AU: Something So Right (Josh)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

A lot had been on Sean’s mind recently. Josh, work, friends, in that order, always in that order. The climate was changing, in some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse.

He was happy.

Even with the work stress, he was happy. Yes, several of the students continued with their baffling ability to persist in breaking every rule they could. Even if they weren’t particularly novel in their methods, the unrelenting nature of some of their behavior could make working at Hammel feel like trying to hold back the tide with a plastic bucket.

Even with how absurd their social circle could be, such that sometimes he wondered whether his friends were middle-aged men and women or teenagers in perpetual arrested development. Even with how one of their friends was doomed to a semi-nomadic existence due to his tendency to cause explosions. And the relationship drama with some of their other friends. With unplanned pregnancies despite how often Sean lectures everyone about being safe and did everything in his power short of unrolling the condom and putting it on other people for them to aid in proper prophylactic use.

Still, he was happy. His partner made him happy.

The telepath genuinely looked forward to coming home every night to their domestic rhythm. Even if sometimes his partner didn’t believe him due to Josh’s anxiety and low self-esteem.

Part of what kept him happy were their Friday night dates. Time after work where they could simply bask in each other’s company and not worry about the rest of the world. Even political venting was limited so as to prevent either man from becoming too keyed up, thus ruining the purpose of date night.

With the weather turning warmer with springtime and impending summer, Sean had chosen to grill. So that, when Josh returned home there would be more of a picnic spread for supper.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The smells from the grill reached Josh before he had even turned into the driveway, eliciting a sigh of contentment. Although the house still felt empty without Bailey's presence, at least he still came home to Sean.

Sean and delicious dinner; although his partner's cooking wasn't the reason they were together, Josh felt it was a bonus. Home cooked meals certainly beat the hastily thrown together sandwiches he'd subsisted on while single, and the telepath was really an excellent cook. Twin desires for food and to see Sean as soon as possible meant that he had leaped off his bicycle almost before he'd come to a complete stop, allowing it to drop against the garage wall. He would place it in its rack later, once he was out of his suit.

To that end he burst into the door and up the stairs, changing clothes with alacrity before hurrying into the kitchen.

The kitchen and not the yard, because the kitchen had the fridge, and the fridge held the beer. He grabbed two, one for himself and one for Sean, and then exited the house at a far more relaxed pace than he had entered it.

"It smells wonderful!" He exclaimed, popping the top off one beer and offering it to the other man. "Can I help with anything?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean wore the less than fully appropriate apron that Greg had bought for him (custom-made at a kiosk in the mall years ago), which read “Telepaths do it better,” with smaller print at the bottom which read, “grilling that is.” It was not the least appropriate custom gift that someone had bought him based on his meta-human status before, which was, perhaps, why he was willing to wear it.

The grill was hot, and the first stages of their meal were well-underway by the time that Josh returned home. He sensed his partner’s arrival before the younger man appeared in the yard, carrying a bottle of beer in each hand.

The telepath smiled at his partner, gesturing with his elbow towards the table. He couldn’t drink at the moment, as he needed both hands to tend to the grill. “You can make the salad,” he suggested, if Josh needed something to do. “I took out the fixings already, and they’re on the kitchen table until I was ready for them.”

Sean had already gathered the other side dishes, not the least of which were chips and potato salad that he had chopped himself.

“Do you have baking homework tonight? Or should we take a break from that for ice cream?” That would make a fitting dessert for a grill-out.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh obediently placed the beer on the table as indicated as he listened to his partner. "I could make something that goes with ice cream," he suggested. "Maybe a cobbler, or pound cake."

let me know he projected as he went back into the kitchen to prepare the salad. As promised the fixings were out already, so there wasn't much work left to do. He found the salad bowl and began to toss the salad, smiling to himself.

This domestic rhythm was perfect.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean didn’t have a preference.

Rather, he almost always had a preference, however minor, when it came to baked goods. He found it impossible not to do so, not with his sweet tooth and the great variety of baked goods available through different avenues.

