Yoyos & Brownies

Jerry grabbed his keys and huffed as he made his way down the staircase to his bike. He was used to losing his clothes to his brat of a brother, even as a toddler he was an incurable clothes thief - but this was one step too far.

He needed that jacket. He'd bought that thing for the specific purpose of impressing the gorgeous woman from his diving courses. The very same one he'd finally scored a date with in…...2 hours and 48 minutes, according to the fancy watch he'd also bought for a hopefully fun and very lucky night. This was his first attempt at any sort of serious relationship since his ex, Sarah, sent a break-up text and went MIA after that strange incident with the falling hot air balloon. He would make this work, no matter what the fates threw at him.

Assuming his brat of a brother didn't make him late and underdressed.

He couldn't help but grumble as he got stopped at a red light behind a long line of cars. Fine. If that's how it's going to be he could make do. Jerry pulled up his phone and texted both his thief of a brother and his mysterious brother-in-law.

Coming for my jacket

If it's not there when I am we are having words ?

If there was one benefit to their parents' bullshit, it was that he got to have both his brothers close to home in Naples and within reach.

Look, he was a pretty chill guy alright? Midnight mountain climbing? Sure. Random shoeless guest surrounded by nasty rumours? Why not. He took good care of his little brother, that was enough for him. Skydiving over the Bermuda triangle? Best. Saturday. Ever. Help a high schooler break into a top security shady pharmaceutical company for reasons unknown outside of some wack story? He's heard stranger tales in his lifetime. But take his god damn fancy-ass jacket right before a date and enough is enough.

If this made him late, Tom had better find himself a nice hiding place because he would be telling Alex every embarrassing childhood story until he ran out of breath and his darling brother would learn to ask before taking. Honestly. Maybe he should put a lock on that wardrobe after all. Does his stuff even fit him even more? The past few years had watered Tom like a plant, leaving him tall and reedy.

Jerry glanced at his watch as the cars inched forward and tsked. 2 hours and 33 minutes. To hell with it. He's off-roading this. Tom could pay his fines for the trouble.

The bike pulled back and swerved effortlessly between the cars, down the alleys, and through busy streets. Cars beeped and people swore at him, but he couldn't hear any of it. He grinned as he cut through the air, wind blowing through his hair, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Tom and Alex lived on the borders in the Quartiere Vomero where the bustle of the markets just transitioned into the greenery and stone buildings of the upper districts. Jerry slowed down through the main streets and picked up his pace until he pulled up into their driveway. His brother-in-law had enough wealth and concern for security that he'd opted to purchase an entire house instead of the apartments he'd sought out for him. Tom was embarrassed, a bonus in his personal opinion, when Jerry called on friends to fix up their garden instead. A wedding gift, he'd said to his brothers' tomato-red face with a grin. In return they'd given him a key, a privilege previously only gifted to Alex's guardian, Jack.

He made use of this privilege now as he stormed through their property, looking for his goddamn jacket. He only had 2 hours left. Just where in the hell was it? He had baby photos too if that's what it took. His pocket vibrated and he checked his phone.

Sorry

I'm at work and Alex is out until 5 maybe later

It should be in the left wardrobe

You can eat anything not labelled

There are brownies in the fridge, take some with you

Damn right he'd be taking some brownies. They'd make a good date gift at least.

This house has 3 floors and I don't know how many rooms

And I really don't want to see whatevers hidden in your bedroom

Where am I looking?

The message sat on unread, so Jerry went to look for those brownies and something to munch on. After 5 biscuits, a coffee, and another 15 minutes lost with no response, he gave up and started his search. He wasn't wasting away his last hour and a half stuck on his butt.

The first floor got him nothing. Though he now knew that Tom had an optometrist appointment in a week, they kept their cat food in the laundry, and they apparently liked international films. The one hallway drawer set was odd as it was locked without a keyhole, but whatever, not his business. He'd also completely forgotten about the panic room by the stairs. Its door blended in with the paneled wall so well.

