Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

On the happiest day of his life, Cameron cries.

He didn’t cry during the rehearsal. He didn’t cry last night. He didn’t even cry on the drive over.

But now, he’s overcome with emotion, unable to stop tears welling up and cascading down his cheeks. He breathes deep, shuddering breaths to calm himself down, trying his best to stay as quiet as possible. All that stands between him and everyone else are a pair of doors, the open space and lack of walls making every noise painfully audible to the other side.

It’s embarrassing, so embarrassing, but at least nobody can see. Soon enough Cameron would join them, hopefully looking a little less like a mess. He wipes at his eyes and growls in a frustrated way. Dev paid for a good photographer. He’d rather not be immortalized with wet cheeks and red eyes today.

Logically, he knows nobody would blame him for it. They’d understand.

He’s getting married. Starting tomorrow, he won’t just be Dev’s boyfriend at the bear’s work parties. This is Cameron, my husband, he imagines Dev saying. Cameron rolls it over in his head a few more times, admiring how it sounds. It still doesn’t feel real. After he left Dylan, he honestly thought he didn’t deserve another boyfriend. And now… now he’s getting married.

Stop that, idiot. Re-stabilizing his breathing, he scolds himself for thinking about Dylan at all. Today is supposed to be happy. Eager for distraction, he looks off to the side, to the landscape surrounding him. They’d been here for a few hours already, but the sight still takes his breath away.

The salt flat is reflective, doubling the clouds above and the mountains on the horizon. And it’s so clear, it's hard to tell where the illusion begins and ends. They got lucky. The rain stopped a couple hours before they got here. It was just enough—not enough to be an issue, but enough for a thin layer of water to cover the ground, creating the world's largest mirror.

He kneels, inspecting his reflection. Brushing his suit and combing fingers through his headfur, he does his best to make himself look a little more presentable, but it’s not much use. His reflection warps and shifts in the water. Something’s not right. His stomach churns. He’s sweating, he’s shaking.

There’s a knock. On the door. He stands up, straightening himself. It’s his cue. It’s happening, but he’s not ready, he’s not—

Music swells as the doors swing open, and Cameron begins to walk down the aisle. Rows of chairs line either side, filled with their friends and families. He catches a few faces: Dev’s mom, Maria, Larry. They’re all turned in their seats to face him, and he can’t help but stare back.

He breaks his gaze away. Then again when it falls on the photographer. He’s not sure where to look.

That’s when he focuses on Dev, standing at the altar, framed by an archway of roses. The bear beams at him, and Cameron can’t help but smile too. Dev’s so handsome. He looks incredible in a suit.

When Cameron makes it to the altar, the music dies down, and their officiant steps forward, flipping open a small booklet. Arturo clears his throat.

“Welcome, everyone,” he begins. “I’m glad all of you could join us today.”

As Artie greets their guests, Cameron feels a pang of envy. He can’t stop his legs from shaking. Meanwhile the cat’s calm and collected, like he’s done this a hundred times before.

He probably has, honestly. He’s practiced a lot, and he’s been taking his role very seriously. Cameron has to admit he was skeptical of Dev’s suggestion at first, but Cameron couldn’t think of anyone more fitting to officiate their wedding.

“One of the best moments in life,” Artie continues, “is when you meet someone that makes you feel complete. Someone who brightens your world and makes everything outside it seem a little less scary. Someone with whom you share a bond so special, you can’t imagine spending another day of your life without them. For Devon, that happened seven years ago, when he met me.”

The crowd laughs, and the atmosphere coaxes chuckles out of Cam and Dev too, even though they knew the speech nearly word for word at this point.

“And a little after that, he met Cameron. I’d like to think I played a part in them being here now, but I know it has nothing to do with me. It's their undying faith, kindness, and love for one another over the years that’s led them to be at the altar today.

“Now, without further ado, please exchange your vows.”

Dev steps forward, eyes on Cameron. The coyote’s heart pounds hard in his chest. Everything else fades away as Dev slips a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket, taking a deep breath. Cameron steels himself. They practiced a lot of things, but not the vows. They wanted their emotions raw.

