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"Kiss me." Ben leaned forward.
"Look, just because I agreed to help you run lines doesn't mean I'm going to actually kiss you," Matt protested.
"Oh, come on, Matt, I have to learn this."
"No." Matt stood and made his way to the kitchen.
"Why not?" Ben asked, following Matt through the house.
"Why not what?" Casey asked from where he was sitting on the counter, scraping out the bottom of an ice cream container.
"I'm trying to learn lines and Matt's not helping," Ben pouted.
"He wants me to kiss him," Matt answered balefully.
Casey laughed. "So? Kiss him."
"No."
"Why not? Is my big brother not good enough for you?" Casey teased.
"I don't think about him like that."
"You don't have to. It's just *acting,*" Ben said. "You do remember acting, right?"
"Wait a minute," Casey cut in before Matt could voice the smart-ass comment waiting on the tip of his tongue. "You mean you two have never?" He made an indeterminate gesture with the spoon.
They looked at him strangely. "No. We've never," Ben answered for them both. "Don't you think you would've known if we had?"
Casey shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like we've been all that close."
"Aw, somebody sounds left out," Matt said with a mock pout.
"Oh, fuck you!" Casey dropped the ice cream on the counter and stalked out of the room.
Matt and Ben exchanged a look. "What was that all about?" Ben asked.
"I don't know," Matt shrugged. "He's your brother."
Ben glared at him. "That doesn't mean I know what's going on." He sighed. "We'd better check on him."
They found Casey curled into one corner of the couch in the living room.
"Case? You all right?"
"Leave me alone."
"No." Ben squeezed himself onto the couch behind Casey. "You're my baby brother, Case; it's my job to take care of you." Ben smoothed Casey's hair back. "Tell me what's wrong," he murmured.
Casey blindly turned his head into Ben's chest. "It's not fair. You have each other and you've always been best friends and I don't have anyone."
"Casey, we're always here for you. You know that," Matt said, reaching out to put his hand on Casey's arm.
"It's not the same."
Matt and Ben exchanged a worried look over Casey's head, then Matt moved forward so that Casey was cradled between them.
"No two relationships are ever the same, Case. That doesn't mean we don't love you," Matt reassured him. He caught Casey's eyes. "We do love you." Matt leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Casey's forehead.
"So you'll kiss him and not me?" Ben protested, returning to their original argument.
Matt rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby." He cupped Ben's cheek and kissed him thoroughly. When Matt pulled back and settled his arms around Casey, just below Ben's, Ben just stared at him.
"Why didn't we ever do that before?" Ben wondered aloud.
"Because despite the media speculation, you two are too stupid to see what's right in front of you," Casey informed him.
Silence reigned for a few moments before Ben asked, "Do you really think so?"
"Yes." Casey looked from one to the other. "Look, I'll just go somewhere else and let you two figure this out."
Ben's arms tightened, holding Casey in place. "Whatever's going on here, you're a part of it too."
Casey squeezed his eyes shut. "Ben, don't," he whispered. "I don't want you two to regret this later and then tell yourselves that you only did it to make me feel better."
"Baby Casey," Ben said, using a nearly-forgotten childhood nickname, "I'd never do that to you. *We'd* never do that to you."
Matt stroked Casey's cheek with his thumb. "We wouldn't do that, Case. Look, you said yourself that we're pretty much blind. For a long time, you were just so much younger than us and we got used to that and now we have a hard time seeing that you're all grown up and that you need us as much as we need each other. But Casey, we love you. You belong with us."
Ben turned his brother's head and placed a gentle, non-threatening kiss on his lips. When he was done, Matt did the same.
"It's your choice, Casey, but we want you to be part of this."
Casey looked from one to the other. "Okay," he finally said, his voice just barely above a whisper.
"Good," Matt all but purred. He leaned in to kiss Casey again and then, in response to a look recalling their earlier discussion, leaned over Casey to kiss Ben.
Casey relaxed back into the two pairs of arms holding him. "Thanks," he said quietly, snuggling back into Matt and Ben. "I love you."
"We love you too," Ben replied, pressing his lips into Casey's hair. He moved one of his arms from where it lay across Casey to wrap around Matt and pull the three of them closer together. They sat there on the couch, wrapped around each other, for a very long time.