It was prom night at the Storm household, at least for the eldest child, that being Felicity. Upstairs, Liv was helping Fliss with the final touches, while Johnny was waiting with an obviously nervous Lucas for his date to make her appearance. The young man was dressed in a classic black and white tuxedo, specially fitted by none other than Miranda Granger to accommodate his wings, which were folded neatly at his back, his blond hair slicked back neatly away from his face. For the last ten minutes, he'd been listening - or pretending to listen - while Johnny recited a litany of rules he expected the young man to follow while he and Fliss were out on their date, which seemed kind of silly to Lucas since they'd already been dating for over a year. Clearly distracted, his gaze kept shifting to the stairs, one leg jiggling nervously as he awaited her arrival.

"If you're not careful, you're gonna crush that corsage before she gets to wear it," Johnny warned, seeing the tight grip Lucas had on the delicate flowers in his hand.

"Oh, sorry," Lucas muttered, shifting a little in the chair.

Footsteps were at last heard bounding down the stairs, but it was only Alex with Maria close behind. "She's coming!" he announced with a grin on his face. "And she looks real pretty!"

"Very, very pretty," Maria's flickering fingers agreed beneath her own big grin, even as the little girl moved to hug Lucas about the hips. "And you look pretty, too."

Liv came into view at the top of the stairs, jogging down with Bess on one hip and a grin of her own on her face. "Are we ready, gentlemen?" she asked Johnny and Lucas, running a hand over Alex's hair. "Go and get the camera, sweetheart, we want to get a picture of their faces."

"Thanks," Lucas whispered, relieved that Johnny was done lecturing him for now and the endless waiting was almost over. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be a groom waiting for his bride.

"Da, Mama!" Alex replied obediently rushing off to find the camera.

Lucas moved to his feet in anticipation, followed by Johnny.

"Fliss! Where's the camera?" Alex was heard shouting, the sound of footsteps above their heads.

"On the kitchen table!" Fliss called back, just out of sight at the top of the stairs. "Can I come down yet?"

Liv laughed at the note of impatience in her eldest's voice. "Not yet," she called up. "I want a picture of the look on your father's face when he sees you."

And there were those footsteps bounding down the stairs again so Alex could fetch the camera from the kitchen table. He rushed past both Johnny and Lucas, Bella barking at his heels to fetch the camera and hurry back to his mother. If Lucas wasn't used to the organized chaos that was the Storm household, he might have been intimidated by it all, but he'd been around long enough to have become used to it by now.

"Hurry up, Liv! The anticipation is killing us!" Johnny complained.

"Oh, calm down," Liv chuckled, handing Johnny his youngest as she checked the camera Alex held before giving it back to him. "We're ready!"

"Finally!"

Fliss was laughing as she finally came into view, more dressed up than any of them had ever seen her before. Her prom dress was claret red, made in two pieces; the top sleeveless and sparkling with silver and crystal, cropped just enough to let an inch or two of tanned skin show before the crystal studded waist of the sweeping skirt took over from there. Silver heels flashed from beneath the hem as she stepped carefully down the stairs, her hair loose about her shoulders. She'd never looked more grown up, proof positive that the awkward teenager Johnny and Liv had taken in three years ago was definitely not a child anymore.

"Don't you think you should be taking photos of Fliss and Lucas instead of ..." Johnny trailed off as their daughter came into view. For once in his life - or maybe twice - Johnny was stunned into silence, his mouth dropping open, eyes wide. "Holy sh-", he muttered, biting his tongue before he swore in front of the kids.

As for Lucas, if he thought Fliss was beautiful before, that was nothing compared to what he thought of her now.

Alex elbowed Lucas, grinning up at his sister's boyfriend. "See" I told you so!" he said, before turning to snap a photo of his father's face, making Johnny blink in surprise.

"Alex! Take a picture of your sister, not me!" he scolded with a chuckle.

Liv was almost crying with laughter at the stunned expression on Johnny's face, proud of Alex for getting it on film for all time. She was going to have to frame it, that was for certain.

