A little over a month since the mission that had brought the prospect of enlarging their family once again into sight, Johnny, Liv, and Fliss had returned to Rhy'Din, intent upon preparing their home to receive two special little people who had taken to them remarkably well. Alexei, the six year old boy, had not needed more than to know that the man who wanted to adopt him was the same man who had melted the locks to his cell and saved his life in order to agree; little Maria, at five and silent, had been a little harder to convince. She had taken to Fliss, though, after it had been discovered that she understood everything that was being said to her; the pyromancer teenager had deliberately sung How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria" over and over again until she finally got a smile out of the little girl.
The paperwork would take a little longer to finalize, but everything was in hand, and finally Fliss had bullied her Dad into painting one of the spare rooms a manly shade of green for Alexei. That was what they were up to right now, father and daughter liberally covered in paint as they covered the walls. Liv had slipped out a little while ago on some mysterious mission she hadn't shared, leaving the two fire experts to their painting.
Johnny was trying hard to behave, but it was hard when he was so full of excitement at the prospect of their little family expanding like it was. He had asked Fliss half a dozen times or more if she minded, worried she might not want to share the two people who had taken her into their home and their hearts, but thankfully, it seemed Fliss was almost as excited as they were about the prospect. "Don't look now, but you have a little paint on your nose," Johnny teased, deliberately touching the tip of his paintbrush to the end of Fliss' nose.
Laughing, Fliss went cross-eyed trying to see the smudge of paint on her nose as the brush was drawn back, offering Johnny an indignant laugh. "Yeah, well, not as much as you," she informed him, stooping to get her hands thoroughly covered in the paint before bouncing around behind him. A moment later, there was a hug ....and Johnny had two handprints where he might have had boobs were he female.
Johnny laughed at the handprints on his chest, all the more amused to wonder what Liv would think of them when she got home. It would be obvious that someone had been groping him, and only too obvious who that someone was. He looked down at his own chest which now was displaying two very Fliss-sized handprints in bright green paint. "Do you think if I wore this out, people would notice?" He puffed up his chest and struck a silly pose for Fliss' amusement. Much to his own credit, he wasn't wearing his flame-resistant uniform beneath his t-shirt and jeans at the moment.
"Could start a fashion, you never know," the teen snickered, tilting her head at the sound of Bella barking downstairs. "Sounds like Mom's home. Hey, Dad?" She snickered, putting the handle of her paintbrush between her teeth to free up her hands, and signed Lock the door when you sex her up in his direction. They'd been learning sign language with Maria for the last few weeks, but Fliss definitely had a knack for it.
"Hmm, maybe," he admitted, looking down at his shirt again momentarily before tilting a glance toward the door upon hearing Bella's barking. It was likely to be Liv, since the bark was Bella's "I'm happy to see you," bark and not her stranger danger bark. He looked back at Fliss and her signing, not quite catching it all the first time. "Why do you want me to lock the door?" he asked curiously, wondering if she wanted to surprise Liv with the progress they'd made in painting the bedroom.
Fliss burst out laughing, and offered up the complex signing once again, before innocently taking her paintbrush out of her mouth and returning to the fascinating task of painting very carefully around the edges of the light switch. From below came the sound of Liv's footsteps rising up the stairs, accompanied by the familiar scrabble of Bella's paws.
Johnny got it the second time around, laughing and waggling the paint brush at her as if he was scolding her. "Now listen here, young lady. My sex life is none of your beeswax, got me?" he scolded, though there was no anger in his voice. In fact, from the look on his face it was hard to tell if he was serious at all. "Up here, Livvie!" he called, turning his head toward the door. "Don't blame me you get a spanking," he whispered a warning to his adoptive daughter with a smug smirk on his face.
"Well, it kinda is," Fliss pointed out with an innocent grin. "Because of, you know, the super sperm serum Aunt Lucy made you guys." It said a lot for her relationship with both Johnny and Liv that Fliss had the freedom to tease about that particular subject. They might worry about her feeling sidelined, with two siblings about to be adopted, but Fliss couldn't have been happier with the idea. She wanted normal, more than she could possibly say, and to her, being a big sister was another step on the road to as normal as she could be. She glanced toward the door as it opened, treated to the sight of Liv lunging to catch Bella's collar before the Beaucheron could pounce into the room and cover herself in paint.
