"COVER YOUR TITTIES! HERE I COME!" Ryan flung Jay's bedroom door open and watched his disoriented friend blink awake. "Aww, he's alone!" he announced with a laugh, crashing on top of Jay and wrapping his arms around him. "Perfect!"

"Wheeler!" Jay groaned, trying to scramble away, but Ryan's hold was too tight.

"Ah, there's my beautiful pet, come here. Good morning."

"How are you?" Jay asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Get off me."

"Here, can I show you something I learned in prison? You'll love this," Ryan grinned. He grabbed Jay even tighter and started thrusting his hips into him from behind.

"Get off me, get off," Jay repeated, unfazed.

"Mmm, you love this."

"How'd you get in here?" Jay asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Door was wide open," Ryan explained, and he let go of Jay's hips in order to grab at his face. He picked Jay's head up out of the darkness, squished his lips, and planted two quick kisses on his temple. "Rise and shine! How's that sunlight, man?"

"Oh, please. Oh, my god," Jay moaned.

Ryan laughed and climbed off Jay's bed.

"What time is it?" Jay mumbled.

"Early, let's eat!" Ryan replied, yanking the cheap comforter off the bed and leaving Jay lying there in sweats.

"What are you gonna get for me?"

"We," Ryan corrected, "are gonna get. Come on."

"My choice," Jay demanded. "You're paying."

"Get the fuck up!"

"Come on, convict. Help me up."

Ryan huffed a laugh and his hand out. Jay took it and pulled hard on Ryan's arm to get him down onto the bed. He launched on top of Ryan and started humping him hard. "Mmmm, Daddy like!" he crowed.

Jay and Ryan soon found themselves with burritos in their old meeting spot. They used to frequent the abandoned lifeguard tower until Ryan got convicted, and Jay hadn't really been back. But it was nice, after all this time. Like revisiting a memory.

"So what is it with you and your dad?" Ryan finally asked. He was settled in the shade, but Jay opted for the sun.

"He's a fucking hypocrite," Jay replied as Ryan chewed. "I mean, nobody put more shit up his nose than my old man." Jay took a huge bite of his burrito and talked right through it. "He'd eat the asshole out of a fucking mule if he thought it was gonna get him high."

Ryan gave a small smirk.

"Right now, he's coming at Nate, and he's like, 'I'm gonna take care of you, I'm your dad.' Okay. Bullshit. I mean, where the fuck have you been?" Jay couldn't look at Ryan anymore, so he turned his eyes toward the ocean. "I've been looking after those kids since I was fifteen years old."

"Yeah, he's made some mistakes, but at least he's trying now, right?"

"That's what's so funny. He's got his pills and his shrink, and he's walking around preaching, telling everybody what to do. Course, he doesn't make any apologies for my mom or fuckin' – anything."

"No disrespect, man," Ryan began, and Jay already knew where he was going, "but you're mom's strung out. That's not your dad's fault."

Jay flashed his eyes at the sky. "Because he fucked with her head, man," he explained slowly. "Disappearing with other bitches, treating her like shit… dude, I watched it happen – she wasn't always like that. She wasn't like that when we were kids."

Ryan watched Jay douse his burrito with hot sauce, a sad look on his face. He could tell Jay had missed him, knew Jay hadn't talked to anybody else about this while Ryan was gone. Five years is a long time to keep everything to yourself, and Jay… Jay had a lot of shit to keep quiet.

"Boy," Jay started, a dangerous smile on his face, "I don't know why you're defending him. I would fuck his ass up. Stealing my girl while I'm in jail jerkin' off in some fuckin' dude's mouth..."

"No no no no no. Dude, shut the fuck up," Ryan warned, talking over him.

Jay took a long swig of his drink.

"No, man. That's on me. Hey. That's on me," he repeated as Jay dug a cigarette out of his pocket. "I put myself in prison, nobody else."

"Okay," Jay agreed, cig between his teeth. "Still, you know. It's fucked up. Lisa's dope, dude."

"You got no idea how small your world can become," Ryan mused quietly.

