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"Space," Johnny said, yanking at the covers. "Come on, get up, let's go!"
Peter groaned, rolling over to burrow his face in his pillow. "How did you get in here?"
"You left a window open and I fly. Do the math," Johnny said, sitting down on the mattress next to him. Peter could feel the heat coming off of him even though they weren't touching and somewhere through the sleep fog of his brain screaming You Were Up Half the Night Chasing Four Stolen Armored Vehicles and I Hate You, Johnny's agitation clicked.
He cracked one eye open. Johnny was sitting with his back to him, shoulders tight, head bowed, about to glare a hole in Peter's wall. Where the Fantastic Four's signature blue had always made him seem easygoing, the new black and yellow made him look older, harsher.
Maybe that was the times, though, and not the uniform. Now Peter was both exhausted and depressed.
"Alright, what's up?" he said. "Why are you asking me to go to space at -" he squinted at his alarm clock "- 8:30 in the morning, Jesus, Johnny."
"Kitty Pryde and her merry gang lost Ben," Johnny said.
That startled a laugh out of Peter. "Lost Ben? How do you lose a Ben? He's eight feet tall and made out of rocks."
"I didn't mean they misplaced him," Johnny said. "I mean they lost him. In a bet."
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Peter rolled out of bed, bare feet hitting the floor. He scrubbed his hands through his hair as he made his way to the bathroom. "Okay, fine. Grab me something to eat and let's go to space."
"Do the Inhumans know you've borrowed one of their ships?"
Johnny shrugged, stealing a glance at Peter over his shoulder. "I don't think it's a major concern, given... everything."
Peter knew better than to step in that one. "Mmhmm," he hummed archly.
"Anyway, it'll get us where we need to be fast," Johnny said. "I'll return it before they'll even know it's gone."
"Somehow, I doubt," Peter said, but he let it go. He wandered to the front of the ship, skimming his hand over strange Inhuman designs. He couldn't make any sense of the controls, but Johnny seemed to be handling them just fine.
"I would've preferred one of mine and Reed's," Johnny said, flicking his eyes Peter's way. "But someone doesn't have a garage anymore."
"Yeah, yeah," Peter said, shrugging off the sting. He was still reeling a little bit over it, the company being gone. Johnny gave him a second glance, something heavier in his expression. His hand shot out, snagging Peter by the wrist. He reeled him in as he punched something into the controls and a view screen came down.
"Here," Johnny said, starlight shining on his face. "Look."
It was beautiful. Peter reached out on instinct, mesmerized by all the whirling stars. There was some kind of structure in the distance, orbiting a moon, and it was all lit up a hundred colors, brighter than 42nd Street. "Is that it? Have we dropped out of warp?"
"Yes, that is it," Johnny said, rolling his eyes. "And no we have not, because this is not Star Trek."
"What's it called?" Peter asked, leaning on Johnny's seat.
"Rough translation? The Mirage," Johnny said.
"What, like Las Vegas?" Peter said.
"You think Earth is the only place that does overpriced casinos and resorts?" Johnny said. "You have got to get out more."
"It's just not very alien-y," Peter said.
"First rule of space travel," Johnny said. "People are people, no matter how many eyes they have, and what people like is gambling and huge buffets."
"You are just killing the wonder," Peter said, exasperated with himself for feeling so fond.
They lapsed into a rare moment of quiet, Johnny busy with their landing and Peter busy staring out at space. He'd always the envied this part of the Four's lives especially - the freedom of exploration, the way they treated leaving the planet the same as taking the train to Coney Island.
As a kid he'd been jealous, thinking Johnny blasé about all the wonders he was surrounded by, but now he thought it was different - it was just that this was where Johnny was supposed to be, what he was supposed to be doing. All the big, wonderful, terrifying places were where he belonged.
He just didn't belong there alone.
"What?" Johnny asked, glancing at him.
"Nothing." Peter shrugged. "Just wondered if you were going to take us in backwards or do a loop-de-loop or something. Can you parallel park in space?"
Johnny's face lit up with a grin. "Want to find out?"
"Look," Johnny said to the parking attendant. "I said I was sorry. What do you want me to do?"
"This is a terrible apology," Peter told him. The parking attendant made a series of clicking noises under his tongue. "There is something wrong with you."
"What's wrong here is that this not the galaxy standard for small ship parking," Johnny said, gesturing at their ship.
"I'm going inside," Peter said, though he wasn't sure Johnny heard him over the sound of his own voice. He rolled his eyes fondly and left him there, stepping into the station proper.
It did look like Vegas on the inside, if Vegas had leapt ahead into the future. Iridescent water sprang forth from a fountain in the middle of the lobby and at least two dozen different species milled about. Peter took a moment just to let it sink in, to enjoy the wonder for once. The kid daydreaming in his bedroom in Forest Hills would never in a thousand years have imagined standing in an alien casino, whole star systems away.
