Chapter Text
There was something about flying at night that got Johnny’s blood pumping.
Unlike the daytime where he clearly saw everything around him as he blitz across the sky, the night made his flames the brightest thing soaring. Like some warning to any criminals around saying, hey, you better not, cause Human Torch was watching ya.
Also, it wasn’t often Johnny did night flying, since between managing a public image and handling Fantastic 4 duties really kept him busy, and he was usually exhausted by the end of it. But doing these ‘night patrols’ was those things he could let loose, just letting the night guide him. But he couldn’t say this was his entirely his idea. No, no that credit went to Spider-man.
While he and the Fantastic 4 focused on the larger and cosmic threats that could potentially tear the fabrics of the universe, somehow Spiderman made him feel guilty to not check in on what’s happening on the local crime scene. And of course to prove him wrong, Johnny joined in on the webslinger a few times a week, particularly at night, checking in on the city of New York if it needed some saving.
But tonight was strange, because Spiderman was a routine man, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Johnny wasn’t known for patience, but if it’s for Spidey, he was willing to wait at their usual meetup spot of the statue of Liberty. Johnny texted the dude to check in on him, but yet had to receive an answer. Maybe his phone busted again, since it’s a recurring problem for Spider-man to show up with another cracked up screen, no matter how many times Johnny offered to buy a new one (and the last one he did, cause he couldn’t stand it anymore).
He sent a few more texts (try to keep it casual Johnny) but crickets. Spidey was a shit texter but he never did a no show, especially for stuff like this. He wondered if the guy really did forget they were supposed to do a joint patrol tonight. He did seem tired yesterday.
But if Spider-man decided a no-show, Johnny decided well, he was already outside. Might as well do the patrol without him.
Of course, the Fantastic 4 knew this daily occurance. Reed and Ben were indifferent to Johnny’s nightly outings, but Sue was his sister, and she was always the worrier. She wasn’t completely on board with two recently turned adults running around playing hero, but she knew they wouldn’t listen. Well, she had no control over Spider-man, but her little brother? A different story.
While she was rightfully concerned about him getting hurt and accidentally discovering something he and Spider-man couldn’t handle (“that boy always finds trouble!” She’d quip) she was mostly paranoid about him going into an unexpected rut if something or someone triggered him.
Johnny, the ever optimistic, was dismissive of her concerns. For awhile, Sue was adamant Johnny stayed away from any omega in his teens until he got his powers under control. He felt he handled them quite well over the years. And on top of it, he had that and was recently fresh with new powers. It was a miracle he didn’t burn down a building when he saw a flare of omega tits flash his face.
Johnny really didn’t see how the whole alpha omega shit should affect his day to day, even with him being an alpha. He ruts were fairly standard, and while a hornball by nature, he was aware enough when it was him who wanted it or his biological instincts did. He should deserve a gold star how he handled pheromones, and he was intuitive enough to realize when people were trying to fan their scent all over, either to flex or temp him. He knew cause of his reputation, people would try all the time, and that’s when he’ll ramp up his own alpha pheromones to control the room. And maybe cause he’s a super, his scent was stronger than your typical alpha, cause usually everyone backed off once he did. Also, it was a dumb idea of trying to get a superpowered fire user horny. He remembered some villain girl tried, ramping up her omega pheromones so strongly it caught him off guard...and he almost caved but thankfully – and once again – Spider-man swooped in and saved his ass. Blessing in disguise he was a beta.
Great. Now Johnny was thinking of Spider-man. Again.
Flying over Manhattan, he looked back at the state of their friendship. He truly was a puzzle, despite knowing him for at least 3 years. He met Spider-man in his late teens, and they didn’t exactly hit it off as expected. Spider-man thought he had this big ego and lacked responsibility, which at the time, was surprising for someone only barely a year younger than him to call him out like that. Johnny didn’t take it well, and they clashed, but in that midst, he begrudgingly respected the masked hero. And somehow, through the years, the two became teammates to friends to super best friends, even if his bestie flaked on him occasionally.
Johnny would unfortunately excuse anything for Spider man's sake, because he’s a nice guy, and because he was a sucker to cute, charming, masked vigilantes.
Okay so that’s the thing.
Johnny sorta had a thing for Spider-man.
Emphasis on had, because this was a crush he was trying to get over.
