Soulmate - 2. Winter

Over the next two years the boys only saw each other a few times, and only for a few hours at a time, usually when Alex, Ronald and Joanne came for a holiday and once when they were passing through town. They made up for their lack of seeing each other by writing letters back and forth and talking over the phone as much as possible. The first few of these phone calls had actually gone very badly for poor Jeremy, each time he talked to Alex he would end up crying; missing his older friend and though no one knew about it Alex would cry himself to sleep on those nights as well.

It wasn’t until three years after their first encounter that they got to spend any time together. It was the winter that Jeremy turned nine and a few days after Christmas that Alex arrived.
Jeremy’s birthday had been earlier in December and Jeremy had asked if Alex could come up for a visit, (he had been gracious enough to invite his Aunt and Uncle too if they would bring Alex), but due to school he hadn’t been able to come so his parents made arrangements for Alex to visit during winter break.

On the twenty-seventh James left a visibly excited Jeremy to go and pick Alex up from the airport. Jeremy desperately wanted to go but James had reminded him that he promised to help his mother tidy up the guest room in preparation for Alex’s visit.

Upon hearing that his parents would be housing Alex in the guest room instead of letting the older boy bunk with him he was a little depressed; he had been looking forward to snuggling up to his older cousin again.
His mother had patiently explained to the dour little boy though that Alex was thirteen now and that teenagers often liked privacy when they slept.

Jeremy noticed that as he explained this that his mother blushed a little bit but he didn’t know why. He accepted it though, and helped her change the sheets and covers and dust the room.

Once they were done with that, his mother told him that he needed to make sure that his room was clean. Jeremy had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, at nine years old Jeremy was an oddly fastidious kid so his room was seldom messy.

Jeremy went anyway; he wanted to make sure that everything was tidy. After he straightened the covers on his bed he reached under his pillow and pulled out the black and gray Batman figure, it had been afforded the place of honor ever since Alex’s first visit.

He smiled as he ran his thumb over the smooth plastic, remembering the bright, sunny days that he and Alex spent playing together.

“Jeremy, come help in the kitchen.” His mothers’ voice broke him out of his thoughts and he slipped the toy back under his pillow and headed downstairs.

“Good, you’re just in time to stir in the chocolate chips.” Beth said once her son came into the kitchen.

“Awesome, chocolate chip cookies!” Jeremy exclaimed as he did a little dance to celebrate.

Beth just smiled and handed her son the spoon and bag of chocolate chips and went to the pantry to look over what they could have with dinner.

Jeremy continued to help his mother in the kitchen until he heard the grumble of the automatic garage door opening. His mother barely managed to keep him from bolting into the garage but she was able to keep him standing next to the kitchen counter.

The second the garage door opened though it was all over. James walked in with Alex right behind him and the second that Jeremy saw him he dove at the taller boy.

Alex had grown at least a foot, his blonde hair was darker and he was broader through the shoulders but Jeremy would recognize him anywhere.

“ALEX…It’s so good to see you…I’ve missed you so much!” Jeremy nearly shouted as he held onto Alex’s waist.

Alex smiled and let Jeremy into his arms, wrapping them tightly around the younger boy.

“I’ve missed you too Jeremy,” Alex replied as he pulled back to look at the boy in his arms, “You’ve gotten so big Jeremy; I hardly recognized you.”

Jeremy laughed and looked his cousin up and down; though he made sure his arms were still tight around Alex’s neck.

“You’ve gotten even bigger than I have and I still recognized you.” Jeremy replied seriously.

“I was just joking goofball, I’d know you anywhere.” Alex replied as he hugged the boy again.

Beth and James stood back and smiled as they watched the boys hug, both were very happy that Alex was back.

“Jeremy why don’t you take Alex up to the guest room and help him get settled in, when you get done we’ll have lunch ready.” Beth finally piped up.

Jeremy shimmied down Alex to stand on the floor, grabbed Alex’s duffel bag, and swung it across his shoulders.

“Come on Alex, it’s this way.” Jeremy grabbed Alex’s hand as he spoke and pulled the older boy out of the room.

“It’s not as big as my room but mom says that it will big enough for you to stay in.” Jeremy said as he pulled Alex upstairs.

“I’m sure she’s right, hell I live in a sardine can back in Texas so anything is better than that.” Alex said as the two of them opened the door on the far left at the top of the stairs.

Jeremy turned and looked up at Alex in surprise.

“Right, grown up word and I’m not a grown up. Sorry…promise not to tell Aunt Beth?” Alex asked with a smile, wondering if Jeremy remembered.

Jeremy cracked a wide smiled and for a moment gripped Alex’s hand tighter.

“That’s right…but you’re a lot closer to being a grown up than I was…and I won’t say anything,” Jeremy said with a smile as he walked over and put Alex’s duffel down on the bed, with his back turned he missed Alex wiping the lone tear off his cheek.

“I’m glad to see that you managed to work out the T H sound, I hope you didn’t get made fun of too much.” Alex said as he stepped up beside Jeremy and unzipped his bag.

Even though he had seen Jeremy a few times over the years his last visit had been over a year ago and they had only stayed for a few hours. They had spent most of their time with the family at large so he hadn’t had much time to talk to Jeremy one on one and he had still been having trouble with the T H sound then.

Jeremy smiled up at Alex and climbed up onto the bed to sit next to his duffel bag before answering.

“Yea it took me awhile to get the sound right, my speech therapist said something about me not moving my tongue right and gave me a bunch of exercises to do. When I first started I bit my tongue a lot.
I didn’t get made fun of much, a lot of the kids just thought what you did…that I talked funny.” Jeremy answered with a blush.

