AU: Broken Curses

[Dr. Sean Neville]

They could square everything once Josh was dressed and he had been able to resume his life as a human being. Sean had lived in Pilot Ridge for two decades, and he was in no danger of moving away in the near future.

With the concession, Sean promised that he would bring clothing back to Josh if the visitor was his friend. Then, the telepath tightened the belt of his bathrobe and left the kitchen to pad through the hallway and into the foyer to open the front door.

Standing on his doorstep was a petite woman with brown hair, appearing to be somewhere between a decade and a decade and a half younger than the psychiatrist was. She was wholly unfamiliar to him, which strengthened the likelihood that she was Josh’s friend.

Adding to that theory was the fact that she held no clipboard, so that it was unlikely that she wanted to sell him anything. She wasn’t dressed conservatively enough to be either a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness there to preach to him. And she carried a bag that looked like it could contain clothing or toiletries or both.

“May I help you?” He inquired. He had to be polite, after all, particularly if she was here to bring relief to Josh.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Janice gave the man who opened the door a considering look. She'd never seen him before, and her first thought was that perhaps Josh had sent her to the wrong home. Her coworker was notorious for his poor sense of direction, after all.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for Mr. Josh Bernstein." She held out the bags in her hands, "He wouldn't happen to be here, would he?"

If he was here then she was curious as to how this man was connected to her coworker's reappearance.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean took the time to study her as well, although he had the addition of telepathy. He gleaned that her name was Janice Adams and that her brother was Riley Adams, whom the telepath had encountered at the Holiday Bash before, although they hadn’t spent any considerable time together. She was an attorney who worked with Josh at a law firm that they ran as equal partners. She was non-powered and was thus unaffiliated with Hammel, which also accounted for why they hadn’t met before.

So she was here for Josh. That was good, insofar as the other man would be able to dress himself and make himself more comfortable. They could throw the robe directly into the laundry, which Sean intended to do later this evening as it was.

“He would be,” the telepath replied with a nod of confirmation. “If you’d like to come inside, I can give him those, and then he can come down to talk with you.”

He would make sure that Janice went into the living room and didn’t catch Josh in a state of undress. It was the least he could do to preserve the other man’s dignity, when the attorney had already lost so much between his current state of undress and his time as a dog.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Janice's arrival aided Josh somewhat in feeling that he was at last on more equal footing with Sean. She'd thoughtfully brought him more than he'd requested, including his glasses and his toothbrush.

Although the situation was still awkward at the core, he felt better able to cope with it now that he was dressed and able to see clearly again.

Janice had also helped to take his mind off his estates; she'd caught him up, and he was reassured that nothing too dreadful had occurred in his absence. Mopsy would require some cuddling as she had moped without him, and he felt a tinge of guilt for leaving her for so long.

It hadn't been on purpose.

He had in turn assured Januce that he was fine and that Sean had helped him. Then she'd had to leave.

Her absence meant that he once again had to turn his attention to Sean.

"Ahhh. Do you need help with the dishes before I go?"

He thought perhaps that the other man would be glad to have him out of the house after this morning.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had given Josh his clothing and then the privacy to dress himself. Afterward, he had left the other man alone in the living room with his friend Janice; he assumed that the two of them would appreciate the privacy and the time to talk.

During that time, the telepath returned to the kitchen to finish his breakfast, since he had eaten precious little during his conversation with the attorney. By the time Josh returned, Sean had finished eating his breakfast, had drunk two cups of coffee, and had already piled the dishes in the sink to be rinsed and prepared for the dishwasher.

At the return of the younger man and the question, he turned and shook his head in the negative. “No, I have them.”

The telepath had lived alone for so long that he wouldn’t begin to know what to do with help with his chores and housework. He was used to doing everything by himself and for himself.

“Do you have a way of getting home?” It was his turn to ask the question. The other man didn’t have a car at this house, and his friend had left already, which meant that it was walking or taking a taxi cab, unless he wanted Sean to give him a ride.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Sean's rejection of help reminded him of his mother when she had company. Family didn't count, of course, but anyone else was firmly told not to help.

"I can walk."

