Absolution

Dr. Zetrus

"How the hell did you get him to agree to family therapy?" Bamburai leans against his seatbelt to give the stoner an impatient look.

"I just talked to him." Banjex was driving around the block, trying to find a parking spot, while Bamburai and Bamwind were in the backseat. Bamwind didn't talk, just uncomfortably sat in his seat.

"Bullshit, you did not 'just talk to him.' What did you do?"

"I'm not bullshitting you. I did talk to him. What does it matter to you, anyways? I thought you hated him."

Bamburai looks at his brother next to him, glaring at Banjex before hesitantly responding.

"I do."

"Then, what's the problem?" He finally found a spot by the therapist's house, backing into it before putting the car into park. "Anyways, you have fun."

Bamburai got out of the car, Bamwind following the sound of his steps close behind him. It was a short walk to the new family therapist's house, due to where Banjex parked, and soon enough, they found themselves on the doorstep.

"This was the only therapist I could afford with my insurance." Bamburai said, before knocking on the door.

Soon enough, a bambisona with a blue shirt, a red scarf, and a peppermint patterned hat answered the door.

"Are you Bamburai and Bamwind?"

Bamwind nodded.

"Good, at least I don't have the wrong people." The bambisona laughed at his own joke. He motioned to another bambisona with raven hair. "I'm Dr. Zetrus, and this is my assistant Bampal. He's here to bring tissues and snacks, but he will not be with us during our session. Come in."

The two brothers entered Dr. Zetrus's house, following him to a spare room with a couch and a desk with a chair.

"Sit down."

They sat on the couch, while Zetrus sat down on the desk, shuffling through its contents before taking out a clipboard. Bampal brought in a tray of pretzels and soft tissues, before leaving and closing the door behind him.

"So." Zetrus examines the brothers, looking them up and down before writing in his clipboard. "Bamburai and Bamwind. I want you to tell me what brings you here."

"A lot of things." Bamburai responded uncomfortably, looking at Bamwind.  "I mean- I want to move on, but what he did was too much."

"What did your brother do?"

An uncomfortable silence fell across the room, Bamburai looked at Zetrus with an uncomfortable look, which he picked up on.

"You don't have to tell me if-"

"No. He fucking- He fucking ripped my life away from me!" He snapped, his voice beginning to crack slightly. "For what? For his stupid boyfriend!"

"Bamburai, I-" Bamwind began to speak, before being interrupted.

"Shut up! SHUT U-"

"Sir, sir. Please, take a deep breath, before continuing."

Bamburai reluctantly complied, clasping his hands together as he took the breath, his heart beating slightly slower. Bamwind clenched his fists, anxious.

"He betrayed me. Because he was scared I would tell."

"Bamwind, if you're comfortable, tell me why you felt scared."

Bamwind was caught off guard by the question. He didn't want to admit to being unwell, even if he was told the therapist wouldn't tell anyone that he was unwell. He stood silent for a couple of moments, before looking at Dr. Zetrus's voice.

"Because I didn't want to lose everything. I don't want to be unwell. I don't want to be abnormal. I want to be a man."

"Was your original home..." Zetrus paused. "Homophobic?"

Bamburai and Bamwind responded at the same time.

"Not exactly."

"Yes."

"Okay." Zetrus said, writing notes on his clipboard. "Tell me, why did you feel that your brother would reveal that you had a boyfriend?"

"I did not know if he opposed to i-"

"What do you mean," Bamburai started, with a harsh voice. "'Opposed to it?' I'm fucking bisexual, why would I be opposed to you having a boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Bamwind looked at his brother. "You're... bisexual too?"

"YES!"

"So... What I'm hearing is... you two have this in common." Zetrus said, quickly writing something in his clipboard before looking up. The two brothers didn't respond, until Bamwind spoke up.

"I... I guess we do have that in common."

"What else do you have in common with your brother?"

"Proud. We're proud."

"We are not both fucking proud, only you are-" The other brother began to respond, before being interrupted by the therapist.

"No, no," Zetrus said. "I think he has a point. You both are proud, but in different ways. You refuse to adhere to rules, while your brother sticks to the rules religiously."

"Yeah, you might have a point there, but those are the only things we have in common."

"Two things in common is much more than no things in common. For your homework, I want you two to use those things in common to begin to form a bond with each other again. That's all the time we have today, I will see you next Saturday."

They stood up, walking over to the living room while Zetrus waved them goodbye, walking over to where Banjex was parked.

As they got in the car, the two didn't look at or speak with each other.

The car ride home was silent.