Topic: The Difference of a Day

Olivia Storm

Date: 2013-03-07 05:08 EST
The early spring sun had risen warm over an almost deserted Orlando beach on this first weekend in the month of March. While others were engaging in holiday thrills, making the most of the parks and attractions in the lull before the peak of the holiday season, others had quite different tasks set for the day. On a swept stretch of beach, a careful heart was being drawn in the white sand, a bridal canopy lifted into place for the little ceremony due to take place as midday came and went. And in the back room of a small beach-side cafe, twins were arguing at varying volumes.

"I feel like a china doll, Lucy! No one wears this much make up unless they're a battered wife!"

Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes at her younger sister. "Look, either you hold still while I clean it off, or you go out there looking like Harry the Happy Panda, okay?"

Huffing nervously, Liv forced herself to stand still as Lucy wiped the disobedient mascara and eyeshadow off her face. "God, I feel like I'm six years old again," she complained, her fingers clenching in the folds of her dress momentarily before a slap from her sister on those white knuckles made her yelp and relax.

Lucy wasn't putting up with nervous, irritable Liv today, and she'd made that perfectly clear. "Shut up and stop whining," she told her little sister. "You're getting married, not walking to the guillotine. Just be glad Sue isn't in here with the baby - I'm sure that kid can aim his puke."

Liv glared at her sister mutely for a moment. "Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," she grumbled, taking a deep breath. She loved Johnny, she wanted to be here ....why did it have to feel so final"

"I'm not here to make you feel better, I'm here to get you to the beach on time and not half naked," Lucy informed her little sister, tossing the crumpled wipe into a nearby trashcan. She surveyed the damage of the minor temper tantrum, turning Liv toward the little mirror. "I think you look beautiful," she told the bride. "You don't need make up to shine, Livvie."

Drawn from her slightly petulant contemplation of her pale, blushing complexion, Liv met her sister's gaze in the mirror's reflection, raising a hand to tangle their fingers together on her own shoulder. "I've got Johnny for that, haven't I?" she said softly, turning to hug Lucy warmly, mindful of the gentle curve of her sister's pregnancy. "Thank you for being here, Luce. I'd be a wreck without you."

Lucy smiled, stroking her sister's dark hair fondly. "I know," she said with grinning confidence, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Time to go, precious. Need me to carry you?"

Liv gave her sister a dirty look, laughing a little when the answering expression was relentlessly innocent. "Not a chance in hell," she told her big sister. "Go give Steve the nod - I'll meet you out there."

With a last stroke of her hand against her twin sister's face, Lucy nodded herself, slipping out of the cafe to wave to her husband. Here comes the bride ...

*~*~*

Just down the beach from where the preparations were being made, two men stood waiting, almost twins themselves, nearly identical to each other. One was a little taller and broader than the other with blond hair that was parted on the side, as opposed to the short spiky hair on the other, but other than those slight differences, they were nearly identical. The only other difference was the fact that the shorter of the two, who happened to be the groom, was pacing frenetically enough to wear a groove in the sand, while the other stood as still as a statue, as calm as could be.

"What are they doing in there" What's taking so long?" Johnny asked, as he stopped his pacing a moment to glance over at the cafe where Lucy and Liv were getting ready for the ceremony.

"Take a deep breath and calm down before you set yourself on fire," warned Steve. "You aren't wearing your uniform," he reminded the other man. If Johnny went up in flames now, he'd have to either say his vows that way or do it naked.

"Don't remind me. You're just making me more nervous," Johnny complained as he stopped his pacing, shoving his fingers through his hair. He turned to watch the preparations being made for the little ceremony, but that was doing nothing for his jangled nerves. As picturesque and perfect as things seemed, he was clearly a nervous wreck. "What if she changes her mind" What if she says 'I don't'?" he asked, gnawing nervously at the inside of his mouth.

Steve laughed, finding the Torch's nervousness amusing. Had he been that nervous on his wedding day' He didn't think so. "She's not going to say no, trust me. She loves you. Any idiot can see that." Spying the signal from Lucy indicating that the girls were nearly ready, he waved back to acknowledge her signal.

"Why's she waving?" Johnny asked curiously, shielding his eyes from the sun to find Lucy waving at them.

"They're ready. The question is are you?" Steve asked the groom with a smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Johnny replied, looking as nervous as ever.

Steve smiled warmly at his soon-to-be brother-in-law and set a reassuring hand against his warmer than usual shoulder. "You're ready or you wouldn't have asked her. Come on. We don't want to keep them waiting." No big speeches, no lectures on being married. Anyone with a brain in their head could see that Johnny and Liv were deeply in love and belonged together.

