#f4 fluff

summary: after defeating galactus, johnny realizes something, and he has to get it off his chest immediately.

warnings: quinn!johnny storm x reader, friends to lovers!au, mention of sue’s resurrection scene, mentions of fear of being alone, johnny being johnny, language, a little teeny tiny bit of angst, fluff and him being 100% down. fucking. bad.

— 💌 message from jordan: i know this isn’t my usual content, but the marvel brain rot has come back after seeing f4 and i simply can’t get johnny out of my head 😅 if you guys like this, maybe ill write some more for marvel again! anyway, i hope you guys love this as much as i do! it was super fun to write :)

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the soft yellow glow of the lamp on your nightstand illuminated your bedroom, the tv on as background noise as you rung your hair out in a towel, clad in your robe. you padded back to the room, sitting on the end of the bed and watching the news reporters cover their newest story.

“— and thanks to the fantastic four, the citizens of new york can sleep peacefully in their beds and be surrounded by their loved ones tonight knowing we are now safe from galactus.”

you reached back for your phone, tapping on the screen to see if any new messages came through while you were in the shower. the sight of a blank lockscreen made you frown, tapping to your messages to see if they had even been seen by him.

hey, saw the news. you okay?

delivered, 9:10pm

with a huff you tossed your phone back on the bed and walked back to the bathroom, grabbing your skincare products from the drawers. just as you were about to wash your face, there was a bang outside the room, forcing a jump from you. you furrowed your eyebrows, slowly tiptoeing back to your room.

when you turned the corner, the bright glow of yellow and orange now lit up your entire room. you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding, walking towards the window and undoing the lock to let him inside.

“johnny, what the hell!?” you turned around as he climbed in through the window, “i texted you! i saw the news and i texted you and you never answered and…”

you trailed off when you finally turned around, taking in the man who stood in front of you. his face was wearing an expression you rarely saw. a look of guilt and sadness, mixed with a hint of fear. his hair tousled from the wind, his baby blue eyes heavy and bloodshot. your movements froze.

“i uhm- i saw your text,” he said, taking a deep breath, “sorry i didn’t respond, i just… i wanted to see you. in person.”

“what’s wrong?” your voice softer now as you padded closer to him, now feeling guilty for raising your voice at him. but damnit, he scared the hell out of you.

“i watched my sister-“ he closed his mouth and looked off to the side, his eyes finding the cityscape outside the window as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. his eyes met yours again after a moment, a stray tear rolling down his cheek as he looked at you, “i watched my sister die and then magically come back to life,”

you furrowed your eyebrows, “what?”

“i don’t— i don’t know,” he sighed, flopping down onto the edge of your bed, “she was pushing galactus towards the bridge and it was too much and she…”

he paused for a minute as you sat down, your hand reaching out to his shoulder to comfort him. he took a deep breath, “i mean, reed checked her pulse and everything. she wasn’t even breathing. and then when reed put franklin on her chest to say goodbye, that’s when she came back to life,”

“i’m sorry,” you said softly, eyes soft as you scanned his features, “that’s… a lot.”

he let out a humorless chuckle, “yeah,” his eyes shifted to look at you, the whites of his eyes still slightly red, but you could tell they were still hiding something.

you had always been the one to notice that sometimes, no matter what his mouth said, his eyes said something different. they couldn’t hide the truth from you. no matter how hard he tried, he was an open book to you. completely vulnerable. a side not everyone got to see, but you were lucky you were one of the few.

“you’re sure that’s all that’s bothering you?”

damn it to hell.

he blinked, sucking in a breath and suddenly the air felt different. it felt heavier. like there were unspoken words between the two of you.

“it’s stupid, really-“

“johnny,” you watched as he stood from the bed, suddenly finding interest in the new york night sky once again. you tilted your head, unconvinced.

