Topic: A Little Adult Time

Olivia Storm

Date: 2015-09-30 06:38 EST
The house seemed strangely quiet without the children and the dog to fill it with noise. But it was a quiet Liv was happy to indulge in, for a little while, at least. Vicki Granger had appeared on the doorstep at exactly five o'clock, a large grocery bag hanging heavy on her arm, to collect Fliss, Alexei, Maria, and Bella with promises of do-it-yourself dinner and a game of Twister planned already, exactly as she had promised Johnny she would. And it hadn't been such a wrench to send them all off for the night as Liv had expected it would be. She trusted Jon and Vicki with their children, as much as they trusted Johnny and Liv with their own, and it gave her a chance to put Mummy to bed for once and just be Liv, for the first time in a long time.

"So ..." she asked as she rolled out the dough, flickering a grin over to her husband. "What exactly are we putting on this pizza, anyway?"

"Anything but anchovies, you name it!" he replied with a grin. Now that it was just him and Liv, Johnny felt more relaxed than he'd felt in a very long time. As much as they adored their children, tending to three kids and a dog didn't leave a lot of time for themselves and they'd agreed they needed an adult night every now and then to reconnect as a couple. Thankfully, Vicki had agreed; after all, it had been her idea to begin with. And now that they were alone, they could choose to do whatever they wanted and eat their pizza however they liked it, too, without having to watch the kids make a face or pick the ingredients off the top.

"Anything?" she asked with a low laugh. "Even pickled gherkins?" The counter-top was covered with vegetables, meats, even some fish - they hadn't been able to decide straight off what they wanted to top their pizza with. Spooning the tomato sauce on and playing with the mozzarella was easy enough; it was the rest of the toppings that were hard to decide on. "I'm going to make you decide, you know. I made the dough, you get to top it."

"Anything within reason," he replied with a grin. "I'm not seven months pregnant, like some people. How about gherkins on the side?" he suggested, as he greased the pan in readiness for the transfer of dough.

"How about a smiley face made out of pepperoni?" she countered with a giggle. It had been a while since she'd been this silly over making dinner; as much fun as constructing dinner with the children could be, there was always an element of alertness necessary to keep accidents from happening. With only Johnny, the only thing that might happen was that she might get distracted for a little while. "With ....pineapple chunks for teeth, and red onion for freckles - diced, obviously - and ....I don't know ....does spinach work on pizza?" She flashed him her bright grin, one elbow nudging at him teasingly.

He chuckled at her suggestion, glad to see her relaxing and having fun for once. "I can live with that, so long as there are no anchovies or gherkins!" Once the pan was prepared, he let her spread out the dough, and he spooned the sauce on top. "We should do this more often," he said, not referring to the pizza making - that was a fairly regular occurrence in the Storm household - but the time alone and away from the craziness of their little family they so adored.

Liv nodded, sighing softly. "We should," she agreed, leaning against his arm, her head on his shoulder comfortably. "It's not that I don't love our mad house, but this is long overdue. I can't believe we didn't work it out for ourselves. Pregnancy brain is only supposed to affect me, not you." She giggled, kissing his shoulder affectionately.

"I've had a lot on my mind," he admitted, smiling softly over at her as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Once the sauce was spread pretty evenly across the dough, he started adding the cheese. "It's not that I don't love the kids, but it's nice to have a little time alone together sometimes."

"I know what you mean," she admitted, reluctantly easing away to start slicing various bits and pieces to go on top of their pizza. It had to be said, though, that taking her maternity leave sooner than she had expected to had done wonders for her mood, especially first thing in the morning. She was nowhere near as tense just three days after that chat with Jon than she had been a day before it, and it showed. "We should make this a regular thing. Maybe not overnight every time, but a few hours that belong to just us."

"Well, we do have a few hours while the kids are in school," he reminded her. He would have nudged her arm, if she hadn't moved away to start slicing and dicing up veggies. Instead, he worked on sprinkling the mozzarella evenly over the sauce. "You know, we still need to discuss names. Vicki suggested getting the kids involved, but I don't know. She said we can have some of Ben and Emily's old clothes if we want, too, once we know what we're having." Though that wasn't likely to happen until after the baby was born.

