Again, I wrote this for the 2017 SpideyTorch Big Bang, and the lovely artists meereswiederkaeuer and hazirart went above and beyond to create both fantastic and amazing art for this fic. Please visit them at their blogs and give them all the love!
I do not own the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man.
Reminder that this fic has also been cross-posted to both AO3 (Bookdancer) and tumblr (bookdancerfics). Both have direct links to the art with them, as well.
I hope you all enjoy chapter two!
The Long Road Home
Chapter Two
Peter carried Johnny home. Well, he carried Johnny to the alleyway behind his apartment, switched clothes so he was Peter Parker instead of Spider-Man, and then carried Johnny the rest of the way home.
Harry wasn't there, so Peter sat them both on the couch and began to clean out Johnny's wounds, his expression thoughtful.
Johnny thought Peter was about to put it all together… a dog who got caught in two inexplicable fires in the same number of days, and escaped both fires unharmed? There was really no other explanation than that the dog must be the Human Torch.
At least, that was what Johnny thought before Peter opened his mouth.
"Sunny…" Peter hesitated. "Sunny, you gotta… oh, geez. Um… are you… I can't believe I'm asking this, I'm gonna sound… well… and you can't tell anyone this, especially Johnny -" Wait, what? "- he'd make fun of me for days… but… Sunny. Sunny, are you…" Peter took a deep breath, looked at the ceiling, looked out the window, looked toward the kitchen. Looked back at Johnny. "Sunny, can you flame on? Like the Human Torch, right?"
Johnny wished he was human just so he could roast Peter right there, right then. Instead, all he could do was bury his nose under his paws. For all that Peter was a nerd, he really couldn't put it together? He was willing to believe that there was a dog version of the Human Torch, but not that the Human Torch had been turned into a dog?
Go fucking figure.
"Sunny?" Peter asked, his voice confused, and geez, Peter.
Johnny finally got to his feet, looked as pointedly at Peter as he could while in dog form, and then hopped off the bed and walked toward Peter's room. If Peter was anything like the college student Johnny hoped he was, his laptop would either be in his backpack or on his desk or bed. Peter didn't have a desk, though, so bed or backpack it was.
Looking back, Johnny leveled Peter with a stare until his crush got to his feet.
"Lead on, Lassie," Peter joked.
Johnny snorted and turned back to Peter's room. No laptop on the bed. Turning his attention to the backpack on the floor, Johnny nosed open the largest section. Lo and behold, the laptop.
"What's up, Sunny?" Peter asked, scratching his fingers across Johnny's back. Johnny's tail wagged at the attention, but he couldn't afford to lose focus. This was important.
Johnny gently butted his nose against the laptop and then looked up at Peter.
"Okay… weird…" Peter said. "My dog is acting weird. You didn't get replaced by an alien or anything, did you? I hear the Skrulls are popular these days."
Johnny barked.
"Alright then. I'm gonna hold you to your word, you hear me?"
Johnny would've rolled his eyes if he could. As it was, he made a point of licking Peter's face right before he closed his mouth.
"Oh, gross…" Peter wiped at his mouth, but Johnny was proud to say it was a bit useless. "Okay, the laptop."
Peter pulled it out and set it up on the floor, sitting cross-legged with Johnny standing next to him. Glancing at Johnny, Peter typed in the password and then shrugged.
"What next?"
Johnny leaned forward and touched the icon for Microsoft Word.
"Okay, seriously, the Skrulls? Would probably be less creepy than…" Peter trailed off, looking back and forth from Johnny to the laptop and back. "Holy shit nuggets."
Johnny sat back and lifted his head up in pride. He would be lying if he said he wasn't preening a little. Peter was just lucky that he'd figured it out before Johnny started typing, or Johnny would never have let him live it down.
"Johnny?" Peter said, his voice cautious.
Johnny barked.
"Johnny if it's you, wag your tail three times and… and… nod your head and then shake it twice. And then bark four times."
Johnny did his best, but his tail really had a mind of its own… once he wagged it twice, it didn't want to stop wagging, so he actually ended up wagging it around six or seven times before he followed the rest of Peter's instructions.
Peter sat back and regarded Johnny thoughtfully. "You do know that was more tail wags than I asked for? But everything else was perfect…"
Johnny watched as Peter slowly moved the cursor so that it hovered over the Word icon. Then he clicked it and backed away from the laptop.
Finally. Something Johnny could actually work with.
First making sure to turn the caps lock on (because seriously, Peter, it took you this long to figure it out?), Johnny typed out a sentence with one claw.
I AM THE HUMAN TORCH, WEBHEAD
"Holy shit nuggets," Peter whispered. "Johnny…"
Johnny couldn't help it, honestly. Dog instincts. Let's blame the dog instincts. Johnny dove for Peter. He knocked the other man over, licking his face. In his defense, though, Peter definitely overreacted, too, hugging Johnny like he'd been dead or something.
