
Just a head's up, but it's been a while since I read or wrote these, so my character voice may be a bit shaky.
***
Johnny shrugs and puts the comb down, giving his hair a final check in the mirror before turning around. "It's just a question of priorities. Like, I don't have as much brain power as Sue, but I use what I do have. Focussed," he says gunning his fingers, twin little flames like lasers. The land on Ben's chest, targeted and less flickery than Johnny's regular flame. More like being poked than being tickled.
"Focused on what, hotstuff?"
Johnny looks at him like he's being stupid. "What do you think?"
Ben shakes his head, because man, those extra few years seem like so much more when he looks at Johnny. Even in his worst days, he's pretty sure -hopes, at least- that he was never that bad. Probably because he never had to worry about it. It's weird to think that this is the longest he's not had sex, not even messed around, since he was sixteen. "Maybe you're thinking about it too much, instead of going out and actually finding someone."
Johnny looks at him. "Man, you're just not thinking about it enough. There's a whole world out there, a world of mutants and aliens and options." He puts both hands on Ben's shoulders and looks at him. "You're just so caught up in this," and he raps Ben's skin with his knuckles, "that you're missing out. We can call up the X-men, maybe fix up some double date. I'm sure they know lots of girls or whatever that would want to date a nice guy like you."
"Or whatever?" Ben says, amused.
Johnny steps back and shrugs. "Whatever."
Ben looks at him and smiles. It's less and less strange, the way his face feels when he goes that. "I could work with Whatever. Whatever's cool. Or, you know, hot."
Johnny's smile is the classic fight between cool and grinning.