Work Text:
Honey, come put your lips on mine
And shut me up!
We could blame it all on human nature
Stay cool, it’s just a kiss
Oh, why you gotta be so talkative?
I talk too much, we talk too much
—
Johnny was having a good day.
Was.
But now he’s standing in a diner, waiting for Peter Parker (who is running late (again)), and staring down his ex.
It’s been months and Johnny hasn’t so much as looked at anyone else. He’s still been holding out hope that maybe Samantha will change her mind. But here she is, very clearly having moved on.
And Johnny knows he’s being delusional. He knows that he always gets into these relationships where his perspective is warped. He thinks they’re going to be together forever, and the other person… well, to them Johnny doesn’t seem like anything much more than an easy fuck.
Johnny has never wished more that he had Sue’s powers. He tries to hide behind a menu, but he’s glancing over the top.
Sam is hanging off the arm of some giant redheaded guy with a neat beard and curls hanging out from under his beanie. Johnny doesn’t know who he’s more envious of.
“Oh my god, Johnny?” Sam’s voice rings out, loud enough that other patrons look over.
Johnny shrinks into himself for just a moment before putting on a cool facade.
“Sam, hey!” Johnny stands and gives her a friendly hug. It’s awkward. “How have you been?”
“Good, good! You know, I signed on with a new agency since I last saw you.” She announces excitedly. Johnny knew this already. It happened not too long after they broke up, when he was still stalking her instagram. Before Wyatt confiscated his phone and forced him to stop.
“That’s great! I’m so happy for you!” He lies.
“Thanks! What have you been up to?”
What has Johnny been up to? Sulking around the Baxter Building, distracting himself with his niece and nephew, staying away from any and all modeling gigs.
“You know, the usual, superhero stuff.” He replies with a crooked smile.
“Right, of course, duh.” She smiles, and her lipgloss shines in a way that makes Johnny’s chest ache.
“Oh I should introduce you!” Sam exclaims suddenly. “This is my boyfriend, Jack, he plays for the Rangers.” A hockey player, of course. Someone who was the complete opposite of Johnny. Large, tough, manly.
“Nice to meet you, man.” Johnny says as he extends his hand. It’s immediately dwarfed by Jack’s much larger paw.
“Jack, this is Johnny— well you probably knew that— but we used to model together.” She says it in a way that implies that’s all they ever were. Coworkers. Like Johnny wasn’t ready to give up everything for her.
“Oh, cool.” It’s the first words that Jack has said so far, his voice is softer than Johnny expected.
“Are you staying for long? We should sit together, catch up!” Sam suggests and Johnny thinks he would rather have lunch with Doom right now.
“Oh yeah for sure!” He acquiesces.
And then, for a reason he is completely unsure of, the next words to come out of Johnny’s mouth are: “I’m actually just waiting for my boyfriend, he should be here soon.”
Why the fuck would I say that?!
He doesn’t have time to wallow in his mistakes before the bell at the front of the diner is ringing and Peter walks in.
Johnny turns around and knows that Peter is both his only lifeline and the last person he wants to see right now.
As Peter locks eyes with him and smiles, a vision of a gravestone enters Johnny’s head. Here lies Johnny Storm; Cause of death: too bisexual for his own good.
Before Johnny can contemplate his soon and inevitable death any further, he jogs up to Peter and pulls him into a hug. It’s not like they haven’t hugged before, but it’s not something they do often, certainly not when they’re just meeting for lunch.
“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.” Johnny whispers conspiratorially into Peter’s ear.
“What?!” Peter says, too loudly.
“Shut up. Please just go with it and we can watch whatever stupid movie you want to tonight, even though it’s my pick.”
Peter pulls back from the hug and Johnny’s certain that he’s going to tell him to get bent. But then, Peter’s hand is on his jaw and he’s placing a sweet kiss to the corner of Johnny’s mouth.
“Like that?” He asks quietly. This close, Johnny can see the green in his eyes.