"Holy shit," Peter said again. "Wait, you know my secret identity now? Or did you already…? You found my apartment, after all… was our rivalry just a joke to you or something?"
Johnny could only look at him.
"Right," Peter said. "Dog. Um… Reed?"
Johnny nodded.
"Reed it is, then!"
Seemingly not even taking the time to think, Peter grabbed his backpack and emptied it on the floor.
Peter held the bag out toward Johnny. "This won't fit all of you, but it's our best bet."
Johnny looked from the backpack to Peter and then back. "You can't be serious."
"C'mon, Johnny," Peter said. "Fastest way to the Baxter Building is by rooftop, you know that. And I'd rather not be carrying a dog while I do it."
Johnny looked at him pointedly.
"Look, Johnny, I know I've carried other people as Spider-Man, but a dog? Not happening."
Johnny didn't budge.
"… you don't want me to drop you, do you?"
Curse Peter and his strangely on point logic, Johnny grumbled. He sighed and walked over to the window.
Johnny had felt the wind in his face before. While flying, every time he drove with the top down, that one time Spider-Man had to catch him and carry him to safety.
This was a whole new experience.
Most of Johnny's body didn't fit in the backpack. As a result, his hindquarters squeezed into the bag while the rest of his body hung over Spider-Man's shoulders. Johnny purposefully drooled on Peter's shoulder.
"Oh, this better not make the papers," Peter muttered.
Johnny could only imagine what the Daily Bugle would probably come up with: SPIDER-MAN TURNS TO DOGNAPPING, ARE OUR CHILDREN NEXT?
It took them about ten minutes to make the trip via web-slinging. Once there, Peter stuck to the outside of the Baxter Building's windows. Johnny peered over his shoulder. Reed sat at the kitchen table, his laptop open and the tv on. Johnny could just make out the news on the tv, although it definitely stood out since his face was on it. Sue and Ben were nowhere in sight.
Peter knocked. Within seconds they were inside; Reed hadn't even had to move from his seat.
"Hey, Spider-Man," Reed said. His eyes didn't budge from his laptop screen, and now that they were inside, the tv was blaring. Reed absentmindedly turned the volume down. "No leads here, Ben and Sue are still out looking. Stark was -" Reed scowled. "- kind enough to hack into the city's cameras with facial recognition, but we haven't gotten anything yet. You?"
"I uh…" Peter carefully put the backpack - and Johnny - on the ground. Johnny automatically raced for Reed, putting his paws in Reed's lap and going for a good face-licking. His tail, needless to say, was wagging like it'd gotten hit with an adrenaline shot. Stupid dog instincts. There was no need for everyone to know just how much he actually liked them.
Reed, on the other hand, looked shocked. His hand came up to scratch the back of Johnny's neck, but his face screamed confusion.
"So… yeah," Peter said. "I got a big lead. Erm…" Johnny and Peter stared at each other.
Johnny barked. "Just tell him!"
Peter pointed. "That's Johnny."
"This is a dog, Spider-Man," Reed said, his voice somehow oozing both patience and frustration.
"No," Peter said. "That's Johnny. Who's been turned into a dog."
"Spider-Man…"
"I'm serious, Reed! That dog is Johnny! I don't know how it happened yet, but if you just give him your laptop and open Word, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to type the same message… or well… most of the same message… that he typed for me. I promise you, this is no joke." Peter's voice quieted and he rubbed at his wrists. "I wouldn't do that to you guys."
Johnny sat back and looked at Reed. Reed looked back. Johnny stuck his tongue out.
Reed groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. "Yep. That's Johnny alright."
It took Reed about ten minutes to convince Ben and Sue that no, he wasn't joking about Johnny being back. It took them three to return to the Baxter Building.
It took roughly zero point two seconds for both to stop, mid-step, coming out of the elevator as soon as they caught sight of Johnny.
Of course, at that point, Johnny was already barreling into Sue and not giving them much time to doubt that yeah, this was definitely their Johnny Storm.
"The Yellow LabraTorch?" Ben joked once things had settled down and they were all grouped in the living room.
Johnny barked.
Peter looked amused. "Either he likes it or he's offended, I honestly can't tell which."
"Screw you, Peter," Johnny grumbled. "And Ben. I used it first, I should get copyright!"
"Is there any way for us to know what he's saying?" Sue asked.
But Reed shook his head. "Not unless one of us can secretly speak dog…"
They all sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking.
Then Peter spoke. "Wait… what if we don't have to? What if we know someone who does?"
"Do we?" Johnny said, doubtful.
"Even I know what he just said," Ben laughed.
Johnny may not have been able to see under Peter's mask, but he would bet everything he owned that he had just rolled his eyes.
"We do," Peter insisted. "Thor! He's got that magical all-speak thing going, right?"
Reed sat back to eye Peter. "You think he'll help us?"
Peter shrugged. "I know he hates magic being used irresponsibly. Something to do with his brother?"
