1.
In Peter’s defense: Harley was hot.
Like, Florida-in-the-summertime-when-the-A/C-is-broken hot. And Peter was… well, he was only human. Well-- he was half human, but that was a minor detail.
However, when he trudged into a lab after what felt like the longest Monday of his life, he was fully tapped into his human side. He’d failed his last english test essay miserably, Flash was in a mood and therefore a bigger dick than usual, and to top it all off, Peter’s head wouldn’t quiet down long enough for him to process everything. Damn it if he didn’t need a hug.
“PSA,” he called out as he stalked around the corner and into the room. “FUCK MS. BRADLEY AND HER ‘HENRY V’ ESSAY.”
“That good, huh, Pete?” his dad asked, voice carrying from where he was around another corner, in the more office-esque area of their shared lab.
“I am going to fail that class and retake senior year and-- oh.” Peter halted as he rounded the corner. Tony, it appeared, had finally perfected his video-hologram-call (the name was still in the works) invention. He also had a test subject. And his test subject was, in simple terms, hot as fuck.
Tony’s assistant was tall, Peter could tell even through a hologram. He had what looked to be blond hair (the blue tint to everything was throwing him off), longer than Peter’s for sure, the bluest eyes that had ever been known to exist on a human, and the most adorable smirk in the world.
“Kid? Pete?” his dad asked. “You okay?”
Peter nodded vaguely, gaze fixed on the hologram in front of him.
Please, don’t let me be dreaming him, he thought as he finally shook out of his stupor, only to find his new favorite hologram was staring right back at him.
“Who’s your friend, dad?” Peter asked, trying to shake himself back to normal.
“This is Harley! We’ve talked about him. Remember? The potato gun kid?”
“Oh please do not tell me that that is the only story you tell about me, old man,” the boy, Harley, groaned. He had a fucking southern accent, and Peter was almost certain he had died and went to heaven.
“I’ve told him plenty of other stories!” Tony insisted. Harley crossed his arms and pinned the older man with a look.
“Like what?”
“Like… like…” Tony flailed for another story, but Peter’s side-eye towards him ratted him out.
“I FUCKING KNEW IT. WHY. Why is that always the story you use for me?! I’m literally a genius, and you don’t use the story of Abby’s Dora watch to introduce her!” Harley yelled, pouting as his mentor laughed.
“He calls me Underoos because every time we ran across each other for months, I happened to be in pajamas. At least potato guns are cool,” Peter argued. Harley grinned.
“I like this one.”
“Oh what have I done?” Peter’s dad sighed. “Anyway. Peter Parker, Harley Keener. Harley, Peter. You’re also both queer disasters, so let’s get that over with.”
Harley immediately went delightfully crimson (with a slight blue tint, of course).
“I-- y’know what-- why-- I’m leaving,” he stuttered out, and his hologram disappeared. Peter immediately whirled on his father.
“DAAAAAAAAADDDDDD WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME POTATO BOY WAS HOT WHAT THE FUCK--”
“I mean, I didn’t think it was relevant to the story when I told it to you?” Tony asked, not entirely confused, just hopeful that things weren’t about to get awkward and messy and super-gay. Gay panicking was for anytime other than lab time.
Any sort of romantic panicking or sexual crisis, actually. Which Peter understood. He did. His dad was very very asexual and gray-romantic, so he just didn’t really get it, and therefore it didn’t make sense for them to spend lab time worrying about romance when nothing would get done since Peter would get frustrated and Tony wouldn’t know what to do about it.
“I actually can’t with you right now, I need to go have a crisis with Uncle Steve or Bucky or literally anybody who understands how fucking gay I am. Not that I don’t love you, but you get it. I-- FUCK HE’S SO HOT. SO FUCKING HOT. I’M SO GAY. UNCLE STEEEEEEVVVVEEEEEE!!!!” Peter called, already halfway down the hall, headed for his Uncle’s art studio. Tony sighed, heading to his workstation, shaking his head.
“What’s up, kiddo?” Steve asked as Peter slid into his studio, having heard his call from across the tower.
“Gay. Pretty boy. So gay. No function. Blonde. Southern. Fuck.”
“Okay. Deep breath. Try to talk in full sentences,” Steve laughed, attempting to ease his pseudo-nephew to the ground. Peter whipped out his phone, typing furiously.
“Okay. Okay so. I’ve had kind of a shitty day-- hug me,” Peter said, pausing his tapping to drag himself back up momentarily to latch onto his uncle, who let him hang on him for a minute before he was satisfied and went to the floor for real. “So I barge into the lab, as one does, to complain about my day! What kind of a son would I be if I didn’t bash my teachers with my dad?! I’m barely in the door and I’m already complaining and then I round the corner to continue the rant when I realize a few things. One is that dad got his hologram-video-call-thingy to work. Another is that he has a partner he’s testing it with. The final thing is that not only is this boy my age, he’s a greek god with a Southern accent,” Peter says, all in one breath, gasping at the end from loss of breath. Steve watched him continue tapping through his phone for a minute.
“... and now you are…?”
“Oh. I’m trying to find him on any social media so I don’t have to ask dad for his number,” Peter explained.
“That’s… probably a good idea, knowing Tony,” Steve admitted. “Do you want advice or did you just need someone who actually gets crushes on people to vent at?”
“Little of column a, little of column b.”
“Okay. Do you just want to wait for the advice thing until you’ve--”
“VICTORY. FOUND HIM!!!” Peter whooped. “Harley Keener, 17, Rose Hill, Tennessee. Instagram bio says “too gay to function. Tony Stark broke into my garage once. Hi boy from the hologram--” Peter paused, making sure he was actually reading the bio correctly. “Holy shit this boy moves fast. His pictures are so--” Peter cuts off, making a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Uncle Steve look at him, I cannot continue on like this.”
Steve leaned over, looking at the photo Peter had pulled up. It was from just the other day, and Harley was sitting up in a tree, laughing down at the camera, wearing an old MIT sweatshirt that looked oddly like one that Tony had one week and was missing the next.
“Oh wow. Last time I saw him, he was still in middle school, braces and everything,” Steve said, eyebrows raised.
“I no longer function,” Peter decided, falling back onto the floor.
“If you actually want my advice, kiddo: follow him, maybe in a day or so text him just saying hi? There’s not much to it, really.”
“Yeah but what do I do?” Peter asked from his place on the floor. Steve chuckled, going back to his pastels.
“What do you mean, what do you do? You talk to him, be no one but yourself. You’re the coolest fucking kid ever, and if he doesn’t appreciate that, he wasn’t worth it in the first place,” Steve told his nephew, glancing down to see if his advice actually resulted in signs of life from the teenager.
“I… yeah. You’re right. I just… really want this to work. Everything was so loud when I walked into the lab, but I kid you not the second I saw him, my mind went quiet for the first time in forever. Total silence.”
Peter’s uncle smiled to himself. He knew what it was like to have everything loud one second and quiet the next, all thanks to the right person.
“Sounds like he’s even more worth a shot then, huh?” he asked after a minute.
“Sigh. Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Steve. I will now go gay panic in private. And I want to see that work whenever you finish! Understood?” Peter asked, already backing out.
“You got it, kiddo,” Steve agreed without looking away.
By the time Peter had gotten back to his room, he was following Harley, and Harley was following him back. He took a deep breath, and clicked “message”.