He knew the third floor was purely a workspace, so he had high hopes for the second floor. First stop, the main bedroom.

The main bedroom was large with a built-in wardrobe on either side of the large bed. They were wooden with racks and shelves hidden by paneled sliding doors split into thirds with a mirror in the centre. They stretched along the walls until they met ceiling-tall shelving, which then gave way to about a metre of free space they'd filled with end tables and decorations. Large, certainly a fancy old thing, but simple and understated despite the obvious expense.

The left one was Tom's, of course, and thank goodness for that. As close as he'd gotten to Alex, he didn't think they were quite at the rifling through his knickers level of close. He had only had about an hour left. This had better be it.

The first section didn't have much. Knick knacks, sporting goods, ties, and the like. Just the usual boring old stuff. The second section didn't seem much better. Jerry rifled through hung clothes and yanked open drawers, mindlessly scanning over the contents until one drawer went with a thunk. He winced and looked down at it in wide-eyed shock.

A gun.

His brother, the snarky little kid who hid when their parents yelled, had a gun in his drawer. Just what in the hell was that about? Cautiously, he nudged the dislodged drawer with his foot. Nope. Still A gun. And what was that? A small, unlabeled, black box, some rope, handcuffs…OH. Oh.

See, this is why he didn't want to do this. He loved his brothers, really, truly so, but the less known about their private interests the better. He sighed and put the drawer back. He didn't see a thing. Nope. Not. A. Thing.

He moved on to the third, and last, sector, and sweet mother of all he'd finally found his jacket. He pulled it off the rack and hightailed it right out of there. He yanked it on as he raced down the stairs, grabbed his brownies, and bolted to the door. He checked his phone, 45 minutes left, and shoved it into the jacket pocket only to jump to high hell as his jacket started wailing.

Since when did his jacket come with an alarm system? What in the hell had they done to his precious jacket‽ He was just trying to turn his pockets out when the front door opened and Tom rushed in, face flushed with exertion.

"Sorry! I forgot about that!"

"What is this? What's going on?"

Tom fished through the jacket's pocket and pulled out a…screaming yoyo? He sighed and pressed down on the football sticker on its side. Jerry stared at it as it quieted down. Well, that happened. You know what, whatever.

"Alex wore it for a bit. I forgot to clean out the pockets. Sorry, I forgot to return it."

Jerry stared down the yoyo and nodded.

"I think I actually preferred the sex drawer."

Tom choked and spluttered and gawked at him red-faced and wide-eyed.

"The what drawer?"

Jerry grinned at his flustered sibling. Finally, some familiar ground.

"Don't worry, to each their own. Didn't take you for the kinky roleplay sort, but if that's what does it for you. Where'd you find such a realistic-looking gun anyhow? I almost thought it was real at first."

Tom startled and bent over laughing.

"No, that's…that's real."

"Pardon?"

"The gun, it's real. Why are you so surprised? I told you about Alex's career, didn't I? He was a spy. He teaches now and does some basic intelligence work, but he still has his enemies. The yoyo alarm is one of his spyware gadgets. Cool, right?"

What? When did…right, when they stayed over after their little trip in Venice. They did say something like that, asked for help with skydiving and breaking into some corrupt pharmaceutical company. That wasn't a teens' wild tale to get some mayhem and adventure in?

"The rope and handcuffs?"

"The handcuffs are there to restrain intruders. And there are all sorts of uses for rope."

"That black box?"

"A recording device with a hidden lighter. It's very convenient, isn't it?"

Tom grinned at his gobsmacked face.

"That's a rare look on you. And as fun as this really is, are you sure you should be loitering around here? Don't you have a date to get to?"

He glanced down at his watch and cursed. 7 minutes left. He ran down the stairs to his bike, shouting behind him.

"I'm taking these brownies! And stop stealing my clothes you thieving brat!"

Tom laughed him away and Jerry pulled out. He'd have to off-road it again, but he might still make it, only just barely. The day was just getting started.