Chapter Text
Seth shifts in the hard plastic chair of the waiting room. He doesn’t have anything of importance to say this session, but Seth needs to see him. He knows it sounds ridiculous. Words bounce around in his head but like children on carnival rides, once they're strapped in, they cannot stop.
“Seth?”
The questioning sound of the man’s voice lifts Seth from his seat. He floats away, trailing behind the shorter man. His eyes are glued to the brown hair in front of him. He wants to reach out and touch the cropped edges. The gripping desires are brought to a halt when the man opens the office door for Seth. Seth, eyes on the ground, tries to ignore the rush of heat that shoots through him as he walks past the other man.
“So, how have things been lately?”
Seth glances through his dark lashes at his therapist, Kevin.
“I’m feeling better. I've started running again.”
A faint smile appears across Seth's face.
“You have a nice smile. Your ability to run again is something to be proud of. Show your smile off more,” Kevin remarks with a casual tone.
Seth’s face turns an embarrassing shade of red and he hears a light chuckle from Kevin.
“Thanks,” he mumbles.
“You seem to be making a lot of progress. What do you credit this sudden turn towards recovery and happiness to?”
There is an extended silence and Seth stares at the patterns in the grungy carpet.
Making direct eye contact now with Kevin’s hazel eyes, Seth says, “You.”
***
Seth grabs a plate of healthy 'clean' pancakes and sits on the couch. Therapy dug him out of the black hole he was slipping into. Yet, somewhere along the way he found himself staring into the eyes of his therapist. His mind begins to drift on to how that could happen when the door to his one-bedroom apartment shuts.
“Why’d you ask for food? That’s food I smell right?”
A deep voice carries towards Seth along with a savory aroma.
“Is that Chinese,” Seth squeals.
Seth’s best friend, Roman, enters the living room with two bulging white bags.
“They are but, ew those pancakes again? Since you can’t wait, these are for me.”
His easy laugh is a relaxing carefree sound that fills the previously empty living room.
“It’s hard to run with all those noodles in your tummy. We all can’t look like you,” Seth whines.
Roman shakes his head and opens the containers.
“Fine, miss out. One little noodle never hurt anyone, but those fake pancakes…well they might.”
Seth hits Roman playfully. The warmth of his body, being so close to him, has always been intoxicating to Seth. Roman knocks him back softly with his elbow. Seth sighs to himself and takes another bite of his pancakes. A water faucet turns on inside of Seth. It tries to fill him up with an aching sadness, drip by drip. A few years ago he didn't know how to turn the faucet off. He almost drowned in a sea of unrequited love. That is until he found Kevin.
The pancakes don’t hurt. Being in love with your best friend, now that’s does…