Flash looked down at the GPS on his cracked and battered phone. It was a small miracle it even worked, the poor thing had went through hell with him and he just couldn't make himself get a new one. Every scratch held a memory, the spiderweb cracks on the screen a reminder of what he's been through.

He never would have thought he would end up becoming sentimental, over a phone of all things, but every time he stared into the webs crisscrossing the screen he felt better about himself. Just because it was damaged and distressed didn't mean that it was broken, it may run a bit slower and needed a restart more than it use to, but it still managed to get the job done.

Just like himself..

Today was a better day for the old IPhone, it hadn't shut down once and now the little beacon was showing him that he was almost there. Just two streets away and he would finally reach his destination. Hopefully it would be well worth the nearly two hour walk from his shitty motel room in Hells Kitchen to this nice little street in Forest Hills, Queens. He probably should have hailed a cab or hopped on the train instead of hoofing it over the bridge from Manhattan, but he was still trying to get used to the feeling of his prosthetics.

He huffed out a laugh, remembering his doctors giving their useless pep talks..

You'll learn to use them well, it takes practice and patience, after time you won't even realize they're there..

Bullshit, they had not a clue in hell what it was like. They had all their limbs still attached and no degree in medicine was going to tell him everything would be fine..

He'd never get used to not having his legs there. To live with something for 31 years and then have it physically ripped away from your body... Well, that was the hardest (most terrifying) thing he'd ever had to face.

He had came back to the States strapped down to a med-bed in the back of a military plane nearly two years ago, suffering from severe PTSD, near fatal head trauma and missing his legs from the knees down. There was a four inch long scar cutting across his left cheek and a painful one that went from the center of his forehead all the way around to the back of his neck. A constant visual reminder of the Doctor's efforts to save his life.

But at least he made it back. A miracle that he was even able to talk, walk and function like a human being considering his head trauma, but he was here. Most of his brothers-in-arms would never get that chance. Out of 22 men in his unit only 3 had come home, but not completely.

He shook his head, trying to shake away the dark, depressing thoughts that plagued him endlessly these days. He didn't need that now, today was supposed to be a good day for him, a positive one. A chance for a new, brighter future. He'd only been back in New York City for about a week. His doctors had finally deemed him stable enough to get back out in the world.

The past two years he had been confined to a hospital with daily therapy sessions and rigorous rehab for his legs, recovering from the IED blast that took out most of his convoy. They wouldn't release him until he was able to walk with no assistance and showed no signs of his seizures and schizophrenia.

He cringed at himself for thinking back on those depressing days. The confinement of the hospital, the voices that he had started hearing within his head after the explosion. While they didn't make themselves known to him much any more, they were still there, even with the prescribed medications. Flash had managed to convince his Doctors that he couldn't hear them now, which was probably the only reason he was really released.

If they knew he still heard the voices, whispering their little words of doubt and self-loathing, he would never have been able to leave. He just couldn't stand it anymore.. The pressing white walls, the daily interrogations of his mental health.. Finally he just got good enough to fake it.

Enough with the depressing thoughts Flash, he told himself, the last thing you want is to give yourself a flashback in the middle of Queens.

He wanted today to be a good one. He hasn't had many of those in a long time.

Making the turn onto Exeter St. he took in the surroundings. It was a very nice neighborhood, much better than the one he had grown up in, with its peeling wallpaper and rat infested walls. That place had been a dump and held a lifetime worth of bad memories, but mostly because of his abusive asshole of a father.

This.. Well, it was more like the place Peter Parker had lived in when they were back in high school, all clean-cut and all-American. There were porches with worn rocking chairs and swings, the red white and blue of the nations flag hung proudly on more than half the houses. There were little container gardens filled with flowers and barely sprouted vegetables, and yards littered with bicycles and childrens toys.

Yea, this was a Parker style neighborhood..

Peter Parker...

Flash wondered where he was now, how he was doing. Was he still working for Oscorp or had he moved on to better beginnings after college. He thought about how shitty he was to Peter back then and sighed. Deep down, he had always been more than envious of Peter, which was probably one of the reasons he had picked on him so much. Jealousy..

