the final chapter… holy cow. it's been such a ride y'all. i hope you enjoy!

xXx

"Get me up there," Flash muttered, warily glancing around him as he stood beneath Betty's balcony. He'd gotten into her backyard through questionable means, so he might as well double it up and arrive onto her balcony with the same semi-legality.

Flash suspected symbiotes weren't even covered in the New York penal code.

Why don't you go in through the front door?

"And let Mrs. Brant know I'm here?" Flash shook his head. "She's nice, but some things are better left unshared with adults. At least at first."

Flash would know—he had extensive personal experience in clamming up around his parents.

Fine. Hold on.

Identical tendrils of symbiote emerged from Flash's arms, and with the might—if not the grace—of a professional athlete doing an impressive pull-up, Venom flung Flash up and over and down onto the balcony. The thump with which he hit the floor made Flash grimace, and not just because ow, he wasn't a rag doll.

Rather, the voices inside Betty's room that had previously been chattering sharply fell silent, sending a chill down Flash's spine.

Guess they heard you.

"Yeah, I think so," Flash muttered. Still wincing from the impact, he pushed himself to his feet. As he reached out to tap on the glass doors, the curtains swung back and the door slid open in near-perfect simultaneity, revealing Betty Brant wielding…

A can of hairspray and—a lighter?

"Flash?!" she said, and Flash couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Wow, you really do have a makeshift flamethrower."

Fire?!

Flash's arms were thrown up into a position of surrender.

Betty shook her head. "What are you doing here? How did you get up here?"

"Ah… long story," Flash said, distracted by his inability to lower his arms. "What's going on?"

Fire! A very, very uncomfortable experience for symbiotes.

Okay, apparently sound wasn't Venom's only weakness.

Betty's hands fell, and Venom's relieved sigh was so loud Flash could hardly believe Betty hadn't heard it, too. Thankfully, Venom dropped his arms once the threat of flame had dissipated.

"You left your car at the school," Betty finally said. "We were worried you were staging a repeat of last night."

Flash winced. "I know, I'm sorry, I just needed to—" He paused. "Wait, 'we'?"

A glance behind Betty and into her room revealed Ned and MJ were sitting on Betty's bed, a laptop open between them as they watched Flash's conversation with a mixture of wariness and concern. Once Flash's eyes met theirs, they both shifted in eerie simultaneity to hide whatever website was pulled up on the computer.

"Guess I missed the memo," Flash said, trying to break the awkward silence. "What's, uh—what's going on?"

Betty sighed. "Get inside."

With a nudge that probably could have been gentler—not the Flash deserved such—she made sure Flash was fully in her bedroom before sliding her balcony's glass door shut and closing the curtains.

"The better question is what's going on with you," Ned said pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest. "We thought we'd need to stage an intervention."

Flash laughed, the sound tense and half-hearted as his gaze flitted over his three friends. His attention lingered on MJ, who was yet to speak since his unexpected arrival. "Right."

This was even more awkward than Flash had feared it would be.

I told you to use the front door.

"Not the time," Flash muttered, ignoring how his friends threw each other concerned glances at him seemingly talking to himself. He'd be explaining everything in a matter of moments, anyway—what was the harm if they thought he was off his rocker for another minute or two?

Flash inhaled, trying to calm his nerves. "Look. I'm sorry I've been so… weird lately."

Ned snorted. "That's an understatement."

Flash winced. Yeah, he deserved that. "I swear I didn't come here just because. I wanted to—I'm tired of—"

He cut himself off with a frustrated huff, and Ned's stern expression softened.

"Come here." Ned stood, grabbing one of Betty's beanbags from the floor by the end of her bed and dragging it over to Flash. "Sit down."

Flash shakily sank into the fabric, and his friends all took a seat around him. He laughed again, unable to disguise the dagger-like edge of anxiety. "Where do I start?"

