Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all absolutely lovely. We are still in the gamma timeline. See, it's so much easier now that they have names.

Conversation 48: I'm going to need more iced lattes for this

Tuesday, March 26, 2018, 5:03 AM

Purple Princess: We're coming to pick you up in 15 to go over to the safe house. We're bringing bagels and Benji. He misses you.

BITC: I miss him too. Are you bringing coffee? It's 5:03 AM. I only get up this early for cons.

Purple Princess: You didn't last time.

BITC: Because I'm now friends with Afia Stark and Starks don't wait in lines like everyone else.

Purple Princess: For security reasons. Besides, SI is one of the sponsors of the NYC convention. I should have some perks. Yes, we're bringing you an extra-large ice latte.

Purple Princess: [Insert image 1]

BITC: Yeah, I'm going to need two of those. Also, are Benji and Flash holding hands?

Purple Princess: Yes. You couldn't see it in that picture, but MJ is sleeping on top of them. It's now why I'm upfront with Simmons. She's our chaperone/agent in charge. Probably because she refuses to go to Malta.

Purple Princess: Dad has to stay at the lighthouse because Cap dad is in a healing pod for a few more hours. They may be going to San Francisco for reasons not disclosed to me. Nobody is telling me anything.

BITC: Now, you know how I feel. Are any of those spiked with alcohol? Healing pod?

Purple Princess: Cap dad had a fight with the wall, but no one will tell me why he had a fight with a wall. Although Wakanda medical technology is the best. When I get my immune system, I'm getting all my vaccines from them. That's going to suck.

BITC: Please bring alcohol.

Purple Princess: Sorry, I can't bring alcohol into a situation where you and Flash are in close contact, especially if we're going to his apartment. It's an alcohol-free zone.

BITC: I accept that. Shouldn't he actually be already at his apartment and not all over my BFF?

Purple Princess: We didn't get back to Queens until midnight, and it just made sense for him to crash in his room at the townhouse.

BITC: Alone?

Purple Princess: Benji and MJ may have been with him. This is much easier now that I'm not hiding this from you. Especially now that Benji is gradually coming out of denial. Thank Thor.

Purple Princess: Okay, maybe this is a Loki situation.

BITC: This feels like something the god of mischief would be responsible for. This also explains why Ana asked me to read the Idiots Guide to Polyamorous Relationships yesterday. I assume this is not going to be an either-or proposition?

Purple Princess: Well, Flash is really, really gay, so there won't be anything happening between him and MJ.

Purple Princess: Oh, CM is with us too.

BITC: Why? Is this related to her being a Laura kid?

Purple Princess: She'll explain it to you in the car.

BITC: I'm assuming this goes in the category of too classified to discuss on this line. This concerns me because the Princess's encryption is top-notch.

Purple Princess: Even the cousin agrees that this is not a normal situation. We can't have any leaks, and we're dealing with somebody that has technology far greater than ours.

BITC: Greater than the Wakandan?

Purple Princess: Yes. The cousin was very sad to acknowledge that. She got her hands on jump technology Sunday night and was very disappointed she didn't come up with it first. She was almost there but needed to look at the original to tweak Zephyr 3.

BITC: Zephyr 3 is ready to launch, and I'm not there to see it? This is my mom's fault. I am so embarrassed that she got her lawyer to call your dad again.

Purple Princess: I think it's going to happen when you're supposed to be at Empire State for your class with Dr. Olivia.

BITC: Which was canceled because Dr. Olivia has a family emergency. I didn't even know she had family.

Purple Princess: Oh, good. Ana can stream it for you when you're supposed to be in class.

Purple Princess: The family emergency is her going to Malta. Besides, I'm pretty sure at this point she considers May her family. Maybe, Professor Liv will keep making better life choices with May in her life.

BITC: I think it's best I do not ask questions.

Purple Princess: Good call.

Purple Princess: Hey, we're here. I'm crawling into the back with CM so you can sit up front.

BITC: You are the best.

BITC: BTW, there is a rumor floating around campus that counselor Laura was MIA because aliens kidnapped her.

BITC: And another version about her being kidnapped by Ross. The evil one, not the ambassador.

