"Dad, I'm home!" you called out, stepping in through the front door of Stark Tower.
"Hey-" Tony Stark, your dad, started.
"And Flash is too!" you shouted, and he stepped in right behind you, hand holding yours.
Tony stepped towards the door, his smile faltering and his hand dropping. "Oh-h."
Flash smirked, but seeing the reaction on his girlfriend's dad's face made him a little uneasy. He thought that Mr. Stark had liked him. They had gotten along well enough when they went out to dinner with you and Pepper just a few weeks ago.
"H-Hey, sir," he greeted.
Pepper came in, smiling sweetly. "Oh, hello, Flash! How great to see you. Isn't it great to see him, Tony?" She touched Tony's back as she passed by, prompting him to agree.
"Oh yes, yes," he said. He was lying through his teeth. "Yes, it's great."
"Flash and I were going to study in the kitchen," you told him, helping Flash out of his coat.
"Sounds great." His smile was visibly forced.
You nodded. "We have midterms this week, so-"
"So I am going to be elsewhere," Tony said, stepping back. It wasn't that he didn't like Flash, it was just that looking at him reminded him that it wasn't his job to protect his little girl anymore. "So you kids can have time alone or whatever-"
"Plus you have a visitor coming," Pepper chimed from the sofa.
Tony nodded. "That is right, we have company coming!"
"We do?" you asked, tilting your head. "Who?"
"Peter," Tony said. "For, you know, Stark internship things."
You blanched, Flash snapped his head around to look at you, and your jaw dropped.
"Peter?" you both shouted at the same time.
Tony nodded, eyeing you and Flash as he leaned in and whispered something to you. You shook your head and hissed back, face red. He gestured to you and Flash.
"I'm sorry, is there some problem here? Am I about to get myself mixed into a bunch of teenage drama? Because please keep me out of it."
You looked away from Flash, your eyes sad. "Peter doesn't know that I'm dating Flash, and I don't think he'll take it well." You pulled your hand from Flash's and crossed your arms. "So, uh, we'll just study another time, Flash."
He froze. "What?"
Tony nodded. "Great, so I'll see you another time. Goodnight, Flash - have a safe trip home," he sang, turning around and walking to the couch next to Pepper.
You swallowed. "If Peter is coming over-"
"Who cares! Screw Peter!" he shouted, but seeing the hurt that filled your eyes, he calmed down. "I-I'm sorry. I just mean- I know he's your best friend. But he's so protective over you that it's gross."
"He cares about me," you said softly, "and I'm afraid that if he sees you and I together, he won't anymore." There were tears in your eyes.
Flash's face fell. "Are you... are you embarrassed of me?" he asked, voice broken.
"No," you said quickly. "No, Flash- I- you... you know how I feel about you." You avoided the word love like the plague, and Flash noticed. "But Peter is my best friend and I know he cares about me mostly for the sake of staying on my dad's good side, but... if he doesn't-" You cut yourself off, fiddling with your fingers and wringing your hands. "It's important that he wants to be my friend, you know? And you and I are sort of a package deal now."
"Really, you mean that?" he asked. "A package deal?"
You nodded. "Uh-huh. I, uh-" You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear.
Flash stepped forward, one hand on your hip, the other taking your hand from your hair. He leaned close, black curls falling in his face. His forehead brushed the top of your hairline. "Can I kiss you?" he asked softly, and before you could nod, he reminded you- "Your dad is in the next room..."
"Oh," you said, and you ducked your head. A soft laugh burst out of your lips. "Then no."
"Dang," he said, and he held your hip a little tighter. His lips were forming words when the front door opened.
"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter exclaimed.
"Oh gosh," you gasped. You looked up at Flash and broke away, panic in your eyes. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know," he hissed. "You tell me!"
"I don't want- I- I don't know! I just-"
In the midst of your panic, Flash grabbed your hand. "Hey," he said softly, "I don't care if Parker knows about us. I don't care if he takes one look at me and decides that you're not as good of a person as he thought you were, because guess what? You are amazing to me. And just because you're dating a jerk doesn't mean you're any less kind or gentle or loving. So if you want me to go, fine. I'll go, no questions asked. He'll never know about us. But this - I'm not embarrassed by-"
"Flash?"
Flash cursed under his breath. Slowly, he turned around, your hand still in his. Peter walked in the doorway, backpack slipping from his shoulder, jaw set hard.
"Hey, Parker," Flash said.
"What... are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes shifted to you, then to your hand and Flash's, joined together. He stopped. "What are you doing?"
"Flash and I are dating," you blurted. Peter blinked. "We have been for a little over a month and a half now. And... it's going really great." You looked up at Flash. "Isn't it?"
Flash looked down at you with surprised awe. Slowly, your lips curled into a smile that showed all of your teeth. He nodded and grinned back.
"Yeah," he said, eyes searching yours. "Yeah, it really is."
Peter raised a hand, then dropped it. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "How-"
"You can hate it if you want, Parker," Flash said, looking at the boy. "You can hate me. But if this makes you hate her... I don't know what to say. This isn't just a thing. I really, really love this girl. I love her. And I would do anything-"
"You love me?" you squeaked.
Flash looked back down at you. "Yes," he said. "I thought you knew that." You shook your head. "Oh. Well, you do now." He grinned again. "I love you, ___."
You smiled, even wider than before.
"I don't hate either of you," Peter said. "And ___, I'll always be your friend, even if you date the guy you swore you hated." He laughed. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."
"Oh, come on," Tony groaned from the other room.
You felt tears in your eyes. "Thanks, Pete," you said. You held out your free hand. It curled into a fist.
Peter lightly hit his knuckles against yours and smiled. He then jerked his thumb towards the living room. "I, uh, need to work. So-"
"Right," you said. You waved. "See ya."
He waved at you, and then at Flash, and there wasn't a hint of hatred in either of their brown eyes.
"Wow," Flash breathed. He looked relieved. "That was..."
"I'm glad it's over," you said.
He looked at you. "You didn't have to tell him. I would have made my monologue a lot shorter if I had known we were going to run out of time."
You laughed. "Honestly... I'm not mad. After everyrhing you said, Flash- I don't care what anybody else thinks. You love me. There aren't words to describe what that feels like." You turned towards him and reached up, your palm flattening against his cheek. "There aren't words to describe the love I feel for you." Your eyes swam with tears.
Flash was on the verge of crying himself. "You love me?" he whispered. You nodded. A grin flickered across his face and he took a deep breath, pulling your hand from his face and cradling it in his. "Say it."
"I love you, Flash Thompson-"
And he kissed you on the lips, lifting you off the ground, teary and warm, unable to care that your father was in the next room.