Johnny nodded his head, though his stomach felt like it was twisted up worse than a pretzel. He knew he was doing the right thing; he loved Liv more than anything and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Funny how he didn't think twice about battling fires and dragons and super-villains, but put him on a beach with a pretty girl, about to publicly pronounce his undying love, and he felt like a bundle of raw nerves. Johnny turned and started toward the canopy where he and Liv would say their vows with his best friend at his side. It was now or never.

Olivia Storm

Date: 2013-03-07 05:09 EST
*~*~*

Springtime on a beautiful beach, a gentle breeze blowing to ruffle hair and skirts, a tiny gathering of immediate family to witness a joining that seemed to have been an eternity in the making. The bride in flowing white, making her way over glittering sand on the arm of a sister identical to her but for the soft ripple of blue satin that marked her as merely an observer to the most important day of Olivia Broderick's life. Gently guided to the side of the man she loved more than anything, Liv found herself grinning like a loon, ever so slightly disbelieving that they had made it here, that in a matter of minutes she would be a very special someone's wife. Her fingers tangled with Johnny's, tight with nervous excitement, as Lucy slipped from her side, leaving the bride with the groom and an entirely too tanned minister from the local church. Mrs Rogers cast an impish wink toward her own husband as she elbowed Reed Richards to shift along a little, making room for herself between Liv and Liv's soon-to-be-brother-in-law.

As soon as the groom caught sight of his bride, all the nervous tension seemed to melt like butter, along with his heart. It seemed like a long time ago that he'd met her, dating her sister Lucy first, but quickly realizing she wasn't the one he was in love with. It was Liv who had won his heart, a heart that had been aching to be loved for so long. It was Liv who had taken the time to get to know him, Liv who cared for him, Liv who understood him. He cut a handsome figure, all in white to match his bride, casual enough for the beach but formal enough for an afternoon wedding. Johnny's gaze followed Liv as she joined him at his side, everyone around them fading from view. He tangled his fingers with hers, smiling softly on her, nervous but only with excitement and anticipation to finally and officially make her his. Mrs. Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm. Olivia Storm. His Livvie.

"Dearly beloved ..." As the minister's voice flowed out over her head, Liv only had eyes for the handsome hero at her side, her own silly grin softening as the solemnity of the occasion sank into her heart and mind. A year ago, she'd had nothing in her life; no sister, no true friends, no lover. Just a job she was good at and had made her entire existence. Strange, how priorities changed in so short a time. Johnny was everything now; the be-all and end-all of her existence. No matter how wonderful the job, how distracting the sister, how loving the friends, it all paled in comparison to the fizzing firework of a man she was about to join herself to for this life and beyond.

Like Liv, the minister's words went in one ear and out the other. He understood the words the man was saying. "To have and to hold, from this day forward..." Johnny repeated the words with a heart brimming over with love, and when the time came, he slipped the ring of white gold onto her finger that would make her his, binding them together for a lifetime, a symbol of their love for all to see.

"....To love and to cherish, all the days of my life." In an echo of the gentle way he had claimed her with the delicate ring of white gold Sue had insisted upon procuring for them, Liv took its polished twin to slip over Johnny's knuckle. This ring was something special in its own right, created from the debris of a space station almost destroyed in the incident that had made Johnny and his family heroes in the first place. It would never melt in his flame, or grow brittle in the cold, a lasting symbol of the love that was finally made well and truly official under the smiling gaze of sisters and brothers in law.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." No one had to tell Johnny twice. He was more than ready to claim Liv as his and kiss her from the first time as his wife in front of witnesses in the form of family, clergy, and a few curious onlookers.

And as Johnny kissed Liv, Steve shared a fond smile with his own wife, whom he'd married only a few months before, and Sue reached up to brush a kiss against Reed's cheek, their baby son held in her arms, named for a father she hoped Johnny would one day forgive. But there would be time for those things later. This was a day of celebration, and easily the happiest day of Johnny Storm's life.

*~*~*

Water lapping softly against the hull of a private yacht, moonlight shimmering on the surface of a beautifully constructed lake, the sound of many people spending a happy while together on the shore. A new wife wrapped up in the warm arms of her husband, sharing laughter with family, hugging tightly as above them in the darkened sky the flash and pop of fireworks illuminated the wedding party in shades of red and blue, green and gold, silver and purple. Disney didn't know that there was a little wedding party going on here tonight, but even if they had, nothing could have suited the new couple better than the wild exclamation of rockets and screamers as fireworks filled the sky.