Jay looked at his friend, not sure what he was trying to say. "I like my world." Jay stood as he spoke and looked out at the beach. He slid his sunglasses on. "Look at my world. I do whatever I want to whoever I want whenever I want…" He took a drag. "My world's the shit, bro."

Ryan didn't crack a smile. "When's the last time you fought?"

"I don't know," Jay replied easily.

"Over a year's what your dad said."

"Okay. So what? Who gives a shit?"

"You know, listen," Ryan said, finally getting real. "You don't do anything else. The one thing that you're fucking good at is fighting, and that's... You're not even doing that." He shook his head slightly. "At a certain point, you're just a broke motherfucker with some faded tattoos."

Jay took another bite of the burrito and tried to focus on the wind. "Who fucked the fun outta you there in prison, huh?"

"You're angry, man. I fucking get it. Just… don't set yourself on fire like I did."

"I should be so lucky," Jay replied, forcing his signature smile back onto his face. "At least you got paid!"

"Yeah, now I live in a shitbox with a roommate who's on probation for rubbing his dick on the avocados at Albertson's. "

"What?!" Jay asked incredulously, unable to keep a laugh from bubbling out.

"There's a fucking curfew, man. I can't even make it to Nate's fight." He looked up at Jay, who had an unreadable look on his face. "You're gonna fucking be there," Ryan demanded. When Jay didn't say anything, Ryan repeated, "You're going to the fight."

"It's not about Nate," Jay attempted, "and he knows that."

"It is about fucking Nate. He's the one fighting."

Jay groaned in concession. "Ohhhh, boy."

Saturday night found the Navy Street family on a red carpet in front of a wall of flashing lights. Zoey always thought it was funny that so much press showed up when less than half of California even knew MMA fights existed, but here they were. The paps were bossy like always, directing loudly and screaming for attention, and Zoey was relieved when she and her family got to the end of the carpet.

She was blinking hard, trying to get the glare out of her eyes, when a cameraman and an interviewer approached her. "Hi, sweetie," the guy said. "Can we talk to you for a minute?"

Zoey gave him a sweet smile. "Of course!" This was what she was here for. Eye candy. Talk to all the ditzy girls, right? Not Zoey. No way. She was a fire tongue.

"What's your name, baby?"

"Zoey."

The camera guy gave a countdown, and then the interviewer was off. "I'm Marcus Wilder here in Long Beach, the heart of California's mixed martial arts scene. This is my new friend Zoey! How you doing, Zoey?"

"I'm great," she smiled.

"Awesome! Well, what brings you out here tonight?"

"I'm ready to see some fighting," she replied.

"Ooh, you like the fights?" Here comes the girls-can't-like-fighting shit. And every time, she thinks they're actually going to treat her like a person instead of a doll.

"Yeah. I was kinda raised on them. I've been coming to fights my whole life." How did he think she got onto the red carpet? Fucking idiot.

"Impressive," Wilder grinned. "Who's your favorite fighter here tonight?"

"Nate Kulina."

"Yeah, he's pretty cute, huh?"

Zoey forced a smile to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "I think he's an incredible fighter. He's got a great work ethic and strong boxing skills, and he came ready to kill Walker."

"Wow!" The interviewer was clearly impressed with Zoey's knowledge of Nate. "You really do watch the fights, huh? Maybe Kulina will have a new girl by the end of the night."

Zoey let out a laugh at that one. "That's funny," she smiled, ready to reveal herself.

"Yeah?" the guy prompted, basking in the feeling of her laughing at his joke.

"Well, yeah. Considering he's my brother."

"W-what?" the interviewer stumbled. "Seriously?"

"I'm Zoey Kulina. Alvey's my dad. Nate's my brother."

"Oh – wow! Okay! Well, that's all for right now, thank you so much."

"No problem." Zoey smiled to herself as she was quickly abandoned. She stepped to the side and waited for her family to wrap up their interviews.

"What was that about?" Nate asked when he got over to her a few minutes later. They both watched Alvey talking to a woman in a red dress. Or rather, talking to her boobs. Have some class, Dad.

"Oh, the usual. Girls can't like fights, girls only watch MMA to pick up guys …"

"Did they ask again if we were dating?"

