He let out a sigh, tilting his head to the side in order to get underneath the over hanging on the house, shaking his umbrella out as he did. He wasn't sure why he was here, but when it came to Speed, that was a reoccurring theme for Rex Racer. A white cardboard box that was tucked under his arm, threatened to fall onto the ground as he rested the umbrella on the edge of the door.

It had been four months since the Grand Prix, since he'd last seen his brother in anything but magazines with accompanying headlines trying to make the squeaky clean Racer appear scandalous. Well, there was that whole underage drinking thing, but no one was paying much attention around that time, they were too caught up in congratulating him to notice him stumbling over chairs…

It was eleven o'clock, late for the Racer household and what had possessed him to knock on the door as opposed to leaving the box in the garage like he'd planned, he didn't know. He knew Speed would probably laugh at the contents in it, but he knocked on the door and waited.

Four months… he let out a sigh, glancing behind him at the thunderstorm in progress. Helping Speed out at the party had been the worst thing Racer X had ever done for himself. He hadn't been able to concentrate ever since, he drove different, he acted different, Detector noticed it, but was nice enough to address the subject with sympathy. Contact with the Racers wasn't forbidden, Rex had just preferred to avoid them in order to become detached from them, but after helping Speed…

So many memories came back to him, memories of helping his brother in the car when he wasn't old enough to drive yet. There were memories of consoling him and talking to his teachers on behalf of his parents who were often wrapped up in Rex's own career choice and he found his brain was trying to kill him. It began rationalizing reasons to visit the Racers, not so much Mom, or Pops, but Speed.

What brother misses his little brother's twenty-first birthday? Who does that? You're in the area anyways, so why not wish him a Happy Birthday? Those words and others forced him to where he was right now, standing, in the rain at night, waiting for someone to answer the door… Apparently his mind and emotions didn't care if his life could be at stake because of this…

As he thought it, it happened, and a slightly disheveled Speed (clearly confused as to who was coming to visit at this time of night) appeared, clad only in a pair of blue and green plaid pajama pants with the word Blazers embroidered across one knee. "Hello?" Speed asked hesitantly and Rex watched as his brother's brain began to kick into a higher gear and he recognized him as Racer X. "Oh! Come in." He stepped to the side and allowed his older brother to enter the house.

Rex felt his heart hurt as he looked around the practically unchanged house. The bright colours, so unique to the Racer house hadn't lost any of their brightness, even in the dark of a thunderstorm. Speed closed to door behind him, and it was then Rex realized he'd left his umbrella outside. He let out a sigh. He'd get it later.

"Where is everyone?" Rex asked, noting the lack of people in the normally filled house.

"Spritle's sleeping and Mom, Pops, Sparky, and Trixie were out doing some press work in New York and were supposed to be back yesterday, but there was a storm, so they'll be back sometime tomorrow evening." Speed replied flatly, glancing down at the ground and wiping his hand on his thigh. He glanced up at Rex curiously, still embarrassed from their previous encounter. "Why are you here?"

Rex stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, before remembering the box that he was carrying with him. He held it out to Speed who backed up out of reflex. The last time someone had given him a mysterious box things had ended up with him losing the first car he'd ever owned, but Trixie had thought his family was really cool after that…

"It's a present." Rex sighed, rolling his eyes. "It doesn't bite." He pushed the box forwards, and Speed hesitantly accepted it, as Rex pulled his wet coat off and threw it over the back of a nearby chair.

"You brought me a present…" Speed said slowly. He was not quite sure why Racer X would do that, he didn't seem like the type to go around distributing presents… "Why would you do that?"

"Happy Birthday." Rex supplied, and watched as his brother's spirits instantly lifted.

Speed's gaze was redirected from the box, over to his brother, and small smile on his lips. "How'd you-" He began, but Rex shook his head and he stopped. "Th-thank you…" He looked back down at the box, walking towards the living room, before stopping and realizing he wasn't being the best of hosts. "Uh… do you want something to drink?"

"A beer would be great."

"Right." Speed said, with a firm nod, redirecting his steps towards the kitchen before looking down at himself. "Shirt first, then drink." He said, placing the box on the kitchen counter, and then disappearing into his room for a minute, before reappearing, wearing a light blue shirt with Racer Motors printed on the front in black. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and handed it to Rex, who had removed his wet shoes and followed Speed into the kitchen.

Rex smiled sadly. That had been his shirt, the one he'd wear when he'd helped his father fix up cars. Speed would sometimes steal it from the laundry and wear it as pajamas, since it had been long enough to cover his knees at the time. Now, now, it looked almost too small on his legally an adult brother. He hadn't taken it when he'd stormed out of the house all those years ago, and he guess Speed had continued to wear it… He was amazed it hadn't fallen apart yet.

"Where does he keep the stupid opener?" Speed muttered to himself, searching through various kitchen draws.