“Cameron,” Dev says, “I love so many things about you, it’s hard to even list them all. Your kindness, your creativity, your laugh. Every day, you make me feel like the luckiest bear in the world. There is no one I trust more fully, no one else I can be so vulnerable and open with. It’s selfish, but being your boyfriend just isn’t enough for me. I want to be with you forever.

“So I promise to be there for you when you need me, whenever you need me. I promise to always strive to meet your needs, not out of obligation, but because I want to see you happy. I have loved you before we were comfortable saying it out loud, and I’ll love you after we're no longer able to say it, and I promise to love you even when we’re both too stubborn to say it.

“Today, I take you to be my husband and accept the challenge of spending the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you make me.”

With shaky hands, Devon folds the paper back up and puts it away. Then he pulls a golden band out from his pocket, taking one of the coyote's paws in his own. Cameron blinks furiously, biting his cheek, digging his claws into his palm.

“Two arches,” Devon says, “complete a circle. Cameron, I give you this ring as a symbol of my unending love for you.”

He slides it onto Cameron’s finger. It’s a perfect fit. Cameron wants so badly to wrap his arms around Dev's neck and kiss right now, everyone watching. Screw the ceremony.

But he can’t do that. He coughs. Then coughs again, his throat tight with emotion. Despite that, he forges on, notes in hand.

“When I first met you, Devon,” Cameron says, “it followed one of the worst years of my life. Honestly, at that point, I’d convinced myself love just wasn’t for me. I started dating you on a whim, unsure if it would really go anywhere.”

Cameron stops. His vows are so… negative. This is their wedding ceremony, where they declare their love for each other. Why is he talking about uncertainty?

“But then one day,” Cameron continues, “I told you I had no plans for the holidays. And even though you’d only known me a few months, you insisted I come spend Christmas with you. In that moment, I knew you were the one.”

Dev’s vows had been about all the things he loved about Cameron. Meanwhile, Cameron’s are only about himself. Anxiety prickles under his fur.

He should have had someone check his vows. He should have had someone make sure they were good. There’s no changing them now, though. Keep going, get this over with.

“Devon, from this day on, I vow to always… t—to always be honest.”

He’s stammering. He’s shaking. A cresting wave of dread rises, threatening to break over his body. The feeling is all too familiar. Why now? Why right now?

All of a sudden, it’s not just him and Dev anymore. It’s Dev and two dozen other people all watching him flounder. His mind seizes, unable to remember the words he wrote. He’d memorized them, but now he reads from the paper, voice shaking uncontrollably.

“Uhh… I promise to… to… be always good to you.”

Dev’s staring at him. They’re all staring at him. And he’s all too aware of it.

“I promise to love in… hard times…”

He stops. It’s hard even to read. He takes a moment, trying to ignore his racing heart, not daring to look anywhere aside from the sheet of paper in his paws.

Something brushes his arm. He looks up. You okay? Dev mouths silently.

“I’m sorry,” Cameron whispers. “C—can we just kiss please?”

Dev stares. “You… have to say your vows, Cam.”

“I know, but can we just do it later or something?”

“No?” Dev’s voice has a slight edge to it.

“But— but— you just said you were going to meet my needs.”

“Honey,” Dev warns, glancing back at the crowd. “Please don’t do this now.”

Panic rises like bile in his throat. He closes his eyes and tries to take a deep breath, but it collapses halfway through into a jumble of shallower ones.

“Cam.”

He’s ruined this. They planned this for months. All of the money they spent… wasted. The venue. The décor. The photographer.

“Cameron?”

He thought he was doing good. He thought he could trust himself to do this. He thought he could be normal for one day. Why must this happen every single goddamn time?

“Cameron!?”

Something grabs him and shakes hard. Cameron gasps. His arms shoot to his sides, his paws grab at soft fabric. Confusion muddles his brain, unable to recognize his surroundings. But then he realizes what he’s grabbing. Couch cushions.

“Honey, you okay?”

It’s dark, but he can make out Dev standing over him, the soft glow of the TV framing his face, concern etched across his features. They’re in the living room, the soft pink of twilight visible through the window.

