Chapter 3
“Wait, you’re really friends with the Avengers?” Someone else asked.
“Yeah, for sure. Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, is the fucking coolest-”
"MJ, watch your language," Ms.Gaites chided tersely, turning to the sweater-clad teenager.
"Sorry Ms.Gaites," MJ chimed, turning to give the class an award-winning snarky smile.
Ava took control of the conversation without missing a beat. "Okay everyone, if you will follow me this way," she gestured toward the elevator, "we can get started."
As they walked through security gateways, they scanned their cards and their levels were announced. When they came to MJ and Ned, the scanner read, "MJ: certified badass, level eight clearance. Ned Leeds: Darth Plagus the Wise, level eight clearance."
They both blushed, though it was more obvious on Ned.
"Peter Parker: Lord of Darkness, level eleven clearance.” Peter didn’t normally go through the front entrance of the tower, so he had forgotten about the summer afternoon when he and his friends had messed around with the entry system.
He and Ned both looked down in embarrassment at the sound of Ava and their classmates laughing at their names. MJ didn’t seem all that concerned. She was probably just not letting it get to her, or pretending not to at least. She had a way of doing it that baffled Peter. She really earned the title of Certified Badass.
The first few levels were the basic visiting scientists and low level office workers for Stark Industries. Ava was explaining why scientists might be visiting the tower: needing specialized equipment, talking to experts that always worked at the tower. Stuff that Peter already knew, when MJ leaned over to him.
"Not to be the trademark clingy girlfriend, but when is Shuri gonna be here? She hasn't replied to my text concretely yet," MJ looked like she desperately missed her girlfriend, but that was just how their relationship was. They couldn't stand to be apart from each other for more than two days. Peter figured that if they were in the same situation as him and Harley the two girls would literally die.
"I think that she's coming around two. Can’t wait to experience those worlds colliding,” Peter replied a little too loudly.
“Peter, hush,” Ava said with a soft glare.
The next few levels were the same general idea: scientists and office workers that gave the boisterous tour group angry looks when they interrupted their work.
On the fifth floor, they ran into some people that Peter both loved dearly and rarely saw. "Uncle Scott, Aunt Hope, how are you guys?" Peter said as the group walked past them and stopped at a different desk, Peter figured that he was safe talking to his ‘family’.
They were all gathered around Cassie's office, probably getting the phone that she had undoubtedly forgotten in her office again before going up to their guest rooms.
"Hey Peter, it feels like forever since we last saw you," Hope said as she pulled him into a short hug.
“Yeah, where the hell have you been?” Scott said ruffling Peter’s hair as Peter slapped his hands away and leaped into a bear hug. Scott Lang gave the best hugs.
“I’ve been here, where the hell have you been?” Peter said into his shoulder.
Scott clapped him on the back as he pulled away, “you’re a funny guy, Peter,” he said with a laugh.
Cassie hugged him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, “I’ve really missed you, Parker.”
"I missed you guys so much," Peter said, turning around expecting his class to still be engaged in what Ava was saying. To his horror, he turned around to see everyone facing him, watching his interaction.
"Ava, get over here,” Cassie said, pulling her friend into a hug. They would normally never do that during tours, but Cassie had been living with her mom and stepdad for the past few weeks in exchange for spending Christmas with Scott and had been unable to come to the tower.
“You and your little huggies from the people that pose as your family are pathetic. I bet they don’t even like you, they just put up with you cause they pity you. Same with the rest of the Avengers.”
Peter froze, with what he imagined was a stricken look on his face as the Langs and Hope also froze, unsure of what to do. He didn’t know why, but he hadn’t expected Flash to be such an asshole.
Scott looked at Peter for instruction and Peter just murmured, “I’ll see you guys upstairs in a little bit.”
Peter watched them go, glad that they were there.
He had only met them at Christmas the year before, Steve having invited him. Peter had really hit it off with all of them. They all had.
That was also the main reason that Pepper had offered the tour leader job to Cassie when she had expressed that she was looking.
Ava too for that matter. Scott had brought her up during the year and Tony had located her. He took her in, gave her a job, thought up a way to help her control her powers, and gave her an apartment after she had said she wanted some freedom. And the rest was history.
