Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

At Charlie's insinuation Matteo nearly choked on the water he was drinking and his face turned a particularly exciting shade of red. "What? No! That's so not true!" He protested, wiping water from his nose where he'd snorted it out in shock. "Oh really?" Charlie smirked, raising a single eyebrow. Charlie delivered her words with a smirk that could only be described as evil, her face making it full well clear that she was immensely enjoying flipping the tables and letting Matteo have a taste of his own medicine. "Yes! I don't have a crush on anybody let alone a hopeless one." He replied, desperately willing his face to stop turning red (which it didn't). "Suuuuure you don't tomato head." Charlie drawled, as Rinaa and Moya watched on, very much enjoying themselves."You're so annoying!" "Touché little brother, touché."

Jay nodded in agreement to Kay's statement about people making asses of themselves. "And if anybody from our group does do dosnething stupid or make an arse if themselves- you can take this as a threat or a warning by the way- I'm totally going to film it, I've evn charged spare batteries." "Definitely a threat." Elliott smirked, knowing that Jay would definitely back up such footage as soon as possible and use it for blackmail or bribery. Chas nodded at Kay's comment. "A very God idea, and just a warning, Cal and Cliff are in the kitchen having cooked this massive breakfast for Cliff's family and us, there's some leftovers in the fridge because obviously they made loads." John followed Kay towards the kitchen, where, just as Chas had told them were Cal and Cliff. "Mornin' you two."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia watched on as Matteo sprayed water out of his nose and choked on it in the process. She found herself laughing a lot when he went bright red and started protesting that he didn't have a hopeless crush when his actions were telling a very different story. Hearing the way Charlie retorted to his protests, made her glad that in this very moment Charlie was not her sister. It was bad enough at times having Elliott as a brother, even if it was another future version of him, she definitely didn't need a sister like Charlie if they could deliver that simple line so terrifyingly. This was just too much fun to watch on and she kept chuckling at it all, "if you got a crush on someone, own it. It'd make it a lot less embarrassing" she remarked, as she tucked a fallen bit of hair behind her ear.

When Jay said to take what she was about to say as a threat or warning, Kay definitely took the comment as a threat. She was glad that she had no plans on making a fool out of herself in the slightest. The fact she couldn't let herself get drunk, helped heighten her odds of not being the fool immensely. She couldn't say for sure that it's be the same for Fia on the other hand. "Funnily enough we were only saying last night that we reckon if any of us will be a fool it'll be Fia" she smirked. With Chas giving the warning that Cal and Cliff were in the kitchen, she nodded before heading in with John to find that yes the two girls were indeed in there. "Morning" she greeted shortly after John did.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa was loving the drama, she of course knew who Matteo would end up with (or at least who he'd end up with in her timeline), but was giving nothing away. None of Cliff's siblings were to be messed with, Matteo and Benji were pranksters and teasers and would find a million and one ways to torment somebody whereas Cliff, Nat and Charlie were more methodical, pressuring one or two specific weak points without relenting. The latter in Rinaa's opinion was more terrifying as they would sit on information til just the right moment. Matteo just shook his head at Fia's advice, it might be good advice, but he was firmly in denial. "That only works if you actually have a crush on somebody, which I don't."

"Liar, liar pants on fire, I'm a cop y'know." Charlie grinned, enjoying this far more than she should be. She wasn't actually going to tell Benji anything, she just wanted to make her brother squirm while she was around to physically see it. Chances were that next time she came to visit it would be old news. "Well then, don't you need evidence to back up your claims? Innocent until proven guilty and all that." Matteo smirked, looking more confident, the blush having almost completly died down, finally thinking he had an out or at the very least the upper hand. That was until Charlie said the most terrifying thing he could imagine. "How do you know I don't?"

"Morning!" Cal called over, her tone far more energetic than usual. Both women were trying to keep themselves calm and cool, but it wasn't really working. Soon enough they'd have to split up for separate suiting up and hair (neither were bothering with make-up, they never did) so they were making the most of their last few hours of unmarried life by spending them with each other. "Morning, I've got good news, the teenagers are actually getting on. I don't know whether bonding is the right word, but they're in the same room and I've heard no sounds of murder." Cliff told them, leaning her head back over the sofa. John raised an eyebrow in surprise. " This their wedding present for ye?" "Not exactly, Matteo 'kindly' volunteered to show Fia, Rinaa and Moya the embarrassing childhood photo albums."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just laughed at how Matteo remained in denial that he had a crush on anyone, a method she found was just making things so much worse for him. She laughed more between mouthfuls of water as Charlie used the old childhood rhyme to call her little brother out. She of course didn't have a clue who he had a crush on, not even one her timeline did she have any kind of idea of how they were or who they were with, except for Cliff. Fia thought that Matteo's comeback was a pretty good one and a valid one, but the moment Charlie could come back at him again, she couldn't help but make an 'ohhhhh!' sound at it. "She's got you in every corner possible Matteo, I think you're not gonna win this one" she smirked.