-----------
Just Peter -> Potatooooo
Just Peter: hey :)
Potatooooo: well hey, there, darlin’
Just Peter: we never officially met. I’m Peter. Tony’s… son? Pseudo son? Ward? Idek orphan thingsss
Just Peter: oh god I’m so sorry you’re not used to my humor yet. I am… actually an orphan though, my parents don’t suck.
Potatooooo: I’m sure I’ll get used to it just fine. And I’m Harley. The mechanic is my mentor. And I’m sorry about your parents <3
Just Peter: It’s okay, was a long time ago. My tragic backstory can wait a while, though. Tell me about you?
Potatooooo: give me your number and I will absolutely tell you everything ;)
Just Peter: skfdhjsfkj here [peter’s number]
Potatooooo: your wish is my command, pretty boy. I’ll see you in the texts
-----------
2.
-----------
Pretty boy😉 -> Yeehaw Boy
Pretty boy😉: hey. can you call me?
Yeehaw Boy: You okay?
Pretty boy😉: idk. Also i can't promise i’m going to talk back much. it’s been a really shitty day. mind telling me a story or something?
Yeehaw Boy: Yeah, I gotcha
Pretty boy😉: thank you
Yeehaw Boy: 👍
---------
Peter answered on the first ring, nearly sighing in relief.
“Hey, Pete. I know you don’t wanna talk about it, at least not yet, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry your day was shitty,” Harley said. Peter hummed, smiling a little at the accent that slowed down the southern boy’s words to a syrupy pace. “Anyway. I’m almost out of stories to tell you, we’ve traded so many recently. So I’m gonna read to you. That okay?”
“Yeah,” Peter whispered.
“Okay. ‘m gonna read the 12 Dancing Princesses. And probably a few fairytales to be honest. First book I could find that wasn’t one of my fantasy novels that the old man doesn’t approve of,”
“Fantasy’s good too,” Peter mumbled.
“Alright, darlin’. I’ll keep it in mind for after this story. I’m too invested in reading this one now,” Harley chuckled. Peter let out a snort of air and settled into his bed to half-listen.
He really had had a shitty week if he was being honest. Today was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Flash’s new favorite thing was calling him by his deadname loudly and in front of anyone who didn’t know him, so they would address him by that name should they ever talk to him. But today he decided to write a few choice slurs on Peter’s locker. It was barely in eyesight when Peter’s spider-sight caught it, along with Flash close by to observe his handiwork. He had turned right around and walked to his first period, dragging Ned and MJ with him.
Of course, at some point they did have to go to their lockers, and as soon as his friends saw his lockers, it was all Peter could do to not shatter right there in the hallway. Suddenly, everything was too loud, every accidental brush was too much. He spent most of the rest of his day in the nurse’s office. He wasn’t stupid enough to hope that his friends hadn’t gone to Morita, of course. He just couldn’t deal with the rest of his day, so he came home and demanded cuddles from the first person he came across. He really owed Clint one.
Plus, another downside of all of this: Peter wanted to tell Harley what was wrong. Which sounds like the opposite of a downside until you realize that Peter wasn’t out to him yet. He didn’t think Harley would react badly, he just hated coming out. He still wasn’t out to almost any of the Avengers. Besides his dad, of course. But Harley didn’t have a clue. And eventually, especially if Peter wanted an actual relationship out of this thing, possibly, he was going to have to bring it up.
Peter’s thoughts were still swirling around in his head when Harley’s story came to an end. He didn’t even notice when Harley launched right into Rumplestiltskin. At the end of that story, Harley finally called for his attention.
“...you hear me? Peter? You still there?” Harley asked.
“Oh. Hey. Yeah, I’m still here. Just lost in thought, I guess…” Peter sighed.
“You wanna spill, pretty boy?”
“Um…”
“You don’t have to!” Harley said quickly. “I’m not in the business of making people do shit they don’t want to do. I just wanna let you know I’ve got my ears open if you wanted to collect your thoughts and talk about it,” he offered gently.
“I-- yeah. Just give me a few?” Peter asked.
“Take your time, darlin’. I’ve got nothing but time.” Peter could almost picture Harley settling back to wait.
It took Peter more time than he meant to take to figure out what he wanted to say, and once he realized he should probably talk, he realized it was so fucking stupid to plan what to say because he didn’t need to be rehearsed. This wasn’t his audition for “Trans Boy #1” in the school play. This was his life and it probably wasn’t a bad idea to get comfortable saying he was trans.
“So… okay. You still there?” Peter asked.
“You’ve still got my attention, Pete,” Harley reassured.
“So, it’s just been kind of a shitty week. There’s this kid in my classes who’s a total alt-right dickwad and loves to fuck with my friends and I because we’re not all straight white cis guys or whatever. But he’s always paid special attention to me, and this week he just went all in, and it was just… it was hard.”
“I’ve dealt with my fair share of bullies, I know how you feel. D’you know why he pays you all that extra attention?”
“I.. yeah, I’m pretty sure I do.”
“Care to share with the class, if you’re comfortable?”
“I’m just… I’m trans, and Flash found out somehow and now just goes around telling people my deadname and shit. I wanted to tell you sooner but I’ve barely told anyone and I just--”
“Peter,” Harley said, voice suddenly serious. “Don’t apologize to me for taking things at your own pace. I’m not entitled to all that information. I’m glad you told me, that’ll make things less awkward at some point in the future, I’m sure. But you don’t need to worry about me outing you or whatever. I’m a gay man in Tennessee. I know a thing or two about being outed.”
“Oh, god, Harls. I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine that.”
“Well. You don’t have to. It’s kinda like what’s already happening to you,” Harley said quietly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
The two boys sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the comfortable silence of their companionship.
“I should probably head to bed soon,” Harley yawned. “I’m tired, and I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
“Yeah. Got a question for you first. Well. Kinda.”
“Shoot, city boy.”
“Would you maybe wanna… go out sometime? We could set up a virtual movie date and make popcorn and have fun with it. I don’t usually ask people out but when you’re around… things are so quiet. My head isn’t so loud anymore. It feels right… to ask you, I mean.”
“Of course, darlin’. I’d love to sit and watch a movie with you. Rather it be with you than anyone here in this little old town.”
Peter couldn’t stop his smile as it overtook his face.
“Awesome. We can figure out a date soon, then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Sweet dreams, pretty boy.”
“Sleep well, Harls,” Peter said, ending the call. He sighed, flopping back onto his bed. A crush on his dad’s original mentee? Oh, he was going to get so much shit for this.
3.
It only took, what, more than 2 whole weeks for Harley and Peter to find a day that worked for both of them, because Peter had “projects” (see: patrol) when Harley tended to be free, and Harley was always working whenever Peter wasn’t. Peter was going slowly crazy. But finally, finally, finally, they were both free one Saturday night. Well, Harley was free, and Peter decided to just do an afternoon patrol instead so that he could make it work.
They agreed to start their date around 6:30, and Peter all but threw himself through his window at 6:28, ripping his mask off and retracting his suit, racing around to tame his mask-hair put on something besides the same shirt he’d been wearing since he changed Friday morning for school.
