Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

John and Chas returned the favour of laughing gleefully along with Nat and Benji as Meyer pouncing on Fia submerging her. There was no way to get out of the way, Meyer had a target and was determined to get it. The dog was only playing, and therefore didn't go full force on Fia, but there was still an impressive amount of force behind the push. It was easy to see now that these were hunting dogs and that together they really could bring down a fully grown stag. The dog let go of Fia, surfacing up for air, shaking shaggy hair from it's face, looking thoroughly delighted with herself.

Benji smirked, cupped his hands around his mouth and called over to Fia. "You're lucky we don't have four dogs or you would've got the two at once treatment!" "You could still do it anyway, me an' Chas don't mind sacrificin' the delightful experience of being jumped on." John smirked. "Not happening, your reactions were hilarious!" Benji yelled back, already stripping off his shirt in preparation to go in for a dip. "And just a warning those dogs won't be coming out any time soon, so you'd better get used them messing around. And we brought a frisbee, if people are interested?" Nat added, also stripping of his shirt. The two brothers went to race into the water, but Nat had a different idea, he stuck a leg out, tripping up Benj, causing him to face plant into the sand, then sprinted for it, jumping into the sea with an elegant dive, resurfacing about fifteen metres away from the shore.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia knew Meyer was just playing around as she just about had enough time to hold her breath when Meyer submerged her. She played with Meyer under the water before resurfacing exhaling and shielding her face when Meyer shook her fur off the water. She looked over at Benji when he shouted at her about being lucky and flipped him off with her middle finger. "I'll get revenge just you wait!!" she shouted back chuckling. She darted her eyes toward John who tried to make one of the dogs go for her after they went for him and Chas, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, only glad that Benji dismissed that idea. With the warning being given it wasn't much of a surprise to Fia, having seen how much they loved the water from that walk only a few days before. "not surprising!" came the reply.

Kay laughed at the lot of them as she got back on land and walked up to their towels as Benji and Nat raced to the waters, Nat tripping Benji up spectacularly which made Kay laugh even more. Reaching her towel, she grabbed it a d used it to towel dry her hair a bit before wrapping it round her tightly and removing her vest to let it air dry a bit. With the towel round her she didn't mind doing it, especially as she still had her underwear and shorts on. She watched on as they all had fun smiling to herself, she grabbed her phone that she left under her towel and took a couple of snapshots of the sight before her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Years of being tripped up by his siblings meant that Benji reacted quickly to falling. His hands shot forwards, hitting the sand hard, but more crucially stopping his face from hitting the ground. His landing position looked similar to a push up, so it was easy for him to scramble to his feet and follow his brother into the water. Like Nat, he also dd a running jump, his body gracefully arching through the air, slicing into the water leaving a relatively small splash. Thanks to his gills he could easily swim to where his brother was without taking a breath and therefore giving away his position.

The next thing that the others would see was Nat being dragged under water. It was if he was there one minute and gone the next. John and Chas instantly ducked their heads under the water to see the two brothers fighting, Nat trying to get away, but Benji refusing to let him go, grabbing at his legs and hauling him back in. Silvery bubbles floated up from the gills on their arms. Nat did eventually get away, resurfacing behind the dogs with a grin on his face, his fringe completely covering his eyes. While both brothers' hair was soaked, their skin remained unaffected by the water, staying completely dry.

What followed was an energetic game between humans and dogs that was a cross between tag and frisbee (with some volleyball moves and football style dive saves). The brothers used the opportunity to show off their great speed and agility in the water as well as how deep they could dive and how long they could stay down for. Water was their natural habit and they excelled in. Nat was the most introverted of the siblings, but that didn't extend to the water. He was just as loud, cheeky and confident in the water as his oldest brother, who was the literal definition of 'oozing confidence from every pore'. The game had no real rules, and playing it brought out genuine smiles and laughter in all

 

[MzHyde]

When Benji dived into the water Fia watched with awe and respect, seeing just how flawlessly he moved. She watched on as Benji dragged Nat under water, making not only John and Chas to duck under the water but also herself to see the play fight happen. It was quite something to watch in her opinion, as she resurfaced when the brothers did. When the game of Frisbee and tag began Fia was most definitely in for it, just enjoying the game and having fun. It was like everything that had gotten to her earlier had vanished from her mind for these moments and she felt like herself again.

