For the first time in his life, Dash felt how much an inch could separate two people. However, he also knew that it was far more than just an inch that lay between him who stood on the ground and from the person buried beneath his feet. His face was expressionless, his eyes looked far off into the distance before settling on the slate that had the name of his beloved engraved on it. He knelt on the ground, touched the memorial stone and felt the emptiness inside him eating what was left of his heart. The void grew larger, his sadness and fear once again taking over him.

"Dash."

He felt a strong hand settle on his shoulder, squeezing lightly in hopes of bringing him back to reality.

"I'm sorry," his dad said.

"It's not your fault."

Kenneth nodded and moved to stand right beside his son. Mattie stood to Dash's other side. All of them in deep silence. Solitude in the presence of each other.

"I won't leave you," Kenneth told them. "I won't make the same mistake again."

"It's too late now, isn't it," Dash mumbled. "...too late, dad."

Kenneth knelt beside him and drew him into a hug. Dash didn't protest nor said anything about the gesture. His head lay on his father's chest, his sobs gently rocked his body, but his father's arms failed miserably at comforting him. No one could take away the emptiness he felt.

"Dashu...," Mattie whispered and watched his brother being embraced by their dad.

"An inch, Mattie," Dash mumbled, looking up at Mattie. "It's so much more than an inch."

"Don't lose hope, son," Kenneth told him. "You won't lose anything more from now on."

Dash nodded gently against his father's chest. There was still something to look forward to, he kept telling himself. He shouldn't lose hope as early as now.

Oli, he thought.

On the memorial stone was engraved his mom's name. He had made Mattie believe that their parents' corpses were cremated. The truth, however, was far from that. Their dad was alive and their mom was buried in a long forgotten grave. It was the last secret that he finally confessed to his little brother.

~*~*~*~

On the day of the hearing, Kenneth and both his sons were there to witness Dan being prosecuted and defended. Questions kept flying between the two sides. Their eyes drifted toward each other, but failed to maintain eye contact.

When Dan's eyes found Mattie's, he only saw what he did to the boy...to his own son. When he stared back at Kenneth, he'd see far back into the past when his big brother first shunned him aside. And, when Dash glared at him, he'd see his own future lying in front of him. He'd definitely rot in prison.

The boys were called to the stand and questioned. Kenneth did not like the request, but Mattie wanted to deal with his uncle, his own dad, in his own way. He did not even love the man anymore. And he did not want to be identified as the son of a criminal. When he was asked to point toward the person who mistreated him, it only took a second for him to identify Dan who sat a few feet in front of him behind the defendant's desk.

When Dash was called, he wasted no time in avoiding all the questions fired at him. Dan's lawyer was trying to sway the case in his favour by working the questions he threw at Dash in such a way that his uncle seemed believably innocent. When it was the prosecution's turn, the innocence was easily thwarted and Dash made sure to convince the jury with his own testimony.

The hearings went on for weeks and, much to Kenneth's surprise, Dan was also charged with the murder of his wife. It was to be heard in a different case filed by Kenneth's lawyer. An appeal to review the whole case from more than three years ago after they successfully reconstructed the crime scene with the same evidence they gathered and with the help of a 15-year-old witness.

On the final day of the hearing and when it was time to read Dan's sentence, the jury found him guilty of kidnapping and child abuse. It wasn't a surprise. The evidence were sufficient to grant him his own time in prison. The murder, however...

"Mr Briz," Frank said as he met Kenneth outside the court room on the arraignment for the murder charge. "Someone wants to speak with you."

Dash and Mattie were left to wait outside while they sat on some old pew. It felt nostalgic for both of them. It was like being brought back to the past when Dash first heard his dad's echoing voice from inside the court room.

Not guilty.

"I believe this is how we met."

Dash and Mattie looked up and saw Alex, Oli's dad, smiling at them. They saw what the man was holding in both his hands. Two cans of soda and Twinkies. It's been some time since they last saw the man. A long time since an inch stretched to an unbearable distance.

Alex crouched in front of the boys and handed them their snacks.

"How are the two of you?"

"Fine, sir," Dash answered.

"Good," Alex said and shifted his gaze to Mattie. "Hey, buddy. Guess what."

"What?"

Alex took out some papers from his suitcase and showed it to both boys. It was from the animal shelter and Mattie immediately knew what it was for.

"I get to keep Lucky?" he excitedly asked.

"He's waiting for you. I've talked to your dad and he sees no problem in having your own dog."

Mattie hopped off the bench and hugged Alex tightly that the man almost fell on his butt. He laughed heartily and reciprocated the embrace. He said, "You can go get him on your way home."

"Home?" Dash bitterly asked. "We don't even know if we still have a home. Our dad may have to go back to prison and...and..."

Alex saw the hesitation in Dash's eyes. The pain of living through the same thing once again. They first met outside the court room more than three years ago and this may be the last time they'd see each other.

"Your dad's lawyer talked to me. If it's okay with you, I'll have you live with us. I can file for adoption and we would really love to have you as part of our family." He paused before saying, "Don't lose hope."

"But what about..."

They were interrupted when a bailiff called for Alex. He had his own arraignment to deal with. In the same building, in a different court room. He stood back up and excused himself from both boys, telling them that he'd see them once he was done for the day.