That dream, whatever it was, it wasn't real. At least, that’s the logical explanation.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.”

Dev’s shoulders drop as Cameron finally answers. “You sure? You weren’t responding to me.”

The coyote nods. “I’m fine. Just, uh, sleep paralysis.”

Dev sighs, his concern replaced with relief. “Glad I got here then.” He kisses Cameron on the head, rubbing the coyote's back for a moment, before getting up and walking over to the kitchen.

Dev’s lunch bag is on the counter already. Based on that and the fact that Dev is still in his work clothes, Cameron figures he just got home, even though it’s much later than normal.

Cameron watches as Dev turns on the faucet to clean out his tupperware. The dread from what he saw still lingers, frozen in his muscles, making it impossible to move.

But why? It wasn’t even that bad, not compared to some of the other dreams he’s had. It wasn’t Echo. Still, he can’t seem to shake it from his mind.

But Dev seems upset, so he makes conversation.

“How was work?” asks Cameron.

A heavy sigh. “Fine.”

Cameron’s ears flick back as Dev lets the container fall into the sink, and the clang of glass on metal reverberates through the room. “Something happen?”

Devon doesn’t answer. Instead, he nods to the television. “The salt flats, huh. You want to go there sometime?”

On the screen, video plays. Narration drones on over aerial footage of a white plain.

“Um, I don't know,” Cameron says. “I imagine it’s all frozen over right now.”

“Probably.” Dev checks the fridge, sucking his teeth, before letting it slam shut. He sighs again and puts his face in his hands, leaning over the counter.

Yeah, he's upset.

Willing himself to move, Cameron slides off the couch. He walks up behind Dev, draping his arms around his boyfriend. He forces a happy, sarcastic tone. “My psychic powers are tingling.” He pauses, mimicking the sensation by drumming his fingers against Devon’s side. “And I’m sensing work was not in fact, fine.”

Dev lets out a bitter laugh but takes Cameron's paw in his own. “No. No, it wasn’t.”

“You want to do something?” Cameron presses the side of his head against the bear’s broad back. “We could play that board game you got. Or maybe watch a show? Or... um, anything else you want to do.”

Devon shakes his head. “I can’t, honey. I need to read. I’ve got class in an hour.”

“Oh… right.” Cameron doesn’t really think much about what day of the week it is anymore. But that’s right: it’s Tuesday. And that means Dev has his motors class.

Wait. Fuck. It’s fucking Tuesday.

“Cameron, did you make dinner?”

Useless. Fucking. Idiot.

“Shit! I’m— I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what day it was.”

The excuse sounds lame, even to Cameron’s own ears. He cringes at himself, muzzle burning. He knows exactly what Dev is thinking; it's the same thing he himself is thinking. How did he forget again?

“I figured,” Dev says exasperatedly. “Do you need me to call you next time? To remind you?”

“No...”

“You sure? It’s just that this is the third time.” Irritation edges into Devon’s voice. He reaches into his pocket, sliding out his phone.

“I’m sorry,” repeats Cameron.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” There’s a few beeps as Dev taps his phone.

“What… what are you doing?” To look past Dev’s frame, Cameron takes a step to the right. The bear’s fingers tap the screen, entering a number into the keypad.

“I’m gonna order a pizza.”

“What? Don’t do that. I’ll cook something right now.”

Dev taps his claws against the counter as he puts the phone to his ear. “Cook what?”

Cameron moves away, putting a paw on the fridge door. “Um, let me see what we have.”

“We don’t have anything, that’s why I—” Dev stifles a growl. “That’s why I told you—”

“I know, I know. Look, I’ll go to the store now, okay?”

“Cam.” Dev closes his eyes for a moment. When he speaks, he speaks slowly. “I had a pretty terrible day. I couldn’t take lunch, I’m fucking hungry, and I have class in an hour. I’m not waiting another three hours to finally eat something.”

“It won’t take that long! I’ll be fast. I’ll be done before your class starts.”

There’s a click. The call picks up, and Dev switches his tone. “Hi, how are you?”

“Dev.”