"She's very generous," Liv smiled, glancing at her husband. "As for names, well ....why don't we come up with a list, and then ask the kids which ones they prefer of the ones we chose" That way we're not going to end up with a son or daughter called Ruprecht or something disastrous like that."

"Rup-what?" he echoed, chuckling. He'd been doing a lot of laughing lately, his whole mood changed since his talk with Vicki and since he and Liv had decided to take some time off. Money wasn't really an issue, so long as they were honorary Grangers, though neither wanted to take advantage of that. "What would you think of a Johnny, Jr.?" he asked, just throwing that out there. He would have suggested Steven, but he wasn't sure if Steve and Lucy were planning on having a Junior of their own someday.

"Ruprecht," she repeated innocently. "It's a silly name that comes up in Radio 4 comedy programs in England." Giggling, she slid the mixed selection of meat and veg toward him, moving to tidy up easily. "Would you want to have a Johnny, Jr?" she asked curiously. "I'm not wholly against it, but as far as I'm concerned, there's only one Johnny Storm. And he's wonderful."

"I'd like to have a Steve Storm," he replied, though as soon as he said it, he knew it didn't really sound right. Steve Rogers had a ring to it; Steve Storm didn't. "Hmm, maybe not. Maybe we should just pick a boy's name we both like and not worry about trying to honor anyone with it." He picked up a couple of slices of pepperoni for eyes, debating what to use for a nose, but that wasn't nearly enough pepperoni for a whole pizza.

"If we have a boy, we could give him Steven as a second name," she suggested, letting him play with the toppings as she tucked her arms about his waist from behind, her chin on his shoulder. "Or Stephanie, for a girl. But I'd like to give a girl Margaret as a second name. I know Steve and Lucy would probably like to have a Peggy of their own at some point."

"Stephanie Storm," he echoed with a smile. "I kind of like that, but I thought you might want to name a daughter Elizabeth after your mother," he suggested quietly, feeling strangely content with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his waist, both of them savoring the quiet simplicity of the moment.

"I hadn't thought of that," Liv admitted quietly, quite happy to loll where she was and let him make a masterpiece of their dinner as she hugged him contentedly. "I like Elizabeth. But I like Stephanie, too. And what about your mother's name" Mary?"

He frowned a little at the mention of his mother. "Yeah, but we already have a Maria," he pointed out. And that had been purely accidental. "We don't have to decide today, but we should probably make a list." He continued distributing various meats and veggies across the top of the pizza until there was little room left for more. "You sure this won't give you heartburn?" he asked, giving the pizza toppings a second look.

Olivia Storm

Date: 2015-09-30 06:39 EST
"Lucy got a huge bottle of Gaviscon from England and sent it to us," she assured him. "Even if it gives me heartburn, I can fight back with aniseed yumminess." The bottle lived by their bed most of the time, since the heartburn generally attacked at night. She smiled, kissing his cheek. "Promise, I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you say so!" he told her, moving to take up the pizza and slide it into the oven for baking. It was her stomach, after all. "I got ice cream for dessert," he told her once the pizza was in the oven to bake and he'd set the timer. Ice cream was a special treat for them both, and took them back to the first days of their courtship.

Easing back to give him room, she leaned a hip against the counter as he put the pizza in to bake. "Ooh, ice cream," she grinned playfully. "I am being spoiled tonight, aren't I?" For the first time in a long time, she had the leisure to draw him close and kiss him without expecting a small voice to interrupt, or a teen voice to pass judgment on their P.D.A.

"You deserve it," he said as he drew his arms around her to draw her close - or as close as he could with a seven month bump in between them - and lingered in that kiss, unworried whether it was chaste or not since there was no one around to shut their eyes or groan at their display of affection. "I love you, you know," he told her quietly, as their lips parted. Those three little words seemed hardly adequate, but it was the best he could do.

"I love you back," she murmured to him, stroking her hands against his back fondly as she nuzzled to him. "I don't think I say it often enough. I'd be lost without you, Johnny. Completely and utterly lost."

"I'd be lost without you, too, Liv. In a lot of ways, you kinda saved me. I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for you," he told her, as he held her close, radiating warmth. He had a feeling if it hadn't been for Liv, he might have returned to New York by now, and there was no way of knowing what might have happened to Liv if he hadn't stayed. It was possible she might have died in the fire he'd saved her from a few years ago, and who knew what Lucy would have done after that. Everything would have been different. Johnny thought it was probably better not to think on it too much.

