Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

The others merely smirked at Fia's stream of insults, sniggering at the facial gymnastics she was performing. Fia wasn't the only one pulling spectacular faces, but out of those who'd never tasted the stuff before- John, Chas and Fia- she was the one making the most fuss about it. John's initial reaction had been followed by copious amounts of swearing and questioning why anybody would do this, before adding that it was indeed the perfect forfeit for this kind of game.After that his reaction were more grimaces of distaste. Chas took the whole thing in his usual style, clearly disgusted by the stuff, but not making a massive fuss. Elliott had just happened to have his camera out and managed to get a video of the first time both John and Chas had tried the sauce (he would have liked to have filmed Fia, but they still had no idea whether they would be wiping their memories of her after they left, so he'd decided not to take too many photos of her just in case).

"And to think in it's regular form fish is good for pregnant people." Cliff remarked dryly in response to Fia's threat of how she'd be force feeding Kay if Kay wasn't pregnant. "No torturing people with rancid fish guts sauce in the house." Cliff's father remark in a similar dry tone to that of his daughter, his expression serious, before he smirked and added. "That's why we have outbuildings, I don't care what you do there so long as you clean it up." His eyes narrowed in the direction of Benji who had a 'who me?' face one, even though every one of his siblings knew far too well which of the outbuildings their eldest brother had shagged somebody in.

Rinaa couldn't resist retaliating to Fia's words, rolling her eyes and adopted a fake teasing tone, changing her accent to a rough street one to indicate that she was joking and not actually making a personal slight against the other teenager. "Ah stop moaning'. At least you don't have enhanced senses while downing this shit." She shook her head, sticking her tongue out in distaste. "I swear I can taste fish crap in this."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia could have been more toned down with her reactions after the first or second time but she was also aware of how amused everyone was at her suffering so she couldn't help but ham it up ever so slightly, that and she was a typical teenager in this regard. She looked at Cliff when she came back at her with her threat toward Kay and rolled her eyes but it was obvious she was amused by Cliff's comment. When her father said something she chuckled, knowing he was just continuing the banter going on. She had to chuckle at the way Cliff's father narrowed his eyes toward Benji and Benji's reaction to it.

Fia had to admit that when Rinaa pointed out about how having enhanced senses made it all that more worse, she had a very valid point. "valid point" she commented smirking, knowing she was just joking around so she couldn't take any offence to Rinaa's words. "but I don't wanna know that possibility of fish crap in it" she then added shuddering at the thought. Kay was even more glad that she wasn't playing as she knew if she had to taste that sauce she would no doubt find it very difficult not to puke all over the place, and that was not the lasting impression she wanted to leave on Cliff's family.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was obvious to Elliott that Cliff had a very similar sense of humour to her father. The allusions being made about what Benji was doing in the outbuildings went amiss on nobody, the eldest brother had a reputation, he only did casual flings and wasn't cut out for a proper relationship (he willingly admitted that). And as he was attracted to everybody regardless of gender and considered pretty good looking by many (a tall, tanned, muscular, blond with a good sense of humour and a caring streak was a good catch) he'd figured from an early age that he might as well have a little fun.

The others couldn't help but laugh at Rinaa's joke, she had a point, however bad it was for them, it only became worse the more sensitive your tastebuds were. The dogs steered well clear of the stuff, and even Meyer the great lover of leftovers wouldn't eat anything that had been on the plate with the pungent sauce. Charlie picked up the bottle and held it up to the light as if inspecting it. "I mean, you could in theory replace this with fish crap and I don't think it would look any different." "Fish shite'd probably look better than stuff if we're being honest." John added with a smirk. He definitely intended to bring some of this stuff back to Earth. Ideally he'd love to find a way to gt it into whatever posh sandwiches Bruce ate, but more realistically, he suspected it could be used as bait for some kind of demon or Downworlder trap, or maybe as a deterrent for other kinds. It could take anywhere between days and years to find a use for it, but he damn well would.

"Here's hoping it's not fish excrement" Cliff added, comfortably swinging backwards in her chair. "if it is, we'll all have raging stomach cramps and be vomiting our guts out tomorrow." "That'd mean no school for me!" Matteo sounded far too delighted about that fact until Moya opened her mouth. "But then you wouldn't get to see that boyfriend of yours like you promised, so be careful what you wish for."

 

[MzHyde]

Like with the others, the allusion to Benji's outhouse antics didn't go amiss on Fia or Kay. Fia just smirked at the whole thing, enjoying the banter going on whilst the game was going along. She could understand why someone would find the guy attractive, he had all the common traits of what should make someone attractive, yet as much as she liked him, she didn't see him as her type in the slightest. Not that she would ever see him in that way being Cliff's older brother anyway, but the flirting albeit completely innocent between him and her father didn't go amiss that past day either.

