Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Show Me What I’m Looking For

Chapter 1.

A Hell Of A Year

For a man who had always had, at best, an apathy for children it had always seemed strange that Tony Stark would take it upon himself to take care of an orphaned teeanger with more baggage than United Airlines. Peter Parker had stumbled into Tony and Pepper’s life, quite literally, by way of their ventilation system around one year prior to the meeting with the Midtown Principle they were currently in the office waiting for. Peter had, yet again, been beaten up in a fight.

“I’m sure the kid didn’t mean to get in another fight” Tony was saying as the two of them waited in the office for Peter to be brought in, “It was probably that Flash douchebag picking on him again”

“Tony, what have we – sorry, I – spent the best part of a year trying to teach him?” Pepper replied with an impatient sigh

“That violence is bad, and he should rise above it” Tony replied, using the matter-of-fact tone he had which drove Pepper insane at times like this, “But c’mon…can you really blame him? Even you said you wanted to lamp one on the kid after the Christmas fayre. He said you looked like a Stepford Wife!”

“Yes, the difference is, I have the strength of mind not to do it” Pepper snapped, “A quality which you and our nearly-adopted son don’t seem to possess”

“Peter’s got way more impulse control than I have” Tony protested.

“That’s hardly a high bar, is it?” Pepper retorted. Tony seemed to register this as a defeat and slumped in his chair, pulling out his phone as he did so.

“You’re texting? Now?” Pepper asked.

“I’m telling Rogers we’re going to be late for training because the kid got in another fight, if you must know” Tony replied, “And before you say it’s none of Steve’s business let me remind you that the last time Peter got into a fight, Steve agreed if he did it again, we could personally make sure Peter appeared with him in his next PSA. Now, you can’t tell me you don’t wanna see that Pep”

Pepper’s mouth twitched for a second as she imagined the sight. She kicked Tony for making her lose her cool resolve just as an annoyed looking Peter entered the office followed by his principle and Michelle Jones. Pepper and Tony both shot MJ a confused look as she sat down next to Peter, who was avoiding their eye-contact like Medusa.

“Miss Jones insisted on coming to the meeting as she witnessed the altercation” Principle Johnson stated as she took her seat behind her desk.

“Also, I’m doing a report on local troubled teens for the school paper” MJ added, “And Peter here has become something of a muse”

She patted Peter affectionately on the shoulder, but he shrugged her hand off and continued to stare at the wall with a steely expression on his face. Determined not to make eye-contact with either of his guardians. From what they could see, Peter had definitely come off worse in the fight. He had a bloody nose, a black eye and his usually pristine hair was all over the place.

Tony smirked. He liked MJ. She wasn’t afraid to give Peter the grounded teasing that he needed to keep his head in check.

Principle Johnson rolled his eyes and turned to face Pepper and Tony. Peter slumped in his chair and blushed as Pepper leaned forward.

“Was it Flash again?” she asked

“Yes, I’m afraid so” Principle Johnson replied with a sigh, “Frankly, Miss Potts, Mr. Stark, I’m at the end of my rope with the stupid rivalry between these two. This is their seventh altercation is as many weeks and there seems to be no letting up. Both are as bad as one another”

“Except Flash is worse because he’s a sexist, homophobic scumbag and I only punched him today because he made a freshman cry” Peter spoke up, determined to get his side across before Principle Johnson through him under the bus.

“I agree with that, to be fair” MJ piped up. Peter shot her a smile of appreciation.

“Miss Jones, you promised to be impartial” Principle Johnson said icily. Pepper shot MJ a glare. “Now, we understand that Peter alleges that Eugene may have made some offensive comments-

-”I’m not alleging, he did ”

-”But we really need Mr Parker to begin understanding that violence need not to be the answer to every single problem he has”

“Hold up, hold up, hold up” Tony spoke up. Pepper and Peter, for the first time since the latter entered the room, seemed to be on the same page as both sighed and sat back. Powerless to stop Tony making the situation any worse.

Tony faced Peter, who gulped.

“I need you to tell me the truth” Tony said firmly

Peter didn’t reply but did nod

“Did you hit Flash?”

Peter nodded.

“Did you hit Flash first?”

Peter shook his head. Pepper sat up.

“Did Flash make the comments you say he did”

“Yes!” Peter replied angrily, “He walked straight up to Ned and called him a fat, useless waste of space and then called that freshman kid a fag! And he said the usual things he says to me….not that that matters”

Pepper wanted to kick herself as she felt her anger at Peter evaporate upon hearing his words.

“OK, I’m confused” Pepper said, “If you say that Eugene was the one making all these awful comments then why were you the first one to get hit?”

Peter blushed.

MJ tried to hide a smirk.

“I may have….made a joke about the only thing smaller than Flash’s chances of getting into MIT was his... y’know ”

Pepper hid her head in her hands, and kicked Tony as he audibly smirked. The billionaire just about managed to disguise it as a conveniently timed cough.

“I...see…” Principle Johnson said slowly, “That was not the story we got from Mr. Thompson”

“Well, it’s the truth” Peter said. His eyes met Tony’s for a brief second, which seemed to inspire in Peter the confidence to sit up and address the rest of the room directly

“Listen, Principle Johnson….Pep….Tony, I guess” Peter said with a sigh, “I know that I shouldn’t have let Flash bring me down to his level, and I know I need to learn not to hit out at the first sign of trouble but….y’know, like I said, he’s a dick and he goes out of his way to get at me”

“It’s true” MJ piped up once again, “Peter never provokes Flash into anything. It’s always him who starts it.”

“Miss Jones”

“Journalistic integrity, I’m just reporting the facts” MJ said defensively. Tony smirked once again, he liked this girl a lot.

“Regardless, I can’t and won’t have students fighting in this school” Principal Johnson said, regaining his authoritative nature, “Mr Parker will be excluded from school for the rest of the week and if this ever happens again, we may have to think about whether he and Mr Thompson can continue to coexist in the same school”

Peter rolled his eyes. Those exact words had left the Principal’s mouth at least seven times.

“We understand” Pepper replied, “And rest assured Principal Johnson that Peter will be punished to the full extent we deem necessary - isn’t that right Tony”

“No ice cream for a week kiddo” Tony said seriously. Peter and MJ giggled as Pepper rolled her eyes, “And y’know….you will be spending a lot of time with your Uncle Steve over the next week”

The smiley, snarky demeanour fell from Peter’s face pretty quickly.

“I just do not understand why that man still has his job!” Pepper was on a rant as the team sat down for dinner that night, “Here Peter is - sticking up for his friend and a kid he doesn’t even know, doesn’t even throw the first punch and then he still gets the same punishment as the kid who insulted everyone and started hitting out”

“You’ve changed your tune” Peter muttered. Pepper glared at him.

“Well, yes, I have to look...y’know like I don’t think my future adoptive son getting into his seventh fight in as many weeks ” Pepper’s impression of Principal Johnson was uncanny, “Is a good thing - and I am pissed at you for not listening to me after last time”

“So am I, for the record” Tony chimed in

“I’m disgusted” said Natasha over-dramatically

“Kids these days” Sam said with a smirk, pretending to shake his head in shame. Peter laughed.

“Do I really have to do a PSA with Steve?” Peter asked. He was hoping Pepper’s sudden swing to his side of the argument might spare him the humiliation.

Peter knew his wish wasn’t going to be granted as every adult in the room faced him, all of them carrying evil glints in their eyes.

“I didn’t know that was how you’d decided to punish the kid!” Sam said, sounding positively gleeful, “Oh this is gon’ be good.”

“What’s gonna be good?” Steve asked as he walked into the kitchen. Peter slumped in his chair as Steve ruffled his hair.

“Your new PSA with Pete” Tony said, “We’re all very excited to see the end results”

Peter blushed.

“Steve, you don’t have to do this” he said pleadingly, “I mean - I know you all like to kid that you’re all my parents now or whatever but you don’t have to get this involved. It’s not like you’re legally obligated to punish me.”

“No can do kiddo, I already made a promise to Tony” Steve said lightly, “But don’t worry - it won’t be too bad, in fact I think you’ll find it very relevant and helpful”

“Really?” Peter replied, “Cos for what it’s worth I think more kids in my grade started smoking marijuana after your anti-Drugs PSA”

Steve looked a tad stung.

“And were you one of them?” Natasha asked teasingly, “Do we need to search your room and bust you?”

Peter shook his head, ignoring the fleeting feeling of anxiety he got even from just a joke about someone invading his private space.

“No need” said Pepper in a deadpan tone, “We spy on him”

Peter put his fork down in fake disgust.

“You swore to me the A.I. would keep my secrets!” he exclaimed. “What is the point of living with a tech obsessed billionaire if his artificial intelligence won’t even keep your secrets for you?”

Tony smiled at Peter. This had all been such a long-time coming. The boy they’d met a little over a year ago would not have been able to talk, let alone joke, with all of the team as they sat around the table for dinner. He’d done so well and come such a long way, Tony was nothing but proud.

“So, Cap, what’s the subject of the PSA anyway?” Tony asked. Peter went pale, clearly dreading the answer.

“It’s about STDs” Steve admitted.

Peter gawped blankly at Steve

“Are you shitting me?” he barked

“Language, Peter” Pepper reminded him sternly. Peter rolled his eyes but complied and put a quarter in the swear jar.

“Nope, we’re going to be talking about how to have sex safely!” Steve announced, seeming to genuinely miss quite why this idea might be causing Peter the distress it clearly was.

Tony, Nat and Sam had all descended into hysterical laughter. Pepper was struggling to hide her amusement as Peter held his head in his hands.

“I’m never going to fight anyone again!” Peter announced before joining in with everyone else’s laugher.

Peter went to bed pretty soon after they finished dinner, stating that he needed to get his head in order if he was going to be talking about sex education with Steve. As the rest of the team gradually made their own way to bed, Tony and Pepper snuggled up together on the couch.

“You gotta admit, you’re a little bit proud of him” Tony said, giving Pepper a kiss on her forehead, “He’s always sticking up for others”

“I know, and I am” Pepper sighed, “And I’m not really mad at him. I just wish he’d start to take things onboard. He’s a good kid, but he’s hanging on by a thread at that school and I’d hate to see him lose out on an opportunity just because he can’t keep his anger at bay sometimes”

“You’re right” Tony admitted, “As you so often are. Hopefully the humiliation of a sex education PSA might finally straighten him out a bit.”

“Poor kid” Pepper said with a chuckle, “He was on good form tonight. I couldn’t believe how much he was willing to have a joke at his own expense. That’s massive.”

“We’re his family now” Tony said, his heart swelling with pride as he did so, “I think he finally feels safe and happy”

“God, I hope” Pepper muttered, “He deserves it. After everything he’s been through, that kid deserves the world.”

“I agree” Tony stated, “Hey….did you notice how MJ couldn’t keep her eyes off him through that whole meeting”

“Mmmm” Pepper agreed, “D’you think he realizes she’s basically in love with him?”

Tony paused for a second.

“I don’t think she knows she’s basically in love with him”

Pepper curled into Tony’s chest and quickly fell to sleep. Tony sat awake, thinking about the state of the boy who had come crashing through their vent just over a year before. The last twelve months had certainly been unexpected.

A few floors above them, Peter Parker lay awake. He felt….strange. They’d all been laughing at him, but in a nice way, and he’d joined in and it had been fine. It felt right. Like he belonged. Turning over to pick up his phone, Peter grinned as he saw he’d received a message from MJ:

Really sucks that you got yourself suspended Parker. Who am I going to pick on in History now?!

Peter grinned as he reached for his phone to text her back

Haha! You’ll just have to suppress your meanness until next week. Or you can just text me the insults you would have called me throughout the day.

Having friends was another thing that was confusing Peter’s head. He’d never really done the ‘friends’ thing before he’d met Tony and Pepper. Now, he had two really good friends and everyone else at school except Flash seemed to actually like him. Peter didn’t really understand why a lot of the time, but they did.

MJ text back

Gonna be real for a sec: I think you’re really brave for standing up to Flash like you do and it’s really unfair that you got in trouble for it today…..also you’re a loser.

Peter grinned. He felt warm and content. Everything was good, but as always, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something nasty waiting just around the corner. Things never went this well for this long.

Putting the negative thoughts to one side, Peter looked around his new bedroom and couldn’t help but feel amazed at how much things had changed for him in a year.

It had been a hell of a year.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2.

500 Days.

Tony Stark found himself stuck in a moral dilemma.

His kid was suspended from school for a whole week for fighting, and as such would be hanging around the tower with little to do for several days. Normally when the kid had free time in the tower he would chose to spend it working with Tony in the lab - they were still trying to get Peter to realize that it was OK to have some actual free time every now and again - but Pepper had insisted that this not be allowed to happen as he was meant to be being punished. And Peter loved being in the Lab.

The internal debate had plagued Tony’s mind over the length of an entire weekend, so much so that come Monday morning, Stark sat Peter down on the sofa and tried his best to look stern and parental.

Peter saw through it immediately

“Are you having a stroke?” he asked pointedly

“No, I’m trying to look...fatherly” Tony replied slowly

“Oh” Peter replied simply, “Well can you warn me the next time you’re going to do it because I was about ready to call Bruce.”

Tony rolled his eyes and sat down next to the snarky teen. Peter blushed a little as Tony put his arm around the boy’s shoulders.

“You’re off school this week because you had a fight”

“I’m aware”

“This means you shouldn’t really be getting to do things you enjoy whilst you’re at home during the day” Tony explained. Peter looked bored. “Which means that you can’t come and help me in the Lab”

“That’s fine” Peter replied brightly with a shrug, “I have my own ideas of how to get through the days without enjoying myself”

“Are you going to talk to Bruce about interior design again?” Tony groaned, “You making him think you thought that was cool allowed him to talk at me about it for weeks ”

“I only did that because you took my cell phone from me!” Peter exclaimed.

“You prank called the White House ” Tony snapped, “Like….the actual White House, you tried to sell Avon to the Chief of Staff”

“Shouldn’t leave your address book laying around” Peter murmured. Tony tried not to look his soon-to-be-adoptive son in the eyes as he knew they would be in full Naughty Puppy Dog mode and then his resolve really would melt.

“Regardless” Tony pressed on, “What is your actual plan for getting through the days whilst you’re suspended from School?”

“Spider-Man” Peter replied simply, “As I’m being treated as some kind of criminal for daring to stick up for myself, I thought it was only fair that I engage in some self-assigned community service”

“You’re a clever kid” Tony said with a laugh. Peter grinned. “But for a clever kid you must be very stupid if you thought for a second that I was going to let you leave this Tower without any kind of adult supervision. Pepper would hang my ass out to dry, and things stop being funny when it’s my ass on the line”

Peter looked slightly crestfallen that is plan had not worked but seemed to accept the defeat.

“What should I do then? It’s gotta be something I can’t enjoy remember” Peter replied in a sing-song tone.

“Clean!” Tony was relieved he’d managed to think of something, “I want this whole floor cleaned head to toe. And your bedroom. And the lobby...and Harley’s room whilst you’re at it”

“Harley can clean it himself!” Peter protested.

“Harley is not due to stay for another two weekends and I’m pretty sure the mold in his room has become sentient” Tony snapped, “And if you really want to be helpful, you can clean out the vents as well. As I recall you’re quite familiar with them”

Peter rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded vaguely like ‘OK’ but may have also been ‘fuck you’. Ever the optimist, Tony decided to opt for the former, so he patted the kid on the back and headed down to the Lab to begin the days work.

After a few hours, Tony decided to break for lunch and disbanded his team. As he looked at the clock, Tony realized it had been four hours since his chat with Peter and he hadn’t heard a peep from the usually hyperactive and energetic teenager all morning.

He sighed.

“Friday, how long has Peter Parker been gone?”

“He left in his Spider-Man suit at 10.05am Sir. He did clean everywhere you’d asked him to before he left though”

Tony cursed loudly. Classic Peter.

Peter knew that he was going to be in deep, deep trouble when Tony realized he had snuck out as Spider-Man. It would be worth it, though. He’d been hit with a ton of heavy anxiety that morning when he woke up and realized that it had been exactly five hundred days since his Aunt May had been killed in a car crash. 500 days of having no family of his own, 500 days of being alone.

There had been a time, not so long before, when this realization would have forced Peter into a massive panic attack and rendered him unable to get out of bed all day unless physically forced. It wasn’t like that anymore. He was better now. The therapy was working and Tony and Pepper had been so kind to him; kinder than he deserved. He felt safe and happy but that didn’t mean being reminded he had no family of his own left didn’t still hurt.

As Peter swung around Manhattan, which was unusually quiet that morning, he was left wondering just how unobservant Tony Stark was. The lack of Iron Man flying out of the tower in search of him clearly meant Tony had not yet realized Peter was gone, which was just lax considering Tony spied on him with an A.I. and had a tracker installed in the suit.

Deciding to take advantage of the situation, Peter began to travel in the direction of Queens. Namely Shipley’s Graveyard. Where May had been buried.

Finding an empty alleyway in Queens, Peter quickly changed out of the Spider-Man suit and into his normal clothing. He’d tried his best to come and see May as much as possible but what with living in Manhattan now it wasn’t as easy to get over. He felt bad that her grave was probably neglected and run down.

Picking up some flowers from a nearby store, Peter breathed a heavy sigh as he made his way up to his Aunt’s headstone. He was used to death. Death had been around all his life. It had taken his parents, his uncle and then his aunt. In a sad way, Peter felt Death had been the only real and unchanging constant in his life. He couldn’t help but wonder if it would strike again.

Aunt May’s death had hurt like hell. It felt like overkill. Like the universe really had been playing some kind of sick “how can we make Peter Parker suffer as much as possible before the age of fifteen” game with him. As if his parents and beloved Uncle hadn’t been enough, Peter had also had to lose the one person left in the world who he could have remembered them with.

“H-Hey” Peter said quietly as he finally reached May’s headstone, “I’m sorry it’s been so long since I came to see you. I guess I just got busy….living with Tony Stark, well, it’s...err, busy to say the least. School’s crappy. I’m doing well but I’m only here today cos I got suspended for fighting again…”

Peter could practically see May’s disappointed face as the words left his lips.

“This kid, Flash, just seems to have it in for me” Peter went on, “I feel bad cos Mr Stark had to pull so many strings to get me in Midtown and I’m kinda letting him down. I dunno if you are watching over me or whatever but..err...if you are, I guess you know they’re adopting me”

Peter felt immense guilt. He hoped that if his family were watching over him, they were happy that he’d been taken in by such nice people. Like Pepper always said, just because he was being adopted didn’t mean that his real family meant anything less.

-”It feels weird. I like Tony and Pepper and all the team. They’re great, and I’m really grateful they’re willing to put up with me and my bullshit permanently, but they’re not you. And they never will be.”

It wasn’t until Peter looked down at the headstone and saw the top of it was slightly wet did he realize he’d started crying.

The teenager sat down on the cold, damp floor and simply cuddled himself up to the headstone.

He just wanted some time.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE KID’S GONE!” Pepper exploded at Tony, Bruce and Nat as she walked through the door having been pulled out of a meeting due to several frantic phone calls, “All you had to was make sure he didn’t leave! How hard can it be to keep one teenager on lockdown”

“In my defense, this teenager happens to be super intelligent and possesses more physical strength than the rest of his grade combined!” Tony feebily attempted to defend himself. Natasha cringed. Pepper turned on her husband.

“Tony, it doesn’t matter if he can bench you and Bruce at the same time, he still needs to learn that it’s not safe for him to just take off wherever he wants whenever he wants” Pepper stated icily, “He needs to learn to respect our rules”

“I’m sure Peter’s come to no harm” Bruce interjected, trying his best to be helpful, “He’s a smart kid and well already know he knows how to take care of himself”

“He’ll be back with his tail between his legs before we know it” Natasha said, shooting Pepper a smile.

Pepper breathed and sat down.

“I know, I know all that” she said as Tony sat down next to her and took her hand, “I just wish he’d talk to us more. And not just run away whenever things get a little bit tough”

“He’s come such a long way though” Tony said, “Look...I didn’t wanna say this yet, but I do actually know where he is. The tracker on the suit lost its signal for a while, but it picked up again about twenty minutes ago”

“Where is he?” Pepper asked.

“Shipley’s Graveyard, Queens” Tony stated simply. Pepper took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

“He’s gone to see May” the relief was evident in Pepper’s voice as Tony gave her an encouraging smile, “Sorry I shouted….why d’you think he’s gone there today of all days anyway?”

“She’s his aunt” Natasha offered before Tony could say a word, “In my book he doesn’t need a reason to go and see her”

“I’ll go get him” said Tony getting to his feet.

“I’m coming with you” Pepper said, as she followed him she turned back to Natasha and Bruce, asking them to put on some warm food for when they got home with Peter.

“Poor kid” Natasha observed once Pepper and Tony were out of earshot.

“He’ll be fine, Nat, they’re going to him” Bruce said with a weak smile.

“It’s never easy when he’s been there though” Natasha reminded him, “It’s like seeing her grave reminds him of what he’s lost. He’ll be reeling”

After a largely silent car ride, Pepper and Tony pulled up to Shipley’s Graveyard. Tony regretted how run down and deprived the area around it was, May Parker deserved a lot better, and it only ever added to Tony’s stress whenever Peter came to visit by himself.

From the car, the two could see Peter sitting next to his aunt’s gravestone. Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. Even from a distance, the sight was heartbreaking.

“It’s raining, he must be freezing” Pepper practically whispered, “We need to make sure he gets checked out by Bruce when we get back. Being out in this for god knows how long can’t have been good for him”

“Seems like it’s probably the last thing on his mind” Tony replied stoically. “I think you might need to take this one, Pep”

Pepper shot her husband a confused look. It was normally Tony who managed to coax Peter back down from things like this with humour and bags of promises. She was more the disciplinary side of things. Though Peter did readily approach her for more hugs than he did Tony.

“Are you sure?” Pepper asked, “He normally wants you”

“Not today” Tony stated, “Think about it - I’m the one he disobeyed, I’m the one he ran away from. If he sees me coming, he’ll think he’s in trouble and bolt before we can do anything. It’s better if you take this one”

Her heart swelling with pride for her husband (Peter hadn’t been the only one to have grown a lot over the last year), Pepper unbuckled her seatbelt and kissed him on the cheek before grabbing an umbrella and getting out of the car. She took a deep breath as she approached Peter.

He was sitting on the ground, his head resting against the headstone and had blotchy red marks under his eyes. It looked as if the poor boy had been crying for hours.

Peter gave her a small smile as he registered Pepper approaching.

“Hey” he said simply

“Hey yourself” Pepper replied, she stood over Peter and looked down at the headstone. It always made her shudder. “We’ve been worried about you”

“I’m s-s-sorry” Peter’s teeth chattered as he stumbled over his words, “I didn’t m-mean to worry you but I just n-needed to c-come h-here today”

“That’s fine, honey, but you know we’ll always bring you here” Pepper said kindly, she was relieved as Peter stood up and approached her. He ducked under the umbrella and she put a protective arm around him. “You shouldn’t be sneaking out of the Tower by yourself to come here. We’d always rather bring you, cos we know what effect seeing May’s grave has on you”

Peter nodded, he turned away from Pepper, not wanting her to see him cry. Pepper hated that he felt the need to do such a thing but Peter had a real problem with allowing women to see him upset. He was a lot more comfortable being open with the men in the tower.

“Sorry” he murmured once again, “I guess I’m probably grounded forever now or something”

“Maybe not forever” Pepper replied with a laugh, “....Or at all, I’m not going to punish you for coming to see her. I just wish you’d tell us before you go swinging away like that!”

“Fine” Peter huffed, “I’ll get the bus next time”

Pepper laughed out loud. He was back.

Within an hour, Peter was snuggled up between Tony and Pepper on the couch at home as they watched a movie. Natasha and Bruce’s attempts at making food had proved regrettable so they’d ordered in Chinese food.

“You’re still freezing Pete” Pepper observed. Peter was currently wrapped up in three blankets and was wearing a massive jumper.

“I can feel myself warming up a bit now” Peter replied with a yawn. He rested his head on Pepper’s shoulders and she began to run her fingers through his curly hair. It was one of the best ways to provide Peter with some kind of physical comfort relatively easily.

“Is it true Pepper yelled at you guys?” Peter asked. Natasha laughed.

“Yeah, she did” Bruce replied with a grin as Pepper flushed, “She’s quite scary when she gets going isn’t she?”

“You’re telling me” Tony interjected. Pepper used her free arm to hit him on the shoulder. She felt Peter’s shoulders move up and down below her she giggled.

“I’m glad you’re OK now Pete” Natasha said, giving Peter a smile that was immediately returned tenfold, “But please for the love of god stop just taking yourself off on little adventures. The one maternal bone in my body can’t take it”

“Sorry Nat” Peter replied, sounding genuinely earnest and apologetic. Tony grinned at Natasha; she’d never give herself the credit but he was sure that they’d not be where they were with Peter if not for her. The two of them had formed a really nice bond.

“So...we do need to discuss one more thing” Pepper said cautiously, “And that is what we’re going to do to avoid situations like this again in the future”

Peter nodded. He knew he’d overstepped a few boundaries.

“Well, first, I think what we need to do is establish why the situation occurred in the first place” said Tony, “Mainly because the version we seem to be going with at the moment paints me as making some form of grave mistake and, well, that’s just impossible”

Pepper noticed Peter’s body tighten up once again. She kept stroking his hair and he soon breathed and seemed to release a bit of tension.

“Peter, there’s clearly something in your mind” she observed kindly, “Or something upset you this morning - if you tell us why, we might be able to help you”

Peter looked from Pepper to Tony to Natasha and then took a deep breath.

“It’s 500 days since May was killed” he replied, so quietly that Bruce and Natasha had to quickly lean in to hear him.

Tony’s heat sank like a stone. Peter always kept a tally of how many days it had been since May died. He and Pepper had talked about the habit and how unhealthy they felt it was on numerous occasions but not even Peter’s therapist seemed to be able to get him to stop.

“I don’t know why it bothered me so much” Peter continued, “I knew it was coming. I’d been through so many other milestone days, but when I woke up this morning and saw it had been 500….it just hurt, I can’t really explain it”

Pepper nodded and carried on stroking his hair. Peter seemed unwilling to elaborate on the matter any further and the adults surrounding him accepted the decision. Peter was evidently very tired and Tony knew that even admitting the issue would have been a massive step to overcome for the teenager.

“Did spending time with May help?” Tony asked a few minutes later.

Peter didn’t reply but did nod. Pepper kissed him on the forehead as he began to drift off to sleep.

“Eurgh, can you please tell him to stop being so adorable ” Nat said sounding genuinely put out a few minutes after Peter had seemingly dropped off. She and Bruce said their goodbye’s and headed off to bed.

“Think I may be stuck here for a while” Pepper whispered with a giggle, pointing to the sleeping teenager on her lap.

“I’ll make you a coffee” Tony said. Pepper rolled her eyes.

As Tony headed to the kitchen to start, Pepper continued stroking Peter’s hair and looked down at him fondly. They’d come along way from her threatening to call the police on him seconds after he’d crashed through the vent above her office. He had seemed like nothing but a troublesome street kid back then, but now, she wouldn’t be without him.

She’d never really thought about having kids. It had always been about the job, and she still wasn’t sure if she’d ever want kids of her own. But Peter. Having even a little role in helping him blossom into the man he was becoming had been one of the proudest achievements of Pepper’s life.

“Love you, kiddo” she whispered as she looked down at him.

Then. For the first time, Peter replied.

“Love you too, Pep”.

Chapter Text

4.03am

Peter Parker bolted awake in a cold sweat, breathing heavy. As he tried to get his breath back he looked over at the clock on his bedside table and couldn’t help but be impressed he’d managed to make it past 4am before he woke up. He usually only managed about four hours of sleep at best and woke up at around 2 or 3 in the morning.

The nightmare had been manageable. Not pleasant, but he’d had worse. It was the typical thing - Bank robbery, Uncle Ben standing between Peter and the robber, Peter frozen in fear, the gun going off and Ben yelling for Peter to help him as he lay bleeding out on the floor. As always, Peter was unable to move or speak. He just stood there and watched his uncle die. Night after night after night. Peter had long since accepted that the nightmare was just a part of who he was now, and he saw no reason to make Tony or Pepper or anyone else on the team aware of it. It wasn’t as if they could do much anyway.

Sighing, Peter started scrolling through his phone but soon became bored and quietly ventured outside of his bedroom. During these times, Peter liked to set himself up in the living room overlooking Manhattan and watch the sun come up. It had been one of his favourite things to do with May back when he lived in Queens.

The early morning starts may have been a bit of a pain in regards to Peter actually sleeping, but they did give him an opportunity to complete some of his more....eccentric little routines without anyone noticing. The biggest was his daily spot check of all his items. Peter knew it was stupid and probably really mean as he was living with some of the best and most courageous people in the world, but every morning he had to make sure that every item he personally owned hadn't been taken. Peter kept a list in a private notebook of every item that he personally owned and would check it off every morning.

It didn't necessarily matter if the item wasn't in his room, as long as he knew where it was then he could breathe easy. Peter dreaded to think what Pepper and Tony would think of him if they ever found out he basically assumed they were thieves. 

As Peter cautiously made his way into the living room, he was started to see someone already up and sitting on the sofa.

Wanda.

“Peter?” she asked, “Is that you? Why are you up at this time”

“Thirsty” Peter replied quickly, “Just came down to get a drink - err, what are...you doing up at this time?”

“Couldn’t sleep, things on my mind” Wanda said with a yawn, “It’s very annoying being up at this time in the morning. It will throw my sleeping pattern all off.”

Peter smiled to himself as he turned his back on Wanda and went to make himself a drink. What fun it must be to actually sleep so much it became like a pattern.

“Yeah, that sucks” he replied, trying to sound as casual as possible, “Anyway, I better be going”

A little annoyed that his routine had been disrupted, Peter turned to head back to his bedroom with a drink of unnecessary water in his hand. It was as he was about to step into the elevator that he heard Wanda sniff. She was crying. Peter’s heart panged as he heard her continue so, taking a deep breath, he turned around and walked back over to her.

Wanda looked surprised as he climbed on to the sofa next to her.

“I’m fine” she said simply

“You’re not” Peter replied, “I’m a world expert on not being fine and you are definitely not fine - what’s the matter?”

“I don’t want to trouble you with this, kid” Wanda replied, giving him an appreciative smile, “You’ve got enough going on yourself without worrying about me and my problems”

Peter frowned.

“Tony and Pepper always say I should talk about what’s upsetting me” he said softly, “It’s really hard sometimes but it does always seem to help in the end”

Wanda took a deep breath and turned towards Peter.

“You never got to meet my twin brother Pietro did you?” Wanda said. Peter shook his head, though he had heard a lot about him.

“He was my best friend and protector rolled into one” Wanda went on, “He died and I was helpless to stop it - it just gets to me sometimes”

Peter smiled at her, “You’ve picked the right person to speak to” he muttered. Wanda cringed as she realized who she had actually just said all that to.

“Peter, I’m so sorry” she said honestly, “I should have thought”

“No biggie” said Peter with a shrug, doing his best to ignore the tightening feeling of anxiety in his chest, “This isn’t about me - for what it’s worth, Steve’s really good to talk to about this stuff. He helped me a lot. Maybe you should speak with him as well?”

Wanda nodded. Peter could tell she probably wasn’t going to actually go and seek Steve out for help, but Peter knew it was the best idea he could think of. If he ever managed to stop feeling guilty over Ben’s death he’d make sure to pass on the way he did it to Wanda.

“You’re a sweet boy” she said affectionately. Peter blushed and looked away. He hated being called sweet.

“Much nicer than that other one who comes here sometimes” Wanda went on, “No manners at all”.

Peter grinned, he would have to give Harley some grief over Wanda’s opinion of him the next time he visited. He was sure Harley’s annoying crush on Wanda might mysteriously vanish if he knew.

-

“....And no getting into any trouble…” Pepper’s ‘back-to-school’ lecture was entering its seventh minute and Peter was struggling to focus. He was mainly excited to get back to school and see Ned and MJ. He had no intentions of going after Flash, fighting with Flash or even acknowledging Flash’s entire existence.

“Peter, did you hear what Pep said to you?” Tony asked a few seconds later, bringing a dozy Peter out of his daydream. His mind had drifted from Ned and MJ  to Liz Allan and whether she would be think his new haircut was cool.

“Don’t draw anymore mustaches on Steve’s poster in the gym?” Peter guessed. He couldn’t believe he’d guessed right as Pepper and Tony both nodded.

“Yes, Steve gets very upset at seeing himself get defaced” Tony remarked, “I for one think it’s hilarious when it happens to me.”

Peter grinned as Pepper rolled her eyes and frogmarched the teenager to the elevator and down into the lobby. Peter didn’t really get why Pepper was doing so, he’d been quite open about how keen he was to get back to school.

“Have a good day, honey” Pepper said softly, “If you have any problems with Flash please go and find a teacher….or let some other kid whom I don’t have to be responsible for beat him up”

Peter nodded. He knew MJ had just been waiting for an opportunity. As Peter gave her a quick hug and departed the tower, he could feel Pepper’s eyes burning into his back as he walked away. They’d made a deal whereby Peter could get the subway to school twice a week and Happy would drive him there on the others. He knew that if Pepper had really been able to have her own way then Happy would be driving him in everyday, but Tony had fought Peter’s corner and bought him this bit of independence.

The solo journey to and from school never caused much drama. Peter normally just stuck his headphones in and did his best to ignore the hustle and bustle of the loudest city in the world around him. Whilst most kids his age would listen to their favourite music, Peter found it much more relaxing to listen to wave noises and tropical sound effects. He knew it was a bit strange and people would probably make fun of him if they ever found out, but it helped him get through his day.

Once he arrived at school, Peter signed himself in at the front door and headed to Principal Johnson’s office to have his reintegration meeting. These were a compulsory meeting suspended students needed to attend before they were properly permitted back into the classrooms. Peter had been to countless numbers of them for one reason or another over the years, he knew the drill by now.

“Mr. Parker, take a seat” Principal Johnson said formally as the teenager followed him into his office, “I was actually hoping to speak with your and Mr. Thompson together however Mr. Thompson’s father is insisting that you not be in the same room”

“Fine by me!” Peter exclaimed, “I mean - I’m sorry he feels that way, but I think we can all agree me and Flash staying out of one another’s way is probably the best”

“Yes, I am inclined to agree” Johnson said with a reluctant smile on his face, “Peter I just want to say - please let this be the last time you and I have to go through this meeting. You’re too good of a kid to be getting yourself suspended.”

“Your logic doesn’t quite add up there, sir” Peter replied as politely as possible, “If I was a good kid, I wouldn’t even have been suspended once”

To Peter’s surprise, this made his usually stern Principal laugh out loud and give Peter a look that read almost in the same way Steve Rogers’ would. Peter shifted slightly uncomfortable in his chair.

“You teenagers, you still see the world in black and white” Johnson said as he got out of his chair to open the door for Peter, “If I want one thing from you Mr. Parker by the time you leave Midtown….it’s an admission that you are and can be more than just a good kid. You could be a fantastic once.”

So everyone tells me

Peter gave the Principal a weak smile before exiting his office.

-

“And then Betty looked at me….twice, she looked at me twice Peter” Ned Leeds relayed excitedly to Peter over lunch. Despite the fact that Ned had been texting him pretty consistently over the week he’d been suspended, it seemed as if Peter had missed out on a lot in his absence.

“That’s great Ned, that’s really cool” Peter said in the calmest voice possible, he was sure Ned was dangerously close to hyperventilating, “....Have you actually spoken to her yet?”

“We’re not quite at the speaking phase yet” Ned admitted. Peter and MJ avoided eye-contact so as not to smirk

“Yeah, but y’know what they say Leeds” MJ said, putting her book down and leaning across the table so she could whisper, “Once you get out of the creepy stalker phase it’s super easy to just...hop right into talking”

“It’s not stalking! If it was stalking, I’d be following her to the bathroom or something” Ned exclaimed.

MJ shrugged and returned to reading her book

“It might be….y’know, worth at least trying to talk to Betty” Peter chimed in, registering that his best friend now seemed a little embarrassed.

“Oh yeah, cos it’s that easy” Ned replied sarcastically, “I’m not you Peter. I can’t just go up and talk to girls”

Peter raised his eyebrows at Ned, who in turn rolled his eyes

“You talk to girls all the time, girls like you, and some even think you’re cute” Ned went on, “It comes easy to you”

“Yeah, cos girls are people, Ned” Peter said slowly. MJ was lowering her book to listen once again, “It’s not hard to talk to people ”.

Says the boy who bottles up literally every emotion he has.

“I wanna stop talking about this now” Ned said quietly. Peter patted his friend on the back and turned his attention to MJ.

“Good book? Enough murder?” he asked

“Adequate” MJ said casually, before groaning as a particularly small and innocent looking Freshman kid came and joined them on the table. She hid herself behind her book once more as Ned rolled his eyes and leaned across to the boy.

“Hey Miles” he said simply

“Hi” the boy named Miles replied quietly, his eyes almost completely fixated on Peter who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

“Oh, Peter, this is Miles. He’s the kid who-”

-”I defended against Flash!” Peter exclaimed, relieved to finally remember why Miles’s face was so familiar to him.

Miles blushed. Furiously.

“He’s been sitting with us for a week” Ned whispered to Peter, “I think he hoped you’d be here”

“Oh, well now I am!” Peter exclaimed once again. Miles sniffled a little.

“I just wanted to say thanks, and I’m sorry you got into trouble for defending me” Miles said, “You didn’t have to”

“Flash was being a dick, it’s no biggie” Peter said casually, “And don’t worry about it, I’ve been excluded before. He hasn’t given you any trouble again has he?”

Miles shook his head.

“Good” said Peter, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms, “Well...let me know if he bothers you again and I’ll take care of it”

MJ smirked. Loudly.

“Problem?” Peter asked

“No problem” MJ giggled, “I’m just wondering if you’re about to make Miles an offer he can’t refuse”

Peter rolled his eyes and talked directly to Miles.

“Ignore MJ” he told the younger boy, “She doesn’t have a soul. And she doesn’t take my tough guy persona seriously”

“You’re scared of bees”

“I was scared of one bee one time, Michelle”

“Look into the eyes of your hero kid” MJ addressed a bemused looking Miles directly for the first time, “Scared. Of. Bees.”

“Bees are kinda scary” Miles muttered. Peter beamed.

“We’re keeping him” he said, pointing at the now smiling freshman.

-

Once Ned had taken himself off to his next class, and Miles ducked away to go to the bathroom, Peter and MJ were left on their own for the first time in a while.

“How was last week then? Really?” Peter asked her.

“Well, clearly you must’ve told Ned to make sure I didn’t spend my entire week behind a book” MJ said snarkily, “Because the guy had conversation topics written on flash cards, Peter. Every. Single. Lunch”

Peter smirked. He hoped Ned would never change.

“And did you engage?” he asked

“Reluctantly” MJ admitted, before taking a deep breath, “If you say this to anyone I will deny it and throw you under a very public bus, but I actually really missed you not being around last week”

Peter grinned.

“I knew you loved me” he said confidently.

“I love being able to give you shit” MJ corrected him, “Which I haven’t done yet by the way….have you started to raid Tony Stark’s actual wardrobe”

“No? Why?”

“You’re starting to look like a mini-me Stark” MJ said with a devious glint flashing in her eye, “Permanently attach a Starbucks cup to your right hand and you’d be a fully fledged doppelganger”

Peter was finding it hard to be offended by being compared to Tony, and was still smiling to himself as they exited the lunch hall and headed for their next class. History. The only class they had together.

“Liz Allan was asking after you” MJ told Peter casually as they walked to class, Peter found himself going slightly red, “I told her to just message you or something but I guess she didn’t”

“No, I don’t think she did” Peter said, attempting to sound as casual as MJ, though he of course knew for sure that Liz had definitely not done that.

“Hmmm, strange” MJ observed, “She did keep asking him. It was annoying, and as Ned can’t talk to women, I had to be the one to speak to her!”

“How awful” Peter smirked, “I will try my best not to get suspended again and then you won’t have to talk to anyone”

“It’s all I ask” MJ said brightly.

Peter felt content as he followed her into class.

-

“Hey kiddo” Natasha said brightly as Peter arrived back in the living room and tossed his backpack to the side, “Tony and Pep are still in a meeting until late so I’m in charge of your dinner tonight”

“Great” Peter tried to muster as much enthusiasm as he could. Natasha was greatly skilled at a lot of things, but cooking wasn’t one of them. “D’you want me to help you?”

“No, you’ve had a hard day at school, I bet” Natasha said, “I swear to god if this stove doesn’t turn on in-”

“How about we just get take out?!” Peter suggested quickly. Natasha considered the idea for a second, appeared to agree and ceased her attempts at making food herself. Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

She came to join him on the sofa.

“Good day then?” she asked him.

“Not bad actually” Peter tried not to sound too surprised, “Quite good even. I think I might’ve made a new friend”

“Oh, that’s good” Nat said with a smile, “I’m told friends are quite a nice thing to have”

“You have friends!” Peter piped up. What am I then?

Nat laughed bitterly. “I’m joking Pete”

"Oh” Peter said, feeling a tad embarrassed, “Hey, Nat, d’you think you could give me some advice?”

“I could give it a shot” she replied, “Not sure how good it’ll be though.”

“It’s about girls”

“What girls?”

“Girls my age!”

“Then definitely not”

“ You’re a girl!” Peter exclaimed, “You were a teenage girl once”

“Peter, when I was a teenager my government were training me to assassinate men three times my age, height and weight” Natasha said bitterly, “I didn’t really have time to worry about whatever it is teenage girls worry about”

“Yeah, but, you’ll still know more than anyone else I can ask” Peter stated, though he was sure Pepper would give him some advice if he asked her. Problem was...he didn’t want to ask Pepper about stuff to do with girls, and Tony was a definite no go. Peter also couldn’t gage whether Steve had any clue about romance whatsoever.

“Fine, what either of us got to lose” Natasha said enthusiastically, “Though I do think we should get one thing straight before we delve in”

“What’s that?”

“She probably has a crush on you”

Peter did a double take.

“Yeah, I don’t think so” he said, “I don’t think any girls have crushes on me. Or boys for that matter. I’m not a very crushable kind of guy”

“Sure you’re not” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Liz definitely does not have a crush on me” Peter said with a laugh, “She’s Liz and I’m...well, I’m me.”

“Liz? She has a name then?” Natasha replied teasingly. Peter cringed. He’d just revealed way too much. “I never said anything about not making fun of you” she reminded him.

“Yeah” said Peter with a sigh. He frowned. “God, I’m an idiot. I just scoared a total own goal didn’t I?”

“Damn straight, kiddo” Natasha gave him a smile, “Now pass me over that Chinese Menu - cos me and you are going to have a chat about the wonderful Liz over our meal”

Peter groaned. Total own goal.

-

Pepper and Tony got home a few hours later, by the time they did Peter had done his nightly patrol and was absolutely exhausted. He only managed about five minutes with his guardians before heading to bed.

Sleep seemed to come easier to him that night, but it didn’t stop him from jolting awake from shock once again a few hours later. Same nightmare as always. Same outcome. Same guilt. Same anxiety. Same remorse.

As Peter looked across to the clock on his bedside table, he did notice that something was different.

He’d slept until 5.07am.

Progress?

Chapter Text

4.

Bad Day

Pepper Potts had always been incredibly perceptive. Her perceptiveness was probably the sole reason Tony Stark was still alive, so when her adoptive son emerged from his bedroom looking like hell, she knew something was wrong in a second. Peter's eyes were red raw, his normally slick hair all messy and out of place, and his beautiful brown eyes were plagued with a heavy weight that told Pepper there was something seriously bothering this kid. He made a deliberate move to avoid making eye contact with her as he entered the kitchen. Peter only ever avoided eye-contact if there was something he wanted to hide. 

"Morning" he grumbled, helping himself to some Orange Juice.

"Hey kiddo" Pepper replied, doing her best to make sure her voice came across as casual but supportive, "Good night sleep?"

"Not really" Peter muttered, "Didn't really sleep"

Pepper nodded and have Peter a comforting pat on his shoulder. They'd been working on his sleeping patterns over the last few months and whilst Peter's sleep had improved overall, she still wasn't satisfied that the boy was getting enough. Especially considering his enhanced abilities, Peter should have been getting several hours of sleep a night and whilst Pepper didn't know the exact numbers - from one look at the kid, it was clear whatever he was getting wasn't enough. If he was getting any at all. 

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry about that" Pepper replied sympathetically, "If you want I can write you a note today? I'm sure one day away from school isn't hurt. Why don't you head back to your room and try and get a few hours in now?"

Peter gave her a smile, one tinged with sadness and anxiety. Pepper just wanted to throw her arms around the kid and shield him from the world. 

"Thanks, but I'll be OK" he said, trying his best to sound confident and assured. Pepper could tell he was anything but. "I've had worse nights than that and gone to school after. I have decathlon practice tonight anyway, and MJ will kill me if I don't show"

"Well, don't say I didn't offer" Pepper replied teasingly, "You must be the only damn kid in New York City who wouldn't jump at the chance to play hooky - especially if their mu-I mean, guardian was offering to call in school for them"

Pepper hoped Peter either hadn't notice or wouldn't acknowledge her near Freudian slip and, to her relief, he did. He simply rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, most kids in New York haven't missed the amount of school I have in the past" he said bitterly, "I like going to school. It's routine. I don't want to miss it unless absolutely necessary - or if I get suspended for punching Flash again".

Without another word, Peter picked up his backpack and bid Pepper goodbye with a quick kiss on the cheek. She held her cheek where his lips had met her face. As she watched Peter leave, her heart hurt. The chat with Peter had done nothing to reduce her worries.

Today was not going to be a good day. 

-

Ned Leeds considered himself a very lucky boy. Midtown was a great school, and he had some genuinely good friends there. Sure; he still got some nasty comments over his weight from time to time and he could stand to up his grades in a few classes, but things were going pretty well. His family weren't ever going to be rich, but everyone was together and happy. Ned had even managed to start a conversation with Betty earlier in the week and now she'd agreed to be his Lab partner for the rest of the semester and it was all thanks to the person who was Ned's favourite reason for getting up and heading to school in a morning;

Peter Parker.

Simply put, Peter Parker was the best friend that a kid like Ned Leeds could wish for. He was the nicest kid in the world. Peter would do anything for anyone, and he was utterly fearless with it. For as long as Ned could remember, Peter had had his back and defended him against anyone who had tried to make him feel bad about himself. Even before he'd been bitten by that radioactive spider and wayyy before he'd gone to live with Tony Stark; Peter Parker had been a superhero in Ned's eyes. 

The only time the usually optimistic and cheery Ned ever felt down about the state of the world were the moments when he would stop and consider everything that his best friend had been through in his short life, and thought about how damn unfair it all was. To lose his parents at the age of six was bad enough but to then lose his Uncle and Aunt in such quick succession just a few years later was nothing short of cruel. Especially for Peter, who had the biggest heart of anyone Ned had ever met, and whom Ned knew one hundred percent blamed himself for it all. 

And when it had come down to it, Ned hadn't been there for his best friend in the way that Peter had always been there for him. He'd turned him away. Tearfully and regretfully, but he'd turned him down nonetheless. Ned would never forgive himself for being the reason Peter ended up spending months living on the streets. Not that he'd known that at the time but Ned knew the lingering feelings of guilt he got from time to time would be something he'd carry for the rest of his life. Peter Parker deserved the world, and Ned knew it was time to step up and do his part to help him get it.

Ned's heart sank when he saw Peter approach him at school that morning. He'd clearly not slept a wink, and would likely be putting off a panic attack all day.

"H-Hey man, how're you?" Peter asked shakily as he approached Ned at the locker. Ned took a moment and sighed heavily. There Peter went again. Trying to pretend like there was nothing wrong when clearly there was something very wrong. 

"I'm fine, thanks" Ned tried to sound as bright as he could, "Are you OK? You look like you haven't slept much"

"Yeah, I've had better n-nights" Peter went on, "Y-you sh-should really t-try living in downtown M-Manhattan. They don't call this the city that never sleeps for n-no reason and I guess that m-makes me the b-boy who n-never sleeps"

Ned laughed weakly at Peter's attempt as a joke. He knew full well his best friend was lying through his teeth; Mr. Stark had soundproofed Peter's bedroom when he'd moved in a year ago. Peter didn't need him to start asking a ton of questions about how he was; that would only make Peter defensive and would make it harder for Ned to be able to get through to him when the inevitable panic attack took hold. And it would take hold. 

"Hey guys!" Miles's eager voice rang out. Ned cringed. He liked Miles, a lot, and he kind of liked that Miles was maybe the only person in the world to think he was cool but the last thing Peter needed right now was to be fan-boyed over by the kid. If Ned thought Peter was a superhero, Miles seemed to consider the boy to be God himself. Ned felt like pulling Peter away from it all, but before he could, Peter had taken a deep breath and shut his locker

"Hey Miles" he said brightly. Miles did not know Peter well enough yet to realize it was all an act. "I had a look at your d-drawings l-last night, th-they're r-r-really g-good. I'd love to see some more!"

"Sure!" Miles's excitement was evident, "I've got tons more! Maybe you guys could come over to my apartment one night and I could show you? My Dad says I should sell some of them for some extra cash - d'you think people would be interested?"

"They'd be i-idiots n-not to" Peter exclaimed. Ned cringed. The boy was struggling to get through his sentenced, even Miles seemed to be wising up to the fact that all was not right with Peter Parker. "R-right Ned"

"Yeah" said Ned softly, looking at his best friend in the eye, "They'd be idiots"

Miles seemed to take this as his queue to leave and bid the boys a friendly goodbye as he ran off to catch up with some friends he'd made in his actual grade. That had been a relief. Ned noticed Miles take a concerned look back at Peter, who was now breathing heavily against his locker.

Ned wanted to scream at his best friend. Stop being so kind and nice and worried about everyone but yourself. Let us help you. But he knew he couldn't say that to Peter; instead he just put a supportive arm around his best friend's shoulder and guided him to homeroom.

Today was not going to be a good day

-

Despite increasing gossip to the contrary throughout Midtown, MJ did not have a crush on Peter Parker.

They were friends. Good friends, and they also happened to be male and female which - to the idiots at school - obviously meant they were in love with one another. The rumors didn't necessarily bother MJ on a personal level, though she knew how much Peter hated being spoken about behind his back and so really resented each and every person she overheard discussing the matter. Fortunately, the gossip didn't seem to have reached Peter himself yet.

As she sat in the library waiting for Peter to join her to cram in some extra study time during their mutual free period, MJ became aware that people around her were whispering and giggling in her direction. As she always did, she rolled her eyes and pulled her current reading book out of her bag. 

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Liz Allan's voice rang out from above MJ's head. Meeting her teammates eye, MJ shrugged and allowed her to sit down. Liz smiled graciously and started to unpack her bag. MJ hated most people, and that did include Liz, but as far as annoying popular girls were concerned she was tolerable. It was only as Liz sat down and began studying herself that MJ realized Peter was ten minutes late.

"Have you seen Parker?" MJ asked Liz, trying to sound as casual as possible. Liz's friends were some of the most prevalent rumor mongers. 

"Only in Home Ec" Liz replied absent mindedly, "He wasn't looking too good now I think about it. Very jittery. Y'know what he can get like". MJ frowned. She couldn't help but wonder exactly what Liz thought was wrong with Peter. Jittery? What did she even mean by that? Peter was jittery and restless at the best of times, he was very naturally hyperactive and excitable. 

"Oh, I might go and see if I can hurry him up then" MJ said, putting her book down and reaching for her bag. If Peter hadn't been looking well and was 'jittery' then that probably meant that he was either in, or about to be in, the middle of a panic attack. MJ was used to Peter having panic attacks. He'd had them for pretty much as long as she could remember knowing him, and she and Ned had become pretty good at talking him down from them. Her parents seemed to resent that this fell to her whilst they were at school but MJ didn't mind. Peter had had a very rough time of it, and she kind of liked that she was able to help him in even a little way.

Liz sighed and made an annoyed noise. 

"Hold up!" she shouted after MJ, "I'll walk with you - I left my binder in the classroom"

MJ hesitated. It would hardly be fair on Peter or Liz to bring her along to Peter's panic attack, if he was having one. 

"It's OK, I can get it for you!" MJ tried to sound bright and helpful, but it didn't come naturally. Liz looked skeptical.

"No, it's OK, but thanks" Liz replied sweetly, "I'd rather take a walk. Studying can get very tiresome"

MJ wanted to make a snarky comment about how Liz had only been sat down for two minutes but realizing that Peter might be in crisis, chose not too and walked off towards the Home Ec room with a pace that seemed to startle Liz. 

"I just want to say" Liz was saying as they both approached the empty classroom, "I think it's really sweet that you and Peter have the relationship you do. Everyone knows you two have liked eachother for a years, and I don't believe those rumors about the only reason you didn't get together before now was because he thought you might be a lesbian. I know you're not"

MJ rolled her eyes. She really didn't have time for this shit.

"I'm. Not. Dating. Peter" she told Liz in such an icy tone that the other girl did a slight double take, "I don't even like him like that. We're just friends"

To MJ's surprise, Liz's face actually lit up a little bit. 

"Oh, well in the case, I was-"

Whatever Liz was about to say was very quickly drowned out by an anguished scream from inside the classroom. Liz seemed terrified, and almost reached to stop MJ from running into the classroom, but there was no stopping her. Liz reluctantly followed.

Peter was curled up in the corner of the classroom, rocking back and forth with his hands holding his knees. He was crying, hard, and seemed to be struggling to breathe. MJ took a deep breath as she ran to him and lifted his head up so their eyes could meet. Peter whimpered as he recognized her face.

"Deep breaths Parker, you know the drill" MJ said sternly

"N-n-not g-good" Peter's breathing was so heavy both of the girls had a hard time understanding what he was saying. Liz stood near the door of the classroom, feeling utterly useless. "Be-Ben's w-watch I've l-lost his w-w-watch. H-he h-he"

At that point, Peter became completely inconsolable and let out another anguished cry. MJ was worried. She'd been with Peter through many panic attacks and meltdowns before, but had never seen one this severe. He looked like he was going to pass out and die and didn't seem able to even catch his breath. Looking around the room, MJ noticed Peter's ever present backpack slung in the opposing corner of the classroom and gestured at Liz to go and get it.

Liz complied. She looked like she was just grateful to be doing something. MJ knew that she'd have to do a hell of a lot of explaining to Liz and probably even the Principal after this but Peter's welfare was more important.

"You can do one of two things for me" MJ addressed Liz directly, "You can either reach into Peter's backpack and call Tony Stark on his cellphone or you can sit here and do your best to help Peter whilst I do it. He likes to have his back rubbed or have someone put their fingers through his hair when he gets anxious"

Liz looked like she'd rather turn and run a million miles in the other direction. MJ couldn't blame her. The first time she'd ever seen Peter go into crisis had terrified her as well, but to Liz's credit she stayed firm and chose to try and comfort Peter whilst MJ phoned Tony. The girls switched positions as MJ stood up to grab the cell phone. Liz set herself down next to Peter and started to trace her fingers up and down his back.

"M-Mr. Stark, hi, it's MJ" the first girl said shakily into Peter's cellphone. Tony always answered straight away when Peter called him. "No - Peter's not good. Not good at all...worse than I've ever seen"

MJ turned around to see Liz cooing Peter and continuing to trace her fingers up and down his back. His breathing had become clearer and his whole body seemed to have stopped shaking as Liz told him about being stupid for forgetting her binder in the classroom and then some stupid story about a game she'd played with her dog in the park the night before. Peter even managed a little laugh when Liz relayed how she'd nearly fallen into a mud puddle when the dog had pulled hard on its lead.

"Y-yeah, just get here as soon as you can" MJ went on, hating herself for the overwhelming feelings of jealousy she felt as she watched Liz successfully start to bring Peter around from his panic attack.

-

Tony hung up the phone. He had been having a quick mid-morning coffee break with Natasha when MJ's call had come through. Tony had a lot of time for Peter's friend, she was almost like his woman on the inside when it came to Peter and school. She was blunt enough to keep Peter's snarky attitude in check whenever it reared is head, honest to the point of parody so Tony knew he could always rely on her for a truthful re-telling of a days event but also caring enough that Tony trusted one hundred percent that she would only ever act in Peter's best interests.

"What's up?" Natasha, who had heard Tony's half of the conversation, asked with wide concerned eyes. 

"Peter's having a major panic attack at school" Tony said sounding stressed as he frantically searched for his car keys, "I gotta get down there. C-can you let Pepper k-know and th-then"

"Tony, calm down" Natasha said firmly. Tony realized he'd been panicking himself and took a deep breath, "Why don't you let me drive you down there? I feel like Peter might need you to be with him once we get him"

Tony smiled at Natasha and gave her the car keys. He was grateful for all the help the team had given him and Pepper when it came to Peter over the last year; but Natasha and Steve had really gone the extra mile when it came to the teen. 

They spent most of the drive to Midtown in silence. Natasha wasn't a massive fan of driving in the city and Tony was too pre-occupied with trying to figure out what could have triggered Peter so badly since yesterday; as far as he could remember there hadn't been any traumatic or notable milestones pass for any of the kids various dead relatives, there had been no arguments or cross words over anything, Pepper had even agreed to take Peter shopping for the new sneakers he'd been hinting at for weeks over dinner the previous night. He'd gone to bed happy. Admittedly, Pepper had said the kid seemed a bit out of sorts in the morning but hadn't seemed overly concerned. 

Tony concluded that something major must have happened with Peter at school. He made a mental note to prepare himself for another very long, and very loud, meeting with Principal Johnson about whatever it had been that had triggered a panic attack so bad it had even managed to scare MJ. Tony was pretty sure MJ was the only kid in the school who was not remotely phased or intimidated by him, in fact he was pretty sure he was more scared of MJ than she was of him. For the panic attack to have freaked MJ out meant that it must have been really bad. 

By the time they arrived at the school, Tony was so pent up that he just rushed inside and didn't even bother to sign in with the office as was required. Natasha instead followed and did all that. Tony had had to pick up Peter from school so many times, for so many different reasons, that he now knew the building like the back of his hand and was able to reach the classroom Peter had broken down in very quickly. 

Tony was shocked by the sight of the kid. He looked like a ghost. All the colour had drained from his angelic face, his beautiful brown eyes were hollowed and his cheeks were red raw. Surrounding Peter was the familiar sight of MJ but to his left sat another girl, looking equally concerned, who was tracing her hands up and down Peter's back. Tony selfishly felt a little relieved, but ultimately guilty, that the worst of the panic attack seemed to be over. Peter was now in recovery. He was sitting up and was able to focus on who was around him, and seemed to be aware of the conversation the girls were having across him, and his eyes immediately darted to Tony when he entered the room. Nat followed just behind Tony and seemed to have just the same reaction to the site infront of her. 

"T-Tony" the relief was evident in the teenager's voice as his guardian approached him. "S-sorry I m-made you have to c-c-come get m-me. I'm O-OK now t-though." 

"Nothing to be sorry for kiddo" Tony said approaching the three teenagers and squatting down to make their eye levels. It was clear Peter was not quite settled enough to move out of the room yet, "And don't even start to bullshit and say you're OK. I'm taking you home"

Even Peter couldn't protest the decision. Tony felt a little twitch form on his lips as he looked between MJ and the other girl, both of whom had their eyes transfixed on Peter and were seemingly close to tears over the whole situation. He made a mental note to himself to tease Peter about the two very pretty girls he had looking after him, but now was not the time. Mostly Tony felt guilt. Guilt that Peter had had to go through this, guilt that two teenage girls had had to be the ones to deal with it and overwhelming guilt that not one person in the tower had noticed Peter's state of mind earlier in the day.

After a few minutes, Peter was ready to go. Tony helped him to his feet and slung a protective arm around his shoulders and began to walk him to the door. He was briefly worried that Peter had buckled again as they stopped just before the door, but instead Peter had stopped to pick up a pink and flowery designed binder from one of the desks. He briefly shook Tony's hands off his shoulders and approached the new girl.

"Hey, here's your binder L-Liz!" he said shakily, handing 'Liz' her binder. Tony again hid a smirk as he noticed the amazed look on the girls face. 

Get used to it young lady, he'll find new ways to melt you every day. I should know.

-

Nat smirked.

So this is Liz.

She was very pretty, and from the look on her face, she definitely liked Peter. As Tony lead the teenager out of the classroom, Nat hung back and asked the girls to stay behind for a minute.

"Thank you, both" Natasha said kindly, "Tony was really worried coming over here but I think now he knows that you two are here for Peter at school - well, it'll make him rest a bit easier....where's Ned by the way?"

The girls both shrugged. Natasha felt bad for the boy, from the little she knew of Ned she knew that he'd probably spend days beating himself up for not being there for Peter when he was needed. She made a mental note to get Peter to give him a call later on and assure him all was good.

"W-will Peter be OK?" Liz asked, addressing both Natasha and MJ, "Cos that was like....really scary? Does that happen a lot?"

"Not as much as it used to, thankfully" Natasha replied, "But it is scary when it does happen, and believe me, I've seen some scary shit in my time". MJ looked at the floor shyly, which allowed Natasha conclude that Peter had - most likely accidentally - divulged her history in the KGB. Liz was blissfully unaware of the context of the statement. 

"Will you tell Peter that I'll call him later, Nat?" MJ asked, "I just wanna know he's OK"

Natasha nodded and thanked the girls once again before turning on her heel and walking quickly to catch up with Peter and Tony who were now waiting inside the car. Nat climbed into the drivers seat and looked back to see Peter snuggled into Tony's side on the backseat. Clinging to his guardian as if he was the only thing stopping him from falling down some deep, dark hole. 

"Hey there, Romeo" Natasha addressed a slightly calmer Peter playfully, "Rough morning, huh?"

Peter weakly nodded as Tony gave Natasha the signal to start the car. The journey back to the tower was, again, mainly silent. Peter's breath was still shaky and it was clear he hadn't properly shaken off whatever was wrong yet but Nat knew that being with Tony was the best place for him. She couldn't help but feel slightly as if she'd imposed herself on the situation; Pepper really should have been the one to come with Tony but she'd been in a meeting when they'd got the call and Tony had wanted to get down to Midtown as quickly as could.

There was a selfish side of Natasha, however, who was quite pleased she'd been the one to come with Tony. Having lead the life she had, Nat found it very tricky letting people in past the walls she'd built up around herself, though a few had managed it. The first had been Tony and Pepper, themselves, taking her in and giving her another chance when she was sure no one would. Then there had been Steve, then Bruce. But none of them had demolished the walls as quickly as Peter Parker had. The first time Natasha had met him, a few days after he'd so infamously crashed through the vents, she'd been hit with an overwhelming desire to protect.

Here was this young kid, sparky and full of life, but utterly without purpose or anyone caring about him in the right way. He was on the streets. He'd had to beg, steal and borrow to get by. Natasha admired the boy, he was a survivor. In a way he reminded her of herself. Then, the tragic past had come to light and the desire to protect this kid had steadily grown in all of them. And as they got to know him, he'd turned out to be so precious and kind, that Natasha had made a promise to herself that she was going to be there for him in anyway she could. 

Peter Parker had wormed his way into her heart and, though that made her uncomfortable, she wouldn't have it any other way.

When they reached the living room, Tony went to Pepper's office to let her know face-to-face all that had gone on that morning. This left Natasha with Peter for a few minutes, and now that Peter seemed to be finally getting back to his old self, she couldn't resist having a little bit of a joke with him.

"Didn't know you had two girlfriends, kiddo" she said sweetly, "I'm impressed"

"They're not my girlfriends" Peter replied seriously, "They're both just girls. Who are my friends."

"Is that not what I just said?"

"No, and you know it wasn't" Peter stuck his tongue out. Natasha grinned, though the grin immediately vanished when she noticed Peter's face drop and screw itself into an anxious frown once again. 

"What's up babe?" she asked softly, immediately tracing her hands through his hair. 

"Liz saw me have a panic attack" the kid said mortified, "Oh my god - I'm never gonna live that one down, am I? She's always going to see me as that loser who can't even get through a Home Economics class without a major freakout"

That's now how she sees you at all bud, trust me.

"Did-Did I hand her her binder as I was leaving?" Peter asked 

That was all it took for Natasha to finally break into a fit of giggles. She was relieved when Peter joined in.

-

Steve had missed most of the days drama, having done some outreach in Brooklyn throughout the morning, so was five steps behind everyone else as they discussed the days events over dinner. He couldn't help but feel a tad guilty that Peter had had such a bad setback and he'd not been around to help him through any of it, though he knew that Tony would have been the person Peter would have wanted to be there the most.

The kid had alarmingly good recovery skills, by the time Steve came back at 6.30pm, you'd almost never have known anything happened. The were a few tell-tale signs. Peter's face was still a little red and blotchy, his hands were shaky as he held his fork and he was sitting very, very close to Tony's side. 

"I'm glad you're OK" Steve told the boy, "And for what it's worth - I don't think it's cringey that you handed Liz her binder, I think it's very gentlemanly and you should be proud of yourself"

"God, Cap, you're such a nerd" Tony muttered as Peter grinned. 

"One thing" Pepper brought up, "Peter - sorry to do this over dinner - but we still haven't established exactly what it was that caused this all in the first place?"

Peter burrowed further into Tony slightly, Steve watched with soft eyes as Tony put a protective arm around the teen and assured him that whatever it was there would be no judgement from anyone. Steve nodded in Peter's direction as Tony assured him; after everything the kid had been through in his short life the least they owed him was the respect and understanding to help him address his anxieties. 

Peter took a deep breath,

"Well - I didn't sleep well, or at all, for a start" he said with a heavy sigh, "So I was up and then...well, sometimes, I like to just ch-check that all my st-stuff is still where I-I think it is which I know is st-stupid..."

"That's the least stupid thing I've ever heard" Tony stated bluntly. Steve had to agree, he'd done the same every day when he'd been in the army.

"Oh" said Peter simply, "Well....anyway, everything was where it should be and then I n-noticed that my U-uncle Ben's watch was m-missing." It was clear even talking about it was sending the kid on another spiral so Tony started to rub his back. Peter took another deep breath and carried on.

Steve's heart dropped.

The watch.

The stupid freakin' watch?!

He'd found a watch laying around on a windowsill last night and had moved it to the kitchen drawer so it wouldn't get damaged or lost. Had he known the watch had been Peter's uncles he never would have touched it.

-"And I still can't find it!" Peter was ranting on and on, "It was the last thing Ben gave me before he d-died"

Every word was like torture for Steve. He'd caused the kid so much anxiety, so much unnecessary suffering. He honestly felt like bursting into tears. Peter was for sure going to hate him after this.

"We'll find it, honey" Pepper reassured the boy, "It must be around here somewhere"

"I know where it is" Steve admitted quietly, before standing up and heading over to the drawer he'd put the watch in. Peter watched him intently as he did so. Steve took a deep breath before fishing the watch out of its hiding place. The whole room's eyes were on him.

Steve presented Peter with the watch.

"I'm sorry kid" he said honestly, "I just found it laying around last night and moved it here so it wouldn't get broken. I'd never have touched it if I'd known it was yours".

Peter's face scrunched up and Steve was sure that the kids old volatile tongue and fight-or-flight syndrome was about to be directed his direction in a major way. Steve felt oddly vulnerable. However, instead of the swearing and shouting he was expecting, the boy threw himself into Steve's arms in a bone crushing hag. Everyone looked surprised, but no one moreso than Steve himself.

"Thanks for keeping it safe" Peter whispered. Steve was utterly confused. "No one's ever done anything like that for me before"

"Err, you're welcome?" Steve said, looking to Tony for guidance but the man just shrugged, "Peter - you have to be understand, I am so sorry. I promise I'll never touch any of your things ever again"

"Well, that's bullshit" Peter said with a giggle, "If you can't touch my stuff than you're going to have a really hard time helping me and Ned with that new Death Star lego set on Friday night aren't you?"

Natasha smirked. 

-

"I'm sorry you had a bad day, honey" Pepper said warmly as she sat on the edge of Peter's bed. He hadn't asked her to stay until he drifted off to sleep, but was glad she'd decided to regardless, "If it's any consolation I don't think Steve is ever going to stop beating himself up for the rest of his life"

"He shouldn't" Peter replied with a shrug, "It all worked out in the end"

Peter couldn't help but feel bad. He'd caused everyone so much worry and upset, all because he wasn't able to deal with something going missing in a normal way. All he needed to have done was look in one drawer and the whole mess would have been avoided. He couldn't blame Steve for that. 

"Pep?"

"Yes, honey"

"Am I crazy?"

"No more than the rest of us"

"I'm being serious!" Peter exclaimed, "I don't handle things the way normal people should. Look at today. All that could have been avoided if I'd actually looked for the damn thing instead of instantly freaking out and working myself into a state"

Pepper examined Peter with sympathetic eyes. He looked away. He didn't want her to look at him like he was some fragile porcelain doll. Even if he absolutely was. 

"No, you're not crazy" she said calmly, "You've just got....baggage, but we know all of that. And we're working through it, aren't we? You've come a long way"

"Doesn't really feel like that today" Peter sighed, "Feels like I went ten steps in the wrong direction. I've probably freaked Liz out forever, and Ned is feeling awful for not being there for me. MJ's got better things to do as well, you all do."

"Now, stop with the pity party mister!" Pepper snapped. Peter gulped. "Honestly, if you would take a minute to pause once in a while and realize how many people love you, we'd have a lot fewer problems"

"Sorry, I'll try"

Pepper looked as if she was going to snap at him for a second time, but stopped herself. Instead, she lent down next to Peter and ran her hand through his hair. 

"I've been thinking," she said, "Maybe I should get you an appointment with the school shrink? I think it could do you some good. We may be damn good at this, but there'll always be someone better"

"A shrink? So you do think I'm nuts" Peter moaned.

"That's not what I said" Pepper stated firmly, "You're not nuts. You just have a lot of issues, and maybe it would do you good to discuss those issues with a professional. Just think about it...promise me?"

"Fine, I'll think about it" Peter said with a yawn, turning away from him, "Just promise me one thing"

"What?"

"If I go to a shrink, Steve needs to go as well" he replied with his trademark cheeky grin back on his face, "I think he may have a guilt complex"

Pepper laughed.

"You've got no idea, kid"

She kissed him on the head and let him drift off. Taking one last look at him before she turned out the lights, Pepper felt that same rush of love and concern she'd felt that morning. They were getting there. They maybe weren't quite as far along as she'd maybe thought they were, but Peter agreeing to see someone professional was a major step. The last time she'd suggested that, they'd found him trying to pack his bags and run away the next morning. Satisfied, Pepper turned out the lights and let the boy rest.

Today had been a bad day, but the bad days were few and far between now.

- 

Chapter Text

5.

Peter was shaky for a few days after the incident with the watch, he mostly just felt embarrassed around everyone that had been involved in the situation. Steve was incredibly apologetic and had taken it upon himself to clear an entire drawer in the kitchen to avoid a repeat of the incident. Peter now had his own drawer in the kitchen, a place where anyone who found anything of Peter's laying around in the tower could store it away and he'd be able to find it easily. Steve seemed very proud of the idea, and Peter was grateful though he felt a tad childish and spoiled that they'd all gone through so much trouble just for him. Though as bad as he felt, Peter did feel slightly more at ease knowing that if he ever lost anything again, there was a place it would end up.

He'd also been dealing with a lot of teasing from everyone about, apparently, having MJ and Liz at his beckoned call at school. He knew it was just light hearted banter from the team and some of Sam's comments had been downright hilarious, but Peter dreaded word getting back to either of the girls about it. MJ would probably slug him and never speak to him again and Liz would end up just thinking he was even more of a loser than she already did. 

Ned, who had missed Peter's panic attack, had made even more apologies than Steve over the last week. It had come to the point where Peter had run out of ways to assure Ned that he wasn't mad at him, so was just waiting until Ned was going to be able to get over it. 

"Hey man" Peter said enthusiastically to the face of Harley Keener as they began their weekly Skype session that Thursday night, "How's it going?"

Harley and Peter had first become acquainted during one of Harley's visits a few months back just after Peter had moved in with Pepper and Tony. The boy had apparently been in contact with and visiting Tony at the tower for a few years, and made it over as often as he could. Life in Tennessee could get very boring. The boys had had a rocky start - very unsure of what to make of one another, and both very insecure that the other would cancel out their role in Tony's life. But as Harley's visits became more and more frequent they'd started to bond and realized they shared a lot of things in common. And now they were having weekly Skype sessions, something Peter very much looked forward to.

"Not too bad, counting down the days until I can get out of this dump" Harley said brightly, "7 days to go!". Harley's next visit was in a weekend and the boys were very excited as Tony had organized it so Peter could have the Friday and the Monday off school so the boys could spend more time together. Peter knew it was Tony's way of making him feel better after the regression but he was excited nonetheless. 

"Yeah, I got loads of stuff planned!" Peter replied enthusiastically, "Loads to tell you as well. I might have been talking to Wanda about you..."

Harley blushed and rolled his eyes

"Oh man, don't mess with me like that" he said with a grin on his face, ".....How're you anyway? Tony told me you had a setback a few days ago. Apparently Steve stole your watch or something"

Now it was Peter's turn to blush

"It was nothing" he muttered, of course knowing that wasn't strictly true, "Everyone overreacting a tad. And don't say that infront of Steve, whatever you do, I've had more apologies this week than I've had hot dinners. In my life."

"Yeah, but you are an outlier. Street kid." Harley reminded him. It annoyed Tony to no end but Harley's own special way of helping Peter deal with the trauma of his past was to make the odd joke or light observation about it. Peter had been shocked and upset the first time Harley had done so but almost a year on, he actually found that having someone who wasn't afraid to make light of the darkest days of Peter's life was strangely helpful. It helped Peter feel more grounded, like a real person. He did know, of course, that Harley genuinely cared for him and that he would never push it too far.

Harley also didn't know everything that had gone down during Peter's time on the streets. No one in Tower knew that, not even Pepper.

"Very funny, shame your Dad isn't around to laugh at your joke's" Peter snapped back. To any outsiders, it probably sounded like the boys were being incredibly nasty to one another, but it was the way their friendship had grown. Harley laughed along. 

Once they stopped, Harley took a deep breath.

"Pete - seriously - tell me if you're not good in future, yeah?" he asked, "I don't like hearing shit like that from Tony or Pepper and I know I'm in another state but...I'd still like to think I can help you if you need it"

"You do" Peter replied with a smile, "You make me feel more normal than anyone else".