"Loki," Reed, Ben, and Sue all agreed. Johnny barked.
"So let's give it a try," Peter said.
"You call him. Or the Avengers. Whoever we need to get in contact with to make this happen." Reed stood, his whole posture shifting from defeated to determined. "Johnny, you come with me. We need to figure out if this really was magic."
"You think it wasn't?" Ben said.
Reed shrugged. "I think we can't rule anything out. And you know me… I'm more ready to believe that science just made a huge breakthrough than believe that magic is real."
Thankfully, it didn't take long for Johnny to convince Reed that his worst nightmare had come true: magic was, in fact, real. He just barked every time Reed said "magic", and stayed silent when he said "science". Everything else sort of fell into place.
Somehow, it also didn't take long for Thor to show up. Something about him already being on-world and wanting to help out "the friends of the Avengers".
Everyone else, including Johnny and Peter, exchanged simultaneous looks and agreed to not contradict or correct Thor on that assumption.
Thor got down on one knee and peered at Johnny. He gently took a hold of Johnny's jaw and turned it from side to side, examining him.
"You are certain that this is magic?" Thor said.
Reed sighed. "According to Johnny, yeah."
"You can speak to him? I thought you had need of my all-speak?"
"We do," Sue interjected. "Johnny just barked every time Reed said the word 'magic'. But we need your help to translate everything else."
Thor turned back to Johnny, his expression thoughtful. "The Human Torch," he mused. "I have heard many tales of your great deeds. For one so young, your exploits have captured the attention of many other warriors on Asgard."
"No need to inflate his ego," Ben rumbled. "Not like it's big enough already or anything."
"My apologies," Thor said. "But what I say is true. If I can, indeed, help Johnny Storm, then I will be honored to do so."
Johnny sat back on his haunches and wagged his tail as smugly as he could manage.
Finally turning his full attention to Johnny, Thor spoke. "You say that magic caused your transformation. Do you know who performed the spell or potion?"
Johnny nodded. "I met her at a bar and we talked a bit. Or a lot. Depends on your definition of either, I guess. I must've passed out, though, because I woke up in the dumpster." He wrinkled his nose. "She was still there… said I had to do something for her?"
Thor looked at Reed. "He met the witch at a bar, passed out, and woke up in a dumpster. He must do something for her, but seems unsure as to what that is."
"Would you recognize her if you saw her again?" Reed asked.
Johnny nodded again. "Oh, yeah. She wasn't really the type to blend in…"
"Any idea of what she may want?" Sue said.
Shaking his head, Johnny said, "Not a clue. We were talking relationship advice of all things, what could she have gotten from that?"
"They were speaking of relationships," Thor translated. "Johnny does not know how that may have led to his transformation."
"So we've got zip on leads, then?" Ben said. "Of course. The kid always finds the biggest messes, don't he?"
"You wanna talk shit, Ben, wait till I'm human!" Johnny growled.
"Johnny says -" Thor began, only to be interrupted.
"We don't need ta know what the Matchstick just said," Ben grinned. "Guaranteed it's nothin' good."
"Oh, you - !" Johnny leapt at Ben, his jaws snapping at Ben's rocky skin. There was, of course, the added bonus that he couldn't actually hurt Ben. It didn't decrease the satisfaction of the attack.
"Hey!" Sue said, her voice sharp. On Johnny's second leap, he connected with one of his sister's force fields and fell to the ground, rubbing a paw over his muzzle. "Johnny, we need to figure out how to get you back to your normal self. Ben…" Sue stared him down. "You're not being helpful right now."
Everyone was silent for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Even Thor, who Johnny had heard had a hard time staying quiet, didn't speak.
Until Peter did.
"So… um. Find the witch? That's… erm. That's the plan, right?"
Sue sat back, her force field going down. "It's our best bet, isn't it?"
"It appears that way, yes," Thor agreed. "Meanwhile… I had meant to meet up with Jane before leaving for Asgard tonight. Do you still have need of me?"
"No, Thor," Reed said. "Thank you."
"It was my honor," Thor said again, and then turned to Johnny. "May you be human again. I wish you all luck."
Johnny nodded.
"So," Reed said after the demigod left. "Think you can get us to that bar, Johnny? That's probably our best place to start and look for clues."
Even without Thor to translate, it didn't take Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four that long to find the bar where Johnny met the mysterious witch.
A few people sat at the surrounding tables or the actual bar for dinner, but it wasn't late enough yet for the dancers or drinkers. The bartender, the same person from the other night, spotted them as soon as they entered.
"Hey, I'm sorry," the bartender said. "But no dogs inside unless they're a service animal. There's a sign on the door, and I'm sure that applies to superheroes, too."
"Oh," Sue said, and they all looked at Johnny. "Um… Spider-Man, how about you take… him outside and wait?"
"Uh…" Peter fiddled with his web-shooters and then nodded. "Sure. Erm… C'mon, Sunny."