“Yeah,” He breathes out. “Just keep doing that.”
Johnny selfishly keeps his hand on the small of Peter’s back as he leads him over to the small table where the actual couple have sat down.
“Hey, this is Peter. Peter, Sam and Jack.”
“Ohh,” Peter says, recognition flashing in his eyes. “Nice to meet you. Sam, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Johnny cringes.
“And I have heard nothing about you, Peter. Sit down! Tell me everything. How did you two meet?” Sam is far too excited for this. Johnny wants to die.
“Uh, we’ve known each other since we were teenagers actually.” Peter replies, Johnny has no idea how he’s going to explain the how of that, considering most of their high-school meetings involved super-suits, secret identities, and a whole lot of fighting.
“He gave an inspirational speech at my school and it… Well, it struck something in me so I tried to talk to him afterwards.”
Johnny looks at Peter in awe as he turns to greet the waiter who has walked over with glasses of water for the table. He hardly remembered that day, let alone that Peter had talked to him. He found himself regretting that information.
“Anyway, we’ve been actual friends for a while now, and it just became a little more than friends one day.” Peter grabs Johnny’s hand where it lies on the table and intertwines their fingers.
“Awe, that’s so sweet.” Samantha puts her meticulously manicured hands over her heart and pouts.
“What about you two?” Johnny asks, throat tight.
“Well my friend Alyssa’s brother is on the team, she invited me to a game and then we went partying with everyone after they won. I saw this big softie standing like a wallflower and he stole my heart right away.” The way Sam looks at Jack is unfamiliar to Johnny, there’s a softness in her eyes that never once met his own.
“What team?” Peter asks cluelessly.
“Rangers.” Jack says, pointing at the logo on his beanie.
“And that is….?”
“Hockey, Pete,” Johnny says, admiration slipping through his taunting. “It’s a sport where guys hit a puck on the ice with sticks and–”
“Fuck off,” Peter shoves at his chest and Johnny wants him to keep his hand there.
“It’s true,” Johnny says wistfully. “I bagged myself a nerd.” He wraps an arm around Peter’s shoulders and pulls him close. He doesn’t miss the blush that accompanies Peter’s eye roll.
“What do you do for work, Peter?” Sam asks while twirling her straw around her glass.
“I’m a lab assistant,” he replies. Johnny feels a pang of pride hit his heart then quickly reminds himself Peter isn’t actually his. “I also do photography for the Daily Bugle, though. New York ain’t cheap.”
The waiter comes back to take their orders before the awkward realization hits that everyone else at the table is rich.
The rest of lunch goes by normally. As normal as lunch with your ex-girlfriend and fake-boyfriend can go.
When Sam brings up moving in with Jake, Peter puts his hand on Johnny’s thigh. Under the table, where the other two can’t even see. It’s sickeningly sweet. All the same, Johnny curls his fingernails into his palms to ignore the thoughts of Peter’s hand sliding higher.
When the happy couple finally leave, Johnny lets his head fall down against the table with a thud. He sighs dramatically as Peter rubs his back.
“So, what was that about, babe?” Peter teases.
“Don’t even,” Johnny mumbles. “I just– I saw her doing well and moving on and I panicked and said I had a boyfriend cus I wanted her to think I’m totally over her and you were on your way so…”
“So of course the logical decision here is to stew in your lie and pretend we’re dating rather than just, I don’t know, leave?”
“Okay, you don’t get to say anything about lying, bug boy.” Johnny turns his head so he can glare at Peter.
“C’mon,” Peter grabs Johnny’s limp arm and pulls him up. “Let’s go watch Star Trek and you can cry about it on your ridiculously comfy couch.”
—
Johnny’s not paying attention to the movie. He’s seen it before, he knows Peter always cries at this part, but pretends he doesn’t. So he’s paying attention to Peter, who is leaning forward, hands clasped tightly in front of his mouth as a silent tear rolls elegantly down his cheek.
