[A/N]: Yo, you absolute champs with apparently too much free time (& I love you for it), you crushed the 500 Power Stones goal, so here's a sizzling bonus chapter just for you, dive in and enjoy the ride!
The sound of glass clinking against a spoon echoed through the party. Mr. Fantastic stretched himself to the center of the balcony, getting everyone's attention.
"Everyone, may I have your attention, please?"
The crowd quieted down bit by bit, conversations dying off as people turned toward Reed. Jay tried melting further back into his corner by the punch bowl, but there wasn't anywhere to hide when half the room probably still thought of him as a terrorist.
Reed cleared his throat, his brilliant mind suddenly fumbling with basic public speaking. "Thank you all for being here to celebrate the New Year with us. But that's not the only thing we're celebrating tonight." His arm stretched back to take Sue's hand, bringing her forward as her other hand rested over her rounded belly. "As some of you may have noticed, Sue and I are expecting our first child."
The applause hit immediately, warm and genuine. Tony started shouting something that sounded suspiciously like "Christ, Reed, save some for the rest of us!" but Pepper's elbow found his ribs, shutting him up mid-sentence.
"Thank you, thank you," Reed said, his face turning red as he tried to pull himself together. "But that's not the only good thing we have to celebrate tonight."
Both Sue and Johnny were practically vibrating with excitement now, sharing looks that screamed they'd been keeping secrets all evening.
Reed's voice got stronger, more confident. "I'm proud to announce that our friend and family, Ben Grimm, is engaged to Alicia Masters!"
The room exploded. People were hooting, hollering, clapping so hard it sounded like thunder as Ben and Alicia stood up from their table and made their way center stage. Ben was back in his human form, looking weirdly vulnerable without his rocky skin but wearing the biggest grin anyone had ever seen on his face.
Ben grabbed the makeshift microphone, his Brooklyn accent thick with emotion that made his voice shake. "Thank ya, thank ya all for sharin' our joy tonight. This whole thing feels like some kinda beautiful dream I'm gonna wake up from any second now."
He stopped, swallowing hard as his free hand started trembling. "Just six months ago, I was walkin' around as this... this thing. A rock monster straight outta every kid's worst nightmare. I'd look in the mirror and see somethin' that shoulda been buried in some ancient cemetery, not pretendin' to be human."
His voice cracked completely, and Alicia grabbed his hand, squeezing it with both of hers.
"I was ready to give up, ya know? Figured this was it for Ben Grimm. No more dreams, no more hope for anything normal. Hell, I couldn't even hold a coffee cup without crushin' it." He let out this shaky laugh that sounded more like a sob. "But my family here," he pointed to the Fantastic Four, tears now streaming down his face, "they never gave up on me."
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, his voice dropping to something raw and broken. "But I'd given up on myself completely. Then I walked into that little art store downtown, just killin' time, tryin' not to scare any kids on the street. And there she was." His eyes found Alicia's face, and his voice turned into something that sounded like prayer. "This angel who looked at me, really looked at me, and didn't flinch. Didn't run. She touched my face with those gentle hands and said I was beautiful."
His voice cracked again. "Beautiful. Can ya believe that? This broken-down Brooklyn boy who'd been turned into a walkin' golem, and she called me beautiful. Right then and there, I knew my heart belonged to her forever. Couldn't imagine drawin' another breath without her in my world."
The room had gone dead quiet, everyone hanging on his words.
"But none of this woulda been possible without Jay."
Every head in the room whipped toward the punch bowl corner where Jay stood frozen like a deer in headlights, cup halfway to his mouth.
Ben's voice got stronger, more sure of himself. "Most of ya know I turned back into a human about three months ago. Well, that was all Jay's doin'. But here's the thing, even before that miracle happened, it was Jay who kept pushin' me to stop hidin' in my shell. Told me to get out there, live my life, let people see the real me instead of just the rocky outside."
Ben paused, "Without him kickin' my stubborn ass outta that self-pity party I was throwin' myself, I never woulda had the courage to leave my room. Never woulda been in that art store where I knocked over half of Alicia's clay samples." He chuckled, the sound warm and real. "Never woulda met my beautiful girl here."
