Collective Mutants: Home Fires

by Rossi.

"Have you told them yet?"

Allison didn't answer the question straight away. Instead she stared out across the dusty yellow paddocks shimmering in the summer sun and felt a peculiar ache. In all her years in Melbourne, she had dreamed of these endless vistas, paddocks rolling away like waves under the clear blue bowl of the sky, until they met the dark blue ridge of the Grampians. That special smell of heat and dust and dry grass and eucalyptus. She thought she'd have been able to make the decision easily all along, since being sent as a mutinous teenager to live with city relatives because her unstable powers made her too much of a risk to stay. But now it had actually been made, she found herself almost scared.

"Not yet, Dave," she admitted at last, squinting into the summer glare. "But I'll have to soon- Karen'll be here for Chrissie in a few days, and I promised I'd go back with her for New Year's."

Her brother merely nodded. When she'd left, David had been a gangly, irritating fifteen year old, and they'd barely been able to sit at the same table that last year without fighting. To be sitting here on the back of their father's ute, talking quietly after working together feeding the sheep, would have been inconceivable back then. It seemed Allison hadn't been the only one to change during her absence.

"You'll sort it out. But if it's worth anything, I'm glad you came back. I think we work well together," he drawled at last, unconsciously echoing Allison's thoughts. She glanced at him, surprised by the sentiment, and he shifted uncomfortably. Working on the farm had added bulk to his height, streaked his brown hair with gold, given his skin the colour and consistency of new leather. It was like looking at a stranger. But his eyes were still the same blue as hers, and still sparkled with irrepressible humour. For a moment Allison contemplated hugging him, but settled on a light punch to his arm that raised hay dust from his shirt.

"C'mon," she said. "We're done here. Let's get back- I'm starving."

"We could raid Mum's mince pies." David grinned, reached over and tipped Allison's hat down over her eyes. "Bags I driving- you get the gates."

"Hey! That's not fair! You drove on the way down!" she protested, shoving her hat back and jumping down from the tray. Too late. He'd already claimed the driver's seat.

* * *

There is something unmistakable about the cleaning done before the return home of the person who usually does it. It's always left to the last minute, for one thing. And as time wears on, panic sets in.

"James! I thought I asked you to do the vacuuming!" Fatimah's normally sweet light voice had taken on a definite shrill edge.

"I am," James replied, unperturbed. "Can't you hear it?" Sure enough, there was a roar of a motor and the rumble of small wheels across the floor upstairs, despite the fact that James was sitting at the kitchen table, reading an electronics magazine and finishing off the last of the Christmas cake his mother had given them. He waved at the circuitry snake that ran into a nearby power point from his foot. "I've made a few adjustments, and it runs on remote. I can watch it from here." He went to resume his reading, but Fatimah had snatched up the magazine. "Hey!"

"Since you can do two things at once, you can wash the dishes," she said with a smile that had nothing to do with being nice. James considered protesting- he wasn't exactly domesticated- but the way Fatimah was looking at him with his magazine rolled up in her hand gave him pause for thought.

"I know, I'll do the dishes," he suggested, getting up and heading for the sink, after untangling his cable from the chair legs and extending it. He poked around in the cupboard underneath for the rubber gloves-water and bio-circuitry didn't mix, especially when you were plugged into the mains via the vacuum cleaner.

Fatimah gave him an approving nod and opened the laundry/bathroom door. She quickly closed it again, a look of sheer disgust on her face. James grinned. To judge by the smell of sweaty socks, he wouldn't be the only downtrodden male in the house.

"FISH!" screeched Fatimah down the hall. James would not have believed such a tone was possible from the delicate "Fairy" if he hadn't heard it himself. Neither did Fish, to judge from his dazed reply. He'd been napping on the couch after a catch-up session down the pub with Robbo and his mates the night before, and was feeling exceedingly seedy.

"Si, Mama? Cosa e`?" A whack across the head from James' magazine soon woke him up.

