#f4 first steps

You love how he’s so passionate about all the things he cares about, his enthusiasm so contagious, you’ve even bought a few books on astronomy for yourself, just so you’ll finally be able to add something to Johnny’s passionate explanations. 

You haven’t put your newfound knowledge to the test, though, figuring that tonight might be a good place to start. 

Tonight is reserved just for you and Johnny, just for stargazing. 

You’re not quite sure when your monthly stargazing dates actually became a thing, you only know that they did. 

The first date you two went on, you’d had dinner at a nice little restaurant, before Johnny walked you back home. You two had been talking animatedly, arguing whether The Beatles newest album, A Hard Day’s Night was better than their last, With The Beatles. (To this day, you still can’t agree on this question.) 

Suddenly, Johnny had lost track of what he was saying, trailing off distractedly. 

Confused, you’d followed his gaze up towards the sky. 

„Is that …“, he’d murmured, squinting and taking a few steps forward. „It looks like the little fox, but …“ 

Some more squinting, paired with a confused shake of his head, followed by a disbelieving laugh. „It is!“ 

Then, his gaze had landed on you again, and even though it was already dark outside, you could see the flush on his cheeks. 

He grimaced, running a hand through his short blond hair in distress. „I’m sorry!“ 

You smiled, shaking your head. „Don’t be.“ 

He returned your smile with a shaky one of his own. „No, I really am sorry, that was incredibly rude of me … here I am, on this wonderful date and yet all I could think about for a second is this rare constellation!“ 

Thinking about that moment still makes you smile warmly, even years later. Whenever this particular story of how you two have gotten together is talked about, though, Johnny still gets incredibly flustered, trying to defend himself. 

„The Little Fox! Ben, do you know how rare that constellation is?“, he said one time at Sunday night dinner. His outburst was followed with a bout of laughter from everyone else. 

„I mean, getting this distracted over a rare constellation is something you’d pretty much expect from Reed, but you, Johnny?“ 

Under the table, you’d squeezed his hand, offering a reassuring smile when your eyes met his bright blue ones. 

Later that night, lying in his bed, you’d taken his hand, supporting yourself on the elbow of your other arm to look at him. He’d been unusually quiet and brooding all night long, and you knew exactly what was bothering him. 

„You know that the others are just teasing you, right?“ 

Johnny scoffed, starting to say something, but you were quicker. 

„Johnny, I knew what I was getting myself into, dating a renowned astronaut, as Sue and Ben would put it. And I may not know all too much about space myself, but I love how passionate you are about it. That moment during our first date? I actually thought that was quite endearing. Adorable, even.“ 

In hindsight, you probably shouldn’t have used these exact words. Knowing Johnny, you should’ve known that they’d only end up getting to his head. 

But then, a lot of things tend to get to Johnny’s head pretty quickly, especially when it comes to you. Johnny loves space, and Johnny loves you and he loves being with you, yet he’s never entirely lost the cocky and flirty side to him. It’s yet another thing you love so much about him. 

The things you love about Johnny could probably fill the entire night sky. It’s a sappy thought, yet it’s true nonetheless, you think as you snuggle closer to Johnny, resting your head on his chest as you listen to him telling you about the Aquila constellation, your gaze following your linked hands he’s holding up to the night sky. 

„ - carried Zeus’ thunderbolt, but he’s also known for carrying Ganymede up to Mount Olympus …“, suddenly, Johnny trails off, sighing. 

„I’m sorry. I’m probably boring you to death …“, he says, eyes meeting yours for a split second, before looking up at the night sky. 

„What? No!“, you protest immediately, raising your head from his chest and sitting up again. „I could listen to you talk about space and night sky constellations for-“

„I mean, I get it, having to listen to all of this over and over again-“

„Johnny“, you interrupt him, your voice stern. Your eyes find his, and you hold his gaze, squeezing his hand for good measure, hoping that you’ll get your point across. „I love listening to you talk about space and rare constellations in the night sky and foreign galaxies and everything else. Really, I do. I love how excited you get about a rare constellation, I could listen to you talk about the Little Fox or Cygnus for hours, I-“

„Really?“, he says. 

You raise your eyebrows in irritation. He sounds far too happy and his grin is far too confident and cocky, considering how unsure of himself he sounded just a mere moment ago. 

You roll your eyes, sighing in exasperation. „Johnny …“ 

Johnny only smirks, laughing when he sees your irritated expression. 

„You know how much I love receiving compliments, especially when they’re coming from you“, is all he says, before stealing a quick kiss from your lips. 

Your eyes find his bright blue ones again and you find that you simply can’t stay mad at him. 

„Idiot“, you say, an affectionate smile on your lips, before leaning down to kiss him again. 

After breaking the kiss, Johnny just shrugs, smirking up at you. „Yes, but I’m your idiot. I’m the idiot you love.“ 

You roll your eyes at him again, but, well - you can’t really argue with that. 

Sighing, you lower yourself down, until your head is resting on his chest again. Johnny presses a soft kiss to the crown of your head, before reaching for your hand and intertwining your fingers again. 

„Sometimes I truly wonder how you managed to get that degree“, you tease him. 

Johnny just laughs. „It’s all part of the charm, sweetheart …“ 

„Sure it is …“, you agree, smile on your lips. 

For a moment, you just lie there, gazing up at the starry night sky as you listen to Johnny’s steady heartbeat. 

Then, something else catches your attention, and you shift a bit, trying to focus your gaze on- 

Could it really be?, you wonder, once again sitting up. Because you spotting the rare constellation that Johnny spotted during your very first date is a cliché with a pretty bow on top and then some, but as you focus your gaze on the stars in the night sky, you see that you’re not wrong. It truly is Vulpecula, the Little Fox. 

„Look, Johnny“, you whisper, squeezing his hand before reaching up towards the night sky with your intertwined hands. 

„Wha-“

Even without looking at him, you can pinpoint the exact moment Johnny spots the constellation. His breath hitches before he laughs lightly in disbelief. 

He squeezes your hand. „It’s-“

You nod, turning to look at him. „Vulpecula“, you say, at the same time as Johnny says „the Little Fox.“ 

„Located in the middle of the Summer Triangle“, you continue, smiling when you see Johnny’s eyes widen. „The first pulsar was discovered just recently by Jocelyn Bell in Cambridge-“

„Wait“, Johnny interrupts you, shaking his head. „How- I - how?“

You laugh. „I ordered a copy of that one astronomy book you always talk about for myself, to - to be able to contribute to the conversation. Like I said, I love how much you love space, how passionate you are about it, Johnny.“ 

Johnny’s gaze softens, and he leans forward, kissing you softly. „I love you so damn much, you - you’re amazing.“ 

You smile, resting your head on his shoulder. „I love you too, Johnny.“ 

A beat, then: „But just so you know: I’m going to brag about what you’ve just said until we’re old and gray.“ 

You can’t help but laugh. „Well, otherwise you wouldn’t be Johnny Storm.“ 

divider @uzmacchiato

not me writing about Johnny's warm brown eyes, until I remembered that Joe Quinn wore blue contacts for the movie lol