He was jealous, Parker had family who loved him, friends who were devoted to him, and low and behold he always seemed to end up with the hottest girls in school.. Flash had a mother who abandoned him, a father who beat him, his friends only liked him because he would beat up anyone who bothered him and didn't even want to think about his bad luck with the ladies..

Peter Parker never had problems,(well, aside from his Uncle dying and Flash's torment) his life had been a calm stream while Flash's had been Niagara Falls.. Parker was floating the lazy river while Flash was being ripped to shreds.

He was never one to be good with showing his emotions, so he hadn't really known how to deal with his internal issues about Parker. It ended up coming out in the form of anger, which Flash had (like a dumbass) taken out on Peter.. Way to go Flash! Good way to show what a decent human you are..

It was probably for the best that Parker ended up hating his guts. He'd rather be despised by the man than apologize and explain why he was such a dick toward Peter who would likely laugh in his face at Flash's insecurity issues. So it was all probably for the best..

While he thought about Parker he realized he hadn't really kept in touch with anyone from high school. He used to see a few of his old buddies when he would come home on leave, but that was ages ago, well over ten years.. He wasn't able to get leave to attend their ten year reunion, so he really had no idea where anyone was now.

That thought made him pause.

There was really no one in his life any more. He was completely alone... His mom was long gone, deserting him before he was even ten, leaving Flash with his asshole father, who hated him so much he would beat him nearly unconscious, so going back home to him was never going to be an option.

He hadn't seen his father since his second year in the ARMY. He was on leave for Christmas and had the idea that he wanted to try and connect with his dad in someway. It backfired on him spectacularly.. The first day started out ok, they managed to actually talk without to much arguing, but the first night he was home... Harrison got so blindingly drunk that he went into a vicious rage when Flash had woken up in the middle of the night, intending to get himself something to drink.

That had been the worst beating he'd ever taken.

He was a military man, yet he couldn't fight off the lashing fists of his father, who was somehow a well respected police officer with a deep dark secret. The slurs screamed at him while Harrison was in a drunken rage had been the final straw for Flash. He ended up spending the rest of his leave holed up in a shitty room above Sister Margaret's bar until the swelling in his face had healed enough that he could see. He never came home again after that, severing every tie he had left with his dad.

For all he knew the old bastard was dead. Maybe killed in the line of duty or OD'd from alcohol.

Good riddance.

He glanced around, he really liked the look and feel of this place. It was nice, peaceful. He had been feeling sorry for himself, sitting in that shit motel scrolling through Craiglist when he had seen the ad for "Room for Rent" and it was close by. He had practically flown from the shitty motel he called home for that past week and began the long trek to what was hopefully his first potential home in more than 15 years.

The current tenants had added a few pics of the place. It had a calm and cozy look about it. Sat near the end of a shaded, tree lined Exeter St. It was bricked, three stories above ground and it appeared there was a basement below. Glancing around from his place on the corner, he could see that the West Side Tennis Club was just up the street and there was also a bus stop nearby.

The traffic was light, there were no honking horns and angry cabbies, damn he wanted to live here. The quiet was nice, soothing to his still rattled nerves. The past week in the Kitchen had been a literal nightmare. The gunshots at basically all hours of the night had left him even more sleepless and fatigued than usual. The circles under his eyes were so dark he could probably pass for a racoon.. He wanted some peace, quiet and a soft bed for once.

He wondered if the neighbors were quiet. Loud noises were not his friend, especially at night. Sometimes they set off his night terrors on the rare occasions he managed to doze off and Flash would wake up in a blind, screaming panic. He prayed that wouldn't happen here and put the owners off.

The ad was intriguing, but not overly informative. You could tell it was written by two extremely different people who more than likely couldn't agree on a post, so they compromised line by line.

Roommate Wanted, Queens, NY.

Bros b4 Hoes! Wicked bachelor pad!

It's a three bed/bath house, fully furnished, with a fully functioning kitchen, located on Exeter St.

My LOve Shack is in the basement! It sparkles, teehee 3

Parking is available and all the utilities are included in with the property.

Stay away from my parking space douchebags!

Full access to all the house amenities.

Don't fuck up my Netflix feed!

1k a month, non-negotiable. No deposit required but must pass background check.

Really, a background check when you have me living here.. What the fuck. Two words- Unalive!