"We saved each other," she told him, her smile tender as she held his gaze. "And because of us, three wonderful little people are getting a second chance. It's ....mind-boggling, sometimes, to think that we did that. We saved them, together."

"I sure didn't expect any of this to happen when I came here. All I wanted to do was be an Avenger. I guess it was kind of silly, when you think about it. You don't have to be a superhero to make a difference," he told her. It had taken him years to learn that lesson, but he finally understood it. It wasn't that the city didn't need superheroes, but there were more ways to make a difference in the world than taking on bad guys all the time. Still, he would be there, if he was ever needed.

"You'll always be my hero," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him again. "Always." In many ways, it was absolutely true. He had saved her life, quite literally, and then saved her again when he had chosen her over her sister. He'd picked her up after every mishap and set back and put her on course again over the years they'd been together. It might not seem heroic to him, but it was to her.

To be fair, he hadn't really chosen her. He and Lucy would have never worked out. He'd realized that fairly early on. He wasn't sure why - maybe they were too much alike, or make she just needed someone more constant, more self-confident that he'd been when she'd met him. Either way, it had all worked out for the best. Lucy had Steve and Liv had Johnny, and the two couples seemed perfectly made for one another. Johnny smiled, kissing her again, never tiring of her kisses.

"So ..." Liv murmured, only too happy to stay in his arms and trade kisses, "what else are we going to do tonight' Apart from pig out on pizza and ice cream and lounge around on the sofa like teenagers, of course."

"Hmm, I thought maybe we'd play checkers," he teased, smirking down at her as he drew a lock of chestnut hair back from her face. He was kidding, of course. There were far better things to do than play checkers. "Actually, I was thinking maybe a bath and a massage and then whatever comes naturally."

The look of confusion on her face was worth the tease - Liv didn't even know what checkers was, much less how to play it. His addendum made her smile, though. "Mmm, sounds lovely," she approved. "But all this sounds very focused on me, you know. Don't you want a massage, too?"

He chuckled, guttering that request in his mind. "Maybe, we'll see how things go later," he replied, touching another kiss to her lips for good measure. It was too bad they didn't have much long to wait until the pizza was done or he might have skipped dinner all together.

It took a moment for her to realize why he was laughing, but once she caught up, she spluttered her giggles into his kiss without any restraint. "I didn't mean it like that," she protested through a wide grin. "But since that's where your mind is going, I can tell you what went through mine when you mentioned Johnny, Jr." One fingertip tapped gently on the button of his jeans playfully as she grinned up at him. "Don't we already have one of those?"

"Uh huh," he replied, chuckling again. "Oh, I see how it is. So if mine is Johnny, Jr., what should we call yours?" he asked, playfully, linking his fingers at the small of her back. She wasn't going anywhere without him saying so.

She considered this for a moment before inspiration struck, turning her smile into the least innocent grin she had ever managed to come up with. "The eye of the Storm?" she suggested sweetly. To her credit, she nearly made it a full three seconds before cracking up with laughter, too.

He arched both blond brows at her before echoing her laughter. This was exactly what they'd needed; they'd had to be responsible adults for too long. "That's a mouthful," he said. "How about Little Johnny and Little Liv?" he suggested, as ordinary as that sounded. And if she kept playing with his jeans, they weren't going to make it to dinner.

"LJ and double L?" she laughed, taking pity and withdrawing her fingers. She was hungry, after all. Her hands came to rest at his hips, drumming her fingers there instead. "Might as well call it Wales if we're going the LL route."

"Wales?" he asked, not always understanding the Britisms. He wasn't quite sure what Wales had to do with it. He took hold of her hands to lead her over to a chair and draw her onto his lap as he took a seat. It would be a little while yet before the timer on the oven let them know the pizza was ready.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "It's an English thing," she explained. "Welsh is an incredibly musical language, it's beautiful to hear spoken. But there are double L's everywhere in that language - Llanelli, for example, or Llandudno. They're both places, but the double L makes you sound like you're hacking up a furball sometimes."

"Um, maybe we should just skip it," he said, her explanation of Welsh only serving to confuse him. The conversation was a silly one, anyway. Now that she was on his lap, he rested one hand against her tummy, waiting to see if their child moved beneath his hand.

