AN: And finally another chapter up. Please enjoy!

The drive took little time at all so that all talk didn't really begin until they were seated. James expected Roxy to want to sit next to her brother but instead she pushed him into a corner and Kenton quickly slid in front of him.

"So, are you the mystery man?" asked Kenton before James could comment on the odd arrangement.

"Um, the what?"

Roxy nodded however and replied, "Yep, he's the one brother is pining over."

"Wait what? Do you even know what that word means?" asked James sharply.

"Of course I do," Roxy responded happily.

"Well what the hell do you mean by mystery man then," asked James as he turned his eyes to the brother.

"Oh, just the one that's been ripping my brother's entire heart into pieces and have caused him to agonize over the matter for months now," Kenton responded. The words could have been perceived as threatening but he said it all with a smile, appearing extremely amused.

Utterly shocked and with no idea what was going on, James said, "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, of course you technically don't know. But basically my brother and I have been having wonderful conversations that, though he doesn't usually state it, he's quite miserably thinking about only one man."

"And Kenton and I have been discussing what exactly his conversations mean," Roxy added.

James opened his mouth to ask something but a waitress came by to get drinks. They ordered and by the time James was focusing back on the matter at hand, he'd forgotten what he was going to say.

"So," Kenton began again, leaning forward. "Little Brother has mentioned several…interesting facts about what's happened between you to."

"Wait! He told you about the kiss?"

"No, but I suspected it and you just proved it," grinned Kenton as he leaned back, looking smug as hell. "I told you didn't I sis?"

Roxy grumbled in response. "Oh bugger, and I honestly didn't think he had the guts to do it."

With the elder brother looking rather haughty and Roxy annoyed, James felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Why was it when being faced with Russian terrorists he held up fine but he just completely gave away exactly what Alastair's brother wanted to know in minutes? "God, either you're good at interrogating or I'm just out of my element here."

Kenton chuckled. "Are you used to being interrogated?"

"I have a very nosey friend," James supplied easily, something that certainly wasn't untrue. "But whatever you think is going on it's not true. I mean he was drunk, some shit had happened at work, and that was that."

Reaching across the table Kenton grabbed the other's hands. With familiar yet so very different eyes, he leaned in and said, "James, darling, sweetheart, honey, having come from the same womb as this man and having lived in the same house with him for over a decade, believe me when I say he is head over heels for you."

"I only lived in the same house as him for five years but I knew that," Roxy replied in a rather matter-o-fact voice.

Rapidly blinking, James voiced his mind as he said, "I honestly don't know what to say."

"Well please tell me you at least like him so I actually have some leverage," Kenton responded, moving away once more. James quickly decided he had an extremely bubbly and hyper personality but that wasn't really what mattered at the moment.

"Leverage for what?" James asked just as the waitress came by again, this time to get their orders for food.

Roxy and Kenton responded immediately but when she turned to James, he was once again left speechless, a truly rare moment.

However, Kenton saved him from any stumbling over words and embarrassment as he asked, "You allergic to anything?"

"Not that I know of."

Quickly listing something from the menu, Kenton turned back to James and continued with the conversation. "The leverage is so I can finally break Alastair out of his shell."

"Wait, what did you just order for me?"

"It's a surprise. But if you don't like spicy foods, salty foods, bland foods, don't worry. If you don't like sweet foods, well, I kind of just made a huge mistake but you look like someone who enjoys dessert."

"You ordered dessert?" asked James with a smirk. "What happened to dinner first?"

"Dessert can be dinner. Isn't that right Roxy?" She quickly nodded in agreement as Kenton then continued with, "So, do you like my brother or not?"

"Kind of a loaded question isn't it?"

"It's a simple yes or no! Please, I just need something, anything, I can work with here," Kenton responded.

Letting out a slight hum, James said, "I'll answer when you explain what you meant by 'breaking him out of his shell'."

"So you don't know?"

"Roxy wouldn't tell me anything about Alastair's life, said I needed to figure things out on my own, and I think I have but I'd like some confirmation before I just go diving head first into this," replied James.

"Good thinking Roxy, and yeah, that's certainly fair enough. To start out with, our mother is a bitch."

James glanced at Roxy, slightly shocked by the use of language that Kenton had so easily used around her, but she didn't appear fazed so James turned back and shrugged. "I already knew that."

"Good, cause you'd have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to. Okay, secondly, she's the biggest bully you can imagine. First my father, who should have left a long time ago, even if that had meant my wonderful personality never getting to grace this earth, and then she tried to do it with me. Thankfully, I have to much spunk as my dad put it and whatever roadblock she put in front of me I knocked down, walked around it, jumped over it, whatever I could do."

"I'm the same way," Roxy quickly put in happily.

Nodding in agreement with a small smile, he dropped it slightly, his face looking serious for the first time as he said, "But our brother is a lot more like our dad, sadly. He…Roxy and I figured out rather quickly that family doesn't mean blood and you don't have to automatically respect an adult. That's how Roxy and I feel about our mother. She doesn't respect us so we don't respect her. She thinks herself almighty and knowing with no consideration for anyone else so we don't consider her family."

"And Alistair doesn't share those views," James said slowly.

Letting out a rather vague noise, Kenton waved his hand about and then quickly said, "Sort of. It's just…no matter how god damn much he hates her, and he does hate her, Alastair has always wanted to make her proud. Yet it's not like he's done everything she's exactly asked for either which almost makes it worse."

"So in other words he's constantly pulling himself towards her and away from her," James clarified.

"Yes and he's probably going to break one of these days from it and it's not going to be pretty!"

He already has.

James kept the thought to himself. He didn't say it out loud but his mind was immediately going back to the morning after the drunken confessions. He wondered if that was the breaking point or only the beginning of one. Instead, he asked, "So what do I have to do with it?"

"He really likes you. I mean like a hell of a lot, more than I've ever seen him like anybody and you may finally be able to break him out of this goddamn shell! So please tell me you like him!"

Hesitating, James looked over to Roxy and softly commented, "Why are we talking about this now? I mean, you had a great performance, why ruin it with this kind of talk?"

"Don't worry. Kenton and I planned this though I thank you for your concern," Roxy said with an easy smile. "Now, do you or do you not like Alastair?"

"Of course you bloody planned it!" moaned James though he felt better and a little more at ease once more. "But yes I…I probably like him more than is logical."

"Yes! I knew it," Kenton shouted in joy as a few heads turned to them. "So, what do you think the battle plan should be?"

"Woah! I admitted to liking him but that's it. I understand your want to break him out of this shell and everything but he's also my best friend! I'm not going to devise some giant plan to try and break him out of his circle or get with him. Besides, I think I've certainly improved his manner with a much slower and easier approach."

"Told you battle plan was a stupid choice of words," Roxy said. "Uncle James is wooing brother, Kenton, not you. I think we should let him take lead on this."

"Don't say the word wooing," James mumbled with a shake of his head and his cheeks turning red.

"Sorry," replied Roxy though it was clear his embarrassment was at least somewhat amusing to her.

Kenton chuckled as well as he commented, "Now onto lighter subjects. What's your favorite color? Do you have any pets? Where do you live? What—"

"So this really is an interrogation," James interrupted with a laugh. "How about I ask you some questions, hmm?"

"Fair enough. I already bombarded you."

"Very true. So, tell me about…"