Work Text:
What did being a hero truly mean?
It meant being honest, loyal, protecting others, standing up for justice.
Everything that John wasn't.
Everything that Bobby was.
So, it didn't make sense that Bobby would want to be with him when he could do so much better. Bobby deserved better. He was so wholesome and pure and just so fucking good it made John's teeth ache.
John wasn't good. He was the bad boy that mothers told their daughters to say away from. He was broken and tarnished. He wasn't like Bobby. Wasn't like the other students. There was only so much that John could take of being the "good guys".
He knew where he was supposed to be. He was never made for the good side. Only the dark, evil side because he was a bad guy and Bobby was a good guy and they shouldn't be together, but they are and John knows he's falling in love and is powerless to stop it. He doesn't want too either.
Maybe being a hero meant loving someone no matter who you or they were. Maybe it meant learning to care for and about someone other than yourself. Maybe it was about becoming whole and being capable of love and affection.
So when Bobby kisses him and calls him "My hero" it fills him with a warm glow that has nothing to do with his powers.
Maybe he truly is a hero on the inside.