Inside a small room where Kenneth was led into earlier, he met with Dan and his lawyer. The brothers sat in front of each other and their respective counsel agreed to leave them for a while.

"Is this an out-of-court settlement?" Kenneth asked mockingly.

"It's a criminal charge," Dan told him. "Not a civil one, Kenny."

"And?"

"A person's life can't be bought and indemnified. Lara's dead and we both know that."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Kenneth sounded impatient, but he was really just annoyed at having to sit in front of a proven criminal. His own brother.

Dan looked down at the table and at his handcuffed hands. There was no escape now. He and his brother were here. This may as well be the confrontation between them. What he had longed for since his brother turned away from him and never spoke to him again. He had always wanted to sit with Kenneth and have the inevitable brotherly talk.

Be careful what you wish for, he told himself as he smiled sadly.

"Am I...," he began and stared at Kenneth. "Am I still your little brother, Kenny?"

The question caught Kenneth off-guard. Dan sounded scared somehow. Doubtful, too. His brother, whom he had loved with all his heart when the world still let them keep their own innocence, back when they were as young as 12 and seven, looked at him with eyes of despair, sadness and...repentance. What happened between the two of them in the span of all those years, he couldn't be certain anymore.

"Are we still like Dash and Mattie?" Dan probed. "Are we still like them?"

"That was long ago," Kenneth answered lowly.

"You always say that! Goddamn you! It wasn't long ago, Kenny. I still remember everything from how you fucked me and turned me to who I am now! How can you just forget that? How can you just..."

"Ignore you?" Kenneth finished on Dan's behalf. "Yes, I turned my back to you. I haven't forgotten anything. I just don't want to bring that up anymore."

"Without even telling me you're sorry?"

Dan's eyes could be as dynamic as he would will it too. The change of colour in those eyes was as fast as a snap. From its tender shade of brown, it could easily manipulate the fire in those orbs. And it was how Kenneth learned to understand his younger brother. Dan's eyes were the most honest ones he had ever come to know.

"I didn't mean what I did, Danny. Any of it. We were so young back then that..."

"Shut the fuck up," Dan hissed. "We both know what we did and you know what was worse? I loved all of it. Kenny, I loved you."

Silence engulfed the room. To Kenneth, however, he saw Dan from a different perspective. The illusion before his eyes played out from so long ago. Dan was right in front of him looking so hopeless and abandoned. The younger brother he was seeing was Dan's 15-year-old self. That same look in Dan's eyes...the same desire to bring back what was lost.

Are we still like Dash and Mattie?

Those words echoed inside Kenneth's head. Dash and Mattie. Each of them, their own child.

"How's Mattie?" Dan asked, changing his whole demeanour and tone.

"He's 10 now. He's growing up fast and Dash is always there to guide him. He's as good as any boy can be." Kenneth paused and the words he spoke next sounded so distant and low. "I'm sorry, Danny."

"Are you, Kenny? Do you really mean that?"

"I know it's too late, but I can't change any of it. It's all of my fault we're here right now. If I have to live my life again, I know what I will do."

"What?"

"We'll be like Dash and Mattie and I'd be the best big brother to you."

Dan scoffed and smiled derisively. Those words can't turn back time. What good were they? What's done is done. There was no point in trying to alleviate the wounds of their past.

"I loved you," Dan mumbled. "But not anymore. I want to lock you up and make you see what it was like to live in that god-forsaken house with an alcoholic father and a fucking teenager who abandoned his younger brother. Goddamn it, I want you to rot in hell."

So it really was too late to make it up to Dan. Kenneth had been so stubborn all his life. His own pride had cost him his brother.

"But if you rot in hell," Dan continued. "...and I end up in prison, there'll be no one to make sure that Dash and Mattie will still be there for each other."

Dan's eyes changed once again, staring back at Kenneth.

"Promise me you'll take care of them. I've hurt them too much and it doesn't need a lot of court hearings to know what I did was wrong. I just...," Dan paused and he looked to be breathing uneasily. "Fuck, I've been sober for too long. You have any booze I can smuggle into my cell? And smokes, at the very least."

Just then, a bailiff entered the room to remind them of the hearing that was about to start before leaving Kenneth and Dan alone once again.

"Take care of them, Kenny. You're all they have left."

Kenneth nodded silently before both their counsels retrieved them for the trial. Kenneth still wasn't so sure if he would finally secure his acquittal. The statement of their primary and only witness seemed insufficient to establish a reasonable ground for Dan's motives and the investigation couldn't find a concrete relation between the boy's statement and the evidence gathered from more than three years ago. For all he knew, he could end back in prison, rotting in hell as what Dan probably meant. And his brother would also be locked up for his own crimes.

Dash and Mattie sat far away from the front. Mattie knew that his father and Dash's were in danger of being taken away from them. As for Dash, he still believed that Mattie was his brother by full-blood.

When it was time take his plea, Dan was asked more than a few times before Kenneth finally understood what his brother meant by him taking care of Dash and Mattie.

"Guilty," Dan had whispered which caused the judge to ask him once again. In a much louder voice, he repeated, "Guilty, your honour."

Kenneth was stunned by his brother's admission. When the initial shock of the plea passed him, he quickly stood and shouted to his brother.