His face got more serious, carrying the weight of hard-learned lessons. "Now, I ain't gonna stand here and pretend Jay didn't lie to us. He did. He kept secrets, hid his other identity, made decisions without tellin' us the whole truth." Ben's voice carried no anger now, just understanding. "But here's what I learned about lies over these past few months. They ain't all the same. Some people lie to hurt ya, to use ya. Others lie because they're scared, or because they think they're protectin' ya."
Ben's voice got thick with emotion as he continued. "And when I was ready to give up hope completely, when I told him I could live the rest of my life as a rock monster, ya know what this crazy bastard did?" He pointed at Jay. "He went ahead and underwent a life-threatening surgical procedure anyway. Could've killed him, easily. All so I could have what would make me feel normal, even though I'd told him I didn't need it."
A ripple of surprise went through the crowd.
Ben's voice got rougher with emotion. "Every secret he kept, every half-truth, it was all about keepin' us safe or keepin' us close. That ain't the same as what Doom tried to make it sound like."
Reed stepped forward, his scientific mind cutting through the mess. "Doom took Jay's protective instincts and twisted them into something evil. He took real concerns about our safety and painted them as manipulation. He turned acts of friendship into calculated schemes." His voice got hard. "Classic psychological warfare. Take a grain of truth and bury it in lies until nobody can tell what's real anymore."
Alicia's voice carried the wisdom of someone who'd learned to see past surfaces. "From what Ben's told me, Jay spent months in this very building, helping with experiments, sharing meals, being part of your family. Then he nearly died in surgery just to give Ben his humanity back." She paused, her fingers tightening around Ben's hand. "That's not how manipulation works. That's how someone loves their friends so much they're willing to die for their happiness."
Sue nodded, her voice gentle but firm. "We were hurt when the truth came out, but we never stopped to ask why he'd hidden it. Never gave him a chance to explain before we started throwing accusations around."
Ben raised his cup toward Jay, his face mixing regret with deep gratitude. "So, here's to the guy who lied to us because he cared too much to tell the truth, and who nearly gave his life just to see me smile. To second chances, and to friends who are braver and better than we deserve."
The room erupted in mixed reactions. Tony raised his glass with a loud "Here, here!" while Pepper dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. Storm nodded approvingly, her regal bearing softened by genuine emotion. Steve Rogers looked thoughtful, clearly relating to the themes of sacrifice and difficult choices.
Jay felt the weight of every gaze in the room. Some looked at him with newfound respect, others with curiosity, a few with lingering wariness. The attention made his skin crawl, but he forced himself to stay put, to accept both the praise and scrutiny.
"Well," Tony called out, breaking the heavy silence, "nothing like a good redemption speech to make a party memorable. Who's ready for more champagne?"
The crowd began to disperse slowly, conversations resuming in hushed tones. But the energy had shifted. People kept glancing at Jay, whispering among themselves. It took several minutes before Ben and Reed could navigate through the well-wishers and curious onlookers.
Frank and Maria Castle, sensing the moment was over, quietly gathered their sugar-crashed kids and headed toward the elevator.
Ben and Reed approached like teenagers asking someone to prom, all awkward energy and nervous shuffling.
"Hey man, how's the punch?" Ben asked, his usual confidence replaced by jittery nerves.
Jay sighed, recognizing the tone. "You don't need to be weird about this, Ben. Not after your speech did all the heavy lifting."
Jay felt drained. The weight of Ben's public gratitude, the stares from the crowd, the way everyone suddenly seemed to see him differently. It was overwhelming in a way he hadn't expected. Part of him wanted to be happy about the vindication, but mostly he just felt exposed
Reed jumped in, his words tumbling over each other like he'd rehearsed this a dozen times. "Look, Jay, we're really sorry for what happened that night. All those things happening at once, the stress, the accusations..."
Jay just held up his hands, cutting him off. "Yeah, well, I had months to think about it all," Ben said, shifting from foot to foot. "And a good teacher told me to let things go, so I did. Besides, I already took out all my frustration and anger on Doom, so honestly? I'm doing pretty great right now."
There was an awkward pause. None of them quite knew how to navigate this new dynamic. The old easy camaraderie was gone, replaced by something more cautious, more careful.
Johnny suddenly popped up beside them, bouncing on his feet like a hyperactive kid. "Hey guys, your ladies are looking for you. Something about midnight champagne or whatever."