"At the beginning?" Betty suggested, and Flash managed a nod.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

As he readied himself to continue, the computer still atop Betty's bed caught his attention as the light dimmed, presumably as the device prepared for sleep. However, Flash didn't miss the name of the website currently open.

"American… Addiction Centers?"

At his unsteady comment, Betty closed the computer. "Don't worry about that."

Flash shook his head, disbelief and hurt curling like a viper in his stomach. "Wait. I can't believe you'd"—his jaw clenched—"you know what my dad is like, and you'd still fucking think I would even go near—"

"What else did you expect us to think, Flash?" MJ said, speaking for the first time.

"Anything but that!" Flash said, louder and angrier than he should have been but fuck if this wasn't worse than them hating him—

You know that is not true.

—that they'd even consider him following in the footsteps of a man who—a man who—

Flash shook his head. "I shouldn't have come here."

"No you fucking don't," MJ said, getting to her feet a split second after Flash did the same and grabbing his arm. She started pulling him over to Betty's vanity. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? Because to us, you've looked dead on your feet for almost a week, and today? Today has been worst of all."

MJ stationed him in front of Betty's mirror, and though she kept her hand locked around his wrist, her grip was merely firm, not a vice. "You're distracted all the time. You have these weird bursts of energy and extreme periods of lethargy." She lifted his arm, holding up his hand before his eyes. "For God's sake, Flash, you're literally shaking. Tell me what you expected us to think. Tell me!"

Flash stared at his reflection—dark bags beneath his eyes, tension riddling his shoulders, hands quivering even when he clenched his fists to make the frantic motion stop.

He looked like…

No wonder they'd been so worried.

A tear slipped down Flash's cheek despite himself. MJ reached up with her free hand to brush it away, her touch as warm and gentle as the first kiss they'd shared.

"We are not here to shame you," she whispered. "We know you are not your father, and I swear, none of us ever meant to suggest you were."

"All we want is to help," Ned said, standing to place a comforting hand on Flash's shoulder. "Whatever you need from us, we're here."

"You can trust us," Betty said, and she, too, stood. "Because whether you like it or not…" A smile tugged at her lips, though tears had started welling in her own eyes. "We're your friends. We care about you. And you can't stop us, no matter how stupid you get."

A half-laugh, half-sob escaped Flash, and he covered his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound.

MJ pressed her index finger into the center of his chest, firm and pointed and there. "You hear that, Thompson? We fucking love you, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

It took only a second for Flash's friends to surround him in a group hug—an embrace that was soothing without smothering, a connection that was comforting without making Flash feel like he was a glass doll about to shatter beneath the pressure.

This is… nice.

Flash squeezed his eyes shut, forbidding any more tears to fall. He wasn't sure how successful his efforts would be, but he had to draw the line somewhere. If he broke down now…

He wasn't sure how he'd put himself back together.

Gradually, his friends pulled away. MJ was last, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.

Flash almost wished she hadn't let go.

"Can we… sit? Again?" he finally managed to ask, and within seconds Betty had taken him back to the beanbag before she, Ned, and MJ all returned to their spots around him.

"I don't…" Flash took a deep breath, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "What I'm gonna tell you, just—just hear me out. Until the end. Okay?"

"Of course," Betty said, and Ned and MJ nodded in silent agreement.

Flash did his best to steady his shoulders, trying to at least relax in the notion that finally, finally he'd be telling someone the truth, finally he'd be able to confide in another person about the past week and all the hell that had broken loose during such a short time.

"It started during spring break," he said. "When I got sick. The reason the doctor couldn't give a specific diagnosis is because…" Flash laughed weakly, shaking his head. "Well, turns out it's really hard to diagnose something from another planet."

And so Flash told them. He told them about Venom, how he was a symbiote from someplace called Klyntar who'd 'matched' with Flash after Flash had the unfortunate luck to stick his elbow in Venom's… substance at the bar and grill.

MJ had paled at that comment, and Flash could tell she remembered the moment as clearly as he did.

