I highly recommend you go back and read the chapters once more! There have been a lot of things I changed, fixed, added as well as the plot going in a different direction.

I'm sorry for the way; I went through a heavy bought of depression in the last couple of years and been trying to get my life back in order. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you all enjoy it! Your reviews mean everything to me.


Greg had not seen this coming.

He figured Rodrick telling Holly that their family wanted to spend some time on the lake was just a small ruse to get her to leave. His older brother had been the type to recoil at any family outings, after all, choosing to sulk away in the corner and keep their family at arm's length away, and for what reason? Greg didn't know, and after all these years, he didn't think he ever would. So when he came to realize that they were going out on the lake as a family, his expression was all Rodrick needed to see to burst out laughing, hand ruffling Greg's hair where he proceeded just to roll his eyes and swat those offending fingers away.

It was still weird, Rodrick trying to be careful. Trying to not be an ass to him. It felt nice though, strange but sweet.

He could see his parents off ahead in their little purple paddle boat. Manny was sitting with them like always, in the middle, not having to do any of the work. This left Greg and Rodrick to be paired up in their blue paddle boat, his older brother obviously being in charge of steering as Greg kept his arms crossed over his bright red life jacket. Both of them would have liked not to have to wear one, but apparently, it was a rule that life jackets were mandatory — something about the campsite not wanting to be liable for any drownings or whatever.

The sun was high in the sky, not a cloud in sight as the rays cast a warm glow onto their skin, warming them up the way the only summer could. The fresh lake water splashed onto their feet, sweat trickling down the back of their necks from the heat. Eyes drifted along the far side of the lake, the trees and foliage aligning their edges. People were running along the path that seemed to interconnect at every crossroad. His thoughts were calm, tranquil in a way that he hadn't felt since they started this trip.

Greg chanced a glanced to the side, blinking slightly as Rodrick's dark brown gaze locked onto his own. He couldn't help but feel like Rodrick had something on his mind, eyes swirling with unanswered questions with a face set so impassively Rodrick just looked frustrated. It left Greg feeling annoyed, trying to fathom a guess at what his older brother could be thinking about but coming up with nothing.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He whispered out, tone confused with an under a layer of suspicion. Despite their weird truce, Greg still didn't feel 100% safe around Rodrick, always waiting for the next punch line.

"Nothing," Rodrick replied, turning his gaze back towards the open water in front of them. His older brother was like a brick wall that wouldn't fall, an impenetrable fortress that never wanted to let anybody inside. Greg knew relatively nothing about Rodrick, which didn't seem right.

"Are you sure, you're acting kind of weird? And I don't mean the normal kind of weird, either." Greg prodded out, his tone showing that he wasn't going to stop till he got what he wanted. His finger poked at Rodrick in the shoulder for emphasis, repeatedly. Rodrick swatted at Greg's offending hand, glowering at him with dark eyes. Greg was pouting slightly, brows furrowed. Greg was shuffling nervously in his seat at the stare but trying to play it off as if he was just fixing his swim trunks, taking everything in him to not tear his gaze away.

"What do you think of me?" Greg was not expecting Rodrick to ask him that. Eyes blinked, confused, trying to process what he said.

"What do you mean?" Greg didn't know why he said that it had been a pretty straight forward question. His mind short-circuited, not thinking he would get this far with Rodrick, the Rodrick who never asked what people thought or cared about what they wanted.

"I mean what I mean, I don't know how much more specific I can be." Rodrick scowled at him, offended by his question if the tone in his voice was anything to go by. Greg finally tore his gaze away, lips set in a thin line and feeling stupid for asking. Even if Rodrick had seemed to show signs of being more supportive, Greg still knew how easily annoyed Rodrick got, that didn't change. Greg scratched the back of his head, hair ruffling as he contemplated what to say.

"You've been an asshole to me most of my life. Don't give me that look, you're asking for my opinion." Huffing slightly as Rodrick just glared at him, the other male not enjoying that at all. Thoughts of the previous night's ricocheting in his mind, Greg's eyes were looking at his feet, which were continuously paddling, just wanting to do something to help quiet his nerves.