She used any tactics she could to catch the Frisbee when it was thrown near her and that even included her climbing on John's and Chas' backs if it mesnt she got the upper hand at any given opportunity. With no rules, it meant anything was allowed and she used that to her full advantage, having no shame whatsoever in the dirty tactics she used. She even tackled Benji and Nat when it called for it, not even caring if it proved to be a mistake to do.

Kay watched on and couldn't believe what she was witnessing, "I gotta film this" she muttered to herself, turning her camera to video and filming it for a little bit deciding she could show Elliott later just what was happening between John and Fia and Chas. She knew liott would like to see it for himself and she also figured it would just solidify the fact that Fia was out of her funk well and truly. She knew he was concerned about Fia and she thought this video would put his mind at ease.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John quickly realised that there were no rules and therefore all dirty tricks were allowed as soon as the brothers starting whistling and yelling commands at the dogs, who listened to them about half the time. He was perfectly willing to give Fia a leg up so she could catch the frisbee, but was equally willing to trip her up so he could grab the frisbee for himself. Nat had no fear of taking down somebody taller, stronger and more muscular than him (years of growing up with Benji meant he knew the weak points and how to exploit them to his gain). He and Fia were the closest n age, but that didn't mean he went easy on her, treating her and roughing with her exactly like he did the fully grown adults. There was one incident where he managed to yank John completely underwater, which caused John to grab at Benji, sending all three crashing into the water.

But it was Benji and Chas who ended up being the most competitive, the cabbie using various rugby tackles and fighting holds to bring the other man crashing down into the water. It only took Chas catching him by surprise once for Benji to declare"oh you're on Chas, this is war." To which the cabbie smirked, maybe unwisely "do your worst." From there it led to a play rivalry that ended up with the two wrestling in the shallows, both men surprisingly even matched. Watching them John smirked then called over "so much for homoerotic subtext mate!" "Well you can't deny that watching this is turning you on in some way or another." Chas replied, giving him the finger. "Are you kidding me? Two fit half naked men wrestling on a beach? I'd be taking photos if my phone was waterproof." John teased back, making the other two men laugh. "Now that I don't doubt."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that she wasn't being treated any differently to the others just because of her age and the fact she was the only human female in this group. She liked it when John gave her leg up to get the Frisbee but when he tripped her up she got competitive and was very willing to either splash him, dunk him by pouncing on his shoulders and any other dirty tricks she could think of on the spot. She also enjoyed the competitiveness between her and Nat, making sure to always switch up her tactics to make it all that more difficult for a pattern to be distinguished.

She rolled her eyes at the whole conversation going on about the whole subtext, "and I thought I was the kid here!" she called out at them. She had at one point glanced out to the shore and could tell that Kay was either taking photos or filming them as there was a reflective glint off the camera lense on the phone. "and I think Kay has that covered anyway" she then added with a smirk, getting back into the habit of using her parent's first names whilst Benji and Nat were around. Kay just smiled still watching on, keeping her towel wrapped round herself before checking if her vest was dry which it almost was. She sent Elliott the odd photo as a sneak peek with the caption 'sneak peak. Will show you the video later'. Putting her phone down she then put her vest back on, pulling the towel out from underneath in the process.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Benji took the whole teasing banter between the other two men with his usable affable attitude. Though John calling him fit did bring a smirk to his face. He was well aware of the fact that John was taken (Cliff had stressed that fact multiple times, knowing her brother's habit of sleeping around), but so what? It didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the aesthetic of a good looking guy. "Can't blame you, if the positions were reversed I'd be totally doing the same thing." Benji replied with a wink as he and Chas untangled themselves from each other. At the mention of Kay having taken photos Benji and John got identical smirks, while Chas just shook his head, thanking whatever deity out there that Benji and John had never met when they were both single, they'd have been a truly impressive mix. It would either end in disaster or be the kind of partnership that never ended. "I need to get my hands on those." Benji told John, who nodded. "Me too mate, me too."

They all flopped down on the beach, finding they were more worn out than they thought from the earlier exertions. none of the men bothering to put on any more clothing. Nat whistled for the dogs who left the water and shook themselves out, spraying water everywhere. He turned to Fia when she made her comment about being the only kid there. "Well technically that's wrong, legally you aren't a kid here, you're an adult, so enjoy it while it lasts." Nat was also well used to the kind of conversation going on between Benji and John currently (the kind that verged on flirting). it was a regular occurrence when his brother was around anybody who was up for a bit of harmless flirting. "Yes thank you Benji" Nat sighed sarcastically, shaking out his hair"for reminding us, once again, that you are attracted to every gender that you've ever encountered. It's times like this I'm glad to be asexual, cos it means I genuinely don't give a fuck."

