(GQ #12) The Confession

4. Mystery Box

"I guess it's just us now." Jun walked alongside Leon. Even though his brother was missing in action, they might be able to get some info out of him.

"Yeah." Leon stayed quiet for a moment. It was weird to see him so somber. Jun almost picked up the conversation again, but he spoke up. "Jun, do you have any siblings? You always seemed like a big sibling type to me."

"Nope. Rox is the closest I got. And Aiden. I kinda wondered what it'd be like to have one." They thought for a moment. "I dunno, it feels like it'd be strange to go a couple years as an only child and then, like, suddenly have another kid around."

"I was excited to find out I'd have a little brother." He smiled a little. "At least that's what my mom told me. I don't remember it all that well."

Wow. That went smoother than Jun thought. They didn't bring up how weird it was for Leon to say that.

They already knew he and Angelo weren't twins. For Leon to have been excited by the news, he had to have at least a few years on Angelo, just as expected. Though Leon might not have been trying to hide it. Jun did remember him implying his brother would only stay a little while.

"How long did you say he was staying again?" Jun held open the door for the meeting room.

Leon visibly panicked. "Uhhhh, it looks like he'll be with us for the whole trip." A smile covered it up about as well as cheap air freshener on fish. "If nothing comes up, at least. So that'll be interesting..."

"Oh, cool." Jun smiled too, even though they felt bad for the poor kid. There's no way he planned this. Finding out his brother's stay was permanent had to be a huge bummer. No wonder he was all gloomy.

Inside the meeting room, Leon opened the panel to go downstairs. There was no one downstairs. This might be a good time.

"Hey Leon, how's it going?"

"It's going." He stepped down first. "I know it's my birthday and everything, but I'll admit it's been a little ehhh."

"Yeah, you looked a little down lately."

"I did?" Leon slowed his pace. "I guess I haven't come out of my room much. But I probably shouldn't be like this on my birthday, hm?"

"I mean. It's your birthday, you can cry if you want to."

He laughed. "Thanks. Weirdly enough, that makes me feel a lot better."

Jun could imagine. Sometimes it's best to be able to feel bad without anyone trying to stop it or worrying about being seen as weak. They weren't a crier, though, so they didn't really need that advice.

"But Emil really did cheer me up with that party!" Leon sounded more like his usual self. "Gosh, I'm still–I don't know how he does it. He's so–there's a word for it–but he's so good at paying attention to the little things about people. Like my favorite foods or how much I like his guitar-playing."

"No yeah, he's really attentive."

"That's the word! Attentive. He's so attentive..."

Leon wasn't exactly the most subtle about things he liked. He didn't lie, though. Emil paid a lot of attention to everyone. Doing chores around the ship so his brother wouldn't have to face people, going above and beyond to make sure Jun's coming out went smoothly, Leon's birthday party, it went far beyond just winking and encouraging. Jun would've never thought to snap a picture of that rainbow so Mia could have a memento of visiting Earth. Being thoughtful came second-nature to him.

Showmen like Emil lived to please, but sometimes Jun wondered if he'd die if he didn't. That day at the lake gave them some insight.

"I know they're just worried, but sometimes it makes me feel–"