[It's a lot the latter, really; by the time Hermann arrived Chris and Ashley had gotten more comfortable with the idea of actually being in a relationship and so were being slightly less guarded about it, but the big reason had been that Chris was pretty sure Hermann wasn't--and isn't--the type to meddle in the sort of way they'd wanted to avoid. Chris has had enough of anyone meddling in his relationships to last a lifetime.

Hermann's response is so unexpectedly salty that Chris starts laughing, though he quickly tries to stifle it a bit. He's not sure how much laughing Hermann's mood can handle.]

Yeah, it was definitely easier with Ash.

Fortunately uh, most people here honestly don't care too much about this sort of thing, though.