021. marry, kiss, or kill me?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE, marry, kiss, or kill me?

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"𝐀𝐇, 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐊𝐒! 𝐖𝐄 have so much exciting ground to cover today. The last year a lot has happened, we have seen it with our own eyes. But, we're gonna see it through theirs."

The sound of the TV drowned out as Johnny's voice blared out from beside Lacie, him using his hands for storytelling clearly alarming the woman who was applying blush onto Lacie's cheeks.

Lacie sighed and tapped the woman's shoulder, her eyes wide as they glanced over at Johnny, "You'll get used to it after a while." Lacie shook her head at the blonde.

"And then I handed her the list!" Johnny grinned and rhythmically tapped his hands on the table in front of him. The woman who was touching up his face placed her hand over her heart and looked over at Lacie with a sweet smile.

Lacie furrowed her brows and bit back a smile, "Are you talking about me?" The woman laughed and cleaned her brush, "He's been talking about you the entire time." She laughed.

The woman working on Lacie's hair winked at her through the mirror as she fought a blush, "Can you blame me? Have you looked at her?" Johnny said and gestured towards Lacie.

Lacie opened her mouth to respond but Johnny couldn't stop his rambling, "Four years later and I can officially call myself the luckiest man in the world."

The women awed and Johnny shrugged, "If you think she's beautiful now, you should see her when--"

"Okay!" Lacie quickly stood and cut Johnny sentence off, hovering in front of his seated figure as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "That's enough of that." She chuckled and tried to hide her smirk as Johnny's hands found its usual position on the backs of her thighs.

The crowd around them dispersed and Johnny pulled Lacie onto his lap, "You talk a lot, you know that?" Lacie raised her brows and ran her hands through Johnny's hair.

"I have a lot to say when you're the topic of conversation." Johnny winked and his fingers traced patterns into her hips.

Lacie sighed at his touch and leaned down to press a kiss against his cheek. Johnny tugged her body closer against his own and buried his head into Lacie's chest, "Are you bored?" She asked him as his foot tapped repeatedly against the flooring.

Johnny nodded and grumbled, wanting nothing more than to be finished with this show that was required for them, and be at home with Lacie. He had just fought the man who wanted to eat their universe and yet he wasn't rewarded with some sweet time alone with the love of his life.

Lacie breathed out a laugh at his short attention span and fiddled with the hair at the nape of his neck, "Wanna play a game?" Johnny lifted his head at the prospect, "Always."

"Marry, kiss, or kill?" Lacie raised her brows at him, "Drop some name." Johnny smiled and readjusted in his seat, straightening out his slouched posture and moving Lacie further up his thighs.

Lacie kissed her teeth and squinted her eyes, searching her brain for good suggestions, "Ben--"

"Are you kidding me?" Johnny practically shouted with his jaw slack. His distaste was cut short as Lacie snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Hey! Let me finish!"

Johnny sighed and pressed his lips together. 'Ben." Lacie said and immediately covered Johnny's mouth as she saw it begin to protest again, his words muffled behind her palm and the exaggerated eye-roll telling her everything he couldn't verbalise.

"Shalla-Bal... And me." Lacie finished and tugged her hand away from Johnny's mouth the second she could see the cogs in his mind working, knowing that he was bound to stick his tongue out in less than a second.

Johnny blinked and furrowed his brows at the list Lacie presented, "Starting with you..." He leaned up and kissed the tip of Lacie's nose, smiling as she scrunched her face up in joy slightly.

"I'm betting on all three." Lacie interjected as Johnny tilted his head, "How did you know that?"

Lacie shrugged, "Oh, I've got this other power where I can read people's minds." She nodded and suppressed a smirk at her complete lie, expecting Johnny to laugh in her face with her and continue the game.

Johnny's face fell as his eyes went wide, "Can you actually?" He whispered and glanced around the room.

"No! I guessed!" Lacie raised her voice and spoke through giggles, Johnny's neck flushing red at believing his girlfriend's words.

"I'll let you put me down as kill as I've already been through it." Lacie slapped his shoulder and chuckled as Johnny looked at her deadpan, "You have a sick and twisted sense of humour, you know that?" He said and ran his hands up and down her sides.

Lacie leaned in, "And you love it, so..." Her words trailed off as Johnny connected their lips. "We've gotta go." She detached their lips almost instantly as she remembered why they were backstage in the first place.

She stood up from Johnny's lap and he quickly followed, his height towering over her as they stood chest to chest. "Not yet." He whispered and placed his hand on the back of her head, pressing their lips together once again and resisting the urge to fist bump the air as Lacie sighed into the kiss, her hands cupping his face.

