Leon left the observation deck a little confused, but mostly overjoyed that his phone finally reappeared! Angelo probably took it really hard having been the one to lose it. That might’ve been why he forgot to tell him about their grandfather. Crying about him though? At least he didn’t celebrate, even if he had more than a few reasons to.

Phone aside, it made him happy to have Angelo around again. College kept most of his high school friends busy, and while he loved the ones he’d made on the Celestion-5, he missed seeing familiar faces. It’s kind of funny. In many ways, Angelo hadn’t changed much at all. He still looked up to Leon just as much as before he left, still clung to him, and still got nervous around new people.

But he’d also changed so much. Leon worried he’d break Angelo’s heart by leaving for space. Apparently, he took it well! Angelo asked to spend a week at their grandfather’s house, which scared Leon once he heard about it, but this would make twice that he went there alone and came out fine. After that, he took a bus to the spaceport all by himself.

According to their mother, Angelo also made friends! Both were dying to know more about them. Angelo hadn’t told her much, but he hung out with them almost every day. Leon kept forgetting to ask. He should do that once he got his phone back. Either way, his brother had bad luck in life up until now, and just as Leon hoped, things finally started working out for him.

Angelo managed to surprise Leon even more on the ship, being a fantastic observation panelist and learning how to work the furnace by himself. Having that much responsibility would’ve terrified the Angelo he knew. Sometimes Leon wondered if his brother was better off not having him hovering over him. It made him so proud to see how capable Angelo could be.

Beneath that pride lurked the tiniest hint of jealousy. Angelo was having the coolest summer vacation known to man. Going to space, being an honorary star ranger, possibly going to the Moon? Any of those things would make him the talk of their school!

Leon never had adventures like that when he was 15.

Finally, he entered the hatch leading into the loading deck, stepping down until he faced the burner room.

Heat blasted his face when he opened its door. He considered coming back later until he noticed Angelo standing inside without a helmet on.

“Hey Ángie! It’s a good thing I caught you in time. We’re not supposed to use the furnace without our helmets on, remember?” He walked up behind his brother. “Or were you just using it to warm up?”

Angelo slowly turned to face Leon, staring as if he’d seen a ghost.