"No. This is my crappy apartment." Kevin gestures toward the window, toward the campus across the way. "That's law school."

Tommy kicks the corner of the box and then scrapes his tennis shoe across the floor. He doesn't look at Kevin, and he doesn't look out the window at the view. "I'm…I'm real proud of you, Kevin."

"You're what?"

He flushes and shrugs, staring intently at the bare box spring that covers the twin bed frame. He shrugs again and then glances back at Kevin, looking away before Kevin can meet his eyes. "Proud of you."

"For what?"

He kicks the foot of the bed. "This. Doing this."

"Going to college? You went to college, Tommy."

"I went to state college and got the minimum degree to get Dad off my ass. You're in law school. Not the family business, not the…whatever it is that Kitty wants to do. You're…this is a real profession, Kevin. And you're not living at home. You're…well, you're making something of yourself." He shrugs yet again and then kicks the bed, harder this time. "And I'm proud of you, okay?"

Kevin nods, even though Tommy's studiously not looking at him. "Do you know why I decided to be a lawyer?"

"Nice suits, sweet cars and hot girls?"

"Um," Kevin runs his hand through his hair and sighs, "no. Well, the last bit is a no. The first two are a maybe." He moves up behind Tommy and touches him lightly on the shoulder. "I decided to be a lawyer because of you."

"Me? God, did I really make you hate me that much growing up?"

"Yes." Kevin sits down on the box spring and runs his thumb over his thigh, nail picking at a worn spot in the denim of his jeans. "But you told me once that it was my job to keep you out of trouble. I was the one that could lie straight up to Dad and sweet talk Mom into anything. Said I was the litigator. You called me that when I was ten and Justin was two and Mom had just gotten him down for a nap and you and Sarah got in a huge fight and woke him and Mom was pissed and you shoved me toward her and told me to litigate my way out of it. I had no idea what it meant until I looked it up."

"Mom always fell for your baby blues."

"Afterwards, you and Sarah were outside and she was still pissed and you ran by me as she chased you with the hose and told me I was a born lawyer."

"Kevin, I was twelve."

Kevin nods as Tommy sinks down next to him. "You were right though."

"And, as I recall, Sarah hit you full in the face with the hose."

"She did, and as I recall, I then rescinded my statement and told Mom Sarah woke Justin and she spent the rest of the week doing all our chores." Kevin laughs as Tommy casually tosses his arm across Kevin's shoulders.

Kevin stiffens slightly - they don't do this anymore, this casual thing, this touching thing - and Tommy withdraws his hand, shoving it between his knees as he bends forward and focuses on the floor.

"Regardless of why, Kevin, I am proud. You're doing something good. You're getting away from the family, you're making your own way." He glances over at Kevin quickly. "I know Dad's not paying for this."

"He gave me a choice. I took this one."

"And turned down a free ride."

"Nothing's free, Tommy, and I wasn't willing to pay his price." Kevin gets up and grabs the box Tommy had set on the floor, shoving it across the room. "If I'm going to be a disappointment to him, I'd rather do it on my own terms."

"I don't think he's disappointed, Kevin. I think he's proud of you too." Tommy watches him, frown creasing a line between his brows. "He calls you his son, the lawyer."

"Tommy," Kevin looks up and he's sure he's giving away more than he should. "He doesn't call me his son at all anymore."

"He'll come around, Kevin."

"Yeah?" Kevin shoves his hands in his jean pockets and nods toward the door. "Come on. We've got a lot of unpacking to do still."

"You know all that this is going to do is make mom drive farther to come pester you."

"You know that my door has a deadbolt on it and a lock that no one - not even Mom - has key to."

Tommy nods as they jog down the stairs, Kevin taking two to his one, in a sudden rush to get this done. "You're pretty smart, Kevin. For a little brother."

"Had to do something. We can't all be star quarterback and heir to the throne." He jogs backwards, catching the keys as Tommy tosses them his way. "And thank God for that, because honestly? I have no idea what to do with a cheerleader."

"You know what to do with football players though, right?" Tommy laughs, the sound warm and rich to Kevin's ears, and he knows he must bright red and blushing hotter. "You're not the only one who can make inappropriate homosexually themed jokes about my gay brother, you know."

Kevin stares at Tommy for a long moment, just long enough for Tommy to react under the gaze, wonder if he's gone too far. "No. I guess I'm not." He waits for Tommy, throwing his arm around his older brother's shoulders. "Come on. Let's get this unloaded and I'll buy you lunch."

"You think I'm that cheap a date?"

Kevin throws back his head and laughs, taking off at a sprint again, Tommy hot on his heels. "You want me to offer you more?"

Tommy tackles him and they slide several feet across the dew-wet grass, both of them laughing. "C'mon, Walker. Let's get the rest of your life started."

Kevin gets to his feet and holds a hand down to Tommy. "Can take our time. No need to rush."