Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.
A/N- woohoo! and I've started ANOTHER multi chaptered fic. This is the sequel to 'Meet Me Half Way' and is part of the 'With Hands Held High' verse! Part 1/3 and will probably make soooo much more sense if you read 'Meet Me Half Way' first! Johnny/Ben as always with a side order of: Sue/Reed, Tony/Steve, Billy/Teddy and pretty much anyone else I can think of! Oh, and there is some sexual content but nothing too much...I think...Enjoy!
Logically he knows that the Hulk isn't a bad guy. They've even had Bruce Banner over for dinner a few times. So yeah, he understands that the Hulk isn't a bad guy at heart, not like Doom or any of those other whack jobs.
Doesn't mean he feels very sympathetic when the green monster is tearing his way through Johnny's city.
No one's even sure what's got him so riled up at the moment.
Reed is up in the lab, Sue is clearing out a building that's about to fall over and Johnny's distracting the Hulk so Ben can sneak up on him.
It's not one of their best plans but it seems to be working.
He shoots a fireball at him and then another as he flies backwards. The Hulk is launching debris at him but it's not too hard to avoid so he's doing okay.
Ben grabs the Hulk and everything seems to freeze for a moment.
Then the Hulk has shifted, grabbed Ben and launched them both into the air.
Johnny can only watch, frozen as the pair comes crashing back to earth. He dives in, just in time, scooping up a dumb tourist who had gotten too close and flying him to safety. The man actually stops Johnny and asks for a photo.
He chooses to ignore him and heads back to the battle, expecting to see Ben and the Hulk still going at it. And they are.
Or were.
The green monster of a man lets out an ear splitting roar that has him cringing, right before he hits Ben, harder then Johnny has ever seen him hit him before, and sends the hero flying backwards into a crater in the pavement.
Johnny holds his breath. Ben isn't moving.
He reacts without thinking; something his sister has accused him of one too many times. Before he knows what he's doing he's in front of the Hulk, flame burning brighter as a warning.
"Stay back." He snarls in warning. That's his sort of boyfriend that the Hulk is trying to kill.
"Johnny?" Ben sounds groggy from somewhere behind him.
He chances a glance over his shoulder; Ben is still where he landed, sprawled in the pavement and looking like he won't be moving in the next few minutes. Sue is still in the building a block away, Reed is in the Baxter building and there's no one nearby.
The Hulk starts advancing on them again; Bruce Banner isn't in there at the moment.
"Close your eyes Ben." Johnny tells him firmly.
He doesn't check to make sure that Ben is listening because the Hulk is suddenly right in front of him, reaching for him and Johnny lets his flame burn.
It rips through him, this exhilarating force and for a moment it's all consuming. He pushes it hotter and hotter, lifting him up into the sky. He can't see anything passed the flames, can barely think of anything passed the flames.
Ben will be okay, it's a mantra in his head as he tries to keep his mind grounded. His flame has never been able to hurt Ben.
His flame explodes from within him in one great, terrible force.
Everything is still for a moment.
He lands on his hands and knees on the broken pavement, vision swimming before him and panting for breath he cannot seem to catch. Everything hurts and he feels a chill creeping over him.
The street is on fire, cars melting and store fronts destroyed. Please let it be worth it, please.
He gulps in the warm air greedily and lurches to his feet. He's so tired, so close to passing out. He needs to get to Ben first. Needs to make sure the threat is gone.
One unsteady foot after another takes him to the crater- all but falling as he tries to reach the rocky figure at the center.
Ben. He tries to say but it comes out sounding more like a grunt.
"Kid." The rocky figure shifts, groaning slightly but stands and stumbles over to Johnny.
Stone arms circle him and together they sink to the ground. Black spots swim in front of his vision and he tries his best to blink them away, to focus and stop from passing out.
It looks like it worked though; the streets are silent except for his breathing, loud in his ears, mingled with Ben's.
The fires are burning themselves out, the smoke is clearing and,
An inhuman roar tears through the silence, shaking the very foundation they sit on.
"No." Johnny buries his face in Ben's chest in denial. It's not possible- nothing can stand up to his inferno.