He called Harley at 6:32, out of breath and panting. Harley’s face popped up on the screen a half-second later, already grinning and god, Peter had forgotten how gorgeous he was. The pair hadn’t facetimed at all since the first time they’d met via Tony’s hologram-thing, so Peter’s pining was reserved for Instagram only.
“Hey, darlin’. How’s it going? You’re two minutes late, I was beginning to think that you’d forgotten me,” Harley teased, winking. Peter blushed, not that Harley could tell with how red he was with lack of breath.
“How could I forget you?” Peter smirked, still a little out of breath.
“You doin’ alright over there? You’re doing a great impression of a stop sign right now, gorgeous. Did I get you that flustered already?”
“No! Not at all, I just woke up from a nap and had to rush to get ready, that’s all. Figured I’d put on a t-shirt that isn’t two days old and try to tame my hair for you,” Peter said, thankfully slowly returning to his normal color.
“Awww all for me? I’m honored.”
“Shut up,” Peter laughed. “What movie are you thinking? If you still wanna do that, anyway?”
“I’m up for it. I don’t have a preference on movies, really. What do you want to watch?”
“Fuck. Don’t be a gentleman. I can’t choose and I’ve seen like every movie ever. What’s something you’ve never seen but want to?”
“Uhh…” Harley considered. “Mulan?”
“YOU’VE NEVER SEEN MULAN?!” Peter screeched, completely shocked.
“Nope. Never watched it. Haven’t seen most Disney movies, honestly. Abby never really went through that phase and neither did I. I grew up on Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell and shit like that. Disney wasn’t really a big thing besides the obvious Lion King and Wall-E and Lilo and Stitch.”
“Well it’s settled. We’re watching Mulan. Let me cue it up and then screen share with you,” Peter said, getting a concentrated look on his face as he started up the movie, sharing the screen moments later so he and Harley could watch it together.
However, by the time Mulan had met Mushu, Peter was asleep on his stomach, head drooped a little from where he’d been watching the movie previously in that position. Harley didn’t notice for a little while, but when he did, he just smiled to himself and continued to watch the movie.
The younger of the two didn’t wake up until almost the very end, eyes opening quickly and inhaling sharply. He noticed Harley seeing his sudden and slightly unpleasant wakeup call with a small frown, but he didn’t say anything about Peter sleeping at all until the credits were officially rolling.
“Did you sleep well, pretty boy?”
Not really. When did he ever? Although for whatever reason, it was admittedly better than usual. But Harley didn’t know that yet. This was just the first date. His terrible sleeping could wait until at least date #3, he thought.
“Yeah, I slept fine. Y’know that feeling that you’re falling, though? Not a fun wake up call.”
“Yikes,” Harley winced. “Yeah, not a fan of that feeling.”
“Me either. I always used to wake up like that. Not as often now, but it’s still shitty. But anyway. I must know: what did you think of Mulan?”
“Oh my god how have I gone that long without seeing it?! The music, the characters, and did I mention the fucking music?!” Harley said excitedly, bouncing up and talking about all of his favorite parts, and at some point Peter joined in, and it led into a very long conversation that started at movies and ended somewhere in the realm of what the weirdest food they’d ever tried was. Peter thinks he caught the conversation derailing around the time that they were talking about ‘Ratatouille’.
It was 11:30 when Harley finally yawned, and midnight before he finally gave into Peter’s request for him to get some sleep.
“I’ve had a nap, but I’m gonna get some more rest soon, I promise. I’ve gotta drag dad up to bed, or Bruce might kill me in the morning.”
“Well, we can’t have that. Let the mechanic and Bruce know I say hi, will ya?” Harley asked.
“I will for sure. Get some sleep, okay?”
“You, too. Talk to you tomorrow, hopefully.”
“For sure. Goodnight.”
“Night, darlin’,” Harley yawned, and Peter closed his computer, effectively ending the call.
“FRI, is dad in the lab?” Peter asked after a second.
“Yes, boss is in the lab. Should I deliver a message?”
“Nah, I’ll get him myself. Thanks, though.”
“Of course.”
Peter found himself in the lab not 2 minutes later, calling for his dad to finish up because it was past midnight. Was he actually the parent?
“Oooohhh. Someone had a date tonight, right? How was that?” his dad asked as he walked in.
“Fine. More than fine. It was great, actually. We watched Mulan, and I actually had a kind-of-nightmare and woke up a little fast. But after that, we talked for like 3 hours. Why was I not introduced to him before, exactly?”
“I mean, to be perfectly honest with you, kid, Harley and I are close, but not like you and I. I only talk to him every few weeks, and that’s if I’m lucky. I’m hoping the new hologram thing will help with that.”
“Speaking of that, I’m kicking you out at some point next week so we can use that instead of boring old facetime,” Peter smirked. Tony pretended to be annoyed.
“Now hey, this was my project! You make your own one of these and use it all you want!”
“Give me like 2 weeks, a few wires, and some metal,” Peter said, and yawned fiercely. “I came down to deliver you to Bruce before I head to bed. Well. Okay, I’m kind of assuming I’m delivering you to Bruce because he’s asleep in your room?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of on his terms. He sleeps in my room as an invitation to cuddle or whatever, just depending on if he’s cool with touch at the time. If I’m not feeling it that night, my bed is more than big enough for us to have our own space.”
“Y’all are damn cute QPPs.”
“Shut up,” his dad said, grinning as they walked into the elevator.
“Juuuusssttt platonic, hmmm?”
“Yes, Peter. Just platonic.”
“You’d tell me if that changed… right?”
“Of course. Would I be opposed if they changed? Not with Bruce. But it’s entirely up to him at this point. If he wanted things to change, we would work it out. And you’d be the first to know.”
“So what I’m hearing is ‘subtly ask Bruce if he likes you and drop hints’?” Peter asked, a yawn punctuating his sentence.
“No, not quite. What you’re hearing is: do I like him? Kind of. Am I sure about it yet? No. I don’t wanna do the whole ‘will-they-won’t-they’ bullshit, either. Patience, young spider. It’ll happen if it’s supposed to.”
Peter could feel sleep tugging at him as he walked down the hall with his dad. They paused at his door, and Tony pulled him into a hug.
“Don’t think I forgot about the nightmare thing, we’ll come back to it,” he murmured. “But for now, get some sleep, bambino. Love you.”
“Love you, too, dad,” Peter said, slipping into his room and falling into bed, sending Harley a final goodnight text before passing out.
4.
Peter shot up from a nightmare to Post Malone’s ‘Sunflower’, his ringtone for Harley. His tear-stained face and quiet crying was all that was leftover from one of his usual nightmares: being in the accident with May, but he survived. He looked over at his phone.
Harls is FaceTiming you…
Shit. Peter hadn’t meant to fall asleep, he’d actually been trying to read for Anatomy class, said book on his floor from where he’d dropped it when he dozed. He aimed his phone at his ceiling, sniffed a little, and answered his boyfriend’s call.
“Hey, pretty boy,” Harley’s smiling face filled his screen. “Where are you?”
“I’m here,” Peter said, hating how choked he still sounded.
“Well that’s the first step. Can I see your face? Pretty please?” Harley pouted, batting his lashes.
“In a few minutes…”
“Peter,” Harley was suddenly serious. “Are you okay? You sound… off, I guess. Can I please see your face? You’re kinda worrying me, darlin’.”
Peter sighed, propping his phone up and running a hand through his hair.
