"You're telling a Hammond to stop arguing? You do know I'm the only non-lawyer in the family, right?" TJ laughed. It was either that or bang his head on the wall in frustration. "Well, not Nana, but she'll argue without the law degree." They were so close now TJ barely had to move to to rest his forehead against Travis'. "Being with you makes me happy," he breathed, closing his eyes as he decided silently to take his lover's advice. If they had time, he wasn't going to spend that time worrying about if he would have to give this up.
"Sometimes I'm not sure I have changed all that much," he admitted, still thinking about Doug's accusations. "And then sometimes I hardly recognize myself. I guess I can't really blame them for not knowing what to do with me now."
This time, TJ did bang his head on the wall behind him. When Travis said it, it seemed like such an easy answer to get to and yet, TJ, who was supposed to know Doug better than anyone had missed it. "Have you considered that I might really be an idiot? God, I should have thought of that. He wouldn't even let me call her his girlfriend because he didn't want to leave a girlfriend behind. I should have seen it. But, he's right. I still think of myself first and everyone else distant second."
Huffing harshly, irritated at himself, he shook his head. "Hard not to doubt when I keep making mistakes." But, Travis' words soothed him some. It was strange because there'd never been anyone who could make him feel better just with a few words before. And, sometimes he and Travis wound up arguing instead. But, Travis seemed to have a knack for helping him relax and calm down. "I don't think I'm capable of believing it yet. But you can tell me as often as you like until I do."
TJ slid his cold hands down Travis' chest to slip them inside his jacket and around his waist. Smirking wickedly, he pushed up the hem of Travis' shirt to warm his hands against Travis' skin. "As long as I'm good enough for you, I suppose I can learn to live with everything else." TJ rolled his eyes. "As long as she doesn't try to adopt me into her kumbyah family, I'll be fine."