"There is a pile of gym gear in the laundry that is being to _fester_," Fatimah told him, hovering on light butterfly wings so she could both make eye contact with the six-footer and hit him across the head again if required. "Karen and Allison are due back in a few hours. If that laundry isn't done by then, I will personally throw your entire wardrobe in the bin. And you after it."

"Aren't there laws about the disposal of toxic waste?" came James' voice from the kitchen.

Fish blinked at her. Faced with a hang-over and a four-foot tall winged female giving him death-glares and threatening him with rolled-up magazines, he did what any red-blooded male would do. He shrugged.

"And don't forget to take out the rubbish!" Fatimah called after him as he shuffled blearily down the hall. Fish waved- the gesture could have meant any number of things- and shambled into the kitchen, leaving Fatimah to straighten out the lounge room.

In the kitchen, Fish looked from James, wearing Allison's apron and up to his elbows in soapy water, to the laundry, and back again.

"You're looking a bit green around the gills," joked James. "Rough night?"

"You could say that," Fish grunted. He opened the laundry door and swayed back as the stench penetrated the fog in his brain. He looked at James again.

"You wouldn't know how to use a washing machine, would you?" he asked.

* * *

"This feels strange," said Allison as she and Karen walked up Hope Street from the tram stop. She shifted her backpack to a more comfortable position. "I feel like I've been gone for years."

"Five minutes back and it'll feel like you never left," laughed Karen. The gate gave its usual squeal as she pushed it open. "Welcome home."

‘Not any more, not really,' Allison couldn't help thinking, remembering her conversation with David before Christmas. She still hadn't told the others of her decision to return home in the new year.

"That's odd," Karen remarked, looking down at the damp patch on the doorstep. "I hope we haven't burst a pipe." Sudsy water flowed over their feet and down the steps as she opened the door. "What the hell?" The law student looked nonplussed down at the foamy tide, while Allison's grin widened. "Hello? We're back!"

"Already?" came Fatimah's voice from the kitchen. She sounded stressed. "But we're not ready yet!"

"I can see that," laughed Allison. "What's with all the water?" Fatimah's reply was largely unintelligible to her, being in Turkish, but Allison knew swearing when she heard it.

"Fish did what?" Karen's grasp of Fatimah's first language was better than Allison's. She chuckled as they splashed their way down to the kitchen.

It was impossible not to laugh at the scene that awaited them. James was marooned on the kitchen table, sitting cross-legged and reading his magazine, offering the occasional ‘helpful' comment. The kitchen and laundry were completely flooded with soapy water, and Fish was standing somewhat sheepishly in the middle of it with a mop. As Karen and Allison came in, Fatimah swooped down on them, declaring:

"I _hate_ boys!"

"You made Fish do his laundry?" Allison snickered, while Karen patted the small butterfly girl sympathetically on the shoulder. "No time to visit Mama?"

"Very funny," Fish grumbled. "You're almost as funny as Jim here."

"I did suggest that a whole box of soap powder might not be a good idea," James said mildly. He waved to Allison, tendrils of circuitry reaching out from his fingers to tickle her cheek. "Glad to be back, Allison?"

"I'm glad to see things haven't changed while I've been gone," she replied, laughing and batting the electronics away. "And didn't I always say Fish's laundry was dangerous?"

* * *

Later, after the excess water had been swept out and the floors were drying, the reunited household sat in the back garden, enjoying the afternoon sun and catching up on three months' news.

"It was only a mild heart attack, and if he's careful and watches his diet and takes his pills, the doctors say he should be fine," Allison said, leaning back in the deckchair and taking a long swallow of her beer. Fish had gallantly offered her his favourite piece of furniture as the ‘prodigal returned'. "But I've never seen anyone who hates being sick as much as Dad. Sometimes we thought about tying him to the bed so he'd stay put."

