Kisses of Fire
pairing: johnny storm x reader
synopsis: in which johnny storm loves women and you love men (at least the decent ones) and what happens next is only natural … right?
warnings: smut 18+, like A LOT of smut, like a sickening amount, but it's porn with a plot, r is referred to as a female and has female anatomy, r has telekinesis, r is from the mcu, friends with benefits, forbidden relationship, oral sex (f & m) receiving, fingering, hand job, shower sex, public-ish sex, slight exhibitionism, johnny is a warning, some angst, ends fluffy tho
word count: 13.8k
masterlist
a/n: obviously inspired by kisses of fire by abba! johnny is very abba coded to me, idk why. requests are still coming, I just had to hatch this little brain child out of nowhere. it's very long, and i'm not 100% happy with it, but I will go insane if I don't post! enjoy!!
Tripping on a coat hangar was not on your list of obstacles as you snuck through the residential floor hallways of the Baxter Building, relying on the shadows of the night for coverage. You'd become very familiar with the layout considering it had been your home for only a few months now, only getting lost when you had the misfortune of running errands on the lower floors.
You cupped your mouth as a wince tried to worm its way out, eyes wide when the object you had collided with proceeded to tumble to the ground, sending a loud series of clatters into the surrounding atmosphere.
So much for being sneaky.
Your heart raced in your throat when a door opened in the hallway just ahead, a figure emerging from the dim, lamp-lit room inside: the nursery. In your anxious state, you ran through excuses to feed to Reed or Sue about why you were so far from your own bed in the middle of the night. Anything that would distract them from the truth; that in fact you were venturing to sleep somewhere warmer…
Lucky for you, it was H.E.R.B.I.E.'s turn with Franklin.
He made a sequence of beeps in your direction, a unique language that would've baffled you a year ago, but now, you were quite adept at interpreting all he was trying to relay. His tone was chiding as he rolled towards you.
"Quiet, Herbs." you whispered, a desperate attempt at preventing the robot from waking up anyone you hadn't already.
He beeped again, this time at a volume much quieter than his usual resonance. He informed you that you had been very close to waking up poor Franklin who had been more fussy than usual. His teething was making him uncomfortable and difficult to put down.
"I'm sorry," you uttered, stepping closer to pat his head, a common and welcomed gesture from you. "I didn't mean to. I don't know who the hell put this here."
H.E.R.B.I.E. beeped again as you motioned to the still toppled coat hangar.
"What do you mean this has always been here? I've literally never seen this before." you said, as H.E.R.B.I.E. helped you put it right again.
He beeped again, taunting you as he had once again caught you where you shouldn't be long after the sun had made its final appearance. Only unlike the rest of the family, you couldn't hide your true intentions from H.E.R.B.I.E. as he knew of everything that took place in his home.
You were lucky he was willing to keep your secret. He may have been the most technologically advanced being on the planet, but he was a sucker for drama.
"I don't think I have to answer that," you whispered back. Partially because you weren't sure you could get the answer out. The thought itself already left you feeling flush.
Another light flickered on, this time in the room opposite of the nursery as the sound of hardwood meeting harder feet sent alarm bells ringing in your mind.
"Shit," you cursed, ducking behind the door before it could open. You had only barely made it into the dark as Ben opened the door to his room and scanned the hallway through a squint, stopping when he came upon the robot you had left behind.
"H.E.R.B.I.E? What are you doing?" he asked, voice rough from sleep. "And where did you get that coat hanger from?"
You gave the robot a look, detectable by his night vision, as if you told him so.
He beeped a ‘your welcome’, though truly he didn't mind taking the fall for you.
"Uh oh," Ben sighed. "You're malfunctioning again. That won't be fun to tell Reed in the morning-"
You didn't catch the rest of their conversation as you jumped for the last door at the very edge of the hallway, bracing gentle fingers against the smooth metal handle and slipping inside without any more ruckus. You closed it just as carefully, leaning against the door as you let out a sigh of relief. Another night of no detection.
"Hey beautiful," you heard, forcing your head up towards the flirt you had endured so much to see. And fuck, he was a sight indeed.
Johnny Storm.
His voice sent shock waves of excitement rolling down your spine, especially when he called you things like that, things that shouldn't have made you want him in the way you did. Things he had probably said to a hundred girls before you.
But when he gazed at you with those wide blue eyes, with nothing short of the purest desire, you couldn't bring yourself to care if he had been with a thousand girls before you. Likely during you too. None of them had ever made it to his bedroom nor had the privilege of seeking him out in the middle of the night.
He was standing against the far side of his bay window, taking in your pajama clad form in a room nearly void of light save for the white shine from the moon. It was full tonight, brushing the tops of the surrounding skyscrapers that formed the city's horizon. The rest was a dull yellow, emitted from Johnny's right hand as he outstretched it to form the soft flames. Just enough to highlight the details of your face.
"Johnny." you greeted.
A view like that, one only the tallest pillars of society could afford, and all he wanted to look at was you.
"All that racket out there, just for me?"
"Don't be so cocky," you rolled your eyes, though you failed to suppress the grin that snuck up on you. He wasn't wrong, you couldn't think of any of your past flings that you would willingly risk so much for. "That was obviously H.E.R.B.I.E."
"Uh huh," Johnny quirked a brow, pushing off of his place on the wall. "I wasn't expecting you tonight."
Usually your meetings weren't quite so impromptu or were at least proceeded by some semblance of a plan. You'd never sought him out all on your own accord, but there was something special about the night. You had been restless in your own room and you felt like caving to selfish desires.
"Well-" you began, straightening as he crossed the room, slowly, tauntingly, taking each step in a slow stride. "We both have full schedules tomorrow, with lab work and the media. And honestly this weekend's pretty busy for me too so…" you drawled, your intentions implied from many weeks of pleasurable history.
That's when he reached you, his flameless hand tucking away several loose hairs as his fingers moved to the bottom of your chin, nudging your jaw up higher. He held his fire a safe distance from your figure, but despite his efforts, his touch still felt inordinately warm. It always did.
"Is that all?"
He was smirking, annoyingly attractive as he had been the day you started your unconventional embarkment together. His expression was only complimented by the angles of his face, all sharp and pointed.
"And I figured you’d be awake." you added.
"I was doing a little task," he admitted, omitting the reason. "-but I wouldn't mind starting something else."
He tipped your head up higher, soft lips parting at the skin below your jaw as he pressed a kiss to your neck. Warmth bloomed in the pit of your stomach, a kind not born from the sting of Johnny's flames, but just as hot and uncomfortable, longing for more.
"Next time," you breathed, reaching a hand around to feel the taut muscles of his back through his tight white shirt. "You're coming to my room."
You braced your other hand against his head, pulling him closer, deeper though he remained impossibly slow. Johnny liked to take his time with you, feeling you writhe with desire until it was unbearable. Then, watching you fall apart was even more satisfying. You were sure the routine was to boost his already overflowing quantity of self-worth, but you didn't mind as long as he was making you feel this good. There was a valid reason behind its large capacity.
"Yes, ma'am." he mumbled against your skin.
Your eyes fluttered shut as he worked his way down, pressing gentle kiss after gentle kiss down the column of your throat as if any ounce of intensity would break the delicate skin. When they opened, they wandered to his vinyl nook, taking notice of the influx of torn envelopes, all various sizes and colors. Letters were strewn messily atop of them, most written by hand and accompanied by big blue hearts and posters with a familiar flaming face.
"Oh my god," you laughed, Johnny breaking away from your neck to see what was causing you to react with such glee. "Were you reading your fan mail?!"
You were grinning as you left his side to investigate, turning over the unorderly stack to find a concerningly large pile of unopened letters, each addressed to him from various female names with attached New York addresses and even a few from out of state.
"You were!"
"It would be rude not to," Johnny argued, never one to feel embarrassed. You can't recall a single time you'd seen him look ashamed. "I'd hate for all that effort to be wasted by just throwing them away."