"Danny!"

Dan turned his head toward Kenneth and smiled. For years, Kenneth haven't seen that smile. It was the same smile that his brother always pulled off when they were still the best of friends, back when no one ever thought of what a kiss eventually brought upon them. Kenneth marched to the front and pulled Dan into a tight hug.

"Don't cry, Kenny," Dan whispered. "You should be happy."

"I'm not crying, you idiot!" Kenneth freed Dan from the embrace and added, "I'll make sure they won't grow up like how we did."

"Will you visit me?"

"Always."

So it was quickly put to rest and when Dan was led out of the court room, passing by Dash and Mattie, he stopped and asked if he could speak with his son. Mattie hesitated, but seeing the look in Dan's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to not say goodbye at the very least.

"You are your father's son," he told Mattie which confused the boy. "Your dad will do a better job in taking caring of you, I promise."

Mattie nodded gently and, losing to his own mind battle once again, he reluctantly hugged Dan for the last time. His father kissed him on his forehead before letting himself be taken away and led outside.

~*~*~*~

On the night before the day Dash was waiting for, he lay alone on his bed with Oli's notebook under his careful scrutiny. He scanned the several pages littered with sketches both horrible and cool. He didn't linger for too long on the scribbles. Instead, he went to that specific page where Oli wrote a dash above a prose.

His fingers brushed gently on the blue-coloured hyphen. His own name, drawn in a symbol by none other than the boy he loved most. Inevitably, sadness crept over him and made his room a lot darker than it was.

His little brother was watching some movie with their dad downstairs. It was sort of a family time for them, but he refused to let his mind drift far away from reality. He didn't want to be absorbed by some cartoon. He didn't want to forget Oliver for even just a brief second.

Then, when he was about to go to Oli's next poem, the one about counting kisses, he heard someone knocking on his door. He kinda knew who dared to disturb him. He expected Mattie to be right outside his bedroom door.

"Come in, Mattie," he called from his bed.

When, at last, a tall shadow crept for outside, he quickly sat up and looked inquiringly at his dad.

"Hey, buddy."

Dash closed Oli's notebook and lay a pillow on top of it. His dad was standing a few feet from him and he wondered what the man was waiting for.

"You sure you don't want to watch the movie with us?"

"No, thanks," he answered.

"Mattie fell asleep on the couch," his dad said which was completely unrelated to what his agenda was.

"What do you want?"

Kenneth took Dash's distant tone as somewhat telling him to leave his son alone. However, he did not intend on doing so.

"The last time I came up to your room," he started as he paced toward Dash's bed. "...was when you were just six years old. It was right after Oliver left with his new family. You were crying on your bed, Dash."

"I know."

Kenneth sat on the edge of the bed with only a few inches between him and Dash. He carefully placed his hand on Dash's knee and was glad that the boy did not pull back.

"Are you okay?" his dad asked. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No, sir."

"You still don't trust me completely, do you, son?"

Dash shook his head gently.

"I understand. And you should know that I won't give up on you ever again," Kenneth paused and tried to look into Dash's eyes which refused to stare back at him. "Thank you for giving me one more chance."

"Oli wanted me to," Dash whispered almost involuntarily. "He said you changed and...and you're not a bad person."

"I've been worse than a bad father," Kenneth corrected. "What Oliver probably saw in me, he saw in you."

Dash looked at his dad confusingly and heard the man chuckle lightly.

"You see, son, not everyone can see past our mistakes and not everyone can be as forgiving as Oliver. Tell me, how did you become friends with him again?"

"Uh...he stalked me and just went out of his way to be friends with me."

"And what did you do?"

"I wanted him to piss off `coz I wasn't sure if I should be his friend again."

"And I bet he offered you a bargain, right?"

"Huh?"

"Your friendship for something else."

Dash thought hard about what his father was telling him. Oli didn't offer him a bargain as far as he could remember. Oli only wanted to measure him and that was it.

"He wanted to walk you home, but you hesitated," his dad continued. "...and since he's as persistent as he is, you had no choice but to be friends with him. In exchange, he'd leave you alone so you could keep your secret."

Dash didn't like where this was heading. He glanced away from his dad and looked really annoyed.

"He saw something in you. You were hiding something from him, but he saw it still."

"Please, dad," Dash said, trying to be polite and patient. "I want to be left alone."

"Five more minutes, son," his dad insisted. "I missed having this talk with you."

Dash didn't respond. Instead, he kept listening to what his father had in mind.

"Oliver knew something was missing in you and, thankfully, you let him fill that emptiness."

"Did he see that in you, too?" he quickly rebutted.

"Perhaps. He knew that I needed you and Mattie so I could change for the better."

For a good few seconds, they both stayed silent. When Dash felt his dad's hand leave his knee, he took out the notebook from under the pillow and turned once more to Kenneth.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Anything."

"Why can't we measure love?"

Kenneth raised an eyebrow at him and took the notebook that Dash handed him. He read the prose and went over it a second time before answering his son's question.

"Love takes different shapes and sizes," he began as he tried his best to come up with an explanation. "Something so dynamic can't be measured by our fixed instruments. If we can at least come up with an exact dimension, then there will be as many measurements as there are people on this world. Do I sound like I make sense?"

