I fell back into Diary of a Wimpy Kid after forgetting this book series existed in the past decade (thank you AO3 writers for making me wanna read it again). This was supposed to be a short story, but I have no self-control, enjoy.
Rodrick had just arrived at the large house where the party his bandmates and friends had told him about, yet he nearly felt like going back home already. This was apparently thrown by one of their old classmates. Supposedly to see again some of the people they graduated with, but he felt like it was just a reason to throw some party. From the look of it, it wasn't just filled with college students, rather young faces were mixed in the crowd, not that he was really shocked, he had been to his fair share of college parties when still in high school.
Any other day he would have been down to a good party and gotten drunk, but he wasn't really feeling it. He had gotten off work not too long ago, only passing by home so he could change into something better than his work uniform. A job he had been half forced to take, or else he would have been kicked out by his dad. As supportive as his mother tried to be of his band, Frank didn't sound that convinced and wanted him to at least get a job that actually paid, or else he'd be forced to leave.
So, after a shift at a job he didn't like, which should have ended at 6 pm but instead extended until 8:30 since he was forced to take over someone else's shift, he was not too interested in partying.
'I'm already there' he thought to himself with a deep sigh, 'Might as well go in and chat a little bit with people and get a drink before going back home'. Maybe Ben was right, he had been a bit stressed lately trying to balance his job and the Löded Diper, a little party couldn't do bad.
He sighed again, quickly sending a message to his friends to say he was there. He made his way to the opened front door, quickly greeting familiar faces on his way. He ended up in the living room, checking his phone to see if one of his friends had seen his message, looking up when he heard his name called out.
"Hey man, you made it! Was starting to wonder if you had died somewhere" Ben laughed loudly over the music as he got close to Rodrick, an arm thrown around a girl. She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't put a name on her face.
"Tsk," he reacted, still annoyed at how his day had been, "I was forced to fill in for someone who called in sick last minutes because no one else could come in" he replied, "Couldn't get here earlier".
Ben nodded while the girl next to him giggled a little. "Anyway, some people were happy to hear you'd come," Ben commented, Rodrick grinning a bit amused at the statement. Rodrick hadn't really kept in touch with his old classmate, not anyone he was really close enough to do so.
"You should go get a drink and enjoy the night," the blond next to his friend said while holding up her own cup with a smile, "The kitchen has everything".
Rodrick nodded to this, patting Ben's shoulder when he passed him, saying he'd be back once he got himself something. The place was pretty huge, but after a little wandering around, he found the kitchen, which was a bit less crowded than the other rooms.
"It's getting close to ten, we should go," He heard as he got into the kitchen, the voice sounding rather familiar. A voice he heard on a weekly basis. He wasn't going to pay attention to it though, as it didn't sound like any of his friends or recognised the voice as someone he'd like to have a discussion with.
"Come on Rowley, we got here like thirty minutes ago, I didn't go through all this trouble to sneak out to go back so early" an even more familiar voice replied back, sounding exasperated.
This made Rodrick's head snap to the other side of the kitchen, ignoring the island that had a variety of bottles on it. Opposite him, near the sliding door leading to the backyard, he found someone he never thought he'd find here.
Greg.
"But who's going to give you a ride back home?" Rowley asked, sounding unsure about his friend's insistence on staying.
"I'll just find someone to take me home" Greg replied with a roll of his eyes.
"But you don't really know anyone here, it's not safe to get into a stranger's car" his friend pointed out. Rodrick couldn't help to somewhat agree on this, he'd hardly trust some of the people here.
"Come on Rowley, I'm sure I'll fi–" "I'll take him home".
Rodrick couldn't help the little smirk that came to him upon seeing how surprised his little brother looked. He had suddenly tensed up, eye looking wide before quickly turning towards him. Clearly, he too hadn't expected to meet him here tonight.
"R-Rodrick?!" He squeaked, looking a bit nervous. Understandable, seeing he had just been caught sneaking out of the house. Though he did saw him relax pretty quickly, the initial shock gone. Had it been a couple of years ago maybe he would have only grown even more anxious.
He stopped next to them, messing up Greg's hair a little. "Damn, don't look so surprised, you thought I wouldn't come to such a big party? I should be the one surprised seeing you there, hope you learned well from me about sneaking out of the house".