Fia smirked at John's comment about fish shit looking better hlthan the stuff they were willingly putting into their bodies. "lemme guess, you're wanting to bring some of this home with you to piss off the League by slipping into their food or drinks?" she presumed, knowing her father far too well. Kay had to refrain from sniggering at Fia's assumption about John, knowing that she was far more on the money than she possibly realises. She too wouldn't put it passed him to do such a thing, knowing what distain he had for the League.

When Cliff said they should all hope it doesn't have such an 'ingredient' in the sauce, Fia really did agree with Cliff as she did not fancy being sick to that extent in the morning, as she might be half phoenix but she still got very much sick like a normal human, her phoenix blood usually creating a very high temperature and fever in the process, to try and burn it out of her system faster. She remembered the first ever time she got the flu and it scared the living crap out of everyone in the family because no one expected her temperature to raise as high as it did, not even Kay. She smirked at Matteo liking the idea of not attending school but sniggered at Moya's comment back at him. "she got a point ya know and you don't want to piss off your boyfriend right at the beginning of your relationship" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John nodded and smirked at Fia's question, not in the least surprised that she'd be able to figure out what direction his thoughts were going in (she'd grown up with him regularly bitching about the League after all). "Obviously that's what I'm gonna do, should the opportunity ever arise. It'll definitely piss off Bubbles by just existing, given how he hates seafood." 'Bubbles' was the nickname John had come up with for Aquaman, and frequently said it to his face, the reaction from The King of Atlantis never failed to be amusing. "Though I suspect it could also be used as either a lure or a deterrent for some creature." "Well yes, obviously it would do that." Elliott rolled his eyes from his spot on the couch. "Most substances tend to do one or the other." John refrained from flipping Elliott off, instead settling for a smug "My point exactly."

At Moya's comment all four siblings of Matteo's siblings, and his parents smirked. She made a very, very valid point. "Point taken." Matteo nodded to both Fia and Moya. "Agreed, and don't piss off your girlfriend either while we're on this topic." Rinaa added with a soft eyed look towards Moya. "As a general rule don't piss off any partner you have, whether it's a romantic partner, a work one, or the one you play ping pong with in the lounge." Charlie added, leaning back on her chair, unconsciously copying Cliff. "True, true." Cliff agreed, casting a look at her wife. "Though if your work partner is an asshole, do anything in your power to get rid of them, or better still get them to transfer elsewhere." Cliff grumbled. "I've worked with far too many assholes who care more about their own status than the patients themselves." Charlie groaned in sympathy "Tell me about it, I've had some awful bosses and SIOs who are far more concerned with their stats than the little people. And bosses don't ever seem to transfer." "And when they do, they're replaced by that jackass who has had it out for you from day one."

"And remind me why you two chose these jobs if all you do is bitch about them?" Matteo asked, with a fond smirk after a few minutes of watching his sisters moan back and firth about their various problems with work. Both Charlie and Cliff went to speak, but was Jay who answered first. "Because when you love a job as much as these two love theirs, it's utterly worth it. All the shitty parts just melt away when things go right. Being able to see the difference you make, and being able to be part of something bigger, working for something better. It's what they do best, and nobody can do a job better than a person with passion."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had to snigger at John's reply, having grown up with his nicknames for each League member. She may have been kept far from them but she still knew who they were by codename and who had what nickname. She knew for a fact that Aquaman would most definitely take offence to the sauce being on anything of his, making her wish she could be a fly on the wall if that ever happened just to see his face. "if you do that, secretly film it so I can see his face" she smirked. She nodded at his next sentence about it being used as either a lure or deterrent, only to smirk and snigger at Elliott's smart ass reply. She was expecting John to either do or say more than what he actually said, so when he just said what he did, it did actually surprise her slightly.

With the discussion turning into not pissing off partners, Fia was now completely the only one who couldn't give anymore comments on it, apart from what she just said. She was after all the only who had never had a relationship of any kind. Instead she just listened and smirked at the topic turning in to what to do if someone has the worlds worst work partner to deal with. Kay listened as Jay beat Cal and Charlie to the punch about why they still do the job they do despite the bitching, smiling. "we'll I for one am glad Cliff still does what she does. Wouldn't trust anyone else to help me through this personally" she added genuinely.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's deep thoughts came out at just the right moment. It wasn't just praising the two women and what they did (despite spending most of her life on the wrong side of the law, Jay had nothing against honest cops that did their jobs well, it was the corrupt ones or those who abused their powers that she took issue with) it also showed that she had both respect for them and trusted them. Two things which Elliott knew from experience were very hard to get from Jay. Cliff blushed ever so slightly at the praise from Kay. She was an excellent doctor, of that there was no doubt in anybody's mind, but like every amazing doctor, Cliff was also humble, considering herself to be only slightly above average when it came to her medical skills. "Good to hear you think that, babies and pregnancy is not my strong suit, or even usually my medical area, but you already have my word that I'll do whatever I can to help." Her tone was both serious and sincere, she meant every word, anything she could do or find out, she would. Her tone became lighter in the next sentence as she gave a light smile. "Though I think I've accidentally become your" she gestured at Kay, Fia, Chas, John, Elliott, Jay and Rinaa with one smooth gesture "family doctor now."

