BRANCE + RINNEY

Finney Blake

The light switch flicked on and off three times, tiny fingers finding amusement in the smallest of things. "Would you stop with that Finney? Mommy is trying to work." Small feet stumped over to a tall woman in a desk chair, attempting to climb up onto her lap. "No, no. You mustn't do that while I'm working." The petite, round-faced boy pouted, backing away from the woman in the desk chair and retreating out of the room. He ran off-balanced, shoulders coming in contact with the walls next to him every other second. He passed his sister's room, smiling giddily as his eyes met his father holding the younger girl. "Papa!" His speech was slightly broken, but he screeched out the word happily. The man turned towards the door where his son stood, a small smile on his face as the girl in his arms giggled at her brother. "Hi Finney, come in." The small boy did as told, excitedly walking in fast-paced steps to reach the older man and his young sister. The older man picked him up, placing a soft kiss to his forehead. "I love you Finney. My sweet boy."
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The small black alarm clock on the bedside table blared loudly, ripping the sleeping boy out of his slumber oh so rudely. Wavy brunette hair was swept away from a pair of brown eyes, an angry hand placing itself on the buzzer of the alarm, silencing it from its incessant blaring. The boy grumbled, removing the tangles of sheets and blankets from around his body. He stood up, sleep making his legs wobbly and off-balanced. The door leading into his bedroom was opened to a certain degree, allowing a younger brunette girl to enter the room. She had a small smile adorning her facial features, a collection of freckles popping out alongside her nose. "Finney! Ready for the first day of high school?" The boy in front of her yawned, stretching his arms towards the ceiling of the room. His eyes wandered towards his window, a small frown becoming drawn on his face. It was raining outside, his father was sat in the low, mud-slicked grass in the front yard. He was planting new flowers for their late mother, honoring her with a collection of daisies and white roses. The boy behind the window glanced at his sister, nodding his head slowly as the sleep from earlier was steadily departing from his body. The girl smiled wider, quickly exiting the room to presumably finalize her outfit for the day.
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The siblings exited the house, the older of the two handing his sister an orange umbrella as he pulled the hood of his raincoat over his head. She thanked him softly as they began to make their way to her bus stop, as she was going to a different school than her brother.

"Finney, are you going to be okay today? I know you have your friends and all, but I still worry about you." Gwen grimaced at the thought of her older brother having to face yet another year of bullying. In the spot next to her, Finn nodded his head. He knew if anything happened, he could count on Vance and Robin. Bruce would comfort him as well. "Yeah, I'll be okay Gwenny." His sister rolled her eyes at the nickname, turning her body towards her brother and embracing him before she left towards the now-approaching yellow bus. She waved goodbye once before climbing the stairs and boarding the vehicle, a smile on her face as she shook off her closed umbrella.
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Finn watched his sister's bus depart from the neighborhood, nose sniffling slightly as the air around him grew just a little bit colder at the absence of his sister. He slowly began to continue his walk to school, shoes sloshing in the puddles of rain with each passing step. He grimaced as a chilly gust of wind blew past him, making his raincoat flutter softly. A collection of footsteps sounded behind him, making the boy quicken his pace in fear that it was someone he didn't want to deal with.

"Finn! Slow down dude!" The boy stopped in his tracks, face pink and a smile on his face as he turned towards his three friends. "Oh, hey guys." Bruce waved at him, a wide grin playing on his lips. Vance muttered something underneath his breath, frowning slightly at the wind and rain biting at his skin. "Hi, handsome boy." Robin smiled at Finn, cheeks dusted a rosy red color as he stepped towards him. Finn swallowed a thick wad of saliva, heart hammering loudly in his ears as his face reddened at the compliment. Robin was now in front of him, arms outstretched and leaning forward as he gave him a hug. Finn flushed at the action, sure he looked identical to a tomato in the arms of his friend. The two boys behind them smiled at their interaction. "Okay, let's get to school before we're late." Bruce walked past the two, nudging them to remind that they really needed to go. Finn and Robin pulled apart, Vance now walking between them as the group continued to school.
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Finn ended up having an okay first day of school, glad he was surrounded by the company his friends.

The boy waited once again at his sister's bus stop, smiling as he spotted her with the orange umbrella he had handed her that same morning. Gwen smiled at him as well, rushing down the steps of the vehicle to greet him. "Finney!" The young girl jumped at her older brother, embracing him in a tight hug. The previous rain of the day had cleared, now letting the sun warm the earth below. Finn smiled wider into her hair, hugging her back just as tight as she was hugging him. "Hi Gwen." The siblings let go of each other, beginning to walk back to their home while conversing about their days at school.

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Finn unlocked the front door of their home, pushing it open for his sister to make her way through before him, afterwards locking and shutting the door back. The house smelled of roses and aromatic candles. It made the siblings smile. "Dad? Are you in here?" There was no response for a little while, not until the sound of a snore came from a figure laid out on the sofa. Finn approached it, smiling softly as he saw his father asleep on the piece of furniture. Grabbing a nearby blanket, he covered his father up slowly, pressing a small kiss to his forehead before he signaled for his sister to go ahead and go to her room. Gwen did as told, squeezing her sleeping father's hand before leaving the room. Finn looked outside, smiling as he saw the fresh flowers near his mother's shrine. He missed her, but he was glad he still had his father who honored her.