This is the sequel to 'The Agent and the Human Torch', so you should read that before you read this. I like to think that this will stand on its own, but reading about their journey is so much fun. Or at least I think it is. I'd say I'm biased, but I have next to no self-esteem. Just enough to get me posting fan fiction, basically.

"The Christmas Rush"

Just months after Johnny and Phil reunited – and consequently deleted their online dating accounts – they were sleeping together on Christmas Day, entwined and well-rested. And then Phil's phone went off, and they both jerked awake.

"Not yet," Johnny groaned, and he turned his head to check out the digital clock on his bedside table. He frowned. "Is the time wrong? We're not supposed to be up for another half hour."

"It's not wrong," Phil said, and Johnny noticed that he was switching off his phone. That was out of character.

"Then why…?"

Phil rummaged around in his nightstand's drawer, and settled back with a bottle of lube in his hand. Immediately, Johnny's interest was peaked.

"Happy Christmas, Johnny," he murmured, flicking open the bottle with a snap.

"…You too, Phil."

Phil smirked, and coated his fingers liberally. He shifted so that he was lying down further, kicking off the bedcovers as he went. Then he spread his legs apart and lowered his hand between them. Johnny tossed the covers off his side as well, and got to his knees in front of his fiancé.

"Do you like your present so far?" Phil said, his eyes never leaving Johnny's face. Johnny felt uncomfortably warm all over.

"I love it," Johnny said. He met Phil's eyes. "I love you."

Phil paused his movements, and he smiled contentedly. "I love you, too, Johnny." When the moment passed, his smile turned lascivious, and he returned to fingering himself. "I know you should be opening your present, but it's your job to have fun. Feel free to slick yourself up, though." With his free hand, he threw the lubrication to Johnny, who began to apply it. Sloppily, since he was distracted by the sight of his lover preparing himself to be taken.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Best Christmas since they broke up, anyway. Johnny would take what he could get this morning, since the rest of the day was going to be hell.

"I'm ready," Phil said, and he wiped his hand on the sheets.

"You sure?"

"I want to feel it."

"Is that wise, with what's going down today?"

"I'd rather not talk about work while I'm waiting for you to fuck me, Johnny."

"Right," Johnny said, and he crawled between Phil's legs. "Sorry. You know how I love the thought of you knowing what we've been up to." He dropped his voice, leaning closer. "Especially if you limp, just a little. Enough for the others to know what we've been doing." He rubbed himself against Phil, and they both shivered. "What I've been doing to you."

"So do it already," Phil said. He sounded too breathless to be intimidating. "We've only got twenty-five minutes."

Johnny positioned himself carefully, torn between savouring the beginning or being inside as long as possible. In the end, Phil took that decision in hand, and canted his hips upwards. Johnny sank in a little. Addicted as he was, he took a deep breath and plunged in the rest of the way. Phil whined, and grabbed Johnny's shoulders.

"Not hurting you, am I?" Johnny said.

"No," Phil said, shaking his head fiercely. "Absolutely not. Keep going. I'm your Christmas present, remember? Play with me."

Johnny worked his hips in and out, not very far at first. Then he brushed Phil's hair back and kissed him gently. His scooped his other arm under Phil's back, forcing the man to arch into him. Johnny thrust back in sharply, and swallowed Phil's startled moan. He moved his lips to Phil's left ear.

"I'm loving my Christmas present," he said softly. "Love everything about it. The wrapping is gorgeous." He slipped his hand down to Phil's chest, resting over the scar from the spear. "I especially love that it doesn't look like any other wrapping." Phil's lips were parted, and Johnny got distracted by them, just for a couple of seconds. "It opens so easily, and I can get right in there, and do what I want." His fiancé's eyes darkened.

"Whatever you want," he said. Johnny encouraged Phil to wrap a leg around his back.

"What I love most of all," Johnny said, and he kissed Phil's ear, "is the contents. Everything is just what I wanted. And if I'd known all I had to do was ask—"

"This present's for life," Phil said, and he pulled Johnny deeper. Johnny groaned. Yep. Best Christmas ever.

For now.

"You're damn right," he said. Then he took Phil's mouth again, and sped his movements until Phil tightened. With a quick jerk of his wrist, Johnny swiftly brought him off, and followed just as Phil's orgasm ebbed. He held inside, trying to convince himself that they could stay in bed all day. But duty would soon call, and they had to get up. With that sobering thought, he pulled out, and collapsed onto the bed beside Phil.