"Shit git too real too fast tonight!" Harley announced with a laugh after the boy's had sat awkwardly for a few seconds following Peter's statement, "Let's go back to talking about Star Wars or girls or whatever it is normal teenage boys talk about"

We're not normal teenage boys though.

"OK...well, just to give you the heads up...I'm getting some major shtick on my end at the moment" Peter said, though he couldn't stop the grin creeping across his face, "Nat and Wanda have become obsessed with this idea they've got in their heads of me having two girlfriends at the same time"

Harley's eyes lit up. Peter gulped and wondered if he'd just made a massive mistake.

"Two girls? Wow? Didn't know you had it in your Parker" Harley's tone did not give Peter any clues as to whether the boy was genuinely impressed or just teasing him like everyone else, "If I had to take a guess - I'm gonna say it's that moody girl and Lily or whatever her name is"

"MJ and Liz, you mean? Yeah, it's them" Peter replied slowly, "And I'm not dating both of them. I'm not dating either of them. I'm not dating anyone, no girl's at school really pay attention to me. And the few that do probably just....I dunno..."

Peter trailed off. Harley rolled his eyes and reached for some chips off-screen.

"Parker, you're so fucking clueless, honestly" Harley stated with a smirk. Peter frowned. "The girls at school are probably just intimidated that you live with a billionaire, though I also wouldn't discount the fact they're probably just scared if they talk to you MJ might beat the crap out of them"

Peter hadn't considered that. MJ probably would try and beat up anyone who messed him about. Feeling awkward, Peter steered the conversation way from girls and on to what the boys had planned for Harley's visit. The last time Harley had stayed, the boys had realized that he'd never actually visited a lot of New York's most famous landmarks so Pepper and Peter had planned a day of sight seeing that he knew Harley would secretly enjoy, even if openly the older boy said he was just going to go to humor Pepper. 

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Peter turned to see a tired looking Tony standing in his doorway, his arms folded and his eyebrows raised. He looked as if he'd just been woken up. 

"Problem?" Peter asked.

"It's a school night, kid" Tony said sternly, "And you have been wittering away on that thing for 2 and a half hours. It's nearly 2 am"

"Yeah, so, you've still got like three hours until you turn in" Peter replied. Tony raised his eyebrows. "And I'm talking to Harley, it's not like I'm on Internet poker or selling mine or someone else's organs to foreign gangsters"

"That would probably involve less talking, so I'd rather you were doing that" Tony sighed as Peter turned his laptop around so Harley could see Tony. 

"Hey Tony!" Harley said enthusiastically. 

"Kid" Tony have a short reply and nod to the Tennessee boy, "Shouldn't you be in bed? Or has that state of yours outlawed school on a Friday?"

"Err, I don't think I have to listen to you unless I'm in New York" Harley replied cheekily. Peter hid a grin. 

"Christ, you're not even here yet and already you two are starting your double act crap" Tony said, though his tone of voice let both Harley and Peter know that he wasn't in the least bit angry. They both knew the fact they had become friends actually made Tony very happy. He was probably delighted he was telling them that Skyping at 2.00am on a Friday morning probably wasn't the best idea. "Go to bed kids!"

With that, Tony left. Harley and Peter smirked for a few seconds before they both mutually concluded that they were, in fact, quite tired.

"Six days!" Peter said excitedly

"See you then, Pete" Harley replied with a yawn before exiting the Skype session. Peter shut his laptop down and lay back into his pillows. Resting an arm on the back of his head, Peter looked up at his bedroom ceiling and smiled. 

Six days.

-

By the time Peter arrived at school a few hours later, he was sure that he'd not make it through the day. He was exhausted. Having spoken with Harley until the early hours, Peter's mind had been racing so much that he hadn't actually been able to get any sleep in whatsoever. By the time he was starting to drift off, it was practically 4.00am and he needed to start his daily routine. The spot check of all his items had gone as planned and watching the sun rise over Manhattan had calmed him down somewhat. Pepper had arrived downstairs at 6.30 and they'd made everyone breakfast together. 

Peter was already struggling to keep his eyes open when he left for school, he felt lucky that it was one of the days Happy was dropping him off. Walking into Midtown, Peter looked around for sight of Ned or MJ but neither had arrived yet so he took himself off to the school library to get some extra study time in. At least, that's what he told himself. Deep down he knew that if he was going to fall asleep, there was the best place to do it.

"Hey Peter, you're here early" Liz Allan's voice greeted him as he walked in. She was sitting on a table by herself towards the back of the room. Peter blushed and stumbled a little as he made his way over to her.

Don't yawn Don't yawn Don't yawn Don't yawn

"Yeah, I, err....Tony's got a busy day today. Easier to get me out the way as soon as possible" Peter said as he sat down next to her. He didn't know if it was a result of how tired he was feeling, but he didn't feel as nervous as he usually did when he spoke to Liz. She giggled, brushed her hair behind her ear and moved a few of her things so he could have some room for his books. 

"I still can't believe you live with Tony Stark!" she said, "It's so cool - I mean, it's not cool why you're living with him obviously but it's still...y'know, cool"

"Yeah, I like it" Peter replied with a smile. He was a little amused to see Liz be the one to stumble over her own words for once. "Listen....if I've not already said it, I am really really sorry that you had to see me like that the other day."

"Oh gosh, Peter" Liz said sounding a little frustrated, "You have already apologized to me about it like twenty times and as far as I'm concerned you didn't even need to once. You had a panic attack, d'you know how many people get panic attacks everyday?"

She's just being nice cos she's Liz and she's nice.

You still made her feel uncomfortable and scared

"OK, and this will be the absolute last time I'll bring it up - but, sorry!" Peter was back to being the one to embarrassingly stumble over his words, "I'm totally getting them under control though! Pepper said she's going to set me up a meeting with the school shrink and I have my first session next week!"

Liz felt charmed by the boys' insistence on assuring her that he was OK. Peter Parker was a sweet boy, that's why everyone liked him as much as they did. Liz just wished that one day Peter would realize that everyone at school - with the possible exception of Eugene Thompson - actually liked him a lot. She was, however, a bit worried that Peter seemed to be under the impression that one counselling session would somehow solve all of his problems. 

"That's great, Peter, that's really good" Liz replied sounding very sweet and genuine. Peter's heart swelled. She was so nice. He didn't know why she seemed to like him as much as she did but he wasn't complaining. "If you don't mind me saying, you do look a little tired. You...always look a little tired though, I guess"

"Yeah. It's all linked" Peter replied simply. Liz gave him a smile and the two sat together studying in silence for a few minutes until they were interrupted by a bagel and a coffee being hurriedly placed down on the table. Peter looked up and was half amused and half concerned to see Ned standing infront of him, panting and out of breath with a big apologetic look written all over his innocent face.

"Are you OK? Ned?" Liz asked sounding concerned.

"Yeah f-fine, just n-need to get my breath b-back" Ned panted. Peter raised his eyebrows, Ned had never spoken infront of Liz until now.

"Either way, I don't think you should be eating that bagel for a while" Peter observed. Liz smiled at him.

"N-not for me anyway" Ned went on, his breath coming back to him, "I got it for you?"

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Ned, for fuck sake, I am not mad at you" the boy snapped, "And if I was mad at you, I'd hope you would have known by now that buying me a Bagel wouldn't win me around. At least get me a muffin or something"

"Cool, cool, I'll get you a muffin tomorrow then"

"That's not the point. I don't want a muffin, I don't need anything.....and tomorrow's Saturday"

"Oh....then why did you say you wanted a muffin"

"It was an example of-oh, never mind" Peter huffed impatiently, "Ned for the last god damn time - I am not mad at you. Would I have liked it if you'd been there for my panic attack? Sure. The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned-"

-"Peter, don't make jokes-"

"-It's my mental health problem so I will make as many jokes about it as I want" Peter went on, he was aware of Liz's eyes darting back and forth between him and Ned like tennis balls. "Anyway, my point is, Ned you cannot be there every time I struggle and I don't want you to be. Like I said, these are my problems and I have to be the one to face them. I know you care, and it's great you wanna be there for me, but it's not on you to fix me."

Ned looked at the floor, clearly struggling to hold back tears. Liz's heart ached for him.

"I know that" Ned said quietly, "I just-"

"Are the best friend I could ask for" Peter interrupted him, "Don't beat yourself up about it Ned, I'm really not worth it"

Ned wanted to argue back. Tell Peter he absolutely was worth it, but he knew the boy wouldn't listen. His self-worth was way too low for Ned to be able to do anything about it, even if he could find the right words. Ned noticed Liz frown upon hearing Peter's statement as well but she too chose to ignore it.

Peter, however, broke into a wide smile.

"We good?" he asked Ned

"Yeah" said Ned feeling a little relieved, "Yeah. We're good, I'm just gonna go and y'know....bye"

Peter looked confused as Ned quickly excused himself, but figuring his friend just needed the bathroom, chose not to think too much of it and went immediately back to his studying. It was only when he noticed Liz staring at him affectionately that he looked up.

"Problem?" he asked, "D'you want the bagel or something?"

"No, I'm good" she replied with a grin, "You two are very sweet. It's nice you have a friend that cares about you so much"

"A little too much some might say" Peter replied sardonically, gesturing to the coffee and bagel. 

"Funny, really" Liz went on, "How annoying it is when someone keeps apologizing for something they are absolutely, positively not responsible for"

"I know!" Peter exclaimed, "It's so frustrating I-oh, I see what you did there. Clever."

Liz shot him a wink, which made Peter's stomach do a somersault. He blushed furiously and looked back down at his book.

"Oh, before I forget" Liz said sweetly, "Party at mine next Friday night? You in!"

Peter didn't hesitate for a second.

-

"You're going"

"I'm not"

"You're invited"

"You're invited"

"Which, by extension, means you and Ned are invited!" Peter exclaimed over lunch as he sat with Ned and MJ. He'd excitedly told them about Liz's party next week and assured them both they would be welcome. Liz hadn't technically invited them but she had told Peter to bring along whoever he wanted and he knew for damn sure he wasn't going anywhere without them. He had worried for a second when he realized Friday was one of the nights when Harley was due to be staying but having quickly messaged the boy, it seemed like Harley was more than up for going to a party.

"MJ, come on, for me?" Peter asked, putting on the biggest puppy dog eyes he could, "Just for an hour. You can chill in the corner with me and Ned, talk shit about everyone and then go. We probably won't go for much longer ourselves anyway"

"So, you expect me to dump my plans for a Friday evening and sit around with a group of people I can't stand just for you?" MJ asked incredulously, "And don't think I don't know you're doing that puppy dog eye thing on purpose Parker, I'm not dense"

"Come on MJ, it might be fun!" Ned exclaimed, "And I'm sure Peter won't ditch us for his new popular friends"

Peter blanched. He didn't have any popular friends, except maybe Liz. None of the popular kids in school even really noticed him. He'd got a bit more on their radar due to the mix of everyone hearing about Aunt May's death and his sudden adoption by billionaire Tony Stark, but even then the interest that had generated was fleeting. As far as Peter was concerned, his social standing in school hadn't changed at all.

"Is that what you guys think?" he muttered, "That I'm so shallow that I'd ditch you - the only two people who have been there for me through everything - for some shiny, new popular friends at the first chance I got? If that was the case, I wouldn't have even asked you to come with me in the first place"

"You have a point" MJ said slowly, "I guess.....Peter, are you worried about going to this party from an anxiety perspective?"

Peter sighed. She knew him so well. As excited as he was to have been asked by Liz, he knew it was her party and she wouldn't exactly be able to spend that much time with him and he barely knew anyone else that was going. Having Ned, MJ and Harley there meant he could go and enjoy himself and just be a freakin' normal teenager for one night. 

But you're not a normal teenager.

And you're selfish for making Ned and MJ feel guilty about not wanting to go.

They've got better things to do than babysit you all the time. You're pathetic.

Realizing he hadn't answered MJ's question yet, but now feeling utterly ashamed of himself, Peter merely shrugged and picked at his food. His silence, however, seemed to confirm MJ's theory to her and she smiled softly at him.

"I'll do it" she said rolling her eyes. Peter lifted his head up and smiled at her. "For you"

"Thanks" Peter said sweetly, "But you really don't have to if you don't want to I'm sure it'll be fine if you don't come like I can be casual and blend in. Totally". Ned and MJ looked concerned as Peter had said all that in one breath. 

"No, you can't" Ned said sternly, "We'll come. It'll be fun, we can pretend we're all normal for a night."

"Oh, and Harley's coming too, cos he's here next weekend!" Peter said. Ned frowned, to say he and Harley didn't see eye to eye most of the time was a bit of an understatement. MJ didn't really have a reaction, instead choosing to take herself out of the conversation and re-focus on the book. 

You don't deserve friends like them.

They don't want to go to a stupid party with you.

Liz isn't even going to pay any attention to you why are you even going anyway?

Peter ignored the voices in his head. He was determined to go to Liz's party and at the very least enjoy himself. 

-

Peter was pretty much dead on his feet by the end of the school day. He'd had to cancel Ned coming around to help him build the Lego Death Star model with Steve as he just wanted to get home, curl up and fall to sleep. That hadn't done wonders for Ned's guilt complex but the boy seemed to have noticed how tired Peter was so didn't go home to downbeat about it. It turned out to be just typical luck that on the one day when Peter was exhausted, due to be picked up and therefore hadn't brought his wallet to school that Happy got held up in traffic and was running late.

Sitting himself down on the steps outside of school, Peter settled in for what could be quite a long wait. He was surprised when MJ came and sat down next to him.

"Not going home?" he asked her

"I'm in no rush" she said casually, "And I wanted to apologize for earlier. I should have realized why you wanted me to come to Liz's party with you, and not just immediately assumed you were trying to annoy me"

"Can't both things be true" Peter answered with a yawn. MJ playfully hit him on the shoulder with her book as they both laughed.

"Well, if anything, it'll get my Mom off my back for a while about having no social life" she went on, "She's worried that I'm like...depressed or something cos I never leave my room on a weekend."

"Are you?" Peter couldn't help but ask

"No....don't think so anyway" MJ replied, sounding as if this was the first time she'd actually considered the possibility, "I just prefer my own company. You know that. I always have, I don't really need friends"

"You have friends" Peter told her with a smile on her face. Trying her best to ignore the whooping feeling a direct smile from Peter Parker and his stupid gorgeous face and his stupid gorgeous puppy dog brown eyes gave her in the pit of a stomach, MJ rolled her eyes and looked at the floor.

"I have you" she stated firmly, "You're my friend. Leeds is tolerable, and I can kind of put up with that Miles kid. But other than you guys - yeah, I think it's safe to say I'm not really inundated with friends."

"Tony?" Peter couldn't help but bring up his guardian as a joke. He and MJ had hit it off surprisingly well.

"Early days" MJ said with a smirk, "See if he'll buy me a Ferrari and then we'll see where we are"

Peter grinned and laughed to himself. MJ studied him. With her personality the way it was and her complete lack of desire to interact with anyone, Peter Parker and her really should never have been friends. When Peter was at his best, he was the most confident, caring and charming person MJ had ever met and he never had a bad word to say about anyone. The only person whom she'd ever seen make Peter angry was Flash and even then....Peter had been provoked. He was the complete opposite from her in every possible way and yet, he was the only person in her life that seemed to understand her. 

"I heard some people talking about us today" Peter said casually a few seconds later. MJ merely tried to focus more on her book and not acknowledge that he'd spoken, she knew exactly what was coming. "We're dating, apparently, don't know if you knew that"

"No. Pretty messed up of you not to tell me" MJ tried her best to sound as if the words hadn't hit her like a falcon punch. This was absolutely the last conversation she wanted to have with Peter. 

"Pretty messed up of you not to tell me" Peter replied, a yawn overtaking his sentence mid-way through. MJ looked at him sympathetically.

Does he EVER sleep?

"You're tired" she noted

"Yeah, I am" he replied simply, "Think I'm just gonna get home and go straight to bed. I'm beat."

Just as MJ was about to reply, Happy Hogan pulled up and pipped his horn. Peter looked back and MJ and smiled.

"That's me. Can we give you a lift? I'm sure Happy will be....err, happy to run you home" he said smiling at her once again. Same effect. MJ took a deep breath, shut her book, punched Peter on the shoulder and started walking off.

"No thanks, Parker" she replied, "Us peasants prefer walking"

Peter took her job in good humor and gave her a quick wave before heading into the car and yawning as he was greeted by Happy. MJ found herself waving back as he rolled down the window and said goodbye to her again. She was a little surprised.

Waving? Who have you become?

As she watched Peter be driven away, an overwhelming feeling of melancholy came over MJ. She hated emotion. She hated being vulnerable to it, and she definitely hated letting people in. MJ often wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with her, she had no idea why she was so closed off and reluctant to get close to other people. Everyone else seemed to be able to. Her life had been a walk in the park compared to Peter's and yet here she was; closed off, bitter, unfriendly and not willing to change. Yet after all he'd been through, Peter was still the kind and friendly boy he had been since their first day of Kindergarten. 

MJ didn't have any answers as to why she was the way she was. But one thing had become clear to her, one unavoidable and incredibly frustrating fact;

She loved Peter Parker. 

And that's OK. He's very lovable.

Probably best not to tell him though.

MJ loved Peter Parker. But he was never going to know, no one would ever know.

-

Tony was surprised when he came out of the lab to find Peter fast asleep on the sofa. It was only 3.30pm and the kid normally came bustling into the Lab full of joys about the day when he got in from school; that was, as long as he'd had a good day. Panic consumed Tony as he reached for his cellphone and checked through his messages and calls from the day to make sure he hadn't missed any calls of distress from Peter whilst he'd been working. Nothing.

It was then that Tony clocked the note written on a scrunched up bit of paper next to Peter's sleeping body. Good Day but just really tired, please don't worry. Also can we get Pizza for dinner?  Tony chuckled as he picked up the piece of paper and stored it in his suit pocket. He stroked Peter's hair affectionately as the boy smiled in his sleep. This kid, was it possible he was absolutely perfect? 

"Awww, how sweet" Pepper said as she walked into the room, "He text me and said he'd cancelled on Ned coming around to build that death start thingy with him and Steve. And there's a party next week, apparently"

"A party? He got invited to a party?" Tony repeated as he followed Pepper into the kitchen, "I mean - that's great, but is it a good thing? Do we let him go? Can he handle it? Who's party is it? Should we meet their parents first?"

"Tony, I honestly cannot believe I am about to say this" Pepper replied, barely holding back a smirk, "But you're worrying too much. Peter will be fine. It's at that Liz girls house - the one he has a crush on - she lives in a very nice area, Dad has a successful construction company, Ned and MJ are invited too and it's when Harley's around so he can go as well. The kid's covered all bases"

"Impressive" Tony noted, "He must really wanna go"

"I think he just wants to be normal for a night" Pepper said with a shrug, "I'm not gonna deny him that. And if the worst does come to the worst, I'm sure you'll be secretly parked around the corner just in case disaster does strike"

"Yeah, me and probably 75 other parents" Tony replied defensively, "Hey! Maybe I'll make friends, I could bring a flask of tea. Get some parenting advice from the soccer Moms"

Pepper made an unimpressed face before kissing her husband on the cheek. Tony smiled and began to make himself a cup of coffee. He couldn't deny that hearing Peter had been invited to a party, accepted and sorted out all the arrangements himself made his heart swell with pride. Just a few weeks ago, they'd have all probably had to sit around the table with a panic stricken Peter as they talked through the exact minute by minute plans with him. 

"Hey, how come you get all the news?" he asked Pepper, "He has my number as well. He could just as easily let me know all the thrilling details of mid-adolescent life at Midtown? What gives?"

"He prefers to tell you things face to face" Pepper replied, "Talking to you in the Lab about his day is probably the highlight of his day. Why bother ruining it by letting you know everything beforehand. Also, he knows I wear the trousers and will put a stop to anything that sounds stupid or too much for him to handle before he can get too excited about it."

"Wow" Tony replied with a nod, "So it's almost like....we both have our own uses and strengths? Interesting. And here I was thinking parenthood was...y'know, all about undermining one another and point scoring"

"Who the hell told you that?" Pepper replied

"The soccer Moms of course" Tony said with a laugh. Pepper threw a dishcloth at him as a yawning Peter emerged rubbing his eyes.

"Did you guys order the Pizza yet?" he asked, "Oh - and hi by the way"

"No, but Tony's going to go out and collect!" Pepper said enthusiastically. "Yeah, he's going to drive all around Manhattan until he finds the perfect place to order Pizza from and then he's going to bring them all back to us. In the car. Through commuter traffic"

Tony scorned Pepper internally, however Peter's face lit up.

"Well, let me come with you then!" he exclaimed, heading towards the door in a hurry, "I got loads of stuff to tell you today Tony. You will never believe where I am going this time next week!"

Peter hurried out to collect his cellphone. Pepper smirked at Tony but the billionaire couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed as what Pepper had failed to realize was that hearing Peter chatter on excitedly about his day was also the highlight of Tony's day. 

-

Chapter Text

6.

The weekend seemed to creep on at a snail's pace. Following his exhaustion on Friday, Peter feel asleep pretty early that night and managed to actually sleep right through until Saturday morning. He'd had his usual nightmare, of course, but was able to bring himself around from it on his own quite easily. Unfortunately, his good mood soon evaporated when he ventured downstairs at 7.00am to find out that Pepper and Tony had been called down to D.C. to sort out some (in the words of Tony's hastily written note) "legality bullshit" very out of the blue. They'd not even found time to come and say goodbye to Peter and explain everything away, though Peter accepted it was very self-centered of him to think that he'd be top of their priority list when something that serious came up. Instead, he'd be spending the weekend with Steve and Natasha, both of whom seemed very keen to prove they were able to look after Peter on their own.

Peter liked Steve and Nat, a lot, but he'd never been left alone with either of them without Pepper or Tony around before. He struggled when one of his guardians was away from home, let alone both of them at the same time. Peter's anxiety was not helped by the fact that both Ned and MJ spent most of Saturday ghosting him. Peter could kind of understand why Ned was mad with him; it hadn't exactly been very fair of Peter to cancel plans Ned had been so looking forward to at the last minute just because he was tired. Having replayed their conversation in the library over and over in his head since it had happened, Peter had concluded he'd been a major dick towards his best friend. All Ned was trying to do was be nice for him and to bring him some food and Peter had just thrown it all back in his face and made him feel bad over it. As untrue as the conclusion may have been in reality, by Saturday afternoon Peter had managed to convince himself that Ned no longer wanted to be his friend and had probably decided he wasn't worth the bother.

Can you blame him?

Can't believe it took him this long.

Probably just felt sorry for you.

MJ was a different matter. Unlike Ned, she was very rarely in contact with Peter or anyone else over the weekends. She liked her own space, and Peter understood that. But there was something about the way he'd left things with her on Friday afternoon that was bothering him. He thought he was being nice offering her a lift in the car, saying Happy would've gladly dropped her off at home. The more that Peter thought about it, the more he could see how snobby and spoiled he came across. He knew damn well that MJ hated any kind of charity and that Peter flexing his newly acquired wealth, none of which he'd actually worked for, probably made him come across as worse than Flash on a bad day. 

Why are you surprised?

They both hate you.

They just felt sorry for you.

Because unlike you they're nice people.

They're both probably relieved you fucked up.

And they're safer away from you.

Tony and Pepper will be next if you're not careful.

The negative voices in Peter's head were back and were getting louder and more frequent. It felt like they were there at every turn, ready to knock him back down to reality the second that he actually started to feel happy and settled. It was getting like they had been in the bad days. But Peter was different now. A year of being properly cared for and made to feel like he belonged had made him stronger, and he knew deep down what the voices were saying wasn't true. For the most part. He was still sure he was cursed, and it was only a matter of time until his arrangement with the Starks ended in some kind of disaster. Still, it wasn't exactly pleasant hearing such negative things about himself all day, and feeling his anxiety levels rising Peter was sure that the best thing he could do to shut them up for a bit was go and swing from some skyscrapers.

His Saturday patrols were one of the highlights of his week. Pepper had restricted his time on school nights, but Saturday afternoons were all his. He never felt more free and relaxed than when he was swinging around Queens or Manhattan, helping people in whichever little way he could. And with no Pepper or Tony around for the night, he knew that he could very easily trick Steve and Natasha into extending his curfew by an hour or more. Peter panicked slightly as he looked over to the digital clock on his bedside table and realized that he'd been sulking about Tony and Pepper leaving in his bedroom for almost seven hours and hadn't even ventured out of his room yet.

"Oh, it lives" Natasha remarked from behind a magazine as Peter entered the living room, already fully kitted out as Spider-Man, "You want me to make you some mac and cheese before you go swinging from skyscrapers, or d'you want me to have it ready for when you get back?"

"When I get back" Peter replied hastily, making a mental note to get something to eat whilst he was out on patrol. Natasha smiled and disappeared back behind her magazine. 

As Peter was about to head into the elevator, a shaken looking Steve Rogers stepped out of it and shuddered. Peter and Natasha were both taken aback by the Captain's usual steely and calm demeanor being replaced by someone who looked as if they were about to burst into tears. 

"Steve, a-are you OK?" Peter asked. Natasha stood up.

"It's Peggy" Steve replied with a sigh, "She's not good. They're saying she's probably only got hours left. I'd go over...to London, but they've said there's no point. I wouldn't make it in time"

Peter's heart ached for Steve. He knew how much Peggy Carter had meant to him. As crappy as his own life had been at times, Peter couldn't imagine going through what Steve had in his life and coming out the other side. To live the life he had lead, and then to get frozen and wake up seventy years later and have to adjust to the fact that everyone you'd cared about had moved on without you and had to start a new life with you as a mere memory? Peter couldn't imagine anything worse.

A shaky Steve was supported by Natasha as she sat him down next to her on the sofa.

"Steve, I'm so sorry" she said. Her own voice was shaky. Peter had never seen that side to Natasha before. He was feeling more and more like a useless spare part. "Peggy knows how much you care about her. She's had a long life, Steve, and she's surrounded by her family. If I'm still kicking as much ass by the time I'm 98 - well, I think I'd call that a life well spent. She has no regrets Steve, especially not after she saw you again"

Steve nodded. Peter couldn't help but feel like the captain was only maintaining his stoic attitude whilst he was in the room. That he was waiting until Peter left to let the tears come. Meeting Natasha's eyes only confirmed Peter's theory as she gave him a little nod that seemed to indicate that he should go, and that she had this. Peter nodded back.

"Steve, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about Peggy" Peter said honestly, "I gotta go do my patrol now though"

"Yeah, you go" Steve choked, "And be safe, kid."

Peter nodded as he turned into the elevator. The last thing he saw as the doors closed was Steve lean his head on Natasha's shoulder and let out an almighty sob. As the elevator took him down to the lobby, Peter tried his best to ignore the voice in his head.

They wanted you out of the way.

You're in the way.

They don't want you there.

Why would Steve Rogers need you to help him?

The best thing you can do is leave and not come back.

Sighing, Peter ensured his face was hidden as he swung out of the highest window in the lobby and began his patrol

-

Patrol went mainly OK. Peter felt a little distracted throughout, he kept casting his mind back to Steve whenever he had a minute to himself and wondered how he was doing. He wanted badly to get back to the Tower and be there for the man who had been there for him so much over the past year. It was only fair that they shared the burden if one of them was struggling, and now was Peter's chance to step up and help Steve. But for all he wanted to go back, Peter knew that the best place for him way away from the Tower. He just didn't trust himself not to say something wrong or offensive to Steve and make it all so much worse for him than it already was. 

It was only when Peter received a message from Natasha asking when he was coming back did he feel comfortable enough to return. As he swung back towards the tower, Peter played over his last conversations with MJ and Ned once again. It was all still messing with his head. He hated not knowing if they hated him or not, if they were truly his friends and Ned's complete radio silence was actually starting to worry Peter a bit. His best friend normally made sure to reply to Peter as soon as he could but Ned had yet to reply to any of the eight text messages that Peter had sent him throughout the day. Peter was aware how pathetic it was coming across, Ned was allowed to take a day off from dealing with him, but seeing Steve so distraught had only strengthened his desire to make sure everything was alright.

Peter was a ball of anxiety by the time he crawled in through his bedroom window. He normally came in through the lobby and up the elevator, but he didn't want to risk intruding on Steve again if he and Natasha were still talking. Stepping into the shower, Peter felt comforted as the hot water hit his bare skin and started to think about the same time next week when he'd be in the middle of what was going to surely be a brilliant long weekend with Harley. He could only hope his stupid brain didn't fuck it all up in some way.

Deciding it was safe to make his presence known, Peter headed down to the living room where he found an alone Natasha picking at what looked to be a burned casserole. She looked up and Peter and rolled her eyes.

"Thought I'd give Rogers favourite a shot, seen as though he's in mourning" she said with a shrug. Peter frowned.

"She died then?" was all he could ask.

Natasha nodded, "About two hours ago" she said with a sigh, "Peaceful. From all accounts, but yeah....she's gone. Steve's not taken it well."

They ate in silence. Peter was still scared he was going to say the wrong thing and upset everyone more. If Natasha was bothered, or even aware of the silence, she didn't let on and happily went about reading the same magazine she'd been buried behind that morning. Peter guessed she'd probably not had a chance to finish it if she'd been with an upset Steve all afternoon. He'd apparently taken himself off to the gym on the fourth floor an hour before and not come out since.

"Nat, will....Steve'll be OK, right?" Peter asked timidly. Nat put the magazine down and smiled at him.

"Course he will, he's just a little upset tonight" she said kindly, "And when he's upset, he likes to hit things."

Peter excused himself not long after and decided to go and wind down in his bedroom as Natasha said she had some work to catch up on. As he climbed the stairwell to his bedroom, Peter couldn't help but be worried about Steve. He knew that Steve used the gym to channel his aggression when he was upset, but he'd been down there alone for hours and no one had checked on him. Ignoring the voice in his head telling him it was a bad idea, Peter turned on his heel and began to head towards the gym.

If he could just see that Steve was alright, then he could rest.

Peter found Steve exactly where Natasha had said he would be. Beating the hell out a punchbag in the middle of the gym. As Peter approached the older man, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous that he'd probably receive a swift punch to the nose if he started Steve. 

"Hey kid" Steve commented before Peter had a chance to announce his presence, "I'm guessing Nat sent you to check up on me?"

"No, actually, I brought myself" Peter replied, attempting to sound bright and cheery though he was aware he'd probably just come across very annoying, "I'm really sorry about Peggy, she was a legend."

"A legend"?

Do you hear yourself?

"Yeah, that she was" Steve said fondly. He stopped hitting the bag and sat down on a nearby bench, Peter joined and sat down next to him when Steve gestured for him to. "Thanks for coming to check up on me, Pete, you're a good kid"

Peter looked down at the ground.

"I'm nothing special" he said softly with a shrug, "But I felt bad that you were probably down here on your own all upset and stuff. It's no biggie."

"How do you do it, Pete?" Steve asked, looking into Peter's eyes so intently that it made the boy want to runaway, "How do you deal with losing someone who meant the world to you? Who you would have done anything for? Who was pretty much your only reason for getting up in a morning?"

"I'll - err, let you know if I ever get there" was all the reply Peter could muster, "I do what you told me to do when I first came here - d'you remember?"

"Put the chair down, we're not gonna hurt you?"

"No."

"A ventilation system is no place for a boy your age to be sleeping in?"

"Again, no"

"Don't use my shield as a dinner plate?"

"For fuck sake" Peter groaned. Steve laughed a little and patted Peter on the back. "No! You told me that I should take every day one step at a time if I'm struggling. That just put one foot infront of the other crap - only it's not crap, cos it actually worked"

Steve shrugged. "I never was one for being able to take my own advice"

"It was good advice" Peter said honestly, "It's what gets me through most days."

Steve grinned.

"I wish you could have met Peggy" he said fondly, keeping his hand on Peter's back. "She'd have liked you. She had a bit of a soft spot for plucky young kids who refused to give in."

Peter looked at the ground once again. As if Peggy Carter would ever have had anytime for a screw up like him, but Peter didn't have the heart to tell Steve how wrong he was just at the moment. The two stayed in the gym for a few more hours, Steve telling Peter some stories about the old days and what Peggy had been like as a young woman. He'd never say, but listening to Steve's stories was one of the easiest ways Peter could feel at ease. There was just something about the way Steve told them. It was like his eyes lit up. Peter knew that Steve was happy in the Tower, that he considered the team his family, but he always got the impression that if Steve had the choice he'd have been back in the old days without hesitation. 

Around 10.30pm and a after bit of friendly sparring, an exhausted but chirpier Steve lead Peter out of the gym with an arm around his shoulder. 

"Thank you for today, Peter, you've really helped me" the older man said, "It's nice to know there are some kids these days who have good heads on their shoulders. I just wish that you'd give yourself that credit once in a while, you're a very mature young man. More mature than you should need to be, admittedly, but after the things you've seen - well, someone with a weaker character would have shut down years ago"

"I'm not so sure about that" Peter sighed before taking a deep breath, "I'm still getting nightmares and panic attacks, and Pepper's made me an appointment with the school therapist for this week. I don't know if I'd call that strong. Not like you. Not like Peggy."

"But you've come such a long way, kid" Steve reassured him, "We're all so proud of you. And, yeah, you might struggle from time to time but you're dealing with it and that's the most important thing of all. You can never escape adversity, kid, it's always gonna be there. It's how you deal with it that matters. And you could have dealt with it the wrong way. You could have easily let it twist you and turn you into someone mean and bitter and angry. Yet, here you stand"

Peter groaned. Here he stood how, exactly? Broken? Fragile? Needy, Pathetic and Clingy?

"Here you stand, with the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met" Steve went on, "And I've met a lot of good people."

"That's great Steve" Peter replied, trying to sound as casual as possible, "And thanks but - wasn't this all meant to be about me helping you?"

Steve chuckled. 

"Helping you helps me" he said simply, "Helping other people has always helped me. And if there's one way I can properly honor Peggy and all she worked for - it's doing my best to make sure kids like you get the help and love they deserve"

Peter blushed. 

Love?

From the look on his face, Steve seemed to have caught on to what he'd said as well. 

"Love?" Peter replied. 

"Yes. Love." Steve said, puffing his chest up a little and sounding more confident, "Got a problem with that, kid?"

"I guess not" Peter said with a smirk as they reached his bedroom. Before he went in, he found himself giving Steve a brief hug before shyly opening the door and heading straight for his bed. He was exhausted once again. 

Though for once, there was no nasty voice ringing in his head ready to spoil the moment. 

-

Tony and Pepper returned late on Sunday night. They walked in to find Peter, Steve, Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Bruce playing a big game of Monopoly on the kitchen table. To no one's surprise, Sam and Natasha were absolutely merciless and neck and neck, Peter and Steve had been sent to prison a total of twenty-three times between them, whilst Wanda didn't really seem to understand what the purpose of the game was. 

"Oh Steve" Pepper said as she and Tony put their luggage to one side, "We're so sorry about Peggy. She was a great lady". Pepper pulled Steve into a hug as she reached him, whilst Tony placed a comforting hand on his friends shoulder before making his way over to Peter. Tony enveloped Peter in a hug and kissed his temple. Normally, Peter would have at least feigned a little embarrassment infront of the rest of the team but had missed his guardians so much over the last few days that he didn't really care. Pepper made her way over and gave Peter a hug once she'd done with Steve. 

"Yeah, sorry we weren't around Cap" Tony said with a yawn, "But you seem to have held up OK"

"All thanks to Pete over there" Steve said pointing at Peter, who once again blushed and looked at the ground, "Gave me some very good words of my own advice, put up a good sparring fight and even let me compliment him without protesting"

Pepper, who had not yet released Peter, squeezed her adoptive son harder. Hearing compliments and not immediately shooting them down was a massive step in the right direction as far as she was concerned. Peter remained quiet, though he was clearly in no rush to end the hug. Though he wanted to stay up and speak with everyone else, Peter's tiredness was clear for all to see as the team abandoned their game of Monopoly and migrated to the couch. Peter sat comfortable between his guardians. He rested his feet on Tony's legs and his head on Pepper's lap as she affectionately stroked his hair as the conversation between everyone else flowed. 

Tony and Pepper's legal issues had cleared up quite nicely (which meant Tony had bribed whoever had had the problem with them) and Steve had decided that he was going to make the trip over to London next week to attend Peggy's funeral. Natasha and Sam both volunteered to go with him, whilst Tony and Pepper organized for a very expensive bouquet of flowers to be delivered to the service on behalf of the entire Avengers team. Peter noticed Steve look a bit teary when he heard what they'd planned and shot the man a smile which Steve happily returned. Peter let out a yawn not long after this which caused Pepper to announce it was time for him to head to bed.

"I'm so proud of you for this weekend" she said, casting an arm around his shoulder as they walked to his room, "Not only did you cope without me and Tony but you helped Steve through his grief and didn't reject every compliment he through at you"

Only because it would've made Steve feel bad if I didn't.

None of what he said is true.

"I guess" Peter shrugged. Pepper sighed; maybe they weren't out of the woods just yet. 

"Remember your appointment is at 1.30 on Tuesday" she reminded him, "Now, I don't know whether I'll be able to make it but I can always send Tony if not. I think he really wants to go and support you, he won't be in the session itself but we thought it might help you to have him there....y'know, just in case"

"Yeah, I'd like that I think" Peter said softly, before throwing his arms around Pepper again, "Thanks. You're brilliant. You always think of everything"

"Kinda my job, kid" Pepper replied, "Good night"

"Night"

Peter turned into bed quickly and checked his phone once again. He was delighted to see a message from Ned that read: 

Hey man, so sorry for not replying! Would you believe me if I told you I dropped my phone down the stupid toilet! We had to go and get a new one, luckily I've been able to keep the same number. I'm not mad at you. You were tired, please tell me you haven't spent all weekend beating yourself up about all this.

Hastily texting a reply, Peter sat back in his bed and looked up at his ceiling. It had been a strange weekend, and definitely not one he'd like to repeat again anytime soon. In a twisted kind of way, he was sure the only reason he'd not descended into some anxiety-ridden panic attack over the last two days was because he'd focused all his energy on helping Steve through his grief. It had distracted him, gave him something else to focus on.

You selfish fuck.

You're using someone else's grief to make yourself feel better.

Of all people, you should know better than that.

All Steve ever does is try and help you and all you can do is use him to make yourself feel better.

"No, shut up!" Peter didn't exactly know why he'd spoken out loud, but continued. "I was able to help Steve. He's OK cos I gave him good advice, and Ned's not mad at me. He just needed to get a new phone. You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong."

He was panting by the time he finished. 

Then, he just lay there.

Unaware of just how much longer he could keep it all together. 

- 

Chapter Text

7.

"Hey cutie!" a girl-ish, almost flirtatious voice rang out from behind Peter's open locker door. He closed it and did a double take as he saw Sadie Clarke, the prettiest and most popular Junior girl in the school, staring up and Peter with a devilish smile on her face. In the eight years that he'd known her, Sadie Clarke had maybe spoken to him three times and he was pretty sure two of them were just her telling him to move out of her way. To her credit, the other time had at least been just after Ben died when she approached him in Biology and told him it "totally sucks that your Uncle died, major bummer". 

"Hi....Sadie, how can I help you?" Peter asked slowly, crossing his arms almost defensively as Sadie giggled and looked around to make sure that no one was listening to their chat. "Sorry if that sounds rude but you never really speak to me"

"I know, and that's totally gonna change" Sadie insisted sweetly, patting Peter's arm, "I just wanted to stop by and tell you that a few people are saying that that moody MG girl that follows you and tubbo around is planning on crashing Liz's party this Friday...totally wacko, right?"

Peter stared Sadie down. 

"Well, first of all" he began, "Her name is MJ. That's M and J put together - don't think that's too hard to remember. Secondly, 'tubbo' is called Ned and he's my best friend so I'd thank you not to call him that. And lastly, yes she is going to Liz's party because I asked Liz if I could bring her along with me and Liz was cool about it"

"Oh" Sadie replied, sounding a little deflated, "Well, sorry, I must have got my wires crossed. And I will totes remember their names now obviously, I didn't mean to be rude, it's just I'm so bad with names Peter, it's a real problem"

"My name's Todd" Peter deadpanned.

Sadie flicked her hair back and laughed very loudly, apparently she'd changed her stance on nobody else hearing hers and Peter's conversation. 

"You are so funny!" she exclaimed, patting his arm again. OK, why does she keep doing that?, "I really wish we'd become friends sooner. You're hilarious"

Peter frowned in confusion. He may have been a genius when it came to Science and technology but the average teenage girl was an absolute mystery to him. He just couldn't get his head around why all of a sudden Sadie Clarke had decided not just to talk to him, but that they were suddenly friends. 

"Is that cute boy from your Instagram coming?" Sadie went on, twiddling her fingers through her long blonde hair, "The one in your profile pic? Harvey, is it?"

"Harley" Peter corrected her, "And yeah - he's coming along. He's visiting for the weekend actually so he'll be coming to the party with Ned, MJ and I"

Now it was making more sense.

Sadie thought Harley was cute.

"Coolness" Sadie said, smiling at some of her friends as they passed. The friends seemed just as perplexed to see her talking to Peter as the boy himself was. "Oh, and just so you should know, that idiot Eugene Thompson is coming. I'm not happy about it. I told Liz like 'he's a total jerk' but she said she had to invite everyone on decathlon cos her Mom said - oh, sorry, I'm sure that's not the reason she invited you"

"Probably is" said Peter quietly, internally cursing himself for not realizing sooner Liz had probably only ever invited him out of courtesy. At the very least, Peter was able to find some comfort in the fact that Sadie, and most likely Liz, didn't like Flash any more than he did. 

"Nah, she invited you cos she likes you" Sadie went on, "Not like like but she always says you're a good guy and stuff, and the smartest person she knows....so, anyways, what's the deal with your afternoon? I have woodshop. Woodshop. Like what medieval world are we living in?"

"Yeah, shocking. They should outlaw it really" Peter said with a smirk. Maybe Sadie wasn't so bad after all, at the very least he could amuse himself by pretending to humor her, "I've got my...err, first appointment with the school therapist to discuss my plethora of mental health problems as it goes. I'll trade you if you want."

"Oh, you'll love Dawn!" Sadie said eagerly, "She insists on us calling her by her first name."

Peter was taken aback.

"I didn't know you were in therapy" he said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, well, I'm not officially in therapy per say" Sadie explained, "She fits me in when she can. I just get very stressed and overemotional sometimes and it helps to vent to someone and she gets paid to hear it so...makes sense"

"Right...well, hope that's going well for you?" Peter said slowly

"Thanks!" Sadie replied, "It totally is. Hope it goes well for you! I'm sure it will and if its any consolation no one thinks you're like crazy or anything, we all get that you've been through some shit. And even Eugene Thompson admits that he thinks you're quite brave for a - and these are his words - 'total pussy'"

Wow

Wasn't expecting that one. 

"Good to know" he said with a smile, "Anyway - I better be going, gotta meet my billionaire guardian so he can coach me through talking about grief. Try not to saw your finger off."

"I will!" she called after him as he left, "See you later Peter!"

"My name's Todd!" he called back without turning around.

The last thing he heard before he turned the corner towards 'Dawn's' office was the sound of Sadie laughing. Peter didn't really know how or why that conversation had just happened, but he couldn't help but be at least a little grateful that it had. At the very least he was heading to the therapy session with a smile on his face, which he had not been expecting at all.

-

Tony was waiting for him on the sofa outside Dawn's office already. Peter smiled at his guardian before taking a seat next to him.

"You seem remarkably chipper, Parker" Tony observed, "I had visions of myself and MJ having to carry you in here kicking and screaming. Or....I dunno, you pulling the fire alarm to get out of it. What gives? I've prepared myself for emotional trauma"

"Just having a good day" Peter replied with a shrug, "The morning went OK. Me and Ned are fine. MJ insulted me like fifteen times so I know that means she's in a good mood. Lunch was Pizza, and then this popular girl started talking to me and I didn't make a total twat of myself"

"Liz?"

"No. Her name's Sadie."

"Huh" Tony replied, leaning back in his chair a little, "You're developing quite the little fan club aren't ya? You'll be giving Spider-Man a run for his money"

Peter chuckled. He'd done an extra patrol on Monday night that had ended in him joining in a performance art piece on Times Square, the footage of which had been uploaded to Twitter and subsequently gone viral. Peter had panicked a little at first, but no one at school knew he was Spider-Man except for Ned and not even Ned knew that Aunt May had sent him to ballet lessons until he was nine so there was very little link back to him. Spider-Man's moves had been noted in the online frenzy, and there'd been a quick upturn in the amount of fan accounts about him. Peter had endured endless teasing back at the Tower over this. 

"She wasn't after me, she was asking after Harley" Peter explained, "I think she must have seen him in a few pictures from my Instagram and she thinks he's cute. I guess she was just trying to see if he's around this weekend"

"And luckily for him, he is" Tony said with a smirk, "Honestly. The two of you getting up to all sorts of mischief between you is bad enough, now I gotta worry about you and girls. I told Pepper you were both too good-looking to be friends."

"I don't think anyone has a crush on me" Peter said shyly, looking at the ground. Tony smirked but managed to hide it well. The kids complete lack of awareness over MJ's crush on him was endearing and amusing in equal measure.

"Good" Tony replied, "Keep it that way. I'm too young to be a grandpa"

"Ewww" Peter groaned as Dawn stuck her head out of her office door and asked them both to come in. Peter's anxiety took over a little and he had to be guided into the room via Tony's hand on his shoulder. The room was decorated very nicely, a lot of calming colours and some very comfortable sofa's adorned in. Peter hesitated between sitting down next to Tony on the big sofa or taking a chair to himself just opposite. He eventually figured he had nothing to lose and could always move closer to Tony if he was getting too anxious and uneasy.

Tony seemed surprised when Peter didn't sit next to him, but knew it was progress all the same so didn't question him as Dawn smiled at both of them from behind her desk.

"Thank you for both coming here today, I know that things like this can be difficult at the start" she said, addressing Peter more than Tony, "But it's a really big step that you've come here today and there's absolutely no pressure on you Peter. We can go as slow or as fast as you feel comfortable with"

"O-Ok, thanks" Peter stuttered. Tony's heart ached for the boy as he noticed him begin to fall in on himself a little. His leg was shaking and he'd clammed his hands up together, looking directly at the floor. Tony looked to Dawn to see if she'd reacted, but she had the same sweet smile on her face that she'd had the entire time. 

"It can be hard - opening up, especially if you've been so used to dealing with things on your own for a long time" Dawn pressed on, Peter was still looking at the ground and Tony wanted nothing more than to embrace him and shield him from everything. 

"I'm-I'm OK, I think" Peter stuttered, finally lifting his face up. He met Dawn's eyes and smiled at her.

"So, Peter, we'll start small" Dawn said kindly, "Why do you think you're here? What do you hope to gain from these sessions"

"I don't really know" Peter said quietly, "Pepper said they might be a good idea and I agreed cos I had a really, really bad panic attack last week. Tony had to come and get me from school, it was really humiliating"

"Do you have panic attacks a lot?" Dawn asked

"Less than I used to" Peter struggled on, "I-I used to n-not be able to get through a day without one when I first s-started to live with Tony and Pepper. I'd say I maybe get one or two a week now but I can usually deal with them on my own"

Tony cringed. He had no idea they were that frequent.

"Is there anything in particular that causes you to have these panic attacks, Peter?" Dawn's voice was so soothing that even Tony felt like he might end up spilling fifteen years worth of his own trauma to her, "Any situations? Or feelings?"

Peter nodded.

"Do you want to talk about them now?"

Peter shook his head. Violently. 

"That's fine" Dawn said sweetly, "We can maybe start to address those next week. Right now, I'd like you to focus on all the good things you have in your life. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Worth a shot" Peter replied with an attempt at a smirk, though it came out more like a hiccup. 

"OK, what's one thing that helps you get through your day? Bad day, good day, doesn't matter. Just one thing that helps you...feel safe" Dawn asked. Peter took a deep breath.

"I guess...just like, knowing I have somewhere to go home to" Peter murmured in return, Tony was aware that the boy seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid looking at him, "I-I k-know you'll already know this but after my a-aunt passed I ran away from my foster home. I lived on the streets for a while, didn't wanna go back there. So, I guess knowing I have somewhere I can call home is nice"

Tony was barely holding back his tears. He wondered if he'd ever feel this proud of anyone again in his life, he certainly hadn't before now. 

"That's great" Dawn smiled at Peter, "It's so good that you have somewhere you feel safe. And Mr. Stark and Miss Potts...they make you feel safe?"

"Yeah, they're awesome" Peter started to brighten up a little, "They're like the best people I could have ended up with. I really like living with them but sometimes - I dunno, sometimes I start to worry that it's all going to f-fall apart".

Dawn frowned for the first time and wrote something in her notepad as Peter's head faced back down to the floor. Tony couldn't decide whether he wanted to try and coax Peter back around or somehow find out what she'd written in the book. 

"That's-That's not gonna happen Peter" Tony said honestly, "Forgive me for interrupting-"

"-It's fine, go on" Dawn assured the billionaire. Tony sat up straighter and neatened up his suit jacket.

"Peter, you gotta get those ideas out your head kid" Tony went on, "Me and Pepper love you. We made a commitment to look after you, not out of guilt, no one forced us to and we could have very easily turned you away. But we didn't. Because we want to help you"

All that Peter could reply with was a small sob. Tony looked anxiously to Dawn, worried he'd somehow made the situation worse. Dawn shot him a sympathetic smile before leaning closer to Peter, whose shoulders were shaking violently.

"Peter, would you like to speak to me without Tony present?" she asked him.

Peter nodded. Tony felt a mixture of pride and upset. Pride that Peter already felt confident enough to speak about his issues alone with someone he'd just met, but also upset that whatever it was Peter clearly didn't feel comfortable telling him. 

"No problem" Tony masked his disappointment well, he touched Peter affectionately on the shoulder as he left the office. Once he was gone, Peter was able to look up and meet Dawn's eyes once again. 

"S-sorry" he stuttered

Outside, Tony paced. Lost in thought about whatever the hell Peter's problem was that he felt he could discuss with Dawn and not him, whether he'd accidentally said something to Peter in the session that had upset him, how Peter was going to cope once the session was over. Feeling more than a little frantic himself, Tony decided to call Pepper. 

"Hey" her voice came from the other end of the phone, "How's it going?"

"He wanted me to step out, now he's talking to her in there on his own" Tony replied shakily, "That's good right? Please tell me that's good"

"Tony, that's not just good it's fucking brilliant" Pepper replied emphatically, Tony felt a wave of relief rush over his whole body, "I mean, the fact he even agreed to the session at all was a massive step. The fact he actually turned up for it was another but this - I didn't think he'd feel comfortable enough to talk to her one on one for weeks, if ever. She must be good."

"Yeah, she's really good. I almost found myself wanting to open up to her, and she wasn't even addressing me" Tony said with a laugh as he sat down, feeling a lot calmer. Where he'd be without Pepper he hated to think.

"Well, just remember when he comes out, he might be a bit shaky" Pepper warned, "There's a lot of things that kid has seen and heard that no child should have to. Stuff we don't even know about, it's going to take a lot out of them to talk about it"

Pepper hung up after making Tony promise to take the kid out wherever the hell he wanted for dinner once the session was over. Tony knew the kid would probably end up picking somewhere like Chillis or In-N-Out Burger but as far as the billionaire was concerned, the kid could have whatever the hell he wanted. He'd buy Peter the moon if he could. 

Around fifteen minutes later, Peter and Dawn appeared at the doorway. Peter's eyes were red and blotchy, he'd clearly been crying, but he smiled upon seeing Tony and ran into his guardians arms and happily accepted the hug. Tony noticed Peter was still shaking from his anxiety quite a lot. 

"Well done for today Peter, you've done phenomenally" Dawn said kindly, "Same time next week?"

Peter nodded. 

"Yeah, see you then" he said before looking up at Tony, "I asked that it just be me next time - is that cool?"

"Cool? That's more than cool, bud" Tony beamed with pride, "You have no idea how proud me and Pep are of you, you're so brave"

Peter blushed a little and said a short goodbye to Dawn before grabbing his backpack and heading out the door. Tony turned to Dawn.

"Thank you" he said simply and honestly.

Dawn smiled and shrugged.

"You've got a great kid there, Mr. Stark" she said, "It's going to take a while and there's a lot of issues to wade through....an intimidating amount, if I'm being honest, but if Peter carries on being so willing to share then we should hopefully start to see some improvement fairly quickly."

"So, what do I need to do?" Tony asked

"Keep doing what you're doing" the therapist replied, "It sounds like you're doing a wonderful job. Peter feels safe. He knows he can talk to you, all I can advise is that you listen to him whenever he has a problem - no matter how big or small."

-

By the time Thursday rolled around, Peter was like a different kid. He was excited, energetic and unable to focus on anything else but the weekend ahead. Tony and Pepper knew they'd made the right call on Thursday night when Peter practically bounced in from school full of the joys over Harley's arrival. Pepper was slightly worried that the boy was too focused on the weekend and that they'd be in for a major crash next week when it was all over, but she couldn't bring herself to rain on the kids parade. Ever since his first therapy session, he'd been on cloud nine, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulder and...well, the kid had a beautiful smile and Pepper's heart melted a little more every time she saw it.

"So, we're gonna go the airport and pick Harley up, when?" Peter asked. He was following Pepper around the kitchen, "helping" her prepare some of Harley's favourite brownies before he arrived. Helping had taken the form of Peter just incessantly asking questions and demolishing any leftover batter from the bowls. As she worked, Pepper realized that Peter's anxieties had just shifted from focusing on himself to focusing on every aspect of the weekend ahead. This had been the sixth time in an hour he'd felt the need to clarify when they were going to pick Harley up. 

"When his plane gets in which, unless I've not been notified, is still the same time it has been all along" Pepper tried her best not to sound impatient with the teenager, seeing him being so excited about something was such a nice and unusual turn of events that she'd have hated herself for ruining it, "Peter - we'll go when we'll go, have I ever been late for anything, ever?"

"Yeah, you're right" he replied, "Sorry. I'm just excited"

"I know you are babe" Pepper said fondly, ruffling his hair as he leaned into her side a little, "And we're gonna have a great weekend...but if, at any point, it starts to feel a bit too much you need to let us know. No one's gonna be mad at you."

"It won't" Peter said with determination in his voice, "Nothing is going to ruin this weekend! Now, I'm going to go and see how Tony's getting on with that banner"

"His name's Bruce"

"You're not funny!"

Pepper smiled to herself as Peter bounced out of the kitchen to go and find Tony. It really spoke volumes about how gone Tony was for the kid that he'd allowed Peter to persuade him to paint a banner they could hold up for Harley at the airport whilst they waited. Pepper couldn't wait to see the finished product. Tony Stark + Paint was never a winning combination. As she finished off the food, Pepper found herself yawning and propping herself up against the fridge as Natasha walked into the kitchen

"God, the second musketeer isn't even here yet and you already look exhausted" Nat said with a smirk as Pepper sighed heavily, "I hate to think what you're going to be like once you've spent an entire day walking around the city with them. And that's not even factoring in Tony"

"I'll probably be in the same condition you will" Pepper replied with a smile, "Considering you're actually coming with us"

Natasha frowned.

"I'm what now?" 

"Peter's gonna ask you if you want to come, he was sounding me out about it earlier" Pepper explained, "I think he's worried you'll feel left out cos Steve and Wanda are away and Bruce is working so you'll be the only one in the whole tower if you don't come with us"

Natasha rolled her eyes and groaned, which amused Pepper greatly. She knew that the absolute last thing Natasha Romanoff would ever do voluntarily was spend her day walking around New York City's tourism hot spots with two hyperactive teenagers and her bosses. But she also knew that Natasha would absolutely, one hundred percent not be able to find it in herself to turn down Peter and his big brown puppy dog eyes when he asked her.

"The kid's too damn thoughtful" she said bitterly, "Are you OK? It's not like you to look even remotely tired"

"I am, now you mention it" Pepper replied, a little shaky "I've been feeling tired and bloated all day. Don't tell Tony. He'll convince himself I've somehow contracted the bubonic plague or something...but I threw up this morning"

"Maybe you're pregnant" Natasha said jokingly, though her eyes widened immediately when Pepper shuffled her feet and looked at the ground. "Holy shit, you are, aren't you? You're pregnant"

"No, and will you keep your voice down!" Pepper exclaimed, "I don't know if I'm pregnant or not yet, I haven't taken a test. It could be nothing"

"I'm gonna run and get you a test!"

"Natasha"

"This is hilarious" Natasha replied with a smile, "You're going to get fat"

Pepper decided to embrace her friends excitement and laughed along with her. Just as Natasha was about to ask a follow up questioned, a still grinning Peter walked back into the kitchen looking even more excited than he had done when he left.

"Tony's banner sucks, but that's OK" he told Pepper and Natasha, "It'll be funnier if it sucks"

Peter made his way over to Nat and allowed her to quickly hug him.

"Are you gonna ask Nat what you wanted to ask her earlier?" Pepper prompted the boy, her own subtle little revenge. Natasha gave her a knowing look.

"Oh yeah - Nat, are you gonna come with us on this sight seeing trip on Saturday?" for all his excitement, it was clear to both women that Peter had actually worked himself up into being quite anxious over asking her. Pepper grinned as she knew this meant Natasha definitely wouldn't be able to say no. "It's just, I was thinking - Steve's still in London, Wanda's visiting Clint and Bruce has so much work so you're gonna be kinda on your own....so I just thought you'd wanna come out with us all?"

Natasha gulped and gave Peter a soft look before slowly shaking her head at Pepper. 

"I would love to, thanks" she said sweetly. Peter's little face beamed.

"Awesome, great, sorted, cool. Yay." Peter said as he backed out of the room once again. The second he'd gone, an unimpressed Natasha turned to Pepper with her arms folded.

"He's so god damn lucky he's so god damn cute" she snarled, "He does it on purpose you know? I mean, he must do. He wants something from one of us, so he just ramps up the adorableness factor and watches as we all melt. He knows exactly what he's doing."

Pepper laughed as Peter once again ran back in the room.

"Tony says we need to leave in a minute!" he told Pepper.

"Right, let's get going then" Pepper replied with a sigh before turning to Natasha, "Natasha can you go to the store for me? Pick up the thing and then we'll sort it out when I've got back from the airport with these hooligans"

Natasha nodded and smiled as Peter practically lead Pepper out of the kitchen by his hands.

At least having Peter around had eliminated the need to get a puppy.

-

Tony had forgotten just how exhausting the combination of Harley and Peter could be as they drove home from the airport. The two boys had almost caused a security rush at Arrivals when Peter had hopped over a divide to go and help Harley with his bags when the boy had come into sight, and Harley then didn't make things much better by pretending like he had no clue who Tony or Pepper were when he reached them. The nonsense had stopped pretty quickly after a stern word from a TSA officer (whom Tony may have bribed into scaring the boys) but the two had not stopped talking the entire car ride home.

Pepper had, uncharacteristically, fallen asleep on the journey home.

"So, you are cool about coming to this party in Queens tomorrow night then?" Peter asked Harley as they all walked into the tower, "We don't have to go if you really don't want to. I'm sure I won't be missed or anything, I'm pretty sure I only got invited because Liz's mom insisted she invite the entire decathlon team"

"An invites an invite, Pete" Harley said with a shrug, "And I don't mind. Can you imagine how much of a rock star I'm going to be when I get back to Tennessee and I tell everyone I went to a New York Party with Tony Stark's son. They'll probably put up a statue of me in the town square"

"Oh, it gets better kiddo" Tony couldn't help but interject, "Peter might have a date for you"

Harley's head turned towards Peter in surprise.

"Really?" he asked

"No, Tony just thinks he's being funny" Peter replied, "Basically, this really popular girl came up to me at school the other day and started talking to me about Liz's party. I thought it was strange and then she asked about you and called you 'the cute boy from my Instagram' so....yeah"

"Interesting" Harley said, smirking and raising his eyebrows, "So, I'm guessing she'll be at the party as well then?"

"Yeah, she should be" Peter confirmed. The elevator doors opened and Tony and Peter helped Harley move his bags to his room. It was a floor below Peter's, a deliberate move on Tony's part as he wanted to ensure that they both at least got some sleep. Of course, he knew they'd be up until god knows what hour talking and watching movies but at least if they were sleeping in different bedrooms then they would presumably sleep at some point. Peter couldn't sleep if someone else was in the room; the only exceptions were Tony and Pepper. 

"I cannot believe this view" Harley said looking out of his window

"You say that every time you come here" Peter observed as he dumped Harley's biggest bag on his bed. 

"Yeah, well, you see the same view everyday" Harley shot back, "All I wake up to every day is the view of cows and dirt roads."

"Dinner in fifteen minutes boys" Tony said, checking his watch. He left the two alone to catch up without any adults present - though Tony had of course given FRIDAY a list of words to alert Tony with if any were said between the kids - whilst he went up to his master bedroom in order to check on Pepper. The last thing he had been expecting when he walked in to the bedroom was to find Pepper and Natasha laughing and hugging one another.

"Something I need to know?"

-

"How did therapy go?" Harley asked Peter. They were both laid down on Harley's bed both looking up at the ceiling as they threw a tennis ball to one another.

"Mainly fine" Peter replied with a shrug, "Dawn's really nice. I freaked out a bit but to be honest it was actually easier to talk to her without Tony in the room. I felt kinda bad cos he seemed pretty upset I'd wanted him to leave but I think it's OK"

"You worry too much dude" Harley informed his friend.

"Tell me something I don't know" Peter muttered, "It's kinda my thing"

"What's my thing?" Harley asked

"Being rude and making Wanda think you have no manners" Peter replied teasingly, "That's probably why she chose this weekend to go and visit Clint. Get away from the very rude boy who does not wipe his shoes"

Harley was impressed by the accuracy of Peter's impression of Wanda.

"I'd attend a finishing school if it made Wanda love me" he sighed. Peter laughed. 

"I mean, it's not that hard not to be a dick, Keener" Peter teased his friend. Harley hit him on the chest. "I manage it every day"

"You know what else you manage every day Parker?"

"Being cute?"

".....Yes, actually" Harley smirked, "So....did you see that video of Spider-Man in Times Square that was on Twitter the other day? Funny shit, who knew the dude could dance?"

Peter blushed. He'd not yet told Harley that he was Spider-Man, he knew it was only a matter of time until he had to. Harley wasn't dumb and it was clear that he was pretty close to piecing the secret together on his own, Peter had considered asking Tony if he felt it was the right time to let Harley know but the billionaire had been quite dismissive of the idea. 

"There's something I need to tell you-"

"If it's that your Spider-Man I've known for six months" Harley said casually, "You are the worst at keeping secrets"

"What? How? Why? Where? When?" Peter asked in a panic. He'd been so careful.

"You left your Spider-Man outfit just...laying on your bed"

"That proves nothing"

"When we went into Brooklyn with Steve and that old lady got robbed you mysteriously vanished just as Spider-Man arrived"

"I had toilet problems"

"Oh, and the most obvious thing" Harley pressed on, "You don't try to disguise your voice or anything. It's a fucking embarrassment  that all those kids at your nerd school haven't figured it out for themselves yet"

"....You, err, I'm sorry" Peter frowned. Harley sat up and looked at him.

"Sorry?" he repeated incredulously, "Why would you be sorry? It's awesome, you're awesome."

"I'm really not-"

"You put yourself at risk for the sake of other people every day" Harley told him seriously, "That's pretty fucking awesome as far as I'm concerned Peter. And after all you've been through too. The only thing that upsets me is that clearly you were holding back during all those arm wrestling contests"

"Thanks" Peter replied with a smile, "And thanks for not saying anything. The only person outside of this tower who knows is Ned. And Bucky Barnes, but I'd rather not talk about him"

"I heard about Peggy Carter from Tony" Harley said sadly, "Steve must have been really upset. It's good he went to the funeral though."

"Yeah, he was pretty cut up" Peter said, ".....I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about Spider-Man before dude. I wanted to. But....Tony's pretty serious about keeping my identity a secret. It's like the only thing he's serious about. But we both know we can trust you"

"It's cool" Harley said with a smirk, "At least now I have an answer as to why some 135 pound kid was so much stronger than me."

Peter smiled. FRIDAY soon informed the boys that dinner was being served upstairs in the living room. They smiled at one another and started walking - Harley casting an arm around Peter's shoulder as they went - out of Harley's room. 

"So...just to be clear" Harley said as they entered the elevator to take them to the next floor, "Wanda's not into the whole stoic, bad boy thing?"

Peter grinned and shook his head.

"Nah, you might need a change of identity" Peter replied with a smile, "But you're in luck though. I know a guy."

The boys stepped out of the elevator to be greeted by Pepper, Tony, Natasha and Bruce gathered around the dining table. Harley was hugged by Natasha and then given a firm handshake by Bruce before sitting down next to Pepper. Peter couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched his random but loving surrogate family dig into their food. If Steve and Wanda had been there it would've been perfect. 

"Hey, Pete, get yourself over here!" Bruce shouted to the boy, "Harley's devouring it all"

Peter grinned and made his way to sit down next to a rather sheepish and shocked looking Tony. Peter frowned.

"Everything good Tones?" he asked

"Yep" Tony replied meekly, "Everything's fine"

Peter was worried for a second until he noticed Pepper and Natasha share a knowing look and then smirk at one another. Clearly there was nothing much to worry about, and for the first time in a long time, Peter Parker let himself enjoy the moment he was in. 

-

Chapter Text

8.

The boys had stayed up until the early hours of Friday morning talking, laughing and sharing funny videos with one another online. Tony, who rarely slept through himself, kept poking his head into Peter’s bedroom to check on them and to remind them of what time it was but with Peter not having to get up for school the next morning the billionaire had realized pretty early on that he was fighting a losing battle. Eventually, Tony had somehow found himself making the boys hot chocolate with marshmallows and personally delivering it to them.

Sleep was an impossibility for Tony that night, and not just because of two spirited teenage boys laughing in the next room. Pepper was pregnant. With a baby. His baby. He was going to have a kid. It was a lot to get his head around and there was a part of Tony that still wanted to run away from any kind of responsibility but considering the fierce and protective love he already felt for Peter, he knew that he could be a good father now. Or at least, he could be better than his father.

Peter and Harley couldn’t have known, of course, how much they were actually helping Tony process the news by being up so late and having fun. Because the time they were was time Tony could spend reflecting on the fact that he’d been able to provide two troubled, lonely kids with a place they felt free and able to be themselves instead of what he would have been doing if they hadn’t been – pacing, panicking and planning a major action lawsuit against the condom company.

It was good news.

It was good news.

Across the hall, Harley was showing Peter a compilation of memes that had been made about Spider-Man over the past few years. Peter had never really taken to the whole idea of social media, he only had Instagram because he enjoyed showing off his photography skills with the camera Pepper and Tony had bought him for Christmas. He’d never had a Twitter or Facebook account so Harley was pretty much showing him a new world.

“I know Spider-Man is cute under that mask. Like, I just know” Peter read one of the viral tweets regarding his alter-ego with vague amusement, “And you’re telling me that….40,500 people agreed with that?”

“Yeah, insane isn’t it?” Harley replied, showing Peter another tweet that had gone viral. This one had photoshopped Spider-Man’s head onto Edward Cullen’s body from a Twilight film and read ‘Only one man is allowed to call me Spider-Monkey’. Peter cringed.

“I was surprised, to be honest, how little stuff there is about you” Harley told Peter once they’d gone through seemingly ever half-decent viral Spider-Man post, “Billionaire adopts cute but troubled orphan….you’d think that’d get more attention”

“Why would it? I’m just me” Peter replied with a shrug, “And Pepper struck some kind of deal with the press whereby they’re not allowed to mention my name until I’m 18. If I show up in pictures, I show up in pictures, but they’re not allowed to talk about me”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference between the media and online” Harley told him, “No one with a Twitter account has signed any kind of gag order, I just think its weird that no one is tweeting about Tony Stark’s adorable adoptive son. Maybe I should start.”

“And maybe you shouldn’t!” Peter replied with a laugh before grabbing Harley’s phone and starting a game of keep away. Harley grinned as he struggled against Peter’s superhuman strength. Soon Peter let up a little and the boys were fully engaged in a pillow fight.

Descending into a fit of hysterical laughter as he fell of his bed, Peter caught his breath for a second and looked up at Harley.

Harley has very pretty eyes

Confused about why he’d felt the need to observe that, Peter chose to ignore it and just accepted Harley’s helping hand and pulled himself back up. They were both pretty tired by that point but had seemingly entered into a competition of who would crack and go to sleep first that they were both very determined not to lose.

“So, this party in Queens” Harley said with a deep breath, “You do know that Tony’s going to drop us off and any claims that he’s coming back here until we want to be picked up is a total fucking lie, right?”

“Oh, I know” Peter said with a smirk, “He’ll be parked just out of the sight, getting FRIDAY to monitor our visuals whilst sending poor Happy to go and get some takeout cheeseburgers on foot”

“Using those stealth binoculars he has to see through Liz’s walls and make sure we’re not getting into any kind of trouble” Harley replied, “Probably worrying himself sick that we’ll touch a beer or something”

Peter yawned.

“What’s up, Parker?” Harley asked teasingly, furiously battling his own desire to yawn, “I would say you’re starting to feel a bit sleepy”

“Not at all” Peter said slowly as he lay down, resting his head on his pillow, “Laying down like this with my eyes closed is just comfier than sitting up”

When Tony came in to check on the boys once again around twenty minutes later, he was greeted with the sight of Harley and Peter completely wiped out and having fallen asleep sprawled out over one another.

It was sweet. And Tony couldn’t help but be impressed and a little moved at another moment of progress for Peter – letting someone else share his bedroom. It made sense that it was Harley, Tony felt it was pretty clear the two saw each other as brothers by this point.

He, of course, made sure to take a picture of the sleeping boys on his phone. Blackmail opportunities like that didn’t come around every day.

-

It was almost midday before either of the boys awoke and came downstairs. Peter was a little taken aback to realize that Harley had fallen asleep in his room, and that he’d slept through his morning routine, but having done a quick sweep of the room everything seemed to be in order and he knew that Steve’s drawer was always there if he had lost anything. Harley stired in his sleep and Peter was careful not to wake him as he cautiously made his way out of the bedroom and headed downstairs.

Pepper and Tony were deep into their usual working day, so Peter helped himself to some cereal and sat down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. He was feeling pretty smug that Ned and MJ were probably bored in class whilst he’d just woken up. Checking his phone, Peter couldn’t help but feel a little anxious over how much social media activity his antics as Spider-Man seemed to generate. There were fan accounts, loads of viral tweets and even some celebrities seemed to be aware of him.

Not all of it was good either. Spider-Man seemed to have given inspiration to one very popular news article about the dangers of vigilantism, which didn’t do much to boost Peter’s mood as Harley came downstairs.

“Hooked on your own press there?” he asked. Peter frowned.

"Nah, I’m just a bit confused” Peter said with a yawn as Harley took a seat next to him, “I just don’t really get why so many people want to talk about someone they’ve never met”

“That’s just the thing though” Harley replied, speaking to Peter almost impatiently as if he was frustrated the boy wasn’t fully understanding the concept, “Spider-Man is kind of a celebrity. People know he is and they mostly like him, so it’s kinda…kinda like they think they do know him in a way. It’s nice, you should be pleased”

“Really?” Peter asked. This was all very new to him.

“Well, yeah, and you’ve got the best of both worlds” Harley said enthusiastically, “Everyone likes Spider-Man and everyone seems to like Peter Parker. Win win.”

The boys soon migrated over to the sofa’s where they put a movie on and seemed to be in no rush to get dressed or do anything. Pepper came in to wish them both a good morning and give them a friendly, but undeniably stern, warning about the rules she expected them to follow if they were going to go to a party in Queens. Take their cellphones. Stay with one another. No alcohol, and an 12.15 curfew.

“I’m adding fifteen minutes on because Tony’s collecting you and it would hardly be fair to penalize you two for his inability to timekeep” Pepper concluded before adding, “And because I’m a cool Mum”. As Peter and Harley scowled, Pepper began getting up and heading back in the direction of her office. Before she was gone, however, Peter had run up to her and given her a hug from behind.

“Oh honey, what was that for?” she asked Peter. Harley wanted to smirk at Peter for being so soft but couldn’t quite bring himself to.

“Dunno, just felt like it” Peter murmured before releasing her and heading back to sit down next to Harley, who met Pepper’s eye.

“I’d hug you too, Pep” he told her, “I just don’t think we’re really at the hugging stage yet…can I interest you in a friendly fist bump”

Pepper rolled her eyes.

“Well, keep me posted on when we are” she replied sarcastically, “Because you’ve got about five or six years worth of hugs to catch up on”

Harley grinned and the boys returned to watching their movie. They were both pleasantly surprised when Tony arrived with some take-out food for them at lunchtime and then offered to take them out for ice-cream after.

“He’s up to something” Harley stated simply once Tony had left the room, “He’s never normally this nice unless he wants something”

Peter, who was used to Tony doing random nice gestures for him, disagreed but nodded in agreement anyway. He wanted to see what Harley was planning.

“Maybe he’s got something he wants to tell us?” Peter theorized, “Or maybe he’s going to name is heir”

“I call dibs on Happy!”

“You and Happy hate one another”

"Yeah. Which’ll make having him drive me around Tennesse all the more satisfying” Harley pointed out, shooting a smile in Peter’s direction.

Once again Peter chose to ignore the nervous sensation seeing Harley’s smile and twinkling eyes upclose gave him.

Tony entered the room with his arms folded.

“I heard all that” he huffed, “Keener if you think you’re getting anyone other than Dr. Cho, you’re sadly mistaken”

Peter laughed as Harley frowned and good-naturedly gave Tony the middle finger.

“And I don’t know what you’re laughing about Parker” Tony went on, “You’re going to Nick Fury if I peg it”

That shut Peter up

-

By 6.30pm, everyone was ready for the party and on their way. MJ and Ned had come over to the Tower after school to get ready there as no one was really wanting to walk in alone. Peter had been a little anxious that things would be awkward as Ned and Harley didn’t seem to like one another all that much, and MJ was…well, MJ. Luckily, it hadn’t been too bad this time as Harley had quickly apologized to Ned for making him think he’d legally changed his name to Nedward the last time all the boys had hung out together. By the time they were setting off for the party, Peter had noticed that even MJ had begun to laugh at Harley’s dumb jokes.

