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"Shane, what is this?"
Ilya frowns as he puts his phone in Shane's face, showing him the Instagram video where a guy is showing off a kids book called Tuesday. Shane instantly freezes when he sees the name.
"That…that is the autism frog book." Shane explains, looking like he is having war flashbacks.
"Autism frog book? What do you mean?" Ilya tilts his head at him.
"It's a book they use for autism assessments. When I went for mine I was told to tell the story of the book to the assessor. There's no words , just pictures of frogs flying. I was so confused why they were asking me to read them a bedtime story that I just told them what I was seeing. I didn't make up a story, I was just utterly confused by the test." Shane sighs, looking a little miserable. "It felt weird? Apparently they wanted to test that I could make a coherent story. But all I felt was confusion."
Ilya looks at the book in the video, frowning. "It looks like a weird test for an adult to do."
"Even worse when they were making me do a puzzle or create a story with objects." He pulls a face, "it made me feel like I was being talked down to."
"I can imagine." Ilya looks at him sadly. "You all get this book in the test?"
"Apparently. I've seen a lot of Autistic adults talking about this book. So I know I'm not alone." Shane answers.
"It sounds dreadful and a terrible way to test for imagination." Ilya gives him a smirk, "you come up with many creative scenarios in bed."
"Shut up." Shane lightly punches his arm, but he's smiling. Which is exactly what Ilya wanted him to do.
Ilya gently pulls him into his side. "No stupid frog book is making my Shane feel bad. I won't allow it."
Shane snuggles into his side, feeling Ilya's lips against his forehead. "I'm way better than a stupid book."
"Exactly, fuck those frogs." Ilya answers and Shane gently laughs.
The painful memories get erased by each kiss Shane feels against his forehead. He closes his eyes and lets Ilya's love wash over him.