Flash told them about when he'd first started hearing Venom's voice and their bizarre introduction in the back of Gerald's car. He did, however, brush over Venom's initial threats toward the world and toward his friends themselves, if only because Flash still suspected Venom was keeping the truth from him.

He told them about the adjustment period, as it were, of trying to act normal with a new voice in his head. He told them about phenethylamine and the utter joy of having chocolate and a thousand supplements with every meal, which had thankfully earned a few notes of laughter from his friends.

Flash told them about the night before, too—the car accident, and what happened after.

"Wait," Ned said, pulling out his phone. "You're saying all those reports about some alien goo monster were actually about you?"

As if! Tell your friend it was us, not 'you.'

Flash gave Ned an awkward nod. "Kind of? I mean, not just me. Mostly Venom, really."

Ned turned his phone around, having somehow found an HD picture of Venom glaring up at Spider-Man. "Dude?! That's you?!"

Flash grimaced. "Yep. That's us."

"Holy shit," Ned whispered. "That is so awesome."

MJ snickered. "Never thought I'd see the day where Flash looked so angrily upon his lover boy."

Your what?

Flash buried his face in his hands. "Believe me, it was not by choice."

He was annoying and you know it.

"No, he's not," Flash hissed under his breath. "He's a hero, okay?"

You said he stole your car! That makes him a thief!

Before Flash could respond with an appropriate retort, mostly along the lines of hard feelings he did not and would never bear against Spider-Man, he noticed his friends had stopped examining the photos of Venom on Ned's phone to stare at him.

"He's… talking to you?" Betty said, tentative, and after a beat, Flash nodded.

"Yeah." He chuckled, trying to bring a little levity back into the room. "If anything, getting him to shut up is the real struggle."

I resent that.

A smile quirked at MJ's lips. "Oh? No wonder he achieved symbiosis with you."

HA!

And with that, Flash knew everything would be okay.

His friends asked him at least half a million questions, which Flash acknowledged was their well-deserved right. If anything, he was just grateful they believed him. Some questions were easy to answer—he didn't want to tell Liz yet, no, not until they had a better grasp on the situation, but he swore up and down that yes, Betty could be there when he did tell her—while other questions were…

Much more of a challenge.

"What are you gonna do?" Ned asked. "About Venom, I mean?"

"As in… Do I want to get rid of him?" Flash said, uncertain, and Ned nodded.

"Not recommending one way or the other. It's your body, dude. But I think… Well, either way, it might be worth setting some boundaries."

"That's probably a good idea," Flash admitted, a comment that earned an amused snort from Venom.

"Make him pay rent," Betty suggested, and Flash couldn't stop himself from bursting into laughter.

Pay rent?! I am a privilege to have around!

Wiping tears from his eyes—so different from his tears before, Flash couldn't help but note—he shook his head. "I don't know if I could work out the logistics required, but—" He shook his head again, still snickering. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Not to ask the obvious question," MJ said, adjusting to sit with her legs crossed, "but do we get to actually meet Venom, or just hear about him from you?"

YES PLEASE.

Flash hesitated. "Are you sure? He's a little… intimidating."

MJ raised an eyebrow at him. "And I'm not?"

Touché.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Betty said, jumping to her feet. She hopped over a pile of textbooks to get to her bedroom door, quickly checking to make sure no one was outside before closing and locking it.

"We don't need my mother or Nancy accidentally wandering in at the worst possible moment," she explained as she sat back down, and Flash nodded.

"Right. Good idea." Flash bit back a sigh, praying Venom wouldn't make a fool out of him.

I've told you before—you don't need my help with that.

His friends stared at him expectantly, and after Flash murmured a quiet, "Okay," a squelching sound that he was all too familiar with echoed in the silent bedroom as Venom emerged from his shoulder, looming over Flash to stare down at his audience.

Hello, Venom said. Flash still couldn't tell whether or not he was smiling. It is nice to finally meet you.

Betty's and Ned's eyes widened like saucers as they leaned back. MJ, on the other hand—although Flash noticed she'd tensed slightly at the symbiote's appearance—remained firm and held her ground.