Leave it to Johnny to show him something incredible, even in the middle of a rescue mission.
Someone cleared their throat, the sound a little reminiscent of humming bees. Peter turned.
A tall alien with a thick green beard stood behind him, all three hands held before him. He smiled at Peter, a little disarming for all the teeth. "You are here alone?"
"Uh," Peter said, glancing around. If he listened hard, he could still hear the distant melody of Johnny shouting about outerspace parking regulations. "Looks like it, yep."
"I as well," said the tall alien. "My partner and I had a... disagreement."
Peter wasn't sure he liked where this was going.
"Sorry to hear that. That's rough," he tried, searching the crowd for Johnny.
A hand landed heavy with intent at his elbow.
"I have the room for another night," the tall alien said, actually batting his eyes. His lashes fit together a little like a Venus flytrap - it was an odd sight. "If you're amenable."
"Uh," Peter said. "That's kind, but -"
"There is no need to be shy," the tall alien said. "Why else would you be here alone?"
Johnny's familiar hand came to rest at Peter's back, proprietary, as he leaned into him. Johnny had never been a strong believer in personal space, but this was a new level of closeness. Peter's skin prickled at his touch.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Johnny said, eyes flashing white hot. "He's not alone."
The alien's hands came up in a gesture of apology. "My mistake."
"Clearly," Johnny said coldly, dismissive gaze at odds with the possessiveness of his posture, the blazing heat of his hand on Peter's hip, separated only by the thin layer of his gloves and Peter's suit.
The alien slunk off, face slightly resentful, and Peter stayed silent until he was out of what Peter hoped was earshot.
"What," he hissed, "the hell was that?"
"Oh yeah," Johnny said idly, squeezing Peter's hip. "I may have forgotten to mention - this is kind of one of the galaxy's most romantic getaways. You know the kind of place." He shrugged a little. "Couples only."
"I hate you."
"If you had a dime for every time you said that, you'd be the richest man in the world," Johnny said, lounging all long and lean in his sleek new costume across the incredibly plush bed in the ornate suite they'd been shown to. Half of Peter was distracted by the huge glass window taking up one wall, showing off the ships coming and going and, beyond them, a dizzying array of stars.
The other half was distracted by just how much he hated Johnny Storm.
"You are the bane of my existence," Peter told him very seriously. "Listen to me when I say that I think you were put on earth specifically to punish me."
"Oh hey," Johnny said, flipping himself over and reaching for a little tablet resting on the bedside table. "We can get room service!"
Peter reached over to snag it from him, holding it aloft. "Johnny, I need you to explain - couples resort?"
"That might oversimplifying it," Johnny said, idly rolling onto his back. He stared up at the bed's lush velvet canopy - more, Peter thought, to avoid looking him in his furious face than out of any real interest. "The planet we're orbiting around is part of a binary star system - look, you can see the twin suns out there - and everything in their culture is centered around that. It's unthinkable not be paired up, so if you're single, obviously you're looking. I was trying to make it easy for your Earth brain."
"Did you just imply you're smarter than me because the cosmos microwaved your brain?" Peter demanded, leaning over him so Johnny had no choice but to make eye contact. "Why are we here, Johnny? Is Ben even in trouble?"
Johnny scowled, his eyes flashing in warning.
"Would I lie about Ben?" he demanded, rolling up onto his elbows and slipping off the bed. He stalked to the window. Distant starlight and wheeling spaceship parking brake flashes highlighting his shoulders and the lean cut of his hips. The new costume had ribbed patches on either side of his hips, almost like a sign advertising Put Your Hands Here. Peter really had to stop staring at them.
"I don't know, Johnny," he said. "I don't know what you're thinking, lately."
It felt like a betrayal to voice it but it was the truth, so when Johnny glanced back over his shoulder, eyebrows quirked, Peter squared his jaw and held his gaze.
"Well," said Johnny. "That makes two of us."
There was a knock on the door. Peter got up to get it when Johnny didn't move, sliding it open to reveal Kitty Pryde and Flash Thompson. Flash's face lit up when he saw Peter. Peter grudgingly felt the same way, smiling as Flash exclaimed "Spidey!" and pulled him into a hug.
"Johnny," Kitty said, stepping forward. She looked good - the leather jacket space pirate thing was a nice look on her. "I am so, so sorry about Ben -"
"Hey, it's okay," Johnny said. "It's not like you bet him to the Xiobarians."
"No," Kitty said, longsuffering. "I wanted to bet Rocket."
"Can we start at the beginning?" Peter asked, thumping Flash on the back once before he let go. "The whos, whats, whens and wheres and most importantly the why of how you guys lost the Thing?"
"It's a long story," Kitty said, falling back into a plush armchair. She rubbed at her forehead. "Every year, the royal Xiobarian family - that's who owns this place - throws a card tournament. The grand prize is always the same: the Jewel of Xiobara."
"Problem," Flash put in. "It's also kind of a bomb."
