Topic: Mending the Rift

Johnny Storm

Date: 2014-05-27 14:23 EST
Johnny knew this visit to see his sister was long overdue. He was almost dreading it for some reason, though he wasn't sure why. Sue had always been something of a maternal figure for him, practically raising him after his mother had died. She had always found him too brash, too reckless, too flamboyant. An angry kid who'd turned into a rebellious teenager, especially after his father's arrest. No one had let him down the way his father had, and Johnny had never been able to forgive him, not even after his death. Going back to see Sue brought back all those old memories, but that's all they were anymore - just memories, and memories couldn't hurt you unless you let them.

The Baxter Building was the same familiar edifice in the middle of New York, with the same welcome, the same elevator. It seemed as though some things never changed. Except one thing had. The penthouse was occupied now, not by the Fantastic Four, but by the Richards family - Reed, Sue, and their son, Franklin Benjamin. The last time Johnny had spent any significant amount of time with any of them had been his own wedding day a little over a year ago. But for all that Sue did not seem to understand her little brother, she'd managed to get something right. When he walked out of the elevator, there was no absent-minded, half-hearted greeting from Reed, no garbled gurgle from a toddler who was far too ambulatory for his parents' peace of mind. Just Sue, running to embrace her little brother and hold him tight for a long moment. "God, it's been too long, Johnny."

Johnny was a little taken aback by the unexpected warmth of his sister's greeting. As far as Johnny was concerned, Sue was the only family he had left, but while the two had always been close, they had also been known to disagree on just about everything that meant anything to Johnny. But Johnny had changed. He wasn't the same cocky hothead he'd been when he'd left for Rhy'Din. He'd been forced to grow up and had finally realized that all Sue had ever tried to do was protect her baby brother and try to keep him safe. "It's good to see you, Sue," Johnny replied, hugging her close, holding tightly to his last living blood relative, other than his young nephew.

"I can't believe how much I miss you these days," she said, drawing back with a fond smile. Not exactly entirely positive, but then Sue had never really been able to compliment him without adding a backhander at the same time. "Where's Liv" How are you guys" Come on in, you know where everything is." She turned, gesturing for him to follow her to the kitchen. "I threw Reed and Franklin out for the afternoon. It's just us."

"I miss you, too," Johnny replied, only just realizing how much he meant it. "Liv is, uh....She's with Lucy," he stammered as he stepped into the old familiar penthouse that had once been home. "She thought we needed some time alone," he admitted, though Liv couldn't have known that Reed and Franklin wouldn't be there, unless she'd been in touch with Sue ahead of time.

And knowing his wife, she probably had. Liv seemed to know what he needed before he did most of the time. Sue smiled a little secretively, heading into the kitchen. "So she spends time with her sister, and you spend time with yours, is that the idea?" she asked him mildly, flicking the coffee pot on. It was one of the few things in the kitchen she'd prevented Reed from tampering with - even making toast had become something of a minefield since her husband had started tinkering with domestic appliances to fill his time.

"Something like that, I guess," he replied as he stepped further inside, noticing both the things that had changed and those that had remained the same. It seemed quieter without Ben and Reed there, and Johnny wondered if they missed him even a little. Sue had, anyway, or so she said. He found an old framed photo of himself and his sister and picked it up to take a closer look, quietly reminiscing. "You didn't have to kick them out on my account."

"Are you kidding" Reed's had his head in some government research for the last month. It was kick him out with his son for one afternoon, or threaten divorce." She smirked, a hint of the silly Sue he'd known when they were kids shining through as she rummaged for cups. "Besides, I miss my baby brother. Can you really blame me for wanting you all to myself for this visit?"

"I won't argue with that. Reed has never liked me much anyway." He frowned, wishing he hadn't said it. He wasn't even sure if it was true. He and Reed had certainly had their differences, but that was in the past, and he wasn't that Johnny Storm anymore. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he apologized as he returned the photo to its proper place.

Sue sighed, leaning on the counter, her expression tired. "Johnny, it's not that he doesn't like you," she tried to reassure her brother without telling him off. "It's just ....Reed's always been focused. He spends so much time on projects and advancing the cause of science, and now on whatever it is he's doing with S.H.I.E.L.D. ..." She shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it. You're just so different in your approach to things, maybe you'll never get each other."

