It was Saturday, Johnny's busiest day at the Wonderplex, but he'd managed to finagle some time off from the Avengers and had a little surprise in store for both twins in honor of their birthday. Or was it birthdays" He'd made a few stops on the way home from the amusement park and was heard clambering up the stairs to the apartment he shared with Liv on the fourth floor. Hearing voices from inside the apartment, he knew they were already home and grumbled a little to himself that his plans had already gone awry.

Arms full of packages, he was unable to get the door open without dropping something, so he kicked at the door with a foot in an attempt to get their attention. "Hey!" he called. "It's me, Johnny! Can somebody get the door?"

"Why, is it running away?" That had to be Lucy, if the somewhat raucous laughter that followed it was anything to go by. There was the sound of a gentle slap on bare skin, and Lucy yelped in the midst of her laughter. "All right, all right, I'm coming," she complained cheerfully in response to an incoherent comment from her sister, and a moment later, both twins appeared in the hallway, faces alive with almost identical smiles.

Liv's smile, however, softened to the familiarly tender affection that Johnny always got to see no matter where they were, and she was the first to move, skipping barefoot along the hallway to grab the door for him. On her heels, Lucy came to lean on the wall with a grin as her sister kissed his cheek in welcome.

"So chaste," she teased the pair of them. "You mean you don't mount and ride the minute he walks in through the door, Liv?"

"Lucy!" Liv's mortified embarrassment was palpable as the inevitable blush made itself known, one hand rising to cover her mouth as she closed her eyes, not daring to look at Johnny in the wake of this humiliating announcement from her twin.

Completely unembarrassed by this bit of teasing, Johnny was more concerned with getting his packages through the door without dropping them, smiling warmly at Liv's greeting kiss as he pushed his way past them into the apartment.

"Most nights we barely make it past the door, Luce," he teased back, fully aware his boast was going to further embarrass Liv, but he just couldn't help himself. "Maybe we should charge admission and then you can watch." He smirked at the older twin, having no problem telling them apart, since it was obvious from Liv's reaction to his arrival home which twin she was. "How was your date" I hope you didn't have dinner yet because I'm cooking tonight."

Of course, as far as he was concerned, he was cooking every night, but not necessarily in the kitchen. He made no notice or comment about Liv's lack of glasses, assuming she was wearing her contacts.

"Oh god, you're as bad as each other," Liv groaned softly, closing the door securely as Johnny brushed past with his bundles. She was laughing, though - it was hard not to giggle along when Lucy was in a mood this silly, and it sounded as though Johnny was going to play along just as enthusiastically.

Lucy's hand lowered to clamp onto her sister's wrist, making Liv yelp as she was dragged along the hall behind Johnny. "Hey, everlast," the elder twin grinned, poking Johnny in the back. "Got something I want you to do before you do anything else."

Liv rolled her eyes, tugging on her captive wrist. "At least let him get settled, Luce," she complained quietly. There was a momentary pause as something sank in belatedly. "Wait ....you're cooking tonight?" Her soft gaze turned to Johnny in delighted surprise.

He tossed a glare at Lucy, not only at the moniker she'd hung on him but at the poke in the back. "Mind if I free my arms up first, Miss Bossy' And I'm sorry, but no sex on an empty stomach." From the smirk on his lips he was trying to hide, it was pretty obvious he was only teasing and not really annoyed. He dumped the packages on the kitchen table and, arms finally free, turned to face Liv. "Yeah, I'm cooking. It's part of the surprise." He looked between the twins, smile fading. "Don't tell me....you already ate, right?"

Over the sound of Lucy's wild snickers, Liv hurried to reassure Johnny, one gentle hand reaching to squeeze his wrist even as she was pulled in front of Lucy. "Oh, no, we didn't eat," she promised her lover warmly. "Lucy wanted to -" Her sister's hand landed over her mouth.

"Enough with the food talk," Lucy declared imperiously. "Johnny, look deep into her eyes. Really deep. And pay attention, don't just zone out and start thinking about her boobs." She waved her hand in front of her sister's face until Liv batted that hand out of the way, giggling at the ridiculous set up as Lucy added, "Notice anything?"

