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A week ago, while the four (eventually five! … six?) of them were in space, in Galactus’s vast–and somewhat stunning–domain. Shalla-Bal had said something quite silly to Johnny Storm.
Of course, he didn’t think she was silly. She was… pardon his French, fantastic. Her eerie, and somehow, metallic voice was like velvet to him. Her eyes were fascinating in themselves. They were like little pools of starlight, yet were able to look so dull at the same time. She was just incredible, dark and brooding, yet so stunning that she had managed to plague Johnny's thoughts for days. All hours of the day!
“I don’t like foolish boys such as yourself, Earthling.” She had drawled with a microscopic tug to her lip that Johnny knew he wasn’t imagining. She was just so beautiful! Her mercury skin reflected him flying next to her, warping her facial features… just a tad.
Johnny knew he saw that hint of amusement in her face. Later he would realize she was playing with him.
“What! Am not!” He corrected, a bit weakly. Her insulting him was the last thing he expected from her. Though it should have been his first, given the first thing she ever said to him was “DIE.”
… All Disgressions aside.
Shalla paused. Eyes closed, not looking at him. “I highly doubt that. Take my statement into consideration. It is to be important, if you continue to act this way.”
“Act like what? Foolish? Which I am not, by the way!” Johnny held out a finger in protest. He never got a response, as he then immediately asked about the surfboard, wrong move.
It took a talk with Ben for Johnny to realize she meant she was gay. A Lesbian? Maybe Shalla was a man… Either way! Women loving. Johnny decided on.
It then took a talk with Sue to remember that Ben consoled him instead of congratulating him, because… well, he didn't know any better.
“You haven't told him?” Sue clarified, unable to believe her baby sibling.
Johnny threw up his hands in defense. “I’ve been busy, I- I thought he knew!”
“Johnny. You barely tell him anything, the only things you do tell him, are to tease him! Same with Reed, when are you gonna tell him that you actually are a woman, you know he values that sort of information. It isn’t like you’re embarrassed or something. Is it…?” Johnny shook his head.
“No, I just… I thought he would be able to sleuth that one out by now. Honest!”
“I understand that he could be fully aware that you’re simply male presenting, but he’s a complicated man! You sometimes have to lay things out neatly in front of him. Or he could have known this whole time, and is simply waiting for you to tell him yourself.”
It was second nature to Johnny, to distance himself from Reed. Of course, he loved the guy, probably the best brother in law a kid like him could ever ask for. But that didn’t make the concept of confrontation, and bearing secrets any less nervewracking. Sue was the first–and only–person to really know he still wanted to be seen as a woman. At least by people he cared deeply for. Which, no! That is not to say Johnny didn’t trust the rest of his team with that information… it was just… complicated.
Johnny groaned, flopping back on Sue’s bed. “I don’t get why it’s such a big deal, it's not like it would change how anyone refers to me.”
Sue sighed, as sympathetically as possible. She was used to her sister being a bit of a pain in the ass. “It changes how Ben and Reed would see you, how they relate to you.” She said gently.
He groaned again, “Ben sees me just fine.” A long, anxious pause followed before he continued, playing with little flames at the tips of his fingers. Sue resisted the urge to swat him for playing with fire on her bed. “Reed doesn't relate to me, or see me anyways.”
“Don’t you want that to change?” Sue ignored the more worrying part of his retort.
Johnny was silent for a long time again, Sue was certain he had fallen asleep right then and there on her bed. “Yeah… and no. Ugh!” He sat upright. “Whatever, I’ll go deal with it.” Johnny settled on, swiftly running out of the room. Coincidentally at the same moment Franklin's baby monitor lit up with activity.
“And I’ll hold you to it, you little shit!”
Sue, to her discredit, did not hold it to him.
Johnny was always thankful for the newest member of the family, but now he was twice as thankful for little Franky, and how he stole Sue’s attention away from him completely.
And after everything, after all the work. After the weeks of grueling engineering Reed had pioneered, inspiring speeches Sue had made, and Ben had supported the whole way through. Johnny was holed up in their rec room. Reading. Reading and listening. Doing nothing but dedicating blood, sweat and tears into understanding Shalla-Bal's life.
And eventually her pain. Her pain and suffering that caused a ripple across the whole universe. Like the ripples that washed over her beautiful chrome skin.
After all that dedication, that work and love he had put into proving himself to Shalla…
“I understand you. Come with us.” He had said with a hand outstretched, whispered to her where no cameras or microphones could follow, could demonize either one of them.
She had just looked at him with her hauntingly beautiful, hollow eyes. And screamed.
He had accepted it after that, that he’d never see her again. Presumably the love of his life.
But… Things changed, things got in the way…
Like his own self esteem that he didn’t notice was crumbling until he was hurling himself towards an interdimensional portal, like Sue… dying. She had truly died. Johnny would never admit it, but in that moment, he cursed Reed. Cursed that fucking cosmic storm. The thing that took away his autonomy, and his sisters, and Ben and Reeds. That took away his ability to cry. The ability to mourn his sister.