"He implied that you'd be leaving with a girlfriend tonight."

Nate looked at his sister, confused.

"Me," she elaborated, and he almost cracked a smile. "Shut up, it's funny," she said, whacking him lightly across the stomach.

He gave her shoulder a shove and then asked, "Did they know who you were?" He secretly admired his sister's snark. Good for her, standing up for herself. Jay taught her well.

"Oh, I told them."

"And?"

"And he walked away." She sighed. "Typical."

Nate snorted.

"My god, he was so awkward! You'd think they'd just let anybody on the carpet based on these people's reactions. I seriously think they let any press out here. Jesus, do your research."

"Shh," Nate cautioned.

"Oh, let them hear me. I don't give a fuck."

"I know you don't, but Dad does." And so do I, he thought. Tonight was supposed to be about him, not his little sister. And yeah, he was proud of her, but sometimes bringing her out for interviews made for bad press. She was a firecracker, and the men watching didn't like that.

"Alright, we done?" Alvey asked as he walked up to his kids.

Nate nodded.

"Good. We gotta get going."

By the time Jay found his way to the holding room, Nate was mostly warmed up. Lisa was perched on a table looking like some sort of rainforest bird, dolled up in all the wrong ways. Her hair was teased on top of her head, she had on a strange shade of lipstick, and she was wearing some sort of purple thing. Zoey was leaning on the opposite wall with her ankles crossed, talking to Joe Daddy. She gave him a long stare when she saw him but turned her back after a moment. She was clad in a modest black dress that puffed out at the skirt, and her hair was in loose curls. In Jay's opinion, she had on too-high heels and an awful lot of makeup, but logically, he knew it would look good on camera. Nate had on a backwards Navy Street hat and some pre wrap, and he was sparring lightly with Alvey.

Lisa gave Jay a small, approving smile, and Joe Daddy moved to quietly greet him. Nate stared at his brother, eyes slightly widened, waiting for a reaction from his father. Both Kulina boys were shocked when their father wordlessly stepped out of the way to let Jay cut in.

Alvey reached out to slap Jay's hand – his form of an apology – and then instructed, "Come on, keep moving."

Nate couldn't keep the smile off his face as Jay pulled him in for a hug.

"You look fuckin' good, kid," the older boy murmured, his eyes dancing wildly. Nate adjusted his hat, and they were off, picking up right where Alvey had bowed out.

Zoey migrated across the room to stand with Lisa and her dad. Lisa squeezed Alvey's daughter to her side and left a hand on her upper back. It seemed odd to Alvey that Zoey was allowing Lisa to show affection, especially in the form of touch, but he welcomed the warmth between the two. Zoey had been passively resentful to Lisa in the past, even more than Nate, and Alvey hadn't really known what to do. This was a good change.

"Baby," Alvey said, and both Lisa and Zoey turned to him. Alvey gave Zoey an odd look when he noticed she'd responded to the term of endearment, but he swiftly shifted his attention back to Lisa. Shame coursed through Zoey's veins as she realized Alvey had been speaking to his girlfriend and not her. Her dad had just patched things up with Jay – why not her as well?

She tried to keep her stomach from sinking, for Nate's sake, but she couldn't. "I'm gonna go change," she murmured. She wanted to be alone, so she grabbed her bag and casually exited the back door to locate a bathroom. The unfamiliar building was like a maze, with echoing stairwells and identical hallways on every floor. Zoey knew before she got far that she was sure to get lost.

She walked up a floor and found a private restroom in the second hallway she wound down. She dropped her duffle and leaned on the sink, eyes squeezed shut, letting herself feel the pain and embarrassment she'd tried to shut out downstairs.

It stung, the way her dad totally ignored her in favor of Nate and Lisa. Jay was cast out just like she was, but at least he'd done something to cause it. Zoey had always been sweet and good, but her father just wasn't interested in her. He never had been. In the last few years, she'd started to wonder whether he'd regretting having her, and now that she was older, she was more than positive that her conception had been an accident. And more, that Alvey saw it – saw her – as a mistake. No wonder he left her. No wonder he never loved her.