Of course, as soon as Lucy mentioned the word "boobs" Johnny's gaze darted immediately to that particular part of Liv's body, a small smirk on his face. "I happen to like her boobs. Yours aren't bad either," he teased the other twin a moment before furrowing his brows, clearly confused about what was going on between the two twins.

At first glance, he noticed nothing different about Liv, except for the fact that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Assuming she was wearing contacts, he waited until Liv had batted Lucy's hand out of the way and leaned close to Liv to peer deeply into her eyes. "What am I supposed to be looking for" I don't see anything diff-" He broke off, as he suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute."

Lucy's grin was just visible in his peripheral line of sight, growing wider by the second as the penny dropped. Liv, on the other hand, was silent, almost tense with patience as she waited for Johnny to make the connection between what he was seeing and what her sister had arranged. Even when she wore her contacts, there was always that distracting glimmer of a lense over her eyes, noticeable especially when you knew it was there. But not so today ....there were no lenses, no contacts, no glasses.

"Well?" Lucy asked impatiently, resting her chin on Liv's shoulder as she studied Johnny studying Liv. "What do you think?"

Johnny was silently peering into Liv's eyes, trying to make the connection as to what was different. He'd looked into her eyes many times, both with and without the contacts. When wearing them, if he looked close enough, he could always see a faint but visible outline of the lenses against her iris, until today.

"You're not wearing contacts," he said, stating the obvious. "Where are your glasses?"

He knew Liv was horribly near-sighted and couldn't see past her own nose without lenses of some kind, so if she wasn't wearing contacts or glasses, how was it that she was presumably seeing so clearly' He stepped back a pace and then a few paces further. "You can see me?"

As Lucy moved to investigate the bags and packages Johnny had brought in with him, Liv's arms tightened around him, recognising that peculiar quality of silence that hid a moment of emotional uncertainty - after all, she was prone to them herself. Her head tipped back, her body rising onto her toes to touch a gentle kiss to his lips as she whispered, "Love you."

He smiled back, whatever momentary melancholy he was feeling dispelled by her kiss and her declaration of love. It was her quiet thoughtfulness that had drawn him to her to begin with. It wasn't that Lucy didn't share that quality, but he'd realized that his relationship with Lucy had been built mostly on mutual physical attraction and lust, whereas with Liv, they'd connected on a deeper level. He smiled into her kiss, returning it. "Love you, too."

If not for Lucy's poking around in the bags, he might have lingered in Liv's arms a bit longer, but he didn't want her ruining his surprise and broke away from his lover to intercept her nosey sister, playfully slapping at a hand as she tried to investigate. "Ah, hands off! It's a surprise." If Lucy did get a glimpse of anything in the bags, it was mostly groceries.

"Ouch!"

Indignant, Lucy opened her mouth to protest, only to let out a loud yelp as Liv tackled her away from the collection of packages and bags, both women laughing like children as they wrestled in the far corner of the kitchen. "Yes, behave yourself, Lucille," was clearly audible for a moment before Liv's mouth and nose were covered firmly with Lucy's hand, the elder looking positively scandalised at what had just been allowed to slip free. Her other hand rose to point at Johnny.

"You ever call me that, I'm going to do something dire to you involving the lake," she promised her sister's lover with a warning grin.

Johnny chuckled at the two siblings, and there was that small stab of homesickness again. He wondered briefly what Sue was doing and if she was worried about him. "Don't worry, I won't....Lucille," he teased with a grin, happy that at least, he wasn't alone here anymore. He had Liv and Lucy and Ben and a few others who he counted as friends. He started unpacking groceries, pulling various things from the bags. "If you two wanna help, you could set the table."

"In other words, you want us out from underfoot," Lucy translated with a grin, releasing Liv finally.

The younger twin opened the cutlery drawer, elbowed out of the way by her sister until she staggered sideways into Johnny, embarrassed once again. "Sorry," she apologised in a giggling tone, looking up at him. "Are you sure there's nothing else we can help with?"