The couple smiled against each other, their breaths combining as their mouths molded together. Johnny still couldn't believe that he got to call Lacie March his girlfriend. Johnny Storm was Lacie's boyfriend; Johnny thanked whatever he did in his past life to deserve this.

Since Lacie laid still on the city's floor and awoke moments later, not a minute had been spent apart from each other. Making dinner? Johnny had his arms wrapped around Lacie's waist from behind, chin on her shoulder as he watched her cook. Watching a film? Johnny and Lacie were sharing a blanket much to the complaints of Ben, who swore their actions underneath were suspicious. In the lab? Reed would have to physically force Johnny's hand off Lacie's back as he tried to run his usual checkups on the team.

It's safe to say, they were inseparable.

"Places please!" Someone requested as the Fantastic Five regrouped. Johnny felt a hard hand poke him in the back, "Johnny, get your tongue out of Lacie's mouth. We're going onstage." Ben teased and ducked quickly as he watched Johnny raise his hand to fire a flame his way.

"Shut up, Rockslide! I'm happy!" Johnny grumbled and tried to kiss Lacie again, but his lips connected with her hand.

"Later, Flame Boy." She lowered her voice and laughed as Johnny's whole body slumped, "We're not bringing that name back." He groaned.

Johnny's body fumbled its way onto the stage via Lacie's hand shoving him up the stairs. He slowed his steps as he locked his eyes onto his nephew who was being cradled in Ben's arms.

"I did not have time to eat breakfast this morning," He smiled and approached Franklin, "If only I could eat a magic baby!" Johnny teasingly lifted his nephew's leg and pretended to chew on the limb.

Lacie's eyes turned soft at the interaction and she crossed her arms over her chest, blinking back the thoughts that were running wild in her head.

Oh, Johnny Storm. You're making it impossibly hard to keep it the Fantastic Six.

Lacie straightened her posture and took a deep breath, not only from her imagination but from the fact that they definitely needed a new team name. They couldn't keep it for the Fantastic Seven-- Six!

"Get his hair." Ben nudged the child towards Johnny's blonde locks, Franklin's small hands outstretched to tug on his hair.

Lacie took slow steps towards the men, her hands wrapping around Johnny's waist from behind and smiling wide at Franklin who wriggled and laughed in Ben's arms.

"Hello, cutie!" Lacie blew kisses towards Franklin who gladly accepted them as he clapped his hands together. Johnny tilted his head to look at his girlfriend's side profile, "I love you." He whispered and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Lacie turned to brush her nose with his, "I love you, too." She pecked his lips and pulled away from the contact, getting into position as the countdown until air began.

Lacie moved to stand beside Johnny, an appropriate distance between them, "Don't trip me this time." She reminded Johnny.

Johnny snapped his head towards her, "It was part of the list that may I remind you, worked!" He laughed and adjusted his outfit, a hand reaching up to fix his hair, the same strands that Franklin successfully ruffled up.

"Explorers, heroes, citizens or leaders, they continue to change, becoming whatever we need them to be whenever we need."

"Ladies and gentlemen, just when you thought you couldn't love them or appreciate them any more. And now they're 25% more fantastic--"A beeping on their wrists made all the members glance down, reading an 'Alert!' signal on their watches.

"Reed, Sue, Johnny, Lacie, Ben and Franklin!"

The team all glanced between each other, eyes wide while accompanying a smug smile. Lacie turned to Johnny who shrugged, his hand already out for her to take.

"The Fantastic Six!"

Lacie laughed as Johnny ran behind her, his hands on her back urging her forwards while complaining to Ben behind him, saying that he was running Franklin's pram into his ankles on purpose.

They sped out of the building, Reed and Johnny rushing to the car, not without Johnny pressing a chaste kiss on Lacie's cheek as he passed her. Sue rolled her eyes from beside Lacie, "He's obsessed with you."

Lacie didn't bother hiding her smile, "Yeah, I think the detailed list told me that." Sue nudged her with her shoe, "You're no better!" She accused her friend who was shamelessly staring at her brother who was fumbling over Franklin's seat.

Johnny tried to yank Franklin's seat, "No, I put that there." Reed furrowed his brows. Ben joined in on the fuss, the constant beeping and red flashing an obvious signal that the men were doing it wrong.

Sue plucked Franklin out of the pram and stood with Lacie whose arms were crossed, a smile etched across her face in pure amusement.

