Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20th Century Fox.
Meant to Be
Chapter 1-Trouble in Paradise
Sue walked into the dining room of Reed's apartment on the top floor of the Baxter Building. She took a seat next to Reed who was sipping a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper. Ben sat across the table from Sue. He had a normal sized (for him) cup of orange juice, and a large bowl of fruit sitting in front of him. Sue noticed that one member of their team was missing at the table—her brother, Johnny. She checked her watch, and saw that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Sue didn't think much more on the matter for she knew how much Johnny loved to sleep in.
"Morning Susie," Ben said.
"Good morning Ben," Sue replied.
The sound of voices in the room got Reed's attention. He looked up from his paper and saw Sue sitting to his left. 'Was I really that into the paper that I didn't hear Sue come in?' Reed thought to himself.
"Good morning Sue. I didn't see you there. When did you get up?" Reed asked while leaning over and giving his fiancée a quick peck on the lips.
Reed noticed that Sue had a slightly annoyed expression on her face. Apparently the little kiss on the lips wasn't enough to get him off the hook this morning. He wondered if Sue was invisible when she walked into the room or if he just wasn't paying attention. If it was the latter, he knew he would be in trouble with his fiancée.
"Just now. I've been doing some thinking Reed. Since we're engaged now, I think now is as good of time as any for us to share a room together," Sue said.
Reed had been drinking his coffee while Sue was talking, and upon hearing what she said, he started choking on his coffee. He coughed rather loudly while trying to remedy the situation.
"I don't think now's a good time for that Sue. I mean there are a lot of things to consider before making a decision like that. For example, the bed in my room isn't big enough for the two of us to sleep in. Furthermore, if by moving into my room, you mean to—you know—then I was thinking we could wait until after we're married before we do—that," Reed stated.
Ben couldn't help but smirk both at Reed's response itself and the way Reed shifted uncomfortably in his chair when Sue suggested the two of them rooming together.
"You have an answer for everything don't you Reed? By the way, I wasn't implying moving in with you just so we could have sex! Besides, we're all adults here, so I think you can actually say the word sex! Why is it that whenever I think it's time for us to take our relationship to the next level, you get cold feet?" Sue asked.
Reed noticed that Sue had started to turn invisible as she spoke. 'Was that really what was going on here? Am I really getting cold feet?' Reed thought to himself. 'Impossible! After all, I did ask her to marry me!'
"I'm not getting cold feet!" Reed retorted.
"Of course not, because you already have cold feet!" Sue countered.
Ben wished he had some popcorn or something because this was getting interesting. It was almost like watching a movie except better.
"If I had cold feet, would I have asked you to marry me?" Reed asked.
"I don't know. For all I know, that was just a momentary lapse of judgment on your part," Sue answered.
Reed was offended that Sue would ever even think that about him. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he thought she knew that, but apparently she didn't. He was trying to stay calm, cool, and collected, but he was finding it to be more and more difficult given how Sue was all but yelling at him.
"Okay fine. If it'll make you happy, we'll go and get a king-sized bed today, so that way you can move into my room," Reed said.
"You are unbelievable! I want you to do something because you want to do it, not merely to make me happy!" Sue exclaimed.
Ben noticed that a very groggy looking Johnny had stumbled his way out to the dining room. From his appearance, he didn't look to be in too good of a mood himself.
"Will you two keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Johnny remarked.
Before anyone could even say anything in response, Johnny was already heading back towards his bedroom supposedly to try to go back to sleep.
"I can't ever win with you, can I? If I don't give you what you want, you get mad at me! If I give you what you want, you get mad at me! You claim that I never even wanted it to begin with, and I'm only doing it to make you happy!" Reed said in a loud voice.
"Well, maybe if you would for once in your life stop overanalyzing every little detail of every little thing, I wouldn't have a reason to be angry with you!" Sue retorted.
Reed had a stunned look on his face. He hated to admit it, but there was truth to what Sue was saying. He does overanalyze things. He can't help it though. He has been like that for practically as long as he can remember.
"What do you want me to be like Johnny? Is that what you want? Do you want me to be impulsive, reckless, and carefree?" Reed asked.
"I can still hear you!" Johnny yelled from his bedroom.
"How dare you drag my brother into this! He may be a bit of a daredevil, but at least he's not afraid to take action Reed! You, on the other hand, think of every fathomable possibility before you even make a move!" Sue replied.