"So," Phil said, after a minute of panting. "How was your Christmas present?"

"Can't talk," Johnny said, still staring at the ceiling. "Too good."

"Don't say I never spoil you."

Johnny managed enough energy to roll over and kiss Phil again, languidly this time. He could kill Thor's crazy brother for interrupting Christmas. And announcing it ahead of time, too. Who could be that sadistic? Apparently, a Norse god could.

Phil sighed when Johnny moved back.

"We'd better get going," Johnny said. "No wonder you insisted on an early night. I thought you were just being a good agent. Now I know your ulterior motive."

"You still love me," Phil said, twisting around on his side of the bed. "I'll get coffee."

"And muffins," Johnny said. He rubbed his eyes as he stumbled to his feet.

"There's an energy bar under your pillow to keep you going."

Johnny checked, and ripped open the packaging. "You take such good care of me. Have I ever told you that?"

"Only three or four times a week." Phil shuffled to the door in his slippers and dressing gown. Johnny loved that that was all he was wearing.

"See you in five," he said, and he hurried into the bathroom. Showering together was one of his favourite activities, but they couldn't afford the distraction today. Loki had declared war at nine, which meant that they had to be ready for eight, according to Phil. On Christmas Day, of all times. Even Thor admitted that that was unacceptable. (For some reason, Thor did object to mistletoe. That wasn't going to stop Johnny from getting as many kisses as possible out of Phil.)

When he left the bathroom in record time, Johnny found Phil's mobile, still on his nightstand, and still turned off. He switched it on as he walked through to the kitchen, already in his Fantastic Four suit. Phil handed him a mug without even looking. Johnny accepted it and drank deeply. One of the advantages of being the Human Torch was that he didn't scald himself on incredibly hot coffee, yet he still got the full effect of caffeine.

"You forgot something," Johnny said, setting the phone on the counter. It buzzed, and they both jumped. The coffee was already making them jittery.

Phil looked at the screen. "Voice mail from Fury. I'd better check this."

"You do that," Johnny said, and he helped himself to a buttered muffin. He watched Phil listening to the message in Agent Coulson-mode. Agent Coulson dressed down was delicious. Watching semi-naked Agent Coulson at work was another of Johnny's favourite activities.

"Huh," Phil said, and he half-smiled. "Okay, then." He pressed a couple of buttons, and then grinned at Johnny. "Good news."

"Loki's dead?"

"That's very un-Christmassy of you," Phil scolded, but he didn't sound serious. On the contrary, he was still smiling. "But it is to do with Loki."

"Please tell me we have Christmas Day free."

"…We have Christmas Day free."

"Yes!" Johnny punched his fist in the air, and then grabbed Phil by the waist. He swung him around, laughing. "I think that's almost as good a Christmas present as the one I had this morning."

"Mmm, I'm glad you said 'almost'," Phil said, and he pecked Johnny on the lips. "Let's get into something more appropriate for Christmas."

"Amen to that," Johnny said. "Though I don't mind you in your birthday suit."

"I've been in that today. If we're going to meet with the others, we— Well, fuck."

Johnny found something amusing in Phil's swearing. "What?"

Phil blinked slowly. "We don't have anything organised. Not for Christmas celebrations. We were only prepared for fighting."

"Calm down, Phil—"

"Stark Tower is one of the centres of operation, and the same with the Baxter. We can't even have a party at SHIELD."

"Why should we be the ones throwing a shindig?" Johnny asked.

"We're the engaged couple."

"And my team is comprised of two married couples."

"But the Baxter Building is set up for battle," Phil said. "Our apartment's big enough for all our friends… if we move the furniture around… and we have enough room in the fridge. Anything else can sit on the counter," he began to move things to the corners, "we have a stack of Christmas CDs and DVDs, and half of our decorations are already up. We just need to finish decorating, get food together, tell the others—"

"Phil."

"What?"

Johnny kissed him. "You're adorable when you're flustered, but then I think you're adorable half the time."

"And the other half?"

"Smouldering," he said. Phil rolled his eyes.

"Look, let's ask the others if they're available, okay?"

Johnny hopped up onto the kitchen counter, smirking around his muffin when Phil whipped his leg with a tea towel. He hummed while his fiancé rang every one of their friends and relations to ask if they wanted to come over for Christmas. Idly, Johnny wondered if they'd have enough food for an appropriate Yuletide feast. But Phil was used to conjuring miracles.