Dash nodded hesitantly. He looked down at Oli's notebook before finding himself smiling at his dad.

"Sorry if I turned out to be gay," he mumbled.

"No, Dash," Kenneth immediately spoke. "There's nothing to be sorry about. You're no different from other people. What you are is just love in whole other dimensions...a different set of measurements and scales. You take all those numbers away and it's just love...an expression of who you are."

"Really?"

"Yes. I should be sorry if it took some time for me to understand. Maybe, I thought we all live in a fixed reality. There's nothing like that at all. We are all different and that's not even a bad thing. It's what allows love not to be measured."

Dash nodded once again and, reluctantly at first, hugged his father. It surprised Kenneth, but he welcomed the warmth from his eldest child...the boy who once smiled at him so lovingly when he first opened his eyes to the world. Dash was his son and nothing can ever change that.

"Thanks, dad."

"Thank you, buddy."

When they pulled apart, Dash smiled at his dad before seeing the man leave his room. He went back to Oli's notebook and wrote something right above the blue-coloured hyphen.

Dash, he wrote. And he knew with all his heart that Oli meant for his name to be there.

While Mattie was well aware of being left alone on the couch, he didn't mind watching the movie on his own. The cartoon was ironic in one way or another. His dad, much to the man's own liking, had The Lion King play on their TV.

Now, even though Simba was an only cub, Mattie could still relate to the whole story. When his father left for Dash's bedroom, he feigned sleeping and cuddling to the far side of the couch. His dad kissed his forehead before turning the volume down.

After the credits rolled, he heard someone approach from behind him. He knew to whom those light footsteps belonged. He shifted a bit and even started snoring.

"You're a horrible liar, Mattie."

He giggled and opened his eyes to his brother's smiling face. Dash bounced from behind the couch and sat beside him.

"I need your help," Dash told him

"With what?"

"We're gonna see if we can measure love."

"Like what Oli wrote?"

"Yeah!" Dash pulled Mattie up and brushed his brother's curls. "You with me?"

"Mm-hmm!"

The two boys ran up to Mattie's bedroom and immediately got started. Mattie had no idea what Dash was thinking, but he went along and sat beside his brother on his bed.

"What do we do, Dashu?"

"Dad said love is as different as two people...or something like that," Dash answered while pondering on his own thoughts. "How much do you love me, Mattie?"

"A whole lot," the boy answered gleefully.

"Me, too. But, how much is a whole lot?"

Mattie looked at his brother who was deeply in thought. Without even being aware of it, he mimicked Dash's posture and put his hand under his chin as he started to think deeply, too.

"Can it be as big as the universe?" Mattie mumbled.

"How big is the universe?"

Mattie sighed and tried to think of another comparison.

"How `bout that inch you told Oli and me?" Dash asked.

Mattie looked puzzled, but tried the comparison anyway. An inch couldn't measure love, he thought. It was there for a different reason.

"An inch is too small, don't you think?" Dash quickly added and Mattie nodded in agreement.

"It's not love you're measuring with an inch," Mattie said. "An inch is where you stop."

Dash looked at his little brother questioningly and wondered what Mattie meant. In a careful voice, he asked, "Where you stop? You mean, stop loving?"

"Mm-hmm. You can't get closer with an inch in between."

"But...why?"

"Coz an inch is an empty space," Mattie justified. "It's where you..."

Mattie was cut off by Dash's phone suddenly sounding off inside his pocket. He answered the call while Mattie kept asking him who it was. When the call ended, Dash apparently forgot about his conversation with Mattie. A smile settled on his face, his heart beat like crazy and Mattie was being impatient with asking what the call was about.

"He's coming back tomorrow," Dash told his little brother. "Oli's coming home."

The following morning, Dash and Mattie were dropped off by their dad at Oli's house while their father went to work. The boys still had some preparations to do and it was best to start early.

The living room was set up, the dining table made ready and all the decorations were put where they were meant to be. A huge banner hung from the ceiling with some balloons here and there.

"The two secrets to a successful commitment," Diane started as she guided Dash's hands, "are symbols and promises."

"Symbols and promises?" Dash repeated as he looked up at Oli's mom.

"Symbols remind us of our commitments. It's there for a reason. Wedding rings remind us of the vows couples made to each other, a bouquet of flowers reminds us of our undying love and passion, anniversaries and other celebrations renew the vows we made and remind us of those special days in our lives."

"Like a birthday card or a Christmas present," Dash said and Dianne nodded.

"I'm sure you know how important promises are," Dianne said.

"We should always try to keep them because it hurts like hell if someone breaks their promises to us."

"Very good, Dash. Also, breaking our promises destroys someone's trust in us and that's how relationships start to crumble."

"That's why I'm keeping mine from now on."

"You've always kept yours," Dianne corrected and gently let go of Dash's hands. "You made your way back to Oli, didn't you?"

Dash nodded and silently glanced at the icing that spelled out Oli's name. Indeed, he made his way back to Oli...or was it the other way around? No matter who between the two of them took the first steps back toward each other, one thing was for certain. They met somewhere along the way.

"Are you ready, dear?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

It had been a long while since Dash saw Oli leaving the hospital. A long time since those distant blue orbs stared at him as Oli was taken away to continue his healing process while he and Mattie went through the court hearings. A long time which, in reality, was just barely over four months.

