V
Peter froze instantly. He had been purposely avoiding anything that had to do with Stark Industries. It made sense that Harley would get the R&D part of the company to himself now that Peter wasn't there to do his part. It still hurt like hell though.
“Everything ok, kid?” Matt called from the kitchen.
“Yeah,” Peter said hesitantly. Matt came out of the kitchen and gave him a look that said ‘I can tell that answer is bullshit, try again’
“Is this Harley kid like a dick or something?”
“No, he’s actually really nice. We used to text a lot, but I only met him a couple times since he lives in Tennessee”
“What’s your issue with him then?”
“The issue isn’t him. It’s me. Harley and I were supposed to share the R&D department and Morgan got the rest of the company, as well as part of R&D, when she’s old enough. It hurts to know that they never needed me there I guess.”
“Didn’t you tell me that Tony only brought you in because you were Spiderman until you geeked out over the suit, and he realized that you were a super genius like him, so that’s what you bonded over?”
“…yeah,” Peter said sheepishly.
“So you deserved your spot there not only because Tony cared about you, but also because you were smart enough to keep up with him.”
“I guess.”
“Kid, you are clearly very smart. I bet if you reached out to Harley he would see it too. As Spiderman or Peter Parker. Maybe he would bring you back to the lab with him if he understood what was going on?”
“I do miss the lab, but how would I explain my whole situation to him without it sounding like I want to take advantage of him?”
“Don’t you still have your old StarkTech suits?”
“You’re a genius!”
Peter started to head over to the corner of the living room where he was currently keeping his stuff while they cleared out the gym for him. Before he got too far though, Foggy called out from the kitchen to tell them dinner was ready.
Peter quickly learned that Foggy was amazing at cooking everything, not just chicken alfredo. They were eating the best pulled pork that Peter had ever tasted.
“Foggy, this is amazing, thank you for letting me have dinner with you guys.”
“No problem kid, I’m good at cooking because my mom wanted me to be a butcher.”
“No, Foggy please, not the butcher story again,” Matt pleaded.
Peter raised an eyebrow at this but decided he’d pry that story out of Foggy at a later date. The rest of dinner went by quickly, filled with stories from Matt and Foggy's adventures in college.
When the sun went down though, it was time for business. Matt got his suit out of the old box where he kept it, and Peter grabbed his own out of his bag and threw it on in the bathroom.
They both went out the roof access door, and split up from there. Matt, to go beat the shit out of criminals. Peter, to track down Harley Keener.
*
Peter was starting to lose his patience with Harley. He was never out of the tower without Happy or someone else for protection. Which was understandable, as he was now the head of R&D for a multi-billion dollar company, but still. It was annoying. He’d been following Harley for three days now, and he still hadn't managed to catch him alone.
He shouldn't be doing this. Parker luck would come back to haunt him if he reintroduced himself to Harley. He ruined everyone's lives that he got close with. Apparently it was a universal Peter Parker curse too, because his alternate selves had also lost nearly everyone before the spell. Their lives were probably ruined now too, because everyone would have forgotten them as well.
It was his fault.
If he hadn't ruined Ned and MJ’s chances of getting into MIT, or if he had called first to dispute their refusal rather than going straight to Dr. Strange, May would still be alive.
Talking to Harley would only bring pain. For all of them.
He couldn't do that to them. Not again.
Peter watched Harley as he walked out the back door of the cafe to get some air. He was alone now, it would be the perfect time to talk to him. He wanted to reconnect with Harley so badly, but then he thought about Morgan. How could he be so selfish as to reinsert himself into their lives and bring that much danger to her? He couldn't do it. Tears were saturating his mask by the time he got up and swung away. Morgan was his little sister and it was his job to protect her, even if that meant he had to make sure he stayed away from everyone he loved.
He patrolled for a long time that night.
*
“So, did you talk to Harley yet?” Foggy asked. They were in the kitchen making dinner together while Matt caught up on cases he had fallen behind on because of Daredevil. Peter shook his head. He felt like he was going to start crying again if he tried to talk about it. Foggy seemed to get this and just continued on peeling potatoes.
Telling someone was probably a good idea though. Isn't that what all the therapists on TV shows say? He needed to tell them anyway so they wouldn't think he was incompetent at finding people. He had to stay useful so they wouldn't get annoyed by him. If they thought he was useful, they would let him stay longer. That was why he was staying, wasn't it? Matt couldn't have his backup be starving because that would get him hurt.
“I'm not going to talk to Harley,” he said to Foggy, once talking no longer made him feel like bawling his eyes out.
“What? Why not?”
“It's safer for all of them, especially Morgan, if I'm not near them.”
“What do you mean? You clearly care about them, It's not like you're going to hurt them.”
“Not on purpose, but bad things always happen to people I care about. Good old Parker luck. I can't stay with you guys much longer either, It's too risky.”
He could see Foggy’s face fall.
“Kid, a lot of bad things happened to you. But it is not your fault ok? Other people's decisions are not your fault. You can only take blame for what you do, and you save people. You're a hero. Stark saw that, your aunt saw that, and your friends saw that. You sacrificed all of your relationships to save the multiverse. That is insanely courageous kid. Being near them doesn't endanger them, or us for that matter. It makes them safer. You don't cause pain, you just try to help. Please talk to Harley. They can probably feel something is missing, don't let it stay that way.”
“I can't Foggy, they can't get hurt because of me.”
Foggy looked like he wanted to grab him by the shoulders to shake some sense into him, but he stayed where he was.