"So," MJ said, wary but nonetheless looking Venom dead in the eye, "you're the one who interrupted my boyfriend and I's alone time when we were on vacation."

"Oh my fucking God," Flash muttered at the same time as Venom erupted into laughter.

Yes, I suppose that was my fault. A teeny, tiny bit.

"Uh huh," MJ said, a satisfied smirk tugging at her lips. "That means you owe us one, Venom. So just a heads up—I will be cashing in that chip very, very soon."

Venom turned to Flash. No wonder you like her so much.

Flash muttered a string of curses under his breath, and all his friends started laughing. But embarrassed as Flash was by a certain symbiote's candidness, he couldn't deny Venom and MJ had done a damn good job breaking the ice. Ned and Betty soon jumped into the conversation, too, and it made Flash wonder why he'd ever thought he wouldn't be able to tell them the truth.

Then again, present fears were less than horrible imaginings, and Flash had been afflicted by quite a few of the latter.

When Betty's mom yelled from downstairs that dinner was here, Betty promptly jumped into her boring-if-accurately-dubbed 'organizer mode' as Venom slunk back into Flash.

"Okay, you're all staying the night," she said, getting to her feet and pushing aside various items scattered across her floor to create a more open space. "Ned and MJ already have permission, Flash—"

"My parents won't be home for another two days at the earliest," he reassured her, "and Gerald shouldn't be hard to convince." Assuming he was forgiven for his disappearing act the night before, that was.

"—perfect, me or my mom can vouch for you with him if you need us to."

Can she read minds?

Flash often wondered that, too.

"We'll tell my mom you came in through the back that way she doesn't wonder how the hell you got in our house without her noticing. Venom, I do have to politely request that you stay out of sight during dinner."

Fine, as long as I can have some chocolate after.

"That can be arranged," Flash said, a dual response to Venom and Betty, and Betty smiled.

"Great."

The rest of the evening passed with ease, from the pizza Mrs. Brant ordered to their surprisingly normal sleepover activities back upstairs in Betty's room—Venom participating in truth or dare was a real highlight, Flash had to admit. By the time midnight was drawing near, Betty had passed out in an upside down diagonal on her bed, her pearls still around her neck, and Ned was lightly snoring with his back propped against several beanbags.

"Should we move him?" Flash asked, and MJ chuckled.

"Nah. Let him sleep."

Flash hummed as MJ continued threading her fingers through his hair, his head having rested in her lap for the past half hour or so. "Alright. But if he starts complaining that his back hurts tomorrow morning, I'm blaming you."

MJ smiled down at him. The red curls that framed her face glowed almost pink in the silver moonlight currently breaking through the curtains of Betty's balcony doors. "I think I can handle it."

Flash reached up to twist one of her curls around his finger. "You can handle a lot of things, can't you." More an observation than a question, and they both knew it.

"Mhm." MJ caught his hand as he was pulling away to intertwine her fingers with his. "Including having a boyfriend who doubles as a vigilante."

Flash rolled his eyes. "I am not a vigilante. Stopping that driver was a one-time thing."

It does not have to be.

Right, of course it didn't.

Flash smacked his forehead with the base of his free hand, earning a snicker from MJ. "Sure. Fine. There's another thing to add to the list of 'shit to talk about with Venom.'"

"Always happy to be a progenitor of necessary discussion."

"Yeah, yeah. It's annoying as hell." Flash couldn't stop fondness from slipping into his tone. "And pretty great, too."

"'Annoying.' 'Pretty great.'" A smirk tugged at MJ's lips. "Damn, Eugene, you sure know how to sweet talk a girl."

Flash laughed at her tease, though a heaviness soon returned to their conversation with the silence that followed. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, moving it to rest against the middle of his chest. "You're sure you're okay with… Venom and I?"

MJ snickered. "What, are you two together?"

Always!