"Johnny?"

"Hmm?"

Phil frowned. "Can you go get the rest of the decorations?"

"Sure thing," Johnny said, and he jumped down. Phil returned to his phone call, and Johnny chuckled as he went to raid the spare room.

There wasn't much left over. There were baubles they hadn't bothered to use – there was enough room for those – garlands for the walls, mistletoe (to be avoided), and extra tinsel. Nothing else. Oh, and a couple of snow-globes. Johnny heaped everything into a box and brought it through to the living room. He heard Phil clattering around in the kitchen, and went to investigate.

"How many are coming?" he asked, and noticed that Phil had somehow gotten dressed in that time.

"Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Bruce," Phil said, and he stuck his head inside the pantry. "Thor, Jane, Darcy, Eric. Reed, Susan, Alicia, Ben." He came back out again, and moved on to the fridge. "Clint, Natasha. Nick's staying at HQ, and he'll alert us if Loki changes his mind. But it sounds like that's not going to happen. Oh, and Steve is at church, but I presume he'll be joining us."

Johnny tried to get along with Steve Rogers, but he still got pangs of jealousy whenever the man was around Phil, and Johnny made sure he was a bit more affectionate towards Phil at those times.

"So that's… fourteen definitely coming, and maybe Rogers."

"Happy's going to be with his family, but he may come over later."

"Are the others bringing anything?"

"It looks like it'll be cold meats, salads, and dessert. And microwave meals." Phil pursed his lips, and slammed the freezer door shut. "They'll bring what they have, but it doesn't sound like there'll be any roasts. I'll have to go to the nearest convenience store, and see what they have. Can you start up the oven?" He headed for the hallway, and Johnny frowned as he followed.

"I can do that," he said. "More to the point, I can keep stuff warm on the way home."

"You get on with the decorations, and keep an eye on the oven," Phil said. "I made a list of what everyone's pledged to bring. It's on the counter. When I get back, we'll rearrange the furniture to make space."

"Phil—"

"I'll be back soon, sweetheart," Phil said, and he kissed Johnny on the cheek. He finished wrapping his scarf around his neck, and pulled on a beanie. Grabbing his coat, he made for the front door. "Love you."

Before Johnny could object, Phil had shut the door, and Johnny was left alone in the apartment. He huffed, and headed for the kitchen to turn on the oven. At least he could hurry up the roasting process if they needed him to. In the meantime, he'd get on with spreading a bit more Christmas cheer.

Phil arrived home to a warmer apartment, and Johnny whistling along to 'Winter Wonderland'. He spread out everything on the kitchen counter, and waited for his fiancé to join him. Sure enough, he noticed Johnny come in, and leaned back into the extra warmth as Johnny wrapped his arms around Phil's middle. He kissed Phil's neck, and breathed more warm air down his neck. Phil shivered.

"You were quick," Johnny said.

"I wanted to get home to you. And it's cold out. I was the only one there, so there was no queue."

"Good." Johnny let him go, and then stepped back. "I was worried."

"I can take care of myself, Johnny," Phil said, and he started sorting the food into groups according to when it would be eaten. "I'll need your help with this."

Johnny was spraying cooking trays for the roast vegetables, and Phil was chopping and peeling the vegetables, when his mobile rang.

"Coulson," he said when he answered.

"Phil?"

"Steve, where are you?"

"Just outside church," Steve said. "Listen, there are some people here who don't have any place to go. I got your message. Would there be room for an extra three mouths?"

"Absolutely. Johnny, Steve's bringing an extra three."

"Great," Johnny muttered. Phil frowned.

"Yes, that's fine, Steve," he said. "Bring them here around quarter-to-twelve. Does that suit you?"

"Sure does. Thanks, Phil."

"You're welcome, Steve."

He hung up, and noticed how tight Johnny's shoulders were. Phil nearly jumped when Johnny slammed the spray can down.

"Why do you always do that?" Johnny asked. "Every time Captain America wants a favour, you jump right to it. With anyone else, it can be like pulling teeth without an anaesthetic."

"Steve still doesn't understand this new world he's fallen into, and we're his only support network."

"We! That's just it! The others are there for him, too, Phil. Why us?"

"He doesn't think they are there," Phil said, chopping potatoes. "And I'm his – their – handler."

"Then why don't you live with them?" Johnny said.

Phil half-turned his head, enough to glimpse Johnny out of the corner of his eye.