Purple Princess: Not this time. Obviously, we're damage control today. Also, Ana needs to find a leak at the ATCU. Or possibly Damage Control.

Purple Princess: The agency, not us.

XXXX

In the car a few minutes later.

BITC: I'm so sorry that my mom did what she did yesterday. Vanessa thinks she can stop stuff like that.

TMNS: I hope she can help. What your mom is doing is weird and creepy.

BITC: So very much. It's never a good thing when Lola takes my dad's side. Apparently, you weren't the only one bit by a spider during that field trip? I thought you were the only one. You said the spider died.

BITC: That can't be right because of Spidey Junior. Although he is inhuman too.

TMNS: He has the gene. This might be why he gets the invisibility power, but the bite was still the trigger. Let's just say there was more than one radioactive spider.

BITC: Okay, now I'm really mad my mom refused to sign the permission slip for that trip. I want superpowers. I'm like the only one who doesn't have superpowers.

TMNS: MJ and Flash do not have powers, and they are absolutely perfect the way they are.

TMNS: Also, why are you texting me when you're sitting in the same car?

BITC: Because I'm all the way up front, and you're now in the back so you can snuggle with your boyfriend. I don't want to yell over Silk and Purple Princess. Her code name is so cool.

TMNS: You know, just because Flash is gay doesn't mean he's into me.

BITC: In the last 48 hours, I've read through Flash's Spider-Man fan page. I'm disappointed I didn't see his crush on you earlier. Like half of his tweets are pictures of your butt. I have no idea your pre-nano tech costume was that tight.

TMNS: Some of the older stuff was a little ridiculous, but the new stuff has been very demure.

BITC: Only because the Princess made adjustments to the costume.

TMNS: So, he had a crush on my alter ego. It's still better than that incident that led to Twitter's TOS being changed.

BITC: If I turn around, I'm going to see your cuddle pile in the back. Please don't lie to me. It's okay that you like guys. I wish they were different guys. However, I once kissed Betty. Therefore, I've been informed that I'm not allowed to criticize anybody else's taste in significant others.

BITC: As long as they are not abusive.

TMNS: Betty did sell Afia out for clout.

BITC: Which as much as I dislike Flash, that is something that he never did. Our classmates didn't even find out he was Tony Stark's foster son.

TMNS: He can keep a secret. This is why I'm not worried about him knowing that I'm also Spidey.

BITC: I get why you couldn't tell me the truth about Flash. It definitely wasn't your secret to tell.

TMNS: Exactly.

BITC: But you could have told me about you. This is kind of something you tell your best friend, but you didn't tell me. All the others knew, but I didn't. I just feel like, over the last year, we've been drifting apart.

TMNS: We haven't been.

BITC: You didn't tell me you were bisexual. That feels like a sign that we're not as close as we used to be. If I suddenly realized I thought boys were cute in that way, I would definitely tell you.

TMNS: Would it make you feel better to know I didn't actually tell MJ and Afia? They just kind of figured it out.

BITC: No. That makes it worse. I should've seen it.

TMNS: I wasn't ready yet for you to see it. I'm still not entirely ready, but I can't hide things from you.

BITC: Yet you did. How exactly did Flash find out before me? Or did he just know? Is the radar thing actually a thing?

TMNS: We may have kissed at the Fitzsimmons wedding last year after Spidey saved him. Although he didn't know it was me until Friday.

TMNS: I think you were watching Quake and Agent America beat up watchdog members.

TMNS: That kiss was kind of how I figured things out. But it took me a few months to reconcile that because the bisexual label alone really didn't represent me. MJ got me a book which made me realize there were more options. I consider myself now demisexual with no gender preference.

BITC: That explains that other book on the on a reading list.

XXXX

"You kissed Flash? A year ago at the wedding?" Ned screamed from the front of the vehicle. Obviously, Peter made a mistake telling him that.

"Yes," Peter acknowledged reluctantly.

"Why the fuck did you not tell me? Seriously? How did I miss that at the wedding?" Peter could tell Ned was upset.

"Really, did you have to tell him that now?" Flash asked, annoyed. "We have at least two more hours together."

"This stuff could've waited until we tell him about everything happening in the Beta timeline. I don't need you guys yelling at each other about this." Afia said just as Simmons pulled into the underground parking lot of the building.

