Rain fell in intermittent sheets, cutting through the warm, humid air of late May, to drip off new green leaves and the tentative buds peeking out of trees in bloom. Summer vacation was only a few weeks away for many students, and for the senior classes, graduation. Excitement was high for those entering into adulthood, eager to take the next step in their lives, and their energy was palpable, humming in the air like a swarm of insects that the rain did nothing to dispel.

Standing just inside the front entrance, Jason peeked up at the grey, cloudy sky. He was getting ready to make a run for his car, after just having declined the invitation from some girls who offered to share their umbrella. Turning the collar of his jacket up, he stepped out into the surprisingly cold drizzle and walked quickly down the drive. He was just passing through the gate when someone stepped out from the blind spot of the post and into his path.

The dripping rim of a black umbrella rose, revealing the figure of Simon, wearing a tan jacket and pants, and a smile that did not reach his chilly blue eyes. "Major Travis," he said. "I was hoping to speak with you."

Jason squinted against the rain. "How can I help you, Mr...?"

Simon chuckled lightly. "I know you know who I am. Just like I know who you are."

"You know my name," Jason said. "But that doesn't mean you know who I am."

Smile smiled. "Oh, I disagree. I know who you are, and what you're doing to my little brother, and I'm here to ask you to please stay away from him." Still with that plastic smile that made him look like a painted doll.

Jason's back stiffened and he had to unclench his jaw to reply. "Happy to," he said, keeping his voice light. "As soon as David asks me to."

The plastic smile vanished. "I'm trying to be polite," Simon said. "David has been through a lot; it's made him vulnerable, and susceptible to certain...charms."

"I'm blushing."

Now it was Simon who had to unclench his jaw to speak. "He'll be with anyone who so much as gives him a kind word. I won't let him continue to be taken advantage of."

"Neither will I," Jason said. Stepping closer, his forehead almost touching the rim of the other man's umbrella, he continued. "I'm assuming you're going off of what you've heard from Ms. Davis. I've had this conversation with her before, but there's something I didn't get to ask her, so I'll ask you: what makes you so sure I'm bad for David?"

"Hanging around an underage boy and getting involved with him doesn't exactly make you look innocent."

Jason could not help but laugh, his voice mingling with the dull thud of raindrops on Simon's umbrella. "You know, it's funny," he said. "The first time I met David he was about to run away, and he knew no one would have noticed or even cared if he did. It was only when I took notice, when I cared about him, that anyone began to give a damn. When I came on the scene, suddenly everyone is concerned for David." Steely green eyes looked up and met chilly blue ones. "Where were you all when he was getting beaten?" Jason asked, his voice rising. "When he was being neglected? When he disappeared for three months? Where were you?"

"I was preparing!" Simon virtually shouted back. He could not deny the sting of the other man's accusations, but he had to believe it was for the greater good. "I always intended to come back for him."

Jason's mouth opened, green eyes flashing like lightening in the grey day. You're too late! He shouted silently. The words were on the tip of his tongue, so close to sound, but...he couldn't say them. Because he realized he didn't know if it really was too late or not for Simon to come back into David's life, for him to take David away.

Some, if not all of his internal struggle must have showed on his face, because Simon was watching him closely. After a beat of silence, he spoke. "I can't deny that you were there for David when he needed someone," Simon began, speaking slowly, almost reluctantly. "And maybe I owe you some gratitude for that. But when it comes down to it, who do you think David will pick: me, his brother, or you?"

The drizzle increased steadily, no longer sprinkling, but cutting through the humid air in cold sheets, filling the silence with the drum of water on the metal roofs of cars and the sloping cloth shelter of umbrellas.

**

Jason entered the apartment to find a light on in the living room, to defend against the gloom of the day. Outside it had begun to pour, no longer a steady calming rhythm, but an incessant pounding accompanied by rolls of thunder. He closed the door, put his keys on the hook, then shrugged out of his jacket. He paused to run a hand through his wet hair and over his face. After a deep breath, he went towards the light.

On the couch, he found David with his back against the arm rest and his bare feet on the seat, staring at his phone. It brought a smile to his face. "Hey," he said. "Look at you, glued to your phone like a normal teenager."

"I'm not glued to it, I'm—you're soaked," David said, upon seeing the other man standing with a puddle forming at his feet. Immediately getting up, he came around the couch. "How did you get so wet?"

"There's a joke in there somewhere," Jason said.

"There's hot water, so go take a shower and I'll make some tea."

"You take such good care of me. Come here, let me give you a hug." He reached for the young man, who dodged his embrace, and after playfully chasing him around the room, finally caught him long enough to give him a wet kiss and shake his head to spray him with water.

"You're in a weird mood today," David said, wiping his face with the sleeve of his hoodie as Jason laughed.

"Must be something in the water," Jason called over his shoulder, heading for the bedroom and that shower. When he came back, David was back on the couch in the position he'd been before, with the phone in his hand. Two cups of tea steamed on the coffee table, along with a plate of cookies.

"Glued," Jason said, tapping David on the head as he passed behind him.

"Drew gave me his number," David said, turning his head to follow Jason as the other man circled around him, picked up a cookier and took a bite.

Dressed in an army T-shirt and soft pants, and rubbing a towel through his hair, Jason sat beside David on the couch. "That's how it starts," he said. "Before you know it, you'll be going out to football games and picking up chicks together." He laughed as David nudged him with his feet.

"It's just for class stuff," David said. He looked down at the phone, where Drew's contact information was displayed. They had not really spoken about what had happened in the bathroom a few days before, but they had exchanged numbers to coordinate for a project for Bailey's class.

"Doesn't have to be," Jason said, pulling the young man's legs onto his lap. "Why don't you call him?"

"What, on the phone?"

"Yes, on the phone."

David paused. "What do I say?"

"Hello?"

"And after that?"

Jason laughed. "I don't know. Invite him over for a movie or something. You can even say it's related to the project."

"Can I?" David asked. "He doesn't know about you."

"I don't have to be here."

David frowned. That didn't feel right to him. He had looked down at the phone once more when the screen changed from Drew's contact to an incoming call. His eyes widening slightly, David sat up slightly and said, almost breathlessly, "It's Simon."

A cold slice went through Jason. He was about to bite into his cookie, but instead tossed it back onto the plate. He had decided not to tell David about his encounter with Simon. At least, not yet. He didn't know what Simon would say, if anything.

"Hello?" David answered, sitting forward. "No, it's fine." Swinging his legs off Jason, he stood. "Yes, I remember. Really?" He laughed quietly, the smile lingering on his face as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen, phone to his ear.

Jason watched him go. The way David spoke about Simon, the change in his voice when he did, and the expression on his face when he thought about him—they were not easy to ignore. Maybe, Jason thought, he was just kidding himself, thinking he was even in the running when it came to David's future.

Faintly, from the kitchen, he could hear David's voice, just a cheerful tone without distinctive words.

With a deep sigh that seemed to come from his whole body, Jason got to his feet. Picking up his cup of steaming tea, he went into the bedroom and quietly shut the door on the sound of laughter.