"Because I prefer to separate my work and private lives," he said. "It's important for the Avengers to be a cohesive unit, and not all of them have homes to go to. And I'm the only one who's strong enough to say no to Tony, apparently." He smiled, but Johnny remained stony-faced. "What's brought all this on?"

"You," Johnny said. "When I woke up this morning, I thought that if Loki didn't attack, I could just spend the whole day in bed with you. Well, not solely in bed. But I thought it'd be just us."

Phil placed the knife and potato down, dried his hands on a towel, and walked over to Johnny.

"You know I love you more than life itself," he said. "But Christmas is about spending time with family. They're our family, Johnny. I don't have any family except you guys." He cocked his head. "Why don't we live at the Baxter?"

"Because I don't get on with the Thing, and having him and my sister there kind of puts a dampener on things," Johnny said. "If I want to ravish you, I can't do it with them around. It puts me off."

"Charming," Phil said.

"But you know what I mean," Johnny said, and he pulled away, walking to the other end of the kitchen. For once, Phil hated that they could afford a roomy apartment. "You decided, without even asking me, that we should have everyone around here."

"It's more convenient—"

"Just listen!" Phil closed his mouth. "We don't get many days where we're guaranteed – in advance – that we're not going to be separated by someone trying to take over the world, or end it. This could have been our day off, where we go skating at the Rockefeller Centre, drink hot chocolate, listen to carol singers. We could watch movies, listen to music, dance. I don't know. But not have our place taken over by co-workers, and by complete strangers! You know that Rogers can be too trusting. And even if they're okay, you still should have asked me first, instead of just assuming that I'd be all right with them coming over. Damn it, Phil! And you left me alone to decorate while you went out in the cold, alone, and I felt absolutely helpless. I'm fine in the cold, more than fine. And you know how your scar aches in bad weather. I just—"

Phil flinched back. He hated being reminded of his scar, that he was damaged goods. No matter what medical said, wet and cold weather bothered his old injuries, especially that one. The price of being an agent of SHIELD, yes. But he never thought he'd have a much younger lover, who was supposed to be marrying him.

"Shit, I didn't mean to bring that up," Johnny said, and he bit his lower lip.

"No, I understand," Phil said, and he turned back to the vegetables. Considering the way his hands were beginning to shake, that was probably a bad idea. But he'd handled terrorists and aliens; he could handle potatoes.

"You really don't," Johnny said, and he moved behind Phil. He removed the knife and food, and then wrapped Phil into an embrace. "I hate the thought of losing you, and you know that you're more vulnerable than… no, I mean—"

"You're not making things any better," Phil said, forcing Johnny backwards. He walked towards the door. "Maybe I should just go sit down, and let you handle everything. In fact, just call everyone back and tell them to make their own plans, since you'd rather just hang out with an old man than see our family and friends."

"Don't turn this into one of those conversations," Johnny said. "Don't start in on the age thing. You know I hate that. Don't think I didn't age ten years while you recovered, and I couldn't even be there."

"Which was my fault," Phil murmured. The pain of those years apart still hurt.

"Phil, I adore you, and you know that. You should know that. But I can't stand it when you're in one of these moods. And you've completely decided all our Christmas plans without me. Johnny, do this; Johnny, do that. Make everything look pretty for these people we weren't expecting."

"We were supposed to be going into battle today," Phil said harshly, and he turned back to look at Johnny. "We were going to be seeing them anyway—"

"Which is why I didn't want them here," Johnny said. "I didn't want to be reminded of work. We don't have any acquaintances outside of work, Phil, and I know that's because work is our life. But we, we don't work together much. I wanted it to be us." He shrugged, looking helpless. "That's all."

"Johnny… after we're married, we'll be able to—"

"Are we getting married?" Phil stopped breathing. "Because I can't see a wedding happening, can you?"

"…Are you… are you saying you don't want to marry me?"

"What? No!" Johnny leapt forward and grabbed Phil's hands. "No, of course I do. I've wanted it longer than I thought I did, and that's a damn long time. But it's going to be like Sue and Reed. There'll be interruptions, and it'll either never happen, or it'll be some rushed affair. And I want to have more than fives minutes to prepare. I want… I want our friends and family to be there." Johnny pulled him closer, and Phil allowed himself to go. "Work always calls. On the one day we have off, I wanted… Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." Johnny smiled sadly, and looked down at their entwined fingers. "As long as we're together, I can be good with that. Let's just… not fight anymore, okay? What was it you said once?" He glanced to the side, and then smiled at Phil. "Something about never leaving the person you love with an angry word, in case it's the last one they ever hear from you."