“The prince asked and so he shall receive,” Peter sighed with a smile that even he could see didn’t quite reach his eyes. Harley’s smile, in turn, dropped.
“What the hell?! Are you okay?”
“‘m fine. I was having a nightmare, you woke me up calling me. Nothing new.”
“Oh, god. I’m sorry. Nightmares are the worst. I get them every so often and they’re just… not good. Lots of trauma, lots of nightmares.”
“Oh you’re talking to the king of trauma. I know how you feel,” Peter said, bitterness lacing his words. Harley paused, pursing his lips a little. If Peter was in the mood to feel more affected, he would have blushed, because of course Harley made a minor duck face cute.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Harley finally asked. “Your nightmare, I mean.”
“I… not tonight. Thanks, though.”
“Do you want to change the subject or tell me anything else about them?”
“I mean it’s not like this will ever be a pleasant conversation, may as well just do it while it’s a topic. Did dad ever tell you why I live with him?”
“Nah,” Harley shook his head. “Just that you needed a home and he already knew you, so you live there now. I figured it wasn’t my place to push, and he didn’t seem to feel it was his to say more.”
“Well, if you want the full scope of how I came to live here, we can start way back when I was 4…” Peter launched into his backstory, not going into too much detail for both his and Harley’s sake. Detail was for much later. He told him everything, about his parents, and then all about Ben and May, Ben’s death, and finally meeting his dad just over a year before May’s accident, and going to live with him at the Tower.
“Holy shit,” Harley said, his hand covering his mouth when Peter’s story ended. He had been attentively listening to Peter’s story, caught up in it with him, not believing how much bad luck the universe could have doled out to one boy. “Wow. So, plenty of reason for you to have nightmares. If I can ask, how often do you… get them?”
“Every night, nearly. It’s been better for the past few weeks, for sure,” Peter said, throwing a real smile at the Tennessee boy. “They were nearly gone in the weeks after May, of all times. But that was because dad and I put up a fort in the living room, and I had friends in and out and staying with us every night. It gets a lot better whenever I’m sleeping near people I love. People I care about, yknow? My own personal dreamcatchers,” Peter half-joked.
He actually did kind of believe his friends and family acted as dreamcatchers for his worst nightmares, and because of that, Steve, Bucky, Nat, Tony, and even Clint had told him that if he needed some sort of buffer between him and the bad dreams, he just needed to let FRIDAY know so whoever he asked for could migrate to his room. (Steve and Bucky pretty much always came as a pair, if only because Bucky and Peter were similar in the dreamcatcher belief, but Steve was Bucky’s one and only dreamcatcher, so sleeping in the same room with him was ideal. They traded off a lot, one of them staying up next to Peter, the other sleeping on the air mattress by his partner’s side.)
“I know what you mean. I drag my sister into my room all the time. Especially after I’ve had a bad day, or the night after I have a nightmare. Can’t be too careful, y’know,” Harley shrugs. Peter nods, and they fall into a silence that lingers somewhere between comfortable and awkward.
“If you ever get a nightmare and you just need someone who gets it… call me, okay? 11 PM or 5 AM. I don’t mind, I just don’t want you to feel alone until morning,” Peter said quietly.
“I’ll agree if you do. Not every time, of course. You get them more often than I do for sure. But if there’s a time where you don’t want to wake up anyone in the Tower, call me. We both know I can talk for hours, or we can just sit in silence. But you need it just as much as I do. Do we have a deal, darlin’?” Harley asked, obviously thinking he was being sneaky giving Peter his pleading eyes.
“Deal,” Peter said, yawning. “I hate to cut this short but--”
“No worries, Pete. We both could use the sleep. Do you wanna stay on until you fall asleep? See if it helps?”
“Yeah, if we could? And only if you promise to try to sleep first. Last person to fall asleep has to hang up,” Peter suggested, and Harley agreed. They both got comfortable, both plugging their phones in and laying down in bed, talking idly until Harley trailed off one sentence and didn’t pick it back up.
Peter went to hang up, but hesitated. Both of their phones were plugged in, what would the harm be in leaving the call running? He was 98% asleep anyway, moving would just be a setback. That basically made his decision for him, and he yawned a final time, burrowing into his pillow before falling into the most peaceful sleep he’d had in weeks.
When he woke up, it was nearly noon the next day, and Peter hadn’t moved once. He hadn’t had any nightmares, nothing. Just a peaceful night’s rest. He was amazed. The call was over, but Harley had texted him just 45 minutes ago, saying he had ended it a few minutes after he woke up.
----------
Harls -> Petey-Pie
Harls: I just hung up, I’ve gotta head to work in a few minutes. I just woke up, though. Running late LMAO. How’d you sleep? Any difference?
Petey-Pie: for sure. slept much better. watch out or i’ll make you do this everynight lmaooo
Harls: Won’t catch me complaining, darlin’. It was nice. Peaceful.
Petey-Pie: exactly. well i’ll let you get to work. text me later?
Harls: Wouldn’t skip it for the world ;)
--------
Maybe, just maybe, he’d found an okay solution to his nightmares.
5.
Peter had been doing really good about not getting injured recently. Well, injured to the point where Dr. Cho wanted to keep him for a night or two. No concussions or shotgun wounds, not even a nasty stab wound in the past few months. No bruised ribs or collapsing lungs, either. He always left for patrol hoping he wouldn’t break that streak.
Today was different, though. Peter was out around sunset for patrol when he came across a robbery, and Karen detected 22 hostages and 8 robbers, which was a larger number than you would usually find. Naturally, Peter had to drop by and see for himself.
And he did just that, dropping through a high window and onto the bank floor, where he was immediately shot at. Not a great omen.
“Peter, you’ve been shot. Contacting Boss per “Shot Through the Heart” protocol,” Karen informed him. It was probably a bad sign that Peter hadn’t even noticed the bullet, but at least he was aware of the bat heading for his head-- damn it. Make that the bat that connected with his head. “Boss and the White Wolf are 20 seconds away, they’ve also been informed of your concussion. Boss says he hopes you’re looking forward to your stay with Dr. Cho.”
“Thanks, Karen,” Peter mumbled, still trying to get through the fight in one piece. Thank god his dad came crashing through the window a second later, letting Bucky jump off his back as he neared the ground. He could only assume Bucky was the extraction team, because usually his dad could handle things just fine.
His suspicions were confirmed when his uncle made a beeline for him, and motioned for him to go ahead to where the hostages were, now unattended in the back of the building, because even though there were 8 criminals, none of them were smart enough to guard the hostages, who were now working to wriggle from their restraints. Bucky and Peter, who was getting a little lightheaded (he guessed it was from the blood loss), helped untie everyone else, and Bucky requested the bank tellers take the customers out the back way.
By this point, Peter was swaying on his feet, and Bucky seemed to realize they probably needed to get going, too. So he and Peter half walked-half jogged out back, where police and paramedics were already on the scene and helping anyone who’d left the building just minutes before.
Bucky got Peter to sit down on the ground behind the barricade with him, and there they waited for Tony to take Peter home and call a car for Bucky.
“Tony. We’re on borrowed time here. He’s not bleeding much anymore, but that means the wound is closing,” Bucky spoke into his comm.
“I’m on my way, just wrapping up,” his dad spoke, voice muffled by the comm(which happened to be in Bucky’s ear, so Peter actually was shocked he could hear as much as he could).