"Are you both working for S.H.I.E.L.D., or is Nick Fury only interested in picking Reed's brain?" Johnny asked, regretting the question as soon as it was out of his mouth. He sighed. "Look, I didn't come here to argue or to lecture you about S.H.I.E.L.D., but be careful, Sue. I don't trust them."

"I'm not leaving my son without both his parents, and you can bet Fury would come up with a way to get both of us on some mission," Sue assured him. "I'm not on his payroll, and Reed's only a consultant. In theory. You know Reed."

"So, are you the Fantastic Two now?" Johnny asked, trying hard not to sound too sarcastic. "Doesn't really have the same ring to it." He'd made the choice to go to Rhy'Din, all on his own, and Sue had encouraged it, probably hoping he'd learn some responsibility and grow up. Well, she'd been right about that anyway.

"Hey, I only just shook off Invisible Girl, remember that one?" Sue laughed, poking at his belly. It had been Johnny who had pegged her with that nickname, and it had taken years to convince people to at least call her the Invisible Woman. "We're just ....raising our son. If people need us, we go, but there's less focus on our powers these days. I think probably because of the Avengers." She finally got around to pouring out coffee. "How's Rhy'Din?"

"Yeah, Tony Stark has a way of doing that," he remarked, having met the man and finding him even more full of himself than Johnny was, and that was saying something. They'd come to something of a truce, but Liv's sake, but Johnny wasn't a big fan. "Rhy'Din is Rhy'Din, I guess. I stepped down from active duty with the Rhy'Din Avengers. They don't really need me, Sue." He sounded a little bitter about that, but he believed he had found his true calling and was doing something much more useful with the Fire Brigade.

"What?" Sue turned to look at him, outraged on his behalf. "They invited you to that ....that dung heap of a city, and they don't even make use of your talents" God, what the hell is wrong with them' You should come back to New York, we always need you. And I'm sure Liv could find something to do ....keep house, maybe."

Johnny touched his sister's arm, as if to try and calm her down. Who was the hothead now" "It's not that, Sue. It's just....There are enough superheroes in Rhy'Din. I decided I could put my talents to better use with the fire department. It's kind of right up my alley, you know?"

Johnny Storm

Date: 2014-05-27 14:24 EST
"But, Johnny, you could do that here, where I can see you and keep an eye on you," his sister pleaded. Evidently she'd been missing him and his place in her life more than she cared to admit; perhaps too much to acknowledge that there was someone else in his life who looked after him just fine these days. "I mean, God knows the kind of trouble you can get into in Rhy'Din, and there's no one there that can get you out."

Johnny frowned, reaching for his sister's hand, only just realizing how much she missed him - and how much he missed her, but this wasn't just about them anymore. "You said it yourself. New York has the Avengers. New York has Tony Stark and Steve Rogers and Reed Richards and you. I'm needed on Rhy'Din, Sue. They need me there. I'm helping people. For the first time in my life, I really feel like I'm making a difference." Blue eyes met hers, pleading with her to understand. "New York will always be home, and I'll always be here if you need me, but I can't leave Rhy'Din right now. I just can't."

She sighed, knowing he was right, however much she disliked the facts. "I know," she admitted reluctantly. "I just miss having you around. For years, it was just you and me, and then all this happened, and I was still looking out for you. And now you don't need me anymore. It's hard."

"No, Suse..." He sighed, as she seemed to misunderstand him, and settled himself on a chair beside her, leaning closer and wrapping both his hands around hers. "Don't say that. You're my sister. You're always gonna be part of my life, and I'm always gonna need you, but I've grown up, Sue. I'm not a kid anymore. I thought that was what you wanted."

She fidgeted awkwardly, pulling one of those fantastically gruesome faces that usually meant she was struggling with the truth, and thumped down onto the chair beside his. "I do want that, Johnny, really," she assured him. "I just ....part of me didn't want anything to change. I want you to get out there and be your own person, and be happy. I just never thought that it would take you so far away. Or that, you know, you'd get married and ....and she'd be so much better at looking after you than I ever was."