Greg rolled his eye at the last statement, probably thinking that obviously he had been sneaky and their parent didn't know. He instead turned to him with a smile, "You'd bring me back home?" he asked sounding a bit relieved to have found a lift back home.
"Yeah, I was gonna stay a couple of hours, might as well take you back with me when I do" he simply replied, "Not like I intend to play taxi for those guys tonight". although his friends all mostly had their licence, they didn't all have cars, so he often ended up being the one dropping people off. He was too tired for that tonight. Plus, he felt like at least one of his friends might have someone else tonight.
Rowley gave him a once over, not looking too convinced, but turned back to his friend when Greg started assuring him he'd be alright with Rodrick driving him home. "Plus, I won't be alone, you know a couple of other kids from our class are here" his brother mentioned. Greg's friend gave up after a while, seeing Greg was clearly intending on staying here late into the night.
When they were left alone, Rodrick decided to take a better look at his brother. He noticed Greg was wearing the pair of ripped jeans they bought together, unbeknownst to their mother, and a band t-shirt he was pretty sure was stolen from his room. Didn't look too bad.
"I have some people to go back to," Rodrick said after messing up his hair some more, which earned him an annoyed groan, "Try not to get too wasted, I don't want you throwing up in my van" he simply commented.
"I'm not a baby, Rodrick! I know how to drink" Greg immediately replied, punching him weakly on the arm.
"Yeah sure, says the kid who never goes out of the house" Rodrick teased with a laugh. This seemed to annoy his brother a little more, nearly missing the quiet "Not like it's my fault" he mumbled to himself.
"Anyway, enjoy yourself," Rodrick said, before going to get himself a beer, the reason he had actually come to the kitchen in the first place.
Once he got what he had been looking for, he went to join back his friend, who was now talking with their other bandmates and a couple of old classmates. He managed to easily slip into the conversation, catching up with people. This is pretty much how the next two hours went, as Rodrick chatted with people while enjoying his beer.
But after two hours, Rodrick was somehow abandoned by his friends, probably off flirting with some girls. After grabbing himself another beer, he decided that he had done enough catching up, trying to find himself a spot to sit at.
The living room had all its seating spots pretty much already taken, while most of the standing space here had turned into a dancing floor. Not that surprising, seeing the music was probably the loudest here, aside from outside where he assume there were speakers too. He found a corner table, assuming it was made sturdy enough for his weight. He just made sure the vase of fake flowers was closer to the corner. He doubted that crashing it to the ground would be put on him, seeing what the place already looked like, but he still didn't feel like dealing with trouble.
So he simply sat in his corner, the table being a bit high giving him a nice view of the room. Were it just for him, he'd probably be making his way home already despite it only being midnight, but Greg had yet to ask him to go back home. He was pretty sure this was his little brother's first real big party and he'd let him enjoy it as much as he wanted, even if he was getting tired.
Not long after finding his new spot, he noticed Greg being dragged by a couple of girls to the dancing floor. He was able to recognise the blonde at his side, Holly being part of Greg's little friend circle. Though he couldn't really tell who the others were, probably some of the girl's other friends.
He couldn't help an amused grin on his lips as he watched his baby brother being slowly made to dance, clearly gaining confidence from whatever his friend was telling him. Maybe the alcohol, which he was pretty sure his brother had drunk, was helping his brother be a bit looser than usual.
As he leaned back again the wall while watching his brother, Rodrick ended up lost in his thoughts.
Had it been their relationship from a couple of years ago, Rodrick would probably have threatened to tell their parents about the nearly 17 years old sneaking out to a party. Or maybe he would have used it as blackmail, knowing very well Greg would have nothing on him. He was an adult now and his parent had seemingly somewhat given up on him. But Greg, that was another story, he was supposed to be a good child, "not like his older brother".
But it wasn't them from a couple of years ago, never throughout the night had he thought of telling their parent. Quite the contrary actually, he was ready to cover up for Greg.
Over the past two years and a half, the brothers had grown closer to each other. Less hostile towards one another. More here and ready to help than anyone else in their family could claim to be. Sure, they still bantered and pulled pranks on each other, but it wasn't as hostile and aggressive as it once was, never in the idea to get one or the other in trouble.