"Every year it goes unclaimed, because they're a bunch of cheats. House always wins," Kitty said. "What the house could do with that bomb if they ever get itchy? Not fun to think about."
"So we planned a heist," Flash said.
"Right," Kitty said. "We didn't really need our man to win, just to play well enough to be a distraction. Ben assured us he could keep himself in the tournament until Rocket and I made off with our prize."
"Ben's a pretty champion poker play," Peter said. "I should know - I think I still owe him thirty bucks from the last time."
"Thirty-two fifty," Johnny corrected him. "He had your IOU on the fridge."
"The world ends and Ben Grimm remembers what I owed him in poker," Peter grumbled, arms crossed. "Go figure. So what happened?"
"He said something stupid," Kitty said, hand pressed to her forehead as if to stave off a headache. "It's my fault. I should've warned him the Xiobarans are the most literal gamblers in the galaxy."
"You didn't know," Flash said, settling a companionable hand on her shoulder. She shot him a grateful look, then shook her head.
"I should've known, and then I should've let him know," she insisted. Peter knew the feeling.
"Look," he said, "let's not worry about who's responsible. The important thing is, Ben is - where, exactly?"
"Currently?" Kitty said. "In a holding cell on the premises. He lost a match against a Xiobarian matriarch."
Peter relaxed. A holding cell was hardly the worst place he could think of.
Johnny didn't look any happier. "The problem isn't where Ben is now - I've been in a holding cell in this place, and the meal plan is fantastic." He snuck Peter a tiny sidelong smile. "Small incident involving public nudity and a Kree official."
"Say no more," Peter said. "I'm begging you, say no more."
"The problem is the Xiobarians hold bets sacred," Kitty said. "Ben wasn't watching what he said - you know how he is. He said he'd stake his life on his hand. And then he lost."
"Ouch," Peter said. "But he's fine right now, right? Still in one piece?"
"The Xiobarians don't work like that," Johnny told him, shaking his head. "They're pacifists. They don't want Ben dead. They want him as a pool boy."
Peter blanked for a second. "Wait. What?"
"Well, servant to the house of the matriarch who beat him at poker," Johnny said. "But I've been down planetside to Xiobara and trust me, it's a lot of feather dusters and looking pretty by the cabana."
"Ben?" Peter repeated. "Our rockiest friend? Really?"
"Don't mock. The galaxy is a very varied place," Johnny told him. "I'm only saying this because he's not in the room, but it's not like he's the worst looking orange guy."
"And he's got nice shoulders," Kitty put in.
"Can we see him?" Peter asked when it dawned on him that Johnny, for some strange reason, wasn't going to say it.
Kitty nodded. "Yeah. I'll get you guys in, but it'll only be for a few minutes. Flash and I trying to keep a low profile until we've got a good plan to free Ben, but who knows how long that'll last." She offered Peter an exasperated smile. "The Guardians aren't exactly your quietest super-group."
"Where is the rest of the gang, anyway?" Peter asked. Flash shrugged.
"Drax and Gamora had another job. We're supposed to rendezvous after we grab Ben," Kitty said. "But Rocket and Groot are around. Last I heard Rocket was booking them a couple's massage."
Johnny looked interested.
"No," Peter told him automatically. Johnny pouted at him, and Peter reflected, tragically not for the first time, how good-looking he was when he was being melodramatic. Life was unfair.
Peter turned to look at Kitty instead. "Alright," he said. "Take me to your Ben."
"This bit always makes me dizzy," Peter confessed to Johnny over Kitty's head as she grabbed each of them by the wrist and dragged them, floaty and weightless, through the prison walls. "Oof. Glad we skipped lunch."
"Less with the talking," Kitty said, letting them go. Peter's stomach didn't feel any less queasy being solid again. "Okay, you're gonna take a left, go eight rows down, then a right. Ben's the third to the back. If he complains about me not sending a sandwich with you, tell him sandwiches are for winners."
"You're not coming with us?" Peter said. "I thought you could, y'know - make with the phase-y, crackle a few security systems, bing, bang, boom?"
"And then what, we punch our way through a whole resort's security?" Kitty said. "I'd like to save that for Plan B, thanks. Ben's not the most subtle cargo. No, I've got something to do. I'll see you guys later. Give Ben my best."
"Will do," Peter said as she phased back out through the wall. Johnny had gone oddly silent, his default cocky smile dropped. He was wandering in the direction Kitty had first pointed, his steps heavy.
Peter had no choice but to follow.
They found Ben exactly where Kitty said he would be. He was reclining on a stone bench, idly flipping through a magazine.
Johnny whistled sharp. "Hey, Big Ugly."
Ben looked up and groaned, giant head falling forward. "Cripes. It's you."
"Well isn't this a familiar sight," Johnny said, swaggering up to Ben's cell. He pressed his hand to the force field. "How do you do it, Benjy?"