Phil disentangled one of his hands and stroked Johnny's cheek. He sighed.

"I understand now," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't think first, or ask what you wanted to do. I'm just used to big gatherings for Christmas, and it seems alien not to continue that."

"Whereas I'm not used to those big gatherings," Johnny whispered. "I wish I could be more like you."

"No," Phil said firmly, shaking his head. "Never wish to be like me."

"Why not?"

"Because I could never love me, and I think you're perfect just as you are."

Johnny kissed the palm of Phil's hand. "I really do want to marry you, Phil. Don't ever think otherwise."

Phil studied him, and then pulled out his phone. He stepped back, but kept one hand in Johnny's. He placed a call.

"Steve?" he said. He noticed Johnny's face fall, and he squeezed his hand.

"Yes, Phil?"

"Are you still at church?"

"Yeah. It's snowing a bit, and someone's putting salt on the pavement."

"Can you bring the priest?"

"…Sure. He's not going to the airport until this afternoon, so he was just going to hang out with another of the parishioners and their family. But I'm sure he'd be glad to join. Johnny won't mind, will he?"

"I'm sure Johnny won't mind," Phil said. "After all, he's the one who agreed to marry me. I'm pretty confident that he'll agree to a Christmas wedding. At least I think he will. Hang on a moment." Phil placed his phone on the counter, and then went to go down on one knee when Johnny reached past and snapped up the phone.

"Bring the priest," he said. "Anyone who can marry us. He'll do a same-sex wedding, right? Great. Drag him here if you have to. Can you call the others, and tell them to come dressed for a wedding?"

"Not if we're having gravy," Phil said, standing back up.

"Okay, not for a wedding, but something more formal than a tacky Christmas sweater. Thanks, Steve. See you later. Bye." Then he hung up, and placed the phone back on the counter. He yanked Phil into a searing kiss, and backed him against the wall. "You are brilliant."

"This isn't Christmas," Phil said. "This is our wedding day, and we're having a reception. Friends and family here. We'll leave late afternoon, and book into a hotel, then spend the night in luxury. If we're very lucky, we'll have tomorrow off as well, and spend it alone. Now come on." He gave Johnny an Eskimo kiss. "Your presents are under the tree."

"My other presents, you mean," Johnny said, and he patted Phil's ass as they left the kitchen. "I still remember the first present you gave me this morning."

They'd opened their presents, dressed more formally, and accepted congratulatory phone calls by the time the first guests arrived. Food was already in the oven, but Phil had timed everything so that whatever else was brought could go in at the right time. Stuff went into the refrigerator, the freezer, or into candy bowls. Steve and his church friends turned up last of all, still brushing off snow just outside the door.

"Come on in," Johnny said, and he smiled widely at the priest. "Father, it's good to see you."

"Steven tells me that you and your fiancé wish to get married today," the man said.

"Father Grange supports gay rights," Steve said proudly.

"I'm glad to hear it," Johnny said. "I'll introduce you to Phil. I'm sorry it's all a bit rushed today, but we were—"

"I know what your original plans were," Fr. Grange said, holding up a hand. "Steven explained everything. After what you have gone through to get here, it's an honour to be your celebrant."

Johnny wasn't sure what Steve had told the people at his church, so he chose not to confirm or deny anything. Instead, he introduced himself to the other lost lambs Steve had brought, and then tried to find Phil.

"He's in the spare room," Pepper said. "You're not allowed to see each other until Clint starts playing the wedding march."

"Where did the keyboard come from?"

"He brought it with him," she said. Clint waved from the coffee table, where he was bent over a goddamned keyboard. "It's a roll-up one."

"…Right."

"Over by the tree," Pepper insisted. The others had already moved the furniture (again), so there was a makeshift aisle. Johnny, bemused by the whole rearrangement which had gone on while he was answering the door, took his place by the tree. Fr. Grange stood beside him, and opened his Bible. Johnny hoped that Phil had gotten the wedding rings from the safe. When Reed opened his hand, Johnny saw that, yes, he had. Relieved, he waited, enduring Clint's electronic wedding march.