"Remember, just take your time with him. Don't be too hasty. He's still trying to recall everything you did together, but it's a very slow process."

"Okay."

"They'll be here soon. Why don't you get Mattie and wash up for a bit. There's frosting all over your face."

Dash learned to smile around Dianne. It wasn't such a difficult gesture. Oli's mom was so sweet and gentle and it became easy to smile and laugh around her. Dash nodded and went to get his little brother who was giving Lucky, his very first dog which they brought along with them, a bath.

Meanwhile, seated beside his dad in the car still a couple miles away from home, Oli had been silently staring out the window. On his lap were photographs, both very old and recent, of him, Dash and Mattie. He could vaguely remember the faces on those thin pieces of paper. He could even vaguely remember smiling the way he did in the pictures. But, somehow, he knew it was him who was smiling so happily in those mostly candid shots.

"You okay, son?" Alex asked.

"I don't know, dad," he answered while still looking outside. "It's like, there's something in my gut, but I don't know what."

"You feel nervous."

"I guess."

Alex glanced toward Oli and gently tapped the boy's shoulder, bringing his son's attention to him.

"It's okay, Oli. Don't force yourself in remembering anything. I know it's hard to think about all these stuff in one car ride so just take it easy for now and look forward to what this day would bring. Those pictures are memories. You'll see soon enough why they're important and why you smiled that way. You'll get to make more memories, then."

Oli smiled carefully at his dad. Despite losing some of his memory, he could easily remember the man who took care of him from when he was just six years old.

Looking back outside, he mumbled to himself, "My boyfriend's name is Dash."

"Dashu, I finally finished all of it," Mattie told his brother while they were seated in the tub with bubbles reaching up to their chins.

"Finished what?"

"My 1000th crane."

"You really did it?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Why? I mean, Oli's fine and we don't really need to wish for anything more."

"It's for insurance," Mattie confidently stated.

"Insurance," Dash repeated.

"So we'll have one wish available if we need it."

Dash nodded and reached for his brother's damp hair. He made quite a mess with it, forming shapes and all. Mattie giggled and let his big brother do the bathing for himself.

"You said you wished for something already." Dash mumbled and Mattie stopped giggling. "...before you even got to 1000, what did you wish for?"

"For Oli and you to always be together," Mattie whispered.

"How `bout you?"

Mattie looked up and saw his brother looking curiously at him. He smiled and answered, "I'm just you little brother, Dashu. The best little brother you'll ever have."

"Silly," Dash mumbled and pulled Mattie in for a hug. "You're not just my little brother. You're also my best friend."

He had been mad at Mattie for some time when Oli was still in the hospital. He never even said a word to his brother until Oli finally woke up with those blue eyes looking so dazed and distant.

Mattie said his apology several times and Dash couldn't find himself being mad at his little brother for too long. Before Oli left for his therapy, Dash had already forgiven Mattie and they both swore that they won't stay mad at each other ever again.

It was a promise they'd keep for the rest of their lives.

Mattie nodded against Dash's chest and relaxed. "Forever," he said and he almost wanted to fall asleep just like that.

Also on their way to Oli's house, Gabe, Anthony and Brian were trying their best to pull a wagon behind them with a huge black cloth covering what was under it. Gabe pulled, Anthony pushed and Brian coordinated their efforts. They stopped to rest several times, but when they got to the last block before Oli's house, they decided to run the remaining distance toward there.

"Fuck, this thing weighs a ton," Anthony mumbled as he almost fell down on his face.

"I'm doing all the work," Gabe argued. "Push harder."

"Piss off, Gabriel. You're barely pulling anything."

"Guys," Brian interrupted. "Less talk, more work."

The two boys looked at him impatiently and mumbled how he was doing nothing at all. Brian's only defence was that in every kind of job, there should be someone coordinating the whole thing and leading the way.

"One last corner," Brian reminded.

"Remind me not to build this thing again," Gabe said.

"Yeah. Too much weight and work."

They stopped once more when a familiar SUV passed by them and when they saw Oli waving and calling out to them. They looked stunned, but waved back. They exchanged glances before Anthony spoke up.

"He didn't even stop to help us."

"I bet he can't wait to see Dash again," Gabe said.

"C'mon, let's hurry!"

And they resumed to pushing and pulling, with Brian helping Anthony push the wagon this time.

Once again, for the first time in his life, Dash was too concerned with how he looked. He kept standing in front of the mirror and trying on the clothes he brought with him and with Mattie who served as his own fashion adviser. Mattie kept telling him that each shirt looked great, but he was doubtful with the opinion.

He finally settled with a navy blue shirt which he tried on first. When he got to brushing down his curls, he felt even more frustrated. He needed a haircut, he thought. He sighed and left his hair to dry on its own.

"Dashu."

He reached for a perfume and sprayed it under and on his shirt.

"Dashu."

He went back to his hair and tried brushing it to the other side of his head with a few strands falling over his eyes.

"Dashu!"

"What!"

Mattie gestured with his eyes, looking below his brother's waist as he smiled sheepishly. Dash looked down and noticed what his brother was wordlessly telling him.

