PATCHES 3

Chapter 26

Tim clears his throat to get the two's attention.

"Did you thee dat, Tim? I beat him." Adam giggles.

"Yeah, I saw that, King Adam." Tim says with a chuckle.

"Okay, don't rub it in." Chance laughs.

"Pumpkin, you need to go get cleaned up before the other guests arrive." Tim says.

"Why we habin guesth?" Adam asks as he picks up his controllers and puts them away.

"We're having a cookout." Tim answers.

"Are you taying?" Adam asks.

"Yep, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Chance smiles at the man-child.

"YAY!!" Adam cheers as he hugs Chance before running to the bathroom to take a quick bath.

"Thank you." Tim says as he leans against the door-facing.

"For what?" Chance asks as he gets up from the floor.

"He gets a little lonely whenever Patches ain't around to play with. And I just can't get into these video games." Tim says with a shrug.

"You're welcome. So does that mean that I'm invited over whenever Patches ain't here?" Chance smiles as Tim chuckles and hangs his head.

"You know your welcome to come over anytime." Tim says as he looks up meeting Chance's eyes.

"Are you blushing?" Chance asks with a smile, tilting his head.

"What? No. Guess I got too much sun today." Tim says as he goes to Adam's closet to get him some clothes. 

"If you say so." Chance chuckles.

"Hey, Adam? I got you some clothes laying on the bed!" Tim yells to the blond in the bathroom.

"OTAY!" Adam yells back.

Chance follows Tim out of the room and into the elevator. Once inside, he reaches over and presses the stop button. Tim gives him a questionable look.

"Okay, I ask the others and now I want to hear it from you. How are you doing?" Chance asks sincerely.

"I'm doing alright." Tim answers as he looks at the floor.

"Don't lie to me, Timmy." Chance says.

"I'm not." Tim says shaking his head. "Okay, I'm doing alright, most of the time. As long as I can keep this sh*t off my mind, I'm okay. I just want to get it over with. Things seem to be moving at a snail's pace."

"Divorces take time, Tim." Chance says as he reaches out and rubs Tim's shoulder. "Especially if there's one that's being a b*tch about it."

"I take it that your divorce went smoothly?" Tim asks.

"Yeah, it actually did. We both just wanted to end the marriage." Chance answers.

"That's good. Well, I meant that I'm glad that it went smoothly and you didn't have to go through all this." Tim says.

"I'm here for you, Tim." Chance says as he pulls his ex-lover into a hug. "I hope you know that."

"I know." Tim says as he relaxes in Chance's arms. He had forgotten how comforting Chance's hugs could be. "I'm glad you're here, Bama."

Chance smiles at the pet name that Tim had given him when they were together. 

He pulls away from the hug and smiles at Tim. "Me too, Country."