"I would say sorry about that" John shrugged in a way that made it quite obvious that there was a 'but' coming. "But you're basically stuck with us lot for life anyway since you married Cal." "Don't suppose I can cash you lot in anywhere for an upgrade?" Cliff smirked cheekily. "Rude." Chas shot back with a grin, knowing the doctor was only joking. "Upgrading us couldn't end well, it'd blow a hole in the universe of something." "And besides we're all top awesome to be upgraded." John smirked cockily. "Or we all end up as emotionless metal cyborgs as a result." Rinaa shrugged, figuring that she was going to get a Doctor Who reference in instead of making a reference to Sykes and how being 'upgraded' through genetic mutations had driven the wolf insane and turned her psycho. (Despite being an alien herself, Rinaa loved the show, it was a sort of escapist guilty pleasure for her). She then gave her Cyberman imitation, which she was pretty dang proud of. "You will be upgraded."

"You really don't want to see what would happen when you upgrade an Isogrii warrior." Jay remarked idly. If she had a knife she'd have been skipping it across her hands out of habit. Cliff shook her head "nope, I don't want to know, it can't be good.... but in all seriousness I could have ended up with a lot worse." When she and Cal first found about Elliott's second family they were naturally apprehensive, they only had Elliott's word to go by, a person Cal hadn't seen for twelve years and somebody Cliff didn't even know. John and co could have been complete psychos for all they knew, so it had been both a relief and a surprise to see how genuinely accurate Elliott's descriptions were.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay saw Cliff blush a little bit at her words, and she didn't mean to make Cliff to react in quite that manner but she did truly mean what she said. Babies and pregnancy may not have been Cliff's specialist expertise but she still trusted Cliff with every single thing she was going through. She had made her feel calm and accepting of what was happening right from the get go when deep down she was terrified of what she was feeling when she first started vomiting in Cliff's home that one morning. She also appreciated that she was willing to read up anything and everything she possibly could about phoenix's so she was more knowledgeable. At her next remark of becoming the family doctor, Kay had to chuckle and smirk at it. She was going to say something but John got there first, pretty much saying what she was thinking.

Fia chuckled at Cliff jokingly asking to change the lot of them for an upgrade, as did Kay, which only remained when everyone made a comment of one sort or the other saying how it'd be a bad idea to upgrade any of them. The doctor who reference didn't go amiss on Fia that was made by Rinaa, smirking at her cyberman imitation. Then there was just thinking about what an upgraded isogrii warrior would be like and that mental image made Fia mentally shudder, thinking it would be somewhere along the lines and worse than Rinaa's timeline version of Jay. "damn straight you could ended up with a worse extended family. We're all a bunch of idiots but we're awesome with it" Fia grinned.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was nods and murmurs of agreement at Fia's declaration, it was spot on and summed them up extremely well. "A truer word has never been spoken when it comes to us." Chas was the first to agree with Fia out loud, but by no means the last. "Hells yes, that's us in a nutshell." John agreed with a cocky grin. "We're not all that bad, we're one type of crazy idiots and your family are another, and the dogs yet another, which is why this." Elliott gestured at the card game in front of them (which had been abandoned as the banter and chatting took over)"works so well." "You're not the worst, that's all I'll say." Jay shrugged, not really being the gushy complimenting type. "Though Cliff's family? Completely awesome." That lead to a round of 'gee thanks' comments and people pretending to take offence at Jay's words, while the host family smirked and looked smug at jay's compliment to them.

The outpouring of positivity and togetherness coming from the group was something Rinaa had never seen much of in her timeline and seeing it now made her want more. She wished she could have had his kind of support her whole life, she couldn't stop thinking that if she had, things could have been very different. "I'm just here for the free food really." She shrugged nonchalantly, but her words were so far from the truth of why she was there. She was there to fulfil a mission that had started being planned before she was born and continued being tweaked right up until the day she left to time-travel. It was a plan that had originally been born of love and loss, but had become something more. It would be the culmination of years of sorrow and anger and regret and pain and suffering and rage. It was a plan with hope, hope for a future, hope that the badness could be erased once and for all. Permanently. The fate of not only two planets, but a whole universe of choices and potential timelines rested on it's success. Going back was the one thing Rinaa felt could truly make her existence up until that point worth it.