The roar comes again, closer this time and he feels Ben tense against him. Rocky arms become less about keeping him close, holding him up and more about shielding him.
He twists his head enough to see the smoke clearing and a large, angry figure making its way towards them.
Ben's injured, he can hear it in his unsteady breaths, and Johnny is tapped out, about to pass out. They just can't stand up to the Hulk like this.
"Matchstick," Ben whispers in his ear and Johnny doesn't want to hear what he's about to say. "You need to get out of here."
"No." Johnny whispers back furiously. If Ben's not running, then he's not running. He just got the rocky man and he's not about to let him out of his sight.
Ben tries again, tries to get him to move but Johnny only pulls far enough away to stand stubbornly in front of the injured man. He plants his feet, spreads his hands and gives the Hulk his best glare.
The green monster- it's not Bruce in there, Bruce would be in control, would never hurt them like this- keeps coming though. Johnny can understand why- without his flame he's just some small blonde guy to the Hulk, standing between him and the enemy.
"Johnny!" Ben growls from behind him.
He realizes that if they make it out of this, by some miracle, that there will be hell to pay later.
At this moment though, he doesn't care.
The Hulk raises his massive arms above Johnny and Johnny's breath catches in his chest. This is it, he realizes.
"Johnny!" Ben shouts, louder, more desperate.
Sorry Ben, Johnny thinks idly. There are so many things he wants to say to him, but he can't speak, doesn't have the time. The Hulks hands are crashing down towards him and he feels his eyes slip closed.
Nothing happens.
No bone crunching, no mind numbing pain, nothing.
He cautiously opens his eyes in time to see the confused look on the Hulks face as the big guy stumbles and then starts to fall forwards. Right at Johnny.
Something hits him, knocks him out of the way and tumbling across the pavement. Johnny would know Sue's force field anywhere.
The ground shakes as the Hulk hits the ground.
Reed stands down the block, some sort of tranquilizer gun in his hand, Sue's close by. Ben, well Ben is climbing to his feet a little ways away. Johnny can feel the glare from here.
"We'll need to get Bruce back up to the lab." Reed is saying, getting closer.
Johnny looks over and sure enough the Hulk has turned back into the thin, small man again.
Ben is still glaring at him.
Johnny takes a few unsteady steps towards him, then thinks better of it and turns back the other way. His sister is by his side in an instant, wrapping an arm around his waist. He's too tired to even thank her properly, focusing on taking on step in front of the other.
He can hear Ben following behind with Reed's help and tries not to think too hard about how he'd been ready to die for the other man.
DI
He doesn't mean to, but he ends up sleeping until the next afternoon.
Johnny makes it to his room and collapses onto his bed, bone weary and as soon as his head touches the pillow, he's out like a light.
He gets the vague feeling that someone had checked in on him at some point in the night, but it's entirely possible it was a strange dream.
Johnny wakes up the next afternoon to sunlight streaming through the window, warming him. He's still sore, but feeling much better than he had the previous day.
He slides out of bed, throws on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and makes his way out of his room. Hopefully Ben will have forgiven him by now.
There's no one in the kitchen when he stops by for something to eat, no one in the living room and no one in the games room. He even checks the garage before heading upstairs with some trepidation.
Reed's lab is a buzz with activity. That's never a good sign.
"Johnny! Just in time!" Reed's pops up from behind a large, ominous looking machine face covered by some sort of mask. "Weld these two pieces together!"
Johnny doesn't bother waiting for a please, once Reed is in mad scientist mode things like please and thank you are usually forgotten.
"What's this?" Johnny asks as he welds the two pieces of metal together, silently celebrating the fact that his flame appears to be back and better than ever.
Reed mutters something about cosmic rays and molecules and Johnny can feel his attention slipping as the words grow longer.
He stares blankly at the area where he saw Reed's head last, trying to figure out what his brother in law has just said.
"He means," Johnny does not jump as Sue appears at his side. "That he's making a machine to counteract the cosmic rays that changed us. Again."
Sue is eyeing the machine skeptically, and Johnny can understand why. After so many tries, sometimes it feels like Reed will never find the answer.
Ben lumbers out of the elevator, slides an arm around Johnny's shoulders and watches the machine with something dangerously close to hope on his face.