Zoey took her time changing her clothes and trying to bury her feelings. She looked like a clown now that she was in her normal clothes with makeup for TV, so she wet a paper towel and started smearing off her lipstick and eyeliner. It took several tries and multiple paper towels to get everything off, but she managed.

She swallowed hard at her reflection and dug through her clutch for her brown eye pencil. She drew a lighter, more modest ring around her eyes, pulled her curls into a ponytail, and left to find her way back down to the holding room. She managed to locate the door that led to the correct stairwell, but what she didn't expect to find was Clint Walker standing on the other side. He was clad in a Venum t-shirt and black shorts, and he froze when his eyes landed on her. A cocky grin spread over his face.

"You're Kulina's girl," he said, his voice like a growl.

"Sister," Zoey corrected. Normally, she wasn't very intimidated by Nate's opponents, but this guy… He was looking at her wrong, and it made her uneasy.

"Even better," Walker whispered, forcing his way into Zoey's personal space. "I'll be seeing you later, babe." He winked at her as he stepped back, and it wasn't friendly.

Zoey watched him walk past and then slid through the door and down the stairs as quickly as she could. That was weird.

It took her a few tries to find the correct room. When she got back, Nate was sparring with Joe Daddy, and Alvey was hovering over them. Zoey walked over to Jay, who was now sitting on the table with Lisa. Jay didn't say anything, just watched her expression, looking for any clue as to what she was thinking or how she was feeling.

She reached forward and wrapped her arms around Jay's neck. He caught her and pulled her close. "Don't ever fucking do that again," Zoey demanded in his ear. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I know," Jay whispered.

"I mean it," she hissed, pulling away to look at his face. "I thought you were fucking dead."

Jay looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry."

Zoey stared at her brother a moment, and then sighed. "Okay."

Lisa reached out and squeezed Zoey's hand, but it was back to coldness from Alvey's daughter. She kept her hand limp so it was easy to slip out Lisa's grasp, and then she went and stood on her own at the wall until a man with a clipboard knocked on the door. "You're on deck," he stated, and promptly left.

"Alright," Alvey declared. "Let's go."

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Long Beach, California! This is the main event of the evening." The announcer's voice buzzed loudly through the speakers.

Nate was so ready to get in the cage that his blood felt like electricity pumping through his veins. He was surrounded by his family as he walked briskly through the arena, and it wasn't lost on Nate that they had dropped all their differences to be there for him. Nate could feel his father behind him, hands tight on his shoulders, and he had a sibling – best friend – on each side. Everyone was screaming for him as he sped ahead and tore off his shirt.

"Bring it in, bring it in, bring it in," Alvey ordered, and Nate turned to see his father with his arms around his siblings, motioning the fighter over. Nate went to them, and sandwiched himself between Jay and Zoey. They put their heads together and wound their arms tightly around each other.

"Listen, we've been through a lot of shit, right?" Alvey asked, having to yell to be heard over the crowd. All his children nodded. "But we're a fucking family, nobody can change that. You're my kids. I love you." Alvey squeezed both Jay and Zoey to his sides as tightly has he could, and they squeezed back. The head of the family lifted his eyes to Nate. "Now go cave his fucking face in."

Nate's mouth broke into a rare grin, unable to contain his excitement any longer. Jay gave Nate a light punch on the cheek, and Zoey squeezed his hand. "You got this," Alvey murmured, and then Nate was off.

While he got approved to go into the cage, the family rushed to find Lisa at the edge. Alvey glanced over at his kids once they got to their spot only to be captured by them. Alvey often forgot that Zoey was electric like Jay, but it was showing now. Her entire focus was on Nate; she really did fucking love fighting as much as the rest of them did. Her eyes were wild, and she was practically glowing. And Jay was like a lion – watching intently, silently sizing up his brother's competition. He was ready for blood.

Lisa smiled at Alvey. She loved the rare moments where he actually looked like a father. It made her fall even more in love with him. He gave her a bright grin in return, not understanding the look. He was just ready to watch Nate kick ass.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the fighters are in the house! So I just have one question for you – are you ready for a war?!"