But Rinaa could never say any of what she was thinking, so instead she hid what she was truly thinking with masks. And in this case it was the mask of being the teenager that said something contradictory and cheeky for the purposes of getting a reaction, making sure everybody knew she was only saying what she was as a joke. "And the company too, that's worth hanging around for."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia continued to grin when everyone agreed with what she said. She knew deep down they couldn't not agree, and if anyone did she would have called them out on it until she was blue in the face. She also agreed with what Elliott was saying, also thinking that them all being idiots on some level is why all this worked so perfectly. She just smirked at Jay's comments, finding she was ever the same Jay that she knew and respected with her non gushy ways of complimenting people. She then had to chuckle when Rinaa said what she did, being such a typical teenager.

"theres always one kid that has to say something along those lines" Kay said with a smile and fondness in her tone, to show she meant no ill will toward Rinaa with what she said. She then smirked at the second additional comment Rinaa spoke, thinking it was only a matter of time before something of that nature came out after the quip. "couldn't agree more Rinaa with that bit" she added, noticing that the game the others were all playing had seemed to ceased to a pause whilst all the banter was happening and spiralled out from Fia's initial remark at them all over the fish sauce.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing fondness in Kay's tone when she talked about Rinaa always threw the teenager, she could mask her emotions pretty well, but Jay, Cliff, Elliott and Chas could see the surprise flare in her eyes. Jay could also sense that there was more to it than just 'the company is decent'. From the snippets Rinaa said of her timeline it seemed that so long as John's side of the family wasn't involved, she had great company, a strong network of friends, co-workers, flatmates and a couple of exes (just to spice it up). But she knew that Rinaa wouldn't open up on any extra reasons, they'd seen her die and the teenager had said nothing. she would take her secrets to the grave. And in a weird way, Jay could respect that.

By now all of Cliff's family knew that the teenager they knew as Artemis went by many names so weren't that surprised when Kay called the teenager 'Rinaa'. All five siblings went by shortened versions of their birth names, so all that mattered, in their minds, was that Rinaa felt comfortable being called by this name. "She has a point on the on the food bit, it is DIVINE and one of the reasons we decided to get married here and not Attil." "Besides the fact that if we did get married on Attil, not only would we have to ship everybody in and find accommodation, it ran a much bigger risk of being crashed or derailed. Also, the island is awesome." Cal finished with a fond tone and look at Cliff's family.

"Good thing we decided to have breakfast here tomorrow, I'd hate for this" John waved a bottle of the fish sauce around "to be the last thing we all ate here." There was a chorus of various 'agreed' comments from around the table. The game resumed shortly after and would continue for another few rounds before people began to tap out and call it a night. They finished earlier than usual as they had an early rise and start the next morning.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay hadn't even thought about the name she called Rinaa by mistake when she spoke. She had gotten so used to for what felt like a long time where it was just their group together, that the slip up on the name was just that..a slip up, and one she didn't even realise she did at the time. She had a feeling the fondness coming from her would surprise Rinaa each and every time, but a bit like Fia, she wanted to show the teenager that she wasn't her evil counterpart either. That she was a decent person who did give a crap about others feelings. She just wasn't making a conscious effort to try as hard as Fia was due to her instinctive protective nature of Fia, an instinct she didn't even know she had.

Kay couldn't help but smirk at Cliff agreeing with Rinaa's food comment and say it was one deciding factor on where to get married. She could understand it because she had been very pleasantly surprised about the food she had eaten whilst not on earth, particularly here on the island. She was hesitant deep down at first, but she soon got used to it and ended up loving the food she had in ffsct tried over the course of this trip. She was convinced that some Earth food just wouldn't be the same when they went home. Fia laughed slightly at John's comment, nodding in agreement ever so slightly animatedly. She really didn't want the sauce to be the last thing she consumed on this island, and she damn well knew she would be rushing to The House's bathroom and cleaning her teeth and tongue thoroughly to get rid of the taste of it.

As the next few rounds came to a natural end, Fia got up off the box she was sitting on and agreed with everyone else to call it a night. Kay got up off the couch when it was time to, feeling ready to head back to The House herself, knowing that if she was to get up super early for the sun rise then she'd need the sleep. "I guess we'll see you all in the morning at the crack of dawn so to speak" she said to Cliff and anyone who was joining them in the morning. "don't remind me!" Fia groaned but she was willing to do it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Everybody on the island intended to wake up early the next day, so that they could see the others off and in the case of the siblings and their parents, have one last meal together as it would be a good few months before they would all be in the one place again. Cliff nodded in response, smirking at how unenthusiastic Fia was sounding. "I would say I'd bring a massive thing of coffee along to cheer you up, but since that can't happen, it'll either be tea or whatever flavour of hot chocolate powder I can unearth from the cupboard." Rinaa visibly perked up at that idea, she wasn't a massive tea person, she'd drink it with a group if a large pot was being ordered between them, but on her own she'd stick to either coffee or thick ht chocolate (for the winter months). "Oh now THAT sounds like a plan." She grinned enthusiastically. "I'm really hoping you can find some orange hot chocolate. Whoever came up with the idea of orange hot chocolate deserves to be revered as a minor deity."

