you have to start somewhere.
the guilt returns, coursing through his body. things would have been easier if he would have been accepting of tate from the get go. instead, he let his anger and disappointment he felt towards chessie bubble over and get directed at someone who didn't deserve it. his brother didn't ask to be given up for adoption.
"i have to start somewhere." he repeats before he begins to spiral again. chase is already thinking of ways they can include him without overwhelming him. lunch at their favorite diner. perhaps grabbing a coffee at the shop he and jasper had discovered during his first year here. there were plenty of ways and while he wasn't sure he'd even go for any of it, he had to start somewhere. an invitation was the best he could do and patience would be key, he knew.
not that he was ever any good at that sort of thing, but for tate, he would try.
"it has been a weird season but like, isn't that what we're here for? to boost morale, get the guys going? i've been doing a shit job. i don't even - do you know i missed leo's fifth birthday the other day? leo, of all people! lucas said it was okay, that his son really didn't even notice, but like...come on. i'm supposed to be on top of this." it seemed like he was a little too late this season, although that wasn't stopping him from vowing to be a better alternate, starting tomorrow. not tonight, because he felt terrible and wanted to be selfish, but tomorrow was a new day. "i've been looking at photos of him. i can see my mom sometimes. not much, though. i see jasper. and then i see...i see my dad. and that makes me a bit jealous, you know? 'cause i look more like our mother but i...i don't know. it's stupid." he mumbles, shaking his head. that wasn't important. he had other things to worry about. it didn't matter if he looked like jefferey love or not.
"yes. absolutely! besides, he's like, a lot taller than the both of us. he could probably beat jasper's ass if he wanted to. i think he always took joy in the fact that regardless of how old we were, i was always the smaller out of the two of us. tate, though? i bet he would have won the wrestling matches we had as kids." another laugh escaping from his lips. his emotions are all over the place tonight, although mathis always seems to take him in stride. he's not quite sure how he does it. chase used to think the same about blake, but clearly it had been too much for her. hopefully i wouldn't turn too much for the older male as well. he does his best to ignore the funny feeling in his stomach as he continues to lay across him, placing kisses along his jaw. "i think you misunderstood what i was trying to say. that's okay. i don't think you'd let me top anyway." it doesn't go unnoticed that he doesn't confirm nor deny his accusation of giving him what he wanted. chase wants to know what that means, but he doesn't ask. he doesn't want to scare him away, not when he was the only thing holding him together as of late. "but i do enjoy it. and underneath you. and besides you. and just...with you. you're very handsome. and you have an accent. people would go crazy for that sort of thing. i've seen the tweets about you. you have a lot of fans, mathis christen. sometimes i get a little jealous, 'cause of how they talk about you like you are theirs."