The three Kulinas on the ground pressed themselves up against the cage as the crowd screamed behind them. Nate was half-listening as the referee ran through the customary instructions. "Alright, gentlemen. We've been over the rules already. Protect yourself at all times. Obey my commands at all times. Touch gloves now if you want."

They did. Clint gave Nate a twisted, hungry smile and bared his mouth guard. Kill, it read in stark white letters. Nate kept his face blank. He could take this fucker, and he'd prove it.

"At the sound of the bell, come out and handle your business. Let's go."

Nate backed up, a light sheen of sweat already glistening on his shoulders. He kept eye contact with Walker, even as his dad shouted instructions at him from the side. "Nate, Nate, you set the pace. You set the pace, right? Get out there and let your hands go."

That was the last thing Nate was aware of before the world went dim around him and the fight began.

Round one was a blur of fists and shins, even for the Kulinas outside the cage.

"Come on, Nate, hands up!" Alvey screamed.

"He knows better than this," Zoey murmured to herself, eyebrows drawn together.

Walker picked Nate up and slammed him hard into the ground. Jay winced, but Zoey propelled forward, eyes blazing. Walker had her brother on the ground and was landing punch after punch square on his jaw. She could see blood trickling down from his eye, which was already shutting on its own. Fuck.

Nate twisted, nearly making it out from under his opponent. Jay clutched his hat tightly while Alvey, still calm, was yelling, "Knees, knees, knees!" and hoping that some part of Nate could hear him.

It didn't look good to any one of the Kulinas, Jay especially. Zoey had grown up with Nate always getting knocked around bloody, but Jay was still watching his little brother – his kid – get beaten to a pulp. And unlike Zoey, Jay knew what taking those vicious punches felt like.

Nate managed to push to his knees like Alvey wanted and use the cage to get back on his feet. The excitement was short-lived, though, because within seconds, Walker landed a kick on Nate's shin that sent him stumbling back. Anger flared up in the fighting Kulina, and he threw a hard punch – missed.

"HANDS UP!" Jay called, frustrated that his brother wasn't protecting himself.

Nate made another mistake and allowed himself to get thrown back to the ground – ouch. Walker started in on the punches again and quickly put Nate in a rear naked chokehold.

"Get out of there! Chin down, chin down," Alvey called, but everyone else in the room knew it was over. "Don't tap! Don't you tap!" he instructed loudly, making sure to be heard over the crowd.

These were the moments where Zoey was scared of her father's coaching. He was the best, she knew that, but it was because he pushed his fighters hard. She would argue that it was too hard. The hold Alvey was telling Nate not to tap out of was known for being excruciating because it cut off the air supply to the brain. Zoey watched her brother intently and shifted so that her shoulder was touching Jay's. Several more agonizing seconds ticked by, and finally the horn blared to signal the end of the round. Nate stumbled to his feet and waited for his dad on the edge, swiping at the river of blood trickling down his face.

Alvey stayed calm as he entered the cage and made his way to Nate. He ran his thumb over the blood and then sat him down and pushed a water bottle into his hand. "Listen to this," he instructed, his voice as unruffled as his demeanor.

Nate nodded.

"He just showed you everything he has," Alvey continued quietly, reaching for a cotton swab and dabbing at the blood on his son's forehead, "and you took it all. You took it all. I need you to relax, though. I don't want you to fight his fight, I want you to fight your fight. Just breathe and relax. Alright? Angle out, throw your hands, and angle out again."

"Hey, let your fists go flying!" Jay encouraged loudly. "Hit him in the fucking face!"

"Ay, shut the fuck up," Alvey called, raising his voice for the first time since he stepped foot in the cage. "Look at me," he commanded, his voice soft again as he turned his attention back to Nate. "Stay cool, stay relaxed. Let's go."

The second round went quickly. Jay would later swear that Nate spent half the round beating Walker up against the cage. Jay was screaming with the crowd the whole time, but Zoey and Alvey watched silently with matching wide brown eyes. Father and daughter were unknowingly both taking in the action and trying to predict what was coming next. Alvey, of course, had a much larger mental bank of possibilities, but Zoey knew Nate's habits well enough to keep up.