“I’m doing good, thank you. Can I get a—”

“Stop it!”

The bear shoots Cameron a look, making a cut-it-out gesture. “Sorry, I’ll get an extra-large cheese—”

He gasps. His phone. Cameron's yanked it from his ear.

“Cam!” Dev hisses. “Let go!”

But the coyote doesn’t let up. Both of his arms wrapped around Dev’s, he pulls back with his entire weight. Even still, it isn’t enough, and when Dev jerks his arm upwards, Cameron stumbles along with it.

“Come on!” Cameron growls. “I’ll be fast!”

Dev gapes at him, open-mouthed, and a tinny voice emanates from the phone speaker. “Hello? Sir?”

Obviously, Cameron isn’t going to win a battle of strength against a bear. So he lets go a moment before reaching upward, taking hold of the phone with both paws and throwing himself backward, trying to wrench it out of Dev’s hands.

“What the fuck, Cam!? What the hell are you doing!?”

“Please! At least let me order! I hate feeling so fucking useless!”

“You’re not—”

Dev’s fingers slip. Phone in hand, Cameron plummets backward, and his head slams hard against the edge of the countertop. Everything explodes with pain. Thoughts cease. Stars cloud his vision.

“Shit!” Dev grunts, bending over.

Cameron scrambles to his knees, bringing a hand to the back of his head. He rubs at it uselessly, wincing as it throbs. His bad arm, which hadn’t been bothering him until now, emits shock after shock of electrifying pain. He’d fallen on it.

Gritting his teeth, blinking back tears, he scours the tile floor. A dark black rectangle lies face down a few feet away. “Fuck, is— is your phone okay?”

“What? Are you okay? You hit your head pretty hard.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine.” Dev reaches for Cameron, but the coyote pushes him away, picking the phone up off the floor. Thank god, it didn’t crack.

The call is still going, a confused-sounding voice coming from the other side. With a tap, Cameron hangs it up.

Dev keeps his distance, his face awash with guilt and concern. Cameron offers him his phone, but Devon ignores it.

“Let me see your head.”

“I’m fine, it’s nothing.” The coyote gives his most convincing smile. At least, he tries to. With the pain, the best he can do is a strained grimace.

He stands up. Dev does too.

“But I’m going to the store, alright?” says Cameron.

“Uh, okay. I’ll go with you.”

“No, no.” Cameron shakes his head, immediately regretting it. “You have to do your reading. I’ll be back soon. Love you.”

And before Dev can say anything else, Cameron is already out the door.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. The word runs on loop in his mind, repeating with every throb of his head.

Why did he do that? Why did he do that? He should’ve just let Dev order the fucking pizza. It pains him that he would have been happier if he hadn’t done anything at all.

Dev was already having a bad day, and Cameron just had to make it worse for him. The bear was probably beating himself up, thinking he's a mean boyfriend, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Even if he was, it’s not like Cameron could blame him. Balancing a full-time job, graduate studies, the move… and then having to deal with his bullshit at the end of the day… it’s a miracle Dev hasn’t gone insane.

Stop it, Cameron chastises himself. This doesn’t help. He has a mission. He needs to go to the store. He needs to go to the store and make dinner, for his boyfriend. He needs to pull his weight.

As he gets behind the wheel of their car, his mind hazes. A fuzzy numbness sets in, and everything feels far away. Automatic things, like turning the key and putting on his seatbelt, take a conscious effort, and he realizes it’s happening again.

It’s a little scary, but at least the stress, the anxiety is gone. And he feels better right away.

Growling, Cameron jerks his head back and forth, trying to tear open the stubborn plastic packaging with his teeth. At the same time, he rushes from one side of the kitchen to the other, grabbing each ingredient, utensil, and piece of cookware he needs. As much as he can anyways. With only one good arm, he needs to let go of the package in his mouth, letting it balance between his canines as he rifles through the cabinets and cupboards. Finally, he tears it open, then moves back to the hot stove.