His wish was granted. Whether it was the heat of his hand, or the mere fact that he was the baby's father, Johnny's palm resting against the curve of Liv's tummy never failed to get a response from the little one inside. She smiled fondly as she felt their son or daughter stretch, pressing little limbs toward Johnny's hand. "Cousin It down there loves saying hello to Daddy."

"I'm not sure Cousin It is a very good name for our child, Liv," he scolded playfully, smiling as he felt the wave of movement beneath his hand. He tipped his head closer, moving his hand over her belly and whispering to his son or daughter. "Hello, baby. This is Daddy. One kick if you're a boy, two if you're a girl."

"It's better than spunk pebble, which is what Vicki was calling Emily and Ben while they were in utero," Liv pointed out, and abruptly laughed at Johnny's whispered instruction to their unborn child. "Johnny, they're hardly going to ..." She trailed off as the baby did just that. One. Two. And no more. "You have got to be kidding me."

Olivia Storm

Date: 2015-09-30 06:40 EST
Johnny laughed gleefully, almost triumphantly. "Ha! See" It's a girl. We're gonna have a daughter," he declared with a rather smug grin on his face, though of course, they still had no way of knowing that for sure until the baby was born, unless they wanted to cheat and have another ultrasound done. The baby wasn't a Ouija board, though Johnny seemed convinced. "What do you think" One kick for Stephanie, two kicks for Elizabeth," he asked further.

Liv looked expectantly down at her own rounded belly. "Three for Ruprecht, four for Margaret," she added, a grin flickering over her face as she tried not to laugh. She knew what was coming, after all; for some reason, her giggles got the baby fired up when all the attention was on it. And that's exactly what happened. Not one, not two, not even three ....in the end, it was six healthy little bumps to Johnny's palm they counted. "So what does that mean, maestro?"

"That means you cheated," he replied with a pout. Up until then, he'd been convinced the baby was answering his questions with his or her kicks. (A daughter, if the kicks were to be believed.) He looked almost disappointed, like the wind had been knocked out of his sails.

She laughed softly, hugging her arms about his neck as she kissed his pouting lips. "Maybe she was picking two names," she suggested with a smile. "Names whose numbers add up to six, maybe. After all, this baby has been doing household accounts with me for seven months - something must have rubbed off by now, surely."

"I'm not naming the baby Ruprecht Ruprecht Storm," he said, his sense of humor returning. After all, in about six weeks or so, they'd know for sure and then they'd have to really decide for sure on a name. "You don't think the kids will be jealous, do you?" he asked, voicing a worry he'd had on his mind for a while now.

Liv giggled, the tip of her nose brushing his affectionately. "How about Elizabeth Margaret Storm?" she countered sweetly, drawing back a little way as he voice his worry. "Sweetheart, of course they'll be jealous," she told him matter-of-factly. "Everyone who has ever had to deal with having a sibling has been jealous of them at some point, and it is at its worst when one of those siblings is a baby. Which is why we need to involve them as much as possible, and make sure that we set time aside for them away from the baby, too."

He supposed that went without saying, though he didn't really want them to be jealous. "I was never jealous of my sister," he pointed out, though he wasn't quite sure if that was entirely true. He'd been jealous of Reed when he was younger, not wanting to share his sister's time and attention, but that was long past. There had been a time when he'd been closer to Sue than anyone else, and the thought of that brought a pang of regret. He wondered if she ever missed him at all. "I like that," he said, backtracking to comment on the name. "But we still need a boy's name." He mulled on that a moment, but couldn't think of anyone he'd want to name a son after but Steve.

She smiled gently, understanding why getting into a discussion about sibling rivalry wasn't the point of the evening. "I quite like Nicholas, as a name," she admitted softly. "And no, it has nothing to do with Director Fury. I just like it."

"But if we name him Nicholas, it will get shortened to Nick, and that will remind me of Nick Fury," Johnny pointed out, seemingly vetoing every boy's name that either suggested. Maybe it was a sign - maybe if they couldn't agree on a boy's name, it meant they were having a girl.

"That is a good point," Liv conceded with a smile. "What about Ludo?" This, of course, in reference to the gloriously camp director at the Shanachie, who absolutely loved to make Johnny squirm every time they met by hugging him for slightly too long and calling him "darling".