"I didn't tell you what I figured out about myself because some of it was nearly impossible to explain without telling you about Flash's involvement. It was also a little bit hard to do since we're barely able to see each other outside of school now. This is not a phone conversation." Peter explained.

"Agreed."

"I'm definitely not ready for most of Midtown to know about me. I definitely don't want to have this conversation. Can we have this conversation later? Like possibly after we no longer have to worry about the purple one?" Flash sighed.

"Half of the school does know about you. At least, according to Cecilie." Ned added.

"No, half of the school thinks they know what's going on. But I haven't confirmed it. Honestly, I'm not planning to until at least the 10-year reunion when I show up with my super hot husband."

"Which hopefully will be Peter. But we won't actually need that. Half of us know you're gay. We're just being really polite and waiting for you to tell us. I figured it out after that dance where you didn't even try to kiss me when we were alone." Peter forgot that Cindy was one of Flash's former beards.

"I'm sorry I used you as my beard, and I owe you chocolates." Flash apologized.

"You really do," Cindy said with a half-smile. "My money is on upside down kissing Peter in his costume in the rain and the whole thing ending up on Twitter."

"Instagram," MJ added. "I may be the one taking the picture."

"I'm thinking YouTube. There probably will be video. Lots of videos. Although please don't follow my father's footsteps and end up with a sex tape. I'm really, really tired of screenshots of that ending up taped to my locker." Afia joked.

"What is wrong with your school?" Dr. Fitzsimmons asked from the driver's seat.

"We still have homophobic assholes. Which is again why I didn't want you to know about me." Flash acknowledged.

"I really wasn't ready to tell other people outside of the bubble. I was planning to add you to the bubble, just not until I had a boyfriend," Peter explained.

"Considering Flash is the potential boyfriend, I think it would've been better to do it in two phases." Peter felt it was in his best interest not to say that he wasn't quite in the boyfriend place with Flash yet, but he also didn't want to deny out loud it was a possibility. Because obviously, it was at this point.

"I'm not going to tell people." Flash scoffed at Ned's words.

"Peter and I have a right to be wary. How many things about Afia ended up all over Twitter because of you? You're the reason why people figured out that MJ is related to Daisy."

"I've apologized many times for dating Betty. It was a bad judgment call on my part, and I'm sorry. But I hadn't told her anything since the incident last spring. I think that should show you that you can trust me." Ned argued.

"We can all acknowledge that mistakes were made in the past. Ned is working on that." Afia said, defending Ned.

"I have been. I even deleted my main Twitter account after the wedding video incident."

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be taking you upstairs for a more top-secret briefing than what the president got," Afia tells the group.

"If her father didn't trust you, then I wouldn't allow her to brief you." Dr. Fitzsimmons added. "Actually, I will do the briefing to make sure you don't find out anything you shouldn't."

"What is left to tell me? We've had two alien invasions. Our secret agent guidance counselor was kidnapped by her estranged husband from another timeline. Also, apparently, there is a time travel refugee squatting in your guest room. Also, half the World disappeared. I think I know the worst parts."

"My grandson is still at the compound." Dr. Fitzsimmons answered. "Although I'm sure he'll be leaving soon. Because Nomad is incapacitated, my grandson and brother-in-law will assist Agent America on the soul stone retrieval mission."

"Okay, what could you possibly have to tell me that is worse than that?" Ned asked.

"You're really going to regret saying that," Afia said as they exited the car.

To be continued…

This A/N contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Read below at your own peril.

You're probably asking yourself why did sacred timeline Flash write a Spider-Man's best friend tell-all (that was essentially RPF fanfiction) when Gamma timeline Flash kept his mouth shut. The obvious answer is the writer's prerogative.

However, I think it all relates to the fact that Flash is a very lonely person. He'll do whatever he needs to get attention, whether positive or negative. So in the sacred timeline, he writes the tell-all to get people to notice him. In the gamma timeline, he keeps his mouth shut because that's how he gets real attention and friendship. He's pragmatic.

Things are, of course, different in the two timelines. This Flash nearly died more than once due to the watchdogs attacking him because of false accusations about him being inhuman. This is another reason why he kept his mouth shut.