The Change You Want to See (Sean)

[Joshua Bernstein]

After dinner had been served and Bailey went up to her room had recently been reserved for calisthenics. Josh wouldn't precisely say that he enjoyed calisthenics any more than he enjoyed running in the mornings; he enjoyed the company, and that was it. Even knowledge of the health benefits they brought didn't bring him pleasure, only a quiet despair that the fact they were working meant that he had to continue doing them.

As he and Sean changed into clothing more suitable for exercise the attorney offered, "election day is coming up in a few months."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean didn’t mind the lifestyle changes for the most part. When Griff still lived in Vermont, he and the other man had gone jogging, since the exercise was beneficial. He viewed the calisthenics in a similar light; moreover, Josh needed the exercise more than he did, and Sean wanted to ensure that his partner’s blood pressure was moderated through as many avenues as possible. This was why he had switched the family to the low-sodium diet. This was why he had lowered his alcohol intake (in addition to the concerns inherent in caring for a foster daughter). This was why he had proposed the relaxation techniques for winding down after calisthenics and did what he could to assist with managing his partner’s stress.

Once the dishes had been washed, they went upstairs to their bedroom. The telepath donned a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt, as was his typical outfit for when they engaged in exercise.

“It is.” Election Day was in November, which made it three months away, more or less. Unlike last year, this was more of an off-year for elections, which meant that the local positions were on the ballot. Sean had already begun talking to people and getting information about potential candidates, because he tried to be an informed voter. “Is it on your mind?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

"It is." Josh confirmed, tossing his work clothes into the hamper. He began stretching to warm up; although he didn't have the joint pain that so,e of his friends suffered from there was always the danger of causing them through injury if he wasn't careful.

"I was considering running this year." He kept his eyes on his feet as he confessed, somewhat embarrassed. He should have decided this sooner than three months in advance; there was barely time to properly campaign. And he had so often denied ever wanting to go into politics...

"It may not be a good idea, though."

Especially for someone who was supposed to be avoiding too much stress.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Once Sean had finished changing, he, too, began to stretch. The telepath was always careful with his stretches, paying close attention to how his back and knees felt in the process. Although he had a sedentary job, Hammel was chaotic enough that he couldn’t injure himself, lest there was an emergency that required his attention. Additionally, since Josh still didn’t have a driver’s license, Sean had to have enough physical health to drive himself to and from work.

With his partner’s admission, the telepath tilted his head to the side. “Running for what?” Sean had mentioned his belief that Josh would make an excellent judge, but he wasn’t sure if that translated into a proper election, nor did he think that his partner would be able to achieve that with only three months’ notice.

If it wasn’t for a judgeship, then there were only so many available positions. Sean was certain that his partner had no interest in being mayor and, while Josh could manage money for himself, the telepath doubted that he had any interest in the Chamber of Commerce.

“A bad idea because of the stress, you mean?” Considering that their entire evening routine revolved around managing Josh’s stress for his blood pressure, it was a pressing concern. As were the changes to family dynamic that would result.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"For city council." Josh clarified. They had discussed judgeships before, but as judges in Vermont were appointed rather than elected that wasn't an option. He also hadn't lived in the state long enough to qualify, even if he had been able to decide this for himself.

"I could keep my job, since the city council only meets so often."

It was a rare person indeed who could live solely on a city council salary.

"The stress, yes," he conceded, finishing with his stretches. "But also just in general. Practicing law is one thing, but contributing at that level is another. I'm not sure how well I would actually do. Still, it has really been on my mind lately, between Tomer manifesting and that politician out in Nebraska claiming meta humans should be registered, it just seems like there need to be more pro meta politicians. I'm not quite as good as, say, Leila, since she is meta, but..."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Josh knew the legal system better than Sean did, and he would always defer to Josh’s knowledge and interpretation. However, judgeships were most of where Sean had tried to focus the younger man’s political ambitions, given how passionate he was about the law.