Johnny had already seen Phil in his suit – they'd helped each other do up their ties while they waited for the guests – but there was something about it being for their wedding that made it all the more special. Phil looked stunning, his cheeks faintly pink from all the attention, and the photographs people were taking. Johnny knew that he must have been grinning stupidly, watching his groom walk down the aisle. Sure, it was their living room, and this was a very weird situation. Nevertheless, he was finally marrying the love of his life, and things couldn't be better.

Post-ceremony, Phil and Johnny couldn't keep away from each other for more than a couple of minutes, and rarely strayed further than a few feet. Phil couldn't believe what a difference the vows seemed to have made. Maybe it was the shine of being newlyweds, but he knew the brilliance of being married to Johnny would never wear off, no matter what. Life was too short to waste time arguing. That time could be spent in much better ways. He preferred red faces to be brought on by embarrassment, rather than anger.

"Will you pull my Christmas cracker?" he whispered into Johnny's ear. Using a certain tone of voice, Phil had the ability to make his fiancé— his husband blush. Sure enough, Johnny's cheeks darkened, and he ducked his head.

"Only if you pull mine, too," Johnny said. Phil picked them up, and waited until they both had a good grip. With a hard tug, both crackers went off with a bang. Having Christmas crackers probably wasn't the best idea, considering the number of trained spies in the room. But Pepper had brought them, and no one could object. Steve's friends were having enough trouble wrapping their minds around being in the same place as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. One of them was a science student, and had been bombarding Bruce with questions virtually since they sat down for Christmas lunch.

"We'll have to kick them out in an hour," Phil said. Everyone had rearranged the furniture again, and were all spread out. Lunch had turned into a three hour (and counting) long event. As a wedding present, they'd all chipped in to get the best honeymoon suite in all of New York City for Johnny and Phil.

Right now, they were all watching Home Alone 2, having watched Home Alone after the wedding speeches were over and they'd all relocated. Phil always found it fascinating to observe Natasha and Clint watch the Home Alone films and dissect them. They knew it wasn't supposed to be serious, which made it all the more entertaining. Tongue-in-cheek, slapstick, they-should-be-dead-by-now action. The fluff between Kevin and his new friends, and all of the action, distracted them effectively from the awful family. With this group's history, family films could be risky.

They hit the credits, and Johnny and Phil sneaked off to pack for the night and – tentatively – for a second night. Just in case.

"If we need anything else, we can come back and get it," Johnny said. Phil twisted his lips.

"I'd rather not be too prepared," he said. "We didn't have this opportunity until now for a reason. I'm too damn happy about being married to you to care how long our honeymoon is." He smiled shyly, trying to hide his face behind the shirt he was folding. "Every day's going to be a honeymoon with you, no matter how busy it is."

"Aw." Johnny pulled the shirt down and kissed Phil softly. "You know I feel the same. You're full of fantastic ideas today, aren't you?"

"It must be the holiday season. All those inspirational Christmas cards."

Johnny chuckled against his lips. "Let's finish this, and then we'll evict the invading forces."

"That's our job, and we're damn good at it," Phil said. He folded the shirt and tossed it into his overnight bag. "I'm packing pyjamas."

"Why?" Johnny asked, pouting.

"Because you like peeling them off."

Johnny's eyes widened and his lips formed an 'o'. That gave Phil inappropriate ideas. "Okay. Well, when you put it like that… do I even have pyjamas?"

"Yes, you do. Second drawer down, beside mine. Pick your favourites."

Johnny jumped to it.

Pepper dropped them off at the hotel. Johnny kept fiddling with his wedding ring, and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest and announce – to the whole world – that he'd just married his soulmate. As far as he knew, hearts didn't have mouths, but maybe it would beat in Morse code? Geez, Johnny had only had one cup of spiked punch, and his mind was already addled.

"You okay?" Phil asked, squeezing Johnny's hand as they waited for their key-card.

"Dazed, that's all," Johnny said.

"Not regretful?"

"Hell to the no. I've got you."

Phil beamed like he never beamed in public, and Johnny almost kissed him. But the receptionist placed the card in front of them, and wished them a good night. Johnny and Phil joined the porter at the elevators. The swooping sensation as they shot up to the top floor was nothing to the sensation Johnny felt when he looked into Phil's eyes once they were alone in the suite.

"I feel like I should write a thank-you note to Loki, for clearing our schedule," Phil remarked. Johnny rolled his eyes.

"You're thinking about him right now?" he said. "Really? Can't we just jump into bed?"

