impunity

I don't think Devon would care about Will's owning property. I just meant that Steph's birthday gift of the building would bring Will's age to Devon's attention. Emancipated minors have several specific limitations on their adult status; two of these for which the usual age limits apply are drinking alcohol and consenting to sex. Devon is, therefore, legally liable for both, regardless of Will's family's knowledge or approval. Aside from the legal implications, I think that anyone who believed he or she was having sex with someone older than 21 (given Will's ability to drink in various bars, no doubt due to his fake ID), would be disconcerted to learn that the person was actually 15.

In my review of chapter 3, I speculated about Devon's finding out Will's age. On further reflection, I think it'll have to happen when Will turns 16 and ends up owning the building. That's going to be pretty difficult to keep quiet among the bar staff.

I'm just going to come right out and admit it: you were right and I was wrong. It's been 3 weeks since Matt and Cam were together sexually; that's almost a year in CAP time. Brad and Cam are clearly comfortable with the idea of a relationship; it'll be interesting to see how Matt reacts. My guess is he'll be upset initially (resulting in jealousy from Wade?), then will be ok with it when he thinks it through. Zach's isolation is terribly sad. And it'll only get worse as he becomes more visible as his career progresses. Is Devon ever going to find out Will's age? I can't imagine that'll go well...not only is he fucking a minor, but he's been serving him alcohol as well.

I know this is getting repetitive, but I really hope you don't doom them to a lifetime of one-sided conversations. On a somewhat tangential note, there was only one season because Fox showed them all out of order, then cancelled it halfway through because it wasn't very popular. Bastards! But you probably knew that.

Thanks for the new chapter. I was missing these guys.

This episode was brought to you by newly renovated residences, pizza and the sling. I enjoyed the parallels in Boston and Chicago. Looking forward to Will's reaction to Steph's birthday gift. On the other hand, Brad+Cam...if I were capable of raising one eyebrow, I'd do it now. I'm fine with the age difference. I'm even fine with Cam's being Matt's first love. But Cam is the only person, other than Wade, with whom Matt has been meaningfully intimate in a very long time. And it's only been about a week since they were last together. Brad really needs to find another pond to fish in.

I will defer to your evidently greater expertise.

Thank you for starting a very interesting discussion. I'm pretty sure the beer would have been small beer which was beer with very low alcohol content drunk for the purpose of hydration as water was considered unsafe to drink (George's iron casks notwithstanding). My nice husband, who tends to know these things, estimated the alcohol content of small beer at around 1.5%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_beer Later (Wikipedia says after the Napoleonic wars) there was a ration (tot) of rum. This practice was abolished in 1970 due to safety concerns. In 1756 Navy regulations required adding small quantities of lemon or lime juice to the ration, to prevent scurvy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

Haha! What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during that conversation. "Make sure you aim it into the tissue, dear." (Said a bit breathlessly.) "Oh, oh, and be careful not to splash the Armani!"

I can see Alex's being willing to wait, years if necessary, until JJ, with all his "purity" issues, was comfortable with a sexual relationship. I'm envisioning a lot of impassioned (as opposed to passionate) kissing in their future, building up to some very functional hand jobs followed by a lot of hand washing.

I do love when George asserts his superiority over people who underestimate him.

Yay! New story! Is this the first time we've had a nonfamily narrator (not counting Wade who has been adopted as family)? Actually, Zach's family-ish, isn't he? Well, at any rate, I believe he's the first Hayes narrator.

Poor JJ and his "impure" thoughts. Definitely a Madonna candidate, and one who'd relish the role...hopefully not for another few years, though.

I really want to go there. I've seen quite a few art museums in Paris but somehow I've never made it to the Musee d'Orsay. It's top on my list of things to do if I ever get back there. We actually thought we were there once (followed guide book directions and everything) but halfway through the exhibit we realized we were actually in the Palais du Tokyo, a very avant garde contemporary art museum. It was pretty cool, but not an impressionist in sight.

I'm no expert, but I believe skaters, gymnasts, dancers, etc are better off being short due to the lower center of gravity. That said, Evan Lysacek is apparently 6'2". Maybe JJ just aspires to be closer to 5'8"?

Really sweet chapter. I really hope you have a plan to fix the Boris's apparent genetic problem so they can live HEA. Also, binge watching Firefly! One of my favourite things! In response to your response to my review of the last chapter: do those vintage and second-hand shops in the North Laine and the Lanes actually have names? I usually just recognize them by location and the racks outside. Granted, I'm only there every year or two, and I usually end up getting lost.

Hang in there for a couple of days. A new distraction is bound to turn up.

A lovely ending to a really great story. I was somewhat bummed that we're not going to get to hang out vicariously with Matt in Chicago (Ah, Chicago, how do I miss thee...?), but you more than made up for it. And, as Will pointed out, there's always vacations. Thanks again for a very engaging read. Looking forward to what comes next!

Happy birthday!

Apologies for the delayed review. It's been a busy week. I really enjoyed this chapter. George put Lady Elgin firmly in her place while doing some serious damage control for Caroline's reputation. I wonder if her knowledge of Caroline's alleged indiscretion reinforced to Lady Elgin's impression that she could get away with being rude and defiant to George. I particularly liked that the Elgins now have to get their own chef.

I love the North Laine...such a fun, vibrant place to hang out. Perfect for a man-wolf outdoor shopping excursion.

I don't know for whom to feel more sorry, Matt or Zach. No, I take that back...it's definitely Zach. As sad and angry as Matt is feeling right now, his happy ending is in sight (for the reader, at any rate). Whereas Zach has just traded living one lie for another (albeit a somewhat more palatable one, at least to him), with years of the same to look forward to. :no:The distinct voices of your narrators came through really strongly in this chapter, as did their emotional turmoil.

I'm revising my opinion of Alex. I still think he's a bit fucked up, but I also think he's insecure, at least where it comes to the combination of Wade and Matt . I think, when he offered to let Wade continue to have sex with Matt, that Alex didn't realize quite how deeply involved they are with each other. That, coupled with his awareness that he is not able to keep Wade satisfied sexually, whereas Matt is, has led him to assert his power over Matt and remind Matt of his place as the "bit on the side" (another handy British expression) in Alex and Wade's relationship. We know that Brad often projects power to cover up his insecurity in relationships; I believe Alex is doing the same. Now I'm off to a particularly grueling day in the salt mines. Although, I suppose it could be worse. At least I'm not in the family way and abandoned in the workhouse. (Still laughing at that line, Irritable1!)

This made me laugh. A lot.

I don't think Alex has done anything egregious enough to warrant the proposed Zamboni treatment, but he does appear to have been somewhat manipulative and self serving. He's also been less than completely truthful with Wade, and kind of a dick to Matt.