It was like a party in the sky just for them in celebration of their special day. Much to Johnny's credit, he did not succumb to the temptation to soar through the sky and create fireworks of his own. The only fireworks he was planning on setting off tonight were those that would be set off in private later that night when he and his new bride were finally alone. The fireworks in the sky high above them were nothing compared to the fire that lit Johnny's heart, ablaze with love for woman beside him.

White gold and polished aluminum steel sparkled together in simple bands on the hands that held close to one another in the flickering display of light and sound. As Liv murmured something tender and not a little bit suggestive into her husband's ear, Lucy rolled her eyes, turning her gaze away from the newly-weds to give them a little more privacy on the little boat they were all enjoying. She leaned into her own husband's side, looking up at Steve with fond eyes. "Do you think they'll last?" she couldn't help asking quietly, a little afraid that the happiness consummated today might not stand the test of time, hoping that fear was badly misplaced.

"You're the one that named him Everlast," Steve replied with a smile, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders and leaning over to drop a protective kiss against her forehead. "Don't worry so much. They took longer to get married than we did." He glanced fondly over at the newlyweds, who were so obviously lost in each other. "If they're even half as happy as we are, they'll make it," he told her, sliding behind to wrap his arms around her waist, one hand coming to rest upon the child that was growing inside her as he gazed up at the starburst of colors flashing and popping in the sky.

"I hope so," Lucy murmured, her eyes trailing from the sky for a moment to ghost over Sue and Reed sat together with their son not so far away, rising to Liv and Johnny once again before she tipped her head back to look up at Steve. "It was harder than I thought it would be, giving her away today. She really isn't my little sister anymore. She's his wife."

Steve smiled warmly down at his wife. He'd never had a sibling, never had a brother or sister to grow up with or share things with. He'd had a best friend once who'd been almost like a brother, but Bucky had died a long time ago. Steve followed Liv's gaze toward the newlyweds, nearly mirror images of themselves, struck by the irony of it. Twins married to twins, or very nearly so. Maybe it was time to put Bucky to rest and give Johnny a chance at being the brother Steve had never had. "She'll always be your sister, Luce. She'll always be family. You haven't lost a sister. You just gained a brother. Maybe we both have."

"Maybe I should carry a fire extinguisher from this point onwards," his wife muttered laughingly, smoothing her hands over his where they lay loosely over the swell of the unexpected but much-anticipated child in her womb. Part of her wondered if Liv would be pregnant before the year was out, if they would produce cousins who could grow up together the way their mothers had. But those were thoughts for the future, for the nights yet to come. Tonight was for celebrating the joining of what had finally become Mr and Mrs Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm. Or was that Human and Hu-Woman Torch'

"Maybe you should just try and trust him. She does," Steve pointed out with a nod of his head toward the other couple again, who seemed unable to get enough of each other, kissing and hugging and laughing in the moonlight. Maybe that was all Johnny really needed - someone to believe in him, to trust him, to love him. Wasn't that all anyone ever needed" "He hasn't set fire to the boat yet," Steve pointed out with a smile and a teasing gleam in his eyes. He had to give Johnny credit. He hadn't seen so much as the flicker of a flame all day. The guy had more control than he gave himself credit for. The only flicker Steve had noticed was the flame of love that obviously burned in Liv and Johnny's hearts.

Olivia Storm

Date: 2013-03-07 05:11 EST
Lucy let out a loud chuckle, reaching up to tweak the end of Steve's nose. "Even you added "yet"," she crowed, feeling ever so slightly triumphant in her vague wariness of Johnny's natural abilities. Fascinating though they were, they scared Lucy; she was constantly amazed by the confidence Liv had in her new husband's ability to keep control. "She's happy," she added quietly, twisting about to hug into Steve's arms. "They both are. And woe betide anyone who threatens that. Pregnant or not, I'm not going to let anyone hurt them."

He wrapped his arms around her as she turned herself into his embrace, holding her against him in strong, warm arms. "I'm happy, too, Lucy. Don't forget about us. They have their own lives to live, and so do we." He wasn't saying she shouldn't worry about her sister, but Johnny and Liv were married now and needed a little time and space to figure things out, just as Lucy and Steve had. "I don't want them getting hurt either, but you have a baby to worry about now. Leave the protecting to me."