Johnny feels his stomach lurch. He doesn't want Ben to get his hopes up only to have the machine not work again. He's not sure how much of that type of disappointment Ben can take.
He can't picture Ben as a normal, everyday human anymore though. He's not sure when he decided that the rocky Ben was the normal Ben.
But at least it looks like Ben's not mad at him anymore.
"This is going to take awhile." Reed finally resurfaces, probably just realizing that they're all still there.
"You heard the man!" Johnny grins and leans into Ben, batting his eyelashes in what he has been told is a very seductive way. At least that's what his girlfriends used to try on him. "Looks like we have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves."
Ben gives him a long look, one that Johnny has trouble deciphering, before shrugging and leading them to the elevator and out of the lab.
Sue stays with Reed, probably to make sure he eats something, leaving Johnny and Ben by themselves.
Johnny spends the quick ride down trying to figure out how to get Ben to agree to go see a movie with him.
Except as soon as they get out of the elevator, the easy going nature slides right off of Ben and Johnny can spot the anger boiling below the surface. Apparently Ben hadn't decided to just forgive him.
"I can explain." Johnny starts, hands held up in a way that he hopes means 'peace'.
Ben just growls and stalks towards him, so Johnny backs up only to find he cannot back up any further as he hits the wall.
"You'd better have a damn good explanation Storm."
Johnny flinches at the use of his last name. Ben is pissed. He's probably been making himself angrier all this time Johnny has been asleep too.
"If I had have just stepped back, the Hulk would have killed you!" Johnny defends, stubborn that he made the right choice.
"So you decided I had t'a watch him kill you?" Instead of yelling Ben's voice drops to a low, harsh tone and somehow it's worse.
Johnny stands straight and glares right back, meeting Ben's unwavering gaze. At least they aren't throwing fists and fire balls this time.
Suddenly they're not glaring anymore and Johnny is being pushed back against the wall. Hard, harsh lips press against his own, kissing him. A tongue pushes into his mouth, licking and sucking and biting and god- claiming him. Hands grasp his hips hard enough to bruise and all Johnny can do is cling and go along with the whirlwind.
He kisses back, just as desperately, completely aware that they're making out in the hallway and not really caring that Sue and Reed could exit the elevator at any time.
He groans, a low, needy sound, pushing against Ben's hard body, trying to get more.
Ben breaks away just as suddenly, looking more startled than Johnny probably does.
The only sound in the empty hallway is their harsh breathing- panting, for a long moment.
"Kid, did'ya do it 'cause we're," Ben breaks off, gesturing helplessly between the two of them and taking a step back. The space between them feels cold, cooler than the heat that had been there seconds ago.
Johnny catches his breath, squares his shoulders and meets Ben's gaze again.
"I would have done it even if we weren't…dating." He pretends to not see the way Ben flinches ever so slightly at the word. He knows Ben is still getting used to this, how it's not always about the intense heat between them, but something softer. He's okay with the fact that Ben still needs to get used to it, mainly because he knows Ben is getting used to it. "But nothing you could've done would have made me leave you."
They stand there for a moment, at a standoff, neither prepared to back down, both a little terrified by what this all means.
Ben is the one to break the silence for a second time.
"I hear Star Wars is playing at a small theatre close by." He offers tentatively.
It's not the dates in expensive restaurants and benefits he's used to. But it may just be better.
DI
In an otherwise empty theatre, they stand out like a sore thumb. Johnny tries not to notice the few employees whip out their phones and start taking pictures. He pretends not to notice how Ben bribes them not to phone the news stations while Johnny is paying for all the snack food they've acquired.
He does let Ben have his liquorish though, because it was really…sweet of Ben. It would be nice to not be hounded by reporters for a couple of hours. Especially since once the media finds out about them, they're never going to hear the end of it.
When Ben had said small theatre, he hadn't been joking. Luckily the seats are huge; big enough for even someone with skin make of stone. There are only a few other people there so they get their pick of seats.
Johnny heads for the back of the theatre, hidden from prying eyes, sitting pressed up against Ben. He grins when a large, rocky arm drapes across his shoulders, inviting him to get comfortable.