"What are you talking about?" Johnny asked, confused. She couldn't be talking about Liv, could she" "Sue, she's my wife. I love her, but it's not a competition. She's not trying to replace you. I only have one sister, and that's you. I'm always gonna love you. You know that. What's this all about?"

She looked guilty. "I didn't mean for this to become about me," she told him. "I really didn't. And I'm not begrudging you anything, you deserve to be happy with someone who loves you. I'm having a mid-life crisis, that's all."

"Mid-life....you're not that old!" Johnny chuckled ironically. He sighed, softening his voice. Whatever had happened to him over the last few years since he'd left New York for Rhy'Din, he seemed to have grown up. "You have your life and I have mine, but that doesn't mean we aren't family anymore. That doesn't mean I don't love you or need you anymore. You're still my big sister, and as much as I love Liv, you're the only one who really knows everything about me."

"But you don't need me anymore," she said quietly. "Ben's moved out. Franklin - well, he needs me, but not as much as he seems to need to be around his dad. And Reed ....I love him, I really do. And I understand that his work is very important. But he could do all that without me. And let's face it, I don't have the most exciting or useful power, either. I'm just ....I got so used to being the big sister, the good friend, the woman a man couldn't live without, and it all seems to be going away." She shrugged, shaking her head with a faint smirk. "You know, I caught myself wondering if Victor Von Doom might come back into town sometime soon the other day' He might hate me, but at least he paid attention, right?"

Johnny arched both brows, looking suddenly alarmed. He leaned close to take his sister by both shoulders, resisting the urge to shake her. "Stay away from Doom, you hear me" He's crazy, Sue. I mean it!" His grip on her shoulders loosened and he leaned back, sorry he'd reacted so vehemently, but he didn't want his sister having anything to do with Victor Von Doom ever again. "You're aren't useless. I need you. Reed needs you. Franklin needs you." He paused a moment, another thought occurring to him. "Do you remember Liv's sister, Lucy?"

The look he got for his over-reaction was the kind of look only a big sister can give her little brother. "I didn't say I wanted him to come back, it's just a stray thought," she told him, rising for a moment to retrieve their coffee and bring it over to where they sat together. "What about her" Wasn't she pregnant the last time I saw her?"

"Yeah, she's married to Steve Rogers." He paused a moment to let that name sink in and see if it rang a bell. "They have a little boy, Jamie. He's not much younger than Franklin. Maybe you two should get together for some play dates or something."

Sue blinked slowly, surprised by the suggestion, and yes, surprised it had come from Johnny. "Wait, you-you think she'd be interested in spending time with her sister's sister-in-law?" she asked, not entirely convinced. The name had sunk in, but there wasn't any need to be impressed. She was the Invisible Woman, after all.

Yes, but he was Steve Rogers. The Steve Rogers. Captain America. The First Avenger. The greatest hero the world had ever known - at least, as far as Johnny was concerned. But this wasn't about Steve. It was about Sue and, in a way, Lucy. It was about making connections. It was about family. He smiled, a little amused at her reaction. "Yeah, why not' Lucy could use a few friends, and so could you. You both have sons about the same age. You both have husbands who work with S.H.I.E.L.D. You're both big sisters. Seems like the perfect friendship. What have you got to lose, Suse?" He teased, poking her arm.

His big sister eyed him with a slow smile. "You're not scared we might start organising both your lives if we started getting together regularly?" she asked him, a hint of teasing in her own voice. "Could be bad. We could have you moved into a house in Brooklyn, signed up for classes, all of it, and you wouldn't even know until you came back for a visit."

"No, I'm not scared," he replied with a chuckle as he reached for his cup of coffee. "What classes" You want me to learn how to knit?" he asked, with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"Basket weaving," she threatened, and finally laughed, throwing her arm around his neck to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Johnny. I didn't mean to worry you. Like I said, mid-life crisis."

"I don't think I'm the basket-weaving type. Might have to take some parenting classes though," he added, smiling brightly as she kissed his cheek. "Careful, Sue! If I go home with lipstick on my cheek, Liv might get jealous!"