Tony had wanted to drive the kids to the party but Peter and Harley had ultimately put a stop to the idea, as Tony had discussed coming in to have a word with Liz’s mother and father before leaving. They managed to get Tony to recoil at the idea by telling him that Ned had major separation attachment anxiety and would probably cry when Tony dropped them off and would most likely try and hug him. Peter and Harley neglected to inform Ned this is what they had done but needless to say, it had had the desired affect. Instead, Natasha had picked the short straw and was driving the kids in.

“I call shotgun!” Harley shouted as they all ran towards the car

“Err, no you don’t” Natasha reprimanded him before smiling at Peter, “Parker gets shotgun”

"Why?” Harley asked

“Because he’s my favourite” Nat replied bluntly, patting a now smug looking Peter on the shoulder as she walked past him.

“That’s not fair, he’s everyone’s favourite” Harley moaned as Peter laughed and jumped in the front seat next to Natasha.

“You need to learn to be more lovable like me” Peter said with a grin as he turned and faced his three friends in the back, now it was MJ’s turn to give the middle finger. Harley nodded at her in appreciation as she did so.

Ned, who seemed to find it very hard to bring himself to talk when around Natasha, merely blushed and looked at the ground.

“You need to learn that just because you can climb buildings doesn’t make you special” Harley joked back. Peter, Ned and Natasha’s eyes all widended as a puzzled looking MJ – the only person in the car who didn’t know Peter was Spider-Man – shot up and raised her eyebrows at Peter.

“You can what?” she asked incredulously. Peter gave a pale looking Harley a murderous look before he turned to MJ.

“I can….do, like, a bit of parkour” he told her. He was surprised when MJ seemed to accept this and merely shrugged.

“Makes sense” she muttered, “I guess you are quite agile”

“Oh, he’s very agile” Natasha replied, “You guys should see him when he’s up sulking in his room about something dumb, and then he gets called for dinner. Or does anyone else need reminding that he literally crashed through a vent into our lives”

-“And your hearts” Harley muttered bitterly. Peter grinned.

“Hey, you said I’m your favourite” Peter protested, “Why are you throwing me under the bus?”

“I’m throwing you under the bus because you’re my favourite” she replied with an eye-roll as they turned out of the tower’s parking lot, “And because I’m getting pretty sick of you using your stupid puppy-dog eyes to get me to agree to things. Like this. Or going around New York’s hottest tourist spots with you tomorrow”

“You’re looking forward too it though” Peter replied teasingly, “Admit it!”

Natasha’s mouth twitched but she managed to suppress the smile that so desperately wanted to show itself.

“Wait” MJ piped up from the back, “He used the puppy-dog eye shit with you as well?”

“All. The. Damn. Time” Natasha replied, “D’you get it at school as well?”

“He managed to get me to give him my blueberry muffin the other day” MJ snarled, “And he used it on the History teacher to get out of homework. Three weeks in a row.”

“Nice” Harley interjected

“I don’t do it on purpose!” Peter exclaimed, like a liar.

“Oh you so do, Peter” Ned finally managed to bring himself to talk, “Remember that time in second grade when you got really hyper cos you drank everyone’s chocolate milk and then they found you in the bathroom smearing butter all over yourself and the mirror-“

“Yes, thank you Ned!” Peter shouted over the laughter of Harley, MJ and Natasha.

-“Well, you were naked and they had to call Aunt May to come and get you and she didn’t even yell at you cos you pulled your sad face when she-“

“This is already the best night of my life” Harley said as he clutched his stomach, “Ned please tell me there’s some photographic evidence of this”. Peter watched nervously as MJ seemed to type something on her phone.

“Somewhere” Ned shrugged, “I think they had to take a picture of the damage at the school at least”

“What school was that?” Natasha asked. Peter shot her a look of horror.

“Harper Street Elementary” Ned squeaked, having never been addressed directly by Natasha before.

“Well, I guess I know where I’m going snooping after I’ve ditched you guys” she said. Harley was still beside himself with laughter.

“Natasha”

-

By the time the four arrived at the party, everything was already in full swing. Peter had felt a tad anxious being left as Natasha drove off – karmic punishment for lying about Ned having similar issues, he’d concluded – but came around quickly when Harley cast a protective arm around him as they walked into the party.

“Remember, if it gets too loud or stressful, we’ll call Nat and she’ll be back in a flash” he murmured as they entered Liz’s house. She was easily one of the richest kids in school and it showed. Harley, Ned and MJ’s eyes all became like saucers as the teens made their way through the kitchen and into the back garden area by the pool.

“Peter!” Liz’s voice somehow boomed out over the loud music, Peter blushed as she rushed over to them. She looked absolutely stunning and he felt slightly at a loss for words as she hugged him and thanked him for coming, “You guys all look really nice. Peter, I love what you’ve done with your hair”

Peter frowned. He hadn’t done anything was hair.

“You look….nice…too” he replied awkwardly. MJ rolled her eyes and, seeing an empty gazibo at the back of the garden, took off without a word.

“Oh, don’t, I did maybe a while ago but the party’s been going on for like an hour now I’m sure I look sweaty and hideous” Liz replied, though Peter could tell she was just trying to be humble and didn’t really mean it.

He was desperately trying not to make contact with Harley, who’s inability to hide his smirking at a pretty girl making a beeline for Peter was becoming more evident.

“Oh, this is Harley by the way!” Peter decided to get his revenge by throwing Harley under the bus, “My friend from Tennesse. I told you he’d be-“

“Hey, Parker will presumably let me speak for myself at some point” Harley said smoothly as he extended a hand to Liz and shook it, “Really cool place you got here. I know Peter had just been beside himself with excitement”

Peter blushed furiously. Well, that backfired spectacularly.

“Is that so?” Liz replied, eyeing Peter fliratiously. He just ended up blushing more, though refreshingly he didn’t actually feel remotely anxious or panicked.

“Well, you know….I’m here” Peter replied slowly. Harley cringed as Ned smirked. Liz ignored Peter’s awkwardness and gave him another soft look.

“You are” she said simply, “And to think I was worried you were going to stand me up, Parker. I should have known better seen as though you’re literally incapable of letting people down”

Peter cringed. Liz couldn’t have been further from the truth as far as he was concerned, but he was determined to have a good time tonight and refused to let anything spoil it. So he grinned.

 “You know me, I aim to please” he was shocked by how easily he projected confidence and charisma at that second. Now it was Liz’s turn to blush.

“Let’s dance, my favourite song is next!” Liz announced, quickly dragging Peter off by the hand and leaving Ned and Harley – dumbstruck – on their own.

“Well” Harley began

“Was not expecting that” Ned finished for him

-

With nothing else to do and no one talking to them, Harley and Ned made their way over to MJ’s ‘empty-but-for-herself’ gazibo and sat down. Ned shot MJ a look as he clocked that she had brought a book with her.

“Peter said you were banned from bringing your books to social events” he reminded her. MJ rolled her eyes.

“Parker’s not the boss of me” she scowled, “Besides what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, he’s too busy with Liz to pay any attention to us”

Harley didn’t know if Ned managed to spot the envy with which MJ spat out her last few words, but he certainly did. He grinned to himself.

Peter Parker was a chick magnet, and he didn’t even know it.

“Dude, I’m sorry” Ned said out of the blue, addressing Harley directly, “You don’t have to sit here with us nobodies.”

“Hey, I’m the biggest nobody here!” Harley replied, “I don’t even go to this school. I am the lowest of the low as far as this party’s social hierarchy goes”

“Nah, you’re definitely still above me” Ned sighed, “You’re good-looking and funny. I’m just a loser”

“Well, I’ll give you the first two” Harley said with a smirk, “But you’re not a loser. You’re Peter Parker’s best friend and, from what he’s told me, probably smarter than he is”

“Oh yeah, you’re definitely smarter than Parker, Ned” MJ suddenly piped up from behind her book. Harley had assumed she’d zoned out of their conversation. “He might be good at Science and Tech stuff, but he’s crap at everything else. Remember when he thought Mussolini was a pasta dish?”

Harley smirked. Parker was definitely going to get some crap for that later.

“Yeah, I guess” Ned said. Harley took a deep breath.

“Ned, I know I already apologized for the Nedward crap” he said, “But I just wanna say – I’m sorry, I feel like me and you got off on the wrong foot. You’re a cool guy, and I’m glad Peter has a friend like you in the city”

“Thanks” Ned said with a genuine smile. Peter and Liz were in full view now. Peter’s arms were wrapped around Liz’s waist, hers against around his neck. They looked very close and slightly tipsy. Harley grinned. If anyone deserved a night as a normal teenager, it was Peter Parker.

“He looks really happy, doesn’t he?” there was a tinge of sadness to MJ’s voice as she pointed out Peter and Liz to the boys.

“Yeah, yeah, he does” Ned replied.

Harley smiled.

“You guys really care about Peter don’t you?” it seemed like a silly question to ask, but seeing their genuine happiness over Peter looking so happy himself seemed to confirm to Harley that Ned and MJ weren’t just some kids Peter passed the time of day with. They loved him just as much as anyone else.

“He’s my best friend” said Ned, “I’ve had to stand back and watch for years as he lost everything and everyone around him. Partly because of me”

“What do you mean?” Harley asked

“I could have done more, I should have done more” Ned breathed uneasily

“We all could have, Ned” MJ said sadly, “There’s never any reason for a kid to end up on the streets the way Peter did. We all played a part in it.”

“It wasn’t your guys’ responsibility to make sure he was looked after” Harley said angrily, though he wasn’t sure who the anger was directed at. Certainly not MJ or Ned. “Just like it’s not your responsibility to worry about him now”

“We all do though” MJ said quietly.

Harley nodded. Yeah, we all do.

“Hey Ned, look, Betty came!” MJ announced, breaking the slightly awkward silence that had taken hold. Ned whipped his neck around to the direction that MJ was pointing in so quickly that Harley was surprised the boy didn’t get whiplash. A small, blonde, homely girl was standing with some friends by the edge of the swimming pool.

“Who’s Betty?” Harley asked excitedly.

“A girl Leeds has a crush on” MJ grinned, Ned looked like he wanted to die, “And she likes him back as well but he’s too much of a pussy to do anything about it”

“We’ve got a really good friendship, I don’t wanna wreck it” Ned protested

“Yeah, but if you like her and she likes you, is it even a friendship anymore” Harley pointed out, “Believe me man, if she likes you then you should go for it. And in my experience girls won’t wait around forever”

“Just go and talk to her, Ned” MJ chimed in, “She’s already looked over here four times and its annoying me”

Harley grinned as Ned smiles and shyly made his way over to Betty. He watched as Betty’s face lit up when Ned came into her view and enveloped him in a hug, they disappeared inside.

For a brief second, MJ’s stare returned to Peter and Liz. They were now standing and chatting with some of Liz’s popular friends. Harley noticed a very brief tear form in the girls eyes before she hurriedly returned to looking at her book, clearly thinking that he hadn’t noticed.

Harley took a deep breath.

“How long’ve you been in love with Peter then?” he asked in a very matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t look at her, and she didn’t put her book down. But she did reply.

“Don’t know” she practically whispered, “I only figured it out last week. What the feelings meant, but I’ve had the feelings for years….how did you?”

“I’m dumb in a great many ways, MJ” Harley said with a smile, “But there’s one thing I’m smarter than all you Decathlon nerds in. And that’s people. I just figured it out.”

MJ frowned. She was always so careful with her feelings, so cautious about revealing them to the closest people to her. Even her parents. So how had this kid who she barely knew come in and within hours guessed her deepest secret?

“I get it, too” Harley went on, “I know we don’t know one another very well MJ but it’s clear that this is the absolute last place you would chose to be on a Friday night. I dunno if you’re here because Peter’s incessant, obsessive nagging eventually wore you down or if it’s because he flashed those damn puppy-dog eyes at you-“

-“Both, kinda”

“Thought as much” Harley replied with a grin, “My point is – regardless of how you got here, the point is, you came for him. You came because you knew it was important to him and you knew that being here with him would make Peter be comfortable enough to really enjoy the party. That’s selfless, Michelle. That’s love.”

“And you figured all that out in….what? Five minutes?” MJ questioned

“Less” Harley said, shooting her a charismatic smile and a wink, “Like I said – I’m just really good at reading people. And you’re about as open as that book you’re reading, at least when it comes to Parker”

“Please don’t tell him” MJ muttered. She knew Harley wouldn’t, but she had to make sure she’d said it all the same.

“I won’t” Harley said softly, “Your secret is safe with me. I think we both know that Peter doesn’t need the ego boost, if nothing else”

“It’s weird” MJ said, frowning slightly, “Girls have literally never paid attention to him until like…six months ago? Now there’s always someone in the god-damn toilets talking about how they have a crush on him and all that crap”

“Probably a mixture of things” Harley said, “Tragic backstory, adopted by a billionaire and let’s not discount that he’s just really freakin’ cute”

MJ giggled. Harley was a surprised, he wouldn’t have thought her capable.

“You really care about him as well, don’t you” she said seemingly coming to the realization about Harley that he’d had about her and Ned minutes before.

Harley merely nodded.

“How long have you known he’s Spider-Man?” now it was her chance to flaw him. Harley cringed. That stupid fucking comment in the car.

“W-what?”

“You’re not the only intuitive one you know” she said with a smile, “I figured it out a while ago, just didn’t say anything. He doesn’t need the ego boost.”

“Definitely not” Harley grinned, “I do think one thing though”

“What?”

“You definitely need to start messing with him about it, just a little” Harley said with a laugh, “I won’t let him know you know…..if you do one thing for me?”

“What’s that?” MJ asked suspiciously

“Come inside with me and get some chips and salsa” Harley replied, “I’m hungry, and it’s getting a bit cold out here. We can find a couch and you can just read.”

“Deal” MJ replied shutting her book. Harley cast an arm around her shoulder as he lead her inside – successfully managing to block her view of Liz and Peter, who had started kissing a few seconds before.

-

Chapter Text

9.

MJ wasn’t stupid. She appreciated Harley’s honest efforts to stop her from seeing Peter and Liz kiss but she’d already noticed long before he’d purposefully blocked her view, though she was more than happy to carry on with the charade regardless. Not talking about seeing Peter kiss someone else suited her quite nicely, though not thinking about it was bound to be a bit of a challenge.

She had absolutely no idea how she’d ended up in this position. Two weeks ago, Peter Parker was just her nerdy friend who needed a bit of help with his panic attacks every now and again but everything else was fine and normal. There was never any reason to think there was anything more than friendship there, she still felt the warm feelings she had always got whenever she saw him but she’d just assumed they were a natural reaction to seeing a friend.

But now, it was all different. He wasn’t just Peter, her friend, anymore. He was Peter. The racing heartbeat every time she saw him seemed so much more pronounced, his stupid unfunny jokes all of a sudden seemed a lot funnier and she felt like she could no longer look him directly in the eye. He wasn’t stupid. He’d figure it out, and then he’d freak. Because Peter Parker needed simplicity and stability in his life, and finding out that one of his oldest friends was in love with him was not simple or stable.

MJ’s insticts were telling her to pull away from Peter, distance herself, take some time to work out her feelings and move past them. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t an option. He needed her around, she was one of the only people in the world who could sooth him when he got in a panic or help him figure out his problems. And, truth be told, she needed him just as much. Peter was the one person in her life she could be totally honest with, the one person who never judged her for being rude or moody and the one person who reminded her she could be a friend.

At least, he used to be. She couldn’t be totally honest or open with him now. Every time they spoke, it was like she was lying to him a little bit more. Lulling Peter into some false kind of security that she knew very well had an expiry date; if Harley Keener – a boy who didn’t know her at all – had managed to figure out her feelings in the space of one evening then other people were bound to. It would all explode in the end, and it was Peter who was going to get hurt.

Pulling away wasn’t an option. MJ and Peter needed eachother too much, and MJ didn’t want to pull away from him. She loved him. She wanted to be around him, and if that meant dealing with everything on her own, then that’s what she would do.

“You saw didn’t you” the ridiculously perceptive Harley muttered as they finally found an empty couch to sit down on. MJ detected a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Yeah, I did” she replied simply, “But it was very noble and kind of you to try and stop me from seeing.”

“Are you alright?” he asked

“I’ll have to be” MJ sighed, “I’m not about to stand up and declare war over Peter. I hate that shit. Girls tearing one another down over a boy they both like, Liz isn’t evil. I don’t hate her. We both just happen to like the same guy at the same time. And he likes her back, that’s just something I have to accept”

“That’s a very refreshing viewpoint, I must say” Harley said bitterly, “If this was back home, the girls would probably be wrestling eachother in a puddle of mud by now”

“Ah, well, us city folk are just a lot more sophisticated” she replied teasingly. Harley raised his eyebrows in the pretence of being offended.

“We all still face the same problems though” he said leaning back on the sofa, “And that’s what you need to remember. Unrequited love sucks. We’ve all been through it”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from personal experience there” MJ pointed out.

Harley shrugged.

“Yeah. I’ve had a few crushes here and there” he said, “Not sure about the love part. My Mum always says if you have to ask yourself it its love, then its not love. And I’ve always had to ask myself whether it was love.”

MJ went quiet once again. She didn’t know much about Harley, so she knew even less about his mother, but it seemed like the woman had the right idea. Never, not once, had MJ stopped and had to ask herself whether it was love she felt for Peter. That was the one thing she was clear on. She did love him. It was just how she went about dealing with it that was causing her the most headache.

“But, the important thing to remember” Harley went on, “Is that everyone ever in the world has been through this and….at the end of the day, what’s the worst thing that’s going to come out of this situation? Peter finds out someone loves him. We both know he needs to hear that more than anyone”

“You’re very mature, for your age” MJ gave Harley an honest smile, “You remind me of a slightly less intelligent me”

“Like I say – I’m good with the people stuff” Harley replied, “Never much to do back home but people watch in the town. Guess I just got used to patterns and stuff.”

“I like people watching as well” MJ said, “Sometimes I’ll go to Time Square and just sit with a book for a few hours, watching the world go by. New York can be a very private place if you figure out how to make it so”

Harley nodded.

“It’ll all work out in the end” he told her, giving her a weak smile.

Across the room, Peter and Liz were chatting with some of Liz’s friends. MJ’s stomach did a back flip as she watched him laugh, joke and charm a group of people who were essentially strangers to him. She knew he was a little drunk. The stupid grin plastered across his face gave that fact away a mile off, but MJ also knew Peter’s extraverted and charismatic side only ever showed itself if he was around someone he felt truly comfortable with. Due to his arm being wrapped tightly around Liz’s waist as they stood together, it wasn’t hard to conclude that she was very quickly becoming one of those people for him.

And MJ was happy. Because Peter Parker deserved the world.

“I know” MJ replied with a shrug, “And thank you, for tonight, you’ve proven yourself a semi-tolerable human being”

“High praise indeed” Harley smirked, “Before I go we need to exchange numbers. Unrequited love or not, we still need to mess with Parker about Spider-Man, yes?”

“Of course” MJ replied happily

-

Peter was pretty drunk. He was surprised, Dr. Banner had maintained that is enhanced strength due to the spider bite would make getting drunk pretty hard, but Peter was definitely tipsy. He was starting to get a little worried about the fact as the last thing Pepper had said to him and Harley before they left was that she didn’t want them to come home drunk. And if he got back to Stark Tower in the state he was currently in, he’d be grounded for life.

Alone in the bathroom, he found himself laughing at his own reflection in the mirror. The things he was worried about. A year ago, he’d been sleeping on the streets and his biggest concern was when or if he was going to eat again and keeping himself alive. Now, he was worried about his adoptive parents grounding him for having a few tequila shots at a party. Things had changed a lot, and he was happy about that, but he was also very scared of letting Pepper and Tony down.

“You-you’re OK, Spider-Man” he told his reflection, “You’re a little drunk right now but you’re OK. It’s all gonna be OK, Liz kissed you but that’s OK. It’s OK!”

His reflection did not seem to agree with him as before he knew what was what, he was lurched over the toilet and spilling his guts out. Peter tried to be as quiet as he could but his fear of vomitting was now kicking in and he could feel his chest tighten and a sense of panic start to set in.

No

No

I’m not doing this tonight.

I’m gonna have a good time and enjoy myself because I deserve too.

Liz kissed me.

WE didn’t kiss

SHE kissed ME.

“Yo, Pete, you in there?” Harley’s voice rang out from the other side of the door. Peter closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, reaching over from where he’d curled himself up to unlock the door and allow his friend to come in.

Harley looked shaken as he noticed Peter on the floor.

“We OK, bud?” he asked.

“Mostly fine” Peter murmured, “Jus a ‘lil teeny drunk and I m-may have just t-thrown up a little bit but I’m OK. Just a little drunk. Don’t tell Pepper.”

“That might be kind of unavoidable, pal” Harley told him, sitting down next to him on the floor, “I think we might need to get you home ASAP. You seem pretty wasted.”

“Don’t wanna go home” Peter moaned, “Wanna stay here with Liz. I kissed Liz, y’know, well actually she was the one who kissed me”

“Wow, that’s cool” Harley sounded genuinely pleased for him, “And I’d love to hear more about it when you’re a bit more coherent. Now, are you OK to come back out? I’ve got a few breath mints so don’t worry about that”

Peter took a handful of the mints and shoved them all in his mouth at once. Harley smirked as Peter’s face fell into an unpleasant grimace as he swallowed them.

“Fresh as a daisy!” the younger boy annouced proudly. Harley gave him a hand as he stood back up. Peter faltered just a little.

“Pete, did you have a panic attack?” Harley asked bluntly.

“No managed to stop it” Peter replied groggily, “Jus’ thought ‘bout Liz and the kiss and how happy I am”

“That’s good” said Harley, still supporting Peter as they walked out of the bathroom, “That’s really good. You should tell Pepper, she’ll be pleased”

“Pepper’s gonna be mad at me” Peter moaned, “She told me not to drink and I get drunk. She’s gonna ground me for a month and take my lego set”

Harley couldn’t help but laugh out loud, which Peter didn’t seem to appreciate as he muttered something about it “not being funny” as Harley sat him down on a couch. Liz, who seemed a little more sober than Peter, made her way over to the boys and draped herself down next to Peter.

“I think I need to go home” Peter concluded a few seconds later

“Good thinking, always said you were a smart kid” Harley replied as he rolled his eyes, he picked up his cellphone and went through to Liz’s front porch to call Natasha. As he left, he noticed Peter rest his head on Liz’s shoulder as she stroked his hair. MJ had been right. Liz was now someone Peter felt comfortable and safe with.

Natasha didn’t pick up the first two times Harley called, but did on the third.

“Nat? We’re ready to come home now”

“Oh are you?” Natasha sounded stressed as she replied, “Are you? Well, aren’t you two cutie pies for wanting to stick to your curfew. We may have one problem in that though.”

“What?”

“There’s a slight chance I may have crashed the car” Natasha said. Harley could practically see her forehead cringe through the phone. “Don’t tell Tony”

“How the hell did you manage that?!” Harley exclaimed, “Aren’t you meant to be a trained assassin or something? Did they not bother teaching you how to drive?!”

“I hit a fire hydrant” Natasha said with a sigh, “If you and Peter set off now you can get the Subway back to Manhattan and still make it on time. I’ll meet you with a hopefully fixed bumper and it’ll be like none of this ever happened. OK?”

Harley hesitated

"What?” Natasha asked

 “Err, well, that’s all well and good in theory” Harley said slowly, “The issue on our end is that Peter’s pretty wasted.”

 Once again, Natasha sighed.

 “Just get him to Manhattan, the journey might sober him up a bit” she said, “And don’t worry too much if it doesn’t. It might take some of the heat off me”

 Harley rolled his eyes, hung up the phone, took a deep breath and went to fetch Peter

 -

By the time they reached the Subway system, Peter had mostly sobered up due to the exposure to fresh air. Liz, Betty and Ned had come along with them as neither Peter or Harley really knew where they were going, and Peter was worried about Liz walking back to her house alone when the two boys had gone. Harley felt like a bit of a fifth wheel as he walked with the two unofficial couples. MJ had ducked out not long after he’d added her number to his phone book, explaining that she’d rather talk to Peter when he was sober.

“So, Natasha isn’t picking up you guys up anymore because…” Ned prompted once again, but Harley kept quiet.

“I told you” he said impatiently, “She ended up really far away. Some kind of emergency, it’s just easier for me and Pete to get the subway”

“And more fun!” Peter announced from behind Harley, he was still a little tipsy, “I like riding on the subway.”

“You’re the only one” muttered Liz

“I’m kind of disappointed Black Widow isn’t picking you guys up anymore” said a crestfallen sounding Betty, “I’d been kind of hoping to meet her”

“You should drop by and meet her anytime!” Peter said enthusiastically, “Tony and Pepper say my friends are always welcome as long as we’re not entertaining anyone unwelcome guests”

“Thanks” Betty replied, seemingly unsure about whether she should ask when exactly she and Peter had become friends or what he’d meant by ‘unwelcome guests’.

“You guys should all come back to the Tower with us!” Peter exclaimed.

“No” Harley, Liz and Ned all replied in unison. Betty laughed.

“Well, here we are guys” Ned said as the teens reached the subway station. Harley had no idea how long it took to get from Queens to Manhattan on the subway but they were already pushing it to meet their 12.15 curfew and Peter didn’t seem to be quite in step with Harley’s sense of urgency.

“Thanks, Ned” Harley said, tugging on Peter’s arms, “And thanks for walking us here guys, and Liz, I’m sure the next time we see each other I’m sure we’ll be able to say more than five words to one another without this one interrupting”

Peter flashed a cheesy grin as he hugged Ned, then a very surprised but not all together put off Betty. When it came to Liz, he clammed up a bit.

“Sorry, for getting drunk” he practically whispered. She smiled at him fondly.

“I’m just glad you had a nice time” Liz replied sweetly, “And don’t worry about it. I’m not exactly sober myself.”

Peter smirked and kissed her on the cheek. Harley pulled him away again as they entered the subway station and descended down the elevator. Luckily, Peter had made the journey from Queens to Manhattan hundreds of times himself so knew exactly where to go and what to do, and once the three other teenagers had gone he seemed a lot more focused.

They made it just in time for the next train to Manhattan. Natasha had text seconds before saying she had found someone to work on the car and would meet them at the other end. Feeling a little relieved, Harley and Peter sat down in an empty carriage.

“Did you have a good night?” Peter asked him

“I’ve had worse” Harley said honestly, “Could have done without worrying about navigating New York City at night with you drunk. It should have been the other way.”

Peter cringed.

“Liz kissed me”

“She did”

“She probably hated it”

“From what I saw, and this gives me no pleasure to say, she seemed like she was really into it”

“Perv” Peter whispered under his breath. Harley elbowed him. Peter laughed and sat back in his seat.

“I can’t believe I got drunk” he said putting his head in his hands, “Starting to feel a little more normal now though, think my hangover might be kicking in”

“How is that even possible?” Harley asked incredulously

“Err, well, it’s a long story” Peter began, “I’ll tell you the full story one day when my heads not spinning but for now, we’ll just leave it at I was bitten by a radioactive spider and now I’m pretty much superhuman”

Harley gaped.

“You don’t believe me” Peter stated, raising her eyebrows

“No, I totally believe you” Harley assured him, “It’s the fact I believe you that worries me. So can you like….fly?”

“No” Peter shook his head, “No, but I can lift up to about 75 tonnes and me and Tony built a suit that lets me swing from building to building and all that. It’s pretty cool, but also kinda scary, it’s lead to some not very nice situations. There’s a lot of responsibility there.”

“Yeah, I bet” Harley said quietly. He’d been feeling a little jealous of Peter since he’d figured out the Spider-Man secret, but now he couldn’t feel any less envious if he tried. Especially for a kid like Peter, who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders anyway, the responsibility and stress of being a superhero must have come with a lot of stress. Harley couldn’t help but resent Pepper and Tony for letting Peter carry on with it all, but he assumed they had their reasons.

“Hey, I am really sorry for ditching you tonight” Peter said honestly, “I just got really distracted about Liz and then she kissed me and I – well, I’m sorry. I was a crappy friend tonight.”

“You couldn’t be a crappy friend if you tried” Harley replied, normally he’d be jokingly telling Peter that he was a crappy friend, but that wasn’t what Peter needed, “You were just having fun and being a normal teenager. You’ve got to learn to let go and stop worrying about having a nice time. You deserve it”

Peter hung his head low, Harley knew that now they were well away from the party he was starting to beat himself up about everything. The kid just couldn’t let himself have a good time and then not feel bad about it. It was weird, to say the least.

“Oh my goodness” a woman’s voice rang out from the otherside of the carriage, “Girls! There’s a pretty much empty carriage through here”

Harley and Peter’s heads both shot up in her direction as she lead several very pretty, very dressed up girls into their carriage. From the fake bridal wear and the L sign attatched to the front of their dresses, Harley was easily able to conclude they’d been joined by a bacholerette party.

Peter grinned at Harley and they both tried to hide a smirk as a party of eight women descended on what had been a quiet, peaceful carriage a few seconds before.

“There are kids in here, Janelle” one of the women told her friend bluntly

“Awww, look, they’re so cute” another woman cooed in the boys direction, “How old are you boys anyway? Isn’t it past your bedtimes”

“We’re 27” Harley shot back with a grin as a worried looking Peter tried to stop him.

“Maybe in 12 years!” one of the other women shouted back, “You don’t mind if we bring our little party in here do you? We were getting noise complaints in the other carriages.”

“Do we have a choice?” Peter asked with a sigh.

The women laughed.

-

“What the hell happened to you two?” Natasha asked incredulously as Peter and Harley climbed into the now fixed car. The boys were a sight. Both had faces that were covered in glitter and sparkles, both donned pink cow girl hats and Harley had a big lipstick kiss mark on his right cheek. Peter had a rainbow sticker over one of his eyebrows.

“We were….err, kind of adopted by a bacholerette party on the train” Harley said with a smirk. Nat turned around and faced them in alarm. “They insisted on doing this to our faces, but we weren’t going to say no. They were very pretty.”

“And scary” Peter chimed in, “Although it is nice to know I’m not technically an orphan now seen as though ‘Jen from accounting’ told me she’s adopting me”

“She’ll have some competition” Harley told his friend, “I was talking to Janelle and she was saying that you reminded her of her own kid, and he needs a brother”

“You need to tell Tony you got all that shit from Liz’s party” Natasha said seriously as she started up the car, “He can never know I crashed the car”

“Nat, Tony didn’t say a word that time you kicked that Hydra agent through one of the windows” Peter reminded her, “I doubt he’s going to blow up over a car”

Natasha rolled her eyes, and held back a giggle as she looked at Peter and Harley in the rear view mirror. They both looked absolutely precious.

“Did you boys have a good time at the actual party?” she asked, “Any pressing teenage melodrama’s I need to be made aware of?”

“Nope” Peter said quickly

“Liz kissed Peter” Harley added immediately. Natasha almost caused another crash and she stopped on the breaks and the car came to a sudden stop. Peter was very distressed as his pink cow girl fell from his head and reached down to pick it up.

“Seriously? That’s awesome. Well done, kiddo” Natasha said, “Who knew you had any kind of game?”

“Me” Peter muttered angrily, “And can we please not make a big deal out of it. I don’t wanna be getting shit tons of questions about this whilst I’m trying to actually figure out what, exactly, this is”

“Fine” Natasha said slowly, “But as long as you promise not tell Tony about the crash, and as long as I get to give the best man speech at your wedding”

“Err, I’m giving the best man speech” Harley argued

“Err, Ned is giving the best man speech” Peter corrected him

“You seem sober, at least” Natasha told Peter as she started driving once again, “That’s good. I was having visions of having to frantically sneak you past Pepper and Tony. Cos we all know they’re waiting up for us, right?”

“Yeah” Harley and Peter said in unison.

Harley smiled. He couldn’t believe this was all going to work out. They were going to make it back in time for curfew, with a completely sober Peter and a car that looked like nothing had ever happened to it.

Then, a chilling thought took over his mind.

“Guys” he said in a panicked tone of voice, “I’ve just had a really obvious thought, I can’t believe I’d not thought of this before-“

“Oh good, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that” Peter replied, Harley gave him a confused look, “You really do need to get a haircut. I hate to sound like Tony, but it really is a bit too long-“

“That’s not what I meant at all dipshit” Harley snapped back as Natasha laughed, “There is nothing wrong with the length of my hair, it’s – anyway, what I actually thought of was – aren’t we missing something really obvious on me? Back on time? Totally sober? Non-totaled car? They’re going to know something went wrong if we do everything right. Well, Pepper will. Tony probably won’t even notice”

“Damn” Peter said slowly

“Shit kid, you’re right” Natasha said bringing the car to a stop once again, “We almost walked into that one completely blindly.”

“Do I need to get drunk again?” Peter asked

“No, I say we just roll up late” Harley suggested, “That’s the easiest option, that way Parker doesn’t have to get drunk again and we don’t have to take a sledgehammer to the front of the car”

“True” Natasha replied, “Certainly seems to be the most boring option though. I’m not sitting here until it’s past your guys’ curfew though, let’s at least do something”

“I’m hungry” Peter moaned, “Can we please got to McDonalds or something? Get some food to takeout? That should get us back to the tower like….ten minutes late”

“Good thinking, Spider-Man” Natasha said, “I’ll go in though. Don’t want you two to be adopted by a gaggle of broody women again, do we?

Peter grinned.

Harley’s phone pinged.

A text from MJ:

Come up with the first idea for Operation: Mess with Spider-Man. Will let you know how it all goes on Monday.

“Who’s that?” Peter asked curiously, attempting to look at his friends phone but Harley put it away before he could.

“That’s for me to know” he said, tapping his glitter covered nose, “And you to find out”

-

Peter saw his pink cowgirl wearing, glittery face, twenty chicken nugget sharing box reflection for the first time as they entered the elevator at Stark Tower. Natasha had gotten herself a milkshake whilst Harley had bought himself three large fries, two Big Macs and a coke. All in all, the order had taken nearly half an hour to process and they’d ended up not getting back to Stark Tower until 12.50am.

Oddly, he didn’t feel remotely nervous at the prospect of getting in trouble for missing curfew. He had had a good time, and like Harley said, he needed to let himself enjoy having fun every once in a while. He could take a little telling off and grounding. He also assumed the five cheeseburgers he'd bought for Tony might go some way to winning him around if he was mad. 

“We look kinda dumb” Harley noted.

“Yes, you look incredibly dumb” Natasha told him, “But you’re keeping all the glitter on your faces, and any pink cow girl hats on your heads because I need to see Tony’s reaction when we step out of the elevator”

“Did they seem mad when you called?” Peter asked

“Nah, they get it” Natasha replied, “Tony was partying harder than you guys when he was fifteen, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on here”

“Cool” said Peter nodding his head and offering her a chicken nugget. She smiled and took it.

The elevator doors opened up into the living room and Pepper and Tony were, as expected, sitting waiting for them to arrive on the sofas. Both burst into laughter the second their eyes laid on Harley and Peter

“Did Nat bring you two home via some kind of messed up beauty pageant?" Tony asked, his eyes meeting with Peter's, "Shouldn't have some kind of trophy, or at least a cash prize, to bring home to us? You both look very pretty"

"Very pretty" Pepper nodded in agreement.

Peter rolled his eyes and threw the bag of cheeseburgers to Tony. The billionaire clearly hadn't been expecting these but happily opened the bag and passed one to Pepper as Harley, Peter and Natasha all sat down with their food. Pepper didn't usually allow them to eat on the couch but seemed to be making an exception. Peter was surprised to see her almost inhale one of the burgers and then immediately reach for another. 

"So....how drunk were you?" she asked him after her next bite

"Err?" Peter replied, "I....wasn't"

Pepper and Tony both shared a glance.

"Then why did I receive a text from you at 10.34pm saying that you 'loved me' and that Tony's 'the best'?" Pepper asked

"Can't I just be nice with no agenda?" Peter asked, pretending to be outraged.

"You very often are" Tony said with a mischievous glint lighting up his eyes, "Your spur of the moment text messages really get me through my day, only usually, they're spelled and punctuated perfectly and in this one you spelled best with two z's"

"I was being quirky" Peter offered up the weak excuse. He was aware Harley and Natasha had both been staring at the ground without looking up for nearly a minute. Harley's shoulders were shaking and it was clear he was trying and failing to hold back laughter.  

"How much did you have to drink, Peter?" Pepper asked once again, "You might as well tell us, because we're pretty clear on the fact you must have been drunk. I mean, why else would you visit the glitter stand and bring home a pink cow girl hat?"

"Well....then you should be mad at Harley, cos he has exactly the same amount of glitter and pink cow girl hats as me!" Peter exclaimed. 

"Well, fortunately for Mr. Keener, I'm not legally responsible for his welfare" Tony said with a shrug. Harley looked up and smiled. "If he wants to drink underage and coat himself in glitter well, ultimately it falls to his mother to tell him not to do that. You, on the other hand, answer to me-"

"-Us-" Pepper interjected.

"Us, yes, sorry dear" Tony went on, "And whilst you're living under our roof we ask that you do not drink. We'll take a rain check on the face of glitter, and the pink cow girl hats. You do you."

"Thanks" Peter said firmly, he still hadn't parted ways with his pink cow girl hat, "Am I grounded then?"

"Yes. But you can cut your time down if you tell us why you were on the subway" Pepper replied

"And why there was a mechanic called out for the car tonight" Tony added in.

Peter's face fell and he turned to Natasha, who guiltily raised her right hand. Tony raised his eyebrows.

"I crashed it into a fire hydrant" she said. Harley smirked again. "The boys had to get the subway back to Manhattan because I didn't have the time to get the car fixed and pick them up....the reason they have glitter and cowgirl hats is because a group of drunken bacholerette's adopted them on the train"

Pepper blinked. 

"Romanoff, you're grounded as well" Tony said firmly.

-

An hour later and all was mostly calm in Stark Tower. Peter and Harley had retired to Peter's bedroom shortly after the confessions had ended. Harley was quietly satisfied that he'd actually been the only one who hadn't done anything wrong that night. 

Peter fell asleep pretty quickly. He was clearly exhausted from the day, and tearing himself up over what he was going to say to Liz at school on Monday. Harley had tried to persuade him it was nothing to worry about, but knew it was a pointless excersize. All Peter ever did was worry, all Harley could take away from the situation was that at least for once Peter was worrying over something pretty much every teenager worried about at some point. 

Harley would have gone to his guest room pretty soon after Peter nodded off, but the boy had unfortunately chosen to fall asleep with his right arm and both legs stretched out across his friend. This had essentially trapped Harley under Peter.

"Well, that's adorable" Tony said quietly as he tip-toed into the room, "How long has he been out?"

"Pretty much dead to the world the second his head hit the pillow" Harley replied, "I was searching for a video to watch on YouTube and by the time I'd found one, he was sleeping and pretty much...yeah, I'm trapped aren't I?"

"I'd say so, kid" Tony said with amusement as he perched himself on the edge of Peter's bed, "I just want to say a massive thank you for tonight, Harley. I know that going to a party with a bunch of strangers can't have been the most thrilling prospect but....you did it for Peter, and Pep and I are really grateful. Knowing you were there meant we didn't have to worry as much"

Harley didn't mention Peter's near panic attack in the bathroom, nor his kiss with Liz. It wasn't his place.

"Thanks Tony" Harley replied

"Don't think that just because Peter lives with me and the fact we're adopting him means anything changes between me and you" Tony pressed on, "You are still as important to me as ever, and I'm really proud of the man you're becoming. You and Peter....you're both part of my legacy, as far as I'm concerned"

"....So I can expect a cool hundred million, when exactly?" Harley asked cheekily. 

"When you tell me how long you've known that Peter is Spider-Man" Tony said simply.

Harley was dumbfounded. 

-

Chapter Text

10.

It was Monday morning. Peter walked into Midtown High School, excited and ready to tell Liz that he wanted to take their relationship to the next level. He was ready. He wanted her to be his girlfriend.

She was at the dinner table.

He felt nervous as he approached her with a weak smile. She didn’t look impressed.

"Hey Liz!”

“Excuse me?”

“I was-I was just….I was just….”

TYPICAL. His anxiety just had to choose now to kick in and make him look like a freak in front of all of Liz’s friends.

They all laughed. He supposed he couldn’t blame them. He was pathetic.

“Peter?”

“I-I-I j-j- after your p-party wh-when we k-kissed”

Liz smiled at him,

“Oh right? That!” she said, “God, you’re such a loser Parker. You realize that was all a joke, right? Kiss the biggest loser. I won”

Of course it had been a dare

“Peter, stay with me man, you need to breathe”

Liz didn’t like him.

He was such an idiot to think she did.

Everyone around him pointed and laughed.

Liz.

Flash.

Sadie.

Even Ned and MJ.

Peter wanted to turn and run but he was frozen to the spot.

“FRIDAY, call Tony, now!”

They’re all laughing at you.

They all hate you.

You’re alone.

Like you’ve always been alone.

Like you always will be alone.

“Harley, what’s up? What’s going on?”

“Tony, he’s freaking out. I can’t wake him, he’s thrashing and screaming and-”

“FRIDAY - get Rogers up here, I can’t get to him when he’s like this”

Then HE was there.

The bad man.

The man from the streets.

The man who had hurt him.

The man who had made everything worse.

He stared at Peter. The same expression he’d had that night, when he took everything good that was left in Peter for himself.

Peter jolted awake as he felt his foot collide with something, followed by a massive thud sounding out around his bedroom. He couldn’t breathe. His chest was tight and he was struggling for air, he looked around frantically for someone to help him but the room was pitch black and no one was around.

Told you, you’re alone.

At least the bad man was gone.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around Peter’s chest. Steve Rogers tightened his grip around the struggling teenager, allowing Peter’s legs and arms to stop flailing around. He sat Peter up in bed so they were both rested against Peter’s headboard.

“It’s OK, Pete” Steve whispered into the boys ear, “It’s OK. No one’s gonna hurt you, it’s all alright. It’s me, Steve. I’m back!”

“Get. Off. Me!” Peter screamed. He was being held too tight, he wanted to get away but he couldn’t get away. This was bad. This was really bad. Peter started thrashing again. “GET THE FUCK OFF ME! GET OFF ME! HELP!”

“PETER! Peter, calm down!” Steve yelled, “You gotta calm down, you’re gonna hurt yourself, you could hurt someone else”

Steve shared an uneasy look with Tony, who was tending to a semi-conscious Harley whom Peter had kicked to the floor in his foot. Harley’s nose was totally bust and from what Tony could see, he probably had a concussion as well.

“Cap, listen to me” Tony said sternly, “We need to get Harley some medical attention and whatever’s going on in Peter’s head right now...you sitting there holding him just seems to be making it worse”

“GET OFF ME! HE’S GONNA HURT ME!” Peter screamed again, as if right on queue. Natasha Romanoff stood at Peter’s bedroom door, looking pale and shaken.

“Tony, we can’t just leave the kid in this state” Steve protested, though he was very aware his hold on Peter was loosening and the kid was close to breaking free.

“I’ve just had to stop Pepper from coming in here” Natasha said frantically, “Tony’s right Steve, you need to let Peter go. A destroyed bedroom is a destroyed bedroom but he’s gonna hurt someone else at this rate”

“PLEASE LET ME GO!”

“Harley, can you stand up for me kiddo?” Tony asked the boy softly.

Harley nodded and was helped to his feet by Tony and Natasha. Natasha took hold of him and guided him out of the room whilst Tony turned back to Steve and Peter. He gulped. This had been one hell of a nightmare for the poor kid and was going to set him back so much, especially when he found out he’d hurt Harley.

“LET ME GO! YOU’RE GONNA HURT ME, LET ME GO!” Peter screamed again. Tony saw something break in Steve’s eyes as he fought back tears. He felt his own heart break at the same time. Steve cared about Peter so much. They all did. Seeing him regress like this, and seemingly out of nowhere, hurt more than being slammed into any building by a Hydra agent or barely surviving an explosion.

“OK Peter” Steve said softly, “I’m gonna let you go now. I’m sorry if I scared you buddy, I’m gonna let you go now”

And he did. Softly and gently, Steve relinquished his hold on Peter. Tony’s heart was in his mouth as Steve cautiously lifted himself over Peter’s body - which was now curled up tightly into the foetal position - and walked towards him.

Tony put a hand on Steve’s shoulder as he lead him out of the room.

“I never was very good at learning when to let go” Steve said with a shudder.

-

Harley had sustained a broken nose but seemed to have got away without a concussion. He was sitting in the living room with Pepper and Natasha tending to him when a shattered looking Tony entered the room, closely followed by Steve.

“How’s the patient?” Tony asked, putting a tight grip on Harley’s shoulder as he stood behind him.

“Nose is definitely broken” Pepper, who had wiped away most of the blood, said as she dabbed a paper tissue on the boys face once again. “He’s fairly lucid, so I think he’s managed to avoid a concussion. Probably worth Bruce taking a look at him just to be safe.”

“I’m fine ” Harley insisted angrily

“You are not fine, you have a broken nose” snapped Pepper, “Now, if you won’t let Bruce take a look at you for your sake, do it for mine. And your Mothers. She definitely won’t let you come and visit again if she thinks we don’t look after when you’re here”

This seemed to placate Harley, who gave the nod for Tony to call Bruce to come up and have a look at him. Tony would have prefered for him to go to the medical floor but Harley was refusing to move any further than the living room.

“I am not going anywhere until I know Peter’s okay” he insisted, “And that means Tennessee as well, just in case anyone was getting any ideas about sending me home early”

Tony nodded. He wasn’t keen on the idea of being too far away from Peter at that moment either.

“What the hell happened ?” Steve asked

“I honestly don’t know” Harley replied, “He started stirring and I figured he was just having a bad dream, but it got worse and worse, and then before I knew what was what he’d kicked me in the face and I was on the floor. And then you guys came in”

“Was it really bad?” Pepper asked Tony

“Worst I’ve ever seen” Tony confirmed grimly, “He’s never been that out of control before. Steve was barely managing to hold onto him before I made him stop”

“Jesus” Pepper said, putting her hand over her mouth and fighting back tears, “....where the hell did this all come from? He’s had such a good day, we were so proud of him for having someone else stay in his room. It was such a big step.”

“To be fair, he was fine last night” Harley piped up, “So I don’t think it was me being there. He fell asleep knowing I was there.”

“But it wasn’t fine tonight” Steve said darkly. Harley didn’t have a counter argument for that.

“Harley, you have told us everything that happened at the party, right?” Pepper asked sweetly, aware that she didn’t want to put too much pressure on the injured boy. But she had to know. She had to understand, and soon.

Harley cringed.

“No” he confessed, not daring to look at any of the adults surrounding him, “No. He...err, well he kissed Liz Allan tonight. And he was getting kind of anxious over what he was going to say to her at school on Monday”

“OK” Pepper said slowly, “But there’s something else Harley, I can tell”

Harley took a shaky deep breath. Tony put another comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You won’t be in any trouble, pal” he assured the boy, “We just really need to know”

“Well, I think Peter nearly had a panic attack at the party” Harley explained, “I found him alone in a bathroom, curled up on the floor. His breathing was alright, but he looked really shaky. He told me he’d fought it off himself by reminding himself of reasons why he was happy….so, I didn’t mention it cos I thought….it’s progress, right?”

No one said anything.

“It’s my fault isn’t it?” Harley whispered, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.

“No” Natasha said bluntly, “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. Having to suddenly change his plans like that can’t have helped.”

“It’s no one’s fault” Pepper snapped, “That’s not what we’re trying to do here. It’s not about blame, or self-pity, it’s about figuring out what’s wrong with Peter and helping as best we can. I don’t want either of you blaming yourselves.”

Harley nodded, Natasha didn’t.

“We all blame ourselves at times like this, I must’ve done it a hundred times since the kid moved in” Tony said sadly, “But blaming yourself doesn’t help anything. Least of all Peter, and he’s going to need us all after this”

-

Peter was curled up underneath his bed. He needed to shut it all away. Liz. Flash. Ned. MJ. Harley. Pepper. Tony. Steve. Nat.

They all hated him.

They all wanted him to go away.

Tucking his knees into his chest, Peter sobbed silently to himself. He was alone in his room, someone had been in for a while but they’d left long ago and not come back. He’d probably freaked them all out with his shouting and screaming.

His bedroom was trashed. The bed sheets were slung around it, his pillowcase had been torn to shreds, there were holes in the walls and the ceiling, his window was smashed and there was a pool of blood at the bottom of his bed. He’d checked himself, and it wasn’t his blood.

Why am I like this?

Why am I so broken?

Why do I fuck up everything?

Why was I stupid enough to think that I could have friends?

That a girl could like me?

I’m damaged goods.

I’m dirty.

I don’t deserve love.

Repeating this mantra to himself in his head as he sobbed, Peter rocked himself and prayed not to go back to sleep. He was so tired. He could feel his eyes struggling to stay open, but he needed to stay awake. Sleep was bad. Scary things happened when he slept. He needed to be awake, at least then he knew what was going on.

At least, he thought he did.

There was a knock on the door. Peter’s senses heightened.

“Peter, sweetie, it’s Pepper” a soft, female voice came from the other side of the door, “Can I come in? I just want to talk, you’re not in any kind of trouble. We just want to know that you’re OK, and maybe try and figure out what upset you so much”

Nervously, Peter crawled out from under his bed and unlocked the door. Standing on the other side was Pepper. She was dressed in a nightgown and looked as if she’d been fighting back tears for a while. Peter felt a bit easier seeing her.

Pepper was safe.

Pepper was someone who would never hurt him.

Pepper wanted to know if he was OK.

Pepper cared .

He collapsed into her arms with an almighty sob.

-

They left Peter’s bedroom. Pepper was sure that he’d want to go back eventually, but for all she knew the place might still be a trigger for him. Instead, she lead Peter by the hand into the now empty living room.

Harley was being seen by Bruce, Natasha had reluctantly been persuaded to go back to bed, and Steve had taken himself off to go and beat up some gym bags. Tony was the only other person in the room and watched cautiously as Pepper lead a shaking Peter to the couch, not letting go of him for one second.

Tony was very nervous about his pregnant wife being in such close proximity to Peter after such a violent outburst, but there was no stopping Pepper Potts when she was determined to carry something through.

“We’re all just going to sit here for a few minutes” she said calmly. Peter’s hand was sweaty, but the teenager held on to Pepper’s as tightly as he could. As if the entire world would fall apart if he let go. Tony sighed and sat on the other side of the boy, gently starting to rub his back.

After initially flinching, Peter soon seemed to accept the action and melted into Tony’s side.

“Tony” he said warmly.

“Hey bud” Tony said back, his voice shaking. “Back with us?”

Peter nodded.

“Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?” Pepper asked.

“N-not r-really” the teenager stammered, “B-bad d-dream. A r-r-really bad dream….don’t w-wanna t-t-talk ab-about it”

Pepper sighed. She didn’t want to push Peter to talk about it and risk him going back into crisis, but she also knew they couldn’t ignore whatever had been in the dream when it had caused him to regress so much.

She ultimately decided not to push it. That could all wait until he was better.

“Do you remember me and Steve being in your room?” Tony asked, before taking an almighty deep breath, “D’you remember….what happened, to Harley?”

Peter’s head shot up. His already heavy eyes seemed to carry more weight.

“No” he said, shaking. From the look in his eyes, both Tony and Pepper realized that another break was coming once he found out what he’d done to Harley. Tony gave Pepper a nod and she slowly backed away, just in case.

“W-where’s P-Pepper going?” Peter sounded increasingly frantic, “W-why a-are you sending her a-away from me? I n-need her to b-be with m-me”

“Peter, I need you to listen to me” Tony said firmly, taking hold of both of Peter’s wrists. The boy was shaking so much it was practically making the whole sofa vibrate, “What I’m about to tell you is going to be really hard to here, but I need you to stay calm. No one is angry with you, no one is about to kick you out on the streets, but we need you to know how bad this got. So we can stop it happening again.”

“W-what did I do?” Peter’s agony was clear in every syllable, “Pl-please just t-tell m-me I c-can’t t-take this”

Tony closed his eyes and took another deep breath. In a lifetime full of hard conversations, this one was winning by a country mile. Pepper stood in the background, silent but wishing she could still be on that sofa with Peter. Letting him know that he was safe.

“When you were thrashing around, you kicked Harley” Tony said, “He’s OK. We’ve checked him over for concussion, and he doesn’t have one. You have broken his nose though”

As expected, this broke Peter. But he didn’t thrash or kick, he merely collapsed once again into the arms of the person nearest to him and began to sob. His breaths became short and shorter and Tony gestured for Pepper to come back over.

“I-I-I h-h-h-hurt som-someone” the boy sobbed, “I-I….h-he….H-harley’s g-gonna h-hate me f-forever isn’t h-he?”

“No, no he’s not” Tony said firmly, tightening his grip on, “In fact, he was refusing to move until he knew that you were OK”

Tony had expected these words to comfort Peter, at least a little bit. But they only seemed to make the situation worse and soon Peter’s speech became completely illegible. All Tony could do was cling on to the boy and try to soothe him.

But all Peter could do was sob.

This was bad.

It was going to take a long time to come back from this one.

-

It was almost 7am before anyone in the tower got any sleep. Harley slept in a bed down in the medical centre, Bruce on a chair next to him. Natasha lay awake in her room, thinking over ways in which she’d let Peter down. Steve never even went to bed. Pepper eventually retired to her bed on Tony’s insistence, whilst he stayed on the sofa with Peter. The teenager was curled up into him, back in the foetal position, and Tony did not get a moment of sleep as he was too occupied in gently rubbing Peter’s back so he could make sure his kid at least got some sleep.

Peter had sobbed for nearly an hour straight. The scary thing was, he’d said very little. For all that, he’d still kept everything that was bothering him inside and Tony knew that the moment for ever finding out what had triggered such a meltdown had passed. Peter would never talk about it now, it would all be too wrapped up in him having accidentally hurt Harley.

Tony looked down at Peter as he slept. His heart melted at the sight. Peter was so good . He was the kindest, purest soul that Tony had ever met and it made him so angry that the world did not treat someone whom, frankly, it didn’t deserve to have in the way he deserved. All Peter had known was loss, and suffering, and struggle.

Peter always maintained that he was broken, damaged, beyond repair. Tony and Pepper had spent a year trying to undo all of that self-hatred, trying to replace it with positive thoughts and feelings, and they’d kidded themselves they were managing. But as he sat there, looking down at the teenager, all Tony could think was that Peter had been right all along. He was broken. Possibly beyond repair.

The noise of the elevator doors opening brought Tony out of his train of thought. Steve walked into the living room and made a beeline for the men on the sofa. He ran his hand through Peter’s hair as he sat down opposite Tony.

“Sleep?” he asked

“What do you think?” Tony replied bitterly, “You look like shit.”

“Hell of a day, yesterday” Steve reminded him, “Flying back from London really took it out of me, and then all that. If I look like shit its cos I feel like shit”

“We’re meant to be taking the boys on a tour of New York today” Tony said sadly, stroking Peter’s hair, “Don’t think that’s gonna happen somehow….I honestly don’t know where we go from here, Steve. Is he beyond our help?”

“No” said Steve confidently, “We can still help him….we just need to know what we’re up against, like with any battle. Treat Peter’s recovery as a mission, you’re pretty good at solving those kind of problems”

Tony sat in contemplation for a minute. He’d never considered that, and couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Steve was on to something.

“D’you want me to sit with him for a sec?” Steve asked, “Let you go and freshen up?”

Tony didn’t want Peter to wake up without him or Pepper being there, but he did feel a pressing need to at least got for a shower. Slowly, he gave Steve the nod and they cautiously switched places.

“I’ll be five minutes - seven tops!” were Tony’s last words as he exited the room. Steve smiled softly and looked down at the sleeping teenager in his arms.

He was so small.

So innocent.

So full of life and promise and optimism.

Steve had known so many young men like Peter. Idealists. Compassionate. Boys who just wanted to make the world a slightly better place, he’d been one of them himself. Peter had all of that, and more. Steve had never been quite able to put his finger on exactly what quality it was that Peter Parker had which made him seem so much more open, and vulnerable, and kind. It was a quality that very few people seemed to have.

Fighting back tears, Steve thought of those young men he’d known. How many of them had died too young, too violently, in the midst of war that never made any goddamn sense. How all their promise had been wiped out in a second because one man decided things would have to be his way, or else. He had seen too many people die, too many people suffer over too long a time to stand back and watch anyone else.

“I got you kid” he whispered to the sleeping boy, “I promise. None of us are ever giving up on you, you deserve the best we can give you. And we’re going to give you it.”

Peter smiled in his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and they brightened up a little bit as Steve came into his view. Steve smiled back.

“St-Steve?” he asked

“Yeah, pal, it’s me” Steve replied.

“I’m sorry about last night” the boy murmured, “I didn’t meant to hurt anyone…..you don’t hate me do you?”

“Couldn’t if I tried” Steve said fondly.

Peter frowned.

-

Steve lied.

Tony lied.

Pepper lied.

Harley hates you.

Natasha’s scared of you.

Bruce is scared of you.

Liz hates you.

MJ hates you.

Ned only pretends to be your friend.

The voices rang out in Peter’s head all day. Shutting them out was no longer working, they were taking over again.

-

Chapter Text

11.

Tony’s mind was in overdrive. It usually happened whenever he was exposed to a stressful situation that he couldn’t immediately figure out, though those normally took the form of New York City being under some kind of existential threat. Quite how a teenage boy having a night terror seemed so much harder to solve than figuring out how to save the world, Tony couldn’t explain, but he was at least on the way to finding a solution.

Steve’s words played over and over in his mind; “ Treat Peter’s recovery as a mission, you’re pretty good at solving those kinds of problems”.

He was sure that Steve hadn’t meant it in such a way, but Tony had taken the approach of treating Peter’s mental health as more of a sudden curveball that could be overcome. For now, whether Peter would actually personally like or feel comfortable with whatever measures they decided on didn’t matter as much. It was about what the boy needed.

So, Tony did what he always did whenever he faced a problem:

He called a meeting and before he knew it, Tony was standing in the fourth floor meeting room surrounded by Pepper, Steve, Natasha, Happy, Bruce, Harley and Wanda. They were the people who Peter saw and depended on every day - the people in the world that Peter felt comfortable with. Tony had pondered over getting Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones over but they didn’t need to be disturbed on their weekends. If Tony had really had his way, Harley wouldn’t have been in the meeting either but the headstrong boy had insisted.

Peter was back in his bedroom. Tony felt anxious about leaving the boy alone but FRIDAY was monitoring him and miraculously, the boy had fallen asleep. The fact that this could result in him having another traumatic nightmare didn’t escape anyone in the room, and they were all keeping a close ear out.

Tony smiled to himself, briefly. The fact there were eight people gathered around a table all desperate to help the kid in whatever way the could was such a big part of the battle already won.

“We need to take stock” Tony began, “I think we need to re-address how we move forward with Peter. I think we’re all still in shock a little, but for Peter’s sake, we need to work to make this better.”

Steve nodded.

“I am confused” Wanda, who had missed the event and had walked back into all of this about ten minutes before, stated, “I thought Peter was getting better, no?”

“He is and he isn’t” Pepper replied simply, “I think that Peter’s been struggling a lot more than we’ve maybe realized.”

“But couldn’t it just have been a really severe anxiety attack?” Bruce piped up, “We got the kid an official anxiety disorder diagnosis. And we know he has PTSD from seeing his uncle die…..not to downplay what happened, but he is on anti-anxiety medication. Maybe we just need to up his dosage?”

“It’s worth looking into, yeah” Tony said with a nod, “What I will say Bruce is that the only people in this room who saw how bad this really was with their eyes are Steve, Nat, Harley and Me.”

He gestured to the other three before sighing,

“I mean, back me up here guys? We’ve all seen Peter have a panic attack before” the billionaire went on, “I can’t be alone in thinking there was something more this one can I?”

“No” Natasha confirmed, “It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. Normally, he’s at least lucid enough to tell who’s in the room but Steve was holding him and it was like he didn’t even register it”

“And he thought I was going to hurt him” Steve added, “He kept screaming that I was going to hurt him, or that someone was going to hurt him. What scared me the most was that ...well, it was almost like whoever it was was actually in the room”

Pepper sighed. Wanda looked tearful.

“We know that the kids life was no bed of roses before we found him” Pepper said as she rubbed her forehead, “He’s basically been made an orphan twice. First his parents, then he sees his Uncle die, then his aunt passed away too. And then he ends up on the streets cos there was no one left to give a damn about him”

“Until us” Harley murmured

“Yes, until us” Tony agreed, giving Harley a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, “I think Pepper’s point is that there’s still a lot of stuff that happened to him before he crashed through that vent into our lives that we don’t know about.”

“I don’t think we should be having this talk without Peter being here” Natasha said firmly all of a sudden, “I know that getting to the bottom of his issues is vital to helping him in the long-run, but it’s a conversation I think he has a right to be involved in. I don’t think the rest of us would appreciate it, if it were us.”

Tony nodded, feeling slightly ashamed of himself for not considering that earlier.

“You’re right, Nat” he told her

“As always,” she said with a slight grin.

“So, what do we do then?” asked Wanda.

“Well, first and foremost, I’m not happy about the kid spending time alone just now” Tony said, “The way he speaks about himself, well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t disturb me. He has a lot of self-loathing that’s only going to get worse now.”

Harley hung his head, in an almost guilty way. To Tony’s surprise, Happy was the one who leaned over and patted his hand.

“We can’t all just follow him around, Tony. It’ll freak him out.” Happy said.

“I know that” Tony sighed, “I just think we need to be pragmatic. Get him in a routine, keep him busy, hopefully that’ll at least stop him from….doing anything stupid.”

“What do you suggest?” Steve asked.

Tony’s eyes lit up a bit. Step two of the plan: Instruction and Delegation. He turned to the large screen at the back of the room and brought up a plan of Peter’s new daily schedule that he’d spent the last hour working on. Pepper watched her husband, feeling very proud.

“Not too many changes” Tony said slowly, “Get him up at 7.30. Let him have a shower and get dressed. Me and Pepper will make sure at least one of us is around to have breakfast with him before school.”

“That way we can talk to him, and see if there’s anything we need to address before he goes” Pepper added.

“Happy will carry on taking him to school” Tony went on, gesturing to his driver, “Unless we feel Peter’s particularly anxious, then I’ll take him. School is fine. His friends Ned and MJ are pretty clued up, they’ve been dealing with this shit longer than any of us…”

“They’re just kids themselves, though” Steve said with a sigh, “That’s hardly a fair thing to ask of them”

“They know to call me or Tony” Pepper replied, “And they’re both really good at keeping him calm until one of us can get there. The teachers do know, but Peter has quite a lot of resentment towards them.”

“He feels they should have done more for him, not that he’d ever admit it” Tony confirmed with a sigh, knowing Peter was absolutely right in his assumptions. That school should have been ashamed it let a vulnerable kid like Peter slip through the cracks so badly, if the teenager hadn’t cried and begged to go back Tony would have enrolled him somewhere else in a heartbeat.

“What about when he gets in from school?” Steve asked, “You guys might be in a meeting, or just not around”

“That’s when you guys can step in,” Tony said, “Nat - I want at least an hour a day; train with him, put him through his paces, tire him out.”

Natasha nodded.

“Steve, I know you like to spar with him as well,” Pepper said kindly, “But after Tony and me, you’re Peter’s favourite person to talk to, so if you feel he needs a chat...just chat”

Steve smiled. As if he’d need a reason to talk to the boy.

“Harley - I know you’ll be back in Tennessee, but those Skype chats every week really keep him going” Tony addressed the boy, “Keep it up”

“I am still a little confused” Wanda added, “Is that not what we’ve been doing with Peter anyway?”

“Is it?” Tony shot back, “Can all of us sit here and honestly say we haven’t taken our eyes off the ball in the last few months? Cos I know I have”

There was a brief, but deafening silence. Bruce broke it.

“He just...seemed like he was doing so well”

“He did” Tony confirmed, “But it’s pretty clear that we’ve still got a long way to go. If Peter’s ever going to get better, he needs to open up and move on from his past. And to do that he needs to know that he’s safe and loved, this is just the best-no, the only way I can think of achieving that”

-

By Sunday afternoon, Harley was all packed and ready to go. He’d spent the remainder of Saturday hanging out with Steve and Natasha. They’d made a few of the New York landmarks that Peter had planned for them to go to, but it didn’t feel the same. By the time he was due to leave, Harley felt a little awful for being almost grateful to get out of Stark Tower and head back home.

Peter still hadn’t emerged from his bedroom, they only knew he was alive because FRIDAY was able to tell them so, and Pepper and Tony didn’t seem to have the nerve to invade his privacy override the locks on his bedroom door. Harley, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

“Parker, I’m coming in!” he announced around thirty minutes before he was due to leave on Sunday afternoon.

Peter didn’t protest, or react at all, so Harley simply entered the boys bedroom. He was shocked to see that it was almost in pristine condition; the room was spotless, and certainly tidier than it had been when Harley had arrived three days before.

“Well, I’d like to say it looks like shit in here, but-” Harley began, before sitting down on the edge of Peter’s bed. Peter was curled up in a ball under the covers.

“Needed something to do” Peter whispered, Harley was just surprised that he’d actually spoken. He nodded.

“My nose is fine, by the way” Harley said bluntly, “Might be a bit out of place for a while but I’m sure I’ll get over it”

Peter frowned at him.

“Don’t make jokes” he said quietly

“Why not?” Harley replied with a grin, “That’s what you and me do, man. It’s kind of our thing”

“Not when I hurt you” Peter muttered, sitting up for the first time. Harley was a little taken aback by how shattered the his friend looked. Peter’s face was red and blotchy, there were severe bags under his eyes and his hair was all over the place. It stung to see and Harley didn’t feel quite so cocky anymore. Not that he was going to let Peter say that.

“I’m fine, though” Harley insisted, “No one blames you for any of this, Pete. It’s not your fault that you had a nightmare like that”

“I could have killed you” Peter said brokenly, large tears forming in his eyes, “I’d n-never forgive m-myself if I h-hurt you, or anyone”

“I know” Harley smiled softly, “Because you’re the kindest person I’ve ever met, and hold on to that because I’ll never be this nice to you again, you have to get over this Peter. Tony and Pepper are so worried about you, they love you so much”

Peter looked away and sighed. Harley could tell that the other boy was convincing himself that what he’d just been told was a total lie.

“I don’t know what’s going on in your head, dude” Harley went on, “But whatever it is, it’s clearly tearing you apart. If you ever need to talk, you know where I am...on the other side of the country!”

Peter didn’t laugh, but his lips did twitch. Harley was satisfied.

“And you say I’m the nice one” Peter said honestly, giving Harley a smile that made the second boys heart tighten a little. “You’re amazing, dude”

Harley blushed.

“I’m sorry this weekend sucked in the end” Peter went on, “I knew I’d end up ruining it in some way, just didn’t think it’d be so, well, you getting hurt.”

“Just means I’ll have to come back sooner” Harley shot his friend a wink, “And, in the meantime, can you please start putting yourself before others? Talk to someone. If not for you, then for me. I can’t lose my best friend”

Peter’s head shot up.

“I’m your best friend?” he asked. Harley stuttered. Only friend was actually closer to the truth, but Peter didn’t need to know that.

So, he just nodded.

“Sorry man, but you’re kinda stuck with me,” he replied with a grin, “And if the only way to get you to start giving a damn about yourself is to shame you into it, then that’s what I’m gonna do. Harley Keener doesn’t stand back and watch his friends fall apart. It’s not in the rule book”

“OK” was all a flawed Peter could reply with.

“I gotta leave for my flight now” Harley said with a sigh as he got off the bed and headed towards Peter’s door, “Promise me that by the time we talk on Thursday, you’ll have spoken to Pepper and Tony”

Peter nodded. “I will”

Harley smiled back, they briefly fist bumped before the older boy picked up his bag and left the room.

They both knew Peter had lied.

Neither would dare admit it

-

Steve had been flawed when Peter suddenly appeared at dinner that night. He didn’t look well, but he was smiling again and didn’t freeze in fear for too long when he clocked how many people were sitting around the dinner table, or how many of them had frozen and immediately turned their attention to him when he walked in the room.

“Hey” Pepper said breathlessly, getting up and embracing Peter in a massive hug that Tony soon joined. A huge part of Steve wanted to engulf Peter as well but he knew how easily the boy could become overwhelmed at the best of times, and there would be plenty of time for that later. He did notice, however, that Natasha merely looked down at her plate with a frown etched on her face and didn’t one look at Peter.

“I’m hungry” Peter muttered as Pepper released him and lead him to the dinner table, where a place had been set up for him. He sat between his adoptive parents and ate quietly as the conversation resumed.

They were all very careful to keep the conversation away from Peter. A year with the kid had taught them all that if he wasn’t in the mood to talk, then it was a really bad idea to push him into it. And Peter was very clearly not in a mood to talk.

Steve couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the boy, which thankfully Peter didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy staring down at the table, more than likely trying his best to put off an oncoming panic attack. Tony had registered this quickly as well and started soothingly running his hand up and down Peter’s back. The billionaire whispered something to the kid, who nodded and they both shared a quick smirk that seemed to be aimed in Bruce’s direction.

Bruce remained oblivious, it was only when Steve looked over to see what the other two had been smirking at did he realize someone had drawn a fake mustache on the doctor whilst he’d been sleeping.

Natasha did not look up nor contribute to the conversation in any way once Peter had arrived in the room. Again, the teenager didn’t seem to realize this and when he was eventually relaxed enough he joined in the conversation. Pepper looked proud. Steve was the only one who had noticed Natasha had got up and left without saying a word not long after dessert had been served, but decided to give her a few minutes alone before he followed her.

“I’ll be back in a few guys” Steve said quietly after a few minutes. Tony gave him a wave and a nod; seemingly a blessing to and find Natasha. It wasn’t a hard task, Steve knew exactly where she would be if she was upset.

The gym.

He felt an almost smug sense of satisfaction as he walked into the gymnasium to find Natasha beating the almighty hell out of a punch bag. They had the same way of dealing with anger and upset, it was one of the reasons why they’d ended up being such good friends.

“I’ve been gone eight and a half minutes” Natasha observed without even turning around to look at Steve, “This must be a new record for you and your paranoia”

“Oh don’t push me away, Nat” Steve said with a sigh, crossing his arms as he leaned against a pile of gym mats, “We have been through way too much shit together for you to try the old ‘be mean and he’ll go away’ trick. Talk to me.”

Natasha sighed and carried on punching the bag.

“We’re all up there, with him, pretending everything’s normal” she growled, enunciating every syllable, “Weren’t we meant to be sorting his shit out?”

“Yes” Steve replied bluntly, “But you know as well as I do that we can’t go in full guns blazing when it comes to Peter. He’ll get scared, he’ll back off and close down again. We gotta take baby steps”

He knew Natasha was scared. Scared of how much Peter had frightened her last night, scared of how much she’d grown to love the boy.

“He’s a troubled, damaged kid” he went on, “But - upstairs, now - he was happy. Or at least as close to it as he can get, considering. Do we really wanna deprive of him a moment like that and just….bring up his trauma?”

“Might do the kid good” Natasha replied, hitting the bag harder and harder, “I don’t see the point in pussyfooting around”

“Yes, you do” Steve insisted, “Like I said, he’s scared kid with a whole heap of issues. If we wanna help him we have to-”

“He’s not James, Steve” Natasha whispered. The word stung. Steve would have been offended but he knew she was making one last ditch attempt not to have a serious conversation about her feelings, and he wasn’t going to let her.

“Sorry” she muttered almost immediately, “That was a really fucked up thing to say”

“You’re right, though” Steve said with a shrug, “Peter isn’t Bucky. He never will be, because he’s got enough people who love and care about him around to keep him away from harm. Bucky….he had no one, in the end. He was alone”

“Bucky’s not a lost cause, Steve” Natasha said confidently, “There’s still hope”

Steve smiled. He knew at that moment in time his former best friend was likely driving around some Russian backwater, targeting some “persons of interest” who really didn’t deserve the fate he was about to inflict on them. It was a hard thing to deal with, knowing someone was so damaged, so gone and he could have done so much more to stop that from happening.

Deep down, Steve knew that was where a lot of his dedication towards Peter came from. A desire to protect, to right the wrongs he’d made with Bucky. He knew the same was true of Natasha, as well.

“It’s not your fault you know, all this” Steve told her. She rolled her eyes.

“It is” she replied with a weak shrug, “I changed the plans. I was the one who made him have to get on the subway, I was the one who-”

“Peter gets on the subway every other day and doesn’t have a night terror” Steve said impatiently, “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“It’s just hard” Nat muttered, “I spent so many years building up walls and not getting close to people and then I find you guys and it-”

“It’s a hard thing to adjust to, I understand that” Steve assured her, “It was the same for all of us. And we all love Peter, and I think we all blame ourselves a little bit. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t asked myself if things would have been different if I hadn’t had to go to London”

“That was for Peggy’s funeral ” Natasha replied incredulously, “It’s not your fault that you weren’t around for...god, Steve, that’s so dumb!”

“Yeah, so why is it so hard for you to believe your reasons for blaming yourself are dumb” Steve snapped back, “Peter’s anxiety can kick in at any time. It just so happened to be on the night you had to change your plans. It was when he went to sleep that the real problems started”

There was a brief, but unsettling, pause. Steve and Natasha both had their own theories on what Peter’s night terror had been about, and neither option was pleasant to think about.

“Fuck you and your logic, Rogers” she muttered before taking off her boxing gloves and allowing him to walk her out of the gym.

When they got back upstairs, the conversation was still in full swing and Peter seemed a lot more animated. Without a word, Natasha simply left Steve’s side and moved to behind Peter’s chair. She hugged him, and he immediately hugged her back.

“What was that for?” the teenager asked, going slightly red in the face.

“I don’t need a reason” was her simple reply

-

Peter had been so sure it was all a facade when he’d woken up that morning. The hugs. The laughs. The banter. The insistence that everyone was pleased to see him. But he went along with it, if it was a facade it sure was a nice one and they were all very good at keeping it up. But as the night wore on and everyone slowly headed off to bed - pretty tired due to last night's events - Peter found himself spread out on the couch between Pepper and Tony. His head on Pepper’s lap as she played with his hair, his feet spread out across Tony’s.

It felt comfortable, and warm, and he did feel safe. It felt real. They all cared .