"Oh," he mumbled. "Right. Pants."

He slipped into some jeans and looked at his reflection while still debating whether he should have picked green over navy blue.

"You look good, Dashu."

"Do you think he'll like it?"

"Mm-hmm."

"It doesn't look like I'm dressing up for him, does it? I mean, I don't want Oli to think I want to look good for him. Do you get it?"

"Mm-hmm," Mattie answered, hopped off the bed and walked toward Dash. "Oli will love it."

Mattie straightened his brother's shirt and tiptoed to reach Dash's curls before brushing it sideways.

"Thanks, Mattie."

"He'll love it very much."

When they heard a car coming into the driveway, they quickly ran to the window and saw who went out of the passenger seat. That same bouncy, sun-kissed hair...gorgeous indigo eyes which looked back at them from below...contagious smile and fair skin. It was Oli, alright. Oliver who had been away for quite some time.

"He looks good, Mattie."

"Mm-hmm."

They made their way downstairs and were met by Dianne who handed Dash the cake they made earlier. On it was written, `Welcome home, Oliver!'

When Oli entered the living room, Dash was still too dazed to approach the boy and hand over the cake or anything at all. Perhaps, hand over a kiss?

"Dash? Mattie?" Oli asked, his eyes settling on both boys. "You do look like twins."

Mattie giggled and ran toward Oli. The older boy spread his arms and pulled him into a hug. Unlike Dash, Mattie wasted no time in getting reacquainted with Oliver.

"My best bud Mattie, right?"

Mattie nodded fervently before taking Oli's hand and leading him toward Dash who looked like a statue holding a chocolate-frosted cake.

"I'm finally here, Dash."

"Uh...yeah," Dash stuttered and offered the cake. "Welcome home, Oli."

"Don't I get a kiss?"

Dash blushed and stared at Oli's playful orbs with his own doubtful and surprised ones. When he heard Oli's giggles, he also giggled shyly and nervously.

"C'mon, Dash. You're my boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Uh...yeah. I guess so."

"So where's my kiss?"

Dash was still unsure when he stepped closer to Oli. Their faces moved closer and just when Dash was so sure that their lips would meet, Oli moved and let Dash kiss his nose. The blonde boy giggled and Dash looked puzzled.

"That was our first kiss, I've been told."

Dash nodded and smiled gently.

"And definitely not the last one," he said.

And so the simple gathering followed and Gabe, Anthony and Brian soon arrived with the awfully large wagon parked beside Alex's SUV. The surprise was for later, they decided. Right now, they wanted to get to know Oli once again.

"Remember the first time we met?" Anthony asked as they all sat in a circle on the floor with ice cream cones in their hands.

"Not really, sorry," Oli mumbled.

"It's cool, Oli," Gabe assured. "We'd be glad to remind you."

"We were actually fighting that time," Anthony started. "Gabe and me. Then, you came shouting at us and we were like, `What the fuck.'"

"True," Gabe continued. "You were running to Tony and me, but you were also wearing a huge white cloth over you."

"My ghost costume," Oli said.

"Right. It was Halloween and we were fighting `coz of candies and stuff. Tony stole some of mine, I'm sure of it."

"I did not!" Anthony argued. "You did!"

"Whatever. What's important is that Oli gave us all his treats and made us stop fighting. He took us down the remaining houses in our street and I swear, we got more candies than tricks. It was like..."

"Oli knew how to beg like a puppy," Anthony completed. "He had the biggest blue eyes under a white blanket."

Except for bits and pieces, Oli couldn't remember anything else of the experience. Being told what happened, he listened carefully and wanted so much to relive his past. His eyes followed how Gabe and Anthony smiled and spoke. His laughter, though silent and low, was definitely heartfelt.

"You remember how you met Brian?" Anthony proceeded.

"A little," Oli answered and looked at Brian. "I mean, you kinda helped Dash and me, right? With Tony, too."

Brian nodded and told the story of how he met Oli.

"What happened to James and the others?" Oli asked when Brian got to that part of the story.

"Still in Juvie," Brian answered. "The others transferred to another school `coz they somehow got expelled. All of James' boys."

Lowering his voice to a whisper, Anthony told Oli, "I think your dad had something to do with it."

Oli chuckled and looked over to the dining table where his mom and dad were talking with each other.

The stories kept coming and before long, it was Dash's turn.

"How'd we meet, Dash?" Oli asked him.

"We were four years old and you were new to the neighbourhood. You saw me playing outside and wanted to be friends, but I think you only wanted me to help you get those heavy boxes off the mover's truck."

Oli giggled and said, "Maybe."

Dash continued, "It was your first night there and you already wanted to sleep over at our house. You were just so stubborn and you came..."

"...dragging my pillow with me," Oli finished. "And already in my pyjamas."

Dash looked at him confusingly and he received a smile in return.

"I remember it, Dash," Oli said. "I remember all of it until I moved away."

"You do?"

"Yep. All of it. The doctor said my brain got back the memories I lost while forgetting the more recent ones. Some kind of traumatic reaction, I think. It's like...weird, but I don't mind as long as I can still remember you."

The boys' little circle was silent. Their whole attention settled on Oli who started resting his head on Dash's shoulder.

"I remember everything about you and Mattie."