Her brow rose as she looked up at him, lips quirked in a teasing smirk. "What, you mean I'm not allowed to worry about you, too?" she asked impishly. skimming her fingers over the ribs he'd broken barely ten days before they'd been married. "Captain don't-mind-that-it's-just-my-guts-hanging-out America?"

He smiled and even blushed a little, both embarrassed and amused by her teasing, all at the same time. It seemed Lucy was the one person who was capable of making him blush. "My guts weren't hanging out, and I heal fast," he pointed out, leaning close to brush a brief but loving kiss against her lips. "If they're even half as happy as we are, they're going to be just fine," he pointed out, possibly for the second time.

"Mmm, that's twice you've said that now," Lucy murmured against his lips, nipping softly for a moment before cuddling into him, vaguely aware of the gentle flutter of movement in her womb that suggested their son or daughter was enjoying the contact as much as she was. "Who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

His smile widened, tempted to tease her. She was the one who seemed worried about the newlyweds, after all. He was pretty confident they'd be fine. "You're the one who brought the subject up. Look at them, Luce." He turned his gaze to Liv and Johnny, who looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. "If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"Psh," his wife snorted with laughing derision, turning her grin back onto him after a moment of watching her sister looking remarkably gooey in the face of a silly man who adored her. "You mean we're not in love?" she teased him playfully. "We have to be all ..." Her hand gestured toward the newly-wed Storms. "....to be in love now, do we" I could, but I think even you would have trouble dealing with me forcing a blush every time someone new looks directly at me."

"All what?" he asked with a slightly mischievous smirk. It wasn't often Steve's mood turned playful, but more often than not, if it did, it was because of Lucy. "I think I'm the one who's more likely to blush," he admitted, trying hard not to blush now that he'd mentioned it.

His wife's laugh did nothing to help him keep that laugh at bay. Nor did the whisper she rose onto her toes to ghost against his ear, teasing her fingertips up and down the throb of his pulse beneath his collar, following that murmur with a kiss to his cheek and an innocent little smile. In many ways, the twins formerly known as Broderick were surprisingly similar, yet starkly dissimilar in others. Lucy glanced over toward the newly-weds once again, unable to keep the fond smile from her face. She might not always approve of Johnny, but he made Liv happy. That was all that mattered, in the end.

*~*~*

Moonlight drifting over the rustle of green leaves, a white picket gate opened and closed, the quiet laughter of a new husband and wife as they wound their way from the gate to the door of a little garden cottage rented for their honeymooning. Despite the chill of the early spring night, Liv was warm, close against Johnny in an attempt to protect the bare skin of her back from feeling that cold in the breeze that rippled through the little garden around them. She paused in the shadow cast by the house, reaching up to kiss her husband fondly. "Please tell me you didn't give Steve the key to this one, too."

Johnny paused on his way to the door as Liv stepped in front of him to take a moment to kiss him. A playful grin crossed his face at her question, wondering if he should tease her or tell her the truth. "Maybe I gave it to Liv instead," he told her, the gleam in his blue eyes a hint that he might be teasing. "Do you want to stand out here all night and discuss it or go inside and....you know..."

She laughed, her mouth dropping open indignantly as her finger poked him in the chest. "I'm Liv, sparky," she informed her husband, lowering her hands to tickle him as she chuckled at what had obviously been a slip of the tongue. "I thought you were supposed to carry me over the threshold, or are you waiting until we have one of our own to do that with?"

He smirked as she poked him in the chest. "Just checking to make sure I'm with the right twin," he said, covering up his own mistake with some good-natured teasing. He laughed as she attempted to tickle him, catching him off-guard and he reached for her hands to catch them before the tickling got out of hand. "Do you want me to?" he asked, brows lifting questioningly as he held onto her hands.

She giggled, just a little tipsy from the champagne but definitely not as inebriated as she had been the night before. She wanted to be fully in control of her faculties for this night, after all. "Well ..." She drew the word out, teasingly impish as she considered the question. "You won't have any hands free to unlock the door if you do."

His smile was still in place, looking amused at her attempt to weasel out of this particular wedding tradition. "I know it sounds like a crazy idea, but I could unlock and open the door first." He leaned close, his arms looping around her waist, his forehead nearly touching hers. "You wouldn't be making excuses now, would you, Mrs. Storm?"

Her own smile turned to a curious mixture of playful guilt and teasing humor as he leaned into her, hands rising to curl gently into the cloth of his jacket as their eyes met, soft brown to sparkling blue. "Would I do a thing like that?" she asked as innocently as she could manage, raising her head to tenderly brush the tip of her nose to his. "Maybe you're the one making excuses, Mr. Storm."