Like he initially didn’t dwell too much on how much he liked being around him, cause bros be bros right? He figured being friends with another teenager superhero was gonna feel special or whatever. But this intense feeling has been going on far longer than he expected, and it suddenly hit him one night when they were chilling at their usual spot of the statue of Liberty. They were eating pizza and it was the few times Spider-man remotely showed skin, lifting his mask just above his nose. Spidey laughed at some stupid joke Johnny told, and it was always such a glorious sight to see the guy smiling without the mask. The guy had dimples everytime he cracked a smile, so much so Johnny wanted to pinch them. Spider-man always complained how cold he could get, and it was always so evident when his cheeks would flush red from a fight, Johnny’s relentless teasing or a good laugh. And the lips, god, pink and plush that tempted Johnny many things that would certainly get his PR agent to faint. It was at that moment he thought, damn, I would really like to kiss him. And that idea kept fluttering around his head ever so often, to the point Johnny realized it wasn’t just a passing thought. It was a real desire that came from his affection towards him, and it was definitely something that was simmering in his heart for awhile, but hadn’t properly acknowledged it.
Of course, Johnny immediately dismissed any pursuit for the masked hero. Sure, they were around the same age and got along great, but Johnny was pretty damn sure Spider-man was straight. Given his constant on and off relationship with MJ, he knew his shot was down before it even got itschance.
It was also very hard to get a read on the guy. For their entire teenage lives, Johnny had no idea who it was behind the mask. And hell, now being twenty-one, he still didn’t know. While he was cool with Spider-man never telling him, it still bummed him time to time that the webslinger still didn’t feel comfortable enough reveal his identity. Hell, this man had seen Johnny in nothing but in his designer boxers! At best Johnny got was a patch of skin when Spider-man was injured, and the lower half of his face.
As much Johnny craved physical connection with Spider-man, what made this crush different from all his previous ones was that he truly, deeply wanted to get to know him. Spidey might be pragmatic, but he was funny, and knew how to goof off with Johnny (and god there was nothing hotter than someone who knew their way with words). He appreciated his work efforts, in that he expected nothing in return in protecting the city. Even when he was clearly exhausted, he continued on like it was nothing. No problem was too small for Spider-man.
While Johnny knew nothing would happen in their relationship, he also didn’t know what to do with his feelings that had a nasty habit of leaking in his actions. He was a big flirt, and flirting with Spider-man was his way of coping cause one, he got some way of releasing his feelings, and two, it was protected under the guise that it was seemingly platonic and just how they talk to each other. Like some metrosexual thing of it looks gay but not actually gay lol!
But it’s fine. Really. Maybe it’s what he deserved for being such a playboy. He had a shit reputation when it came to dating. He knew his ego got worse when he got powers, like he unlocked a secret door of endless chicks waiting for his beck and call, and Sue and the others often called him out for being so flightly when it came to his feelings. That’s why it stung so bad with Spider-man. The one time he actually wanted to pursue his crushand wasn’t allowed to.
It’s why when he’s horny or depressed or jealous about his pathetic situation he would head straight to his Instagram and click one of the hundreds of DM’s he got from influencers or celebrities. Women (and more recently men) were dying to get his attention, and for one night, they did. Full undivided attention from the only and only Johnny Storm, extraordinaire.
It also helped that Spider-man was a beta, so he definitely didn’t smell the pheromones Johnny knew he gave off when he’s really enamored by the guy. And thankfully, betas didn’t have any strong scents on them, so the whole worry of them influencing each other was off the table. Johnny did note sometimes Spidey would smell of herbs and spices, buthe said it was cause of his aunt who always made him drink healthy herbal shit and Johnny sympathized his situation. He cringed remembering when Sue tried to get him on that stuff so they can be ‘efficient heroes’, and especially to have his own pheromones under control cause when he got too into a fight, Sue would complain how annoying his alpha scent was. Reed would quip how it was just natural, while Ben would laugh it off. Poor Sue and her family of alphas.
So yeh. Johnny had a sad crush. But he coped well enough. And he genuinely loved being Spider-man’s best friend. And he wouldn’t risk anything to ruin being in the guy’s life, even if it meant taking on the supportive bro role until death. He’ll be his best man at whatever wedding Spidey had. He’ll accept an unrequited love on his resume.
But his situation with Peter Parker...that’s a whole other story.
Like, sure he’s accepted he couldn’t be with Spider-man, but Peter? He’s a civilian. A nerd who took photos of his phantom crush like he could teleport.