"Reminds me of someone I know," Karen added, winking at Allison, who merely poked out her tongue in reply. "But he was doing a lot better when I was there." She was sitting with her back against the house, her long brown legs stretched out in front of her.

"Only because you're his favourite nurse." Allison flicked a twig at her room-mate. "Oh, and he loved that little robot sheep-dog you made for him, Blue. He's got it trained to round up Mum's chooks. How on earth did you get it to do that?"

"I cannibalised my little sister's Furby," James chuckled. He was sitting on the back steps, now that they'd dried, by virtue of being the only one who could reach the fridge without standing on the wet floors. After having to get up for the third time to get Fish a beer, he'd given up his spot next to Fatimah on the bench for the steps.

"Didn't she mind?" asked Karen.

"She doesn't know about it yet."

"Don't expect me to save you when she finds out, Jim," Fish mumbled. Five beers and the comfort of James' purple beanbag were putting him back to sleep. Allison nudged him with her foot.

"Speaking of heroes, what's the story with you two blokes any way? First it's you doing roadside service for bingled bikers, and then James decides to set circuits on ‘simmer' and boldly go were no mutant except me has gone before. You're not thinking of running away to join the X-Men or something?"

"Nah, we turned them down." With Allison's Akubra over his face, they couldn't see, but it sounded like Fish was grinning. "Jim couldn't decide on a nifty enough code name."

"Besides, I've just paid my annual membership to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants," James retorted. "The pay's better and they give you a free set of dissecting knives." They all laughed, and the sound gave Allison another of those queer aches. She pushed it away.

"Things ready for this New Year's bash?" she asked instead.

"You bet," Fish said, starting to sound a bit more enthusiastic. "We've got plenty of beer. I made a deal with Johnno down at the Rainbow for a few kegs."

"Do you know anyone whose name doesn't end in ‘o'?" asked Fatimah from the bench, where she was stretched out on her stomach, glucose drink in hand. "Robbo, Johnno, Simmo, Daveo…"

"Don't forget Jimbo here," Allison chimed in, winking at James.

"Sure I do." Fish pretended to sound hurt. "There's Mad Dog. And Macca."

"Fine you win." Fatimah propped her chin on her fist so she could look over at Allison. "We've also invited everyone we know to help us drink all that beer…"

"Since when have I needed help?"

"And my cousin with the restaurant and Karen's friend Manuela are helping with food," Fatimah continued, ignoring Fish.

"Looks like you've got things under control," Allison observed, feeling a little put out. It seemed they didn't need her after all.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there'll be a last minute emergency for you to deal with," teased Karen, seeing the slight pout on Allison's face.

"Adrian said he has a special surprise for me." As Fatimah's smile grew positively dreamy, the more immature member of the group made rude noises. "You're just jealous, Raphael."

"Of you and Adrian? Alas, my secret passion for salesmen is out!" Fish clutched at his chest dramatically. "I am undone!" Allison grabbed her hat and whacked him with it.

"And here I thought you were pining away for me," she huffed, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Some undying love that was!" Fish rolled out of the beanbag and onto his knees in front of her deckchair.

"Oh, but I was! I‘ve been wasting away for you, waiting for this day! Say but the words and I will be your undying slave!" he proclaimed amid general laughter and cheers.

"Say the words, eh?" Allison contemplated the lanky form at her feet. "Okay, how's this? Get me a beer."

"You're a cruel woman," Fish sighed theatrically, and signalled James for another stubby. "I think you're just toying with me."

"You've only just worked that out?" snickered James as he snagged the beer with his circuitry. The hardest part was convincing it to let go once he'd reeled it in; it had developed a taste for the stuff. "I managed to talk Cynthia into turning up to the party, provided we keep Robbo away from her."

"He keeps tormenting the poor girl," Fatimah explained to Allison. "He found out how shy she is, and keeps trying to get her to talk to him."

"Maybe he actually likes her," Fish said in defence of his best friend.

"Now that I would pay to see," Allison laughed. "One half of the Twins of Evil and the bloke whose claim to fame is being able to fart the national anthem."