"I never know what your goal is or why you do the things you do. I'm not afraid to say that you scare me sometimes if we're honest. But…" Greg could see from the corner of his eyes that Rodrick's shoulders slumped slightly, not able to read his face, but Greg was feeling waves of sadness washing over him.

"You can be nice sometimes, and protective towards me if you think I'm getting in trouble, especially when I got picked on by others at school when you went there. I know you haven't always thought the best of me. Sure, older brothers pick on younger brothers all the time, but sometimes you do take it a bit too far." Greg gnawed his bottom lip, furrowed eyes glaring slightly at the mosquito that landed on his knee, slapping it before it could draw blood.

"Which frustrated me, because I never know what you're thinking and whether or not you're going to be the nice older brother or the one who hurts and uses me." Greg exhaled softly, feeling like a heavyweight had lifted off his shoulders. He didn't dare look at Rodrick, fearing what the other might look like or what he might say. Most of all, he was afraid of getting punched out of the paddleboat.

Greg finally stole a small glance at Rodrick from the corner of his eyes when the older man didn't respond in any way. His older brother seemed to be in deep thought, which startled him. His brother seemed to be listening to him, what he had to say instead of brushing him off as a nuisance. A small bubble of hope swept its way across his heart, a short squeeze in his chest that warmed him up despite the coolness of the lake on his skin.

Greg didn't know what else to do but sit there and paddle away, which he noticed Rodrick had stopped doing — making the boat go in a slight arch, pulling away from everyone. It wasn't like there was anywhere to go; the lake was a giant circle.

A few more moments passed and still nothing. The thoughts of trying to steer the conversation to something a little less dense crossed his mind, but he was wondering what Rodrick would say. He wanted to know what Rodrick thought of him too, how he saw him, what he felt for him. So many thought filtered through his brain that Greg couldn't pinpoint what he wanted most. He wanted to be seen and heard by someone he valued highly.

"I don't hate you, at least, I don't hate you anymore." Greg's head whipped towards Rodrick, eyes wide and blinking in surprise. That was not the type of response he was expecting to get, but at least it was a start. Greg had been brutal and truthful; he should have anticipated Rodrick to do that same.

Greg knew that his older brother might have felt a dislike for him, but he never thought of it as a full-on hatred. Granted, Rodrick said he 'used' to hate him; it was most likely why the small pang in his chest that coiled around his heart didn't make him feel as suffocated as he usually would.

"Wow, you hated me, I had no idea." The bite in his voice was noticeable as he rolled his eyes, but Greg gave no other indication of needing to say anything else. Thoughts suddenly drifted towards the previous night, the touches, the warmth, the fact it was utterly wrong, and yet he couldn't stop thinking about it. Greg didn't know what it was about Rodrick; he just couldn't let things go when it involved his older brother.

They were family, brothers, and despite how hard Rodrick was on him, all the horrible things he put him through, Greg still looked up to him, as fucked up as that was. Despite how wrong he felt. The progress Rodrick was making in such a short time made Greg feel hopeful, a small tangible line was being tossed his way, and his fingers couldn't help but wound their way tightly around it. Fingers clenched white for fear of losing the only positive connection he was able to get with his older brother in years.

"You always do that. You try to make everything into a joke; it drives me crazy sometimes with how annoying it can be." Rodrick growled out, fist-clenching around the steering rod, plastic crunching slightly underneath. Greg slouched further in his seat, suddenly very interested in what was in front of him instead of his now frustrated brother.

"And even though it's annoying, you've managed to cheer me up quite often. Turned my mood around when I thought it'd be something I'd be continuously angry over." Greg nibbles his lip as Rodrick continued his rant that strangely enough was starting to sound more like compliments, as backhanded as they were. His eyes lifted to Rodrick, face turning as he watched Rodrick's furrowed face, noticing the small smile stretched across his older brother's lips.

"You're supportive, with this frustrating need to help fix things that make you dive headfirst into annoying situations that don't even involve you in the first place. You're not afraid to stick up for what you believe in despite the consequences or what people might think. You're also really stubborn, pig-headed, and infuriating." Rodrick let out in a long breath, becoming slightly more animatic as he started gesturing with his hands at everything he was saying. Greg couldn't help but smile at this, finding it almost endearing if it wasn't for the fact Rodrick had just flipped to insulting him again.