“I’m super proud of you, kiddo” Pepper said sweetly as she carried on running her fingers through his hair, “I thought it’d be days before you emerged.”

“I had my money on weeks, to be completely honest” Tony jokingly confessed. Peter smirked as Pepper shot her husband a look.

“Should’ve stayed in, made myself a few bucks” Peter chimed in, “You’ve got Harley to thank, really, He kind of….scared me into pulling myself together”

“I honestly don’t know if that’s a bad or good thing” Pepper said with a smirk

“He said I was his best friend” the teenager confessed, though he immediately felt guilty and a little embarrassed by revealing what Harley had asked him not to.

“That’s nice” Tony said, “You and Harley have got a really nice bond, Peter. It’s good that you cleared the air before he went back.”

“Still feel like he’s gonna hate me” Peter muttered, “I broke his nose! It looked seriously out of whack, people are gonna give him so much shit at school and he’ll probably-”

“Breathe” Pepper said sternly, squeezing Peter’s hand with her free one, “Honestly, kiddo, the things you work yourself into a state about”

“Pep’s right kiddo” Tony added in, “Harley’s returning from a trip to New York City with a mysteriously acquired black-eye. They’re gonna think he’s a rockstar”

Peter grinned.

“Why is everyone so determined to make feel good about kicking Harley in the nose?” he asked

“It’s not really that” Pepper explained, “It’s more that we don’t want you to beat yourself up over something that was a total accident, and not your fault”

“Plus, the kid can get annoying and sometimes he does need bringing back down to earth” Tony interjected. Peter gaped in horror. “Kidding!”

Peter blushed.

“Everyone must think I’m totally crazy” he moaned.

“They think no such thing sweetheart” Pepper cooed, “They’re all just worried for you. In the same way we are. They love you, and they want to help you”

Peter smiled and snuggled into Pepper a little bit more. He knew that there would still be bad times ahead, he’d probably end up having another panic attack later on, but in that moment he felt content and safe.

Then, his spidey-senses picked up on two heartbeats. Peter shot up and looked from Pepper to Tony in quick succession. They both seemed alarmed by his sudden movements.

“What’s up, Pete?” Pepper asked.

“I just felt a heartbeat!” Peter cried

“Oh that’s good, glad to know you’re alive” Tony joked.

“No, you idiot ” Peter snapped, “I felt a heartbeat in Pepper”

“She’s still alive too? Gah, this day just gets better and better”

“Tony!”

Ignoring his mentors attempts at being funny, Peter whipped his head around and stared at Pepper with his eyes like sauces.

“I felt two heartbeats in you ” he said softly. Tony and Pepper shared an uneasy look, “Oh..my, Pepper - are you pregnant ?!”

Pepper gulped. She looked to Tony for a way out but she knew she was cornered. Peter was a genius with superhuman intuitive skills, there was no getting out of this one.

“Yes. I am.” she confirmed, “But it’s very early days and I’ve not even had a scan yet. As of now the only people who know are the three of us and Natasha”

“And Happy” Tony confessed quickly, “I may have got over excited”

Pepper rolled her eyes, before focusing them on Peter.

“Peter, honey, I just want you to know that-”

But before she could finish her sentence, Peter had engulfed Pepper in a massive hug and was weeping into her shoulder. She cautiously patted him on his back as Tony moved over and put his arms around both of them.

“Honey, are these happy tears or sad tears?” Pepper asked.

“Happy tears, obviously” Peter choked. He was properly sobbing. “You guys are gonna make the best parents in the world! I’m gonna…..can I...will I be allowed to call him or her brother or sister?!”

“Of course you can” Tony said, kissing the top of Peter’s head. “We want you to be as involved in all of this as you want to be. It’s about us as a family”

“Peter, honey, I love you but you need to let me go now” Pepper said with a laugh, “And your tears are making my shirt wet”

“Sorry” Peter said with a watery giggle, quickly rubbing his eyes as Pepper released him. Her heart melted at the sight of him. Happy years, obviously. Three little words Pepper was sure she wouldn’t forget in a hurry. “I’m just a bit of an emotional mess at the moment, but I guess you guys know that”

“Yeah, we kinda figured” Tony said, hugging Peter before shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath, “Oh and there’s also a slight chance Rhodes might know…”

“That’s fine, I told Wanda” Pepper confessed.

“Can I tell Ned?”

-

Pepper insisted on walking Peter back to his room. In truth, he was actually kind of looking forward to how inevitably impressed she would be by how clean he’d made it. Usually, the only source of tension between the two of them came from the state of Peter’s bedroom.

“Peter, there’s something I want to say to you” she said softly as they reached his door, “I want to thank you”

Peter frowned.

“Thank you?” he replied, “What for?”

“For being so great about this” she said running her hand up his arm, “We were so worried about how you were going to take it-”

“Sorry!” Peter immediately stated in a panic stricken voice. Pepper almost laughed.

“Don’t be! It was our paranoia” Pepper said, “Seeing you react in the way you did….well, it was the sweetest thing in the world”

“It was the most embarrassing thing in the world” Peter muttered, having become a little mortified at just how much he’d cried when he’d found out in the half hour since.

Pepper did laugh this time, before pulling the boy into another hug.

“You really are incredible, you know, I just wish you could see it” she said softly, “You are just the sweetest, kindest, most compassionate young man I’ve ever met and I couldn’t be happier that my kid is going to have you as his or her big brother.”

“Why do you all always talk to me about how amazing I am?” Peter muttered.

“Because that’s what we’re going to do until you start believing it” she replied softly.

“I am sorry about this weekend” he carried on, “I know you say it wasn’t my fault, but even so, I caused everyone a lot of stress and worry and I feel bad about”

“Sweetie, you really are too good, you know that” she sighed as they opened the door to his bedroom, “And I promise - whatever it is that upset you so much, we can fix it. But I can only do that if you talk to me”

“I know” he sighed as he sat down on his bed, “I can’t promise I will though. At least not right now. I’m just not ready.”

“You can’t put it off forever” Pepper replied, “But we’re not going to force you, it’s your decision at the end of the day. All we can do is help you realize that talking to us about it might not be so bad. Because we all love you. And we all want to help”

“It’s bad” Peter muttered, “Real bad”

A very brief panic attack followed, Peter’s breath became short and he began to stumble over his words once again. Between them, however, Pepper and Peter managed to put a stop to it quickly and soon enough the boy was tucked up in bed and drifting off to sleep.

She stayed until he’d fallen, or at least until she thought he had.

On the way out, she heard him.

“You’re gonna be the greatest Mom in the world, Pep” he spoke the words so softly that she wasn’t even sure he didn’t say them in his sleep.

Smiling fondly as she turned his bedroom light off, Pepper looked back at the sleeping teenager and realized.

She already was a Mom.

-

Chapter Text

12.

To say that Peter Parker existed on the periphery of Betty Brant’s life would a bit of an understatement. She’d known of him since they were kids, of course, but there had never been much of a reason for them to interact with one another. It wasn’t that she disliked Peter Parker, or that she thought he was as great as everyone else at Midtown suddenly seemed to think he was, she just didn’t know him.

That had all begun to change a few years before when Peter’s uncle was violently murdered in a Deli just one block away from where Betty and her parents had been eating their own dinner. She had heard the sirens, and seen the police caution tape around the Deli in question - though she never actually laid her eyes on Peter or his dead uncle that night. She’d felt bad for her classmate as anyone would, and she’d practically dragged her Mom down to the site to lay some flowers for Ben Parker a few days later, but she never really talked to Peter about the tragedy. There was no need. What could she have said that would have made any difference to his grief?

People at school soon found out she’d been in the area when the shooting occurred, and that had been a nauseating drama in and of itself. But it blew over. Peter never spoke to her about it, people moved on to the next piece of gossip a week later and soon enough Betty found herself thinking about Peter Parker less and less. Once again, they faded into the periphery of one another’s lives.

The next time he had played any kind of a role in Betty’s life was when he went off sick for a time during eighth grade. Everyone talked about it. Peter was notoriously skinny, he’d always been skinny and Betty figured that was just his body type but when people started talking about anorexia or some kind of eating disorder - she once again felt very sorry for him. When Peter eventually came back to school, it was clear he’d not been suffering from any kind of eating disorder. He’d grown, and filled out a little. Some would even say he was quite cute, and Betty could see why. But, as before, people soon moved on. No one could ever quite figure out where his sudden athletic prowess came from though.

Then his aunt died.

That had been bad.

He’d found out at school, destroyed the classroom he was in and had to be physically escorted from the premises which required the combined strength of two gym teachers, three cops and a social worker. No one saw Peter Parker for quite some time after that. Betty, once again, felt bad for the kid but she didn’t really know him so never dwelled on it too much. Gossip spread, as it always does, and then it went away again. At one point, Betty was sure she’d seen him sleeping in an alleyway but by the time she’d turned around to check, whomever it was had gone. She told herself it wasn’t Peter. She didn’t much like to consider the alternative.

Then, he returned to school, having been adopted by famed billionaire Tony Stark. Betty had nearly doubled over when she was told the news and had actually considered asking the boy for clarification himself but that same day Tony Stark gave a press conference where he confirmed he’d adopted an orphaned teenager and asked for his privacy to be respected. Betty was pretty starstruck one afternoon when Stark smiled at her while he waited for Peter at the school gates one afternoon, his stretch limo parked behind him, but that was about the extent of anything Betty had had to do with the situation.

Until Ned.

If Peter had been an extra in the play of Betty’s life, then Ned Leeds may as well have been refused entry to the theatre. Betty had at least been aware that Peter Parker existed. His seemingly never-ending amount of personal tragedies and hardships saw to that, he was kind of impossible to ignore. Ned, on the other hand, blended into a crowd so seamlessly that Betty had actually introduced herself to him as if he was a new student on the first day of ninth grade and had been thoroughly embarrassed to learn he’d been her classmate for seven years. And Peter Parker’s best friend to boot.

But Ned was a nice guy, they laughed about it, got paired together in Woodshop and then in Chemistry and slowly became friends. Betty’s journalistic ambitions never really gave her much time to focus on boys, but Ned was slowly worming his way in. He might not have been in the best shape, or what anyone would call a pretty boy, but he was kind and sort of cute in his own way and Betty found herself enjoying his company more and more.

“Hey, I had a great time on Friday” Ned said with a smile etched on his goofy face as he approached Betty at her locker on Monday morning, “I hope your parents didn’t give you too hard a time about missing your curfew. I’m sorry. I could’ve sworn my watch said 11:05”

“Oh no, it’s fine” Betty replied, though she had been grounded for a week it wasn’t worth upsetting Ned by letting him know that, “In a weird kinda way my Mom was relieved. I heard her tell my dad it was about damn time I broke at least one rule”

“My Mom’s the same with me!” Ned announced, “I swear she thinks I must be secretly on crack or something, it’s like she’s mad I’m not a normal teenager sometimes”

“Who wants to be normal though?” Betty asked as she shut her locker and began her walk to homeroom with Ned. This had become something of a morning routine for the pair, at least on the days Peter Parker wasn’t in school.

“D’you think we could maybe...talk at dinner?” Ned asked quietly as they turned left and headed up a flight of stairs, “I know you normally like to sit with your friends and everything but - there’s something I’d like to ask you…”

“Oh, OK, if it’s really important” Betty said, giving a weak smile and trying to sound as enthusiastic about the arrangement as she could. She had never really been a fan of her routine changing.

“Or...it can wait until after school, if that makes you uncomfortable” Ned suggested, having seemingly registered her unease. That made Betty feel a little mean.

“That would be better actually thanks,” she said. Ned gave her a smile as they reached Betty’s homeroom and then walked off to his own. Betty smiled to herself, if no one else was going to notice Ned Leeds in his lifetime, at least she had.

-

Peter Parker never did turn up for school that day. Betty noticed his usual seat with Ned, Michelle and some freshman kid was empty at lunch when she went over to give say a quick hello. Ned had been as polite as always, as had the freshman kid, but Michelle Jones had failed to so much as look up from her book and acknowledge Betty.

This had puzzled Betty a little as Michelle would normally give her a, admittedly reluctant, smile or something whenever she went over to say hello. Ned gave her an apologetic look and a shrug as Betty walked back to her own table.

“That girl is so rude” Alicia Marsden, Betty’s best friend, moaned as they looked back over at Ned and Michelle’s table. Betty kind of wished she could go over and invite Ned to sit with them, if only to save him from the clearly awkward silence that engulfed the dinner table he was sitting at.

“I think she might be just...kinda shy” Betty piped up, she didn’t generally like to speak bad of people as it only ever ended up causing some kind of trouble.

“Nah, Ned is shy” Alicia went on, “You could even make an argument for Peter Parker being a little bit shy. That girl though? Rude”

“Where is Peter today?” Chloe Atkinson, another friend, asked “I normally copy his notes in English but he wasn’t there.”

“His billionaire sugar daddy’s probably flown him to the Bahamas for getting a B in Geography or something” Alicia joked, though her jealousy was pretty clear.

“Guys, you’re the ones being mean now” Betty snapped, “I’m sure that Michelle Jones is just shy deep down, and I’m pretty sure Peter Parker is not currently sunning it up in the Bahamas”

Alicia rolled her eyes.

“D’you think you’ll ever get sick of the good girl routine?” Chloe asked

“Not if it keeps you two heathens out of prison” Betty snapped back, playfully sticking her tongue out at her friends.

The girls carried on lightly chatting over their lunch and Betty was very careful not to bring up the fact that she was due to meet Ned after school to ‘talk’. She knew that they would both either tease her mercilessly about it or insist on coming with her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her friends to know about her and Ned, she was practically bursting to tell someone , it was more that she wanted to be able to be sure what she and Ned were before she did so.

“Ned’s looking at you” Alicia told Betty a few seconds later, “He looks downright miserable, though I can’t say I blame him. Say what you want about Peter Parker, at least he can hold a conversation”

Betty frowned. She wouldn’t know if Peter Parker could hold a conversation, considering she’d never actually had one with him outside of a few polite good mornings here and there. And his drunken rambling the previous Friday.

“How would you know?” Betty was relieved when Chloe asked this for her, “I don’t think any of us have ever had a conversation with Peter longer than about two sentences”

“Well, that table is normally quite chatty” Alicia said, “And it’s not today - and, oh, who isn’t in school today? Peter Parker. Case solved, I am a genius”

Betty rolled her eyes and carried on eating her lunch. Ned never spoke to her about Peter all that much, she guessed it was because Tony Stark had asked for as much privacy for his adopted son as was possible and Betty was definitely not ‘close circle’ when it came to the boy. Maybe that would change if Ned became her boyfriend.

“So, did anyone else hear that Eugene Thompson arrived at Liz’s party, saw her dancing with Parker and then immediately left and cried like a little bitch whilst he was waiting for his Mom to come and pick him up” Chloe asked.

Betty smirked. She hoped that was true. Eugene Thompson was a real jerk.

“Yeah, I wish he’d stayed though” Alicia moaned. Betty and Chloe both gave her a look. “Oh - I don’t mean cos I wanted to be in his company, I just think watching him and Parker try to fight one another would’ve been pretty funny.”

“I dunno” countered Chloe, “Is it even possible for one worm to harm another worm?”

“Peter Parker’s not a worm , Chloe” Alicia retorted impatiently, “He’s a puppy. Which makes Eugene...I dunno, like one of those ugly hairless cats”

“He was a pretty funny drunk, to be fair” Betty added, “Gave me a hug and told me I was welcome at Stark Tower anytime I want”

“Holyfuckingshit” Chloe breathed quickly

“He was drunk”

“It’s still an offer” Alicia said firmly, “If anything it's kind of your moral duty now to turn up out of the blue just to mess with him”

Betty smirked. That would be pretty funny.

“Nah, then Ned’s gonna think I only to talk to him to get close to Peter!” Betty exclaimed

“Hang on, that wasn’t the long-game here the whole time?” Alicia asked sarcastically, she knew the opposite was true but liked to tease Betty nonetheless.

“Yeah…..no, I’m not interested in Parker” Betty replied

“Oh, well, put in a good word for me then”

“ Alicia ”

“What? He’s cute!”

-

“Hey” a shaky Ned greeted as Betty walked towards him after school. They were meeting on the bleachers by the football pitch. It was pretty cold, to say it was April.

“Hey yourself” Betty replied brightly, trying to quieten down her own nervousness. “What did you wanna talk to me about”

“Well, first off, I just wanted to say sorry again for Friday” Ned breathed heavily as he spoke, “I was talking to Chloe earlier, and she told me you got grounded all week ”

Betty cursed her friend.

“It’s no biggie” she said with a shrug, “Like I told you earlier - I think my parents were just relieved to have to do some actual parenting”.

Ned smirked.

“Cool...anyway, I wanted to ask you here because...well, it seemed better than asking you over text or in school where someone might eavesdrop” Ned went on, as Betty cautiously looked behind her to check Alicia or Chloe hadn’t actually followed her.

“OK” she replied slowly, her heart beating a little faster, “To talk to me about what exactly though Ned?”

“Willyoubemygirlfriendplease” he said in one very quick breath that seemed to knock the wind out of him a little. Betty ended up patting him on the back before she replied.

The answer was obvious.

“Of course I will!”

Ned gave her a thumbs up before looking at her and smiling. Their eyes met and Betty found herself smiling back at him.

“So, should we-” he began

“I think we should-”

“Have you ever kissed-”

“Nope. Have you?”

Ned shook his head and Betty smiled as she leaned in. It felt easier kissing Ned for the first time knowing he’d never kissed anyone either, though it did mean that neither of them had any real clue as to whether it was a good kiss or not. But Betty enjoyed it all the same.

It was only when she heard the giggles from directly below her that she twigged Alicia and Chloe had followed her.

“I’ll kill them” she muttered.

“God, I can’t wait to tell Peter” Ned sighed.

Betty frowned.

-

The next day passed with relative ease, Peter Parker was a no show once again and for all their giggling Alicia and Chloe hadn’t told a soul what they’d seen or that Betty and Ned were officially dating now. Betty was kind of touched when Ned informed her that he would now be walking her to homeroom every day regardless of whether or not Peter was in school.

If anyone did find out during the day, no one said anything to Betty. Though she couldn’t imagine anyone would care if they found out Betty Brant and Ned Leeds were dating. The school was kind of divided into three subcategories over the matter; those who did care (who were close friends who didn’t want to embarrass them), those who didn’t care (because why would they) or those who didn’t know who Betty or Ned were. Dating Ned Leeds was proving to be remarkably simple.

Even Michelle Jones gave her a smile and teased Ned good-naturedly when they joined up tables at lunchtime, so Betty could have the best of both worlds.

At the end of the day, Betty and Ned said a quick goodbye as Ned had Decathlon practice and Betty had to go work to work at the coffee shop she picked up shifts at in Manhattan. It was owned by some friends of her parents who had agreed to give her a few shifts so she could start saving money for college.

Betty usually enjoyed the shifts. It was nice to get out of Queens every once in a while and the subway journey in was a nice way Betty could be alone with her thoughts and reflect on her day in peace. That day, she thought about Ned. They’d both changed their profile pictures to a snap Alicia had taken of them both talking and laughing at the dinner table that lunchtime, and Ned had seemed very happy that he’d ended up with more likes than her.

She arrived at work on-time and immediately told Mrs Cartwright, the owner, her good news with the insistence that she not divulge it to her parents. Mrs Cartwright agreed and then, for the first time ever, asked Betty to watch the shop on her own for a few minutes whilst she went to her car to get something. They were quiet, so Betty agreed. It was only when Peter Parker walked in that Betty regretted agreeing.

He looked awful.

Dressed in his blue midtown hoodie, the hood pulled so tightly around his head that only his facial features were actually visible. Betty only realized it was him because she was so used to seeing his face. His sleeves were pulled down over his wrists and he cut a very nervous, shaky figure as he walked to the counter to order.

“F-four ch-chocolate muffins and a black coffee to g-go please” he said shakily, not even looking up to make eye-contact with Betty as he ordered. She just felt puzzled. She knew the shop was near Stark Tower, of course, but in the three months she’d been working at the shop Peter Parker had never once come in. He probably didn’t even realize it was her.

“OK, that’ll be $4.50” she said as sweetly and calmly as she could. Peter’s eyes shot up as he recognized her voice, and if anything he managed to look more pale.

“B-Betty?” he stammered. She smiled at him.

“Hey” she replied, blushing a little, “Guess you didn’t know I worked here then?”

Peter shook his head. He looked really freaked out. Betty could tell that from the way he was dressed to his general demeanor that he really hadn’t been expecting or wanting to see anyone he knew. She noticed his left arm grip onto his right.

“H-how l-long?” he asked as she started to get his order ready.

“Oh, a few months” Betty replied, “Just got myself some shifts to help pay for college. Probably won’t make that much difference, but at least it's something”

“Y-yeah, c-college is like c-crazy expensive” Peter replied. Betty momentarily wanted to remind him that he wouldn’t have to worry about affording college seen as though he was now living with a billionaire, but thought better of it. It wasn’t like Peter was some spoiled rich kid.

“You weren’t in school today,” she said as she handed Peter the muffins and the coffee, “Are you feeling OK? Not still hungover are you”. The last part was an attempt at a joke but it didn’t seem to land as Peter nervously shuffled his feet and looked at the ground.

“S-s-sorry ab-about all t-that” he stammered again, “I s-shouldn’t h-have I was just...I dunno, sorry”

“Peter, I don’t even know what you think you’re apologizing for” she said sternly, “Is anyone with you? You seem like you’re really on edge”

“‘M fine” Peter protested but just as he said it a taxi loudly blared its horn outside and the noise made Peter jump so much that he dropped his order. The coffee spilled all over the floor and Peter immediately whimpered and got on his knees in an attempt to clear it up, muttering about a thousand sorry’s as he did so.

As she had no other customers waiting to be served, Betty grabbed a cloth and raced around to the other side of the counter. Peter was practically shaking as she reached him, and was still saying sorry over and over again.

Once everything was clear, Betty guided Peter back to his feet and sat him down at the nearest table. She sat down in the chair next to him.

“I’m sorry, I made a mess of the floor” he said quietly

“Peter, it’s a coffee shop, that happens at least six times a day” Betty replied, “If you don’t mind me saying, you look really unwell. Should I call someone for you? Ned, perhaps? Or Michelle?”

“They’re in Queens” Peter whispered, “I’m fine. I just need a minute.”

Betty patted his hand and went back to prepare his order again, making a mental note to explain to Mrs Cartwright why she was down eight chocolate muffins in a ten minute time frame. She watched Peter closely as she did so. His foot was tapping violently on the floor and he was looking around the shop as if someone was going to jump out and scare him at any moment. It seemed like every time someone made a slight movement, he jumped out of his skin.

She made sure to take a long time getting the order together again, she wasn’t happy about Peter presumably walking back to Stark Tower on his own after all that.

Luckily, by the time she’d stalled enough, Peter seemed to have at least returned to the state he’d been in when he’d entered. Not great, but Betty felt better about letting him go.

“H-have...did you see Ned today?” Peter asked her as she handed him the second order.

“Err, yeah, I did” Betty replied, “He’s fine.”

“G-good” Peter breathed, “And MJ?”

“Who? Oh! Michelle, yeah she's ...well, she was herself” Betty said. Peter chuckled and gave her a smile.

“I need to get back to school,” he said softly, “If I’m not around, she’ll probably end up not speaking to anyone for an entire week again”

“Oh, no, she spoke to me today!” Betty insisted, “We all sat together at lunch!”

Peter frowned.

“Really? Why?” he asked. Betty was surprised Peter clearly didn’t already know that she and Ned had started dating. Even if Ned hadn’t told him directly, he was friends with both of them on Facebook and definitely would have seen the profile picture change.

“Err, well, Ned and I are-are dating now” she told him nervously

Peter’s face lit up.

“Seriously?! That’s awesome! I thought he’d never have the balls to ask you!” he beamed, and Betty realized that a beaming Peter Parker was infectious. She beamed back at him.

“Thanks” she said, “I’m sure he was planning to tell you, but-”

“It’s because I’ve not been in school” Peter replied, “He doesn’t like to have serious conversations over text, he thinks-”

“The government is spying on him” Betty joined and finished off Peter’s sentence with him, causing them both to laugh.

“Seriously though, I am wicked happy for you guys,” Peter said softly, “I think you’re gonna make a great couple, and Ned really deserves to be happy. Just remember me when your combined intelligence cures cancer.”

“How would we forget our number one research financer” Betty teased him. Peter laughed and looked at the ground.

“I better go” Peter said a few seconds later, “I told Pepper I’d be back with these in ten minutes and it’s been nearly thirty. Stupid sensory overload.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you got that” Betty said sadly, “I’m sorry. Living in Manhattan must be a nightmare”

“It’s OK, mostly” Peter said with a shrug, “Just had a bad few days. But you and Ned - well, it’s reminded me the world isn’t such a bad place after all. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess”

“Yeah” Betty said, giving him a quick wave as he left the shop. As she watched him walk away Betty reconciled the fact that Peter Parker was no longer on the periphery of her life.

Chapter Text

13.

Peter was a bag of nerves walking into school on Wednesday morning. It had taken him quite a long time to persuade Tony and Pepper to let him go back so soon after such a major setback. They had agreed on the condition that Peter would phone them immediately if he was having any kind of trouble and they would come to collect him. The teenager felt a little childish agreeing to that but reluctantly did so nonetheless.

#He knew it was risky. He still felt incredibly on edge and nervous about it, but Peter knew his own mind and he was sure that sitting up in his room all day just thinking about everything wouldn’t have done wonders for his mental health. At least if he was at school he would be distracted by the business of the day. And no one there even knew about the night terror on Friday night.

“You had a night terror on Friday night” MJ noted matter-of-factly when Peter approached her at her locker that morning.

“What? No I ... Fine , I did, who told you?! Pepper? Tony?” Peter spluttered.

“Harley, actually” she replied casually, “We’ve decided to remain in semi-regular contact in order to both check on you, and to create ways to mess with you”

“OK” Peter replied slowly, “Should I be grateful or worried about that?”

“Both, probably” MJ stated, as Peter picked her bag off the floor for her and held it open so she could empty the books she needed for the day into it, “Seriously, are you OK? And should you be here?”

“I’m fine” Peter lied. “It was fine, it was nothing”

“You broke Keener’s nose” MJ shot back, “That’s not nothing”

“Oh, so when I break someone’s nose it’s cause for concern” Peter snapped, “But when you do it I’m meant to see it as you being a good friend and sticking up for me”

“Yep!” MJ said brightly, “Because I knew what I was doing when I socked Flash, you weren’t even lucid enough to know who was in the room”

“I’ve been through all this a million times since with Pepper and Tony” Peter said with a snarl, “I do not need to come to school and have the lecture again from you .”

MJ sighed. She’d upset him.

“I’m sorry” she said honestly, “I’m going about this all wrong but this caring about people crap doesn’t come easy for me, you know that. I’m just...this is just my way of worrying about you”

“You have nothing to be sorry about” Peter muttered, “It’s me. I shouldn’t have lost my patience, I know you well enough by now to know that”

MJ gave him a rare smile and took her backpack from his arms. Peter felt awful for snapping at her. There she was, trying to help him and make him see that deciding that injuring his friend in a fit born from a traumatic nightmare wasn’t a problem was stupid, and all he could do was speak to her like crap.

Subconsciously, he twanged one of the wristbands he had on at his skin. The brief rush of pain made him feel a tiny bit calmer.

-

Liz Allan approached Peter during the study period he had between Math and Spanish. He gulped as he saw her approach him, arms folded, with an unimpressed expression painted across her usually cheery face. In all the chaos and trauma that weekend, Peter had completely forgotten about her and the fact he’d promised to speak to her on Saturday following their kiss at the party.

“Of all the boys who have ghosted me” she began as she reached the table. MJ, who had been sitting next to Peter, lowered her book out of curiosity. “You’re easily the nicest, and probably the only one who’s going to be honest with me when I ask why the fuck you’d do that”

Peter gulped. As if his anxiety hadn’t been bad enough all morning any way, Liz had been quite loud and he was now aware of how many people in the library were looking over to his table. Liz herself seemed to realize this and quickly sat down opposite Peter so the conversation could be a little more intimate. He couldn’t look up at Liz, instead focusing on trying to get his damn leg to stop shaking so violently.

MJ sighed.

“I should give you guys some-”

“No!” Peter protested, grabbing at MJ’s arm. He really didn’t want her to leave whilst he felt this bad. She patted his hand and slowly sat back down, Liz eyeing them both suspiciously.

“Peter, I’m not mad” Liz explained, “Well. I am a little but I know you’re a good guy, and that the last thing you’d ever do is hurt anyone’s feelings on purpose”

“He had a bad weekend” MJ replied, “I think we can leave it at that surely?”

Liz seemed unsatisfied and leaned forward to be closer to Peter.

“Peter?” she asked, “Is that true?”

He nodded.

“Really bad” was all he could reply with, “I'm so sorry. I’ve messed everything up now haven’t I?”

Liz’s hardened expression soften as he looked up at her. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw his face.

“No, there’s not really anything to ruin” she said sweetly, “I like you Peter, I do, and under normal circumstances I’d probably be pushing you to make a decision about what’s going on between us but you’re clearly not ready-”

“I am, I-”

“Peter, listen to her” MJ said seriously, “She’s making sense”

Peter nodded.

“You’re clearly not ready for anything serious right now,” Liz went on, “And I don’t want you to take that in any kind of way other than me really caring about you. I don’t know what went on this weekend, maybe you’ll tell me maybe you won’t, but what I do know is that it would be unfair of me to put any kind of pressure on you right now”

“OK, I understand” Peter’s breath was uneasy, though not out of control, as Liz stroked his hand and moved away from the table. MJ gave Peter an encouraging smile and a shrug before disappearing behind her book once again.

Peter attempted to get back to his notes but Spanish very rarely went in at the best of times, and it was down right impossible for him to focus on it after that.

He hated his brain, he really did.

It was awful. Switching from being so happy and elated over Pepper having a baby that he cried tears of joy, back to hating himself and second guessing everything he said and did within the time span of a few days was exhausting.

“You good?” MJ asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Not really” Peter admitted, “Kinda feel like I’ve let everyone down”

“No, you did the right thing” MJ carried on, “Or...at least, you let Liz do the right thing. I think she’s right Peter, you’re not ready for that yet. You second guess your lunch order, what d’you think you’d do in a relationship? What if you had a fight?”

Peter hummed. She had a point. On top of the debilitating mood swings, worrying he’d upset everyone all the time was also exhausting and would only become worse if he had a girlfriend.

“I just hate this” he moaned, “I’m sick of not being normal. Look at Ned and Betty. They’re together now, he has a girlfriend like most normal kids”

“Well, I’m not dating anyone either” MJ pointed out

“You’re not normal though” Peter snapped. MJ put her book down. “You don’t care about upsetting someone by saying something mean or dating anyone”

“Yeah” she said, sounding hurt and a little angry, “Yeah - that’s right Peter. I just don’t give a shit, I’m not normal and I don’t give a fuck about dating or other people or any of that crap-”

"MJ, I-”

“Save it” she said, gathering her things, “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Before he could say another word, she was gone. Peter kicked the table in frustration. He had meant what he said about her not caring in a nice way; he wished he was more like that but it had just come out wrong.

Well done Parker.

You’ve managed to alienate two of the people who cared about you in the space of ten minutes. Must be a new record.

Feeling an anxiety attack coming on, Peter refused to succumb in front of so many people, especially as upsetting Liz and MJ within two minutes of one another was probably going to generate more than enough gossip anyway.

Focus on the good things.

Focus on the good things

Pepper’s pregnant

You’re going to be a big brother.

Just like you always wanted to be.

His breath steadying a little, Peter still felt uneasy as he looked down at his shaking hands. Once again, he noticed the elastic wristband. He twanged it against his wrist once again. The pain was bearable.

He did it again.

And again.

And again.

But unlike before, it wasn’t grounding him. He still felt anxious. He still felt sad and stupid and wrong. In his frustration, he tore the wristband in two and dumped it in the bin as he left the library.

Hurting himself wasn’t the answer. It never had been, and he would make sure it never would be.

-

MJ was still pissed with him at lunch, keeping her face planted behind her book for the entire meal and not talking to anyone. Ashamed at what he’d said to her, Peter couldn’t bring himself to address her just yet and instead sat and listened to whatever Ned, Betty and her two friends were talking about. He felt better, like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

“You look a bit better than you did yesterday” Betty told him kindly, when she’d twigged no one had really included Peter in the conversation yet.

“Oh, thanks” he replied.

“You guys saw each other yesterday?” Ned questioned, looking back and forth between Peter and Betty in confusion.

“Yeah, Peter stopped by the shop” Betty said casually, “We had a quick chat and I said I thought he looked a bit pale”

Peter flashed Betty a smile, grateful that she hadn’t revealed his sensory overload in front of their friends.

“Yeah” said Peter brightly, casting an arm around Ned’s shoulder, “And then she tells me that you guys are dating, when my so called best friend couldn’t even be bothered to text me and let me know!”

“Dude, I would, you know I would” Ned replied, “But they’re monitoring our text messages and I just don’t want to-”

“-OK, hear me out” Peter went on as Betty and her friends giggled, “Even if there was some kind of undeniable proof that we are all being spied on - what, exactly, d’you think the government are going to do if they find out you and Betty are boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“It’s not about that Peter, it’s the principle” Ned explained, “I mean if they can find out that, who knows what else they can find out? And you gotta think people who have actual secrets might wanna start worrying about that”

“One problem” Betty’s friend Alicia chimed in, “You don’t know if they know about you and Betty”

“They definitely do” Ned said seriously. Betty laughed and patted her boyfriends arm before moving the conversation on to something else. Peter sat silently, watching his best friend so at ease with his new girlfriend and her friends made him feel happy and warm inside. Ned deserved this, and Peter had always thought Betty was a nice girl. He still remembered the flowers and the note she’d left outside the store Ben was killed in.

“Hey, Peter!” Sadie Clarke’s voice rang out from behind the group. Betty, Ned and her friends all rolled their eyes as the peppy blonde cheerleader ran over and randomly engulfed Peter in a hug. Alicia smirked as Peter tried to convey that he didn’t know why she was doing this either. If MJ had any reaction, Peter didn’t see it. Sadie sat down next to him at the table.

“Where have you been?” she asked Peter

“Oh, I got sick” Peter replied, “I’m better now though”

“Good!” Sadie said happily, “Look - Liz, well, she was upset with you yesterday and she thought you were ghosting her and all that crap-”

“I know, we’ve spoken” Peter sighed. He had wanted to keep all that a secret but Ned, Betty, Alicia and Chloe were now all listening curiously.

“Oh, yeah, I already know. She asked me to come and speak to you” Sadie went on, “I think she feels a bit awkward but she just wanted me to tell you that she’s not mad and she still thinks of you as a friend”

“Right, cool, anything else?” Peter asked.

“Oh no, that was it” Sadie said, sounding slightly crestfallen, “....Although, actually, a few of us are going to the movies on Friday night? I just wondered if you wanted to come. It’s pretty much just me, Liz, Ricky, Darren and..well, you, if you want to. It’s like a group hang thing.”

Peter blinked at Sadie. He had no idea where any of this was coming from. Was it Liz? Would she even know he was there? Would she be pissed off he went? Why would the popular kids all of a sudden want to hang out with him? Even MJ had deemed to appear from behind her novel in reaction to Sadie’s invitation. Peter hid a smirk as he looked at Ned, who seemed as if he was staring into an alternate dimension.

Sadie, however, kept the same facial expression.

“Err ...yeah, I guess, sure. That could be fun.” Peter said awkwardly.

“Coolness!” Sadie said brightly. She leaped up and kissed Peter on the cheek before rushing off, stating she’d message him the details later.

“So that was-” Peter began

“Why did you say yes?” Betty asked

“I like Sadie, and Liz, and to be fair Ricky and Darren have never been anything but nice to me before” Peter exclaimed, “Also Sadie has this weird kind of demented energy where I’m kinda scared to turn her down cos she’ll curse my soul or something”

The girls laughed. Ned frowned.

“I dunno about this, dude” he said

“It’ll be fine” Peter assured him, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“As always, death”

“Oh, so you are capable of speech then Michelle”

“Shove it, Parker”

“I know why they invited you!” Alicia announced, everyone snapped their heads around to face her, “They’re like the richest kids in school, and now that Peter lives with Tony Stark, he’s part of the rich kids club.”

Peter gulped.

She’d hit the nail on the head.

“Peter’s not like them” Ned said with a frown, “He’s not a spoiled jerk”

“No, just a jerk jerk”

“Thank you Michelle”

Peter couldn’t help but smile. If MJ was back to insulting him, then that meant she was almost ready to forgive.

-

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Funny old day”

“Yeah, you bet” MJ replied with a sigh. Peter sat down next to her on the bleachers. School had ended half an hour before and he’d waited for her at the gates so they could talk, but she never showed up. Peter knew her well enough to know that she’d taken herself off to her favourite spot on the far bleachers to read in peace which was code for ‘I’m still kinda mad at you but I also wanna forgive you so come and find me here so we can talk and I can maintain my aloof, I don’t give a shit attitude’.

Peter may have been bad at Spanish but he was fluent in MJ.

“I’m really sorry for what I said” Peter told her earnestly, “I think I actually meant it as a compliment but it came out horribly. I know you give a shit, and I know you care about people and what they think about you. I know you don’t like or intend to hurt people’s feelings”

“And I know you know that” MJ replied with a smile, “It just...I dunno, I hate this shit for god sake, but you’re one of the few people whose opinions I do care about and hearing my least favourite thing about myself from you ...it hurt”

Peter blinked back tears.

“Look, I’m an idiot” he said, “I’ve always been an idiot, and I always will be an idiot. We both made our peace with that in third grade.”

“The fire truck was lodged in your ear for how long?”

“Three days, but I did prove you wrong”

MJ laughed.

“My point is” Peter went on, “I’m an idiot with what some have called an intimidating amount of mental health issues, I’m going to say shit I don’t even mean sometimes. And things that I mean in a nice way that come out wrong.”

“So, how exactly was telling me that I’m an abnormal, emotionless, insensitive weirdo who doesn’t give a shit about if she hurts other people’s feelings meant to come across as something positive?” she asked.

“Err, well, what I meant to say was that I wish I was more like you” he confessed, “It wasn’t that you don’t care about how other people take what you say to them, it’s more that all I ever do is worry that I’ve upset the person I just had a conversation with. Every single one. I said goodbye to Wanda a few days ago and spent the next six hours worrying that she’d taken it as me being glad she was leaving and never wanted her to come back”

MJ tried not to, but she giggled.

“It’s debilitating,” he went on, with a smile on his face, “Like you said yourself, I second guess my lunch order”

“You...err, do that every time you have a conversation with someone?” was all MJ could reply with.

“Pretty much” Peter said awkwardly, “But look at earlier - I really upset you without meaning to, I know it’s stupid most of the time but clearly I am capable of upsetting people”

“Yeah, but, there are worse things” MJ told him, “In all the years I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something mean to someone on purpose. You would never intentionally hurt someone’s feelings.”

“Neither would you” Peter muttered.

“Oh, I abso-fucking-loutely would” she exclaimed, “To people who deserve it. Flash, for instance. I was upset because I thought you thought that I don’t care when I do upset someone. Cos I do, when it’s someone I care about”

Peter nodded and rested his head on her shoulders. She then rested her cheek on top of his head and put his book to one side.

“How did I get so fucked up?” he asked

“I dunno, but we’re all helping you get better in our own way” MJ replied, “All I can hope is that your date with the popular girls on Friday doesn’t result in some kind of teen pregnancy. Because then I really will never forgive you.”

“It’s not a date” Peter corrected her, “Darren and Ricky will be there. You heard Sadie, it’s a Group Hang”

“Some would just call that a prude’s name for an orgy” MJ said with a smirk. Peter rolled his eyes.

“I’m dreading it now I’ve agreed to go” Peter replied, cringing as he did so, “I mean I don’t actually know any of them at all”

“Oh, you and Liz are quite familiar with one another” MJ teased him.

“I guess, but that’s gonna be a bit awkward now I know she thinks I’m too broken to be boyfriend material” he moaned, “Maybe I should cancel”

“You are not cancelling” MJ enthused, “If it comes to it Parker, Ned and I will dress up in our best camouflage and sit at the back of the theatre. He’ll probably bring that girlfriend of his though, so maybe I’ll sit solo”

Peter was touched.

“Why do you want me to go so much?” he asked with a grin.

“Because, I need to know all the stupid things they’re going to say” MJ replied, “They can all go in my book”

“Book?”

“You’ll find out more about that when I decide you need to”

Peter lifted his head off her shoulders and pulled a coat out of his backpack as it had started raining. It was one of Bruce’s so was big enough to fit them both under it as they ran from the bleachers back to the car park.

“Friends then?” Peter asked once they stopped. An unimpressed looking Happy was waiting for him in the car.

“You’re lucky you’re literally the only person in this place who can make me laugh” MJ said, before breaking into a smile, “And for that reason if nothing else - friends”

“Cool” Peter smiled and turned to walk towards Happy, who made a point of checking his watch as the teenager approached, but before he could MJ had tapped him on the shoulder.

“It was great how open you were back there,” she said, “Opening up is like half-way to solving the problem. It’s good.”

“Thanks” Peter said with a nod, “You should try it some time”

-

MJ was laid in bed, her Mom was due in from her shift at the hospital soon and usually she didn’t like to wait up, but MJ needed to speak with her mother. Peter’s last words had played on her mind since he’d left.

She’d spent most of the day so angry with him, so hurt by what he’d said and then in a matter of minutes, he’d turned her around and made her feel all soft and gross on the inside like he always somehow managed.

Well, she knew why he was able to manage and there was only her and Harley Keener in the world who knew why. But Harley was in Tennessee and busy with his own life and definitely didn’t need her bothering him with details about her stupid crush. That was what Mom’s were for.

“Hey sweetie, I’m home” Eleanor Jones announced as she came in the apartment door. MJ slid off her bed and came to help her mother put some shopping bags down on their kitchen table.

“Hi” MJ said, giving her Mom a kiss on the cheek as she reached her.

“Did you have a good day?” Eleanor asked, taken aback a little by her daughter’s out-of-character warmth.

“OK. Me and Peter had a fight but we made up” MJ said

“Oh, so he’s back then?” Eleanor asked, “I know you missed him the last two days. You always seem a bit more on edge when he’s not at school.”

MJ blushed. Was she really that easy to read? Or was it just her mother who noticed these things, as mother’s tended to do?

“Yeah, he just had ...well, he was just a bit sick over the weekend” MJ explained, her mother didn’t know or need to know about Peter’s traumatic personal life. She wouldn’t have put it past her mother to have adopted Peter herself and, as much as MJ loved him, that just wouldn’t have worked.

“Ahh, well, I’m glad to hear he’s feeling better” Eleanor went on as she stored the groceries away, “You should invite him around for dinner sometime. I feel like I’ve not seen him for ages, I bet he’s grown”

“Hard to tell when I see him every day” MJ said with a nervous giggle, “Ma - there’s actually something I want...I want to talk to you about, about Peter”

“Oh. OK” Eleanor stopped and faced her daughter. “What is it honey? You know you can tell me anything”

“OK,” said MJ, feeling more and more uneasy by the second, “But it’s like really lame and embarrassing and you have to promise not to laugh”

“I promise” Eleanor said honestly. Her steady, calm voice made MJ feel slightly more at ease.

“I think I love Peter” she managed to spit out, “I...err, love him and it’s not in the way that you love a friend”

MJ cringed at how embarrassing she sounded and waited for her mother to burst into laughter, or to try and convince her that she was wrong about her feelings. She hoped she was.

“Right, I see” Eleanor said sweetly, bending down to reach her daughter’s eye-level, “D’you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really”

“Does Peter feel the same?”

“No. He’s interested in another girl at the moment. And she likes him back.”

“OK, well, thank you for telling me sweetheart” Eleanor said as she pulled her daughter into a hug. For once, Michelle did not resist and accepted it. “If you ever do want to talk about it though, you know you can speak to me”

“D’you think I’m...y'know embarrassing” MJ murmured.

“No. Don’t be ridiculous” Eleanor insisted, “You have feelings, Michelle. As much as you may like to pretend you don’t, you think and feel and love in just the same way the rest of us do. You love Peter, and that’s OK. He’s a nice boy, very handsome-”

-”Mom!”

“-What? He is” Eleanor said with a laugh, “I’m just saying that I get it sweetheart, you’re not weird or embarrassing in any way. You have a crush on your best friend. It’s normal. Everyone has had a crush on someone at some point, you don’t need to worry about this. Do you feel jealous when you see him with other people”

MJ shook her head.

“No, I mostly just wonder what the hell they see in him,” she explained, “Which is weird because I love him too but I see past the dorky, awkward stuff.”

Eleanor smiled and took her daughter’s hand.

“Thank you for telling me” she repeated, “I know that must have been very hard for you, what made you decide?”

“Just some advice I got today” MJ said with a shrug, “Now - can we please agree to never speak of this again until I’m ready”

“Of course, sweetheart” Eleanor replied with a smile. Her daughter gave her another brief hug before disappearing back into her bedroom.

“Well, thank goodness she finally figured that one out for herself” Eleanor whispered to a picture of her deceased husband, MJ’s father. “I thought we’d have to walk her through it step by step”

-

Chapter Text

14.

The Date/Group Hang (Prelude)

“Yo Parker, hold up!” Peter stopped in his tracks as Darren Davenport ran to catch up with him in the school corridor.

“Hey” Peter said politely, as the most popular boy in his grade finished practically sprinted to his locker.

“I’ve been looking for you all morning, dude” Darren said breathlessly, “You’re a damn hard guy to track down when you want to be Parker”

“Sorry about that” Peter replied with a smirk, “I’ll make sure that I tweet my class schedule when I’m free”

“I wouldn’t give Sadie Clarke any more excuses to follow you around if I were you man” Darren replied with a laugh, “No...look, I heard that she invited you on Friday and I just wanted to say that I’m psyched you’re coming”

“Really?” Peter asked, his disbelief evident on his face.

“Yeah, you’re a cool guy” Darren said with a smile, “I liked hanging with you at Liz’s party. Until you decided you were more interested in her lips, player”

Darren gave Peter a firm pat on the back and said goodbye to him as he took off to catch up with some of his Letterman jacket wearing friends. Peter frowned. As much as he liked Darren, Liz and Sadie he was still utterly confused about where there sudden desire to hang out with him after years of barely acknowledging his existence had come from.

“Sup loser” MJ said casually as she approached him, “Just to let you know that decathlon practice is cancelled this week.”

“Oh” Peter said surprised, “How come?”

“There’s some kind of...sports thing, apparently, and everyone’s going to that instead” she replied bitterly, “I wouldn’t mind but regional is in like six weeks and we need to get in as much practice as possible”

Peter grinned.

“What?” MJ asked impatiently

“Nothing” he flashed her a smile as he put his backpack on, “It’s just nice seeing you get passionate about stuff. Leadership suits you.”

MJ was briefly lost for words before she regained her composure and looked at the ground before smiling at Peter.

“Thanks” she replied, “So you think I’m making a good captain then? Not pissed off that you didn’t get the job yourself?”

“Me?” Peter replied with a laugh, “I have too much...well, I don’t really have the time to be a captain and I certainly wouldn’t have been very good at it”

“What other stuff do you have going on?” MJ asked, though of course she knew the answer.

Peter blushed.

“Oh, just, stuff y’know? At the tower?” Peter replied slowly. MJ nodded and decided to put him out of his misery.

“I guess it’s only fair that Tony and Pepper give you a shit ton of chores” she said sweetly, “It’s not as if they can’t afford cleaners though, but if it teaches you some basic principles…”

Peter flushed. Now he thought about it, he didn’t think he’d done as much as lift a sweeping brush as long as he’d lived at the tower. They did have cleaners, cleaners who tidied up everything and even made Peter’s bed for him. He gulped, an immense sense of guilt and embarrassment swallowing him up.

“Yeah, totally” he agreed quietly. MJ winked at him and then started to make her way to her next class as the bell rang. Peter rested his head briefly against his locker once she was out eye-sight, making a mental note to start doing more housework around the tower.

At least he hadn’t accidentally revealed Spider-Man to her.

The rest of Peter’s afternoon passed fairly, and surprisingly, quickly. He sat alone during English clash as he was feeling a bit bogged down by sensory overload and had a mild headache but it passed by the time he went to History class. They’d started a new topic of The Great Depression and Peter amused himself by jotting down some questions to pass on to Steve, who would remember the event pretty well, as well as ending up sitting in between Darren and Liz.

“Hey, Peter, can we talk?” Liz asked as the bell rang. The three of them had been the last to get out of their seats as they’d been too busy laughing at Darren’s impression of Eugene Thompson, who had made a point of pompously correcting a question Peter had got wrong. As funny as it had been, Flash’s renewed desire to annoy him did worry the teenager a little. They had kept out of one another’s way fairly well since their previous fight but it was clear Flash as now itching to mess with him again.

“I’ll go ahead, I need to catch up with Ricky anyway” Darren said, giving Peter another pat on the back before taking off. Peter smiled at Liz awkwardly.

“I hope that you’re OK after our chat the other day” Liz said sweetly, “I’ve played it over again and again, and I think I may have spoken too quickly…”

“Oh” Peter replied in surprise, “Well, all I can say from my end is that I’m still the same broken emotional wreck I was twenty-four hours ago”

“Can you maybe save the self deprecating humour for after I’ve finished saying what I need to say” Liz said impatiently. Peter, who hadn’t been attempting to make a joke, raised his eyebrows but sat back down and allowed Liz to go on.

“I’m not taking back what I said” she carried on, “I don’t want to put any pressure on you right now because you’re clearly not ready for it, but I just...well, I like you Peter. And I don’t want you to think that...well, us becoming...more is off the cards. Because as far as I’m concerned it’s not”

Peter blushed, though oddly didn’t feel remotely nervous.

“That’s nice to hear, and you know I like you too. I think everyone knows I like you. Stevie Wonder in a heavy fog could probably see it” he spoke clearly, “I’m just a bit confused about what you want though?”

“I just want us to see how we go” Liz said with a shrug, “No pressure or anything. I know that whatever’s going on with you isn’t going to go away overnight, but I’d rather us have a chance than just give up completely”

“So, are we dating or not?” asked a now very confused Peter.

“Well...how about we decide after Friday?” Liz suggested, “It’s partly why I invited you. I just think it might be easier for us to hang out in a group for a while, see how we gel, see how you deal with it?”

“What, like a trial?” Peter asked with a laugh.

Liz laughed along with him.

“Yeah, let’s call it a trial” she said sweetly, “If it gets too much for you or causes you any kind of anxiety then we’ll just put a stop to it, Peter. No judgements, no anger, no pressure. To be honest...I just want to spend time with you”

Peter smiled at her.

“And what about Sadie and the guys?” he asked, “Do they know they’re a part of some kind of dating trial for you and me? Cos MJ thinks we’re all going to have an orgy”

“Gross, Darren and Ricky are like brothers to me” Liz said with a laugh, “They do all like you, Peter. And they’re looking forward to hanging out with you, it’s me who’s added all this to it”

“You’re confusing” Peter told her. Liz smiled.

“I’m a teenage girl” she said with a shrug, “It’s kind of my right to be.”

Peter grinned as she picked up her bags and they left the classroom together. The second they stepped out of it, however, Peter’s spidey-senses quickly picked up on MJ, Betty and Ned all scurrying behind a row of lockers a few meters down the otherwise deserted corridor. Liz didn’t notice anything and gave Peter a quick peck on the cheek before heading out.

Rolling his eyes, Peter crossed his arms and did not face his friends.

“I know you’re behind there” he said impatiently. Soon enough, he heard three footsteps approach him from behind. He turned around to see his friends all approaching him looking slightly embarrassed.

“You heard all that then?” Peter asked with a raised eye-brow

“Yep” Ned confirmed, “I can’t believe you have a date with Liz Allan”

“I don’t think it’s strictly a date” Betty said with a frown, “To be honest, I was struggling to follow her logic the entire time. Girls are weird.”

“Anything from you?” Peter asked MJ, sure she was equipped with some witty putdown and just waiting for the right moment to drop it.

“Nah” she said casually, “Just that I thought you might have wiped off that toothpaste that’s been on your top lip all day before now”

Peter hurriedly wiped his hand all over his face as MJ laughed.

“You really are too easy” she said casually. Peter gave her the middle finger before briefly excusing himself to go and pick up some homework he’d forgotten to take from English. Once he’d left, MJ turned to Ned and Betty.

“So, we’re crashing that date or group-hang whatever thing on Friday, right?” she asked.

“Definitely” they replied in unison.

“ Please ” MJ said sternly, “For the sake of mine and everyone’s sanity, try to never do that again. It’s creepy.”

-

“You have a date ”

“I do not”

“Oh, you so do, kid. Steve tell him!”

“I’m not getting involved in teasing the kid about his date”

“It is not date. It is a group hang ”

“That just sounds like a pussy’s way of saying orgy” Sam Wilson commented. Peter turned to him with an exasperated expression.

“You’ve never met my friend MJ have you?” he said, frowning with his arms folded, “You should. You’d probably get on very well”

“Well, I think it’s very cute” Natasha chimed in, “Peter has a date and I think it’s very important that we all make him as embarrassed about it as possible”

“I’m really beginning to regret telling you three” Peter huffed looking at Natasha, Sam and Steve like a disappointed parent, “I only said something so I can sound out what you’d all think Pepper and Tony will react like”

“Oh, they’re gonna freak” Sam teased, “Pepper will probably cry and start organizing an engagement party, and Tony will hit another premature midlife crisis”

“So, it’s with Liz, I’m guessing” Natasha said casually.

“Yeah...and three other people. Friends of hers. It’s a group hang” Peter insisted through gritted teeth. He hadn’t elaborated on what Liz had said to him after History, mainly because he still didn’t completely understand what she wanted.

“We used to have group hangs back in the day” Steve said with a sigh, “A few of us would all go to the movies for the Saturday matinee. That’s when I first saw Gone With The Wind.”

“Fascinating” Sam muttered. Peter held back a giggle, he didn’t want to be laugh openly at Steve considering he’d been the most supportive person in the room towards him.

“And they were totally innocent, right?” Peter prompted

“Mostly” Steve said with a shrug, “Well - they were for me, anyway. Bucky always used to get a quick kiss after.”

“I don’t think you’re helping the kids cause, old man” Sam said with a laugh, “Look, Pete, we’re just messing around with you. Date or no date, it’s just cool that you’re hanging out with kids your own age instead of us all the time”

“Err, no it’s not” argued Natasha, “Peter is like 12, we don’t need to rush him into growing up. I am not ready to be an aunt”

“I’m sixteen” Peter told her, “And who said anything about...all that anyway? I’m just going to the movies with some of my friends tomorrow night”

“Oh, sweetie, that’s wonderful” Pepper’s voice rang out from behind Peter. Sam laughed as the teenager’s eyes widened as he quickly turned around to see both his adoptive parents walk into the dining room with a stack of takeout pizza’s. Could Care Less About Cooking Thursdays were becoming a nice tradition.

“What geek fest is Ned making you see with him now?” Tony asked as he patted Peter on the head, “Hopefully it’s a bit more exciting than that penguin documentary”

“He’s not going with Ned!” Natasha announced cheerily as Peter gave her a furious like, “Your little boy has a date”

“A what?!” Pepper exclaimed in surprise. Tony merely gave Peter an impressed nod and sat down with a slice of Pizza.

“It’s not a date” Peter clarified.

“He’s right” Sam said supportively. Peter gave him a look of surprised appreciation, “It’s an orgy”.

Pepper and Peter were the only two in the room who didn’t laugh.

“No orgies young man” Tony said sternly. Peter hid his face in his hands.

“It’s not an orgy or a date” Peter said angrily, “It’s a group hang!”

“I’m still lost” Pepper confessed, “Do you have a date or not?”

“No!” Peter replied emphatically, “I got asked by this girl named Sadie at school if I wanted to go to the movies tomorrow night, it just so happens that Liz is one of the people going too so now tweedle dumb, tweedle dee and tweedle centennial have all convinced themselves we’re going on some big romantic date”

“Correction” Sam interrupted, “I think you’re all going for a massive orgy. And I better be Tweedle Dee”

“Sam, don’t be gross, he’s a kid” Pepper snarled, “And if Peter says he’s not going on a date with Liz then, as far as I’m concerned, he’s not going on a date with Liz. Clearly it’s this Sadie girl who wants to date him anyway”

Peter blanched. The betrayal.

Tony laughed.

“I was thinking that” he said putting an arm around Peter’s shoulder. The teenager wanted to shrug it off but felt a little stressed and anxious now so accepted it, “Seems like we might have a little ladies man on our hands, team”

“Can you all please stop ?!” Peter exclaimed, “Sadie Clarke definitely doesn’t want to date me, she’s the most popular girl in school. Liz, well, it’s a bit complicated at the moment but it’s not a date and you’re all making me not want to go now”

He huffed and sat down in his chair.

“Sorry kid” Steve said honestly, “We’re all just excited for you. We didn’t mean any harm by it, it’s just a joke.”

“Why are you excited for me?” Peter asked incredulously. Tony smirked and sat down next to his son, casually tracing his fingers up and down the boys back to relieve some pent up tension. Pepper sat down on his other side and handed him some pizza.

“Because, well, it’s just nice” Steve went on, “When we all first met you...well, the idea of you being able to go on dates or group hangs or whatever we’re calling them was impossible. We’re just excited for you, because you’ve come so far”

“He’s right, sweetie” Pepper said reassuringly.

“Yeah” said Tony, “Seeing you doing normal, everyday teenage stuff is nice for us. It makes me realize what a damn good job I’ve done”

“Humble as ever” Natasha observed, “Peter - please don’t cancel this thing tomorrow just because we’ve made a few jokes. You were really excited about it when you came home, like Steve says, we’re just psyched for you”

“Then why do you keep on teasing me about it being a date” Peter moaned.

“Because, well, it’s just...about time” Sam said with a laugh, “You’re a nice kid, and you’re not exactly a gargoyle looks-wise, seems only fair that you get some attention.”

“We just got a bit carried away” Steve concluded, “And we’re sorry that it stressed you out. That was our last intention”

“OK, I guess” Peter said quietly before reaching for another slice of pizza. The conversation turned away from Peter’s date/group-hang pretty quickly after that, with everyone focusing on the news of the day and whether it was time Tony started considering either a toupee or some kind of hair transplant.

Half an hour later, and Peter was ready for bed. After a few hugs and another round of apologies, the teenager headed up to bed, followed by Pepper who wanted to discuss some school stuff with him (he also asked her if she felt he needed to be doing more chores as they left the room). Once they were gone and safely out of earshot, Tony hurriedly closed the dining room door and faced the other three Avengers.

“So, please tell me you’re all going to spy on the kids date for me tomorrow night?” he asked quickly.

“Tony, that’s a totally immoral thing to ask, not to mention a complete violation of the kids right to privacy” Natasha said with a wry smile, “Of course we’re going”

“Good, cos I’m gonna need a blow by blow account” Tony replied as he sat down, “I am too young to be a grandfather”

-

By the time school ended on Friday afternoon, Peter was a pent up bag of nerves. It had been during woodshop that he’d first considered the fact that this was all probably just going to end up being one big practical joke at his expense. Flash’s fault, naturally.

“Heard you’re going to the movies with Liz and some of her friends” the bully snarled at him, “Hope they don’t stand you up - that would be embarrassing”

“You really wanna test me while I’m holding a fucking saw” Peter snarled back. Flash smirked and headed back to his table of cronies as MJ walked over to Peter’s work station.

“You good?” she asked simply

“Fine” Peter muttered.

“Don’t let him ruin it for you, Peter” MJ sighed, “He’s just insanely jealous of you, like he always has been”

Why anyone would be jealous of Peter’s messed up life was beyond the boy, but he was inclined to agree with MJ. Flash had always tried to undermine Peter in any achievements he’d made or things that made him happy since they’d been little kids.

“I wish he’d stop” Peter confessed, “All I want to do is get on with my life in peace, I’m not looking for any trouble, yet he won’t leave me alone”

“Maybe he has a crush on you” MJ suggested jokingly.

“I hope not”

“Wow, not liking this homophobic side to you, Parker. Maybe Flash has loved you for years in painful, painful silence-”

“It’s not homophobic to be put off by the idea of the guy who has made your life miserable since you were five for no reason having a crush on you” Peter said defensively.

“I’m just throwing out theories, dude” MJ said with a smile, “I mean - someone not liking you is weird, like there’s some kind of unbalance in the Universe”

Peter smiled and the two continued to laugh through the rest of wood-shop, MJ keeping a comforting hand on Peter’s arm as they attempted to ignore some jeers and teasing from Flash as he and his friends left the class. Peter hated the effect Flash could have on him, and he definitely hated the fact that he couldn’t get what Flash said out of his mind;

‘Hope They Don’t Stand You Up’

The thought would not leave Peter’s head for the rest of the day. Even after Liz posted a screenshot of the ticket booking confirmation, even after Darren stopped by to say hey at dinner time and even after Sadie offered to have her Mom pick Peter up from Stark Tower all Peter could think was;

They’re Not Going To Turn Up

You’re going to be a laughing stock.

By the end of the day, a tearful Peter could only think of one person to call.

“H-Harley, it’s m-me dude” Peter choked out an answering machine message, “C-can you call me back soon, I feel like I’m losing my mind a little and I could really do with talking to you”

Peter hung up the phone and was horrified when he turned around to find a snarling Flash and his cronies circling him.

“Boyfriend not calling you back, Parker?” Flash sneered, circling Peter as if he was some kind of shark waiting to strike its prey, “That’s a shame.”

Peter sighed.

“Why don’t you just leave me alone?” he snapped, “We both ended up nearly getting expelled the last time you tried to bother me, I’ve tried to stay out of your way since.”

“See, I have a problem” Flash said, resting an arm on Peter’s shoulder. Peter wanted to rip the boys own arms right from their sockets, and could have done, but he knew it wasn’t worth it. “If I go more than a month without messing with you, something starts to feel...I dunno, wrong”

Flash’s goons laughed, which confused Peter as no joke or funny statement of any kind had been made.

“First off - take your hand the fuck off me” Peter snarled, “Secondly - that’s pathetic. You’re pathetic. Just leave me alone! If you hate me so much just back the fuck off. I’ll happily never approach you again”

“If only it were that easy” Flash went on, “See - all this Parker, you being the golden boy, we both know it's all a lie. And we both know you don’t deserve it.”

Flash grabbed Peter’s arm and pulled him dangerously close until they were practically nose to nose.

“Seen as though you let your Uncle die ”

Peter felt a sharp intake of breath as he let Flash’s words ring around his ears. He’d always known the guy was a bully, capable of being truly mean but he’d never heard Flash sound as venomous and go in for the kill like that. Peter was too flawed by the bullies words to even respond.

Luckily, someone else did.

Darren Davenport approached Flash, as if from nowhere, and punched him square in the jaw right in front of Peter’s eyes. Flash squealed and fell to the ground with an almost pathetic thud as his cronies ran off in different directions. Ricky Palmer was also on the scene and put an arm around Peter’s shoulders.

“The fuck did you say to him?” Darren shouted at a cowering Flash.

“You’ll pay for that one, Davenport!” Flash cried, picking himself off the ground, “My father will have you kicked out of this school so fast you’ll-”

“We both know that’s not gonna happen, Eugene” Darren said coolly, folding his arms, “My father could end your father’s pathetic little dental practice with one phone call, so I suggest you back the fuck off Parker and get the fuck out of here”

Flash snarled and deliberately barged into Peter’s shoulders as he went.

“Your left hook is really coming on man” Ricky observed as the three of them watched Flash walk away, “Are you good Pete?”

“Yeah” said Peter, who was struggling to make sense of what had just happened, “I’m fine ...thanks, I guess. I can handle him though.”

“We know” Darren said with a smile, “But you shouldn’t have to, and I’ve wanted to hit that little freak for a while now. What did he say to you?”

“Just something nasty about my dead uncle” Peter muttered

“That’s so fucked” said Ricky, “You’re still coming tonight, aren't you?”

“Well, I-”

“You better not be about to bail on us, Parker” Darren teased, “After all I have just punched a guy in the face for you”

“Well, for that reason alone” Peter shot back, “Your soda is on me”

Darren laughed. The boys walked with Peter as far as the parking lot (where Happy was waiting for him) and arranged to meet some time before Liz and Sadie were due.

Peter was still as confused as ever as to why Darren and Ricky had suddenly decided he was their friend, but he felt a lot more secure in the idea now Darren had punched Flash.

Someone needed to.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15.

Peter Parker is a Super Cool Dude

“Are you sure Parker’s actually gonna show?” Ricky grumbled to Darren as they waited outside the AMC in Queens, “He seemed like he wasn’t totally committed earlier”

“He’ll be here” Darren replied with a smile, “If nothing else, he’s too scared of letting people down to bail at the last minute. It’ll be fine.”

“Remind me why we agreed to this again?” Ricky asked.

“Because Liz likes him and wanted some help” Darren answered, “And Parker’s an alright kinda dude anyway, you even said earlier you like him”

“I do! I have always have done” Ricky replied somewhat defensively, “Just not really sure why we all need to be best friends all of a sudden”

Darren smirked and shook his head.

“Liz likes him” he repeated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Liz and Darren had been best friends since before Darren could remember, she had always just been there and they’d pretty much been raised as brother and sister. As far as Darren was concerned, if Liz liked Peter Parker then Peter Parker was his friend.

Darren had always felt sorry for the boy. He’d been dealt a rough hand in life, and a lot of seemed so unfair considering how nice he seemed. Peter Parker had never been unpopular, Darren couldn’t remember anyone bar Eugene Thompson ever saying anything bad about him, but he had isolated himself.

“We’d be hanging out with Voldermort if Liz told you she liked him” Ricky said with a smirk

“I’d trust Liz’s judgement” Darren replied, “And she’d never like Voldermort anyway - his skin is terrible”

“Why are we here so damn early?” was Ricky’s next question, spoken with a hint of venom as he folded his arms.

“Oh, I’m sorry that you missed Judge Judy or whatever” Darren snapped, “From the little I know about Peter Parker, he’d probably convinced himself this is all some kinda setup and we’re not gonna show up. It’s just nicer if we’re here waiting for him ”

Ricky nodded and sat on this for a second.

“Can you, for once, stop being the nicest dude in the world” he huffed, “It makes it really hard to be pissed at your for making me miss Judge Judy”

The boys continued their talking for a few more minutes before Ricky caught sight of a nervous looking Peter Parker approaching them from the other side of the parking lot. They both jumped off the railing they’d been sitting on as the anxious boy reached them.

“Hey guys” Peter said meekly, as Darren suspected he looked at least a little surprised that they were actually standing in front of him.

“Evening, Parker” Darren said, shooting the kid a friendly encouraging smile, “If you’re still worried about Thompson, I have it on good authority that I’m not in any kind of firing line”

“Oh, really?” Parker looked relieved.

“Tony Stark’s not the only guardian here who knows how to pull a few strings, pal” Ricky said with a grin as the three made their way into a nearby arcade. Liz and Sadie were running late but had insisted they wouldn’t be too long, which both Darren and Ricky knew was code for them having to wait at least another hour.

Peter eased up a few minutes in and Darren was pleased that Ricky promptly dropped any sign of annoyance and confusion. The boys gelled surprisingly easily, and Darren was pleased that Peter ended up joining on the banter that he and Ricky usually shared between them.

“So, Pete, what’s the deal with your chubby friend and that girl who reads the school bulletins?” Ricky asked a few minutes later as they boys gathered around a Foosball table

“His name’s Ned, and she’s called Betty” Peter corrected him, “And they started dating like a week ago. He’s liked her forever though, it just took him a while to build up the confidence to talk to her” 

“What finally gave him that push then?” Ricky asked

“Me” Peter replied simply, Darren couldn’t help but notice a little flash of pride shoot across the boys face as he said it.

“Ooooh Parker’s got game!” Ricky announced with a laugh, “Here that Darren? You’re gonna have some competition buddy”

“I don’t have game, at all” Peter clarified, blushing a little, “It’s just, well, girls are easier to talk to when you realize they’re just regular people. I don’t think Ned had quite learned that lesson”

“Aww, well, I’m pleased for the guy” Darren interjected, “He’s a nice dude, if a little awkward, we’ll invite him next time”

“Oh god, I think he’d have a heart attack” Peter said with a laugh, “You should do it though. I’ll even film his reaction”

Just as the boys were about to carry on their conversation, all heads in the arcade turned to the front door as Liz and Sadie - both dressed to the nines - walked in. Darren scoffed as several of the other patrons, boys younger than them who looked as if they’d never seen a woman before in their lifetimes before that very moment, all stood and watched with blank faces as Liz and Sadie made their way over.

If Peter Parker got nervous upon seeing his long-time crush approach him shyly and give him a hug, he didn’t show it

“Wow, you look...really pretty” Peter said to Liz. She giggled.

“Oh, this thing?” she said trying to sound unsure. Darren rolled his eyes. He knew her too well, and he knew she knew she looked good. “You don’t look too bad yourself”

“Hey, the movie’s going to start pretty soon” Ricky announced after checking his watch, “We gotta go or we’ll miss the previews”

“Wait” Peter asked, “You actually like the previews?”

Darren, Sadie and Liz all groaned. Ricky had always been more into the previews before the movie than whatever movie they had chosen to go and see, ever since they’d been kids.

“Yeah” Ricky replied simply, “These guys all think it’s really weird though, most people do”

“I don’t” Peter replied brightly. Darren couldn’t tell if Peter genuinely meant that or was just feeling a bit bad for Ricky, who often got a lot of teasing for his love of movie previews. “They’re my favourite part too!”

Darren stood agog as Peter left Liz and Sadie behind to go and excitedly talk with Ricky as the group left the arcade and headed towards the movie theater.

“Oh my god, now we have two of them?” Sadie groaned as she followed the first two boys out of the arcade, picking up her pace a little to catch up with them regardless of her moaning. This left Liz and Darren on their own.

Darren turned to face his best friend.

“So” he said, raising an eyebrow and gesturing to her white dress, “ This is casual?”

“Oh shut up”

“You like him”

“Of course I like him. I told you I like him.”

“And he likes you” Darren continued teasing

“How was he with just you and Ricky?” Liz asked, “Please tell me you guys weren’t too mean to him, or gave him that stupid overprotective big brother speech that scared Brad Davis off?”

“Davis was a creep, so I very much stand by my decision,” Darren said defensively, “And we were perfectly nice to him. I like the dude, Liz, how many times?”

He cast an arm around her shoulder as they left to catch up with the others.

“I just hope you can get over the fact I think you may have just lost him to Ricky”

-

“That preppy looking kid has his arm around Liz’s shoulder” Natasha relayed over a walkie talkie to Steve, Sam and Wanda, “If he makes a move on her behind Peter’s back, I’ll-”

“What, Romanoff? You’ll get involved in a teenage love triangle and what?” Sam replied. Nat could hear Steve try and fail to hold back a laugh over the system. Wanda’s line was still mainly silent.

“I dunno” Nat said with a shrug, “Punch him?”

“Guys, it feels weird spying on teenagers we don’t know from a parking lot” Wanda finally commented, “Can we at least head inside now?”

“Affirmative” Steve replied quickly.

Natasha rolled her eyes and switched off her walkie talkie. She left the Lexus-Cleverly-Disguised-As-a-Pizza-van and kept her head down as she waded through the parking lot to meet Steve, Sam and Wanda - all also disguised as best they could be - by the front doors of the theater.

Peter and his friends were already at the concession stand and seemed to be happily talking in little groups. Natasha noticed that Peter and Liz were standing quite some distance from one another, but at the very least the kid seemed happy talking to the curly haired boy he was standing with.

“Dude, I cannot believe Parker’s got a date with either of those girls” Sam noted as the four walked into the theater, “I was expecting like...two pit-bulls in a wig or something”

“Sam, don’t be rude” Wanda sighed, “And Peter is very charming and intelligent when he wants to be.”

“Well, let’s just remember why we’re here” Steve sighed.

“To mess with him!” Sam exclaimed

“You mess this up for the kid and I’ll make sure you never fly again” Natasha snapped. “I wonder what movie they’re going to see”

Following at a distance, the four Avengers did their best to blend in and act as inconspicuous as possible. Peter and his friends didn’t seem to notice him, and Natasha had a laugh when Steve wondered why they would all periodically stop and take a picture of themselves. As Wanda tried to explain what a selfie was and why teenagers took so many of them, Natasha and Sam reluctantly bought four tickets for a horror film called Hereditary .

Sneaking into the very back of the theater - Sam armed with an obnoxiously large serving of popcorn - the four took their seats and made sure they could at least make Peter out.

“So, this is a horror film?” Steve whispered as he inspected his ticket

“Yeah, to be honest I’m just relieved we’re not sitting in some kids movie about cartoon animals on an adventure” Sam muttered, “Scott made me go to one of those with his kid and it was the longest three hours of my life”

“You guys realize Peter has advanced hearing, right?” Wanda reminded them. Steve and Sam both shut up. Natasha squinted as she turned her head and saw two familiar looking teenagers, and one she’d never seen before, also sitting at the back looking rather secretive.

“Ned?” she whispered as quietly, but aggressively, as she could, “Ned, is that you?”

Peter Parker’s best friend turned to look in her direction and damn near vaulted out of his chair when he realized who was addressing him. Natasha hid a grin as Ned yelped and patted MJ rather aggressively on the shoulder to alert her.

MJ looked mildly annoyed for a second, before glancing over and recognizing Natasha. She got up in an instant and gestured at Ned and the other girl to move over with her.

“Thank god” MJ whispered as she sat down, “I thought I was going to have to third wheel it with these two all night”

“Third wheel who?”

“Yeah...you guys won’t have met Betty yet, will you?” MJ replied with a grin. Natasha, Steve and Wanda shook their heads. Sam, who had never seen any of these kids before in his life, looked totally lost.

“Hi Betty, nice to meet you. I’m Steve Rogers.” Steve said in his best, deep Captain America voice as he extended his hand to shake Betty’s. The poor girl was practically trembling.

“Betty is Ned’s girlfriend” MJ clarified.

“ Girlfriend?” Wanda asked, sounding a little surprised, “I thought that- never mind-”

“Am I gonna have to sit here and ask who the hell these kids are” Sam snapped all of a sudden.