"No," Johnny said without hesitation. "Now you're just being silly." He sighed, realizing they were unlikely to settle this tonight. "Maybe we should just ask the kids what names they can come up with."

"Johnny ..." Her hand gently caught his cheek, turning his eyes to hers. "What happened to just enjoying ourselves?" she asked him softly. "This is the first time I've had you all to myself in more than a year, you know. Are we really going to get bogged down in little details that don't have to decided right this minute?"

"No," he replied with a frown. "Sorry, Liv." Had it been that long since they'd spent any time alone together that he was at a loss at what to talk about' Well, when in doubt, there were always other things they could do besides talk. He dipped his head close to capture her lips with his in a slow, lingering kiss.

Whatever she might have said in answer to his unnecessary apology was lost as he kissed her; the kind of kiss they hadn't had the opportunity to really enjoy since they'd opened their home and their hearts to the wonderful little family that had grown on them over the last year. She was not shy in answering that kiss, drawing her fingertips through his hair as she melted against him, tender and soft in her loving affection. The smell of the pizza, however, was going to put paid to them going too far right now, though.

He lost himself to her kiss, if only for a moment, as he always had. There was not nearly enough time for those slow, languid kisses of late, both of them falling into bed exhausted most nights after dealing with the demands of a busy family. That was in part what this was all about - reconnecting and remembering why they'd chosen to be together in the first place, but it wasn't long before the timer was beeping, announcing the pizza was ready.

Roused from her fervent sharing of affection with her husband by the annoying insistence of the timer, Liv's smile was the soft, tender expression it only became when Johnny was all she could see or focus on. "I think I should feed you," she murmured mischievously. "Before you start nibbling somewhere else and pass out in hunger later on."

"Liv, I know I might not always show it, but I love you," he told her, touching fingers to her cheek in a gentle caress. He knew she knew that already - he'd only said it a short while ago - but he felt the need to say it again. The timer stopped beeping, but if they ignored it, he might end up having to play fireman in their own kitchen.

"I will always be glad that you do," she promised him, tilting her cheek into his touch, her soft eyes full with tender adoration. She pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose, and gently eased herself off his lap, her fingers lingering on his shoulder as she moved to open the oven and rescue their dinner before it burned.

"I can get that," he volunteered, even as she slid off his lap. He didn't want her doing anymore than she had to do, and he was more than willing to help any way he could. He moved to his feet, reaching into the oven to pull the pizza from the oven without the use of oven mitts.

She stood back, letting him take charge as she drew a plate from the cupboard - they only needed one between them, after all. "I am never going to get used to seeing you do that," she chuckled, nodding to his bare hands on the searing pan he was holding.

"Do what?" he asked, so accustomed to handling heat and fire that he hardly thought about it anymore. "You mean this?" he asked, as he set the pan on the stove, ready for slicing up and serving.

"Yes, that," she laughed, sliding the plate beside the pan and handing him the cutter. "I get burned if I stand too close to a radiator in winter, after all." But she'd never been afraid of his abilities. In fact, she knew his warmth so well, she could tell the nuances that gave away his moods.

"I'm so used to it I forget about it sometimes." A thoughtful expression touched his face as he took the cutter from her and went about slicing the pizza in half, then in half again, and so on until he had eight semi-equal slices. "Did I ever tell you about Reed's theory?"

"Which one?" she asked curiously, transferring each slice to the plate so they could go and get comfortable on the couch while they ate. "Reed does have an awful lot of theories, love. And sometimes I listen, although usually not when you and Sue are making faces behind his back." She giggled; Reed was just that little bit too stuffy even for her to genuinely like, but she did make the effort, for Sue and Johnny's sake.

Olivia Storm

Date: 2015-09-30 06:41 EST
"Would you mind if I had a beer?" he asked, as he left her to transferring the slices onto the plate while he got their drinks. He didn't have a beer very often, partly because he didn't like to drink in front of the kids, and partly because it was so hard keeping it cold long enough to enjoy it. "The one about how I ended up with fire as my ....my superpower."

"Of course I don't mind," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Don't forget to use the sleeve; it'll insulate it for a while against your hot hands." Herself, she was drinking water tonight. not exactly a thrilling drink, but it did the job. "I don't think you ever did tell me that theory. Do you agree with it?"

