Danners

I agree that Hank destroyed the old relationship but the old relationship wasn’t sustainable; it had to end. Those two people don’t exist anymore. The feelings are still there but they’re restrained by all the hurt feelings. Chase has outgrown that old relationship by striving to be a stronger and more self-possessed individual. While his battle with depression is ongoing, he has all the tools at his disposal to stay on top of it — and the desire to do so, which is even more important. His initial goal was to show Hank he wasn’t so fucked up and needy; his end goal was to become less fucked up and needy for himself. He loves the old Hank in part because this current Hank has done nothing but lash out at him, and getting confirmation that Hank had sex with Cave-In on more than one occasion more than gutted him. I’d like to say Hank outgrew the old relationship too but he hasn’t. He didn’t get the chance. Not yet. Cave-In’s influence and his own stubborn pride kept him from seeing the forest for the trees. Only now is he beginning to see the error of his ways and learn from the colossal mistakes he made, but he needs time to catch up to Chase. It’s clear he still loves Chase. He needs the support and guidance Chase had in order to become not only the man Chase deserves but the person he himself deserves to be, unburdened by the pal his mom’s adultery cast over him. Yes, the old relationship is gone. There’s room for a new relationship though and it begins with friendship. Chase can help Hank heal and though that heal the rift between them. Once the hurt feelings subside, I think they’ll see their love has grown to encompass who they were before and who they’ve become. It won’t happen overnight but the potential is there. After all, they loved each other enough that others took notice. Charles and Christine recognized their own love in Chase and Hank’s, and we learned this chapter that their love didn’t come without its low points. It survived a drunken indiscretion and death. A love that strong, a love like Charles and Christine’s and in turn Chase and Hank’s, it has a way of bouncing back from the worst life can throw at it. So, I’m not giving up hope for Hank and Chase. They belong together in my book (hopefully in Gary’s as well). If Chase can come to forgive Hank’s behavior and Hank can become someone who has earned Chase’s forgiveness, they’ll have paved a future together that nothing — not even death — can conquer.

Lip service is just another perk of my undying devotion, doubly so when it’s readily earned.

You said it best, Wes. How can I not follow such save advice?

Uh, as I said before, mine are live performances. Silly. (We’re getting a double chapter. Don’t question me.)

That was yours without from the first time Kendall watched Michael play pool and only deepened as a despondent Chase was roused from sleep by Cindy’s call. I’ll gladly continue to worship at your fingertips if this is the caliber of story you write. 🥰

Woohoo! State your terms, Gary. I’ll give whatever I can as long as you promise to stick it in your donation box.

Hell, I might do it for another double. At the very least, I’d be convinced to offer a donation.

Insert Cave-In joke here . . . . . . is what Cave-In’s tramp stamp says above a downward facing arrow.

What if Gary agrees to post another chapter before Monday?

Link the video and we’ll let you know.

Ten is generally more than enough unless you’re a size queen among size queens.

Anyone not think that’s a euphemism?

Prunescape?

Mine were live performances and mostly for my Not Husbands, who most likely didn’t record anything. They were gay married and lived one state over. We weren’t married though, so they were . . . not husbands. I was pretty proud of that turn of phrase at the time. The only possible recording that could’ve ended up online involved my best friend and her former roommate, with each of us being handled for whoever was watching. I don’t remember much of it to be honest. Too much tequila.

Urban Dictionary?

The only thing poor about Cave-In is his Uber rating. No matter what he says, he already knows how to drive a stick shift and no, that wasn’t the parking brake he was setting.

World of Warcraft?

This cackle is for you, hon. Is it wrong that I can picture Cave-In skipping the usual handshake between friends and going straight for nose-to-ass?

Just be glad your free phase happened before webcams became popular. Not that I’m admitting to anything . . . Nope, just an example. Mm-hmm.

Back to bragging, are we?

Aw, I don’t blame Hank for what lead up to the proposal or the proposal itself. As much as I want to, I can’t even blame him for how he acted that night. His behavior after that, however . . . You make great points. If I have to agree to disagree with someone, I’m glad it’s you.

I tend to agree. Cave-In got burned bad and ended up with an unhealthy outlook on love. Since John cheated on him — on him! — everyone was a cheater, they just haven’t acted on it yet. He wanted Hank to think the same way so they’d find solace only in each other, but he underestimated the strength of Chase’s love.

That’s mostly what I meant. Hank thought Chase was better off than he was and didn’t realize the implications of proposing after Christine’s death. He thought he had it covered by waiting. He thought he was doing the right thing for Chase but in reality it was Christine he was doing right by, not Chase. Chase needed a chance to share their engagement with Christine or at least the news of it, and not getting that set off a chain reaction that ended with Chase being kissed by another guy. Hank did the wrong thing for the right reason: he put a dying woman’s wishes ahead of his lover’s happiness. I think he’s getting a sense of that. He can make it up to Chase. Himself too.

You know, I don’t think he did. I think he set out to never get hurt again and saw in Hank a chance to not only get over John but to put himself in a position where he’d have enough control over all aspects of their relationship that there’d be no chance of him getting hurt. The fact he got to rub Chase’s nose in it was icing on the cock — er, cake. S’why I think Hank blindsided Cave-In by putting their relationship on hold, if not calling it off entirely. As time goes by, Hank will come to notice the little ways in which he was manipulated and how he was used. Cave-In almost succeeded in convincing Hank to have nothing to do with Chase and that, in the end, will bite him in the ass more than anything else.

The only card on his table is one listing his gaping cavern as the site of a National Speleological Society sponsored event.