“Peter, It's not your fault. You did what you could to save as many people as you could. You are allowed to have people you care about who also care about you.”
Peter didn't respond to this immediately. He turned over Foggy's words in his head, thinking about everyone he’d lost. Foggy’s little speech had made him remember how much he had gained as well. Harley, Morgan, Mrs. Potts, MJ, Ned, Happy, and even Dr. Strange. And now Matt, Foggy, Jessica, Luke, Danny, and Claire.
“You're right, I need to talk to him. But I don't know how. I feel so guilty for trying to get back into their lives.”
“Most of them didn't get the chance to say goodbye to you. At the very least, you need to go explain to them what happened.”
Peter nodded. Dinner was nearly ready, so they dropped the topic. Both of them knew Matt had heard them, but Matt didn't bring it up. Peter was grateful for that.
He headed out that night to talk to Harley Keener. For real this time.
He was going to do what he should have done in the first place, and climb Stark Tower.
*
He perched on one of the buildings adjacent to Stark Tower and looked up at it. Tony had never actually sold it, claiming that he needed to be closer to Peter rather than two hours away at the compound. Peter had appreciated that, and they had bonded in the weeks after the Vulture attack. He’d been wary of Tony at first, afraid that he would take his suit away again. But once he had healed, and the scars stopped aching all the time, he settled in and they spent almost every afternoon in the lab together after Peter got out of school. He missed those days. Patrol was fun, Ned would build Star Wars Legos with him, MJ would draw in her crisis journal.
Yeah, those were the days. And he hadn't even realized that that was probably the happiest time in his life. Now, Ned and MJ were better off without him. Going to talk to Harley was one thing. Harley could protect himself, as he was nearly a superhero too. Before Peter had blipped away, Tony had talked to him about making Harley an Iron Man suit of his own, dubbed Iron Lad. After the final battle when Tony had sacrificed himself, he’d gone to the lab with Harley to remember him. They hadn’t interacted too much before the blip, as Harley lived states away, but they got along pretty well. Harley had also blipped, so he was still only a year older than Peter, and they still shared this bond. While they were down there, they’d discovered that Tony had been very busy while they were dead.
There were dozens of designs for Spiderman suits and Iron Lad armor. Tony had even built a few new suits for each of them, without being sure he’d ever see them again. Peter had started to train Harley in the wake of Tony’s loss, since both of them needed the other to remind themselves of him. They’d become quite close, but Harley still had a long way to go before he was combat ready. Still, he was more protected than Ned and MJ, so he felt better going to him than going to them, even though they were the people he loved most in the world. He could not, would not, endanger them.
Shaking off the memories, he started the climb up the tower.
He wasn't afraid of heights, but by the time he reached the top of the tower, he really didn't want to look down. A fall from this height would kill even someone like him. Friday's sensors had definitely been tripped by him climbing up here, but he was sure what to expect when he crested the top of the tower. He paused just below the ledge to listen for what was up there like Matt had taught him. Just one heartbeat, but it was muffled like Tonys used to be when he wore the Iron Man suit. Only Harley was up here then. That was good. Stealing his remaining courage, he lifted himself over the last ledge and came face to face with his (former) friend.
“Hi,” he managed to get out, then almost facepalmed at how awkward he sounded.
“What are you doing here, Spider-Man? What do you want from me?”
Harley sounded standoffish, and Peter couldn't blame him for that, but underneath that he also sounded afraid. Spider-Man was known to be an enhanced threat, and nobody knew his identity. Against Spider-Man Harley didn't stand a chance, even with his fancy suit, and they were both aware of it. He put up his hands in the universal gesture for ‘I'm not trying to hurt you’.
“I don't want anything from you, I just need to tell you some things. When I’m done, if you want me to leave, I won’t bother you again unless you reach out to me, ok? I just-uh, just needed to talk to you.”
“You can say your piece up here,” Harley said, but he sounded a little less defensive and a little less scared. Peter saw this as a good sign and decided to plow on with his story, explaining everything from Germany, the Vulture, going to space, the battle, spending time with Morgan, and finally his aunt's death and the Green Goblin. Harley listened throughout it all, occasionally piping in with a clarifying question, but mostly staying silent. By the end, Peter was crying under his mask and Harley looked like he’d been hit by a truck.
They sat in silence for a little while while Harley wrapped his head around it.
“Morgan knew,” Harley said suddenly.
Peter's head whipped up. “She remembers me? That's impossible. Dr. Strange wiped everyone's memory of me.”
Harley shook his head. “No, she doesn't remember you or your name but she remembers having another brother. If what you're saying is true, I think her brain just replaced you in her memories with me. It confused me and Pepper because she remembered spending time with me but I didn't remember any of what she was saying, and most of the memories were from during the school year when I would have been in Tennessee and unable to be here. This actually explains a lot about her.”
Peter was completely sobbing now, but he managed to get another sentence out.
“My name is Peter Parker. Look me up, you won't find anything that's not from the last couple months.” After a few moments of hesitation, he took off his mask as well. Harley looked taken aback at this action. “Have Friday run my face through everything too, she's not going to find much though,” he added.
Once he knew Friday had his facial scan, he pulled his mask back on.
“I know you need to think about what I told you so I’ll leave you alone. If you want to talk to me, go to Nelson, Murdock, & Page. I’m there most days.”
And with that, he shot over the side of the building, throwing out a web once he got far enough down to be near the other buildings. He felt good, happy that he had at least attempted to reconnect with someone. Foggy would be proud of him.