Dash nodded and absently licked his ice cream cone.

"You guys want to play a game?" Oli asked when he could no longer stand the silence.

"What game?"

"Truth or Kiss," he said which got him a stern look from Dash. "Or not. My boyfriend thinks he and he alone owns my mouth."

The boys laughed and Dash nudged Oli's side quite harshly. Oli didn't change at all. He could easily annoy the hell out of Dash and that was how it has been ever since they met.

"Oh yeah," Gabe suddenly remembered. "We got you a present, Oli."

"What present?"

"It's right outside and it weighs a ton," Anthony answered. "C'mon!"

They made their way to where the wagon was parked and it didn't take long for Oli to pull the cloth off the huge thing. It looked harmless and light, but looks can be far deceiving.

"What the hell is that?" Oli asked.

"That, my friend, is a race car."

"A freaking race car out of a wagon and some wood? We're 12, guys...this looks like a ride for a freaking five-year-old."

"Technically, it's for an eight-year-old," Gabe clarified and took something from behind the makeshift seat in the wagon. "Remember this?"

"It's the first trophy we won from racing with this thing," said Anthony.

"First and only trophy," Gabe added.

"We won with this thing? Who was behind the wheel?" Oli asked.

"You were. Gabe and me formed the pit crew."

"Wow. I mean like, it looks so ancient."

"Want to go for a ride?"

"Hell, no! I can't even fit in there."

"Who said you're gonna be driving?"

Oli looked at Gabe and Anthony confusingly. Gabe reached out for another thing behind the ragged seat and pulled a metal rod up from behind the wagon.

"It's now an RC wagon," Gabe pointed out. "It turns out that Brian is good with electronic stuff."

"Will you do the honour, Oli?"

Oli looked at the remote being handed to him and smiled excitedly. He didn't need to think twice before bringing the whole wagon to life. He tested the controls and was satisfied that it worked perfectly.

"So why did you have to push this thing earlier?" he asked. "You could've driven it with the remote."

"We didn't want to scratch the paint and we didn't want to ruin the surprise."

Oli shrugged and drove the wagon out the driveway and down the road. They ran behind it and were all laughing so hard the way only boys could.

Later that night, Dash stood outside the bathroom door where Oli was taking a shower and preparing for bed later. He didn't want to take things too fast with Oli and he thought that the other boy would be reluctant to share the bathroom with him. As far as he could tell, Oli was having a hard time adjusting back to reality. Despite how affectionate Oli had been earlier, Dash knew just from looking into those indigo eyes that his boyfriend wanted to take things slow.

"Who's there?" Oli's hushed voice called from inside.

Apparently, Dash wasn't aware that he knocked on the door.

"Uhm...it's me, Oli."

A short pause before Oli said, "Dash?"

"Yeah."

"Just a sec."

The bathroom door opened and Dash was greeted by a blushing Oli who had a towel around his waist. He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting downward before staring back at those blue orbs.

"Want to come in?" Oli asked.

"Uhm..."

Oli giggled and opened the door wider. That was when Dash was greeted by another blushing boy who was sitting in the bathtub.

"Hurry, Dashu!" Mattie yelled excitedly.

So that's where Mattie was. Dash wondered where the little boy went to earlier. It was only Oli who told him that he'd take a shower and the blonde boy didn't even tell him that Mattie would also be in that bathroom at the same time. He thought Mattie was playing with his dog.

"You kept me waiting, Dash," Oli said. "I almost thought you'd never come knocking on the door."

"Why didn't you just tell me to take a bath with you?"

"Duh! I wanted to see if you're okay with me taking it...uhm...slow this time."

Dash nodded before he was led inside and Oli helped him with his clothes. His blush never left his cheeks and when he was finally clad in only his undies, he knew that all his blood rushed to the tip of his erection.

"I can't even remember seeing you naked," Oli mumbled sadly.

"You can't?"

"Yeah. It's like...this is all new to me."

"And it's okay if we do it right away?" Dash asked.

"Do what right away?" Oli asked back, looking confused.

In Dash's mind, he meant to do everything with Oli right away. However, seeing Oli's innocent glance, he decided to just say, "To share the bathroom with me."

Oli chuckled and gestured to Mattie.

"I told you already," he said. "I was waiting all night for you to come in! Mattie even beat you to it. You still think I don't want to do any of this right away?"

"Uhh..."

"Don't be shy, Dash. I might not remember seeing you naked, but I know I want to right now."

"You do?"

Probably losing his patience, Oli sighed and took the towel off his waist. Dash's eyes quickly settled on Oli's flaccid member and he gulped at the sight.

"You like to look at me like this, don't you?" Oli whispered.

"Y-yeah."

"You're hard."

"How come you're not?"

A playful smile settled on Oli's lips before he pulled Dash into a hug. His limp member, as if remembering what it was like to brush against the ginormous erection it came into contact with right now, blissfully came to life.

Dash felt his blood rush out of his glans and toward Oli's anticipating dick. The embrace was gentle, the warmth soothing and Oli's blonde hair smelled faintly of peaches. It took three dawdling seconds before he finally returned the embrace.

"A first for everything," Oli whispered. "Let's start over again, shall we?"

"If you say so."