Elliott couldn't help but chuckle at the teenagers love declaration for orange hot chocolate as the group said their goodbyes to the others and began walking back. Cal and Cliff came with them, walking hand in hand. Elliott couldn't resist turning towards Moya with a smile and saying"Moya, take notes, I'm pretty sure we've just heard the secret to her heart." To which the girl smiled back and nodded pulling a small notebook (which had a pencil attached to it by a piece of string) from one of her pockets. "Already on it." She turned to Rinaa with a grin. "Do you spell that with one '[name of Attili alphabet character]' or two?" Rinaa couldn't help but laugh quietly at the whole thing.

Just before the boat group parted ways Elliott turned around. "According to Cliff sunrise will be anywhere between five and quarter past, so I guess you lot need to set an alarm for a bit before that, or in Fia's case, a lot of alarms." "Or one of us could just stand in the hallway of The House and play really bad saxophone jazz until you wake up." Rinaa added with a shrug and a grin.

 

[MzHyde]

With Cliff practically bribing her with either tea or hot chocolate, Fia had to chuckle ever so slightly and smile. "see now I have no choice but to get up if you're gonna lure me with hot chocolate in the morning!" she replied, showing she was perfectly okay with that. She agreed with Rinaa that orange hot chocolate was absolutely incredible, "agree with you there! But then again, I think the only type of hot chocolate I don't like is butterscotch" she told Rinaa. She really wasn't fussy when it came to that drink, and if she had to pick what her favourite was it would be a tie between orange and mint hot chocolate.

With everyone walking together, Kay chuckled at what Elliott said to Moya and Moya's reply and actions. She really did see how perfect Moya was for Rinaa and how well the girl fit into the group even if it was a temporary thing. As they got to the point where they usually parted away, she listened to what Elliott was saying, nodding thinking it would be something long those lines with the getting up time. Fia playfully glsted at Elliott for the remark that she'd need more alarms than anyone else, knowing he was correct but she wasn't going to agree to the comment. She then rolled her eyes at Rinaa's addition to the playful dig at her. "yeah yeah... Make the digs at the late riser..." she tried to brush it off with a smirk. "and if anyone blasts that kind of music outside my front door they're getting a boot to the face" she said, making it clear that she would gladly throw something at someone if given the chance, but she was also well aware she very much may need pulling out of bed as well.

Kay just heard a massive loophole in what Fia said, and she was damn sure that if she heard and saw the loophole in her kid's statement then everyone else would have done, meaning the morning was going to be very interesting indeed. She just decided to keep quiet about said loophole, deciding that she wasn't going to give Fia the forewarning of what she did.

 

[_gallifrog_]

For once Elliott and Jay knew exactly what Rinaa was referencing when she used the very specific wording of bad saxophone jazz'. When Rinaa had listed off the instruments she could play, the saxophone had been among them as an instrument she'd tried repeatedly, yet failed to truly grasp. Rinaa was all too aware of how bad her saxophone skills were, her Jay never lied when it came to telling Rinaa didn't have a talent for something. They didn't doubt that if there was a saxophone around and The House was actually willing to let her in she would happily give everybody that wake up call."Well in this context, there is nobody else to make digs at, WE can all get up at early hours with little bother. And you're hardly doing anything to stop being a target for our digs." Rinaa shrugged.

Everybody saw the loophole in Fia's statement, it was glaringly obvious, even to Moya who knew the group the least out of all of them. Without even looking at each other, they all came to the unanimous decision not to mention anything and let it all play out tomorrow. What John hose to say instead was "it's technically not your door y'know, The House is bonded to me, therefore any door in the place is my door." John wasn't even sure what kind of point he was trying to make, he just wanted contradict Fia somehow, without pointing out the really obvious loophole.

With all said the groups parted ways, Cal and Cliff heading back to the main house (now equipped with drinks orders), Elliott, Jay, Rinaa and Moya towards the boats and the others towards The House. As he entered, John couldn't help but think that this would be the last night he'd be spending in his own place for quite a while. Most likely they wouldn't be sleeping in The House again until they'd all left Attil safely, with Elliott hopefully very much alive. "Night Chas." He called to the cabbie, who gave a wave followed by a "night everyone" before heading to his room.