"Oh, don't act so noble," you grinned. "You're such an egoist."
Unbothered, he shook his head at your teasing and moved to where you were standing, picking through all he's already read in his big blue chair. He lifted the needle off of the record you didn't even notice was playing. He was too distracting.
"Whoa, some of these are bad." you cringed, looking back to Johnny as you scanned one of the letters he had already opened. "'I've fireproofed my sheets when you're ready to heat?' That's not even grammatically correct."
"Someone sounds jealous." retorted Johnny, sneaking behind you to slip his flameless hand around your waist, flames licking the page you're holding enough to char the top corners. He watched a small portion of delicate paper burn and wilt from the vantage point of your shoulder.
"I'm just observing," you tried, but again, he wasn't exactly wrong. The knowledge that Johnny had a past of spending long nights with a few of his fans induced a bit of envy. Not that you should care, you weren't his girlfriend and you were fine not holding any sort of claim over him. Though, you did prefer staying in the dark when others got to feel what you enjoyed many nights. "You know I don't get sent things like this and I definitely don't have my own fan club-"
Johnny tore the letter out of your grasp with his unignited hand, tossing it behind him as he spun you into his bed, extinguishing his flames with a simple flick as he lowered himself to kiss you roughly. Warm hands met your cheek and stomach as he pressed you into the mattress. Your insides were whirling, a feeling you couldn't get enough of with him. You chased it.
"Fuck," you moaned into his mouth as Johnny's hands, ever prying, moved to duck into the waist band of your pajama pants, slipping over to brush exactly where you were craving him. You bucked up into him, meeting his skilled fingers as they traced rough outlines over you, stimulating the most sensitive. "Johnny…"
"Baby…" he smiled.
He pressed another searing kiss to your neck though this one was much more assertive, followed by another to your collar bone and then one at your abdomen, just over the thin material of your pajama shirt, moving downward almost too quickly for you to process.
"Let's give them something to really be jealous of," he smirked, lifting up your shirt to plant a kiss to the skin just below your belly button as one of his hands left your center to help you kick off your pants, your underwear quick to follow in a discarded mess of fabric on the floor, close to the pile of envelopes that were equally neglected. "Hmm?"
You nodded, eager to receive exactly what had brought you. You looked down to watch as his hands took hold of your thighs, moving your legs to rest comfortably over his shoulders as his grip tightened, just bordering on painful. His eyes stared into yours as he dipped down, soaking up your reaction as his tongue slid along your slick in the rhythm he knew sent you over the edge, flicking out of pattern every so often to retain the pleasure in unpredictability. You ground into him, back arching and head pressing back into his mattress as you reached out for his sheets, gripping them so tight, they'd have to be ironed to get the wrinkles out in the morning.
"Fuck, that feels so good," you mewled.
You felt Johnny chuckle against you, but he didn't slow. Just persisted long into the night until the two of you were spent enough to sleep.
When you awoke, naked and sweaty, but warmer than you could achieve in your own bed with your blankets, it took everything in you to leave the comfort behind. You knew it was the right course of action, carefully peeling Johnny's arm off of your waist as he slept soundly beside you and picking up your clothes as daybreak started to shine into his window. You had just gotten your head through your shirt when you noticed it, an envelope placed on one of Johnny's record stacks, separated from the others that hadn't moved from their piles. You hadn't noticed it before. Johnny must've thought it special.
Curiosity got the best of you as you picked the small blue envelope, pulling out a white piece of printer paper that had been folded into fourths to fit. You unfolded it carefully, silent enough so as to not wake the snoozing man just feet away.
"Dear Human Torch," it read in untidy blue writing.
"Thank you for saving my kitten in Centennial Park. I was very scared until you helped him. I named him Storm after you. You're my favorite superhero. I think you're very brave. My dad helped me write this, but I drew the picture all by myself! I hope you like it.
"Love, Madeline, Age 6."
Below was a crayon masterpiece worthy of any refrigerator, one that depicted Johnny in all his flaming glory handing a grey cat to a waiting girl below, picturesque and smiling as were most things from the mind of a child. Your heart was bursting, tearing at the seams.
You folded it back up and replaced it, slipping out before Johnny could catch you swelling with so much feeling.
God, you hated seeing things like this. Small parts of Johnny that reminded you of why he was so deserving of his title. He may have paraded around like the hottest thing since flying cars, but he was also brave and kind, thoughtful and willing to help where help was needed regardless of how big (or miniscule) the task. He was a hero, through and through.
It made you fall for him, even more than you already had, and that was a very dangerous position to be in.
The two of you were not supposed to be together. End of conversation.
It wasn’t just Johnny that you were banned from touching. Truthfully, you weren't supposed to be with anyone from Earth 828, but of all the eligible bachelors, Johnny was by far the worst choice for a silly little lust affair.
You'd been sent to Earth only a few months prior, chosen by your comrade, Doctor Strange, and occasional mentor, Bruce Banner, when a multiversal threat appeared and you were the best pick to explore it. Not only did you have the powers to handle most threats in the cosmos as a wielder of telekinetics as well as reality bending when you could summon the strength, but you were also extremely intelligent, a protege of Tony Stark himself before the man's honorable sacrifice.
It took weeks to get the mission together, theory after theory followed by test after test until it was discovered that rather than an equation, your own powers served as the catalyst that would allow anyone from your Earth to travel through parallel realities. Naturally, you were the best candidate to be sent out after that. But even with all the studies, all the work, and all the geniuses that powered the expedition, the rush to send you into the unknown left a crucial variable unaccounted for: how to get back.
Stuck in a world that wasn't yours, you tried everything you could to find this world's equivalent of the Avenger's Tower, ending up at the Baxter Building instead as they shared exact coordinates. In fact there was no Avenger’s Tower as Earth 828 had no Avengers at all. Not even Tony Stark existed here, a drastic difference from the New York you hailed from. But much like everything else that differed from your world, the city you were stuck in housed a worthy equivalent.
The Fantastic Four were widely celebrated in their own corner of the multiverse, quick to take you in when you strolled into the Baxter Building wearing strange clothes and claiming to be from an alternate dimension. They dealt with so much weird on the daily, just having defeated the great Galactus, you had no trouble convincing them that your situation was real and not born from an episode of psychosis.
Now, after months of living amongst the four you were glad to embrace their technicolor world that was decades behind your own, but somehow incredibly more advanced technologically. You found something much more fulfilling than the mission of saving an alternate dimension from a world consuming villain. You found a family.
At least for the moment.
Reed continued to search for a solution on how to get you back to your own planet, the task immediately replacing every other item on his priority list for your own sake as well as his. Backed by unbreakable determination and a sprinkle of competitiveness, he aimed to unpuzzle your problem without ‘cheating’ by using your powers. Cross-universal travel, he named it, his obsession only worsening when you had accidentally disclosed your own qualifications to be solving such a problem in a casual conversation. He took you on immediately, offering you the fine position of temporary lab assistant and lead consultant on all queries that spanned the multiverse.
It was exhausting at times, but you were happy to have something to do. And as the weeks turned into months with no viable answers, you were promoted to Reed Richard’s official lab hand.
Sue, you learned, was not only extremely powerful and a wonderful mother, but most importantly the balancing force in your work relationship with her husband.
Reed often forgot that he himself was a living breathing person who needed rest and recuperation from research. With you, he needed constant reminders. It wasn’t out of cruelty, but pure unbridled excitement for the new genre of physics you were helping him unlock. Sue was vital in making sure you had enough energy to keep helping him.
For every late night Reed kept you in the lab, Sue made sure you were given a full day off, even gifting you free reservations to Sips and Suds, her favorite local spa that doubled as a soda joint though you had yet to take her up on her offer. She even prepared a special room for you to live in, setting your occupancy limit at whenever you grew too sick of the family to stay in the Baxter Building, but you never did.