The two fighters in the cage that night were well matched, the best competition Alvey had seen in a while. Nate would slam Walker into the floor, but then Walker would land a kick square over Nate's liver that would send the crowd into a chorus of oohs. The worst was when Walker landed a nasty punch up the side of Nate's head. Zoey reached down and clawed at Jay's wrist in fear, and Jay quickly found her fingers and squeezed. Neither sibling took their eyes off their brother as he stared, dazed, up at the ceiling. He quickly regained control, though, and pulled Walker back down to the floor. Thank god.

The whole arena was on their feet as Nate held Walker down.

All four Kulinas could feel the adrenaline pumping through their veins as Nate fought. It was as though all of them were there in the cage with him, throwing their own punches alongside him. The horn blew, and Nate had won the round. They were one and one.

This was when Zoey started her bouncing, but, luckily, she was ready with her shorts and t-shirt this time. She bounced as Alvey went in to clean up her brother, and she bounced through all his classic, "Give me five minutes, give me five fucking minutes and I'll give you a win," pep talk crap that didn't really mean anything but got Nate all jazzed up. She bounced so much that her toes were cracking against the carpet and Jay actually put a hand to the top of her head in effort to still her. She just gave him a desperate look and continued.

"He's got this," Jay muttered, and Zoey nodded.

As soon as the whistle blew, signaling the beginning of the round, Zoey lost her mind. She was screaming as much as Jay, forgetting all about the technique and the prediction and just enjoying the fight in front of her. This is what it was all about – Nate pounding the shit out of whoever was put in front of him and coming out on top, no matter how much blood wound up on his face.

"Fuck him up!" she yelled, and Jay grinned at her.

"Yeah, Nate, fuck him up!" he echoed.

Alvey was trying to coach, but it was easily drowned out in the shouts of the crowd. With Lisa screaming on one side of him and his kids screaming on the other, Alvey could hardly even hear himself.

Zoey always loved when she got that clear realization that yes, she was absolutely positive that Nate was going to win. Yeah, she always expected him to – they all did. But that moment when it became official was like gold. It was even better that night, though, because the moment came when Nate slammed Walker to the ground right in front of her.

Her feet came off the floor as Walker's head hit the canvas, and a triumphant shout tore out of her chest. Jay slung one arm around her shoulders and threw the other into the air, and Lisa darted around Alvey to join in the victory squeeze.

Nate was still throwing punch after punch, though, so as far as Alvey was concerned, it wasn't over yet. "Finish him, finish him!" he chanted. "Don't you stop! Don't stop! You got this!"

Finally, the ref pushed Nate off Walker, and all the hands in the arena went up.

"FUCK YEAH!" Alvey cheered. "That's my boy!"

Jay was red in the face from screaming, and he broke apart from Lisa and his sister to throw his arms around his father. Alvey returned the hug with just as much force, and then pulled Zoey in so tight it hurt.

"He did it, Daddy, he did it!" Zoey laughed breathlessly, unable to stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth.

"I know, princess," Alvey grinned back. "He looked damn good doing it!"

Zoey's chest warmed at his acceptance.

Nate was in the cage with his arms up like fucking Hercules while Walker was still lying on the floor, blood running in rivers down his face.

"YES!" Alvey shouted as they opened the cage door. He ran to his son and lifted him off the ground.

Nate had the biggest smile on his face. He wrapped an arm around his dad and then held his other one out for Jay and Zoey, who were flying toward him. The family crashed into the wall of the cage, a laughing, screaming mess of love and pride.

Nate broke apart to take his victory lap. Jay stuffed his hat onto Zoey's head, and Alvey squeezed his two distant kids to his chest again. A wild, deep chant was quickly growing in the audience – "Navy Street! Navy Street! Navy Street!"

Nate pounced on the cage wall and scaled it like Zoey had the week prior. He gave the air a solid punch when he got to the top. Then he hopped down and jogged back to his family, who were waiting for him with big smiles and open arms.

Lisa watched them huddled in a rough hug, the fucked-up Kulina bunch, and if she grew a little teary, well, no one had to know.