I Thought You Were Different: Part 5

Storm

The rapport between Johnny and Grant was instant; Steve was happy that his boy found someone who understood what he was feeling, and understood the challenges that this kind of power created, but to watch the two act as if they had known each other forever, and as if Grant had finally found his mentor, his soul couldn't help but ache. But this was his idea, and he had to keep reminding himself of that. He wasn't the right one to teach Grant anything about his power, and this had to happen this way. He stayed and watched from a distance for a while, seeing a remarkable change in his son within the span of merely an hour, when he decided that he could leave them alone and he realized that he hadn't spoken to you since the team had returned home.

"Grant, you're good here?"

"Yeah, Dad, all good," the young man waved, barely giving him the few seconds that it took to make the absentminded motion.

"Okay...good. Mr. Storm? Is there anything that you need from me before I go?"

"Oh boy, is there," Johnny answered, excusing himself from Grant and jogging up to Steve. The smile that the guy always wore was immediately annoying to the Captain, unable to believe that anyone could be in such a perpetual good mood without having something seriously wrong with him. "Cap, could I get a second to talk?"

"Sure, absolutely. But first I just want to say thank you for coming all this way out here to help Grant. I can tell that he's already learning a lot from you."

"Actually, if you don't mind, maybe don't let him know that I've learned a few things from him too."

"Deal," Steve smiled, lost in a sudden wave of pride. "So, what is that you wanted to talk about?"

"I feel like I need to be sure that you know that even though I'm going to be spending some one-on-one time with your son, I'm working for you. I'm not here to replace your authority in any way. There's no way in hell that I'm about to piss of Captain America."

"Hmm, I appreciate that, thank you," Steve answered, his confidence again returning. "But, forgive me for this...you aren't what I expected."

Johnny couldn't help but let out a loud laugh; it was clear to Steve that this couldn't have been the first time that he had heard that, and he was hoping to someday be able to hear a few of the anecdotes rolling around in his fellow hero's mind. "You know, I'm starting to worry that I'm mellowing as the years pass," he finally agreed. "Normally, this mentoring stuff would have zero appeal to me, ya know? Man, I bet the version of me that you've heard about hasn't existed for a good five years now. I swear, if I had a dollar for every girl that I..." he stopped, feeling the shift into uncomfortable happen before he could finish. "But, like I said, that's the old Johnny. This guy here, Mr. Responsible. Of course, my sister thinks it's all an act to hit on a new chick demographic, but I am going to prove her wrong."

"Hey, what you do on your time is your business," Steve shrugged. "So long as none of those girls are related to me, then do you, man."

"I like you, Cap," Johnny smiled. "You're not nearly the stuck-up geriatric that Nick said you were." He paused and leaned in closer, summoning Steve with a curl of his finger as he glanced over his shoulder to be sure that Grant was out of earshot. "And your wife? Smoking hot. I feel that I am the best judge of that level of hotness, by the way."

"Thin ice, Storm," Steve warned flatly.

Johnny simply stared at Steve, his mouth hanging slightly open as if his mind churned to a screeching halt, until seconds later when he became almost hyper-animated, clapping his hands together with small bursts of flame erupting between them. "Holy shit, was that on purpose? Yep, I really do like you, Cap. I pull my smoking hot card because of flame on, and everything, and you go right to thin ice because you were a Capsicle for like seventy years...right? Ice is your thing...right? Not right?"