Kay noted how much more energetic Cal sounded this morning which really was t surprising considering what was happening today. She was pretty sure anyone would sound like Cal in their wedding day. When Cliff said that both teenagers were getting along, she thought she misheard Cliff to begin with, raising her own eyebrows in surprise. "I'm impressed Fia got up early for that, I thought only something really major or your dog's could make her get up early" she chuckled, before going into the fridge to get some breakfast.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Moya and Rina both joined in with Fia's 'ohhhhh!' reaction when Charlie heavily hinted that she had proof. It was a perfect comeback on the cop's side. "And you're saying you haven't been promoted to detective yet?" Moya whistled, clearly impressed, thinking that Charlie's skills in trapping her brother with words surely translated over to interrogations and polic interviews. "They haven't, it's a tragedy. Plus they gave my spot that arsehole." Charlie gritted her teeth in annoyance before turning back to her brother. "Which is beside the point." Matteo sighed before committing himself to a path he was almost certainly going to regret. "I'm so gonna regret asking you this, but what do you mean proof?" Charlie's smile grew at that."Well you know that I've got a co-worker with a kid in your school. And I believe there was a very interesting video of you involving a staircase, an embarrassing fall and an extremely smitten look." Mattteo's minute nod confirmed he knew exactly what incident she walking about. "Plus I keep in touch with Alex Sanches." She shrugged. "That proof enough?"" It's all circumstantial and heresay, you've got nothing on me." Matteo added, to which Charlie just rolled her eyes, now having all the proof she needed.

"Trust me, there is some great stuff in these albums. Plus as the youngest and he one with the shortest life, there are less photos of him than of all the other siblings. So there's good motivation there." Cal replied, having been through the ritual of looking at Cliff's baby and embarrassing childhood photos. "The dogs have a different walker today, Benji got in first, wanting to it before everybody got up. Once they're up the dogs will just be pestering everyone for food and attention,though Meyer is the worst of them." Following Chas' recommendation, John took a plate of the leftovers from the fridge, another fish dish. He wasn't the biggest fish eater, but the verdict so far had been positive, so John decided to give it a go. It also saved him having to prepare anything himself.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was getting very invested in this conversation, especially now Matteo asked for proof to clearly see if Charlie was bluffing or not. She listened to Charlie explain what proof she had and Fia couldn't helps but smirk and snigger at the idea of Matteo falling down a flight of stairs. It was cruel as it was bloody painful to do, but she couldn't help it. Seeing Matteo nod, Fia knew Charlie well and truly had him and there really was little he could do to get our of this embarrassing conversation. Sure, Fia probably could have tried to help him get out of it, but she decided not to. It was more amusing this way. "Hate to say it buddy but she's got you right where she needs you now with that." She commented.

Kay nodded at Cal saying that there was really good things in the album's that would be worth the early wake up for Fia. "I'll take your word for it" she smiled before turning to Cliff as she pulled out some of the leftovers for herself. "You better make sure Fia doesn't fall for it then, because her and Meyer I swear have become best friends. Fia is way too smitten to not give Meyer whatever she wants. Trust me" she replied. Like John, she was never a big fish person until she had what Cliff made up the other day that she so kindly shared with her. Now she wouldn't say no to a fish dish knowing it would be good. The knowledge that what fish contained being good for her in this current state was an added motivator to eating it. She took a bite and just as she assumed it was really good, full of flavour for her but not so much that she would feel nauseous.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Well I'm saying nothing." Matteo declared, crossing his arms defiantly, a pretty useless gesture. "I'm so texting Alex, they didn't say they were coming, but this changes everything." The expression that cam ever Matteo's face could only be described as panic. "There's no need to do that, they probably really busy anyway." Charlie reached for her phone, causing him to groan. "Fine I'll let off the jokes about you screwing your partner which I know isn't true if you say nothing to our eldest brother." "And I get a major favour, to be used sometime this year, no questions asked." "Deal!" Matteo replied, slightly too fast, just wanting the whole thing to be over. This was not how he'd envisioned it going. The two shook hands, with Charlie turning towards the three teenage girls. "And that is how you do it. If you were expecting any more info, I'm not giving it, and not a word of this reaches outside this room, understood?" "I'll take it the grave." Rinaa replied, a vow she would keep, even if her death was far closer than Charlie or Matteo knew. "I'll keep it too, don't worry."