Alex just smiled and finished putting his clothes into the dresser by the door. He knew it was a bit dumb considering that he would only be there for about four days but he wanted to savor the experience. He had been missing his Aunt, Uncle and Jeremy for a long time.

Once he was finished he moved the duffle off the bed and sat down next to Jeremy. Jeremy wasted no time in crawling onto the older boys lap and resting his head on his shoulder. Alex smiled and wrapped his arms around him, one over his legs and another around his waist.

“I’m happy your back Alex. I really did miss you.” Jeremy said quietly as he looked up at his cousin, his blue eyes wide and innocent.

Alex smiled and leaned down and pressed a kiss to the boy’s forehead before hugging him close.

“I missed you too Jeremy, so much. I check the mail everyday for your letters and wait by the phone every Friday night for your calls.” Alex replied quietly, doing his best to keep from crying.

Jeremy smiled at the words and just let his head rest against Alex’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Alex did the same, holding the small boy close and closing his eyes.

Eventually though Alex decided that they should get downstairs for lunch.

“Come on Jeremy, let’s head down stairs. I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.” Alex said and Jeremy opened his eyes and smiled up at him.

Jeremy rolled off Alex’s lap and into the floor. After dusting himself off a bit he grabbed Alex’s hand and lead him downstairs.

Alex was able to catch up with his family over lunch, (grilled cheese and tomato soup), and once they were done and had moved into the living room he was surprised to see a small pile of Christmas gifts on the coffee table.

“They’re yours Alex,” Jeremy said to his bemused looking cousin, “Mom and dad decided that since you were coming up here that we could wait to give them to you till you came.”

“You guys didn’t have to get me anything, certainly not all this.” Alex said as he motioned to the small pile. In reality it wasn’t that big, only three medium sized, brightly wrapped packages and a smaller one that looked to be wrapped in construction paper.

“Nonsense, you’re our favorite nephew.” James said as he clapped the teen on his shoulder.

“I’m your only nephew Uncle James.” Alex laughed.

Beth and Alex sat down on the couch while James and Jeremy sat together on the floor next to the table, Jeremy sitting in his fathers lap, his dad’s big arms around his skinny waist.

Alex opened his presents with great care, making sure not to rip the paper. The first two packages he opened where from his aunt and uncle respectively, a portable CD player and a small stack of CDs, each of a different band or artist that Alex had mentioned to them.

“We know that it is a bit outdated,” James said with a small smile, “We wanted to get you an iPod but we didn’t think you had access to a computer to load the music.”

“I love them, thanks.” Alex answered, smiling.

The third was a framed picture of the four of them taken during Alex’s last visit. Originally, it was meant to just be a picture of Jeremy and his parents but Jeremy insisted that Alex get in the picture too. As Alex looked down at it, he had to fight the urge to cry.

Alex picked up the last present on the table; the small thin package wrapped in construction paper.

“That…that’s my gift,” Jeremy piped up shyly from his fathers lap, “I wanted to wrap it different from the rest so I used my construction paper, mom and dad helped me cut out the snow flakes.”

Alex smiled as he ran a finger over the dark blue paper and bright white snow flakes. Alex took extreme care with opening Jeremy’s gift, even more than he had with the others.

When he finally had it opened it revealed a small black necklace box. He looked at it quizzically for a moment before opening it up to reveal his present. Inside was a homemade necklace. A thin black waxed cord with two knots to adjust it and strung on it were four metallic silver plastic cube beads, the black letters on it spelled out ALEX.

“There are stoppers in there too…so if you like it and want to wear it you can put them on either side of the name to keep the beads in place…so they don’t move when you get it where you want it.” Jeremy said nervously, unwilling to look up at his cousin.

Since he wasn’t looking it was a shock to him when he was suddenly hoisted up off his dad’s lap and into Alex’s tight embrace.

“I love it Jeremy, thanks a lot.” Alex said quietly to the younger boy as he hugged him tight.

Jeremy smiled and hugged Alex tight, glad that his cousin liked his gift.

“I have one too,” Jeremy said as the two of them sat down on the floor to fix Alex’s necklace he pulled his from under the neck of his shirt, “And I made ones for mom and dad to clip on their key chains.”

“I like it a lot little guy. I love all my gifts. I just wish I had something to give back to you.” Alex said as he smiled up at his aunt and uncle.

Jeremy helped Alex get the necklace over his head and adjusted so that it sat just above his shirt collar, like Jeremy’s, and clipped the bright orange stoppers in place before answering.

“You don’t have to give me anything; you getting to come and visit can be my gift.” Jeremy said before hugging Alex tightly.

“Ours too, Alex.” Beth said as she put a hand on her nephew’s shoulder and behind her James nodded in agreement.

Alex smiled up at the two of them then down at the little boy in his lap, he hadn’t been this happy in a long time.

Jeremy volunteered to help Alex take his stuff upstairs and once they were done he asked if Alex would play with him.

“Of course I will Jeremy; you go to your room and get some stuff ready, I’ll be right there.”

Jeremy left the room with a smile on his face and once he was back in his room he made a bee line for his toy box and dug out some super hero and villain action figures.

He smiled up at Alex from his place on the floor when he came in and Alex beamed right back at him.

“Is it ok if we play with my action figures?” Jeremy asked and Alex nodded, before his face turned serious.

“You don’t seem to have a Robin figure though; we’ll need him if we’re going to play Batman.” Alex said as he lay down on his stomach across from Jeremy on the floor.

Jeremy felt a little twinge of sadness, wondering if Alex had forgotten the action figure he had given him was a Robin.

“But come to think of it, I think I just might have one.” At this, Jeremy watched as Alex reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, slightly faded, Robin action figure.

“You still have it.” Jeremy beamed as he shot up off the floor and ran to his bed, taking the Batman figure from under his pillow.