The original Star Wars film is playing on the screen in front of them, they're surrounded by junk food and no one is bugging them. It's just him and Ben and no urgent need to save the world at the moment.
There's a group of teenagers at the front and one or two other couples scattered around, but no one is turning around to blatantly stare at them; or at Ben to be more accurate. Johnny can blend in, but Ben has never had that ability.
Johnny's used to going on dates where he stands out, where he has to be the Human Torch and people swarm him. Ben though has dozens of places that he knows of where they can escape and just be themselves. That's all Johnny really wants; to be himself with Ben.
A jellybean bounces off his forehead.
He grins over at Ben, allowing himself to be pulled closer. Ben gives him a look that clearly says he knows he's not paying attention to the movie. Johnny grins sheepishly and then, feeling daring, leans closer and plants a kiss on Ben's lips.
He can feel Ben go still against him, eyes probably darting around to make sure no one is watching. He grins and tries again, sliding a hand across Ben's football jersey and feeling stone through the material. He can feel the power Ben holds back as he moves, can feel the safety. He's never felt safer then when he's with Ben.
Ben kisses him back slowly, tentatively, and then pulls away with a small, content smile on his face.
It's not necessarily the movie that is what makes this date, it's the fact that they can do this, can be this close and not have to worry.
They could try this in public, try being out, but Johnny isn't ready for the camera's to spoil this all and Ben certainly isn't ready for the trouble that is bound to come with being together for the world to see.
This though- this is good. No, this is great.
The credits roll and the lights come up in the little theatre. Next weekend is another flick, so he figures he can talk Ben into coming back for the next one. A few people wander up the aisles and pass them, casting curious glances but respect their privacy. Part of the group of teenagers walk by and for a second Johnny swears he knows them but they're out the doors before he can place the faces.
"Mr. Storm?" Two of the teenagers stand hesitantly at the end of their aisle as Johnny stands up. Ben tenses behind him, but he still can't shake the feeling that he knows these guys.
"Yeah?" He asks wondering if they were about to ask for an autograph or something. They didn't seem all that star struck though.
"I'm Billy." The brown haired teenager introduces himself. Johnny's heard the name before. "This is Teddy." A blonde stands at his shoulder, taller than Billy. There's something in his stance that reminds Johnny a lot of Ben. It could have something to do with the unconscious protective looming, as his sister calls it.
"You know us as," Teddy drops his voice and leans forwards in a whisper, as though they aren't the only ones left in the theatre. "Hulkling and Wiccan."
Oh! He knew that Billy looked familiar.
"Oh! Hey- thanks for saving my butt and everything." He never actually got the chance to thank them for helping bust him out of the crazy sub dimension a few weeks earlier.
The pair shrugs, grinning despite themselves. Ben relaxes behind him and goes back to munching on what remains of their popcorn.
"We actually just wanted to…um…" Teddy trails off, scratching at the back of his neck and casting Billy a glance.
"We wanted to say congrats." Billy continues, eyes flickering from Johnny to Ben and back again. Ah. It looks like someone had seen them.
Johnny glances back at Ben, just to see his reaction, but Ben is actually smiling, only a little, but smiling nonetheless.
He turns back, his own grin on his face; the pair in front of him seems to relax when he doesn't start freaking out, or whatever else they thought he might do.
"Thanks." He says and means it. A large hand rests on his shoulder as Ben steps in closer, deciding its okay now.
Teddy and Billy wave and head out of the theatre, shoulders brushing, hands entwined and Johnny thinks he understands why they came over to talk. He's not sure how he feels about two teenagers being the ones to try and show them that it's all okay.
"Wanna get something to eat?" Ben asks, amusement colouring his voice.
Johnny glances at the packages of candy and popcorn left over from their movie. After all they ate…yeah, he could go for a bite.
He grins at Ben, taking his hand as they make their way out of the theatre.
"Sure."
"I know this place…"
DI
The slice of pizza in his hand is only still warm because he has been heating it the entire way. Ben had refused to tell him where they had been going, once they'd bought their dinner, had kept telling him it was a secret.
It was worth the wait though.