"I thought I had 'em," Ben grumbled. "S'alittle hard to read someone's poker face when they ain't got a face, kid. How'd he drag you into this, Webs?"
"How does he drag me into anything?" Peter said. "No, seriously, I'm asking, because I'd love to have a reason for my therapist."
"Ben," Johnny said, all the humor gone from his voice. Ben gave a great shuddering sigh and reached forward, pressing his own rocky palm against Johnny's through the field. The gesture seemed almost sacred; Peter wasn't sure he should be watching.
"I know, I know," Ben said. "Long time, no see. You too, Peter."
"Hey yourself," Peter said. "We're going to get you out, alright?"
"Didn't doubt someone would," Ben said. "What the hell are you two doing all the way out here?"
Johnny narrowed his eyes, sparks jumping from his skin. Peter had to put one out with his heel.
"Really?" he said. "You don't call, you don't write -"
"Stop smokin', Flamebrain, you know why I had to go out here," Ben said. "I couldn't stand it, bein' there without Stretch and Suzie-Q... what was a big rocky guy gonna do down there?"
"Same as the flaming man," Johnny said. "You left a stupid note, Ben. I had to wait for you to get thrown in alien jail before you were still long enough for me to come scream in your face!"
"Yeah, wonder what that one was about," Ben grumbled under his breath.
"You ran away from me," Johnny said, miserable and blazingly angry. The ache in Peter's chest was never going to go away. It wasn't supposed to be like this - not for the Fantastic Four.
"Not just from you, matchstick," Ben said, eyes soft. "You gonna get me out of here anyway? It's only I don't feel like being some Xiobarian matriarch's new dancin' boy."
Johnny's head fell forward until his forehead met the field. "Only because you don't have the hips for it."
"Don't get this twisted, John," Ben said, voice gruff.
"Too late," Johnny said, letting his hand slip from the field. "Come on, Pete. We've got a Thing to free."
"So, how do we free your erstwhile rocky companion from a life of tight leather outfits and pouring expensive alien wine?" Peter asked when they got back to their room. Johnny had been oddly silent the whole way back; Peter had tried cajoling conversation out of him, asking him to explain alien customs they saw, sniping at him a little, but all of Johnny's answers had been monosyllabic. Worry had its hooks in Peter's heart.
"It's better than he deserves," Johnny said, then groaned, tilting his head back. "I don't know. Where'd Kitty go?"
"Buffet?" Peter said. "Look, I hate to go the money place, but I've still got a little cash leftover. Do you think we could -"
"What, you bought back my home, now you're going to buy back my Ben?" Johnny turned to him, eyes flashing. "Thanks, sugar daddy."
"I'm trying to help," Peter said, biting back a wince or worse - a smart remark. "But if you'd rather just set the place on fire -"
"No," Johnny said, taking a long, slow breath. "That's not what I want - well, it is, but I also know it won't solve anything. Thanks, Peter. It won't work - the exchange rate in this system's not great on Earth currency - but thanks."
"You know I'd do anything for you and Ben." Peter reached for him on instinct, squeezing his shoulder. "We never talked about, y'know. Everything. Your family. Ben."
"What's to talk about?" Johnny asked, throwing his hands up and shrugging out of Peter's grip. "Ben left. He's right here where he wants to be, the big space adventurer, and I'm back on earth where we're - where I'm supposed to be. He made his choice. So did you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked. "I'm here with you, aren't I? I got out of bed at eight in the morning on a weekend because you decided you wanted to go to space to, apparently, sulk like a kid. I think I've made it perfectly clear where I stand."
"We could've been the Fantastic Four," Johnny said, whirling on him.
"With who?" Peter demanded, holding both his ground and Johnny's gaze. "Medusa and her midlife crisis?"
Johnny made a hissing noise, actual smoke curling from his shoulders, and for one second Peter thought he'd gone one step too far and incited a fire show. Instead he turned from Peter, the line of his shoulders tense and unspeakably proud. "The Four are supposed to be a family. That's why I wanted you."
Peter sighed. "Of course we're family, Johnny, don't be stupid. But we wouldn't have been the FF. That's not how it works."
"Don't tell me how it works," Johnny said, but he sounded tired now, not angry. "I'm going to take a bath and cool down. Come get me when Kitty shows."
Peter spent the next ten minutes lying on the bed, trying to figure out how to work the alien television and watching steam curl out from under the bathroom door, until the maid came in and stared at him pointedly.
"Is, uh," Peter started, honestly afraid to ask. "Something wrong?"
"I will not be alone in a room with a single human," she said, delicately frilled tentacles fluttering in agitation. "I've heard things about your species."
"But I'm not alone," Peter tried valiantly. "My, uh - person is right in there and. You're just going to stare at me. I'll just join him."
Which was how he ended up sitting at the edge of the tub, waiting for the maid to leave.
"I changed my mind," he said. "I hate space."