“Of course I still have it Jeremy. You gave it to me; I’ll always keep it with me.” Alex replied the seriousness on his face and in his voice was more than Jeremy could readily understand…he was just happy that Alex still had his gift.

The two of them sat on the floor and played together, just like old times. To be honest Jeremy was a little surprised. He knew teenagers from school and none of them liked to play with younger kids, it made him wonder why Alex was; and he asked Alex just that.

Alex’s face grew very serious again and he scooped the smaller boy onto his lap before answering.

“You’re partially right Jeremy, a lot of older kids like me don’t like to play with or hang out with younger kids but I want you to understand something ok?” Alex asked and Jeremy nodded.

“I want you to understand that it doesn’t matter how old I get or how long we go without seeing each other, you will always be my best friend. You’re special to me and I’m going to take every opportunity to see you and talk to you and hang out with you that I can, do you understand?” Again, Jeremy didn’t quite understand the seriousness in Alex’s voice but he could tell that what he was saying was very important.

With that in mind, Jeremy turned in Alex’s grip and hugged the older boy around his neck.

“I understand Alex...you’re still my best friend too and I want to see you and play with you as much as I can too.” Jeremy’s voice was quiet but Alex hugged him back happily.

The boys spend the rest of the afternoon together in Jeremy’s room, either playing games or with Alex reading to Jeremy. Jeremy was old enough to read on his own but they both enjoyed it.

“Boy’s dinner is almost ready.” They heard Beth call up the stairs and Alex set aside the book he was reading to Jeremy and the boys unfolded themselves from around each other, they had been sitting on the floor with Jeremy curled on Alex’s lap.

Instead of Jeremy leading him down hand in hand, Alex lifted Jeremy up on his shoulder in a firefighter’s lift and carried him down the stairs.

“Alex,” Jeremy squealed happily, “Put me down.”

“I’ll put you down, when we get to the dinning room.” Alex smiled as his little cousin struggled playfully in his grasp.

True to his word, Alex only let the boy down once they were in the dinning room; he sat Jeremy down in one chair and took the one right next to him.

“Did you boys have fun; we were beginning to wonder if we needed to send a search party after you.” James smiled as he and wife sat down.

Jeremy smiled happily but Alex blushed gently.

“Yea we had fun. We played with my action figures and Alex read to me.” Jeremy smiled as his parents passed around a bowl of salad.

“That’s nice dear but I hope you don’t plan on taking up all of your cousin’s time, we’d like to spend some time with him too.” Beth smiled at the pair.

“Don’t worry Aunt Beth, I think I can squeeze in some time for you two as well.” Alex said and Jeremy laughed.

“That’s good, you can start after dinner. I thought we could play a few games after and watch a few movies.” James said as he loaded his plate.

“That sounds great Uncle James, really great.” Alex replied with a smile.

They talked over dinner, mostly about Jeremy and his parents. Several times his aunt and uncle tried to steer to conversation onto Alex and what he had been doing but Alex only ever gave a few short answers before he steered the conversation back around to them.

When dinner was done Alex and Jeremy cleared the table, putting the leftovers away and stacking the dirty dishes into the dishwasher before heading into the living room.

“What are we going to play?” Jeremy asked as he sat down on floor by the coffee table.

“We thought we could play Scrabble, Jeremy still needs to work on some of his spelling.” James said as he pulled a box from under the sofa where he and Beth sat.

Jeremy groaned as they set up the board, he really didn’t like Scrabble. As they played though he forgot about his dislike for the game, especially with Alex leaning over ever so often to whisper words and word spellings in his ear.

“You know this really isn’t fair, were being ganged up on.” Beth smiled over at the two boys as Alex leaned over to whisper another word to his little cousin.

Neither boy said a word, just smiled as Jeremy lay down the word SMILE using the M from his fathers FAMILY.

“I’m just helping out my little cousin.” Alex said as he made LOVE with the L from Jeremy’s SMILE.

Even with his cousin’s help Jeremy didn’t end up winning, that prize went to his mother but Jeremy didn’t much care since he had Alex helping him.

After Scrabble they played a few rounds of cards, Jeremy was very good when it came to Crazy Eights and Go Fish and by the end of their games James was swearing he was going to teach the boy to play poker.

“Well maybe you can start tomorrow, right now though I think it is time for a certain young boy to be in bed.” Beth said as she packed away the playing cards.

“Awww but mom it’s Christmas vacation, can’t I stay up a little longer?” Jeremy asked petulantly.

“I think ten o’clock is late enough Jeremy, get up to bed.” Beth smiled when Jeremy grumbled, but he got up and left the room anyway.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed too you guys, I had to be up pretty early for my flight and I’m a little tired.” Alex said a short time later.

“Alright Alex, sleep well.” His aunt said as she kissed him on his cheek and his Uncle hugged him.

Once he was back in his room and changed from his jeans and long sleeved shirt to some shorts and a tank top Alex sat down on his bed and looked at the photograph.

He traced the outlines of their faces and as he came to Jeremy’s a slight knock sounded on his door.

“Come in.” Alex called quietly as he sat the picture on the table by his bed.

Alex smiled when Jeremy pushed open the door; the boy was dressed similarly to himself in loose fitting, gray shorts and a tank top.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed shorty?” Alex asked with a smile and Jeremy blushed and scuffed his toes on the floor.

“Yea…I heard you come up and I thought I would see if you needed anything.” Jeremy said as he walked slowly into the room.

“No, I don’t need anything. Do you?” Alex asked and Jeremy looked confused.

“No, not really. I hope that you like it in here. I told mom you could sleep with me again but she said that teenagers like to have privacy when they sleep.” Jeremy said but looked at Alex when he did. Alex understood.