"He doesn't!" Fatimah squeaked in disbelief. Allison nodded.

"He does, especially after eating Indian food. Remember that time I came with you guys to the footy and we went to the pub afterwards?" she asked Fish, who had rearranged his length on the beanbag. He chuckled.

"I remember. Robbo was standing on the bar, giving us the full performance, and you decided to make things a bit more spectacular."

"Oh God, Ali, don't tell me you-" Karen couldn't finish, collapsing into giggles. Allison's reply was to snap her fingers, generating a small yellow flame from her fingertip. General hilarity ensued.

"Poor bastard didn't know what hit him," gasped Fish, almost rolling off the beanbag again. "One minute he's doing the "Our land is girt by sea" bit, the next he's got a blue flame shooting out of his arse and down the length of the bar! We had to put him out with a jug of beer!"

"Ow, Raphael, stop, I can't laugh any more." Fatimah clutched her ribs. "The poor boy! What did he do?"

"Couldn't sit down for a week and swore off curry," Allison giggled, wiping her eyes. "He doesn't know it was me- he thought it was Fish with a cigarette lighter."

"He _still_ blames me for that when he's really pissed," Fish grumbled, still snickering. "I think you traumatised him."

"No more than you traumatised Fatimah during your first week here," Karen countered. James looked questioningly at her, while Fish went uncharacteristically quiet and blushed to the roots of his sandy hair.

"I don't remember this. What happened?" Allison asked.

"When Fish moved in, he was having problems with his mutation: he couldn't go a couple of hours without getting wet, or he moulted scales all over the place."

"_That_ I do remember. Ick." Allison made a face, remembering a blocked vacuum cleaner hose.

"Well, one night he gets up to soak in the bath, but falls asleep instead. None of us knew he was there until we heard the screams next morning."

"You'd have screamed too, if you had found a naked fish-man in the bath when you went to have a shower!" protested Fatimah. She was blushing too, but thanks to her darker skin, it wasn't too noticeable. Fish had gone beet red by this stage. "It was so embarrassing, having to look at him at breakfast later!"

"You're telling me," mumbled the unfortunate amphibian mutant. "You didn't have to throw your shampoo bottle at me though."

"You were going to stand up! I had to do something!"

"If it's any consolation, Fish, Allison has her own naked story," Karen chuckled, ignoring the daggered looks she was getting from her room-mate. "I remember Allison streaking through the house starkers because she'd accidentally incinerated her clothes. Again. Used to be a regular occurrence."

"Before my time, unfortunately," sighed Fish. Unluckily for him he was close enough for Allison to kick him. "Ouch!"

"You swore you'd never tell that story to a living soul!" growled Allison. Karen merely laughed and made a face. "And the worst thing is I don't have anything to embarrass you with, ‘Saint Kaz'."

"I do," James said unexpectedly. The other four looked at him in surprise. This would be the end of his first year in the house, so he often felt a little left out of these story-telling sessions. "I came home early one morning…"

"Oh, no…" Karen groaned, hiding her face.

"What was she doing?" asked Fatimah breathlessly, a smile already twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"She was watching ‘Sailor Moon'."

"What's so embarrassing about that?" asked Fish. "I watch ‘Teletubbies' when I'm really pissed."

"That's the only way to watch that show," shuddered Allison. Karen, meanwhile, had hidden her face in her hands again.

"The difference is, you don't make little shadow versions of the characters, including your own, and project them on the walls," James continued. "Karen had her own little Sailor Shadow fighting along with the rest of them."

"That's so cute!" cooed Fatimah, amidst the general laughter. Karen mock-glared at James.

"You are so dead, Blue," she growled, unable to hide the grin on her face.

"Promises, promises."