"Sorry!" Liv laughed a little breathlessly, pulling the beautiful dog back into the hallway while at the same time trying to hide the drugstore bag hanging off her own wrist. "How's it going in here?"
"What's that got to do with it?" Johnny asked, confused, but before Fliss could give him an answer, Liv was standing in the doorway, and the answer to his question would have to wait. "It's going!" he replied, moving over to Liv to plant a kiss on her lips, whether he was covered in paint or not. From the looks of things, they'd made good progress, even if they seemed to be wearing almost as much paint as the walls.
Kissed, Liv couldn't help laughing at the sight of them both. "Looks like you two have been having fun," she told them, lurching backward hurriedly as Fliss opened her arms, threatening with just the grin on her face to hug her mother. "Don't you dare, missy!"
"Careful or you'll end up with these!" Johnny exclaimed puffing out his chest again to show off the handprints Fliss had so kindly left on his chest. "Remember when we painted our first apartment, Liv?" he asked, turning back to fill in the space that Fliss had outlined with her brush.
In the midst of waving Fliss away with a loud laugh, Liv's smile turned nostalgic as she looked over at Johnny. That first apartment seemed a world away from where they were now, but she'd always remember it fondly. Quite a few firsts happened there, after all. "How could I forget?" she teased him, leaning in the doorway. "I had paint in my hair for weeks!"
"I remember," Johnny said with a chuckle. It seemed like ages ago, though it had only been a few years. They had come a long way from those humble beginnings when he'd been working at the Wonderplex and she'd been in between jobs. "We should take the kids to the Wonderplex sometime," Johnny suggested as he reminisced.
"We definitely should," she agreed with him, sticking her tongue out at Fliss as the teen snickered. "Make them go on the big roller-coaster with only Fliss to control them, maybe." It was Liv's turn to snicker as the teenager looked at her with something approaching absolute horror.
"Maybe not Maria," Johnny said with a small frown. "I'll take her on the carousel instead," he said, turning quietly back to his painting. As much as he adored Fliss, he was developing a soft spot for the little girl who seemed as lost as Fliss as once been. If he could, he'd have taken in every stray child that needed a home and showed them what it was to be loved, but he had to be content with the few children they were able to save.
The paperwork would take a little longer to finalize, but everything was in hand, and finally Fliss had bullied her Dad into painting one of the spare rooms a manly shade of green for Alexei. That was what they were up to right now, father and daughter liberally covered in paint as they covered the walls. Liv had slipped out a little while ago on some mysterious mission she hadn't shared, leaving the two fire experts to their painting.
Johnny was trying hard to behave, but it was hard when he was so full of excitement at the prospect of their little family expanding like it was. He had asked Fliss half a dozen times or more if she minded, worried she might not want to share the two people who had taken her into their home and their hearts, but thankfully, it seemed Fliss was almost as excited as they were about the prospect. "Don't look now, but you have a little paint on your nose," Johnny teased, deliberately touching the tip of his paintbrush to the end of Fliss' nose.
Laughing, Fliss went cross-eyed trying to see the smudge of paint on her nose as the brush was drawn back, offering Johnny an indignant laugh. "Yeah, well, not as much as you," she informed him, stooping to get her hands thoroughly covered in the paint before bouncing around behind him. A moment later, there was a hug ....and Johnny had two handprints where he might have had boobs were he female.
Johnny laughed at the handprints on his chest, all the more amused to wonder what Liv would think of them when she got home. It would be obvious that someone had been groping him, and only too obvious who that someone was. He looked down at his own chest which now was displaying two very Fliss-sized handprints in bright green paint. "Do you think if I wore this out, people would notice?" He puffed up his chest and struck a silly pose for Fliss' amusement. Much to his own credit, he wasn't wearing his flame-resistant uniform beneath his t-shirt and jeans at the moment.