He spent the following weeks at the foot of their bed, or next to Sue, or on a pile of pillows and blankets he had dragged into their room. Sometimes Ben would join them, sometimes Reed gave them space. Those were the times that he held Sue's hand through the whole night. Convincing himself that her pulse hadn’t stopped. Not even once. Not even for a millisecond.
Eventually things changed for the better, Ben practiced addressing crowds, since they had to do so much of it while rebuilding New York.
However, Johnny had yet to move back into his own room.
One night, Shalla had landed on their balcony and peered inside.
Hands against the glass, hesitant, like a lost kitten looking into the homes of house cats, loved, cherished, warm.
Johnny heard the tap from Sue’s room. He heard her before any of Reed's alarms could go off. He had been waiting for her. He was sprinting into the living room in an instant and stopping in his tracks at the sight of her.
“Shalla?” He whispers, ghosting a hand over hers against the glass. Her eyes harden.
“Let me in –” Whatever she was saying is muffled by the glass, if it's an insult, he didn’t recognize it, but he could swear he heard her say “dork” which is also not true!
Johnny quickly opens the door for her, she walks in with her surfboard by her side, not unlike the stereotypical beach boys that prowl around with short shorts and their grotesquely colored surfboards at their sides. The thought warms Johnny's heart.
“What– how did, how did you…?” He trails off, waiting for her to eventually make eye contact with him. It takes her two long, quiet minutes. She’s breathtaking.
It makes Johnny wonder, how does she choose planets?
What means they will be marked for death? Does she disguise herself as a normal citizen, seeing if the average joe is worth sparing? Does Galactus ask for them by name? Does she… do this ? Look at everything slowly, carefully, with great precision. Looking at every minute detail, at every crack in the Earth, every ladybug resting upon shiny blades of grass. Every wrinkle and pore upon every delicate human's face. Looking so deeply as to see their true value, their true intentions. Is there that many terrible, rotten people on Earth that the universe needed to be rid of it? Johnny would believe that. Or is there more to it, maybe less?
“You came back… How?” He says after calming himself, somehow feeling completely hopeless, and as if everything is going in his favor for once.
“I never truly left.” Shalla says like it's the simplest thing in the universe. Maybe it is, for her. “Unfortunately, I have come back to this strange, resilient little planet for… you…” Now it’s her turn to trail off into an awkward silence.
“J… Johnny Storm.” He hesitantly supplies, simply guessing what was meant to fill her pause. She nods, it's a small thing. Shalla is very gentle, minor in her movements. She doesn’t breathe, Johnny notices. She probably has no reason to do so. Not anymore.
She relaxes a bit after that, “Yes… Johnny.” The way she pronounces his name, it sounds as if saying it makes her uncomfortable. She's never come across anything so pedestrian before. It's amusing. “You have piqued my interests.” That same, adorable, microscopic smile gracing her features. Reflected in tan and maroon by Johnny. Her eyes crinkle, looking around at their surroundings again.
“Well, I… I’m flattered!” He beams, unabashedly. Showing off the braceless teeth he was very proud of. “I- I happen to uh. Interest a lot of women, I’m glad to” –’add another to the list’?? What is he, stupid?! He’s not a womanizer, he's a lesbian! Who just so happens to be very lonely and have next to no love life at all. Something that Sue can never seem to get over! What if he wants to be single, so what!
…
‘So what’ is the fact that maybe, just maybe, upon seeing this powerful, gorgeous, and dare he say fantastic space woman, he doesn’t want to be alone for the rest of his life. He’s starstruck.
Shalla clears her throat, which immediately catches Johnny's attention, as he just noticed she doesn’t breathe?!
“Um. Sorry, anyways, do… Do you need something? What do you plan to do now? Why are you here? I– sorry, you just answered that one, I think–” He internally chokes himself out. He like… really needs to learn how to talk to women better. Sue was right about one thing.
“You like me, yes?” Shalla tilts her head at him, speaking completely matter-of-a-factly. And all the air rushes from his chest. He’s been punched. He has been emotionally and metaphorically punched in his gut by the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in his life. Johnny realizes just how terrifying and mysterious she is, and maybe he’s into that!
He laughs awkwardly, almost hysterically. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything right now but–”
“I am afraid I’m here to formally reject you, Earth boy– Johnny. As sweet as you are, I am a genetically female being only attracted to other genetically female beings.”
“Oh!” Johnny cuts her off, a little clumsily, she looks a bit offended at that. It's cute. “I figured that out eventually, don’t worry. We have people like that here on Earth.”
“Ah. I see… That is all you have to say?” She looks him up and down, completely puzzled by his seemingly strange response.