Peter wasn’t sure how long it was before his dad showed up, but he guessed it wasn’t as long as it felt.
“Rogers is already on the way with a car,” Tony said, scooping up the tired spider and nodding at Bucky before taking off.
The pair were nearly at the Tower when Harley’s ringtone sounded in Peter’s mask.
“Peter. Harley is calling you. Shall I decline?”
“Let it ring, Karen. But mute the ringer, please. My head hurts,” Peter mumbled, letting his eyes close. He was sure someone had told him not to do that, but it might save them the work of pumping him full of super-strong anesthesia.
When his eyes finally opened again, he was in a hospital bed, a sharp pain in his side, presumably from where Dr. Cho had already removed the bullet from his side, and his head was still eliciting a dull throb that felt like an unwanted bass in his brain.
Peter looked over to check his phone, only to find Natasha asleep in the chair next to his bed. He smiled, knowing that he totally shouldn’t take a photo of this, but reaching over to grab his phone so he could do it anyway.
“Not so fast, spiderling,” the redhead mumbled, and Peter sighed.
“Foiled again,” he smirked, and Nat smiled, gently ruffling his hair.
“You’ve been out for a few hours, kiddo. Good to see your eyes again.”
“Sorry if I worried you guys…” Peter said quietly.
“We weren’t too worried, it’s okay. I mean, sure we were concerned, but Dr. Cho did a brain scan, and she said you were just fine, just out. However, you did worry a certain someone…” Nat said, smiling fiendishly.
“I don’t like that smile. I don’t like it one bit. What have you done?” Peter asked slowly.
“Your boy called Tony about 15 times after you apparently didn’t answer the phone or call him back.”
Peter swore.
“Woah there, language,” his aunt teased, only sobering at how worried Peter looked.
“He’s going to hate me,” Peter groaned.
“Because you didn’t answer his call? Kid, I hate to break it to you, but if that’s all it takes for him to be that upset, maybe this relationship isn’t--”
“Not for that reason,” Peter took a deep breath. “I’m gonna tell him. He deserves to know. We’ve been dating for months, and I’ve never said anything, but he deserves to know before we get too much further.”
“Are you sure? Do you want to talk to Tony first? Hell, Steve or Bucky?”
“Nah, I’d rather not have the extra time to sit and worry about being dumped. Thanks, though, Aunt Nat,” Peter said, dismissal clear in his words.
“Call me back when you’re done, okay? I need to know if I need to take a,” Nat paused, feigning a cough. “Business trip tonight.”
“Oh my god, I absolutely will not. Tony would never forgive you.”
“Oh for god’s sake just let one of us know?”
“Now that I can do.”
“Be good for Dr. Cho, spiderling,” Nat said, kissing his head as she left, already hearing the dial tone for a facetime call.
Looking back about 3 seconds, Peter probably should have checked a mirror or a camera before making any sort of call where his face was involved. He looked a little bit like death, but death was the pretty sibling.
“Hey, darlin’-- what the fuck?! Tony said you were fine!” Harley’s voice was becoming very panicked very quickly.
“I’m fine, just a precaution. Breathe, Harls,” Peter said quietly, pulling over his tray to prop his phone up. “Sorry I couldn’t be any prettier today. Been kind of a crazy afternoon.”
“You’re still gorgeous, shut up,” Harley grinned. “And yeah, I could figure that part out for myself, funny enough. What happened?”
“Well, to explain that, I have yet another surprise for you. Close your eyes,” Peter requested, side-eyeing his mask on the table. He waited until Harley had closed his eyes. “No peeking!” he protested.
“I’m not!” Harley insisted, laughing.
“So I totally get it if you want to break up with me after this, but, surprise!” Peter said, pulling on his mask. “Open your eyes,” he said, voice-changing technology kicking in.
Harley did, and Peter thought his jaw was going to hit the floor.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Wish I was, babe,” Peter peeped, pulling his mask back off.
“I’m not that surprised, honestly. Well. I’m not surprised you’re Spider-Man. I’m just surprised I was right.”
“You knew?!”
“Kind of? Timelines were matching up too well. Plus, you have the same birthday as the spider-menace. Who I’ve been arguing with on Twitter. You two are just similar enough that I was curious.”
“Well damn. But I… it doesn’t bother you?”
“Of course it bothers me!” Harley exploded, laughing. “My boyfriend is a fucking crime-fighter. I’m not thrilled. But I also know that I can’t stop you. I just… I love you too much to see anything terrible happen to you. Be careful, okay?”
But Peter didn’t respond, still hung up on those three words. Harley, too, seemed to realize what he’d said, immediately scrambling.
“Holy shit, Peter, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--”
“I love you, too,” Peter said, so quietly that Harley barely caught it. But he did catch the massive smile that filled his boyfriend’s face.
“Well then,” he paused. “I’m not sorry I said it. Because I do love you. A lot.”
“I love you, too,” Peter said, all smiles.
“Even concussed and bruised, you’re still cute as hell. Why exactly am I stuck in Tennessee, where I can’t hug you? Or kiss you? Or anything?!”
“Well… spring break is coming. Mayyyybe,” Peter said, dragging out the last word. “We can talk to dad? I’d love to visit Rose Hill, or you could come to the city.”
“Yeah. Where is the old man, anyway? I thought he’d be holding a candlelight vigil by your bed by now.”
“Nah, I pass out from blood loss so much as it is--”
“You what?!” Harley shouted.
6.
“--ter, Boss says if you don’t get up, you don’t get pancakes,” FRIDAY’s voice almost sounded like it was pleading with Peter as it dragged him from sleep.
“‘M up,” Peter rasped, rolling over and grabbing at his phone. “Tell dad I’ll be out in just a minute.”
“Okay, Peter.”
The spiderling grinned at his phone, realizing he had an incoming text from his boyfriend.
-----------
Boyfrienddd <3 -> Darlin’
Boyfrienddd <3: Happy 1 year <3
Darlin’: happy anniversary, baby
Boyfrienddd <3: You have some time tonight?
Boyfrienddd <3: I miss your face :(
Darlin’: i miss yours too. wasn’t planning on patrolling tonight, i’m all yours ;)
Boyfrienddd <3: Easy, mister. We still have the whole day to get through
Darlin’: don’t remind me… apush test today
Boyfrienddd <3: You got this, Spider-Man. I love you
Darlin’: I love you too, Harls
----------
“PETERRRRR!!!” his dad called from the kitchen. It was then that Peter realized he was about to be really late if he didn’t leave… 5 minutes ago.
He could take the suit and swing to school, but he doubted that would happen.
“I’m here, I’m here! Sorry, it’s Harley’s and my anniversary, we were texting. He’s been kinda bummed that his mom said no to spring break, and I’ve been trying to cheer him up.”
“You’re a good boyfriend, kiddo. But you’re also running late now.”
“Can I just swing to school?” Peter asked, prepared to beg, even if it would waste more time.
“Y’know what? Against my better judgement, I’m going to say yes. Also, remind me later to butt into what I assume will be a phone call with Harley. I have an urge to be annoying.”
“Do you not scratch that itch every minute of the day?” Pepper asked, walking into the kitchen with a purpose, snatching a pancake, and continuing on her way.
