#After (On Hiatus with possible random slow updates)

Brothers of Sorts

Nick yawned as he strolled into work on Monday morning. He was actually on time... barely, but he had permission to keep odd hours and his weekly report was finished so he might as well bring it in for P'Yo. 

It was weird working here now. He actually hadn't had intentions of doing so but P'Yo had offered a sweet deal and promised him that he would be useful. He hadn't lied either. While P'Yo had great ideas, he wasn't naturally a chemist. He needed all the help he could get. P'Ming was great at what he did and the Safe Engine was a genius idea but it would end up being a one trick pony if he couldn't adapt it. Nick wasn't even sure he could do much with the thing and he had studied it thoroughly.

He opened the door and paused. Ming was sitting in his chair, staring at his model car.

"Hey what's up P?"

"Why didn't you remind me you were my little brother? I was very annoyed last night to realize you were the little guy who hid behind my dad when we came back from the States." He picked up the model and checked the undercarriage. Nick felt his chest clutch and itched to snatch it away from Ming. He tried to focus on the conversation.

It was true. Ming had only met him once before. When Ming came around again, he had been off to university. Still he should have said something. The guy had sent him fucking care packages for goodness sakes. They had been good ones too. He still used the utility knife. It was his favorite.

"Sorry bro. I didn't really think." Nick carefully took the model away from Ming and put it back in its place. Ming sighed and stood. He handed a folder to Nick.

"I hope you think next time. I'm not the kind of guy who says one thing and means another. You may not carry Daishapanya but that doesn't make you any less one of us. Especially if you can ignore Vi and live to see another day." Nick snorted and looked at Ming. He looked tired but happy. Since he was here, maybe it was the time to ask about something he had recently discovered.

"Hey P. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What made you want to make the Safe Engine?"

Ming suddenly looked... heavy. He sat on the ugly plastic guest chair and rolled his neck. "I had a friend from university. He had this idea to make the safest engine that could successfully use any kind of fuel and go the mileage. I'm not sure exactly how it happened. I didn't even know he had this idea. He blew himself up trying to make it a reality. Isn't that ironic." But his face said it was just dreadfully sad.

"The safe engine killed him." Nick set his bag down and dropped in his seat. Ming nodded and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't crying but they looked red.

"Yep. And the worse part was, he left all his plans and designs to me. We used to talk and he would bounce his ideas off me but I never thought they were more than just ideas. He thought that far ahead because he had a hereditary condition from his dad. Something to do with his heart. He figured since I was the one who helped him get that far, it was only fair that I own the work in the event that anything happened to him."

"Is this the foundation that helped me get to go to university?" Nick had heard some coffee room talk recently and wanted all his facts just in case he needed to clear somethings up but this was a bit more than he expected.

"Yes. The Suridat Polmontan Foundation. He would have enjoyed talking with you if he was still alive. He was such a brain. Even more than I was. He also had so much vision. I miss him."

"Why did you use it for me?"

"Well to be honest Nick. Putting you through school would have bankrupted us for a good while. The safe engine can handle it though. It's sent so many your engineering minds off to do their masters and doctorates without asking anything back. Yo just wanted to snap you up because your the best. Helped that you are family but not that much. He wouldn't have picked you if you weren't number 1. Trust no. No amount of family connections could get you the privileges you have now."