Johnny keeps replaying the afternoon in his head. Every touch, every blush, the kiss.
They haven’t talked about it. But Johnny can’t stop thinking about it. Johnny is dying. Johnny is yearning.
He hasn’t even thought about Sam once, at least not in the same way he has for the past eight months. He’s been too busy imagining what Peter’s lips would feel like in a proper kiss. If he’d make noise or stay deathly quiet the way he does when he’s angry. Johnny wonders if he would be able to feel Peter’s heart rate speed up under his palm.
The credits roll and Peter sniffles as he sits back.
I want to lick his tear tracks, Johnny thinks. That thought is followed promptly by Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?
“You up for the third one?” Peter asks, turning towards Johnny.
“Sure.” Johnny replies automatically.
“You okay?” Peter’s arm has migrated to resting across the back of the couch and Johnny flinches as his fingers grace his nape.
“Yeah!” He says too quickly, voice pitched too high. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I know you don’t like– love these movies, but you seem more distracted than usual.” Peter says hesitantly while toying with the hem of his shirt.
“I’m just thinking.” Johnny shakes his head and looks away.
“That’s a first.” Peter jokes dryly. He shifts closer and rests his head against his hand. Johnny hates how adorable he finds him. “What’s on your mind, Flamebrain?”
Johnny exhales and looks at Peter’s expectant face, his big eyes shining.
“I’m thinking about… youkissingme.”
Peter’s eyebrows furrow and Johnny sighs into his hands.
“Just forget it, it’s embarrassing.”
Peter somehow scoots even closer.
“No, Johnny, I genuinely didn’t hear what you said.”
“Kissing!” Johnny shouts, hysterical.
“Huh?”
“You! Kissing me! Us! Kissing!”
“Oh.”
It’s official: Peter Parker is going to be the death of Johnny Storm.
“Oh my god.” Johnny groans and stands up. The weight displacement on the couch cushion causes Peter to fall over before he scrambles to his feet and follows Johnny across the room.
“Hey, hey.” Peter is speaking in a soft and steady voice. He puts his hands on Johnny’s shoulders which is not helping. He follows Johnny’s swerving head until he meets his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“Really?”
Johnny is going to explode. It’s the only viable option he sees.
“Yeah. Uh listen,” Peter guides Johnny back to the couch. “We’re both single.”
Johnny nods.
“And we have been for– for a while. Naturally our bodies are lacking some… physical connection.”
“Right…”
“What I’m saying is we could continue. To kiss, that is.” Peter looks like he’s about to throw up.
“I’m down for that.”
“Okay.” Peter smiles and Johnny gives into the urge to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear.
“Friends with benefits.” Johnny suggests.
“Sure. Just not those benefits.” Peter’s cheeks are painted a pretty shade of pink as he says it.
“No yeah, of course. Just kissing.”
“Just kissing.”
“Do we just…?” Johnny leans in and their noses brush. After a tense moment of cross-eyed eye contact, they both start laughing. But they don’t pull back. In fact, their foreheads meet in a tender touch.
“Why is this so awkward?” Peter’s hands are sliding across Johnny’s waist as he speaks.
“Just shut up and kiss me, Parker.” Johnny pulls Peter’s lips to his.
It feels like exhaling after a lifetime of holding his breath.
Peter’s mouth moves against his in a sweet slide and Johnny can’t help but smile.
“Not too bad, right?” Peter asks with eyelashes fluttering over his freckled cheeks.
“Nah,” Johnny replies, “not too bad.” He doesn’t stop himself from quickly kissing Peter once more.
“Just bro stuff.” Peter murmurs into Johnny’s mouth.
“Yeah. Bro stuff,” Johnny swings a leg over Peter’s lap. “totally platonic.”
—
It keeps happening, the kissing.
It’s easy for them to fall into the routine. Peter will come over for movie night and they’ll inevitably end up ignoring it in favor of making out. They’ll kiss hello and goodbye. They spend the aftermath of rough battles lost in each other’s mouths.