“Peter’s friends” Natasha replied impatiently, “Which you would know if you ever paid the slightest bit of attention to him”

“It’s so nice to meet you Captain Falcon sir” Ned said quickly, “I don’t care if Peter thinks you’re a bit of a dick, I think you’re awesome”

“The kid said what now?” Sam deadpanned. Ned blushed.

“He thinks you’re a dick” MJ replied, “He still likes you though.”

“Oh, well, feelings mutual then” Sam muttered, before asking, “Which one are you?”

“MJ”

“Ahh, they tell me we’d like one another”

Steve laughed as the theatre filled with sound as the previews started. MJ, Ned and Betty settled into their seats and Natasha felt a strange sense of pride and kinship with them, it was touching that they’d all come to make sure everything went alright for Peter. And she was stoked that Ned had managed to find himself a girlfriend.

Natasha found herself paying very little attention to the movie - though from what she could tell, it was very strange - and instead focused her gaze on Peter a few rows in front. He was sitting in between Liz and her preppy looking friend looking a little bit nervous and shaky. She knew the boy well enough by this point to know that his legs were probably shaking up and down and that he was probably feeling a little bit of sensory overload due to how pronounced the sound of the movie was in the mainly silent theatre.

Ned seemed to have noticed the same thing, and nudged Natasha about a quarter of the way through the film.

“He’s freaking out” he murmured, “D’you think we should do something?”

Natasha shook her head. She knew that Peter would be highly embarrassed if one of them went down there to check if he was OK, and that he needed to be able to get through this experience on his own or he’d never take such a big leap again. She felt slightly better when Liz put an arm on Peter’s shoulder which seemed to stop his shaking. Though she couldn’t help but notice a crestfallen look briefly flash over MJ’s face when she noticed as well.

By the time the movie ended, Peter’s head was rested on Liz’s shoulder. The group made sure they got out before they were recognized and Natasha suddenly felt a lot more awkward and guilty for crashing Peter’s date.

“He seems happy” Wanda observed as she and Natasha waited in the car for Steve and Sam a few minutes later, “I knew there was nothing to worry about”

“Yeah, well at the very least, we knew he wasn’t stood up or humiliated or anything” Natasha said with a smile. Peter and his friends were now gathered outside the AMC having a laugh and joke with one another.

“His other friends seem nice” Wanda continued, “It was very nice of them to come and check that he was OK”

“Or they just...have the same lack of respect for his privacy that we do” Natasha said half-jokingly.

“I think we’re all adapting, the same way Peter is” Wanda replied thoughtfully, “Having a family, being normal...it’s not something that’s come naturally to any of us.”

“Yeah, I feel kinda dumb now” Nat continued, “He met his friends. He saw a movie, and he’s probably going to date a girl he likes. He couldn’t be more normal if he tried.”

“He still needs us,” Wanda said with a smile, “He always will. Just like we all need him.”

-

“So...you're sure they were all just...there at the back of the theater” Darren said with a laugh. Peter grinned.

“I could tell they were following us from the second we walked into the theater” Peter replied, “Let’s just say they’re not the best at being discrete”

“I didn’t notice them” Liz pointed out.

“Ah, you don’t know what to look for though” Peter replied with a wink. “I’m a world expert in those human disasters by this point”

“Damn, I wish you’d have said” Darren sighed, “I’ve wanted to meet Captain America and Black Widow for ages. You’ll have to introduce me sometimes”

Liz nudged Darren in the ribs, clearly a little annoyed with him for accidentally suggesting that Peter’s connection to the Avengers was the only reason they’d hung out with him. Peter grinned. He’d been convinced that wasn’t the case within about five minutes of hanging out with Darren and Ricky earlier in the night.

Ricky and Sadie had taken themselves off to walk back home, which Peter had quickly guessed meant they were probably going to go and make out in the park, leaving the other three teenagers waiting outside the AMC for their rides. Peter knew that this meant that Nat, Steve, Sam and Wanda were killing time somewhere before they figured out what a realistic time to pick him up would have been.

“I need to go pee” Darren said suddenly, “If my Dad rolls up just tell him I’m inside OK”

“Will do” Liz said with a smile before shouting, “And TMI by the way” as Darren ran inside. This left Peter and Liz on their own for the first time all evening.

“Good movie, I think” Peter started. Liz laughed.

“The ending was the god damn weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said with a smile, “I went from being scared to stopping myself laughing in like ten seconds”

“I was the same!” Peter exclaimed, “It was trippy as fuck….thanks, by the way, you really helped me when I started getting a bit...well, y’know”

“Don’t be silly, not exactly my first rodeo” Liz replied kindly, “I’ve had a really great time tonight, Peter. I’m so pleased you and my friends get on together so well”

“Yeah, they’re cool” Peter said with a soft smile creeping across his face, “I’m just pleased they actually liked me”

“Peter, everyone likes you” Liz said with an almost impatient sigh, “Well, except Flash, but no one likes him so he doesn’t really count. We’re so gonna work on your self-confidence.”

“Cool” said Peter dismissively. Liz jumped off the railings and faced him, placing one hand on each of his knees. He raised his eyebrows at her.

“Neither of us are leaving until you say that you’re a super cool dude and mean it” she said teasingly. Peter frowned.

“That doesn’t sound like something a super cool dude would say though” he pointed out.

“Good thing you’re not a super cool dude then, nerd” Liz shot back with a grin on her face. Peter giggled despite himself. She was so great.

“I’m not saying it!”

“You are!”

“Not”

“You are, repeat after me; I, Peter Benjamin Parker am a Super Cool Dude”

“OK, fine” Peter sighed, “I, Peter Benjamin Parker, am...one hundred and ten percent not calling myself a Super Cool Dude no matter how much Liz Allan tries to make me”

Liz giggled and allowed Peter to pull her into a hug. As he released her, they made eye contact for a few seconds and then reached into kiss one another. It wasn’t like the first time, where they’d both been a bit drunk and confused. This one was more tender than passionate. For a second, Peter felt like he and Liz were the only two people in the world.

And that felt right.

“That was nice” Liz said with a smile once they were done

“It was”

“You’re a good kisser”

“That’s because I’m a super cool dude”

They were about to kiss again when they heard an awkward cough from behind them break the silence and both turned to see Darren had returned, seen everything and was now standing with his arms crossed and a mischievous grin plastered across his face.

“I leave you alone for two seconds, and this ” he teased, feigning shock, “I’m not even sure who to give my overprotective big brother speech to”

Peter laughed and pulled away from Liz for a second. He wanted to go and give Natasha a call to let her know she could now come and collect him as Liz spotted Darren’s father driving into the parking lot.

“Hey Nat, it’s me” Peter left a voicemail message, “We’re ready to come home now so I’ll let you start your super long journey from Manhattan where I know you guys have definitely been all night. I’ll text you the address.”

By the time he’d left the message and turned around, Darren was already inside his father’s car which was pulling away. Peter didn’t get a look at him before he left but did, for some reason, start to feel an odd kind of chill in the air as he walked back over to Liz as they watched the Black SUV pulling out of the parking lot. The hairs on his arms stood up, much in the same way they did whenever he could sense some form of oncoming danger.

It was brief, however, and went away pretty soon. Peter checked his surroundings and concluded the feeling must have been provoked by some kids on the other end of the parking lot who were messing around with some BB Guns. Their mother caught them, confiscated the toys and ushered them into her car. Peter breathed a small sigh of relief as the feeling went away.

Liz rested her head on his shoulders.

“My Mom’s boyfriend should be here in a minute,” she said with a yawn. Peter frowned. As far as he’d been aware, Liz still lived with both of her parents.

“Boyfriend? I thought that…”

“Oh, my parents got divorced like a year ago” Liz said simply, “I guess you probably had stuff of your own going on at the time. My Dad lives out of state now.”

“Oh, sorry about that” he replied sincerely.

“Life is life” Liz shrugged, “I still see him when I can but to be honest, life at home has been a lot easier since he left and Cooper’s a cool guy. Not as bitter and twisted.”

“I’m sorry” Peter repeated, feeling bad for not knowing, “That must’ve sucked”

Liz rested her head on his shoulders once again as they sat and waited.

“You’re so sweet” she whispered, “I wish you’d realize just how awesome you actually are”

“Err, I just admitted that I was a Super Cool Dude” Peter snapped, “Under duress maybe, but I admitted it.”

Liz grinned.

“I can’t believe my boyfriend’s such a dork”

Peter was flawed by the words, so just took her hand in his as they continued to wait.

-

Peter was only on his own for around two minutes before Natasha, Steve, Sam and Wanda rolled up in one of Tony’s SUV’s. He and Liz had kissed again before she’d been picked up and he’d arranged to meet her and hang out in Central Park over the weekend, information that he was definitely not disclosing to anyone else in the tower. He had images of Bruce in full Hulk mode trying to hide himself behind various ice cream stands.

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” Sam shouted. Peter, the only other person who actually caught the Mean Girls reference, sighed and rolled his eyes as he climbed into the car. He found himself sitting between Wanda and Steve in the back seat.

“So...how did I go?” Nat asked as she began driving.

“Awful” Peter deadpanned, “Absolutely terrible. Liz told me she’s moving to Albania, Darren got abducted by that bacholerette party that got me and Harley a few weeks back and Sadie died”

“But at least you didn’t make a fool of yourself” Sam said, turning to face Peter with a grin, “So congrats on that”

“Did you enjoy the movie?” Wanda asked

“Yeah, though there were like four adults at the back who kept talking” Peter said with a smile, “It was pretty disrespectful really. And they say it’s my generation who are the ones with no manners”

“Yeah, that’s really not cool” Natasha said

Peter noticed that Steve had shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had always been a truly terrible liar.

“Other than that, it was great” Peter went on, “I did get a bit freaked out at one point but I was next to Liz, so that was alright. Strangest thing though, I could have sworn at one point that I heard Ned do that cute, excited gasp he does when he meets one of his personal heroes”

Now it was Sam’s turn to bite his tongue.

“And there was this other part where I thought I heard Wanda gasp”

Wanda stayed stoney-faced.

“Weird”

“So strange”

“I think you’re hearing things, kid”

“Yeah, that must be it” Peter said smugly, “Oh - and Liz and I kissed after the movie ended, and I asked her to be my girlfriend!”

“I KNEW IT!” Natasha shouted as Wanda squealed and pinched his cheeks.

“Well done, kid” Sam said with a nod, “She’s very pretty”

“Who’s very pretty?”

“Liz, your girlfriend”

“You’ve never met her, Sam”

“Nat has!” Sam exclaimed, “She told us”

“I did, to be fair” Natasha interjected.

“So, anyway, that’s me and Ned with girlfriend” Peter said with a grin, “Just got Harley to go now, which reminds me, I need to call him when we get back…”

“It’s so cool that Ned has a girlfriend” Natasha said dreamily, “.....Which is brand new information that I’m only just finding out right this second”

Peter nodded. For a group of superhuman geniuses and a trained assassin, they were incredibly easy to keep on their toes.

“So, Steve” Peter went on, making sure to look at the man with the most innocent look he could muster, “How much did MJ enjoy the scene where the little girl got decapitated?”

“She loved it” Steve said with a laugh. Natasha halted the vehicle as Sam swore loudly, Wanda groaned and Peter burst into hysterical laughter. Steve hid his face in his hands.

“For fuck sake Rogers!” Sam shouted, “You fought literal goddamn Nazi’s and you get brought down by a punk fifteen year old?!”

“The kid has this pull on me!” Steve protested.

“I do, to be fair,” Peter said with a shrug, “I cannot believe that you guys followed me and had to sit through that weird weird fucking movie”

“OK, now that we’re safe to talk about it” Sam went on, “The fuck was that ending?”

“I can’t believe you gave the game away Rogers, we were so close” Natasha said as she started the SUV up again

“You were never close, I knew the second you guys arrived” Peter said with a laugh, “And for the record I know Tony put you up to it, and that Ned, MJ and Betty all turned up as well. They don’t call the enhanced senses for nothing.”

“I hate you, Arachnid Boy” Sam grumbled.

“Whatever, losers” Peter said with a smile as he rested his head on Wanda’s shoulder and looked out of the window as Natasha drove them back into the heart of the city.

They cared.

And that was enough.

Chapter Text

16.

Say You’ll Be There

Liz Allan has changed her relationship status to: In a relationship with Peter Parker.

Peter sat anxiously looking at the Facebook post on his laptop, his finger tracing over the picture of himself and Liz from the previous night that had accompanied the announcement. Peter honestly hadn’t expected Liz to do such a thing so quickly, though in a way he couldn’t help but be pleased as at the very least it meant Liz wasn’t embarrassed by him if she was willing to share their relationship so publicly so quickly.

In the ten minutes since she’d made the post, there had been over 100 likes and 67 comments made. Peter was too nervous to read any of them, instead he just inspected the picture over and over again. He couldn’t get over how happy he looked in it. To anyone without any knowledge of him, he probably just came across as a very usual average teenage boy.

Peter knew he was anything but.

Away from all the anxiety and trauma that he was determined to shield his new girlfriend from, there was the little fact that he was the now increasingly famous (and infamous) Queens vigilante known as Spider-Man to contend with. Peter was at a complete crossroads over the matter. Part of him knew that it would be unfair for him to expect Liz to cope and understand the pressures and worries that being Spider-Man brought, but at the same time he knew that relationships could only survive if both people were totally honest with one another. Pepper and Tony fought a lot - but they were always honest with one another, there were no secrets between the two of them.

Peter was already keeping enough secrets from Liz, so what was one more? But then he would think that Liz was an intelligent enough person to eventually piece everything together on her own, so maybe it would be best to tell her outright and see how she reacted. Peter knew, however, that Liz knowing would be dangerous - he knew that it would only be a matter of time until he did something to mess everything up, and then Liz would be out there just...knowing.

Liz came to him without secrets, without an agenda and without anything that could blow apart their connection in a matter of secrets. She deserved the same. The tug of war waging in his mind between his two options had already pretty much ruined what should have been a happy day for Peter, he’d never had a girlfriend before and he was excited.

Sighing, Peter logged off Facebook as he received a Skype call request from Harley Keener.

Harley soon appeared on his laptop scream, wearing a blue hoodie and looking like he hadn’t slept in days. He had his arms folded and was giving Peter a look of faux disappointment.

“We need to talk” he said seriously

“I gathered” Peter replied

“Is this not exactly the kind of thing I said we need to talk about” Harley exclaimed, “You can’t just go out there and get yourself a girlfriend without warning me. I nearly fell out of my chair just now.” Peter frowned. Not at Harley’s faux outrage, but because he seemed to be unable to focus his eyes and was speaking very quietly.

“Sorry, you weren’t exactly at the forefront of my mind” Peter said, forcing a laugh, “I was busy...y’know, getting a girlfriend”

“I’m stoked for you” Harley said honestly, “Less so for her”

“Funny” Peter deadpanned. He couldn’t help but notice that Harley’s general demeanor was a bit more dower and slower than usual, and he was definitely not sleeping. Peter was a little relieved to see that no lasting damage seemed to have been done to his nose.

“How’re things though? Generally?” Harley asked.

“Could be better, could be worse,” Peter said with a smile, “Stressing myself out over whether to tell Liz about you-know-what”

“Oh, right, hadn’t thought about that” Harley said weakly. With every word the boy spoke, Peter became a little more concerned about him. “Not really sure what advice I can give you there Pete, maybe it’s better just to tell her. At least you’ll be able to say you’ve been honest with her”

“True” Peter said with a nod. An awkward silence followed, which concerned Peter as there hadn’t been a moment of awkward silence between the two in over a year. Even when Peter had injured Harley during his night terror, there hadn’t been an awkward silence. Harley had refused to let there be.

But now, it was like they switched roles.

“Are you OK?” Peter finally had to ask

“Fine” Harley replied, trying to sound as chirpy as he could, “School’s just super hard, they’re pushing us to start looking for colleges and stuff. My Mum’s hours at the hospital have gone up so she’s not around as much”

“Sorry, that sucks” Peter said, “When d’you think you’ll be able to get back to New York for a weekend? I still owe you a sight seeing trip”

“We’ll see” Harley said with a sigh, “Like I said, school is crazy”

Suddenly, there was a knock on Harley’s bedroom door. Peter couldn’t help but notice Harley shoot up and turn around in an instance like he’d just heard some kind of explosion. The door opened and a man that Peter had never seen before stepped into Harley’s room.

“Dinner’s ready” the man said, sounding somewhat impatient.

“Cool. I’m just talking to a friend” Harley said casually, “Just give me two minutes and I’ll be downstairs”

“OK” the man replied, “Which friend?”

“Peter. From New York. Remember, I told you about him?”

Peter didn’t know why he was surprised to hear that Harley spoke about him at home, but the way in which Harley spoke made it seem like there was some kind of detail Peter was missing out on.

“Ahh, OK, well hang up” the man replied, “Don’t want dinner to go cold do we?”

“No” was Harley’s barely above a whisper reply. Peter was sure he wouldn’t have even heard it if it wasn’t for his enhanced hearing senses. With a sigh, Harley turned back around to face the computer screen as the man left his bedroom.

“I gotta go” he said, voice filled with regret.

“Who was that?” Peter asked

“My Mom’s new boyfriend. Evan.”

“You never mentioned him”

“It’s a fairly new thing” Harley explained, “Didn’t seem worth it the last time I saw you, but they’ve been spending a lot more time together. He keeps an eye on me while Mom does her late shifts”

“Right” Peter said slowly, “What’s he like? Seems kinda stern if you ask me”

“Yeah, he can be” Harley admitted, “He’s OK though. It’s good we’re spending time together, Mom hopes we’ll end up bonding over something we have in common. We just need to find it first”

Peter let Harley go when he heard Evan shout for him to come down for dinner once again, sounding a little bit more impatient. Harley had sighed and hung his head back, looking stressed, as he went and that was enough to convince Peter that something wasn’t quite right in Harley’s life.

He didn’t want to think the worst of Evan straight away, Harley was perfectly capable of being difficult when he wanted to be and Peter didn’t doubt that his friend had probably not been particularly welcoming to Evan at first. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that Harley was the one in the wrong, and that Evan was trying his best with his girlfriends snarky guarded teenage son.

There was one problem with that.

Peter didn’t believe it for a second.

-

“Tony, please”

“No. We need to talk about this.”

“We really don’t”

“We really do”

“I know about the birds and the bees already!” Peter announced, “You realize I lived on the streets for a while, right? I’m not some innocent little puppy who doesn’t know anything about the world”

“You are when it suits you” Tony pointed out, “And if you’re serious about this whole having a girlfriend thing, kid, then I need to make sure we’re fully prepared for every eventuality”

“Fine, but did you have to get Happy to buy me the condoms?” Peter moaned, “D’you even know how awkward our car journeys to school are going to be now? And they weren’t exactly flowing with conversation before”

“Yes, of course, that’s why I did it” Tony said as he put an arm around Peter as they walked out of the lab, “I just want to make sure that you’re in the know and that you and Liz are careful. I think the last thing any of us need is you become a Spider-daddy before you’re ready”

“Well, if it’s any comfort to you, I think you’ve managed to put me off the idea of ever having sex with anyone. Ever.” Peter said firmly. Tony nodded.

“Then my work here is done,” he said simply, “Now, is there any other teenage melodrama that I need to be made aware of? Do I need to have a talk with Ned?”

“Oh, no, Ned’s mother has that one covered” Peter smirked, “He came home the other day and found five pamphlets about STDs and Planned Parenthood on his bed”

“Poor kid, though it’s more than either of my parents gave me” Tony said bitterly

“There is one thing I need to talk with you about though” Peter interjected, “It’s about Harley, I’m a bit worried about him”

“Is it his hair? Please, Peter, tell me he’s not still wandering around looking like some Hanson reject!” Tony moaned.

“It’s nothing to do with his hair” Peter said with an impatient sigh, “Basically, I’m a bit worried because I spoke to him yesterday and he seemed really tired and down. His Mom’s working longer shifts at the hospital and she keeps on leaving him with her new boyfriend, Evan”

“Ahh yes, the mysterious Evan” Tony replied with a sigh, “He’s been on the scene for a few months now”

“Wait, you know about him?” Peter asked, surprised.

“Yeah, Harley’s Mom let us know they weren’t getting on a while back” Tony said with a shrug, “I think it’s probably just Harley being difficult. You know what he can be like. I’ve spoken to Evan on the phone, not my kinda guy, bit of a country bumpkin but there’s no reason to worry about him”

“If you say so” Peter muttered, entirely unconvinced by Tony’s assurance. “It’s just that Harley seemed really not himself when we spoke yesterday, and he jumped when Evan came into his bedroom”

“The same thing you do whenever I walk in” Tony said with a laugh, “Look, kid, I know that you spend a good ¾ of your life worrying about other people but there’s nothing to worry about here. If I genuinely thought Harley was in any danger, d’you think I’d be here right now and not halfway to Tennessee?”

“No” Peter admitted, “I just have a bad feeling about the guy, Tony”

“You haven’t even met him” Tony shot back

“Neither have you!”

“What? And that means we immediately have to assume the worst of him does it?”

“No, but Harley was-”

“Harley was having an off day, Pete” Tony shouted in frustration, “That’s it. You’re putting two and two together and getting five. I know you have a hard time trusting people, Pete, and I get that but just because most of the adult men you encountered in your life treated you like crap doesn’t mean that Evan’s some kind of evil monster just because Harley seemed a little down to you”

The words hit Peter like a ton of bricks. Tears formed in his eyes, but he refused to let Tony see them and the second the billionaire finished speaking he seemed to know how badly he’d just messed up.

“Peter, I’m-I didn’t mean”

“Fuck. Off.” Peter said coldly, pushing Tony’s arm off his shoulders and retreating to a nearby elevator. Once the doors were closed and he was alone, Peter slumped down against the wall and burst into tears. He had never expected Tony to say something like that. To use his past against him to win an argument.

It hurt. It hurt like nothing else had in the last year. Peter punched a wall in frustration as the tears continued to pour down his face and he started to hyperventilate. Tucking his knees into his chest, Peter hung his head low and waited for the now inevitable panic attack to really kick in. He could only hope it was a short one, though he was definitely kicking annoyed that he’d isolated himself into such a small area.

As he worked through his breathing exercises in an attempt to push the panic attack off, Peter’s cell phone rang. It was Liz. Shakily, he answered.

“H-hello?” he whispered

“Hey boyfriend!” Liz’s chirpy voice from the other end of the line was making Peter feel better already, “Just wanted to call in and find out how my favourite guy is doing”

“I’m g-good” Peter stammered.

“Well, you’re clearly not” Liz didn’t sound angry or annoyed, just concerned, “So how about cutting the bullshit and telling me what’s going on”

“Just had a st-stupid fight with Tony” Peter breathed out, “And now I’m having a p-panic attack c-cos I st-stupidly l-locked myself in an elevator when I was f-feeling u-upset.”

“Yeah, not your best move, boy genius” Liz replied softly, imagining the smile on her face as she said it made Peter feel a lot calmer

“You sure you st-still want this?” Peter asked, attempting to make a joke, “D-day one and I’m having a panic attack in an elevator”

“Of course I still want this” Liz said sweetly, “You’re being honest with me about it, and I know I can help you. Nothing’s changed.”

How was she so good at this?

Peter already felt almost back to normal.

“You have such a pretty voice” he found himself saying down the phone. Cringing, Peter cursed himself as he was sure he’d intended to say that in his head. Liz laughed, regardless.

“Sadie says I should start an ASMR YouTube channel” she said with a laugh, “How are you feeling now?”

“Better, my chest doesn’t feel as tight”

“Good. Guess I called at the right time, huh?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you did. Thanks.”

“No problem” Liz said sweetly, “I was going to ask if you wanted to meet for dinner but I think it’s probably for the best you stay home and make up with Tony”

“Asshole” Peter muttered at the mention of his guardian's name.

“He’s not an asshole, Peter” Liz said, “Well - he might be, I guess, I haven’t met him yet but he’s done a lot for you and he cares about you so...go easy, I’m sure whatever he said to upset you he didn’t mean. Men are stupid sometimes.”

“Does that include me?” Peter asked with a sigh.

“No, only the smart boys isolate themselves to a confined space when they’re on the verge of having a panic attack” Liz said with a smirk

“And I have chronic claustrophobia” Peter confessed.

“Wow” Liz said, “You really made the right call, Parker.”

Peter laughed.

“You should come over” he said simply

“What?”

“You should come over” he repeated, “You’re in Manhattan aren’t you? Shopping”

“Well, yeah, but I-”

“Come over, please, for me”

“Fine” Liz said, “But you better meet me in the lobby I’m not navigating that thing all by myself. I feel like I’ll end up in space.”

-

“Smooth, Tony”

“Shut up, I know” Tony sighed as he sat down on the sofa in Pepper’s office. He was with her and Rhodes and had just told them all about his argument with Peter.

“Is the kid alright?” Rhodes asked, “Should someone go and check on him?”

“It’s better to give him space when he’s like this” Pepper said from behind her computer, “He’s not left the building so there’s no real need to worry. He’s probably just going to end up ranting to poor Steve for the rest of the afternoon”

“I’m such an asshole” Tony said, more to himself than the others

“You’re not an asshole, Tony” Rhodes replied, “Well, you are, but not when it comes to that kid. All you did was say the wrong thing”

“No, I said the worst thing” Tony corrected his best friend, “I used the kids history against him to win a fight. He looked so wounded.”

“It was a stupid thing to say” Pepper agreed, “But once he calms down and thinks about it, Peter will understand that you didn’t mean any harm.”

“He’s a teenager, Tony” Rhodes went on, “Teenagers and their parents fight all the time. You should hear some of the things my nephews say to their dad, and vice versa.”

“Peter’s no ordinary teenager though” Tony muttered, entering a full state of self-pity, “He’s got damage, emotional baggage. And I used it against him to score points.”

“He is an ordinary teenager, Tony” Pepper replied sternly, “Just because he lived on the streets for a while and has seen more than he should doesn’t mean he’s not normal. Remember what his social worker said to us when he first came here? Don’t make a big deal out of everything. Let yourselves have fights and arguments without it becoming a huge problem. Like James said, this is normal. Parents and teenagers fight.”

“I know, you’re right” Tony sighed, “But this wasn’t a fight about him breaking his curfew or not doing his homework. We had a fight because he’s convinced himself that Harley’s being abused by his Mom’s new boyfriend. Whom he’s never even met.”

“Yeah, I get that” Pepper replied, “And it’s maybe something we need to work on with him, it’s clear he still has major trust issues. I think you and him should go to Tennessee and scope this guy out for himself”

“I already did a criminal record check on the guy” Tony muttered, “He’s clean as a whistle. No history of violence, not so much as an unpaid parking fine.”

“But Peter doesn’t know that” Rhodey said, “As far as he’s concerned, Harley’s being hurt in the same way he was in all those foster homes by the same kind of malevolent assholes who took advantage of him. He needs to see that’s not what’s going on”

Tony sat up and smiled at his wife and best friend.

“Yeah, you’re right” he admitted, “I’ll call Janet tomorrow and see if Peter and me can stay for a few days.”

“Good call” said Pepper with a smile, “The trip might give you and Peter a chance to really talk as well, build some bridges”.

“I should go talk to him” Tony said with a beleaguered sigh, “At the very least, I need to let him know that I’m sorry. Even if he still thinks I’m the biggest asshole on the planet.”

“You’re not” Rhodes assured him, “Sam is. You’re maybe a close second place.”

Tony grinned before looking up at the ceiling.

“FRIDAY, where’s Peter now?”

“Peter Parker is currently in his bedroom” The A.I. replied. The feeling of relief from all three adults in the room was palpable. “There is also an unidentified female in his bedroom with him”

Tony and Pepper made panicked eye-contact. Rhodes just looked puzzled.

“Come again, FRIDAY?” Pepper asked

“Peter Parker is currently in his bedroom with an unidentified female” FRIDAY repeated

“Shit” Tony said simply, “That little hooligan wouldn’t make me a grandfather before my time purely out of spite would he?”

Rhodes grinned.

“I wish he were the petty” he said, “Is it not just that MJ girl?”

“Nah, FRIDAY knows her” Pepper said getting up from behind her desk, “It’s Liz there. It has to be. And, no Tony, they’re not having sex”

“You’ll be sorry if you’re wrong, grandma”

Pepper and Tony both left her office and started a very fast paced walk to Peter’s bedroom. It was clear that they were worried about different things. Tony was paranoid that Peter was having sex, whilst Pepper seemed more focused on the fact that she was the only one who hadn’t actually met Liz yet and this seemed like a good opportunity.

“Should we warn them we’re coming” Pepper said quietly as they reached the hallway before Peter’s bedroom. “Give them a chance to - y’know-”

“You just said you were sure they weren’t having sex” Tony shout-whispered at her

“I know, I know” Pepper frantically whispered back, “But I feel queasy enough today without having to walk in on awkward teenage fumbling.”

“Fine, I’ll go first then” Tony said confidently, smoothing his suit out as he stepped forward and approached Peter’s bedroom door. He opened it to find a, thankfully, fully clothed Peter and Liz cuddled up on Peter’s bed watching something on his computer. Peter’s eyes were red and blotchy, he’d clearly been crying.

“Ever heard of knocking?” he mumbled as Pepper caught up and also entered the room. She smiled at Liz, who smiled back.

“Just wanted to make sure everything’s alright” Tony said. Peter ignored him and re-focused his eye-line on his computer.

“Well, if Peter’s not going to do it” Liz said impatiently as she got off the bed. Peter huffed and folded his arms, determined not to pay Tony any attention, “Hi Mr and Mrs Stark. I’m Liz.”

“I know you!” Tony exclaimed, “You were at the panic attack!”

Peter made a disgusted noise and rolled his eyes. Liz smiled.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you properly, Mr. Stark” she said before turning her attention to Pepper, “I’m Liz, but I guess you probably already knew that.”

“We did, but it’s nice to finally put a name to the face” Pepper said with a smile as she extended her hand out to meet Liz’s. “And, please, call us Tony and Pepper.”

-

Pepper asked Liz to come to the kitchen so that Tony and Peter could have some time alone to patch things up. Pepper liked the girl. It was clear from within seconds of talking to her that Liz Allan was smart, kind, funny, gracious, well-mannered and from the way she spoke about Peter completely besotted with the boy.

“So, how’s school going?” Pepper asked Liz as she handed her a cup of coffee, “Peter’s told us quite a bit about you. Honor roll, Academic Decathlon, track team. That’s quite the resume. The colleges will be fighting over you”

"Oh, I don’t know about that” Liz said with a nervous laugh. Pepper made a mental note to add humble to her list of good qualities. “My Mom did think about MIT but I don’t really know if-”

“We have some pull at MIT” Pepper said with a wink, “I’m sure it won’t be a problem”

“Thanks” Liz said, as politely as she could, “But I think I’d rather do it all myself. Then I’d know I really earned it, I hope you’re not offended.”

“Offended?” Pepper replied incredulously, “D’you know how many snotty nosed teens would just expect us to pull some strings to get them into the college they wanted, and not even wait for us to offer? The fact you want to do it without any of that says a lot about you.”

“Peter’s right” Liz said with a smile

“About what?” Pepper asked

“You are really cool” the teenager replied, “He always talks about you. Mr. Stark too, but he always says how awesome you are. And how easy you are to talk to”

Pepper smiled, and fought back the urge to tear up. Oh Peter.

“That’s very nice to hear” she replied with, “I’m guessing - did Peter tell you why he and Tony had a fight this afternoon?”

“Sort of” Liz said with a shrug, “He didn’t want to go into it though so we just ended up watching a movie. I doubt he’d have even told me if I didn’t happen to call him mid panic attack”

Pepper’s heart hurt a little as she learned Peter had suffered through a panic attack mainly on his own that afternoon.

“He’s very stubborn though” Liz continued, “Once he gets an idea in his mind, it takes a lot to get it out”

“I know, and Tony’s the same. They’re incredibly similar in a lot of ways” Pepper confessed, “At one point I was actually pushing him to do a DNA test to see if Peter wasn’t the product of some clumsy fling he’d had sixteen years ago. We never actually got around to it.”

The girls continued their conversation for a few more minutes, by the end of which Pepper was sure that if Peter would allow she’d adopt Liz as well. But the girl seemed to have a very happy, stable home life and really cared about her family. They were eventually interrupted by the arrival of a now reconciled Peter and Tony.

“All good?” Pepper asked as she released Peter from a hug.

“I guess” he murmured with a shrug, clearly a little embarrassed. Liz smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down next to her. He complied.

“We’re going to go and see Harley next week” Tony said, “I will be picking Peter up from school on Friday night and we’ll be heading straight for the airport. Two nights.”

“Awww, I wish I was going” Liz said as she draped her arms around Peter’s shoulders.

“Why?” the boy teased, “Will you miss me too much?”

Pepper grinned. It was nice seeing Peter so relaxed and comfortable in Liz’s presence, it was obvious she was very good for him and he clearly adored her in much the same way that she clearly adored him.

It was pure puppy love.

“Do you want to stay for dinner Liz?” Pepper offered.

“Oh thanks, but I can’t tonight” Liz replied apologetically, “We’re going out to eat with my Mom’s sister and her bratty kids. I wish I could get out of it, but I can’t.”

“I can stage a city wide emergency if you want” Tony offered half-jokingly

“No, it’s fine, honestly” Liz said sweetly, kissing Peter on the cheek before grabbing her bag and heading towards the elevator. Pepper gestured at Tony to hold back for a second as Peter ran to catch up with her and they shared a brief kiss before entering the elevator together.

“Well, they seem well matched” Tony observed.

“Very well matched” Pepper agreed, “How did making up with Peter go?”

“Quite well...I think”

-

“It’s good you made up with Tony” Liz said as she and Peter reached the lobby. Her mom was waiting in the car outside.

“Yeah, I don’t like falling out with him” Peter confessed, “I still don’t trust this Evan guy though, but Tony says we can work on that”

“I’m sure it’ll all be fine” Liz said, they shared another brief kiss before Liz waved goodbye and headed towards her Mom’s car. Peter stayed behind and watched until he saw her get safely in and then drive away.

Smiling to himself, Peter re-entered the elevator and headed back to the floor he’d left Tony and Pepper on. They were cuddled up on the couch now, Tony feeling Pepper’s growing baby bump with the hand that wasn’t using the remote to try and find something decent to watch on television.

“Hey kiddo, gonna come watch a movie with us?” Pepper asked.

Peter nodded and sat himself down next to her. He rested his head on her lap and allowed her to play with his hair.

“I’m pleased my two boys made up” she went on, “I’m mostly just surprised that you both backed down and managed to compromise”

“I still don’t trust Evan” Peter murmured with a frown, “But Tony reminded me that you can’t always judge someone based on your first impression”

“And why not” Tony prompted.

“Because if you guys judged me based on your first impressions, you’d still think I was some hooligan who lived in your vent” Peter replied sardonically. Pepper laughed.

“And I did my fair share of apologizing too, don’t worry” Tony assured her, “I am under a solemn promise never to use the kids past against him ever again”

“I’m sorry, too” Peter breathed, “I shouldn’t have told you to fuck off. That wasn’t very cool of me, you guys do a lot for me and I should be more grateful that you care”

“Care doesn’t require gratitude, Peter” Pepper said affectionately, “We care because we care, not because we want thanks. How much longer do I have to keep on saying this?”

“Until I believe it?”

“D’you have an ETA on that?” Tony asked.

Peter grinned.

“Sorry” he said, “It’s just hard. And I get scared. And I’m scared for Harley.”

“You don’t have to be” Tony said softly, “Even if there is something going on - which I’m sure there isn’t - it isn’t on you to worry about it. It’s on me. Us.”

Peter laughed bitterly.

“This isn’t a dig at you guys, because you didn’t know me yet,” he explained, “But when I was going through it, no one was really...y’know there. Partly my fault cos I didn’t say but I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I don’t want the same for him.”

Pepper patted his head.

“Oh, kid” she said softly, “You really are just too good for this world, you know that?”

“Yeah yeah”

Pepper and Tony’s eyes met. Tony smiled. The first time Peter hadn’t deflected such a statement.

Chapter Text

17 .

Adolescent Melodramas (In Tony Stark’s Limousine)

The next few days passed with agonizing slowness. All Peter could seem to focus on was his concerns over Harley and Evan, they invaded his every thought, and it was starting to affect his friends as well as his newly found relationship with Liz. She was understanding and patient and kind, like she always was, but by Wednesday Peter could tell that she was getting pretty sick of having to nudge him back to reality every few minutes. It wasn’t helping that Harley had not been in contact since their unusual Skype session on Saturday and was not returning any of Peter’s calls or messages. Especially odd considering Harley knew that Peter was coming to visit him at the weekend and they were usually in constant contact planning for days before they saw one another.

“Parker, we need to talk” MJ said sternly as the final bell of the day rang on Thursday afternoon, the day before he was due to fly to Tennessee with Tony. She grabbed Peter’s arm and lead him to a quiet spot under some stairs. “Liz is mad with you”

“Oh really, and how do you know that?” Peter replied defensively

“Girls talk” MJ said simply

“But you don’t” Peter shot back as he folded his arms, “So go on - tell me how you know Liz is mad with me”

“I was reading on the bleachers instead of joining in with PE” MJ explained, “And she was ranting to Sadie Clarke about you on the next seat down. Saying that you’re being distant and weird and that you’re incredibly stubborn and easily distracted.”

“Oh,” said Peter, feeling a little deflated, “Shit”

“Not to rub salt in your wounds dude, but it’s been less than a week” MJ said, shooting him a sympathetic smile to go along with her brutally honest words, “I didn’t stand by and watch you pine for Liz for years to have you fuck everything up within six days of becoming her boyfriend.”

“I’ve just had some stuff on my mind” Peter replied quietly.

“Yeah, I know you told, Harley stuff. Whatever that means” MJ said with a sigh, “I get that you’re worried about him dude but you gotta get your head back in the game. Liz deserves better than this.”

Peter frowned as MJ patted him on the shoulder and headed out of the school doors. Peter sighed and felt like punching a wall, he needed to make things right with Liz and soon. He’d always figured it would probably only be a matter of time until he messed up so badly that she broke up with him but even he had figured he’d last longer than a week.

“I’m an idiot” he said to himself.

“Well, I could have told you that” came a snarly voice from behind him. Peter turned around to see Eugene Thompson standing smugly over him with his arms folded.

“I’m really not in the mood, Eugene” Peter said impatiently as he went to move away, Flash however grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back in.

“And I really wasn’t in the mood to get punched in the face last Friday” the bully said angrily, “It’s just sometimes, life gets in the way of what we really want doesn’t it?”

“Why are you bothering me with this shit now?” Peter snapped, “It was five freakin’ days ago and you haven’t said a word to me all week, and it wasn’t even me who punched you in the friggin face it was Darren”

Flash sneered and released Peter, making sure the boy hit a nearby set of lockers with an almighty thud as he did so. Peter felt embarrassed enough but the feeling only intensified when Liz and Sadie turned the corner just as he made contact.

He groaned in pain. That had really hurt his ribs. Flash stood over him, without remorse, totally unbothered by the fact Liz and Sadie were now on the scene.

“Eugene, stop being a sniveling little toad for once in your life and fuck off home” Sadie said aggressively, standing infront of Peter as Liz crouched down to see if he was alright, “If you set off now you might still make it back in time for Dr. Phil”

Flash rolled his eyes.

“Is that the best you can do?” he snarled, getting up close to Sadie. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that was all a brain dead slut like you could come up with”

Peter, filled with rage at Flash’s words, attempted to stand up and confront him but quickly fell back down again - an intense pain taking over him as he tried.

“Peter, now is not the time” Liz said impatiently, tugging his side. Peter felt humiliated and frustrated, what kind of a superhero was he?

Sadie looked momentarily frightened at how close Flash was to her, but quickly re-discovered her resolve and swiftly kicked the bully in his shins. Flash cried out in pain. Sadie grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and slammed him against the lockers.

“Don’t you ever call me that again” she snarled, in a voice that was so dark and threatening that had Peter been blind he’d have assumed Natasha was speaking, “Do you understand me? Not ever ”

Flash looked like his entire world had come crashing down around him as Sadie let him go, he stumbled towards the door, but not before giving Peter a look that told the teenager in no uncertain terms that this was far from over.

“Wow, you er...wow” Liz said as she helped Peter to his feet. Sadie took a deep breath, turned around and flashed them both a smile.

“Yeah, I really showed him didn’t I?” she sounded very proud of herself. Peter laughed. “That was fun”

"Are you OK?” Liz asked Peter kindly, “And for the record we both know you could have totally crushed Flash if you hadn’t been winded”

“Oh totally” Sadie chimed in.

Peter scowled. It was getting beyond frustrating having to play down his physical strength in front of everyone in school, especially when Flash was going out of his way to hit out at him and now Sadie was getting involved. Part of Peter honestly wished he could just allow himself to give Flash a hint of how strong he actually was at least once, but he knew it wasn’t worth it. Flash finding out he was Spider-Man was a nightmarish scenario.

“Yeah, I’m cool guys” Peter said weakly. His ribs still hurt like hell but he could sense they were already starting to heal, in all honestly they’d probably been broken.

“Well, let me call Tony for you anyway” Liz insisted, “I don’t want you getting the subway home when you’re in pain like this. It’s a long way to go with cracked ribs.”

“I’ll be fine” Peter insisted.

“You’ll do as your told” Liz said sternly, “I don’t really do the brooding bad boy bit Peter, I much prefer my boyfriends conscious and not hiding the fact they’re in agonizing pain”

Then we’re in for a very bumpy relationship , Peter thought to himself. Eventually, he relented and allowed Liz to call Tony on his behalf.

He was surprised with how easily and familiar Liz already was with Tony when she was on the phone to the world famous billionaire. It had taken MJ and Ned months to even work up the courage to say ‘Hi’ back to him when he greeted them in the parking lot.

“I know you probably don’t want everyone to find out you had to be saved by a girl” Sadie said a few minutes later as she and Peter sat on the steps outside of Midtown waiting for Tony. Liz had gone to the bathroom, “But I am going to be letting everyone know that I beat up Flash so...I’m sorry if that falls back on you in any bad way”

“I’ve had worse” Peter said with a shrug, “At the very least, I think Flash comes out of the story more pathetic than I do. And I don’t have any hang ups over being saved by a girl. In my experience, women are the stronger sex anyway…”

Sadie laughed.

“Oh, Peter” she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, “You single-handedly make life very hard for every other teenage boy in existence. I wish we could clone you.”

Peter didn’t really understand why, but accepted the compliment regardless.

-

“....So, you’re not mad at me”

“For the last time. No, I’m not mad at you.”

“Even though you told Sadie you were mad at me?”

“I was mad at you at the time . I’m over it now.”

“Huh. Fascinating.”

“Fascinating?! I’m not a science project, Peter”

“He’d probably be less confused about you if you were”

“ Tony”

"Well, if you must have your adolescent melodramas in my limousine…. ”

Twenty four hours later and they were on their way to the airport, destined for Tennessee. Liz had blagged herself an invite to come and wave Peter and Tony off as they set off on their flight; Peter felt like he should have been a bit more concerned that Liz, Natasha and Pepper had then organized a shopping trip and dinner together after but he was mainly happy that they had all hit it off so well.

“I’m not confused” Peter huffed, “I get why Liz is mad at me-”

-”Was mad at you”

“I get why Liz was mad at me” the teenager clarified, “I just wanted to make sure that she wasn’t still mad at me just before I board a flying tin death trap”

“See, Tony, he’s already more perceptive than you” Pepper said playfully, “Peter can at least fathom that he might have done something wrong”

“If this is about the study again”

“It’s always about the study”

“What happened with the study?” Liz asked curiously. Happy, who was driving, groaned and rolled his eyes before subtly putting up the divider. Peter’s enhanced hearing allowed him to catch Natasha, who was in the front next to him, sighing “Thank you” in a whisper.

“You don’t wanna open that door” Peter whispered to Liz, “We’ll be here for hours. No one will win. It’s just not worth it.”

“Peter’s right” Pepper said with a smile, patting Tony’s leg, “It’s better we all move on and forget the fact that Tony thinks Lime Green and Mushroom White compliment each other”

Liz pulled a face as she imagined the sight, causing Peter to laugh.

“Oh, look, there goes my partner in crime getting ready to throw me under the bus again ” Tony said as he pointed a finger at Peter accusingly, “‘Yes Tony, it looks fine Tony’ you were as culpable for the whole mess as I was, kid”

“The paint fumes went to my head” Peter said defensively.

“It’s nice to know you’re all normal and have arguments about normal things” Liz said sweetly, Pepper smiled at her.

“Why? What did you think we’d argue about?” Tony asked, eyebrows raised, “How much caviar is too much caviar?”

“I dunno” Liz said with a shrug, “I never pictured you guys fighting...more sitting around an electric fire, sipping champagne, talking about the state of the world.”

"That’s on Tuesdays” Tony said bluntly. Liz laughed.

As they finally pulled up to JFK, Peter felt a slight sense of relief that the limo journey was over. It had been nice to see Liz bond with Pepper and be able to give Tony as much snark as the man himself gave out, but it was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Peter was sure that with ten more minutes they’d have all eventually moved on to their favourite topic of conversation:

Ways in which we can embarrass Peter.

Happy helped get the luggage out of the trunk whilst Pepper fussed over whether Peter had everything he needed for the flight.

“It’s a two hour flight, Pep” Peter said impatiently as she handed him his backpack, “I’m just gonna watch some episodes of Brooklyn 99 and try to draw something on Tony’s face if he falls asleep”

“I’m not going to fall asleep” Tony replied incredulously, “I never sleep anyway, why would I fall asleep mid-afternoon on a Friday just because I’m on a plane?”

“Don’t forget the fact that you’re pumped full of coffee” Liz reminded him.

Tony smirked.

“Kid, I like your girlfriend” he said, giving Peter a pat on the shoulder as he walked by him to enter the departures terminals. Liz gave Peter an enthusiastic thumbs up as she linked her arm through his as they followed the adults into the lounge.

Peter had been feeling quite bright and cheerful all day, but as he walked into the airport, he remembered the reasons why he was flying to Tennessee in the first place. Harley . Harley, who still hadn’t been in contact, was in danger and Peter was literally flying out to go and rescue his friend. At least, that’s what he’d decided he was going to do in his mind.

Ever since their fight the previous weekend, Peter and Tony had not discussed Evan and Peter’s suspicions about the man. The two seemed to have silently agreed that it was a no go topic between them until they were able to find out more information; though the more Peter thought about it, the more he was sure he was right.

“You’ve gone all quiet again” Liz whispered, placing her chin on his right shoulder and pretending to look glum, “Nervous flyer?”

“A little” Peter confessed, shooting her a weak smile, “I was thinking about Harley though, I’m still worried about him”

“Yeah, well, you won’t need to be for long will you?” Liz replied, she smiled at him but Peter could tell she was a tad annoyed, “In two hours - you’ll be with him and able to see for yourself that he’s absolutely fine. Cos he will be, Peter. You just gotta have faith when it comes to things like this”

If he didn’t feel like it would end his relationship there and then, Peter would have laughed at her suggestion. What had faith and believing everything would turn out OK in the end ever actually done for him? Every time Peter had dared to fool himself into thinking that everything would work out, something ten times worse rolled along and ruined it.

“I guess” he sighed

“You worry too much” Liz said simply, “Don’t get me wrong - I love how compassionate you are - but you can’t just live your life constantly worried about someone. It’ll eat you alive.”

“This is a bit deep” Peter murmured, “I had visions of you making a goodbye banner and waving at me from the lounge when you said you were coming, I didn’t expect an attempt to dig through my varied mental problems”

“I just want you to chill” she replied sweetly, “I want you to chill and enjoy your weekend away with your friend. Like I said yesterday, broody is not my type and you are too full of light to waste your best years brooding about stuff. Loosen up a bit Pete, you’ll be a long time dead”

Peter sighed. She was right, of course, as she always was and he knew that he was highly strung and worried too much. It wasn’t like he wanted to always be on edge about something, it was just who he was.

-

As boarding was called, Peter felt a bit flushed when Liz kissed him in front of Tony, Pepper, Happy and Natasha. He kissed her back, of course, but knew that he’d just signed some kind of warrant allowing jokes to be made at his expense about it for weeks. He was just grateful that Sam and Clint hadn’t been there to see it with their own eyes.

“C’mon Romeo, we don’t have all day” Tony called as Peter and Liz hugged one more time before he had to go. Peter walked backwards and smiled at her as he left to go through one last security check.

Once she was out of sight, Peter felt himself relax a little more. As much as he liked Liz and as much as she knew and cared about his problems, Peter always found that he had to put on a little bit of an act whenever she was around. It wasn’t a massive one; he was always happy and relaxed around her, but she did like to give a lot of impromptu advice that sometimes made him feel a little overwhelmed.

“We’ll have to make our own way there kid” Tony said as they boarded, “Harley’s Mom’s still working and Evan’s cars in the shop so they’ve got no way of getting us. Harley said he will meet us at the gates though. I’ve hired a car”

Peter smiled, he was relieved that he’d be able to see Harley on his own for a little while before they had to confront Evan.

“Harley spoke to you?” Peter asked, a little stung that such a thing would mean that Harley could have been in contact with him but had just chosen not to.

“No, I spoke to Janet” Tony clarified, “Harley’s had his cell confiscated because Evan found him on it at like 3am on a school night”

“Oh,” said Peter icily, “I see.”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“Let’s not start all that again, not here anyway” he sighed, “Taking your kids phone away when he’s been on it until all hours of the morning isn’t exactly unreasonable. I’d do it to you.”

“You haven’t though” Peter reminded him, “Because you respect my right to privacy and contact with the outside world.”

“I care about you being able to call me if you need me” Tony countered as they took their seats, first class naturally, “It has nothing to do with your contact to the outside world. If I had my way, kid, I’d have you wrapped up in bubble wrap all day and night. Same for Harley.”

Touched by Tony’s words, Peter decided not to push the Evan issue anymore whilst they were on the flight. Tony was right. They didn’t need to start fighting or getting tense with one another over the man before they even set off from New York.

As he scrolled through Harley’s Instagram, Peter was surprised to see that his friend had actually shared quite a few pictures of him with Evan. Fishing. Hiking. The beach. Going to NASCAR together, Evan had even taken Harley to go and see Mount Rushmore which Peter knew Harley had always wanted to do.

An hour into the flight, Peter turned to Tony.

“What’s up kiddo?” the billionaire asked.

“I was just looking through Harley’s pictures online” Peter said slowly, “And there’s lots of him and Evan doing really nice stuff together. Stuff that Harley loves.”

Tony took off his son glasses and gave Peter an inquisitive look that honestly made Peter feel a little vulnerable and exposed.

“So, what does that tell you?” Tony asked.

Peter shrugged.

It definitely hadn’t been what he had been expecting to see. Peter was annoyed with himself mainly, annoyed that he’d clearly not being paying much actual attention to anything in Harley’s life over the last few months. Some of his pictures with Evan had been dated nearly six or seven months before. Evan had taken him to so many different, cool places and they both looked so happy on the pictures.

“Does it tell you that maybe you were wrong and being a little unfair?” Tony asked, “Because that’s alright, you know, I’m often unfair and more frequently very wrong.”

“I still don’t trust Evan” Peter said with a scowl, “But...I dunno, maybe I did overreact? It seems like him and Harley have been doing lots of great stuff together.”

“Stuff my dad never did with me” Tony muttered, “D’you know how much I wish there was a photo of me standing next to Mount Rushmore with my dad? It’s always nice to see kids who deserve that kind of love and attention get it”

“Even me?” Peter couldn’t help but ask. He smiled though, he knew the answer.

“You” Tony began, “Deserve way more than I can give you. And I could probably buy you the entire nation of Greece if I really put my mind to it”

Peter smiled. The rest of the flight was peaceful and by the time they landed, Peter was stuck between sticking with his gut and assuming the worst of Evan, or deciding that he’d been wrong all along and had jumped to the totally wrong conclusion.

But by the time Peter and Tony appeared through the Arrivals lounge and Peter was finally able to lay his eyes on Harley Keener, Peter was able to conclude that he had been right all along.

The black eye spoke for itself.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18.

Tony Stark’s Boys.

Tony cringed as he saw Harley Keener’s bruised but still smiling face come into view as he and Peter turned into the arrivals lounge. The kid had a large black eye on his left side, and a red mark on his cheek, but he seemed like he was in good spirits despite that.

“Hey Mr. Stark! Peter! I’m over here” Harley shouted, attempting to jump to make himself seen over a crowd of people who were gathered, gasping and pointing at the billionaire celebrity who had just appeared in their airport. Tony instinctively tucked Peter (who had already put his hood up) behind him and ushered them quickly through the crowd towards Harley.

“Tony, he’s got a-”

“I know. I’ve seen.”

“D’you think that-”

“Let’s just get out of here before we start all that” Tony said sharply, grabbing Peter by the arm as he gave a few courtesy smiles to a few people who were being a bit more respectful than the majority of the crowd. Peter didn’t argue and allowed Tony to guide him, and then Harley, out of the airport and into their hire car without much fuss.

“Been in the wars kid?” Tony asked Harley good-naturedly as the two of them placed the last remaining bags in the trunk of the car, “That’s one hell of a shiner you got there”

“Yeah, football injury” Harley muttered with a weak laugh, “Evan thinks I should get more involved in Sports and well, let’s just say my first practice didn’t quite go as planned”

Peter gave Harley a disbelieving look but did not say anything after Tony gave him a stern look. The teenager huffed and climbed into the back seat of the rental car. Tony patted Harley on the back.

“My dad was always trying to get me to do that shit” Tony recalled with a laugh, “I feel your pain - literally”

“Thanks” Harley said quietly, climbing into the passenger seat next to Tony. The billionaire sighed to himself as he started the car and began the hour long drive back to Harley’s hometown. It was eerily quiet. Harley and Peter were often full of conversation whenever they were reunited, but both seemed to have settled on contented silence on this occasion.

Tony knew of his boys well enough to know what they were both thinking. Peter was clearly twisting himself into some form of guilt-ridden mess, likely telling himself he was an awful person for not immediately taking Harley by the and helping him to escape the abusive household that Peter had decided he was living in. Now, he was feeling awkward and his initial moment of anger having passed, he just didn’t know what to say to Harley or what to do.

Harley, on the other hand, was clearly deep in thought about something. Tony had known the boy long enough to know that he very rarely got nervous, he was so full of confidence and life, but the Harley sat next to him in that moment was clearly a ball of anxiety. Tony eyed the boy cautiously as they drove, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was something to Peter’s suspicions.

The silence was eventually broken by Peter.

“MJ says hey” he told Harley, “She says that you’re tolerable, which is her way of saying that you’re friends now”

“That’s cool” Harley replied with a grin, “I’m sorry I haven’t been more talkative, I’m pretty tired from school”

“Same” Peter agreed, “Finals are killing me”

“At least you get to have your weird nerdy genius brain” Harley replied teasingly, “I have to make do with just slightly above average intelligence”

“Hey, you’re plenty clever!” Peter said encouragingly, “That potato gun thing you showed me was legit.”

Tony smiled as the boys descended into their usual nonsensical chatter and banter, zoning out of the actual details of it. There was something about Liz. Something about Ned. Something about some kid in Harley’s class who had managed to set his own hair on fire.

By the time they pulled up to the BnB that Harley’s mom had suggested that Tony and Peter stayed during their visit, it seemed like everything was back to normal for the boys. Tony had been quietly relieved when the BnB was suggested to him, from experience he knew that the Keeners house was pretty small and to have injected Peter and Tony in their would have made it very cramped. Peter, sadly, had no qualms about sleeping in uncomfortable positions but Tony absolutely drew the line at sleeping on a mattress on the floor when something comfier was easily available.

“Did we book a room in a 90-year old woman’s house?” Peter asked with a vague sense of amusement as the three placed the bags down in a room that Tony felt Steve would have appreciated more than him.

“Funny you should ask that” Harley replied with a grin, “The woman who owns this place is actually 82”

“You can tell” said Peter as he inspected the filly pink curtains. He quickly stopped when the older woman who had checked them came shuffling into the room.

“Mr…..Stark?” she addressed Tony

“Yes, that’s me” Tony answered.

“You need to register your vehicle registration at the front desk, sir” the kindly old woman said, before turning to Harley. “Oh, hello Harley dear, what’re you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you this weekend was I?”

“Hi Mrs. Albridge” Harley replied quietly, “Err...Mr. Stark and Peter here are visiting us from New York but y’know how small my house is...we wouldn’t have room for them”

“Ahh, I see” Mrs Albridge said with a smile, “Harley loves coming to see you all in New York you know, he never stops talking about it when he comes home”

“Awww, that’s sweet” Tony said teasingly. Peter smirked as Harley shifted uncomfortably and looked embarrassed but Tony could tell he liked and respected Mrs Albridge too much to ask her to stop.

“He’s such a good boy you know” the elderly woman went on, “Always comes around to help me when he has the time. We have some nice talks, don’t we Harley?”

“We sure do, mam” Harley said slowly. Tony noticed Peter hiding a giggle at Harley’s use of the word mam. It was certainly a little strange seeing the usually snarky and confident teenager being so deferential and polite.

“You must be Peter” Mrs Albridge said, turning her attention to the other teenager who quickly defaulted to his lost puppy dog look. Tony rolled his eyes, Peter’s ability to pick and choose when he brought his A game out adorableness wise was enviable.

“Yeah” the boy said politely, “I’m Peter Parker.”

Mrs Albridge grinned and cupped his face.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Peter Parker” she said, “Nice to finally put a face to the name. He talks a lot about you.”

Both boys blushed, and Tony nearly doubled over. Mrs Albridge had achieved in two minutes what he’d been trying for the best part of a year. Embarrassing Peter and Harley to an equal degree at exactly the same time.

-

Tony ushered the boys out of the bed and breakfast pretty quickly when he received an urgent business call from Pepper, they arranged to meet at Harley’s home for dinner as planned around two hours later. In the meantime, Harley had jumped at Peter’s suggestion that he show him around town.

“You’re doing well, kid” Tony said softly as they waited for Harley to get back from the bathroom in the BnB, “Thanks for not just jumping in straight away. It’s better we wait until we know more.”

Peter nodded. He still had more than a bad feeling when it came to Evan, but he knew that if he just demanded answers from Harley then his friend would just get defensive and they’d end up having a fight or something.

“I just want Harley to be alright” Peter murmured quietly, shrugging. Tony gave him a soft look and pulled him into a one-sided hug.

“Never change, kid” Tony said softly. Peter smiled as Harley returned and they bid Tony goodbye before heading out into town. Peter felt silly for feeling as anxious as he did as they walked around, weird as it was he was used to the hustle and bustle of New York City. It was all he’d ever known. Being deep in the countryside where everything was so quiet and peaceful was a nice change but it definitely felt strange and unfamiliar.

Peter didn’t really know what to do with himself if he crossed the road without an angry Taxi driver yelling at him.

“There’s not really much to do” Harley said with a laugh, “Let’s just say there’s a reason that I spend a lot of my free time helping an 82 year old woman fold bed sheets”

“She’s a nice lady” Peter agreed, “I’d probably do the same if I lived here. In a way, you’re kinda like the Spider-Man of this place”

“Yeah, no” Harley said quietly.

The boys carried on their ‘tour’ of the town. Peter realized within about five minutes that there really wasn’t much of anything to do, so suggested they get an ice cream from Harley’s favourite store and head to the park. Unlike in New York, there wasn’t a lot of people on every corner, but everyone they did meet seemed to know Harley and said hello to him whilst also casting either a welcome or suspicious look at Peter.

“You’re an outsider” Harley said with amusement as they perched on a set of swings, “They don’t trust outsiders”

“That one lady liked me” Peter said defensively, “She gave me extra sprinkles on my ice-cream. How d’you explain that?”

“She likes me ” Harley replied smugly, “Well, she likes my Mom. She kind of saved her son from an epileptic fit once. I’ve had free ice-creams ever since”

Peter frowned.

“So...why did I pay for these?” he asked.

Harley snorted.

“Well, if you will get your allowance from a billionaire”

“I hate you”

“Nah, you love me” Harley said with a grin, “I’m sorry I went a bit M.I.A this week, Evan took my phone from me”

Peter gulped. He’d been hoping Evan’s name wouldn’t come up at all whilst they were alone. The black eye, how much quieter Harley seemed, that feeling deep in his gut that he felt whenever Evan’s name popped into his head and he hadn’t even met the man in the flesh yet. It all added up to one thing in Peter’s mind and it was something he knew he couldn’t ignore if it got brought up directly.

Harley, somehow, sensed Peter’s obvious discomfort.

“He’s not a bad guy, Pete” Harley said with a sigh, “He just - well, it’s sad really - he had a wife and a son but they both died in a car crash. He lived in Texas at the time, they died right in front of him. I think he blames himself.”

“That’s horrible” Peter replied quietly

“Yeah, and then he was on his own for years” Harley went on, “And then he moved here and met my Mom. They liked one another, started dating and, well, here we are. I think he sees me as some kind of replacement for his son or something.”

“You’re not though” Peter muttered.

“I know” Harley sighed, “And I don’t wanna be. But ...well, he’s a nice enough guy, even if he is a little strict sometimes”

“If you say so” Peter replied, shivering a little as he looked at the ground. He felt bad for Evan, he knew more than anyone how losing your entire family felt like. But it didn’t mean that all his bad feelings about the man suddenly went away

“I do” Harley shot back, “And you haven’t even met the guy yet, Peter.”

“How did you really get that black-eye?” Peter asked.

“I told you earlier” his friend replied impatiently, “Evan wants me to get involved in football, I fumbled a ball and received a nice swift knee to the face for it.”

“So, you joined a sport you hate just cos he told you to?” Peter snapped

To Peter’s surprise, Harley grinned and patted him on the back.

“OK, dude, what we’re not gonna do is sit here and pretend like I don’t have some deep rooted abandonment issues when it comes to male authority” he said with a chuckle, “He didn’t put pressure on me to join. He just suggested it, I was the one who went ahead and signed up”

Peter grinned despite himself.

“And then you turned out to be crap at it?”

“Total crap. Just awful. I was not built for football”

“Same here. I’m useless”

“You’re useless by choice, Parker” Harley reminded him, “You can climb freakin’ skyscrapers and shit. Hell, if you wanted to you could take down an entire professional football team all on your own.”

“And everyone would figure out I’m Spider-Man in 0.3 seconds” Peter shot back, “I can’t have people knowing that”

“Why?” questioned Harley, “Seriously, I’ve been wondering this since I figured out. What would be so bad about people knowing? I’d tell everyone if it was me. I’d have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by now”

“I dunno” Peter replied thoughtfully, “I guess we’re just different like that. Maybe one day I’ll tell everyone who I am, like Tony did. But I’m not ready. I can barely get through a day at school without getting an anxiety attack, I don’t need the whole world breathing down my neck”

“Yeah, that’s fair” Harley agreed, “I get jealous of you sometimes, y’know”

Peter almost laughed.

“Why would anyone be jealous of me?” he asked incredulously.

Harley shook his head and laughed bitterly. He didn’t elaborate. Peter felt confused and as they walked back towards Harley’s house for dinner, one thought would not leave Peter’s mind.

We’ve switched. He’s the one who needs my help now.

And, god, Peter swore he’d do whatever Harley needed.

-

Evan Sodder was a smaller than average, overly buff (to compensate for the former), balding man in his mid-to-late-40’s who had limited range and understanding of how to hold an appropriate level of small talk when it came to meeting strangers.

Tony Stark realized these things about him within seconds of his arrival at Janet Keener’s house. Evan had answered the door, novelty apron draped around his neck, beer in hand and proudly welcomed Tony to a house that the billionaire knew full well was not actually his.

“Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Sodder” Tony said as they shared an overly firm handshake.

“And you” Evan replied keenly, “Harley talks so much about you. I’ve been looking forward to seeing what you’re like in the flesh”

“Well, here I am” Tony said proudly, “Harley and Peter back yet?”

“I thought they were coming over with you” Evan asked, his too-big-for-his-head eyebrows furrowing, “Harley knows he’s not really meant to be hanging out with friends this weekend, we’ve had to ground him”

“Well, this one’s my bad” Tony replied, “I sent them out together, I had some urgent business to take care of over the phone.”

“Right” Evan said, pausing briefly.

Tony was relieved when a smiling, but incredibly tired looking, Janet Keener appeared from the kitchen and walked over to him. Unlike May Parker, Janet had always embraced Harley and Tony’s connection. She had always been happy to let Harley fly to New York to stay whenever he wanted, and had been very supportive when Peter had come into their lives. She was a nice woman, who had had to put up with a lot.

“Nice to see you, Tony” she said as Tony kissed her on the cheek. The billionaire did not notice the look of pure poison given to him by Evan as he did so.

“And you” Tony replied smoothly, “You’re looking lovely as ever. Night shift at the hospital tonight?”

“Unfortunately” Janet said with a sigh, “They’re really killing me with all these shifts lately. It’s a good thing I’ve got Evan around to keep an eye on Harley, he can be such a little shit when he wants to be”

Tony frowned. That was an unusual comment. Janet Keener had always been the type of mother who would not hear a bad word said against her only son. Harley was the apple of her eye.

“Boys will be boys!” Evan interjected. Tony did not react to his comment, merely looking at Janet instead.

“He’s never any trouble when we have him” Tony said, thanking Pepper internally for getting him those months of media training lessons. Sounding normal when he was actually pissed off had become remarkably easy for the billionaire since. “If it ever gets too much around here, y’know we can help. All you have to do is ask”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark” Evan replied just before Janet could, “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help Janet over the last coupla years. But I’m here now. We can handle it, just our little family”

Evan pulled Janet into a side-hug. She giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

“Right” Tony said slowly, “And that’s great. We’re all very happy, but I hope you won’t forget the fact that...well, Harley’s pretty much part of my family as well.”

Before Evan could reply, the front door opened behind Tony and he turned around to see Peter and Harley walk in mid-way through hysterical laughter. The sight and sound of it warmed Tony’s heart like very little else could. Harley had cast an arm around Peter’s shoulders and they were both borderline inconsolable with their laughter.

“There you are!” Janet shouted at Harley, “What, exactly, did you think you were doin’ not comin’ straight back here?”

Harley’s laugher subsided instantly. He shuffled his feet and looked awkwardly at the ground.

“Sorry, just wanted to show Peter around” the usually confident teenager muttered under his breath. Tony and Peter’s eyes found one another for the first time since he’d stumbled through the door.

Tony sighed.

The kid had been right.

There was something seriously off in the Keener house.

Harley looked humiliated as Janet and then Evan laid into him for not following the rules of his curfew and ignoring the fact he had been grounded. Tony wanted to interject several times but never found the right moment, whilst Peter just stood next to Harley clearly stunned and more than a little triggered by the shouting, but he seemed dedicated to not leaving Harley’s side.

“I don’t think all this is necessary” Peter interjected all of a sudden. Everyone in the room seemed to do a double take as he did so. No one more than Tony. “Harley and me just lost track of time a little, he was really worried about not getting back in time for his curfew. It was me who kept him out. I wanted to see more of the countryside, I don’t get to see much of it in New York. I’m sorry Mrs Keener.”

Tony breathed a small sigh of relief as Janet turned to face Peter. Like pretty much every other adult woman with any kind of maternal feeling that the boy happened to come across, Janet Keener had a total soft spot for Peter. She smiled and cupped his face before taking a deep breath.

“Well, I guess Harley was just being a good host” she said softly, “Let’s say no more about it.”

Harley nodded as his mother ruffled his hair and headed back into the kitchen, a less than pleased looking Evan following hot on her trail. Tony couldn’t help but notice how much more at ease Harley seemed with not just Evan gone from the room, but Janet as well.

“I just...I’m gonna go...I need to wash my face” Harley said quickly before disappearing upstairs. This left Tony and Peter alone.

“Well, that was uncomfortable” Tony stated once he was sure that Harley was out of earshot, “Something definitely isn’t right in this place.”

“I’d say I told you so” Peter replied darkly, “But believe me I’ve never been less pleased about being right. We have to do something, Tony”

“I’m not sure that we can, Pete” Tony said with a shrug, “All we’ve seen is them shout at him for missing his curfew. How many kids all across America are getting that exact lecture right now?”

“How many of them are being humiliated in front of their friends though” Peter countered, “I’ve never seen Janet like that before. It was like she forgot we were even here until I spoke”

Tony sighed. He didn’t know a way he could get around this. He still couldn’t even really prove there was anything to get around, it wasn’t like they’d seen Harley being hit. But something wasn’t right, and one of his boys needed him.

Harley needed him, and Tony Stark was not about to let him down.

-

Harley splashed water in his face, hoping the droplets and the tears pouring down it would intertwine and no one would know he’d burst into tears the second he’d found a moment to be alone.

It was too much.

It was all too much.

He knew, he just knew that if Mr. Stark and Peter hadn’t been there then Evan would have laid into him like he always did. And his Mom. God, his Mom. She would have just sat back, pretended not to hear and allowed him to go through all of that.

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Harley, hon, we're gonna need you to come and set the table” came his mother’s voice, in all its false sweetness, “It ain’t far to let Mr. Stark and Peter do it when they’re you’re guests”

“OK, I’ll be down in a minute” Harley replied shakily.

He had no idea how it had all gone so wrong.

Evan was meant to make things better.

A fresh start.

“Now, please” Janet demanded. Harley took a deep breath, turned around and opened the door to see his mother staring up at him looking slightly annoyed. “I am sorry for shouting at your in front of Mr. Stark, that wasn’t right. Especially if you were only trying to show Peter a good time. That boy deserves it.”

Harley rolled his eyes.

Peter.

That was her trump card. Whenever Harley got moody about anything, she would remind him that Peter had had it worse and he still managed to be polite and gracious. The kind of son that any mother would be proud to have.

It had taken Harley awhile not to feel slightly bitter towards Peter for that. To be so negatively compared to someone constantly was hard, and what made it even harder was that Harley knew every word of it was true. Peter was kinder, Peter was politer and more gracious. He was the kind of son that every mother would want.

But Harley also knew Peter a lot better than Janet did. He had his flaws, just like everyone else in the world. They weren’t as pronounced or as obvious, but they were there.

And they didn’t matter.

Peter was still Peter.

Everyone loved him, Harley included.

And Harley’s flaws didn’t matter.

Because he was still Harley, and people would love him for them.

Harley cringed as he arrived in the dining room to find that Tony and Peter had already fully laid out the table in his absence. He saw Evan give him a stern look from the other side of the table as they all sat down to dinner. It was Evan’s casserole, quite possibly Harley’s least favourite meal but he ate it anyway. It wasn’t worth not doing, he was already going to be in enough trouble.

Dinner wasn’t as awkward as it maybe should have been. Peter and Tony’s ability to keep a conversation flowing saw to that, and Harley noticed that his mom and Evan had gone into full damage control mode after shouting at him in front of their guests. Harley was the only person not joining in the conversation, only managing to interject with a ‘hmmm’ or ‘yeah’ every few sentences to make sure that it at least sounded like he was listening.

Once dinner was finished, it was nearly time for Harley’s mom to head to the hospital for her night shift.

“Be good for Evan” were her last words to Harley before leaving.

Evan kissed her quite passionately before letting her leave. Harley felt mortified at the sight, and he could tell Peter was as well. When Tony suggested that the boys go and clean up the dirty dishes so he and Evan could go and have a chat outside, Harley felt his heart sink.

“Tony, why don’t you do the dishes for once” Peter said teasingly, “You never do them at home, why not start now?”

Harley felt utterly confused as Tony and Peter shared a knowing look before Tony grasped Harley by the shoulders and directed him into the kitchen. As he lost sight of Peter and Evan, now alone, Harley’s heart panged with guilt. He definitely wouldn’t put it past Evan to hurt Peter if he was in a bad mood, and he knew for sure Peter wouldn’t even attempt to fight back or defend himself.

“I can do the dishes, Tony” Harley said simply, “I don’t mind, you go back out there and relax”

“Kid, I’m here to talk to you” Tony said seriously. More serious than Harley had ever heard him speak before. “I need to ask you a question”

Harley gulped.

“OK” he answered unsteadily, “What’s up?”

“Is there anything you need or want to tell me, Harley” Tony asked, “Because if there is, you know I can sort it out.”

“Everything’s fine” Harley lied.

“Don’t believe you” Tony shot back, “I’d get this with Peter. He’s a world expert at hiding what’s really bothering him, but you...you're an open book, all I have to do is look in your eyes and I can see there’s something not right”

Harley shook his head.

“Well, for once in your life, you must be wrong” he replied coldly, “Because everything is fine, I’m fine.”

Harley knew that Tony did not believe a word of what he’d just said. Silently, Tony Stark grabbed a kitchen towel and started drying some wet plates. Harley watched nervously as Tony put them away in the cupboard, he was watching closely to make sure that they all went back exactly where Evan was expecting them to be.

“I do have one more question for you though” Tony went on, “How exactly did you get that black eye, and don’t give me any bullshit story about football practice. It’s April for one thing, so the seasons well over”

Harley groaned. Why had he never bothered to research things like that?

“Oh” the now downbeat teenager replied, “Well….I,err, it was football practice but it was like an unofficial practice.”

“You and Peter do have one thing in common” Tony went on, “You are both totally awful liars. You’re better than Parker, admittedly, but I can see damn well you would not have got a shiner like that from an accident. Tell me how it happened, are you being bullied at school?”

“No”

“Is that a no to being bullied at school, or a no to being bullied at all?” Tony asked, and for whatever reason, this seemed to do it.

Harley broke.

He fell apart and collapsed into Tony’s arms.

“Harley, kid, tell me what’s wrong-”

“It’s-it’s-it’s Ev-Evan, Mr. Stark. He’s been hurting me for months.”

"Oh Harley" came Tony's breathless reply, "It's OK. It's all going to be OK".-

Chapter Text

Chapter 19.

The Darkness Within

Peter breathed in, then out and in and then out. He was a nervous wreck but he absolutely could not allow Evan Sodder to realize just how close he was to a full on panic attack.

Not now.

Not tonight.

Tonight wasn’t about him, it was about Harley. He had to be strong for his friend, he had to help him in the way that Harley had helped him so much over the last year. He would be no good if he descended into a heavy breathing, foot tapping, anxious wreck. So, Peter pushed down the haunting memories and feelings of his own abuse as he sat across from Evan; desperately trying to forget what his first foster father had put him through.