Elliott's reply came in quickly enough. "This I definitely need to hear about, I bet John is loving it, no doubt he's made some sexual joke by now. It's his instinctive response to anything vaguely up that alley." It was quickly followed by another message. "The teenager started smirking when she saw the photos and that only grew when she saw the word 'video'."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay watched them all clamber out of the sea and back onto the beach. She had no idea what was fully said between the lot of them in the sea but it made for some interesting photos and video either way. If Kay was there when the harmless flirting was going on she could have reacted in one of two ways, not minding in the slightest or end up very jealous. She hadn't found herself ever to be the jealous type before, but then she had never felt the way she felt for John toward anyone else before. This was all new territory for her. She knew with their bond though that she didn't need to worry about him just leaving her for anyone else. Fia was proof of that.

Fia looked at Nat when he replied to her remark about being the child amongst them, but second guessing it. She gave a nod and a shrug, "fair point" she replied. She wrapped her green wrap skirt back round her waist after she used her towel to dry off a bit, glad for the distraction. It was when Nat made his sarcastic comment to Benji that Kay suddenly realised what sort of things were being said between them all. She smirked at the remark from Nat when her reply from Elliott came through making her open it and read it. She then replied,
'yup, if what Nat just said about Benji is anything to go by then yeah. And I'll show you the video when we all meet back up.' she texted back.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"That doesn't surprise me too much really, given what my new sister-in-law (and the teenager) have told me. Benji's kinda like John was (before you showed up I mean), attracted to everybody, but serious about next to nobody. But unlike past John, he has principles, so just ignore any flirting going on, it's not rooted in anything serious." Elliott had no idea whether Kay knew this or not, and the last ting they needed was the hormonal pregnant woman getting the wrong idea about something and becoming even more hormonal. "And yes for showing later, I would head out now if I could, but I'm too comfortable to move." He attached a photo of his own to the message, which showed his and Rinaa's legs propped up on the table near a massive bowl of popcorn, watching an action movie. "And yes, I know I should be out 'enjoying the sun' 'getting fresh air' and 'not wasting my life staring at a screen' but it's a damn good movie." The sarcasm came through in the text easily.

Nat and Benji had no need to dry of their skin, but that was balanced out by the process of extracting sand from their gills. The sand they explained, could cause irritation and swelling, which they'd rather not deal with. The dogs flopped near the brothers, their coats looking like they were made of more sand than fur. "Get off will you? I don't want to spend the rest of my day smelling like wet dog." Benji told them, pushing the nearest dog's head away from him. "You always smell like wet dog Benji." "Rude!" "Either that or oil, grease and burnt plastic." "That's just a job hazard." "And the same applies for owning dogs y'know." "You own them too Nat, you do realise you have to help wash them?" "Shit! Why couldn't Cliff be a water manipulator? That would make it so much easier." Nat moaned, flopping back onto the sand. "I volunteer Fia for that job." John told them with a smirk.

 

[MzHyde]

Whilst most of them were talking each other Kay was continuing to text Elliott. She read his reply and took it on board, knowing that if anyone knew whether it'd be cause for concern or not, it would be him. So she trusted his advice and just let the flirting wash over her like it was nothing. When the second message with the photo came through, she actually smirked at it, about to reply when a third message came in oozing of sarcasm. 'advice noted and taken on board. And damn it Ell, you stopped me before I could give all that motherly wisdom and rant. Talk about ruining a girl's day! You kids have no respect for your elders anymore' she replied back jokingly, knowing full well she would never do such a thing to Elliott.

