At 10 pm sharp Brian and Cole pulled up in front of a small, old house, that could easily pass as abandoned in a cheaper part of town. Tired Brian yawned, then got out and locked the car.
The night was unusually cold because of the cloudless sky and only a light wind was moving a wind chime nearby.
Brian waited for Cole to join him and let his eyes wander over the cracking paint. "Hasn't changed one bit...if he still lives here."
Stepping closer he tried to find a name on the mail box or bell but the street lamp had been busted by some idiot so it was almost impossible to decipher the handwritten tag that said "O'Conner".
"Looks like it."
Inside a TV was still flickering and some sounds could be heard so Brian rang the bell wondering whether his brother had gotten the message and what kind of welcome he would receive after almost 5 years.

As Cole walked up to join Brian, he seriously was hoping this was the wrong address. It looked dangerous to even live there, and he was pretty sure he was seeing holes in the roof. "No offense, but uh, what the hell does your brother do?" He quirked at Brian. He walked to the side of the building where he found a small shed, and inside it was a black evo VIII (assuming he still has it??). "Well, the man's got his priorities straight." He said as he walked back to Brian.

(yes, he still owns the Evo... probably the only thing of value he owns, eh Brian?! lol)

"Crap, boring, crap..." Jack mumbled to himself while he flipped through channels on his crummy TV for a few minutes, before settling on some old movie for lack of anything better. Tossing the remote on the couch next to him, he brought his cold beer bottle to his lips and was just about to prop his feet up on the coffee-table when the doorbell broke his attention away from the TV screen. He wasn't expecting anybody, or at least, not that he knew of.

With a frown, Jack rose from the couch, not bothering to set his beer back down as he moved towards the front door, opening it. To his surprise, he found his brother standing outside the doorway, looking a couple years older than he remembered him to be. How long had it been since they'd last seen each other, anyway? Two, four.. maybe five years? Eh, who cared.

He eyed Brian for a moment longer before his face finally broke into a grin. "I see I still got the better looks in this family. Long time no see, bro," he commented before his eyes shifted towards the blond-haired kid that came walking into his view from the side of his house. The guy couldn't be over twenty as far as he could tell, and wasn't anybody he recognized.

Leaning against the door now, Jack's grin grew. "Who's your new girlfriend? Didn't know you swung that way these days, Brian."

The shit eating grin on his brothers face made Brian ease up a little. He replied with the same sort of smile and pulled his brother in a hug, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Good to see you, too, Jacky. You might have the better looks if you got that mullet cut for a change." His younger brother hadn't changed much. He still looked like he had just gotten out of bed and couldn't afford clothes without holes. Maybe he didn't.

Brian turned and motioned for Cole. "Cole's a friend. We just came back from Toyko."
Jack was still leaning in the doorway waiting for an explanation why Brian would snow into his place in the middle of the night.
"Are you not going to ask your big brother in?" Brian simply stepped into the house brushing past Jack and took a good look around.
As expected the furniture was old, cigarette buds were piled up on the coffee table a few empty cans distributed everywhere.
"Cosy." He smirked and slumped down on the couch.
His whole body ached from the long trip and not moving around enough.

Now it was time to spill the beans.
"I don't have a place in LA any more so I was hoping we could bunk with you for a night or two until I find something."

Cole nodded at Jack as Brian introduced him. He followed the two in the house and watched his step for a bit, not convinced the floor was going to hold his weight. "Very cosy indeed." He remarked. He leaned on the couch that Brian was sunk into and looked over Jack. "Nice evo in the shed."

"You know what they say; business up front, party in the back," he replied, chuckling a bit as he returned the brotherly hug for a brief moment. Not that he still had a mullet, he'd left that hairstyle behind a long time ago, though that didn't mean his hair wasn't still as messy as ever. Luckily for his brother, Brian seemed to have had the same smarts when it came to switching styles. He'd finally gotten rid of those ridiculous, yet hilarious curls.

Jack raised a half impressed brow after Tokyo was mentioned, but didn't otherwise respond to it when his older brother simply brushed past him to go inside the house. He knew the place didn't look like much, but at least it was cheap (read free, because it had been abandoned before he'd moved in; he'd simply broken into it, claiming it as his own.) Not to mention, it provided a roof over his head.

"Sorry about the mess. If I'd known you two were coming, I wouldn't have given my maid the week off. Feel free to make yourself at home though," he commented while he walked towards the kitchen to grab a couple of beers. Coming back into the living room, he tossed them both a cold one, grinning at Cole's comment while he twisted the cap off of his own bottle.

"Won her at a poker game," he answered, his expression not making it clear whether he was joking or not. Fortunately though, he did keep the Evo in a much better shape than he did his house. Hell, the car was the only thing he actually gave two shits about.

Sitting on a soft couch in a real home instantly made Brian tired after the long trip. He pulled his shoes off and gladly accepted the cold beer. "Thanks, bro."

