Chapter Text
Having the cold air brush against his face would be fine any other time of the year, usually helping him cool down from exerting himself. But not in winter. Peter was shivering; already freezing from the fact his shitty landlord hadn’t fixed the heater for three weeks.
Usually he would just go and hang out at MJ’s house but she was out of town for the next week on some modelling trip out of the state. Gwen had gone with her to “Make sure she doesn’t get lonely” but he was almost 100% sure that something else was going on between the two of them. MJ had given him the key to her apartment and he knew he could go and stay there but it just felt wrong. (Peter would not admit that he desperately wanted to take her offer, just as much as he couldn’t admit he needed help.)
He already felt sluggish from the cold in his apartment but swinging through the cold air and having sharp icy gusts of wind blown directly at him did not help one bit. The first time he got tired in the winter, he thought he was dying. Imagine going from an immune system that could fight against a god with barely any repercussions, as well as constantly being aware of everything around you and then, suddenly, BANG! You were exhausted and numb to most things around you, the lull of sleep seemingly wanting to pull you in so you never woke up.
Peter hated the winter.
Ramping down on how many patrols he took also meant that some big villains had got away with a lot over the past couple of weeks but his best friend and crush had been his saving grace, picking up his slack. Obviously, Peter would never tell Johnny the real reason he hadn’t been patrolling as much and let the man believe he was simply caught up studying lots.
So, when said man dropped in front of him without his Spidey sense alerting him, Peter did not freak out and slam him into the rooftop below him. Definitely not.
“Ow- WEBS-! What was that for?”
But Peter was still grasping onto the warmth of his hands, how could a man possibly be this warm.
All of his rational, very reasonable thoughts were instantly stripped away as he latched onto the blonde man beneath him. Any words he might have formed were taken from him as the desire to feel warm flooded his body.
Johnny was still confused beneath him but Peter couldn’t care as he curled into his side. Johnny hefted himself up with a grunt and stared at the red and blue spandex clad man in front of him. What had just happened?
Peter was drowsy and really, really wanted to fall asleep in Johnny’s arms but the last of his self-preservation was assure that was not happening anytime soon. As he got up, slowly prying Peter off him he could feel himself distantly whine at the loss of heat. Now, he was especially sleepy. He was drifting off…
Johnny Storm had no idea what just happened. One second he was flying through Queens, looking for a glimpse of Peter, the next he was on the floor, said guy clasping onto his hands with his super strength as if he was going to die if he removed them. Peter curled into his side, latching onto him with the strength he usually only used against villains. What the fuck? What could have possibly made Peter be this hurt – was he even hurt? Johnny hadn’t considered any other option, Peter being surprised enough by his appearance to slam him into the ground was not like him at all. He lifted himself up, grunting at the pain in his back. (That was going to be a huge inconvenience later when he tried to get up.) The red and blue spandex covered man shifted on him, edging slightly away and loosening his grasp ever so slightly, but it was enough for Johnny to slip out of his grasp. Peter whined, whined at the loss of him and he froze in disbelief. Guaranteed, he was keeping his emotions under lock and key while helping Peter, that brung out a new worry for him. Hearing his crush whine was not doing any favours for his growing anxieties surrounding his current condition.
“Webs, can you hear me, are you hurt anywhere?”
Peter rolled over, towards the direction of his voice but he seemed unconscious, slits on his mask closed and posture very relaxed.
Johnny was so very confused.
Peter had jumped him, (that was partially his fault), to then fall asleep? Something was very wrong. He scooped Peter up, lifting him up and putting him on his back, choosing not to notice how Peter nuzzled into his neck, he was not going to address that. Peter seemed to be sticking to his back but he wasn’t sure if he could trust his stickiness at the moment. Johnny grabbed onto Peters arms and swung them around his chest, holding onto them. He flamed his feet on, taking extra care so that Peter wouldn’t get burnt while allowing them both to fly.
His first thought was to bring them both to Reed and Sue, but upon thinking about it, he was sure Peter would loathe taking any kind of assistance from either of them. It was slightly different with Johnny but he sure as hell wasn’t going to touch that subject. Instead, he settled on taking Peter to his room in the Baxter Building while avoiding everyone else. Easy.
Johnny was thankful for his quick exit earlier, preferring to take the window in his bedroom rather than leave through the front doors, which would have taken him longer to do. Pulling the window slightly further ajar he heaved Peter in, planning to drop him and get changed out of his dirty outfit. His surprise was immense when Peter refused to let go and not for the first time, Johnny cursed Peter’s stickiness. Last few times it was usually when they were joking about, getting cookies or sweets. He would stick to the, and laugh as Johnny would pull against them so hard he would fall backwards. But all he could do in the end was laugh with Peter as he watched his brown curls fall in front of his eyes and his mouth crinkle into the wonderfully bright smile he had grown used to seeing.
He struggled to get his top off but eventually succeeded, feeling Peter almost immediately clutch onto him even more. He was not getting a new shirt on anytime soon. The pants were a different matter entirely; much easier to take off when there wasn’t a certain vigilante holding onto your clothes as if he would lose you the instant he let go. Johnny was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to pry Peter of his back so he opted to take his mask of (with great difficulty) and shoes. He did not want the city of New York to sully his bed, no thank you.
As he lay down, Peter released his grip once again, sinking in the softness of his bed.
Johnny took the opportunity and leapt up, the whine coming from Peter shattering his heart. He looked Peter over, who was not moving, barely at all if he could remember things properly and was not at the correct temperature for any human being, let alone one with super powers. He didn’t seem to be bleeding out and a rough overlook and he couldn’t see any wounds or tears in his suit to imply he got hurt. For now, he just needed to be warmed up. That was one thing Johnny could help with. He grabbed an oversized shirt, the one he knew Peter adored. He had asked about why that one was so special after having the 50th fight over why he couldn’t keep it. Peter had mumbled something and his heart felt like it would burst out of his chest when he took in how flustered Peter was. It was pretty much dropped from then on. He would, obviously tease Peter about his reaction and then get flustered himself, but that was a different matter.
Johnny also got the Hello Kitty pants he had confiscated off Peter, embarrassed by the fact he kept going out in them to annoy him.
He stared down at Peter’s sleeping form and wondered how the fuck was he going to get them onto him without him latching on like a sloth? Or a koala, either one really.
With immense difficulty that’s how.
Finally, after thirty minutes of dodging Peters grasp, he managed to finish slipping the clothes on top of his costume. At the last second, while he was distracted celebrating Peter grabbed his arm and yanked him into the bed, cuddling up into his arms. Johnny had no idea how he was doing that subconsciously. Peter was ice cold, and snuggled as close as he could in the crook of Johnny’s neck, tangling their legs together.
Johnny could feel himself slipping into sleep, and was comforted by Peters arms around him, only dragging him further into the depths of a peaceful slumber.