“You seem like a good kid” Evan finally muttered, breaking the silence.

Peter blinked.

“Err, excuse me?” he spluttered back.

“You seem like a good kid” Evan repeated, “Good manners. Don’t see many teenage boys with those nowadays”

Peter frowned as Evan lit a cigarette and sighed.

“I can see why Janet likes you so much” Evan went on, “You’re a good influence on Harley, he needs to see how boys should properly behave”

Peter felt like he was going to wretch. Had Evan been using him as a reason to justify what he was doing to Harley?

“Harley’s always really polite when he stays with us” Peter shot back, “And I can be just as much of a hard ass when I want to be, I just have to be around the right person”

“And let me guess” Evan said bitterly, stubbing his cigarette out before throwing it into the grass, “I’m one of those people. Of course, I shoulda known Harley’s spent the last few months talking shit about me to you. His best friend.”

“No” Peter replied firmly, “He had nothing but nice things to say about you actually, told me about all the cool stuff you did with him.”

Evan frowned.

“So, why don’t you like me then?” he snarled, “Cos you might be a good kid with some nice manners, but even you couldn’t manage to hide the looks of hatred you shot my way tonight”

Peter gulped. He needed to be strong. He rose to meet Evan, hilariously they actually weren’t that different in size.

“I don’t like you because I know you’re a bad person” Peter said darkly

“Oh yeah?” Evan snapped, taking another step towards Peter who wanted to back away but refused, “And how do you know that?”

“Call it a sixth sense” Peter snapped, “When you’ve lead the life I have, you tend to develop a good clue about who you can trust and who you can’t”

Evan laughed maniacally, the malice pouring out of him in waves.

“Ahh yes, how could I forget?” he snarled, “You’re the little street rat, aren’t you? The orphan who ran away from his foster home and spent weeks on the streets. I bet you learned a thing or two about survival there didn’t ya Pete? Eh? Bet you’ve done some things you’re not too proud of. Perfect Peter. It’s just an act.”

Peter was shaking. Evan was evil. How he knew so much about Peter’s past was clear; Harley must have told him. Peter would have been angry with his friend but he knew Harley well enough to know that he wouldn’t have said anything to be invasive. It was also possible that Evan had bullied the information out of him.

“Then shouldn’t you be a little more wary of what I might be capable of” Peter shouted, anger flaring up inside of him. He no longer felt anxious or on edge, he was just full of rage and wanted to smash Evan’s stupid ugly face in.

“You?” Evan snarled, “The only reason to be scared of you is because you’re cursed, Peter”

“Excuse me?” Peter asked

“You heard me” Evan shot back, “You’re cursed. Your parents. Your aunt and uncle, why is it that everyone you love seems to die? How long is it going to be until it strikes again? Maybe Tony Stark’s days are numbered after all”

“Shut the fuck up!” Peter exploded, before he knew what he was doing he had launched himself at Evan and they both fell through the bannister on the end of the porch and fell into the grass below.

“So much for manners” a clearly pained Evan wheezed as Peter got up to his feet and dusted himself down. Peter looked down at the man. He was truly pathetic, though definitely not to be crossed. “I think you broke my shoulder”

“Fuck you” Peter spat, he didn’t think he’d ever felt such deep rooted hatred for another human being. He didn’t think he’d have been capable of such hatred before that moment.

“Peter, that’s enough” Tony’s firm voice rang out from behind him. Peter turned around and felt a little ashamed as his guardian confidently strode towards him, closely followed by a shaking Harley. Peter’s heart broke for his friend. Harley’s usual charm and confidence seemed to have completely disappeared, he looked fragile and terrified. He almost clung to Tony’s side as they made their way towards Peter and Evan.

“Sorry, he just-”

“I heard what he said” Tony said sympathetically, “We’ll talk it through later but right now I need two things from you”

“OK” Peter replied with a nod, “What do you need?”

“I need you to take Harley back to the Bed & Breakfast” Tony said strictly, this tone of voice usually only being saved for Avengers missions and debriefs, “Once you’re back there, I need you to make contact with Natasha and get her to come here as soon as possible”

“OK, but why Natasha?” Peter asked.

“You’ll see” Tony replied, “I need you to do these things for me, Peter. You want to help, this is the best you can do”

“I’ll do it” Peter said with a nod. Tony grasped his shoulders and pulled him into a quick side hug before sending Peter over to a shaking Harley, who was fixated on the still moaning Evan on the floor.

Cautiously, Peter approached his friend. He lent down and picked up the boys overnight bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“You did that?” Harley asked quietly

”Yeah” Peter replied softly, “I’m sorry about the porch. I’ll pay to get it repaired if you want”

“No, it’s cool” Harley replied, his tone of voice remaining the same. Peter was a little worried. He didn’t really seem with it. “Shall we go then?”

“Yeah, let’s go” Peter said, casting an arm around Harley’s shoulder as he lead him away from the house.

I’ve got you, dude.

I’ve got you.

-

Once he was sure the boys were far enough away that not even Peter’s enhanced hearing would be able to pick up on anything, Tony simply sat down on a chair on the porch and watched as Evan twisted and moaned on the floor. Tony didn’t know whether he wanted to be mad at Peter for nearly revealing his true strength to such an untrustworthy individual, but he was also quite proud that Peter had so fearlessly taken on someone whose entire demeanor must have triggered a lot of painful memories for him.

But most of all, Tony was angry.

Angry at Evan for being an abusive piece of shit and the absolute scum of the earth.

Angry at Janet for seemingly turning a blind eye to all the signs. Harley clearly hadn’t quite registered that himself, but from things he’d said it was clear to Tony now that Janet must have known something. He didn’t think she’d been playing a part in the physical abuse, but he was scared she’d contributed to some of the emotional abuse that had obviously been going on. He’d already called her, under the guise of an emergency, and she was on her way back from work.

Mostly though, Tony was angry at himself. Angry for missing the signs. Angry that he hadn’t immediately believed Peter when the kid had first brought up his suspicions. Just how long had Harley been suffering through all of Evan’s abuse on his own?

“You ain't gonna help me?” Evan wheezed.

“Nah, you’re a tough guy, you can pick yourself up” Tony replied

“You should count yourself lucky I ain’t getting the police involved, Stark” the other man snarled, “Your kid assaulted me. I could get his ass in juvie very quickly if I wanted to”

“Try it” Tony snapped, “See how you do up against one of the most rich and powerful men in the world with absolutely no control over his impulses when he feels passionately about something. And, believe me, seeing you suffer is something I’m currently feeling very passionate about”

“So, why not do something then?” Evan replied, “I watch the news. I know the shit you’ve got going on, you could have me killed if you want. Instantly.”

“I could” Tony confirmed, “But that’s not how I roll and as much as I feel passionately about watching you suffer, I feel more passionate about protecting my boys. Peter and Harley mean more to me than any petty revenge I could inflict on you. So, you’ll live.”

“You can’t tell the police what I’ve done without implicating that brat of yours for assault” Evan reminded him.

“Peter never assaulted you” Tony said matter of factly, “You fell through the bannister because you were too drunk to stand up.”

“And you’d be happy with your kid lying in court?” Evan snarled, wincing as he managed to bring himself to his feet at last

“He wouldn’t be lying, considering you fell through the bannister because you were too drunk to stand up” Tony explained once again, “And you can’t prove otherwise. No one else saw Peter not attack you”

“If I’m going down, I’m taking that little shit stain with me” Evan said as he approached Tony. The billionaire didn’t feel remotely intimidated, Evan wasn’t even the scariest bully he’d faced off against that week.

As the men stood in a kind of stalemate, Janet Keener’s car finally pulled up to the driveway and she rushed out, concern etched all over her face. It fell as her eyes focused on the destroyed porch and her boyfriend about to face off with a billionaire.

“What’s going on? Where’s Harley?” she asked immediately.

“Well, I guess I should be relieved” Tony said smoothly as he made his way towards her, “At least there’s still some part of you that puts Harley first”

“Excuse me?” Janet asked, looking wounded.

“He’s fine” Tony answered belatedly, “He’s with Peter at the bed and breakfast, and that’s where he will be staying. Well, I say he’s fine. He’s a bit of a mess to be honest, I should really be with him but I figured I should stick around here and make sure what he’s told me is definitely true”

Janet looked from Evan to Tony and then sighed.

“Let’s at least do this inside” she muttered, leading both men into her house and cautiously closing the door behind her. Tony was surprised that she didn’t seem to have any immediate arguments or defenses at the ready, it was making him wonder if she knew as much about what Harley had told him after all.

Janet set her handbag down on the sofa and sat down, quickly pouring herself a large glass of red wine. Evan sat down next to her and put his good arm around her shoulders. Tony stood over them, watching their every move.

“So, what exactly has Harley told you?” Janet asked, “Because whatever it is, I’m telling you now he’s only given you half a story Tony”

“Is that so?” Tony feigned curiously, “What do you mean by that exactly? Has he been acting out at school?”

“And then some” Janet replied bitterly, “He’s been ditching class, giving lip to his teachers and he got in a fight in homeroom on Tuesday and had to be picked up from school by Evan. Where do you think his black-eye came from?”

Tony barely managed to stop himself smiling wryly as he noticed Evan shift uncomfortably next to Janet.

“Homeroom, you say?” Tony said thoughtfully, “Funny that - because he told me and Peter that he got it at football practice”

“Harley doesn’t go to football practice” Janet said looking confused, “There isn’t even any football practice at the moment. They’re out of season. So, I guess we can add lying to his list of misdemeanors now”

“Oh, I just remembered” Tony said brightly, “No - no, he admitted that the football practice things was a lie. He told me the truth earlier.”

“Oh, good”

“Yeah, he told me that your boyfriend was the one who gave him the black-eye” Tony spat venomously, “Told me that Evan here has been hitting him for months, sometimes he’s done it whilst you’ve been in the house”

“Well, he’s lying” Janet said with a nervous laugh, “He’s lying. He’s saying whatever to drive a wedge between me and Evan. Tell him, Evan, tell him”

Evan paused. He shared a look with Tony, clearly regretting having pretty much admitted the abuse outside before Janet had arrived. Tony wouldn’t allow himself to feel smug in a situation that involved one of his boys being hurt, but he couldn’t deny himself a little feeling of pride knowing he had so effortlessly outsmarted Evan.

“Tell him, Evan” Janet went on, “Tell him that you’ve never laid a finger on my son, that it’s all a lie”

“But we both know that’s not true” Evan exploded all of a sudden, “You’ve seen me hit him. You might have pretended that you didn’t see but I knew you were in the room, I just figured you were...that you got what I was trying to teach him”

Tony’s eyes widened. Was it possible that Evan was even more of a stupid asshole than he’d first thought?

“Evan, I would obviously never turn a blind eye to my son being hit” Janet said weakly, clearly trying to get Evan to shut up.

“Bull. Shit.” Tony finally interjected, “You know. You’ve known all along and you turned a blind eye - cos why, exactly? Too scared of another man ditching you?”

“Just who do you think you are?” Janet snapped at Tony, “Coming down here and judging how I choose to raise my child. Ask around here, Mr. Stark, I am a good mother and I love my son”

“Yeah, love him so much that you turn a blind-eye when your boyfriend starts laying into him?!” Tony snapped, “I always respected you, Janet. I always thought that you’d had a lot to put up with, that you’d raised Harley well.”

“I have raised my son well” Janet insisted, “I know you like to think that the world revolves around you Mr. Stark but it doesn’t and Harley and I were doing just fine before you came into our lives. We don’t need you.”

Tony laughed.

“Is that why you made me Harley’s next guardian?” he snapped, “Or are you so far gone that you’ve forgotten that little tidbit?”

Janet’s face fell, it was clear she had. Evan looked utterly deflated.

“The police are on their way” Tony said with a smile as he picked up his coat, dusted it down and swung it around their shoulders, “I expect you two maybe wanna get yourselves on the same page, because that was all a bit of a shambles”

“You can’t do this Stark, I won’t let you” Janet screamed as she followed a departing Tony out of the front door, “Harley is my son and you can’t just keep him from me.”

“Thought you didn’t want a scene in public” Tony muttered, having noticed a few lights in Janet’s neighbors homes switch on with all the commotion, “And I think you’ll find I can. Until Harley is deemed safe to return home to you, he will be staying with me. His legal guardian.”

Tony turned on his heel and left Janet and Evan to their fates.

-

“Are you sure that you don’t want a hot chocolate as well, Peter dear?” Mrs Albridge asked as she handed a still shaky Harley his, “It’s no trouble”

“No, I’m fine, thank you” Peter repeated for what must have been the sixth or seventh time in the last half an hour. He sat in an armchair, watching his friend closely. Harley was sitting on the sofa staring into the fire in front of him.

Mrs Albridge smiled and sat herself down next to Harley. Peter was surprised as he took her hand in his and squeezed it. Mrs Albridge reacted to this by patting him on the head, and Harley soon rested his tired head on her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry for what’s been done to you, sweet-pea” she said softly, “It just makes me feel sick”

Peter was exhausted. It had been such a long day. It seemed so weird to him that as he sat in this old armchair, watching one of his best friends live through one of the worst nights of his life, he had actually started his morning in New York City and had gone to school as normal. He felt his eyes struggling to stay open, but he was determined to be awake for when Tony arrived back.

Harley hadn’t said much. He’d given Mrs Albridge a quick hello when they eventually got back to the BnB and had asked her for his favourite hot chocolate. Peter had initially attempted to make conversation with him but it had quickly become clear that Harley was not really in a state to hold one. Luckily, Peter was a world expert at babbling on about nothing and would have done so if he felt that was what Harley needed. But it clearly wasn’t.

Because there had been one other thing that Harley had said. It had been quiet, so quiet that Peter assumed that he’d only been able to hear it due to his enhanced abilities. “I want my Mom”. The words had hit Peter like a ton of bricks, confirmation that he was well and truly out of his depth.

Peter didn’t know whether to comfort Harley and say that he was sure his Mom was on her way and would likely stop by the house to batter Evan to death first, or if he should just ignore the comment and hope for the best. Peter, out of pure fear, had chosen the latter.

“Peter?” Harley’s voice rang out suddenly

“Yeah, dude” Peter replied softly

“Err...I’m sleeping here tonight aren’t I?” Harley asked.

“Yeah, man, we’re having a sleepover” Peter replied, trying to sound as happy and normal as his own increasingly fragile state would allow him, “Just like we do back in New York”

“Cool” Harley said with a nod, “And tomorrow - I’ll go home, talk to Mom and everything should go back to normal”

Peter winced. No way was it going to be that easy. He was still getting over being hit whilst he was in foster care, and that had only gone on for a number of weeks. Harley had been putting up with Evan’s abuse on his own for months.

“It might not be that simple, dear” Mrs Albridge sighed, “Your poor mother - she’s going to be heartbroken”

“Yeah” Harley said sadly, “Probably the most she’s been upset since Rachel”

Peter and Mrs Albridge shared a surprised look. Harley very rarely, pretty much never in fact, mentioned his little half-sister. Rachel had moved to Australia with her own father two years before and Harley hadn’t seen her since. Peter had never met Rachel but he knew that before she left, she had been Harley’s world and being separated from her like that had really upset him. He’d never really considered what it must have done to Janet. But she’d agreed to let Rachel go, at least that’s what Peter had been able to infer from the pieces of the story he’d collected over the last year.

“We should go to Australia!” Peter announced, “Go and see Rachel, maybe over the summer vacation?”

Harley shrugged, and Peter felt a little idiotic. His mouth had clearly run away with itself again.

“You boys should really try and get some rest” Mrs Albridge said, “It’s pretty obvious that you’re both struggling to stay awake, and you’ve had a very trying evening”

Peter and Harley looked at one another. Harley gave Peter a small smile before shrugging, picking himself off the sofa and heading upstairs to the room. Peter followed him, but not before insisting to Mrs Albridge that he be woken up when Tony returned. She agreed, though Peter could tell she had no intention of keeping the promise.

As he brushed his teeth, Peter watched Harley change his shirt. He cringed as he saw bruises paint the boys back and he couldn’t help but notice how much pronounced Harley’s rib cage and shoulder blades were. It was like looking at himself from a year ago.

“You been eating enough?” Peter couldn’t help but ask as he lay himself down next to Harley on the double bed. They’d decided Tony could have the single.

“Probably not” Harley muttered, “Food makes me feel kinda sick when I’m on edge, and I’ve been on edge for a while”

“Well, we’ll just have to fatten you up on some New York burritos” Peter said with a laugh. He was relieved when Harley joined in.

“New York?” Harley questioned, “.....You think Tony’s gonna want me to come back to New York with you guys, don’t you?”

“Would that be the worst thing?” Peter asked, “It might do you some good to get some time away, and we can have fun in New York. I’ve been seeing a therapist so there’s generally less crying and night terrors”

“Good to know” Harley chuckled, “Maybe. I’ll see what my Mom wants me to do. This is gonna hit her really hard.”

“Your Mom wasn’t the one being beaten up every day” Peter said slowly, not wanting to risk upsetting Harley.

“I know” he breathed, “But this is just another guy that’s hurt her and let her down. She deserves so much better.”

“You both do” Peter sighed.

Sleep claimed Harley first. Peter followed not long after, his eyes unable to stay awake for a second longer.

-

It was an uneasy sleep.

The dreams were bad.

Real bad.

Peter had been a fool to think that he could have gotten through a night like that and it not have some kind of affect on him.

He dreamed about the foster home. The violence. The fear. Laying awake at night, wondering how the hell he’d managed to end up in that situation. He dreamt about the night he’d chosen to live on the streets instead of go back there ever again.

Peter whimpered. He tossed and turned and eventually woke himself up by way of his ankle colliding with the cold, hard, wooden foot of the bed. Opening his eyes, Peter was surprised to see a concerned looking Natasha Romanoff standing over him with wide eyes.

“Hey Spider-Kid” she said softly, “You doing OK?”

“Not really” Peter slurred, still half-asleep. He couldn’t really tell if Natasha was actually there or not, but she seemed real enough. “Is this real life?”

Natasha laughed.

“You really are too cute sometimes” she said affectionately as she rustled his hair, before offering him a hand. He took it and she lead him out of the room and onto the front porch of the BnB. It was eerily quiet, around 4.30am and Peter felt a strange sort of comfort in the silence for once. All he could hear was the distant sounds of crickets in a field. The humid air, however, was not welcomed.

Nat sat him down on the porch swing and positioned herself next to him, he happily rested his head on her shoulders as she ran a hand through her hair.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“Tony’s dealing with some complicated legal stuff” Natasha replied, “He wanted someone around you that you know just in case you woke up and were scared. I’d say he’s been proven right, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, that could have got bad” Peter sighed, tucking his knees into his chest as Natasha continued to play with his hair, “Is Pepper okay?”

“She’s fine, a little frustrated that she couldn’t come herself” Natasha replied, “But the baby needs to come first - so the less stress, the better”

“Yeah, I’ll talk everything through with her when we get back” Peter yawned, “What is Tony sorting out anyway?”

“Legal stuff, to do with Harley I think” Natasha said calmly, “Don’t say anything cos Tony wants Harley to find out from him but it’s looking like Harley’s mom may have known the abuse was going on”

Peter shot up. If he wasn’t awake before, he was now.

“No, no, she can’t have” a distressed Peter said, “She would have done something, she would have- she’s his Mom . How could she just stand back and let that happen to him?”

“I wish I had answers for you kid” Nat said sadly, “But I don't. It doesn’t make a bit of sense to me either.”

“So, is Tony...what's he doing now?” Peter asked

“Establishing whether he can take Harley back to New York with you guys” Natasha explained, “After Janet, he’s Harley’s guardian and whilst she’s being investigated for abuse - well, it’s Tony that Harley’s going to have to go. That or a foster home”

“Us! Us! He has to come with us!” Peter cried. Natasha shushed him before attempting to soothe him by tracing her fingers up and down his back, “He can’t go into the system Nat, he’ll end up-”

Peter’s breathing became heavier. The panic attack that he’d been attempting to put off for hours had finally arrived in force. Peter hid his head in his shirt as he shook back and forth, whimpering and shivering. Natasha did her best to hang on to him as he rocked himself back and forth and tried to focus on his breathing.

“C-can’t g-go into the sy-system he-he’ll end up l-like m-me” Peter cried, “A-all f-fu-fucked up and n-not able t-t-to”

“Peter, you gotta breathe kid” Natasha said firmly, “Harley is not going into the system, he’s coming home with us. He’s gonna be fine.”

“S-scared t-t-that he-he’ll”

“Peter, breathe”

“B-bad th-things h-happen” Peter went on, Evan’s words from earlier ringing in his mind. Cursed. Bad things happened because of Peter. “M-my f-fault it’s all m-my fault”

“Honestly, for a selfless person you can be remarkably self-centered” Natasha observed, “This is not your fault at all, Peter.”

“I’m c-c-cursed, ev-everyone I c-care about-”

“That is not true Parker, and you know it” Natasha carried on, “Tony told me all about how you helped out tonight. He’s so proud of you, how you stood up to Evan on your own, how you looked after Harley when he couldn’t”

“I b-broke h-his shoulder” Peter whimpered, “D-does that make me a b-bad person?”

“Hell no” Natasha said, “I’d have probably snapped the guys neck and not thought twice about it. If anything, you’re too good”

Peter’s breathing was returning to normal levels. He eased himself back into the comfortable position he’d been in with Nat before and shivered. She carried on tracing her finger up and down his back as they sat on the porch, the sun was now beginning to rise.

“I should go see if Harley’s alright” Peter said after a while, “I don’t want him to wake up on his own. Today’s gonna be hard for him. I need to be there.”

“It’s nice that you want to be” Natasha said, “But just remember kiddo, this isn’t all on you. It’s not your job to help Harley and carry that whole burden on your own, it’s a job for us all. Just like it was with you.”

Peter smiled before hugging her.

“If Pepper couldn’t come, I’m glad it was you” he said quietly, “You’re my favourite, but don’t let Steve know”

“Oh I absolutely cannot keep that promise” Natasha said with a laugh, “And for the record, you’re my favourite too. And I don’t care if you tell Clint”

-

Chapter Text

20.

Alien Pain.

Harley was a deep sleeper. That was all Peter concluded as he sat in their room at the bed and breakfast, waiting for Tony to get back. Natasha had started to feel a little restless so had taken herself off for a jog on Peter’s insistence that he would be fine on his own for half an hour. His friend hadn’t so much has stirred in over nine hours, and Peter wasn’t in any kind of rush to wake him up just yet. If Harley was anything like he’d been, Peter knew that sleep had probably evaded his friend for quite some time.

“Hey sweetie, is he still out for the count?” Mrs Albridge whispered, poking her head around the door.

Peter nodded silently and Mrs Albridge quietly shut the door. Taking a deep breath, Peter made himself comfortable on the bed and checked his phone for the first time since he’d arrived. Liz had tried to call him five times and had sent seven text messages, apparently deciding to finally give up at around ten the previous night. Peter felt bad, but he knew she would understand once he explained everything to her.

MJ had been in contact as well, gently asking if Harley was OK. Peter sighed as he texted a reply to her,

Some serious shits been going on with him. Coming back to New York with me and Tony. Will explain all when I see you, might not be in school tomorrow, please don’t say anything.

Peter knew he could trust MJ, and it was good to have someone back home who would be expecting all of this to come crashing into their lives. He was determined to help Harley in any way he could, but Peter knew that he couldn’t do so alone and Harley and MJ seemed to have become quite good friends the last time he’d visited.

“Kid” came Natasha’s voice, it was her turn to poke her head through their bedroom door, “I’m just gonna hit the shower and then I’ll be with you. Everything good?”

“Yeah, he’s still sleeping” Peter replied softly, “As you can probably tell”

“It’s that spy training, I’m just too good” Nat joked before disappearing once again. As she went, Harley stirred for the first time. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room, eventually landing on Peter who tried his best to look as natural and at ease as he could.

“Oh, I am here then” Harley sighed, sitting up, “I was kind of hoping it was all a bad dream”

“I’d say no such luck, but that’d be a lie” Peter replied, “It’s good that last night wasn’t a dream, we can help you now”

“Where’s Tony?” asked Harley with a yawn.

“He’s - err, sorting things out still” Peter replied slowly. He couldn’t get the thought that Janet had known her son was being abused and had done nothing to stop it out of his head. It was going to wreck Harley when he found out.

“And Mom?” was the inevitable next question

“Don’t know” Peter answered honestly, “It’s just us two and Natasha.”

“Natasha?” Harley replied, “What’s she doing here?”

“Tony wanted someone we - well, I - feel comfortable with to come and keep an eye on us whilst he’s off...doing whatever Billionaire superhero thing he’s doing” Peter answered.

Harley didn’t look pleased.

“She knows then” he muttered, picking at the pillow he’d just been laying down on. Peter confirmed this with a nod. “Great, that’s just fucking great. I suppose everyone else knows I’ve been getting tossed around like a little bitch for months and months?”

Peter was stung by Harley’s sudden outburst but managed to keep his cool.

“Only Pepper” Peter said with a shrug. “She wanted to come down here herself, but she...she wasn’t able to”

“Well she should have” snapped Harley, “I mean - I like Nat, I do, but I don’t know her and I definitely don’t know her well enough to have her know...all this shit about me”

“I dunno what to say to you dude” Peter confessed, “It’s all fucked. All I can say is just trust Tony, has ever let you down before?”

“Not once” Harley said with a heavy weight to his voice.

“Well then, keep on trusting him now,” Peter said, placing both his hands on Harley’s shoulders, “Trust that he’s working to make things better for you, just like he did for me. That’s what he does.”

“I’m scared” Harley admitted, “I’m scared that Evan’s gonna get released and he’s gonna be super mad at me and find me and-”

“He’ll have to get through me first” Peter muttered. Harley ignored him.

“And what about by Mom? Where’s she? Does she even know yet?” Harley went on, clearly starting to really panic, “....is she mad at me?”

The words broke Peter’s heart. For all the comparisons he’d made between his situation at the foster home and Harley’s, in reality they were completely different. Peter didn’t remember much about his parents but he knew that they had adored and cherished him, and then Uncle Ben and Aunt May had cared for him in much the same way. He’d never been betrayed or abused by a family member. The hurt and confusion that Harley would feel when he found out what Janet had done was totally alien to Peter, and that scared him.

He was at a loss for words, and the silence wasn’t helping Harley. Tears formed in his friends' eyes, he looked away from Peter and breathed heavily, steadying himself up against the windowsill. It was clear that he’d taken Peter’s nervous silence as confirmation that Janet was mad with him.

Peter fought back his own tears as Harley hid his face in his hands and started to slip down the wall onto the floor.

“Sh-she’s not mad with you” Peter said quickly, practically throwing himself at Harley’s feet, “I don’t know what she’s feeling at the moment but she can’t be angry with you because you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re the victim”

“But it’s all my fault” Harley cried, “I’m such a jerk. When Evan first came on to the scene, I was so awful and rude to him. I was so used to it just being me and her and I didn’t want him to ruin it. I didn’t even give him a chance and when they started spending more time together, I started acting out so she wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with him-”

Peter sat back, he scooched next to Harley and mimicked his friends position. They were both sitting up against the wall, knees tucked into their chests. The only difference was that Peter was able to look straight ahead whilst Harley’s head was placed firmly in his shirt.

“He tried so hard” Harley went on, “He tried so hard to be a Dad to me and I just wouldn’t let him. I threw everything back in his face, and I knew that he never really liked me anyway. He was just doing it for Mom. Let’s face it, no one’s going to want to stick around and be a Dad to a snarky, bad mannered little shit like me are they? My real dad didn’t-”

Peter was torn. He knew they were in dangerous territory. Every instinct in his body was telling him to put a stop to the waves of self-loathing that Harley was currently spewing out of himself, but at the same time he recognized that it might be a relief for Harley to finally express his feelings. At the very least, if Peter knew the way Harley really felt about himself then they had a starting point.

“Dude, you don’t have to do this now,” Peter said affectionately, “They’re gonna make you go over this time and time again over the next few days.”

“My life is over, isn’t it?” Harley replied, “The life I thought I had anyway. Nothing’s ever gonna be the same again is it?”

“Probably not” Peter said with a shrug, “But take it from me, sometimes what comes next might be a whole lot better. It was for me.”

Harley finally looked up.

“You’re such a good guy, Pete” he said softly, “I don’t deserve a friend like you”

“You do” Peter replied confidently, “We deserve one another. I think life owes both of us that much at this point, don’t you?”

For the first time since he’d woken up, Harley smiled.

-

Armed with a court order that granted him permission to take Harley across state lines, Tony returned to the BnB at midday. He was greeted with the sight of Peter, Harley, Natasha and Mrs Albridge playing chequers in the dining room. A soft smile crept over Tony’s lips as he noticed the little things about the set up. About how Harley and Peter were sitting so close to one another they were practically on each others lap, how Peter kept looking over to Harley to make sure he was OK and how Harley kept doing the same whenever Peter wasn’t looking.

His boys.

It wasn’t all warmth and sunshine though. Tony could tell that Harley was struggling, there was a heaviness to the way he moved and conducted himself that had never been there before. Evan was still in his head, just in the same way the sick bastards who’d hurt Peter were still in his. The same way all the cruel and nasty things Howard had said and done to him still circled around Tony’s head on a daily basis.

It was Peter who first noticed him. The boy ceased taking his turn and shot out of his chair, running over to give Tony a hug. Tony pulled him in and rested his chin on top of his head. He seriously owed the kid. He felt bad for leaving a majority of looking after Harley to a kid who had his own issues and had likely been majorly triggered by the whole event, but needs must and he had to make sure he could have Harley with them long-term.

“You OK, bud?” Tony asked Peter. The boy didn’t reply, he simply nodded as his head tucked in to Tony’s chest. “You’ve been a superstar this weekend, Peter. None of this would have been possible without you”

Peter nodded and went to sit himself back down. Harley hadn’t budged since he’d seen Tony come into the room, he was now focusing very intently on the game in front of him.

“Hi” he eventually said quietly

“Hey” Tony replied, sitting down on the spare chair that seemed to have been left for him, “Can we chat? Man to man”

“I guess” Harley grumbled. Peter and Natasha recognized this as a prompt to leave so quickly got up and left the room. Mrs Albridge was about to do the same, but Tony noticed Harley’s eyes go wider and fill with panic as he saw her go.

“Mrs Albridge can stay...if that makes you feel more comfortable” Tony offered, holding out a hand to stop the old lady before she could leave. Harley silently nodded, and Mrs Albridge sat herself back down taking Peter’s chair and squeezing the teenager’s hand.

“Where’s Mom?” were the first words from Harley’s mouth. Tony took a deep breath and prepared himself, this was going to be the hard put, but he couldn’t help but feel a little relieved that it was the first thing they were going to deal with.

“Kid, there’s no easy way to tell you this” Tony said calmly, “But your Mum isn’t going to be able to see you. At least not for a while.”

“Why?” asked a shaking Harley, now clutching on to Mrs Albridge’s hand as if she was the only person tethering him to the ground.

“Your mum knew what Evan was doing to you” Tony exhaled, “She’s still in police custody”

Harley looked confused. He focused his eyes squarely on Tony, trying his best to register what had just been said to him.

“Sh-she knew?” he stuttered, “She knew he was hitting me? She can’t have! She’d have made him stop, or kicked him out, she wouldn’t have just let him carry on hurting me!”

“Kid, I’m sorry, but she’s admitted she knew” Tony carried on, Mrs Albridge looked very close to tears, “She’s saying that Evan only hit you once or twice, which I think we both know is a lie”

“But, she’s my Mom” Harley whined, “She’s my Mom. She loves me. She’s always told me that she’d tear anyone who hurt me apart with her bare hands. You must have got it wrong, Tony. Misunderstood something-”

“I haven’t” Tony went on, “I wish I had, believe me. I’ve never wanted to be wrong about anything more than I want to be wrong about this.”

“YOU’RE A FUCKING LIAR!” Harley screamed, getting up out of his seat with so much force that the chair fell over. Tony got up and faced the now red faced and panting Harley, wearing a murderous expression on his face. Mrs Albridge put an arm on the boys elbow.

“Harley, dear, listen to me” she said as she slowly got up and turned Harley so he was now facing her instead of Tony, “I know you must be feeling very hurt and upset right now, but getting angry with Mr. Stark isn’t the proper way of dealing with this darling. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“He is, he’s lying” Harley said angrily, “You know my Mom and you know that she would never ever hurt me, ever.”

Mrs Albridge sighed.

“Why would he lie sweetheart?” she replied softly, “No one would chose to put you through this pain, Harley. I can’t speak for Mr. Stark but seeing you like this is hurting me. Can you honestly tell me that your Mom didn’t know anything? She was never around when it happened?”

“She-she was normally at work” Harley said. Tony sat himself back down as the boy seemed to be calming. “There was a few times when she was in the house, but she never saw anything….”

Suddenly, Harley stopped in his tracks. Tony leaned towards him, full of concern. Harley slumped in his chair.

“She knew” he said quietly, “Sh-she was always there, just after. She never saw him hit me, but she-she saw me in pain. I was just always relieved that she believed my lies about how it happened but she must have known.”

“I’m so sorry, dear” Mrs Albridge said.

“Why would she do that?” he cried, “She knew he was hurting me and she did nothing about it?”

“Like I said, kid, I wish I had got it wrong” Tony replied.

“It’s my fault” Harley said firmly, “I made her like that by being so rude and acting out at school, I made it impossible for her to love me”

“Now, you stop right there,” Mrs Albridge snapped, “None of this is your fault, this is on the two of them. You are a smart, kind, wonderful young man Harley Keener and I will not sit by and watch you blame yourself for any of this.”

“Can I see her?” Harley asked, quick to deflect from the nice things Mrs Albridge had just said to him. Tony sighed. It was just like dealing with Peter a few months ago, though at the very least that experience had taught him what to experience with Harley in the present.

“That won’t be possible for a while” Tony said firmly, “Evan’s alleging that she had a role to play in the physical abuse as well, so she’s under investigation from the police for that”

“She never touched me!” Harley said quickly

“Well, that’s a conversation you can have with the police” Tony replied, “To be honest kid, your Mom doesn’t really factor into my plans right now”

“And what’re they exactly?” Harley asked.

“Get your out of here for a while” Tony said simply, “I’m your guardian so I’ve been given the all clear to take you back to New York with me and Peter. For the time being. Where you end up after all this is over is down to you.”

Harley looked to Mrs Albridge for guidance.

“I think it’s a good idea, dear” she said kindly, “Sticking around here isn’t going to do you any good, and it’s not like you can stay with your mother. I expect the gossip will be awful.”

“I’m not sure” Harley said quietly, “What about you?”

“About me?”

“Yeah, if I go with Tony, then I won’t be able to help you out around here” Harley said. Tony beamed.

“Don’t worry about that” Mrs Albridge said sweetly, “I’ll be fine”

Harley breathed heavily and then looked to Tony

“Sorry for calling you a liar” he muttered.

“Already forgotten” Tony said kindly, “We’ll get you through this, Harley. I promise”

-

Both boys slept for pretty much the entire flight back. Tony and Peter had missed their booked flight home so they all used the private jet Natasha had used to get to Rose Hill as quickly as possible the night before. Leaving had been a little traumatic for Harley, who’d freaked out and cried on Mrs Albridge who had ended up having to literally walk him on to the plane.

Tony felt a little guilty for taking Harley away from her. It was clear that in the madness that had been Harley’s life for the last few months that Mrs Albridge had become his person. The one he ran to when things were bad at home. He was clearly very attached to her and Tony made a mental note to fly her out to New York to see him as soon as he could.

“You look like shit by the way” Natasha commented as she looked back at Tony, who had wedged himself in between the sleeping boys. One sleeping head for each shoulder.

“Well, Tennessee law enforcement is a little more laid back than I’d have liked” he replied, “I was getting very frustrated. But we got there in the end.”

“And you’re sure?” Natasha asked, “About all of this? Taking in yet another troubled teen with more issues than Vogue?”

“Never been more sure of anything in my life,” Tony said, stroking a sleeping Peter’s hair fondly as he replied, “It’s not as if either of them have got anyone else”

Natasha grinned.

“Boy, the Tony Stark I met seven years ago would probably faint if he saw what I’m seeing now,” she said with a laugh, “What changed?”

“I ask myself every day” Tony confessed, “It was probably this one”

He gestured to Harley.

“First time in my life I realized kids could be more than an inconvenience” he went on, “And then Peter crashed through that vent into our lives and I’ve never looked back”

“You’re good at it, very good” Natasha said, “I don’t know how you always know the right thing to say to them, but you never fail to find it”

Tony shrugged.

“I just say what I wish someone had said to me at their age,” he said with a yawn, he’d never normally be this open if he was wide awake, “Y’know, told me I was more than what I thought I was. That I deserved more.”

“They both deserve so much more” Natasha sighed, “Life’s really dealt them both a bullshit hand, that’s for sure”

“It dealt one for all of us,” Tony said as he felt himself begin to drift off, “I guess that’s why this all works in its really fucked up way”

-

Peter awoke to find himself back in his bedroom. The last thing he remembered was watching Harley as he slept on the plane, and then overhearing a very brief part of a conversation between Tony and Natasha. He looked around and was relieved to see that Tony was standing in his doorway, himself looking like he’d just woken up from a long sleep.

“Morning kiddo” he said cheerily, raising his cup of coffee as a mocking toast towards Peter, “Although it’s actually more appropriate to wish you good afternoon seen as though you’ve been asleep for sixteen hours ”

“I’ve what?” Peter blanched, “When is it?”

“About 1.30, Monday afternoon” Tony said with a laugh, “Rather a tough weekend for all of us though, so I can’t say I blame you and hey, I only had to come in and stop you crying out like three times.”

Peter nodded. He couldn’t believe he’d slept that long. He never slept that long, even when he’d stayed up for three days straight when he’d been on the streets he only ended up managing about five hours when he did finally drift off.

“Sorry if that woke you” Peter muttered. Tony rolled his eyes and perched himself on the end of Peter’s bed.

“I’m going to start an apology jar” the billionaire joked, “Every time someone in this stupid tower apologizes for shit they don’t need to, they have to put a dollar in”

“Sorry-”

“That’s a dollar!”

“Screw you” Peter said, pretending to be mad, “It’s not my fault I’ve got a guilt complex, severe anxiety and good manners. Makes for a rather deadly combination, unnecessary apologizing wise”

“Do I need to make a ‘making light of our mental trauma’ jar as well?” Tony asked. Peter grinned and looked down for a second.

“Sorry” he said, “And that is a necessary apology because I know that you don’t like it when I make light over my myriad mental health issues”

“I’m still deciding if calling them a myriad counts as making light” Tony replied thoughtfully.

“But they are” Peter said simply, “I think they’re starting to get better - I guess that’s why I’ve started joking about them more. I could have been a lot worse this weekend”

“Very true” Tony agreed, “You’ve come a long way. That’s why I’m here, really. I feel like we need to talk about what Evan said to you...about being cursed”

Peter’s heart felt heavy all of a sudden. Evan’s words had cut deep, and they were nothing Peter hadn’t been saying to himself since the day Ben had died anyway. It was a familiar pain, almost mundane.

“It’s not worth worrying about,” Peter said, a barefaced lie, “He’s just a dick and was trying to hurt me”

“It’s also not true” Tony prompted him to say. Peter felt a pang of guilt as a brief look of disappointment etched its way across Tony’s face when he failed to back up the statement. They moved on, quickly.

“How’s Harley doing?” Peter asked.

“Making you some pancakes” Tony said nervously, “Well, him and Natasha are making you some pancakes. Pepper’s supervising.”

“Can you ask her to come up?” Peter asked, “I wanna see her!”

“Sure thing, kiddo” Tony said with a smile, before relaying the instruction to FRIDAY who immediately complied. Peter grinned.

“How’s Harley really doing?” Peter asked again.

“Honestly? I’m a little worried” Tony confessed, “I don’t think he’s processed it yet, he’s treating this like he’s just here for a weekend.”

“I can help him with that” Peter offered

“I know you can” Tony said, “But I don’t want Harley to get in the way of you getting better Peter, you’re doing great, but there’s still a way to go yet”

“I know” Peter sighed, “But maybe Harley and me can help each other along the way”

Before Tony had a chance to reply, Pepper and Harley appeared at Peter’s door armed with a plate of pancakes. Harley was beaming and smiled at Peter as Pepper put her arm around his shoulder and lead him into the room. They placed the plate on Peter’s desk before making their way to sit down next to Tony on the foot of Peter’s bed.

Pepper gave Peter a hug and eventually settled herself down next to him. Harley rested his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Hey” Peter said to Harley

“Hey yourself” Harley replied, “Good that you’re finally awake, after eighteen hours I’m pretty sure it’s legally defined as a coma”

Pepper smirked.

“You were asleep for a long time, honey” she said softly, “I guess this means that I should prepare myself for you not sleeping for like four days to make up for it”

“Damn straight” Peter replied.

“This is weird” Harley said suddenly, “If you’d told me a week ago, where I’d be now, I’d have laughed in your face”

“We’re just happy you’re safe, sweetie” Pepper said affectionately, “And I’m always happy to have you around. It’s nice to have someone around who makes actually decent pancakes”

“I am the pancake king!” Harley announced, getting off the bed and picking up the plate he’d prepared for Peter, “My way of saying sorry”

“Why are you saying sorry to me?” a confused Peter asked.

“Dunno” Harley said with a shrug, “I think I yelled at you at one point, I felt kinda bad about it...you really helped me this weekend”

“What else are brothers for?!” Tony announced. Harley and Peter both blushed a little as Pepper rolled her eyes at her husband.

“It’s just...I kinda wish you hadn’t said you’re sorry” Peter went on.

“Why?” Harley asked

“Well...I think you might owe Tony a dollar now”

“Why would I owe Tony a dollar?”

“I have decided to start an unnecessary apology jar” Tony told Harley and Pepper, “There are far too many guilt complexes in this place and I’m sick of it. Any time I find you saying sorry when you don’t need to, you have to put a dollar in the apology jar”

“That’s a phenomenal idea” Pepper exclaimed, high fiving her husband, “We’re gonna be so rich!”

“You’re already rich” Harley frowned.

“It’ll all go to a decent place, don’t worry” Tony reassured him, “In fact, I was thinking that maybe the boys could pick a charity for any money raised.”

“That’s cool” Peter said with a nod, “I’d like to help homeless kids.”

“How did we score two such selfless little puppies?” Pepper asked, kissing Peter’s temple and giving Harley a soft smile.

“I’m not a puppy” Harley protested, “I’m a fully grown Great Dane”

“I’m a puppy” Peter admitted with a shrug. Harley laughed.

“Yes, and when the baby gets here, we’ll have three” Tony said casually. Peter and Pepper both nodded in agreement but Harley, on the other hand, whipped his head around to face Tony in shock.

“Baby?” he asked

Tony’s eyes widened and he laughed as he and Pepper mad eye-contact. Peter found himself unable to speak.

“Oh shit, I knew I’d forgotten to tell you something” Tony said slowly with a dumb grin on his face, “Yeah...Pepper's pregnant”

“Right” Harley said, frowning briefly before his face lit up into a wide smile, “That is amazing! You guys are gonna be the best parents - Oh my god! This is awesome...wait, why did no one tell me yet?”

“We’re keeping it very hush hush” Tony explained, “So don’t go running your mouth off just yet kiddo”

Peter stayed laying in contented silence as he listened to Tony and Pepper fill Harley in on all things Baby Stark. It was only when Harley called attention to the big grin on Peter’s face that he re-joined the room.

“Hey, can I name him?” Harley asked

“No” Pepper replied.

“Can I?” Peter asked

“Again, no” Pepper repeated, “I’m not having my kid named by two teenage boys, you’ll probably call it Megatron or something”

“If it’s a girl, we can shorten it to Meg!” Harley joked.

Pepper made an impatient, exasperated noise.

“This is our life , Pep” Tony said with a laugh, “We’ve got two of them now!”

-

Chapter Text

Chapter 21.

Closure.

Peter had never had to live with anyone else his own age before. He’d always been the only kid around, and there had been so many times where he had wished for a brother or sister to play with, maybe if he’d had a sibling with him all these years all the bad things would never have happened. 

Harley was spiraling. He never said anything, but Peter could tell that his friend was struggling to adjust to life in Stark Tower. One thing which had become clear over the last few weeks and that was the fact that Harley would not be returning to Tennessee any time soon. It transpired that in her police interview, Janet had inadvertently confessed to stealing painkillers and other medications from patients at the hospital where she worked. She had managed to avoid a prison sentence but drug hoarding on top of enabling the abuse of her child had culminated in social services intervening and removing Harley from her care permanently. 

On top of all that, Harley was freaked about having to start at a new school. He’d lived in the same small town all his life and the thought of going to a big, New York high school where there would be more kids in his new homeroom than there had been in his entire grade back home was very daunting. Peter didn’t envy him at all. 

All he could do was try and be there for his friend. No matter what it took. This had mainly ended up involving the two playing video games silently in Harley’s bedroom until the boy felt comfortable enough to start opening up. 

“I’m destroying you, man” Harley said with glee one rainy Thursday evening as they sat on the bean bag chairs in Harley’s bedroom, “Do spidey senses not apply to video games?”

“Clearly not” Peter murmured, rather proud of how well he was doing at pretending he was bad at this game. Bruce, Sam and Steve could all attest to him being much better. “I guess there had to be something I turned out to be bad at some point”

Harley grinned.

“Oh, dude, I’ve got a whole list of things you’re not very good at” Harley teased, “Socializing, your disturbing lack of basic Geographical knowledge, when to shut the hell up…..being too nice”

“How is being too nice a flaw?” Peter asked, “It’s a constant anxiety inducing existential burden, admittedly, but it gets me a lot of free churros from grateful old Dominican ladies”

“We jerks have it much easier” Harley replied with a satisfied sigh, “We don’t have to wait for the little old lady to dip in her change purse to get our churros. Not that I eat churros because they’re gross”

“Oh wow” Peter muttered sardonically, “Have we finally found a food that you don’t like?”

The boys continued bantering back and forth for a while. It was routine at this point. One thing Peter had quickly learned about having a pseudo-sibling living with him was that it was borderline impossible to get on with said sibling all the time. He loved Harley, but living with Harley was different than sharing a (rather large) living space for a few weekends every now and then. 

Harley’s standard human appetite almost rivaled Peter’s enhanced one. It was clear that the boy was just enjoying not being made to feel shame or guilt for eating as much as he wanted, when he wanted. But he did eat a lot and Peter was sure that if Harley hadn’t quickly discovered that he actually liked joining in with the Avengers workout sessions he’d have been double his original weight by now. 

Peter knew that he wasn’t perfect either. He was probably annoying Harley in ways that he didn’t even realize, though he did know that the biggest difference between them was that Peter liked to have things very neat and ordered whilst Harley was a lot more...chaotic. As they sat on the bean bag chairs in his room, Peter noticed at least six or seven things that were out of place that he would personally not have been able to relax where they in his room. 

Pepper was also becoming increasingly despairing over the state of Harley’s room but was clearly biting her tongue over the matter. 

“I know what you’re thinking” Harley said bluntly.

“Oh yeah, what am I thinking then?” Peter asked

“You’re thinking that my rooms a mess and you’re wishing you could pull off Pepper’s exasperated, hands on hips expression” he replied. Peter blushed.

“It could be neater” Peter said honestly

“It could be messier” Harley laughed, “So don’t tempt me. Tony’s got my back on this one anyway”

The conversation stopped once again as Peter picked his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had a text from Liz,

Pizza tomorrow night? Date night! My treat x

Peter smiled. He had been worried that Liz was mad at him for ghosting her the week that he’d gone to Tennessee and a few days later.

“That the wife?” Harley teased.

“Might have been” Peter said as he pocketed his phone once again, “She wants to go out for pizza tomorrow night but we said we’d watch a movie”

“So?” Harley snapped

“So, we already made plans” Peter replied slowly, “I can’t just ditch on you just so I can go out for pizza with my girlfriend.”

“Peter, are you really this fucking dense ” Harley said, hiding his face in his hands as he let out a beleaguered sigh, “Go to dinner with Liz. You’ve not seen her much lately since I arrived, I’m sure we can miss one movie night”

“Yeah, but-”

“And there’s like fourteen million people in this tower” Harley went on, “If you don’t go on this date I’m telling Natasha and she will frog march you down there”

“Fine, I’ll go on a date with my girlfriend” Peter fake sighed and rolled his eyes, “Only for you though”

“Oh, of course” Harley replied with a grin, “Needless to say that whatever decisions you make should factor in me as a priority. Y’know, seen as though we’re brothers now.”

Peter looked up at Harley in surprise, the statement had been made with no sense of irony or with Harley’s scarily on-point impression of Tony. He’d meant it. He’d honestly, earnestly said that they were brothers. 

Peter smiled as Harley realised what he’d just said and immediately blushed. Tony, Pepper and the rest of the team had been teasing them for weeks about being brothers but right up until that moment neither of the boys themselves had acknowledged the statement. Peter felt especially awkward about it, seen as though sometimes when he looked at Harley he felt a strange sensation in his stomach not too dissimilar from the one he got when he looked at Liz. It was confusing, and a little scary, so Peter just mostly tried to ignore it. 

“Stupid really” Harley muttered.

“It’s not stupid ” Peter replied, “Legally and biologically false, maybe, but certainly not stupid. We live together, we share the same bathroom, we’ve been known to share hoodies,, we argue about who gets the last chocolate pudding”

-”That pudding was my birthright, Parker”

“If that was true fate would have intervened and I wouldn’t have beaten your slow ass to the fridge” Peter went on, “Anyway - what I’m saying is that, whatever label we wanna put on it, we are kinda doing what brothers do”

“It’s just…..that’s kinda what you feel like to me” Harley admitted, “The only other person I’ve ever felt as close to as you is Rachel”

“So...what you actually mean is, I’m your sister” Peter joked. Harley didn’t laugh. He just put his controller down and faced Peter straight on.

“There’s only one Rachel” Harley replied, before tossing his controller to one side and briefly shouting into his bean bag chair, “My head’s just a fucking wreck at the moment, man, I don’t know what the hells going on or how I feel about any of this…”

“That’s fine, dude, we all understand” Peter immediately assured him, moving towards him and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I was exactly the same when I came here - you know that. It’s scary to let yourself start to feel like you’re home, that you can trust people. But you can and however you feel about it ...well, I’m not gonna tell you it’s wrong”

“I do think of you as a brother” Harley breathed slowly. The words stung Peter, for some reason, and he looked away from his friend, “It’s just...if I start thinking of you that way, as a brother, it’s like I’m admitting my own life with my own family is over. Rachel’s in freakin’ Australia, I’ve got no idea where my Dad is and...my mom, well…”

Peter saw Harley curl up into himself a little bit when his mom was mentioned. Suddenly, the route of the issue seemed a bit clearer. 

“You need closure” Peter said simply, “You need to have it out with your Mom, figure out what was going on in her head when ...y’know. I don’t think you’re going to be able to move on from all of this until you do that”

“Maybe” Harley mused, “But I’m not allowed near my Mom for a while”

“I’m sure we can find a way around that” Peter said thoughtfully.

Harley grinned.

“Trying to find a loophole in the law?” Harley teased, “What a very un-Peter Parker thing to suggest”

“I’m literally a vigilante” Peter replied with a frown, “And I’m told that these are things brothers do for one another”

-

Harley wished he could just go back to his old self. Deep down, he knew that it could take months or even years for him to get over what he’d been through and it was starting to worry him just how dependent he was starting to become on Peter being around. As much as Harley loved Pepper and Tony, they were both incredibly busy people and it was clear that having him around in the tower all the time was something of an inconvenience. The rest of the Avengers were nice enough and all had offered to talk to Harley whenever he wanted, but it was only Peter whom Harley felt really comfortable speaking with.

The switch around in their roles within the relationship was enough to give Harley whiplash. It had only been about two months since Peter’s night terror had left Harley with a broken nose; now it was Harley having the nightmares and Peter being there for him. Harley hated feeling needy and weak, that wasn’t who he was.

And so, on a Friday morning, Harley decided it would no longer be. He took a deep breath as he walked into the dining room where everyone else had gathered for breakfast. It was the first time since he’d moved in that Harley had done so. It was Pepper who noticed him walk in first, smiling happily and getting herself up as he walked in.

“Hey honey, are you joining us for breakfast?” she asked sweetly. Harley nodded and sat himself down next to Peter who gave him an encouraging smile and a pat on the back. 

“Nice to see you, kiddo” Tony said, “Just so you know - we have a meeting at Midtown on Wednesday next week, see if we can’t get you enrolled ASAP”

“OK” Harley said quietly. He felt a little uncomfortable with the prospect. If calling Peter his brother wasn’t letting go of his old life, then officially starting at a new school definitely did. This was home now. 

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry” Peter whispered to him as everyone returned to their own individual conversations, “You can hang with me.”

“Are you looking forward to pizza with Liz later?” Harley asked, determined to get the topic of conversation changed as quickly as possible

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to spend some time with her” Peter said happily, “Thanks for making me realize I was being a shitty boyfriend”

Harley didn’t speak much for the rest of breakfast. Everyone broke off into their individual groups to start their days, leaving Harley alone with Wanda for the first time since he’d moved in as she had the day off.

“D’you not have anything to do today?” he asked her. Wanda smiled.

“Day off,” she said with a sigh, “I feel like just going back to bed but it’s such a nice day outside, I kind of feel like doing something”

“Oh, cool” Harley said as he blushed. He hadn’t thought much about his crush on Wanda over the last few weeks but it was back in full humiliating force now he was alone with her. She gave him a kind smile.

“Do you want to come with me?” she offered, “I could use the company and to be honest you spend way too much time inside”

Harley quickly, but silently, nodded and they arranged to meet in the lobby in an hours time and spend the day in Manhattan. As he headed back to his room to get ready, Harley felt a lot lighter and excited about his day for the first time in a long time. He’d been expecting to spend the day mostly bored and on his own, which he was perfectly fine doing, but it was nice to get out and have a change. 

When he met Wanda in the lobby an hour later, he was dressed in the nicest casual clothing he had with him and had taken some extra time on his hair. She rolled her eyes and smiled at him as he approached her. 

“You look very nice” she said, sounding a little puzzled, “We’re only going for a walk though, unless of course you’re trying to impress someone”

Harley blushed, but then something within him seemed to kick in. He ended up smiling wryly at Wanda as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow as she waited for her to reply.

“Nothing wrong with trying to look your best,” he said with confidence, “Tony wouldn’t be pleased if he thought I wasn’t putting in an effort.”

“You maybe are too similar” Wanda smirked, “Someone should do a DNA test and make sure you’re not actually Tony Stark’s son, kid”

Harley grinned as he followed her out of the door and turned the corner towards Wanda’s favorite coffee shop. He’d by lying if he said a small, stupid, childish part of him didn’t sometimes wish that he was somehow the secret love child of Tony Stark. Unstable as he was, at least Tony cared about him and had stuck around.

“You’ve been quiet, since you got here” Wanda observed a few minutes later as she handed Harley his coffee in the shop, “Normally you’re so ...loud and full of opinions”

“Yeah, sorry about all that, probably didn’t make me come across all that well” Harley replied, Peter’s words from a few months before ringing out in his head. How Wanda considered him to be rude and lacking in Peter’s good manners, “I’m trying to change”

“Change isn’t something you should try lightly, kid” Wanda told him, “Not unless you’re a truly evil person or something and you’re not. You’re a snarky kid, there are worse things to be”

“Thanks” Harley murmured, looking at the ground, “I do just kinda wanna get back to being me again. I hate being all...sad and angsty, it’s not really me.”

“It’s bound to take some time” Wanda told him kindly, taking his hand. Harley looked even more intently at the ground, determined not to let his crush see him blushing so furiously, “I remember when I first came to the city after my brother died, it’s taken me years to get back to who I was before. If I even have, I don’t really know that girl anymore”

Harley felt terrible for her, he’d totally forgotten that she’d lost her brother and parents. 

“Yeah, but whatever’s going on me is nothing compares to-”

“Don’t do that, Harley” Wanda told him sternly, “You’ve been through a terrible experience and you’re allowed to be not OK for a while. We all understand. Especially Tony and Peter, they really care about you”

“I dunno what I’d do without them” Harley admitted

“Peter’s a nice boy” Wanda said, a fond smile forming on her lips, “He cares a lot about other people, some might say he cares a little too much about people”

Harley laughed. It was nice to know that when it boiled down to it everyone that Peter knew had more or less the same opinion of him. 

“I’m not really like that” Harley said with a shrug, “Like, I do care about other people and all that crap but I’m not as, well, I don’t wanna be mean but ...goody-two-shoesy as Peter”

Wanda laughed.

“Peter? A goody-two-shoes?” she giggled, “No way. I swear Tony’s got more gray hairs since that kid moved in. He’s been in like...six fights at school since I’ve known him”

“Really?” Harley asked, fascinated, “No one ever tells me about shit like this. What else do you know? I need details”

Wanda laughed, and was happy to oblige. She didn’t want to cause Peter any accidental grief by revealing a few of his ‘not-so-perfect’ moments to Harley, but it was mainly harmless and was the first time she’d seen the boy genuinely smile since he’d come to live with them.

As she watched Harley grin along with her stories, she couldn’t help but feel like she was back with Pietro. The two had the same smile.

-

“Hey loser” Michelle Jones greeted Harley with a smile as the teenager found himself waiting outside Midtown for Peter at the end of the day, having persuaded Tony to let him tag along with Happy to pick the other boy up. It was the first time Harley had seen MJ since the party but they had been in pretty consistent contact over instant messenger since. 

“Hi MJ” Harley replied with a smile, “How are you?”

“Decent” she gave a shrug before perching next to him on Happy’s car. They both ignored the driver’s annoyed look through the windshield. 

“How’s the whole unrequited love for your best friend thing going?” he asked her bluntly.

“As well as can be expected,” she replied with a smile, “Which is to say I try to spend ninety percent of my time reminding myself that when it boils down to it; Peter Parker is actually a fundamentally annoying human being”

“Except that he’s not really” Harley chuckled.

“Yeah, except that he’s not really” MJ agreed before sighing, “And it’s so annoying cos I’m like dude, just grow up. Have a flaw, y’know.”

“If it’s any consolation, he can be very annoying to live with” Harley said sympathetically, “I mean for one thing he’s super uptight about everything being clean and in place”

“So ...his biggest flaw is that he’s clean?” MJ asked, eye-brows raised. 

“Well, there’s also the reckless self-sacrifice and the constant need to apologize for shit he hasn’t done and has no control over” Harley suggested, “But they’re not really flaws as much as they’re like ...Peter being Peter”

“He’s kinda dumb” MJ said, reflectively, “Like I know he’s a genius but he’s kind of dumb. He thought Belgium was the capital of France”

Harley smirked.

“His geographical knowledge is frightening” he agreed, “Oh - I’ve got another one. He’s very stubborn and can’t grow facial hair to save his life”

“Those two things don’t really correlate” MJ replied with a frown, but she was smiling all the same, “Oh, and his need to comment and give you ‘fun facts’ about every scene of every movie you watch with him-”

“Yeah, he learned pretty quickly to stop doing that with me” Harley said with a grin, “I won’t go into details but if you’ve been wondering why he might get a little nervous if he’s ever around potatoes, I’m maybe the reason why”

Harley smiled as MJ laughed loudly, just before Peter arrived through the front doors and into the car park hand in hand with Liz. Ned and his girlfriend followed just behind them. Harley smiled and felt a little more at ease as Peter came running towards him and they engaged in the stupid secret handshake they’d concoted a few nights previously. Ned, whom Harley knew had his own secret handshake with Peter, looked a little perturbed. 

“How long have you guys been out here?” Peter asked, as he shot a confused look between MJ and Harley

“Few minutes” MJ said with a shrug

“We’ve been having a very nice chat, as it goes” Harley told him with a smile

“A chat?” Peter questioned, sounding genuine surprised, “Michelle, you actually came outside and spoke to someone?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, dickwad” MJ shot back. Peter took it in good nature but Harley couldn’t help but notice Liz tightened her grip on his hand. “We were discussing your many, many flaws so the conversation actually flowed quite well”

“In a nice way, though” Harley interjected

“Oh yeah, totally, in a nice way”

Peter narrowed his eyes.

“I knew you two becoming friends would be dangerous” he said quietly as Harley laughed, from what he knew of MJ he had been expecting her to deny that they were friends but to his surprise, she did not. 

“Peter, don’t we need to get going?” Liz asked all of a sudden, “If you’re wanting to show me this movie before we go out or whatever…”

“Oh yeah, right, sorry” Peter said sounding a little panicked as Harley, MJ and Ned all shared a look, “Yeah...yeah, we’ll go”

“Have a nice date night, dude” Ned sighed as he clapped Peter on the shoulder, “We can do the science project next weekend maybe?”

“Yeah, totally” Peter said happily, “Sorry I let you down again Ned, but thanks for understanding. I’ll text you tomorrow”

“Sure” was Ned’s short reply. Betty gave Peter a quick hug before taking Ned by the hand and leading him out of the parking lot. Harley thought the whole thing seemed off. Whenever he’d visited before, Peter and Ned had been inseparable. To an almost annoying extent but there seemed to be a bit of distance between them now, and it was a distance that Harley couldn’t help feel Peter didn’t even seem to be aware of. 

As Peter and MJ had a quick chat on the other side of the car, Harley turned his attention to Liz, whom he could tell had painted the smile that was currently on her face. 

“Hey” she said sweetly, “I know we haven’t really talked yet, other than that walk to the subway after my party which to be honest I barely remember. Kinda embarrassing.”

“Don’t sweat it” Harley said with a shrug, “Shall we do one of those cringey things where we re-introduce ourselves to one another?”

“Nah, I think I’m good” Liz replied with a quick laugh, “I just wanna say though, I’m sorry about all the stuff that’s been going on with your Mom. If you ever need to talk, my friend Sadie’s a great listener”

“Is this the same Sadie who cyber stalks me?” Harley asked with a raised eyebrow. Liz grinned. 

“One and the same” she said simply, “Peter tells me you might be starting at Midtown soon?”

“Yeah, we have a meeting next week” Harley replied. Peter and MJ had finished talking about whatever they’d needed to so Peter was now back hand in hand with Liz whilst MJ had taken herself off home. Harley felt a little stung she hadn’t said goodbye to him. 

“I’m sure you’ll fit in great once you’re here” Liz said kindly, “You already know some of the best people in the whole school”

“Can you all just get in the car?” Happy, whom everyone seemed to forget had been waiting in the car all that time, exploded, “Boys, if I wanted a front row seat to adolescent hormone driven crap I’d-”

“You’d what Happy?” Harley asked, “There’s no way you’re gonna finish that sentence and not sound like an absolute weirdo”

“He’s right” Peter agreed, “And it’s not hormone driven adolescent crap. There’s no love triangles to see here”

Harley, Liz and Happy all shared a look for a second.

Harley pulled out his phone and text MJ:

Flaw #4: He’s completely fucking clueless about everything. 

-

Closure.

It was a word that had been weighing heavily on Peter’s mind. The word that had been used to address what Harley needed to have with his mother before he would be able to move on and relax into his new surroundings.

Closure.

Harley had got it as well, in the end. The initial plan had been to emotionally blackmail Natasha into taking a jet and flying them both to Tennessee to confront Janet Keener but to Peter’s surprise, the ex-KGB member had proven remarkably hard to manipulate and the plan had not come to fruition. What it had come to was Tony’s intention and he had not been happy.

After the third hour of lectures on why it was wrong to attempt to steal registered flying vehicles that didn’t belong to them, both Harley and Peter had come clean about what exactly they’d been planning to do. Tony and Pepper got it. 

“I get it, kid” Tony had told Harley, placing a hand on the quivering boys shoulders, “I think part of the reason I’m still as fucked up as I am is because I never got a chance to tell my Dad how he really made me feel. I don’t wanna deprive you of that chance.”

“I just hate her so much” a crying Harley replied, looking around the room with a heartbreaking expression painted across his face, “Why would she stand back and let him do that to me? I need to know, I’m meant to be her son!”

Peter had sat across from Harley as his friend/brother/butterflies-in-stomach trigger had broken down and poured his heart out. It wasn an act far braver than Peter had ever performed, as far as he was concerned. He’d admitted that he hated Janet for what she’d done, but felt so conflicted and torn because she was still his Mom and he still loved her and wanted her. 

Tony had been great as well. Far better than he had been when Peter had first moved in. He and Harley seemed connected in a way that was any better or worse than Tony was connected to Peter, but it was certainly different. They both carried the damage of strained relationships with their parents. Peter didn’t really have that. His were dead. There was no closure to be had there, there never would be.

“I think you’re being really brave” Peter told Harley that night as they sat in the latter’s bedroom and played video games

“Thanks” Harley had replied, “....Please don’t tell anyone I cried. Or at least don’t tell anyone that I got snot on Tony’s best dinner jacket”

Peter laughed.

“If I had a dollar for every time I’d done that….”

“Peter?”

"Yeah”

“We never really talked about the other day” Harley went on, “I think we both got scared and pretended I hadn’t said but I need you to know - you are a brother to me, and I love you like one”

"Same” Peter choked, though he didn’t feel secure in his reply.

Harley’s chance at a confrontation with Janet had been surprisingly easy to achieve once social workers and law enforcement got involved. Harley had spoken to a psychologist, who had recommended the meeting as well. It seemed everyone agreed that closure would not be met until Harley had said what he needed to say to her.

Try as he might, Peter had not been permitted to go to the meeting. Tony wasn’t allowed to go either, he was still due to give evidence against Evan in court and it was deemed too risky to allow him to have direct contact with Janet before then. So, Pepper and Wanda had gone with Harley instead. When he got back, he was clearly exhausted but a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He seemed more himself.

Tony and Peter had spent the day in the lab. Peter could tell that Tony was worried about him, the way in which any discussion of Harley’s abuse seemed to trigger some kind of memory in Peter. 

“We could always do the same for you, y’know?” Tony said casually as they worked together on some repairs, “It’s certainly possible”

“I don’t need to” Peter lied, “I’ve got Dawn and Liz and you. I don’t need to know why they did what they did to me. They were sick fucks, end of story. I have my closure.”

“As long as you’re sure, kiddo” Tony sighed. Peter could tell that Tony was not satisfied with the answer, that he was convincing himself that Peter was still bottling things from his past up and letting them take over.

Peter was, of course, but he still resented how well his guardian could read him.

Harley sprung into life after his closure with Janet. He’d started Midtown and immediately made his presence known and carved out a distinct role for himself. Everyone flocked to him. Flash Thompson and Brad Davis had both pretty much declared open war on the boy until Harley had taken it upon himself to team up with Brad in Woodshop and they were soon top of the class. In the end, it was Flash and his sycophants on their own who hated Harley. 

Having Harley around in school was opening Peter up a lot more too. His relationship with Liz was only growing stronger, in no small part thanks to Harley’s good advice.

“I think we’re ready to take our relationship to the next level” Liz had told Peter one night as they sat in his bedroom doing homework.

“Oh - you mean…?”

“Oh, no, not sex” Liz said with a laugh, “Sorry I worded that badly. I think it’s time you came around for dinner and met my Mom”

“I already know your Mom, though” Peter said with a frown, “She and May were in the same book club. She gave me a hug at the funeral-”

It had taken Harley less than two minutes to explain to Peter how he’d said the wrong thing about all that. 

“Liz wants you to meet her Mom as her boyfriend” Harley explained, “It’s different”

“Why?”

“I don’t know why” Harley replied with a sigh, “I just know it is. Trust me.”

Peter had gone around to Liz’s house for dinner a few days later, he’d charmed Liz’s mom and talked shop with her step-dad. It was nice. Liz was, by this point, a regular guest at Stark Tower but Peter still hadn’t told her that he was Spider-Man. He had come very close on a number of occasions but chickened out just before. 

By the end of it, he was sure she must have thought he was trying to tell her some deep dark secret. 

Not that he felt ready to tell her his actual deep dark secrets, either. They were still staying well and truly hidden. 

A few weeks after Harley’s meeting with his Mom, the two boys found themselves laying down next to one another on Peter’s bed. They were throwing a beanbag up in the air to one another when a thought hit Peter like a bolt of lightning.

“You have to be ready for closure.”

It was something Dawn had said to him in one of their first meetings. Closure was something for people who were ready to leave a situation behind them, to move on. Peter knew that he wasn’t ready to move on, he wasn’t even close.

He could barely admit to himself everything he’d been through, all the things that had been done to him, and anytime he did he found himself on the verge of a major panic attack.

So, he just didn’t think about it.

I can’t. At least not now.

He hated himself for it, because he knew that he should’ve been. If Harley was able to move on as quickly as he had, then what was wrong with Peter that he couldn’t? 

There were so many people he could talk to about it now. Tony. Pepper. Natasha. Steve. Harley. Hell, if he’d really wanted to he knew that Liz would be more than willing to listen. Probably Darren, Ned and Betty as well.

But they couldn’t know.

None of them could know.

He wasn’t ready.

So, Peter lied to himself. Told himself everything was OK. That if he had a family and a girlfriend and a rapidly expanding group of friends then everything was OK. He was getting better. It wasn’t affecting him anymore, how could it be? His life had moved on. He didn’t need to seek closure when life had closed that door for him. 

What he didn’t expect was the crashing, thundering reminder of it all that was just waiting for him around the corner. A threat he could never have dreamed coming, and certainly not one he could have seen. 

The door was not closed.

Not by a long shot. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 22.

Three Months Later.

(AKA ‘Smart Boys Say I Love You’)

Peter was never happier than when he was swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper around New York City, looking for anyway he could help someone out. It was funny, really. For all the traumas and tragedies he’d faced in his life, it was when he was undeniably risking his own safety that Peter felt the most at ease. Like it was all meant to be somehow. 

Summer hit early that year. By the end of April, it was nearly too warm to be going into school and the last thing anyone wanted to do was sit in a hot stuffy classroom all day whilst New York City was hitting record breaking temperatures. Tony was worried. Global warming had become one of Stark Industries primary concerns over the last few years and as nice as the weather was, being able to fry an egg on the street wasn’t exactly a good sign.

June rolled around and school ended. For the first time in his life, Peter Parker was not actually dreading the one hundred something days separating one school year from the next. Normally, he’d have spent his summers cooped up inside whilst everyone else went on amazing vacations and he’d be hanging around Queens by himself whilst Ben and May worked their butts off throughout the day. He did think the first summer after the spider-bite might have been enjoyable but by the time summer vacation rolled around, Ben had been killed and he spent most of that summer in a kind of numb haze. 

Now felt different. Peter and Harley had made plans to tag along on a business trip to California that required both Pepper and Tony at the end of July - neither had ever been - and Liz had mentioned something about everyone spending a few days at her beach house on Long Island. Yes, as he webbed his way down to Queens on that last Friday night in June, Peter Parker was feeling quite content. Happy, almost. 

He did have one agenda in mind.

Telling Liz that he was Spider-Man.

It was time, he couldn’t keep lying to her about it anymore. It was eating him up. Often, they’d sit together and Peter would listen as Liz told him about whatever lies Sadie’s latest crush was spinning her or that Ricky was pretending that he was Thor’s illegitimate love child in order to impress some senior girl who was way out of his league.

He’d made the decision on the last day of school. Peter, Liz, Darren and MJ all had a free period together and had chosen to take it outside, hanging out on the bleachers so they could watch Ned and Harley both try and ultimately fail to appear half-way competent at softball. MJ had immediately pressed her nose into a book, Peter was just satisfied she was willing to hang out with more and more people by the week so left her to it, and Darren soon found himself distracted by some Junior girls who eyed him very flirtatiously.

“He’s such a player” Liz said, rolling her eyes. Peter was laying down with his head in her lap as she played with his hair. “Boys are gross”

“Hey, I’m a boy!” Peter protested.

“You’re the exception that proves the rule” Liz assured him, “Most boys keep secrets. They only have one or two things on their minds, food or getting laid”

“I don’t think that’s entirely fair” Peter replied, “I mean, Harley thinks about a lot more than eating and getting laid.”

“Like what?” Liz asked

“I dunno” Peter shrugged, “Corn, I guess? He is from Tennessee”

Liz laughed as she continued to affectionately stroke Peter’s hair. What followed was about two minutes of gushing where Liz informed Peter of how happy he made her, how pleased she was to be dating him and that he was the only boy in the whole school was truly and completely honest with her. As much as she loved Darren and Ricky, they weren’t above lying to get what they wanted. Peter cringed as he was told he wasn’t like that, he was special, he didn’t have secrets and he didn’t want to keep secrets. It was then that Peter decided Liz needed to know he was Spider-Man and that he had to tell her as soon as possible. She would feel betrayed if she found out any other way.

So, naturally, Peter put telling her off for weeks out of nothing but sheer cowardice. 

It wasn’t as if he wasn’t given plenty of opportunities to do so. He’d caught a nasty head injury during a botched robbery and spent a few days in the hospital, and he was amazed Liz didn’t manage to connect the dots then as the incident had been widely reported. He’d made sure to grow his hair out a little longer than usual so it swept down over the top of his forehead and hid the six stitches he’d needed there. The length of Peter’s hair had given Harley a lot amusement. 

As he arrived in Queens, Peter perched himself on top of a bridge overlooking his old apartment, and briefly wondered if he should drop in. He’d always assumed that after May died the apartment would have simply been rented to someone else but when he’d asked Pepper to look into it a few months back, he was shocked to discover that the apartment was still empty. 

He sighed and looked away from the building. He wasn’t ready. Not yet. He hadn’t been back their since the night May died, social workers had collected all of this things from there. Peter could never face those four walls again, the memories would hurt too much. Taking another deep breath, Peter looked to his South and was amazed to see Liz and her mom happily chatting and talking as they made their way to Liz’s Mom’s car with their arms full of groceries. 

Liz looked incredibly beautiful in the early summer dusk and Peter smiled to himself, still unable to understand just what a girl like Liz Allan saw in him. 

There wasn’t much time to dwell on the thought, however, as behind the two women appeared three men with masks and each armed with a gun. One of them called something out to Liz’s mom who turned around and quickly covered her daughter with her arm. Without a moment's hesitation, Peter had jumped down and was now staring the loaded gun in the face. The men sneered at Spider-Man as he made sure to shield Liz and her mother.

He wanted nothing more than to turn around and assure Liz that everything was going to be alright, but he also couldn’t stand to see her looking as scared as she presumably was. 

