BRANCE + RINNEY

Second Family (3)

It was around 11 pm when Finn woke back up. He felt a little better and his body didn't hurt as much as it did earlier in the day. His room was dark and slightly cold. He instinctively rubbed his hands up and down his arms in hopes to warm himself. It didn't work so well. Finn sighed in defeat and climbed slowly out of his bed. The floor was even colder underneath his feet. He shivered, pulling a blanket off his bed and putting it around his shoulders, before making his way down the hall and in to the kitchen where he heard commotion.

_

"What do you mean? Dipping pizza in ranch is top tier if I do say so myself." Robin said, a bottle of ranch in his right hand for emphasis.

"You're absolutely and utterly gross Arellano." Bruce fake gagged, a large frown following right after.

Vance smiled at the two, ultimately agreeing with Robin on the ranch. They were all laughing and eating when Finn appeared from the around the corner. Vance lowered his pizza from near his mouth on to the paper plate in front of him. He still had a smile on his face but it decreased a little bit in size. Robin and Bruce were still joking around. Vance shot them a look and they instantly stopped.

"Hey guys." Finn said looking at the three boys in front of him. They all smiled at him in response.

Bruce swallowed a bite of pizza before speaking about what happened earlier.

"Finn. What happened."

Vance's smile dropped fully.

"Finn please talk to us about it. We're worried about you." Robin announced.

Finn took a deep breath before moving closer to Vance.

"My dad. He. How do I put this." Finn tried to laugh. He tried to clear the awkward tension in the air, but he couldn't. "He hits me. He used to hit Gwen, but since she's never here anymore, he hits me in place of her. He hits me because of things I do wrong and because Gwen isn't here." Finn spoke, a little too quickly in the other boys' opinion.

Vance shook his head in disbelief. Finn never did anything wrong. At least not wrong enough to get the shit beat out of him every single day his father was home.

Bruce and Robin were shocked. Well they were a lot of things actually. They were both mad. Mad at Finn's dad and mad that Finn didn't think he could talk to them about this. Robin was also mad that Vance knew before he did.

"How come Vance knew before us."

Finn smiled at the mention of Vance. Finn looked at him as his personal protector. He explained the situation of how Vance found out, the blonde nodding along at certain parts of the story. Robin and Bruce stared in disbelief. Vance laughed at their faces before being elbowed by Finn in his ribs. He laughed again at the smaller boys attempt to hurt him.
_

After everything was explained, Robin and Bruce vowed to be there more for Finn. He had hugged the two and cried happy tears. Vance had already vowed to protect him since the night he saw everything, so he didn't have much to say on the matter.
_

Robin and Bruce went back to their homes the next day. Vance stayed until Monday morning. He drove Finn to and from school, sometimes with the extra company of Bruce and Robin, and frequently asked if Finn wanted to stay over his house. Finn would always decline, explaining to Vance how if he didn't care for his dad no one would and all of the other things involving that piece of shit. Vance wouldn't push any further but he would always make sure Finn got inside safe, sometimes even walking him in.
_

The next weekend, Finn got seriously injured once more by his so-called father. This time though, all three boys came.

A couple months after the two incidents, Finn's dad got arrested due to child neglect as well as child abuse. Gwen remained with Susie, Finn had chose to live with Vance. It would've happened eventually. They both knew that.

Finn was more than happy he got to live with Vance. He got to see his friends as much as he wanted and he knew he'd always be safe and protected. He had nothing to worry about. Not with Vance around. Not with Robin and Bruce. Especially with him knowing his dad was gone and Gwen was also safe. His life was finally getting better.