"I don't make excuses," he replied, a little more seriously than he'd intended. "Well..." he started, stepping back and shoving a hand into a pocket of his jacket to fish out a key. "Since you can't seem to make up your mind, I'll just have to decide for you." He held up the key before turning and fitting it into the lock.

Liv's smile didn't falter, refusing to give into her quiet uncertainties tonight of all nights in the face of an answer more serious than she had expected from her new husband. She, too, stepped back, hands folded demurely at her back as she watched him set the key to the lock. "Have I told you I love you today?"

He smiled, even with his back turned so she couldn't see him. "More than once," he replied, the latch clicking as it unlocked and he pushed open the door, before turning back around. He didn't wait for her permission, but scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing. He might not be a supersoldier, but he could still manage to carry his wife across the threshold and then some. He'd have said welcome home, but they weren't home. Not yet. The condo didn't even really feel like home. He'd been thinking about that a little, but had yet to discuss it with her. One thing at a time. "I don't mind if you tell me again, Mrs. Storm." He didn't think he'd ever get tired of calling her that.

"How about how handsome you look, then?" she countered, managing to swallow the inevitable squeak as he swept her up off her feet, her arms looping loose about his neck as she met his smile with her own. There was something very wonderful about hearing him call her Mrs. Storm, something she was sure she would never weary of. She leaned in close as he carried her inside, brushing soft kisses to his lips. "I love you," was whispered in tender tones between kisses as her fingers swept through his hair. "I love you ....love you ..."

He carried her in over the threshold, kicking the door closed behind them, and taking her through the small cottage straight to the bedroom and the bed, stopping momentarily along the way to return each kiss. He pried his shoes off, one at a time, without setting her down, leaving them wherever they happened to end up. "Have I told you today..." Kiss. "...how gorgeous you are?"

"Depends," she murmured cheekily, nuzzling her kisses in teasing affection against his lips, barely noticing their movement through the little cottage. "Which twin ..." Kiss. "....are you talking to?" Her grin colored the soft tease, this newly-wed Liv a mix between the sweetly shy girl he'd met a year before and the bolder woman he'd only recently begun to coax from inside her.

"Oh..." He kissed her again, greedy for her kisses. "I think I can tell the difference." He came to a halt as they reached the bedroom, and he set her down on her feet, looking at her as if he was seeing her for the very first time. "God, you're so beautiful," he told her, letting his eyes trail over her. The day had gone so quickly, he wondered if it had really happened at all, but there was that ring on her finger and another on his, proclaiming to the world in general that they were spoken for.

Set down, she paused in the act of toeing her sandals from her feet, looking up at her husband with her familiarly half-certain smile. "So ....you really don't mind that it wasn't as big or white as we said we'd have?" she asked softly, her hand rising to drawing her fingers against his cheek lovingly.

"No, it was perfect," he replied with a happy, adoring smile. While it was true there might have been a few people missing, all the people who were important in their lives had been there, all the people who were family. "I was a nervous wreck as it was," he admitted, lifting a hand to brush his fingers against the necklace that lay at her throat, an innocent but intimate touch, the heat from his fingers warming her skin.

She drew in a slow breath, the innocent intimacy of his touch drawing the sweetness of her flushing arousal to turn her skin rose under his eyes as her own hand turned, laying palm flat over the heat of his beating heart. "So was I," she confessed quietly, taking half a step closer, her gaze as intimate as the way they touched one another. "But not anymore."

"Happiest day of my life, Liv," he said with sober sincerity, meeting her gaze, blue eyes soft with affection. The other happiest day of his life was the day he'd become the Human Torch, but even that paled in comparison to how he felt about her. It was like comparing apples to oranges. Nothing could compare with this feeling. He finally thought he understood why Sue stayed with Reed. Love couldn't be explained or rationalized - love was just love.

"So far," she agreed softly, finishing that step forward to draw him into her arms, to cover his lips with her own in a kiss that said so much more than words could ever accomplish. It promised a lifetime ahead of them, shared, together, no longer alone in their own way. It sealed the promises made already that day, trading maybes for somedays, then for now. Love wasn't just implied, it was exclaimed, shown off as a part of herself, the binding link that held them close to one another even when they were apart. It was the beginning of the rest of their lives, in a single, tender kiss.

((It's all go, isn't it' :grin: Johnny and Liv married, so what?s the next step" Oooh, something dreadfully domesticated, I think. Johnny's player is AWESOME!))