With Ben and H.E.R.B.I.E. thrown into the mix, you were set up with just about the nicest family ever. They weren't perfect, even their 60s utopia had its sufferings (though they didn’t compare to the horrors from your world). The four all had their flaws and they fought, often, like any normal family. But even in the tensest of situations, they always managed to forgive each other and move on, for the sake of the world and the love outlasted any quarrels.
You were grateful they were willingly to share with you, offering more than the mere slice you were expecting, but the full deal. The longer you stayed, the closer you became to the four. Now, you were as good as family too.
There was only one issue to the paradise you had stumbled into from a world far away and he slept across the residential floor from you, the man who had caused you so much internal confliction.
But he was too enticing to stay away from.
You liked Johnny from the moment he introduced himself to you, sauntering up to you back when you were still a stranger. You knew his type, the kind who didn't view women as long term commitments, but as time went on he proved to be a good companion. Undoubtedly the biggest and blondest golden retriever personality you had ever met besides Spider-Man, whoever he was behind his mask. You couldn’t remember his name, but it didn't matter in a world he wasn’t in.
Johnny started out as exclusively your friend. A good friend even, the kind that patrolled the city together in the late afternoon and stayed up late trading stories, his mainly informative so you could better understand your new reality while yours answered his burning prompts, detailed enough for him to become immersed in your history. He could be self centered, yes, and occasionally crude, but you found his company quite enjoyable.
Johnny didn't just see you as a multiversal conquest or a vessel for studying reality crossing like Reed did. Sure, he found you fascinating, but he never failed to acknowledge the human being that lived underneath, assuring you that it was your character he was interested in, even more than where you were sent from. You used to think it was one of the purest friendships you'd ever forged, including those you’d left back home.
Then you slept with him. And everything you once knew, the reality you had finally grown used to, was altered.
The exact arrangements had been made during one of your late night escapades after putting away another antagonist of the week and sharing a bowl of H.E.R.B.I.E.'s homemade goulash. You had rendered Johnny dumbfounded, admitting that despite the flexible hours of the clubs back home, you had never spent a night out on the town. Though you protested, he wouldn’t let you crawl back to your room until he could take you out dancing, his decade’s equivalent. He helped you get ready, showing you one of the best nights of your life and looking at you differently as you twirled in his hold.
It was only a suggestion, something that would occur exactly once for experimental purposes against the brick wall of a dark alleyway where Johnny's flaming hair was the only light in sight, testing the bounds of how far two people could go from different worlds. Afterwards, you and Johnny went your separate ways, under the verbal agreement that it was nothing more than harmless fun. You could go on as the close friends you had become.
And you did. But the late nights didn't stop.
One night turned into two. Then ten. Then when the nights were full, you found time in the middle of the day until now you and Johnny hooked up so often that you couldn't keep track of all the times you'd been with him. He was an indulgence that had morphed into routine.
He was good at checking in on you at first, making sure you both felt the same about the habits you had developed. Close friends with an appetite to be casual interdimensional fuck buddies. And when he wasn’t in you, he was the person you trusted the most.
You agreed to everything for the first few months, blind to the tensions stirring until they were too strong to ignore. Johnny stopped checking, fun becoming the assumption for all your meetings just as you started to suffer from the feelings you were never supposed to have.
It didn't help that Johnny was extremely attractive, always flirting and mumbling sweet nothings that didn't mean nearly as much to him as they did to you. And he was so good in bed, well practiced and always wanting to please you. It was a factor in his own enjoyment as Johnny couldn’t have a good time unless he was showing you one.
As if being head over heels for your only real friend and one of the most flirty superheroes in the cosmos wasn't bad enough, you were still banned from seeing each other by very valid external forces.
Physical intimacy as an outer world species was extremely ill advised.
It was one of the first questions Reed asked you when you started joining him in the lab. He didn't see it as a personal question, solely focused on the science and the complications of your existence in his world. He wanted to limit any negative variables, anything that could result in the injury of yourself or another being. There was no telling the consequences of seeking such a close relationship with someone made of other worldly matter.
It hadn't been a lie when you answered, promising that you weren't in the market for any kind of "sexual exploration" as Reed had called it. Even then you'd been attracted to Johnny, but you didn't see yourself ending up where you were now, wrapped around his heated finger. As much as you wanted something more, you were sure he didn't.
He wasn't exactly renowned for his fidelity.
That was the only problem, as much as you hated to admit it, it stung to sort through old headlines with Johnny's name, his arm around the waist of another. You'd been curious one night alone in the lab, tortured by all of the models and perfect beauties he had claimed before you.
Still having a piece of him was better than not having him at all. And what you had was fun as it was. You didn't have to be subjected to his image with another when he was with you, sneaking around, making out on the kitchen counter, and covering your mouth when you were too loud in the dead of night. And now after months of adapting to his world, you had him all the time.
You couldn't give him up.
Even during your busiest weeks, you and Johnny found time that you really didn’t have. Getting caught became more probable, riskier, but you couldn't stop and neither could he. His appearances became an explosion of spontaneity, going off frequently.
You were putting away clothes in your room for media day, storing each immaculate outfit Sue over the months had helped pick out for you so that you could dress with the times when you heard a knock on your door.
Three short rasps. His secret code. The same one he used every time, reserved just for you.
"Come in!" you shouted, tucking away the last of your pants and taking a seat on your bed, greeting Johnny with a smile when he did finally walk in. He stepped fully in, but didn't shut the door, hanging on the handle like it was a tether.
"I'm about to hop in the shower," he informed you, bypassing his usual flirty greeting.
"Okay,” you shrugged, as if you weren’t smart enough to decode his message. “Did you have something you wanted to tell me?"
Johnny shook his head, smirking.
"What I want is for you-” he pointed. “-to join me." He retracted his pointer finger, tapping it gently against his bottom lip.
"We have to be ready for two large press conferences in an hour." you informed him, though he was already well aware of your absence of time.
"I know, but Reed and Sue are out with Franklin and Ben is still asleep, I checked.”
He stepped forward, pulling you up from your bed and cradling your face in his hand.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he murmured against your lips, pressing a begging kiss that you grinned into. “I haven't seen you in so long…"
Your head pulled from his hold as you chuckled, shaking your head.
"We fucked two days ago," you reminded him. "Not including what happened yesterday during my lab break."
"I remember," Johnny smirked.
He wasn’t used to you relenting. Neither were you as saying yes had become a pleasant reflex. Something was changing, brewing inside your lively heart that was getting tired of no confirmed reciprocation. There were little signs, his arm around your waist when you fell asleep in his bed, but it worsened the ache knowing he didn’t see his actions how you did.
"So is that a no?" he asked, his tone not hopeful, but confident that it wasn’t.
Of course it wasn't.
You'd never turned him down before, even when the only options for privacy were a storage closet on the set of The Ted Gilbert Show. You'd been extra smiley during that interview, attempting to explain the not-so-simple basics of interdimensional travel to the whole world with much more enthusiasm than it required.
Now, you were sure that same bubbly girl would make a reappearance as Johnny pressed you into the tile wall, mouth hot against your neck, hand on your hip and knee rubbing you in between your thighs under the stream of lukewarm water, the temperature he set the shower only when you accompanied him. You had both hands wrapped around his head, fingers grasping at the short blonde strands as he bent one of your legs to fit around him, the thigh slotted between yours rubbing firmer against your dripping center.
No more than fifteen minutes had passed since you hopped in with him and you’d already come once on his fingers. Now, he was curious to test how quickly he could get you to finish without them. Spoiler, he was very close.
Your eyes wandered down the expanse of his body, slick from the stream of water. He looked larger than life with clothes on, tight pants and shirts that clung to his biceps and exaggerated his sharp edges. Without them? He was godly. Shit, you could probably come from just staring at him.
You bit your lip as you sank into the feeling of his hard body slotted against yours, humming through a groan at the thought of his perfect abs and perfect waist.
You managed a hand down his wet chest, following the stream of water as you reached below his waist. He felt rigid in your hand as you tugged, forcing a shudder through his body.
