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He'd felt like his stomach was full of rocks on the drive home, so while Jason hurried into the house, he was braced for bad news. It wasn't that he didn't think Luke shouldn't be accepted, but that the series of rejection letters had been the likelihood hard to deny. Watching the enthusiasm and energy, the forward look in his brother's eyes drain hour letter by letter over the summer had been miserable enough to watch, let alone for Luke to experience.

Jason should have helped him more, in figuring out the right electives the past few years, the right community volunteering and clubs. He'd been too hands off and distracted and he'd let his brother down. And judging from the looks he'd gotten from their mom, he wasn't the only one who knew that.

So when he stepped through the door, Jason was braced for the dejected slump of Luke's shoulder, maybe the bitterness that crept into his words more and more often. Not...well, not a paper handed over rather than tossed or shoved, not Luke's expression of disbelief with hope fighting to make its way back in.

Taking the paper, he looked down at it and sighed. Finally, an admissions department saw how great Luke could be. Looking up, he gave Luke a solemn look and then a grin broke out, "You're accepted."

Jason let out a huff of laughter at the question, but stopped at Luke's reasoning for why he got in. Giving his brother an almost gentle punch in the arm, he answered, "In is in, don't make up weird stories to make it sound like you don't deserve it."

Luke didn't move away fast enough to escape the two hands that gripped his shoulders and began to shake him back and forth. "You got in. You're going. Mom's gonna be even more excited to see you happy."

Which was true, but she'd probably also cry a lot and whine about it when Luke wasn't there. Maybe Jason should stay at the DCU dorms after all...

Ah yeah, knight stuff. "I'll be here. That'll have to be good enough for brigade stuff, and I can call you if the world's gonna end, ok?" The shaking stopped, and then Luke got caught up in a rough hug.

"Don't talk yourself out of this."

"You can always come back." Despite the opinions of various authors and philosophers, you absolutely could go home again. "So you should go out and see and do as much as you can, right?"

Letting go of the hug, Jason went on, "Okay, I'm going to update your checklists. Since you'll be out of state there's a few more things you'll need to keep track of. Maybe we should get a safety deposit box somewhere near campus? So your important documents don't end up at a circus in New Jersey or something. You're going to need more luggage, too." He froze, suddenly looking up to a corner of the room like a dog sensing a nearby squirrel.

"Are you going to need a car? We're going to have to check out what transport is like on Long Island."

With a sigh and a nod, Jason refrained from stating it was a lot. It was another state, full of strangers. A new situation entirely with university. And for the first time in his life, Luke would truly be on his own. No one looking after him, making sure this and that got taken care of, no one to help or protect him.

At least to start.

But maybe that was what his brother has needed all this time, anyway. To be left to stand on his own, uniquely himself.

"Right, yeah. Sorry." Clapping Luke on the shoulder he moved back a bit more. "Just, if you need help, I'm here." For now, at least.

Reaching out slowly and with clear understanding and affection, Luke found himself in a sudden headlock, getting his aggressively hair roughed up. "Thank you for your support. Save the speeches for when you're trying not to cry at the airport."