For his part, Johnny is mostly just conflicted by the fact that he physically can’t leave hickies on Peter’s skin. It’s poetic, he supposes, he can’t leave his mark on Peter because Peter doesn’t belong to him. They’re not anything but friends. Friends who know what each other tastes like.
Which is fine.
Johnny has gotten incredibly good at ignoring his feelings over the years. They burn inside him, as fiery and as hot as he shines on the outside. But, he knows when to push it down. When he gets the urge to confess his love for Peter, he simply claims his lips again before the words spill out.
They haven’t progressed past making out, and Johnny has no logical complaints about that. It’s good for them to have boundaries, he thinks. Meaning, he isn’t sure if he’d be able to come back from having sex with Peter.
His love for Peter has been simmering beneath the surface for who knows how long. It was easier to ignore when Peter was completely unattainable. It was easier to ignore before he knew what Peter felt like beneath him. Before he knew the breathy little moans he lets out when Johnny’s finger traces behind his ear.
“Johnny, why don’t you invite Peter over for dinner sometime this week?” Sue asks one morning while they’re eating breakfast.
“Wonderful idea, darling,” Reed concurs with a squeeze to her waist as he passes her. “He hasn’t come round with the whole family for quite some time.”
“Yeah ‘coz the matchstick is hogging him.” Ben laughs.
Johnny doesn’t like this conversation one bit.
“Okay?” He says too defensively. “What’s with the sudden interest in Peter?” His plate clangs too loud as he drops it in the sink.
“It’s just been a while, calm down.” Sue plays it off, but she has a knowing smile. Johnny hates that smile.
“I’ll ask.” He rolls his eyes and stalks off to his room.
Johnny
Heyyyyyy
He deletes the first text before sending. It’s just a truly too slutty amount of Ys, he decides.
Johnny
hey pete :P
Peter actually responds right away, surprisingly enough.
Web-head
What’s up?
Johnny
sue wanted me to invite u to dinner
u free tonite ?
Web-head
Your typing mannerisms astound me.
But yes I could swing by.
Get it? Haha.
Johnny
yes i get it omfg u giant dork
c u then!!
It’s going to be fine. Everything is totally fine! Johnny can sit through dinner with his family and act like he doesn’t want to jump Peter’s bones the whole time. He can ignore the glances from his sister that tell him she knows something. It’s not like Sue has ever outright accused Johnny of being in love with Peter, but there are these little comments here and there that make his skin itch.
Johnny spends most of the day flying around, trying to burn off his nervous energy.
It doesn’t help.
He sees a digital billboard flash to an ad from the Daily Bugle and almost flies into a building.
When Johnny gets home, he spends the better part of an hour deciding what to wear. He ends up choosing some loose brown slacks and a lighter, short-sleeve silk button up. It's a date-night outfit, but he needs the confidence.
The elevator chimes and Johnny hurries to throw discarded outfits in his closet or shove them beneath his bed. He makes it out just in time to see Franklin telling Peter about the toy trucks he has spread across the front room. Johnny’s heartstrings tug when Peter looks up at him with the softest look accompanied by a small smile.
“Hey, Torchie. You look nice.”
“Thanks,” Johnny tries to say casually as he saunters over. “Not too bad yourself, Parker.”
He’s only wearing khakis and a grey t-shirt with a faded logo on it, but, if you were to ask Johnny, Peter looks good even when he’s bloodied and bruised in a torn up suit.
“Uncle Johnny, shh!” Franklin reprimands, now that he’s competing for Peter’s attention.
“My apologies, sir, please continue.” Johnny sits down, criss-cross applesauce style, next to Peter on the rug. Their knees brush and it somehow feels like the most intimate thing they’ve ever done.
Franklin continues on, explaining the intricacies of each toy to a rapt audience, before Sue comes to whisk him away to clean up. Johnny and Peter make their way into the dining room in a comfortable silence. It feels like they should be holding hands. They don’t.