Peter grabbed at Johnny's scruff and then lead him back outside, where they sat on the curb to wait. Spider-Man waved awkwardly at passer-by as they walked by and gawked.
"So…" Peter said. He made a move to scratch Johnny's head only to abort it at the last second. After a couple more seconds, Johnny hesitantly head-butted Peter's hand. Soon enough, Peter was scratching behind Johnny's ear. "Um… nice bar?"
Johnny did his best to shrug, and Peter shrugged back.
"… Cool."
At that moment, the other three members of the Fantastic Four came out, and Peter quickly pulled his hand away from Johnny.
"How'd it go?" Peter asked, standing up. Johnny followed, walking with them all to where they had parked the Fantasticar.
"Pretty good, actually," Reed said. "The bartender remembered Johnny and even the woman. Said they left together pretty dramatically but no one followed, which is probably why no one came forward with information before now. The bar has cameras, too, so they're going to send the video feed over in the hopes that it can help."
"Is there anything else we can do?"
Reed shook his head. "No… for now, all we can really do is wait."
They tracked the witch to an apartment in downtown Manhattan. Surprisingly enough, she answered the door when they rang the doorbell.
"Ah…" she said, smiling at them. "You're a little later than I imagined you would be, but you're here… I suppose that's what matters."
"May we come in?" Reed said.
She smiled again and stepped back, waving a hand into her hall entryway. "You may. Come, sit down. Drinks?"
"Answers," Sue said, scowling.
They followed the woman into her living room and then, at her encouragement, awkwardly sat. Sue and Reed took the couch, Ben the leather chair in the corner. The witch sat in the only remaining chair, directly across from Sue. Peter sat on the floor with his legs crossed, and Johnny took the opportunity to lay his head on Peter's foot.
Finally, the witch spoke again. "I imagine you do have questions… where would you like to start?"
"Why did you turn Johnny into a dog?" Peter said, and then shrank back as everyone turned to look at him. "Um… I mean…"
"No, Spider-Man's right," Reed said, leaning forward and fixing the witch with his gaze. "Why did you turn Johnny into a dog? What could you possibly have to gain with his transformation? Amusement?"
"Oh, dear me, no," she answered, alarm in her voice. Obvious yet startled… surprisingly genuine? "I did this for Johnny. He needed a little push in regards to something he's been struggling with, so I thought I would help him out. He saved my daughter a few months ago, I only saw it fit to repay him."
"By turnin' him into a dog?" Ben said, doubtful.
"It certainly wasn't my first choice, but when I looked at the facts of the problem alongside any possible circumstances, it was certainly the best action available."
"You got him dognapped by a dog fighting ring," Peter scowled.
"He got what?!" Sue said, her gaze shooting to Johnny. He blinked back at her and then stood up and walked over. He carefully licked her hand, trying to tell her that he was okay.
"Oh, um," Peter said, watching Johnny. "I think it may be best for Johnny to tell the story?"
"Oh, sure, thanks, Peter," Johnny sighed. Sue would never let him the Baxter Building ever again.
Meanwhile, the witch spoke again. "It was never my intention for harm to befall Johnny. As I said, I meant to help him."
Reed shook his head. "Johnny said you wanted him to do something for you. What is that?"
Now amusement made its way back onto her face. "Well… Johnny and one other person, yes. Once this action has been done, then Johnny will return to his human self."
"What action? Why two people?"
"I can't tell you that, it's for them to figure out. That's part of the whole process. And they have to mean it."
"Can you give us any hints?" Sue said. Her fingers carded through the fur on Johnny's head, reminiscent of their childhood. Johnny would always run to Sue after a nightmare. It seemed like this time, though, Johnny had run to someone else. Peter.
The witch sat back and tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "Hmmm… perhaps… yes. One half of the spell-reversal has already been completed. Only Johnny can reverse it now."
"So… whoever this other person was, they've already finished their part of the spell?"
"Yes. Now, I do believe that you should all leave. The spell won't reverse with you all staying here."
They trooped from the apartment building with more information than they had entered with, but Johnny didn't know if it would be enough.
"How are we supposed to figure out what Johnny needs to do?" Peter said.
Reed shook his head. "I'd say figure out what other people have done since Johnny got turned into a dog, but that would take too long."
"Maybe just let Johnny go about his life?" Sue suggested. She shrugged when they all turned to look at her. "The other person, whoever they are, completed their task with no prompting. Maybe Johnny can, too."
Once they got back to the Baxter Building, everyone scattered. Ben headed to the couch and turned on the tv. He must have figured out that there was nothing he could do but wait. Johnny didn't see where Sue and Reed went, but he figured it would involve Reed attempting to distract Sue from the situation at hand. And Johnny brought Peter back to his room.
They sat on the floor rather than the bed, mostly because Johnny wanted at least one place to be removed from this nightmare. It may as well have been his bed. As soon as Johnny plopped down on the floor, Peter reversed directions and sat next to him.