"Well I'm definitely taking your word on it." John nodded, spearing some fish with his fork. Cal had proved herself nothing but trustworthy so far (and John didn't trust easily) and Cliff hadn't said anything to the contrary. At Kay's next comment John shook his head "it's too late I think, they've already fallen for each other." He was tempted to make a wedding quip about how Fia would marry Meyer if it was allowed, but decided to keep that one to himself. "Yeah, I agree. And after the wedding and all the food they'll be given tonight they probably won't even resemble dogs anymore they'll be so bloated, they'll be like footballs with legs and tails." John and Cal snorted at the mental image, John nearly spitting out the fish onto the kitchen floor. "I can't unsee that now! Thanks a bunch!"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia laughed at the feature Matteo was pulling, it reminding her of something similar to how she reacts when things don't go her way with her family. She saw the panic on his face and just found it all the more amusing as it all continued between him and Charlie. Seeing him after to the terms Charlie stated so quickly, she had a feeling he would regret that sooner or later. "I won't be saying anything either" she agreed after Moya and Rinaa said they'd keep this conversation between them.

Kay smirked at John's reply knowing he was probably right. It probably was too late for trying to warn her not to fall anything Meyer does to get what she wants. Fia really had fallen for Meter greatly, which would only make leaving this place all that much harder for the kid. If he had made the quip she would have laughed at it for definite. She was just about to put another piece of fish into her mouth when Cliff said what she did, making her put her fork down and laugh, glad that she wasn't eating at that very moment. It was quite the mental image she had in her mind, and seeing how John reacted it was obvious he had that very same mental image. "That is quite the image you've created Cliff" she laughed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Matteo nodded with relief when all four confirmed that keep his secret, even if he was publically in denial over the whole thing. He couldn't even get too mad at Charlie essentially blackmailing him, he'd done the same to her before and this wouldn't be the last time somebody used such a tactic in his family by a long shot. He went back to drinking, wiping a hand up and through his fringe. After a few minutes of silence Charlie asked "So how are we gonna sneak out the drums and cello and hide them? Fia's violin is far easier than what we've got to deal with." "The best time would be when Cal and Cliff are getting hair done and dressed. I was thinking the best place is probably under the stage itself, there's a decent sized hollow and it'll be easy to access, then just ahve to slip out while everybody's getting their seats for food and assemble it on stage, stick a tarp over it and then we're done. Or at least that's what I'd do." Rinaa replied, moving instruments had been something she'd conisdrede when making this whole plan in the first place.

Cliff smiled broadly at Cal, Kay and John's reactions. She knew exactly what they were imagining, she was pretty sure it was the same as her mental image. "I won't even be able to look at those three for a couple of days without seeing that!" Cal groaned. "Well it might stop you feeding the dogs under the table. There's gotta be a bright side somewhere." "Yeah, but once they realise they aren't getting anything from you they'll just turn straight to Fia for food and still end up looking like they swallowed a planet." "Shit yeah, you have a point. Might as well just let the dogs enjoy it since there's no sign of anybody else in my family getting married any time soon. And if they do get indigestion it's valuable experience for Matteo since he's considering being a vet."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia continued with her drink, now that she knew there was no risk of her spitting it out in laughter or choking on it. She could see how relieved Matteo was that no one in the room would discuss his secret, and it was clear to her that everyone would keep their word. She certainly would as he's keeping her secret about her dog. So it was only fair that she kept one of his, even if he was publicly denying it. With the question brought up Charlie, she realised that it was a very valid point. Listening to Rinaa's reply, it was obvious the girl had thought this through thoroughly. "sounds fine with me, just gotta make sure they're getting ready in a room where they won't see any of the equipment come down from here." Fia replied.

Kay chuckled at Cal's declaration of not being able to look at the dogs for a couple of days now that she had firmly gotten that mental image in her mind. With the comment about it making Cal stop feeding them under the table, she was about to mention Fia when John beat her to it, the whole thing keeping thoroughly entertained as she had breakfast. When the but about if it happens leave it to Matteo was mentioned, another chuckle escaped her, "when all else fails, dump the problems on the youngest sibling" she added with a smirk.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Well I'm taking over the first floor bathroom for hairstyling simply because it's bigger and I'll make sure the door is firmly shut. It'll be about twenty minutes half to half an hour each for styling. I think it's Cliff's bedroom that's being used as the dressing room?" Rinaa replied, casting a glance at Matteo for confirmation on her last statement. "Yep they are. With both doors closed it'll be easy to get everything down what with there being five of us. I'd say we could do it in one trip, just drape some tarp over it and claim its last minute supports for the stage or something." Charlie considered what the two were saying then nodded. "That's perfect. Once they go up for hair, we wait ten minutes then bring it all down in one go, shove it under the stage and get dressed ourselves like nothing is out of the ordinary."