Flash rolled his eyes. "MJ, I am trying very hard to be serious right now—"

"I know, I'm sorry!" Another laugh escaped her lips, and she clamped her free hand over her mouth as Flash sent her an unimpressed look.

"Really filling me with confidence here."

MJ waved him off, still laughing. "Quiet."

She motioned for him to sit up, though she kept their hands laced together. Once he did, MJ shifted to drop her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'm good now."

Flash carefully rested his head atop hers. "So?"

"So, yes, I am okay with you and Venom, whatever you are or end up being." MJ began tracing circles on his hand with her thumb. "I mean, I'm kind of worried, I won't lie. Not about Venom, but…" She snorted. "You know. The rest of the world."

Fair point. The news already hadn't treated Venom with particular favoritism.

Those reporters were assholes! Except for the one who interviewed that paramedic. They were alright.

MJ sighed, and Flash could feel her shoulder relax against his. "God, I am having such weird déjà vu right now. I swear I've been in this exact situation before."

"Really?" A smile tugged at Flash's lips. "What other symbiotes have you run into on the street?"

MJ chuckled. "Okay, maybe not that part. But…"

She sighed again, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. "Ugh. I don't know. Something about you, and what you're doing. A person I care a lot about is a little afraid, a little confused, but still ready to put their life on the line for other people. It's all… familiar, and I have no idea why."

Flash hummed. "Sounds more like a hero than a vigilante to me."

MJ lifted her head to look at Flash straight on. "You could be a hero, Flash," she said, quiet, honest. "You might already be one."

Flash's heart was racing like a hummingbird's wings. "MJ—"

"Shh." She placed a tender hand on the back of his neck. "Tell Venom I'm cashing in my chip."

Flash was tempted to crack a joke, something along the lines of Wow, already? but he soon found his brain short-circuiting when MJ pulled him in for a slow kiss. His hand fell to her waist as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, forever revelling in the softness of her lips against his.

MJ hummed in contentment, her hand wandering upward to tangle in his hair as Flash deepened the kiss, freeing his other hand to press just above the small of her back. He pulled her as close as their current sitting positions would allow, only breaking away to catch his breath.

"Don't forget we have company," MJ whispered, a teasing glint in her eyes, and Flash shrugged.

"I think a quiet make-out session is possible."

"Is that so?"

"Well, we won't know unless we try."

MJ shook her head. "Someone's incorrigible."

"Yeah, and his girlfriend is, too."

Grinning, MJ leaned in to kiss him again.

For the sake of their sleeping roommates, they kept the affection to a minimum. Eventually, they found themselves moving to stand outside on Betty's balcony and admiring the bright crescent moon amidst the glittering stars that decorated the sky above. Flash would be lying, of course, if he said he wasn't distracted by just how beautiful MJ looked in the nighttime glow, and based on the small smile she threw him, she was perfectly aware of—and enjoying—his distraction.

"I'm going to apologize in advance for killing the mood," MJ said, resting her elbows on the metal guardrail and returning her attention to the Queens cityscape before them, "but how do you plan to keep this—Venom, I mean—from your parents?"

Flash snorted. "You're right, that did kill the mood."

"Which is exactly why I apologized in advance."

Flash sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly… I don't know. Telling them obviously isn't an option." He ran a hand through his hair. "Really wish there was a how-to guide on living with a symbiote."

We could write one.

Not a bad idea, actually. They could market it as science fiction.

"Guess that's another thing to talk about with Venom?" MJ said, and Flash chuckled.

"Yeah. Item number 6482."

Speaking of talking… I think we need to begin that conversation now.

Flash raised an eyebrow. "At 2 AM?"

MJ glanced at him, and Flash waved his hand to indicate he wasn't talking to her. For practical purposes, maybe he needed to come up with some signal exclusively for his friends to show when he was conversing with Venom around them.

No time like the present. Besides, what I want to say cannot wait.

Flash sighed. "Sure, I didn't need sleep anyway."

MJ covered her mouth to hide a laugh, and Flash sent her a sidelong look, eyes narrowed.