"Oh my god," he cursed, lips leaving the red marks he had made on your neck as his head rolled back. You squeezed the base, palming the length before sinking back down again. "Fuck! I love when you do that."
"This?" you asked, repeating the motion and revealing in the way he groaned at your touch, bucking into your hand as his thigh rubbed against you again.
"Fuck, yes! You're so fucking good when you surprise me." he sighed, lips chasing yours again before another tug ripped another perfect moan out of him.
Suddenly, you heard the squeal of the bathroom door pulling open as someone unexpected entered.
You paused, lowering your leg to stand on both shaken feet on the ceramic floor of the shower as you looked for the silhouette of the intruder.
"I thought you said Sue and Reed were gone?!" you whispered, grateful for the loud rush of water that muffled your voice from your uninvited guest.
"They are,” Johnny confirmed. “This isn't another surprise is it?"
You shook your head, not even slightly entertained by the joke. As if you would ever share your precious moments with him.
"Johnny?" a voice asked.
You recognized it instantly after living with the family for so long, eyes widening and heart racing.
Ben had woken up.
"Shit!" Johnny whispered, pulling from you to hide your naked figure behind his own.
While his cover was decent, you ducked to prevent any chance of being spotted, hiding behind the porcelain lips of the tub that were lengthy enough to afford you certainty. As long as no one opened the curtain that concealed you, no one would spot your crouched position.
"Johnny? Who are you talking to?" Ben asked.
"Myself," Johnny replied promptly.
"Practicing for television again? I haven't heard you do that since we started these things."
You would've laughed had you not been too afraid of discovery.
"No, its- its something else. What are you doing?"
Ben was silent for a moment, answering with the whir of his angle grinder that changed pitch as he brought it to his rocky face, wearing down the stones that had elongated overnight.
"Shaving. We have to be ready in thirty minutes."
Reaching up a hand, you waved at Johnny, motioning for him to kick Ben out. Even if you didn't get to finish your morning, you refused to get caught this way, naked and vulnerable.
"Could you do that when I'm out?" Johnny asked, following your request. “Or like, literally anywhere else?”
"You’re fine with it normally, I don't see what the big deal is." Ben groaned, sparks flying outside the curtain as he reached the roughest patch on the outskirts of his rocky cheek.
"Alright," Johnny relented until you lightly kicked his shin, shaking your head vehemently and mouthing a reply for him to use. "I mean, no, we should enforce some boundings?" He read your lips. "Oh, I mean, boundaries."
"Are you okay in there?" Ben wondered, the silhouette of his head turning to the shower curtain as you sucked in a breath. "You sound a little enflamed?"
You nodded at Johnny, scared that Ben was close to opening the curtain. You weren’t how comfortable they'd become with each other and you didn’t want to find out.
"Yeah, all good.” Johnny urged. “Can't you finish up later?"
"I-I guess. I'm almost done."
"Okay then." Another kick to his shin, this time harder. "Ow! I mean no. You should finish later."
Much to your relief, you heard the sound of Ben unplugging his grinder as he opened the door.
"Jesus, I guess I'll use Reed's." Ben huffed, but he didn’t stick around any longer.
You rose to your knees as he left, peeking out into the spacious bathroom to confirm he had closed the door behind him.
"That was a close one," Johnny laughed lightly, relief washing over his face as well. "Now, where were we?"
"We aren't doing anything else until you promise me that next time, you'll lock that fucking door." you glared, pulling your head back in as you looked up at him.
Johnny rolled his eyes, but it was a simple order to follow. His smile returned to him as he nodded, a sign of promise.
"Good?"
"Yes, but I have so many questions for you,” you grinned teasingly. “Practice interviews? Sharing the bathroom while you're showering?"
"Flame me all you want later. We don't have time for that right now."
"In that case," you inched closer, keeping your spot on the ground as you reach up for his lower abs, running your nails down the smooth skin and taking the length of him into your hands again. "I have an idea on how to speed this up."
You closed your eyes as you took him into your mouth, sucking hard and rolling your tongue along him in the way you knew helped him the most.
"I like - where you heads at." Johnny hurried out through sudden breaths and pauses, a hand rushing down to take root in your hair while the other intertwined with your own against his stomach, stabilizing you even whilst you did him such a gracious favor.
That hand plagued you for the rest of the day, popping into your mind during every interview and even preventing you from answering a question. A very easy one at that, from a small girl who wanted to know what it was like to move in with Earth's mightiest heroes. Hers at least, you had grown up with very different role models.
The thought of your life now with Johnny reminded you of dressing with him when the shower finally turned off, how he had offered to zip your dress before you could even ask and complimented you with a kiss to your temple when he saw you in it through the mirror.
"You should've made Sue choose something less flattering," Johnny gave a faux-complaint through a smile. "You're taking all the heat from the rest of us."
It was different from his usual flattery, a word you dreaded using when you were with Johnny. Intimate. Special.
You were so out of it by the final interview, Reed let you skip it as even he, a mathematical genius who had a hard time picking up on most emotions, noticed you were off. You played it off as fatigue, but truly you were grateful to get a moment away from Johnny as all your feelings rushed back up to the surface.
He made it worse when he checked in on you, not looking for any kind of fun, but just making sure you were okay. You weren't used to the doting. Johnny was your good friend, but between the late nights and all your various private moments, he hadn't acted like your friend in a while.
It ached knowing you could never be more, but it burned whenever Johnny reminded you how much he cared for you.
You let him in though when he brought his favorite cereal, sharing crunches with you as you played it off as home sickness, sharing with him some niche aspect of your world that you hadn't told him already. You didn't really miss home, as awful as the thought was. You just needed something to distract him with, a deflection so that he wouldn't look too close and know the truth behind your flying signals. Turning him away would've led to the same realization.
You thought it couldn't hurt, venting about how different the media was here, how you missed your favorite film. In turn, Johnny offered to show you one of his own, something that sounded similar, something popular.
That film ended up being a variation of West Side Story and while it was similar to the version from your own world, much of the plot had changed to fit in with the subtle differences in his world's history.
You thought you'd get a break the next day, a chance to reset as Johnny took his turn patrolling the city. With few villain outbreaks since the baby proofing of New York, only one of you was required to go out at a time, if that. You knew what he did when you weren’t around, chatting up the local ladies between acts of heroism. Not that you should care, if anything the thought should've helped you get over him, help you return to when it was casual. You had work to do anyways.
You bussied yourself in Reed's lab, flipping through page after page as a favor to Sue who so badly wanted her husband to take the day off, spending it with his only son. It took a lot of convincing on yours, Sue's and Ben's part, but eventually you were able to wear him down. You swore it wouldn't be an inconvenience, looking over test results and various other mundane, mindless tasks. Though quite honestly, you knew exactly where you wanted to be instead.
Back under a shower stream, with his hands wrapped around you, pressing pure warmth into your back as you melted into his sturdy frame, blissed out and mindless as he pumped into you…
Or in his room, spread before him like a feast, hands in his hair with his mouth on your abdomen, trailing kisses down until...
You sighed, setting your packet down. Numbers bored your wandering mind, forcing it to drift into scenarios you didn't really want to think about. Not when they risked everything you'd built in the short time you were here. Not when they risked ruining your closest friendship. And if it was so casual, something for just fun, why did it vex you so? You didn't think a single day had passed in the last few months where all you thought about wasn't seeing Johnny again, completely and utterly obsessed.
But you just couldn't stop.
You're wrapping up the last mindless tasks you can, skipping over any work that involved calculations or required a skill you might easily mess up in your pining haze. Just tidying and stacking, easy, simple. You were shocked when a voice rang from behind you, smooth and piercing as heat filled the air.
“Have you always looked that good in a lab coat?”
You jerked up, genuinely surprised. You couldn’t imagine what brought Johnny here during his shift, but it's as if your thoughts were an outspoken order as he leaned in close, arms wrapping around you as he planted a kiss to your jawline.
“Johnny? What happened to saving damsels in distress today?”