Alex pulled Jeremy to him and sat the boy down on his lap.

“You know Jeremy, a lot of teenagers do but I wouldn’t mind it if you wanted to stay here with me tonight.” Alex told him and Jeremy smiled shyly at him.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked and Alex heard a slight note of worry in his voice.

“Yes, I’m sure, Jeremy; I really liked sharing with you when I was here last. If you’re worried about getting in trouble then I’ll even tell Aunt Beth and Uncle James that it was ok.” Alex said with a smile and Jeremy smiled too.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble just because I want to cuddle with you.” Jeremy replied worriedly.

Alex smiled and stood up and slipped Jeremy under his covers before walking over to his door and calling downstairs.

“Aunt Beth, Uncle James, is it okay if Jeremy bunks with me?” They didn’t even have to wait a minute before an amused, unison called back an affirmative.

Alex closed the door and tuned back to Jeremy with a smile.

“No worries Jeremy, now let’s get to sleep.” Alex said as he climbed into bed with Jeremy, who wasted no time in cuddling into his older cousin’s side.

Alex moved one hand behind his head and Jeremy rested his head on the older boys shoulder and put an arm around his waist.

The two of them lay quietly together until Alex realized that Jeremy was running his nose along his shoulder.

“Something wrong, Jeremy?” Alex asked as he looked over to the younger boy.

“No…it’s just…how come you smell funny?” Jeremy asked, looking confused.

Alex lifted the neck of his tank top up and smelled it; it smelled ok. Then he leaned toward Jeremy and inhaled, when he realized what it was Alex blushed; his extremely cheap deodorant had worn off.

Alex shifted his position so that his arm was down and Jeremy was lying on the pillow next to him while he explained what was to the boy.

“Sorry Jeremy, I guess my deodorant wore off…the stuff is pretty cheap so I have to use it a couple times a day…I usually don’t bother with it before bed.” Alex said and Jeremy nodded.

“But why do you need it? You didn’t use to smell like that.” Jeremy asked confusion on his face.

Alex chuckled quietly to himself. He realized that Jeremy was a bit too young for Uncle James to have given him the puberty talk but Alex supposed he could explain a few things.

“It’s part of growing up, when a boy starts to get older; usually around my age or a bit older, his body starts to change.” Alex said, thinking out what words he’d need to help Jeremy understand.

“What kind of change?” Jeremy asked and Alex detected a small note of fear.

“Nothing bad,” Alex reassured him, “He gets taller and his muscles get bigger,” Alex lifted his arm and flexed his bicep in example.

Jeremy smiled as he reached up and squeezed his cousins’ muscle, testing the firmness.

“Cool, what else” He asked as he lowered his arm to wrap around Alex’s waist.

“Lots of things; his voice gets deeper and some boys sprout hair, usually on their face, on their chest and under their arms.” As Alex explained, he playfully tickled Jeremy’s chin, chest and underarms.

“That’s funny,” Jeremy laughed as Alex tickled him, “Is there anything else?”

“Yep, boys will also develop a scent too. It’ll come from a few places but usually from under his arms. They make stuff called deodorant that you put under your arms to make it smell different.” Alex explained, deciding to leave it at that; he couldn’t really explain the rest to a nine year old, he was much too young.

Jeremy lay quietly for a little while, thinking over everything Alex had told him. Getting older sounded weird, but ok he guessed. He would like to be taller and have bigger muscles. He didn’t want to be as big as the wrestlers his dad watched on TV but he’d like to be as big as his dad.

Without warning, Jeremy shoved Alex, who had been lying on his side, onto his back and lay his head back on the older boy’s shoulder and slipped one arm under Alex and the other over his midsection.

“Good night Alex.” Jeremy yawned then snuggled more closely to Alex’s neck.

Alex smiled in a bemused sort of way. Jeremy always was a bit of an odd one, eager and questioning one second and dog tired the next. Shaking his head to settle more onto his pillow he rested one hand on Jeremy’s side and brought the other up behind his head.

Alex fell into the first uninterrupted night of sleep he had had in three years.

The week Alex spent with Jeremy and his parents went a lot like his first visit, him and Jeremy being glued at the hip. They would spend their mornings with his aunt and uncle, Beth worked from home and James had taken the week off to visit with his nephew, and the afternoons either playing in Jeremy’s room or playing outside in the snow.

New Years Eve found the four of them preparing to celebrate the coming New Year. James and Beth had been invited to a party but declined, wanting to celebrate with Alex. Instead, the two of them left the boys at home to clean and play while they went to the store for supplies.

“Alex do you think you could talk mom and dad into letting me stay up till midnight?” Jeremy asked as the two of them did the dishes from breakfast; the dishwasher was out of commission.

“I can try to little guy, haven’t they ever let you stay up before?” Alex asked as he placed silverware into the rinse side of the sink for Jeremy.

“No…they always send me to bed. I want to stay up this year; I want to see the New Year with you.” Jeremy said as he swished the cutlery around in the warm water before placing it in the strainer.

“I’d like that too Jeremy. I’ll ask them when they get home.” Alex replied with a smile.

Jeremy smiled too and the two of them finished their work and moved into the living room. They sat down on the couch and Jeremy climbed onto Alex’s lap. Alex wrapped one arm around the slight boy and turned the TV on, flipping through the channels till he found Jeremy’s currently favorite cartoon; Jimmy Neutron.

Alex smiled as Jeremy snuggled into him as he watched his cartoon. He thought it was appropriate that the Boy Genius would be Jeremy’s favorite cartoon, the boy was very smart for his age and he soaked up knowledge like a dry sponge did water.