Great. Let's go on a walk.

"A walk?" Flash echoed. "Uh, middle-of-the-night walks aren't generally advisable, even in cities that aren't New York."

You have me! We will be fine.

Flash resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No sense arguing with Venom if he was actually aiming to have a reasonable conversation. "Right. Why not?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," MJ said, pushing herself back from the railing. "I don't think—"

Flash pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "If I haven't made the round trip in half an hour, sound the alarm."

Tell her she can trust me!

"Venom says you can trust him."

MJ pushed Flash's hair out of his forehead. "Maybe it's not Venom I'm worried about."

Flash chuckled. "I promise, I'm not running away again. If I tried—which I won't—Venom would drag me back here kicking and screaming."

An amused smile twitched at the corners of MJ's lips. "Now that'd be a sight."

After a quip about the sweet sorrow of parting that earned a laugh from MJ, Flash vaulted over the railing, though Venom had emerged by the time his feet hit the ground. They were cautious, avoiding any possible home cameras or too-bright street lights, and as soon as they'd reached the sidewalk, Venom retreated into Flash, leaving Flash to take the reins in guiding their leisurely stroll. He was almost as familiar with Betty's neighborhood as he was with his own—perks of having known someone for nearly six years.

"Well, we're out and about," Flash muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Was there something in particular you wanted to discuss with me?"

'Discuss with him.' God, like a socratic seminar.

Yes, I wanted to…

Venom trailed off, and Flash frowned. Before he could comment, though—

You have very good friends, Flash.

Flash blinked. Not at all how he'd expected their conversation to kick off, but sure, why not?

"Yeah," he said after a pause, a small smile inching onto his lips. "Yeah, I do."

Before Flash could lose his nerve, he followed his confirmation with, "What about you? Did you have any friends on your planet?"

Mm… Not really. I was a loser there, like you.

Flash rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

And like Eddie.

Flash's step stuttered over an uneven spot in the sidewalk, but he quickly regained his balance. "Eddie? Who's that?"

Do you remember the day we first spoke? When I told you I wasn't sure how I came to your world?

Flash snorted. "How could I forget? That was the same day you tried to feed me that BS about your plans for 'world domination' or whatever."

Yes, well… You are right that I was not being completely honest with you. But I am now.

"Hey, if you're ready to be honest, I'm ready to listen." Flash had been ready to listen for the past two days, as it happened. Or was it three?

Venom sighed. I wasn't telling the truth when I said I didn't remember how I came to be in your world. Or not the whole truth, at least. Before you, my host—my partner—was Eddie Brock.

"Eddie Brock?" Flash mused. He felt like Betty had mentioned that name before. "Isn't he a journalist?"

Yes, in San Francisco.

"How'd you get from San Francisco to Mexico?"

I didn't. Eddie and I were in Mexico, in our universe, and then we were in Mexico, in your universe.

Flash slowed to a stop. "Wait a minute. What are you saying?"

All I know is that somehow, Eddie and I were brought into your world. It was only for a few hours before he was transported back.

"If he was taken back, why are you still here?"

Bad luck? It was not… all of me that got left behind.

"Right," Flash said slowly, trying to process the implications of Venom's story. "So, hang on. You're saying there's—there are multiple universes?" Damn, Flash was not good enough at physics to fully process this.

I'm saying that I should not be here. That the Eddie Brock of your world is not the Eddie Brock of mine. I know because I used your computer to look him up one night while you were sleeping.

"Okay, first of all, don't do that ever again. Second of all—Jesus." Flash suddenly wished there was a bench he could sit on. A strained laugh escaped his lips. "Damn. No wonder you were so crabby those first few days. You barely knew what the hell was going on, did you?"

Yes. I… I missed my friend. When I talked about taking over your world, it was… a bluff, of sorts. I just wanted to find someone powerful enough to send me back home. To Eddie.