"Don't be such a baby, you can just burn it off, Mr. Supernova," she countered, ruffling her fingers over his hair. What he'd said sank in abruptly. "Wait, what? Liv's pregnant' Seriously' Johnny, that's amazing! Reed didn't think it was possible, I'm so happy for you!"

Johnny Storm

Date: 2014-05-27 14:25 EST
Johnny's smile faded as soon as Sue let that little tidbit about his ability to father a child slip out. "What do you mean Reed didn't think it was possible" What does Reed know about it?" he asked, his expression darkening for some reason that wasn't quite clear.

Sue winced, realising her mistake almost immediately. "Now, Johnny, cool off," she warned him. "I didn't mean it like that. He was worried about you. I mean, he freaked out enough when I got pregnant, and then he started worrying about what might happen if you and Liv started trying." She sighed, trying to explain. "Look, he tested his blood on some random sample of normal blood, and whatever he found out really upset him. I know you don't think he does, but Reed really cares about you, Johnny. He just wants you to be happy."

"He knew we'd never be able to have a baby and he never told me?" Johnny asked, unable to hide the anger and upset from his voice. "How long has he known?" he continued, wanting to know how long Reed had known and had kept it from him. Johnny had only just found out himself, though he and Liv had been trying for about a year. "It might have been nice to know. It would have saved Liv a lot of heartache! The next time Mister Fantastic decides to do something that concerns my life, I'd like to know about it!"

"And how exactly do you think he should have told you, huh?" Sue snapped back at her brother, refusing to be caught in the middle of this problem her husband and her brother had with each other yet again. "You think if he'd told you, you would have taken it' Do you? No, you wouldn't have, Johnny, you would have assumed that he was saying it to hurt you, or to control you, or whatever it is you think Reed is out to do to you! And he wouldn't have said it in any way that would have convinced you that your assumption was wrong, because you always rub each other the wrong way!" She stood up, taking a step back as she breathed in slowly, trying to calm herself down. "He didn't tell you because I told him not to," she said in a quieter voice. "He lost sleep over it, Johnny. So if you want to hate anyone here, hate me. It's my fault."

He opened his mouth to snap back at her, but closed it quickly enough, her words stinging, but not because he was angry at her or at Reed - because for once in his life, he actually understood that, in their own way, both Reed and Sue had been trying to protect him. He didn't say anything for a moment, turning his head away from his sister, tears stinging his eyes again, just like they had when he'd discussed this with Lucy. He sat on the chair, silent and still as a statue, staring off into space a long moment before finally speaking, his voice unusually quiet for him. "I don't hate you or Reed. I don't hate anyone. I just wish I'd known, that's all."

"So he was right." Sue's voice broke, heartbroken for her little brother. She moved to him, wrapping her arms around him where he sat. "It wasn't something anyone could have told you," she said gently, pressing a kiss to his temple. "I know, it sucks. But you had to find it out for yourselves. A part of you would always have doubted us if it came from Reed."

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know," Johnny replied with a light shrug that wasn't meant to shake her off. "We've been trying for over year. Liv is heartbroken about it. Lucy said she might be able to figure out a solution, but it'll take time, and she can't promise anything. So, that's that. We can't conceive." He said it matter-of-factly, as though he'd accepted it.

"Lucy's working on this?" Sue shifted, moving to sit once again. "Johnny, pay attention to what you're saying. Reed is a physicist. Lucy's a medical doctor. I know whose opinion I'd trust more when it comes to biology. Here's a hint - it wouldn't be Reed." She gently touched his cheek. "I'm not saying keep trying and keep hurting. I'm just saying that until Lucy tells you there's absolutely nothing she can do, don't rule it out completely. Okay?"

He turned his gaze to meet hers, not bothering to even try and hide the pain he was feeling. The last few days had felt like a rollercoaster ride of emotional highs and lows, and he wasn't sure he could handle much more, but there was something else his sister didn't yet know. Something he and Liv had thought long and hard about, albeit separately, but had decided together. "We're going to look into adoption," he told her, just as matter-of-factly.