This evening, however, he wanted Josh to make whatever he desired to make, or to take the night off if he would prefer. The telepath wanted his partner to just relax after a difficult week, in the beginning of a weekend that they could spend together with minimal drama. It was for this reason that, although he couldn’t turn off his phone lest there was an emergency, the psychiatrist would only get involved if Hammel was on fire or otherwise under attack.

Hearing his partner’s thought, the telepath replied mentally, Do whatever you want to do. Josh could choose.

In the meantime, he had to concentrate on the grill. While the steaks wouldn’t take too long, not with how he had marinated them beforehand, it was imperative to keep his attention on red meat. He didn’t want either of them to get sick because he had served undercooked beef.

The shrimp were cooking nicely, and he smiled to himself. Supper tonight wouldn’t have the most attractive presentation, but taste would more than make up for that.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The salad was quickly finished, at which point Josh turned his attention to matters of dessert. He flipped through his recipe book, finding a peach cobbler that Riley had recommended. Ingredients took a bit of time to hunt down, but eventually his cobbler was in the oven.

In case it finished baking after the steaks had finished, he set up an alarm on his phone to alert him when it was time to take the cobbler out of the oven and then went outside to join his partner.

"And how was your day?@ he smiled, leaning against the deck. "Good, or TGIF?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean put the time separated from the younger man to good use. The shrimp sizzled on the grill, the steaks began to sear with their juices, and the aromas of meat, seafood, and vegetables mingled with that of the charcoal. The telepath’s stomach rumbled in anticipation of the food that they would eat soon enough.

Sean turned to smile at his partner when the younger man rejoined him in the yard. Then he turned back, using the grilling fork to turn the steaks over.

At the question, Sean lifted his other hand to make a “so-so” gesture. “Parts of it were fine.” Several of the sessions had gone smoothly, and he had no regrets for those. “Certain other parts were exhausting, and I’m glad that I have better thoughts for the rest of the night.”

Rather than worry about student fighting, hormonal outbursts, and adolescent drama, the telepath could fill his mind with thoughts of Josh. Admittedly, thoughts of Josh often took precedence in his mind, even if he could compartmentalize for the purposes of work and other tasks.

“The salad looks good,” he remarked, nodding in the direction of the picnic table. Then he asked, “And how was your day? Tell me all about it.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh spread his hands, although his elbows remained attached to the deck. "It was fine. It's so quiet without Janice around. Damien and Niko do a good job of nodding in agreement with me, but they don't say much."

He sighed, bringing his can of Yuengling to his lips. "And Judge Livingston is in complete support of the people trying to discriminate for religious reasons. I'm not thrilled that he's the one I have to present the Lopez case to after that conversation. I did manage to not yell at him about it, but it was only with great restraint."

He finished this complaint with another drink.

"But let's not think about that. We're supposed to be having a date, with delicious food and better company."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean sympathized. He’d always been fond of Janice, even if she was nothing like her brother, and she had poor boundaries (even poorer boundaries than Sean himself or Josh at times). It could be lonely losing a friend at the office.

The telepath had experienced that several times. When Anya had returned to Russia. When Clarisse had left. When Claude had retired. When Robert had passed away.

The older man frowned when his partner revealed the Judge’s opinion on a situation that had a clear line of morality. There were plenty of arenas in which religious discrimination was legal. Those arenas were all religious in nature: operation of houses of worship, private religious institutions, certain charities or hospitals with a religious affiliation. However, an individual’s religious beliefs should have no bearing on their conduct in the public arena, which included housing and businesses and public schools, pharmacies and public hospitals, and the administration of government affairs.

“If he rules against you, I’m sure it will be struck down on appeal.” He didn’t say that with the confidence of an attorney, as he wasn’t, but he did have confidence that the ACLU would get involved to work with his partner, if necessary. They had clout and an excellent track record. Moreover, Josh’s side was in the right.

When the steaks were ready, he asked his partner, “Can you bring over the pates so I can serve?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh set his beer down on the picnic table, making sure to place it on the opposite side of the table from Sean's so that he wouldn't get confused as to which beer belonged to whom. He picked up the plates, carefully bringing them over to Sean.

"I'll hope it doesn't come to an appeal." Josh grimaced, not actually sure that it wouldn't. It would be simpler if everyone would just do the right thing the first time around, but then he wouldn't have a job if people behaved. Instead society needed people like himself, willing to be advocates for those who would otherwise (and still often were) stomped all over.