“What do you think I'm doing now?" he grinned, pressing another kiss into your neck, much too close to your pulse point. He was warm, fresh off of flying in flames around the city. At least you assumed so, but he was back long enough to trade out of his typical hero wear for his typical tight number and the red jacket you once told him you liked. Seeing him in it now reminded you of why and you wondered if he dawned it on purpose. A tactic to get what he was really after. "You can't honestly be happy doing Reed's bidding.”
"I'm just helping out with this study.” you gathered the papers in your reach to finish another stack. “I owe him after all he's done for me and all he's doing to help me."
"Is it so wrong that I also want to help you?" he chuckled, spinning you around in your chair so you could meet his gaze. "In a special way -a relaxing way. We have an appointment."
His lips slipped down the column of your neck, slowly as your shoulders gave an involuntary roll upwards and your stomach started to fold in on itself. You didn’t feel as attractive as he was making you out to be, basically clad in a pajama set. Indeed this ‘appointment’ was entirely unscheduled.
"I don't remember planning this." you argued, giving in to his touch. He may have been the source of your unhappiness, but he was very good at making it go away.
"We totally did," he lied, head lifting as he pulled you from your chair. "But give me fifteen minutes and I promise I'll earn your forgiveness."
You nearly caved, standing so that your feet were falling backwards towards your work table as Johnny’s teeth met your skin. You raised an unsteady hand, urging your organized stacks to float over to Reed’s desk with your powers, ensuring your work would not be wasted. The rest you left alone, unbothered by the prospect of them being disturbed by sudden movements. You weren’t motivated to fix them now as your lower back met the edge of the desk.
Johnny pulled at your lab coat, smiling as the white fabric dropped from your shoulder. His hand followed, gliding down your skin and beneath the white sleeve as he willed it to lower even more, his touch leaving goosebumps in its fiery wake.
He leaned into you, helping you onto the desk as his hand slid up one of the legs of your ruffled pajama shorts, feeling up the curve of your thigh before toying with the lacy hem of your panties.
“Reed could be back any minute.” you warned, a piece of you still strangely relenting. You wanted this, but the pain of the past sting panged in your chest. Because it was something different for him, something without all the complications of romance.
“He won’t,” Johnny promised, sealing his words with a kiss to your mouth as moved a hand to smooth back strands of your loose hair. “If he’s with my sister, she’s going to keep him busy for a while. Last time I was with them, they couldn’t agree on a color for Franklin’s cradle."
You stared down at his hot mouth, practically drooling now. You couldn’t lie, you've pictured him taking you here before, despite the ethical complications of fucking in his brother-in-law's lab. But as long as Reed didn’t know and Johnny was so willing, you couldn’t come up with a reason to stop.
“Well, in that case…” you smiled, caving completely as you reached out to pass a hand over the smooth surface of his chest, hands slipping under the jacket you were so fond of.
Johnny didn't waist a single second, standing in between your legs as he peppered your neck with rough kisses your neck, leaving red marks that somewhat resemble the burns his powers leave. The bruises from your last encounter had yet to heal and here he was, adding new pieces as if your neck was an art installation.
When he hit the neckline of your pajamas, he slipped a hand under the fabric, his other still tracing small patterns on the softest part of your inner thigh. You adjust so he can move it over the sports bra you picked for lounging in the lab, one of the only clothes you had from your own Earth. He dragged the top of it down until one of your breasts popped out, the other quick to follow.
Johnny lifted his head, making a deep sound from the back of his throat as he eyes you like it’s the first time he’s ever seen you, a dangerous desire brewing in his stare.
"So fucking perfect," he groaned, leaning down to take one of you succulent nipples into his hot mouth, tongue smoothing over the bump in such a way that makes the backs of your ankles jerk against the edge of the table. It's sudden, unpredictable, his movements evoking such a reaction from you.
He palmed your other breast in his free hand, moving down to stroke your side until his grip met your hips and up again. His other hand has migrated up, pulling at the band of your shorts until he had enough space to fit a hot hand against your sensitive skin, palming and fingering your already dampened folds.
Your mouth fell open as your head jerked back, hands sneaking under the jacket as you traced the outline of his taunt back muscles through his tight cotton shirt. You were clawing at him, scraping the fabric each time he tugged your nipple in between his teeth.
It's not long before he deemed you ready, helping you slip off your bottoms as he pulled the end of his belt out of its buckle.
Johnny pressed the two fingers that had been working you up to your mouth, dragging your bottom lip down until the plush surface was too far, grinning as it snapped back into place. You opened wide for him, tasting remnants of yourself on the pads of his slick fingers and wrapped your lips around them, licking them clean.
You were still tight when Johnny had finally managed to shimmy off his own pants, stretching your walls as he entered you, gasping as you grasped for the red fabric of his jacket to keep him close.
"Oh fuck," you moaned, mouth slacked open as he filled you up to your entirety, so much so that your feel him in the pit of your stomach.
He grinned at you, lips parted in satisfaction as he watched you fall apart, pulling out and back in again, purposefully slow so you feel every inch in its intended intensity as he gives and takes at will.
“Fuck, I’ve been thinking about this all day.” he confessed.
There it is again.
The pang in your chest, the shortness of breath, the swirl of panic. He’s done it again and at exactly the wrong time.
It burned inside you, the feelings perhaps that you refuse to acknowledge, but inflamed by something more. The possibility of reciprocation. The slight chance that Johnny, a man no one thought could be tied down by his match.
And that match was you.
He had never crossed the bounds like this. He was a good lover, probably your favorite out of all the guys you had back home, but he’s never gone as far as to let you know that he thinks about you outside the world you sneak away to and leave behind when you were too weary to continue. Moments that you stole and pretended to forget about.
He didn’t seem as deep in pondering as you were, rolling into you as his hot breath met your neck with a moan. But he didn’t stop, You were a dessert he couldn’t get enough of.
It was not as pleasant as you had hoped, Johnny's words of adoration. You thought you would be overjoyed, knowing that they were more than his typical sweet nothings, but the fear that it was fleeting, that it was still mere flattery to help you get to the climax is overpowering, squashing any pleased stirrings.
You made a mess when you finished, groaning as Johnny pulled out leaving you empty and hurting because as much as you wanted to believe it, you were sure Johnny's view of you hadn't changed. It couldn’t, he wouldn't be Johnny without his charm.
Despite your best interests, you denied him when he offered to help you clean up, handing you your discarded panties as he fastened his pants back up. Usually he would've helped you into them, but he could sense something was off. You weren’t as jubilant as you had been when he treated you so well in the past.
“You sure?” he checked again, just to be sure your answer hadn’t changed. “Not even a quick rinse? I’ll even lock the door this time.” he shot you that sly smile, the one that had drawn you to him since your arrival.
“Not this time. I really have to finish this.” you refused, settling back down in your chair and summoning the papers that had cascaded to the floor with a wave of your hand. No matter how great, you ignored your discomfort that truly would be solved by a warm shower stream and continued sorting through the files. You really didn’t have to, you knew Reed wouldn't be upset if you couldn’t finish in time, but you couldn’t spend another moment with Johnny, especially not doing an activity that was performed by real couples, something you were not.
“Alright,” Johnny nodded, hesitating to ask if you were okay so much so that you wondered if you were fabricating the genuine care in his voice. He decided against it, placing his hands on your shoulders instead and pressing a light kiss to your cheek. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
Then he left. One last glance your way, one you didn’t notice, and then total silence.
And it’s by yourself that you let the facade crumble, wiping fresh tears from your eyes so they don’t smudge the ink on Reed’s precious pages.
You never knew the best course of action to handle your situation, but now, alone and devastated by his sweetness, you were motivated to end it. That was the only way to cease the pain. Because Johnny Storm would never belong to anyone.
And he could never belong to you.
Oh how you wished you could return to when it was casual, letting him clean you up as he always did after hookups (or so you imagined as he couldn’t damage the gentleman image behind the Human Torch) and morphing into your very platonic friend, someone you could never see yourself close with. There was a clear divider, an indication of the Johnny who wanted to jump you and the Johnny who didn't.