The Statue of Liberty stands tall above them as they settle down on the grassy embankment. The sun is falling low on the horizon, casting a pink tint to everything and Johnny is beginning to suspect that Ben is a bit of a romantic.
"So whadd'ya think Matchstick?" Ben asks, trying not to look too nervous.
Johnny grins, makes himself comfortable pressed close to Ben and meets clear blue eyes.
"I think you've outdone yourself this time, Benjy." He goes for teasing and figures he must come close because Ben instantly relaxes against him.
"Gonna make yourself useful?" Ben holds out his cold pizza, teasing him back. Johnny heats up the slice, careful not to burn it and then settles in to eat his own.
"Where do you keep finding these places?" Johnny asks once the pizza has been eaten and they've fallen into a comfortable silence. Ben takes his time answering and for a moment he thinks that his rocky companion may not at all.
"When you look like me, you've gotta find places where you don't always stick out like a sore thumb."
"Ben…" Johnny's not really sure what to say to that. He used to tease Ben about his appearance all the time, he'd stopped though. Its times like these where he did wish Ben could turn back, if only to get rid of the misery in blue eyes.
"We're superheroes!" He says forcefully, twisting around to look Ben in the eye. Rocky hands wrap around his waist as he slides onto Ben's lap. "Who cares what everyone else thinks? I don't! I only care about what you think."
Johnny leans forwards and kisses Ben, keeping his eyes open to watch the other man. Ben stares right back, kissing him slowly, and then with more pressure, pulling him tighter against him.
Johnny lets himself be pulled, fitting as closely as he can to Ben's body, eyes finally slipping closed as he spots the acceptance he has been searching for. His arms slip around Ben's neck, anchoring himself.
They're alone here, probably why Ben likes the area so much, so he just lets himself go. His skin is heating up, a flame tickling beneath as he throws himself further into the kiss. If their make out session keeps up, the grass beneath them will end up charred. He definitely doesn't want to explain that one to whoever looks after the grounds.
They haven't done anything else, but right now making out is good- really good. Especially when Ben's cool hands slide up under his shirt, running along his back.
Johnny breaks away to grin at Ben.
"So," He begins, soundly pleasantly breathless. "Do we get to do this every weekend?"
DI
It's late when they finally sneak back into the Baxter building, grinning like idiots, shoulders bumping.
Of course, no one is sleeping.
Sue is waiting for them when they exit the elevator, eyebrow raised and looking faintly annoyed. She still finds time to glance between them and smirk before throwing Johnny's phone at him. He catches it deftly; at least this explains why it had been silent all day.
He has three missed phone calls, two from Sue and one from Tony Stark. He makes a note to check the latter later and pockets his phone.
"What's up sis?" He asks going for innocent and probably failing as Ben's hand brushes his.
She sighs, ignores his question and turns to Ben.
"Reed finished the machine." It's like all the air is sucked out of the room.
Johnny tries not to feel anything at the words, whether it be excitement or dismay. Chances are it won't work- it's going to take a long time to get Ben out of his funk after this. He doesn't bother wishing that it'll work- this means so much to Ben, but if it doesn't work, he'll have to be the strong one.
"He thinks it'll work this time." Sue says tentatively. "But remember Ben,"
Ben cuts her off, nervous excitement pouring off of him.
"Well, let's try it out then!" He takes off for the elevator that leads up to Reeds lab and Johnny tries not to feel hurt. It's not like Ben is going anywhere, even if this works- he'll still be Ben, just less…rocky. It won't change who he is. Johnny holds onto this hope and follows after Ben with his sister.
The lab is a mess when they reach it; Reed has gone all out on the large metal box in the middle of the room.
Reed launches into a long and drawn out explanation of why it should work this time and Johnny allows himself to feel the first glimmers of hope. This looks like it could work- Ben could be normal again, could be happy. But this version of Ben is normal to him.
If it makes Ben happy, then he's happy too.
"All you have to do is step inside and I'll do the rest." Reed tells Ben, holding the door open to the box expectantly.
Ben takes a deep breath and glances at Johnny.
Johnny offers what he knows is a grim looking smile and gives thumbs up, not really trusting his voice at the moment. Reed looks so sure that it'll work. Maybe this time.