Once they reached the higher level labs, they found Rhodey getting his prosthetics readjusted. Peter walked towards him and scared the man out of his wits when he tapped him on the back. "Hey Uncle Rhodes, what are you doing down here, why aren't you getting fitted in Tony's lab?"
"Oh, Tony's kinda busy with preparations right now, so I just went to Doctor Blue here," Rhodey gestured to the doctor adjusting his leg braces.
"Rhodey," Ava said, winking at him as she clicked her tongue. Ava’s ‘flirting’ with Rhodey was as integral to the tower as Morgan running around or Tony visiting the kitchen at three in the morning.
"Hello, Ava," Rhodey replied, dramatically sighing at her.
"Rhodes? Do you mind if I show the class your braces for a second? It would be a great chance to show them what we produce at Stark Industries," Ava walked over to him, leading the class over before he could even reply. She knew just as well as Peter that Rhodey wouldn't say no.
Ava took a few seconds to explain how Tony had designed them to function just like normal legs. And that in the beginning, they had been stiff and hadn't worked well. But through all the different iterations of the legs, they had become smoother and the joints had functioned more like normal legs and normal joints so that Rhodey could have a more normal life.
She even had Rhodey walk around a little bit so that the students could marvel at how amazing the robotic components of the legs were. Ava wolf-whistled at him when he walked around.
“Ava, that’s very unprofessional of you,” Peter heard Rhodey say to Ava as they moved on. He didn’t even say it like he was scolding her, he for sure found it funny.
At around 11:30, Ava took them to the cafeteria for lunch. Peter sat with MJ, Ned, and Ava, eating some delicious pizza. Mr. Stark refused to have bad cafeteria food in anything with his name on it.
He looked over to the entrance of the cafeteria when he heard a happy, high pitched squeal. He saw a happy Morgan running through the tables to him, probably being followed by an exasperated Happy or Pepper.
Peter moved his chair back from the table so he could grab Morgan in a hug.
Morgan was wearing a cute shirt with a cartoon monkey on it that he had never seen before. "Hey, kid, I like your shirt. How are you doing?" Peter asked her, feeling his smile stretch from ear to ear.
"Hiya, Pete. Uncle Happy bought me this shirt yesterday, he said it was just like me because I was a monkey too!" She explained loudly.
"Classic Happy," Peter replied, smiling at his friends when they too greeted Morgan.
A second later, Pepper rounded the corner. A smile lit up her face when she saw Morgan in Peter's arms.
Peter smiled up at her as she approached, her heels clicking rhythmically. As she got closer, Peter could see the dark circles under her pretty eyes.
"Hey, Ms. Potts," Peter loved Pepper as if she was his mom, but he had never gotten out of the habit of calling her Ms. Potts.
"Hi, Peter, Morgan has been so excited to see Harley all day, and she is convinced that being around you will allow her to see him sooner,” Pepper said.
“Does she want to stay with us, Ms. Potts, cause she totally can,” Peter said enthusiastically.
“You are so sweet, Peter. I really appreciate you,” Pepper replied, absently kissing him on the top of the head.
She then turned to the others at the table, "hello Ned, hello Ava, is your tour going well?” She asked.
“Totally,” she replied.
“MJ, honey, Shuri had notified me that she will be arriving at two." Pepper said to his friend. MJ bit her lip to keep from smiling, which is about as outwardly giddy as she ever got.
Peter saw Pepper put on a PR smile as she turned to the rest of Peters class and started talking to various students that had questions for her.
Peter gave Morgan some of his pizza for lunch without her having to ask.
"Peter, Peter, Peter, Peter," Morgan started, suddenly overwhelmed with what must have been the best idea she had ever come up with. "Text Harley and ask him when he's gonna be here, papa won't tell me."
"Okay, I'll text him again, but he's probably not gonna answer cause I'm sure he's on his plane here right now," Peter replied. He stood up as the group went to move on to the next thing on the tour. Peter hoisted Morgan into his arms, she weighed almost nothing because of Peter's super strength. Out of everyone in the Avengers compound that would ever pick her up, Peter could hold her for the longest time.
Under Morgan's watchful eyes Peter sent Harley another text. Twenty minutes later, he hadn't replied.
At two O'clock exactly, a loud clattering could be heard, as if someone was dropping things as they walked down the hall towards the tour group. They all turned to look down the hall, seeing an orange-clad Shuri picking up a few tools that she had dropped out of her full hands.