With not one, not two, but three hard shakes, an imitation burger patty flops into the pan, splattering hot oil in all directions. Cameron winces, but he perseveres, jostling the package further. The second patty falls out, and he tries to step away, but he isn’t fast enough, and he hisses in pain as more burning droplets land in his fur.

Grumbling, he prods the patties with a spatula then turns around to fetch the salt. Over on the couch, Dev’s staring at him. But the bear quickly snaps his gaze back to his laptop.

Heat rises to Cameron’s muzzle. He’s being annoying. Hopefully, Dev doesn’t think it's on purpose. It probably seems that way, like he’s throwing a tantrum or something, but in reality, he’s just a dumbass.

He seasons the burgers. Over the grinding of the pepper shaker, his ears catch the telltale clap of a laptop closing. Cameron’s back tenses, anticipating the inevitable offer of help from Dev. The one he hates and hates that he hates, because it makes him feel like such an asshole.

It never comes though.

Instead, he hears the soft chime of the TV turning on, then footsteps, then the startup sound of a game console.

Since the pandemic started, Dev’s gotten back into gaming. He stopped for a while. He used to game a lot back in college before working full-time forced him to mostly give it up. But being trapped at home last year meant plenty of free time for the bear to fill with other things, and even now, after starting his masters and heading back into the office, his reignited passion for gaming stuck around.

Cameron’s thankful for that. He’s glad Dev’s gotten back into some of his older hobbies. At the same time though, he’s envious. It’s yet another reminder of something he can’t do anymore on account of his stupid fucked up arm. They used to play co-op games together in the past. Cameron was never very good at them in the first place, but now all he can do is watch.

His right ear twitches. You should be happier for him. He has something to replace his previous hobby. You know, that thing you ruined for him.

Shut up, Cameron thinks.

The oven timer beeps, snapping him out of his reverie. He quickly shuts it off, slips on an oven mitt, and pulls the tray of roasted vegetables out of the oven.

Right away, he can tell something is wrong. He put it in for the correct amount of time, he knows he did. But there’s no browning; he overcrowded the pan. Not wanting to make Dev wait any longer, he sighs, accepting that it won’t be great, but it’ll at least be edible. Taking a pair of plates, Cameron assembles their burgers—with relish, hot sauce, and jalapenos for Dev—and piles a heap of veggies on the side. Then he sets off for the living room with Dev’s plate in paw.

Dev perks up as Cameron draws near, pausing his game and watching intently as the coyote sets down a plate and fork in front of him.

“Thank you, honey,” Dev says. The bear leans over, kissing his boyfriend’s cheek, sending a tide of warmth radiating through Cameron’s body.

“Actually…” Cameron runs back to the kitchen, taking a knife. With a bit of difficulty, he cuts apart his own burger into two halves, then heads back, sliding one onto Dev’s plate. “Take this too.”

Dev frowns. “I can’t. This is yours.”

“You said you didn’t eat lunch. And I made you wait. And...” Cameron pokes Dev’s belly. “It’s still technically hibernation, right?”

Dev shifts from one side to the other, clearly uncomfortable with taking Cameron’s food. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he stops himself, leaning back in his seat. He picks up the burger. Cameron tenses. Dev takes a bite.

The bear smiles sweetly at him. “It’s great, honey. Thank you.”

It’s great. A wave of relief crashes over Cameron, the compliment ringing in his ear. It’s a small victory, but he’ll take what he can get today. He’s just glad he managed to do something right.

Sighing, balancing his own plate precariously in his lap, he tries it for himself.

His teeth cut through the bun but catch on the patty. And to tear off a bite, he has to physically jerk his head backward. The “meat” is rubbery and tough. This stuff doesn’t taste great to him anyways, but he managed to overcook it somehow, making it even worse.

Cameron continues chewing, slowly. He eyes Dev, watching him as he eats, the bear oblivious to the smoldering stare directed his way. Why does Dev do this?

He’s being polite. He gave you a compliment. Because he’s nice.

But he knew Cameron was about to try it and taste how terrible it is.

He’s probably trying to make up for earlier.

But that doesn’t help. If anything, it makes Cameron more upset.