"Do you…" Peter hesitated. "Do you mind if I pet you? You can say no, I just… dogs, you know?"
Johnny nodded. He really didn't mind.
"You do mind?" Peter said. Disappointed.
Johnny shook his head.
"Ok, just… bite me or something if you want me to stop, ok? Or… don't bite me, that would hurt, but do something to tell me to stop."
Johnny nodded again. And Peter's hand touched the scruff at his neck.
It was strange, Johnny decided. He had always wanted some sort of intimacy with Peter. Something that went beyond catching each other every time they fell, or writing messages across the sky. Something beyond meeting at the Statue of Liberty with hot dogs, soda, and enough problems to lighten their burdens by putting them on each others' shoulders.
But this was the first time their intimacy was quiet.
Suddenly, Johnny hated it. Not that Peter was petting him, but that this quiet intimacy was happening while Johnny was a dog.
Johnny pulled away from Peter's hand. Peter immediately took his hand back, and Johnny scooted across the floor to a point where he could relax.
"I'm sorry," Peter offered.
There was nothing Peter should be sorry for. There was everything he should be sorry for. The lies, the secret identity that he let Johnny hate even while he loved the superhero alter-ego. Inadvertently being Johnny's home, being more than any physical home Johnny had ever had.
For making Johnny fall in love with him.
They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Johnny realized that it wasn't awkward silence at all. It wasn't awkward, and Peter may not have been touching Johnny but they were still in the same room, it was still intimate to a degree that Johnny didn't want to feel while he was still a freaking dog.
Somehow, Johnny convinced Peter to turn on the tv. Dog Cops was on, and part of Johnny wanted to tell Peter to go screw himself for even thinking about watching it now (he saw how Peter hesitated, don't think that he didn't). The other part of Johnny just wanted to be normal right then.
When Peter went to change the channel, Johnny stepped on Peter's hand.
"You're weird," Peter said, poking at Johnny's side.
"Pot, meet kettle," Johnny said. Or tried to say. Oh how he hated barking. The inability to communicate had probably been the worst part about all of this, honestly.
"You really want to watch this?" Peter said.
Johnny nodded.
"Ok then… Dog Cops it is."
They watched ten episodes before Peter finally closed his eyes and slept. At some point, Johnny had ended up with his head resting on Peter's stomach, paws just touching Peter's side.
He quietly yawned and watched as the credits for this episode rolled across the screen. Then he turned his attention to Peter.
Peter, mask still on and technically Spider-Man. But Johnny could remember his face. Johnny had hated that face. The face of Peter Parker, his arch-nemesis in the war for Spider-Man's heart. Oh how he wished he hadn't complained about Peter to Spider-Man now… Peter would never let him live it down.
But Peter's face… the cheekbones, high but disguised by his strong chin. Brown, curly hair, to offset Johnny's own blonde. Brown eyes. And… and… it all fit Peter perfectly. Perfect Peter Parker… who didn't know that he owned Johnny's heart.
Johnny sighed and snuggled a little close to Peter.
"I love you," he said, and then closed his eyes as a spark ran up his back.
Johnny woke up to Peter screaming. Or yelling. Or both.
"What the heck, Peter?" Johnny said, opening his eyes. All of a sudden his head hit the floor, banging down where Peter's chest used to be.
"Holy shit, Johnny, put some pants on!" Peter yelled.
"What?" Johnny said, and looked down. Okay then. Pants were definitely needed. "I'm sorry, I don't know how this could have - !"
Johnny froze halfway to his feet. I love you, he had told Peter. I love him, Peter had told him. And now he had woken up human again. Back to normal… relatively speaking.
"Oh, shit," Johnny said.
"Oh, shit is right!" Peter yelled, and finally it connected with Johnny that his crush was holding his hands over his eyes, blocking his view of… well… Johnny. "Johnny, put some freaking pants on!"
"Give me a few minutes," Johnny complained. "I need… I need underwear."
He took a step and then collapsed, his feet screaming at him.
"Fuck," he said, staring at his feet. They were so dirty he couldn't even see much, but what he could see didn't look good. His transformation must have reopened some cuts, because they were bleeding again, and with the amount of grime covering them he could only hope that his fire would stave off any potential infection.
"Do you have pants on?" Peter asked.
Johnny shook his head. "No… no, I… shit, Spidey, I can't even stand. My feet are wrecked."
"Shit… um… Anything I can do?"
"Grab me a pair of underwear? And get Reed, I guess."
Johnny watched as Peter rifled through his drawers.
"The top drawer… any pair works, I guess."
"No underwear on the floor?" Peter joked. "I'm impressed."
Johnny rolled his eyes. "I'm a teenager, not a sewer monster."
Peter finally handed one pair back to Johnny, keeping his eyes closed with one hand outstretched. Johnny tried to grab them only to drop them as soon as Peter let go.
