The three ??? and the bond of friendship

12 pm

Peter and Bob went already up to Justus room, to climb out the window onto the roof, as Justus gathered a plate with several slices of pie for later to eat.
Matilda and Titus didn't even bothered to ask why they wanted to go onto the roof instead of just sitting at the veranda.
The three boys always had some special behaviors or favorite places to be, never even trying to explain why they need to sit there now and why it is unfortunate to sit somewhere else. Uncle Titus just said, that 'the boys have always lived in their own world, and as long as they wouldn't drink alcohol' - which Peter and Bob did sometimes, just as now, but only Justus didn't like the taste of it - 'it's okay.'
The first detective pressed the plate in Bob's hand and Peter helped Justus to get through the window, more of him being pulled and pushed outside than him actually doing anything.
Bob sat down the plate next to the beers, which they snuggled in Justus' home. The other two boys sat down and took a deep breath.
"Alright, now that everything is settled, the
it's-not-a-meeting-meeting can start.", Peter had announced, Bob and Justus smiled at each other.
It's been a long time since they had a free evening, hence the last few weeks has been full of cases and long nights. Bob has pitched the idea, that they should take some time out. Bob usually was the one to say the obvious : they need a break, a trip to the beach and such.
Even Justus understood that it was about time to sleep more than 3 hours.
Peter and Bob often worried about him, he never actually said when he needed a break. Justus sometimes wouldn't sleep for days, just to read a book that could be important for the case or he would phone people to get more answers. What got them worried most was the fact that every time Justus was stressed - which was almost always - he got those terrible nightmares.
So sometimes Bob would force his friend to take a break, such as that day.
"So, we got our beer, for Justus we got some water and a Diet Coke. Cherry pie and a beautiful sky. Only one thing we still need !", Peter continued.
Justus rolled his eyes, because the next part was to share some secret or confession. They always did this and he hated it, but ti be fair, it was his fault that this tradition was created.
Once, Peter and he was fighting and to support his argument he threw in some fact about how sharing personal things, people could connect better and therefore being able to make a better team. And since Bob ended their fight, he also made the new rule, that every month or week they would meet up, aside from work, and share a secret.
Bob loved this time. It was always funny to learn some random things about his friends. They trusted each other and everyone knew nearly everything about the others, but there would still be some things that he never heard of.
Peter also liked this new tradition, he knew that it was a big deal for especially Justus.
He hated sharing feelings, so he truly felt trusted and loved when they would tell him things. It made him feel like they were a family.

Bob opened their tradition by taking a gulp of his beer and saying their mantra : "We can trust each other, we can say anything ..."
"... without the others to judge", Peter answered more enthusiastic than Justus.
Bob took another sip and thought of the first thing to say. Justus was the first to take a piece of pie, while Bob was still thinking.
"Okay, I have one. To start off slowly ... I like to sleep at your place, Justus, more than at mine. Here it's so peaceful and I can rest. At home, my Dad is always phoning some colleagues and staying up sooooo late. Here, I have you guys who go to sleep when I do. It's just nice."
Bob saw Justus nod and smile at him, appreciating what he just said.
Bob pointed at Peter, who just has opened his beer.
"Alright then. As you know, my parents fight often, so when I can't es pace to one of you, I bought myself some new headphones. I made a playlist that is being played when they fight and I put them on and do homework.", Peter explained.
"That's why your grades are getting better ?", Bob joked.
Peter once said it was easier for him when they could joke about that fact, so every time either Justus or Bob would throw in some punch line to lift their friend's mood again.
And also it was true, Peter's grade had gotten better since his new ritual, which was about time. He almost failed several classes last year, due to the constant scream contest at home. Justus has offered tutoring and they still often meet in the library to study together, but Peter had managed to turn the negative aspect into something productive. It didn't work every time but for most of it.
Now it was Justus turn, he rolled his eyes to show his not-too-serious disapproval but still thought about a good thing.
"I bought a motorcycle.", he said before he directed his attention to his pie again.
"What ?", Peter and Bob said in unison.
"Yeah, I got it from some friend of my uncle's. It was cheap because the engine needed some repairing, but since I literally live on a junkyard ... I just worked on it after school or when Matilda wasn't home. She would kill me."
Peter laughed, sometimes he was surprised by his friend. He always seemed so boring and predictable, but then he would buy a motorcycle to repair in secret.
"Now, it's your turn again, Bob."
Bob nodded, "Okay, so here's a deal : We skip the traditionally three rounds of just facts, jump right into the deep confession part, and after that I can go to sleep. I'm so tired actually. And Justus could need some sleep, too." Justus protested with a grunt, but both him and Peter agreed. They all were tired, but they wouldn't go to sleep until they finished their ritual.
"Okay, so deep round it is.", Peter waited for Bob to start.