Maria clapped her hands, absolutely delighted with the reactions of everyone around her; she'd been deeply involved in helping Fliss get ready, after all, and as such, she considered this as much her reward as anyone's.

Waved to a halt on the stairs, Fliss blushed at the looks she was getting from her father and Lucas, though her smile was almost radiant as she held her boyfriend's gaze. "Not an ogre then, huh?"

"No, definitely not!" Johnny answered for them both, beating Lucas to it. Alex snapped a few more photos while Lucas stood motionless and stunned and unsure what to say or do next.

"So why do you look like someone just dropped a deuce in your diaper, Dad?" Fliss asked, reassuringly the same personality, even if the outside had been transformed for the evening. She laughed, stepping carefully down to ground level to lean in and kiss Lucas' cheek. "I've heard that breathing is kind of important, you know."

Those shoes made her a little taller, almost as tall as he was, a soft smile on his face as she kissed him. "You look beautiful," Lucas told her quietly, as if enchanted, forgetting for a moment that they weren't alone and forgetting the corsage he was holding and in danger of crushing.

"I'm told that was the idea," she murmured back to him fondly, her smile deepening as she realized just how well the plan had been executed. "You look stunning yourself. Best dressed angel in Rhy'Din." She was never going to be able to take a moment too seriously, especially when it involved people looking at her, but there was genuine love beneath her teasing as she wrapped her arm through his.

"Mom's been trying to nudge me in that direction," Fliss confessed. "I, uh ....I've been thinking about it, too. I know I wanted to be a firefighter like Dad, but I think Mom was right about needing more school a year ago. And, uh ..." She snorted, shaking her head with a smile. "Is it totally crazy of me to be thinking about maybe learning to be a therapist?"

"A therapist?" he echoed, brows arching upwards in surprise. "Really' What made you consider that?" he asked, merely curious. It didn't really matter whether she followed him into emergency services or not, so long as she was happy with what she was doing and they stayed together as a couple.

She fidgeted a little, never particularly at home talking about her hopes for her future. "Well, you know I came from the Seven Towers, right?" she started thoughtfully. "And all the improvements and everything that Jon and Mataya had done to it, and everything. But it's not enough to have a safe place to live, and carers who know what they're doing. Some of those kids have been through terrible trauma, like Alex and Maria, and Martin and Lianne, and ....I wanna be able to help them. I mean, really help them, not just be a hug they can always have or put food on the table. I guess I want to be a safe place where they can talk about what they've been through, any kid who's been hurt like that. Is that nuts?"

"No, it's not nuts, Fliss. It's admirable," he was quick to point out, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure your parents would be proud of you," he added. He was proud of her, too, but he wasn't sure she needed to hear that really. "So, where are you going to apply to' Rhy'Din University?" he wondered aloud.

"I was thinking of maybe taking a year off," she suggested, looking for advice over praise. Liv was going to be absolutely delighted with her decision if this was the way she eventually went. "You know, with the fire department. I figure using my flames every day will teach me more about them than learning in a classroom. And I don't want to go to Earth, any of the Earths. Rhy'Din is home. So yeah, I'd apply here. And hope they take me."

"So, you'd do a year with the fire department and then go to university next year?" Lucas asked, needing to get her plans straight in his head. After all, if they were going to stay together, whatever each of them did affected the other in some small way.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded. She glanced shyly at him. "We ....we could get a place in the city," she suggested quietly. "You and me. I could stay on with the fire department so we have some money coming in on both sides while we're both studying."

Blond brows arched upwards again at her suggestion. "You mean live together" Do you think your parents will be okay with that?" he asked, without much considering what his own parents - or at least, his mother - might have to say about it. He knew they were still a little too young to get married, but he was hoping theirs would be a life match.

"They probably won't be," she admitted reluctantly. "I mean, if I had a car of my own, I wouldn't even be thinking about moving to the city. I'd just move into the apartment with you on the Grove. I guess that's something I should talk to them about, huh?"

"Why not buy a car, then?" he asked further. Though money might be an issue for a couple of teenagers, it wasn't much of an issue for their parents, one of whom was descended from the Grangers and another was related to Tony Stark.

