"Shoes off, coats off, Dad's in the kitchen with snacks!"
Ah, the rallying cry of the Storm household when little people got home from school. Liv chuckled as Maria kissed her now rather prominent bump, and waved the little girl and her brother away to the kitchen, pausing to send a wave after Kaylee Bennett as she drove away from Willow Manor. That had been quite an enlightening little chat, and encouraging, too. Now all they needed to do was broach the subject with Fliss, and mentally, Liv had already volunteered Johnny for that. When the teenager got home, of course. She was probably dawdling with Lucas, but they'd be back for dinner, no doubt.
Dad's idea of snacks could be anything from hot cocoa with marshmallows and cookies to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Today it happened to be Rice Crispy Treats and tall glasses of chocolate milk. A little sugar with their calcium never hurt anyone, as far as Johnny was concerned, and who wanted carrot sticks when you could have melted marshmallows and cereal"
"Hello, my lovelies!" Johnny greeted each of the little ones in turn with a hug. Apparently Liv was rubbing off on him a little to call them both lovelies.
Just for that, Alex scrunched his nose in disdain. "I'm not lovely, Dad! Lovely is for girls!"
Johnny laughed. "You're right. Hello, my lovely, and Alex!" he corrected himself with a grin.
"Oh, so I'm not allowed to call my boy lovely anymore, am I?" Liv asked in a warm tone as she followed them into the kitchen, bending to lift Maria up into a seat at the table. The little girl signed her thank yous to everyone, but nothing was going to get in the way of her enjoying the snack set out to revive flagging spirits at the end of a long day at school. Dropping a kiss onto Alex's hair, Liv winked at him. "Should I be calling you my macho hunk of manly muscle, then?"
Alex climbed up into a chair across from his sister and looked up at his mother with a puzzled expression on his young face. "What does macho mean?" he asked with a hint of a Russian accent. He was quickly picking up the language, but there was probably always going to be a hint of his origins in the way that he spoke.
"And here I thought that was me," Johnny remarked with a smirk of his own, as he set the treats and glasses of cold milk in front of them both. "Where's Fliss" Dawdling with Lucas again?"
"It's short for machismo," Liv told Alex as she headed yet again for the washing machine. "And machismo means strong pride in being male. And I'm teasing," she added with a chuckle, crouching to unload the washing machine for the fifth time that day.
Maria looked up from her drink, setting her glass down to answer her father with flickering fingers. "They went flying."
"Mat-cheese-mo?" Alex echoed, turning to his sister with a puzzled look on his face. If his mother was being honest, then, yes, by her definition he was macho. He was proud to be who he was, after all, and especially proud of his family, adopted or not. "I'm a macho man," he told his sister with a grin, not quite realizing how silly that sounded.
Johnny laughed. "Try not to let it get around," he teased, ruffling his son's hair. "Flying?" he echoed, brows furrowing as he read Maria's fingers. "I guess the flying lessons have paid off." The flying lessons he'd been giving the pair, that is.
Maria giggled at her brother, wiggling her nose back at him as she slurped on her milk. She didn't really need to talk to Alexei, not when she knew what he was feeling and he knew what she was thinking, but they played along for the sake of their parents, who were outnumbered enough already.
"Is Fliss actually flying, or is Lucas carrying her?" Liv asked from the floor, where Bella was helping her transfer the wet clothing from the washing machine to the dryer.
"I've been trying to teach them both, but Fliss is afraid of that much flame. She'll get there eventually," he answered, pouring himself a glass of chocolate milk into a special cup so that it didn't get warm too fast. The sight of Bella helping with laundry didn't faze Johnny a bit, as odd as it might seem to other people.
"She just needs more confidence in herself," Liv nodded, rubbing her fingers over Bella's head in praise as she closed up the dryer and turned it on. "Come on, Bells, give me a push up." Groaning, she straightened, one hand automatically rubbing her back as she turned back to the table with a smile. "What do you think, monsters" Will Fliss ever fly on her own?"
Johnny would have gotten up to help Liv to her feet, except that Bella was already doing it for him. "I think she will," Johnny replied with a small thoughtful frown. "The best way to conquer your fears is to face them," he said, knowing from experience.
Alex looked to Maria as if they were wordlessly debating an answer for a moment.
"Well, she's only fifteen," Liv smiled, leaning against Johnny fondly where he sat, one arm about his shoulders. "She's got time." Her eyes narrowed playfully as she looked between Alex and Maria. "And what are you two talking about so intensely, may I ask?"
Maria's silent giggle made itself known as she blushed, ducking her head to take a big mouthful of her treat rather than answer, leaving Alex to field their mother's teasing query.
There was a time when Johnny and Liv had gotten a little bit freaked out and worried about Alex and Maria's silent conversations. They weren't related by blood, and yet, they shared some deeper connection barely understood by those around them. It was a miracle in itself that these two had become such happy, normal children, considering all they'd been through.
"We were just thinking that maybe Fliss likes Lucas doing the flying," Alex suggested, speaking for both siblings, but not bothering to explain the statement as it spoke for itself.
Liv bit her lip to keep her smile from growing too wide at that. It seemed as though their younger children were growing more perceptive as the tension between their parents eased off. "I think you may be right," she allowed. "But if you tease her about it, I am going to look the other way when she burns your eyebrows off."
Alex gasped in undisguised shock at his mother's remark. "She wouldn't dare!" he said, his hands flying upward to protect his eyebrows, though Fliss wasn't even there. Though they had their moments, as siblings did, Fliss had never so much as raised a spark of flame to either of her siblings so long as they'd been together, but it took a moment for Alex to realize his mother was only teasing.