The rest of the day was lost in a general blur of beer and talk and laughter. Eventually they ordered pizza, or at least Fatimah did, being the only one sober enough to use the phone and able to remember everyone's pet dislikes. Evening deepened over the small garden, bringing out the mosquitoes and the Aeroguard, but not even this could break up the impromptu party.

At one stage Allison found herself looking around the four faces of her housemates, thinking that what Karen had said was right: it was like she'd never been away. It only made things harder.

* * *

The next morning. Allison sat in the front doorway in her shortie pyjamas with the sheep on them, nursing a very strong coffee and letting the already warm sunlight play on her face as she woke up. Being back on the farm for the last three months had re-set her internal alarm for six o' clock, and not even the previous nights' festivities could over-ride it. The little robotic sheep James had built for her was wandering along the front path, pausing to "Baa" every few steps. Whenever it got too far away, Allison slapped her bare leg gently, and the sound brought it ambling back.

She yawned, resting her head against the door frame. The others wouldn't be up for hours yet. Lambert trundled along happily, and she made a face.

"It's all right for you, you've got it easy."

The little toy stopped and ‘baaed' at her in a inquiring way.

"Yeah, you do. You just wander along, doing your thing, no-one expects you to do anything else. And you don't have to worry about people getting upset with you because of the choices you make."

"Baa."

"You try telling your friends that you're moving out. Then try and tell me it's hard being a small robotic sheep."

"You know, talking to non-sentient objects could be considered a bit weird."

Allison yelped, startled by the voice, and lifted her head to look at James as he sat down next to her. The electronics wizard was dressed in his usual morning attire of boxers and baggy T-shirt. The boxers had Marvin the Martian all over them.

"You look like shit," she said helpfully, shoving her hair back out of her face. James grunted. "Here, you need this more than I do." She handed him the coffee mug.

"Thanks," he said, taking a slow sip and sighing in appreciation. "I feel disgusting."

"I shouldn't be surprised, the amount you were putting away last night. What are you doing up any way?"

"I forgot to turn my alarm off last night."

"So? Why not just turn it off and go back to sleep?"

"Because it's been… ‘improved'."

"Uh-oh." Allison giggled. James' ‘improvements' of various appliances around the house were becoming legendary, or at least infamous. Especially after the time Allison had fried the toaster: James had been watching ‘Red Dwarf' repeats and had thought the Talkie Toaster was a nifty idea. "What does it do now?"

"Plays Spice Girls and can't be switched off once it goes off. And this early in the morning I can't focus enough to re-program it." James lowered his face onto his knees and groaned. "Cynthia's idea of a Christmas present. I'm going to kill her." Allison rescued her coffee before it spilled. At their feet, Lambert stopped and "Baaed".

"Still got him, I see." James re-appropriated the coffee and took another long sip. "So, when are you leaving?"

"Ah. You heard that then."

"Be hard not to. I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than you need to, though."

"Keen to see me leave, are you?"

"No! Of course not!" James was stung by the accusation. "It's just… well, I thought you wanted to go home some day. And now you have your powers under control, and your folks trust you with them, there's not really any reason for you to stay here. Apart from us, of course." Miserably James nudged Lambert, who had been attracted by their voices, with his foot, sending the little toy off in another direction. "You always said you were going home when you could. And now you can, can't you?"

"I suppose so." Allison sighed. "I'm sorry, Blue, I didn't mean to bite your head off like that. I'm confused, that's all. I want to go, but I don't want to leave here. You guys are my mates."

"We still will be, even if you go home. There's the wonders of modern technology, and I could always rig the phone line again…"

"After the serving Karen gave you about defrauding Telstra?"

"Well, maybe not that. But just because you're going home doesn't mean we'll forget you. _I_ won't, for starters. You've always been a good friend to me."

"Don't get all mushy on me. It's too early." Allison sighed again and looked down at the little robot sheep. "I was trying to think of a way to tell you guys. But I kept putting it off…"

"Because you weren't sure how we'd react?" James risked giving his housemate a quick squeeze around the shoulders. "We'd be pretty crappy friends if we didn't back you up."