Well, Flash supposed he could forgive Venom for that. If he got separated from his friends, he couldn't pretend he wouldn't consider any range of threats to find a way to get him back where he belonged. That said…

"You could've been honest with me, you know. I'd gladly have helped you get back home." Flash snorted. "In fact, I might've been more eager to kick you out during those first few days."

Aw, are you saying you've grown fond of me?

"Not in so many words."

Venom laughed. Well, the truth is that I have grown to like you, too, Flash. You and your friends. I am not as homesick as I was before. In fact, if you let me eat some heads every once in a while, I wouldn't mind staying forever.

Flash paled, queasy at the latter component of his suggestion. "Is the eating heads part really necessary?" That was what the chocolate and supplements were supposed to make up for.

Not necessary, no… But it would be nice. Eddie and I agreed that I could eat the heads of very, very bad people.

"Okay, but I'm not Eddie—"

Your girlfriend said we'd make a great vigilante team! And vigilantes are allowed to eat heads every once in a while…

"She also said we could be heroes if we wanted," Flash countered, "and the best hero I know has a no-killing policy, so that means I would, too."

You mean that stupid bug boy?

"Don't call him that," Flash said, affronted. "Spider-Man is the hero we should aspire to be like."

Spider-Man is the hero we should eat for lunch.

"You are not winning any points with me."

Fine, I won't eat him! But I don't have to like him, either.

Flash supposed he could work with that. For now.

"You wanna know something, Venom?" Flash said after a pause, continuing his leisurely stroll down the sidewalk. "I do think we could make a pretty good team."

That's what I've been saying!

They'd have to find a balance, of course, between school and… crime-fighting, or whatever they did, but that wasn't impossible. Especially since MJ, Ned, and Betty were now in the loop—Flash wouldn't be dealing with it alone.

Not anymore.

In fact, the hardest part would probably be keeping it from his parents. Like most adults, they had a knack for noticing only the things Flash wished they wouldn't.

I could eat them. Then we wouldn't have to worry.

Oh, damn. Flash couldn't believe how tempted he was to take Venom up on that. Kind of like Beatrice asking Benedict to kill Claudio. But…

"No," he said with a sigh. "It'd probably look suspicious if they suddenly—"

Wait! Someone's coming.

Flash glanced around him, but didn't see an approaching figure. "Are you sure—"

"You know, most people take their daily walks in the morning or the evening, not the middle of the night."

Bug boy.

Flash looked upward to see Spider-Man sitting on top of a lamppost. He gave the hero an awkward wave. "Hi."

Spider-Man laughed. "Hi, Flash. Mind sharing why you're not in bed at half past 2 AM?"

"Well…" Flash tried to come up with a convincing lie. "You see, uh, I was at a sleepover, and I had one too many caffeinated sodas, so I decided to try and walk off the extra energy."

If we are going to be vigilantes, we need to work on your lying.

In Flash's defense, he was normally a pretty good liar. Came with the familial territory. It was just—Spider-Man. How was Flash supposed to lie to him?

"Right," Spider-Man said, not bothering to hide his amusement as he stretched the 'i' an extra few syllables. "What do you say I escort you back to that sleepover? No offense, but you look like you should spend the rest of tonight and maybe all of tomorrow catching Z's."

Flash paused. Now that sounded familiar. Why did—

Tell him yes.

Flash bit his tongue to hold back a follow-up query. Just because Spider-Man probably knew about him and Venom didn't mean Flash needed to confirm it for him.

Still, Venom's immediate agreement to Spider-Man's suggestion was unexpected, to say the least.

"Thanks," Flash finally said, giving Spider-Man an awkward smile. "I would appreciate that."

Spider-Man gave him a two-finger salute before dropping to the ground. "Tell me the address and we'll be on our way."

Flash did as instructed, and soon Spider-Man was indeed guiding him back to Betty's place. Much to Flash's disappointment, there weren't many places for Spider-Man to swing, so a majority of their trip was spent on foot. At least Spider-Man was a great conversationalist—for all his nerves about being around the hero, Flash found himself cracking up at more than one of Spider-Man's jokes.