"Fuck," he said, staring at his hands. Like his feet, the pain hadn't registered until he actually tried to use them. Also like his feet, they were covered in grime, scratched, and bruised. His excessive walking over the past couple days had done more damage than just waste his time away.
"What's wrong?" Peter said.
"My hands are wrecked, too."
Peter opened his mouth, closed it, tilted his head, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Finally he spoke. "Huh."
"Tell me what to do, Pete," Johnny said.
"They're your feet. And hands. Your feet and your hands. You do something."
"You're useless," Johnny insisted.
"And you're incorrigible."
"Ooh, big word." Johnny picked his underwear back up by slipping the backs of his hands into the elastic waist, stretching it in order to keep holding the underwear. He yanked them on with even more difficulty. He couldn't stand, so he pulled them over his feet, minding the blood, and then lifted them over his butt as he jump-hopped on the floor.
"You decent yet?" Peter asked after the sounds of Johnny's struggle stopped.
"Yeah," Johnny said. "Relatively. No thanks to you, and I'm not even gonna try for pants right now."
Peter uncovered his eyes finger by finger until he was staring at Johnny. "Shit," he said. "You're bleeding."
"I know that, webhead." Johnny rolled his eyes.
"No, your chest. From the dog fight I guess? I cleaned them up before but turning human again must've ripped them open."
Johnny looked down and… yeah, he was bleeding from those scratches, too. Gouges more like, but it wasn't like Johnny would be the one to admit that.
"Ok, definitely go get Reed. And Sue. She'll want to be here. And Ben, so I can finally throw a fireball in his face. I called copyright of the Yellow LabraTorch way before he did."
"You're being dramatic," Peter said on his way out.
"I am not!" Johnny yelled after.
To be fair, it didn't take the other members of the Fantastic Four that long to rush into his room. To be unfair, Sue yelled at him as soon as he threw a fireball at Ben's face.
"I've been waiting for that," Johnny said.
Ben only laughed at him. "You're a shithead, Matchstick."
"You know you love it, Rocky," Johnny shot back.
"Aw, I missed ya, Flame-brain."
Reed shook his head as he looked at Johnny's chest, feet, and hands. "I should get a proper doctor to come check you out… you probably need stitches for your chest, and your feet and hands need some serious cleaning. Not to mention the antibiotics, and a tetanus shot is probably necessary, too."
"Whatever you say, doc," Johnny said. "But shouldn't my fire eliminate any chances of infection?"
Reed shook his head again. "It should, but we don't have enough evidence to suggest otherwise yet. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"
"Sure," Johnny said. He flashed a smile at Peter. "Hey, Spidey, hold my hand?"
Peter scowled at him. "Screw you, Johnny."
"If I could, I would," Johnny winked.
"Should we leave you two alone?" Sue asked, amused.
"Actually…" Johnny hesitated, looking from Peter to the others and back. "Yeah. We gotta talk."
Everyone's eyebrows went up except for Peter's, but then, with the mask on, who was to say they didn't go up?
"Okay, then," Reed said slowly. "Uh, Spider-Man, just keep an eye on him, okay? And be ready to surrender him as soon as the doctor gets here."
"You got it, Mr. Fantastic," Peter said, giving him a thumbs up.
Once everyone else had left, Peter took his mask off and then turned to Johnny.
"You want help getting onto your bed?"
"You sure you're strong enough?" Johnny teased.
"I'd say you may be surprised, but I know you too well," Peter said. "C'mon."
Johnny lifted his arms and wrapped them around Peter's neck as the other teenager knelt beside him.
"You ready?" Peter asked, wrapping his own arms around Johnny's waist and legs.
"Go for it."
Peter lifted Johnny easily, his spider-strength helping him get Johnny to the bed with no trouble.
"You know, you had a harder time carrying me as a dog…"
"Well, this time I didn't trip."
"Just put me down," Johnny said.
Peter dropped him on the bed. "So…" Peter sat on the bed next to him, fiddling with his web-shooters. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Us," Johnny said. "Peter…"
"Speaking of which," Peter said, and then stopped. "Sorry, I… keep going."
Johnny shook his head. "I didn't know your secret identity before. I just wanted to go home, and I kept telling myself that, and somehow I ended up at your door."
"So… I'm your home?" Peter somehow sounded both amused and scared.
Johnny scoffed. "Of course not. The BB is my home, but my dog senses must have lead me in the wrong direction. Turning up at your place was purely a coincidence."
Peter grinned. "Of course."
"But…" Johnny took a deep breath. "We should talk about what you said to me. To Sunny, actually, since you didn't know it was me…"
Peter's smile disappeared and he looked down at his hands, picking at his webshooters again. "What about it?"
"Peter…" Johnny said.
Peter looked up at him, his lips just barely twisting up in a small smile. "Yeah?"
"I know how the spell broke."
"How?"