"Wish me luck kid." Ben brushes a rocky hand over his shoulder and Johnny takes a moment to wonder if this will be the last time he feels the rocky touch again.
Then with a last glance at him, Ben steps forwards and into the machine. The metal door swings shut with an ominous thud.
Reeds flicks a bunch of switches and the room is suddenly lit up with a bright blue light. It's so bright that he has to throw his hands over his eyes and look away, brighter than his nova blast- it burns and Johnny has to wonder if Reed had meant for this to happen.
As suddenly as the light begins, it ends and he's left trying to clear the black spots out of his vision. Did it work? He can't see.
His vision slowly comes back to him and he spots his sister blinking in a similar manner. It doesn't look like Reed was expecting the light to be that bright either, as he blinks and shakes his head. It doesn't reassure him.
The metal door groans and swings open. No steam comes billowing out, no more dramatic lights or entrances.
Ben steps out of the box and looks around. Just Ben; still rocky, still the Thing. Still Johnny's.
Johnny feels a sort of hopelessness flow through him that he knows must be nothing compared to what Ben must be feeling.
"Ben, I'm so sorry. It should have worked, I don't understand why," Reed approaches Ben, frowning but he's shrugged off.
"It's fine." Ben says shortly, staring at his hands like they're his own worst enemies. "I should'a known it'd never work." Ben shrugs and then without another word walks into the elevator. They watch the doors close behind him.
"I should go talk to him." Reed begins but Sue stops him with a hand on his arm.
"I think we should leave this one to Johnny." She casts him a knowing glance.
"Right." Johnny hesitantly agrees. "Let's leave it to Johnny." He's not sure what he's going to say though.
DI
He finds Ben, predictably down in their training room. He's beating a bunch of Reed's training robots to scrap metal so Johnny just waits quietly at the door for Ben to finish. Or for the robots to run out.
"What do you want, Matchstick?" Ben grits out as the last robot falls.
"Nothing." Johnny replies, pushing off of the wall and flames on.
Ben's back is to him as he tosses a fireball at the other man. The flame hits but Ben doesn't even grunt. He just ignores Johnny.
Johnny doesn't exactly like being ignored.
The next fireball hits the back of his head and Ben rounds on him, looking irritated. But there's a familiar spark in blue eyes too.
"You don't want t'a do that kid."
Johnny smirks and holds another fireball in his hand.
Ben manages to miss this one by charging at him. Johnny takes off into the air but doesn't go far, hovering close by and tossing balls of fire at the other man. Ben grabs pieces of crushed robot, starts hurling them.
To anyone else this would look like some huge fight, it would look like they're really trying to hurt one another.
Johnny's fireballs can't hurt Ben though and Ben's altering his aim enough that the scraps of metal don't come too close.
But they both need this, need to let loose.
Johnny heats up, hurls another ball of fire and freezes as Ben lets out a sharp yell.
He's on the ground in an instant, confused and feeling panicked.
Ben is kneeling on the ground now, one arm pulled close to his chest and as Johnny watches his skin shifts.
It's like watching the road on a hot day as Ben seems to warp before his eyes, the rock shifting and smoothing out and becoming skin.
Johnny's reaching for his communicator before he realizes what he's doing.
"Reed! Sue! Get down here!" He yells and takes a shaky step towards his boyfriend.
Ben lets out another groan and kind of slumps sideways. Johnny catches him, cradles him close and tries to figure out what the hell has just happened.
"Ben?" He asks, shaky.
"Shit." Ben groans, unfolding slightly and leaning further against Johnny. He's shocked to discover that he can support Ben's weight, that it isn't putting him off balance. He spots the arm that Ben has clutched to his chest, spots the red burn against pink skin and feels like he's going to be sick. Oh god- he hurt Ben.
And Ben, no longer the strong, rocky man but a hurt, human lets out another groan; his voice is no longer as deep or gravelly.
Ben's human again. Johnny can't quite wrap his mind around the fact that Reed's machine works.
The other man lets out a shaky laugh, something exhausted but excited, disbelieving. Johnny tries to work up a smile but he doesn't really feel like celebrating at the moment.