Once Bitten Twice Shy (Marshall Lee x Reader)

15: To Therapy!

"I feel like my life will just... end... but it can't..." The vampire king laid on the couch, mumbling as he spoke to a new piece of candy creation: Dr. Rock Candy. The doctor was stable, a good listener, chock-full of ideas, a real... rock for his patients.

"If she were to leave you?"

"Yeah... worst-case scenario."

"Her death isn't the worst case?"

"Seeing her with someone else... I think that would be worse." Marshall Lee confirmed.

"Anyone in particular?"

"No. I wouldn't care if it was Gumwad, Fionna, Flame Prince, whoever. Anyone not me is not okay." He bit his lip. "I want her forever. That's why I asked her to marry me."

"That is where I want to point out the deviation. It is okay to want to be with someone forever. It is okay to love someone and want to marry them. It is not okay to isolate them from other people to ensure they never leave you." Dr. Rock Candy pointed out.

"And I know that. But the fear... it felt like tar pulling me down. It felt like I was drowning in it."

"I understand how scary that must have felt. So we need to work on strategies to help overcome that fear. There's no reason why you should have to suffer through that, and certainly not alone. You have a wonderful soon-to-be wife, and friends to support you. Along with me." He smiled.

"Foxy..." He glanced towards the door, knowing you were waiting outside of it. "I didn't want to hurt her. Worry her... But here we are."

"It tends to work like that. We don't want to hurt the ones we love by confiding in them, but we end up hurting them more by keeping secrets from them." Dr. Rock Candy nodded. "I think the first step we can take, and let me know if this is took much, is by letting the people you trust that are around you in the moment know the intrusive thoughts when you have them."

"Intrusive thoughts?"

"The definition of an intrusive thought is 'an unwelcome involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate'." He quoted from an old medical manual that had been written into his brain. "Thoughts like, 'If I don't kill this person, YN will leave me', would be better if shared by people you trusted rather than kept in. Do you know why?"

"Is it because they can tell me that it's not true?" He scrunched his face up.

"Exactly. And oftentimes, reassurance is all that is needed to help quell some intrusive thoughts! It isn't full-proof, but we can work on other strategies the next time we meet. I don't want to overwhelm you."

"...I guess I can try with that..." Marshall mumbled and sat up.

"I think YN would appreciate this trust you put in her. It would show that you believe she can help you just like you want to help her."

"Really?" Marshall Lee perked up. Well... Then I might try it...