Oli looked up at Dash and placed a chaste kiss on the boy's parted lips. Shyly and bravely at the same time, their lips finally met once again. Their reminiscent tastes brought life to something lost deep in the creases of Oli's mind. For Dash, however, the kiss only intensified what he already knew.

"I love you," he told Oli.

"I love you, too." Oli smiled and placed another chaste kiss, longer this time.

"Can I get a kiss, too?" Mattie asked from where he sat in the tub, though he meant nothing by it.

However, Oli did walk back to him, leaned over the tub and planted a kiss on Mattie's lips which, to Mattie's denial, surprised the little boy. He left his eyes open and so were his legs, spread apart underwater with his little pecker storing up all the heat.

"How's that?" Oli asked and looked intently at him.

"Uhm...," Mattie mumbled, his eyes settling on Dash who also walked toward the tub.

"Look what you made him do, Oli."

Oli giggled, Mattie looked at his predicament and blushed. He didn't hide it, though. He only teased his lively pecker some more with his hand and invited his two big brothers into the tub, to which they all eagerly agreed.

So Dash finally pulled his underwear off him and sat in the bathtub for the second time that day. This time, though, Oli was with Mattie and him. They didn't do anything in the tub except to scrub each other's back and shampoo each other's hair. Ginormous dicks and peckers aside, they only wanted to know what it was like for their skins to rub on each other. Soon, three unicorns, as Mattie insisted, sat laughing inside the tub.

After they all finished and got dressed, Dash once again found himself lying with Oli and Mattie. This time, though, they lay beneath the stars and counted how many wishes waited to be whispered and asked for. They lay on top of several sheets and pillows out in the porch in their usual position. Oli, Mattie and Dash.

"Sorry I couldn't come with you for your therapy," Dash told Oli.

"It's okay, Dash. I heard your uncle's locked up and you're getting along with your dad."

"Yeah. He finally got what he deserved, Oli. And dad...he's changed."

"He's a good father. I'm sure of it."

Dash looked up and didn't respond.

"Did you miss me, Mattie?" Oli asked the boy who snuggled up beside him.

"Mm-hmm! A whole lot!"

Oli giggled and brought his arm under Mattie's head. "I missed you so much. Dash and you."

Dash turned on his side and looked at the two boys. When his eyes met Mattie's he said, "I still don't get what an inch is. You haven't told us yet."

Mattie remembered accordingly and sat up, preparing for the simple explanation he was about to give.

"You can only love someone so much," he began, "...so much that you can't explain how big...like...like this..."

Mattie spread his arms like wings.

"...then you see that it all comes down to this..."

He gestured with his little thumb and index finger.

"That small?" Oli asked.

"An inch," Mattie said, "...it all comes down to an inch and you can't get closer than that."

Before, Mattie thought that an inch was what kept him from Oli. Now, however, he felt sure than an inch was meant to be there. Not to keep them apart, but to hold them together.

"What's it for?" Dash asked.

"It holds two persons together. It's that little space between Oli and you that makes you miss each other and you might want to get rid of it, but you can't."

"We can't?"

"Nope. Without an inch, a kiss can't be sealed and a hug can't be given."

"But without an inch," Oli interrupted, "there'll be nothing between us, right?"

Mattie shook his head and said, "Nothing in between and nothing to remind you that you should always be together."

Oli nodded, though he still couldn't get the logic behind it.

"There will always be something in between," Mattie continued. "An inch is always an inch, no matter how small."

Oli looked at Dash and received an understanding nod. They both looked at Mattie and it was Oli who first said, "We know what's on that inch between Dash and me, Mattie."

"What?" the little boy asked.

"You," Dash whispered. "You're the one who keeps us together. You even brought us back together with Oli. If that inch should be anyone, it's you."

"Not to keep us apart," Oli continued, "but to make sure that we won't ever get separated."

When Oli finally finished, he had already pushed himself up on the sheets and sat in front of Mattie. The younger boy looked expectantly at him before being pulled into a hug. He leaned in closer and whispered, "Thank you, Mattie. For everything."

Mattie nodded gently and answered, "Mm-hmm."

So it was then that Oli finally knew how to measure love. An inch, Mattie had told him. An inch in between regardless of its true and exact length. An inch to keep them all together. And that inch, be that as it may, was Mattie all along.

As for Dash, he finally knew who made the first steps toward meeting each other again. Oli only provided the opportunity while he tried to dodge it completely. Right when he failed to evade Oli's advances, Mattie took not only the first steps, but the gigantic leap toward the centre where they all met.

Lips zipped, mouth shut. When somebody asks, tell them not.

Mattie broke that oath and eventually pulled the strings that set all of their lives in motion. Not for the first time, but for another try to synchronize all their differences, secrets and lies. Six years of being apart may have strained and rusted the wheels that moved them, hurting them in the process. But, it only took some bravery, honesty, trust and forgiveness to smoothen the turns. And, on Oli's part, a lot of persistence.

Dash thought back to when Oli forcefully kissed him at the playground that night when his secret was revealed and Oli's lies were shattered. He glanced at Mattie. It was his little brother working the little miracles of things, bringing back what was once thought to be lost forever. With Mattie looking happily back at him, he felt thankful for having him more than anything in the world. He felt thankful for having someone in between.