Maybe part of what had gotten them closer was how no one else in the family was really there for them.
For a starter, neither of them was close to their extended family. Sure, they could have a conversation with them if they came to visit, but it was pretty much it. None of them had ever been involved much in their life, probably barely knowing what kind of people they were. All they knew was either from the couple hours they met or what they heard from other people.
Frank had grown pretty indifferent to Rodrick, having clearly given up on him. The older Heffley had known their father wasn't the most supportive of his band, but the man had just given up. They barely really exchange words aside from at the dinner table or when his father had something to complain about him.
Even with Greg, the man seemed somewhat indifferent. His middle son was clearly not interested in doing sport, still preferring video games and comics. Although he hadn't quite given up on his middle child, he was clearly not there for his son's interest either. The only time he really got involved was when Greg would mess up, always bringing back Rodrick as an example of what he shouldn't become.
Their father seemingly had expectations for what kind of boys he wanted, yet neither of them met his standard. Rodrick knew he had somewhat screwed it up for his brother, seeing how even stricter Frank could be with him compared to how he was with Rodrick.
Susan was, in a way, the exact opposite of their father. She was always too worried about everything, asking questions about everything they did and sometimes still treating them like children. Although Rodrick had to admit she wasn't as bad as she used to be with him, seeing he was an adult now, to his pleasure. She could still be somewhat of a worrywart towards him though, clearly not satisfied with how he hadn't "grown up" (like his father would say).
But he could see how it was wearing down his brother. Greg seemed tired of having their mother treat him as if he was still a 12-year-old, sometimes ending up grounded over restrictions that were put on him when he was that age and were then never changed. She was always trying to dig more into some personal shit and the more Greg would try to shut her out, the more she'd try to pry sometimes. He could still remember how Greg had nearly stopped bringing Holly over to hang out because his mother kept trying to see if they were together.
She clearly wanted the best for her middle son but was somehow going at it the worst way possible by treating him like a baby and never actually listening to him.
And then there was Manny. At the age of 3, the kid was somehow aware of their parent's favouritism toward him and this somehow became worse with time as he used it to his advantage. Although the kid seemed to not really bother him, either because he liked him enough not to do so or because was scared of what Rodrick would do. With Greg, it was another story.
He wasn't sure what Greg could have done for being the target of Manny's games. Maybe Greg was just unfortunately an easier target than Rodrick was. He had lost count of the number of times Manny had gotten away with something he did because he pinned it on Greg. Or the many times the child had blown situations out of proportion to get their brother in trouble. He even managed to get him in trouble when Greg hadn't even been near him, Greg now avoiding him like the plague when his mother wasn't forcing him to take care of Manny.
And this was nothing like how Greg and Rodrick would get each other in trouble, as neither really had any advantage to begin with. At the very least, throughout their pranks and bantered they were still times when they were able to have some fun depending on the situation. They were also able to get back at each other when they got the other in trouble.
This was just Greg being backed into a corner while he had no way to get back at their younger brother because he knew Manny would immediately be protected by their parent. Whatever the situation was, they would nearly always listen to what their youngest son was saying over the two eldest.
Maybe Manny's causing him trouble had been a factor in why Greg had, at the start of them getting closer, started to stop calling for their mom over the smallest thing and getting him in trouble. At the very least, Rodrick was sure it was the cause behind Greg shutting himself in his room most of the time or being away at his friend's house until the latest he could be.
Shouldn't be able to be accused of anything if he couldn't be there to cause the alleged trouble, right?
Two years ago he had noticed how Greg had started to slowly distance himself from them. And honestly, he couldn't blame him. Why try when your dad didn't care unless it was for yelling at your mistakes, your mom wouldn't treat you the age you are nor leave you the space you ask for and your younger brother was making your life hell (probably more than Rodrick ever really did)?
Although Rodrick knew he was never a good brother, probably still failed at times to be the best brother in the world, he had felt like helping him. Greg had been clearly warry at first of his attempt at trying to be a decent brother, probably thinking he was planning something. But soon enough, his younger brother warmed up to him again.
Rodrick had never realised just how tense their relationship had become until he was able to just sit in Greg's room, his younger brother looking more at ease around him than he had in years. It actually made him feel proud of himself for trying his best when his brother started feeling comfortable enough with him to talk to him about more personal things.