 

[MzHyde]

At Rinaa's words, Fia just sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew she was even worse at getting up than even Kay and Rinaa had a very valid point in what she said but that didn't stop her from try and defend herself in the name of good humour. She didn't actually mind being the subject of the jokes as she could infarct laugh at herself, despite how it may come across to some people. She just waved off Rinaa's word before looking at John when he decided to make some kind of remark to her own. "yeah yeah.." she brushed off his words, thinking what a typical almost fatherly remark it was that John said. Kay thought the same thing, John's words did almost come across as the typical 'actually it's my place as the adult and thus it's my door. Until you pay rent it's not yours' comment, making her smirk as she didn't think John realised what a father like comment it sounded.

With everyone parting ways, and Kay and Fia making it back to The House with Chas and John, both girls said goodnight to Chas before Fia went on up ahead by a few steps, skipping every other step as she went like usual. "night guys" she said, before heading to her room, where she did in fact set a good 6 alarms for the morning starting at quarter to 4 in the morning. She got changed and crashed on her bed. "night House, thanks for giving me my room from my time for this trip. You're the best" she found herself saying, having always loved the place, and always felt like in its own way it always protected her growing up.

Kay went to the room she shared with John, glad to see the bed, wasting no time in changing and getting into bed. She too realised that this would be the last time for a little while they'd be sleeping in familiar territory. "it's gonna be strange not coming back in here to sleep for a while after this week" she remarked to John.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John had no idea just how fatherly his remark sounded and Elliott could see that plain as anything. He knew that John was just being ass for the sake of it, that there was no deeper meaning to what he said. Yet somehow by just being himself his fatherly side shone through. Most said that John didn't care about anything or anybody outside of himself, which for the most part was true. John Constantine was a liar, a cheater, a con man and not afraid to manipulate anybody in his path to achieve his own goal. But there was a part of him that did care, some would say too much. It was why Astra was still such a sore topic all these years later, it was why he insisted his sister and niece change their name, it was why he kept Elliott a secret and and why he was so furious at the League for just handing him over, it was why he'd become attached to a mute teenager and gotten him out of the gang life, it was why he'd do anything to keep his god-daughter safe and it was why certain people called him when things went to shit. John was a complex man of many layers and even as a traumatised kid Elliott could see that and draw it. As Elliott turned away from the others and headed back to the boat there was a smirk on his face. "He genuinely had no idea what he sounded like back there." He remarked to Jay, who nodded in agreement. "I guess it's a sign of being good at it deep down, even if you don't know it yet." Her remark was cryptic and also applied to the fatherly side she'd glimpsed in Elliott.

John shut the door of their room, running his hand over the wood of it for a couple of seconds. Whenever he touched structural walls of The House he could feel a very faint humming- the feel of the bond that connected him to the The House. Usually John didn't feel the need to verify that he was still bonded to it, The House's existence in front of him was enough, but with everything to come, he wanted to be sure that the bond was still there. Removing his hand he made his way to the bed and began undressing, taking his coat and throwing it across the room in such a way that it landed precisely on the hook on the back of the door. As usual he stripped off his shirt and tie, finding it was most comfortable to sleep in just trousers. (Years of being woken in the middle of the night had helped him realise that he'd much rather be caught of guard shirtless than trouserless). At Kay's remark he nodded, finding that her thoughts were echoing his own. "Yeah it is, got nothin' against sleepin' at Cal and Cliff's place, but this is better. Home turf in a way. Even though The House is doing all kinds of crazy things trying to keep up two different layouts and two different timelines worth of stuff in here. The upper floors are pretty much entirely in flux and have been since Fia first entered."

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing the way John just seemingly effortlessly threw his coat on the coat hook made her smile, before she smiled more fondly as she watched him touch the wood of the bedroom door. She knew he was going to almost miss sleeping somewhere that his own for a while and it was clear as day the bond he had with the place. She listened to what John said, nodding in agreement. She liked Cal and Cliff's place but she had to admit The House was better. She also had an attachment growing for The House ever since they first slept together in one of the kitchens. "yeah, I couldn't agree more. But I keep thinking with Fia being born soon, we'll be spending more than enough time back here to make up for it" she smiled whilst chuckling fondly.

"do why don't you just come to bed and relax with me?" she said to him, patting the bed beside her. She just wanted to make the most of laying in this bed with him before he'd have to send The House away in the morning when they were done with getting all their things together, not to me tion she had a feeling it would be good for him also to do just that.