In the past few days Alex’s aunt and uncle often tried to gently dissuade Jeremy from sitting on Alex like he was, citing that it might make Alex uncomfortable. Alex figured that they just wanted to keep him from feeling smothered but Alex actually loved having Jeremy sit with him.

He liked the warmth that Jeremy leaked into his skin, the infectious smile that always played on his lips, the weight of Jeremy’s head on his shoulder, but most of all he loved the way he felt when Jeremy was that close to him; that warmth that invaded his chest and soothed all the sore places he had inside.

So, whenever his aunt or uncle would admonish Jeremy to move over Alex would just smile, wrap his arm around Jeremy and tell them it was ok.

Alex laughed along with Jeremy as one of the characters babbled on about some superhero called Ultralord.

“Sheen is funny, he always talks about Untralord, and Libby; he likes Libby.” Jeremy laughed as the dark haired boy character started to gush over a dark skinned girl.

“Sheen is funny, I like Jimmy better though, he’s the smart one…plus he has that cool hair.” Alex said as he ruffled Jeremy’s blonde hair.

“I like Jimmy too; he’s got a robot dog.” Jeremy replied as Jimmy flew across the TV screen on a metal dog/jet.

“Yea you’ve got to give him points for the jet dog.” Alex nodded.

“I’d like to have a puppy…but I can’t. Mom says I’m too allergic to pet dander.” Jeremy said dejectedly as the cartoon cut to a commercial.

“Maybe you’ll grow out of it one day, sometimes allergies go away.” Alex said reassuringly.

“Yea, maybe.” Jeremy was still a tad bit down trodden, until Jimmy Neutron came back on, then he was smiling and back to talking about his favorite episodes.

It was like this that James and Beth found them when they got back from the store.

“It looks like Jeremy has turned you into a Neutron fan Alex.” James remarked as they walked in, Alex was laughing just as hard as Jeremy.

“Alex likes Jimmy ‘cause he has a robot dog and cool hair.” Jeremy smiled as he turned on Alex’s lap to look at his parents.

Both Beth and James shared a laugh at Alex’s slightly embarrassed expression.

“Don’t worry about it Alex, your uncle is a Hugh fan.” Beth smiled and James blushed.

“I only said he was funny…he’s obsessed with pie…and ducks.” James defended, his cheeks going pink.

Beth chuckled but addressed the boys.

“There are more bags in the car; would you boys get them out please?”

Jeremy slid from Alex’s lap, grabbed the older boy’s hand, and pulled him off the couch.

Alex just smiled as his cousin pulled him past his aunt and uncle and into the garage.

Together the two of them unloaded the car then helped put the groceries away. Once they were done, and after several discreet pokes in the side from Jeremy, Alex asked his parents if Jeremy could stay up till midnight.

“Please, I want to stay up and see the New Year with Alex.” Jeremy said earnestly.

His aunt and uncle exchanged a few looks before answering.

“Well if you think you can then yes, you can stay up till midnight.” Beth replied with a small smile.

Jeremy hugged both of his parents then hopped up on the couch and took his usual place on Alex’s lap to watch a movie.

Unseen by the two of them Beth made to speak up but James just put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Smiling the two of them sat down to watch the movie with the boys.

Given that it was New Year’s Eve Beth and James decided to bend their healthy eating rules and instead had pizza, nachos, and because Aunt Beth just couldn’t help herself; a vegetable tray with low fat dip.

Since Jeremy was glued to his side, Alex made sure that Jeremy got plenty of the vegetables, even though Jeremy wasn’t very thrilled with the fact.

“You’re a growing boy Jeremy, you need your vegetables.” Alex replied when Jeremy bemoaned the fact that Alex was putting carrots on his plate.

Jeremy smiled and just nibbled at his vegetables.

Jeremy had had high hopes for staying up to see the New Year but once his stomach was full he was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. The fact that he was sitting on Alex didn’t help. He had been sleeping in Alex’s bed every night so he had come to equate sleep with Alex so being tired and being with Alex just made him more tired.

“Come on Jeremy just three more hours and it’ll be 2003, you can last three more hours.” Alex encouraged as Jeremy started to nod off against his shoulder, again.

“Maybe a game of Monopoly will do the trick.” James suggested happily.

“Did you say Monopoly; I get to be the dog.” Jeremy perked up immediately.

It was still easy to see that Jeremy was sleepy but he braved through Monopoly, buying up most of the properties over the course of the game and taking most of their cash.

“You really are a boy genius aren’t you?” Alex asked his cousin as Jeremy counted his money stack.

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, a little confused; he was getting sleepy again now that the game was over.

“Never mind little guy, I’ll explain when your more awake.” Alex answered amused. Not every nine year old could beat out three people at Monopoly, he didn’t know about his aunt and uncle but he had been playing to win.

Monopoly had taken two of the three hours left but with the game over Jeremy was crashing even faster than before.

“I don’t know if you’re going to make it till midnight son.” James said as he scooped Jeremy up into his arms.

“I can do it…just another hour.” Jeremy remarked sleepily from his father’s arms as he looked up at the clock.

“I have an idea,” Beth said apprehensively as she walked up to the pair, “Why don’t you boys go outside and play in the snow for a little while.”

As Jeremy perked up both Alex and James stared at the woman as though she had grown a second head.

“What, don’t look at me like that. I’m sure you won’t be the only ones out tonight, just be sure to bundle up.” Beth defended, looking a little apprehensive.

After a few more incredulous looks the three of them bundled up and headed out to the back yard. It was dark and very cold but the three of them were wrapped tightly in coats, scarves and gloves so the air didn’t bite as much.

“Alex, help me make a snow angel.” Jeremy said as he grabbed the older boy’s hand and pulled him out into the eight-inch deep snow.

“Not that I’m complaining but why exactly do you need help to make a snow angel?” Alex asked with a smile.