“You can’t come into my kitchen, steal my food, and insult me!” Tony pouted as Peter laughed and high fived his aunt.
“I think she can and did,” Peter pointed out, earning a glare from his dad. “Aaand on that note, I’m out. Bye dad, by Pep! Love you!” he called, tapping his chest, suit forming around him as he swung from building to building, on his way to prison-- whoops, school. School.
After Peter and Harley’s Respective School Days
----------
Boyfrienddd <3 -> Darlin’
Boyfrienddd <3: What’s for dinner, pretty boy?
Darlin’: leftovers, of course. It’s Thursday
Boyfrienddd <3: But of course. Are you ever going to call your needy boyfriend?
Darlin’: you mean love of my life?
Darlin’: my other half?
Darlin’: the most beautiful man in existence?
Darlin’: him?
Darlin’: no.
Boyfrienddd <3: Cold. Blooded. Parker.
Darlin’: let me snarf down this cold chinese food like a heathen, and then i’ll get to see your pretty face
Darlin’: also, dad says he’s feeling “the urge to be annoying” so we may be interrupted
Boyfrienddd <3: Lord save us all.
Boyfrienddd <3: Talk to you soon
Darlin’: <3
----------
“Took you long enough!!!” Harley shouted as soon as he was sure the call had connected.
“Yes, happy anniversary to you too, love. I love you too,” Peter rolled his eyes.
“Leave me be, I’m needy and now I won’t get my Peter time in two weeks,” Harley said, and Peter could hear the sadness underneath the jesting voice.
“I know, baby. But soon. I’ll fly down there myself this summer if I have to. It just didn’t work out this time.”
“I know that. Doesn’t mean I’m less angry we couldn’t make it work.” Peter could hear Harley’s shrug perfectly in his voice.
“I know. Me, too. But let’s try a happier topic. How was your day?” Peter asked.
“It was good, I guess. We got out of class early, someone let loose fire ants in the cafeteria, so I got to go home early and work on the suit,” Harley said, excitement lacing his voice.
“That’s awesome! How’s it coming along?”
“Actually really good. For only having seen the real deal, what, 8 or 9 times, I don’t think I could be doing better.”
“That’s awesome! You know, you’re going to have to show me sometime. You can’t keep hiding it from me.”
“You’ll see it when I’m done with it. Or whenever I see you. Whatever comes first.”
“Whatever comes first, the chicken or the egg?” Peter asked, giggling.
“Are you high?” his boyfriend laughed.
“That was a tried and failed experiment already.”
“What?!”
“Nothing, nothing…”
“Please tell me you were with someone?”
“Does it count if Ned was already high?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not going to like what I’m going to tell you.”
“Peter--” Harley sighed.
“Peter--” Peter mimicked, and Harley laughed.
“Peter!” Peter’s dad called from the hallway. “Are you decent?”
“Oh this should be good,” Peter mumbled at Harley, who only laughed more. “Come in!”
“Hey, kiddo. I was wondering if you wanted to transfer this over to the holo-call? I wanna talk to you both and after I’m done I’ll shut down for the night so you can keep your conversation running there,” Tony offered.
“Okay…?” Peter asked, holding the phone away from his ear so Tony could vaguely hear Harley’s agreement.
“Do you know what he wants?” Harley asked a moment later, when he was back against Peter’s ear.
“Nope. Maybe he’s declaring he can’t choose who’s going to head up the company, so we have to compete all as an effort to break us up?” Peter asked.
“I’m old, not deaf,” his dad growled playfully.
“What was that?” Peter asked, hand to the ear that wasn’t covered by his phone, feigning hearing loss. “I can’t seem to hear you.”
“Mhm maybe I should revoke my offer…”
“Oh stop it I’m being good. I’m behaving.”
“You never behave.”
“Let me have this, dad.”
“Let me do something nice for you. Harley, we’re gonna call you back on the hologram.”
Peter collapsed into his usual rolling chair, launching himself spinning across the room, laughing until Tony stopped him in front of the machine, pressing a few buttons before Harley showed up on the hologram, smiling as he saw Peter and Tony appear on his side.
“Hey, darlin’. Fancy seeing you here,” Harley smirked.
“Ew. Gross. Don’t start. Wait until I leave,” Tony groaned.
“Chop chop,” Harley raised his eyebrows and did the speed-it-up motion with his fingers.
“Hey, now. Maybe I won’t tell you the big news,” Peter’s dad warned.
“You’re pregnant!” Peter laughed. “Bruce is pregnant? I’m pregnant?”
“Is he high?” Tony asked Harley.
“We can’t have that conversation again. But no.”
“Again?!”
“Come on, we’re impatient and have ADHD. You’re losing us with every passing second,” Harley reminded his mentor.
“Okay, okay. So first of all, I’m sorry Macy and I couldn’t make spring break work. But it just didn’t make sense with our schedules or yours. You’re both still going to be drowning in homework, and it’s literally your last spring break.”
“Tony, if you’re just going to apologize again for not making it work, I’m gonna go,” Harley said, sounding upset. Peter caught his eye and tried to convey the fact that they needed to be calm and use whatever patience they both had, because everyone knew that Tony liked to lead up to his announcements.
“I’m getting there, hold on. So. I talked to Macy again last night, because she was just as upset as we all were that none of spring break was working out. And we decided that… on May 23rd, Harley is flying up here. To New York City. For the whole summer.”
The room was dead silent, both boys taking in the information.
“You’re kidding,” Harley choked out, and Peter let out a yell.
“HOLY SHIT!” he yelled. “Dad, are you serious? All summer?!”
“Longer, if he wants. But summer is the starting point.”
“Fuck, nobody look at me until I can cover my face with something,” Harley said, voice thick as he reached into a space neither of the other two could see and grabbed a large textbook, setting it up to cover his face. “I love you, old man, you know that right?”
“I kinda figured, since we’re connected and all. Love you too, bud,” Tony said. “Also, that was really all I needed to tell you, but I figured I could let you guys have the hologram for the night anyway. So I’m going to bow out. I love you both, be good, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Night, dad,” Peter called as he shut the door. Then he turned his attention to Harley. “You need a minute, baby?” he asked, voice softer. Harley’s head bobbed where it was visible over the textbook. “Okay.”
It took the older boy a minute to collect himself before he spoke again.
“36 days until May 23rd,” he whispered.
“We’re so close. It’s in our reach,” Peter agreed, trying to stop smiling, but ending up with a larger smile. His cheeks were cramping, but he didn’t care that much.
“I’m never going to let you go, you know that, right?”
“You’d better not.”
They drifted into silence, Harley finally putting the textbook down after some more deep breathing.
“I love you, you know. A lot. I really love you,” Harley was the one to break the silence.
“I love you a lot, too,” Peter said, trying once more to stop smiling, but failing.
Eventually, Peter fell asleep on his chair in the lab, almost mid-sentence. Harley watched him sleep for just a minute through tired eyes before ending the holo-call, smile on his face. 36 days.
7.
Peter hopped off of Twitter and speed dialed his boyfriend (he was #3, in case anyone was wondering).
“Hey,” Harley said, voice quiet.
“You okay?” Peter asked.
“I’ll be better when it’s all over.”
“I know, baby. But it’s not a long flight, and I’ll be there the second you get off the plane,”
“That’s the only reason I’m getting on the damn thing, I promise you I remember,” Harley said, and Peter could hear the smile spreading over his face, twin to his own.