There was a snort of laughter from Lucy as she disappeared out through the door with her hands full of cutlery and plates. "I am helping, speak for yourself!"

He crouched down to pull a frying pan out of the cupboard and set it on the stove, smiling down at the younger twin when she bumped into him. "Nope, I've got it covered. This isn't gonna take long." He grabbed a white-paper wrapped package, waggling his brows at her. "I hope you like steak." He unwrapped the package and tossed a strip steak cut to perfection onto the pan. "New York strip Johnny Storm style." He grinned as he flicked a finger, producing a flame, warning. "Stand back!"

Liv's giggles emerged once again at his flamboyance, even as she ducked and scurried out of the way to linger in the doorway, fully intending to watch dinner being cooked in what had to be a unique way.

"Wait, what?" Lucy's voice called from the main room. "What am I missing" Wait for me!" There was a clatter as she gave up on setting the table and barrelled to the kitchen doorway, hanging over Liv's shoulder with an identical grin to watch Johnny showing off.

Fortunately for the twins, he hadn't decided on flamb". "There's a bottle of wine in there, if you want to open and pour." Now that he was cooking, he wasn't too worried about them seeing what was in the bags. He'd already bought and hidden Liv's birthday present some place where she'd never find it. Who needs a stinking grill when the Human Torch is around? He shot a blast of carefully controlled flames at the steak, searing it to perfection.

Once one steak was finished, he transferred it to a plate, and started on another, until there were three perfectly seared steaks all ready for eating, the smell of charred beef permeating the kitchen. No, he didn't worry about marinating or seasoning or any of that, confident his "cooking skills" would suffice.

When Liv failed to move, Lucy turned her head to look at her sister, unable to miss the adoration writ large in her sister's newly healed eyes as Liv watched Johnny. "Oh god," she groaned teasingly, poking at her sister's shoulder for a moment before slipping past to rescue the wine and a trio of glasses. "You might have told me she was in love with you, everlast."

"I thought you knew," he grinned back at Lucy, a softer smile to Liv as his gaze drifted that way. "Now, shoo, both of you." He shooed them both from the kitchen with a wave of a hand, extinguishing the flames first so he didn't set the apartment on fire. "I'll be right out." He turned to busy himself with finishing up cooking, while they relaxed.

"I am awesome, I am not omnipresent," was Lucy's cheeky reply as she ushered Liv out of the kitchen. Away from Johnny, it appeared that Liv regained her senses enough to join in with laying the table and generally tidying the main room. The sisters' quiet chatter filtered indistinctly through to the kitchen as they passed the time, waiting patiently for Johnny Storm's culinary surprise.

When he finally rejoined them a short time later, he brought out three plates of perfectly-cooked steaks, along with baked potatoes, garden salads, and fresh bread, all of which he'd picked up at the market. He set each plate in front of them, as well as one for himself. He left the cake in the kitchen for later, as well as Lucy's present. Once everything was on the table, he took his seat and picked up his glass, intending on making a toast.

"To family and fresh starts," he told them both, holding up his glass. "And to the two prettiest girls on all of Rhydin. Happy birthday." Admittedly, he wasn't very good at making toasts or being sentimental, but he hoped they'd read his meaning between the brief words.

He was still trying to catch his breath and nodded silently up at Lucy. It wasn't so much what Liv had done that had shocked him into choking but when she had chosen to do it, with her sister right there. He darted a glance at Liv, relieved that she'd been right on that small fiery threat. "Sorry," he managed to croak, reaching for the glass of wine. He was mostly in control of his particular talents, but he had his moments, and he felt bad about interrupting dinner.

"Don't be." Lucy patted him on the head affectionately, resuming her seat as Liv returned to the table.

The younger twin leaned down to kiss Johnny's cheek, hugging her arms around his shoulders as her lips touched his ear. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wasn't thinking."

He watched one twin pat his head and depart, followed by a hug and apology from the other. He took a sip of his wine, his voice slowly returning to its usual tone. "It's okay," he assured Liv with a small smile. "I just wasn't expecting it."