"Yes, dear," he replied, with a smirk before rummaging in the cupboard for the sleeve that was emblazoned with the Fantastic Four logo she had bought especially for him. "Hot hands, warm heart. Isn't that how the saying goes?" It wasn't, but he liked it better that way. "I'm not sure," he replied, as he continued rummaging. "The theory is fire chose me because I'm a hothead. Or used to be a hothead anyway."

"And made him stretchy because he can wriggle out of anything?" Liv asked in a cheeky tone. She didn't pass comment on Ben or Sue; she couldn't see anything about either of them that would have led to Reed's theory holding water for them. "I don't think you've ever been a hothead," she told her husband. "You're passionate, and you can be easily distracted sometimes, but you don't pick fights just because your temper is riled up. I've seen you walk away more than I've seen you engage with an idiot."

"That's a good question," Johnny replied, sighing as he couldn't locate the beer sleeve anyway, though it was probably right where he'd left it last. Ben was hardheaded and Sue thought she was invisible most of the time, but Johnny didn't comment on them. "Yeah, but I wasn't always that way. You didn't know me when I was a teenager." And that was when he'd become the Human Torch.

"I don't need to have known you then to know that, even if you did have a problem with your temper, it was probably caused by the consequences of that trip, rather than preceded it," she told him, running her fingers along his cheek. "Try the salad drawer in the fridge."

"Maybe," he replied, though he wasn't so sure. While it was true his temper had cooled these last few years, he thought it was because of her more than anything else. "What would it be doing in there?" he asked, pulling open the salad drawer only to find, lo and behold, there was what he'd been looking for. "I did some pretty stupid things when I was a kid, Liv," he told her. But then who didn't' He fit the sleeve onto a can of beer before closing the fridge.

"Everyone did stupid things when they were teenagers, Johnny," she pointed out with a soft smile. "The whole point of being a teenager is to get the stupid things out of the way before you have to be an adult and at least slightly responsible for your own life." She reached for his hand, the plate in her other, and drew him toward the living room.

"Yeah, but most people don't have the ability to turn into a ball of flame every time their temper gets the best of them. You remember how Fliss was when we first met her" I was worse. A lot worse." Why he was telling her this now, he wasn't too sure. Maybe he just needed to confess to someone who cared.

It had been a long time since they had talked like this, and though Liv knew there must be some things about Johnny she still didn't know, it still surprised her when he chose to share these details from his past. She drew him into the living room and down onto the sofa, curling up close against his side with the plate balanced on her bump for easy access. "Sweetheart, that was the boy you were then," she reminded him gently. "Not the man you are now. Why does it bother you so much?"

"Because, Liv ....I hurt somebody, and I need to make sure Fliss never makes the same mistake. Or Alexei or Maria either. We don't know what effect the experiments had on them or what kind of powers they might end up with, and we need to make sure they never use those powers for the wrong reason, even by accident. And ..." He paused a moment because what he was about to say next was the real kicker. "We don't what?s gonna happen with the baby. I don't know all the science behind it, but there's a chance the baby might inherit some kind of abilities from me." He knew they didn't really have to worry about that yet, but it was something to think about.

"I know." It was a soft, gentle reply, but spoken with all the confidence Liv could muster. The possibility that their baby might well have inherited some form of power due to the radiation in its genetic makeup had already occurred to her, but she was confident they could handle it. Her hand curled gently to Johnny's cheek. "Johnny, you're a wonderful father," she tried to reassure him. "And the children love you. Thanks to you, Fliss has almost complete control over herself most of time, and I'm certain that Alexei and Maria will listen when we explain this to them, too. As for the baby ....we will deal with it, if and when we have to. But I have no doubt that we will handle it, together."

"Yeah, I know ....I don't know why I'm worrying about it. They're great kids, and we'll make sure they know how to control their powers. I guess I'm just worrying for nothing," he told her, trying to push aside his worries, if only for a little while. It wasn't what this evening was supposed to be about, after all. "Okay, I shared what?s been on my mind. Now it's your turn," he told her as he set his beer down and snagged a slice of pizza. "You realize if the baby kicks that plate off your tummy, you're gonna have a little problem."