"You're the type of guy who lets one bad experience ruin you for the whole thing," Johnny said, up to his chin in soapy water. Peter was trying not to stare too much at the occasional flash of skin, but it wasn't like Johnny was shy. "Pete, look. I'm sorry."
"About what?" Peter said. "The fact that this room is a sauna?"
Johnny leaned against the side of the bathtub, his arms crossed over the rim. His soaked hair lay dark gold against his forehead. "I didn't know I was so angry, y'know. Not until I saw him. I wouldn't have roped you in if I'd known I was going to go off on him."
"Look - we've all been through a lot." It was a completely inadequate statement and the look Johnny gave him said they both knew. Peter floundered onward anyway - What Would May Do? "It's okay to - feel things?"
WWMD: probably not get punched in the face by Johnny, who was staring at Peter with the kind of look he usually reserved for the Mole Man.
The maid rapped on the door. "Do you need more towels?"
"Probably," Peter said, getting up to take them. She handed them over with one suspicious glance his way, then left the suite altogether. Peter cringed when the door slammed.
"What did humans do to get such a bad rep?" he asked.
"Uh, you've met some, right? Peter," Johnny said. "Lose the script. It's you and me, right?" He tilted his head to the side, eyes dark and sharp. "What feelings are we talking about and who's supposed to have them?"
Peter swallowed hard. There it was, Peter's least favorite thing about Johnny: that surprising insightfulness that always reared its head at the least convenient moments.
"Pete," Johnny said. "Look at me."
It was like a scene out of a nightmare: gorgeous Johnny, wet and naked, asking him to stop avoiding and look at him.
Johnny hadn't moved, still leaning against the edge of the tub. He was frowning, a softer expression than the one he'd worn when he'd been ready to chain Ben to the pyre.
"If you want to bring up things we've never talked about, we could start with the day before the incursion," Johnny said.
It was like a bucket of ice water down Peter's back.
"You remember," he said. He'd never been sure. Johnny shrugged one shoulder.
"It gets," he made a face, like he was trying to find words for the experience and was coming up short, "hot and fuzzy. But I definitely remember telling you to get your sad ass on the raft."
"Yep," Peter said, hopelessly. The memory shot through him like an arrow, Johnny, eyes hot, telling Peter he wasn't letting up until he came with them. Peter had felt the end of the world in his bones, real that time in a way it had never felt before, and it had been so easy to let himself believe in the untouchable Fantastic Four. He'd agreed even when he knew in his soul he should have stayed on the ground, in New York where he belonged.
"I kissed you," Johnny said, a little accusing. "At the usual place."
"I know," Peter said. He remembered the press of Johnny's mouth against his, a surprise. He hadn't even had time to roll the mask up. Still, he'd kissed back as well as he could, wanting to keep them both in the moment for as long as possible: the two of them on top of the Statue of Liberty, in the city Peter loved the most, the day before the end of the world.
"Then we came back," Johnny said, eyebrows knit together in frustration. "And you just - you left."
How could he explain? He'd let himself be selfish, just once. He'd let himself pick a chance at his own survival with these incredible people he adored. Then the raft had broken apart and fallen away and Johnny and Sue and Ben and all the children had been wiped out of existence.
Peter hadn't been able to close his eyes for weeks without seeing Reed's devastated face, the anguished stretch of his hand towards his family.
"I had the company," he said again, hopelessly. That first day back in the world they'd miraculously been given back had been the hardest of all, watching Johnny and Ben search everywhere for their missing family. Watching them come up empty. "I had to take care of it."
"Bullshit," said Johnny. "You panicked."
"And you ran off with the Inhumans," Peter said.
Johnny stood, agitated, and Peter's mouth went dry. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Johnny naked, but it was always a challenge not to stare. He was unfairly gorgeous, even when he was angry.
Maybe especially when he was angry.
"I tried, Pete!" he said. "I told you I wanted us to be the Fantastic Four! To continue in Reed and Sue's place! What else could I have possibly meant by that? Fuck, I practically proposed! But no, you had your company and your stupid glowing suit and Harry Osborn-"
"I never kissed Harry at the Statue of Liberty," Peter said. "Johnny - I'm an idiot, okay? What more do you want me to say? Why didn't you say anything?"
That startled Johnny into laughing, but not for long enough. "I didn't want to hear you say no. My whole world was gone, Pete. I couldn't take you not wanting me on top of everything else."
It was ridiculous, the two of them standing on opposite ends of the room, Johnny talking about Peter not wanting him like it was even a possibility when it was all Peter could do not to watch water droplets make their way down Johnny's stomach.
He made a frustrated noise, words abandoning him for once, and crossed the room in three long strides. Johnny made a stifled, surprised noise when Peter grabbed him up around the waist, lifting him off his feet for a split second as he kissed him.