"I know. Today. Definitely. At breakfast."

Behind them, Fish's door creaked open, and the dishevelled medical student shambled out.

"Then again, there's no time like the present," James muttered under his breath. Fish cleared his throat, running his hand up over his stubbled face and through the truly spectacular case of bed head.

"'S funny," he said at last. "I could have sworn I heard you say you were leaving. Funny the things you think you hear when you're half-asleep and hung-over." ‘Prove me wrong. Please,' his bloodshot eyes said.

"You heard right," said Allison quietly. It was the moment she'd been dreading, but now it had arrived she was relieved. "I'm moving back home after New Year's."

"But…" Words built up, jammed in his throat: he could only look at her and hope she could see what he was trying to say in his expression. "I thought we were mates," he managed at last.

"We are. We still will be." Allison reached up with her hand. "I thought you'd be pleased for me. It's what I've been trying to do for as long as you've known me."

The medical student looked at the proffered hand, the muscles in his jaw working, his Adam's apple bobbing. Then he turned without a word and stomped off down the hall to the bathroom.

"I don't get it. I didn't think he'd take it that badly."

"Neither did I." James frowned. "What should we do?"

"I dunno… He'll come ‘round, eventually. But right now I'm going to make a start on breakfast, and then tell Karen and Fatimah what's going on before they hear it second hand."

"You sure? After Fish…"

"It can't possibly get any worse, can it?"

"Famous last words."

* * *

The sun beat down on Allison's back as she weeded between the lemon balm and the Vietnamese mint. Both were showing signs of feeling the heat, despite the cooler corner they had been planted in, the mint's long narrow leaves red and dry along the edges. It had been another hot day, and the late afternoon air was still thick and heavy. Allison wiped her arm across her sweating face, grimacing at the gritty feel of the air. She found herself longing for the clean dry heat of the farm, the air heavy with dust and dry grass. Still, she'd be there again soon, now that she'd finally done the deed…

"We're just going down for a gelati, want to come?" Karen asked from the doorway. "Or are you still sulking that I spoiled your little dramatic moment?"

"I don't sulk." Alison looked up at her room-mate, squinting against the glare, her grin white against her tanned face. "Well, maybe a bit. But you did go and steal my thunder, y'know." Karen chuckled.

"You big galah. You've been working yourself up for ages for this big announcement…"

"…and my mum's already blabbed. I knew I should have duct-taped her mouth while you were there."

"It's not her fault really. She was worried about you tying yourself in knots over leaving and not knowing how to tell us."

"So she did it for me. Typical." Allison shook her head over the deviousness of mothers. "So, you don't mind?"

"Of course I mind. You're my best friend, you've been here with me since the beginning, almost. But I'm not selfish enough to stand in your way. I'm just rapt that you've finally made it. And just a little bit egotistical enough to take a small portion of the credit." Ducking the weeds Allison threw at her with a snort, Karen continued. "So, do you want gelati or not?"

"Is Fish coming?"

"Still holed up in his room, as far as I know." Karen wrinkled her nose. "Now _there's_ someone who sulks." Allison sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt off her knees and grimacing as she straightened her back.

"Don't I know it." She rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should talk to him. Bring me back some lemon and strawberry?"

"Sure. See you in a bit. Try and leave the place standing, okay?" Allison snorted again at her friend's departing back. She heard a brief murmur of voices, then the front door closing.

"Right." She dusted off her hands, a glint in her eyes. "He's sulked long enough."

* * *

"You think it's a good idea, leaving them alone like that?" James asked, catching drips of chocolate ice cream as they ran down the cone. "They'll probably tear the house down."

"Better that than to put up with stony silences for the rest of the time she's here," said Karen, wiping a blob of peach off her nose. "Fish needs his arse kicking for being such a prick."

"He's certainly not acting like the Goldfish Lad we know and love," agreed James. "What's the problem, do you think?"

"No idea."