“I almost kissed you when you sat down.” Peter confesses softly.
A quiet “Huh?” is all Johnny can muster up as a reply.
“Thought the situation might be a little hard to explain to a preschooler if he started asking questions, though.” The corners of Peter’s lips turn up mischievously and Johnny elbows him in the ribs. “Ow!”
“Oh, you did not feel that.”
Peter looks back at him with a shit-eating grin.
They’re halfway through the meal when Johnny feels a pressure on his ankle. He glances across the table at Peter, who is listening to Reed talk about something sciencey and complicated. Johnny can’t be bothered to give a damn about whatever it is because Peter’s foot is climbing higher up Johnny’s pant leg and making him shiver.
Johnny kicks Peter in warning and the bastard doesn’t even react. Well, if Peter’s playing dirty, he can too. Once he glances back over at him, Johnny is prepared with a gherkin between his fingers. He makes a show of wrapping his lips around it as he slides it into his mouth.
Peter chokes on his drink. Point: Johnny.
“You’re the worst.” Peter grunts out later, as they’re saying goodbye in the entryway.
“Me? I wasn’t trying to play footsie with you in front of your entire family.”
“You’re saying I’m not family?” Peter’s taking the piss, and Johnny knows he is. But, goddamn, those Peter Parker Puppy Dog Eyes always shoot lightning straight through his limbic system.
“No! No… Don’t do that. Don’t do that to me.” He whines as he grabs onto Peter’s waist.
“You’re so easy.” Peter goads, hooking his arms around Johnny’s neck.
Johnny uses his new favorite method of shutting Peter up.
“I need to get home.” Peter murmurs once he finally pulls away.
“If you must…” Johnny concedes as he loosens his grip.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
They kiss once more, chastely, before Peter’s face disappears behind the elevator doors.
Johnny sighs, lovesick and just for himself.
“I knew it!” Sue makes herself visible with a shriek.
“What the fuck!?” Johnny is furious. “You were spying on me!?”
“Not on purpose!” She defends.
“Ugh! You’re the worst!” Johnny shoves past her, storming off to his room.
“Come on, Johnny, it really was an accident. I only saw a little bit.”
“What’s ‘a little bit’?”
“One kiss.” She admits, hands in the air. Johnny flops down face-first onto his bed.
Sue sits down and puts her hand on Johnny’s back, rubbing soothingly like she would when they were kids.
“So…” She says after a moment. “How long has this been going on?”
“Nothing’s going on.” Johnny groans into his pillow.
Sue makes a noise of disagreement.
“That didn’t look like nothing.”
“It’s just– ugh.” Johnny turns over. “We’re not going out, we’re not together, we’re just… you know.”
“Oh ew, Johnny!”
“We’re not fucking either!” He yells, his dismay evident.
Sue is silent, her mouth partway open and brows furrowed.
“We just like– kiss now, or whatever. You know, like friends do.”
“Are you… doing this with other friends?” She asks cautiously.
“Well, no—“
“Johnny!”
He groans again, ever the dramatic.
“You can’t keep letting him lead you on like this.” Sue says softly.
“He’s not leading me on, I started it.” Johnny tries to argue.
“Tell him how you feel, or end whatever weird mating ritual this is.” Sue pats Johnny’s shoulder and leaves his room.
—
Johnny, of course, does not follow Sue’s orders. If this is all he’s ever going to have with Peter, he’s going to milk it for all it’s worth.
They meet at the usual place one evening and Johnny is practically giddy when Peter lifts up his mask to greet him with a kiss.
“Happy to see me?” Johnny teases.
“You wish.” Peter nips at his bottom lip.
If you’d told Johnny ten years ago that he’d one day be defiling a national monument with Spider-Man, he’d probably assume they destroyed it in an epic battle of strength and not, in fact, a battle of tongues and teeth.
“Warm me up.” Peter whines as he crowds closer to Johnny’s body.
“It was your idea to meet outside.” Johnny points out, but he holds him nonetheless.