A growl emanated from his stomach, and the attorney glanced down. "I may also have forgotten to have lunch today."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

For Josh’s sake, and for the sake of the firm’s client(s), Sean hoped that an appeal would be unnecessary. It was always best for a situation to have the right outcome the first time, as that saved everyone the time, the energy, the resources, and the stress. However, in the absence of an optimal outcome, at least there existed a system through which to appeal. “I’ll hope so as well.”

The telepath took the first plate from his partner, and he placed a steak, some shrimp, and some of the grilled vegetables and pineapple rings onto it. Then he handed it back to the younger man in exchange for the second plate.

He didn’t sigh, and he didn’t roll his eyes, although he certainly had the temptation to do so. “You know you shouldn’t skip meals.” It wasn’t good for the attorney’s blood pressure to do so. However, that was as much energy as he would waste on a date night. “All of the side dishes are on the table. Make yourself a plate and I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

With that, Sean served himself the other steak, some shrimp and vegetables, and then put the grill on a lower setting to keep the remaining food warm.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh managed to look sheepish at Sean's admonishment, slinking over to the picnic table to pile up his plate with sides. The salad went on a separate plate, as did a warm and fluffy roll. He hunted down a low fat salad dressing, but the generous amount he poured made up for the attempt at health consciousness. And then he liberally applied butter to the roll before sitting down and waiting for his partner.

Almost as soon as he'd sat down his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. "Oh! The cobbler is finished. I'll be right back," He promised, vanishing into the kitchen briefly.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The sky remained clear, which was fortunate, since Sean had not placed the umbrella over the picnic table, and he didn’t want to move inside. He wanted to take advantageous of the gorgeous weather and the privacy that the large yard and the surrounding fence afforded them.

Sean moseyed over to the picnic table and began to fill his plate. He took a healthy portion of salad since they would be half of his greens for the, aside from what he had grilled (which may have lost many of their nutrients and now tasted like beef). He also took potato salad and pasta salad, proud of how both of those had turned out. A handful of different types of chips because not every part of every meal could be healthy.

“Of course.” The telepath was polite enough to wait to eat until his partner had returned, although he was hungry. It would only be a few minutes, and he could wait. Instead, he set his plate down on the table, seated himself, and took a few sips of his beer.

Cobbler would go well with ice cream for dessert. Although Sean didn’t know what flavor his partner had chosen (or he could, but he preferred the surprise), he looked forward to trying it.

[Joshua Bernstein]

It didn't take very long for Josh to rescue his cobbler from the oven. In the spirit of not moving from outside more than necessary he also fetched a cooling rack, bringing it with him to place on the picnic table.

He did not bring the ice cream with him; that was one item they would have to get out later. But a trip for ice cream wouldn't take too long, and they had plenty of time before that would become necessary,anyway. After all, they still had a fabulous feast before them.

After putting his cobbler down he scooted into his seat, smiling broadly at his partner. As Sean was an atheist and Josh was only marginally religious, they didn't bless their food before meals. Josh still felt he ought to say something before eating, however, which was why so many meals started off with the same phrase:

"Let's eat!"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

When Josh emerged from the kitchen with the drying rack, Sean rose, helping to shift dishes on the table to make room for the rack. It only took a bit of rearranging, and the results were well worth it. The aroma of the cobbler proved quite enticing, and the telepath was grateful that he had self-restraint. Otherwise, despite how hot it was, he might be tempted to have a taste.

When it was time for the ice cream, they could go inside, fetch bowls, the carton, and spoons. Until then, they had a delicious, equally enticing meal in front of them.

“Let’s eat,” Sean agreed with a smile. He reached across the table to briefly pat his partner on the arm, enjoying the closeness between the two of them.

The telepath lifted his fork and knife, cutting into his steak. Everything was pink – with a bit of red – and no indication that it was undercooked. It also wasn’t rubbery, and so Sean considered this a successful meal.

“Did you have anything you wanted to do this weekend?” He asked. The telepath assumed that his partner would go to Temple, and they also had some errands to run, as they did every weekend. However, beyond that, he had no plans.