Work Text:
As one of the few openly queer relationship counselors in the city, Lucius Spriggs was used to working with polycules. In most ways, it was the same as couples therapy, just with more participants and therefore more chances for communication mix-ups.
He was also used to how queer relationships often included people most would never picture together. Hell, most people wouldn’t imagine a fem prep like him with a punk like Pete or a leather bear like Fang. He’d seen all sorts of combos, a man dressing like he still lived in the victorian era with his black clad sunglasses wearing husband. lumberjack lesbian with her beauty pageant winning girlfriend. Hawaiian shirt wearing, dad on vacation vibes man with enby partners with multiple piercings. He’d seen it all and more.
But even by those standards, these new clients looked like… a lot.
Lucius smiled brightly at the five people sitting awkwardly in his office, and pulled out his notebook.
“Hi all, I’m Lucius.” The “unprofessional” friendly approach often puts people at ease, especially people with bad past experiences. “Why don’t we start by each of you, in turn, introducing yourselves and explaining your connection to everyone else? That’ll give me an idea of the dynamics we’re working with here.”
There was an uncomfortable pause, before one of them finally spoke up.
“Mary, um, she/her?” She looks to the others to see if she was doing this right, and Lucius nodded encouragingly. She pointed to the person beside her. “This is my fiance Doug.”
She pointed to the blond on one side of the couch. “That’s my ex-husband, Stede.” Current partners and exs in one session. That was certainly uncommon. “That’s Stede’s boyfriend, Ed.” She pointed to the bearded man in the middle. “And that’s Ed’s…” a long pause, she didn’t seem to know the exact relationship between the two. “That’s Izzy.
Lucius took notes, scratching arrows showing the different relationships between people. “Doug, why don’t you go next.”
Doug nodded and smiled, squeezing Mary’s hand. “Well, I’m Doug, He/him. This is my Fiance Mary, my friend Stede.” Friends hmm? Doug seemed genuine, so that was a good start. “My friend Ed, and…” He, too, seemed perplexed by Izzy.
Izzy for his part, just rolls his eyes. “I don’t even want to be here.” He mutters. So he’s going to be one of those types. Lucius can work with that, has quite a lot. It’s not unusual, for older queers to come in with a lot of baggage about therapy.
It may also be a good idea to have different members of this group in different appointments, instead of all five at once. Izzy might not benefit much from sessions focused on Mary and Stede’s divorce, for example.
When his notes are updated Lucius turns to Stede, who seems tense and formal. “I’m Stede, He/him, that’s my ex-wife Mary, I only came out recently you see. And that’s Doug.” Stede doesn’t use the word friend, so he may feel a lot more unclear about his place in the dynamic. Not surprising, after a divorce.
“And do you and Mary have any kids? Or anyone else here have kids?” Lucius asks.
“Yes, Mary and I have two kids. She has custody but open visitation.” Stede seems really nervous, especially about how he and the divorce are perceived. "no other kids."
“This is my boyfriend Ed." Stede continues "And our? Ed’s?”
“And that’s Izzy” Izzy interrupts, seeming both annoyed and amused.
So far on Lucius’s diagram, Stede is the only one here connected to Izzy, and that connection is several question marks.
Ed, he/they, repeats the known information, also counting Doug and Mary as his friends. “Iz and I have been in a relationship for a long time. It’s… complicated.” Hoo boy, okay. Lucius had dealt with messy divorce, and the divorce side of this was fairly unmessy. Lucius had also dealt with “it’s complicated” relationships. Both at once would be new.
It’s Izzy’s turn, and he glowers at everyone. “I’m here because Edward wanted me to come, and that’s all. I’d do anything for him. This is fucking stupid.”
Lucius nods. He’s not surprised that Izzy isn’t sticking with the format. "I'd do anything for him," is intense, perhaps concerningly so. Only time will tell. “And what’s your connection to Stede?” Lucius asks, pen poised.
The three on the couch share a complicated look. Finally, Izzy shrugs. “I dunno.”
“That can be one of our goals then,” Lucius says brightly. “Does anyone else have something they’d like to work through in our future sessions?"
Ed shifts uncomfortably. “Stede’s kids. They’re good kids! But, I feel weird around them. I keep waiting for myself to snap and… and hurt them.”
Lucius nods, no judgement in his voice. “Were your parents like that.” Ed nods and Stede squeezes his hand. “Mine too.” Stede adds. Lucius notes a flicker in Izzy’s eyes and makes a note for later. It'll be important not to push Izzy to early in the process, if he doesn't want to scare him away.
Mary adds “Stede still feels guilty about the divorce too.”
Stede opens his mouth and is silenced by a glare from Mary. Hmm, that will need some work. Part of the remaining guilt may be that everyone’s so worried about reassuring him that he can’t express or process it.
-
After the session, Lucius examines his notes. Professional detattachment and all that aside, this one is going to be an interesting case.
(Tried to draw a diagram, Couldn't attach it, so a rough text version here.)
Mary ← engaged → Doug
Mary ← divorced, on friendly terms → Stede
Doug Friend → Stede
Mary, Doug ← Friends → Ed
Ed ← Dating → Stede
Stede ← ??? → Izzy
Ed ← It's complicated, and It's a LOT → Izzy