Excerpt from chapter two, and deviates from there on. When they meet at the party Tony has thrown for Phil.
"Holding Hands"
"Hi," Johnny said. He awkwardly stuck out one hand. Phil hesitated, then took it. "Great to see you again. Heard you had a brush with death?"
"It wouldn't be the first time," Phil said. "And it's not like you've never faced death before, either."
Johnny realised that they were still holding hands, but he didn't want it to end, despite the shivers it sent up his arm. When Phil flexed his hand, like he was about to let go, Johnny tightened his grip, unwilling to let this stop just yet. Phil squeezed back.
"This is…" He trailed off. Johnny swallowed.
"Yeah," he said. "We should…"
They fell silent, still unable to let go. Johnny moved closer, and heard a hitch in Phil's throat.
"You shouldn't have left me," Johnny said.
"I know," Phil said.
"…You know?"
"Pretty much as soon as I stepped out the door. I wanted you to come after me. Is that bad?"
"Yes," Johnny said, scowling. "I should've run after you, Phil."
"But… why would you want to? We weren't in a real relationship."
"Okay, let's just stop that right now. We were in a relationship. I know we kept saying we weren't, but it's true."
"…Oh." Phil's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he looked down. Johnny knew they still hadn't let go of each other's hands yet, and he couldn't care less.
"I thought about you," he confessed.
"About me? When?" Phil asked.
"Kind of… every day? Hard not to when you always use the same shower where you lost your virginity."
Phil's jaw dropped. Johnny gave him a tight smile.
"Were you tired of me?" he asked. "I was half-asleep when you broke up with me; don't even remember the kiss. So… did you just not wanna be with me anymore?"
Phil shook his head. "No, Johnny. That's not why… But you need someone younger. I thought I was holding you back. We were together so much that it didn't seem like you had time to be with anyone else—"
"I didn't want anyone else, Phil. You're the only person I've been with since I became the Human Torch. Ever. No one… no one since you."
He ducked his head. Phil gripped his hand harder, and yanked Johnny close. He looked up in time for Phil to wrap his hand around the back of Johnny's neck, and pull him down into a kiss. It took a second for him to catch on. Then he wrapped his free arm around Phil's back, ignoring the cat-calls and applause, and returning the kiss full-heartedly.
When they finally let go, Johnny was holding Phil by the waist, and Phil's hands were cupping his elbows.
"Get a room!" Stark called. Johnny didn't want to stop touching Phil, otherwise he would've flipped the billionaire off.
"Sounds like a good idea, actually," Phil said, running a hand down to meet Johnny's, entwining their fingers. "Come on."
"Wait." Stark was at their side in an instant. "This is Agent's party."
Johnny felt annoyance flare at Stark using Johnny's nickname for Phil. "And?"
"And… he can't leave before we've even started."
"Tony," Phil said, looking at Stark. "Thank you. It's the best party anyone's ever given me."
"But it hasn't started yet!"
"It doesn't matter," Phil said, turning in to Johnny's side. "It's give me everything I want. Let everyone else enjoy the evening. I think I can enjoy myself more elsewhere. As you said, we should get a room."
Stark looked from Johnny back to Phil. "Nearest hotel. Send me the bill. Now get out of here. This isn't that kind of party."
Then he winked, and sauntered back to his girlfriend. Phil took him at his word, and nearly dragged Johnny out of the room and the convention centre. It would've been dragging if Johnny wasn't as desperate as Phil to get some privacy, and he soon matched Phil's pace. Stark's driver was waiting for them.
"The boss told me you needed a lift?" he said.
"Thanks, Happy," Phil said. Johnny slid in after him, doffing an imaginary hat at Stark's driver. (Was the guy's name really Happy? Well, Stark's girlfriend was Pepper, so anything was possible.)
"God, I've dreamed about this," Johnny said, and he rolled his eyes as Phil made sure their seatbelts were buckled first.
"Of what? We've done car sex."
"But not limo sex," Johnny said, wide-eyed. Happy coughed pointedly. "Anyway, I wasn't referring to that. I just meant… getting you alone again. So we could talk."
"You want to talk first?"
"I need you to know that this can't be a one-time thing. We were together for three years, and we've been apart for six. I can't… I just can't. Please don't leave me again."
Phil squeezed Johnny's hand, resting on the seat between them. "Never."
In most fics – and in the original 'Agent and Human Torch' – the pining couple eventually manage to let go, so I decided to explore what might have happened if Phil and Johnny had just kept holding on. I mean, what if feelings were so intense that letting go was almost physically impossible? Johnny and Phil were certainly holding hands for the first half of the fic, and started holding hands against only a few paragraphs later. Wow. I don't think I've ever written so much hand-holding before. The words are starting to lose meaning. What are hands?
Anyway. Review, please! I'm glad people don't hate the idea of this fic. Not a story, technically, but it's a set of alternative get-back-togethers, so yeah. Any excuse for more Coulstorm until someone else starts writing this pairing seriously.