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He'd heard, and he was beside himself with loathing.

Lucas was gazing out over his balcony, rubbing his lips with his prosthetic hand in a mindless gesture, numb. Autumn was gone. He knew it wasn't his fault, exactly, but they'd walked away from each other on horrible terms. That, and he'd found her note just that morning. He'd gone to see her, and...

Police tape. Everywhere.

He could still taste the panic in the back of his throat, his good hand containing a fine tremor that hadn't seem to have left him. It ticked and jumped when he heard the knock, glancing over. At first, his apathetic lack of desire to be impressed upon kept him still, but Zac spoke and his mind jump-started. s**t. Zac.

Pushing himself up, he ambled to the door and threw the locks, opening it and looking at the teen. Lucas probably looked a little worn, his hair down from running his hands through it so much, but he still tried to smile, however weak. "Hey, Zac -- you uh -- you okay?" He pushed the door open and stood back for him to come in.

"That your friend?" a voice carried from one of his spare rooms, hopeful.

"A friend, but not Autumn," he called back, shutting the door once Zac was inside and looking at him with apology. "Sorry, my -- my brother and best friend stopped by to surprise me. Some timing, huh?"

A young man walked out of one of the rooms, undeniably related to Lucas. He was maybe an inch shorter, but had the same dark skin, the wavy dark hair kept shorter to the nape of his neck, pale green eyes and cheekbones that were more pronounced without any facial hair. He wore a simple black tee that said DARK HORSE in gothic scrawl over blue jeans and dark tennis shoes. When he saw Zac, he smiled in a friendly manner, a dimple on one side of his mouth. "Yo!"

Lucas motioned to the other. "Zac, this is Nicolau, my youngest brother. Nico, Zac, my bud who has been helping me out."

Nico approached with a hand extended, eyes alight. "Hey." His gaze flicked to Zac's multi-colored hair. "Awesome hair, Zac."

The elder Reis brother gave the younger a look before continuing inside. "Do you want a drink or anything?" he asked, trying to at least be hospitable. "If Nico is a pain, I can kick him out. Avery is gone for a bit, so if we need space..."

Lucas went into the kitchen, getting some water for himself, calling out from it. "It's okay. You can put it anywhere, I'll take a look at it when I can get rid of Nico."

The young man in question cast a scathing glance towards the kitchen before returning his attention to the blushing teen, wearing a grin that apparently ran in the family. "It's really cool of you to help him out. He's kind of helpless - he wont let anyone in on it, though. It's kind of a relief he's making friends here." The grin settled into the same dimpled smile, tilting his head to the side. "Sure we can't get you anything? I'd be happy to play host to you."

The older man's voice cracked like thunder from the kitchen. "Nico, are you bothering -- Zac is he bothering you?"

Nico laughed, a pleasant sound, soft. "He's attractive, don't blame me!"

"NICO."

Nico grinned, and there was silence from Lucas. "You should see our other ones. Brother and sister that're related, but she's - our sister, she's got my eyes and our brother has blue. Not nearly as pretty as yours though." He leaned in, probably a little closer than was usually polite, looking into Zac's eyes. "Your eyes look like what I imagine natural crystal would look like."

The younger brother rubbed his clean shaven jaw, chuckling. "I don't know how Luca puts up with it. Gets itchy in the heat." He glanced towards the kitchen again, briefly, mostly as a cursory gesture with his attention on Zac. Watching him speak, his smile grew again, clearly enjoying how the teen stumbled over his words a little.

"I'm enjoying it a lot more now." He lifted a hand, very delicately drawing his index finger beneath the colored stripe in Zac's bangs, not quite touching his skin. "You don't have a girl or boyfriend, do y--"

Lucas swore loudly, the man limping away towards one of the rooms, casting a 'oh god no' look over his shoulder and mostly closing the door. Apparently, he'd reached his threshold of listening to his brother flirt with his friend.