As she sent the text she caught the just of the conversation about Benji smelling like wet dog and having to wash the dogs later when they all get back to Cliff's. She chuckled at the conversation and smirked when John volunteered Fia for the job of helping Nat wash the dogs. Fia went wide eyed and her jaw dropped a little bit. "excuse me?! Why volunteer me?" Fia asked looking at John, throwing her towel at him. She didn't actually have a problem with it, but she still was going to react to John's declaration. "you want your own dog, you gotta learn to do all the caring of them, using these three as a test run. Think of it as.. Trial run to prove to us you can have one" Kay said, even though she had no plans on letting Fia have a dog but she figured she'd tease Fia with the idea anyway and it made it sound like a typical older sibling thing to say.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Receiving the text just made Elliott smirk, he knew that Kay was only messing with him. In his mind it would be weird (and slightly awkward) for her to give him advice from a parental point of view, given that there was only about seven years or so between them. "That's cos elders just say the same recycled stuff over and over again. If you're going to say something like that, then at least be original about it. My pleasure for pre-empting that spiel, and if you had, I'd just have hit back with 'bonding with my kid is also important, no matter what form it takes'. So that makes us even, I suppose. Plus you can't eat popcorn on a beach, sand in popcorn is utterly disgusting and something that should be outlawed by all civilised species."

John laughed at Fia's reaction of utter horror. The dogs were a mess, covered nose to tail in sand, one even had a bit of seaweed draped across his face. "And I do remember on the first day here that you volunteered to not only walk the dogs, but to do everything else that goes along with looking after them." He told her knowing that Fia couldn't deny it. "And you were perfectly happy to feed them half the buffet yesterday, play catch with them other days, pick up their shit even, so how different is a bit of dog washing? Nat asked, having procured a pair of sunglasses out of seemingly nowhere. He had tipped his head so he could look over them at Fia, his green-blue eyes teasing. "Sure they're covered in sand, but so are you." "Maybe it's Fia you guys should be blasting with the hose instead?" Chas added with a grin.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at Elliott's reply more, also knowing just how weird it would be for her to take the parental role with him despite what she had previously told John before on the flight to Attil. She did care for Elliott greatly and as family, but she knew deep down she could never be a mother figure to him, even if John was his father figure. She ended up replying back with 'touché and I agree that would make us even. Hope Rinaa is doing okay now by the way and I agree, popcorn on the beach isn't great at all'.

As John came back at Fia by us in gher own words against her, Kay sniggered knowing he had her right where he wanted. Fia pouted knowing he had a valid point and she couldn't deny that she did indeed say such a thing. "that's a low blow using my own words against me" she retorted before she couldn't hold the pout any longer and just smiled. She then gasped and chuckled at Nat chiming in with his quip and faked dagger eyes at him, "don't encourage him by siding with him!" she said back at Nat whilst gesturing at John, before she heard what Chas making her take a large intake of breath about to protest, but looking down at her she did look a bit of a state. "Chas!! I thought I could trust you! Have I got no one on my side here?? Or is it 'let's tease the fuck out of Fia day? 'coz I seem to have not got the memo" she quipped back but it was obvious she wasn't actuly offended by any of this. She was just as amused as everyone else.

"yeah, we forgot to mail it" Kay smirked. "and let's face it, like you really have an issue spending even more time with the dogs." she added making Fia shrug in a defeated manner knowing Kay was right.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Good we agree on that, otherwise there'd be some serious problems. And yeah, she's much better now, confident that this bond thing is going to work, it's certainly stopped her other persona from acting up so far. Plus a movie with me seems to be helping too." Elliott sent back, typing one handed as his other arm was around Rinaa who was curled up comfortably beside him, a contented look on her face.

"Is it though?" John raised an eyebrow in response to the low blow comment."Is this your way of trying to weasel out of doing it? It isn't all just fun and games y'know." He added to which the brothers nodded. "You can't just pick and choose, you volunteered yourself for anything dog related. had I known yo were going to dispute it, we would have drawn up a legally binding contract or something. I could have roped in my flatmate who studies law for that no problem." Nat added with a grin. When Chas shrugged at Fia's comment he didn't look the slightest bit guilty for siding against her. "I think you'll find I never actually said that I was on your side when it comes to dog related things. And the others are right anyway."

John shook his head at Kay's mailing comment. "Oh we mailed it alright, it'll just take a few months to get back to Earth, or maybe a few years to get to the right person. What's the interstellar post system like?" John asked, managing to make an allusion to Fia time travelling without it bringing up any red flags. "Totally shit for physical stuff, it gets lost or heavily delayed all too often. And digital traffic over really long distances is hardly any better, it fragments sometimes getting through star gates."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay read the text and finally put her phone down, glad to hear that now they had two content and happy teenagers and now could fully focus on the group she was with. She smirked at Nat and John both getting Fia at every which turn, not showing her any give with her comebacks in the slightest. "I'll do it, but for the dogs not because John volunteered me in this very moment" she said back to Nat, before turning to Chas and just shrugging knowing he was right.