Cal and Cliff both shook their heads at Kay's statement. It was only partially correct, problems tended to fall on the oldest siblings, rather than the younger ones. John on the otherhand agreed fully with it, throughout his childhood most of the problems had been dumped on him, or he'd chosen to have them directed at him, to give his sister the better chance. "I think it's more of a case of put the problems on somebody who isn't yourself. It really depends on the family, I'm the youngest and took a lot of shit, but for these two it's completly different, both Cal and Elliott got lumped with shit, but after Ell was exiled, it all went onto Cal yeah?" Cal nodded, while Cliff took up the train of speech. "Where as for us it was Benji you wnet to for advice on everything, me for medical attention and you'd try every sibling when trying to get money or mooch a lift. So yeah, it's complicated, but what family isn't?"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to what Rinaa was explaining about where she was going to do Cal and Cliff's hair and where the two of them would be getting ready. It made sense and seemed easy enough to be able get everything down without being spotted and caught out. She then took into mind what Matteo was suggesting and nodded in agreement, whilst Charlie also agreed it was the best course of action and less suspicious. "Sounds all good with me." She said, not seeing a flaw in the plans whatsoever.

Kay had a sibling but being adopted and being the same age as Sam, she didn't really have any of the whole older or younger sibling rivalry or situations to have experienced. At most Sam was younger by only a few months so neither girl ever counted it as anything. They never used it against each other to get their own way as both had other excuses to use. She listened to everyone say their experiences and just nodded. "To be honest, never really had any of that. My adopted sister was my best friend before she became my sister so we were pretty equal on stuff and the same age" she explained.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Well that's that sorted" Matteo sighed. There was little point in doing any more practice, so it only made sense that they gave some weight to their alibis by looking through the old photos. "And there's no point in doing any more practice either, so what do people say to poking through old albums and whatever random, long-forgotten crap is this attic?" Of which there was a lot, mainly the things Nat, Cliff and Charlie didn't take with them when they went off world and various long lost childhood toys and clothes that their parents couldn't bear to part with. "I'm in, though If suggest maybe playing it through a few more times when we come up to get the instruments, to iron out any faults left y'know?"

Cal and Cliff listened with interest as Kay spoke, it rarely came up that she'd been adopted by her friends family, so they made note of when it did. "Fair enough, I guess you were in that grey area of age where it doesn't matter which is from like....nine months to about two months. I've seen the triplets arguing, and they certainly use the few minutes between their birth as ammunition and a source of superiority. I'd presume it's the same with twins, it's funny, I don't think I know any complete sets of twins." "Neither do I, actually. The only twins we have here have lost their other half." John nodded, just the once. It was a lie to say he hadn't wondered what it would have been like had he not strangled his brother in the womb. Would it have made things better or worse? Or would they ahve stayed the same and shitty?

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded at Matteo's words, she was completely good with looking through the old photos and stuff that was in the attic for the sake of their alibis. "I'm in too, and I also agree with Charlie that a little run through a few times later wouldn't hurt" she agreed with both of them equally, especially as it was a piece she hadn't ever played before this morning. She had to admit though that she was looking forward to seeing the old family photos of Cliff's family as a change from her old childhood photos in her timeline.

Kay could tell that both Cal and Cliff found her background rather interesting and was aware she rarely brought it up around them. She'd mention what Sam used to be like every now and then but other than talking to Chas and John, she didn't ever mention about her adoptive life to people. She nodded when Cal made the assumption of her being in that grey area 'sibling rivalry' which wasn't far from the truth at all. She listened when the topic of twins came up and she could see how John reacted to it, knowing the whole twin thing was still in so many ways, a sore subject for him. "Pretty much. There's like 6months difference between myself and Sam. Me in April and her on Halloween. Her family took me in when I was 9 and by the time they had officially adopted me I was 10 years old. So myself and Sam gone from ages 5 to 9 being the bestest of friends which just carried through our entire lives. Despite legally us being being siblings. We had made a promise to never treat each other differently even though I became a Hale. So any rivalry that did occur it was more out of our friendship than using age to out do each other. That and she was much more the out going bubbly one in comparison." she explained.