The telepath paused in his stretching, mulling over the ramifications of running for town council. In one sense, he supported this precisely because of the reasons that Josh outlined. Pilot Ridge had the highest percentage of meta-humans per capita in the United States. Pro-meta politicians were a necessity, particularly since meta-humans lacked protections granted to many other minority groups.

At the same time, there were other concerns with an election of that type. Such as what level of scrutiny would apply to their lives. Sean would have to check with Yvette, and possibly the Hammel attorney, to see what would be allowed as topics of discussion. Hammel wasn’t exactly a secret, but most people considered them just a special gifted school, not a meta-human school. They needed to maintain that illusion, and so he had to find a way to balance Josh’s ambitions with his own job security.

There were also more personal concerns there, ones for which Sean wanted his partner to be prepared. “I’m going to say something that I don’t want you to take personally, but I need you to keep it in mind.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh wasn't sure that he likes the sound of that. Anything that began with a warning not to take it personally was bound to be some sort of criticism. He mentally braced himself as he asked in hesitant tones, "yes?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean waited until his partner had prepared himself and had given indication that he was ready to listen. This wasn’t a statement that he relished making, since it was replete with judgmental undercurrents, not ones that the telepath actually possessed but ones that could occur with third party participants.

To make that plain, he added an additional disclaimer. “This isn’t me, but this is something of which I think you should be aware when faced with potential campaigning.”

With that said, Sean moved on. He didn’t want to focus more than necessary on this topic, but he also couldn’t ignore the possibilities. Vermont was LGBT-friendly and liberal, in addition to hosting the specific Pilot Ridge population. At the same time, even liberal areas housed prejudices, ones that were entrenched and which many people were unwilling to acknowledge unless confronted.

Meeting his partner’s eyes with a steady gaze, he said, “You’re a very liberal, Jewish gay man with fetishes and a history of hard drinking, presently living in sin with unashamedly open bisexual, very liberal meta-human atheist with a history of hard drinking. The type of meta-human that people are instantly afraid of when they hear about my powers. The type of meta-human whose own partner has referred to his powers as mind-wiping.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh nodded once to indicate he was listening when Sean assured him this wouldn't be his own opinion.

But he still wasn't prepared for what came next. Squirming with guilt at the reminder of the insensitive language he had used, he protested, "but Pilot Ridge is the best place to be a gay liberal man, outside of maybe San Francisco. Or the city."

It wasn't as if he was running for national office, in which case there would be far more treason for concern. A local position, though, that seemed reasonable enough. Besides, plenty of prominent politicians had public personal problems that ran the gamut of affairs to drinking to sex with minors to prostitution rings, and this didn't always result in political death, even with opposition reminding the public over and over. He didn't think that a consensual relationship and drinking that hadn't resulted in much beyond really poor decisions in his personal life were very big deals in the scheme of things people had done and still gotten (re) elected.

"Are you suggesting I don't run?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s intention had not been to invoke guilt in his partner, but considering that Josh responded to most situations with guilt, if even one iota was to be found, there was nothing that he could do there. He was unwilling to simply hold his tongue in this matter, because there were angles that required attention, and the telepath had never been good at playing a yes-man. Even if every impulse within him nudged towards making life easier.

This was not a situation that involved only their relationship. If it was, and if he hadn’t promised himself to do otherwise, then perhaps he could swallow his concerns without giving them voice.

However, since the concerns stemmed from potential reactions from other people, it wasn’t a relationship issue. It was very much an issue of their private lives becoming public. Their jobs, their relationship history, their foster daughter, Hammel, their families. All of these were concerns that could potentially arise if there was a contentious campaign.

The telepath shook his head. “I’m not suggesting that. I only want you to be prepared for what could happen. You might learn things about neighbors that will chill you because of this.” That was a day in Sean’s life as a telepath. “And, if people begin to bring our personal life into it, as though it’s a valid concern, you need to be prepared for that. People aren't always kind when they're afraid.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh's frown deepened as his partner clarified his position. He didn't wish to bring hardship on his family, and this desire to run for office certainly wasn't as important to him as Sean was, or as Bailey had become. If running would cause them to suffer of course he wouldn't.