“no really, i promise, it’s nothing. i’ll go to bed and wake up tomorrow and it’ll be in the back of my mind-“

“c’mon,” your voice was still soft as you stood behind him, “it’s me. you know you can tell me anything and everything, and its clearly bothering you, so please. let me help.”

he turned back around, “when reed tried bringing sue back, and even when she did come back, you could just see how much he truly loved her. how glad he was that his person was back, and it made me realize that i’m a compete fucking idiot. that i’ll never have someone to love the way he loves her, or love me the way she loves him, because i’m an idiot who's too scared to tell the woman i’m in love with that i love her.”

you felt your heart drop to your stomach. sure, johnny had mentioned the long list of women waiting to have their turn with him, but it was never anything serious. never something more than a fling here and there.

but you had always held a tiny sliver of hope that you’d be the one to make it all seem worth it to him. the relationship, the dates, the anniversaries, all of it. you had loved him for so long, wished for just a single chance on every birthday cake candle and shooting star, but you always knew the answer. it was no use.

or so you thought.

“you’re not an idiot,” you said through the lump in your throat, “it’s just unnatural for you. you’re used to the girls lining up to have shot, not the sappy feelings part. and it’s okay to be scared of it. love is scary. but it’s also really beautiful.”

“have you ever been in love?”

you sucked in a breath, ignoring the pit in your stomach. you said you wanted to help, but had you known it was going to be about this…

“once,” you nodded, “i don’t think he ever felt the same way. especially not now.”

he swallowed, adam’s apple bobbing before he spoke, “did you ever tell him?”

you shook your head before he asked another question, “do you regret it?”

he could see it in your eyes. he knew. he knew for a while now, or at least he thought he did, but now he really did. the way you watched him intently, the way your eyes stayed locked on his. you looked at him like he hung the stars in the night sky. like he had all the answers to your problems.

and he hoped he did. because you were the answer to all of his.

you nodded again, this time your heart rising to your throat as he stepped closer, “maybe you should tell him. i’m sure he’d like to hear it right now.”

you pulled your eyebrows together, “what do you-“

“you said it yourself, it’s scary but beautiful,” he said, “so tell him. and i’ll tell her.”

you tried to play it cool, “i don’t-“

“say it,” his voice was soft but pleading, “please.”

you took a breath, now realizing how close the two of you were all of a sudden. your tongue swiped over your lips to wet them as you let out a shaky breath.

“i love you, johnny.”

that’s all it took before he was pulling you in closer by your hips, pressing his lips to yours in a messy kiss. he kissed you like he was drowning and you were oxygen.

like you were his lifeline.

“i love you,” he mumbled against your lips when he finally pulled away, “i’m sorry-“

“you’re here now,” you shook your head, smiling as you took in the smell of his cologne underneath the layer of faint ash, “that’s what matters.”

he leaned down and kissed you again, this time he picked you up off your feet and spun you around, hands gently placed on your back as your giggles broke the kiss.

you wrapped your legs around his hips, hands clutching the burgundy material in your hands. he smirked down at you playfully, forcing a smile on your lips and a chuckle to fall from them, “what?”

“nothing,” he shook his head, placing your back gently onto the mattress, his body scaling yours. he was warm to the touch, always had been since the accident, “just, feeling really lucky.”

you ran your fingers through his blonde strands, “lucky?”

“lucky cause the girl i love never stopped loving me, never gave up on me, even when she should’ve.”

“i would’ve waited a million lifetimes for you, you know,” you confessed quietly, “as pathetic as it sounds,”

he dropped his head to yours, foreheads pressing together, “i don’t deserve you.”

“mm, yeah, probably,” you joked back as he let out a chuckle. his smile lighting up his face. his usual, ‘johnny like’ persona slowly creeping its way back in.

“wanna find out why the ladies call me ‘torch’?” he joked and you laughed, maybe a little too loud but you didn’t care.

“no one calls you that!”

“sure they do!” he argued back, a cocky smile still on his face, “y’know, in their dreams and fantasies or whatever.”

“maybe in your dreams, hotshot,” you mumbled before kissing him once again. his lips slotting with yours almost as perfect and intoxicating as the first time. his free hand cupping your face, thumb slowly caressing your cheek as he kissed you.