He is not that funny.

Well, there was no accounting for taste.

"This is it?" Spider-Man asked as they arrived at Betty's, and Flash nodded.

"Yep." He hesitated, but added, "Do you… Can you get me on the balcony?"

Spider-Man grinned at him. Or Flash had a feeling he did, at least—couldn't know for sure with the mask on. "You betcha."

And if Spider-Man swinging up onto Betty's balcony was the single greatest adrenaline rush of Flash's life, more so than Venom doing his thing, well, Flash just hoped his friend wouldn't be offended.

Bitch.

Flash took a brief glance through the sliding glass door—Ned and Bed were still asleep, and it looked like MJ had finally joined them. He returned his attention to Spider-Man.

"Thanks for bringing me back."

"No problem. Consider it part of my reparations for stealing your car."

Flash chuckled. "That was two years ago."

"Spider-Man always repays his debts." The hero jumped atop the balcony railing. "Now get some rest. You need it."

Flash waved goodbye, and soon Spider-Man had dropped down and vanished into the shadows of the night.

Flash.

"Hm?"

I know who Spider-Man is.

Flash blinked. "You what?"

He is Ben! That weirdo from the park!

"What? Are you kidding me?" Flash shook his head. "No way, that doesn't make any sense."

The truth doesn't need to make sense to still be true.

Okay, this really wasn't a time for riddles. "How the fuck did you even connect them?"

Similar physical quirks, similar manners of speaking, similar smells. He could use a shower.

'Similar smells'? "What are you, a bloodhound?"

I am serious! They are the same person!

"You just said 'similar' three times in a row, not 'same,'" Flash countered. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, Venom—"

Listen. I am 82% sure that Ben guy and Spider-Man are one and the same.

Well, 82% was simply not as reassuring as 100% would be.

If you had let me get my metaphorical hands on Ben while we were in the park, then maybe I'd be 100% certain. But no, you had to run out of there like an overcaffeinated jackrabbit—

"Okay, okay, I get it," Flash grumbled. "But so what if they're the same person?"

Didn't make much difference to Flash, since it wasn't like he knew Spider-Man or Ben either way.

You don't think it's weird Spider-Man approached you outside of his mask?

Flash hesitated. That was…

Okay. Maybe a little odd, truth be told. "I guess, but what do you expect me to do about it?"

Investigate him! Whatever it takes to find out what he's hiding!

"You mean besides his identity?" Flash grimaced as a searing pain shot through his forehead. "Venom, you're giving me a headache." He rubbed his right temple. "Can we continue this—"

"Flash?"

Oh, shit.

"MJ," Flash said, turning as his girlfriend appeared at his side. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

She yawned. "Nah. I had an alarm set for thirty minutes, that way I'd be able to check if you were back when you said you'd be."

Aw, that's nice.

A soft smile tugged at Flash's lips, his headache already easing with the shift in conversation. "Who knew you were such a softie?"

"Shut up." But MJ was smiling, too, even as exhaustion permeated her features. "How was your walk?"

"Revelatory," Flash said after a pause. "I learned… quite a lot."

MJ hummed. "Guess that's a good thing."

A red Spider-Man mask flitted over the face of a certain brown-haired boy in Flash's mind, and he slipped his hand into MJ's.

"Time will tell," he said as she laced their fingers together. "Time will tell."

"Mm…" MJ fought back a yawn. "At least we've got plenty of that."

Flash laughed. "Yeah. Yeah we do."

Don't worry, Flash, Venom reassured him. Everything will be just fine.

xXx

for now ;)

thank you to everyone for giving this fic a shot! again, shoutout to the spooder-man server and my beloved ambi for encouraging me to put this story into words. i hope you enjoyed reading it as much i did writing it, and as always feel free to yell with me on tumblr at starkravinghazelnoots about mjflash, lizbetty, venom!flash, and the sequel(s) to this fic i one day hope to write xoxo