The boys were playing SkyRim when a knock at the door paused their progress. Sebastian came in with a small smile.

“Hey, boys. Having fun?” The smile remained through his question and he sat down on the bed. The boys turned to face him.

“Is it time for me to go home now?” Basil couldn’t help the disappointment in his voice and face. 

“Uh, no, actually. Basil, your mom just called…” How was he going to say this? “Your grandmother had a stroke this afternoon and your mom has asked if you could stay here so she can stay there for a while and help.”

Basil felt his throat close. How could this be? “I-is she okay? She didn’t…” He couldn’t finish the question.

“She’s alive, Basil, but she’s not out of the woods yet.” Basil nodded and closed his eyes while trying to keep himself together. “Your mom said she will call in a couple days with an update as to her status.” Sebastian sighed lightly. There was nothing he could do here. He glanced at Jaxsen with a look that said to watch out for him. Jaxsen nodded slightly and watched as Sebastian stood. “I’m sorry, Basil. I wish I could do more.”

When they were alone again Jaxsen looked to his friend who was sitting absolutely still and staring at his hands. Jaxsen scooted over to where their shoulders touched. “Basil? Is there anything I can do?” 

Basil dropped his head and shook it in denial; but Jaxsen wasn’t sure if he was denying the posed question, or the situation. Two tears spilled down his cheeks; he didn’t even have the gumption to wipe them away. Jaxsen enveloped him, pulling him into a fierce hug that made Basil want to both vanish into and hide forever within, and cry for everything he’d always held back. But he knew he couldn’t break, not yet. After several moments Basil got himself under control before sitting back up again.

“Thanks, Jax.” Basil sighed and smiled sadly at him. “What would I do without you?” Jaxsen smiled then blushed, shrugging. “I do. I’d have given up already.” Jaxsen felt the blush spread to the tips of his ears and looked down at his hands. “I mean it, Jax. You’ve done more for me in almost a year than anyone else has in my life. Thank you. For everything.”

Jaxsen hugged his friend tightly. “We’ll always have each other, Basil.”

“I hope so,” he whispered.

Three days passed before Basil heard again from his mother. His heart rate increased as Sebastian passed him the phone. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he put the phone to his ear.

“H-hello?” Jaxsen stood close by keeping a watchful eye. He knew though…knew as soon as the phone rang that there was bad news along the wire. Jaxsen knew the moment Basil was told. His eyes slipped closed, his face crestfallen.

“When?” Basil nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “But why can’t I come? But, Mom.” He stopped, his anger apparent along with his hurt. He said nothing more as he disconnected the call angrily. He looked at Sebastian red faced and teary-eyed. “I hate her!” he screamed as his emotions finally collapsed. 

Sebastian caught him and pulled him into his chest. Basil buried his face into Sebastian’s stomach as he held him close. “I hate her, Bastian, I hate her. I hate her so much.” Bastian held him close, gently swaying to and fro as the boy clung desperately to him. “It’s not fair, Bastian.”

Basil stepped back and wiped his eyes. “Sh-she wo-won-won’t let me say goodbye. They’re taking her off life-support. What’s a…DNR?”

Sebastian sighed. “It means ‘do not resuscitate’. That means-”

“I got it,” Basil interrupted, his voice horse, his eyes spilling over again. Jaxsen came quietly beside him and took his hand in his own, leading him up the stairs.

“What did she say?” Jaxsen asked, sitting next to Basil on the bed. Their backs were against the wall, shoulders touching. 

Basil wiped his eyes. “That they were taking her off life support and th-that I wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral.”

Jaxsen frowned. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. She said that I wasn’t old enough to be able to handle it. None of the kids are going is what she said. I just don’t think she wants me there. It’s not fair. Shouldn’t I get to say goodbye?”

Jaxsen nodded. “I think so.”

“She was the only one who really loved me, Jax. And I don’t even get to say goodbye.” Basil wrapped his arms around himself as his sobs began anew. Jaxsen pulled Basil toward him, his arms encircling and supporting him as Basil’s arms wound around the arms bolstering his upper half. Jaxsen, for his part, simply held on as title waves of grief washed over them both.

Some time passed before Basil moved out of Jaxsen’s arms; the boy still incredibly heartbroken. Jaxsen just held him, silent, watching over his friend, giving Basil all the support he so severely lacked with the death of his parents.

Basil scrubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath, a bashful, half smile playing on his lips. His eyes still held bereavement, but they weren’t as cloudy. “Thanks, Jax. I didn’t mean to lose it like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Basil, ever for that. Okay?”

Basil nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

Jaxsen nodded with a half grin of his own. “You wanna watch something?”

He nodded. “Sure, if you want to.”

Jaxsen hesitated, unsure if putting in a movie was the right thing to do. Still, with no other ideas, he climbed off the bed. He grabbed ‘Over the Hedge’ because it was a light movie, funny, and he hoped a distraction for Basil. 