Now he was all the same.
The touches and kind whispers and the wanting you every minute of everyday, there was no difference. No alter ego. He was Johnny who wanted you at your best and worst all the time and lived for whatever you were willing to give him.
You were in your room later, watching the news before you had to attend family dinner and pretend you were not surfing a downward spiral, pretending your mind wasn’t spinning in circles like a dog chasing its tail. You chose the most unflatting outfit in your closet, searching through whatever Johnny hadn't complimented you in recently which was so hard because now he always did. Hell, he thought you were hot in a hazmat suit. It left you with very few options.
“Next, all the hot goss on New York's favorite flaming hero,” the news broadcaster spoke from your television speaker, earning your attention as photos of Johnny flashed on the screen. “Fans grow worried as days pass without a sighting of Johnny Storm. He was last spotted helping a floor of nursing home residents out of their burning home before stopping the fire at its source. Thanks to him, there was little damage and many of the occupancies remained unscorched by the flames. The last time New York went so long without a glimpse of the Human Torch was during the arrival of our new favorite addition to the Baxter Building-” an image of you joined the collage of his photos. “-who has also not been seen for quite some time. We now turn to his official fan club for the best theories to explain his extended absence."
You felt yourself smile as the camera panned over hundreds of young girls, all contributing to the same care basket that they claimed was for “fire fever” as if Johnny’s gifts gave him unique illnesses. It made you wonder why he hadn’t been out as much, choosing to stay in the house. With you.
Your thoughts still rattled around your speeding brain during dinner as you fork the feast Sue prepared. Well, at least her salad, the rest of the meal was entirely H.E.R.B.I.E.’s doing. It was delicious, but your mind was too full to enjoy it. Johnny was the forefront of your thoughts, however you hadn’t so much as passed a glance in his direction during dinner after your afternoon steaming up the lab.
“Everything go okay with those spreads?” Reed asked.
You choked on a piece of lettuce and Johnny let out a low chuckle beside you, swallowing a smirk through a bite from his own plate. A dangerous heat began swelling in your center as his hand brushed your knee.
Now this was truly unexpected.
Johnny never touched you in front of his family. It was one of the biggest unspoken agreements in your friendship. Whatever happened between you two, whatever endeavors you decided to explore, they were meant to stay private. He was violating everything you ever agreed on.
Your food churned in your stomach, but as you reached down to push him away, you found yourself moving your leg instead, just slightly, allowing him to rest his warm palm on your bare knee. It was like a spell, you were enchanted by the words uttered on the news. It was unlikely, but maybe, just maybe the reason for his hiatus had something to do with you.
Maybe there was a chance after all.
“Good,” you managed to reply after an awkward pause that you prayed no one else paid any mind to. “Well I mean, I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped to, but what’s done is good.”
You didn’t have the words for this conversation. Not when Johnny's hand was running up and down your leg and you couldn’t be sure if it was suggestive or something more. Instead you were laser focused on keeping a tight ship, making no sudden movements or expressions that would give the jig away to the family you had barely been inducted in.
Unfortunately, not every reaction was avoidable.
“Are you feeling alright?” Sue asked, sharing a look with her husband. You’re not usually one to let your words escape you. And the sweating? You’d never shown up to dinner with nerves, not even the first time when you hardly knew the people around you.
“Uh huh,” you nodded, Johnny’s hand growing achingly closer to where it was supposed to be, where you wanted it to be, selfishly, disgustingly, but it was true. You couldn’t help it.
“Are you sure?” Sue continued to pry. Second nature as a mother to Franklin and practically everyone else in the family. “You haven’t been eating much and you’re acting ... odd.”
"You look a little warm," Ben comments. You were flushed and for a second you wondered if he knew the truth, his room much too close to Johnny's to stay naive about what went on inside. But you knew as he turned back to his meal, truly none the wiser.
“I do feel a bit hot.” you admitted setting down your fork.
Johnny wasn’t even looking at you when you turned to him, (despite the hidden meaning behind your excuse), his eyes narrowed in on his plate and nothing else, his hand incessant on driving you insane. It was payback for being ignored earlier, deliberately choosing to not back you up.
Cold shoulder to hot thigh.
“Are you catching something?” Sue wondered, raising in her chair as she reached over the table to feel your forehead.
“No!” you shouted before she could get too close, unveiling your secret that was inching upwards still under her nice tablecloth. “I-I’m fine, honestly. I promise.”
“If you insist,” Sue relented, flattening her skirt as she sat back down. She continued eating, but her interrogations were in no way finished. “What about you, Johnny? You’ve been acting differently lately.”
Johnny’s hand went rigid against you as his head shot up, eyes wide with intrigue.
“Have I?” Johnny asked skeptically.
“You haven’t been out in days. And you never miss the chance to make some headlines.”
“I just feel like recovering lately,” Johnny shrugged. “Maybe I'm maturing.”
“That’s likely.” Reed snorted, taking another bite of his own salad.
”I think I want to be excused.” you spoke suddenly, Johnny’s hand falling from you as you stood from your chair. A subtle frown grew on his pink lips as you cast a hand towards the sink, your plate zooming across the kitchen and into the dishwasher.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Ben checked again, always the empath despite his rocky appearance.
You nodded, feigning a smile to make your act more believable. “I promise,” you repeated. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Feel better!” Sue wished.
You don’t turn back as you leave the table, shaking your head at H.E.R.B.I.E. as he offered to fetch you anything to make you feel better, even make you something different as if his culinary skills were the source of your unappetizing mood. He was intelligent for a hunk of welded metal, smarter than any robot you had in your world by a landslide. Not just programming, empathy. He understood your message quickly. That it wasn’t personal, but only that no such robotic solution existed to stitch the tear in your heart.
You figured you needed to sleep it off, slip into something comfy and drown yourself in your books so as to take up every crease of your brain. You couldn’t obsess if you couldn’t think. About Johnny’s perfect body and his soft lips and the way he warmed under your touch whenever you…no! You had to stop.
But even as you tried to avoid him, his special knock sounds from your door. Three short rasps. Same as always.
It was late, several hours since the embarrassment that was dinner. You doubted anyone else was still up, besides poor Franklin, who slept only when sleep had the decency to come to him. Prime time for your usual activities.
You supposed you understood why he was here and you decided for the first time in history that it was time to extinguish the flames. Let him down easy, and get back to sulking so that your feelings could evade you in his absence. Recover from the spell he had cast on you. Whenever you could reconvince yourself that he didn’t want you.
It was with great hesitation, but you opened the door, positioning yourself at the crack to prevent him from slipping inside.
But Johnny’s concerned instead of in need, his expression contorted into a worried look you rarely saw.
“You okay?” Johnny asked, tone different from when was seeking fun in the past. You knew he wasn’t heartless, he was the people’s hero, but honestly you hadn't been expecting him to show up like this. Worried exclusively for your well being.
“Yep.” you answered curtly.
But Johnny didn’t buy it.
“Come on. You can feed that to Reed and Sue, but this is me! I’m your friend-”
“And yet, that seems to be exactly the problem.” you managed through a shaky laugh, though in all honesty, your dilemma wasn’t the slightest bit humorous.
You turned back inside, giving up on keeping Johnny out. Such a conversation, if you were really going to do this, required a confidential space.
“Problem?” Johnny repeated. “What problem? We work so well together!”
“Yes, Johnny, I know we do.”
“Then what’s the matter? You know you can be honest.” Johnny stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him as he followed you with caution.
You flopped onto your bed, pushing the book you were mindlessly flipping through to the crack between your mattress and the wall where Johnny couldn’t see it; A romance with a coincidentally blonde love interest.
“Honest? You want me to be honest?" you asked, as if the premise were unreasonable.
He nodded.
“Honestly Johnny,” you opened, taking a breath before the truth could fly out. “I don’t know what to say to you if you didn't come here for sex.”