He had grown used to regular walks as a dog. He supposed that was a silver lining to this situation, since he wasn't a very athletic human.

"Ah. I'll see you around, then. Thank you. I'm sorry that Ryan lost his dog."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean turned around fully so that he faced the other man. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I have a car,” he reminded the attorney; Josh had seen it several times over the course of his time as a dog in this house.

“I wouldn’t mind driving you.” Which he wouldn’t. That would give the other man time to finish composing himself. It would save him the need to walk through town, since the telepath was sure that Josh wasn’t one of his neighbors. If Josh was, then they would have met before this moment.

If Josh was one of his neighbors, then Sean would have noticed him missing through a channel other than the missing persons report. If Josh was one of his neighbors, then surely the telepath would have met his social circle before.

To further underscore the point, he cut the other man off when he began his goodbyes. “You don’t have to leave right now if you don’t want to.” Sean wouldn’t force Josh to remain beyond his comfort levels – which, admittedly, might have eroded as of the moment he returned to his human form – but he didn’t want the attorney to think that he was being forced out.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh considered the offer uncertainly. He was fairly certain that he had already made life awkward enough for the telepath simply by the circumstances they found themselves in. He didn't want to stay when he hadn't even been invited in the first place, at least not in any capacity that could be considered as such. It really wasn't fair to the other man for him to remain any longer than he already had, and he didn't want to put him out by asking yet another favor.

"I should really go," He said at last, casting a glance at the clock on the kitchen wall. "I haven't been home in months. I need to let Mopsy know I'm alive. It's not like she'll understand if I ask someone to just tell her."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had made the offer freely, not out of a sense of obligation. He believed that the other man had been through enough, and that there was no reason for him to walk home on top of those trials and tribulations. Yes, he’d been well cared for as a dog, but the telepath knew that he wouldn’t cope well if he had been transformed into a canine for months at a time, separated from his family, friends, career, and the life that he knew.

However, the older man also couldn’t force Josh to accept the offer. Even if, technically, he could do so as a matter of his abilities, he couldn’t do so morally, and he certainly had no intention of breaching ethics for that purpose.

As such, he nodded a single time in understanding. He gleaned that Mopsy was a pet – a stray thought from the attorney confirmed that she was his rabbit – and, despite the irony of the entire situation, Sean did understand the desire to reconnect with a pet if one cared for animals.

More importantly, he understood the desire to extricate oneself from an uncomfortable situation.

“If, after you’re settled in, you want to give me a call, let me give you my number. I’m unlisted.” He had his reasons for being unlisted; the students would drive him up the wall if he allowed his number in the telephone book.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The offer of a phone number was oddly encouraging, not because Josh expected romance at this point (Sean had made clear his feelings on that) but because this meant that he wasn't being rejected even as a potential friend. He thought that after living with Sean as a dog for the summer he still wanted that connection, but he'd been worried the telepath might not.

"That sounds great. I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but I'll let you know."

He couldn't cook, but maybe they could meet for drinks some evening. And then Sean could see what sort of person he was. He wondered if that would be a good thing or not. Although he'd seen some of Sean's friends, he didn't think he had a very good grasp of what the other man looked for.

And what would he do if Sean decided he didn't want to be friends, after all? This might not work out on any level. He wondered if that would mean he was doomed to be alone forever, if he couldn't even keep Sean as a friend.

Probably.

But that might have been the case even if they'd never met, so maybe he shouldn't worry about it. It wasn't as if he would have no other friends. He couldn't talk to them about this curse, but then maybe forgetting it would be the best course of action if friendship didn't pan out here.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“That’s fine.” Insofar as they could strike a potential friendship, Sean considered the ball in Josh’s court. The attorney was the one who had to return to the life that had been placed on hold during his months as a dog. The younger man was the one who had to decide how much of the story that he had been told by a third party, and which he had then relayed to the telepath, he believed. Josh was the one who had to contend with the worst of the existential questions raised by this situation.

After all, Sean still didn’t believe in destiny or in the concept of True Love.

Still, he was willing to give Josh the opportunity to get to know one another in a more organic situation.