"You're also loyal." Rodrick licked his lips, an action Greg followed. "You would do anything for your friends. Which is why I know you'll continue to keep this a secret and follow my rules, right?" Greg's breath got caught in his throat, eyes widening before they narrowed, hurt coursing through his veins. Was this all this was, Rodrick saying pretty things to him, the both of them opening up to try and figure whatever this was, only so that Greg wouldn't tell. Not like he would, he had agreed to the deal, and he wasn't about to break a promise. This whole thing infuriated him beyond belief, his body surging upwards as he stood with a foot on his seat and the other bellow. Greg was keeping his balance despite the swaying of the paddle boat Eyes staring heatedly at Rodrick, who, in turn, just returned his look with one of surprise.

"You always do this!" Greg threw it back in Rodrick's face. "Anything you do or say is only ever about yourself and what you can get out of it. The best way to protect your ass while getting everyone else in trouble or hurting them. Here I thought you were changing; seems it was too much to ask to have an older brother who gave a shit about me for once." His eyes stung, lip trembling slightly at the sudden flare of emotions gripping his body. Sight foggy with unshed tears, not wanting to blink in fear, everything will just spill out. He felt a hand suddenly grip his arm, digging, he quickly yelled no and wrenched his arm away, the force of his pull causing him to slip and topple over into the lake water bellow followed by Rodrick who had reached out a second later to try and stop him.

Waves crashed around them both, the pressure as the cold chill froze over his heated body. He thought he had swallowed a little bit of the water, worrying he might drown when his head and body came bobbing back up for air, the life jacket doing its job as he floated. Greg sputtered and coughed, eyes shut as the water was dripping down his hair and face, intermingling with the tears he could now hide.

"Are you okay?" Water rippling towards Greg as Rodrick threaded the water, keeping his distance. He couldn't stop the sad huff that left his mouth, Chocolate brown eyes looking at Rodrick as if he couldn't believe how dense he was.

"What do you think?" He spat out, kicking his legs angrily beneath him to keep himself from toppling to the side, staying upright with his puffy life jacket.

"I think you took whatever I said and twisted it around into something worse than it was. Talk to me, tell me what I did to make you so angry, because frankly I have no idea, and that irritates me." Rodrick reached his hand over and hooked a finger into the straps of Greg's life jacket, his other hand reaching out for the paddle boat, dragging them both through the water so that they could be hidden behind it. Greg's hand reached to encircle around Rodrick's wrist, trying to pry himself out as he tried to kick Rodrick away. His older brother was more prepared at dodging his blows, Rodrick's arm keeping him at just the right distance apart to not be able to reach. Greg went ahead and grasped the side of the paddle boat with his free hand for more leverage, resting for the time being and seething inside as he looked away, not wanting to give Rodrick the satisfaction of listening to him.

"No, I'm not talking to you. You don't care about me, stop pretending like you do." He felt a jerk, ripping his body through the water as his face was almost brushing up against Rodrick, their noses touching as his eyes lurched upwards, eyes hard and unhappy.

"You don't know how I feel; I do care. I care a little bit too much if we're still honest. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't give you the time of day. I know you're not stupid, so stop acting like you are." Lips trembled as Rodrick yelled this at him, his words becoming more of a whisper as he realized it wasn't just the two of them out there on the lake. All Greg could hear was the wind whistling past leaves, distant laughter, ordinary families, the water hitting against the plastic of the boat. He could also hear the exhales from Rodrick mouth, their breaths intermingling with one another, the closeness of their body and face causing a growing heat. Rodrick said he cared about him, but he kept wondering if he really did, then why was he making everything so hard. Why did he continue kissing him? Doing the things he did. It didn't seem like it was about Holly anymore, so what exactly was Rodrick getting out of all of this?

It couldn't possibly be because Rodrick, liked him?

Greg drew back and shook his head, ripples in the water from his movements, ridding himself of those thoughts, and wanting his heart to stop feeling like it was beating out of his chest, the pounding in his ears was deafening. He shouldn't be feeling this way, not when the way he was starting to feel was cause by none other than his older brother, whom he was currently still angry with to boot.