“No,” Johnny tilted his head, but he still wasn’t grasping it. “I’m here to help you. I want to be here for you, whatever’s going on.”
It was a sweet gesture. But it stung like hell.
“And that’s exactly why I’m so hurt,” you shook your head. “Because this, being my friend, checking in on me, making sure I’m okay. It doesn’t mean the same to me that it does to you.”
There it was. The first sliver of truth.
“What?”
He was finally starting to understand.
So you continued.
“The way I look at our arrangement, it’s, well, changed,” you explained. “I used to love it. The sneaking around and being friends, but it’s not working for me anymore. And then I hear about how you’re acting different, staying inside, staying with me. And you say things that are so kind and caring-”
“You don’t like the things I say?” Johnny sat down beside you, voice softening. He couldn’t help himself, drawn to you like opposite magnetic poles. He placed a hand on your arm, grounding, fingers tracing the wrinkles and crease of your elbow, warm as always.
“I do,” you admitted. “But that’s not the point.”
"I’m listening." he promised, eyes on your crestfallen face.
You took a breath, plotting out your next words.
“Recently, when you say and do these things, these grand, swooping, sweet gestures, like stroking my leg under the table and telling me I look nice, it makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I’ve won that devotion from you. And the thought hurts. Because it can never be true. Because I know your feelings haven’t changed for me.”
Neither of you spoke for a few moments, letting the weight of your words settle in the room. You stared down at your carpet, avoiding Johnny’s eyes until he broke the silence.
"Have your feelings changed?"
You paused, forgetting to admit the most important part of your declaration. His eyes were soft as you looked up, bright blue and safer than anywhere else in this strange new world. It was only one word, but you sounded it out in your mind before speaking, processing the atrocities that could follow. Nothing was worth the lie, not anymore. And besides, Johnny's gaze was transparent.
He smiled as your silence spoiled your answer, a sly look that upturns the end of his lips as you finally speak.
"Yes."
You dreamt this scenario in your worst nightmares, the vulnerability followed by Johnny calling off your arrangement and leaving you in smoke.
He stood, following the course of your bad dreams, but instead of leaving, he tightened his grip on you. Not to an unbearable point, but enough pressure to pull you with him.
"Come on," he beckoned, dragging you out of your room and lifting a finger to his parted lips as you snuck through the destitute hallways in the quiet of the night, together. As a single unit.
Though you were dying to ask, you followed behind him, hand in hand, wondering where on Earth he was taking you.
Johnny only stopped after pulling you up the stairwell and to the roof, where the cool night air blooms goosebumps on your bare arms and you can finally speak without any discovery from the others, the city sounds drowning out any conversation from above.
“Johnny, what are you-”
“I want to talk to you here, where anyone who looks hard enough can see us. Because you aren’t just some girl to me and this is important.” he informed you, standing just at the edge of the roof so that the city light illuminated his sharp jaw, shadows framing the shapes in his face.
You looked out into the sleeping city, sure that most of its inhabitants had been in bed for a while. But the meaning, the end of your secrecy, it’s one of the warmest gestures he’s ever made and this time there was no sting. No pang in your chest because this time you were sure he intended the message you’ve received. He just needed to confirm.
“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say this,” Johnny started, taking each of your hands into his warm ones. “I didn’t think I’d have to say it. I figured you’d understand it and we could just keep progressing through what we've been doing, but I see now that was cruel. You didn't deserve that and I’m sorry if I made you think you ever meant less to me than you really do.”
“I mean something to you?” you asked, the sermons of a smile sprouting on your lips.
Johnny let out a jubilant laugh, nodding urgently, one of his warm hands moving up to brace against your cheek.
“You’ve always meant something to me,” he grinned, thumbs brushing your cheekbones. “Why do you think I can’t leave this tower? Why I have to see you every single day. It’s driving me crazy. I literally can’t go a few hours without you. Since you first crash landed into New York, I cannot stop thinking about you.”
“I did not crash!” you defended.
“Sure you didn’t.” he laughed. “Crash and all, you are the most fascinating person I’ve ever met and the only person I’ve ever wanted so badly.”
“I bet you say that to all your other girls.” you quipped.
“What other girls?” Johnny countered, much to your delight. “I haven’t seen anyone since you got here.”
You wanted to cry at his statement, the crumbling of the mindset you had maintained since you started this game with him. There had never been anyone else for him, even before that first night you had spent with him, only those you constructed with your insecurities.
“I think I’m falling for you.” you admitted, leaning into his gentle careers.
“You only think?!” he exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, for now. I’ll let you know when I’m sure,” you teased. “When you’ve earned it.”
Johnny smirked, his other arm wrapping around your waist to pull you impossibly closer.
“I might have an idea on how to accomplish that daunting task.”
“Uh-huh, and just what might that be?”
Johnny leaned his head into yours, his toothy grin visible behind his parted lips as he nudged your nose with his own.
“Why don’t you shut your pretty little mouth and find out?”
You obliged, your lips colliding with his like two stars before a supernova. It was messy and fierce, tongue and teeth clashing while your strong grip on Johnny’s waist held you steady against him.
It felt like hours had passed, kissing Johnny with every feeling, every urge you'd ever had for him. He littered bruises all along your neck, sneaking up every so often to meet your lips again through a breathless moan until you felt his hand slip up the skirt you had dawned for family dinner.
You yanked on his shirt, pressing the material over his head. Time couldn’t rob you of the endless pleasure the sight of his body brought you, no matter how many times you'd seen it. He was perfect.
He moved quickly, stripping off his shirt before robbing you of your panties and bunching up your skirt so that it covered your hips in a wrinkled thin line.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured against your lips, the first compliment he's given you that you were sure he meant. You wrapped your hands around his neck, adjusting as he laid you down on the rooftop concrete, hovering over you with one hand splayed beside your head and the other sneaking down your stomach to meet your dripping center.
You were rushing tonight, quicker than the usual routine as a symptom of the night’s revolutions.
“Already?” he laughed lightly, flipping through your folds before dipping a finger inside you.
“It’s all that fucking under the table touching,” you breathed. “You did this to me.”
“Fuck,” he parted his mouth as the curse slipped out, pumping in as deep as he can reach with his finger before pulling out again. “You always feel so good.”
“Johnny,” you begged, desperate for more. “I need you.”
“And you’ll have me,” he promised, thumb rubbing against your clit. The sensation left your nose crinkled and your eyes wired shut, one of his favorite expressions. “But I want you to come on my fingers first.”
His thumb traced infinity symbols on your pulsing bundle of nerves, another finger added to the one already pumping in and out of you in the way he knew made you writhe beneath him.
It wasn't long before you came, hot arousal leaking out of you that Johnny swiped up with his swift fingers, plopping them into his mouth and sucking off your slick. The sight, the pure filth of it had you drooling through the shining stars and flames he made dance around your crown.
Your hands moved before you could think straight, tugging at Johnny’s belt and instantly undoing the button on his jeans.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” he grinned at your eagerness, quick to undo his leather belt and send it flying across the rooftop into the darkness of the unknown. His pants were next, slipping down until he’s exposed enough that the tent in his boxers is braced against your thigh. You groped him through the fabric, shooting shock waves of pleasure through his entire center before pulling him out.
“Wait,” he managed through soft whimpers, pausing in the heat of the moment to help you up and take your place so that he was at your mercy beneath you. “So you don’t hurt your head.” he blurted.
“Yeah right,” you giggled, shaking your head and reaching for the hem of your own shirt, pulling it over your head in one quick motion and tossing the fabric aside. You settled on Johnny’s abs, reaching for his hand as you guided him to the clasp of your bra. He snapped in off it one go, eyes melting at the sight of you.
“You’re so fucking perfect,” he whimpered, watching in anticipation as you readjusted, lining up with him before languidly sidling down. He moved his hands to brace against your hips, the noises that left him too obscene for such a public space, but you matched him as he filled you up.