While it was amusing at first, it wasn't really amusing anymore. Ben was starting to think that maybe he should get Reed and Sue to stop arguing. It would absolutely ruin their team dynamic if two of his teammates were at odds with one another.
"Okay you two, that's enough. Stop it. Need I remind you that you two are engaged to be married? Is this any way for you two to behave? Now apologize to each other," Ben demanded.
Reed and Sue exchanged glances with one another waiting for the other to apologize first. When that didn't happen, they averted their gaze so they wouldn't have to make eye contact with one another.
"The only way I'm apologizing to her is if she apologizes to me first," Reed stated.
"That's not happening!" Sue exclaimed before leaving Ben and Reed in the dining room.
Reed massaged his temples with his fingers. His argument with Sue had given him quite the headache. It was the first major argument they had since getting engaged. Reed wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the last argument they had either. Once he was sure Sue was out of earshot, Reed spoke to his best friend.
"Can you believe her? I'm telling you. Sue can be really stubborn when she wants to be!" Reed commented.
"Are you sure she's the stubborn one?" Ben asked.
Reed had a confused expression on his face. 'Are my ears deceiving me? Did Ben just call me the stubborn one? He's supposed to be my best friend! He's supposed to be on my side!' Reed thought to himself.
"Think about it Reed. The first time you and Sue dated, the two of you broke up because you weren't ready to share an apartment with her. You two got engaged when it was the right time for you. The two of you aren't sharing a room together because you don't want to," Ben explained.
Meanwhile, Sue made her way to her brother's room, and was sitting at the foot of Johnny's bed. Johnny sat up in his bed.
"So much for sleeping in this morning," Johnny commented.
Johnny rubbed the sand from his eyes, stretched his arms, and let out a rather loud yawn. He then noticed a few tears roll down his sister's cheek. It broke his heart to see his sister cry. He took a seat beside her on the foot of his bed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She in turn laid her head upon his shoulder.
"What were you and Reed fighting about anyways?" Johnny asked.
"I thought you said you could hear us?" Sue replied with a small grin.
'At least I got a smile out of her even if it was only a small one,' Johnny thought to himself. After their parents died, Sue practically raised Johnny by herself. As long as he could remember, she always saw to it that she didn't cry in Johnny's presence. Whenever Johnny suspected Sue was sad, she simply put on a brave face. Johnny was glad that Sue felt comfortable enough to cry in front of him now.
"I just heard noise. I couldn't make out any of the words," Johnny answered.
"I asked Reed if he and I could share a room together since we're engaged, but he practically shot that idea down. He fed me some bull about how he doesn't have a bed that sleeps two people, and how our relationship isn't at that level," Sue stated.
Johnny was surprised that his sister wasn't yelling. He knew she had to still be angry because her body felt tense to him. He felt bad for his sister. Reed had already put her through emotional hell the first time they dated. Now, it seems as though he was doing so again.
"Do you want me to beat him up for you? You do know what happens when rubber is superheated, don't you? A well placed fireball at just the right temperature will immobilize him for a good couple of hours or so," Johnny said.
Sue let out a small laugh. "Hey! I'm your big sister. I'm supposed to be the one looking out for you not the other way around. Seriously though Johnny, that's sweet, but not necessary," Sue responded.
The siblings sat in a comfortable silence. Johnny looked down and saw that his sister's eyes were still watering. She wasn't sobbing though. She wasn't even sniffling. As per his character, Johnny was the first to break the silence.
"Is there anything else bugging you?" Johnny asked.
"Honestly, this isn't really about Reed not wanting to share a room with me. What's really bugging me is that Reed hasn't even set a date for our wedding yet. The way I see it, the only reason Reed hasn't set a date for our wedding is because he doesn't want to marry me. Why did I fall head over heels in love with a guy who has a fear of commitment?" Sue asked.
Johnny didn't know what to say. He dated tons of women, but he never felt the way Sue feels about Reed. So, he doesn't exactly have any experience when it comes to actually being in love. One thing Johnny did know though was that Reed broke his sister's heart once before, and he was not about to let Reed break Sue's heart again.
To Be Continued…
This is my first Fantastic Four fanfic. As far as the timeline is concerned, this takes place after the first movie, but before Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I have a chorus concert this Sunday, and finals week starts a week from today, so I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up. Thank you for giving this story a chance. Please read & review. No flames please.