The weekend before Sebastian had come home with a mini-fridge he’d found for a good deal on-line for Jaxsen as a surprise. From this he grabbed two Snapple bottles and a bag of green grapes to snack on. Half-way through the movie Jaxsen’s phone buzzed, lighting up as an incoming message was received. 

“Hey, you wanna go chill with River and Phoenix? They’re down at the park.”

Basil shrugged. “Sure. Maybe it’ll be enough of a distraction for a bit.”

Jaxsen nodded. “I hope so.”

The boys met at the park a few minutes later. River and Phoenix were swinging lazily on the swings, their feet dragging the ground and kicking small clouds of dirt and dust with each pass.

“Hey,” Jaxsen greeted. 

The twins smiled, River waved. “Hey, guys,” Phoenix said, hopping off the swings. 

“Are you okay, Basil?” River signed, a concerned look in his eyes. 

Jaxsen translated and Basil looked back to River. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a hard day, you know?”

River read lips well, therefore did not need either Jaxsen or his brother to sign Basil’s answer. He nodded and patted Basil on the back.

“So what are we doing now?” Phoenix asked as they made their way to the empty pic-nick table. 

“I don’t know. It’ll be dark soon,” Jaxsen pointed out. The sun was already beginning to dip behind the trees.

“Yeah,” Phoenix answered. “I wonder if they’ll be done fighting when we get back home.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

“Fighting?” Jaxsen said questioning exactly what ‘fighting’ entails.

He nodded. “Arguing.” As they spoke they signed, always making sure River wasn’t excluded. “We didn’t want to be there through it.”

Jaxsen nodded and turned when River touched his forearm. “Where is Melissa?” He blushed bright crimson at the question and at the knowing smile that spread across Jaxsen’s face.

“She’s at home, probably. You like her, River?” River smiled and buried his face behind his brother’s shoulder and nodded. “I can see if she wants to hang out tomorrow. Maybe my dad will take us all swimming or something.” River blushed again, smiled, and nodded his agreement. 

“I’ll ask her when I get home and text you.” Jaxsen signed. They sat at the park for another forty-five minutes before Phoenix’s phone buzzed. “We have to go. Dinner is almost ready. They want us home.” Phoenix and River stood, bid their farewells and began walking in the direction of home.

“What about you? You wanna go home?” Basil asked softly.

“No. It’s peaceful here at night.” Jaxsen stood and walked about ten paces before lying flat on his back. The stars were bright, shimmering dots that spread endlessly across a vast sky. Basil shortly followed suit, lying next to Jaxsen, his arms folded behind his head.

“I miss doing this,” Jaxsen spoke almost to himself, a sad sigh escaping him.

“Did you watch the stars with your mom and dad?”

“Yeah. More my mom and I. She loved astronomy. She had a really awesome telescope. It was really powerful. She and I used to go up to the roof deck of our house on really clear nights and stargaze. She taught me the constellations and the stories behind them.

“See that cluster of stars right there?” Jaxsen asked, pointing up and slightly to the right.

“Mhm,” Basil answered.

“That’s Aquarius. Do you know about him?” Basil shook his head. “Well Aquarius is Latin for ‘cup bearer’ or ‘water bearer.’ The story of Aquarius in Greek mythology is that there was a beautiful Phrygian boy, Ganymede, who was carried off to Mount Olympus by an eagle and he became the cup bearer to Zeus. And he became the representation of Aquarius. In some stories they say that Zeus himself was the eagle that abducted him to Mount Olympus.”

“What’s a…Phrygian?” Basil asked when Jaxsen had finished speaking.

“It’s a few things, actually. It refers to three musical modes. The ancient Greek harmonica, a tonos, is sometimes called a Phrygian.”

Basil smiled broadly as Jaxsen launched into history lesson after history lesson, becoming more animated the longer he spoke. Basil listened with extreme attentiveness, loving how full of life he sounded. Basil watched Jaxsen point to different star clusters and name them with a brief explanation of their history. Jaxsen stopped mid-word when his phone went off.

“Hi, Dad,” he paused to listen before, “We’re at the park. I was showing Basil the constellations. Oh…I didn’t realize it was so late already. Sorry, we’ll be home soon. Love you, too, Dad.” Jaxsen hung up smiling. “We should get going.”

Basil and Jaxsen slipped into their sleep clothes for the night and with full bellies climbed under the covers. Jaxsen shut off the bedside lamp and the room plunged into darkness. For several long moments neither spoke, then Basil whispered Jaxsen’s name.

“Hm?” Basil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“Can…can I kiss you?” There was a long pause that seemed to stretch for days. Basil felt Jaxsen shift before he heard a small, whispered acquiesce. Shocked at the granted permission, Basil couldn’t move momentarily. Then before he could make heads or tails of it, Basil felt soft lips pressing fully against his.

“Good night, Basil,” Jaxsen told him as he settled down a bit closer to his friend than he had been.  

Basil smiled when Jaxsen pulled away. “Good night, Jax.”