"It's okay," Rex replied softly, popping the cap off using the corner of the counter. He dropped the cap onto the kitchen table and took a seat while Speed closed the draws and moved to sit across from his older brother.

"Did you really come all this way to wish me a 'Happy Birthday'?" Speed asked curiously, leaning forwards in his chair, not unlike when he'd been talking to Rex those months ago.

"Sure." Rex replied, taking a sip of his drink, before offering a sip to Speed. "It's legal now. Not that it mattered much to you before."

Speed winced. "Not one of my proudest moments…" He admitted.

Rex shrugged. "Whatever kid."

Speed contemplated it for a moment and took a small sip of the drink, while he titled the bottle up, Rex noticed something he'd never seen before, and it caused him to nearly choke on air.

His brother was wearing a silver coloured wedding band on his left hand.

"Are you married?" Rex asked in disbelief as Speed handed the drink back to him.

Speed glanced down at his hand, as if suddenly remembering he was wearing the ring. He flushed. "Um… sort of"

"How are you sort of married?"

"Okay, I am…"

Rex's face fell; he didn't even try to cover it up. He'd never considered that he'd never be able to see his brother get married or have children. The thought had never crossed his mind when he left… Speed wasn't supposed to grow up so fast; he wasn't supposed to grow up at all actually… Married? No, this didn't… what?

His brother was married? What kind of brother missed his brother's wedding? His brain was back again, trying to make him tell Speed everything so he could come crawling back into the family and see everyone again, and see his brother, and get to know Trixie and… "How long?"

"Not long, about a month…" Speed explained, shifting nervously in his chair. "Trixie and I…well, we've been together since we were twelve, after the whole Grand Prix thing, we just sort of felt it was time. I mean, she's been through everything with me, and stood up for me and fought for me, I have all these fans who are nuts" He paused as he remembered one girl who had attempted to mail herself to him. "We just decided to get married, Mom and Pops freaked out when they found out though…"

He nearly choked again. "You didn't tell them?"

"We kind of went to Vegas." Speed admitted shyly, looking down at the table. "We knew they'd freak out… and they did for about a week, but they're fine with it now. Nothing has changed around the house, except Mom's starting to talk about grandchildren and it's getting kind of creepy…" He let out a sigh. "Why do I do this around you? I keep getting sucked into talking about everything…"

Rex swallowed uncomfortably and took another sip of his drink. "Open your present." He said, hoping to divert the conversation.

Speed looked down, remembering and drawing the small box closer and lifting the lid. His small smile broke into a grin and small burst of laughter as he removed the object out of the box. "You brought me a cupcake?" He asked in disbelief, pulling the small treat of the box. On top of it, a huge pile of bluish-purple icing and a small plastic ring in the shape of a racecar completed the adorable image and Speed scooped out a small amount of the icing to taste it. "Hmm, blueberry, my favorite." He sighed, licking the sugar off of his finger.

He knew that already, that's why he bought it… Rex smiled softly. "Glad you approve."

Speed plucked the small racecar ring off and placed it on the table, making a note to give it to Trixie as a gift later. "Thank you… I mean… you don't know how nice this is. The rest of my family was really upset that they were stuck in New York today, and you just sort of showed up to save the day again."

Rex shrugged. "It's what I do."

"Well, it means a lot." Speed paused. "Do you have a family?"

"I think we all have moms…"

"You know what I mean."

Rex bit his bottom lip and shook his head. "Can't tell you, kid."

Speed looked down again, suddenly remembering Rex's speech from months earlier. "Oh… " He began awkwardly "right."

They talked for a while. Weird bits of conversation, but comfortable, Speed wasn't sure why he felt so comfortable around the mysterious racer, but there was something in the air that made silences less awkward. He didn't find the offering of a cupcake to be creepy since Racer X was nearly a total stranger, he found it sweet, and he felt a real friendship with the older man.

Rex found himself relaxing dangerously and finally forced himself to leave after Speed discovered Spritle listening in on their conversation. As he said goodbye, Speed did something Rex never would have expected.

He hugged him.

It was a simple hug to demonstrate friendship, and it wasn't like they hadn't had any physical contact since Rex had become Racer X, but he felt his legs go weak, and tears form in his eyes. The hug had all of Speed's love and trust put into it, something he didn't feel he deserved.

He had to leave, now.

He pushed Speed off of him as politely as he could and excused himself, picking up his umbrella as he left and walked out into the rain. He knew he was just torturing himself by coming to see his brother and had no one to blame but himself, he knew he should leave and only come back when the family was in danger. Only come back as Racer X…

But he knew he'd keep coming back, unable to say anything or do anything. He'd only be able to talk to Speed in lies and riddles. His brain was trying to kill him after all, asking him questions that he couldn't answer, like, what kind of brother does that?

Freakin' plot bunnies…

So it was supposed to be a oneshot, but then this came and… well, I don't know if it'll be longer than this. We need Rex Speed brother angsty stuff and if I get more ideas I suppose I'll post more, but I make no guarantees.

Please Review.