 

[_gallifrog_]

True to his word Matteo and Charlie pulled our various old albums in no particular order. Charlie made a point of looking for the ones of her going through police training where she'd still had her hair cropped military style explaining that she went to a military academy for a year, before deciding that she was better suited to police work. She also found a few of her playing the cello as a teenager. Benji had gone through a wide variety of hair styles, even going so far as to have hair that almost came down to his elbows. Cliff had dyed her hair a variety of times as a teenager going through a good chunk of the rainbow before deciding that priple was the colour for her. Nat had stayed pretty consistent looking his whole life with a long fringe he could use to avoid having to actually look at people. Matteo was sporting some form of dirt or scrapes in almost every picture they had. The more recent photos showed him with various school friends (in uniform and out of uniform). As promised there were hilarious and embarrassing ones, like the time Cliff dyed Benji's hair hot pink or when Matteo got his head stuck in a bucket and his siblings decided to take pictures instead of help and various action shots of the older siblings throwing, manhandling and making ridiculous faces at the younger ones.

John and Kay were joined by Elliott, Jay, Dan and his brothers, Chas and the entirety of the Attili crew, who managed to squeeze themselves in the kitchen and living room. The atmosphere was light and jokey as they ensured everybody knew the order for things like speeches. The Attili crew had been tasked with job of herding people and ensuring everybody was where they were meant to be. The attic group materialised downstairs having seen everybody trooping inside and figured something important going on. Time was lost track of, and pretty soon it was time for everybody to vacate the house so the two brides could get ready.

"So whose going for hair first?" Rinaa asked, before realising that both women would want the other to go first and so amended her question."Or more precisely, who has the most hair to style?" "That'd be Cal." Cliff declared, gesturing a thumb at the dark haired woman beside her. "Right, everybody out then, unless you're shifting around wedding presents unnoticed, you ahve no reason to be in this house, it's bad luck be here while prep's going on.....or something like that." TThe teenager finished with a guilty shrug, realising just how bossy she'd sounded.

 

[MzHyde]

When the photos were being shown Fia was fully engaged in looking at them all, laughing at the amusing and embarrassing ones, remarking on the various hair styles good and bad of Matteo's and so forth. It was highly entertaining and interesting to see this family's history. With the time being lost tracked of, she couldn't believe it was time to actually climb down from the attic and change for the wedding, along with putting their secret plan into action. She climbed down from the attic with everyone else to see how crowded it had become. She noticed how their group was amongst everyone and gave Kay a little wave to show she was in fact still around and okay, to which Kay smiled and nodded.

Kay had enjoyed the general light hearted chat and listening to everyone as they discussed speeches and other wedding related conversations. She noticed Rinaa figuring out whose hair to do first, before she pretty much bossed everyone else around and told everyone to leave the house. She got up from where she was, ready to head back to The House. "Fia come on" Kay said, tilting her head to gesture for her to come with them. "I'll be right behind you, just gotta help Matteo with one tiny thing and I'll catch up" Fia replied casually to make it sound like it was to do with the wedding but not entirely. She didn't want it to come as suspicious but she also needed some kind of excuse to not fully head back to The House. "Oh...okay, don't take long okay?" "I won't, it'll be a few minutes at most" Kay nodded, trusting her that Fia knew what she was playing at. It was then Kay went with the hoard if people and left Cliff's place. She was actually looking forward to meeting changed, even though she wasn't always particularly the type of woman who enjoyed dressing up, but today it just felt different.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa's bossy side didn't come as too much of a surprise to anybody in the room. She was a woman with a plan and not one to be messed with, a trait which Elliott recognised all too well from Jay. Cal, Cliff, Rinaa and Cliff's mother all made their way upstairs as the others began leaving the house. John just raised an eyebrow when Fia said she needed to help Matteo with something, it really didn't surprise him too much that Fia had been roped in. "See you at The House then." John called over his shoulder, following Kay and Chas to The House, while Jay and Elliott spilt off towards the boat. "I'm not wearing the dress for this but, gotta look good for the official photos. But it'll be out in full force for start of the dancing part though." "You'll either look a right state or bloody brilliant, there is no inbetween." "Well I gave the style advice, so hopefully it's the first one. Either way, you get some great photos out of it." Jay smirked, having opted for armour for the ceremony and a tux for the later part, mainly due to the fact that she didn't want to show the world the mess of scars that was her back. "There'd better be." John smirked before making his way into The House and towards the rook he and Kay had taken over.

Charlie made it look like she was actually leaving with Moya, but in reality the two simply doubled back and came in a different way. Once enough time had passed, Charlie gestured for them to all go upstairs. "We gotta be really quiet while doing this, the attic may be magically soundproofed, but the rest of the house isn't." Chating could be heard behind the bathroom door on the first floor and the door of Cliff's room on the second, clearly indicating where everybody was. Charlie led the way, making no sound as she walked up the stairs, indicating to Moya and Fia where the creaky stairs were. It had been agreed earlier that Charlie and Matteo would go up into the attic and pass down everything to Moya and Fia. The siblings worked efficiently, carefully disassembling the drum kit and wrapping the pieces so they wouldn't bash off one another giving the game away. With all the pieces down the attic was closed as carefully and silently as possible, before they all slipped downstairs, making their way outside to where the stage was.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded and pretended to go off to help Matteo with last minutes things, when in actual fact she was just hiding out for the right amount of time before quietly meeting back up with Charlie and Moya with Matteo, making sure to make note of all the creaky steps that Charlie pointed out to get back to the attic. Waiting at the bottom, she grabbed ahold of the equipment as it came down, silently putting it down on the ground piece by piece before they all crept out the house taking it all to the stage. The closer they got to the wedding and this plan coming together she got more excited.

