Impress Me Not: Neon Underground

Chapter 25

"Yeah," Justin scrunched up his face. "I don't think I could ever get into this stuff."

"It's not for everyone," Cameron chuckled, putting away the leather that he had gotten out of a closet. "Some people really do use it for therapy, though."

"I don't see how," he told him. They had all gotten a bit squeamish from watching the television screen, so all the cupids had spread out, doing something to distract them. Justin was surprised that they would even be allowed to see something as personal as that. It was kind of alright when it first started out, but the end was getting so intense that it just felt like no one should be allowed to watch it.

But this was the department for that sort of stuff. From what Justin knew, they were the only department that could look into human's personal lives in this sense. It was all just to make sure that they weren't getting abused or something like that. Justin couldn't help but wonder if some of them got a sick interest in watching it.

"It can provide a safe space to go through past pain," Cameron explained. They enjoyed explaining this subject to people. They respected Justin's discomfort with many things. It was easy to tell that he had gone through something that made him stay away from the thoughts of BDSM. Cameron could see the ways that he avoided eye contact and tell that something wasn't right with him. Still, it wasn't something that they were going to pry out of him.

"How?" Justin asked. He was full of questions, his mint green eyes trying to be understanding of this all. Cameron enjoyed that he was at least trying to understand. "That just seems like you're bringing pain that you were dealing with before back to the present, rather than dealing with it through a therapist or something."

"It's an outlet that some use," Cameron shrugged. "When you're with someone that you trust, or with who you've built trust with through these sessions, then it's like you're journeying through those horrible memories with someone else besides you." They smiled sadly, their own strawberry eyes softening a bit. "It's a way that they can make a bad memory good, too. While it's not with everyone, many people do it as a means of releasing bad memories and frustration out."

Justin paused, looking at the strange cupid that he continuously wound up talking to. As much as he wanted to learn about these things, forever wanting to learn about all of these departments, it just felt unnerving. It brought up bad memories that he still had from when he was a mortal, although it was never to this extent.

Seeing this cupid talk like this, though, put it in a perspective that he didn't realize he needed. It was obvious that they had been through something similar to what they were talking about. The thought of that made Justin feel for them. He hated when others had to go through pain. But he was glad that he had some sort of outlet for it at least.

"I guess that makes sense," Justin nodded. Then he looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm not really good at this stuff. It's not my area of expertise."

"That's perfectly fine," Cameron bowed their head. "You don't have to be accepting immediately. It's much like a culture shock sometimes, which is why most people have such an intense reaction to it. While it's not always used as a form of therapy, the community always tries to help anyone who needs it. All you need to do is just be open to learning about some of it. Not all of it, but some."

It was always an uncomfortable conversation to those who weren't ever exposed to it. Most of the beginners to this world had to be gentle with themselves before realizing their own boundaries. Melvin was not one of those people. Melvin had learned things the hard way, including his own strength and desire.

Mateo really seemed like a good match for him though. The man was stubborn, and that was just what Melvin needed to push him to the limits. It had been a while since Melvin had called anyone Pet too, which meant that things were definitely getting interesting.