Their getting closer had somehow made their parent worry a bit as if expecting that Rodrick would be an even worst influence on his brother now that they were actually getting along. A bit ironic seeing how much their mother had wanted them to get along. He supposed it was probably fair with how he had been in his teenage years, but Rodrick just wanted Greg to have someone at home he could rely on. He also wanted to allow his brother to be a teenager without feeling like he needed to be careful all the time or treated like a child.
And he was really happy and satisfied today that he had worked on bettering their relationship, they had gone a long way. Now they were able to bond over each other's interests, even if the other wasn't as interested in said interest. There was something in him that could never stop him from smiling when he saw Greg in the crowd when he sneaked him at one of their music gigs.
Rodrick also knew that had their relationship not changed, Greg would probably never have been able to relax and enjoy the party with his friends tonight. Never would he have looked relieved and happy that Rodrick was suggesting taking him back home. Greg would have probably even called him to pick him up, knowing he would get his sleepy ass out of bed to go get him.
He was taken out of his thought when Chris came to him, nudging him a little as he looked in his baby brother's direction. "Damn, didn't know you bro was here tonight" the man commented with a laugh, leaning against the wall.
"He's finally having a bit of fun" Rodrick grinned before finishing his beer.
"He even managed to get himself a girl" Chris whistled, which made Rodrick arc a brow a little. He had once seen his brother kissing Holly on the couch, but he doubted they were actually together, or else he would have likely been told about it.
"Nah, they're just friends" he commented, before changing the subject a little, asking how his own flirting had been going. This distracted him a little, vaguely noticing how the blonde was saying her goodbye to Greg. Surprisingly enough his brother kept dancing even once his friend was gone, although a bit less energetically than before.
Chris stayed with him for a while, until the girl he was with earlier came to join him, trying to coax him to go somewhere more private. Rodrick gave a smirk to his friend, feeling like he wouldn't be seeing him for a little while.
Once alone, his gaze over the dancing mass again, wondering if Greg was still dancing or if he had gone somewhere else. He was somewhat surprised to see him still dancing, although this time he was joined by another young man. From the look of it, Greg was enjoying having his dancing partner's attention all on him. 'Of course, he would, the little attention seeker' Rodrick thought with a laugh.
He did arch a brow when he realised the other's young man's hands were all over his brother, not quite used to Greg letting people touch him so openly. Even his friend didn't do it so boldly or like this. 'As long as he's having fun' he shrugged, going back to just observing the crowd of people, enjoying the music. At least the playlist was alright.
He couldn't help but keep an eye on his little brother, just wanted to make sure he would be alright. Because despite how Greg didn't seem to mind most of the attention and touch around his waist and hip, he'd sometime look a bit uncomfortable when the other became more insistent and handsy. Rodrick was proud of his brother for seemingly putting his foot down and, from what he could only guess, telling him to quit touching his butt while removing his hands firmly. He seemed to be handling the situation okay.
But after a while, Rodrick couldn't help the frown on his face when he saw the other young man lean down, seemingly saying something into his brother's ears. It was probably not something good, since Greg looked a bit taken aback and uncomfortable, refusing whatever was suggested.
Some red flag raised in Rodrick's mind when he saw his brother frown, now looking angry as he seemed to refuse more forcefully. What made Rodrick jump off his spots on the corner table was when his brother was suddenly being forcefully pulled away, now looking panicked. He was clearly trying to make the other one let go, but Greg was pretty small compared to other boys his age, this guy was looking a lot bigger than him.
Rodrick quickly made his way through the crowd, seeing them going out of the house. It was a bit hard with people blocking his way, although many moved aside when they saw how pissed he was. He was relieved to find them easily not too far from the front door, Greg still struggling enough that it made dragging him harder. This other guy looks really ready to just pick him up.
"Hey, dickhead! He said let go" Rodrick barked, quickly making his way to them. Greg's eyes immediately lit up when he heard his voice, looking up at him. Before he knew it, his clenched fist hits the guy in the face barely letting him reply, making him let go of his brother in surprise.
