"Alright, now, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Elliot and Leo were still seated on a log in the woods, facing each other. Elliot was still nervous about the coming conversation, unsure of what exactly to expect. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that it was the right thing to do.

"Ah, yeah. That." Leo looked as if he suddenly didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I guess you could probably figure it out by now, but I got fired." He sighed, crossing his arms as he spoke. "But there's more to it than that. I…." He bit his lip, his voice wavering. "I'm going to have to move."

"Wait, what?! Why?!" Elliot felt a wave of shock wash over him. Leo was moving? "I don't understand. Why do you have to move?"

Leo shrugged, and turned his head. "I don't know if I want to talk about it anymore. I really just dragged you out here cause I was angry, not to pour out my whole life story."

"Come on, really?!" Elliot frowned, a touch of his temper flaring to the surface. "You can't just drag someone around and yell about how much you hate them, and then not explain why!"

"…..fine." Leo kept his face angled away from Elliot, and continued, "Because my foster parents said so. That if I couldn't hold down a job because of my….tendencies, that they'd have to have me reassigned to a different house."

"Oh…." Elliot was dumbfounded. He had no idea what to say. "I'm so sorry…."

Leo shrugged, but a small smile formed on his lips. "It's not the first time it happened, and it probably won't be the last either. But I was just starting to get used to this place, so it kinda hit hard, you know? Usually I don't have enough time to form an attachment to where I end up living."

"How many times has he moved?" Elliot wondered to himself, but he was afraid to even think about asking. Not only was it none of his business, but he had no idea how Leo would take to the question. And he'd rather not risk the possibility of things going south, not when they were actually managing to have a semi-normal conversation. So instead, he opted for asking, "Do you know where you're going to be moving to?"

"No clue." Leo's voice gained a bitter tone, "I don't know anything worth crap. Well, not like I care about that part. I don't care where they move me, it's all the same. I'll just end up hating it, causing issues, and getting moved around again."

Elliot felt his heart hurting for Leo. It was a situation he couldn't even begin to imagine. But before he could say anything else, a loud beeping sound cut through the silence of the woods.

"Ah crap…..." Leo muttered, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Give me a second." He spoke to Elliot, swiping his finger across the screen. He held the phone to his ear, a frown etching across his face. "Yeah? No, I'm off now, I'm out….I'm with a…..well, an acquaintance, I guess. No, I'm not getting into trouble. Yeah I'll head back soon. I'm fine, Lauren, really….."

Elliot couldn't help but feel curiosity. Who was Lauren? His foster sibling maybe? That question lingered in his brain, until finally Leo seemed as if he was ready to end the call.

"Yeah, I'll come back soon. Just give me a little bit longer." With that, Leo hung up the phone, his lips still pulled into a frown. "Sorry about that. I just-" At that, Leo found himself getting cut off by yet another phone call. "Seriously?…..." He groaned, answering the phone with an ever darkening face. "What is it, Lottie?" A moment later, Leo's eyes widened. "Say what?!" He glanced towards Elliot, or at least Elliot thought that's what he was doing, since he still couldn't see Leo's eyes. "I…..you're not really going to give me much of a choice, are you?"

Now Elliot was beyond curious. He couldn't help it. Who was Leo talking to? What was he not getting a choice in? Then, to Elliot's surprise, a small smile began to form on Leo's lips.

"Well, I guess if you're not giving me a choice, then fine. Yeah, I get it. I guess I'll see you around, then." He hung up, turning back to Elliot. "Well, I guess you'll be seeing more of me, Idiot." He smirked, tucking away his phone. "I'm only moving one neighborhood away."

A sense of relief washed over Elliot, for reasons he couldn't quite explain. "Really?!" He noticed that Leo had called him idiot again, but at this point he was too relieved to care. "That's….that's really great news…."

"Gee, you'd think you care about me or something." Leo teased sarcastically, standing up as he spoke. "Anyways, I'd better head back, it takes me a while to walk from here. Not like I mind being out after dark though."

"Ah, alright." Elliot stood as well, but Leo's last comment left yet another question on the tip of his tongue. "What did he mean by that?" Once again, he didn't dare to ask. So instead, he pulled out his own phone, and saw that he had a message from Vincent.

"What's happening? Are you alright?"

Elliot thought for a moment before quickly typing a response, then tucking his phone away.

"I'm fine. We just talked for a while."

"That friend of yours?" Leo asked, waiting for Elliot to catch up. "Or that over-protective guy from the coffee shop?"

Elliot couldn't help but snicker slightly, since the description of Vincent was spot-on. "Ah, the over-protective guy." He affirmed, "My brother, Vincent."

Leo looked surprised at this, and he questioned, "Brothers? You two?" He seemed as if he was trying to compare the two in his mind. "I don't see that one….."

"Well, adopted brother." Elliot shrugged, "But he's family nonetheless. Oh, and Gilbert, the guy who was with Oz the other day, remember? The tall guy with black hair? They're blood-related." Elliot grinned, and continued, "You think Vincent's over-protective of me? Oh you should just see how protective he can get about Gilbert, it'll change your mind real quick."

"I'll take your word for it." Leo nodded, slipping back into an almost absent-minded state. "Although I'm not quite sure I want to see that. In fact I'm almost completely sure I don't."