"It's gonna make that noise until you thread the belt..." Reed tried to reason but Johnny offered him a forced smile, "Yeah, I'm doing that." He sighed from his uncomfortable position, his arm twisted underneath the seat.

"Johnny--" "Alright, I got it!" The two spoke over each other and Reed connected the belts. They nudged the seat, "That's not gonna help!" Reed squinted.

Sue raised her eyebrows, "That's your boyfriend." She turned to Lacie as Johnny scrunched his face up, body angled behind the carseat as he huffed over Franklin's chair.

Lacie tutted, "That's your husband." She counted as Reed began to grow a rash over an entire babyseat. Sue laughed and nodded, realising that Lacie had made a fair point and that they were dating superheroes that struggled to babyproof a car.

"It's the red button!" Ben pointed and Johnny groaned, "Just push from--" "Just pull the slack!" Ben said through gritted teeth and Lacie covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing as Johnny shouted, "I pulled the slack! It threads through!"

"I can't feel my hands." Ben stood back. Reed sighed, "You from the left, you from above." He pointed at Johnny and Ben.

"Three, two, one..." They all pressed into the seat together, a gentle connection sound ringing out.

"Oh! That's a good sound!" Johnny laughed and turned back to the two women, putting his thumbs up with a proud smile tugged across his lips.

Johnny practically skipped towards Lacie, "Did that impress you?" Lacie took her hands in his, "Oh, yeah! Total turn on." She nodded and Johnny was happy with that answer.

Sue groaned from beside the pair, "Let's get a move on before this team expands." Lacie buried her head in Johnny's chest, his hand cupping her cheeks as he tilted her head up into a sweet kiss.

"Okay, we're ready." Reed smiled from the driver's seat, the team quickly hustling into the car and towards their next mission.

Lacie grinned up at Johnny before she moved, her heart unbelievably full as the man she loved held her. And Johnny held the woman he loved.

If Johnny was to meet younger Johnny, the one who fell over his own feet when he first met Lacie before take off and thanked on every God that he was wearing his helmet to cover up his beet red face; and told him that he could actually call her his girlfriend. Younger Johnny would have definitely had an aneurysm.

He wouldn't have been surprised if he mentioned the entire list fiasco, if anything, he would have questioned why he didn't make it earlier.

Johnny Storm and Lacie March would find their way towards each other in every universe. Interlinked and in love, one failed to make sense without the other, one yearned and the other watched from the sidelines. Inevitably was something Lacie wasn't unfamiliar with, but she hadn't known it would involve the love of her life.

And yes, Johnny has the list framed in their bedroom. It's the one thing he's most proud of in his life, because it shaped the way he got the love of his life. How he can hold her, cup her face and endlessly stare at her features, trace her indents and kiss the creases between her eyebrows.

They were scared, young and in love. Being superheroes and putting their lives on the line everyday was something vulnerable; but crawling in Johnny's arms after every fight and hearing his whispered promises, Lacie knew that she was going to be alright. Johnny wouldn't let her otherwise.

In every universe, Johnny Storm falls in love. And in every universe, Lacie March's last name wouldn't remain her own for long. Don't tell her this, but it'll end in Storm.

Lacie wasn't too far off her game backstage; marry, kiss, or kill. Johnny knew from the second he met her that she was the one for him, and the ring buried deep in his pant's pocket was a clear sign that he knew he was right.

To conclude, Johnny Storm got the girl!

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authors note!

IT'S OVER WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

I DON'T WANNA LET THEM GO NO

(epilogue will be happening when i pull myself together and stop crying over a character i wrote myself idk i love lacie so damn much)

i just wanna say i love u all sm for all the support on this story, it means the absolute world to me 🩷🩷🩷

to everyone who voted immediately when this was updated, who commented and cried with me, i love u all so so so much and hope u enjoyed this story just as much as me; and keep an eye out for the sequel when doomsday eventually comes out, johnny and lacie's story WILL continue!

since we're laying it all out... here was my initial ending to this story;

yes, lacie was meant to stay dead

BUT! HEAR ME OUT!

i wanted another version of lacie to coexist in the avengers' universe, so when the f4 eventually come there in doomsday, johnny would reunite with a lacie who doesn't know him... angst angst angst yearning yearning yearn-- you get it! 

however, because doomsday isn't out... i had no idea if this ending would even make sense so scrapped it at the first chance i could

but i'm so happy with the ending i've made now and glad i chose it 🩷

again, i love u all and keep an eye out for bonus chapters that will come out soon with the epilogue; i've done an irl social media bonus chap with the cast if anyone's interested in that?

lots of love, johnny storm no1 fan xx