Or maybe he’s just grateful to have a meal after not eating all day you—

“What do you want to watch?” Dev says, muffled by a mouthful of burger, remote in hand.

“Oh, uh… nothing in particular. I guess the one from the other day.”

Devon raises an eyebrow. “You mean the one you fell asleep during?”

“Yeah, we can watch wherever you stopped. Just, uh, what was going on?”

Devon begins to excitedly explain the plot and premise. Cameron listens intently, trying to understand, but quickly ends up having no idea of what Dev is talking about. He catches a few things: it's about mechs and war and religion. Everything else is too difficult for him to parse. Sometimes he wishes Dev would describe things in a way he’d understand rather than use names and words he’s not familiar with. It's almost like he's trying to make it confusing on purpose.

“Ah okay, I get it,” Cameron says, not getting it. Dev hits play.

They eat mostly in silence. It’s a little awkward, but the show’s distracting enough even if Cameron still has no idea what’s going on.

“Wait, what? Why would she do that?” he asks as the screen fades to black.

“Cause she’s the last of the Aishans. And Teklon-5 was destroyed by the EXO5B device so she didn’t have enough credits to transfer to Bifan.”

“Was… that in one of the episodes I missed?”

“Some of it, but I think you could have surmised the rest based on the context provided in the latter half of this episode. Like the scene with Nilvon on Raffe.”

“Hm.”

Dev doesn’t play the next episode right away. He waits instead, fidgeting with the remote.

“How’s your arm?” he asks.

Cameron forces himself to relax, not having realized how stiff he’d had it poised. It’s not difficult to imagine why Dev looks so guilty right now. “It started hurting before, I’m fine.”

“Listen, honey, I’m so sorry about earlier. I…”

Cameron holds up a paw. “What are you sorry about? It was kind of self-inflicted.”

“I overreacted. And I need to check my email more.”

“You're fine, Dev. You had a long day at work.”

“That’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t let it come home with me.”

Again, Cameron wants to ask what happened, but ultimately, he decides against it. “Really, it's okay. I'd be pissed too. You needed something to eat, you had class in an hour, and the one thing you asked me to do, I forgot again, somehow. It’s fine.”

Dev’s frown deepens. “It’s okay to forget things. I shouldn’t be getting mad at you for that. Especially since it’s probably because of your medication. Maybe we should schedule another appointment.”

Cameron’s quiet.

“Anyways, you still made dinner. It was worth the wait.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, way better than pizza.”

Cameron purses his lips. “Mm.”

“And, um…” Dev shifts. “How are you doing lately? Everything been okay while I’ve been at work?”

Cameron fidgets anxiously. The dreaded question. He tries to think of how best to phrase how he feels. He can’t tell the truth, obviously. But he doesn’t want to lie either.

“I’m doing better than I was.”

Dev nods. Then he lets his next few words out carefully as if they were made of glass. “So have you applied anywhere?”

“Um, one place.”

“That's great!”

Cameron tries not to feel too embarrassed at how proud Dev sounds. He knows Dev means it. But it feels patronizing coming from someone working full-time and pursuing their master’s degree. Despite his attempt to hide it, Cameron must not have done a good job, since Dev retracts.

“I just mean— you always seem happier when you're doing something, you know? I think it’d be good for you. And you know how I worry when you’re here all by yourself.”

Cameron just nods.

“And, um, how about therapy? Have you looked into any therapists?”

Cameron pokes his vegetables with a fork. “No.”

“Ah, ok. I’ve actually been asking around at work. For recommendations, I mean. There’s one, in particular, I think would be good. She—”

“Dev, honestly, I don’t know if I really want to do therapy anymore.”

“What? Why?” Devon looks taken aback. “I thought it was helping.”

“I mean… it kind of was.” Cameron taps his fork against his plate. “But then it felt like it wasn’t doing anything. I think a therapist can only help you so much through a computer screen.”

“Well, some of them are starting to do more in-person stuff now. The one I was looking at is.”

“Ugh, I mean… that’s not all of it. I’d have to start from scratch with someone completely new. It took me forever to get my last therapist to believe me. To actually believe me, rather than trying to convince me everything in Echo was some psychosis-induced nightmare.”