The line about the poker game didn't seem unlikely because Jack had won and lost a lot at games. Lost more than one. "Did you? Do you driver her, too? Or just polish her nails?"

It was nice to see his younger brother but even nicer to be welcomed with a beer. "Wow, haven't had one of these in ages. Japanese beer sucks." He savored the taste on his tongue for a moment, then let his gaze wander around. The place was old with furniture form some thrift store, yet it was cozy in its very own way. it fit Jack like a glove-unsual and creative with a hint of messy.

"How have you been, Jack? Seen mom and dad lately?" Brian hadn't dared to talk to his parents ever since things went south because he didn't know what to tell them other than lies.

Cole finally went over to the other side of the couch and fell into it next to Brian. He was somewhat surprised when Jack tossed him a beer, but certainly grateful, he needed one after all this. "Thanks man." He popped the cap and immediately felt refreshed. Cole nodded as Jack mentioned a poker game, trying to figure out if he was actually serious. "Didn't know evo's were ever considered prize car material." He chuckled. "I used to have a black '08, then the pigs thought it would be funny to shoot the tire out at 130...Lucky to be alive." He recalled about the accident.

Brian cringed when Cole brought up the accident that almost killed him and got Mira injured. "Thanks for bringing that up, man." He stated and gave the younger guy next to him a slight slap on the head.
"Always nice to remember such fond memories."
He took another drink then settled back into the couch.

Cole turned to Brian after the slap. "It could've been much worse, dude. Mira and I should've been dead, and at the very least locked up for a long time. But we're here." He sighed. Cole started thinking about his medical complications, he was concerned about how serious things actually were. He felt fine, but still didn't feel "normal."
"It's a memory alright, and will be for a long time."

Jack sat down on the edge of an armrest that belonged to an old, leather chair while he took a sip from his cold beer. Even though he hadn't seen or spoken to Brian for the last five or six years, not much seemed to have changed between them when he gave his older brother the finger for his nail polishing comment. "Wanna try me? I'm pretty sure can kick your sorry ass with my eyes closed," he shot back, grinning while he raised his brow in a challenging fashion. He still wasn't above provoking his brother into a fight, be it a physical one or otherwise. Not to mention he knew how to fucking drive.

"You'd be surprised what they throw in as a bet in these games when they run out of money, kid," he told Cole before taking another sip, draining his bottle in a few gulps. At one game, one of the players had grown overconfident of his hand and had thrown in his engagement ring as his last bet, only to lose it... to him of all people. He still had a scar above his left eye from when the guy's goons had jumped him in the alleyway afterwards, because, apparently, son's of mob bosses were sore losers...

"Sounds like you newlyweds have had quite the adventure," Jack commented, smirking as he watched Brian slap Cole's head, "Sad to see you're already having marital problems, though. I really hope you two can pull through this; you're so damn cute together."

He shot a wink at them, clearly joking, but his mood seemed to drop the moment Brian mentioned their parents. "Can't say that I've bothered, bro," he answered with a shrug. He wasn't on good terms with either of them, mainly because his old man didn't appreciate the fact that, even when he was little, he tended to go in the exact opposite direction of where he was supposed to go... or rather, where his father wanted him to go. It had resulted in strained, if at all existent, contact between him and their parents over the years, much to his mother's dismay, but that was their problem, not his.

"He must've been from Vegas." Cole smirked and took a drink. Who would be stupid enough to bet their car in a card game? Then again, Cole was stupid enough to consistently bet his car and all his money on a single race...and not even think much of it.

Cole took a laugh at Jack's poking. "Brian and I have been off and on for quite awhile. Our honeymoon in Tokyo didn't really work out, but I think were starting to straighten things out a little now." He nodded at Brian with the biggest grin possible on his face.

Brian fully expected smart ass remarks like that from his brother. Their relationship basically consisted of competing and trash talk.
Of course he'd try to provoke a fight 5 minutes after seeing him again but Brian just waved it off. "Save your pretty face for somebody else to bash it in. I'm sure there are plenty of people waiting."

The fact that Jack hadn't seen their parents didn't come as a surprise after their dad had kicked him out when he was 17. Brian had always been on better terms with their parents even thought they didn't appreciate him screwing up in LA years ago.

Cole's banter caught Brian a little off guard and made him loose his smirk for a moment but it soon returned as he pointed at Cole and threatened. "You're in for an ass spanking, sweety." He playfull whacked him over the head but then agreed. "We are on better terms now."

Placing his bottle to his lips he savoured the American brew some more, then asked. "So what are you doing these days...other than ripping people off, who underestimate you?"

While he was waiting for his brother to sort out his thoughts Brian decided to spill the beans.
"I'm actually in a bit of trouble. I sorta have no place on Cali any more and no money. So if you're still feeling the brotherly love maybe you could help me out." It felt extremely odd to ask Jack for help out of all the people and Brian was sure it was written all over his face.