"Look," he said, pulling back just enough to look Johnny in the eyes. "I was lost, and confused, and an idiot, and so much had changed - the company, Miles..."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Johnny chanted, pulling Peter back into a kiss. He wrapped one warm, wet hand around the back of Peter's neck. "We can talk about how stupid we both are when I'm not naked."
Peter let himself sink into it, how right it felt, Johnny pressed wet and hard against him. The first thing that had felt right since Battleworld, if he let himself be honest. Since the sharp tug of panic he'd felt when the Fantastic Four's life raft lurched and split, Johnny falling away from him, and since he'd looked up at the sun in that strange sky and seen the man burning in the heart of it.
"Screw it," Peter said, detangling himself from Johnny long enough to climb fully clothed into the bathtub with him, water sloshing out over the sides and onto the tiled floor.
Johnny laughed, delighted. His slick arms came up and around Peter's neck, pulling him flush against him as they sank into the warm water.
"Okay, boys, here's the plan as we're going to play it," Kitty said, moving a pair of salt and pepper shakers, a cup, two coasters and a loose button around the table. They were seated in one of the buffet halls, people all around them chattering. Peter tried to pay attention to her and not to Johnny, sitting close next to him and sneaking him tiny, teasing smiles every other second.
It was a challenge, especially seeing as how his hand had, through no fault of his own, somehow ended up on Johnny's knee.
Johnny looked more settled, though, more at home in his own skin as he followed Kitty's plan with keen eyes. If he'd known years ago that all it took to make Johnny Storm pay attention to a plan was to pin him down against the nearest flat service - well. Peter would have been in a lot of trouble, probably.
Johnny bumped his shoulder into Peter's, grinning like he knew what Peter was thinking. "Hey, pay attention."
"So Spidey and I will play distraction," Flash said, "and the Torch and Groot will do the smash and grab and get Ben back to the ship?"
"You got it," Kitty said, snapping her fingers.
"I'm cool with that," Johnny said, looking to Groot.
"I am Groot," Groot intoned.
"Thanks, man," said Johnny, nodding. Peter wasn't even going to ask.
"What about you and Sly Cooper over there?" Peter asked, jerking a thumb at Rocket and his busy little paws. He was sweeping the salt and pepper shakers off the table and into his bag. "I thought punching our way through this place was supposed to be plan B."
"It was - plan A failed already. We've got our roles down, don't worry. Oh," said Kitty, her gaze flicking between Peter and Johnny. Peter felt himself turn faintly pink. Johnny mostly looked smug. "And mazel tov. Now let's get the show on the road, huh?"
"Can do," Rocket said.
Peter didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't for Rocket to pull out two guns and shoot at the ceiling. People all around them dove, screaming, chairs tipping over and alarms sounding.
"I know," Kitty said, catching Peter's eye. "They make the X-Men look like masters of subtlety."
She shrugged and sighed, phasing down through the floor. Johnny caught Peter by the elbow before he could leave.
"Hey," he said breathlessly, his hands cupped to Peter's face. His eyes shone bright as embers. "I love you."
Peter nodded quickly, knowing they didn't have a lot of time. He mirrored Johnny, touching his palm to Johnny's cheek and sliding his fingers into soft hair. The kiss was quick, but full of promise. Johnny's eyes fluttered shut and Peter felt a sharp pang. Somewhere in the background, Flash let out a loud whoop.
"I know," he said in his best Harrison Ford voice, brushing his nose against Johnny's.
Johnny made a delighted noise even as they broke apart. "I knew it! I knew I could make you say it!"
Peter rolled his eyes, feeling almost unbearably fond.
"Just go, Princess Leia," he said. "Get Ben to the ship!"
"Don't you dare be late!" Johnny shouted at him, streaking down the hall. Peter smiled after him, before he turned to face the music: Flash Thompson, grinning at him with stars in his eyes. He'd always been a sucker for a love story.
"So," Flash said after a moment, waggling his eyebrows. "You and Johnny Storm?"
Peter groaned. "I'm not above throwing you out an airlock, Flash. Come on, we need to get going."
"Just looked a little cozy back there, that's all," Flash said. "Can I be best man?"
"No you may not, Eugene," Peter replied.
Flash looked a little like a kicked puppy, his eyes big and wounded. He spread his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm just kidding with you but - you looked happy, you know? Bickering all old married couple. You're a good friend, Pete, and I know you've got a lot on your plate, but you deserve to be happy. That's all."
Peter kind of wanted to hug him and kind of wanted to hit him, so it was business as usual. "I cannot believe you guys lost Ben Grimm in an alien poker tournament and I'm the one on trial."
Fighting back-to-back with Flash was an easy thing, good the way all the best fights were. Peter's muscles sang with exertion as he flipped and spun, doing enough damage to make himself a pest but with no actual intent to harm behind it.
They made their way towards the hangar, generally trying to be as much of a nuisance as possible - hurting people wasn't on the agenda, but smashing slot machines was a whole other kettle of fish. Aliens coins spilled out across the floor as Flash whooped.