He turned his gaze toward Lucy and gave her a knowing glare, realizing she'd been giving her sister sex tips. "As for you..." He waggled a finger at her, threateningly. "I'd spank you but you'd enjoy it too much."

Blatantly unrepentent, Lucy just flashed a grin back at him. "You can't tell me you weren't enjoying it," she countered cheerfully. "Sit down and eat your dinner, Liv. And keep your feet to yourself this time."

Blushing as much with embarrassment as with the humiliating knowledge that she'd been told off, Liv slithered back into her chair in silence, her gaze fixed firmly on her plate.

He watched as Liv slunk away, feeling horrible for making her feel bad, taking the blame on himself for the incident, and right there and then, he decided there was only one way he could cheer her up. He got up from his chair, tossing his napkin on the table. "Wait here. I'll be right back." He headed, not to the kitchen, but the bedroom.

Liv's head snapped up as Johnny left the table, her eyes following him out of sight before turning to her sister. "What did I do now?"

Lucy studied her for a long moment, one brow rising in affectionate exasperation. "You really need to learn how not to take things so much to heart, midget," she told her younger sister gently, stroking a hand through her hair. Her lips curved in a faint grin. "Might be worth it, though ....maybe he's going to do a strip tease for you."

No, not a strip tease. Not now. Maybe later, when Lucy wasn't there to watch. No, he had something else in mind and when he finally emerged from the bedroom, he held a small carefully green gift-wrapped box tied up with a white satin now. "I wasn't going to give you this until Tuesday, but..."

He glanced at the package in his hand and then at both sisters, an almost questioning glance to Lucy before turning his attention to Liv. He knelt down in front of her and held out the box. If Lucy looked at his face, she'd notice that same look of adoration for Liv that she'd seen earlier on her own sister's face for Johnny. "This is for you. I love you. Happy birthday."

If Lucy had any doubts about Johnny's feelings for her sister, that look on his face, as well as this simple gesture, should help to reassure her that he was sincere in his feelings for her and had no intentions of hurting her.

Catching the glance in her direction, Lucy found herself smiling in approval, surprised that Johnny felt the need to query his impulsive actions against her approval or disapproval. The adoration for Liv was, admittedly, a bit of a sting against Lucy's pride, but she was far better at hiding her own hurts than her sister was.

Liv stared at Johnny for a long moment, her mouth fallen open as she twisted in her seat to face him where he knelt. "Johnny ....you didn't have to get me anything. You weren't even supposed to know it was my birthday," she added, flashing a rather fierce glare at her sister as her fingers closed about the little box, delicately undoing the satin ribbon as a reluctant smile touched her face.

He wasn't really aware of Lucy's hurt pride, but even if he was, he'd have found it difficult to hide what he was feeling for Liv. In his own way, he loved them both, but Liv had touched his heart in a way no one else had before, and he hoped Lucy understood. He watched in silent but anxious anticipation as Liv unwrapped the box, tense with nervousness. Inside the box, she'd find a small green glass frog, as close a match as possible to the one she'd lost in the fire.

The room seemed to fill with nervous tension as Liv unwrapped the little box, both Johnny and Lucy focused entirely on her as she lifted the lid free. "Oh ..." Suddenly trembling fingers lifted the little glass frog clear from its nest, raising it before soft brown eyes abruptly painfully vulnerable as unwanted tears dripped free. "How did you know?" she asked in a tiny voice, her gaze meeting Johnny's with deeply felt wonder. A very soft sob escaped in a hiccup of sound, her lips parting in a shining smile as her arms opened, her body lunging forward to hug Johnny tightly, pressing her murmuring thanks against his neck as she clung to him.

He wasn't sure what the trinket meant or how important it was to her, but he went with Lucy's suggestion, trusting her judgment as she knew her sister best. His gaze would have darted to Lucy, but his back was to her and Olivia was holding onto him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, both touched and relieved by her response to his gift. It hadn't cost much, but it seemed to mean a lot to her, and that was all that mattered.

He held her close, feeling Lucy's eyes on them, a little self-consciously. "I didn't," he told her quietly, too honest to take total credit for the gift. "Lucy suggested it."