When John said they mailed the memo and made a subtle time travelling remark she just rolled her eyes as he got his reply as well. "oh ha ha" she replied sarcastically. "very bloody funny" Kay just snickered at the banter going on between them all, glad this kind of chatter wasn't getting to Fia and was just making her be more herself. "glad you finally acknowledge it" Kay smirked. Fia didn't know what else to say so she did the first thing that came to her which was to just poke her tongue out at Kay making Kay just shake her head at her kid.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others smiled, shaking their heads slightly when Fia said she'd do it and gave her reasons. "That's the first sensible thing you've said on this topic so far." John told her with a smile. Fia's childish tongue sticking out just spoke to them all of somebody who knew they were boxed in and that it was their fault, but were still trying to defy it, but ended up looking like an adorable child instead. The action made Fia seem younger in John's opinion, though that could have been because the events of earlier were still fresh in his mind. He now had proof that while Fia was extremely mature in some ways in others she was still a little kid.

Benji ran a hand through his hair which was now completely dry (and crusted with salt and sand). "Ah cheer up, it's not that bad, we'll even let you pick which dog you do." There was three dogs and three dog washers and since Fia was a guest, it only made sense that she got first pick. "Even though we all know it's gonna be Meyer, whose definitely Fia's favourite." Chas added, rubbing the head of the dog nearest him who'd decided that draping himself over Chas' legs were the way to go. The dog made a contented noise, clearly delighted at the attention. "Well I dibs Koso then." Nat replied, gesturing at the alpha dog who was licking the back of Benji's neck, clearing it of sand.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just smiled even if she was rolling her eyes at John's comment. She knew after earlier that she could be the way she was being and not be judged for it. She very rarely resorted to tongue poking, especially in her time line but when she did she was aware of how much younger she looked when she did it but didn't care because in her mind she was allowed to have these immature childlike moments even at seventeen years old, due to having had to grow up quickly mentally in her timeline. She only really got to be a kid up until she was 9 years old, from there she had to act older than she was because of finding out what she was.

She looked at Benji when he said it wasn't that bad and nodded knowing he was right. She also did think it was a good compromise of letting her pick what dog to wash, about to answer when Chas said it for her. "of course it would be Meyer, pretty sure we're best friends right now" she grinned watching the nearest dog to Chas being happy for his attention, whilst Koso liked and cleaned the back of Benji's neck. Kay just smiled glad that this whole day of fun for her was working and making Fia happy along with being the dogs. It was clear having Meyer around her was cheering her up even more, similar to how a support dog would. She then ran her fingers through her hair as she could almost feel it knot up in places from being damp making her hands heat up ever so slightly but not enough to make a flame so she could get her hair fully dry. "as long as your happy kiddo" she told Fia.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Fia confirmed which dog was her choice the others nodded. "Fine by us, she's clearly enjoying having you around, if you stay any longer you'll end up as her personal slave/assistant. She may look like a simple dog, but's she's got a remarkable talent for getting people to do what she wants." Nat told her, before reaching over to Meyer and rubbing her in the crook of her necks, which was one of her favourite spots to be petted. Meyer flopped onto her side in happiness, landing between Fia and Nat."Hmmm girl? If you could talk you'd be the one ordering us around no doubt. Until Koso gets involved of course, you may be the beauty, and Rhys is the brains, but Koso's got both brains and brawn, which is why he's the alpha, and not you." Nat rubbed the dogs stomach. "See you've already got me doing what you want Meyer."