"Space is great!" he said, sounding like he was having the time of his life.
Peter kind of had to agree. "Think we've made enough of a mess?"
A cocktail waitress slipped on the coins and would have landed on her face if Flash hadn't caught her. "Um. Hi."
"Hi," she purred, literally. Her whiskers fluttered.
"Leave her your number and let's go!" Peter said, flipping himself up and over something that looked like a black jack table.
Johnny was waiting by the ship, hovering flamed on in the air. Behind him Peter could see Groot and Ben climbing aboard.
"Finally!" Johnny said, flaming off and touching down in the doorway. He grabbed him by the hands, pulling him into the ship. It rocked sharply to the side, sending them stumbling together into a wall.
"What was that?" Peter asked.
"Oh, we're under arrest," said Johnny cheerfully. "No big deal."
"No big deal, he says," Ben said, huffing. "Now where'm I supposed to take a nice gal out for a weekend?"
"If I were you, I'd shut up and be glad my favorite teammate saved me from a life of wearing vegan space leather and peeling orange grapes," Johnny said.
"We ain't out of the woods yet," Ben said. "A couple more minutes and you'll all be joining me - where the hell is Kitty?"
"Here!" Kitty said, phasing through the side of the ship with Rocket under one arm. "Kitty is here and the locals are angry! Go go go!"
"I just want you to remember that the Fantastic Four never lost you in a poker match!" Johnny shouted as he took the controls.
"Really?" Ben said, full of disbelief. "The time with Sinbad doesn't ring any bells?"
"That was human chess!" Johnny said. "Totally different! And it was your idea!"
"I feel like none of you are allowed to make fun of the X-Men ever again," Kitty said sternly, buckling herself into the passenger's seat.
"I'll make fun of whoever I want," Peter said. "It's my right as a New Yorker."
"Everyone shut up and hold on!" Johnny said, taking a turn sharply. Peter would have ended up meeting the bulkhead face-first if Groot hadn't wrapped a branch around his waist like a seatbelt. "I think I can lose them around the side of the moon, but it's going to be -"
"Oh, fer the love of," Ben started, shoving Johnny out of the chair. "Move over, Junior. This is a job for a seasoned professional."
"I feel like I should be webbing something," Peter said. "Should I be webbing something?"
"Don't you dare," Ben told him, his gaze focused.
Peter wasn't too proud to admit that he screamed when Ben rolled the ship upside down.
"You can take 'er back now, Matchstick," Ben said when they were clear of the system, its twin stars a distant twinkle. He climbed from the seat, dusting off his hands. "Never liked the handling on these Inhuman ships."
Johnny cheered, clapping him on the back.
"Nobody pilots like you, Benjy," he said, beaming. "Hey, Pete, need a paper bag?"
"Don't talk to me," Peter said, sinking down into the nearest seat.
Kitty and Rocket highfived. There was something shiny caught in Rocket's paw. It looked suspiciously like an alien crown jewel.
The wheels started turning in Peter's head. "Wait - were we a distraction?"
Johnny swiveled around just in time to catch Kitty's guilty face and Rocket's unrepentant one. "What? We were what?"
"Fly the ship, please, I'm handling it," Peter said, grabbing his chair and twisting it back towards the controls.
"This isn't your aunt's Toyota, autopilot is a thing!" Johnny said, digging his heels in. He leaned halfway out of the pilot's seat to level a glare at Ben. "Did you know about this?"
Ben had one huge hand over his face. "Know? No. Am I surprised? Nah."
"I am Groot," Groot said disapprovingly.
"Nobody asked you!" Rocket said, pointy nose in the air.
Kitty patted his arm consolingly. "Sorry, Ben. When you volunteered to enter the tournament I had a feeling this might happen, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. We never would've really let anything happen to you."
"You let him happen to me," Ben said, looking at Johnny. He was smiling though, and Johnny was smiling back. It was still a little brittle around the edges, but it was real.
Blood, fire, and a smashed up alien casino - what couldn't superheroes fix with that.
"Well, this is our stop." Kitty said as they approached another ship. "Sorry again about the distraction thing."
"Don't be," Peter said. "It all worked out, right? Just do me a favor and give them a moment?"
Kitty glanced back at Ben and Johnny. "Of course. As long as they need."
She headed off with Rocket and Groot. Peter hung back, not wanting to intrude, as Ben wrapped his huge arms around Johnny.
"I know this ain't a sentiment you get," Ben said, "but this really ain't about you, Johnny. Kid. I gotta be out here for me, do you get that?"
Johnny's harsh intake of breath was a horrible, shaky thing. He put his forehead down against Ben's rocky chest. "Not really."
"Yeah, you do," Ben said, eyes soft.
"Yeah. But you have to Skype me," Johnny said, sticking his index finger in the middle of Ben's chest.
"From the other end of the blamed galaxy?" Ben said with a long, shuddering sigh.