He pulled Greg behind him, his brother happily hiding at his side. He did force his brother back a little when the guy came back to him, a fight starting between them. Rodrick did end up getting hit a handful of times, but the other seemed to be tipsy enough to let him punch him to the ground. He only stopped because Greg was anxiously asking him to, not wanting him to end up in trouble for beating someone up.
"I better not see you near my brother ever again or I won't stop at a couple of punches, got it?" he growled as he held the young man's collar tightly in his fist, before slamming him back to the ground again.
He went back to his brother, putting an arm around his shoulder to pull him away from the groaning guy. His brother did end up asking if he was alright, seeing he had gotten hit too, but he reassured him quickly that he had received worse before. As they walked he could feel Greg still trembling in his grasp, making him look down at him. "Do you want to go?" he asked quietly as he stopped walking. His brother simply nodded, so he led them back to his van.
He made his way to the driver's side of the van, both now hidden from the party goer, away from prying eyes, as he doubted the neighbour across the road were looking at the party. Greg still looked a bit shaken, making him want to go back to throw some more punches.
He had never been the best at comforting people, so he opened his arm as an offer if his brother needed it. He quickly had his arm full of his brother who hugged him tightly, returning the hug just as tightly. After some silence Rodrick finally started whispering against the top of his head, assuring him that everything was alright now, that this dickhead wouldn't touch him again and that his big brother was here to protect him.
They stayed like this for a while, until Greg had calmed down and had stopped shaking in his arms. When his younger brother pulled away he still kept his hand on his shoulders. "Do you want to go home? We can go somewhere else to change your mind too if you want" he suggested. If he could make Greg feel better before going back home it would be good, so he wouldn't necessarily go home with this too freshly in his mind.
"Can… Can we just get something at the 7-eleven and hang out a bit?" his brother asked. Rodrick offered him a smile, ruffling his hair a little. "Of course" he replied, before telling him to get in.
When Rodrick started the old minivan, they stayed quiet, not even putting on his usual loud music. Though he did see Greg from the corner of his eyes looking through his CD, before putting in something. He quickly recognised it as one of his solo drumming recordings, smiling a little at his choice. The sound was low for Rodrick's standards, but he didn't touch it, letting his brother enjoy what he had put on.
It's not too long before they arrive at the 7-eleven, Rodrick following his brother inside. As he watches Greg get himself a slushy, he decided that he might as well get himself one too. On his way to join him at the cash register, his eye caught onto one of Greg's favourite snacks, which he decided to pick a pack of it too.
They're soon back to sitting inside his van, the same track playing quietly in the silence, this time coming from his phone as he left his car off. At first, they both stay quiet, the music, the sound of slurping and Greg eating his snack filling it.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Rodrick ends up asking after a while, looking back at Greg. At first, he only received silence and mentally accepted that maybe he doesn't want to talk about it, before his brother finally stops drinking his slushy.
"Everything… was going right at first" Greg started, brow knitting as he frowned down at his hands. "Then he started getting handsy with me even when I told him I didn't want him to, then he…" Greg continued before pausing again, taking in a deep breath, "Then he wanted me to go with him somewhere more quiet to… you know" his brother said, clearly not wanting to voice it fully although Rodrick had a pretty good idea what he might have wanted.
"He wasn't happy that I said no, and h-he started dragging me with him" Greg continued, his voice sounding shakier now, "I-it was so scary, I couldn't make him let go of me and I think I drank too much because I kept staggering and feeling too slow". Greg stopped when he felt Rodrick's hand on his hair, hand gently going through his hair trying to calm him down.
"It was so scary I didn't know what to do, no one seem to really notice I was struggling" Greg stated, "I was so relieved when I heard you calling out to him". They were quiet after this, Rodrick gently running his fingers through his hair.
The older brother wasn't sure what to reply immediately, thinking about it carefully, not wanting to sound like he was putting any blame on Greg for what happened. He also wanted to reassure him that he shouldn't be scared to go out again after his probably first party had ended so sourly.
"There are some creeps like this, but there are ways to keep them away or keep yourself safe" he decided to state, his hand going to simply rest on the backrest. "I'll have to admit, I usually see these kinds of guys after girls," Rodrick said, "but seeing how things are… I'd say to stay away from guys who are too insistent and handsy, don't get wasted and that's not just for safety, you'll feel like shit after anyway, not a good idea". He knew from experience that waking up with a hangover was no fun.