Nobody batted an eyelid at Kay's hands heating up. They'd seen Cliff use her powers for similarly mundane tasks ever since they manifested and when Cal came into their lives they'd seen a wide variety of pyro tricks, so Kay using heat to dry her hair wasn't that surprising. Seeing how well the dogs were with Fia Benji turned towards Fia, his face and voice a mix of serious and teasing. "Just a warning. No stealing any of our dogs when you leave. That's only a one way ticket to the inside of a prison, courtesy of Charlie. And she's a damn good cop, you being family by extension and adoption isn't going to result in a get out of jail free card with her when you're actually guilty. If you were framed, that's a different matter, we'd all be up for a jail break." "Jay would be your go to for planning that. Or Artemis. That's very much their division."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at Nat when he spoke to her and smirked at her words. She really could believe that would happen because Meyer was already wrapping her round her paw. "I don't doubt it for a second" she said back with a smile. She smiled more when Meyer flopped down onto her side between her and Nat. She watched on having really genuinely been taken by Meyer, by all three of them but it was truly Meyer that took her heart. It was only when Benji spoke up to her did she look up from the dog, hearing the teasing and seriousness in his voice. She really wouldn't dream of getting herself arrested by Charlie.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not gonna lie I'll miss them but not so much I'd risk being arrested by Charlie" she chuckled but did mean her words. "and even scarier than that is the wrath of Kay and John. So I completely accept the unbreakable rule that is John's apartment, John's rules. Pretty sure I wouldn't be able smuggle in a flea without them knowing" she smirked, knowing already there was the no pets allowed rule in place, hence why her little one was a complete secret. Hearinf her say that made Kay chuckle just envisioning Fia trying to smuggle something so tiny in and still getting caught for it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John smirked at the flea comment, he understood the joke in it, but also ended up thinking of the loophole to it. There had been a time many years ago when he was in his twenties and he had ended up with a dreadful case of head lice. And they weren't supernatural lice (the wards on his apartment would have fried them if they were), just regular lice that plagued the general population every winter. He still had no idea how exactly he contracted them, he didn't notice until he washed out a pile of dead lice into the shower. So in theory, if Fia was to catch fleas from something or another, they could be smuggled into the apartment. But if Fia was to catch fleas, they'd have bigger problems on their hands.

"Good to know that there's at least ONE rule that you respect. And no bringing fleas into the apartment either, it's bad enough that the fruit flies sometimes get in the summer." He teased, running a hand through his hair, which had acquired a surprising amount of sand in it. "Good to hear, as funny as it would be see this one in zero gravity" he stroked along Meyer's back and tail (which was wagging at a mile a minute) "we'd miss her too much. It's bad enough knowing that these guys will grow old and wear out until, eventually, they are no more. Dog-napping is a whole different loss."

As they'd been playing frisbee-tag the sounds of various craft leaving the island could be heard. The Attili crew were they only ones (outside of Cliff's family) who were able to stay for another day, everybody else had to return to the various home and work planets. It had been at least an hour since the last craft had lifted off, a fact that had been picked up by the brothers. "I think that's all the guests gone now." "Well apart from their squad." "Obviously." "They'll probably want us to head back to the house soon." "Well unless there's food involved, I'm not going to go, Nattie. I'm far too comfortable here."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that the first thing she did when she found Max was to go into a pet store and buy a flea jab for him. She put so much time and effort in cleaning him up, making his outdoor alleyway home comfortable and even used the last of her money to take him to the vets for a check up. She was regularly having to ask for money and making up lies to why she was burning through her allowance so quickly but in her eyes it was worth it. She smirked at John's reply, holding her hands up in defense playfully. "since when do I ever break the house rules??" she smirked, knowing that unless lied through his teeth he wouldn't have an answer for that. "and I could only imagine how distressing that'd be." she said to Nat and Benji at their response to her comment.

Kay was glad that her little idea of drying her hair with her hands and not hairdryer had worked, as it was now more dry than damp. She smirked at Fia's comment about the house rules being broken or never being broken, having a feeling that Fia probably had broken a few in her time and somehow got out of it. She was tempted to spiel off a load of fake moments but tried to refrain from doing so. "I'm gonna refrain from saying anything on that comment Fia, whether he will is another matter" she smirked before the topic changed to the other guests having left and the idea of heading back should be thought about. She smirked in amusement at Benji's food remark.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew he didn't have an answer to Fia disobeying house rules. He suspected that anything he made up would either be right on the money, or so far left field it was hilarious to Fia. So instead he took a different tactic. "Well you and your sister have only actually been in my apartment for a couple of months, and the first few weeks were awkward one where neither of you wanted to do anything for fear of being kicked out. And most recently it's been Cal and Cliff's apartment and following their rules because of the whole 'being on an alien planet and not able to use magic to break the language barrier' thing. But I know damn well you covered once or twice for Artemis when she snuck out during that time. And that before I showed up you'd cover for Leah when she'd sneak out." There was a smug undertone to his voice as he said that, knowing that by producing some kind of credible remark he'd surprised Fia. They knew Rinaa had snuck out when on Attil and Fia had let it slip once that she'd seen Rinaa take down dates for open mics. The thing about Fia's timeline's Leah however was a complete guess on John's part based only on the fact that they were far closer in her timeline.