You both were focused on the point where you and Johnny intersect, watching intently as he slipped inside you and back out again as you raise your hips before sinking back down.
“Fuck, Johnny!” you cried.
“Just like that, shit,” he replied. “Keep it just like that, pretty girl.”
You knew you would pay for it, riding him like he could scorch all the consequences in the world that you have yet to face. But it felt so good and with every wonderful sound that leaves his mouth, you decided it truly didn’t matter. You’ll face the world for this. The whole galaxy if you had to. It was more than worth it.
Reaching up for him, you touched his face as the pace quickened, slow thrusts transitioning to loud slams as you bounced up and down, tits matching the rhythm of your movement.
“Fuck!” you bit your lip to remain quiet, fearful of the chance of others waking up to the dirty display.
Johnny only egged you on, one of his warm hands leaving your hip to rub patterns on your already overstimulated clit.
“Louder baby, let the whole world hear you.”
You couldn’t help, but do as he ordered, gasping and groaning for air as he bucked his hips up to score even deeper, hitting just the right spot that always made you dizzy with pleasure.
“Thats it, fuck,” he moaned. “You’re so fucking good. Riding me like this.”
Johnny’s hair became engulfed by his flame as he got closer, the yellow and orange flames licking the edge of the building and leaving behind black marks that you didn’t have the energy to pay any mind to. If his eyes weren't so far back, you were sure they’d be glowing.
You were almost there, and after a few more deep strokes you were spent, leaning back as your body twitched with release.
The two of you took your time with the reset as you hopped off of him and joined him on the concrete, poking fun at his flames and grinning as he silenced you with a kiss.
The rest of the night was a blur of sealed promises and swelling confessions. When you could stand, he dragged you down to his room, swapping your dirty clothes for a nightshirt from his closet. And for the first time, you let yourself fall asleep in Johnny's arms, free from the guilt and torment that once consumed you. Absent of the burning need to escape.
It wasn’t love, not yet, but it was certainly something close. Tangible, real, yours.
Maybe it was love. Because when you snuck out in the morning, it was long after he had woken up, sending you off with plenty of kisses of fire. You wanted to stay, but any minute longer would have increased your likelihood of being caught.
"Seriously," you let out a low laugh, pushing the greedy man away as he held you close, standing to walk you to the door with eager lips gracing your cheek. "I gotta go get ready."
"No, no you don't," Johnny stated matter-of-factly, breathing the words into your skin. "You're mine for the rest of the weekend. I’ll tell Reed you’re too sick to work."
It was a miracle that you ended up by the door in time for breakfast, incredibly messy, but happier than you had been in weeks. Johnny was on your six, touchy even after you made his morning and latched onto your back, arms chasing around your waist as you checked for any onlookers.
Unfortunately, H.E.R.B.I.E. was waiting at the end of the hallway, beeping frantically as he waved his mechanical arms, desperate for your attention.
"Hello Herbert," Johnny grinned from your shoulder, refusing to let you go as you attempted to wriggle from him, though it's all in good fun. "Scared us there."
"Wait, hush," you ordered, recognizing the urgency in the robot's tone. "Reed wants to see us? There's an emergency?!"
H.E.R.B.I.E. nodded his mechanical head, whirring away as he raced to the lab where you were sure the rest of the family was waiting.
"Damn thing must be broken," Johnny gritted his teeth as he slapped at his alert band, letting you go so you could rush after the robot, though he stayed hot on your trail. "My bracelet didn't go off."
A thousand scenarios cross your mind. What if Franklin had gotten sick beyond repair or the space time continuum became strained from your excessive presence in an alternate dimension? Reed never called emergencies unless the worst of the worst was upon you.
You ran the whole way, easily catching H.E.R.B.I.E. with Johnny at your side.
But what lay ahead wasn’t any scary reality you could predict.
It was worse, in fact. So much worse.
When you entered the lab, brushing away as many symptoms of you late night as you could, you were greeted by the three fourths of the Fantastic Four that you had not woken up beside, all huddled together in behind the large projector that Reed often only used for tracking space anomalies and viewing micro-experimentation. Today, however, a recorded segment of what appeared to be the news, with its flashy headlines in bold, was displayed, paused on a story about advancements in Subterranea.
"Good morning," Sue greeted you, smiling oddly and surrounded by an air of amusement. Reed, on the other hand, was tense as her side, his hardware set on full parental mode. He didn’t smile as you walked in, only staring.
“What’s going on?” you hesitantly asked, slow to join them in the center of the room.
Johnny rushed in not a moment later, breathing heavily as he grimaced as the same sight you had walked into.
"Johnny!” Reed greeted, but his tone was expectant rather than friendly. “Good, I wanted you both to come down and watch the news with us. In fact. we’ve rewound it to a particular story of interest.”
“Hopefully you’ll find it as titillating as we did.” Ben chimed in, as tickled as Sue.
Reed pressed a key on the board ahead of him as the video started to play.
“Coming up next, the resurgence of Johnny Storm!” the usual newscaster announced, followed by Johnny’s usual media photo. “The hero was spotted for the first time in weeks last night, though not quite in the position we’d expected him to be in, literally.”
Another picture, a blurry shot in the dark of night, but you were able to make out the top of the 4 that only featured on the Baxter Building and horrifically, a sprout of fire at the top. Where Johnny’s head had been. Where you had been.
Someone had taken evidence of it.
“This picture, taken by a construction worker during his night shift, allegedly shows Johnny’s flames. Others on the scene also reported strange sounds that accompanied the flames, suggesting the hero was not alone.”
Your stomach sank, briefly glancing as the guilty Johnny a few feet from you before you looked back to the screen.
“Maybe we should-”
“Nope,” Reed shot curtly, stopping you before you could try. “Just keep watching.”
“It’s speculated,” the woman continued. “-that the lucky woman is none other than the Baxter Building’s guest from another world who’s been staying with the Fantastic Four for many months now. In whose bed? I guess we all know now. While there’s no footage that confirms those allegations, another shot of the incident from just last night shows the outline of a woman with Johnny, one that many fans have theorized is the woman in question. We’ll be coming back to this story later at noon while we wait for more word to come in so stayed tuned and we-”
You felt mortified as the footage cut off, the recorded tape ending and the peering eyes of the three returning to a very suspicious you and Johnny.
“Care to explain?” Reed asked, his stare so intense that you felt frozen in his gaze.
"I don't know anything about that." you lied, eyes wide and anxious as all get out.
"That's so funny,” Sue added, not as stern as Reed, but just as intimidating. She pointed back to the projector. “-because I swear that girl on top of my brother looked just like you."
"How do we know that's me?" Johnny asked, met by blank stares. Even you turned to him with a look of incredulous confusion. "Yeah, alright…"
“How long has this been going on for?” Reed’s anger brewing in his harsh tone.
“So we can totally explain.” you started, backing up in the direction of the exit.
“You better.” Ben added.
“But first I-uh, I think, oh, do you hear that?! I think there’s a dog crying!”
“I hear it too!” Johnny agreed.
“We gotta go help it and I’m sure it’s going to take hours sooo...” you grabbed Johnny’s hand, pulling him to the exit before you could be interrogated any longer.
“Get back here!” Reed ordered, but you only sent him a guilty smile.
“See you later, bye!”
You and Johnny were gone before any of them could stop you, sprinting for his room where you could plan your escape.
Reed wanted to chase after you, but Sue held him back with a gentle force, preventing him from stretching out an arm to grab you or Johnny. She was just as shocked as he was, but much more accepting. She was your age once, just as excited running around with her Reed and if she was completely honest, she fully supported your insurrection if it meant commitment and happiness for her beloved baby brother.
"Let her go," she placed a light hand on his shoulder. "We'll track them down later."
“Fine,” Reed relented. “But I expect all the answers then!”
Ben chuckled, a rocky hand reaching up to scratch the pebbled stubble on his chin.
“I guess that explains why he stopped letting me share the shower with him.” he pursed his lips, putting the pieces together.
“What?!”