bother him. There was more to sex than penetration, after all, and if he wanted more, all he had to do was ask.
Missy twitched in her sleep, and Leaf frowned. Her paws were too close to the others, mainly poor Weasley, so Leaf got up and went to quietly coax her to move away. He knew that if he’d called her, she would’ve jumped up and startled the other dogs and possibly Weasley as well, so he gently tapped her with his foot until she woke up.
“Come on, little girl, go to your own bed, okay?” he told her, making her happy bull terrier face light up as she wiggled a little, even while horizontal. “Go on, to your bed.”
Missy got up and stretched, nuzzled his palm, and went to sleep next to Husky in the row of dog beds on the other side of the living room.
Dev and Seth reentered the room at the same time, and grinned at each other. Seth went to put the drinks on the coffee table, and Dev walked directly to Leaf, asking for a cuddle.
Leaf embraced him, amused and pleased with the way Dev seemed to want a lot more hugs recently. It was like he’d gotten over the initial hesitance and couldn’t quite help himself with the bit of neediness they all experienced nowadays.
Leaf pressed his face against Dev’s neck and inhaled deeply just as Dev wrapped his arms around Leaf in return.
The next thing he registered was movement that almost threw him back as his body recoiled from Dev’s grasp. His brain in full fight-or-flight mode, things became a blur, and when Seth’s panicked voice penetrated the mess in his mind, he blinked and realized he was somehow in… the bedroom? Under the covers?
“Leaf? Honey? It’s okay,” Seth said, repeating it over and over again. “Can I come closer?”
Leaf took stock of himself, realizing how hot he was under the blankets fully dressed, and pushed them off. When he let go of the edge of the blanket, his hand was shaking. His heartbeat whooshed in his ears, almost drowning out Seth’s words.
“I….”
A sudden, worried whine came from somewhere, and then Grace was there, pressing against him, clinging like a barnacle.
He didn’t know what had just happened, but the expression on Seth’s face was so forcedly calm, it freaked Leaf out even more.
“I… I don’t know w-what….”
“I think I might know,” a hesitant voice, so unlike how Dev usually sounded, came from the doorway. Dev stepped inside the room and stayed behind Seth, cradling Weasley to his chest. “I think something triggered you.”
Leaf opened his mouth, then huffed when he realized that was exactly what had happened. This was what Dr. Reynolds had meant. He’d been thinking about the past on the way home, and now this. But why Dev?