Johnny reached out and, carefully watching Peter for any negative reactions, put the back of his hand in Peter's palm. Peter's face contorted, but his fingers tightened around Johnny's, mindful of his injuries.
"How?" Peter said again.
"My crush and I had to confess our love to each other."
Peter shook his head and pulled his hand away. "Don't mess around, Johnny. If you still want to be friends, just say so, but being friends means you don't jerk my feelings around."
Johnny shook his head, but he brought his hand back so that it wouldn't accidentally touch Peter. "I mean it. You told me that you love me. Indirectly, sure… but you did. And I…" Johnny shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "I told you that I loved you last night, before we went to sleep."
"You're joking," Peter said, his voice small.
"I'm not," Johnny insisted. "Look, obviously you deserve way better than me, but I know that you like me. And I… I love you. So if you'll have me…"
Peter opened his mouth, but at that moment the bedroom door opened again. Outside stood Reed, Sue, and a woman wearing a doctor's coat.
Johnny and Peter leapt apart, scooting to opposite ends of the bed, and Peter raised both arms to cover his face.
Reed raised an eyebrow in amusement, but Sue didn't seem to notice, waving the doctor into the room.
"… mask, please?" Peter said, his voice muffled. "It's on the floor."
At that, Sue looked up. "Johnny knows your secret identity?"
"It was an accident-"
"Not on purpose-"
Both Johnny and Peter stuttered and then ground into an awkward silence.
Reed handed Peter his mask and the latter quickly pulled it over his head with one hand, using the other to continue shielding his face.
"Are we going to get any elaboration?" Reed said.
"Where's Ben?" Johnny said instead.
Sue scoffed. "If you think I'd let you two in the same room together after what just happened…"
"Right…" Johnny said, and then turned to the doctor. "Johnny Storm," he said, holding out one hand to shake only to abort the motion. "I'd shake your hand but that's probably a bad idea right now."
She nodded, getting down to business right away. "Dr. Hopkins. Now, I apparently don't have the privilege to know what happened, Mr. Storm, but is there any chance I at least get to know what caused your injuries?"
"Dog claws," Johnny said, and motioned at his chest. Then he pointed at his feet. "Walking barefoot all night and then all day." He paused, looking at his hands, and then waved them. "Same as my feet."
"… you were walking on your hands?"
Johnny shrugged. "Something like that."
Dr. Hopkins picked up one of his feet and then glanced up at the others. "You all don't have to be here. From the looks of him, Johnny can handle one doctor's check-up by himself."
"Right," Peter said, stumbling off the bed. "I'll just… I'll just go, then."
"Spidey," Johnny tried. He stretched out one hand toward his friend/crush/who even knew at this point, and Peter caught it instinctively, not minding the blood with his suit.
They both looked at their joined hands, fingers twined together, Johnny's hot and Peter's cool. Johnny's hand ached with pain, but he held on.
Then Peter let go. "I gotta go," he said, "My a- uh, my family, you know. They're probably worrying."
Johnny nodded, his hand falling back into his lap. "Sure. Yeah. I'll catch you later, then…"
"Yeah…"
Johnny watched as Peter fled the room, and then turned his attention to his hands, wishing he could pick at his cuticles as a distraction, but knowing the movement would be too painful.
"We'll see you after," Reed said, his voice a promise.
Johnny nodded, still focused on his hands. "Sure. See ya."
"Johnny," Sue tried, but Reed caught her by the wrist.
"Not now, Sue," he whispered, obviously not meaning for Johnny to overhear. "Later. Let's let the doctor do her work in peace."
"… alright," Sue said, and then raised her voice. "You come get us as soon as you're done, Johnny, you got that?"
"Got it," Johnny said.
Dr. Hopkins finished in record time, stitching up his chest, cleaning his hands and feet, and wrapping everything. Like Reed had thought, she finished with a tetanus shot. Johnny didn't bother with arguing, instead running his conversation with Peter over and over in his mind. Where had he gone wrong? He told Peter that he loved him but Peter didn't reciprocate his words, even when he had already confessed them to Sunny.
Maybe that was the problem? Peter told Sunny when he didn't know that Sunny was really Johnny. So… what, did he think that Johnny was playing with him? He had told Johnny to stop messing with his feelings.
Did he really hold Johnny in such low esteem, though, that he thought his best friend would play with his feelings like that? And in that matter, were Johnny and Peter even best friends? Peter had his stupid roommate, after all, Harry Whoever, and Johnny had complained to Spider-Man about Stupidly Perfect Peter Parker so many times he had lost count. Maybe Peter thought those feelings had transferred to Spider-Man?
Peter, after all, didn't know that Johnny had hated Peter Parker because he thought the other teen was also in love with Spider-Man. As soon as Johnny realized that the two were, in fact, the same person (stupid secret identities), Johnny's feelings on Spider-Man had transferred to Peter Parker, not the other way around.
Oh, now Johnny felt stupid. No wonder Peter had been so awkward (okay, more awkward than usual) and upset.