“No I have so much more to say, but I’ll start with: can I lift up my shirt?”
Shalla stands up straight once more, like his question just slapped her in the face. Somehow, she looks significantly less confused, but not opposed to the idea. And in her mind, she thinks Johnny's a man, so… without another word, he does as he warned, metaphorically flashing Shalla and showing her his taped chest. Her glossy eyes immediately widened.
“But you–!” her cold, careless attitude seems to be chipping away, like she was seconds away from laughing. Like this was good news to her. This was obviously a bad way to do this, but given Shallas assumptions, and Johnny practically never went anywhere without his tape, the results seemed satisfactory. Thank Scott.
“I’m not really a man,” Johnny huffed a small laugh, “I just like to be masculine.” It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. Maybe it would be easy to tell Ben and Reed. Especially after doing the strangest thing imaginable. Shalla was speechless, just staring at where his boobs should have been, after he dropped his shirt back down. “Why? Who knows, I’m foolish, and interesting.” He looks up to the ceiling, only to find Shalla staring straight into his eyes when he looks back down.
She looks almost determined, her eyes sparkle with newfound life. (But not too much, Johnny finds that the thought of it alone worries him.) “I knew you were too beautiful to be a man.”
In another life, or another situation, Johnny would have been deeply offended by that observation. But now, it makes him smile.
Shalla takes his hand in hers. She’s incvredibly cold, like untouched metal, waiting to be warmed up by a smelter. Johnny was more than happy to oblige, he let warmth from his flames seep into his hands. Offering a small comfort, that Shalla doesn’t seem to notice yet.
What she had said a moment ago catches up to Johnny, barking out an embarrassed laugh, ripping one hand away from hers to cover his face shyly. Jesus, he really was hopeless. “No, no!” Shalla chuckles, “I find it cute, I promise.” Her voice was exploding with affection. Her blooming personality was like night and day compared to how she was acting five minutes ago.
This was the farthest Johnny had ever gotten with anyone, ever. He was so out of his depth.
They were standing in the middle of the Baxter building's living room. Holding hands and giggling like school girls, Johnny felt so warm, out of embarrassment, yes, but also out of love. A strange concept.
“You have done so much for me, for the honor of my people. I didn't think such a thing was possible anymore. Thank you.” Shalla says reluctantly, like she had been mulling over the thought for forever.
“And— And I thank you, Shalla, for saving my life.”
She is taken aback. “What you did, all you have sacrificed and done, it was very noble of you. It was the least I could have done.”
“I’d do that all again in a heartbeat, you were just as noble as me. If it means anything.” Johnny holds their linked hands up to his chin.
After a long pause… Shalla smiles. Really smiles, like the sun is shining just for her and her alone, like she has been absolved of every sin she has ever comitted. Johnny finds that fact is true for him, at least in this very moment. “I’ll keep that thought close to my heart.”
Sadly, Johnny catches himself yawning, “Shit. I’m sorry, I haven't been keeping the best sleep schedule lately.” Johnny's pretty sure Shalla doesn’t really understand what he just said. She lets her hands fall limp out of his grasp, clenching at her sides anxiously.
“I shall leave, leave your peaceful home alone.”
“Promise me you’ll come see me soon, okay? I want to hang out, get to know you more. From the source, not just… sad, really sad audio recordings, okay? Get… uh. Go on a date? maybe?” Johnny is yawning into his empty hand again, distracted by sleep clouding his vision.
He doesn’t see how Shalla’s eyes brim with mercury tears, how she looks almost grief stricken, and relieved, like this is her first time feeling safe and loved in years. Because it's true.
If she could sigh, she would have. “Alright. Johnny Storm, I will find you.” She says, grasping his hand and pressing a kiss to it. Gentle, cold lips against inhumanly warm skin. Her lips burn like a brand on Johnny, but he couldn’t care less. She is his Knight in dazzling silver armor.
Johnny watches his Knight fly off into the night sky, hiding in the moon.
”Let's fly together some day!” He yells after her.
He doesn’t get a response, but he’s okay with that now.
--
bonus <3
“Johnny!!! you woke up the entire house! Well, except for Franklin. You better thank me in a moment.”
“Why?”
Sue rolls her eyes, pointing a finger across the room to where Ben is standing, jaw slack. Shocked.
“Did you just ask out a lesbian?”
Johnny laughs. “Duh, you seriously haven’t been able to tell I’m obsessed with her?”
“Ben, Johnny's a woman.” Reed pipes up from behind Sue, baby monitor clutched in his hands.
“Oh. Seriously?”
Johnny nods with a huge smile on his face.
“Yes, I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“Dude, we’ve got to talk about that sometime, there is no way I’ve known you for, what, eight years? And I never found out?”
Johnny finds himself walking in the direction of his own room for the first time in weeks, still smiling at Ben. “What, you proud of me or something?”
“Duh!”