Lifting her eyes to her sister, Liv didn't need to say thank you - Lucy already knew, could already tell from the look on her little sister's face how appreciated the little gift was. But it was Johnny who had got the little frog, and Johnny who was going to get the full force of Liv's thanks. It took a long while for her take her arms from around him, sitting back with a beatific smile as her fingers gently wiped the remnant of her tearful reaction from his skin. "It doesn't matter what she suggested," she murmured softly. "You gave it to me. It means a lot."

He broke into laughter, a swell of happiness filling his heart, and he threw an arm around the other twin pulling them both in close for a mutual hug. "I love you both. You know that." This was what it was supposed to feel like to be with family, and as far as he was concerned, they were his family now, for as long as he remained on Rhy'Din. He kissed one on the brow, then the other. It didn't even matter which one he kissed first. He did love them both, one almost like a sister and the other with something indefinable.

Two pairs of arms wrapped around him as well, squeezing with equal strength, but unfortunately Lucy just wasn't in the mood to be sweet and coddled. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough with the lovey dovey," she grinned, wriggling her fingertip into the indent of his navel as Liv giggled again, laying her cheek against Johnny's shoulder. "Present. Gimme."

He was tempted to swing the gift away from her grasp and make her chase him down for it, but he was afraid if he did, things would get out of hand and his gift would be broken. "Oh, fine," he relented. "I guess I've made you wait long enough. Greedy." One arm around Liv, the other holding out the bag, he was unable to stop her from poking at his navel and he laughed again, jerking away, betraying his own ticklishness.

Identical twins, while not telepathic by any means, certainly had a link that was almost impossible to decipher. Liv's gaze met Lucy's as Johnny jerked away from the tickle, and something passed between the girls.

"Get him!" Lucy declared cheerfully, more for Johnny's benefit than anything, making a grab for the bag as Liv twisted to wriggle her fingers against his ribs and into his navel, snickering cheekily.

Startled by the sneak attack, he shrieked, breaking into laughter again, this time because he was being tickled, backing away as he tried to catch Liv's hands to stop her from torturing him. "I'll get you for this, Lucy!" Oh, yes, it was Lucy he'd make pay for this, not Liv. "Payback's..." he found himself falling ass over teakettle onto the couch, laughing uncontrollably. "...a b*tch!"

"What' I'm not the one tickling you!" Lucy's expression was a picture perfect representation of innocence as she lowered herself back into her seat at the table, fingers gently picking her present open. She glanced up in time to see Johnny fall down onto the couch, and because he had hold of Liv, her sister topple down on top of him with a loud squawk of laughter. "D'aww, you're such a cute couple!"

Inside the bag was a box, which was gift-wrapped in light blue paper with a white ribbon that matched Liv's. And inside the gift-wrapped box, Lucy would find a coffee mug wrapped in blue tissue paper, with a message he thought might mean something special to her.

As the couple wrestled on the couch, Lucy drew her present free from the tissue paper that nested it, able to read the message emblazoned upon it without interruptions. Her cheeky smile softened as she read the words, recognising more in them than Johnny might have first realised. Raising the mug to rest it against her cheek, she smiled over at the pair on the couch, warm and waiting for a spare moment to say thank you.

Johnny was stilll laughing on the couch, arms circling around Liv now that she had fallen on top of him so she wouldn't fall, his feet hanging over the back of the couch. Once he was sure she wasn't going anywhere, he let go of her, reaching for her hands to pin them behind her back if he could. With any luck, they wouldn't end up on the floor, but that was highly unlikely.

Almost upside down, Liv was giggling wildly as Johnny reached to pin her arms, feet flailing just as wildly as she wriggled in his grasp. "No ....no! No tickling me!" she objected in a laughing squeal, one hand caught behind her back while the other wriggled up beneath his shirt to continue her torture.