It didn't take Fia long to fall asleep once she got into bed, she took a few moments to really take in her room, knowing it would be hard to say another temporary goodbye to it but knowing it was for the best and it had to be done. Though it did make her feel for the first time a smidge homesick as it reminded her of when she first had to say goodbye and beg The House to not give her parents a clue of what she was doing before time travelling bsck to this time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John nodded in agreement, they hadn't explicitly discussed what would happen after Fia was born, but he was taking it as a given that they'd be spending the first few weeks, maybe even months in The House. They had no idea how strenuous the birth could be and with s small baby requiring round the clock looking after, John would rather be in The House where he knew it was one hundred percent safe as opposed to his apartment. No matter how safe the apartment would be with it's existing wards (and the extra ones he intended to put in when they got back), it's location was known by the League, and he fully expected at least Bruce and Zatana to show up demanding an explanation as to why he hadn't told them he had adopted a kid. That conversation was going to be bad enough without having to go 'oh yeah and by the way? Turns out phoenixes are real and I've kinda knocked one up'.

"Fair point, we'll be seein' a lot of this place when we do leave Attil." Thinking about it now, all they really needed to do to get back was for Cal, Cliff or Jay to fly them out of Attil's wardings and defensive sphere and John could simply summon The House for them to go home in. It would cut out the long days on a spaceship and give them the element of surprise over anybody or anything waiting for them to get back. "Doubt we'll get sick of it though, just keep findin' new bits and pieces to gawp at." At the next comment from Kay he couldn't resist coming back with a smart remark. "That eager to get me into bed?"He asked with a smug, cheeky smirk, before making his way over to the bed and lying down where she'd indicated.

 

[MzHyde]

If Kay's mind had even gone to the fact that the League would be coming round to ask John about Elliott and it could possibly lead to the fact that John would have to say something about her and Fia, she could have had many thoughts go through her head along the lines of 'guess the cat would have to come out the metaphorical bag at some point. Can't keep me a secret forever, just like the truth about Elliott had to come out'. As much as she didn't like the idea of possibly being tested on by Bruce or scrutinised by any other member of the League, she knew she couldn't be this hidden secret for their entire lives. Even if Fia did allude to the fact that the League didn't know about them even in her timeline. Luckily for the both of them, that conversation didn't need to come up and she trusted John's opinion and decision making on the whole matter anyway.

She smirked and nodded at his comment about finding new things to gawp at so they wouldn't get bored, knowing full well that would more than likely happen. "precisely, and it would be nice to see more of this place than just the library, kitchen and this room" she smiled at him. When he came out with the smart ass remark she just rolled her eyes at him smiling. "you caught onto my deep seeded thoughts. Well bugger me" she said sarcastically back as he made his way over and got into bed next to her. She shuffled up to next to him, finding it was the most comforting place to be and sighed happily. "but in all seriousness, its nice just relaxing in bed with you, and I wanna make the most of it as we can't just do our usual lazing about in bed together in the morning" she added with a smile.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the 'bugger me' remark John couldn't help but come back with "probably would if you weren't pregnant with Fia." It was no secret that he was annoyed at the universe for only giving him the opportunity to shag Kay twice before dumping the whole 'and by the way she's now pregnant with your child and the future of the phoenix race that demons will be after more than ever. No pressure' thing on him, with 'don't fuck this one up Johnny, it's practically the reason for your existence in the first place' added in as an afterthought. The first time had been frantic and chaotic and passionate and very much heat of the moment, and, if he was being honest, very damn good. The second time hadn't been as chaotic, but there was still an element of secrecy to it, sneaking away from the others and finding a hidden maintenance room on the ship.

Out of habit he put an arm around Kay as she shuffled up beside him in bed, he couldn't explain how, but it just felt right for them to be lying like that, even though the position wasn't always the most comfortable for him (his arm had a habit of going dead if he stayed in it for too long). But since Kay couldn't really lie any other way due to being pregnant, he wasn't going to start bitching. He'd been in worse positions before, and a numb arm was a small fry. He nodded in agreement with Kay's words, even if they hadn't planned to see the sunrise they would have lost a good few hours of sleep and all their time lounging around in order to make the launch window. "Yeah, it is nice. Though I probably should warn you, I'm not always like this when it comes to mornin's, you've just got lucky and caught me at a good time. I usually ain't like this, I have phases where sometimes, I lounge around like a large cat or something, other times I sleep through whole days and then other times where I can't sleep for long and certainly can't lie around in bed without going out of me nut. And that's when I'm sober."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at his comeback. It was no secret she too was annoyed at the fact she only got to shag John twice. The first times, despite being ever so slightly different in feel, was absolutely incredible. "that I don't doubt for a second, I actually miss our....moments" she smirked as she replied. She rested her head against his shoulder when he instinctively put his arm around her, she knew after a while it wasn't the most comfortable for him but she still appreciated that he did it anyway for her.

