A/N: Hello again! I'm back with another little project for HGTV's Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott. I'm not sure how long this will be or how frequently I will update, but I do hope you enjoy and feel inclined to review ;)

"Our siblings push buttons that cast us in roles we felt sure we had let go of long ago — the baby, the peacekeeper, the caretaker, the avoider... It doesn't seem to matter how much time has elapsed or how far we've traveled." ~Jane Mersky Leder

Chapter 1- Solid Foundations

In one swift, smooth motion Jonathan quickly wiped the sweat from his brow and smoothed his unruly hair before letting his hand fall limply to his side. He let out a very small sigh and tried not to look nearly as annoyed as he felt. She was already irate and if he appeared anything less than fully sympathetic to her litany of ultimately delusional complaints, he cringed at what fresh Hell might befall him. So, although he knew it may ultimately cause him more time and trouble down the road, he stood quietly and allowed her to take her proverbial pound of flesh.

Truth be told, he was too exhausted to otherwise protest. It had to be every bit of 110 degrees and as the house was currently lacking walls to accommodate the larger kitchen she said she wanted and was now railing against, there was nothing but what little natural airflow Mother Nature was kind enough to provide. He tried his best to look sympathetic and rapidly blinked the rivulet of salt laden sweat from his stinging eyes because he didn't dare make another move that may look like he was blowing her off. But as he listened to her, he marveled at her complete lack of spatial ability and it was all he could do not to laugh in her face. She was incredibly unhappy with the home's original tiny kitchen and he fully agreed. He showed her his design for an area at least twice the size and explained that he would accomplish this by removing the back wall and extending it out into the patio before reframing it all and hanging the new cabinets. Yet somehow, she was astonished that he couldn't somehow make her dreams come true without removing the wall as he so plainly told her he would. Exactly how he was supposed to defy the laws of basic math and geometry was beyond him. He literally was a magician, but even he had limits. He was also an exceedingly patient man, but that boundary was too fast approaching.

On one hand, he could understand that renovation- especially for a first time homebuyer like she and her newlywed husband were- could be an incredibly stressful experience. When homeowners invariably became nervous about the progress, scope, and cost of a job, they often adopted a shoot the messenger mentality and he was unfortunately usually the bearer of sometimes catastrophically bad news. Because of this, he had more proverbial war wounds than he cared to count. Still, he always tried to remind himself that while in a few weeks he would be off on another project and then another and another, this was a permanent life for the people in front of him. They would wake up every day in his creation for the foreseeable future, so he tried to respect their views. But sometimes homeowners expected the moon and stars on a shoestring budget and worse yet, completely lacked any concept of scale or design. In his mind there were simple disagreements of color or form which could be easily resolved or compromised on, there was second guessing which was mildly irritating but he attributed to fear of the unknown or inexperience, and then there were people like her. While thankfully rare, these were the people who probably couldn't nail two boards together and yet presumed to tell him how to do his job as if they built Rome in a day. His eye twitched and he couldn't hold out any longer. He reached up to scratch his nose consequences be damned and wondered why she and others like her bothered to hire him in the first place if they had all the answers.

Just as she was getting her second wind, he seized the opportunity to reign her in before she took up even more of his valuable time. He gave her an easy yet secretly forced smile and kept his tone soft and supportive, tapping into the small part of him that really could still forgive her for her tirade. "I know this all seems like we're going backwards here," he nodded glancing back through the kitchen and out to the fence beyond where the wall was and in her mind at least, should have been, "but if you want all that extra space for your kitchen we have to build it and that means at least temporarily changing the way the house looks. I promise you," he chuckled as he gave another small lopsided grin, "I will put it back and next time when you drop by unexpectedly you'll get a better idea of where we're going." He raised his eyebrows with a hopeful smile and waited for the hubris to set in. When she finally shook her head and laughed and he knew she was feeling better about the prospect, he took his cue. "And speaking of going…." He gestured toward the door with a lilt in his voice. Heck, he would even be a gentleman and walk her to the door himself if that was what it took to finally find some peace.

"I…" she hesitated in the doorway somewhat embarrassed. "I'm really sorry for tearing into you like that. I know you and Drew are trying to help us, it just seems overwhelming." She hung her head and seemed genuinely sad.

Jonathan mopped his forehead with his shirtsleeve and sighed. He was no psychologist, but he liked to think he was fairly good at reading people and something told him there was more to the story. His gut also told him to stay the hell out of it. He put his hands on his hips and smirked to lighten the mood. "I'm trying to help you, but we both know Drew isn't doing anything unless you have him shopping for facial cleansers at the spa every day." He spotted Drew strolling up the walk and made sure to say it loud enough for him to hear.

Drew did hear him, but as he passed the homeowner in the doorway he put on his best innocent look and asked "What's this?" He too felt he was pretty good at judging people and in fact, better than Jonathan because he had to use his social skills to negotiate unlike his twin who spent most of his time talking to himself while designing or singing to the floor tile he was installing. In the split second he had, he was able to notice the homeowner was in a down mood and his brother was using his dig at him as a means of diffusing the situation. While he was never apologetic for his reluctance to get his hands dirty, he was more than willing to play along with his brother's act if it meant smoothing over whatever happened before his arrival. Never let it be said he was not truly a team player.