Jeremy just smiled and fell backward into the snow and started to move his arms and legs, forging the classic snow angel figure.

“Grab my hands please.” Jeremy said as he held his hands up to Alex.

Bemused, Alex grabbed his young cousin’s hands and pulled him up.

“I need your help because when you get up on your own you leave hand prints on the angel.” Jeremy said happily as he looked over the angel he had made.

Alex just smiled at his cousin’s statement and let it pass.

After helping Jeremy make a few more snow angels, the three of them decided to make snow sculptures. Jeremy would have liked to have a snowball fight but it was nearing midnight and James didn’t want to risk waking any of the neighbors.

They were crude but by eleven forty five, the three of them had managed to create reasonable likenesses of a puppy (Jeremy), the Washington monument, (James), and a butterfly, (Alex).

“Very nice boys, very nice.” Beth said as the three of them carefully brought their creations up to the table by the sliding glass door to the house.

They sat their sculptures on the table for Beth to get pictures of before heading inside to warm up.

Once their coats and other outside gear was hung up Jeremy and Alex retired to the couch while James and Beth made some hot chocolate for the four of them.

“Look Jeremy, the ball is about to drop, just ten more minutes.” Alex said, motioning to the T.V. coverage of Time Square.

His former tiredness forgotten Jeremy was practically vibrating with excitement as the clock clicked closer to midnight.

“Be careful now Jeremy, don’t spill it on your cousin. It’s hot.” His mother admonished as she passed him his mug of hot chocolate.

“I wouldn’t spill on Alex; that would hurt.” Jeremy replied seriously as he snuggled back against Alex’s chest and sipped his cocoa.

Alex blushed at the smiles that Beth and James shared as they looked over the two boys.

“Look Jeremy, one more minute.” Alex pointed to the screen again and Jeremy sat up excitedly.

“Why are so many people kissing?” Jeremy asked as the screen moved from the big silver ball to the crowd.

“You’re suppose to give someone a kiss at midnight on New Years Eve, it’s suppose too ensure that the person stays in your life for the next year. Some people are just starting a bit early.” Alex replied as the camera panned back to the Ball and the clock.

“Look Alex, thirty seconds.” Jeremy said excitedly as he pointed to the screen.

As the clock reached ten the four of them began to count down together and as the clock turned over to midnight they all shouted Happy New Year and in the distance they could hear one of the neighbors setting off fire works.

Alex hugged Jeremy close as his Aunt and Uncle shared a kiss but Jeremy surprised him by pulling away a bit giving Alex hard kiss on his cheek.

“Happy New Year, Alex.” Jeremy said before burying his face in Alex’s shoulder, Alex could feel the heat burning his neck from Jeremy’s blushing cheeks.

Alex wasn’t sure what to do so he just held onto his little cousin, letting his cheek rest against Jeremy’s head.

Jeremy was warm and heavy against his chest and his arms were wrapped securely around his chest. The embrace made Alex feel warm and content. At some point he must have dropped off to sleep because the next thing he realized was that his Uncle was shaking him awake.

He opened his eyes to see that the room was dark and quiet; he blinked up at his uncle smiling face.

“You’ll probably be more comfortable if you move upstairs.” His uncle said quietly.

“I dunno. I’m pretty comfortable here.” Alex mumbled with a small smile, one hand stroking up and down Jeremy’s back.

“I imagine, you never need a blanket with that boy around you, he’s a living furnace.” James smiled.

“Yea, no kidding.” Alex replied as he tightened his arms around Jeremy and stood up.

“You want me to take him up?” James offered but Alex shook his head.

“It’s ok Uncle James, I’ve got him.” Alex said with a small smile and the three of them headed up the stairs.

They parted ways at the guest room. James turned on the lamp for them then left the room with a quiet goodnight. Alex lay Jeremy down on the bed then walked over to the dresser to change.

As he stripped off his shirt and shucked his jeans he heard a sleepy grunt from behind him and turned to see Jeremy sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Alex pulled on a loose fitting tank top and shorts before picking up the clothes Jeremy had slept in the night before and going over to him.

“Come on Jeremy, get changed and we can get some sleep.” Alex said quietly as he sat down next to him.

Jeremy looked up at him and Alex could tell that he wasn’t really awake; his eyes were glassy and vacant.

Alex chuckled as Jeremy just blinked up at him before falling back onto the bed and closing his eyes.

“You are a weird one Jeremy.” Alex said quietly.

Not wanting Jeremy to be uncomfortable he pulled off Jeremy’s socks, jeans and t-shirt and helped him into his sleep clothes. It was a little difficult maneuvering his limp arms and legs into his clothes, but it was pretty comical.

Alex chuckled when he saw that Jeremy still wore super hero themed underwear and surprised himself by realizing he was still fascinated by Jeremy’s belly button.

Once he had Jeremy dressed he lay down and pulled a blanket up over the two of them.

He smiled as Jeremy moved closer to him in his sleep and Alex reached out and pulled him up to his chest.

Alex kissed Jeremy’s forehead and the boy snuggled close to his chest.

“Happy New Year, Jeremy.” He said quietly before drifting off.

New Year’s Day wasn’t nearly as fun as New Years Eve, everyone was very conscious of the fact that Alex would be leaving early the next day.

For his part Alex did his best to keep everyone’s mind off of it, including his own. He didn’t want to go back; he never did when he stayed with them.

“Do you have to go back?” Jeremy asked quietly after breakfast as the two of them washed out their cereal bowls.

“Yea I do Jeremy. You know I’d rather stay here but unfortunately I can’t.” Alex answered as he stacked the dishes.

“Maybe when you get old enough you could come stay here with us.” Jeremy said quietly, not looking up at him.