“It doesn’t matter where we go if I’ve got the world’s best personal heater with me.” Peter sticks his cold nose against Johnny’s neck, and Johnny tries not to think about how romantic those words sounded.
“I see,” he pouts sarcastically. “You just want me for my body.”
“You’ve figured me out, firefly.” The nickname causes a spike in Johnny’s already speeding heartrate.
They watch the sunset while wrapped up in each other’s arms and trading stolen lazy kisses. Simply enjoying the company. It feels too intimate for what they are. Johnny pushes down the doubt and buries his face in Peter’s unkempt hair.
“You comin’ back to mine?” He asks once the sun is finally lost beyond the horizon.
“I can’t.” Peter’s voice is laced with disappointment. “I’ve got an early morning at the lab; we’re really close to cracking this new neural-link device.”
“Alright, boy-genius.” Johnny quips, a strategy to mask his sadness, before placing a kiss on Peter's temple. “You want a lift?”
“Johnny, be realistic– if you carry me back to my apartment, I’m gonna invite you in and then we’re gonna stay up the whole night talking and… other things.”
Johnny opens his mouth but Peter turns and presses a finger to his lips. Johnny wants to bite it.
“Don’t even try to argue, you know it’s gonna happen.”
“You’re annoying.” Johnny stands, pulling Peter with him. “Be safe.”
“You sound like my aunt.” Peter complains, despite still standing close enough to trace the four on Johnny’s chest.
“She’s a smart woman, I’m taking that as a compliment.” Johnny smirks.
“Well she’ll be thrilled my boyfriend thinks so highly of her.” Peter says quietly. Johnny almost isn’t sure he heard him correctly but then Peter looks up at him with wide and fearful eyes. “I mean–”
“It’s–”
“I didn’t–” Peter steps back suddenly. “Sorry. I’ll–”
“Peter, wait.” Johnny tries to reach out for him but Peter’s already jumped, swinging off into the night.
Johnny doesn’t follow. He doesn’t know what he’d even say.
“Night, Pete.” He whispers into the darkness.
–
It’s late afternoon before Johnny hears from Peter again.
A simple “join me for patrol?” text. Johnny sends back a thumbs up and a fire emoji before suiting up.
Of course he’s going to see Peter. He doesn’t blame him for a Freudian slip.
Even if said Freudian slip did cause Johnny to have a dream where they walked hand in hand down the beach, Peter’s freckles glowing in the sunset. In the dream, Johnny produced a bouquet of flowers out of thin air and placed a white lily behind Peter’s ear. They sat down on the warm sand and Peter climbed into Johnny’s lap to trail wet kisses down his neck. Peter slowly undid the buttons of Johnny’s shirt and let his mouth chase the path down the smooth planes of Johnny’s chest. Once he got past Johnny’s navel the dream began to swirl into a warm haze of color.
Johnny changed his sheets soon after he woke up.
He flies circles around a couple blocks on his way there, as to not seem too eager, but his mind is buzzing with nervous energy. He still hasn’t a clue what he’ll say, figures he’ll let Peter lead. Assuming Peter even broaches the subject.
“Hey! Hot Stuff!”
Johnny stumbles in the sky before, gracefully, recovering and landing on the roof near Peter. His suit looks brighter than usual today and the whites of his lenses shine happily.
“Thanks for coming.” Peter is speaking formally, his body language is guarded.
Johnny tilts his head in confusion.
“Yeah, ‘course. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“D’you wanna–?” Peter is cut off by a scream. “Duty calls.”
They stop a couple muggings, but most of the afternoon is spent just helping where they can. They take food and blankets to some people on the streets, help find a missing cat (which scratched Peter, making Johnny laugh for a solid minute), and combine their skills to fix a broken bodega awning.
When they passed by a park, a group of kids yelled for them to join their basketball game. Johnny started heading towards the court before Peter could get a word out.
“I’m more of a gymnastics and punching guy, not sure this is my forte.” Peter comments as Johnny dribbles around him.
