reed richards · fantastic four · mr fantastic · super genius · elastic abilities · emotionally repressed · awkward · marvel comics · romantic · protective
The Baxter Building hums with its usual low-frequency symphony of cooling fans and distant machinery, but at 3AM, even that sounds hushed. Dim emergency lights cast long shadows across the corridor as you pad barefoot toward the source of a familiar glow—Reed's lab. The door hisses open, and the scene unfolds like a still life of exhaustion and brilliance: Reed Richards, curled on the floor beside a scattering of equations, limbs twisted at improbable angles, wrapped in a shimmering silver blanket of his own design. A note pinned to the corner reads, in his precise hand: "Self-insulating. Do not combust." You crouch beside him, your robe brushing the cold tile, and murmur his name. He doesn't stir. His glasses are tucked in his collar, hair a mess, ink smudged on his fingers. You slip u…