She laughed, glancing down at the plate on her bump. "They wouldn't dare," she promised him in amusement, although now he mentioned it, the baby probably was gearing up for an almighty shove in that direction. "Sweetheart, if you're worrying, then I want to know. It doesn't matter how small you think it might be, it's on your mind. And I want to help, if I can." She grinned at him, biting the tip off his slice before picking up one of her own.

"They?" he echoed with a bit of a smirk. "Are we having more than one?" He chuckled a little as she took a bite of his pizza, but he didn't mind. "You didn't answer the question though, Liv. Is there anything you wanna talk about?" he asked, resisting the urge to take a bite out of hers, but plucking a slice of pepperoni off instead and popping it into his mouth.

"Well, it's better than saying it," she giggled, glad things seemed to have settled between them. "You're going to think I'm thinking too far ahead again," she warned him with a warm smile. "I'm actually not that worried about here and now, or even a couple of months' time. But I have been thinking ....maybe we should think about building an extension. Lucas spends more time here than up at the big house; I don't think he's comfortable there, and when he isn't here, he's very much alone in that apartment. If we had the room, would it be so very odd to invite him here?"

"You want to invite Lucas to move in with us?" he asked, looking a little surprised by that suggestion, though he was sure she was right about Lucas being lonely. He could see a couple of issues with Lucas moving in, but thought he was too young to be all alone. "Okay, two things ....First, what if they break up?" He didn't think it was likely, but it was possible, and something they needed to consider before inviting him into their home.

"Well, not move in, but if we had a spare room, he'd be able to stay over without worrying about us being crammed together or wondering what he and Fliss are getting up to," she pointed out with a smile. "If they break up ....I don't know. I doubt either of them are capable of doing anything that would result in a nasty break up, do you?"

"No, if they ever break up, hopefully they'll stay friends," he replied, though that worried him a little. Fliss and Lucas were still young enough that their relationship was fairly innocent, but he knew it wouldn't stay that way forever. And yet, he couldn't imagine Lucas doing anything to ever hurt Fliss or take advantage of her. He just didn't seem like the type. "I guess we'll cross that bridge if and when we get to it."

Olivia Storm

Date: 2015-09-30 06:42 EST
"That, and if there's going to be any shenanigans, I want them happening right here, under my nose," Liv added. "I don't want Fliss having to walk home in the dark after her first time. Lucy was a wreck after hers, and she was desperately in love with him. She still freaked out having to walk home on her own."

"Shenanigans?" Johnny echoed. "Liv, they're what ....fourteen" They're a little young for shenanigans, don't you think?" he asked, though he wasn't too sure. How old had he been the first time" He hadn't been that young, had he" No, he remembered the first time, and he was pretty sure he'd been a little bit older.

"And Lucy was thirteen, and I was twenty-four," she pointed out with a faint smile. "It's not so much that I'm expecting anything to happen, Johnny. I'd just ....I'd like both of them to be comfortable enough to talk to us about that sort of thing, and the only way Lucas will ever feel that way will be if he's in close contact with us regularly."

"I feel kinda bad for the kid. His father dumped him off here without so much as a how you do. I don't care what his reasons are, what kind of father is that' He's lucky he met Fliss or who knows where he might have ended up." Not all of that was precisely true, but Johnny only knew what Johnny knew. Maybe it was about time someone let him in on the truth behind Lucas' arrival in Rhy'Din.

"There has to be more to it, Johnny," she reminded him softly about a mouthful of cheese and bread. Swallowing, she wiped her thumb against her lips before continuing. "We don't know anything about the Earth he came from, or what the circumstances there are like. He could have some connection to the Grangers, after all."

"Don't you think if he did, we'd know about it' I mean, he's dating our daughter. What's the big secret anyway' It's not like we're a threat or something. In fact, if he's in some kinda trouble, we should know about it so we can help keep him and our own family safe." Johnny was too worried about anyone trying to hurt him - he was practically impervious to just about any kind of physical threat - but his family was another matter.

"I think if he was in some kind of trouble, Humphrey would have told us about it by now," Liv said quietly. "I don't think he's in trouble, love. If anything, it seems more as though he's here for his own safety. After all, if his Earth is unused to superheroes and such, having wings would make him an awful target for everyone, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Johnny admitted, finishing off his first slice of pizza and starting on his second. "Maybe I should talk to him ....or talk to Fliss. Anyway, I don't see any harm in him staying here sometimes, so long as there's no hanky panky." No matter what age he might have lost his own virginity, he was determined that Fliss was going to remain a virgin for a good long time.