Chas smirked at John's quick thinking and raised eyebrow daring his daughter to challenge him. Chas knew John had very little evidence with which to back up his claims, but his best mate was a confident lair and was sharp on his feet when the occasion demanded it. "He's got a point y'know, as a parent I can say we aren't totally oblivious to everything teenagers get up to. Sometimes we know what you're doing and let you do it anyway. Remember that Fia." He finished with a smirk, he'd let certain things slide with his daughter. Both knew the other knew, but they kept up the facade anyway.

Nat's phone chimed shortly after, with two texts, one from Cliff and one from Charlie. He read the former aloud. "Cliff says ''All the ships and boats are gone now, as you've no doubt gathered already. None of us can be arsed to take down the pontoons, that's a job for tomorrow it seems. Matteo's band of morons is still here though just a heads up'. The general idea seems to be food, interested? (I know Benji will be, but what about the others)." The text from Charlie he forwarded over to Fia. "Matteo sorted his crush mess out. Finally. Who knew that sitting down and talking could actually achieve something? (And you need to see the hickey he has, it's damn impressive). And Alex should be coming over soonish, since he missed the wedding itself, so that'll make for a great family dinner."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia thought for just that moment that she would have had John and finally got one up on him. However what next came out of his mouth did indeed prove her wrong on that. Her face went from 'yes I finally got one over you!' to 'bloody balls you got me again'. She could see and hear how smug he was being with it as well which just made her pull a face that conveyed so much in one hit. The look consisted of an eye roll, a slow head turn and tight closed lip whilst scrunching her nose up. As she went to reply, she saw Chas chiming in and so let him speak first before coming out with her come back. "okay firstly, how could I ever forget such a thing Chas? And secondly, John, its called being a good house guest after you took us in and of course I'm gonna have the backs of the people that are my age. It makes it fair when I totally "don't" sneak out myself" she smirked. "oh we know you do, we're not stupid" Kay spoke up, "you're not? Huh. News to me!" Fia quipped with her signature cheeky grin.

It was then the texts came through on Nat's phone and he read the first one out from Cliff saying about how everyone had gone except for Matteo's gang. Kay had to admit, food did sound like a very good idea. "I'm down for some food, dunno about everyone else whose not Benji" she smirked, finally getting in a quip and reference to Benji's earlier food comment. Fia looked down and looked at her phone when Nat forwarded the other text, reading it to herself whilst getting another a big smirk on her face, "ha!" she simply let out without meaning to. She looked around at everyone expecting someone to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "I could go for food too" she said not going down the other subject.

Spoiler: Fia's face something like this

 

[_gallifrog_]

John's smirk just grew at Fia's expression of annoyance. He could see the exact moment when her face turned from 'I've finally got one over you' to 'dammit you got me again' and it was highly amusing for him to watch. Chas just chuckled at Fia's response, knowing that John had definitively won that round. "Just making sure, just making sure." Chas replied with an easy grin. "And there's the confession of you breaking the house rules kiddo. And besides, it's not sneaking out that's the hard part, any old fool can do that, it's getting back in without being noticed." John smirked, knowing that when it came to getting into his apartment, a bedroom or bathroom window was a far easier access point for a teenager wanting to get in than the main door. He knew Elliott came and went by the window and suspected that Fia would have figured out that since the window in John's spare room overlooked the back alley, it only took some basic parkour to get in and out of it from said alley.

At the mention of food Chas and the dogs visibly perked up. "Count me well and truly on board with that plan! I'm bloody starving." "You do know you reacted exactly like the dogs at the mention of food mate?" John asked, a teasing edge to his voice. "So what? I haven't eaten for half the day and the food here is amazing so far." Chas shrugged not in the least bit embarrassed at his earlier reaction. "That it is. Our food is amazing, don't care if that sounds biased, it's the truth. I really miss it when I'm at uni, it's never quite the same when I make the recipes somewhere that isn't here." Nat replied, agreeing in a roundabout way to eating food with the rest of the islanders. "Gotta agree there Nat, it's the main reason why I chose to live on this planet." Benji added, reaching over to ruffle his younger brothers hair, which he knew really annoyed Nat, but did it anyway. Eldest sibling privileges he called it.