"Yeah, I guess it's not really a fun thing to witness." Elliot admitted, "But it's just Vincent's way of showing that he cares." Elliot thought back to all the different times he had seen Vincent be protective of Gilbert, and a nostalgic feeling rose in his chest.

"If you say so." Leo didn't sound convinced in the slightest. He stepped out of the woods, into the open area of the park, with Elliot close behind. "Weird way of caring, if you ask me." He took one last glance at Elliot, and started to walk away. "See ya later, Idiot."

"It's Elliot!" Elliot called across the park, ignoring the stares of confusion he received from children and adults alike. "You little shorty…." He muttered, sighing and walking in the opposite direction.

"Elliot what the hell were you thinking?!"

Elliot grimaced, looking down at the floor. Upon his arrival to the edge of the park, he had been promptly picked up by a very concerned looking Gilbert and Vincent. They had remained silent the entire ride to their apartment, but were now unleashing the brotherly scolding Elliot knew was coming a mile away.

"Do you even realize how dangerous that was?!" Gilbert crossed his arms, staring down at Elliot. "We could have lost you! I'm not saying I don't trust your judgment, but when I think about the fact that one of my little brothers got kidnapped…..."

"I knew what I was doing!" Elliot insisted defensively. "I knew Vincent was following us!"

"And if I hadn't been?!" Vincent spoke up, his protectiveness that Elliot had spoken of earlier now showing through quite clearly. "If I'd have lost track of you?! You could have been dead in a back alley somewhere, did you consider that?!"

"Of course I did!" Elliot shot back, "I'm not stupid! I wasn't going to just let myself go and get killed! Really…..." Elliot knew that Gilbert and Vincent were just worried about him, and with good reason, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed by the fact that they didn't seem to have any faith in him. "I'm not going to just throw my life away like that!"

Vincent's eyes widened, and he pursed his lips into a thin line. His chest rose and fell with quick, angered breaths. He seemed to be trying to compose himself, and with every breath, it seemed as though he was fighting more and more of a losing battle.

And so Gilbert took over, placing a calming hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Elliot, we know all that. But there's still that off chance, if something went wrong, if heaven forbid, you died, then Vince and I could never forgive ourselves. Our lives wouldn't be the same without you. So please, I know you're angry with us for scolding you, but try to understand where we're coming from."

"…..I understand." Elliot said quietly, finally looking Gilbert in the eye. "I really am sorry for worrying you two."

"I know you are." Gilbert let go of Vincent's shoulder, and moved to hug Elliot. His arms wrapped around Elliot's form, holding tightly as if he couldn't bear to let go. "I know you are. I don't even want to think about….what might have happened….."

A moment later, Elliot felt another added pressure against his back, and realized that Vincent had joined the embrace. "Vincent?" Vincent didn't speak, but his silence spoke volumes, and that was enough for Elliot.

Finally, Gilbert pulled back, bringing Vincent along with him. "As much as I would love nothing more than to keep you here overnight, you do have to go home at some point. I'm sure everyone else is worried about you."

"Oh no…..Vanessa…..." Elliot groaned, internally face-palming. He could practically see his sister pacing the room, yelling about his stupid decision. "Oh I don't even want to think about Vanessa right now….."

"I know…." Gilbert smiled sympathetically, "But you're going to have to. She's your sister, your biological sister. She's just as worried about you as we were, and still are. So you might as well get it over with, right? You already survived our scolding." Gilbert pointed out, "So what's one more?"

"Right…." Elliot couldn't help but think about just how wrong that statement was. Sure, Gilbert and Vincent were protective, but Vanessa. Hell hath no fury like a Vanessa scorned, or in this case, a Vanessa worried to death about her little brother. "I guess I'm just going to have to get it over with, aren't I?"

"The sooner the better." Gilbert added, patting Elliot's head affectionately. "Come on, I'll drive you home." He pulled his car keys out of his pocket, and added, to Vincent, "You coming?"

"Ah, yes, I think I will." Vincent nodded, although there was a faraway look to his eyes. "You two go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."

"Alright." Gilbert unlocked the front door, stepping out into their apartment complex hallway. "Come on, let's get you home." He pulled the door closed behind Elliot, and strode down the hallway.

The walk down the many flights of stairs was a long, silent one. Elliot didn't even question why Gilbert hadn't opted for taking the elevator. In fact, he was almost grateful for it. It provided a few extra minutes for Elliot to gather his thoughts and prepare himself for the inevitable second chewing-out that Vanessa would undoubtedly provide.

"Hey Elliot?" Gilbert's voice broke the silence, as they neared the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah?" Elliot wondered what Gilbert was going to say, he sounded oddly….timid? What kind of thing could cause Gil to sound such a way?

Then it hit him, glaring him right in the face. At the bottom of the stairs, staring at him, was one very stern, very angry looking Vanessa.

"Elliot, what the hell were you thinking?!"

A/N:and here's chapter 4! I'm trying to slowly drop hints and revelations, and I'm trying to make some more subtle than others.

I had to include Vincent in the group hug, I just had to. He deserves to be able to show Elliot some form of affection, since he does really care for him deep down.

Like always, comments are 100% appreciated (and might help motivate me XD) and I hope y'all enjoy it!