"So an extra room would be handy," she murmured, a cheeky touch to her smile that suggested she might have won that conversation without having to try very hard. She nudged him fondly, halfway through her second slice already. "I don't think Jon would mind, do you? Given that this is, technically, his family home."

"Who do you think is gonna pay for it?" he countered, pointing out it was likely the Grangers would end up paying for the addition, rather than them. After all, they didn't really own Willow Manor - they were just sort of borrowing it for a while.

She frowned at that, not really wanting to take advantage of the Grangers' generosity. But if she stayed off work for any significant amount of time, they wouldn't be able to afford an extension like that. "We'll have to see if we can afford it, in the New Year."

"You're forgetting something, Liv," Johnny pointed out as he finished off his second slice of pizza. "We're honorary Grangers. And Jon and Vicki don't seem in any hurry to move back in. I'm sure if we explained, he'd be fine with us building an addition."

"You don't think we'd be taking advantage of them, do you?" she asked a little worriedly. As much as she liked Jon and Vicki, she did worry on occasion that her salary was too large, and that the generous benefits that came with her job was far too generous.

Johnny shrugged. "We could always take a loan, but it's not really our house. It's theirs." He frowned a little, as he said that. They'd talked about building their own home someday, but then Jon had offered them Willow Manor and it hadn't seemed important, but they didn't really own Willow Manor - they were just staying there out of the goodness of the Grangers' hearts. Still, the house had been vacant before they'd moved in, and it had quickly become home.

"I suppose it's something else I need to add to my list of things to ask if the opportunity ever arises," Liv conceded with a quiet sigh. "But we're supposed to be upbeat this evening. You, me, silence, empty house, and -" A hefty thump from inside her womb tipped the plate onto Johnny's lap. "Oops!"

Thankfully, Johnny's reflexes were quick enough to catch the plate before its contents landed in his lap. "I told you so!" he exclaimed as he just barely managed to catch hold of the plate, leaning over to set it on the coffee table, beside his half-drained can of beer. "Did you leave room for ice cream, little girl?" he asked her with a smirk.

Even with almost eight months of pregnancy bump, Liv could look deceptively sweet when she wanted to. Inserting the tip of one finger between her teeth, she fluttered her lashes up at her husband. "There's always room for ice cream, Mr. Storm."

"Do you want your ice cream now or later?" he asked, leaning close to touch warm lips to her cheek. As much as he loved ice cream, there was another treat he wanted more, and there wasn't going to be any better opportunity than this.

"Mmm ..." She paused, drawing out the silence a lot longer than was necessary, holding his gaze with mischief in her tender expression. "Later," she said finally, twining her arms about his neck. "I think I'm hungry for something else."

"Here?" he asked, as his lips trailed past her cheek and down her neck. "Or upstairs?" He thought she might be more comfortable in bed, but he'd leave the choice up to her. Either way, he intended to take advantage of the time they'd been given and show her that he still desired her just as much as ever, if not more.

If she'd ever had any doubt, it was gone from her now. Liv melted easily against him as he teased her skin with his lips, drawing her fingers through his hair and down over his back. "Bed," she murmured against his ear, fully determined to take advantage of his willingness as much as she was able.

That was all he needed to hear. There had been a time when he might have tossed her over his shoulder caveman-style, but now that she was pregnant, that wasn't going to work. Instead, he moved to his feet and slid his arms beneath her legs to lift her off the couch to carry her up the stairs to their bedroom, cradled in his arms.

Nestled in his grasp, Liv brushed her lips tenderly against his jaw, murmuring over and over how much she loved him. Though neither one had expected this kind of intimacy this evening, they weren't going to deny themselves. It had been too long since they'd had the leisure to just enjoy each other, and this was a part of that enjoyment. This was as much a reminder of what they meant to one another as the shared words and warm affection over a meal, and moreover, it was something they couldn't indulge in when the children were in the house. No doubt Vicki Granger knew exactly what was going on, but then, it had all been her idea, after all. She really wasn't as daft as she pretended to be, that woman.

((So ....one small breakdown and two lots of advice later, and Liv and Johnny are back on an even keel! Hooray for the Storms!))