He wasn't going to give up that easily, even if she was driving him crazy, finding his ticklish spots and taking complete advantage. Well, two could play at that game. He only had one arm free to tickle her with, going for her left side, even as he was trying to wiggle away from her and suddenly they were both on the floor with a loud thud, her on top of him. The neighbors in the apartment below them seemed to have had about enough and banged on the wall to warn them to quiet down. He tried to muffle his own laughter, but failed.

"All right, all right, keep your hair on," Lucy shouted at the floor, stamping back as the neighbors banged for quiet. "Let them enjoy themselves, you sad old farts!" Pressing her face into Johnny's chest, Liv just about managed to muffle her own howls of laughter, finally rolling off him to lie at his side in a breathless heap as she struggled not to let her giggles take charge all over again. Lucy leaned over the back of the couch, grinning down at the pair of them. "You know, you two look about a inch from screwing," she commented mildly through her grin. "Maybe I should leave you to it."

"Not until you eat your cake!" Johnny grinned up at Lucy from his back, having to crane his neck to see her. He was smiling happily from ear to ear, and not really ready for the evening to end, those he knew it couldn't last forever. He moved closer to Liv and laid his head in her lap. "Grab the plates. We'll have a picnic on the floor," he suggested, ignoring the insistent pleas of the downstairs neighbors, who were probably getting a little annoyed with their noisy neighbors.

"Just a sec." As Liv pushed herself to sit up, leaning back on her hands as she grinned down at Johnny in her lap, Lucy moved to the nearest window, pushing it open and leaning out. "Oy! You down there!"

There was a pause, and the clear sound of the downstairs window opening. A male voice shouted back. "What?"

Lucy offered him a bright smile. "Sorry about the noise - birthdays, you know?"

Liv curled her own hand over her mouth, muffling her snickering laughter as the man called back. "Little bit of warning next time, all right?"

Lucy flashed a grin back at the pair on the floor, leaning out the window once more with a wink and a nod. "Promise. Have a good night!"

Johnny smirked again and tossed Lucy a thumbs up, then stretched out an arm to thump the floor a few times just for good measure, snickering mischievously. "Maybe you should go downstairs and pretend to be Liv. Offer them both a slice of cake," he suggested, looking quite comfortable stretched out there on the floor, his head in Liv's lap.

"No!" The reaction from both twins was so similar as to be almost completely indistinguishable, from the wide eyes, the incredulous smiles, and the amazed expressions.

But it was Liv who cracked first, bursting into beaming giggles at the mental image of Johnny wrapped up in a man's arms. "What gave him away ....was it the beard?" she asked sweetly, and this time it was Lucy whose jaw dropped in laughing incredulity.

The elder twin twisted to level an accusing look at Johnny. "What have you done to her?"

He smirked over at Liv, what he could see of her from behind the couch anyway, setting the bottle down and lifting his glass for a long swallow of wine. Embarrassing stories required alcohol, though in order for him to actually feel anything, he had to drink quite a bit of the stuff. He laughed upon hearing Lucy, lifting a hand in supplication. "I haven't done anything, I swear! All I did is steal her cherry!"

"Oh, please, you hardly stole it," Liv countered, sitting up to grin over the back of the couch at him. One glass of wine was apparently enough to strip away quite a few of her inhibitions. "I gave it to you, wrapped up in a pink ribbon with a Get Out of Jail Free card."

A loud snorting noise betrayed that this was a little too far for Lucy, who had fallen onto her back on the couch to press a cushion over her face as she laughed deeply at her sister's newfound confidence.

"I don't recall any ribbon and we were definitely not playing Monopoly," he countered, taking another swig of wine. Granted, it was cheap wine, nothing fancy, but it all tasted the same to him. "In fact, I seem to recall it going something like this..." He set the glass down and pressed his hands to his chest, raising his voice a few octaves in an attempt to mimic Liv. "Oh, Johnny....please....Take me, Johnny, take me!" He was obviously exaggerating for Lucy's benefit and having a good time teasing Liv.

As Lucy's laughter turned into howls of delight at Johnny's play-acting, Liv grabbed another cushion off the couch to throw it at him, laughing amid her own embarrassment despite the familiar blush stroking over her cheeks once again. "I'm not the one who had to go flying around the city with a hard on because he couldn't think of anything to say the day before!"