“What’s the first thing you want to do once you’re here?”
“Besides--”
“I am sitting across from my dad. Choose your next words very carefully,” Peter said quietly, warning evident in his voice. Tony looked across the couch at that, slightly alarmed.
“I am going to drag you to Central Park for the entire day,” Harley said decidedly.
“Mhmmm. That’s exactly what you were going to say,” Peter nodded.
“You know it, darlin’.”
They were quiet for a minute, comfortable silence falling, but Peter could hear Harley’s leg bouncing over the phone.
“What do you need from me right now?” Peter asked in a whisper.
“Stay on the phone, that’s all. God, I just want this part to be over.”
“You’re not even on the plane yet,” Peter chuckled.
“The anticipation, asshole,” Harley snapped playfully. “Just stay on the phone. Please?” There’s a mild panic in his voice now.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby,” Peter said, quietly. He wasn’t really sure how much longer Harley had in the car, but he was willing to stay on the phone for as long as he needed to. Harley seemed to release a breath, and that familiar, comfortable silence washed over them.
It was odd how much Peter loved those silences. Harley’s voice was the best, smooth and deep and rich. But those silences, Peter couldn’t have those with just anyone. After even a few seconds, he started to feel tense and like he had to say something to the person on the other end of the call.
But he never felt like that with Harley. The silence was always comfortable, always welcoming. It settled in Peter’s chest with a contentment that he always felt after the kind of laughter that would almost break him in half. That first breath after laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe where he feels nothing but lighthearted and content? That’s what every breath felt like during those stretching silences. A true sign that he was truly fully comfortable with the Tennessee boy.
“We’re here,” Harley says quietly some 20 minutes later, and Peter knew better than to mention how terrified he sounds of this.
“You’re gonna be just fine, Harls. It’s not a long ride, and I’ll be there the second you land, okay?”
“Promise?”
“I’ve got you. And I will not be letting go without a fight,” Peter says. “We’re actually gonna have to get in the car soon if we want to get out of here between rush hours.”
“I’ve never missed New York City traffic, I can say that much,” Harley said with a chuckle, but Peter wasn’t sure if it was nervous or genuine.
“Oh I don’t envy Happy’s job at all,” Peter said. Harley paused, and Peter could hear a voice on the other end.
“I’m getting on the plane now. Need to go ahead and turn my phone off.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“I’ll see you soon. I love you, you know?”
“I love you, too,” Peter sighed, ending the call. He turned to his dad nearly immediately. “Okay, can we go to the airstrip now?”
8.
They did not beat the rush hour traffic. So Peter got to endure a dead-boring car ride, and the other occupants of the car got to endure his incessant bouncing. At one point, Tony leaned across the car and tried to hold him down via his head so that he would just… stay on the seat.
It didn’t work.
And Peter wasn’t nearly out of energy, even after 2 hours of bouncing, so he swung around the building a little bit once they’d arrived.
Thank god for NDAs, he thought to himself.
The freedom was also due to the fact that this was his dad’s private airstrip anyway, so the poor people already signed NDAs as fast as Tony’s lawyers could draw them up.
Somehow, he didn’t think seeing the plane come into view would automatically restart his entire body. He also didn’t think he was going to shake like this, like a goddamn chihuahua in the cold.
His mind was totally clear and running wild all at once.
“He’s gonna like me, right dad?” Peter asked quietly, still trembling. Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in.
“He’s gonna love you, kiddo,” his dad reassured him. “As if you two aren’t already disgustingly in love.”
“Tony,” Pepper’s soft warning came from his other side. “Peter,” she said next, voice not warning but catching his attention, and she stepped back and raised her camera. Even Happy was begrudgingly there, holding a nice camera, because Peter pulled the puppy dog eyes and asked him to take photos.
The plane door opened and the steps were quickly rolled up to the side. And then there he was. Somehow, Peter was expecting him to look different in person. He wasn’t sure why. But no, Harley was still tall, blond, and radiating southern charm.
And Peter squeaked. At least, he assumed it was him who squeaked, but he was kind of having an out-of-body experience. He shook himself mentally, and Harley was walking towards him.
“Holy fuck,” he said, just a touch too loudly. He felt himself take a few steps, and then he was running towards Harley, and Harley was jogging towards him, and Peter wasn’t sure if his heart was breaking or exploding as they collided, arms wrapping around each other, nearly falling, but righting themselves in time.
Peter jumped up and wrapped his arms around Harley’s neck and his legs around his waist, already crying, and Harley was crying, too, and he’s so in love that he’s dizzy and sick and can’t stop smiling.
“36 days ago, all of this was just beyond our reach. Now you’re in my reach,” Peter said, lifting his head to whisper in Harley’s ear before tucking back down. He could feel Harley’s smile stretch where it was pressed in his hair.
Eventually, he found it in himself to un-leech from his (insanely tall) boyfriend and head back for his dad and Pepper, where hugs and cheek kisses and soft insults were exchanged(that was mostly Tony and Harley, but Pepper got a few good jabs in).
Peter dragged Harley to the third row of the black sedan after they’d loaded his luggage into the trunk. Tony, of course, had to make a snarky remark.
“Remember, we can all look back and see you,” the mechanic had warned with an eyebrow raised. Harley had almost choked on the bottled water he was sipping from.
But his dad shouldn’t have worried, the third row was just the best place in the whole car to be able to cuddle and let Harley stretch out. Seriously. Insanely tall. He had a solid 5 inches on Peter, which was funny to everyone but him, of course.
Once Harley was stretched out in the backseat, Peter all but scrambled into his lap, and Happy started up the car. As they pulled back onto the road, the boys took their time to work out how they fit together, shifting arms and legs until they slotted together like puzzle pieces, and Harley sighed in content, running his fingers through Peter’s hair.
“Hey. I just realized I haven’t said it yet,” he whispered.
“Said what?” Peter asked.
“I love you,” Harley said, smiling.
“I love you, too. So much.”
Up until then, Peter had always thought that people saying that certain kisses felt like coming home was an extreme exaggeration. But when they kissed for the first time just a second later, he realized, with a settling feeling in his chest, that it was absolutely true. They were both home now.
9.
Peter saw the clock on the wall hit 11 P.M., midnight, and then finally 1 A.M. before his dad finally went to bed. Pepper had turned in hours before, but Tony wasn’t letting his boys go that easily. Finally, their combined pouting and pleading had him finally giving in to his exhaustion and heading up the stairs and down the hall to his room.
“Separate beds, gentlemen,” he called over his shoulder, sending them both into a fit of giggles.
“Are we actually doing that?” Harley asked. “Separate beds, I mean.”
“It’s up to you. We can always start in separate rooms, if we need to move we can,” Peter suggested. “That gives you a chance to settle into your new room for tonight without me in your way.”
“Not in the way, darlin’. Never in the way,’ Harley grinned, peppering Peter’s face with kisses, and Peter couldn’t stop himself from giggling if he tried. However, a minute later, Harley’s face turned more serious. “But Peter. For real, if you have a nightmare, I’m literally across the hall. You don’t even have to wake me up if you don’t want to. That bed is huge, just slide in.”
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t say anything if I wasn’t, dummy.”
“I’m wounded, Keener. I’m highly intelligent.”
