"H-how long have you been standing there?" Nick eased himself into a sitting position and spoke shakily. He looked positively terrified. Joe said nothing. For almost a full minute he just stared at Nick, looking him in the eyes for the first time since he'd left Nick in the park. I looked between my two brothers as they stared at each other. Nick was shaking and breaking heavily. It was so quiet that I swore I could almost hear the racing of his heart. Joe stood, his body calm and breath regular. A few silent tears inching slowly down his cheeks were the only indication that something out of the ordinary was going on. I wanted to break the silence, but this was between Nick and Joe…anything I did, even getting up and leaving, would effect the natural happenings.

Joe moved suddenly and I started slightly, shocked. He walked briskly towards us, stopping just short of the bed and without hesitation he grabbed the collar of Nick's sweatshirt with his right hand, pulled him to his feet and into the single most passionate kiss I had ever seen. Within seconds, Joe let go of Nick's sweatshirt and wrapped his left arm around Nick's waist, pulling him closer. His left hand rested on the slight dip in Nick's waist. Nick's arms wrapped loosely around Joe's neck and he worked his jaw slightly, intensifying the kiss. I stared in awe as Joe held Nick close to him even after the kiss was done. I could hear Nick sniffling and Joe pushed Nick back gently so that he could look at him. "Are you alright?" Joe asked.

"Yeah." Nick nodded, wiping away a couple of his tears as he nodded.

"Are you sure?" Joe rested his hand gently on Nick's shoulder.

"Yeah." Nick nodded again. "Just a little confused."

"What's confusing?"

"This…us…what you just did, I mean…you don't feel the same do you?" Nick looked up at Joe, confused.

"Yes! Good god yes." Joe nodded. "Do you realize how hard this is for me? Knowing what I did to you and feeling the way I do?" Joe wiped away one of his own tears.

"I told you, I forgive you."

"I don't understand how you could." Joe sighed. "But I'm glad that you did...because I'm not totally sure how much longer I could have gone without going crazy."

"I love you." Nick moved closer to Joe again and kissed him softly on the lips, shorter this time.

"Look…" Joe sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "If you can't sleep and you need someone to hold you, I promise to keep my hands above your waist." Joe looked up at Nick, slightly embarrassed.

"I'd like that." Nick nodded. I smiled slightly as I watched my brothers interact in such an intimate, loving manner.

"Kevin, I think that I'm gonna go with Joe…" Nick came back over to me and gave me a big hug.

"Are you glad that you got it out?" I asked, whispering in his ear. "Does it feel better to know that he knows?"

"And that he feels the same way?" I could practically hear Nick smiling into my ear.

"Congratulations kid, go sleep, ok? You need it."

"Ok. Thanks for listening to the rants of a stupid seventeen year old." Nick pulled away from me and walked back towards Joe.

"Anytime." I smiled as he took Joe's hand.

"Good night Kevin." Joe smiled shyly at me as he pulled Nick gently from the room. I sighed and lay back on my bed, suddenly exhausted. Things didn't suck anymore. Nick had what he wanted, Joe could look him in the eyes, they were in love, and I was content. It didn't matter that horrible things had happened or that we would live with the memories of the past year for the next fifty – everyone was happy all at once for the first time since the incident and that made it all worth it. I reached over and shut my light off, much anticipating a full night of sleep. I crawled under the covers and hugged my pillow to me so that I would have something to hold. It was comforting, it was perfect.

o.o.o.o.o

I woke up the next day and looked over at my digital clock. The red letters on it read 2:54 PM. I let out a deep groan, smiling slightly. Just the fact that I had managed to sleep that long was an indicator that last night's events had not been a dream. I would never have slept that long if I was worried about Nick and Joe and the only way that I wouldn't be worried about them was if they were happy…and I had the feeling that, after what had gone down last night, they were. I pulled myself out of bed and went downstairs to make coffee. "Morning." I yawned at my father.

"Why is no one awake earlier?" He grinned.

"Joe and Nick are still asleep?"

"Both doors are closed, I assume so." He nodded.

"It was a long night…you know, one year? We were all up pretty late freaking out, trying to deal with the memories and shit." I shrugged.

"You ok?"

"I am not, yeah. Joe and Nick seem to be better."

"You want to go see if you can wake them up? I'll take you guys out for lunch."

"Alright." I nodded and took my coffee mug upstairs. I knocked lightly on Joe's door, but no one answered, so I pushed it open slightly. Joe was curled up on the bed in a tiny ball while Nick's arms wrapped around him. They both looked peaceful and I thought that there was a hint of a smile on Nick's lips. I smiled and shut the door, knowing that of all the things I could do right now, waking them up would probably be the worst.

"Any luck?"

"Let's you and I go out, let them catch up on a year of lost sleep."