"But you truly think people will bring all of that up. Here, of all places."

But he had so many friends in Pilot Ridge! Surely this town, of all small towns, was the perfect place to get elected for a gay liberal Jewish man married to partnered with a gay liberal meta human atheist. One could easily mix and match those traits to come up with a good many of their friends, as well, so he would even be representing a significant portion of the town.

"This is why I brought it up. I don't want to do something you aren't comfortable with."

If nothing else he could always volunteer to help with one of the local campaigns. Maybe Mrs. Green? She was a meta human, and very popular.

He closed his eyes with a sigh before beginning lunges, slow and careful lest he injure his knees.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean shook his head again, because that was not the point that he had attempted to make. “This isn’t about my being uncomfortable. This is about me wanting you to be prepared.” If this was as simple as the telepath being uncomfortable with the notion, he would express that clearly and succinctly. It was easy enough for him to say ”I don’t want you to run for office because of X, Y, and Z reasons.”

That wasn’t at issue here.

Sean did modified lunges, because of his knees. They would never win him any points in a fitness club or with the Olympic Committee, but they serves his purpose of exercise. As such, he began to do those, otherwise mimicking his partner’s movements as they fell into the pattern of their calisthenics routine.

“I can’t say whether people will bring any or all of it up. I wanted to get it out there as something we should talk about.” With that, he lunged, carefully so as not to move too quickly or upset his knees at this hour of night.

“If you want my honest assessment, I’m your biggest liability.”

He would not apologize for that, as he regretted nothing. Likewise, he hadn’t the slightest belief that Josh would agree with that assessment, since he knew how his partner thought. For that, he was grateful, even if the attorney could be, otherwise, somewhat removed from reality.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"That's absurd," Josh protested indignantly. The last word he would ever use to describe his partner was liability. Perhaps not everyone was understanding of telepathy, but everyone who knew Sean liked him. He was very popular in Pilot Ridge, had been popular amongst their social circle in college and graduate school. The attorney was sure that there were plenty of gaffes of his own to prevent people from voting for him, but his relationship with Sean wasn't one of them.

"If anything, you're my biggest asset. I need someone who understands on a personal level what issues most resonate with the meta population and what policies to support."

He had his own opinions on most of these matters, but having someone to talk to would help him work out how close he was. And he had the added benefit of being friends with Cobalt Weaver, so he could get two different opinions on just about anything.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean held the lunge position for ten seconds, and then returned to a more steady standing position. He repeated this process several times, as part of the routine.

Unsurprisingly, Josh disagreed with his assessment. The telepath would have been concerned about how his partner was feeling if he had agreed, simply because he had expectations about how the younger man spoke, thought, and behaved.

“I might be your biggest asset in terms of providing campaign building blocks, but I think that you’re underestimating the effect that telepathy has on certain people.” His own sister, for instance, and while she was hardly a bastion of privilege examination and tolerance, the fact that she was his sister should count for something.

Even non-psychic meta-humans had a tendency to pass judgment on psychic meta-humans. The telepath had mentioned this to his partner numerous times over the decades, and it had been a popular topic of conversation with his mentor, when Robert had been alive.

Lunging again and holding his position, Sean turned to look at the younger man and said, “Imagine that you’re at a campaign debate and someone asks how they can be sure that I won’t influence people’s thoughts and make them vote for you.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh lost his balance at the unexpected question and wobbled dangerously before straightening.

"I beg your pardon? Because you wouldn't. Just because someone is capable of doing something doesn't mean that they will."

He hoped nobody asked any remotely similar questions, as he thought that was very offensive. There were many skills people had that could be used for ill, including otherwise benign things like driving or medical authority. And while some people did abuse them, he thought some trust should be extended to ones fellow man.

"Anyway, if you were going to influence people's thoughts I would just ask that you do cut off that sort of inquiry in the first palace."

He paused as he made another lunge.

"Not that I would say that in a public debate."