"All relaxed after a hard morning of pencil pushing?" Jonathan playfully asked folding his arms across his chest.

Drew grinned as he took in the sight of his twin with his safety glasses, blue t-shirt clinging to him with sweat, and a myriad of tools hanging in his black studded tool belt. His hair was pushed back from his face and he thought with careful hairstyling the two could switch places and maybe no one would notice- until he may actually have to use a power tool or estimate the bearing of a point load. He shook his head a little with the realization that at least on that front he would never want to switch places and chuckled, "Yeah, I had to walk an extra block to get my smoothie because I couldn't find a decent parking spot, so I got an extra-long hot stone massage that was to die for." He was secure enough in his own masculinity not to care what anyone thought of his enjoyment of spa treatments even if he did exaggerate sometimes.

"That sounds great right about now." The homeowner sighed wistfully as she turned to go.

"Go downtown and ask for Helga. Tell her I sent you!" He called after her cheerfully. As he watched her car pull out of the drive, it crossed his mind that maybe he should have clarified he was only kidding and he didn't know anyone named Helga. He was distracted when Jonathan let out a deep and burdened sigh that was a little worrisome and rubbed his face vigorously. "You ok?" Drew asked cautiously. It wasn't really like his brother to harbor so much tension even under the worst of circumstances. "What happened?"

Jonathan shook his head slowly and tried to put the events of the last 15 minutes into proper context because in reality, it felt like it had stretched on for hours. "I think it's just stress. They're probably having arguments or something."

Drew nodded somberly and with no measure of glee finished his brother's unspoken thoughts. "And she came here to tear a strip off you about the reno." It was something the two had experienced a time or two over the course of their time in business together. If they weren't complaining to Jonathan about the renovation process, they were laying into him for not finding the exact shape, size, color, location, or price of the house they wanted as if he personally and singlehandedly controlled the housing market.

"Maybe." He conceded as he turned back to the box of tile he had opened to be sure the contents matched the label. All too often it didn't and he wasn't about to set off another round of fireworks should there be a mismatch. He wanted to give himself plenty of time to reorder or run to every store in the state himself if he had to before breathing a word about it to the homeowners. "But whatever, I don't take it personally."

Drew placed his hands on his hips and watched his brother from behind. He had no doubts because Jonathan let far more slide than the average person. It was almost like he had some kind of apathetic superpower, but even so at some point it had to start bothering him and he might have been at that point judging by the way his shoulders slumped slightly. He bit his lip and considered his next move carefully. He didn't want to seem too indifferent or accusatory, but something gnawed at him. Even though he couldn't pinpoint it, he knew there was something wrong but he just didn't know how to speak to the elephant in the room. He was used to using the vibe he was getting to extract or exploit others during the course of business, but he was a little less practiced at offering such overt support without seeming too sappy. Even if Jonathan was willing to overlook his ineptitude, which he probably would be because to him the thought would probably be all that mattered, he was still a little hesitant to possibly make a mountain out of a molehill. As he watched him he began to second guess himself and rationalize the red flags as fatigue from the heat, long work schedules, or maybe even just another instance in which, as he was prone to do, withdraw into himself when he was deep in thought about designs or logistics. Drew knew his brother was wicked smart, but sometimes he just needed some time to quietly process the huge amounts of detail that was always swirling around in his skull.

He hung his head and resolved to let it go, hoping he made the right decision and hating himself just a little for not acting on his instincts. Still, he felt he had to do or say something- anything to shake the gloom that had settled between them. "Hey," he said gently reaching out to tap Jonathan on the shoulder, "it's pretty hot. How long do you think you're going to work today?" He hoped he used the right degree of inflection to make it known he was concerned about his wellbeing and wanted him to just call it a day, but he almost already knew what the answer would be.

Jonathan continued inspecting the tiles for breakage and half-heartedly responded, "Probably late. I don't want to take the chance of any delays down the line so I'm going to get as much done as fast as I can. That way when and if something does come up, I'll have a bit of a cushion in the timeline."

"If not the budget." Drew grumbled as he turned to go, resigned to his brother's logical yet infuriating stubbornness. "Just drink a lot of water and take a lot of breaks, ok?" He instructed. The last thing he wanted was to find him the next day dead of heat stroke, still clutching his hammer. At least he had enough sense not to wear one of his plaid long sleeve shirts.

Jonathan suppressed a smile because he could pick up on his abject misery without even looking at him. And while he appreciated his concern, Drew sometimes didn't understand that he didn't have the same degree of freedom to slack off as he did. Problems had a way of multiplying if he didn't stay on top of them and no amount of massage could make them go away. "Who's the big brother here?" He asked deviously.

Drew didn't skip a beat, happy his mood at least seemed to lighten a little. "Who's got the degree in kinesiology? This guy." He emphasized proudly pointing at himself.

"Is that why you're always at the spa getting massages and colonics, and god knows what else?" He laughed. "You can't stay young forever, you know."

"That's right, I know and will always do what's best for me." He confirmed with a playful grin at his brother's snipe.

"Yes, that you will." Jonathan sighed as he turned his attention back to his box of tiles. "You always do."