On the walk back to The House Kay smirked and chuckled over the talk of when Elliott was to wear the dress, actually looking forward to seeing what was picked out for him. She made sure her phone had plenty of memory left to take photos of this not to miss moment. Reaching The House, she headed upstairs to the room John and her had claimed, and pulled out her dress from the dress bag, draping it over the bed before sitting down and making some kind of effort with her appearance.

She managed to do her make up properly without rushing it which consisted of a nude eye colour, bold winged eyeliner which was her signature and a bold red lip. She even put her hair into loose waves for a slight change compared to her normal straight hair, something she decided she should do more of as it did seem to frame her face so much more and give off that more firey appearance. Once she was happy with her appearance, she got changed, pulling off her shorts and vest and putting the dress on with the wedge sandals. The dress managing to compliment her fair skin, the vibrancy of her hair and still be flattering over her stomach. It was a far cry from her usual grunge punk look, yet she still pulled it off perfectly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Just like Rinaa had said there was ample space under the stage to fit the drumkit, cello and violin, the dark tarp covering allowing them to simply vanish into the shadows. "Well that went off perfectly. All we gotta do is sneak out before the first dance to set and tune up." Charlie smiled, kicking the last piece of tarp out of sight. "Pfft, easy, we totally got this." Matteo smirked confidently, holding his hand out for a round of fist bumps. "Right then, I'd best get ready then." Moya replied, before pausing and adding "What's the policy on concealed weapons? Artemis says anything goes, but I just wanna be sure." "Well in this case she's totally right. As long as its not super noticeable, bring whatever weapons you want. Not that you'll need them, but better safe than sorry." "Awesome!" Moya grinned before the group broke up.

Unlike Kay, John changed relatively little about his appearance. He tamed his hair and properly shaved, getting rid of the stubble that had been slowly creeping across his face. His outfit was essentially a more formal, less scruffy version of his usual outfit. He swapped out the combat boots for more formal leather shoes, changed his tie from the bright red one to the more understated black. His shirt was nothing special, one of his many white ones, but instead of leaving two buttons undone, he only left one (that was a formal as he was ever going to get). The biggest change was the coat, gone was his traditional tan trench, to be replaced instead with a black trench coat. He was still recognisable as John Constantine, but a more refined version. Once he was ready John began transferring things from one coat to another as he waited for Kay to finish doing herself up. He was impressed. The dress was an unusual choice, the colours shouldn't work together yet somehow they did, the bottom half matching Kay's hair which he supposed was the point of the whole thing. It even worked with the baby bump which was a minor miracle in his mind. If Kay wasn't pregnant the evening would be heading a very different way.

Spoiler: Keanu Reeves Constantine outfit

This is essentially what John is wearing, minus the crossbow firethrower of course

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was impressed how well and how relatively quickly they all managed to get everything set up and hidden from view. She nodded when Charlie said about the only thing left to do is to sneak out and tune up, and fist bumped Matteo when he held his fist out for them. "We definitely got this!" She agreed. With Charlie now saying that they should all go and get ready she nodded, knowing she had been longer than she originally stated to Kay and John. "Yeah..if I don't get going now John and Kay will grow suspicious" she agreed. "see you all in a bit" she then remarked her farewells, quickly running off toward The House. At the pace she was taking compared to her normal walking pace, she managed to make it back in nearly half the time. She stopped at the front door to catch her breath and look normal before walking inside and jogging up the stairs skipping every other step like usual.

Kay noticed how well he actually cleaned up considering how little he really needed to do. Though she did still have that soft spot for the stubble that he always seem to sport. As she was getting ready she also took note how he got ready a lot quicker to herself which wasn't much of a surprise considering most of the time women always took longer. As she was putting her dress and sandals on, it was then she heard Fia come in bounding up the stairs. "so much for just a few minutes" she smirked, as she stood up, eventually ready. She found herself looking in the mirror getting used to being in a dress and not her usual leggings or shorts. She then looked at him and smiled, "you clean up well" she told him, even if it was just a cleaner version of his normal attire.