"What"!" He ducked, the cushion just barely missing his head, as he made a grab for the wine glass and there it went, spilling all over the table. "Crap," he muttered, grabbing a napkin to blot up the mess. "Why is it my fault I had a hard on' I was trying to be a gentleman!"

The sudden quiet was enough to bring the cushion down from over Lucy's face. Her eyes went straight to Liv, recognising that uncertain expression only too well. Her little sister thought she'd gone too far. "Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can't take it, huh?" Lucy asked Johnny, her voice deliberately light as she sat up to poke at his back. Not quite quick enough, but at least when Liv made her escape it was to the kitchen and not to the bedroom. The kitchen meant she would be coming back to clean up the mess.

There was a knock on the wall from the downstairs neighbors again, and Johnny stomped a foot on the floor. He narrowed his eyes, not quite understanding what he'd done wrong, but feeling bad about it anyway. Why did everything always have to end this way' Why couldn't he just keep his big mouth shut'

"Sorry," he told Lucy quietly, setting the glass down and lowering his eyes shamefully. "I'm an a*s. I'll go apologize," he said, turning for the kitchen. He hadn't meant anything by his remark. He'd just let things get out of hand. He wanted to kick himself in the ass now for ruining everything.

"Don't be sorry." Lucy rose to her feet, reaching to catch at his arm as she spoke quietly. "Johnny ....word of advice." She waited until she had his attention on her once again before continuing. "She really doesn't know anything about being in a relationship. She loves you, and that's got her scared. Every time she does something that seems to get a negative response from you - even if it's just knocking over a wine glass - she's going to take it too much to heart. So don't apologise; just make sure she knows that little upsets aren't going to send you running for the door."

He looked up, expecting a lecture from Lucy or at least admonishment, but instead he was receiving insight into Olivia's nature. She was the sweetest, gentlest, kindest woman he'd ever met and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. "It wasn't her fault. I'm not mad about that," he told her, trying to figure it out. "I'm not going anywhere, Lucy. I..." He paused, unsure if he should admit his feelings to the other twin, but she probably already knew. "I love her."

Lucy's smile deepened. "I know that, and you know that. She doesn't quite believe it yet," she told him quietly, patting his arm. A buzz went up from her bag, and she rolled her eyes, swearing to herself. "Bollocks ....Sorry, I should have mentioned I'm on call tonight." Rummaging to find her pager, she pulled it out of her bag, switching it off. "Do you mind if I use your phone quickly?"

Her smile was met with a penitent frown, glancing toward the buzzing going off in her bag and then nodding his head at her question. "Yeah, sure....you don't have to ask, Luce. I'm just gonna..." He turned sideways and gestured toward the kitchen. "...check on Olivia." He turned for the kitchen and peeked his head in. "Is it safe to come in without being killed?"

God, he hoped he hadn't made her cry. He didn't know what he was going to do if she was crying. He felt horrible enough as it was.

Liv was stood by the counter, her back to the door. Thankfully for Johnny's peace of mind, she wasn't crying, but it was a near thing. She just didn't know what she'd done to upset him, and she hadn't wanted to sit there feeling stupid and small while Lucy tried to cover for her sudden turn in mood. Hearing Johnny behind her, she swallowed hard, forcing the tightness in her throat away before she answered. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

Whatever passed at the door certainly seemed to have finished off the process of cheering Liv up. Her return was heralded by the jangle of keys in the lock, and a quiet that could be counted in footsteps, before she came up behind him, arms wrapping about his waist as her lips touched behind his ear. "You're far too good to me, you know."

He smiled when he felt her come up behind him, turning to face her and sliding his arms around her waist again. "I think you've got that the other way around, Miss Broderick. You're the one that's too good to me."

She giggled softly, reaching up to loop her hands behind his neck, drawing him down to her as her lips covered his. "Thank you for my frog," she whispered softly, combing her fingers through his hair. "It's incredible; I can't believe Lucy even noticed, much less that you'd have found one so similar."