Meeting his sister's gaze, he found her blue eyes glistening with tears, heartbroken for him. And then to hear his plan, and know that it had to have something to do with the shared commonalities of his background and his wife's ....Sue teared up good and proper. "Good," she managed in a trembling voice. "You're gonna be a brilliant father, Johnny. I'm really proud of you."

"You think so?" he asked, not so sure himself. In his own mind, he was still the rebellious teenager, barely responsible enough to take care of himself, much less a wife and child. "I don't want her to be sad anymore," he explained, not bothering to point out the whys and wherefores. It seemed all their friends and family members were starting families, but not them. Was it so wrong to want what everyone else had"

"I don't need to think so, I know so," she promised him, swallowing hard to prevent any more tears making themselves known. "You both deserve to be happy, and I know you want a family just as much as she does. I think you're making the right decision. Can I offer a little advice, though' You don't have to take it, I just want to offer it."

He reached over to brush the tears from her face, a little surprised to find them there. Was she actually crying for them' "You're my sister. I can't think of anyone more qualified to offer advice than you." His fingers felt warm against her cheek, abnormally warm, but in a strange way, soothing.

She smiled through her tears, letting him wipe her face dry to enjoy the odd heat of her little brother's fingers against her cheek once again. "I know I called it a dung heap, but Rhy'Din is a really special place," she said carefully. "More than that, you're really special people, you and Liv. You can handle ....more than the average young couple can, and I'm willing to bet that Rhy'Din has a lot of kids needing homes who are too much for a lot of people to handle. Am I making any sense?"

He furrowed his brows as he tried to follow what it was she was trying to tell him. "I'm-I'm not sure," he admitted, needing a little clarification. Was she trying to tell him to adopt a child that no one else wanted"

"Johnny, who knows better than you what it's like to be a kid who is different, through no fault of their own?" Sue pointed out, trying to make him come to the conclusion without spoon feeding it to him unnecessarily for once. "Who knows better than Liv how to love someone without expectations" How many kids are born in Rhy'Din who are too much for most people to handle, through no fault of their own" C'mon, I know you can get this."

He thought about it a moment, the wheels in his head turning as he tried to sort out what she was trying to tell him. All at once it came to him, her meaning obvious. "Are you saying we should look for a child with special abilities, like ours?" he asked, hesitantly and uncertainly. There must be plenty of kids like that in Rhy'Din, but he wasn't quite sure how to find them.

Johnny Storm

Date: 2014-05-27 14:25 EST
"Got it in one." She smiled, glad not to have just told him something for once. She knew she had a bad habit of just laying down the law to her brother, and had made a conscious decision to try and stop doing that. "I think you and Liv are perfectly suited to being parents to half a dozen very special kids," she told him warmly. "Don't you?"

"Half a dozen" That's a small army, Suse!" he pointed out with a chuckle, but his dark mood had lifted, glad she not only understood but seemed to agree with the idea and even supported it. Not only that, but she seemed to finally believe in him, and that meant more to him than he could ever say. "I think maybe we should start with one, don't you?"

"One is a good place to start," she conceded with a smirk, and chuckled. "Oh my God, and you get to bypass the diapers and the spit up and the incessant baby talk. I'm jealous. I take it all back - you have Franklin, I'll adopt with Liv."

He laughed, knowing she wouldn't give Franklin up for anything in the world. "Pass. I got stuck changing Jamie last night, and man....his father might be Captain America, but that kid can poop!"

Sue laughed aloud, reaching over to hug him again. "I really am proud of you, Johnny," she promised him. "Very proud. I love you, little brother. And I'm glad you're so happy, even with your bumps in the road."

He wrapped her up in a brotherly and very warm hug of his own. "I love you, too, sis, even if I don't say it very often." He held onto her for a long moment, feeling closer to her than he had in a long time, before pulling away a little. "I really think you should get together with Lucy sometime. I think you two could become good friends."

"I'll call her," she promised him. "After you guys head back to Rhy'Din. I don't want to tread on anyone's toes." She smiled at him, finally remembering that she had a cup of coffee there. "Hey, warm that up for me, would you? And where is Liv today' I'd lay money that it isn't the Stark Tower."