He shut off the faucet and crossed the kitchen to pull down the pad and pen that he kept by the telephone for taking notes. In his always neat penmanship, he wrote down his telephone numbers – home and mobile – and then also the address of the house in which they stood. He wasn’t sure whether Josh had ever taken note of street names or numbers.

Ripping off the sheet, he held it out to the other man. “Call me when you’re settled, if you want to.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh took a few weeks to contact Sean again.

Returning to his old life required some adjustment, between catching up at the office (and he was so glad he still had a job) and reunions with family and friends. He had so many important meetings with the bank and with his doctor and with anyone he remotely had to straighten out accounts with.

He was busy.

He was also uncertain. He already was predisposed to a somewhat romantic view of relationships but after his discussion with Sean he was hesitant. He didn't want to pressure the other man, and he had to sort through his own feelings. Would not contacting Sean again condemn him to a life alone? Was this the only change he had? It was a depressing thought, and it only complicated his life. He couldn't even go on dates, because he knew that they would end poorly.

They had to end poorly, if any of what had happened the last few months was true.

Eventually he decided to call the telepath after all.

Just as friends. He wouldn't even breath anything about romance or sex or relationships. Yes, he liked Sean a lot, but he could handle friendship without reciprocation. It happened. He still couldn't date anyone else, because he didn't want to entangle himself with someone if he knew he was wasting their time, but that was okay.

Really

Anyway, it turned out that Sean was a good friend. The sort of friend who was fun to be around, but was also mature and responsible and kind. He was funny, but never cruel. He enjoyed spending time with Sean. Even if it never amounted to anything, he didn't think he would regret knowing him.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean didn’t expect to hear from Josh in the immediate future. The offer of his telephone number had been conditioned twice, with both conditions in Josh’s hands: the first was that it only occurred after the other man had managed to settle back in his human life, and the second was only if the attorney had the interest in contacting him. He assumed that it would take the younger man a while to contact him, if he chose to do so at all.

In the interim, Sean resumed the pace of his life. He worked at Hammel and met other friends after work or on the weekends. He called Ryan to notify him of the loss of his dog and the bizarre circumstances involved. His nephew accepted the news in his peculiar Ryan-like way, delighted at the notion that his former dog might be magical. He resolved to get a new dog for the next semester, although he remarked that Shiya would probably demand that the dog be fixed or spayed before he bring it back with him.

Eventually, Josh did call him, and, as promised, the telepath made time to see him so that they could get to know one another. As friends.

The attorney made a good friend. He was talkative, engaging, and he and Sean shared many opinions about politics. That made conversation easier, as long as they avoided the elephant in the room.

With the summer drawing to a close, the psychiatrist wanted to take advantage of the last of the good weather. So he asked Josh if the other man wanted to join him at the park for a picnic.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The weather was perfect for a picnic. It wasn't so warm as to boil them under the hot sun, but it wasn't yet winter. The air was humid, but the slight breeze that wafted through the park was enough to keep the edge off.

He'd brought along a six-pack of Yuengling and a container of fruit salad he'd bought at the store, because he didn't want to show up completely empty handed. Although he thought he made a mean grilled cheese sandwich, that somehow didn't seem like picnic fare.

Especially after all the time he'd spent watching Sean craft home cooked meals.


He hefted his cooler with one hand, marching toward the picnic tables scattered beneath the trees.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

By contrast, Sean had prepared a great amount of food for the picnic. He liked to cook, and lunch preparation took little time compared with the effort he put into meal preparation for the following week, as he did each weekend.

The telepath had made pretzel-baked chicken as the entrée, and he had made some of the side dishes himself. Homemade potato salad, coleslaw, and pasta salad, all of which were simple to make, when contrasted with some of the more difficult side dishes. Sean had also brought some raw vegetables and chips. He had baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for dessert, because they were his favorite type, and they were durable. Finally, as a contrast with the alcohol, he had brought iced tea. Sean intended to imbibe, but he wanted to have available chasers.

As soon as they reached a picnic table, he unrolled the table cloth and laid it down across the table to prevent splinters and to protect the surface from stains.

“It’s nice out,” he remarked, as he set the smaller picnic basket down atop the table. He pulled out the plates, cups, and utensils, setting them down so that he and Josh could dive into eating almost immediately.