It was bizarre how they met, and in similar ways, was a lot like Spider-man, not afraid to get into Johnny’s space for calling him out on something. But unlike Spider-man, Peter had this dorkiness to him that was so endearing, stressing about mundane things like exams and finances, that Johnny couldn’t help but wanna be alleviate his stresses. Peter also had the beautiful ability to get flustered so easily with Johnny’s teasing, even if he tried to play it off. And as guarded Peter acted about his personal life, there had been moments Johnny swore he saw Peter looked at him with such softness, it questioned Johnny if he really had a chance with him.
Johnny’s love language was touch, and when Peter showed no signs of rejecting said touch, it gave him hope. He swore one time they were gonna kiss at this bar, under the dimly lights, tucked away in a secluded corner and drunk on alcohol, but the moment was killed when a group cheered at the tv, and Johnny recoiled, almost flamed on in embarrassment. He felt like a kid caught with candy, and it didn’t help that Peter decidedly acted he needed to be sober and refused to look directly at him. Johnny tried to act nonchalant after that, but he ain’t the best performer, and was hurt enough that he wanted to call off the night, saying Reed needed help early in the morning. And because he was drunk with rejection, he stupidly called up an old flame to hang, which in classic Johnny style, ended up with her in his bed. What made it more mortifying was the following morning Spider-man decided to swing over for some new lead he had with Fisk, and fucking saw the girl’s clothes scattered everywhere. Safe to say Spider-man quickly bounced after that, and he didn’t even contact him for a week! A week! Not even the usual meme could get a reply back. And Peter didn’t text him either. In a way he felt doubly dumped.
Sue always said as Alphas he needed to work hard to be good role models, but Johnny felt the inadequacy of holding such a title when he embodied the stupid stereotypes of a horny and thoughtless Alpha, especially when he did stupid shit like sleep with ex’s while harboring a supposed deep crush on two hot dudes.
Fuck. It wasn’t even a crush sometimes. It felt way more than that, and it ate at Johnny that he could never tell Spiderman or Peter what he felt, because he was too terrified of rejection, or worse, ruining their friendship entirely. It also baffled him that he could possibly be in love with two people, and wanted both. This was a type of greed they talked about in bibles. Maybe he was just a whore for love. Or sex. Or both.
Shit eventually cooled off after that night of the almost-kiss, but Johnny wasn’t stupid to see how distant Peter behaved. They acted relatively normal with each other, but the flame hero felt he royally fucked up something with their dynamic, and dreaded the idea that Peter was uncomfortable with a guy being interested in him. He was also a beta like Spider-man, and just his luck his second love couldn’t smell how much he liked him. Cruel was his fate, truly.
After handling two uneventful incidents in the last hour (what’s with all these cats getting stuck in trees?), Johnny wondered if he should call it a night. Maybe for once the city that never sleeps was actually sleeping.
As he landed on a roof a lower building, his ears picked up loud voices from his right. It was your typical dark and dingy alleyway you find in the many streets of NY, and it seemed there were two thugs beating someone up. Whelp. Time to swoop in.
“Man I’m facing all the cliches tonight! You guys losing your creative streak?”
The two men turned to the flame hero. Disgruntled, one rolled their eyes.
“Oh great. Another superhero. And this one’s even more annoying.”
Another superhero? His eyes scattered to the scene behind them, and the flash of red and blue froze him.
Spider-man was on the ground.
Instincts hit him. Johnny immediately threw a punch at first guy. He flew (whoops) into the next guy, and both became a pathetic mess as they stumbled from the shock of another super ready to fight them.
He gave them no time to collect their thoughts as Johnny snatched one by the collar, looking dead in the eye. “What the hell did you do?”
“N-Nothing! If anything, he was the one who was bothering us! Taking our money we rightfully stole!”
“Yeah! And midfight he suddenly went down on his own! So don’t blame us with what’s wrong with him! We just wanted to protect ourselves s’ all.”
Johnny sighed. He then slugged the two dudes with another punch. He might not be as strong as Spider-man, but it was enough to knock them to sleep. He then turned his attention to the center of his thoughts. Spider-man was thankfully sitting upright, leaning against the fence.
Johnny tucked his hands into his jacket. “So this was where you were! Man, and I thought you stood me up. I’m wounded, truly.” he cooed. Walking up to his friend, he tried to gauge his physical state, which (tch, typical!) he had injuries. Seemed Spider-man was due for another medical date at the Baxter Building. And he knew the guy would argue back, with his speech about accelerated healing, and then Johnny would quip back, and then Spider-man -
Wait.
He wasn’t getting up.