“Do we have a problem here?” he asked. Normally, goons like this did not worry Peter at all. More often than not, they were more scared than anyone else. But Liz being so close to the firing line put Peter a little more on edge than he might usually have been.

“Just give us some money, and we’ll get outta here” the apparent leader of the gang - dressed quite fittingly with an Iron Man mask - snarled. Spider-Man laughed. 

“Well, as you can see, I don’t really have anywhere to store a wallet,” he said, gesturing to the pocketless suit he was adorned in, “So….”

“I wasn’t talking about from you” Not-Iron-Man said aggressively, he gestured his gun to just behind Spider-Man’s shoulder where Liz and her mother stood frozen to the spot. “That old bat is loaded, you only have to look at her to know that”

Sighing, Spider-Man finally turned around to face them. He was rather surprised to see that Liz was not at all cowering or fearful, she looked stoic. Ready. Determined. It was almost as if her mother’s protective arm had been preventing her from charging at the men herself rather than to shield her from anything.

“I don’t have any money” a terrified Mrs Allan quivered

“What about the girl?” Not-Iron-Man asked, “Maybe if she doesn’t want her head blown off then she’ll hand over some of her allowance?”

Liz scoffed.

Spider-Man turned around to face the robbers once again. He could see that being scoffed at by a teenage girl hadn’t done wonders for Not-Iron-Man’s ego and he seemed a little more on edge, but also a little more scared and it was clear he hadn’t really anticipated for the situation to go this far. Peter didn’t think it unlikely that his gun probably wasn’t even loaded.

“Why don’t you just get on your way, gentlemen?” Spider-Man asked, “I think we’re done here”

The gun clocked as Spider-Man got prepared to turn away. The superhero laughed. Not-Iron-Man and his cronies really were idiots. 

“Money. Now.”

Not-Iron-Man have a nod to Not-Thor who charged at Spider-Man. Jumping effortlessly out of the way, Peter dodged Not-Thor who hit the brick wall behind him with quite a lot of force. Soon, he was sprawled out on the sidewalk clutching his bloody nose. Not-Iron-Man looked thoroughly embarrassed. 

“You guys aren’t very good at this, are you?” Spider-Man said as he made his way between Liz, her mother and Not-Iron-Man’s loaded gun once again.

“I’ll shoot” Not-Iron-Man said, “Don’t think I won’t”

Realizing that the situation would not be over until he’d got the gun from Not-Iron-Man’s stupid hands, Spider-Man sighed as he did a quick flip and snatched the gun from the increasingly pathetic and sweaty looking man. Peter also made sure to rip the Iron Man mask away from his face so that his face was clearly visible to Liz and her mom. 

A man who clearly did not know what to do now. So, he ran. 

“Thank you” Mrs Allan said breathlessly as Liz phoned the police on her cell, “Let us know if there’s anything we can do for you”

Ignoring his desire to ask her not to make casserole again when he came around for dinner on Friday, Peter quickly told them he was fine and got out of there as quickly as possible. He couldn’t help but notice the look Liz gave him as he left. From a close distance, Peter watched and made sure that he didn’t let Liz or her mother out of his sight until the police arrived.

It was all going alright, until Liz decided to call Peter’s cell. 

She was, of course, surprised when she could hear Peter’s ringtone blared out near her. Scalding Karen for not switching his phone to silent, Peter frantically rejected the call but the suit somewhat restricted the dexterity of his fingers and so the phone kept ringing. His panic only grew as Liz began to wander around the area, trying to search him out.

“Peter?” she called, “I know you’re up there, Spider-Man”

Peter gulped. How did she know? Had she figured it out now or did she already know? Either way, he knew the game was up and jumped out from behind the tree he’d been hiding behind. Taking his mask off, Peter made sure to paint on his biggest, most innocent smile as he came to face his girlfriend ...who did not look as angry as he’d been expecting.

“Hey Liz” he muttered, looking at the ground.

“Fancy bumping into you here” Liz said slowly

“Err, yeah, look - I think we may have got our wires crossed-”

“Don’t start lying to me” Liz sighed, “You haven’t actually lied to me about anything yet, so don’t start now”

Peter was confused. He’d been lying to her for weeks, months...years for all the difference it made. Keeping secrets, disappearing to go and swing from buildings when he should have been spending time with her, making up stories about why he received the perplexing injuries he so often mysteriously acquired. All he’d done since their first date was lie to her. 

“I’m sorry” Peter said quickly, reverting to his default, “I should have told you way earlier I know I should and it totally wasn’t cool of me to keep you in the dark, 

“Peter”

“-but I never knew how to tell you and it just seemed like it was easier to not and I know that makes me a coward and a massive dick and you-”

“Peter!”

“-You’re probably gonna break up with me now and I deserve it. I never deserved you anyway, it was stupid of me to think that-”

“PETER PARKER, SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Liz yelled, “I am not mad at you. I’m a little hurt that you clearly didn’t feel you could trust me, but I’m not mad. I think it’s amazing.”

“You-you what?” Peter blanched. 

“I think you’re amazing” Liz said softly, looking a little shy, “I’ve had my suspicions for awhile but I didn’t really want to confront you with them, in case you freaked out.”

“Guess you were right there then” Peter laughed, a little embarrassed.

“Yeah, I guess” Liz went on, “Peter you need to know that I am not going to break up with you over this. I’m not mad, I already thought you were pretty much the bravest person I’ve ever met before and now, well...you’re just incredible”

“I’m really not” Peter muttered

“You really are” Liz assured him, “Peter, you’ve been putting yourself in danger for the good of other people for like...two years? That’s incredible.”

Peter cringed. All he could think of was all the people he hadn’t been able to save. All the ones he could have saved if he’d been better, stronger like Tony or Steve. But Liz spoke her words with so much honesty and seemed to mean them, so Peter nodded and allowed her to embrace him.

“You better go though” she whispered, “The cops are gonna be here soon and we don’t want you getting in trouble for vigilantism now, do we?”

“I guess not” Peter said with a weak laugh, “....So, you’re not mad?”

“I promise I’m not mad” Liz said firmly, “As far as I’m concerned, we’re stronger now than we ever have been, and you have a place to crash in Queens if you ever stay out too late or get hurt. Honestly, it’s better this way. I can help you more.”

“Yeah” said Peter happily, he hadn’t thought of that, “Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks Liz, you’re the best”

They shared a kiss, breaking apart after a few seconds. Peter was taken aback by the passionate, determined look in Liz’s eyes. She took a deep breath.

“I love you, Peter Parker”

Peter was caught off guard. He didn’t know what to say. No one outside of his family had ever loved him before, and he knew that fate was rarely kind to those that loved him. He was a curse. Anyone he loved died, so maybe it was better that all Peter could think in that moment was;

I don’t love you.

I love someone.

But it’s not you.

Instead, Peter took a deep breath and Liz’s hands in his.

“I’m sorry” he breathed, looking at the ground as he shuddered, “You deserve to hear the same back from me and I could easily just ...say it, but I don’t wanna just say it. I’m sorry ...I just don’t think I’m...there yet.”

“Peter, I understand” Liz said kindly, “These things are a bit harder for you to process than most of us. I get it. Please don’t worry. I just wanted to let you know how I feel.”

She was being so nice, so sweet, so understanding and yet all Peter could focus on was the hurt and disappointment that had replaced the passion and steely determination in her eyes. This wasn’t how this should have been. He shouldn’t be here, in his Spidey suit, hiding behind a tree having just told his girlfriend that he didn’t love her. 

It was so fucked up.

“You deserve so much better than me” Peter said

“Right now, there’s no one better for me than you” Liz smiled, “And, seriously, go or my Mom’s gonna catch us and I don’t think she’ll be happy about me dating a vigilante.”

They shared another kiss and Peter took off. As he swung back to Manhattan, all he could do was replay the scene over and over in his mind.

“I love you, Peter Parker ”

Liz loved him. She loved him honestly and openly, with all the heartache that love entailed. And now she knew he was Spider-Man. And she loved him. That meant sleepless nights and constant worrying. That meant having an interest in what he was doing, that meant that as she approached the most important school year of her life, Liz was going to be spending her time worrying about him and not focusing on her studies. 

And that was his fault.

“I love you, Peter Parker”

But she loved him. For some reason, she loved him despite the anxiety and the mental health struggles and the highly annoying overexcited way he spoke about movies. She loved him. Liz loved him.

But he didn’t love her.

I don’t love you.

I love someone else.

By the time he swung back into the tower, Peter Parker was sure of one thing. He was the worst boyfriend on the planet.

-

“Oh Peter, oh no, that’s not good”

“Yes, I know, thank you Harley”

“So, let me get this straight,” said Tony with a vague hint of amusement in his voice, “Your girlfriend finds out you’re Spider-Man, tells you she loves you and then you tell her - to her face - that you don’t love her and then you just ...swing away”

“Well, it wasn’t quite like that” Peter said with a frown, “In the moment it felt a lot more emotionally driven than that”

“For Liz at least” Harley interjected with a laugh

“Harley, play nice” Tony sighed, “Peter doesn’t need to be made fun of for his disastrous approach to his love life. At least not for another few hours, right now we need to appear sympathetic”

“Right” Harley said with a nod, before turning to Peter, “I’m sympathetic to your stupid dipshit move, Peter. I’m sure it won’t cost you anything.”

The three were sitting on deck chairs right at the top of Stark Tower, a small BBQ pit in front of them as they waited for some of the others to join them. The glorious summer weather plus the suns new inability to set before 10pm had meant the residents of Stark Tower had not eaten a meal inside for a good few weeks, and the nightly dinners on the roof had become a firm favourite amongst all. They somehow seemed a lot more relaxed than everyone gathered around a dinner table so large it was a strain to have everyone included in the same conversation.

Peter flipped Harley off. The boy just grinned and placed himself down next to Peter, resting his head on Peter’s shoulder. 

“I mean, she hasn’t dumped me or anything” Peter said reasonably, “And she did say that everything was fine and I shouldn’t get myself worried about it.”

“Sounds like she knows you very well” Tony observed.

“Course she does, she loves him” 

“ Harley!”

“I meant that genuinely!” Harley said with a laugh, “Honestly, if Liz really does love Parker than I guess she’s maybe OK with waiting around till he says the same. It’s not a crisis, just an inconvenience.”

Peter smirked bitterly. What an apt way to describe his whole existence. 

“And how do you know so much about all of this exactly?” Tony asked.

“I’m a smart boy, and Peter’s dumb” Harley replied with a shrug

“Oh yeah, and what makes me dumb?” Peter questioned. Harley grinned.

“Smart boys say I love you back” Harley explained, “You just think more with your heart than with your head, a smart boy would have probably saved himself all this worry by just blindly saying ‘Oh, I love you too’ but you - you’re a good boy. Good boys are honest.”

“Dear god, what would that make me?” Tony asked.

“A billionaire who is incapable of not making things about him?”

“Touche”

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of puppy” Peter told Harley. 

“You are a puppy” came the voice of Natasha Romanoff as she appeared behind the three armed with a stack of plates. Pepper followed her slowly, now in her fifth month of pregnancy, getting about was a bit trickier. Tony held out his hand and guided her down to sit next to him. Harley yawned as he gave up his chair for Natasha and soon he and Peter found themselves sprawled out over one another sharing the biggest deck chair. 

“Bruce and Steve are fighting about who gets to light the barbecue” Pepper told Tony, “I said that it was irrelevant as you’re the only one allowed to touch the precious grill”

“Me and the grill understand one another” Tony said simply, “We speak the same language”

“Wow” Harley piped up, “I didn’t know that being Iron Man meant that you could actually speak to the machines. Will you tell the toaster it’s a psychotic little bitch for burning my hand yesterday?”

“Language!” Pepper said sternly. They were very close to opening a swear jar, it would likely end up standing next to the unnecessary apologizing jar which had ended up becoming a thing. To no one’s surprise, Peter had contributed over 85% of the money in it. The other fifteen was shared between Bruce, Steve and Wanda. 

“That wasn’t a very Smart Boy move was it?” Peter said. Tony shot him a wink in appreciation before ruffling both boys’ hair as he went to switch on the grill. Harley rolled his eyes and followed Tony under the guise of going to help him.

“Daddy issues win out again” Natasha observed, taking a sip of wine as she watched Harley bound after Tony like a kicked puppy, “Maybe we need to open a Unhealthily Dependent on Male Authority Figures jar for that one”

“He’s fine, Nat” Pepper said with a grin, “And we don’t need to open anymore jars. Swearing and unnecessary apologies are our two biggest vices”

“Says the woman who hasn’t had to contribute a dime to either” said Peter 

“What can I say?” Pepper replied, “Never make mistakes, never have to apologize. And it reduces your swearing by a lot.”

“I’ll never be over the time I heard you say shit” Natasha said with a laugh, Peter laughed along as Pepper shot them both a cross look before resolving to smile herself. 

“How’re you doing anyway, sweetie” Pepper asked turning her attention to Peter, “Anything worth sharing from today?”

“My girlfriend knows I’m Spider-Man and I told her I don’t love her” Peter said honestly, deliberately choosing to reveal the news in a way that would take both women by surprise. 

“That’s a ...hell of a day, kid” Natasha said slowly.

“Wait, Liz knows you’re Spider-Man?” Pepper asked, “She’s not going to say anything is she?”

“Nah, she texted me an hour ago and said she’s happy to keep the secret” Peter replied with a smile, “I think she actually quite enjoys being one of the few people in the know about stuff.”

“That’s good, I guess” a still unsure Pepper mused, “And what’s all this about you telling her that you don’t love her?”

“Well, after she found out about Spider-Man, we were talking and she kind of...told me, she loved me” Peter said slowly. The revelation warranted the expected squeals and awws of excitement that he had expected it to. “I was really nervous because I thought she was going to flip her shit and dump me, and then she told me she loves me”

“And who couldn’t” Natasha said teasingly as she ruffled Peter’s hair. He didn’t stop her.

“So, I was really taken off guard and I was taking a super long time” Peter carried on, “And I hadn’t said anything and all I could think was - I don’t love you, not like that - and so...that’s what I told her”

Peter cringed and hid his head in his hands as he finished the story. He’d been a lot more open about the specifics of it with Pepper and Nat than he had been with Tony and Harley. He expected less teasing from the two women, though he was now worried that they would both tell him he was a dick or some kind of awful boyfriend for doing what he did.

Instead, he got a hug.

Pepper draped her arms around Peter’s neck and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Peter was confused but accepted the hug nonetheless. 

“Oh honey, if only all men were as pure as you” Pepper said as she sat herself down next to Peter on the deck chair. She lifted her arm and allowed him to rest his head on her shoulder. “What did Liz say when you said that?”

“She understood, I think” Peter muttered. “She looked kinda upset though. Like she was expecting me to say it right back to her, but I can’t lie. Not about that.”

“You did the right thing” Pepper assured him, “I mean, lying and saying you love it too might have spared her feelings for a while, but in the long run this is better. This means that when you do eventually tell her that you love her, she’ll know you really mean it.”

Peter smiled but felt his heart twinge a little. Something inside him was telling him that he’d never love Liz, not in the way she loved him. But, maybe, in time that feeling would go away. Liz was awesome and he definitely enjoyed every second he spent with her, every time she called he got excited to speak with her and everytime she kissed him in school he felt his stomach do backflips. It might not have been love, but it was something. 

“Love is confusing” he eventually muttered.

“You won’t find me disagreeing kiddo” Natasha said before pouring herself another glass of wine, “I do think we may need to have a talk about you being so god damn adorable because it’s turning me to drink”

Peter laughed as Wanda, Sam and Rhodey all arrived on the roof and promptly sat themselves down around the make-shift dining area. Peter and Pepper stayed cuddled up on the deck chair as they watched and listened to everyone share about how they’d gone about their days. 

Once Steve and Bruce were around, Peter decided to give everyone a heads up that Liz now knew about Spider-Man and that she was totally cool with it. He figured he’d pass on the the third humiliating re-telling of what a monumentally shit boyfriend he was. Only Tony, Harley, Pepper and Nat needed to know about that. They were the four people that Peter trusted most in the world, though he figured he’d probably end up telling Steve when it was just the two of them. 

“So, that’s what…..two of your friends now?” Rhodey asked Peter as everyone began eating, “I think that’s probably enough”

“I’ve been told I’m allowed to tell three people” Peter said

“Who told you that?” asked Tony

Pause.

“Harley thought that-”

“Harley thought nothing” the other teenager interjected quickly, “And I count as the third anyway because apparently no one around here trusted me enough to tell me.”

“We didn’t tell you cos you didn’t need to know” Wanda said calmly, placing a hand on Harley’s shoulder that seemed to ease him, “And you’ve proven yourself worthy of trust now.”

“I guess” Harley muttered. Peter mocked his sad facial expression from the opposite side of the table, causing Harley to smirk over the ridiculousness of why he’d just got riled up

“Does that other one not know?” Happy asked, “The moody one with the books? Always looks like she’s going to murder me? Maybe one of about three people Tony’s actually scared of?”

“Really?” Natasha asked Tony, “You’re scared of MJ?”

“She’s unsettling” Tony said defensively, “And I’m not scared of her - I’m more in awe of her, and no I don’t think she knows Peter’s Spider-Man”

“Wait!” Sam said all of a sudden, “....Peter’s Spider-Man?!”

The table erupted into laughter and soon the topic of conversation moved away from Peter and Liz on to over things. Namely, the Hydra symbol that had been painted on the New York Embassy earlier in the week. It had been a bit of an unwelcome shock for everyone in Stark Tower, no one more so than Steve, especially as Hydra had pretty much been shamed and beaten into submission and SHIELD had performed rigorous interrogations of its staff to ensure no one was colluding. 

“I’m telling you, it’ll just be some stupid punk kid” said Bruce, “Steve told me that people used to put swastika's all over the place after the war as a joke. Just some idiots idea of a joke.”

“I think, and hope, you’re right Bruce” Steve replied seriously, “No way would Hydra make such a public display, not now anyway. It’s only been eighteen months since Fury was killed, and he was a pretty big get, they’re not coming out of the shadows for a while”

“It’s still unsettling, to think they’re just out there” Wanda said with a shiver, “Why would they wait to come back? If they have the man power….it’s not like these kind of groups to just sit around and wait. They’re on the move.”

“That’s assuming, like Bruce says, this was actually them” Natasha interjected, “Even if it’s not some dumb kid trying to have a sick joke, it could be some fringe group that we could take down in like .4 seconds”

“Tony” Pepper said quickly, nudging her husband in the side and gesturing to the two teenage boys sitting on the ground listening with wide eyes to every word being said, “I don’t think that the boys need to be hearing all this”

“You’re right, Pep, as always” Tony said as he stood up, “Peter and Harley, you guys need to be heading to bed. Or at least away from the scary terrorism talk”

“Tony, we’re not five” Peter protested, “And this is relevant to us. We could all be in danger.”

“And Peter has super hearing so he’ll just tell me everything you all say anyway” Harley said with a smirk, which Peter returned.

Then Tony gave them both the look.

Tony wasn’t much of a disciplinarian. He never shouted at the boys or really enforced any credible punishments on them, but there was a look he gave them both when he was serious about something that made the wayward teens move instantly if they saw it. 

It was pretty much code for her either You two are being dicks and need to stop or The instruction I’ve just given you is actually serious and you need to do what I say. Now. 

This was more of the latter kind and both boys moved immediately. Tony saw them as far as the elevator and then turned back to the rest of the group.

“I hate it when he does that” Harley muttered.

“Same” Peter agreed, before turning his head towards Harley. “Hey, you don’t think that Hydra is a real threat again do you?”

“I dunno” Harley said with a shrug, “But I do know one thing for sure”

“What’s that?” Peter asked

“Well, if we’re not old enough to listen to important news about potential terror threats” Harley said with a glint in his eye that spelled trouble, “Then we’re definitely not old enough to know any better than to watch some R rated movies and drink some spirits in my bedroom”

Peter grinned as Harley held out his fist. Peter bumped it. 

“You in?”

“Oh, I’m in” Peter said with a laugh, “I have sorrows to drown anyway”

“Such a good boy”

“You’re a bad influence, Keener”

“But I’m the influence you need, Parker”

The boys ended up chickening out of the alcohol. They both dressed it up as them being too mature to act in such a reckless way, but deep down, they knew the truth. Neither wanted to let Tony and Pepper down like that. 

Instead, they sat up watching Shrek 2 for the 100th time and fell asleep cuddled up to one another on Harley’s massive bean bag chair.

It was only when Pepper draped a blanket over the two of them at around three am that Peter noticed for the first time since he’d moved in to Stark Tower, he’d fallen asleep in a room that wasn’t his own. 

-

Ned Leeds was having a good summer. Or, he had been having a good summer until Betty went on a two week vacation to Italy with her parents, and he was stuck in Queens with very little to do. Normally, he and Peter would have pretty much spent the entirety of summer vacation glued to one another (save for Ned’s week long trip to Hawaii that the family went on every year) but this summer had been very different thus far. 

He and Betty had made a schedule. One fun thing for every day. Some days, the fun things were rather extravagant. Betty had been perplexed when Ned confessed that despite living in New York City all of his life, he had never actually been out to the Statue of Liberty. So, they did that. Conversely, Ned couldn’t believe his ears when Betty had revealed to him that she had never actually been to the Natural History Museum. So, they did that, and then had a date night at Betty’s watching Night At The Museum. 

Other days, the fun things were more lowkey. They would go for picnics in the park, window shopping in Manhattan or just for coffee. All the time, however, Ned was absolutely dreading the two weeks where Betty was going away. 

“It’s not even two weeks when you really think about it” Betty had mused the night before her departure, they were having dinner at Ned’s house, “It’s more like 12 days cos technically the two days of travel do count as part of the journey”

Betty had suggested time and time again that Ned make an effort to spend more time with Peter. Like, it was somehow on him to make the first move. What really bummed Ned out was the fact that he and Peter hadn’t even had a fight or a disagreement ...they just hadn’t spoken. Peter’s social media was more active than it ever had been and from what it looked like, he was spending all of his time either with Liz Allan and her friends or Harley Keener. Harley had even started popping up in snapchats and videos of when Peter was hanging out with Liz’s popular clique. It wasn’t like before when the lack of communication between them was down to Peter struggling with something, he was fine. Thriving, even. He was just doing it without Ned. 

That was the real killer. 

Ned had always known that there was a distinct chance that Peter would one day leave him behind, why wouldn’t he have? Peter was incredible. He was kind and selfless and handsome and everyone he came across seemed to love him. Ned wasn’t like that. He’d never be a superhero, and he was far too awkward and geeky for anyone to want to spend that much time with him. But he’d always had Peter. They’d been losers together.

Not anymore.

Peter was popular now. He hung out with the popular kids. He did popular kid things. His girlfriend was the most popular girl in school. It had only ever been a matter of time until Peter left Ned behind, but Ned still didn’t expect it to hurt this much and he definitely didn’t expect it to be so sudden. And he would have thought that Peter would’ve been at least a little more aware about it than he had been.

He’d only contacted Ned twice by text since Summer had started. Once to wish him a happy visit to the Statue of Liberty and the other was a silly picture of a cat that he’d clearly thought Ned would find amusing. 

“Hey loser” MJ greeted Ned as they bumped into one another at what had once been his and Peter’s favourite comic book store

“Oh, MJ, hey” Ned replied weakly, “How was the Philippines?”

“Three weeks in the sun, no one to talk to, nothing to do but read” MJ said dreamily, “It was the best vacation I’ve ever had. When are you going to Hawaii?”

“In a few weeks” Ned replied, “Betty’s in Italy”

“Oh yeah, I saw her post” MJ said, “Looks like she’s going to Rome. I’ve always wanted to see the Colosseum...so, anyway, where’s Parker?”

“Sorry?”

“Parker? You know, your other half” MJ replied playfully, “Let me guess - he’s questioning the manager about why they don’t prioritise more-”

“Peter’s not with me” Ned interjected hotly. MJ looked a little taken aback. “He’s….I don’t know where he is today, we’ve not hung out in a while”

“Makes sense” MJ said with a shrug, “God knows how but the two of your have somehow managed to convince two girls to date you...kinds adds up that you stopped being each others first priority”

“Yeah, that’s true,” said Ned brightly. He hadn’t really considered that. Maybe he’d been just as busy with Betty and had ignored Peter and now Peter was feeling just as awkward as he was. 

“At least there’s that Stark company fundraiser party thing in a few weeks, we’ll all be together then” MJ said, “Although Parker’s insisting that I have to wear a dress for it.”

Ned frowned. He hadn’t heard about any Stark company fundraiser, Peter hadn’t mentioned anything about it on the last day of school and MJ had flown out to the Philippines the very next day, which meant the only way she could have known about it was that Peter had told her in person before she left or texted her about it whilst she was on vacation. Either way, he’d still told her and not Ned. 

“Yeah, when is that again?” Ned asked, trying his best not to sound hurt and surprised by the snub, “I totally forgot to put in my calendar”

“Cos you’re just that busy aren’t you, Leeds?” MJ replied before pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket and heading to her events app, “It’s on the 6th August. So, like, three weeks...exactly from today”

“Huh, that’s the day before I fly out to Hawaii” Ned said simply

“Oh” MJ replied with a frown, “D’you think you’ll still go?”

Ned shrugged.

“I think you should” MJ went on with a grin, “You know what Parker’s like...if you don’t go he’ll probably convince himself you’re mad at him or something.”

“Yeah” Ned replied with a shaky laugh, “Wouldn’t want that”

“We should do something ...y'know, just the three of us” MJ said, “Just like the old times, without all these newbies hanging on”

Ned smiled. He and MJ seemed to have very different perspectives of what their friendship pre-Liz Allan had been. It was always Peter whom MJ had regarded as her friend, and even that was begrudgingly done after Peter had given her a lot of comfort and support when her dad died. She never seemed to have much time for Ned when they were on her own, as far as he was concerned, they’d never been friends but clearly she felt differently. 

“Yeah, that’d be cool” Ned said with a nod

“It’s OK to miss him, you know” MJ said suddenly, knocking the wind out of Ned, “I know he’s got shit going on and all these new people and ...let's just say, other stuff, but you’re still his best friend.”

“I know” Ned replied sadly. The truth was, he didn’t know. Peter and he couldn’t have been best friends if they’d gone nearly a month without seeing one another, almost as long without really speaking to one another and if Peter seemed to have replaced him with several glossy new popular friends who he seemed to hang out with all the time. “I’ll see you around, MJ”

Ned left the comic book store and started his walk home. He thought about calling Betty but he knew the time difference between New York and Rome meant that she was probably already asleep, they would have to wait until morning for that. On the way home, Ned found himself getting angrier and angrier whenever he thought about Peter and how he’d dumped him.

Ned had been the one who was there for Peter when his uncle had got shot. Ned had been the one who had been coaxing him out of his panic attacks since they were six years old. Ned had been the only one who Peter had told that he was sleeping on the streets after May died.

Then, it hit him.

Ned had let Peter down. In the worst way. He still remembered that night. It was raining, the middle of a cold November night, and a fragile and shaking Peter Parker turned up on Ned’s doorstep with a scruffy duffle bag clutched tightly to his chest.

“Peter, what’s wrong?” Ned asked

“Du-dude I didn’t k-know what e-else t-to do” a shivering Peter replied, Ned knew then he would never ever forget the look in his best friends eyes, “I h-had to g-get out of th-there”

Ned closed the front door behind him. His parents were currently sitting around the dinner table, heads in their hands, overdue bills scattered all across the table and the floor. 

"What happened?” Ned asked.

Peter closed his eyes. 

“I just need a place to stay tonight, please” Peter begged, “I know you said that you can’t have friends over on a school n-night b-but I-”

Ned hesitated. He couldn’t ignore how desperate and lonely and sad his best friend looked. So frightened, so damaged, so vulnerable. His eyes fixated on Peter’s beaten up, barely held together duffle bag and it broke his heart knowing that that was all his best friend in the whole world had.

He was about to tell his friend that yes, of course he could stay. For as long as he wanted. That’s what friends did for one another. But then he thought about what Peter would be walking in too. His parents, beaten and slumped by debt, crying their hearts out on the kitchen table - crying over the fact that one more late payment would mean they lose the house. 

Their dreams of having another baby down the drain. “We can’t afford another mouth, we’re barely managing to cover the ones we’ve got!”

He couldn’t let Peter stay. It would break them.

Heartbreakingly, Peter seemed to accept Ned’s rejection without the other boy having to say a word.

“Don’t w-worry” he said, barely holding back tears, “I-I’m j-just being st-stupid. I’ll go b-back to the h-home, it’s not that bad”

So, Peter turned around and left. Ned tried to call after him but tripped over his own breath and Peter was out of earshot by the time he caught it. 

Both boys had cried themselves to sleep that night. One just had the luxury of doing so in a bed. 

Ned knew that for as long as he lived, he would never make that up to Peter. How could he? Peter had never told anyone what really happened to him when he was on the streets but it didn’t take a genius to figure out whatever it was had really done a number on the kid.

The next time Ned had seen Peter, he was at least six pounds thinner, pale and the boyish innocence that had once enveloped the boys eyes had disappeared. 

Even a year later, when Peter was happy and settled with people that Ned knew loved him, his smile still never quite met his eyes.

And that was on Ned.

Maybe, after all, he didn’t deserve a friend like Peter Parker. Or, at the very least, Peter Parker deserved a friend who was better than Ned Leeds. 

It was only when Ned bumped into a passer by on the street did he realize he’d been crying in public. As he looked up, Ned was distraught to see the sneering face of Eugene Thompson staring at him.

“Crying in public? That’s low, even for you” Flash snarled, “And watch where you’re going next time tubbo, should I expect Parker rushing around the corner in a few seconds?”

“Shut up” Ned snapped, “Why does everyone just assume me and Peter are together all the time?!”

“Because you two have always been that way” Flash replied, sounding a little confused, “Or are you telling me that the nerdiest bromance of all-time is dead?”

Ned’s silence spoke volumes.

“Interesting” Flash said with a nod, “And let me guess - he’s done his dumb puppy dog eye trick and now the reason you’re crying is because you’ve been convinced it’s all your fault and that Perfect Peter Parker couldn’t have possibly done anything wrong?”

“Not exactly” Ned whispered, “It’s more like ...50/50”

“Sure” Flash said with a grin, before patting Ned on the shoulder, “See you around sometime, Leeds. And keep your chin up. All three of them.”

-

Chapter Text

Chapter 23.

They Will Die Screaming. 

Though he had only known Peter for a little over a year, and had been living with him for just three months, Harley felt he knew his pseudo brother pretty well. Almost better than Peter knew himself. There had been countless occasions where Harley had been able to gage what was wrong with Peter both before the boy in question knew himself, and before anyone else even noticed there had been a problem. Being a big brother had always come naturally to Harley, he was a natural protector, but since Rachel’s relocation to Sydney he’d not really had anyone to focus that energy on and thus Peter was receiving it in droves. 

The boys were growing closer by the day and Peter seemed to find it easier to talk to someone sensitive and his own age about his problems than bothering any of the adults he deemed too busy to bother with him. Not that anyone was. It was something of an unspoken truth in Stark Tower that Peter and Harley’s well-being outranked anything else that life could throw the Avengers way. 

Peter had hit something of a summer slump. The initial excitement of them being out of school had drained away, Liz had jetted off to Florida with her family for a few days and much to Harley’s annoyance Ned Leeds had seemingly distanced himself for Peter and begun hanging out with Flash Thompson, of all people.

“I’ll stick my boot up his ass” Harley said, as he and Peter sat together on the roof terrace of Stark Tower awaiting another dinner, “You do so much for the dude for years and he re-pays you by hanging out with your bully?”

“Flash doesn’t bully me” Peter insisted (a particularly sensitive discussion point), he was of course finding any and every way to blame himself for Ned’s betrayal, “And Ned can be friends with whomever he wants to be friends with. Flash has…..good qualities.”

“I’m not sure having the all-time most punchable face is a good quality, Parker” Harley replied darkly, “Ned’s totally stabbed you in the back”

“I’m sure he has his reasons for hanging out with Flash” Peter said with a shrug, “I haven’t really been making much of an effort with him lately. He probably just felt like I was mad at him or something.”

“And, so, what?” Harley pressed on, “That makes it OK for him to just start being best buds with the guy who spent most of your adolescence shoving you into lockers and publicly humiliating you - and Ned himself on the odd occasion, might I add - at every opportunity?”

Peter opened his mouth to retort, but Harley went on.

“And, another thing” the passionate southerner ranted, “If you have been ignoring Ned, it’s because you’ve had shit tons going on. Liz. Spider-Man stuff. Pepper being pregnant. Therapy and I know you’ve been worrying yourself stupid about this Hydra thing too. And then, there’s me. Making sure I’ve been feeling safe and at home and all that stuff.”

“Ned’s never been much good at making friends” Peter muttered, “He’s really shy around people he doesn’t know and I normally help him and I haven’t been-”

“Oh my god, Parker, you’re killing me” Harley snapped, standing up and towering over Peter in his frustration, “Can you please just stop being the nicest fucking person in the world for a god damn second and just admit that you’re a little hurt? It’s OK. Being upset with someone doesn’t make you a dick.”

“I know that” Peter replied hotly, “I’m just saying that Ned hasn’t had some drastic personality transplant overnight, he’s not doing this to hurt me on purpose-”

“So, you are hurt” Harley pointed out

“-He’s just ...making new friends” Peter went on, “He’s totally free to do that”

“Yeah, you’re right” the other boy snarled, “You’re totally right. Ned is free to make friends with whomever he wants. Hey, maybe, next time you don’t pay attention to him for half a fucking second he can go and make friends with Vladimir Putin. Or Hitler. And we can all have a nice little super villain tea party”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous” Peter snapped, “And, to be honest, I don’t see why you’re so upset about this anyway. It’s not like it’s any of your business.”

Ouch. That stung.

“None of my business?” an affronted Harley replied. Peter looked momentarily like he regretted his choice of words, but matched Harley’s confrontational stance, “It is my business if it’s upsetting you”

“Why?” Peter questioned, “You’re going on and on about me being free to feel how I want to feel, yet as far as I can see, you’re the only one telling me how I should. Well, let me tell you. I’m not mad at Ned, I’ve been a bad friend lately, and the only person I am mad at right now is you ”

“Me?” Harley replied incredulously, “You’re mad at me ?”

“Mine and Ned’s business in mine and Ned’s business” Peter said with his arms folded, “We have been best friends since second grade, it doesn’t matter if you’re mad with him, I'm not. He’s my friend.”

Ouch. Another sting. 

Harley took a deep breath,

“Fine” he argued, turning towards the door, “Cos I’m just the fucking kid from Tennesse who doesn’t belong here and never fucking will. Your friends, your life, your school, your tower and I’m just in the way.”

“Harley, wait” Peter ran over to him and placed a hand on his arm, “I don’t wanna fight with you dude, and that’s not what I meant. Or how I feel. Ned and me are best friends, but you and me...well, we’re different aren’t we?”

“Brothers, as Tony’s so fond of saying” Harley practically whispered with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess” Peter replied. Harley willed himself to ignore the slight hesitation in Peter’s voice as he spoke. It was always there whenever the subject of them being brothers was broached. A slight hesitation. Harley guessed it was just Peter wrapping himself in a safety blanket, refusing to let himself get too close to Harley and declare him family in case - like everyone else Peter had called family - Harley was suddenly and cruelly torn away from him.

Given any choice, Harley would never leave Peter’s side. Especially not after the last three months on Peter giving his all to support Harley, all at the detriment of his own mental health at times. There wasn’t a more selfless person in the planet. No one that Harley would more readily call his brother.

But Peter wasn’t there yet.

“My point is” Peter went on, “I don’t want whatever’s going on with me and Ned to affect me and you. I hate fighting with you.”

“Same” Harley murmured, “Though I don’t know if this even counts as a fight. We were angry at one another for like ...thirty seconds”

“And it was probably the worst thirty seconds of my life,” Peter said, before breaking into a grin that Harley couldn’t help but reciprocate, “And it’s had some competition” 

Harley laughed out loud before casting an arm around Peter’s shoulders and guiding them both back to the deck chair they had been sharing. They sat down next to one another and Peter rested his head on Harley’s shoulder.

“I wasn’t trying to interfere” Harley said quietly, “I get that you need to fight your own battles, Peter. I do. I just ...you've done so freakin’ much for me lately and I haven’t cared about anyone as deeply as I care about you in so long ...seeing you hurt just made me mad.”

“I am hurt” Peter admitted, though he looked ashamed to admit it, “And confused, and yeah, a little bit mad. All I was saying is that the world isn’t black and white, and Ned’s probably just as hurt and confused by something I’ve said or done. Which is why ...I'm gonna talk to him and ask him to come over for dinner tomorrow”

Harley grinned.

“And it scares me how much I care about you, as well,” Peter went on, “As in ...really scares me, cos good things don’t happen to people I care about”

“You’re not a curse, Peter” Harley said with a smile, “You’re really not. My life, and everyone’s, is better for having you in it. Ned probably feels the same.”

Harley’s heartache stung at Peter’s words. He’d convinced himself that he was cursed, broken, that everything bad that ever happened to anyone he knew happened because of him. 

Suddenly, without really understanding why, Harley found himself asking Peter a rather confusing question;

“Do you ever think about your home?” he said, “Before you came here, before the foster home shit, but like ...your old apartment? With Ben and May. I’m only asking because I keep finding myself thinking about Rose Hill. Not missing it, necessarily, but just kinda ...wondering what it’s like there”

Peter frowned.

“I dunno…..sometimes, I guess” he replied, sounding confused. “This is my home now though, so I don’t really see the point”

“Rose Hill was somewhere I felt I belonged, once” Harley mused, “A place where I was loved, or at least I felt I was which I guess doesn’t make much difference, but I didn’t feel comfortable here until I’d laid that ghost to rest. Seeing my Mom. Asking her why, having a proper goodbye with Mrs Albridge. It helped me to shut that door.”

“I’ve not been back to my old apartment since the night May died” Peter breathed heavily, looking directly at Harley, “I’m not sure I could face it. Pepper ...well, she took over the tenancy of the place when I came here. No one else lives there or has done since. I think legally it might be mine?”

“Very well could be” Harley said with a shrug, “To be honest, I think it’s about time you started laying some ghosts to rest. If I can’t get you to stop blaming yourself for shit that isn’t your fault, or getting you to be reasonably pissed off with a friend, the least I can do is do what you did for me. Help me move on.”

“So, how exactly do you plan on going about that?” Peter asked. Harley, fresh with an ingenious new idea, gave his brother-best-friend and wink.

“We’re gonna have a sleepover” he said with a grin, “In your old place.”

Peter’s eyes shot open like saucers. Almost as if there were literal fireworks going off inside his head and he went into overdrive.

“I’m really not sure I can do that” he said quickly, “Like…..really, really not sure.”

“It’s only an idea” Harley said, before frowning, “Actually no - it’s an instruction. We’re sleeping over in your old apartment.”

“Why?” Peter asked with a frown. Harley grinned, it wasn’t a no.

“You need to start moving on from things before you can get better” Harley explained, “I hate to think what I’d be like if I hadn’t had the chance to have things out with Mom. I’d still be hung up over it all.”

“Maybe you have a point” Peter muttered, “And I am pretty sick of being like this.”

“You had funerals and stuff to say goodbye to Ben and May” Harley went on, “And I know it was before I knew you, but it kills me I wasn’t there to help you through that. But you never got a chance to say goodbye to your home Peter. One night. One last night and then you don’t ever have to go back there again”

Peter shuddered and brought his knees up to his chest. Harley could tell he was on the verge of a panic attack so shifted himself so they both ended up laying down on the deck chair and Harley started to trace his hand through Peter’s hair. 

“We’ll make it safe for you” Harley continued softly, “We’ll make it so safe for you. It’ll be and you, Liz, MJ and Ned if you sort your shit out with him. People who are familiar, people who are safe. It won’t be scary, I promise”

Peter nodded.

“OK” he said, voice shaking, “I’ll do it. What’s the worst that’s going to happen?”

Harley looked at Peter and laughed, both of the boys knowing that incredibly specific disastrous scenarios of what could actually happen had just popped into their minds. It was cathartic, the laughter, and Harley wished so much that he could hear Peter’s laughter more often because there really was no other sound like it. 

“Leave everything to me” Harley replied with a wink, “And - to quote Bruce’s favourite song in the world, ever - Everything I Do, I Do It For You”

Peter giggled once again and the boys then let silence fall over them once more. By the time that Pepper and Tony appeared around ten minutes later, Peter was fast asleep on Harley’s shoulders and the other boy was pretty close to sleep claiming him too. He smiled at Pepper and Tony as they quietly sat down opposite the boys.

All memories of the fight were already fading. If you could even call it a fight. All Harley knew was that he never, ever, ever wanted to end up in a situation like that with Peter Parker ever again.

He also knew that he somehow needed to stage a break in to an apartment in Queens he wasn’t sure he had any way of accessing. But Tomorrow Harley could deal with that problem. 

-

Ned had accepted the invitation to dinner in about three seconds flat. Peter couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. For all his denial to Harley, Peter had felt genuinely upset and hurt that Ned would hang out with Flash Thompson but within seconds of Ned’s arrival at Stark Tower - armed with a bunch of flowers for pregnant Pepper, who had gone public with her news a week before - the two were back to normal.

Harley, who was clearly still very angry with Ned, agreed to bite his tongue which Peter appreciated and reconciled himself to accepting that that was probably the best he could expect from Harley in all things concerned with Ned Leeds for a while. 

“So ...you're gonna sleep over at Aunt May’s old place?” Ned repeated slowly after being filled in on the plans, “That’s a bit ...gothic”

“Harley thinks it’ll help me start to move on” Peter replied with a shrug. The three were on the floor of Peter’s bedroom, building a new Lego Death Star after Wanda had accidentally dropped the last one down the stairs whilst attempting to levitate it. “I think he might have a point”

“I’m definitely in” Ned said with a smile, “Do you mind if I bring Betty? Just that she’s back in like two days and I’d quite like to see her at least every day for the first week or two that she’s back.”

“Well, isn’t that just lovely and not at all weird” Harley said with a frown, quickly changing his facial expression to his trademark cheeky grin after being subtly kicked in the shins by Peter. 

“I’m cool if Betty comes” Peter replied, “She’s really nice, Ned. Very warm. You’ve got a keeper there”

“Tell me about it” Ned said simply, “Her being on vacation sucks.”

“Well, at least Betty being away gave you time to-”

“Oh is that the time?!” Peter announced, shooting Harley a warning stare, “We should really head up for dinner or Steve’s gonna get made with us”

“I can’t believe that Captain America is going to be making my dinner!” Ned exclaimed with excitement as he got to his feet, “That is so cool”

“It’s literally just mac and cheese” Harley muttered as the three made their way up to the dining room, “And he usually burns it so don’t go getting too excited”.

Peter shot Harley another brief glare for his sarcasm as the three made their way upstairs, Ned and Peter chatting animatedly just ahead of Harley. Peter felt guilty when he realized he’d zoned out a little bit from what Ned had been telling him - presumably something about Betty’s vacation - as he was trying to establish when the best time to (sensitively) ask Ned about Flash was. 

“Nice to see you again, Ned” Pepper said warmly as the three boys arrived, the flowers that Ned had brought her earlier were placed in a vase in the middle of the table, “Feels like forever since we’ve had you round for dinner”

“Yeah, it’s been a while” Ned said awkwardly as both he and Peter blushed. Harley merely rolled his eyes and sat himself down in between Wanda and Sam, Peter felt a little guilty when he realized it was because Ned had unknowingly sat himself down in Harley’s usual seat between next to him. 

“How was your last semester of school?” Pepper asked as Tony and Steve began to serve everyone

“It was OK” Ned replied, “Studies could have gone better, but I was a bit distracted by Betty and a few other things”

“Betty? Is that your girlfriend?” Tony asked from the other side of the table, “You should bring her around sometimes, I’m sure we’d all love to meet her”

Ned practically squealed with excitement over the prospect however in his excitement he accidentally knocked over some salad dressing. Peter had to fight very hard not to laugh when he accidentally caught Harley’s eye. Harley, however, was doing no such holding back and was openly laughing into Wanda’s shoulder. She merely wore the patient, stoic impression that had become increasingly common as she’d become Harley’s go to person for advice and help. 

“Sorry sorry sorry sorry” Ned repeated over and over again as he tried to clean up the mess, however Steve made his way over and placed a calming hand on Ned’s shoulder

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it, honey” Pepper said softly, “I’m sure that Earth’s mightiest heroes aren’t going to be fazed by a little salad dressing.”

“And you’d hardly be the first teenage boy in this tower to showcase a worrying lack of coordination” Sam piped up, “It took us thirty minutes to get Keener’s abnormally large foot unstuck from a chair the other day”

“Wow.” said Harley bluntly, putting down his fork and shaking his head at Sam, “Imagine if you hadn’t just said that in front of everyone”

“Imagine if you two dumbasses hadn’t decided to sock slide in the lobby” Sam retorted

“We stand by our stupid decision to sock slide in the lobby” Peter piped up, as Harley finger gunned at him in appreciation. Ned smiled but still looked mortified. 

“Our point is, Ned” Natasha interjected, “We’ve all spilled the salad dressing at one point or another.”

Dinner passed by with Ned mainly remaining in a kind of half-humiliated/half-starstruck silence as his eyes batted back and forth between every conversation he could here, as if he was watching some kind of strange tennis game where the Avengers discussing mundane things about their day acted as the balls. As amused as Peter always was by his friends awestruck face, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

He’d become so used to sitting next to Harley at all meal times, inside or out, that every time he turned his head to the right and found Ned there instead, it surprised him a little and that himself just made Peter feel more on edge. Ned had been the one constant in his life since he was six, and yet, as his supposed best friend sat next to him being the same person he’d always been, all Peter wanted was for someone else to take his place.

Specifically, for Harley to take his place.

Tony seemed to notice Peter turning in on himself a little bit, so gently patted him on the shoulder and gestured him to leave the table. Under the guise of Peter helping to serve dessert, Tony guided his son from the table and lead him to the kitchen. Peter didn’t put up a fight or argument but also made a point of not looking Tony directly in the eye.

This, naturally, just made the billionaire more suspicious and he wound up standing directly in front of Peter with his arms crossed.

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong before this becomes a ‘thing’?” he asked

Peter shrugged.

“Dunno” the teenager muttered, “Just feel a little off. Like something just isn’t right”

“Is it a Spidey-Sense thing?” Tony asked

Peter shook his head, he hadn't actually realized how heavy his breathing had become until it had begun to slow down. 

“More ...I dunno, melancholic?” Peter replied, “It’s dumb”

“Hey, kid, there is nothing dumb about you” Tony said confidently, “And there is certainly nothing dumb about how you’re feeling, whatever it is, it’s fine and we can sort it out”

Peter looked up at Tony. There were times that he had to catch his breath and deal with the reality that Tony Stark - famed playboy, entrepreneur, billionaire and Iron Man - was his legal guardian. The one who was responsible for his welfare. If he ever gave himself more than five seconds to think about it, he became a little overwhelmed at just how bizarre his life had become. 

But he trusted Tony. He trusted Tony like he’d never trusted anyone else since May. 

“Me and Ned have been, well, we’ve been kinda ...growing apart” Peter confessed shakily, “I think it all started cos we both got girlfriends but we kinda didn’t speak between school and yesterday”

“That’s fine, Peter” Tony said trying his best to sound reassuring. Deep down, he was a little worried as he knew how much Peter craved consistency and being distant from his childhood best friend was not going to help that, “Happens to the best of us. Friends can come in and out of your life at the drop of a hat”

“Just like family” Peter said sadly. Tony sighed and placed a hand on the boys shoulder, pulling him into a side hug.

“The worst part is” Peter went on, “Is that I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t seen or spoken to Ned until a few days ago. Like, I’d just totally forgotten about him. That makes me a really shitty friend, doesn’t it?”

“And in all that time” Tony pressed on, “Did Ned try to contact you? Did Ned start up a conversation with you that you just ignored?”

“No” Peter said with a frown, “But that’s probably because-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there” Tony snapped, turning Peter to face him and crouching down a little (though not as much as Tony would like to admit) so they were at eye-level with one another, “Because we’re not doing what anymore?”

“Blaming ourselves for things we haven’t done” Peter repeated with a sigh

“Right” Tony said with a smile, “Neither of you have been a shitty friend, and I know that Harley will have helpfully voiced his opinion on the matter-”

“-Understatement of the year”

“But he’s wrong” Tony continued, “You and Ned have been each other's best friend for over ten years, and let’s be honest, for a lot of that time you were one another’s only friend. All that’s changed now is that the two of you have other people in your life that you can hang out with. It’s a good thing”

“Is it?” Peter asked, like a small confused child.

“You’re having to work for you friendship now, kiddo” Tony said, “It’s what adults do. Well, normal adults who don’t hide themselves away in their multi-million skyscraper with half a dozen of their best friends, anyway”

Peter chuckled. He felt bad for only telling Tony half a story. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Ned hanging out with the guy who had made it his personal mission to make Peter’s life a misery since the day they’d met. 

“So ...what, specifically, made you uneasy tonight?” Tony asked

Peter took another deep breath, clinging on to Tony’s arm

“It’s stupid”

“No, it’s not”

“It kinda is”

“Tell me and I’ll tell you if it’s stupid”

“Fine” Peter sighed, “It just felt strange having Ned sit next to me and not Harley. It feels strange not having Harley next to me, cracking jokes and stealing food from my plate whilst I’m still eating.”

Tony laughed.

“I knew you’d think it was stupid”

“That is the least stupid thing I’ve ever heard, kid”

-

The roof terrace had become Harley’s go-to place when he was upset. In a strange way, it was the place that most reminded him of Rose Hill. They were so far above the traffic and noise of Manhattan, that if Harley went up there at night and laid back in a deckchair, looking up at the stars it almost felt like he was in the middle of a field in Tennessee. 

He’d bitten his tongue all night. For Peter. Harley knew that Ned was important to Peter, a constant in his life that he so desperately needed to cling on to, but all Harley could see now when he looked at Ned was someone who would willingly betray Peter in a second if the stars aligned. It was making Harley very nervous that Ned knew about Spider-Man. 

Peter was currently in the lobby saying goodbye to Ned, presumably making plans to meet up again soon. Harley had already decided to himself that he wasn’t going to third wheel the next time Ned was around, he only wished he had some friends that weren’t connected to Peter to go and hang out with. 

“You do have friends like that” came Wanda’s voice from the other side of the terrace. Harley shot up and gave her a glare as she approached him with a wry smile painted across her face,

“You can’t just read my thoughts like that without permission” he said grumpily, folding his arms and pouting at her, “It’s invasive and morally wrong”

“And sometimes, very necessary” Wanda said softly as she sat down next to him and laid back, watching the stars as well. 

“How d’you mean?” Harley muttered, though he already knew the answer. 

“You’ve clearly been in a mood all night” Wanda said with a simple shrug, “Sam noticed as well, it’s down to me he’s not up here now telling you to stop being ‘a little bitch’ or something”

“I’m fine” Harley said 

“If you insist” Wanda sighed. They sat in silence. Harley knew he was being played, he knew that Wanda knew that the best way to get him to talk about his feelings was to initiate a period of silence between them and then eventually Harley would spill the beans. He was initially determined not to indulge her, but two minutes of silence was more than enough and he eventually caved.

“I think I might have been a dick to Peter” he confessed, “And I might have overstepped some boundaries with him”

“You and Peter have boundaries?” Wanda said with a smirk. Harley frowned at her. 

“Yeah, of course we have boundaries” he huffed, “Everyone has boundaries. The world would be in chaos otherwise”

“Not you two” Wanda said with a fond tinge in her voice, “You share everything, you’re literally wearing one of Peter’s hoodies right now”

Harley looked down at the blue Midtown hoodie he’d be wearing all day. It hadn’t actually occurred to him that it was Peter’s. They were roughly the same size and it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell whose clothes were who's now, and at some point, they had both just seemingly given up trying to decide. 

“Point taken” Harley said with a smile

“What did you do then?” Wanda said with a sigh.

Harley took a deep breath and told her the whole story. Peter. Ned. Flash. The picture. Peter blaming himself and trying to hide the fact he was hurt by it. The argument that Harley and Peter had had the previous night. How Harley had to bite his tongue all night not to say something to Ned about it. 

By the time he was done, and had heard himself replay the events, Harley was more sure than ever that he’d been an interfering dick and was more than prepared for Wanda to confirm this to him. However, all she did was tuck one of his curls away from his eye and smile at him affectionately.

“Oh, Harley” she said with a smile, “You know what you are, don’t you?”

“A massive a-hole?”

“Passionate” Wanda said, “You’re one of the most passionate people I have ever met in my life, I think it’s why I sometimes end up tuning into your emotions without even realizing I’m doing it.”

“Gee, that’s a great way to make me feel secure in my own head” Harley replied with a laugh, though deep down he felt almost comforted by the fact Wanda was so in tune with him. It meant that if he ever got the dark feelings he’d felt for the last few months again, there would be someone there who already knew he was having them. 

“My brother was very like you” Wanda went on, “He felt everything very passionately as well. He wasn’t just happy about something, he was euphoric. And his sadness was palpable, much like yours. And when he was worried, well ...that was bad”

“So….you don’t think I was being a dick?” Harley asked.

Wanda laughed.

“No, дитина, no” she said, “I think you probably dove in feet first and maybe didn’t handle the situation as sensitively as Peter needed you too, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you who you are.”

“I don’t follow” Harley said

“You wanted to stick up for your friend” Wanda replied softly, “You care about Peter very deeply and you hated seeing him clearly upset, and you felt that very deeply. You never had bad intentions.”

Harley breathed heavily.

“Never be ashamed of the fact you wear your heart on your sleeve” Wanda carried on, casting an arm around Harley’s shoulder, “It’s one of the best things about you, and there is a lot of good about you”

“She’s right” Peter Parker’s voice rang out from behind them. Wanda smiled, kissed Harley on the forehead and gave Peter’s curls a quick touch as she got up and left the two boys alone. 

“I don’t feel so good about myself right now” Harley said sadly, “I’m sorry if I was a dick to Ned tonight, sometimes the sarcasm just seeps out of me and I end up saying shit without even realizing”

“You were fine,” Peter said, as he jumped down next to Harley on the deck chair and joined him in laying back and looking at the stars, “And Ned’s OK as well. I asked him about Flash.”

“And? What did he say?” Harley asked

“Well, he called him Eugene for one thing” Peter said with a snarl, “That was strange but I let it go. They’re doing some kind of Summer Science Project together with this professor dude from NYU - I think it’s through a connection Flash’s dad has or something - and he says they never really hang out outside of that”

“Is it legit?” Harley asked, “Cos if you ask me, that sounds a bit…”

“No, no, it’s legit” Peter said with a laugh, “Flash’s dad is determined to get him into Harvard or one of the Ivy Leagues. The only problem is our Eugene isn’t quite bright enough, so will need a lot of extra credit crap like this to get in”

Harley laughed.

“Whereas we, my friend, will sail in on the strength of our personal statements alone” he said as he cast an arm around Peter, “ How I survived being orphaned twice, living on the streets, being adopted by a billionaire and being a secret hero without losing all of my sanity”

“Oh, please” Peter replied with a laugh, “Mine will have nothing on your generation defining piece An Ex-Country Bumpkin’s Guide to stop worrying and love The Big Apple”

“Get Yale on the phone now!”

“I am a little worried though, about Ned” Peter mused, “I just don’t see how or why he fits into all of this. Why does Flash’s dad’s vanity project need some help from a kid Flash doesn’t even damn well know or like that much?”

“Probably needs to prove he can be a people person, and Ned’s an easy target to being manipulated into thinking someone likes him” Harley guessed, now starting to feel even worse for judging Ned in the way he had, “I’m sure nothing bad will happen, dude”

“Hopefully not” Peter replied, “In the meantime though, me and Ned are gonna meet up once a week just the two of us. I don’t wanna let this friendship fade, Harls, it’s way too important to me”

“I get that” Harley said with a smile, “And I guess we don’t have to be together all the time. I can make friends of my own. My enigmatic charm and devastatingly handsome looks should do most of that work for me.”

“That’s how you attract sycophants, dude” Peter noted

“Sycophants, friends, is there really much of a difference?” Harley asked with his trademark cheeky grin returning, “I’ll be fine, Parker. You go on your little dates with Ned, just remember you have the real deal waiting for you at home”

Peter frowned but then immediately broke into a smile. They’d lost track of time when they eventually stopped laughing.

-

Maria Hill stepped into Stark Tower’s lobby, heart heavy and full of an urgent need to dispense some critical - but confidential - news. She wished that she was visiting the tower under happier circumstances. Pepper Potts was pregnant, she wished she was coming to congratulate her. 

Steve Rogers was due to celebrate his 99th birthday. Maria could only think of the joke cards and digs she would be missing.

But, no, instead she was at Stark Tower to blow apart some of the happiness that she’d been so delighted to hear had infected the residents over the past year.

“Maria!” Tony Stark said enthusiastically as he saw her walk through the door. He quickly greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “It’s been too long, how are you?”

“I’m fine Tony” she said sharply, he already looked a little taken aback by how blunt she was having to be, “I’m sorry to drop in you like this - and so late at night - but there really is some urgent news that I need to share with you. Completely confidential. We don’t need this shit getting out.”

“I understand” said Tony gravely as they both climbed into the elevator and Tony pressed the button for the nearest floor with a conference room. Maria’s guilt weighed heavily on her mind as Tony’s initially jovial, content facial expression changed into one of steely determination and a hint of fear. 

“Hit me with it” he sighed once they’d reached the conference room. Propping himself up against the back of the door, trying his best to act in the nonchalant way he did whenever his safety and the safety of those he cared about was threatened. Maria knew him too well by this point to try and get him to snap out of it now. She needed a pragmatic Tony Stark in that moment and that seemed to be what he was willing to give her.

“I’ll be blunt” she said with a sigh, “The HYDRA threat is real. The markings that were left on the embassy a few weeks back were left courtesy of HYDRA agents. They were caught in Mexico early yesterday morning trying to board a flight back to Europe with phony passports.”

“Was it Barnes?” Tony shifted uncomfortably. Maria sighed.

“No, we don’t know these guys,” she said, “They’re not on any registers, we’ve never heard of them before, but they’re dangerous. They’re also very, very young”

“How young?” Tony asked

“I’d say no older than seventeen” Maria confessed, “Don’t speak a word of English either, and every time someone speaks to them in Ukranian, they just start screaming. HYDRA really did a number on these kids.”

“That’s awful Maria, really it is, but if it’s not Barnes then I fail to see what this has to do with me” Tony said simply. 

“You adopted a kid about nine months ago, no?” Maria said shakily.

“Peter” Tony’s voice was icy, like he’d already guessed the next piece of bad news. He gulped. “....What about him?”

“He’s enhanced, isn’t he?” Maria asked. Tony closed his eyes and sighed.

“Yeah” he said, running his hands down his face, “Yeah - he’s err, he’s Spider-Man. Courtesy of a radioactive Spider bite about three years ago. He’s, obviously, on the young side so we don’t take him on missions with us but he’s got the potential to be the most powerful of us all when he’s older”

“I thought as much” Maria breathed uneasy, “Now, I’m not saying that there’s any immediate reason to be concerned for Peter’s safety-”

“Which means there absolutely, one hundred percent, is reason to be concerned for Peter’s immediate safety” Tony interjected.

“No direct threat against him has been made personally” Maria went on, “But word around is that HYDRA are seeking out kids, getting them brainwashed when they’re still young and vulnerable enough for it not to even take longer then ...maybe a week. Training them up to be killers. It’s desperation, and it means HYDRA know they’re on their knees, but it’s obviously still very worrying”

“I’m still not seeing how Peter fits into all this” an increasingly agitated Tony said with his voice raising a little

“Think about it, Tony” Maria replied patiently, “If HYDRA get wind that one of their old adversaries is harboring a kid who already has enhanced abilities - what do you think they’re going to do?”

“Come after him,” Tony said, horror filling his eyes, “They’re gonna come after him and they’re gonna take him and do-”

“They’re not, they’re not, because you’re not going to let them” Maria said sharply, “No one in SHIELD even knows about Peter, I pieced this together on my own. We can protect Peter, you can all protect Peter, but we have to make sure that no one finds out who he is.”

“That’s all well and good” Tony replied meekly, “But ...Bucky Barnes. He knows about Peter, when we had the HYDRA break in a few months back, Bucky saw Peter without his mask on but in the Spidey-Suit before he got away”

Maria’s face fell, and then she exploded.

“And why the fuck was that information not shared with us, Tony?” she demanded, “A HYDRA agent knows first hand that the kid you have living under this room is enhanced?!”

“I know, I know” Tony sighed, “I should have told you everything then, I know that, but Peter’s so fragile and he begged me not to. He’s terrified that if anyone official finds out who he is that he’ll get into trouble.”

“He’d rather be in trouble with us, than in trouble with them” Maria replied coolly, “I’m sorry for exploding at you just then Tony, it was a shock. But nothing has changed. All this means is that sooner or later, HYDRA will come looking for him-”

“But we can be prepared” Tony said with a nod, “I can get the team prepared. Get them to be extra vigilant, make sure Peter never goes anywhere on his own, I’m not losing him to them Maria. I can’t.”

“I understand” Maria said with a sad smile, “Look, I’ve had a look into the kids history and I know there’s a lot there. More trauma and loss than any kid should have to bare, and he’s clearly brave and selfless enough to be a genuine Avenger, but I have to ask - is it wise to let him know? Will it freak him out?”

“I’ll talk to Pep” Tony said thoughtfully, “That’s a call we need to make together. We’ve got another one to consider now, as well, Harley Keener. He’s not enhanced but if HYDRA are after kids then, well, he’s in danger too”

“I’m sorry Tony” Maria sighed, “I really wish I was here with better news. Give Pepper and everyone else my best. I better go.”

Tony nodded and saw Maria back down to the lobby. He had a million and one questions for her, but they would wait. Right now, once she was gone, all Tony wanted to do was head upstairs and shield his two boys from any dangers the world could throw at them. 

“I really am sorry” she repeated once again, “But at least this way, you know what to look out for, and who to look out for. Peter and Harley are safe as long as you’re here fighting for them, Tony”

“I always will be” Tony said stoically, he’d never meant anything more in his life, “Like I said, I’ll speak with Pepper and the team. Decide what’s best.”

“I’ll draft a security plan and have it back to you by Wednesday” Maria said with a heavy sigh, “I’d offer you the highest protection SHIELD can offer, but to be honest, the boys are living with the best protection they could ever have”

“You know how you can make this all up to me” Tony said as they finally reached the lobby and Maria headed for the door, “Stark Relief Foundation drive. 6th August. Bring a bowl of your world famous punch”

Maria laughed.

“I’ll be there” she said, "And I'd quite like to meet these boys of yours. Word on the street is they're quite the duo"

Tony smiled. Word on the street clearly meant Natasha had been gushing again.

They shared a brief hug before Maria left the tower and disappeared into a waiting car. Tony waited until she was gone to slide down the edge of the wall and scream into the nothingness. Everyone else was upstairs, even asleep or having cozy midnight conversations, and here he was dealing with the worst news he could have ever possibly heard.

Peter in danger.

Harley in danger.

Fuck. Had those two poor boys not been through enough crap in their lives without all of this adding to it? Tony could have punched a whole in the wall with his bare knuckles at the sheer injustice of it all.

Instead of heading for bed or a mini-bar as he normally would, Tony took the elevator to Harley and Peter’s floor. The two had, once again, fallen asleep draped over one another with a movie still blaring from the laptop screen placed entirely too close to their stupid innocent faces. 

Tony’s heart swelled as he looked down at his boys. His two kind, caring, compassionate, genius boys. They were so pure as they slept. So safe. Tony grabbed the blanket from Harley’s bed and draped it over the two of them. He kissed both their foreheads and calmed Peter down when he momentarily stirred.

“T’ny” the boy whispered.

“Hey, go back to sleep, kiddo” Tony said softly 

“Night T’ny” Peter mumbled, “Love you and stuff”

His heart melting, Tony smiled and fought back the onslaught of tears that were threatening to pour out of him.

I love you, he thought, I love both of you so much and if they try and take you away from me ...I'll rip them to shreds.

They will die screaming. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 24.

Lying To Ourselves. 

It was a typical Sunday evening.

Tony sat on the sofa in the lounge, surrounded by the three most important people in his life, doing what they normally did on Sunday evenings. Pepper was still working. He’d try to get her to stop, but with her baby bump growing bigger and bigger everyday, she was more determined than ever to get as much done and delegate the right things to the right people before her inevitable and lengthy maternity leave. She sat next to Tony, glass of water in hand, typing furiously on a laptop. 

Peter and Harley were seated opposite them, practically sitting on each others lap. They both had their faces glued to technological devices, eyes focused and determined on whatever it was they were doing, but breaking every so often to show the other something on their device. It usually ended with a laugh, and Tony couldn’t help but feel the laugh was at his expense. The sad thing was, was this was all Tony had ever wanted. Peace. Quiet contentment. Everyone around him being safe and happy. Only, he couldn’t enjoy it now, not after Hill’s revelation. The whole thing felt like a charade now, a temporary illusion that could be shattered at any second and then they would all end up back where they were before they’d come together as one big fucked up family.

Alone.

They would all be alone. In the back of his mind, Tony could do alone. He and loneliness went way back, in a twisted ironic way loneliness was the one thing that had kept Tony company for the last twenty-seven years. Until Pepper had told him she loved him as he loved her. Until he crash landed in Rose Hill, Tennessee and met Harley Kenner; the boy with the most fiery, determined eyes who put him back together when he was at his lowest ebb. Until Peter Parker had come crashing through a vent above the meeting room, covered in dust, groaning but giving Tony a look that screamed ‘I need to be loved. I need someone, anyone, to love me’ . And Tony did. He loved them all, so much it scared him. 

The Tony of ten years before could do lonely. The Tony Stark who was sitting, watching his loved ones blissful in their ignorance of the threat that was creeping right to their front door, knew he couldn’t do lonely again. Because to be lonely again meant that he would have to lose them all. And there was no coming back from that. 

He’d only told Natasha. An unfair thing to do, perhaps, but he’d needed to unload the stress and she’d been in the right place at the right time. She was on high alert, which was comforting, and had taken to covertly following the boys whenever they left the tower. So far, they had not wised up. 

“Dude, no” Peter snorted all of a sudden, bringing Tony crashing back into the moment as his sons laughed at one another, “That’s so fucked up!”

“Language, Peter!” Pepper said sternly, not looking up from her laptop. Peter sighed and rolled his eyes before depositing a quarter in the swear jar just adjacent to his left foot. 

“I didn’t think it was possible to traumatise me more than I already am” Peter went on, grabbing Harley’s tablet from his fans and inspecting what he saw more closely, “At least this will make my night trauma’s a bit refreshing”

“Yeah, I imagine dead relatives gets a bit mundane after a while” Harley muttered, taking back his tablet. Tony looked on astonished as Peter laughed and playfully hit his brother on the shoulder. 

“Are you two menaces going to tell us what’s so funny?” he snapped, “Or are am I actually going to start a ‘joking about our mental trauma’ jar?”

“Depends” Harley replied with a shrug, “Are you trying to bankrupt Parker on purpose? Cos if you do that the cool five grand he stands to inherit on his eighteenth birthday isn’t going to last very long”

“You’re just jealous” Peter shot back with a smirk, “At least they bother to discipline me, I think they must see you as a lost cause”

“Lost cause is a bit drastic” Pepper piped up from behind the laptop again, “It’s easier to just get Harley to pay us back through other means. For instance, if he doesn’t stop being a little snarky pants in the next fifteen seconds, he can come over here and give me another wonderful foot massage”

“I’ve already given you three today!” Harley protested. 

“And what does that tell you, Mr. Snarky Pants?” Tony shot back mockingly. 

“Is no one else gonna point out how weird it is that Harley knows how to do foot massages?” Peter asked, “Cos of all the things he could have and learned and didn’t at Rose Hill, it seems weird that massage was one of the things he picked up”

“Mrs Albridge said I have magic fingers” Harley replied, “And, Parker, I swear to god if you find a way to make that sound dirty, you’ll have to give me a foot massage”

“Ooh, careful Peter” Pepper said with a laugh, “As the person who washes Harley’s socks, I’d say that’s a fate worse than death”

Harley scrunched up his face into a knowing frown and disappeared back behind his tablet as Peter rested his head on his brothers shoulder and yawned. Soon enough, both boys were drifting off to sleep and Tony’s heart filled with the same warm but now slightly melancholic feeling it had done every night since last week. He’d somehow ended up in a new routine of checking on the boys constantly, both awake and sleeping.

Throughout the day, he would check their whereabouts on the hour every hour, and at night would make sure that they were both sound asleep before putting every protection possible on whichever bedroom they’d ended up in. Tony had wondered to himself if he should be a bit more worried about their growing co-dependency but it was proving more convenient for him that they were always together. 

“Pep” Tony asked softly as he ran his fingers through his wife's hair, “D’you think it’s odd that they always fall asleep on top of one another?”

“Not really” Pepper replied, just as softly, “I think it’s sweet. They both went so long without being loved in the way they deserve, it’s nice they’ve found it with each other. It’ll stop, in time, but right now it’s very new and I think they just enjoy being able to be so close and open together.”

“I did go through a stage of falling asleep on Rhodey” Tony said thoughtfully, “Though ‘sleep’ tended to be more ‘drunkenly passed out’”

“Now who’s making light of their mental trauma” Pepper asked rhetorically, “I know there’s something on your mind Tony, so you may as well tell me.”

Tony sighed. He did wonder when she’d ask him that.

“I got a visit from Maria Hill a few days ago” Tony explained, before taking a deep breath, “The HYDRA markings...they were the real deal, and it looks like they’ve started recruiting kids. Quicker and easier to manipulate”

“They must be desperate” Pepper said thoughtfully, “And I’m supposing Maria warned you because we have one enhanced teenager, and another borderline genius, living with us?”

“Pretty much” Tony said uneasily, “Sorry for not telling you. It’s freaked me out a little, just needed some time to get my head around what we’re gonna do. I already have Natasha patrolling the boys every move, discreetly of course.”

He couldn’t see, but Tony could feel Pepper rolling her eyes. Luckily, she had learned to stop trying to enforce both Tony and Natasha not to act on their first immediate emotional reactions. At least this time the emotional reactions had been an overwhelming desire to protect.

“Does anyone else know?” Pepper asked.

“No” Tony shook his head, “I need to tell Steve. If HYDRA are coming after Peter, it makes sense that they’d send Bucky Barnes for him. We need to prepare Steve for that.”

“And what about the boys?” Pepper asked.

“That’s the bit I need some help with” Tony sighed, they both looked at their sleeping sons, all snuggled together and without a care in the world on the other couch, “SHIELD are going to make an announcement about keeping your kids safe and vigilant through some cock and bull story in the news. I’m not sure what it’ll be yet, but apparently ‘HYDRA ARE COMING FOR YOUR KIDS’ might invoke mass panic”

“I can see that” Pepper replied, “But we both know that our two persistent genius sons are going to see through that in seconds. We need to let them know exactly what to look out for”

“We do, but I’m worried” Tony sighed, “We may have two geniuses, Pep, but we also have two boys who both suffer from severe anxiety, one of whom has at least one traumatic nightmare a week and mixed in with his guilt and hero complex…..I’m worried this will set them both back”

“Or make them go and look for a fight” Pepper mused, “....Fine, we won’t tell them, not until there’s a specific reason to. Keep Natasha on their case, maybe someone else as well, and just make sure Peter always leaves this tower with some way of defending himself. We can’t let this set either of them back, not when they’re doing so well”

Tony smiled. He felt pride as he looked over at the sleeping boys. It was the first time in a week he’d felt something other than fear and dread.

“They’ve done so well” he sighed, “And you’re right. It’s nice they have one another.”

The idea of Peter and Harley being separated somehow was more traumatic to Tony than if they ended up being separated from him. At the very least, if he couldn’t be around anymore, then it would be a comfort to know that his boys still had each other to get by. Tony wasn’t sure they’d survive being torn apart from one another. 

“Tony, please don’t drive yourself crazy over this” Pepper implored, “We have enough going on already without that. The boys are in the best place if they really are in danger, and there’s a whole group of people in this tower who would do anything to protect them. As long as we’re vigilant and calm , then we have no reason to believe anything will happen to Peter or Harley. You can keep them safe Tony, I have absolute faith in you”

Tony sighed. That was exactly what he needed to hear, he wasn’t sure if he really believed it, but it was nice to hear such confidence and faith come from the person he needed to hear it from most. Pushing all of the what ifs and the visions of Peter and Harley screaming in pain, of the difference he saw between old photos of Bucky Barnes and who was now, Tony kissed the top of Pepper’s head and sighed.

“I knew I should have told you sooner” he said softly. 

“Me and baby need you at full strength, Tony” Pepper said as she rubbed her bump with affection, “After the last few years, we’ve proven we can come through anything. We can get through this.”

Tony wanted Pepper to be right. He never wanted anything more, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that his family was going to be blown apart. 

It wasn’t a fear he was sure he could live with.

“I love them, Tony” Pepper breathed, “I love them to my bones. Just like you do. This isn’t just your battle Tony, it’s not you against the world. There’s a whole team of people who can help us, the best people in the world to do so.”

“I know” Tony replied quietly, “I know”

Harley stirred in his sleep. Pepper sighed as she watched him grip tighter and tighter on to Peter’s shoulder, and relax once again as Peter squeezed his hand. The tender movement seemed to immediately calm Harley down and the boys relaxed once again.

“We’ll keep them safe, Tony” Pepper said with a sad sigh, “The world hasn’t been fair to those boys, and I’m damned if it’s going to hurt them again.”

“You’re amazing, Pep. Seriously incredible”

“I know”

-

Peter had heard it all. Every single word. HYDRA. Tony’s worries. Pepper’s reassurance. They’d assumed he was asleep, and it had all come out very quickly, and by the time that Peter had felt the onslaught of panic come on it was way too late for him to let them know he was awake the entire time without them freaking out at him. 

Once Pepper and Tony had retired to their bed, Peter moved himself away from Harley and ran into his bedroom, clutching his knees to his chest as he rocked himself back and forth. HYDRA were coming for him and Harley. Or maybe just him. He’d rather it was just him. Harley had already been through so much abuse in the last year, he didn’t deserve to be tortured into submission by a terrorist organization.