“Sure, bi-trans tragedy.”
“Okay Mr. Gay Disaster--” Peter was cut off by a kiss from the taller boy. When they pulled away, Harley flashed him a smile and a wink, and if Peter wasn’t already so far gone for this boy, he would have melted to the floor.
“G’night, darlin’,” Harley said, slipping into his room. Peter stayed where he was for a minute, making sure he was mentally pulled together before moving towards his own room, his newly-constant smile still stretching his face.
However, when he shot up, soaked in sweat and a few tears from a new nightmare, one he’d never had before, his smile was definitely gone. His immediate reaction was to call for his dad. But he remembered a second later, a small smile coming back to his face, that Harley was there. Without letting himself think about it too much, he slipped out of bed and crossed the hall, tugging on a t-shirt as he went.
As he opened the door, part of him wanted to wake Harley up if he was asleep, part of him just wanted to snuggle in without all the questions.
However, he didn’t have to make a decision either way, because he walked in to find Harley reading in bed.
“Hey, baby,” Harley said quietly, while slowly putting his book down. “You wanna join me?”
Peter only nodded, and Harley scooted over, pulling back the covers. Peter burrowed into Harley’s side, feeling better already.
“Hey, you,” he smirked. “How long was it?”
“About an hour,” Harley answered. “Anything bothering you that you wanna talk about?”
“Nah, I just like it here, ‘s all.”
“Oh well then, please. Welcome.”
Peter pressed a kiss to Harley’s shoulder, and Harley looked down, a question in his eyes. Peter didn’t mind the stretch up to lazily kiss his boyfriend in answer.
Neither boy seemed to have a problem with keeping their activities both PG (arguably PG-13) and slow, and finally when Peter pulled away with a yawn, they decided to call it a night. Peter watched as Harley laid back down, not able to bear tearing his eyes away.
“What?” Harley asked, self conscious.
“I just can’t believe you’re here…” Peter said, suddenly emotional. Damn his functioning tear ducts.
“Me either. Never thought this day would come,” Harley said thoughtfully.
“I was afraid for a minute there it wouldn’t. The days were just moving so slowly, and I was so tired, and--” Peter choked on his words a little, and Harley wrapped him in his arms wordlessly, stroking along his spine. “But it was so worth the wait, Harls. So worth it. Because now, my head is so clear. It’s not loud anymore. It’s just you, and I love that it’s just you.”
“I love you,” Harley whispered. “You’re… god, you’re everything, Peter. I love you so much. You’re just everything.”
Peter buried his head in Harley’s neck.
“You’re not allowed to go anywhere ever again. We live here now and say sappy things to each other and DUM-E can bring us sandwiches.”
“I like that plan,” Harley said quietly, pressing his lips to Peter’s forehead.
“Good,” Peter yawned. “So no lab tomorrow, but you have to text dad.”
“I think we can worry about lab time when it happens,” Harley chuckled. “Go to sleep, darlin’. I’m not going anywhere. I swear I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Hmmm,” Peter sighed, snuggling down into Harley’s chest. “Okay. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
10.
“You two have separate beds for a reason! Do not scar me for life in the morning!” Tony yelled over his shoulder as he shut his bedroom door.
Oh god. Does he know something I don’t? Peter thought, and his face was nearly the color of a tomato (thanks to his wild thoughts) by the time Harley had yelled something snarky in reply, he felt it.
“Don’t encourage him,” Peter said quietly, willing the blush away. Harley turned around, clearly hearing something in his voice.
“Hey. If the joking bothers you, we’ll stop. Or I will. I can’t make any promises about him,” Harley jerked his head at their mentor.
“No, it’s… it doesn’t bother me, really. Just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
Harley gave him a long look, Peter could feel his eyes on him, even if he wasn’t looking.
“Okay,” Harley said, sounding entirely like a man who didn’t believe a single word. “Let’s go to bed, hmm?”
“Yeah,” Peter yawned, ducking under Harley’s arm and letting it drape around him. In truth, Peter was starting to get worried that Harley was… well, bored. Harley had said that he was okay waiting for Peter to broach the topic of sex, Peter was beginning to think that it was going to be a conversation to end their conversations.
See, the thing was, Peter had no interest in getting bottom surgery. In his eyes, having a vagina didn’t make him less of a man. He was thrilled with his top surgery, had cried tears of joy upon seeing his flat chest in the mirror for the first time. But he never felt like bottom surgery was a necessary thing for him. However, he also hadn’t mentioned that to Harley yet. He knew he should, just in case that happened to be a dealbreaker, but he also wasn’t sure he could take a breakup based off of this.
When he had confided in Shuri, she scolded him for overthinking, as he tended to do.
“That boy loves you more than the sun loves the moon, he’s not going to care one bit. And if he does, I’ll kill him myself.” she had told him.
“Peter?” Harley asked quietly, voice forceful. Peter jerked out of his head and found himself looking directly into Harley’s face. “I’ve called your name 3 times, darlin’. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just got lost in my head for a second,” Peter explained, and Harley nodded.
“Okay. You still want to share tonight, or do you need a night to yourself?”
“You know I only sleep better when I’m with you,” Peter said, reveling in the soft smile that broke through Harley’s worried features as he laid down in the bed.
“Okay, okay, sue me for being a gentleman.”
“Mhmm. Gentleman.”
“Goodnight, Peter,” Harley sighed fondly, settling into bed and pulling Peter close to him again.
“Sweet dreams.”
Except Peter couldn’t sleep. 15 minutes passed, and then 25, and sleep hadn’t found him.
“Harls?” he whispered. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” Harley grumbled. “What’s up?”
“Do you have the same feeling I do?”
“Like there’s something we need to talk about? Oh for sure. Spill, Parker.”
“I just… sex.”
“Oh? Oh,” Harley said, sitting up now. “Right now, this conversation, huh?”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it for… a few weeks.”
“Weeks?! Peter--”
“I don’t want bottom surgery,” Peter blurted. “I’ve been thinking about you, wanting you for weeks now, but I hadn’t told you that yet, and I didn’t know if that was something that bothered you or--”
“Baby,” Harley said softly, taking his turn to interrupt. “What’s between your legs doesn’t make you a man. It doesn’t bother me one bit what it is. If you decided that you wanted bottom surgery right away, we’d do it. If you wanted to wait, we would make do until you were ready. But you don’t and that’s okay, too. Hell, if you told me you never wanted to have sex, I would make it work just fine, you wouldn’t have to worry. I love you, all of you, and that won’t change because of this.”
“Well, then. Maybe you are a gentleman,” Peter smiled, eyes a little misty, moved by his boyfriend’s speech.
“Nah, I’m just a decent person. Plus, I just really love you and it would be stupid of me to stop because of what you did or didn’t want to do or because of what’s between your legs.”
“I’d say we need more of you in the world, but I want you all to myself,” Peter smiled, stretching up to press his forehead to Harley’s.
“I could say just the same for you, pretty boy,” Harley smirked, darting forward a little to peck Peter’s lips.
“Okay, I know we’ve technically had the conversation now, but not tonight, sir,” Peter laughed.
“Fine,” Harley sighed. “If I must wait.” he winked, and Peter fell in love all over again.
“I love you, you know.”
Harley yawned, already half asleep, but Peter could have sworn he mumbled it back.