Greg felt the hold on him loosened, noticing the hand trail itself back into the water where they touched light at his underwater hand. The body in front of him moved to the side before pulling themselves back into the paddle boat. Greg swam in place, one hand still grabbing the edge to keep him close, confused. It was a pretty quick change of discussion, but he hadn't expected for Rodrick to back down and just leave. Nibbling his bottom lip, he wiped at his dampened cheeks, cursing the water for his red eyes. Glancing upwards, he was met with a hand reaching down to him, fingers outstretched, waiting, giving him another choice.

Eyes trailing upwards, the look on Rodrick's face would be etched onto his mind forever. It was neither happy nor sad, no anger detected, but the amount of hurt he could feel from that small smile left him feeling light-headed, his eyes telling him more than his words might ever give. It scared him.

Before he could even stop himself, his hand reflectively went and held onto Rodrick's outstretched fingers, letting his older brother drag him out of the water without a struggle. Legs feeling like jelly from their conversation and his possible realization, he underestimated his balance and the slipperiness of their boat. Greg went down as his arms wound their way on Rodrick's shoulders, a small squeak as his feet gave way, a little yelp, and the shutting of his eyes as they suddenly both went tumbling awkwardly into the boat. It ricochets from side to side, waves of water falling on both of them. Their arms and legs were sticking out in weird angles as both groaned in slight pain, bodies rubbing against slipping against each other as they tried to upright themselves.

"Stop moving for a damn second!" He did. Greg dropped like dead weight back onto Rodrick, causing a grunt of air to escape from his older brother.

"Not like that…but okay." Rodrick gritted out, his fingers holding Greg in place as they both started to catch their breath, the crisp air causing goosebumps to jump across their skin. Processing their position didn't take long for Greg to figure out. His fingers were grasping Rodrick's wet shoulders and chest, their legs intermingling with one another as their skin rubbed, the friction sending jolts up his spine. His face raised, noticing just how close their faces were to each other as his eyes suddenly trailed down to Rodrick's parted lips. His earlier thoughts were crossing through his mind about his older brother, maybe liking him, a small kind of heat ghosting across his cheeks as a sudden feeling of wanting to kiss Rodrick filtered through him. The way their bodies and heads were placed was slightly hidden from view, their boat had already been far away from prying eyes, to begin with. He didn't fear being noticed; he shuddered for what his body was trying to make him do while having no control over it. A certain kind of pull that kept drawing him closer to Rodrick.

Eyes half-lidded as he drew his face even closer, feeling the small, tense stillness of Rodrick, thinking it silly that now of all time, Rodrick was holding himself back. Greg's mind was hazy, body aching for something he didn't know. Their lips touched, Greg hesitating before a sign of sudden courage pulled him forward, pushing their mouths as one. It felt soft and wet, a kind of heat he hadn't expected as he drew himself more into it. Greg didn't push more for entrance, forming himself around Rodrick in a way that seemed most comfortable to him.

It finished just as quickly as it began, Greg drawing back with a small jolt, eyes widening at the realization of what he just did. He had wanted it, and had liked it! Greg could feel his chest and neck flaming with heat, embarrassment, and mortification seizing his body as he pulled himself off of his older brother, almost sitting on top of his seat, squatting slightly. Everything felt like too much, Greg having a hard time trying to calm his racing thoughts as they fired away, scenarios and reasons filling his head that he had no idea how to deal with at the current moment.

"Ah…" Greg cursed at himself, his growing shame bubbling up, suffocating him as he looked at everything, but Rodrick, he was currently placing himself back upright.

"What was tha-?" Rodrick had started to say after what felt like minutes of silence, Greg feeling progressively more on edge the longer he stayed around his brother. The sounds of Rodrick's voice low and gravelly, gripping at something in him, lurking with the boiling heat he felt between his legs.

"I'm going to swim back. Bye!" Greg cut off quickly as soon as he felt the tightness, throwing himself into the water before Rodrick could do anything to stop him. The splash against his skin stung slightly, but he paid no mind, the adrenaline he was feeling allowing him to push himself the hardest he's ever done at swimming. Greg had been glad he didn't catch any kind of expression he had worn after Greg drew back from the kiss, wanting nothing more than to take another shower, shoving down a large tub of ice cream to freeze his lingering thoughts.

Groaning to himself as soon as his arms and legs started hurting from the strain of how completely inactive, he was.

This sucked.