Cameron looks back up at Dev, who’s staring back at the TV, frowning. The decision had seemed so easy when he was browsing through therapist after therapist online. Trying to find the best fit to divulge his entire life to felt both intimidating and a waste of time when it didn’t seem like it was doing much for him in the first place.

But now, actually telling Dev he doesn’t want to do therapy anymore… he’s having second thoughts.

It is free. Devon’s insurance is amazing and covers it completely. There’s no real harm in doing it, he supposes, especially when he has literally nothing else better to do. And it would make Dev happy.

“But…” Cameron says. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try the one you found.”

“You will?” The bear’s eyes brighten, then he gives Cameron a hug. “That’s good. I’ll make you an appointment, alright?”

Cameron leans into the hug, snout nestling into its familiar position against Dev’s chest. “Sure.” He physically feels the tension leave Dev, and for now, at least, he doesn’t regret this decision one bit.

Keeping one arm around Cameron’s shoulder, Dev reaches back over to grab the remote. But then he stops.

“Actually,” Dev says hopefully, “you know earlier… were you serious about wanting to play that board game with me?”

“Of course.”

“Do you want to do it now?” The excitement in Dev's voice is palpable, and there's only one answer Cameron can give.

“Yeah, let's do it.”

Dev springs up, the cushions bouncing with the sudden reduction of weight. He bounds into the bedroom and returns quickly, game box in hand, and begins to explain the rules excitedly.

As Dev gushes about the game, Cameron’s thoughts drift back to therapy. Despite his concerns, Cameron feels hopeful for the first time in months. He ignores the dull pain in his arm, and rests his head against Dev’s shoulder, tucking in his legs, listening to Dev stress the importance of hiding your score.

At least he’s doing something.

Cameron sits on the bed, phone beside him, leg bouncing restlessly. He can’t stand this. She was supposed to call him at 1. Five minutes ago.

He puts his head in his hands, watching the shadows of trees outside dance across the carpet. The most reasonable explanation is that she's just running a bit behind. But naturally, that isn’t enough for his mind. Maybe Dev gave her the wrong phone number? Or she did call, but his phone didn’t go off for some reason? Or maybe she’d rather help people she can actually help?

He starts as his phone buzzes, vibrating deafeningly loud against the nightstand. Jumping up to attention, he puts the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Cameron?”

Cameron nods. Then he uses his mouth like a normal person. “Yes.”

He hates phone calls. He thought he would have gotten used to it when he was working at Hulian. But a bit of anxiety still springs up. Especially with people he doesn’t know. And especially with people he’s supposed to talk about all his darkest secrets with. He fidgets with the sheets.

“Ah good. Normally, I wouldn’t have this sort of thing—we’d just start with our first session—but I’ve been kind of swamped lately and I want to make sure I can help you first. Don’t want to waste your time or your money.”

“Uh, okay.” She’s talking quickly. She sounds busy. “That makes sense.”

“So, what kind of issues are you experiencing?”

A number of things run through his mind. Schizophrenia, PTSD, depression, anxiety, relationship troubles… “A lot of things I guess.” Cameron chuckles nervously. Come on, try harder. How can she help you if you aren’t specific? “But I guess the main one is… I had this really bad experience last year and it’s kind of messed me up.”

“Like PTSD?”

“That’s part of it. Specifically, my boyfriend—he’s the one that referred me—we went to this small town, it’s supposed to be haunted, and well...”

“Echo?”

“Wh—,” Cameron sputters. “Yes, it was Echo.”

“I see.” Cameron swears he can hear her smiling through the phone. “You’ve come to the right place then. Let’s schedule your first session.”

Cameron blinks. “Oh, okay.”

“Just a second, let me see what times I have available.”

Cameron’s never been more confused. The right place? She knows Echo? His stomach buzzes with anxiety. She doesn’t remember him from the news… does she?

“Does Friday at two work for you? Either that or the same time on Thursday.”

“Friday’s fine. Actually, if you don’t mind me asking, how do you know about Echo?”

To his disbelief, she laughs.

“I grew up there.”