That's one word idiot! You know what nevermind, if you're interested and think you can handle a new level of crazy please come by on a Saturday any time after 12…

This house is a Unicorn friendly zone. Your horns will not be violated in any nonsexujjdkhaflksgfklasglaskdhg

After that, it just ended, but Flash was intrigued enough to give it a try.

Deciding he'd been creeping long enough he started up the short front steps. There was a pretty little bed of flowers and shrubs underneath the front window that smiled up at him joyfully. A ceramic unicorn with a Wolverine action figure on its back danced in between the flowers.

His mood just kept going up.

Today is a good day, he thought.

He rang the bell and patiently waited for someone to come to the door. He laid eyes on the two cars parked out on the street.

Sweet, he thought, having himself a moment of car envy. One was a shiny red Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT with blacked out rims and windows. The headlights looked an almost erie white and the New York plates read POOLBOY. The other was a bright blue Audi TT Roadster convertible (damn) with shiny red trimmed rims and those same erie headlights. You could tell they were customized cars..

I wonder if these people can adopt me, he thought with some humor.

Damn he wanted to drive that Audi, it was one sweet ride and he hadn't been behind the wheel in almost three years.

Hearing movement behind him he turned around and put on his brightest smile to greet the tenants of this place. The smile was short lived though, because as soon as the door opened he was greeted with the wide, frightened eyes of none other than Peter Parker himself. The person he had tormented and beaten on throughout his childhood. Standing in the doorway with his hair a fluffed up mess and a pair of Iron Man pj's on.

They both stood frozen in place, neither daring to move. His good mood was suddenly plummeted. There was no way in hell Parker would ever let someone like Flash Thompson into his home. His smile completely left his face and a sick feeling started churning in his gut. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes so high.

"Hey Pete." he said brokenly. "Been a long time."

His voice seemed to break Peter out of his frozen trance because he jumped back, made a shrill whining sound and screamed "What the Shit!!" then slammed the door right in Flash's face.

Well hell, I guess I'm gonna be another homeless Vet living on the streets, Flash thought.

He turned and slowly made his way down the steps, thinking about taking the train back into the city. The stumps of his legs were starting to ache, he'd been standing on them to long and the plastic of the prosthetics was rubbing against his sensitive skin. He rubbed at his tired, bloodshot eyes, which had gotten a bit teary at having his hopes for a home practically stomped on before he could even blink.

Turning, he made it halfway down the street when he heard a door open up behind him and Peter jolted down the steps.

"Flash! Wait! Come back. I'm so sorry I did that. I guess I was just shocked to see you at my door." Pete came jogging out to stand with him.

"Eh, s'okay Pete. I'd have done the same thing if I were you. Not everyday you see the dickhead who used to beat up on you all the time smiling like a crazy man at your front door.."

Peter huffed out a laugh, scratching the back of his hair, "Heh! Trust me, I know crazy and you're far from it." Peter looked back at the house, giving the front window the stink eye,

"So...Why are you here? Are you here about the room?" Pete asked.

"I was, but... It's ok.. I.. I'll just..You can just pretend I was never here. I promise I won't come back again." Flash took a few steps back, raising his hands like a peace offering. "S' nice to see you Pete.. I'm sorry I bothered you.. And for everything else too.." he said, voice cracking, turning to leave. "Sorry..."

"Wait, Flash." Peter moved to grab his arm, "Do you want to come in and at least look at it, your honestly the first person who's even came to check it out. You should at least come in." Pete gestured at the door.

Flashed stopped moving, "...Would you really let me?"

Peter smiled warmly, "Yes, I would. Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted a few minutes ago but I was just kinda shocked. But that's no reason for me to be so rude. I swear I'm not usually like that. And I am sorry.. I'd really like it if you came in for a bit. Please."

Pete was giving him those sad puppy dog eyes, the ones he used in school to weasel out of trouble with the teachers. They even looked a little watery.

"Alright, if you're sure.." Flash said. A small spark of hope igniting back up.

"Absolutely. I think you will love this place. Come on, I'll give you a tour."

He followed. Prepared to go on your average home buyers tour.

He sure as hell wasn't expecting the chaos that was waiting for him inside.