Fia, in her room pulled out her own burgundy dress and heels and quickly changes, partially doing her hair up and getting changed. It took her no time at all to get changed into her outfit but took the time to properly fasten her shoes up. She looked in her mirror to make sure everything was sitting right before deciding yes, she was good to go. She walked out her room and knocked on her parents door. "You guys ready?" She called through.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John shrugged "eh, I try, you scrub up better." It was a compliment, delivered off hand, but a compliment none the less. Chas emerged shortly after Fia, having opted for a suit in navy, which he pulled of extremely well. His everyday wear was scruffy casual worn and beaten by years of use, cab driving and generally being involved with John. But when he made an effort, like he was now, he looked far more refined than his usual affable cabbie persona. "John'll be another half hour or so gettin' his eyeliner and contour perfect." He called, making sure it was loud enough for John and Kay to hear through the door. "Says the man who can't even do a decent cats eye!" John retorted making Chas laugh as he full well knew John was flipping him off behind the door. John did emerge shortly after that remark to which Chas expressed how disappointed he was that John wasn't wearing any make-up to cover his ugly mug.

They'd only been hanging around for a few minutes outside when Jay, Elliott, Rinaa and Moya made an appearance. For most this was their first time seeing Rinaa and Jay in proper combat ready armour. Jay walked in the armour with complete confidence, exuding an almost predatory aura. Despite being layered with chainmail, an underlayer of a kevlar substance and various protective joint plates, the armour highlighted her athletic form while reminding everybody that she was a trained killer. Rinaa had gone a completly different direction in her armour choice, choosing instead to wear leather armour, but wore it just as confidently as Jay did, walking with her back straight, her head high and a fiery pride in her eyes, something decidedly non human in it. Her armour had a feeling of what John could only describe as post apocalyptic casual about it. John also couldn't help but thinking that if she added a domino mask to it, it would be passable at most comic cons.

Moya and Elliot were both suffering from 'trying not to stare at their partner as they looked really hot in armour and were thinking some very non PG thoughts about that fact' syndrome. Moya's outfit was one she'd made herself, a knee high dress teamed with a pair of heels. The skirt was a mix of fake leather panels and some kind of cat-print effect fabric while the upper section was black with some delicate silver stripes running down the fabric. It worked perfectly with her wings and had chosen to put her hair in a half up half down braided style. Elliott had opted for a classic black suit and white shirt combination that was in a way similar to John's, but also completly different. "I'd honestly forgotten you had the black trench, how the hell did you get it here?" "It was already in The House lying around, so all I had to do was find the right room."

Spoiler: Outfits

Jays armour


Rinaa's armour:


Moya's outfit:


Elliott's suit

 

[MzHyde]

Despite how off hand the compliment was, Kay knew it was indeed a rare compliment coming from him. She smiled and nodded, "thank you" she replied, kissing his cheek, whilst knowing this wasn't her usual style at all and actually would be more of Sam's style, but pregnancy made it very difficult to find anything wedding appropriate that was her usual style. So she figured at the time this was a good in between choice. His off hand compliment did also help to reassure her she didn't look terrible in such a dress as she was strangely worried about it because of her baby bump. It was then she heard Fia walk down the hallway and knock on the door calling out to them. She was actually how impressed at how quickly she got ready in the fine they heard her come in and now.

Fia laughed when Chas made his remark loud enough for her parents to hear it, before looking at how well he scrubbed up. It was strange seeing her family so formal looking as she was so used to them all looking so casual, though she knew deep down it was the same for her. She lived in her jeans and vests and biker jacket, just like her mother, so being in something like a dress and heels was a far cry from her usual look. When John emerged from the room, Kay followed out and saw Chas and Fia and smiled. "You look great Fia" Kay complimented. "Thanks mum" Fia replied, whilst they were still in The House and away from unknown ears for those brief few minutes.

With the others joining them outside, both Fia and Kay took in Jay and Rinaa's armour as well as how much Elliott and Moya were trying not to stare. The armour on both girls were amazing and it was so clear to both girls that Jay and Rinaa were very confident in such pieces. Fia also loved Moya's outfit and shoes, finding it shouldn't be an outfit that worked but somehow it did. "Love the dress" Fia commented to Moya whilst Elliott remarked on John's black trenchcoat. "I think we can officially say we all scrub up pretty well" Kay then commented, hoping the armour won't trigger anymore unwanted 'visits' from her kind's warriors. She looped her arm through John's as she spoke.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Seeing each other all dressed up was just as disconcerting to Fia and Kay as it was to everybody. John had stuck to his usual template, but still managed to show that he could be a right handsome bugger outside of his sual rough charm. John hadn't seen Chas look so formal since his own wedding and knew they needed to shove him into every photo possible as evidence for Renee and Trish. Elliott was the most surprising to John, he may not have typical model looks, but there was something about the combination of suit, scar and long hair that gave him an elegant air. He could easily crash a private party thrown by Bruce and look like he fit right in. Rinaa was just like Fia style wise, staying as far away from anything typical feminine instead choosing to live in t-shirts, jeans, leather jackets, hoodies, combat boots and tank tops. It was a shock to the system for Rinaa to see Fia glammed up like that and she had to admit that Fia pulled it off extremely well.