“You can jump up to the hoop no problem, webs for brains, seems like this is an intellectual issue.” Johnny blows Peter a kiss before passing the ball to one of the kids. It makes him fumble. Success.
There’s a shorter kid hanging around the edges and Johnny approaches him.
“You havin’ fun?” He asks, kneeling down to the kid’s level.
“Yeah.” The kid shrugs. He’s playing with the zipper of his jacket.
“What’s your name?”
“Andrew.”
“Hey Andrew, I’m Johnny.”
“I know that.” Andrew giggles, it’s the first smile Johnny’s seen on his face.
“What!? How could you possibly know that?” Johnny jokes, making him laugh again. “Why’re you hanging back here, Andrew?”
“I’m not very good at basketball.” He seems to be fine with this information. “But, I’m good at other stuff! Like rollerblading and times tables. But Taylor, my brother, likes basketball.” Andrew points at one of the kids currently cornering Peter. Peter has somehow gained control of the ball, yet looks like he’s never held one in his life. Taylor smacks it out of his hands and immediately turns around to score a three-pointer.
“I see. You’re a good brother for being here.” Johnny tells him.
“I am?” Andrew looks up at him with big eyes.
“Yeah! Trust me, I’m an expert at being a brother.”
Andrew laughs again and Johnny gets an idea.
“Have you ever made a slam dunk?”
Andrew shakes his head.
Johnny tells him the plan, then they step back onto the court.
“Taylor!” Johnny beckons him to pass him the ball. Johnny then passes the ball down to Andrew. ”
Andrew fumbles a little bit but dribbles his way up to the hoop, Johnny is grateful the other kids don’t go too hard trying to steal from him.
“Now?” Andrew looks back at him, nervousness in his eyes.
“Now!” Johnny picks up Andrew, then lifts himself off the ground just enough to get Andrew in the right place to tip the ball in.
The crowd of kids break into cheers and pull Andrew into a circle of celebration.
Peter stands at the back, arms crossed, and Johnny can practically see the smile behind his mask.
“Cheater.” Peter jokes, quiet enough the kids don’t hear. Not that they’re paying attention.
“Hey, I didn’t make the basket, Andrew did.”
Peter shoulders him playfully.
“You’re cute,” Coming from Peter, Johnny assumes the words were probably meant to be some kind of malicious, but it’s as if he couldn’t bring himself to hide his admiration. “I love how good you are with kids. You make it seem so easy.”
It’s so honest Johnny doesn’t know what to do with it. He can’t confront those feelings here, though. He whistles to get everyone’s attention.
“You kids get home before it gets dark, okay? Watch out for each other! Be nice to your parents and guardians!” He yells out as they start walking away.
“Stay in school! Don’t do drugs!” Peter adds on.
“See, you’re good with kids too.” Johnny jokes.
“The mask does a lot to help.” Peter shrugs. “I’m kinda helpless without it.”
“Oh, that is not true.” Johnny rolls his eyes.
“Yes it is!” Peter throws a web up and Johnny follows.
“You’re great with Franklin and Val and they don’t even know you’re Spider-Man.”
“I am?” Peter stops on a rooftop.
“Yeah, they love you.” So do I. “If Franklin thought you were an option he’d probably ask you to babysit him every time.”
“Oh.”
Johnny feels a sudden urge to change the subject before things get too emotional.
“Hey, you hungry?”
They grab some pizza (Peter’s favorite place, because he’s whiny about it) and enjoy each other’s company atop the Brooklyn Bridge.
Peter’s got a spot of sauce on the corner of his mouth, so Johnny reaches out without thinking. After swiping it away, he places his thumb in his mouth to clean it off.
Peter looks like he’s attempting to do a hard-reboot on his brain.
“You good?” Johnny asks around a smirk.
“Yeah, uh, yep. Yes. Never better…” His eyes don’t veer away from Johnny’s lips.