Ah, the rallying cry of the Storm household when little people got home from school. Liv chuckled as Maria kissed her now rather prominent bump, and waved the little girl and her brother away to the kitchen, pausing to send a wave after Kaylee Bennett as she drove away from Willow Manor. That had been quite an enlightening little chat, and encouraging, too. Now all they needed to do was broach the subject with Fliss, and mentally, Liv had already volunteered Johnny for that. When the teenager got home, of course. She was probably dawdling with Lucas, but they'd be back for dinner, no doubt.
Dad's idea of snacks could be anything from hot cocoa with marshmallows and cookies to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Today it happened to be Rice Crispy Treats and tall glasses of chocolate milk. A little sugar with their calcium never hurt anyone, as far as Johnny was concerned, and who wanted carrot sticks when you could have melted marshmallows and cereal"
"Hello, my lovelies!" Johnny greeted each of the little ones in turn with a hug. Apparently Liv was rubbing off on him a little to call them both lovelies.
Just for that, Alex scrunched his nose in disdain. "I'm not lovely, Dad! Lovely is for girls!"
Johnny laughed. "You're right. Hello, my lovely, and Alex!" he corrected himself with a grin.
"Oh, so I'm not allowed to call my boy lovely anymore, am I?" Liv asked in a warm tone as she followed them into the kitchen, bending to lift Maria up into a seat at the table. The little girl signed her thank yous to everyone, but nothing was going to get in the way of her enjoying the snack set out to revive flagging spirits at the end of a long day at school. Dropping a kiss onto Alex's hair, Liv winked at him. "Should I be calling you my macho hunk of manly muscle, then?"
Alex climbed up into a chair across from his sister and looked up at his mother with a puzzled expression on his young face. "What does macho mean?" he asked with a hint of a Russian accent. He was quickly picking up the language, but there was probably always going to be a hint of his origins in the way that he spoke.
"And here I thought that was me," Johnny remarked with a smirk of his own, as he set the treats and glasses of cold milk in front of them both. "Where's Fliss" Dawdling with Lucas again?"
"It's short for machismo," Liv told Alex as she headed yet again for the washing machine. "And machismo means strong pride in being male. And I'm teasing," she added with a chuckle, crouching to unload the washing machine for the fifth time that day.
Maria looked up from her drink, setting her glass down to answer her father with flickering fingers. "They went flying."
"Mat-cheese-mo?" Alex echoed, turning to his sister with a puzzled look on his face. If his mother was being honest, then, yes, by her definition he was macho. He was proud to be who he was, after all, and especially proud of his family, adopted or not. "I'm a macho man," he told his sister with a grin, not quite realizing how silly that sounded.
Johnny laughed. "Try not to let it get around," he teased, ruffling his son's hair. "Flying?" he echoed, brows furrowing as he read Maria's fingers. "I guess the flying lessons have paid off." The flying lessons he'd been giving the pair, that is.
Maria giggled at her brother, wiggling her nose back at him as she slurped on her milk. She didn't really need to talk to Alexei, not when she knew what he was feeling and he knew what she was thinking, but they played along for the sake of their parents, who were outnumbered enough already.
"Is Fliss actually flying, or is Lucas carrying her?" Liv asked from the floor, where Bella was helping her transfer the wet clothing from the washing machine to the dryer.
"I've been trying to teach them both, but Fliss is afraid of that much flame. She'll get there eventually," he answered, pouring himself a glass of chocolate milk into a special cup so that it didn't get warm too fast. The sight of Bella helping with laundry didn't faze Johnny a bit, as odd as it might seem to other people.
"She just needs more confidence in herself," Liv nodded, rubbing her fingers over Bella's head in praise as she closed up the dryer and turned it on. "Come on, Bells, give me a push up." Groaning, she straightened, one hand automatically rubbing her back as she turned back to the table with a smile. "What do you think, monsters" Will Fliss ever fly on her own?"
Johnny would have gotten up to help Liv to her feet, except that Bella was already doing it for him. "I think she will," Johnny replied with a small thoughtful frown. "The best way to conquer your fears is to face them," he said, knowing from experience.
Alex looked to Maria as if they were wordlessly debating an answer for a moment.
"Well, she's only fifteen," Liv smiled, leaning against Johnny fondly where he sat, one arm about his shoulders. "She's got time." Her eyes narrowed playfully as she looked between Alex and Maria. "And what are you two talking about so intensely, may I ask?"
Maria's silent giggle made itself known as she blushed, ducking her head to take a big mouthful of her treat rather than answer, leaving Alex to field their mother's teasing query.
There was a time when Johnny and Liv had gotten a little bit freaked out and worried about Alex and Maria's silent conversations. They weren't related by blood, and yet, they shared some deeper connection barely understood by those around them. It was a miracle in itself that these two had become such happy, normal children, considering all they'd been through.
"We were just thinking that maybe Fliss likes Lucas doing the flying," Alex suggested, speaking for both siblings, but not bothering to explain the statement as it spoke for itself.
Liv bit her lip to keep her smile from growing too wide at that. It seemed as though their younger children were growing more perceptive as the tension between their parents eased off. "I think you may be right," she allowed. "But if you tease her about it, I am going to look the other way when she burns your eyebrows off."
Alex gasped in undisguised shock at his mother's remark. "She wouldn't dare!" he said, his hands flying upward to protect his eyebrows, though Fliss wasn't even there. Though they had their moments, as siblings did, Fliss had never so much as raised a spark of flame to either of her siblings so long as they'd been together, but it took a moment for Alex to realize his mother was only teasing.