"No, of course not," Phil said. "We have to do this properly. Shower separately, brush our teeth, get into PJs, and then get out of them again." His gaze dropped down Johnny's bed. "We've just gotten married."

"I know," Johnny said, nearly breathless. "I'm still trying to believe it. A year ago, it didn't seem like it could ever happen. Before you can start apologising, I'm just going to go out there and say this: if we'd never been separated for all that time, would we be here now? Would you have been handling the Avengers? Would we have driven each other mad, never coming out and saying how we felt? Would we have married? Because we know what's important now, especially after nearly losing each other more than once. We got to know each other again through the internet. It's not all been about sex and the odd date. We know each other, and we love each other." He kissed Phil's knuckles on both hands, noting the hitch in his breath. "Can you honestly say that things would have worked out this well if we didn't have those six years apart?"

He let Phil kiss him hungrily, until his husband was ready to speak.

"I hate that you're right about that," he said. "I wish it could've only taken one year to work all that out."

"Some higher authority made sure it didn't turn into seven years. Hey." Johnny tilted Phil's chin up. "Next year's going to be the tenth anniversary of us getting together."

"So it is," Phil said. He crossed his arms behind Johnny's back. "We should celebrate by hanging out in a lot of elevators that day."

"We'll talk about it in the morning," Johnny said. "Let's go to bed."

Phil had his way; they showered and dressed separately, though they brushed their teeth together. After a slow strip, they fell onto the feather-soft mattress. Johnny insisted on bottoming this time, and moaned as Phil slid in. It was a lot of gentle kisses, leisurely thrusts, and drawing it out for so long made Johnny come twice as hard when Phil ground against his prostate for the fourth time. It wasn't long before Phil followed with a gasp and a groan. They stayed entangled until Johnny started to fall asleep. He held Phil close all through the night, reminded of their post-coital cuddle the night they reunited.

He mumbled something about loving Phil, and got an equally exhausted reply, before allowing himself to fall into a deep, refreshing sleep.

It was a good thing they slept so well, Phil mused as he listened to Fury's message. They'd live-streamed the wedding to a select few at SHIELD, but the voice mail mentioned nothing about that. Instead, half of it was casting aspersions on Loki's parentage, and the other half was explaining the situation. Phil sighed as he deleted the message, and went to rouse Johnny.

"Hey," he said, shaking his husband's shoulder until there was independent movement. "Wake up. We have to get dressed."

"But we're married now," Johnny whined, and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Then he grinned. "We're married now. I'm Mr. Coulson-Storm. But only because you didn't go with my suggestion."

"I simply refused to be referred to as Agent Coulstorm on official documentation. It's a reasonable request."

"Whatever," Johnny said. "Why do we have to get dressed?"

"Do you remember when we busted up that party Loki had organised for all his supervillain friends, and he swore revenge?"

"Yeah, and that's why he said he was going to ruin our Christmas plans by launching an attack on NYC."

"He's taking advantage of certain people's hangovers to attack today instead."

Johnny blinked rapidly. "You're kidding, right?"

"It's Thursday. Thor's Day, Johnny."

"But it's Boxing Day, and we haven't even been married twenty-four hours yet."

"I know," Phil said grimly. "And Loki's going to regret interrupting my honeymoon only half a day in."

"…Fuck me, you're hot when you're plotting someone's doom."

"Later," Phil said. "Get dressed. We have an alien-slash-god to annihilate."

"Merry Christmas," Johnny groaned into the pillow. "He's so screwed."

"Thank God Thor and Steve can hold their liquor, and Bruce never drinks."

"And that we were too drunk on happiness to bother with alcohol."

Phil tossed Johnny's Fantastic Four suit to him, and Johnny stared at it.

"You packed this," he said.

"I always come prepared."

Johnny shook his head, and started to get dressed for battle.

He was going to kill Loki for this.

On the plus side, there'd be post-battle sex.

I wanted to write this for a variety of reasons. Usually I'm cautious about writing a sequel unless I've specifically ended the previous story with that goal in mind. And the idea I had for it originally expanded into what you read about.

The other main reason I wanted to write this is because I've been working on a sort-of sequel to the original story. I say sort of, because it's actually a bunch of alternative get-togethers for Phil and Johnny, all taking place before they were actually reunited in 'The Agent and the Human Torch'. I've been throwing the chapters at one of my readers to see what she thinks, but I'd like to get a general feel for how people might react to it. I've done a similar thing before, with one of my Harry Potter fics.

What do you reckon?