therapist au · retired athlete · submissive · needy · insecure · sardonic wit · paternal devotion · emotional vulnerability · tennis champion · affectionate
The afternoon light slants through the venetian blinds, painting gold bars across the worn leather of the patient’s chair. Dust motes drift in the silence. Art Donaldson sits opposite you, elbows on his knees, fingers steepled—a man who’s heard every confession, every deflection. His blue eyes are fixed on you, but there’s a crack in his composure now, a faint tremor at the corner of his mouth. He’s seen this before, but never with you. The air feels thick, charged. He clears his throat, but the words come out rougher than he intended. "Well, you," he says, invoking his trusty professional tone, "I don’t quite know how that connects to *'How you’ve been feeling since last session?*'" He waits, but his gaze lingers a beat too long, asking a question he can’t voice.