“You want me to live with you?” Alex asked, feeling a little flushed.

“Yea…Yea I’d like it if you could live with us. I’d get to see you after school and during the summer we could spend all day together.” Jeremy said happily.

“You know what Jeremy, I’d like that too.” Alex said with a smile.

The two of them spent as much time together as they could, each trying to soak up as much of the other as they could , not knowing when they’d see each other again.

Alex made sure that they spent time with his Aunt and Uncle too. Jeremy understood his parents wanted to spend time with Alex too so he was gracious enough to allow them some time with him.

Despite everything, they managed to have fun over the course of the day. They played cards and board games through the afternoon. Before Dinner, the boys managed to convince Beth to go outside and play in the snow with them.

Playing eventually turned into a snowball fight, one that Alex and Jeremy won pretty easily. James and Beth may have had the advantage of experience but the boys worked well together. Jeremy scooped and made the snowballs while Alex threw them.

“Alright, alright we give.” James said as he stepped from behind a tree, his hands up.

“YEAH we win!” Jeremy called as he jumped on Alex, knocking them both back into the snow.

Even with the wind knocked out of him, Alex had to laugh. He rolled so that he had Jeremy pinned in the snow. Jeremy was a slippery one though and managed to get from under his Alex’s grip.

Before Alex could stop him, Jeremy was up and around him diving on his back. Alex let himself be pushed face first into the snow before rolling on to his back and shaking Jeremy off.

The two of them continued to roll and tussle in the snow, Alex always careful not to hurt the younger boy, under the amused gaze of James and Beth until they were pink faced and sweaty despite the cold.

“Ok you two, time to get inside and get you warmed up before you catch pneumonia.” Beth said and boys got up and trudged inside.

They left their soaked outerwear in the garage and immediately headed for the living room. Alex sat down on the couch and immediately Jeremy crawled onto his lap and snuggled into Alex’s chest.

“I’m cold.” Jeremy said simply as he tucked his head under Alex’s chin.

Alex pulled a blanket from off the back of the couch and wrapped it around the two of them.

“That’s what happens when you tackle your cousin into the snow.” Alex answered playfully.

“I like rolling around with you; it’s fun.” Jeremy replied with a shrug of his slim shoulders.

Alex just laughed and cuddled the small boy to warm up.

Dinner that night was a very subdued, despite Beth, James, and Alex’s attempts to lighten the mood. Once they were done they managed to cajole Jeremy into a movie and managed to cheer him up somewhat.

When the movie was over the boys went up to bed, it was still a bit early but they had to be up early to catch his flight. Jeremy had decided that he wanted to go to the airport to see Alex off.

Beth hadn’t wanted him to, not wanted him to get upset but Jeremy used his considerable nine year old boy charm to convince her to let him go along.

Alex left Jeremy in the bedroom and went to take a shower. When he came back he found that Jeremy was asleep without his shirt on. Alex just smiled softly and walked around his side of the bed.

He clicked off the lamp on the nightstand and slipped under the covers with Jeremy.

Alex reached up and smoothed out Jeremy’s stuck up blonde hair. As he did so, Jeremy’s eyes fluttered open and he looked sleepily up at Alex.

“He kiddo, sorry to wake you up. I just wanted to flatten your hair out.” Alex explained with a smile.

“I wasn’t asleep. I was just waiting for you. I didn’t want to fall asleep without you.” Jeremy explained as he moved closer to Alex.

“Ok then, well I’m here now so we can get some sleep. Out of curiosity though why is your shirt off?” Alex asked curiously.

“It was making me itch…you can take yours off too if you want.” Jeremy said as he shifted closer to Alex.

Alex thought about it for a minute or two. He remembered what it was like to be Jeremy’s age, always curious about things, about other people. It had been awhile since the two of them had seen each other and he remembered how touchy feely they had been as kids…he figured Jeremy was just curious about him.

Alex decided that it was an innocent enough request and pulled his tank top off and lay back down. Jeremy gave a small little smile, moved closer to his bigger cousin, and wrapped his arms around him.

Jeremy ran his hand over Alex’s taut stomach and muscular chest, counting his abdominal segments with his fingers and running up his side. Jeremy was fascinated by the changes that had come over Alex’s body since the last time he had seen him with his shirt off. He wondered if his own muscles would get big like Alex’s and if his stomach, still a little round and formless, would flatten out and get those little rectangles on it.

Jeremy’s exploration didn’t last long, he knew that they both had to be up early so after a few minutes he stilled, resting his head on Alex’s shoulder and tightening his grip around his waist.

It was hard for Alex to suppress his laughter during Jeremy’s exploration; the soft skin of Jeremy’s fingers tickled like hell as they glided over him.

It fascinated him, how soft Jeremy’s skin still was; he wondered if his aunt didn’t buy some sort of moisturizing soap for him or something because Jeremy’s skin, from his fingers and palms to the long expanse of his chest and stomach, were baby soft. Even now as Jeremy settled down to sleep he had to bite his lip a bit to keep from laughing, the movement of Jeremy’s torso against his side tickled.

“Curiosity satisfied?” Alex asked after a few moments of Jeremy being still.

He felt heat on his shoulder and figured Jeremy was blushing, that made him chuckle.

“Yea…you’re a lot different now than when you were ten…will I get big like you too?” Jeremy asked quietly, worriedly.

“Yea Jeremy you’ll get big like me when you get older, you’ll probably even get as big as your dad. Uncle James has big muscles too remember?” Alex answered with a nod.

“Yea he does. I asked him if I could work out with him but he says I’m too young to lift weights.” Jeremy replied a little dejectedly.

“He’s right too; you shouldn’t lift weights till you start puberty, when your muscles start to grow.” Alex answered with a smile and Jeremy grumbled.