Ben and Reed looked at each other, then back at Jay. "Keep in touch, alright? And enjoy the party."
They walked away, still radiating awkwardness like a bad cologne.
Johnny motioned for Jay to follow him. "Come on. Let's get some air."
Curious, Jay trailed the Human Torch to a quiet part of the rooftop, away from the crowd and music.
"Hey man, I wanted to talk. Man to man, you know?" Johnny's usual cocky attitude was completely gone.
Jay nodded, leaning against the railing as he studied Johnny's face. Something was different about tonight, more people opening up than Jay had ever seen.
Johnny took a shaky breath, his hands gripping the railing. "I'm not gonna get all mushy like Ben did down there. He's too sentimental for his own good, and Reed, well, he couldn't read social cues if they came with subtitles." His voice wavered. "But I'm not gonna just fold and pretend everything's fine like they did."
Jay's smile dropped. "Johnny, I don't need this tonight. Sue invited me. I thought we were past all this. I was just trying to celebrate with my friends."
"We WERE your friends!" Johnny exploded, spinning around to face him. His voice cracked like he was thirteen again, raw and desperate. "Damn it, Jay, you were FAMILY! "
Tears were forming in Johnny's eyes now, catching the city lights. Jay could see months of buried pain finally breaking through.
"You gave Ben hope when he had none left. You pushed Reed to stop drowning in guilt over what happened to us. You made Sue believe we could actually be heroes instead of just accidents." Johnny's voice got thick, almost unrecognizable. "And then we found out you'd been lying to us this whole time."
Jay reached out instinctively, putting a gentle hand on Johnny's shoulder. They both sank down to sit on the edge of the rooftop, legs hanging over the city below. "Johnny, I'm sorry. I was scared, man. I needed backup plans and ways out. I never meant for it to come out like that and hurt you all."
"But it did hurt us," Johnny said, his voice barely above a whisper now. "It broke something in us, Jay. And you never thought about that, did you?" He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, trying to pull himself together. "Forget Ben, he wears his heart on his sleeve anyway. You already know what he went through. But what about Reed and Sue?"
Johnny's voice got stronger, fueled by months of bottled-up pain. "Sue would pace around the lab at three in the morning, crying, trying to figure out what she'd done wrong, why her friend couldn't trust her with the truth. And Reed, God, Reed kept running scenarios, trying to find just one where your lies weren't about using us."
The words hit Jay like punches to the gut. He'd been so focused on his own survival, his own fears, that he'd never considered the damage he'd left behind.
"Sue thought of you as her little brother," Johnny continued, his voice breaking completely now. "Just like me. She'd brag about you to strangers, Jay. Tell them how proud she was of her brilliant, selfless 'little brother' who saved people for a living."
Johnny buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. "And what about me? I idolised you, man. Here's this guy who's everything I wanted to be. Always helping others, always putting his life on the line for his friends. You nearly died just to give Ben his humanity back. You let yourself get torn apart by the media if it meant saving kids."
He looked up at Jay, tears streaming down his face without shame. "You know what the worst part is? I was so damn jealous of you. Still AM. You're this perfect hero with the perfect power, and I'm just the guy who burns things down." His voice cracked again. "Your power is to heal people, to fix what's broken. Mine is just destruction with a smile."
Johnny's laugh was bitter and broken. "Do you know what it's like being too dangerous for rescue missions? Watching everyone else save people while I stay back because one slip and I turn victims into barbecue? But you, you have the power every hero dreams of. You actually fix things instead of breaking them."
The silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant sounds of the city and Johnny's ragged breathing.
"I'm sorry I was such a bastard that night," Johnny whispered, his voice small and defeated. "I was just so hurt, and I didn't know how to handle it. When I get hurt, I burn everything down, including the people I love most."
Jay felt his own eyes burning as he pulled Johnny into a fierce hug. "It's okay, little bro."
They sat there as the party continued below them, talking through months of hurt and misunderstanding.
When they finally made their way back to the party nearly half an hour later, they shared a look that said this conversation would never leave this rooftop.
The party had evolved while they were gone. The formal speeches were over, and people had settled into smaller groups. The energy was more relaxed now, more intimate. Jay could see couples dancing near the windows, friends sharing quiet conversations, the natural rhythm of a celebration finding its groove.
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