“You sure? Cus you’re looking like you wanna ask me something.” Johnny flirts.
“What!?” Peter startles out of his daze. “Why would I ask you something? That’s crazy.” He starts laughing nervously.
“Pete, what’s going on?” Johnny starts laughing too, the anxiety infectious.
“Nothing.” Peter goes silent. “I should go.”
“Dude, stop.” Johnny grabs Peter’s arm, pulling him back down. He ends up falling directly onto Johnny’s lap. “Tell me what’s going on inside that giant brain of yours.”
“I don’t think we should keep kissing.”
Johnny knew this day would come. The preparation doesn’t make his stomach sink any less.
“Okay. Yeah, of course.” He shakes his head, willing the tears to stay inside. “I understand.”
“Wait, that’s not what I– Fuck, I can’t do this while I’m sitting on your thigh.” Peter groans and rolls off. He exhales and shakes himself off before looking at Johnny dead-on.
“I don’t think we should keep kissing… unless we stop being friends.”
“What the fuck are you saying to me, Parker?” Johnny is about to lose his goddamn mind.
“Not like that! I’m doing this all wrong.”
“Shocker.”
“Shut up, I hate you.” Peter hums, his forehead resting on his bent knees.
“No you don’t.”
“I really don’t.” Peter’s staring Johnny down. Sincerity echoes in the space between them. “I love you.”
Johnny feels his hair light up in flame.
“Sorry!” He stamps it out as fast as he can.
“Sorry?” Peter sits frozen, and confused.
“About the fire! Not about– Peter, oh my god.” Johnny takes a breath and smiles, unbelievably happy. “I am so in love with you, Peter Parker.”
Peter, honest to god, giggles.
“Awesome.” He smiles adorably as he says it.
“You dork. "We should stop being friends,’ he says.” Johnny mocks, his face inching closer to Peter’s. “What kinda pick up line is that?”
“Leave me alone, you caught me off guard.” Peter nudges his forehead. “For the record, I don’t want to be just friends.”
“Take a guy to dinner first.” Johnny jokes.
“I just did!”
“I paid!”
“Okay, you ask, then.” Peter leans back, acting high and mighty.
Johnny lets him win.
“Peter, will you be my boyfriend?”
“Absolutely.” He responds quietly, before pulling Johnny into their first kiss as an official couple.
—
6 Months Later
Johnny Storm was having a good day.
And he still is!
He and Peter are out on a date (they have a lot of those now) and are walking through the park when they run into none other than Sam and Jack.
“Oh, hey!” Johnny greets them first, he has no reason to hide this time, and he wants to show off his boyfriend.
“Johnny!” Sam hugs him lightly. They’ve been messaging on and off since that fateful day months ago, and Johnny has quite enjoyed being her friend. “Hi Peter, so great to see you again!”
Sam hugs Peter next, catching him completely off-guard. Johnny stifles a laugh behind his hand.
“What are you two up to today?” Johnny casually throws an arm around Peter’s shoulders, he fits nicely there.
“Jack surprised me at work to take me out for lunch.” Sam smiles and leans into Jack’s side.
“Okay, boyfriend of the year.” Johnny banters, and he swears he sees Jack fighting a shy smile.
“What am I?” Peter acts in feigned offense.
“On thin-ice, Mr. Forgot Our Six Month Anniversary.”
“I did not forget!”
“He totally forgot.” Johnny tells Sam and Jack.
“Okay no, stop telling lies. He woke me up this morning. The first thing he says is ‘Guess what today is?’ And I’m half asleep, so I say ‘Tuesday?’ Wrong answer apparently.”
Sam, and even Jack, laugh at Peter’s dramatics.
“I love you.” Johnny murmurs softly as he places a kiss on Peter’s temple. “Even if you forget our anniversary.”
“Love you too, idiot.”
“Wait.” Sam says suddenly. “If it’s your six month anniversary… How long had you been together when we met?”
Johnny and Peter share a look.
“So, funny story…”