greatamazingfeelingsboy

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neil perry

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Caleb sends the text before he goes into therapy, so he isn't fixated on waiting for Neil's response. Which, he isn't. He wouldn't be. It's not a date, or anything. It's a simple invite to go shopping and grab some lunch. Neil had seen firsthand how bare Caleb's apartment is, and he wouldn't mind some help getting something a little more... homey.

It's probably playing with fire, honestly. When he's with Neil, Caleb can feel the butterflies, and the actual horniness can get a little overwhelming, but Caleb thinks, probably, that he can handle it. It's just another thing to learn how to balance, right? And now that Dr. Fuller knows about his ability, it'll be easier to find an effective way to do that.

He thinks.

He hopes.

After therapy, he checks his phone, and smiles when he sees an answer. Caleb offers to pick him up, unless he'd rather meet at the store.

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"Nothing," Neil says, a little breathless, a little overwhelmed. He smiles. He doesn't know Caleb enough to just wash over him with everything--they've just started really talking, and even if Caleb and Rosie are friends and Caleb knows some of the outline of things, Neil can't lay that all at his feet.

"Nothing, I just get caught up sometimes. I'll be fine in a minute."

'Nothing,' he lies. Caleb swallows the urge to argue, and it gives Neil a chance to course-correct. But it doesn't totally soothe Caleb, and he slides his hand over his back.

"Listen, if... if you need to, like, get something out... I'm here. I'll, I'll listen. O-or you don't even have to talk, you can just... I'm not gonna judge you if you need to cry."

It's such a kind affection, and Neil manages to swallow it like it might slake his thirst, like it might soothe everything for just a moment. He takes a couple of slow breaths.

"It's just been a rough couple of months," he finally says, and his smile is still there, small and kind and appreciative. "Really, I'm fine. I think it just caught up with me."

Caleb doesn't look convinced, but he keeps his hand on Neil's back, because he can feel that Neil likes it.

"You can talk about it, if you want," he says again. "I don't want you to, like, bottle anything up."

"I mean, talking about it isn't going to change anything though, is it?"

And maybe that's unkind, because Caleb sees someone to professionally talk about things. Because Neil has found that talking to some people does help. But he's also an idiot, and talking about things tends to end poorly for him. And in this, there's nothing to fix. He's just--

He needed a cigarette and some fresh air, but that seemed selfish.

Caleb manfully doesn't flinch, but only just.

"It might change your perspective on it," he points out, then shrugs. "Listen, you don't have to. Just... if you want to, I'll listen, okay?"

Neil nods a little bit, like he's putting the knowledge away for safe keeping, but he doesn't say anything. The movie plays on without them, bright and lively, and after a moment, Neil extracts himself from the couch to go and get the box of pizza and just bring it back to the coffee table.

Caleb watches him, a bit of a lost puppy expression on his face. He waits for Neil to come back to the couch, and once he's settled, pulls him close and puts his arm around Neil's shoulders. He bites his lip and looks at him.

"This okay?"

Neil's ears go red and hot, a flush of nervous, embarrassed excitement to be scooped close. He keeps his gaze on the television and nods, small, but enough to be notable. His head goes back to Caleb's shoulder without a second thought.

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