Elliott nodded in agreement at Kay's statement. "Damn right we do. My sister probably won't even recognise us that's how amazing we look." "If that happens it'll be bloody brilliant, we need to get as many photos as possible, mainly just to prove to Renee that we can actually smarten up and look like decent humans, Attilains, pheonixes and whatever other alien races we have here." "I agree with that. Trish'll probably have a heart attack at Elliott looking so suave." "She wouldn't be the only one." Jay smirked, making no effort to hide that she was eyeing him up. Now that she had been outed for liking him, there was no point in bothering to hide it.

At Fia's compliment Moya grinned broadly. "Thanks! Yours is great too, makes quite a statement colour wise." As somebody who studied fashion, she could appreciate a well designed outfit, and her compliments were always genuine. "It really is amazing isn't it?" Rinaa agreed, eyeing up Moya's attire again. She was extremely impressed at how the girl had somehow managed to become even more attractive. "It's still blowing my mind that Moya made this herself." She added with a hint of pride in her voice."Really?" Chas asked, eyebrows raised in surprise, he didn't doubt Moya's ability, but the dress looked so professional to him he had to ask. "How long did that take?" "About......." Moya scrunched her eyebrows in thought "ten hours?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia thought the same as John when it came to Elliott. He looked incredibly suave and handsome in a suit, yet naturally they're thoughts were from a family perspective and nothing more. Fia was still trying to compute that her brother could look like this, though she guessed others were probably just as surprised that she could glam up as much as she has. She didn't feel like your typical seventeen year old in her outfit and shoes, and felt a lot more mature which she enjoyed greatly. She was also trying to compute still that John wasn't in the tan trenchcoat, but she loved seeing her parents the way they were and knew deep down she'd have to sneak a photo of them at some point, knowing John wouldn't pose nicely for one if she asked.

Kay chuckled at Elliott's comment about Cal probably not recognising them from how much effort they all made for the wedding. She smirked at the conversation going on about Elliott's attire and chuckled more when Jay made it very clear that she was enjoying seeing him dressed in such a way. She couldn't blame her as she was feeling the same way about John, even if she did have a soft spot for his stubble rugged look, his scrubbed up look despite being more subtle compared to everyone else was a very nice view for Kay. If she wasn't pregnant she would have made it very clear how much she was enjoying it in the evening when they were alone.

"Thank you Moya" Fia smiled, able to tell that her compliment was genuine. She was impressed with how the girl made her dress herself, but wasn't that surprised after Moya had spoken about her making her own clothes because of her wings. "10 hours? Impressive!" Fia said, thinking it would have taken longer to make something like that.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Moya smiled to herself at their various expressions at how long it had taken her to create her own outfit. There was some context they were missing, by rights this should have taken far longer than ten hours. "Yeah, I know, I surprised myself really." The girl agreed. "Ideally I would have spent a week putting this together, possibly more and it might have turned out different, but I didn't exactly have the notice to do that." She narrowed her eyes in a glare at Rinaa, though there was no malice in the action. "Yeah, the short notice was my bad. I take full responsibility on that." Rinaa didn't sound particularly guilty about doing that. In her mind inviting Moya was the right call, she really liked the girl and knew that there was nobody else from this point in the timeline she'd rather have by her side. "The fashion student side of me refuses to let me simply just show up in something old at a wedding. It has to be something amazing that I'd amde myself. So as soon as I got home I locked myself in my workroom for ten hours and at the end of it, I had this." She gestured down at herself "which surprisingly works."

"Tell them about the shoes, they'll get a kick out of that." Rinaa told her, prompting an eye roll from the other. "I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Speaking of getting a kick out of seeing things, you should have seen this one's face" she gestured at Rinaa, whose ears reddened at the playful teasing, knowing what was coming next"when I walked out in this." "I know exactly what it looked like, the same as this guy." Jay gestured at Elliott who knew that trying to deny it was impossible. "When I waltzed out in this arena armour." "Busted Ell!" Chas laughed. "But seriously, how can gladiator armour look so ridiculously hot?" "Not a clue, but I'm so not complaining." Moya smirked, eyeing up Rinaa's apparel. The slightly battered leather suited her and with her hair freshly cut and styled up into a Captain Marvel quiff she looked completly different to her usual self she almost looked like another person entirely.