He reached for the cup of coffee, wrapping a hand around it for a moment until it seemed heated through before handing it to her. He chuckled a little at her mention of Stark Tower as he reached for his own cup. "No, I doubt it. She isn't very fond of her big brother. As far as I know, she's having lunch with Liv." He took a swallow of his coffee, though he didn't really need the caffeine to get him going. "Oh! There's someone else you have to meet. Her name is Bella," he said with a bright smile.

"Thank you." Taking her cup back, she sipped, smiling at the perfect temperature he had achieved for her. "Who is Bella?" she asked then, curious and amused by his bright smile when he said the name. "I refuse to believe you're cheating on Liv, so Bella's gotta be someone else. Hmm ....you hired a P.A." Or, no ....you bought a robot and called it Bella."

He cackled at her guesses, which were so far off the mark as to be ludicrously hilarious. "No! Bella is our dog. She's a Beauceron," he explained, unsure if she'd know what kind of breed that was, since they were rare in New York. Bella was the first of her kind that he'd ever met. "She's beautiful, Suse. We fell in love with her right off the bat."

"Oh, Johnny, if you're this gooey over a dog, you're gonna be mincemeat in the hands of the right teenager," Sue chuckled teasingly, but subsided quickly. "I've never heard of that breed. What does she look like?"

He took another swallow of his coffee, frowning a little as he considered how to explain. "She's sort of like a German Sheppard, but not really. Black and brown markings. She's really smart. I've never known a smarter dog than her, except maybe for Cosmo." Coffee or no, he was starting to ramble. "We found her at a shelter. We think she was abandoned. She took to us right away. She's really amazing."

"Uh-huh. Sounds like Liv should be locking up the bones every night, or you're gonna start begging for them, too." She stuck her tongue out at her brother, chuckling, impressed by how bowled over he seemed to be by his dog. Sue was pretty sure, however, that the dog was just practice. Johnny and Liv were made to be parents, however it came about.

It was obvious from Johnny's enthusiasm that he was in love with the dog, though they still had to work on training and discipline as was evidenced by Bella's eagerness to join them on the bed every night. "What would I want with dog bones?" he asked, laughing. "Why don't you and Reed come over for dinner tomorrow" Then you can meet Bella and get to know Lucy. And Peggy. You have to meet Peggy." While his sister may have met all these people once before at Johnny and Liv's wedding, it was doubtful she'd had much chance to really get to know them.

Sue chuckled softly. "Tell you what, you talk about it with Lucy and Steve and Liv, and then you call me with the details," she suggested, carefully stepping around an invitation offered to a house that wasn't actually his. "It sounds like fun, though."

He didn't think Steve or Lucy would protest, but he nodded his head in agreement. "So long as Reed can relax," he said, with a teasing grin, thinking Reed would probably get on with Lucy best, since they were both scientists, of a sort. He'd probably bore Steve to death, but Steve would be too nice to say so.

"Get him drunk," Sue suggested with a grin, looping her arm around her little brother's shoulders as she sipped her coffee. "Like you did at his bachelor party." She chuckled, knowing Johnny was more responsible for Reed's sudden display of dancing ability than anyone on that particular night. "So, emotional issues aside, tell me everything. I'm starved of gossip here, give me something juicy."

Johnny laughed at his sister's suggestion. "Do you even know how that happened" I had to secretly spike every glass he touched!" He laughed again at the memory of it. He'd never seen Reed as relaxed as he had that night, not before or since. "Everything?" Johnny echoed with a grin, wondering just how much she really wanted to know.

"Everything." She nodded firmly. They hadn't had time together, just them, since before he'd left for Rhy'Din. It was a lot of time to catch up on, but she was hopeful they could get a decent chunk of it done before their respective families interrupted them. After all, even though he was married now and hoping to become a father, he was still - and would always be - her little brother, whether he liked it or not.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with Johnny eagerly catching Sue up on all the latest gossip and news and with her doing the same in return. All in all, it was a good visit and long overdue. By the time Johnny was ready to leave, whatever differences had come between them seemed to have been mended, at least for now. She had let him go to Rhy'Din in hopes that he'd grow up, and it seemed that's exactly what he'd done. ((Many thanks to my partner in crime for taking on the role of Sue Storm for this long overdue and much needed scene between the siblings!))