“What was different about the hug?” Seth asked, and Leaf grimaced when Dev seemed to deflate, withdraw from them somehow.
“I might know that too.” Dev extracted one hand from the kitten and pointed to his jawline. “There’s an annoying pimple I have there, and I put some tea tree oil on it when I went to the bathroom.”
Tea tree oil?
“Can you s-show me?” Leaf asked, nodding toward the bathroom.
Dev handed Weasley to Seth and went to get the oil. It was a small bottle, but when Dev came closer, it was obvious to Leaf this was exactly what had triggered him.
“Oh… oh shit… no, can you…,” Leaf stuttered, and Dev quickly retreated to the bathroom.
Leaf could hear the clunking sound when the trash can lid closed and knew Dev had tossed the bottle. Then the faucet came on, and Seth turned to look toward the bathroom at the telltale sound of scrubbing. Dev was washing his face.
“Can we come closer?” Seth asked, gesturing with the kitten.
“Y-yeah,” Leaf answered, hating how his voice wobbled.
Seth handed Weasley to him and rounded the bed to get in behind him. He spooned Leaf but didn’t press as close as he normally would. Leaf wasn’t sure if he hated it or if it was a relief.
Dev came out of the bathroom and glanced at them.
“I’ll go take the dogs out and make sure everything’s ready for the night.”
Before Leaf or Seth could say anything, Dev was gone, whistling for Grace to follow.
She did, after looking at Leaf in what seemed a very pointed way.
“I’m okay. Go pee.”
Leaf put the kitten on his neck, where he seemed comfortable for the moment. Leaf could feel Seth stroke Weasley’s face and smiled tiredly. It was as if he’d been run over.
“It wasn’t a flashback, not really,” he said quietly. “I didn’t see anything, just….”
“Something surfaced in another way?” Seth murmured.
“Yeah. I know who it was about, though. I remember who used tea tree oil.” Unbidden, a tremor went through his whole body. “It’s just so fucking ironic that this happened right now, after she warned me about the triggers.”
“Hey, who the fuck knows how these things go? You might’ve been triggered many times before, and probably have been, but maybe it wasn’t anything bad enough to cause a reaction.”
“I suppose,” Leaf admitted. He did sort of remember moments when smells or tastes had caused his mind to flicker into the past, but it had never been about…the man.
He leaned back into Seth unconsciously, seeking comfort from him. Seth didn’t wrap his arm around Leaf like he normally would, but pressed right back, showing he was there for support.
“You might want to call Dr. Reynolds in the morning. Just tell her where you’re at, what happened, and how you feel after a night’s rest,” Seth suggested.
Leaf made an affirmative noise. Now that his heartbeat had normalized again, all the energy he’d had just vanished. “Can you take Weasley? I need to get undressed before I sweat to death.” He aimed for levity but didn’t quite make it.
Seth gently extracted the kitten from Leaf’s neck.
Leaf untangled his feet from the blankets and got up. He took his jeans off and pulled his sweater over his head, then climbed right back in. “Much better,” he murmured, knowing he should’ve gone to brush his teeth and maybe shower, but hated the idea of going into the bathroom right then, where that scent might still linger.
He dozed off, only to startle awake when Grace pressed her nose against his hand.
“I’m fine, girl. Go sleep with your baby,” he murmured, and gradually drifted back to sleep.
He didn’t notice Dev coming to bed and staying on the other side of Seth all night, and when he woke up in the morning, both of the other men were gone.
Chapter Thirteen
