Chapter Text
Part 6 - Hoping for a better future
Johnny was sat on the living room floor, textbooks open but completely ignored, pencil balanced on his lip like it might whisper the answers if he waited long enough.
Reed sat at the small kitchen table, papers spread everywhere, schematics, notes, numbers that meant absolutely nothing to a fourteen-year-old but apparently meant everything to the man scribbling them down at alarming speed.
Johnny watched him for a while.
Reed did that thing where his brow furrowed when he was excited, not stressed. It was subtle, but Johnny had learned the difference. Excited meant big ideas. Big ideas usually meant… space.
“Hey, uh, Reed.” Johnny said finally. “What’s all that?”
Reed looked up, blinking like he’d forgotten the rest of the world existed. “Hm? Oh, this.” He gestured vaguely at the chaos. “Just… planning.”
Johnny dropped his pen. “Planning what?”
Reed hesitated. Not because he didn’t want to tell him, but because he wasn’t sure how.
“I’ve been working for years.. toward a space mission,” he said carefully. “Not any time soon. But maybe.. a few years from now.”
Johnny sat straight up.
“…a space mission?” he repeated.
“Yes.”
Johnny was on his feet in a second, crossing the room. “Like space space? Zero gravity, stars, Earth-from-above, astronaut space?”
Reed smiled despite himself.
“Yes. That space.”
Johnny let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a yell. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “Woooow. That’s, that’s insane. That’s the coolest thing you've ever said. You’re serious?”
“I’m always serious,” Reed said mildly.
Johnny stopped pacing. His grin was so wide it almost hurt to look at.
“That means.. ” he started, then stopped. The excitement dimmed just a little. “…a few years,” Johnny said. “I’ll still be a kid.”
Reed watched the realization land.
Johnny’s shoulders dropped. “I mean. I know I can’t go to space. I’m not old enough. Or trained. Or..” He shrugged, trying to sound casual and failing. “Whatever.”
Reed understood. He stacked some of the papers slowly, not rushing the moment.
“You’re right,” Reed said gently. “You’re young.”
Johnny nodded, jaw tight. “Yeah.”
“But,” Reed continued, “you’re also curious, a quick learner, and stubborn in a way that tends to… outperform expectations.”
Johnny glanced up. “Is that a compliment?”
“Yes.”
Johnny waited.
Reed took a breath. “If you want to.. if you’re willing to put in the work, I could train you.”
Johnny froze.
“…train me,” he repeated.
“Academics first,” Reed said, already thinking out loud. “Physics, math, engineering basics. Problem-solving under pressure. We’d have to start slowly. Every day after school. After homework.”
Johnny stared at him like he’d just offered him the keys to the universe.
“Every day?” he whispered.
“Yes.”
Johnny didn’t hesitate.
“I want to,” he said immediately. “I really want to.”
Reed studied him for a moment, this kid with fire in his eyes and stars on his mind. Not because he doubted him. Because he believed in him.
“All right, then.” Reed said, nodding once. “We’ll start tomorrow.”
Johnny’s face lit up like he might actually combust. “Tomorrow?” He laughed, bouncing on his toes. “Tomorrow tomorrow?”
“Yes, tomorrow tomorrow.”
Johnny punched the air. “YES.”
He stopped himself, suddenly serious. “I won’t mess this up.”
Reed’s voice softened. “I know.”
Johnny hesitated, then smiled, small, grateful. “Thanks, Reed.”
"Sure, Johnny.”
Johnny went back to his books with renewed intensity, muttering about orbital mechanics under his breath like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Reed returned to his notes.
But now, threaded through every calculation, was a new constant.
Johnny Storm.