"He's in love." Two heads, one dark and curly, the other red and tousled, swivelled to look down at Fatimah, demurely eating her raspberry and vanilla cone.

"In love? With who?" James squeaked in a most unmanly way.

"Allison, of course."

"No way!"

"Why not?" The butterfly girl looked up at Karen, her almond shaped eyes amused, and a little smug. It wasn't often she knew something the uni students didn't. "It's obvious, from the way he's been moping about the house while she's been gone, to how excited he was when she rang to say she was coming back. And now she's leaving again, this time for good, well, he thinks he's losing her."

"But Fish… and _Allison_?! They'd kill each other!" James shook his head in disbelief.

"It might explain things… Do you think he'll tell her?" mused Karen. Then she shook her head. "No, this is just plain wrong."

"I'm not sure. Raphael doesn't like to be made fun of- he might think she'll laugh at him. Has she ever said anything?"

"No, never." Karen nibbled thoughtfully at her ice cream cone. "But she's always been quiet about that stuff."

"But… this is Fish and Allison we're talking about here." James seemed unable to get past this point. "I mean, they… he… it _can't_ be!"

"Anything is possible," Fatimah replied with a mischievous laugh, letting the slight breeze lift her gently into the sky.

* * *

"Fish? It's me. I thought you might like something to drink. It's a stinker out there." Allison tapped on the closed door, feeling absurdly like her mother. Any moment now she'd break into the adages. Possibly something about not letting the sun go down on their anger.

Or his anger, anyway. She was more hurt and bewildered than anything. Although if he continued to ignore her, that might change. She knocked again, louder.

"Piss off," came the muffled reply- it sounded like he was lying on his bed with his head under the pillow.

"No, I won't," she said firmly. "I'm going to stay here until you stop being such an idiot and _talk_ to me. Or do you want me to burn the lock out?"

There was another silence, broken only by the clink of ice against the glass of apple juice in her hand. Then there was a squeak of bedsprings, the thump of feet on the floor, and the reluctant turning of the key in the lock.

"Can't have you losing your bond money," Fish said bitterly, turning his back on her to shuffle back to his bed. He looked a mess- eyes still bloodshot, hair spiky with sweat, his loose cotton shirt unbuttoned and hanging open over his black board shorts; Allison could see his gills gaping. And his skin looked dry, almost flaking. Even as she took this in, he started scratching at the scales that now covered the backs of his hands and his arms up to the elbows.

"You bloody idiot, you've been locked up in here all day with no water?" It wasn't really a question. Fish shrugged.

"S'pose so."

"In this heat? You stupid bastard, you know better than anyone about heat exhaustion! Look at yourself, you're a bloody mess!" Allison thrust the glass at him. "Drink that. I'll be right back."

Fish reflexively took the glass, staring after her retreating back in bemusement as she stomped back up the hall. There was the faint jingle of the curtain rings on the bath, and then the sound of running water. The sound of returning stomping prompted him to quickly finish the juice. He had to admit, it made him fell better.

Allison reappeared in his doorway, hands balled on her hips. "Right, let's get you into the bath."

"Stop treating me like I'm a moron. ‘M fine"

"I will when you stop acting like one. And no, you're not. You can barely stand up."

"'Course I can." Eager to prove his point, Fish stood, then swayed as the colour drained out of his vision. "Oops." Then Allison's shoulder was there, her arm slipping around his waist.

"See?" she said. Fish was feeling too dizzy and sick to argue the point. He let her help him down the hall to the bathroom, where the bath was partly full.

"Now, are you going to behave, or do I have to throw you in there?" she asked. Something about her expression told him misbehaving wouldn't be the most sensible thing to do. Meekly he peeled off his shirt and shuffled into the bath, leaving his shorts on for decorum's sake. He didn't think Allison would appreciate full frontal nudity at this stage. Or at any stage, truth be told. He leaned back in the tub, letting the water wash over his choked gills, and fairly sighed with relief…

…At least until Allison turned the shower on full blast.