MJ rushed over to help her struggling girlfriend. They returned with the tools and gadgets divided between them. With the little respect that both of the girls held for the tower, they dropped all of Shuri's things onto a nearby lab table and left a note, the gist of the note was that anyone who touched the stuff would lose a few fingers.
Almost instantly after Shuri joined the group, Flash was back to his old douchiness. Despite Shuri being obviously very smitten with MJ, Flash still approached her with a disgusting pick-up line.
"Hey baby," Shuri looked at him with confusion on her face, "do you drink milk? Cause it sure did your body good."
Shuri's face quickly turned from confusion to disgust, "well then, you definitely didn't drink enough," she replied, turning back to MJ who didn’t even try to stifle her giggle as Ned loudly proclaimed: ‘Buuuuuurn!’
Peter turned his head to Flash as he mock covered Morgan's ears, "Flash, don't be so vulgar, there are children present.” All the years of torture from Flash were almost worth it to see the fish out of water look he had in that moment.
“I’m proud of you, Peter,” Shuri said when they had walked away from Flash.
Peter gave a little bow, which made her laugh.
"Shurbear," Morgan said to get the attention of the princess and ask for a piggy back ride from her, that Shuri of course agreed to. From what Peter could tell, the only people she let call her nicknames were Morgan and MJ. She had once even told him about a time in their childhood when T’Challa had called her a nickname and she had beaten him up. She talked about it in the most serious tone that Peter had ever heard. That experience was the first moment in his life that he had experienced true fear.
Peter was barely paying attention to the tour when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out to look as Morgan pulled at Shuri’s neck to get her to go over to Peter. Shuri pawned her off on Peter and moved away to continue the conversation she had been having with MJ and Ned.
“Peter, let me see the phone,” Morgan said. Peter tilted the phone to her for a second before texting back.
The text read: I'm here
Peter: Where? Morgan is so excited to see you
Harley: Maybe turn around
Peter didn't mean to be cliche. But as he turned, his breath caught in his throat when he saw Harley. He let Morgan out of his arms for her to run to him.
"Harley!" She screamed as she was swept up into his arms. He hugged her tightly and Peter felt a little weak at the sight of how sweet the two looked together. Harley was dressed in a plain gray T-shirt and black sweatpants. His hair was tousled and shining in the afternoon light. The smile on his face seemed to light up the room, it did to Peter at least.
After he set Morgan down, Peter also flung himself into Harley's arms. Harley had always been a bit taller than him, which just so happened to be perfect for forehead kissing. Which is exactly what Harley did at that moment. The two hugged each other tightly for what felt like forever, swaying back and forth a little with the force of it. When they eventually pulled away, Peter pecked him on the lips, making Harley chuckle softly before noticing the class staring at them.
"Uh, Peter, your class is staring," he murmured under his breath. Peter was suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment, dreading having to turn around. Between homophobic backlash and the mortification he would face after being so soft with Harley in front of his ruthless high school class, it wasn’t looking good for him.
"Kill me now please," Peter groaned softly, leaning forward to rest his forehead on Harley's chest.
"I love you too much to do that, Spider Boy." Harley stepped away and approached the class with his usual sarcastic bravado. The mask that Harley hid his feelings with.
"So, you guys here on a field trip? I can make it way better," Harley proclaimed. Peter felt a twinge of worry at what Harley would consider an activity that would make a school field trip so much better.
Harley walked up to Ava and whispered a few things to her. She looked at him a bit outraged and playfully whacked his arm, rapidly whispering something back to him. They whisper argued for a few moments before Peter could tell that Ava had given in.
By the time Peter had made it up to them he only caught Ava saying, "if Mr. Stark gets mad I am fully blaming you," while jabbing a finger into his chest.
Harley just smiled suavely and led the tour group over to the elevator with a flourish, putting on a carnival announcers voice. “Follow me, Peter’s beautiful wonderful boyfriend that could never actually compare to Peter, to see the true wonders of Stark Tower.”
Peter stood next to Harley as he brandished his lilac key card and scanned it, giving him permission to send the elevator to Mr. Stark's personal lab.
Peter gasped, "Harley, you can't just do that," he said quietly.
Harley replied by kissing him again, "I just did, darling."