"- Storm?" someone said, and Johnny slowly tuned back in to direct his attention to Dr. Hopkins, who was staring at him worriedly. "Mr. Storm?"
"Yeah?" Johnny said.
Dr. Hopkins frowned, her worry fading away as fast as it had come. "Should I be checking you for a concussion, too?"
"No," Johnny said. "No, I need to go."
"Mr. Storm -" she tried.
"I said I need to go." Johnny forced himself to his feet, pushing the pain to the back of his mind. He hobbled to his closet and snagged the handle with the tip of one finger. He pulled it open, automatically grabbing one of his Fantastic Four suits. He needed to flame on for what he wanted to do.
"Mr. Storm, I cannot express exactly how bad of an idea this is," Dr. Hopkins said, her voice turning sharp. "Should I go get Dr. Richards?"
"Reed?" Johnny said as he sat on the floor and repeated the process he had done with his underwear, just with his suit. "No, I don't need him." He paused after he got the bottom half on, staring at the top. Reed had designed the suit a lot like a diver's suit, basically a one-piece with a quarter zip in the back. It was also extremely tight, though, and despite it being equally flexible, there was no way Johnny could tug it on with his hands the way they were, let alone zip it.
He would just have to go without, he decided, and did his best to tie the long sleeves around his waist. The top half hung awkwardly around his hips, but Johnny's main goal had been the bottom half anyway. Shirtless he could do, but the press would have a field day if he went out in just his underwear.
"I'm getting Dr. Richards," Dr. Hopkins said.
Johnny shrugged and walked over to the window. "You do that," he said, and then stared at the latch for about two seconds before he figured out that he could flip it by using the back of his hand. Latch unlocked, he pushed the window outward with one shoulder, so it was almost horizontal with the street far below.
He cocked a two finger salute at the doctor and then fell out the window.
Johnny flamed on almost instantly and the streets below erupted into screams of his name. He waved a hand but didn't dare fly too low. He was fine being shirtless, but if he could avoid revealing that little tidbit of information, he would. Sue was already going to kill him for ditching his doctor, no need to add more incentive.
He flew upward and sketched a message across the sky in flames: SPIDEY MEET AT USUAL PLACE.
It didn't take him long to fly to the Statue of Liberty, listening to the shouts of people below him. He knew they were welcoming him back, joyous in his return to New York City, but he couldn't bother to greet them when he was only interested in the feelings of the one person who refused to look at him.
Johnny settled into a perch on Liberty's torch. It had originally been chosen for a laugh, but it gradually became their typical meeting place. Somewhere the two superheroes could meet and not worry about their public, or familial in Johnny's case, images.
He didn't have to wait long.
Spider-Man swung up several feet away from him, sinking into his own perch. After a moment, he hunched his shoulders and removed his mask with one hand, ducking his head toward his feet.
"I already know who you are," Johnny murmured.
"Not my choice," Peter said, and finally raised his head. His cheeks were flushed, most likely with anger.
"I know… I'm sorry."
Peter stood tall for the first time since he reached the torch - both Liberty's and Johnny. "You told me that you hate me… multiple times in fact. I used to laugh it off because our alter-egos were best friends and I knew that you didn't have the whole story, but why did you stay when I opened the door?"
"I didn't mean to," Johnny admitted. "My dog instincts… I already told you how they lead me to you. I did my best to overrule a lot of my instincts but they didn't always work."
"So you wanted to leave."
"… only at first."
Peter just looked at him. His face looked stony, resentment clear. "… so why did you stay?"
Johnny shrugged miserably. "You pet me? You were the only person I knew who could actually get me to a superhero? I had walked who knows how many miles that night and I just… I wanted to rest? Pick one of those, pick all of them for all I care, I honestly don't know which one is more true than the others. But what I do know for sure, Peter, is that saying we love each other is what broke the spell." Johnny looked out at New York, staring at the skyline, and then looked back at Peter. "Because I love you. There, I said it! If you still hate me, fine. No one could ever say you're not justified in that. But I do love you. And I don't want you to hate me for telling the truth."
Peter scrubbed a hand over his hair, sending clumps of spandex-hair everywhere. "You really love me?"
Johnny nodded. "Yes."
"Okay then."
Peter surged forward, both hands reaching for Johnny, and Johnny fell into the other man's embrace. Johnny wrapped both arms around Peter and hugged him as tightly as he could manage without using his hands. Fingers gripped at Johnny's own hair while Peter's other hand cupped Johnny's cheek.
At first they just stood there, staring at each other, but then Peter cleared his throat, his voice rough. "I love you, too."
And then Peter's lips were on Johnny's, Johnny's were on Peter's, and wow… did that feel like coming home.
AN: Finally, the wonderful meereswiederkaeuer and hazirart created absolutely incredible art for this fic! Don't forget to visit their blogs and give them all the love!
I hope you all enjoyed!