He shrugged his shoulders as she kissed him and thanked him, leaning a little bit into her embrace. "It was all Lucy, really. She told me how much it meant to you." All he'd done was chase all over half of Rhy'Din to track one down that looked similar. "I'm glad you like it," he smiled, resting his forehead against hers once again.

The time had come for that explanation, something she couldn't put off any longer. Swaying in his arms, Liv nestled close, blessing her sister all over again when she realised just how close she could get to Johnny without worrying about poking him in the eye with the frame of her glasses now.

"You remember I told you my father died a few years ago?" she asked with a soft smile. "Well, obviously, he was my foster father. The only one I really connected with. When I was sixteen, I got very depressed; I kept comparing myself to Lucy, and I never came out of that looking good. I thought I was repugnant, since the only boys who wanted to spend time with me were paying me to do their homework for them. Anyway, James - my foster father - he caught me sobbing into my pillow a few times, and eventually he bought me a glass frog. He told me I'd have to put up with a whole world of frogs before I found my prince, but that it would be worth it."

Her smile softened, touching a tender kiss to his lips before she continued. "No one had ever really taken the time with me before, it had always been about Lucy because she made the biggest fuss. James was right; he was always right, and he always made time for me. But the frog was all I had to remember him by." Her arms tightened around Johnny once more as she hugged him. "Thank you for giving him back to me."

Johnny had assumed the frog had something to do with the saying that you had to kiss a lot of frogs before you found your prince, but he hadn't realized just how precious that little figurine was to Liv or the full meaning behind it. Now that he knew, he not only understood her a little better, but found his heart once more going out to her, filled with compassion, touched by her story, realizing the little figurine was not just a trinket, but a keepsake, a symbol of her affection for the man who'd come closest to being a father. It was a way of remembering him, as well as reminding herself that she had just as much to offer as Lucy.

He wasn't sure what to say to all that, pulling her in to hold her close. Was he her prince or would he end up being just another frog" His thoughts turned to family again, thinking about his own father for a moment. Even though their stories were different, in a way, they were both orphans, both knowing what it was to have only one sibling for family.

Drawn in close to him, Liv curled her arms about his neck once again, closing her eyes simply to revel in the naturally unnatural heat of the man she loved as he held her so tenderly. She breathed him in, slow and confident, letting her breath ghost over his neck for a moment.

"I'm sorry about your father." He didn't even bother to call him foster father. Some relationships, he knew, ran deeper than just a connection of blood and shared genes. "He sounds like a good man."

A good man, Johnny thought sadly. He'd been ashamed of his own father for so long, it was hard to think about. He let out a sigh, feeling her breath against his neck, suddenly feeling a little melancholy, just wanting to hold her close and forget about life for a while. "What do you say we wait until later to clean up?"

There was a pause before she answered, her smile obvious against his skin as loving mischief colored her voice. "Only if I get to practise some of those things Lucy was trying to teach me about earlier," she murmured, tipping her head back to meet his gaze with cheeky invitation. "Without causing you major bodily harm."

He laughed softly, picking his head up to look at her, a soft smile on his face, eyes warm with affection. "So long as you don't try to use your feet again," he teased. While he'd appreciated her attempt to tease him, he was hoping for something other than her toes teasing him.

Giggling, Liv drew him down to her again, smothering her own laughter in tasting him. This kiss was just as loving, just as warm, but with real purpose behind it, the slow eager burn of desire that he'd been teaching her to relish as much as control over the past couple of weeks. "I don't need to be discreet anymore, do I?" she murmured teasingly, her voice gently breathless as she grinned against his lips.

"There's no one here but you, me, and the neighbors," he grinned back, their noses touching, a soft press of lips against hers, igniting a flame that was full of both love and desire. Her kissed her slowly, leisurely, thoroughly, like they had all the time in the world, savoring those lips against his, a soft sigh matching hers when he finally broke away. "Let's go to bed," he told her quietly. Even if all they did was lay there together, it would be enough for him.

((Days late, but hey, who cares? ::grins:: Thanks to Johnny's player, as always, for being awesome!))