“You can however do stuff like sit ups and push ups to start working out your chest and stomach if you wanted, that’s what I do, but you should make sure it’s ok with your daddy first. I’ll even mention it to him tomorrow before I leave.” At this, Jeremy looked up at his cousin, his eyes were sad but he had a small smile on his face.

“Thank you Alex….I’ll miss you.” Jeremy said before moving up and giving Alex a kiss on his cheek before settling down again.

“You’re welcome Jeremy…I’m gonna miss you too.” Alex replied quietly as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

Alex was up first the next morning to find Jeremy tucked against his chest. He lay there for a while just stroking a hand up and down Jeremy’s back. He would miss this, miss the soft little furnace tucked into his side every night, miss watching TV and playing with him. He’d miss his aunt and uncle too, they felt more like parents to him after a week than his mother and Ron had in years.

There was no way he could stay though, none at all. He had gone over it all in his head and found no way that he could stay. Alex was sure that his aunt and uncle would let him stay if he asked but there was no way his mom would let him go.

Alex wasn’t sure why but her and Ronald had become very possessive over the last few years. They very rarely let Alex out of their sight and when they did they made sure that they knew where he was going and what he was doing and when he’d be back.

He had very few friends back in Texas and his contact with the outside world was limited. They had surprised him when they gave him a laptop for his birthday, as he had never been allowed on the internet for more than an hour and never unsupervised.

Alex found out though that even though he was allowed to keep the laptop in his room and use it whenever he wanted the same rules applied to his internet usage as before.

Alex didn’t know or understand what was going on with them but he knew there was no way they’d allow him to live with Beth, James and Jeremy.

He didn’t have time to think about that though, Jeremy was stirring and he didn’t want a depressing day to be any sadder than it had to be.

“Morning Alex.” Jeremy said sleepily as he nuzzled against Alex.

“Morning Jeremy, why don’t we get up and get some grub.” Alex suggested and Jeremy nodded.

After getting dressed and had breakfast with his aunt and uncle, they headed for the airport. Alex tried to keep his cousin upbeat and happy as they drove but slowly Jeremy sunk into depression. The young boy found himself in the same position he had been in three years ago, facing the loss of his best friend for an unknown amount of time.

Alex was feeling it too, he was only happy when he was with Jeremy and his family.

Alex though couldn’t fight it either, the closer they got to the airport the quieter he got. Eventually he found himself staring out of the window; that was until he felt a small, warm hand slide under his on the seat next to him.

He looked over to see Jeremy staring down at the floor. His lower lip was wobbling a little bit and there were tears in the corner of his eyes but he wasn’t crying…yet.

Alex squeezed his hand tightly and watched as the tears slipped down Jeremy’s cheeks. At this, Alex reached over, undid Jeremy’s seat belt, pulled him next to him, and buckled him into the center belt. It wasn’t as safe as the regular buckle but it let Jeremy wrap his arms around Alex and tuck his head against his shoulder to cry into Alex’s coat.

Alex was very aware that his aunt and uncle were paying attention but it didn’t matter; he held Jeremy as close as he could and tried his best to comfort the smaller boy. After a few moments, Jeremy calmed down but tucked his head against Alex’s shoulder and left it there.

As the airport came into view, Alex tightened his grip around Jeremy not wanting Jeremy to be anymore upset.

“You guys don’t have to come in with me if you don’t want to, I can get through by myself.” Alex offered quietly.

He watched as his aunt and uncle exchanged looks before nodding together.

“Yes, that might be a good idea, if you don’t mind of course.” His aunt said carefully.

Alex looked down to Jeremy and he looked up at him with bright, sad eyes.

“Yea it’s fine, no worries.” Alex said as he ran a hand through Jeremy’s hair.

Jeremy nodded in agreement, closed his eyes, and burrowed deeper against Alex’s coat.

Once they arrived, they all got out of the car to tell him goodbye. Alex hugged his aunt and uncle and then hefted Jeremy up into his arms.

“I’m gonna miss so much Jeremy. I promise I’ll keep in touch and do my best to come back as soon as I can.” Alex promised quietly against Jeremy’s neck.

Jeremy sniffled and nodded against Alex’s shoulder.

“I’ll miss you too, Alex…will you call me tonight when you get home?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“Yes, I will, I promise.” Alex promised.

Alex set him down on the ground and Jeremy hugged him around the waist before stepping back with his parents.

“I love you guys…I’ll call you as soon as I get home.” Alex said as he hefted his duffle bag and turned to leave.

Jeremy watched as Alex walked into the building. His best friend in the whole world was walking away again and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Come on Jeremy, it’s time to get home.” James said as he clapped his son on the shoulder.

Jeremy nodded obediently and slid back into the backseat of the car…on the side where Alex had been sitting.

The three of them were quiet as they drove home. Both Beth and James knew that it wasn’t good for Jeremy to sulk but neither of them knew what to do for their boy.

“I’m going to go play upstairs.” Jeremy said once they got home.

Beth and James watched as Jeremy went upstairs, they both hoped that he might cheer up when Alex called that evening.

Alex’s call did indeed cheer Jeremy up immensely; the two of them talked for two hours and would have gone longer if Jeremy hadn’t been nodding off during the conversation.

After promising to write him soon though, Alex managed to convince him to go up to bed and let him talk to his Aunt and Uncle.

James and Beth mentioned having him up for a long vacation during the summer and Alex was overjoyed at the idea. When they hung up that night everyone had a better feeling about the coming year.

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I want to thank Rush for her work in editing, without her I would be no where. As always, I love to get your thoughts and opinions so feel free to email me at allenarcane88@yahoo.com, drop me a PM, write me a review or visit the discussion forum.

I read and respond to everything.