She listened to what he said, smiling and smirking at his comments about how he can be like when in bed. "well I'm fully prepared to deal with that. I can either be curled up in one little spot or spread right out in bed aswell." she told him. "so it won't bother me how I end up waking up to you in bed at any point, particular post baby bump" she chuckled. "but that's what makes the times we have just laid around together in the mornings all that more nice" she added, leaning up ever so slightly to kiss his cheek.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John listened to what Kay had to say, giving one nod to indicate that he understood. "Yeah, hearing that doesn't really bother me, I've dealt with worse." And by worse he meant the times he'd fallen asleep on the couch with young Elliott, who had punched and kicked John more than once mid-nightmare or other people he'd shared a bed with who acted out their dreams violently and then had the audacity the next morning to claim it had been John who'd been hogging the blankets. "More importantly neither of us snore, that's basically a deal breaker for me." John could fall asleep and stay asleep during most loud noises, but snoring was the one he just couldn't do.

He smiled ever so slightly when Kay gently kissed his cheek, enjoying the feeling of Kay's lips against his skin, even if it was so brief. He didn't return the gesture, that would require shifting his whole body and disturbing their comfortable position, but he suspected that their bond would convey his emotions on some level or another. "Yeah, true. And again, make the most of it would be my advice, somedays I won't actually be there when you wake up, more often than not if I wake up in the middle of the night I don't actually get back to sleep and go do something else instead of just lyin' there bored out of me skull." John had suffered from bouts of insomnia during his life, lying there thinking about how he should be sleeping never resulted in him sleeping, in fact it just made things worse, so instead he ended up reading or watching re-runs of old shows.

After checking their alarms were set and settling back into a more comfortable sleeping position John slipped into a light half sleep state. It was almost like lucid dreaming, he was aware of reality around him, but bits of his dreams snuck into it. The gurgling and creaking sounds of The House infiltrated this dream state and he was aware of the press of Kay's body, so much so that any small movements Kay made were enough to jolt him into wakefulness again. It would be about half an hour before he properly fell into a deep sleep. He wouldn't remember anything he dreamt about when the alarm did blare into life. His dreams consisted of various blurry and surreal moments, nothing making any sense of having any meaning he could discern.

 

[MzHyde]

It didn't surprise Kay that he would have dealt with worse, and she was definitely not one who snored which had been more than proven at this stage. "oh same, I can't stand people who snore" she smiled with a half chuckle. When she kissed his cheek, she just about saw him smile slightly at the touch whilst the bond did convey his emotions, warming her heart metaphorically speaking. She continued to listen to him agreeing with what she was saying, nodding in acknowledgement at his words, remembering the one time she woke up without him in the bed. "that's fine. If that ever happens with me, I'll either leave you a note where I am or I sleepwalked and its a finding game to where I am" she told him.

With the alarms set she snuggled back up to him, positioning herself so his arm wasn't as trapped as before, but she was still pressed against him for comfort and security. It helped her fall asleep easier as it just reminded her every night that she was in a safe place finally and didn't have to remain partially awake to make sure what was left of her belongings wasn't stolen. It didn't take her long before she was well and truly fast asleep, calmly and slowly breathing, barely dreaming to begin with before she dreamt of their future and her past all jumbled up together as snippets.

------

It was only when the alarms went off in the morning did she wake up with a yawn and a stretch. She stretched over to grab her phone and turn her alarm off before sighing, taking a moment to properly wake up.

Fia's alarms had been going off for a while and she slept through every single one. It was now onto the fifth out of the six alarms she set and still she didn't stir awake. She was cuddling her pillow and had one leg hanging off the edge of the bed, whilst the other was well and truly under the duvet. Her hair sprawled out behind her as she continued to sleep.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was actually awake a few minutes before his alarm started blaring. It was often the case that when he deliberately set an alarm for an unusually early or late time, his body would adapt and wake him up at the ideal time. He and Kay had set their alarms for the same time, figuring that two obnoxious noises coming from either side was bound to wake them up. John rolled over to one side, grabbed his phone, squinted at the screen in the gloom to verify that yes, this was an alarm and not somebody calling him in the middle of the night, then shut the alarm off.

Now awake he saw no point in hanging around and quickly began dressing himself, Cliff had warned them that it would be cold and to layer up, but John didn't bother to do so, choosing instead to dress in his usual clothing (which would also be comfortable to travel in). The cold didn't affect him like it did Kay or Fia, he'd probably just shove his hands in his coat or trouser pockets and that would be enough. Looking over to the side he saw that Kay was getting ready, albeit far slower than he was. "Chances of Fia being up?" he asked, leaning against the wall as he waited for her to finish bundling herself up in however many layers she deemed necessary.