Spiderman is banned today
Peter was currently asleep with his head face down in his arms folded on the table while Mr Harrington droned on. His only movement was the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. When Harley first saw him this morning, he had given him a telling off, seeing the bruises on his face and the way his eyes dropped like they were too heavy to keep open. He sounded angry, telling him to be more careful on patrol while Peter insisted that it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and that his super healing would take care of it, but the truth was that Harley was still scared. He had full confidence in Peter’s abilities- he even had that weird Peter tingle thing which meant danger could barely touch him- but the world kept getting crazier and crazier and Harley didn’t know how long it was until Peter got seriously hurt.
When MJ walked past them bickering she called them an old married couple, at which they turned to face her, clasped their hands together and held them up in front of her face with a challenge in their gaze. She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Now Harley was watching him doze off in class beside him, and his worry was growing again. Peter didn’t know the meaning of the word self-preservation. He doubted he even slept for three hours last night, and that simply wouldn’t do for Harley, so he concocted a plan to get him to take a night off being a hero.
After the lesson ended and lunch break began, he shook Peter’s shoulder gently to wake him and forced him to eat some lunch to satisfy his spider metabolism while the other mumbled grumpily about sleep and half heartedly chewed, then Harley let him sleep the last half hour of lunch again, talking in low tones with Ned and MJ so they didn’t rouse him. Peter barely remembered the rest of the afternoon of lessons because he was pretty much in a daze even if he hadn’t fell asleep again, and soon enough the two boys were getting in Happy’s car on their way back to the tower.
The second they arrived, Harley grasped Peter’s wrist, exclaiming “movie night!” and dragging him up to his room. “We are going to order take out and watch films until we’re brain dead.”
“No, wait, Harls, I need to patrol...”
Harley sighed. “No, darlin’, what you need is a rest. I don’t think you were conscious for 90% of school today; you’re exhausted, you’re beat up. You won’t be able to save anyone if you’re not fully alert, you’ll just end up getting hurt, and I don’t think I’d- I don’t think I’d be able to live if that happened so shut your ass and come have a movie night with your favourite person. I think Queens can survive one night without their spiderbaby- they did before you got your powers, didn’t they? They have a police force for a reason.” The more Harley spoke, the more Peter looked like he wanted to give in, and he was letting himself be dragged into Harley’s room. He had noticed the slight panic and vulnerability in his friend’s voice before it switched and became persuasive again, and it made Peter feel guilty like nothing else to hear Harley’s voice crack because of him. Perhaps he should relax a bit; he’s no good to any citizen if he’s dead. “Also, I’ve never seen Star Wars.”
Peter looked up at him so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash, an offended expression on his face but excitement twinkling in his eyes at the thought of showing Harley his favourite movies. “Oh, well that just settles it then,” he said firmly, making the taller boy throw his head back with a laugh, blonde tufts of hair flopping down onto his forehead when he looked back down at Peter (who briefly wondered if the waves on his head were as soft as they looked) and relief pooled in his chest when he realised he had convinced him. They kinda just stared at each other for a second, silently thanking the other, Peter’s honey eyes looking into Harley’s deep, blue ocean eyes.
⎊
They managed three movies and a lot of chinese takeout (mostly Peter-the-human-vacuum, who could still apparently eat after he had finished his share, and stole bits of Harley’s while he ignored the little indignant “Hey!” (he knew Harley didn’t actually mind)) before drifting off, despite Peter’s desperate attempts at staying up to watch Harley’s reaction to all his favourite parts, and FRIDAY switched off the TV once they had been asleep for five minutes. The next morning, they blinked awake to the sound of the AI’s ‘get up for school’ alarm, not as tangled as they were when they woke up on the sofa but still close enough that Peter’s head was on Harley’s arm. “Gnnnhhh,” Harley said eloquently, and Peter rolled off the bed with a smirk.
“Wow I wasn’t kidding when I accused you of not being a morning person. Hey, can I borrow this hoodie?”
“Gnnhhh.”
“Cool, thanks!” He said way too chirpily, irritating the groggy teen, pulling the grey hoodie over his head and it was only five minutes after he had left the room that Harley realised it was a good thing, not meant to irritate him. He was energised enough because he had actually rested.
“I am a success,” Harley whispered to the morning air, jumping out of his skin when he received a reply.
“No, you’re going to be late. Get up, I made us breakfast,” Peter’s amused voice chimed from where his head was curled around the doorway to peep in. Harley scowled and threw a pillow at him, which Peter easily ducked with a chuckle.
“Don’t make me come in there.....” Peter taunted, taking slow steps towards where Harley lay, with his hands out and fingers wiggling teasingly at Harley who shot up to his feet in an instant. “No. No, no, no stop. I’m up! I’m up, okay?” This only proved to make Peter smirk evilly even wider before he turned and walked away again, going for a sassy look but being drowned by his borrowed hoodie only made him look like an adorable angry kitten. That’s the exact phrase that Harley used when Tony later asked where he got the hoodie from, saying that it’s his and he doesn’t even want it back. Tony had to turn away to hide his knowing look. Natasha said no meddling. But they were such dumbasses.