"Could start a fashion, you never know," the teen snickered, tilting her head at the sound of Bella barking downstairs. "Sounds like Mom's home. Hey, Dad?" She snickered, putting the handle of her paintbrush between her teeth to free up her hands, and signed Lock the door when you sex her up in his direction. They'd been learning sign language with Maria for the last few weeks, but Fliss definitely had a knack for it.
"Hmm, maybe," he admitted, looking down at his shirt again momentarily before tilting a glance toward the door upon hearing Bella's barking. It was likely to be Liv, since the bark was Bella's "I'm happy to see you," bark and not her stranger danger bark. He looked back at Fliss and her signing, not quite catching it all the first time. "Why do you want me to lock the door?" he asked curiously, wondering if she wanted to surprise Liv with the progress they'd made in painting the bedroom.
Fliss burst out laughing, and offered up the complex signing once again, before innocently taking her paintbrush out of her mouth and returning to the fascinating task of painting very carefully around the edges of the light switch. From below came the sound of Liv's footsteps rising up the stairs, accompanied by the familiar scrabble of Bella's paws.
Johnny got it the second time around, laughing and waggling the paint brush at her as if he was scolding her. "Now listen here, young lady. My sex life is none of your beeswax, got me?" he scolded, though there was no anger in his voice. In fact, from the look on his face it was hard to tell if he was serious at all. "Up here, Livvie!" he called, turning his head toward the door. "Don't blame me you get a spanking," he whispered a warning to his adoptive daughter with a smug smirk on his face.
"Well, it kinda is," Fliss pointed out with an innocent grin. "Because of, you know, the super sperm serum Aunt Lucy made you guys." It said a lot for her relationship with both Johnny and Liv that Fliss had the freedom to tease about that particular subject. They might worry about her feeling sidelined, with two siblings about to be adopted, but Fliss couldn't have been happier with the idea. She wanted normal, more than she could possibly say, and to her, being a big sister was another step on the road to as normal as she could be. She glanced toward the door as it opened, treated to the sight of Liv lunging to catch Bella's collar before the Beaucheron could pounce into the room and cover herself in paint.
"Sorry!" Liv laughed a little breathlessly, pulling the beautiful dog back into the hallway while at the same time trying to hide the drugstore bag hanging off her own wrist. "How's it going in here?"
"What's that got to do with it?" Johnny asked, confused, but before Fliss could give him an answer, Liv was standing in the doorway, and the answer to his question would have to wait. "It's going!" he replied, moving over to Liv to plant a kiss on her lips, whether he was covered in paint or not. From the looks of things, they'd made good progress, even if they seemed to be wearing almost as much paint as the walls.
Kissed, Liv couldn't help laughing at the sight of them both. "Looks like you two have been having fun," she told them, lurching backward hurriedly as Fliss opened her arms, threatening with just the grin on her face to hug her mother. "Don't you dare, missy!"
"Careful or you'll end up with these!" Johnny exclaimed puffing out his chest again to show off the handprints Fliss had so kindly left on his chest. "Remember when we painted our first apartment, Liv?" he asked, turning back to fill in the space that Fliss had outlined with her brush.
In the midst of waving Fliss away with a loud laugh, Liv's smile turned nostalgic as she looked over at Johnny. That first apartment seemed a world away from where they were now, but she'd always remember it fondly. Quite a few firsts happened there, after all. "How could I forget?" she teased him, leaning in the doorway. "I had paint in my hair for weeks!"
"I remember," Johnny said with a chuckle. It seemed like ages ago, though it had only been a few years. They had come a long way from those humble beginnings when he'd been working at the Wonderplex and she'd been in between jobs. "We should take the kids to the Wonderplex sometime," Johnny suggested as he reminisced.
"We definitely should," she agreed with him, sticking her tongue out at Fliss as the teen snickered. "Make them go on the big roller-coaster with only Fliss to control them, maybe." It was Liv's turn to snicker as the teenager looked at her with something approaching absolute horror.
"Maybe not Maria," Johnny said with a small frown. "I'll take her on the carousel instead," he said, turning quietly back to his painting. As much as he adored Fliss, he was developing a soft spot for the little girl who seemed as lost as Fliss as once been. If he could, he'd have taken in every stray child that needed a home and showed them what it was to be loved, but he had to be content with the few children they were able to save.