"EYAHHH!" he yelled, bolting upright. The water was icy cold: on his hot skin, it was shocking. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

Allison smirked a little before turning off the water. "Just wanted to get your attention. You've been pointedly refusing to speak to me all day, so I thought I'd make sure you were listening to me."

"You could have just asked, y'know," Fish grumbled with a shiver. Luckily his mutant metabolism was quickly adapting. "Fine. What did you want to say?" He looked up at her, expecting the usual glare, and was instead deeply alarmed to see tears standing in her eyes. "Oh, shit, Ali, don't…"

"I can't help it," she sniffled, flopping down on the floor beside the bath. "Fish, I thought we were friends. I know you don't want to see me go, but I don't want to leave like this. This is awful. I hate it when you're pissed off at me."

"Why shouldn't I be? You're leaving." Somehow the words didn't sound half as good as they had in his imagination when he'd played this scene out his head. Then again, being in the bath in his board shorts with Allison blubbering on the bathmat hadn't featured in the fantasy either.

"Oh, grow up!" she retorted, a flash of her old temper returning. "This isn't about you. This is about me going back to the one place I feel truly happy. It's about being able to take my place in the family again, without Mum and Dad following me around with a fire extinguisher in case I set fire to something. It's about being able to talk to my little brother like a human being, and not like some freak!" She paused, skin glowing slightly as her emotional state fuelled her powers. Fish was secretly impressed. Even a year ago she would have been setting off the smoke alarm by now. "I would have thought you would have realised that, Fish. You guys, here in this house, have been the only people I could depend on, the ones I could trust. You always have treated me like a person, a friend, not some kind of joke, or walking farm tool." If the expression in her eyes just about broke Fish's resolve, her next words completed the job. "I thought I could count on you to back me up."

Awkwardly, Fish leaned over to grab her shoulders as the tears that had threatened returned with a vengeance. "I'm sorry mate, I'm an arsehole. Just ignore me, what I think doesn't matter. I didn't mean it. Don't cry…" He patted her on the back as she hiccoughed and snuffled into his shoulder, wishing he'd kept his shirt on. Allison was a messy crier. Then again, this had possibilities. ‘Maybe I should…'

The storm passed. Allison sniffled a few more times, and pulled back, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she managed at last, through the hiccoughs and gulps. "Ick. I snotted on you."

Fish grimaced. "Yuck. Pass me the bog roll, will you?" He wiped the mess off his chest with the wad of toilet paper she passed him. She blushed slightly pink.

"Y'know, not many blokes would let me dribble snot all over them like that. Not without expecting something in return." Her smile was watery and shaky. "But that was always the best thing about our friendship. We're _friends_ None of that stupid boy/girl stuff getting in the way and complicating things."

‘Then again, maybe I won't.' Fish grinned lopsidedly at her. "Truce?"

"Truce." She tilted her head, looking at him. "You look a lot better."

"Being dunked in a bath and then cried on does wonders. You should be the medic, not me." He ducked as she swatted him across the top of the head.

"I'll leave you to it." She clambered to her feet again, wincing at the cracking of her knees. "Karen and the other two will be back soon." Fish watched her pause at the door. "I'm glad we talked."

"Is that what you call it?" Fish grinned, ready to duck in case she threw something at him- the bathroom cabinet was uncomfortably messy with various hard plastic things that would hurt if they hit. "But yeah, you're right. We shouldn't fight."

"I won't if you won't."

"Done." There was the sound of the front door slamming, and voices filled the hallway.

"Sounds like they're back. Karen said she'd bring me some lemon gelati. You want some?"

"Sure thing, mate." Allison smiled at that, and it seemed to Fish the small bathroom lit up.

"No worries, _mate_." He watched her bound out of the bathroom, ponytail swinging behind her. With a small sigh, he turned on the tap with his toes, and settled back into the tub.

The End.

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