"Don't accept drinks from strangers, this is a bad idea, try getting it yourself or from a friend. I'd say stick with your friends or people you know, but I guess this isn't always possible" he pointed out.
"I'll remember that" his brother replied after a moment.
He wasn't sure if his advice were all that good, seeing he had never been in that kind of situation. They sounded pretty basic and Greg had likely already heard them before. Rodrick felt like he was just repeating what he had heard some girls say in the past.
Still, Greg nodded at his advice, before silence fell upon them again. The older Heffley went back to drinking his blue raspberry slushy, hoping he hadn't fucked up in the way he worded it. He truly didn't want Greg to feel like he had done something bad, there were guys like this everywhere, he probably just didn't know how to see the red flags well.
"You won't ask about it?" Greg then ended up asking quietly, making Rodrick look at him a bit confused. "About dancing like this… with a guy I mean" he clarified a bit awkwardly after throwing him a glance.
Oh. So Greg was also worried about that.
"I kind of already suspected it" Rodrick admitted, to which Greg quickly turned back to him with some surprise, "I just wasn't sure you wanted to talk about it" he shrugged.
"You… you suspected it?!" Greg asked, some worry now filling his eyes.
"Hey, hey! don't panic, I don't think the parent ever wondered about it and I obviously never shared that thought with them" he quickly said, not wanting his brother to suddenly panic on him about this.
Greg seemed reassured by his words, taking in a deep but shaky breath. "Okay," he quietly said, "Okay… good" he then repeated. Silence fell again for a moment, his younger brother taking a sip from his slushy to seemingly calm his nerve. "How did you start suspecting it?" Greg finally asked.
Rodrick gently drummed his fingers against his cup, looking at Greg with a small smile. "I saw you with a guy once when I went to pick you up at Holly's house" he admitted, "You were coming from the side of the house with him and I assume he kissed you goodbye".
He saw his younger brother look outside, the gears in his head clearly trying to remember when this was all about. Then he seemed to remember something because his eyes widen, looking back at him. "So you did see us?! Why didn't you say anything?".
Rodrick shrugged at his question, "You never asked me if I saw and I just assumed if you wanted to tell me you'd do so when you were ready," he simply stated.
"But wouldn't you have found it weird that I kissed a guy when having a massive crush on Holly," Greg asked, only to frown a little when his brother laughed.
"Nah, I'm ready to bet your crush on her had actually died down or gone away when you decide to explore with other guys" Rodrick smirked, drinking some slushy as he watched his brother look even more confused and surprised. "How would you know?"
"I saw you kissing Holly while watching a movie nearly a year ago" He admitted, which only shocked Greg even more, "I never told you because I was wondering if you would tell me about your brave boy moment" he explained before his brother could ask why he didn't mention it.
"After a while, it kind of slipped my mind, I just started noticing you were mentioning her less and less when it came to relationship topics, so I assume it had just not worked out or something" he added. "I saw you kissing that guy a couple of months later, so your past crush didn't really cross my mind".
Greg look at him with his mouth slightly agape, as if he couldn't believe him. "How are you this observant" his brother suddenly asked, making him shrug again. Silence fell on them again as Greg was seemingly taking in all that he had been told about how Rodrick had somewhat figured it all on his own just by noticing things and happening the walk in on some moment.
"Anyway, what happened with Holly? Was I right?" Rodrick ended up asking as he moved to change the song on his phone back to some drum solo.
"What?" Greg asked, before he finally caught up. "Oh um… Holly had apparently caught up on my crush" Greg started. 'Well, you weren't that subtle either' Rodrick thought to himself. "So she asked me about it and admitted she didn't really feel that way for me, we tried kissing to see if she might like it, but it didn't change anything" he admitted with a sigh.
"I guess my crush just started going away after being shut down like this, I didn't want to push her".
The older brother hummed at this, thinking it probably made sense. "What about the guy kissing you? Was he your first guy crush?" Rodrick asked, curious. Obviously, Greg had never told him about it, so he was kind of curious about how that turned out.
Greg seemed to hesitate a little, bitting at his slushy's green straw. "He kind of was? I mean, I-I had finally realised that I had an attraction towards other guys and that maybe I had in the past too, so I can't tell if I had other crushes, so I kind of see him as my first guy crush" Greg rambled as he answered.