John was surprised by Fia's outburst, it sounded triumphant in a gleeful sort of way. Evidently Nat had forwarded on something to her based on the fact that he didn't type anything and the instant after he hit send Fia's phone chimed. It couldn't be a coincidence. "Hot gossip I take it?" He asked, with the raised eyebrow Fia predicted. Nat half shrugged, seeing no problem in telling John as he'd been there when it came out about Matteo's drunken antics. "It depends on your definition, but yes, it's a conclusion to this morning's drunken teenage drama. I can practically see the smugness radiating off Charlie's message"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia did indeed know about the access points of getting back into John's apartment, especially as what was currently the spare room got turned into her room so she found it very easy to sneak in and out all whilst in her room. Even though it was a confession of sorts, she still didn't consider it a confession of house rules being entirely broken. Sure she wasn't meant to fully go out on her own at night but she did it anyway, but most of the house rules she did actually abide by. "yeah yeah.."she just quipped back waving his words off but smirking.

When Chas and the dogs both looked up in the exact same manner, both Kay and Fia found it highly amusing. They both knew that Chas wouldn't fall for the bait that John said, knowing he was better than all of them. They both had to agree that the food here was incredible so neither could blame Chas for his reaction at the me tion of getting food.

Seeing John raise an eyebrow she knew her reaction to the text would make that happen, especially from John as he was the most curious one of them all. She let Nat explain the reason for her outburst whilst she nodded in agreement, "you really can. Matteo actually dealt with his crush situation bringing it to a conclusion and apparently there's an impressive hickey to see." she said also, adding more to the story. "well good for him" Kay simply remarked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Good on him then" was all Chas managed to say before Benji took over the whole thing. Benji perked up instantly when the phrase 'drunken teenage antics' was used by Nat, the question on his lips being who was the person/people involved in said teenage antics. His second question was how Charlie knew about it. The first question was answered unknowingly by Fia. The instant Benji heard his brother's name, coupled with the words 'crush' and 'impressive hickey' his face changed into one of absolute glee and delight, but there was no mistaking the slightly ominous edge in his eyes. Now that he knew, it was only a matter of minutes before Benji would start doing what he did best- interfering and getting over involved in his siblings love lives.

Nat saw the look and let out a sigh of 'here we go again', firing off a text to Charlie. It was only three words- Benji knows now- but Charlie knew all the nuances that came with that seemingly simple statement. "Oh this is brilliant!" Benji exclaimed gleefully, rubbing his palms together in an evil genius way. "I don't even care that all my siblings have been keeping this from me." He mock glared at Nat, who just rolled his eyes, knowing it was best to say nothing. Benji was an unstoppable force when it came to things like this. "And it came at just the right time too, now that I can't interfere in Cliff's love life anymore. I need to get to the house as fast as possible, forget what I said earlier about not moving unless it's for food, consider that statement retracted. THIS is far more exciting." He exclaimed, moving from a sitting to a standing position in one go. "Nat tell me everything you know. Now." He demanded, to which the younger brother sighed, extracting himself from the and. This wasn't a battle he could win.

"You're going to find out even if I don't tell you, turns out Matteo's had a thing for one of his friends for a while. Last night they both got plastered, Matteo more so and somewhere along the way the tension snapped and they ended up in Matteo's bed. And no they didn't go all the way before you ask." Benji nodded impatiently as Nat told the story, most of which he worked out already. There was just one key detail he wanted. "So who is the mystery bedfellow?" He asked, a sense of urgency in his tone. Nat sighed, Charlie had been the only one who knew the identity the day before and had kept it a secret, but it had been Nat who found his youngest brother the next morning. He didn't even have to ask, as soon as Matteo saw him he gave an explanation, albeit a hungover and panicked explanation as Matteo was convinced he'd screwed it all up.

"Well you know Charlie's friend Alex." Benji nodded, but he really just wanted to say 'get on with it'. "Its Alex's younger brother." Benji's eyebrows shot skywards in surprise. "As in bastard royalty Alex?" "Yup." Nat nodded, relishing the surprise on his brother's face. "Bloody hell." Benji drew out those two words shaking his head slightly in a mix of disbelief, amusement and brotherly pride. "He doesn't do things by halves then...... All the more reason for me to find out everything." "Before you get ahead of yourself Benji, Alex is coming around for dinner, so don't be interrogating the three for details around him. There's a time and a place for this kind of stuff y'know."

(excuse the long delay in replying, it's my dad's birthday today, so we were doing presents and phoning relatives)