They asked for Johnny Storm being childhood friends with (supposedly) one-sided feelings.
I don't usually write for superheroes, despite them being one of my special interests, much less for anything Fantastic Four related, but I did my best.
Content under the cut!
You hated this.
You had known Johnny Storm since forever, and it was the bane of your existence.
First, it was his status as the most popular guy in school. Always flirting and taking nothing seriously in the history of forever. He would tease everybody and seemingly get away with murder or daylight robbery, minding the poor choice of words.
Then he went ahead and decided to go into space without telling anyone, much less you, and came back with the ability to set things on fire, including himself, and proceeded to be a superhero in the process.
Which was fine, you kept telling yourself.
You had known Johnny Storm forever.
Childhood friends, as it were.
He always came back to you.
Right?
You wiped down the counter of the bakery you worked at as if it owed you money, too lost in your own thoughts to notice the customers coming in.
Johnny has always been a shining light in the darkness.
Always quick with a joke, always smiling, always making other people feel better one way or another, no matter how much his jokester nature got on your nerves from time to time. It was the status quo growing up. Sure, his mom died in a car accident, and his dad killed a loan shark in self-defense and horribly lost himself on the sauce on the worst of days, but you never saw Johnny let it get to him. Always putting other people first.
You admired him a lot.
He was always taking something dark and lighting it up.
It was ironic, you thought to yourself, that he took on the name The Human Torch.
A torch lights up the way for other people so they can keep going forward.
A torch can give hope.
A torch means new beginnings.
A torch is bright and good and useful.
Which is precisely what Johnny decided to be when the Fantastic Four was created.
Useful.
Always helping.
Still Johnny.
Never mind that he could fly, you sighed heavily. The counter was clean enough as it was. It was borderline shining so much that you could see your own reflection.
You looked away, adjusting your headphones, and you decided the next reasonable step was to check if the coffee maker was still functional and working as intended.
It was, but it made it look as if you were busy with something.
Of course Johnny could fly, you continued your mental tirade. Why wouldn’t he be able to?
Johnny was always a dreamer. He aimed high. He leaped over expectations. He soared above the competition. It was frustrating to see someone dodge every obstacle while assuming everyone was on the same page. He was untouchable.
No, that wasn’t fair. You gently bonked your head against the coffee machine. Johnny was incredible in every way that mattered. You shouldn’t let your own insecurities get the better of you like this. You should be proud of Johnny. In fact, you are proud of Johnny.
He was the best version of himself right now.
Brand deals, fancy cars, media coverage, local stardom, saving the world, being well-liked by so many people- Johnny was at the top of the game and killin’ it.
He was untouchable.
A living sun, giving his light and letting it reflect off of others, so everyone else shone brighter as a result.
A hero.
You’re just… you.
Knuckles rapped on the counter beside you. Red, covered in black like webbing- Spider-Man. You managed to smile to yourself. He was a regular.
Without looking up, you bent down and picked up an order you especially set aside for him and let him take it without charge. Spider-Man does a little finger salute as per usual and goes on his way without another word.
“What!?” That familiar voice shouted indignantly.
That time your head popped up.
Johnny’s head kept snapping from the front door, where Spider-Man left, to where you were behind the counter. “Seriously!? For free?”
“Yes.” You say bluntly, quickly trying to brush away your thoughts before the bitter tone could seep into your voice and tip him off. “I cover him. It’s fine.”
“You cover-!” Johnny cut himself off, pressing his hands over his nose as if taking a deep breath. “Ok, that’s stopping. You’re not covering for him anymore. He can buy his own burrito and coffee. He’s a grown man.”
“He’s my favorite hero!” You say with a bright smirk, knowing how much it was going to set Johnny off as it was. “He can have a free coffee. Sometimes I throw in a donut or a croissant for him as a little extra thank you for what he does around the city, you know?”
As expected, you visibly see the twitch in Johnny’s eyes before he changes tactics and leans over the counter. He throws on a smirk and what you assume to be his version of “The Smoulder” as he rests his chin on the back of his hand. “What about me? How come I don’t get a free coffee as your favorite hero?”
“Because you’re a celebrity.” You fire back without missing a beat. You smiling grows, blooming more easily at the familiar banter. The earlier note to your thoughts quickly becomes a distant memory. “That, and I’m fifty percent sure that Spider-Man is homeless.”
Johnny quickly deadpans before he straightens up, holding his palms out placatingly. “Ok, ok, ok- Valid point. I’ve seen the man’s apartment. You’re not entirely wrong.”
You nearly dropped a glass at his casual response, but Johnny keeps talking. “I can understand why you’d say Spider-Man is your favorite hero. Solid choice. He’s mine too. I can’t get mad at you for that one. So, who’s your favorite Fantastic Four member then?”
“Sue.” You blurt without thinking much of it.
Johnny’s eye twitches again, and you bite your tongue to keep yourself from laughing at his expense. You begin to make his usual while he stares at you hard enough to combust you on the spot. Your cheeks grow warm, but you’re sure that’s because of his fire powers.
“...Another fair answer.” He says slowly. “Who’s your favorite fire-based hero who’s named Johnny?”
You can feel the lack of poker face. A mischievous smile grows on your face before you can stop it. Johnny narrows his eyebrows, daring you to continue teasing him, but he makes it far too easy.
“Ghost Rider.”
“OH COME ON!” Johnny slams the counter with his palms and takes a frustrated little walk around the bakery as he rakes his hand through his hair. “Now you’re just being mean to me.”
You start laughing.
“H-... How do you even know his name?” Johnny gapes at you as he makes his rounds to return to his spot, shaking his hands free of the little sparks that danced off his fingers so he wouldn’t accidentally damage the establishment.
You shrug, easy smile on your lips. “He’s a regular.”
“He’s a regular?!” Johnny snarls, palms on the counter, leaning in again as if the Ghost Rider has somehow infringed on his territory.
“I don’t know. He just comes in sometimes.” You say, shrugging again. You hand Johnny his coffee. It’s enough to shock him out of his little scene.
He takes the coffee, calming down at once. “But I didn’t order-”
“Best friend privileges.” You wave him off with a wink. You’ve teased him enough, you decide. “I’ll cover for you, too.”
Johnny instantly softens and sits at one of the stools beside the counter. “Whew… You almost had me going there for a moment. I was actually worried you’d stopped caring about little ol’ me.”
You roll your eyes. His ego, you swore. Leaning over the counter on your side, you flicked his nose, then his forehead for good measure. Dork. “As if anyone is going to stop caring about you any time soon. Now, don’t you have some robot to take down or some other scheme in Latveria to stop?”
“No, I… actually had some downtime for a change,” Johnny says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to ditch this place and join me for that new movie I told you about last week.”
You pause.
You wrung your hands on the towel you kept in the pocket of your apron, trying to buy yourself some more time before you answered. The idea was tempting, and it had been a while since the two of you hung out like you used to. Still, you were working, and you didn’t have the means or comfort that Johnny did to just leave your shift whenever you wanted. You opened your mouth to answer when something blew up a few blocks down from where you were.
In an instant- “FLAME ON!” -Johnny was flying out of the bakery, off to take on whatever threat there was this time.
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