"I… I had downloaded an app for teenagers and we ended up matching" Greg admitted.
"Never thought my baby bro had it in him to download a dating app," Rodrick teased, which earn him a weak punch to the shoulder.
"Anyway, we ended up realising we were at the same school and decided to try it out. We didn't really date I think, it was pretty much just to figure things out for the both of us" Greg continued, deciding not to argue with his brother. "I don't think it would have worked out if we dated" he then admitted, "We had no common interest really and he was really self-centred, always talking about himself".
Rodrick gave his brother a look at that comment about being self-centred, which earned him a roll of the eyes from Greg.
"Anyway!" Greg emphasised, ignoring his silent teasing, probably not to start a conversation about their personality, at least not again. "He at least helped me figure some stuff out".
"What was the result, do you like guys?" Rodrick asked, before finishing what was left of his slushy.
There was a slight pause before his little brother finally replied "Yeah, I also like guys".
To this Rodrick hummed and nodded, mumbling a "cool" while crunching on some ice.
Then it was quiet again in the car, aside from the music playing from his phone and his brother finishing his own slushy. Really, now that Greg's sexuality was actually pretty much something settled, he wasn't sure what to say. It was good to know, like this he could be there for his brother even more and if it were to be found out he'd be there to support him. Not that he wished for it to be suddenly found out by their family without it being directly from Greg himself.
"You aren't… gonna say anything about it?" Greg asked, looking at the leftover slushy he couldn't slurp with his straw anymore.
"Is there something I should say?" Rodrick asked, turning to him again, "I mean, I already said I kind of suspected it, I would have changed my way of acting around you way before otherwise" he pointed out. But maybe it was good to make it completely clear, so his brother wouldn't be able to worry about it.
"But really, you being straight, gay, bi or" started before finishing with a vague movement of his hand, gaining him a chuckle from his brother. He may not be that knowledgeable about sexuality, but he knew there were a bunch of labels out there. "Doesn't change anything for me, you're still going to be Greg, my annoying little brother" he finished with a grin, gaining another weak punch to his shoulder.
"But seriously," he said with a reassuring smile, "As long as you're happy with whoever you date, I'll support you". Rodrick had never been good with being serious or with too emotional topics, but he assumed he did well this time. Greg was looking at him with shiny eyes, looking visibly relieved and more relaxed than before, having probably not realised how tense he had gotten throughout the conversation.
"Thank you" he whispered, trying to wipe away his tears. "No need to thank me, it should be natural," Rodrick said, before turning on his seat, opening his arm again, "Come here". Greg accepted his hug for the second time tonight, the older Heffley gently rubbing his back as he rocked gently them from side to side a little.
Once they both calmed down from the emotional moment, especially Greg, Rodrick started the van again. "You must be tired after tonight" he commented, "Let's go home now so you can catch some sleep". He simply received a nod from his brother who settled back down into his seat, buckling up.
This time, as they were going home, they started to chat. Mostly Rodrick asking how his night had been overall, from sneaking out the house to the party, carefully avoiding how it ended. Although he didn't get much though since they weren't that far from home and his brother was clearly starting to be tired. He couldn't blame it, the end of the night had probably been a rollercoaster of emotion for him.
They made their way around the house to enter by the back door, Rodrick putting a finger to his lips to tell him to stay quiet. He carefully unlocked and opened the door, sneaking into the kitchen first, making sure the coast was clear. Only then did he wave for Greg to come in, his brother looking somewhat giddy, despite the tiredness, about sneaking back in after a party for the first time.
They quietly took off their shoes, making their way upstairs while being extra careful near their parent's door. They knew they were pretty safe once they reach the second floor. When they reached Greg's room, Rodrick wished him a good night as he made his way to the attic. He was stopped by his brother grabbing his wrist slightly.
"Thank you about tonight… for everything" Greg whispered with a small smile.
Rodrick smiled back, playfully ruffling his hair again as he whispered back "Always".
I'll probably try and write more of this canon-divergent setting I have. I like the idea of them getting closer as Greg gets older, while exaggerating their family a little bit. I dunno, just like the idea of Rodrick wanting to be a better big brother for Greg, even if he still teases him all the time.