"At least once a week!" Johnny said. "Or I'm coming back up here looking for you."
"What a revoltin' development," Ben said, tightening his grip gingerly on Johnny. He eyed Peter over the top of his head. "You two take care of each other, Webs."
"Scout's honor," Peter said.
"Mm," Ben said. "Who else are you going to get?"
"What?" Peter said.
"Don't know," Johnny said, slapping at Ben's chest as he pulled away. "I was going to call Wyatt, maybe see what Jen's doing. Storm was fun, I should give her a call."
"Could always track down Sharon, she's had a rough time," Ben said. He waggled his rocky brows. "The team might be just the Thing."
"That was terrible," Johnny told him.
"I don't understand what we're talking about," said Peter.
"The team!" Ben said. "Can't have it with just the two o' you. It's the Fantastic Four, not the Terrible Two."
"Oh no," Peter said. "No, no, no. I think there's been a misunderstanding about the nature of our relationship here. It's strictly unprofessional."
"Sure," said Ben, nodding in a way that meant he didn't believe a word coming out of Peter's mouth.
"I don't have the time for another team, I have a life, I have a..." he trailed off, adding it up. He didn't have the company, or a real social life, or much of anything. "Damn it."
Johnny crowed in victory, pumping his fists in the air.
"You don't pick the Four, Pete," Ben said, not without sympathy, as he turned to leave with Kitty and her crew. "It picks you."
He watched with Johnny, standing shoulder to shoulder as the Guardians made their way back to their ship. Ben turned at the last second to wave at them, and Johnny lifted his hand in return. Peter took it when he dropped it to his side, tangling their fingers together.
"Home?" he asked.
Johnny sighed, head tipped towards Peter's. "Your place or mine?"
"What do we do now?" Peter asked, feeling lazy and boneless. Johnny tangled their fingers together and Peter lifted their joined hands to his mouth just to watch Johnny grin. He kissed each of Johnny's knuckles, one by one.
"Don't know," Johnny said. "It's all kind of a let down from space, isn't it?"
"That's how you want to lead?" Peter asked him. "Welcome to the relationship, it's all downhill from here?"
"Hey, you've stuck with me so far," Johnny said, leaning in close. Peter expected a kiss, but instead Johnny just leaned their foreheads together, his downcast gaze fixed on their hands. "Is it?"
"What, downhill?" Peter said.
"A relationship," Johnny said. He sounded so hopeful; Peter's heart ached.
"I want it to be," he admitted, letting himself be honest - no bluster, no jokes. Just this once. "I love you. You know I love you."
Johnny nodded. "I do. You know I love you, too."
"I know," Peter confirmed. "Even if you've got a weird way of showing it."
"You're one to talk," Johnny said. "Roses and champagne, that's what I expect."
"Should've bagged me when I still had a company," Peter said, rolling over onto Johnny, braced on his palms. Johnny leaned up on his elbows to meet him, the kiss slow and lazy. The sheets slipped from him; Peter tossed them aside carelessly, hand slipping up Johnny's warm thigh. "Now you get my one houseplant and cheap takeout."
"That's not how the Fantastic Four roll," Johnny said, tilting his head to give Peter better access to his neck. Peter groaned a little.
"You're not going to let up, are you?" he asked. Johnny beamed at him, hot as the sun.
"You heard Ben," he said, pushing at Peter's chest until Peter rolled over to lie on his back. Johnny climbed over onto him and bent his head to press kisses down the line of Peter's ribs. "He gave us his blessing."
"Couldn't we just book a catering hall?" Peter said, tugging a little at Johnny's hair. Johnny made a soft noise, eyes slipping shut, and Peter filed that away for later. "I don't know how to run the Four, Johnny. That's beyond me."
"Lucky thing you have me, then," Johnny said. "Come on, Peter. Say yes."
Peter sighed. Without the company, he had the time, and with the Four was where Johnny belonged. If Peter could help put that together, if he could act as a placeholder until Reed and Sue came back from wherever they had gone - somewhere unbelievable, without a doubt - then what choice did he have.
"Maybe," he said. "If I get to pick a team member."
Johnny opened his eyes to grin at him, pure gold in the fading sunset light. "Okay. I can live with that."
He sat up in bed and held his hand flat out in front of him, palm facing downwards. It took Peter a moment to catch on to what was happening.
"Does this work with two people?" he asked, laying his hand gently over Johnny's. He'd only ever done this a handful of times before, but he always felt the same about it: a little silly but mostly full of awe, like he was taking part in something amazing.
"Don't question it," Johnny said, staring down at their hands, Peter's long callused fingers lying over Johnny's, rough against Johnny's flawless skin. "Hands in the circle. It's official."
Peter pulled his hand away, waving his fingers. "Go team. Now what?"
"Now?" Johnny rolled back over onto him, laughing as Peter caught him, wrestling him easily back down to the mattress. Johnny's eyes sparked, warm. "We celebrate. Obviously."