Nico could only laugh, rubbing the back of his neck in a mildly embarrassed gesture, his grin echoing the sentiment. "I've been told I have no filter. Hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

An apologetic 'tsk!' sounded at the corner of his mouth. "Unless you're actively pursuing them, 'fraid not. Means you're single and I can try to treat you to lunch, dinner, dessert - all of the above, if you'll let me."

From behind the door, Lucas made a sound that sounded distantly like 'sure you are!'

Nico's eyes brightened, putting his hands on his hips and lifting his chin in a victorious pose. "I would enjoy that very much, dear Zac." Like his older brother, he possessed the lop-sided grin that hiked up higher on one side, playful and mischievous. "Would you call that a date?"

Friendly laughter returned the question, though it sobered up quickly when Zac asked what Nico had thought was fairly obvious. "I am very much flirting with you, Zac. You're attractive, you should be used to this, no?" He tilted his head to the side, smiling in a warmer manner. "If you'd like to say yes, then -- I am asking you out. I'm completely lost here so you'll have to be our guide, but I'd like to take you out." How often did a hot one just land on your brother's doorstep? Well...he really didn't know, but he was going to take this one over.

He nodded slightly. "Up and down the street, around the block by the park, but that's it. We just got in last night, so...I'm all yours." The damnable grin flickered back in place. "So far I'm enjoying your reactions, very refreshing. I like - just about anything, my family teases me about being a garbage disposal." He drew his bottom lip in between his teeth, nibbling it while he considered. "You like sweets? Luca said there's a decent gelato place in walking distance."

The grin just kept coming back, dimpling Nico's cheeks with how wide it was. "No, no! Not at all. You have a pleasant voice to listen to. You can read out of a phonebook and I'd be just as content." Laughing under his breath, he turned to grab a spare key off the side table in the foyer, stuffing it into his pocket and checking for his wallet and phone.

"HoneyPop can be a second date, you seem to be pretty animated about it." He glanced to the other, flashing a reassuring smile. "Used to what, handsome shy guys humoring me? No, you're pretty much the first for that - one of a kind, might I add." But he paused, brows raised, returning to Zac and gently resting his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Hey. There's no making a mess. There's you being charming as hell and me enjoying every second of it." He winked. "Just have fun, okay? Dates shouldn't be stressful."

Not that him making a second date already and talking about it was probably making it any easier. "Luca, we're going out," he called towards the partially closed door, moving past Zac to open the front door for him.

Lucas clearly grumbled something before saying louder, "You behave Nicolau or so help me, I'll call your mother."

A shrug answered the question. "It couldn't hurt, but I'll have you know, I'm a gentleman." Nico flashed a crooked smile. "Just a very forthcoming and honest one."

Zac's comment to Lucas earned a started laugh, brows high and eyes wide, impressed. "Hey now, do I need a trouble kit?" he teased, lightly leaning his arm against the teen. "Not that I'd use it. I think I'd take my chances." Opening the door, he let Zac exit before he shut and locked it behind them, motioning down the hall for them to continue.

"You haven't exactly dissuaded me from the hope," was his easy reply. "You're helpful, kind, considerate, funny - I picked all that out just from you agreeing to help Luca." He dropped his voice in a whisper. "Don't think I didn't see that flash drive. That's adorable." Leveling his voice, he continued, "You're sharing your precious time and knowledge of the town with me, so -- yeah. Even if this went up in flames, I'd want to do that much for you." Nico beamed a bright smile at his own words, shrugging again. He liked to take care of people. It was what he did.

The question posed made his smile flicker and fade, just a little. "No." It was a hard admittance. "Luca...he's always been really...I don't know how to say, parental, I guess? He looked out for us while our parents worked, kind of raised us, in a way." Nico opened the door to the building, letting them out into the Ashdown streets. "Sharing what troubles him isn't easy. It's why we're here, and why I'm so impressed with you."