“Uhh, you good man?” Upon closer inspection, Spider-man looked...off. Sure, he had his usual scuffles and cuts on his uniform, (was he that careless today?) but was oddly shivering. In fact, he hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor once since Johnny got here.
“Johnny.” he crocked out, and man did that sound weak. Like he hadn’t had a drink in days. He was also panting way too hard, and certainly couldn’t be because of those two thugs. “Why you here?”
Johnny was befuddled. And frankly insulted. “W-Why I’m here? Cause of we had something planned tonight and you bailed!”
“...Oh.”
“Just oh?! Well thanks so much for considering our friendship.” Johnny knew he was being dramatic, but a little vent was in order. But he couldn’t even stay mad cause he Spidey’s lack of reaction and sickly state really concerned him. “Why you look so tired?”
“Just a...long day.”
“Yeh, I can tell. But you look worse than usual. Not saying you look like shit all the time! But you know. What happened to you today? And why did Thing 1 and Thing 2 say you just fell down?”
“It’s nothing. Just didn’t um, swing the right way and fell.” He stood up, a bit wobbly, but he somehow got his bearings. “But I’m okay matchstick. Really. And I’m sorry about early. I’ll make it up to you when I got time. I’ll catch you later. Ya know, duty calls.” He tried to wave Johnny away, and before he could even shot a web up he stumbled back into the fence behind him, and Johnny instinctively got closer.
“Woah! You’re not looking good. You sick or something?” Spider-man only answered with heavy breathing, and Johnny, concerned, grabbed his arm to check.
Big mistake.
“Dude what’s wrong with - “ he froze. The smell. It was sharp, powerful, hitting as hard as Ben’s punches.
Spider-man immediately pulled back his arms, forcing himself to create much space as possible between him and Johnny. He dug himself into the fence, as if he could magically phase through it. He looked as if Johnny burned him.
But no, no, Johnny was the one who felt hot, because what the fuck.
Spider-man smelled so fucking good.
It was like the fresh, homey vanilla scent, wrapped with some soothing sensation that had a weird cooling affect to his flame. It so deliciously sweet yet fresh, triggering his inner alpha that hadn’t been affected in a long ass time...
But then it fucking dawned on him who exactly had this smell.
He gawked at the source of the scent, mouth open. “What the fuck. You’re an omega?!”
Spidey’s eyes squinted, shamefully looking down at the ground.
“Just go Johnny.”
“What the, h-how, when did this…?”
“Look, it doesn’t matter!” The web slinger tried to stand straight, “But please, you need to go. I can manage flamebrain.”
“Clearly not webs, look at you!” Johnny tried to get close, but that scent pulled him like a moth to a flame, and another whiff of it made the blonde pull Spider-man into a hug.
“J-Johnny!” Spider-man weakly tried to shove him off, but the effect was immediate, pulling at the taller man’s back into a crushing embrace. “We...we can’t…”
Johnny immediately flung himself back. He tried to give space, but his hands refused to leave Spider-man’s shoulders. “Sorry. I know. God. But like, you can’t...be in public like this. You need to leave.”
“I’m trying to!” Spidey was panicked, glancing up, “But my heat came early. I don’t know what happened. It came right when I was webbing these guys up.”
Hooooly fuck. An omega and in heat? Johnny’s luck everyone.
“I can take you to Reed.” Johnny offered. He was focusing all his thought into helping his friend and not ramming him in the damn alleyway. “He ain’t an expert on heat cycles, but he can help you - “
“No! He can’t know. No one can.”
“Then my sister’s medicine! We can grab them back at my place. She has heat suppressants.” He remembered how when she first got hers as teens, and Sue made very clear instructions where to grab her medicine if she ever needed it. “My place is closer. And don’t lie and say you can take yourself home. You can barely stand.”
“I can’t Johnny.” He severely estimates how much stronger his friend could be when he wanted to, and he pushed him hard, enough space where that sweet scent didn’t invade his nostrils as harshly. “I’m sorry, but I -”
Then Spider-man collapsed.
“Oh shit!” Johnny cradled his friend in his arms, and even touching his cheek through the mask, he could tell Spidey was running a high fever. He pulled the mask a bit off just so his friend could get some air, he now hearing the full effects of his breathing, Johnny could tell he was struggling to stay conscious.
This heat was hitting hard and fast. Pulling him close, he nestled him into his chest, feeling extremely protective of his best friend. “Sorry webs, but I’m choosing to ignore your opinion today.”
Immediately flames engulfed his lower half, and he was flying across the New York City sky.