"'Cos I'm holding out for one for my birthday?" she pointed out with a grin, tucking her hair back behind her ear. "I don't have that kind of money. I mean, I've been saving up, but I don't really earn a huge amount in the first place."

"Well, don't look at me!" Lucas said with a chuckle as he turned down the road that would lead to the gates of Bristle Crios. He earned enough money to pay the bills - what little bills he had - but not much more than that, at least until he had finished his training. He was also saving toward something special for Fliss' 18th birthday, but it was a surprise.

She giggled at his response, shy excitement lighting up her face as they passed through the gates to the campus they both knew very well. It was very different after hours - a quiet oasis in the bustling city, and tonight, the main hall of the Physical Principles Center was lit up like a Christmas tree. Bright lights and welcoming music invited the attendees of the Bristle Crios 2017 Prom to come inside and enjoy what might well be their last social gathering together before the graduation ceremony.

Lucas parked the car, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness as he helped her out of the passenger seat. He'd worried that Fliss might meet someone else once he'd graduated and wasn't with her at Bristle Crios every day, but if anything, they'd grown closer as time went on, rather than farther apart. "If you would do me the honor, Miss Storm," he told her, offering an arm to escort her toward the festivities. Someday, he was going to ask her to marry him, but tonight wasn't that night.

"I'd be delighted, Mr. Foster," she answered in a playful tone, needing that arm to get out of the car in the first place. The dress and heels may have looked lovely, but Fliss was in a constant state of concern over whether or not she was going to remain upright all evening. Safely on her feet, she curled her arm through his, hugging close as they moved to join the milling line passing through the doors.

Inside, the center had been almost magically transformed into a fairytale wonderland, decorated from top to bottom with an array of flowers and candles and colored lights, sparkling like an enchanted forest. It was hard to believe that, underneath all the decorations, they were standing in the middle of the sports center.

"Wow ..." Fliss breathed, staring around them in amazement. "I guess the mages really outdid themselves for tonight, huh?" She squeezed Lucas' arm, glancing toward the stage, where one of the campus' own grown bands was already in full swing. Everywhere they looked, the graduating class of 2017 was mingling and talking, dancing and eating, making the most of an evening that was entirely about them for possibly the last time in their lives.

"It's hard to believe we're at school," Lucas echoed her sentiments as he led her further inside. There were some faces he recognized, but many he didn't - all of them in equally formal attire for this one special evening. Tables draped in silver and white lined the walls where the students and their dates would gather to enjoy dinner and conversation before the dancing got underway.

There were so many people to talk to - friends he had made when he had attended Bristle Crios who were eager to find out what he'd been doing with himself over the past year; friends she'd made in her time here who wanted to talk over hopes and dreams for the future ahead of them. The hall was noisy with the sound of laughter and talk for a long time as the buffet was systematically decimated by close onto a hundred hungry graduates and their dates, and of course, there was the announcement of the Prom King and Queen, and their court. Through it all, Fliss stuck to Lucas' side like glue, murmuring asides to him about her friends, the food, the band ....anything to keep him from feeling left out of the gaiety.

Though they weren't voted or even nominated for Prom King or Queen, Lucas felt like royalty, just the same. As far as he was concerned, Fliss was the queen of his heart, and he had eyes for no one but her. Even as people mixed and mingled, every smile, every laugh, every dance was for her. It almost felt like they were floating on air as he led her around the dance floor, lights sparkling around them, swaying to the music. If this was what it felt like to be in love, then he never wanted the evening to end.

It truly was a coming of age, for all of them. Though their ages ranged from sixteen, to over a hundred in some cases, everyone there was taking their first steps away from the safety and security of school into a world where their decisions would affect far more than simply their popularity or their academic success. For Fliss herself, those first steps were into adulthood. In just a few months, she would be seventeen, more a woman than a girl, and ready to make those decisions for her future. But as she twirled beneath Lucas' arm, curling her hands to his neck gently as they swayed together, she was absolutely certain about one thing. Wherever she went, whatever she did with her life, Lucas would be a part of it.