Once Tony had finished the best meal he had for the second night in a row, he went to pay the bill. Ethan beat him to it, though. The bastard had his card out of his wallet and ready to go in his jeans pocket the whole time. It had made Tony feel cared about that his big brother wouldn't let him pay. He had gotten so used to the role of big brother with Dillon that he forgot what it felt like to be the little bro again. It was a nice change, not that he minded his big brother status with Dillon. Quite the contrary, actually. Once in a while though, it was nice to be treated to something. He knew that if Dillon was able to work more that he would surely treat Tony as often as he could. The kid was that kind of person.

  Old man Charles took a long drag of his smoke and tossed one to Tony, who lit up right away. Awesome dude, but he felt a pang of annoyance at his laughter. What was so funny about the fact that Ethan threw him away back then? It was a double dose of irritation as he thought about how long it took his brother to realize he was important. What the hell? As Charles exhaled, he looked Tony dead in the eye.   "I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else that comes through these doors without firsthand knowledge of the struggle- and

  "Well what are you waitin' for?! Strip and get in yer spot! NOW DILLON!" Tony grabbed his hair again and smacked him across the other cheak. He shoved Dillon's head towards the bedroom and let go abruptly. 

  "Hey," Dillon said as he separated from him. "What's that 'round yer neck?"  "H-huh? The chain, duh," Tony said in a bemused tone.  "What's on the chain?"

  Three rounds later and they were nice and relaxed. They lounged around in bed while Dillon played 'Final Fantasy X'. It was the New Year, but to them it just felt like a normal, chill day. It was the newest mile marker in their lives. It had been a crazy year previous, but it was a new year and a clean slate.