Neither do you! God, you’re fucked up, Parker

But they weren’t just coming for Peter and Harley. They were coming for any kids that they could get their hands on. That meant everyone was in danger. Liz was in danger. Ned was in danger. MJ was in danger. It was enough to make him throw up, and he very nearly did. He had to protect them, it was his job to protect them, and if anything happened to them it was all his fault. 

Peter’s breaths were basically non-existent. But no one could know that he had heard, that he was more scared than he had ever been in his life, so he climbed under his bed and bit down on his own lip so the sounds of his sobs could barely escape from his room. All he wanted to do was scream. Scream until his lungs were empty. Soon, his lips ached and he could faintly taste blood from them.

He was a fool to have thought he could succeed. Before he knew what was going on, Harley was peaking under his bed and trying to look Peter directly in the eyes.

“Peter?” he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Peter was not in a state to reply. It wasn’t like before. He wasn’t violent, he wasn’t kicking out, he just lay under his bed. Numb. As if the fear had actually paralyzed him. The sobs were flowing out, freely, taking over Peter’s body and rendering him mute.

A few weeks before, Harley would have run off to find Tony or Pepper. But this time, he stayed. Partly because he was scared to leave Peter alone in such a state, but also because he was now sure that there was no one else in the Tower who could get through to Peter if he was this far gone. 

“I’m going to come and lay next to you, dude” Harley said quietly. Peter didn’t protest so Harley quickly and carefully edged his way towards Peter under the bed, a big pillow in one hand and a small blanket in the other. To his surprise, Peter didn’t protest as Harley gently moved his head up to fit the pillow beneath their heads and spread the blanket over as much of them both as possible but making sure that the shivering Peter was most covered. 

Peter was still sobbing, but was now laying in a position that meant Harley couldn’t run his fingers up and down his back, so he just ran fingers through his hair. 

“You’re OK, Pete, I’m here” Harley breathed, so quietly that he knew Peter was only hearing him because of his enhanced hearing, “I’m here and I’m going to stay here. You’re safe, you’re safe”

“H-H-H-H-arley” Peter moaned, almost as if he was in pain, he took Harley’s hand in his own and squeezed it so hard that Harley nearly shouted in pain. Peter seemed to realize this pretty quickly, despite his panic attack, and softened the grip. 

“What’s wrong, pal?” Harley asked, trying his best not to sound desperate. He didn’t want to push Peter into feeling he had to share if he really wasn’t ready, and whatever had triggered this attack had clearly been very traumatic for him.

Peter just shook his head.

“OK, you’ll tell me later” Harley said softly, “How do we wanna play this? Shall we try and go to sleep or do you want me to talk my usual crap for a while?”

“L-l-liz” Peter breathed, “I-is L-Liz o-Ok? Wh-what ab-about M-Michelle? And N-Ned, we h-have to m-make sure e-everyone’s OK, Harley, we h-have to!”

“Everyone’s OK, Peter” Harley said calmly, “Liz is on her flight home, remember? And we both know MJ can take care of herself. Ned...well, I’m sure he’s fine too.”

Peter shook his head again, violently.

“I’d call them dude but it’s like 2am” Harley said with a brief laugh, “I tell you what - we’ll send each of them a message and if they reply, they reply. But if they don’t, it probably just means that they’re sleeping, cos...like I say, it’s 2am”

The other boy did not laugh at Harley’s first attempt at a joke, but that was OK. It usually took Peter a while to warm himself back up to the point of laughter after things like this but Harley would always joke anyway, it kept the necessary conversation flowing. Though he knew it was likely pointless, Harley picked his phone out of his pocket and sent generic ‘You good?’ messages to Liz, MJ and Ned. He imagined that Ned and MJ would probably register why exactly Harley was randomly texting them at such a random time of the night. He couldn’t help but feel Liz was probably just going to be confused as they’d never made much of an effort to speak one to one since Harley had arrived in New York.

Peter had at least stopped sobbing, he now just lay next to Harley, deep in thought about whatever it was that had upset him so much. 

“I know you’re the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man and what not dude” Harley said, “But that doesn’t mean it’s on you to save everyone all the time. If anything bad happens to Liz or MJ or Ned, it’s on who hurt them, not you. You can’t live like that Peter.”

“If anything ever happens to you, I will never forgive myself” was Peter’s barely audible reply. It flawed Harley. 

“Why would anything happen to me?” Harley asked

Before Peter could reply, Harley’s phone started to vibrate. Holding it up in front of his face, Harley was surprised to see that Liz Allan was calling him. 

“Hello?” he asked

“What’s wrong with Peter?” came Liz’s concerned voice from the other end of the phone, “Is he with you right now?”

“He just got freaked out that everyone wasn’t OK” Harley replied, Peter was trying to reach for the phone, but he needed Liz to know a few things before he passed her over. “I don’t really know why, but I’m glad you called.”

Wow. She must really care. 

“Can you pass me over to him?” Liz asked, “Keep me on speakerphone though, if he’s that bad, it might take two of us”

Harley nodded and pressed the speakerphone button before passing the phone over to an oblivious Peter, who rather adorably held the phone up to his ear as if they were having a traditional conversation. Harley suppressed his need to grin.

“H-hey L-Liz” Peter said, his arms shaking. Harley moved over and stretched his arm across Peter’s chest to stop the shaking. 

“Hey sweetie, how’re you?” Liz spoke softly 

“Been better” Peter muttered, “I-I-I’m sorry, I j-just fr-freaked out and got wo-worried that you-you were in danger and H-Harley said we could call you and check?”

“That was smart of him” Liz said sweetly, “And I’m fine. Totally fine. A little bored cos I’m four hours into a nine hour flight and then I’ve got another flight to catch”

“C-cool” Peter stammered. Harley gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. “Di-did you have a nice va-vacation”

“Yeah, it was awesome!” Liz exclaimed, “I loved it. Missed you a little bit though, I was thinking we should go out for dinner when I get back. Date night!”

“I’d like that” Peter said softly, “And I really miss you too. I can’t wait to see you again, and know you’re OK”

“I am OK now, Peter” Liz didn’t sound impatient or bored, merely factual, “I’m sorry you’re having a rough night babe, I wish I was there with you”

“I have Harley” Peter breathed

“The real love of his life!” Harley couldn’t help but interject. Liz laughed and Peter managed to crack a smile, whilst also blushing a little. “And feel free to carry on adding to my phone bill with these international roaming charges guys, it’s chill”

“Oh, right, sorry Harley” Peter muttered.

“Don’t be stupid, we live with a billionaire” Harley smirked

“Are you OK now, Pete?” Liz asked, “You sound pretty tired, I think you should try and get some sleep. Just one more day and then we can see each other”

“He could meet you guys at the airport!” Harley suggested. 

“I’d like that” Peter said quietly, “I could make you a really cheesy sign like I used to do for Harley when he visited from Tennessee” 

“I’ll be disappointed if you don’t now, Parker” Liz said sweetly

“Oh!” said Peter all of a sudden, “Harley wants us to have a sleepover at my old apartment when you get back. He thinks it might help me not be so messed up”

Harley laughed uncomfortably.

“Do you want to do it?” Liz asked.

“Yeah” Peter breathed, looking over at Harley with a smile, “Yeah, I do. Harley always knows what to do”

“Cool, then we’re staying over at your old place, I guess” Liz replied, Harley could tell she didn’t think it was a great idea, “See you soon babe”

“Bye” Peter said simply before hanging up the phone and handing it back to Harley. The boy took it back. “Thank you, you’re the best”

“No biggie, anything for you” Harley said simply before sighing, “But can you do one thing for me?”

“Anything” Peter said simply.

“Can we please sleep on top of the bed?” Harley asked, “I don’t know about you dude but my back is killing me”

Peter laughed. Harley smiled. His brother was back.

“Yeah, sure, but this does add to our edgy damaged appeal” Peter said, “Sleeping under one’s bed is fucking metal”

Harley grinned as she shimmied out from under the bed and held out a hand to Peter could follow suit. They both climbed on to Peter’s bed and Peter tucked his head beneath Harley’s neck and allowed the boy to cast a protective arm around his neck and started to trace up and down his back. 

“I’m sorry” were Peter’s inevitable first words, “I-well, I heard something I shouldn’t have and it’s….bad, Harley, it’s really fucking scary.”

“What is it?” Harley’s curiosity outmatched his desire to make Peter feel comfortable for a second

“HYDRA” Peter breathed, “It’s real. It’s all real. They’re trying to take kids off the street and brainwash them, and Tony’s really freaked out cos Bucky Barnes knows I’m Spider-Man and they’re not going to pass up the opportunity to take me and-”

“They won’t” Harley said 

“How can you possibly know that?” Peter asked, frowning.

“I won’t let them” Harley said simply.

They lay in silence for a few minutes. Peter was thinking about Harley’s sheer grit and determination, his unwavering compassion standing before reason. If HYDRA were going to take him, they were going to take him and no amount of Harley Keener stubbornness was going to stop them. Harley, conversely, could only think of one thing and it was something he needed to verbalize.

“I love you, Peter” he breathed, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you”. 

They were lost, the two of them. Floating in a world that seemed to have no other purpose for them other than to break them down at every available opportunity. Peter couldn’t help but think the Universe hadn’t intended him and Harley to find one another. It didn’t make sense. Life never would have given Peter someone as amazing as Harley and let them stick around. 

And he loved Harley.

He really loved Harley.

Every instinct he had told him to unshackle Harley. To let Harley live his life without the curse of Peter Parker affecting his every move, but selfishly Peter couldn’t let himself allow Harley to go. 

“I can’t lose you” Peter replied quietly, “Not now.”

-

The lunch breaks were the most awkward time of the day for Ned. He seemed to spend most of the time in the lab with Flash just working. On what, he still wasn’t sure, but it was definitely some kind of vehicle. 

Focusing on the incredibly intricate project meant that Ned and Flash never really spoke to one another in the lab, it was only during their break times that they were expected to make awkward small talk with one another. Ned was sure that this was all going to end up being some elaborate prank and Flash was going to pants him at some random point and there would be some form of camera shoving itself in his face as the whole world laughed at him. 

When Flash had asked him to come and help on the project, Ned had still been angry with Peter and had, not very nicely, wanted to show his best friend that he was perfectly capable of making friends other than him. He’d never really stopped to consider the fact that being pally with Flash might hurt Peter. 

“Flash?” Ned asked suddenly as they sat in silence at a picnic table. Flash sighed and put down his phone. “I’ve got a question”

“Fire away” Flash muttered. Ned was surprised to hear the words. He’d assumed Flash would probably have just told him to shut up.

“Why do you hate Peter so much?” Ned asked. Flash’s food almost fell out of his mouth as he looked at Ned in shock. His silence was taken as a prompt to continue, “Cos Peter’s like the nicest dude who’s ever lived and he’s never done anything to you and all you’ve ever done is give him crap”

Flash sighed.

“I don’t hate Parker” he said, not looking at Ned, “He’s an annoying little twerp who has too much to say for himself, but I don’t hate him.”

“Then why are you so mean to him?” Ned asked.

Flash didn’t know how to answer. Did he say that he hated Peter Parker because of how much everyone seemed to love him so much, when he’d never done anything to warrant it, and no one seemed to like him that much? And that it had been that way since Kindergarten? That being mean to Peter made him feel better about his own shitty insecurities? 

“Does Parker hate me?” was all Flash could ask.

“You’re not his favourite person” Ned admitted, “He’s grown to not like you because you’re so nasty to him for no reason, but hate? I don’t think Peter’s capable of hating anyone. He just isn’t.”

“Perfect Peter Parker” Flash muttered

“He’s not perfect” Ned said, “He’s flawed, just like anyone else. But he never tries to hurt anyone’s feelings on purpose. He’s just ...nice”

“Why are we even talking about Parker?” Flash snapped, “I asked you here because you’re the only person I could think of who could help, not so we can have some kumbaya crap over your best friend”

“I just wanna know more, man” Ned explained, “Peter was really upset when he saw that selfie of us together. Wanted to know why I was hanging out with a guy whose made his life a misery for years”

“No one forced you here, Leeds” Flash said hotly, “You could have said no, so at the very least, you wanted to mess with Parker at least a little.”

“Is that the entire reason you asked me?” Ned asked 

“No” Flash breathed uneasily, “I asked you because I remember you built up all those dumb drone prototypes at the science fair last year, so I knew you could help. But if you’re gonna be a little bitch about it-”

“I’m not, I’m just trying to talk to you” Ned implored, “I’m not saying you are a bad person, I’m just asking you why you’re so willing to let the world think you are”

The statement seemed to flaw Flash, who stopped talking and looked down at his food, indicating to Ned that he wanted the conversation to be over.

Ned complied. They had a whole summer of working together three days a week ahead of them, there was more than enough time.

-

True to his promise, Liz Allan was over the moon when she stepped out into the arrivals area at JFK and was greeted by Peter Parker armed a massive pink banner covered in copious amounts of glitter, over the top writing and pretty much every single picture of Liz and Peter together in existence. She smiled as her boyfriend approached her, hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek. 

She’d always liked Peter Parker. Ever since they were kids and he’d been the sweet, nerdy boy who geeked out with Ned Leeds every recess rather than join in games with everyone else. She’d liked Peter Parker when they were in middle school and he was plagued by loss, acne and pre-pubescent voice changes. She’d carried on liking Peter Parker when they moved to high school and everyone suddenly realized; hey, Peter Parker’s hot. 

The second she’d found out he was Spider-Man, Liz realized she was in love with Peter Parker, and had wasted no time in telling him.  It wasn’t a moment she looked back on in much pride, no less because Peter had immediately felt the need to tell her that he didn’t feel the same. 

“I love the sign” Liz told him as he released her from his embrace. She felt herself blush as she looked at him in his skin tight grey shirt, “Take you long?”

“Me and Harley were up until 4am doing it” Peter admitted with a nervous giggle, “Which sounds bad but we normally don’t fall asleep before 2, so it’s fine”

“Right” Liz said shortly, taking Peter’s hand as they made their way to the taxi rank. Her mom and boyfriend had gone to visit relatives in California and had made arrangements for Liz to go and stay with Sadie until they got back. Liz had hoped she might be able to stay with Peter but as he was clearly not doing well with his mental health, she didn’t want to impose on him.

They climbed into a taxi and Liz snuggled into Peter’s side as they drove to Sadie’s house, a forty minute journey. It was mainly spent with Liz filling Peter in on what she’d got up to on vacation and they’d slowly moved on to the sleepover at Peter’s old apartment. Liz still had her doubts, she was worried that it would trigger more bad memories for Peter than expel bad ones, but she was willing to go along with it if it was what he needed. Harley did seem to know him very well.

“Lizzie, you’re here!” Sadie exclaimed as Liz and Peter climbed out of the taxi, “I’ve missed you so much! Gah!”

Sadie enveloped Liz as Peter grinned and got Liz’s bags out of the taxi’s trunk and paid the driver.

“It’s been eight days, Sadie” Liz said with a laugh as Sadie released her, “And I’m staying with your for a week. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me by the end of it”

“Never!” Sadie exclaimed before turning her attention to Peter and pulling him into a fierce hug as well, “You, Mr. Parker, do not need to flake on me every time Liz isn’t around! We are friends you know!”

Peter seemed a little taken aback and stuttered his trademark apology before Sadie grabbed them both by the hand and lead them inside. Peter seemed resigned to his fate as he was dragged from pillar to post by Sadie, who seemed very excited to give him a tour of her house. Liz, who had seen the inside of Sadie’s house almost as much as her own, merely smiled and watched from afar as Sadie dragged Peter around. She only intervened when Peter shot her a helpless look and they all settled down by the pool. 

“We should have a party soon” Sadie was saying, “It’s been way too long since we were all together, what with Darren and his dad needing to go on a business trip to Berlin or whatever”

“Are they back yet?” Liz asked

“Tuesday” Sadie muttered, “So, I’m thinking we have the party on Friday. Give Darren a few days to get over his jet lag. You’re invited Peter, of course, and make sure you bring that cute country bumpkin with you”

“Again, his name is Harley” Peter replied sounding quite annoyed, “And I can’t come on Friday - we have plans”

Sadie raised an eyebrow. Liz sighed.

“We’re having a sleepover” Liz told her friend, “At Peter’s old apartment. Harley thinks it might help Peter ...deal with a few things”

“Oh!” Sadie exclaimed, “That sounds like a really good idea, really sweet, is this Harley snapped up yet? Because if no one’s dating him, I may have to”

Peter laughed. Harley had avoided Sadie like the plague since he’d arrived in New York, though this hadn’t deterred Sadie from being very open about how attractive she thought he was, and Peter was sure that bringing up all the nice things Harley was doing for him was only fuelling Sadie’s crush. 

“I’m sure Peter would love that” Liz said with an eye-roll, “You don’t mind that me and Peter are having date night on my first night do you?”

“Oh gosh, babe, no” Sadie replied sweetly, “As long as movie and junk food night is still happening tomorrow?”

“Of course it is” Liz assured her, “And sorry we won’t be at your party next week”

“What party?” Sadie asked

“The party you were just planning” Peter said slowly

“Can’t have a party on the same night I’m sleeping over at your aunts old place!” Sadie announced. Peter shot Liz a terrified glare. 

“You’re doing what now?” Liz asked

“Well, I assume that was an invitation” Sadie said with a frown, “Or it’s super messed up that you would tell me”

“Oh, right, I mean, I guess you can come” Peter stuttered. Liz wanted to kill Sadie. She wasn’t being malicious but Liz couldn’t help but wish her talent for assumptions and inviting herself places couldn’t have curved itself just this once, especially when Peter was way too nice not to invite her. 

“Awesomeness, this should be so much fun!” Sadie exclaimed as she got to her feet, “You guys better get going if you wanna meet your dinner reservations, I’m going to go and look for some stylish PJ’s online. What kind of pyjamas does Harley wear? It’d be kind of cool if we were matching”

“Blue shirt, red chequered pants” Peter told her. Sadie gave him a thumbs up and ran off upstairs, Peter laughed.

Liz moved herself closer to Peter and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“You didn’t have to let her come you know” she told him, “And I really wouldn’t rule out her bringing Darren and Ricky with her. Just letting you know what you’re in for”

“It’s cool” Peter sighed, “And it’s kind of funny, I didn’t realize how ...deep her infatuation with Harley is. I don’t think they’ve ever spoken to one another”

“Well, that should all change on Thursday” Liz muttered. Peter laughed. 

Liz smiled as he did so. When she’d had to call him on Sunday night, he’d sounded so broken and lost that she was kind of worried she’d never see his smile or hear his laugh ever again. The world deserved to see Peter Parker’s smile and he deserved to be happy enough to show it off all the time. 

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Peter asked as he noticed her looking at him 

“A very cute nose and two beautiful brown eyes” Liz replied. They both shuddered at the cringiness of her reply. 

“Liz” Peter said, his shoulders suddenly seeming a lot more weighted than before, “I need you to know something.”

“OK” Liz said slowly, her anxiety rising a little.

“I...err, I don’t know how to say this” Peter sounded very annoyed with himself, “But while you were gone ...I found something out, and it’s why I was so panicked on Sunday”

“Oh, OK, what was it?” Liz asked.

Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes, Liz could tell whatever it was was clearly very hard for him to reveal. She placed a comforting hand on his and leaned in closer to him as he breathed heavily.

Her heart sank as he let out a deep breath, turned and gave her a false smile. She could tell the difference now.

“It’s…. nothing, I’m being dumb” he said shakily, “Sorry - shouldn’t have worried you”

She knew it was a lie. She knew he had been on the cusp of telling her something massive, something that could have helped him to share, and he’d chosen not to. 

Maybe he would, in time. Like he’d done with Spider-Man, but even them, she’d practically had to catch him red handed. 

Maybe, in time, Peter Parker would be able to trust her enough to tell her the truth. 

But, there was a sinking part of Liz that knew she was kidding herself. Peter didn’t love her, and he evidently didn’t trust her, and that wasn’t likely to change. Part of her wondered what the point of it all was, but as Peter shot her another winning smile and took her by the hand as they walked out of Sadie’s house, she knew she wasn’t going to take such a step. 

Peter wasn’t the only one who could lie to himself. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 25.

The Dark Is Rising.

Peter made the decision not to tell Tony and Pepper that he and Harley were now fully aware of the threat HYDRA was posing. He figured that Tony would be driving himself nearly crazy with worry already, and he didn’t need the added pressure of worrying that the news was going to send Peter, Harley or both of them off the deep end.

To Peter’s surprise, it actually wasn’t. He didn’t know whether it was the comfort of being able to share his exact fears with Harley, or if it was because despite the seriousness of the threat, life seemed to be just trucking on as normal but following his initial panic attack the HYDRA threat hadn’t really plagued his thoughts too much. The sleepover preparations were in full swing, as was the proposed trip to Liz’s families beach house in the Hamptons in a few weeks time and there was also Harley and Peter’s birthdays to look forward to.

Harley was four days older than Peter, and it seemed to give him no end of amusement to point this out. Especially as they were about to turn seventeen and Tony had agreed to them both getting their learners permits.

“So, during the four days where you’re still a pedestrian” Harley said with a smirk as the boys sat on the floor of Peter’s room with Darren Davenport that Thursday, “Is there anywhere you would like me to take you?”

“You do realize that you won’t just automatically be able to drive on the 6 th August, right?” Peter shot back, “Like ...you're not taking your test”

“You’re just jealous, you pedestrian” Harley said, sticking his tongue out at Peter who threw a Dorito at him in frustration. Harley merely caught the chip in his mouth and ate it before giving Peter a breezy ‘thanks’.

“Aww, Parker’s the baby of the bunch,” said Darren as he ruffled Peter’s hair. Peter frowned and put it back in place.

“I knew I’d like this guy” Harley said as he and Darren fist bumped. Harley had only been accepted to Midtown in the dying days of the school year so hadn’t managed to spend that much time with Peter’s friends before summer vacation had started. Peter knew Harley well enough by this point to recognize that he was actually quite nervous that no one would like him, but that did not seem to be the case. He and MJ had become very close, he was getting on better with Liz every time they spent time with one another and it was near impossible for someone not to like Darren Davenport.

“I’ve got a question” Darren piped up, “As much as I’m down for the drama of it all, why are we keeping this sleepover shindig a secret from Stark? It doesn’t seem like something he’d object to”

Peter and Harley shared an uneasy look. The truth was, of course, that Tony would probably freak out if he knew they were leaving the tower for a night and would be without the high level of protection he could provide them with back at the tower. But they could hardly tell Darren that.

“I just prefer it this way, makes it more fun” Harley replied with a shrug, “And, trust me, it won’t be an actual secret. Natasha and Pepper, at the least, will know everything. Somehow.”

“Everything” Peter clarified. Darren’s eyes widened and he slowly nodded before re-focusing his attention on the Lego Star Trek enterprise model that Peter had managed to talk him into helping with. Darren was clearly not the kind of teenage boy who spent his time building Lego models but for whatever reason, he seemed to be quite keen on hanging out with Peter and doing things like that with him.

“Your guys’ life is so crazy” Darren went on as he managed to successfully attach a particularly tricky part of the model together, “Living with a billionaire is one thing, but living with a bunch of superheroes is something else all together”

“It sounds more fun that it is” Harley said with a grin, “Trust me, once The Hulk walks in on you peeing for the third time in a week, you kind of lose any sense of him being cool.”

“Or Steve and his ancient jokes from the 1940’s” Peter added, “And you don’t even wanna get me started on Wanda’s mood swings”

“They’re not mood swings, she just feels very deeply ” Harley said defensively. Peter grinned and looked at Darren.

“He’s crushing on Wanda. Hard.” Peter said with a smirk.

“Don’t blame him, she’s cute” Darren said with a nod. Harley gave a smiling Peter the middle finger. “Speaking of, whilst we’re on the subject, I feel like it’s only fair of me to warn you that Sadie Clarke’s planning on making a move, Keener. I haven’t seen her this passionate about a guy in at least three months”

“Don’t blame her, he’s damn cute” Peter said awkwardly, trying to push some feelings that had been rising up in himself back down. Desperate, jovial deflection was his best choice.

“But we’ve never even spoken!” exclaimed an outraged looking Harley, “Seriously, in the three months since I’ve moved here she’s maybe asked me if she can borrow a pencil. Which she never gave back, might I add. Bad start.”

“Would you date her?” Peter asked, frowning a little. He liked Sadie but the idea of her being Harley’s girlfriend was not exactly something he was thrilled about.

“She seems really high maintenance and I’ve got major anxiety issues plus a shit ton of emotional damage so it would probably be unwise” Harley mused for a second, “So, I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance I will.”

Darren laughed and patted Harley on the shoulder. Peter frowned once again. Harley threw a lego brick at his head.

“Oh lighten up, Parker” he said, “I’m not considering dating Sadie Clarke. I’m not really considering dating anyone, tragedy as it may be for the boys and girls of the world, Harley Keener is a closed book dating wise until further notice”

“Ahh, Sadie Clarke’s considering dating you though” Darren pointed out, “You might not end up with much say in the matter”

“Well, that’s fucked up” Harley said thoughtfully, “Imagine if it was the other way around and I was saying all of this about her.”

“I’m just playing man” Darren said good-naturedly, “Sadie knows her boundaries. Kinda. If nothing else, she’ll fall madly in love with some other poor sap and idealize the hell out of him in a few weeks time anyway. The girl just loves love.”

“You guys want some soda’s?” Peter asked. They both nodded so he got up and left the room destined for the kitchen, feeling somewhat comforted by the fact he could still hear them happily carrying on their Sadie-related conversation with him out of the room. Darren and Harley were very similar in a lot of ways, both very naturally protective Mom Friends, and Peter couldn’t help but be very pleased they seemed to be getting along as opposed to clashing due to their very similar personalities. 

He could still hear them as he waited for the elevator.

“So, what’s your story, man?” Harley asked Darren

“Nothing too exciting” Darren replied casually, “Mom died when I was six. That sucked, it’s just me and Dad now, but we’re fine. He’s an investment banker on Wall Street so he works crazy long hours and I don’t see him much during the week, but we make sure we do something fun together on the weekends. Even if it mostly does just end up being golf on Long Island.”

“I’m sorry about your Mom” Harley said sympathetically, “I’m guessing Parker told you about mine?”

“No, actually” Darren said, “I’ve pieced together a few bits from stuff that’s been said but Peter’s never told me anything about your life before New York. I think he really values your privacy.”

“Yeah, he’s good like that” Harley said. Peter found himself blushing a little as the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside, Harley and Darren’s voices fading from his ears as the elevator descended towards the kitchen. Smiling to himself, Peter could’ve almost forgotten to onslaught of worries and anxieties he had facing him at that very moment. Hanging out with Darren and Harley in his bedroom was so normal and had made him feel so naturally at ease. He hadn’t had to psyche himself up or talk himself down from a panic attack.

He’d been able to be just…..Peter.

Peter found himself catching his own breath as he realized - it’s been almost two years since I last felt like I was being myself. And for once, the thought of being himself didn’t make him feel frightened or scared, he was surrounded by people who liked him for who he was. Darren Davenport, historically the most popular and sought after boy in his grade, was currently upstairs in Peter’s bedroom putting together a dorky Star Trek model all because he genuinely liked Peter and had wanted to spend some time with him. 

And, what’s more, Peter kind of liked who he was. Peter Parker wasn’t just some nice, submissive kid who was too pure and innocent for the world. He was snarky, he was funny, he liked teasing his friends and being teased back by them. About crushes. About overprotective authority figures and driving permits, or lack thereof. About sneaking out to places. It was all so normal, and Peter deserved normal. 

He knew that, eventually, the crushing threat of being on HYDRA’s hit list was going to hit them like a ton of bricks and everything would spiral again. That was just how his head worked. But, as he grabbed some soda’s from his fridge and put more snacks together, all that seemed like a distant unpleasant thought that another Peter in another time could deal with. 

His phone rang. MJ.

“Hey” he said casually as he answered it, hopping up on to one of the surfaces.

“Hey” came MJ’s monotone reply, “I was just wondering what time we’re all meeting at your old place? I don’t wanna be early and look like a weirdo”

“Really?” Peter asked, raising his eyebrows, “Is this the real Michelle? Because the real Michelle wouldn’t give a fuck”

“More to the point” MJ sighed, “I’m wondering what time you’ll get there, because I don’t really like the idea of having to play third wheel to Leeds and Brant if you end up being late”

“We’ll be there at eight” Peter confirmed, “Armed with sleeping bags, snacks and more than your fair share of self-deprecating gallows humor”

“Wow. You sound like you’re in a good mood” MJ noted

“I am” Peter said brightly, “I know that it could all go to crap and I could end up curled in a ball in the corner of my old bedroom traumatised to hell, but the thought of spending a night in that apartment, with friends….I dunno, I’m kinda excited.”

“Yeah, sounds fun”

“You don’t have to feign excitement on my behalf Michelle” Peter said sweetly, “I know if you were given the choice, you’d rather not be there”

“Why do you always think that?”

“....Because you hate everyone?”

“I don’t hate you, or Keener, or Ned and Betty” MJ huffed, “I don’t even hate Liz. I’m not wild about the other three though”

“Darren’s a good guy, once you get to know him” Peter explained, “Sadie and Ricky ...they're a bit more of an acquired taste, admittedly, but they’re cool too. Ricky’s actually kinda nerdy, and he’s marathoned every episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved. So you’ll have that.”

“Did you see the new one on that guy, Peter Quill?” MJ asked, sounding a little more perked up, “He just literally vanished into thin air minutes after they told him his mother died”

“Yeah, it’s really fucked up, I wonder what happened to him” Peter replied, “Oh, by the way, I just wanted to say sorry for the last few months. Turns out I’d kind of been neglecting my friendship with Ned, which probably means I’ve been neglecting my friendship with you and-”

“Oh, Peter, don’t be stupid” MJ snapped, “I don’t need to be the focus of your world every minute of every hour or every day like Leeds does. You’ve had shit going on, I get that. I’ve always got that when it comes to you. You don’t drop people like hot stones, shit just...kinda happens to you and you go MIA for a while”

“Yeah, hopefully that won’t happen again anytime soon,” Peter breathed. For the first time that day, HYDRA weighed heavily on his mind, the thought of being literally missing in action. 

“At this point, I think you kind of have to assume Tony Stark is immortal” MJ said with a laugh, “I think you and Harley are good. And you have each other now, too”

“Yeah” Peter breathed, he felt content, “Yeah, we do”

“So, I’ll see you at eight then?” MJ asked.

“Yeah...see you at eight”

“Oh, and Peter? I’m looking forward to it as well” came MJ’s very quiet reply. Peter grinned and hung up the phone, knowing that MJ had wholeheartedly meant that and feeling somewhat proud of her for being so open about enjoying and looking forward to something. Ever since he’d come back to school once he’d begun to live with Tony and Pepper, MJ had really come in to herself. She was still the same person she always had been, forces of nature like Michelle Jones didn’t tend to change all that much, but she had opened up and started reaching out to other people. 

Of all the people that Peter had ever known, he’d never known anyone be as nice as Michelle was when she was genuinely trying. He knew that her opening up was down to her wanting to help him get better in anyway she could, and for that, he would be eternally grateful. 

As the doors of the elevator pinged open again, Peter was delighted to hear that Harley and Darren’s conversation in his absence was still in full flow. And still about him.

“Liz thinks this is a bad idea” Harley said, sounding a little worried, “Like it’s going to trigger him or something”

“She just worries about him, she really cares about Peter” Darren replied, “We all do. It’s just a shame no one cared enough when it mattered. I hate the fact that I didn’t even notice Parker hadn’t been in school until the day he came back.”

“Well, I think you’re doing a good job making up for it now” Harley replied, “Not that you have anything to make up for. It’s the teachers and the social workers who failed him.”

Peter took a deep breath and headed back into the room. Darren and Harley dropped their conversation on hearing him re-enter. Peter handed them their drinks and sat back, appreciating the fact he had more than one genuine friend in his life who wanted nothing but the best for him. How many people could honestly say that?

-

“D’you think they see us?” Wanda asked as she climbed back into the not particularly well hidden car that she and Natasha were scoping out Peter Parker’s old apartment in.

“I don’t think so” Natasha replied, uncertainty in her voice, “Let’s hope not anyway, they can’t find out we’re following them wherever they’re going”

“They’re smart boys, they probably already know” Wanda replied with a sigh, “Harley in particular is probably playing some long game to mess with us”

“I’m sure your son has nothing sinister planned, Wanda” Natasha said teasingly. Wanda shot her a look before looking dreamily out of the window. It seemed so strange that only a few months ago, Wanda hadn’t liked Harley all that much and had considered him an exhausting presence whenever he graced Stark Tower. 

Ever since he’d moved in, however, Wanda had found herself gravitating towards Harley and allowing him to effortlessly break down her walls much in the same way Peter had done to Natasha a year before. It was unsettling, but her heart melted a little every time a pent up Harley would appear at her door and rant about whatever had made him or angry, or if he’d turned up feeling a little down and not wanting to put upon Peter once again. 

The son jokes had started, in earnest, around a week before when Harley had bumped his head pretty hard whilst playing some dumb sliding game with Peter and Sam on the floor. Wanda had immediately jumped up and attended to Harley as if he were her own three-year old son, he had been fine but Wanda knew the second that she’d jumped up her fate had been sealed.

Harley Keener was her son now. Though, she preferred to think of him as a little brother. He was so, so like Pietro. Her stomach had done the ugliest flip it had done for a while when Natasha and Tony had told her that HYDRA were on the prowl for teenagers, using their youth to brainwash them quickly. Wanda felt something twist in her when she thought of Harley and Peter being tortured in such a way, and had promptly joined Natasha in keeping eyes on whenever the boys left the tower. 

“What exactly are they all doing here anyway?” Wanda asked, “This was where Peter used to live with his aunt, no?”

“Yeah, this is the place” Natasha replied grimly, “From what I can gather, it was Harley’s idea and he thinks Peter needs to have an official goodbye to the place”

Wanda felt uncomfortably soft on the inside. Harley was so, so sweet even if the idea did honestly seem a little misguided. 

“Oh” Wanda said, “I was thinking of something a bit more ...I dunno, dangerous. Considering how secretive they’ve been over it.”

Natasha grinned.

“I’ve racked my brain over this” she said, “And all I can conclude is that they’ve kept it secret ...just for the fun of keeping it secret. Like, for the drama of it.”

“They’re weird kids” Wanda breathed. Natasha laughed.

“Gotta love them though” she replied, “I mean, two handsome teenage boys with emotional issues living with us, we could be dealing with teen pregnancies or drug addictions but no….they sneak out to an old apartment to help one of them get over childhood trauma”

“So, we get to sit in a car all night...watching a building?” Wanda concluded.

“I’d leave” Natasha said sadly, “I would. I’d leave and let them get on with it, but with HYDRA on the prowl for vulnerable kids ...no way. If anything happened to either of them, Pepper and Tony would never forgive me. Not that that would matter, I’d never forgive myself.”

“You don’t have to put it all on your shoulders” Wanda told her, “Both us know how ruthless HYDRA can be, you can’t stop them all on your own, Nat”

“If only” Natasha muttered.

“Has there been any activity detected in New York since the embassy graffiti?” Wanda asked, “I haven’t heard anything about any kids going missing, vanished from the streets, if the threat is real it’s not even here yet”

“But it could be” Natasha said impatiently, “We don’t know, a kid could have been taken right this minute, it’s better to be safe than sorry”

“I just feel sorry for the boys” Wanda sighed, “They deserve to have some privacy, to be normal kids, god knows they deserve it. Are they really going to get that if their every move is being followed until Tony decides it’s safe enough not to?”

A few minutes of silence consumed the car. Natasha knew that Wanda was right, it wasn’t fair to follow the every move of two sixteen year old boys like this, but there honestly was no alternative. If every kid in New York City was in some kind of danger from being abducted by HYDRA then enhanced, agile Peter with his high resistance and close connection to Tony Stark and Harley with his passionate determination, fiery eyes, high intelligence and close connection to Tony Stark were in more danger than most. They were probably the top of HYDRA’s most wanted list. 

“Nat, can I ask you something?” Wanda asked suddenly, taking a deep breath, “And I don’t think this needs to go further than between us”

“Ask away” Natasha said blankly

“Have you ever noticed the way that Peter looks at Harley sometimes?” Wanda went on, “Like, he feels more love for him than you would for a brother? Or, at least, a different kind of love?”

“Are you saying you think Peter’s in love with Harley?” Natasha asked, wondering to herself if there could be anything she’d missed that would validate Wanda’s theory, “Because Stark seems pretty keen on pushing them as brothers, so that would shake things up a bit”

“It’s just something I’ve noticed” Wanda shrugged, “And when Peter does look at Harley like that, I get an overwhelming sense of warmth from him. The same kind of warmth I get if I accidentally tune into a moment between Tony and Pepper, or Clint and Laura. That kind of love.”

“Well, shit” Natasha stated, eyes widening as she clutched onto the steering wheel, “I don’t even know if Peter ...likes boys, like that.”

Natasha sat back and considered the possibility for a second. She liked to think she knew Peter well, that they’d developed a bond, and that he would come to her with any problem knowing that she’d never judge him. In the year since they’d met, Peter hadn’t really been terribly focused or open when it came to any kind of love life. She knew about the crush on Liz only because he’d accidentally let it slip and he’d then just kind of ...fallen into a relationship with her, at least as far as Natasha could see. 

If he did have a ton of crushes on a ton of girls, he never really disclosed the fact. Peter was, however, the subject of a lot of crushes himself which he hilariously didn’t seem to be aware of. The idea that he might like boys had never really occurred to her, but life had taught Natasha that nothing was impossible so it may well have been the case. 

As for Peter having a crush on Harley though, that was a bolt from the blue.

“I don’t think it’s a pressing issue” Wanda went on, “Peter’s probably not going to act on his feelings, if he even has them. I could be wrong.”

“Still, I hate to think of the kid having to worry about that, on top of everything else” Natasha mused

“Now who’s the mom?” Wanda asked with a smirk

“Shut up” Natasha said lightly, “If Fury was still here, I’d file a lawsuit against his sorry ass. I never signed up for all this cool-aunt bullshit”

“Tell me about it” Wanda muttered, “I came this close to asking Tony if I could go to Harley’s next Parent-Teacher conference the other day”

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s even a good idea having them around” Natasha said, very serious all of a sudden as the rain began to lash down outside of the car, “They’re too much of an obvious weakness, too clear that we’d do anything for them. I’m surprised we’ve not had kidnap and ransom threats before, Tony and Pepper would sell the earth for those two”

“We all would” Wanda said with a sad, soft smile. 

“Yeah, and when I think that, one of them inevitably does something reckless and adorable and I end up kinda hating myself” Natasha said, adding a nervous laugh at the end, “....And so, here we are, scoping out some dead ladies apartment in a Prius in the middle of the night”

-

There were nine of them. It was the most people that Peter had ever seen packed into his and May’s old apartment at one time. He, Harley, Liz, MJ, Ned, Betty, Darren, Ricky and Sadie all gathered in a big circle in the middle of what had once been the world’s smallest living room. The apartment was still largely the same as it had been the night Peter had left it, all of his and May’s personal possessions were long gone - either given away to Good Will or living in Stark Tower with Peter - but the wallpaper and some of the furniture remained. 

It felt strange, in a good way, to be back. Peter didn’t know what to expect as he’d walked back into the place for the first time two hours before with Harley and Darren. Immediately, what hit him was that the apartment still somehow felt immediately like home and whilst May’s scent had long since left the place, if he fooled himself enough he felt like he could still smell her perfume. It was particularly strong in what had once been her bedroom. 

By the time the other arrived, Peter was in a kind of blank state. Neither happy nor sad, anxious or at ease, he just was. Liz had made an immediate beeline for him, hooking her arm around his and ensuring that their sleeping bags were impossibly close together. Harley was on his other side, and MJ next to him. Ned and Betty had opted for their own little corner whilst Darren, Ricky and Sadie were placed directly opposite Peter and Liz. 

Sadie was making eyes at Harley ever chance he got, something which was providing Peter with a great deal of amusement. 

“She’s looking at me again” Harley muttered as he, Peter and Ricky stood in the kitchen, waiting for the tacos they’d just spent nearly an hour making to be done, “I can practically feel her eyes burning into the back of my skull”

“Been there, got the T-shirt, buddy” Ricky said with a sympathetic laugh, “At some point though, you might just wanna consider giving in. Let her get you out of her system.”

“Do I seriously need to point out the seriously fucked up double standards in that again” Harley exclaimed, “If I was doing that to her, I’d be labelled a weirdo, and rightly so.”

“Hey, whoa, dude chill” Ricky said defensively holding his hands up, “I’m here to eat tacos and have a good time, not engage in any debates about double standards in gender politics”

“Oooh, we’re having a debate over double standards in gender politics?!” MJ said as she walked into the kitchen and caught the tail end of the conversation, “Now this is my kinda party”

Peter groaned.

“Ask me about my feminist agenda, Jones” Harley stated, jokingly pointing a wooden spoon towards her chest, “Ask me”

“What’s your feminist agenda about, Kenner?” MJ complied

“Fuck men, they say they’re going to the store, never come back and give you a lifetime of abandoment issues that drives you to eventually live with a former playboy billionaire with even bigger daddy issues than yourself” Harley replied. Ricky looked as if he didn’t know where to put himself. Peter and MJ, however, laughed.

“Interesting take” MJ said with a laugh, “Care to discuss how men - as a class, not individuals - are ruining society as we speak”

“Happy to!” Harley exclaimed, enthusiastically following MJ out of the kitchen, Peter smiled as he heard her break into a fit of laughter as Harley whispered something in her ear. Then, he felt a little envious and kind of hot under the collar.

“Ooh, jealous Parker?” Ricky noted, hopping on to the banister. Peter almost instinctively told him to jump down as May didn’t like people sitting on there but then he remembered she wasn’t around to yell at anyone anymore. Instead of getting sad, however, Peter merely jumped up and sat next to Ricky who cast an arm around his shoulder. Peter told himself that Ben and May would be proud of his slight rebellion. 

“No, it’s just kinda weird hearing MJ laugh with someone who isn’t me” Peter admitted

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard the girl laugh” Ricky said with a grin, “She’s a weird chick. I kinda like her though, you can tell that she’s like….a good person despite the obsession with murder and her strange need interject social issues into every conversation”

“That’s MJ!” Peter said proudly

“How’re you doing anyway, man?” Ricky asked sincerely, “Dazza mentioned that you were a little anxious about staying in your old place. You holding up so far?”

“Yeah, I’m good, thanks” Peter replied with a frown. Partly, he was a little surprised at how sincere the usually jovial Ricky had just been but mostly he wanted to know who the hell Dazza was. “Dazza?”

“Darren hates it” Ricky said with a laugh, “It all started when he went on vacation to London with me and my family a few years back, and we had this cockey tour guide who insisted on calling him Dazza for the entire trip. It was hilarious, I’ve never let him live it down”

“And I’ve hated you every fucking second since!” Darren announced as he and Liz walked into the kitchen together, Darren immediately trapping his best friend into a headlock. Liz allowed Peter to drape his arms around her neck as she stood in front of him. 

“Hey, Pete, you wanna know something crazy about Ricky here?” Darren asked as he continued to play fight, “He loves Peppa Pig and still watches it. Everyday!”

“Correction” Ricky said as he released himself from Darren’s grip, “I have a three year old sister who loves Peppa Pig, and I watch it with her cos I’m a nice guy !”

“A nice guy who loves Peppa Pig”

“Shut it, Dazza”

“Are they always like this?” Peter asked Liz

“Pretty much”

-

“He fits in, doesn’t he?” Betty observed as she, Ned, Harley and MJ sat on the fire escape just outside of the living room, looking directly in on the kitchen. The rain had abated and the apartment was warm due to the amount of bodies crammed into such a small space so the (self-proclaimed) ‘Uncool Fraction’ had gathered outside. Betty’s comment had been in regard to Peter, whom they could all see sitting and joking happily along with the most popular kids in the grade just meters away.

“Nah, he belongs with us” MJ said confidently, “He’s just nice enough that everyone likes him the right amount”

“You know” Betty pressed on, “I wouldn’t have put him and Liz together but I think they’re actually quite cute. Very well suited, in a kind of chalk and cheese way. Like me and Neddie”

Harley pulled a disgusted face at MJ as Betty and Ned openly touched noses in front of them. MJ held her ever present book to her face to cover her laughter. 

“They’re actually all quite nice, really” Ned said happily once he’d finished been sickeningly sweet with his girlfriend

“Yeah, I like ‘em” said Harley. He was still struggling to be civil towards Ned for so easily making friends with a kid who had bullied Peter for most of his life, in Harley’s opinion the popular kids that were gathered inside were already better friends to Peter than Ned had been. 

“No complaints here” Betty added, before frowning, “Well, actually, if I had to make one-”

“Sadie” the other three repeated in unison before they all broke into laughter. Harley noticed MJ seem to become a lot less guarded, the book disappeared from in front of her face and she climbed off the banister she’d been perching on to sit next to Harley. 

“Sorry” MJ said seriously, “I didn’t mean that. What I meant to say was that Harley’s future girlfriend is a very nice girl, and we all can’t wait to get to know her better”

“I wish Peter were here” Harley muttered, “He’d probably swoop in and say something unbelievably nice about her and make us all feel like pieces of shit for thinking bad thoughts…..and she is, in no way, my future girlfriend”

“Yeah, you can do better” Betty said with a nod. Harley couldn’t help but smirk at how affronted Ned looked at the comment. He patted MJ on the knee and headed back inside to use the bathroom, being extra careful not to make himself visible to Sadie.

It didn’t work.

Once he’d finished, Harley stepped out of the bathroom and was immediately blocked from heading back outside by Sadie’s arm. She stood, quite a bit smaller than him, and looked at him with a fierce determination in her eyes.

“Err...hi” he said awkwardly

“Hey” she replied confidently. Harley rolled his eyes. “You realize that we’ve never actually spoken one to one before now, don’t you? Why is it that?”

“People told me never to speak alone with you because you’d try to bite me like a vampire” Harley started listing off reasons, most of which he was making up on the spot, “There was that rumor about you being Charlie Manson’s daughter, and I’m sorry, but I definitely draw the line at talking to someone who thinks that pineapple on pizza is a good idea. Like, it’s a deal breaker.”

“You’re so funny” Sadie said playfully, pushing him a little, “But I think I know the reason you really haven’t spoken to me before now”

“Stealth?”

“Fear” Sadie said with a confident nod, “You’re too scared of what you want, Harley.”

“I’m not” Harley said with a smug smile plastered across his face, “Believe me. See, the underlying issue we have here Sadie is miscommunication. I can’t say if I like you or not as we’ve never spoken before. But what I do know ...I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but you’re not the kind of girl I go for”

“Oh really” a now unimpressed looking Sadie said as she folded her arms, “And what kind of girls do you like, then? MJ?”

Harley rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, don’t start shit like that” he snapped, “Me and MJ have a lot in common, mutual interests, we laugh together. I don’t know you.”

“I’m not asking for the world, Harley” Sadie argued back, “Just the chance to get to know you better”

“And that’s the way to go about this, is it?” Harley retorted, “Stalking me and waiting until I leave bathrooms, staring at me as if I have a big target sign on the back of my head, if you wanna talk to me just friggin talk to me.”

Sadie looked slightly crestfallen and for a second Harley was genuinely worried that she was about to burst into tears and run off crying. Instead, however, her defensive facial expression softened and she eased her shoulders.

“Sorry” she muttered, “I’m err-, I just get a bit carried away sometimes.”

“Don’t sweat it” Harley said with a shrug, “And I’m sorry about that Charles Manson rumour. No one’s spreading it, it just seemed like a funny thing to say in the moment”

“You’re a weird guy. It may have just dawned on me that we are totally incompatable” Sadie narrowed her eyes before looking him up and down, “It’s a good thing you’re cute, or you’d be a total dud.”

“And hey, just like that, I bet your crush is gone!” Harley exclaimed.

“Ehh, I’ll still enjoy looking at your from a purely objective aesthetic standpoint, but yeah” Sadie said brightly, “But yeah, I guess ...does that mean we can be friends now?”

“Don’t see why not” Harley shrugged, “Spoiled, rich city girl and down-to-earth country bumpkin living with an emotionally unstable billionaire ...we'll be best friends by Labor Day!”

Sadie laughed.

“And then maybe I can help you deal with your totally unrequited crush on Michelle Jones”

“I’m sorry - my what now?!”

-

Once dinner was done and everyone was gathered in a big group to watch a movie, Liz asked Peter to come out on to the fire escape with her for a private moment. They’d shared a brief kiss and sat in content silence until Liz finally spoke what was on her mind,

“I don’t know if you should be Spider-Man anymore” she said quietly. Peter, who had been resting his head on her shoulders, shot up and eyed with her suspicioun. 

“Why?” he asked, “You were fine with it before”

“Yeah, but I’ve been thinking about it since” she breathed, “And it’s just so dangerous, Peter. You could get badly hurt or killed, and you should be focusing on your health and I’m just worried that it’s going to get in the way”

“It won’t, it won’t” Peter said desperately. He had no idea why he was so badly feeling the need to beg for something he knew damn well he wasn’t going to give up just because it made Liz feel a little scared, “I can’t give Spider-Man up, Liz. He’s a part of me.”

“But he’s a part of you who gets you injured and hurt” Liz argued, “He’s a part of you who keeps you up until all hours patrolling the streets when you should be in bed, taking it easy and working on getting over everything”

“Where is all of this coming from?” Peter snapped, “When you found out, it made you tell me that you love me for the first time. That’s how much it made you happy.”

“It didn’t make me happy, babe” Liz said tearfully, “It made me realize I love you because it’s such a brave, selfless thing to be doing and those are qualities I really admire in you. But it’s also dangerous and it the thought of you getting hurt or killed outweighs any positive alternative for me, I’m sorry”

“What do you want from this?” Peter asked, holding his head in his hands, “Because I could promise you I’d give Spider-Man up, but we’d both know it was a lie. And we’ve always said that we didn’t want a relationship like that”

Peter cursed himself internally. Deep down, they both knew the relationship was a lie, and he felt like the world’s biggest hypocrite for using that against her. 

“I want you to be safe and happy, because I love you” Liz replied, “I want you to have the normal life that you so badly deserve, I don’t want you flying nukes into portals in the sky or having to take down an army of malfunctioning drones” 

“Liz, I’m sorry you feel this way” Peter said taking a deep breath, “And I understand because everyone else in my life has said the same thing to me, but I have to do this. And, yeah, I do want to do it as well but I also have to. When you can do the things I can do, and you don’t use them for good, then you may as well be joining the bad guys”

“You’re a sixteen year old boy, Peter” Liz replied quietly, resting her chin on top of his head, “You’re a sixteen year old boy who has been through so much shit and come out the other side still as kind and selfless and funny as you always were. It’s not on you to save the world.”

“I’m not saving the world though” Peter argued, “I’m helping little old ladies across the street and stopping the odd bank robbery, it’s not like what Tony had to do.”

He felt bad. He felt bad that this had clearly been causing Liz a great deal of stress and anxiety, she was worried about him and all he could do was go on about what being Spider-Man meant to him. She only wanted him to be safe and happy, how could he be mad at her for that?

“Liz, are you saying that if I don’t give up Spider-Man then...you don’t wanna be with me anymore?” he asked delicately 

“No” Liz said after a brief pause, “I know it would be pointless giving you a demand like that, and that’s not the kind of girlfriend I want to be. I guess...I just needed to let you know how I feel, because we never really talked about it much after I found out.”

“You’ll get used to it, you know” he assured her, “Everyone else in my life has and no one worries about me going out anymore. I’m actually quite good at what I do, you know”

“I know” Liz said with a smile, “You really are. And I know I can’t ask you stop looking out for the whole neighbourhood just because it makes me feel scared as your girlfriend. Just ...just promise me that you are always as careful as possible”

“Always” Peter gave her a serious nod, “I would always call for backup if I felt like I couldn’t take someone down on my own”

“OK” Liz said uneasily, “I guess I can learn to live with that”

Peter hated himself for wishing that she had demanded he give up Spider-Man for the sake of their relationship. He liked Liz, a lot, and he felt bad for all the crap he was putting her through but with each passing day he was finding the lie the relationship took harder and harder to deal with. 

Deep down, he figured she must have felt the same way. The brief kiss they shared following their new agreement was shallow. Nothing about them made sense anymore. 

Peter’s train of thought was, however, quickly derailed when his eyes caught sight of an ominous looking man staring up at the apartment. Nighttime had arrived long ago, so the man’s face wasn’t visible, but his very presence made the hairs on Peter’s forearms stand on edge. As he quickly ushered an unsuspecting Liz inside under the guise of being cold, Peter took one look back and noticed that the man had gone. 

For the first time in the whole night, he felt uneasy.

He didn’t see the man’s face but there was something, deep down, that was telling him who that man had been.

Bucky Barnes. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 26.

Hell's Angel

Bucky. 

Bucky had been outside his apartment.

He was sure he was so sure, that James Buchanan Barnes had just been the man in the shadows staring up at the apartment with the same haunted, fiery intensity in his eyes that had burned into his soul a year before. 

Breathing uneasily, Peter stepped back into the living room with Liz just ahead of him, looking around for Harley. The only other person in the room who knew. Who would understand. 

“You good, Parker?” Ricky asked as Peter sat down, with one last look over his shoulder, and Liz snuggled into his side. Peter allowed her to, but he couldn’t quite bring herself to look at her, she was in so much danger now and it was his fault she was there. 

“Fine” Peter amazed himself by managing to give Ricky a convincing enough smile that he didn’t press anymore questions towards him, “What’re we doing now?”

Ricky and Darren flashed mischievous grins at one another as everyone else gathered back into the living room, sitting themselves in their usual groups. Harley’s eyes immediately settled on to Peter and, almost as if there was some unspoken universal connection between them, he shifted over and threw his arms around Peter’s beck. Peter felt immediately grounded and allowed himself to relax. He ignored Liz’s put out expression. 

“It has come to our attention” Darren announced, “That we could do with a bit of an icebreaker, so Rickster and I have had a bit of a brain wave…”

Peter felt his mind wander as Darren and Ricky began to explain that they were all going to take part in a whole group, trivia lead game of spin the (non-alcoholic) bottle. It seemed so insane that only that morning Peter had managed to convince himself that the threat from HYDRA wasn’t as big of a threat as he first thought, that the actual danger was nowhere near his doorstep, only to have the rug pulled from underneath him and have the danger literally turn up on his doorstep. His old one, anyway.

He knew he needed to call Tony.

“Tell me what’s wrong?” Harley whispered into Peter’s ear, “Has something happened? Have you had a fight with Liz?”

Have you had a fight with Liz?

'If only that was my biggest problem’ Peter thought bitterly. Harley seemed to take Peter’s silence in its intended form; We’ll talk about it later. 

“Harley, Harley, Harley” Sadie Clarke said brightly as she made her way over to them, her voice barely above a whisper, “As your newly self-proclaimed wing woman, I demand that you go and sit next to MJ. That way you probably won’t embarrass yourself by not knowing anything about her”

Peter was brought out of his funk by the interaction. In the past half hour, not only had Sadie stopped chasing Harley and painted herself as his ‘wing woman’ she had also apparently done so in support of ‘wing manning’ Harley in some attempt to impress MJ? As Harley awkwardly murmured and moved away from Peter, it was the second boys turn to prompt for an explanation and got the same look back.

We’ll talk about it later.

“The hell was that about?” Liz asked

“You got me” Peter breathed uneasily, “.....What did Ricky and Darren say we had to do? I kinda blanked out for a second”

“Basically, it’s Spin The Bottle, but instead of like...making out if it lands on you, you have to reveal something about yourself that no one knows” Liz said with a grin, looking upon Darren and Ricky as if they were some kind of Machiavellian geniuses. 

“Right” Peter said with a frown. Clearly this would be a fun game for people who hadn’t just witnessed a domestic terrorist stalking them all. His chest felt increasingly tense as he knew that the longer he just sat and pretended like he’d never seen Bucky, the more in danger everyone around him was. 

He’d also painted himself into a tight corner having chosen not to let Pepper and Tony know that he’d overheard their HYDRA conversation from a few nights before. Tony was sure to be furious that Peter and Harley had kept that to themselves and were now in a situation where they’d endangered and isolated themselves and seven of their friends. 

“Go and fix it” Liz whispered.

“What?” Peter asked

“Whatever’s going in your head, go and sort it out” Liz said softly as she reached over and put her hand in Peter’s, “I’m sorry if you freaked out whilst we were out there, if you need a moment to go and breathe, I can cover for you”

Peter sighed and smiled at Liz, sadly. He didn’t really want to dwell on how he felt about her, it was all so messed up and complicated, but he appreciated that she was still kind and caring enough to have twigged that he really needed to get out of the apartment. Avoiding Harley’s glare as he silently left whilst everyone was busy preparing the game, Peter closed the apartment door behind and him and silently fell to the floor. 

“Shit fuck shit fuck holy fucking shit shit shit” he said to himself as he banged his head against the walls, “FUCK!”. 

“Easy there, Spider-Boy” a droning, irritated voice rang out from the dark. Peter whipped his head around and breathed possibly the most relieved breath he’d ever breathed as an unimpressed Tony Stark walked out from the shadows with his arms folded and a mixture of relief and anger etched on his face. 

“Tony” Peter was too relieved to see him to really care about how mad he looked. He immediately picked himself off the floor and approached the billionaire. Despite his obvious annoyance, Tony embraced Peter and allowed him to whimper in her arms.

“How long have you known?” he asked

“Few days” Peter murmured, “Sorry for not telling you. We thought we could handle it on our own”

“We?” Tony replied incredulously, “Are you telling me that Harley knows about this as well? How the hell did you even find out?”

“The frequency at which you people forget I have super enhanced hearing is frightening” Peter laughed weakly. Tony rolled his eyes to the heavens. “And, more to the point, why in the everloving hell would you guys not tell me and Harley that there’s an international terrorist agency that are out to get us?”

“Well, we don’t know if they’re specifically out to get you” Tony explained, guiding Peter back to the top of the stairs and sitting him down, “Just that they’re out to get young kids off the streets. It’s not just you”

“I know that” Peter said through gritted teeth, “But it’s hard to feel like it’s not directed at me when Bucky fucking Barnes is stood outside my aunts old apartment. Explain that one away, Tony, if you can”

“Barnes made a mistake” Tony said gravely, “We know he’s around now. We’re one step ahead of him”

“Sure, tell yourself that” Peter said bitterly, “Lie to yourself if you want Tony but it’s not you and your friends who are in danger of-”

“No, it’s just both of my sons” Tony snapped. Peter stopped dead in his tracks, looking up at Tony and really for the first time, seeing how haunted he looked by all of this. Peter felt, to put it bluntly, like an inconsiderate prick. 

“I’m sorry” Peter mumbled, “I didn’t mean that you-I just, why wouldn’t you let us know we’re in danger? I thought you trusted me”

“I do, kid, I do” Tony said with a sigh, gripping Peter’s shoulder, “But I’m also responsible for you now, and that shit goes beyond giving you somewhere to live and something to eat. I gotta think about your health, Pete, and you’ve been doing so much better lately. The way you’ve been with Harley has made us so proud, you’ve come so far. I just didn’t want this to set you back”

“I can take bad news, Tony” Peter said coldly, “I’m kind of used to life coming along and fucking things up just as I let myself think it’s starting to go well”

“And you feeling like that is exactly what we wanted to avoid, kiddo” Tony said, “You don’t deserve to have your life blown apart again”

“You’re right” Peter breathed, “I don’t. But don’t I also deserve to know that my life might be blown apart again at any minute? It’s my life. Surely I get a say. You can’t control everything we do”

Tony didn’t reply. Instead, he just kissed the top of Peter’s head and began to stroke his hair, eventually Peter rested his weary head on Tony’s shoulders.

“How come you didn’t tell us you were coming here tonight?” Tony asked, “This seems like it would be a pretty big thing for you”

“Harley’s idea” Peter said with a shrug, “He thinks I need to say a proper goodbye to the place, maybe work out a few things, I’m not saying he’s wrong but it feels kinda pointless now. There are bigger issues than me not taking one last solemn look at my old bedroom...how did you know I was here, anyway?”

“Natasha called us, she saw Bucky” Tony explained, “I know, I know, I can’t control every aspect of your life, but knowing Nat and Wanda were just outside - well, it let me and Pepper breathe a little”

“Guess” Peter frowned. He’d suspected, of course, that someone from the team would have followed him and Harley out considering they all knew the threat but it still didn’t help his increasing annoyance at just how much Tony was willing to interfere in their privacy.

“They’re trying to follow Barnes now, but I imagine they’ve lost the lead” Tony went on, “But, like I say, we can report back to SHIELD now and let them know that are HYDRA are back in New York and on the prowl. You can help, kid, in your own way you know”

“And how’s that?” Peter muttered

“Keep your ear to the ground” Tony explained, “Spider-Man has connections that even I can’t get ahold of, Pete. You’re the one on the ground, looking after the little guy, if you really wanna help and keep people safe from this the best thing you can do is listen out for any reports or rumours of strange dudes hanging around.”

“Yeah, you really don’t know this side of living” Peter said with a laugh, “There’s strange men on every street corner, Tony.”

“Yes, but I imagine a HYDRA agent and your common garden drug pusher or pimp are somewhat easy to differentiate” Tony replied. Peter shrugged. “It’s a necessary element of all of this, Peter. I can do more to rescue these kids but I’m only gonna find out if they’ve already been taken. You can work to stop that happening in the first place.”

“I can do that, I guess” Peter replied, brightening up a little now he felt he had more of a purpose and a cause in everything, “At the very least it might distract me away from my disastrous love life and the fact Harley might have a crush on MJ”

“Wow. Have I missed some teenage angst shit.” Tony chuckled, “I thought we made it abundantly clear that any ridiculous melodramas were immediately reported back to us for amusements sake”

“Liz wants me to give up Spider-Man,” Peter said, “She’s really worried it’s going to get me killed or something, but I told her I can’t. Think she’ll probably break up with me now”

“You don’t sound too sad about it” Tony noted, “And maybe that’s something you need to consider, Peter. We both know life’s too short to be living any kind of a lie.”

“Are you saying you think I should dump her?” Peter asked. Tony shook his head.

“Believe it or not, kid, I don’t have all the answers” Tony laughed, “All I want is for you to be happy, there’s nothing I would place above you, Harley and Unborn Baby Stark being happy. You need to do what’s right for you but I can’t tell you what that is”

“I think, right now, I need to back inside” Peter said uneasily, “I think I need to go back inside and enjoy my time with my friends and for once, for fucking once , forget about all the rest of the shit that’s going on in my life. That’s what I deserve. That will make me happy.”

“Then you go and do that” Tony said meeting Peter as he stood up and pulling him into a bone crushing hug, “I’m so proud of you. I’m so fucking proud of you, Peter.”

“Thanks” Peter said with a sniffle, blinking back tears, “And you’re really good with the fatherly advice y’know? So good I’m not even gonna tell Steve and Pepper that you cursed”

-

Peter stepped back into the apartment to find a scene he wasn’t expecting. The whole group were, for the first time, sitting and laughing together, almost as one unit. No one was off in any corners scowling at anyone else, or feeling too awkward to engage with someone they didn’t know. Sadie was complimenting MJ on the Black Dahlia inspired necklace that Peter had got her for her birthday a year prior, Ned and Ricky were having an in-depth discussion about Game Of Thrones whilst Liz, Darren and Betty were all gathered around Darren’s iPad and talking about how The 1975 were the best band in the world at the moment.

They all happily greeted Peter as he walked by, but immediately withdrew back to what they had been doing before he came back in, which suited Peter as he made a beeline for Harley; the one person who had withdrawn themselves from the group. His heart aching as his eyes fell on Harley who was looking as if he was seconds away from a major panic attack, Peter silently took his friend by the and lead him back onto the fire escape just outside of the living room windows. They sat together, hands intertwined, and Harley broke the second that he knew they were alone.

“What’s going on Pete? You gotta tell me” he begged, “I haven’t felt like this since Rose Hill and it’s killing me - what’s wrong?”

Peter took a deep breath.

“Bucky Barnes was casing the apartment, about forty minutes ago” Peter began, “I saw him whilst I was out here with Liz and that’s why I was freaked out when I came back inside. I’m sorry, I should have told you way sooner, I just needed to sort my head out and I haven’t been able to find a moment before now”

“You’re telling me he was here ?” Harley cried, “He was right here on this fucking street watching us, and now we’re just out here like sitting ducks? What the fuck Peter?!”

Harley’s fear was manifesting itself as anger. Peter took another breath and tightened his grip on Harley’s shaking hands, hoping the touch would ground Harley in the same way his touch had grounded Peter earlier in the night. It seemed to succeed; Harley rested his head on Peter’s knee and his breathing became a lot steadier.

“We’re safe, for now” Peter breathed, “Tony knows. He was in the hall, just now, and we’ve talked things through. Barnes ran when he saw Nat and Wanda coming”

“Nat and Wanda?” Harley asked, “What were they doing here?”

“What do you think?” Peter said simply, smiling just a little. Harley seemed to understand him in an instant and nodded heavily.

“How do you do it Pete?” Harley asked, “I like to act so tough and everything but this ...this is heavy man, and it’s real now, how’re you not freaking out?”

“I don’t know that I’m not” Peter said with a shrug, “Tony helped. Gave me some ideas about how I can help, well, how Spider-Man can help. Let me feel a bit more useful, at least”

“Lucky You” Harley muttered, an undeniably envious and bitter tone to it that Peter chose to ignore. 

“If we stop living our lives, Harls, they might as well have already won” Peter told him firmly, “If we let this affect us, allow it to stop us living and finding the happiness we both deserve, then they win. And they won’t win, Harley”

Harley smiled and seemed to take Peter’s point on board. They stayed outside for a few more minutes, allowing themselves some time to be able to go back in and once again pretend that everything was alright even though it absolutely fucking wasn’t. Peter and Harley had both become world experts at doing so, but that didn’t make prepping for it any easier. The difference now was that they had each other. 

“Oh, finally, there are the men of the moment” Darren exclaimed when Peter and Harley did eventually resurface, “We were starting to wonder if you’d been abducted by the Hell’s Angel or something”

“Hell’s Angel?” Harley asked as he sat down next to MJ

“Have you not heard about him up in your fancy Manhattan tower?” MJ teased the boys as they sat down and shot their friends looks of wild confusion

“Clearly not” Peter shot back, “Is someone gonna tell me who he is?”

“This dude’s been, allegedly, showing up all over the place” Betty began, “The skate park. The mall. Alicia said she even saw him near the football field one night.”

“And basically, he’s this freaky looking dude” Ricky carried on, “And he’s got this really weird like...vibe to him, makes whoever’s near him feel really on edge”

“Like he’s from hell, basically” Sadie confirmed. “They call him Hell’s Angel cos despite all that, he’s meant to have these stunning, beautiful eyes”

Peter and Harley frowned at one another, both unable to escape the obvious. Bucky Barnes was the Hell’s Angel.

“And has he likes ...done anything” Harley asked.

“No, that’s the crazy thing” Betty piped up, “The kids who have run into him say that he was approaching them, and then at the last minute, he’d suddenly just take off. No one’s been hurt or taken. He’s just a creepy dude.”

“Why has no one told us about this before now?” Peter asked harshly, directing the question more towards Ned and Liz, the only two other people in the room but him and Harley who knew of Peter’s alter ego. 

“Thought you might have heard already” Ned muttered, “It’s been kind of all over social media, there are whole accounts dedicated to watching them”

Peter smiled as Harley immediately pulled out his phone, presumably to follow all of the relevant accounts as soon as possible. 

“It’s creepy” Liz said with a shudder, “Some weirdo stalker guy is just going around scaring the crap outta kids for no reason”

“And he doesn’t even have the balls to follow through on anything” Ricky exclaimed, “It’s why no one’s really freaking out too much. He’s just a troll, I reckon”

“He’s a very good one” Betty said uneasily, “Alicia told me she’s never felt more scared in her whole life than when she saw him, and she was on the other side of a football field, surrounded by like fifteen other people”

“Cindy Moon bumped into him on her own” MJ pointed out, “She just turned and ran, he didn’t even try to follow her”

“We’re out of the loop, dude” Harley said patting Peter on the back, “I’ve followed all those witness accounts, but I’m wondering how reliable they are. People are probably making up half the shit that’s on them.”

“True” Darren said with a nod, “I believe Cindy cos she’d never lie and the people who were with Alicia confirmed what she said, but everyone else was on their own. They’re probably just trying to get in on the action”

“Someone should try and get a picture of him” Sadie suggested, “Like an honest to god up close picture, that way we know exactly who we’re looking at”

“How long has this guy been about?” Peter asked

“Not long” Betty said with a shrug, “Only since school ended, so like, a few weeks. I’m surprised you guys didn’t hear.”

Peter felt uneasy as he realized this was exactly the kind of thing Tony had been talking to him about in the hall earlier. The Avengers were great and could do amazing things and save everyone, but they always saved, they never prevented. They were too far removed from the ordinary lives of everyday people to be able to stop problems before they became big, world-wide threatening ones. 

Peter and Harley’s entire social life was based in Queens yet due to the fact living with The Avengers in a big tower in the middle of Manhattan, they had missed all the talk about the infamous Hell’s Angel. 

“We know now” Harley whispered so quietly only Peter could hear as the rest of the group dissolved into discussing their various theories on who the Hell’s Angel was meant to be, “We know now and this is what you were saying outside, this is how we can help”

“We?” Peter whispered back, “No fucking away, you can’t-”

“I already am, and this isn’t up for debate, Parker” Harley said confidently, “We are in this together, and we can stop all of this shit before it starts”.

Peter smiled. He didn’t know if Harley was right, but this was a start, there was a chance they could prevent something. Spider-Man and the Hell’s Angel were now on a crash course, Peter was determined to look Barnes in the eye and let him know in no uncertain terms that he would not get away with taking any kids away to be brainwashed and tortured. As various plans involving anything from ambushes to brutal takedowns raged through his mind, Peter felt more grateful than ever for Harley. 

Harley, too, had been taken over by some pragmatic force just driving him to think of ways they could help out. Ways that they-no, he could finally be of use to someone. Ned and Liz spent the rest of the night looking uneasily at Peter and Harley, knowing the two boys were planning something ridiculously selfless and ridiculously stupid. 

“If he dies doing this” Liz whispered to Ned, “I’ll never forgive him”. Ned understood her point of view, but he didn’t share it. This was Peter Parker, and if she didn’t get that, she never would.

-

The apartment sleepover, in all honesty, could have been called a mixed success. Harley had intended it to be an opportunity for Peter to lay some old ghosts to rest, but typically, the new ghosts had decided they weren’t getting enough attention and had decided to show up and bulldoze their way through the entire evening. That element of the sleepover had failed, but what had succeeded was that it had brought together all the different people from different walks of Peter’s life and molded them into one big group. 

Sadie had hugged MJ as they all departed the next morning, and MJ had not reacted with horror, but had reciprocate the gesture. Ned and Ricky had swapped cell numbers, promising to live text each other as they synced up viewings of The Last Jedi later that day. They all gelled, and Peter Parker now had a giant support system and group of friends he could rely on.

If there was nothing else Harley could have provided Peter with, at least he had managed to provide him with that.

The sleepover may have been a mixed success overall, but the sleep part was a definite fail, as he and Peter didn’t manage any more than about fifteen minutes. They were too hyped up on adrenaline fuelled plans to take down Bucky Barnes, too anxious over said plans, too consumed by fear and insecurity deep down to decide on a definitive plan. Harley hadn’t paid attention to when he and Peter had given up any pretence at trying to fall asleep and had instead taking themselves off to Peter’s old bedroom and stayed up discussing options all night. 

By the time everyone else woke up, the two boys were already cooking breakfast and shifting through energy drinks. Away from all the drama of trying to bring down a wanted domestic terrorist, Harley was also having to contend with Sadie Clarke’s continued insistence of being his new best friend and ‘wing woman’ when it came to winning over Michelle Jones. MJ. Whom he definitely, categorically did not have a crush on. Not even a little.

“She told me she’s super impressed with how smart you are!” Sadie exclaimed as she waited with Harley for her Mom to come and pick her up, “And that you’re really into dark, gothic Victorian murder like she is. I bet if you put your mind to it, the two of you could definitely find out who Jack The Ripper was”

“Whilst I’m sure we could” Harley said with a grin, “I don’t know if that would be the best focus for our mutual vast intelligence”

“Well, that’s something you can discuss when you meet up on Thursday!” Sadie exclaimed as Harley blanched.

“I’m doing what now?!” he exclaimed. Sadie blushed and looked at the floor.

“I may have told her to meet us at the library on Thursday afternoon,” she said slowly, “You need help on a big summer science project, and I need someone to introduce me to the world of true crime books”

“Seriously? That’s really overstepping a boundary, you should at least-”

“Hey” came MJ’s voice all of a sudden, Harley quickly turned to face her, desperate to read her facial expressions to ensure she hadn’t just heard his entire conversation with Sadie, “I guess I’ll see you guys on Thursday then?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll be there” Harley found himself saying awkwardly after being nudged in the side by Sadie, who shot MJ a genuine smile. MJ looked a little puzzled before giving them both an awkward hand wave and heading off.

“I can’t believe I actually genuinely like her” Sadie mused, more to herself than to Harley, “If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be putting all my effort into making sure some boy from Tennesse got together with Miss Murder, I’d have laughed in your face”

“So, you’re not just pretending to like her on some weird notion of helping me with my non-existent crush” Harley asked.

“Yeah, shocking” Sadie grinned, “And you can deny your feelings all you want, Mr. Keener, but I know crushes when I see them. I never miss any.”

“Funny that” Harley laughed, “Because it seems to have totally passed you by that-”

“MJ has a whopping great crush on Peter Parker? Yeah, I already knew that” Sadie laughed, “I think everyone knows that, just no one says”

Harley frowned.

“Why?” he asked.

“Everyone likes him too much to want to mess up his friendship” Sadie explained, “And everyone is too scared of her to bring it up. So, everyone knows, but no one knows. But everyone knows. Except maybe Peter, he seems a little clueless when it comes to stuff like this”

“Yeah, he is” Harley laughed, “Sadie. I like you, it turns out. You’re kinda funny and nice in your own...incredibly weird way, that I’m not sure I’m totally comfortable with but whatever, as your friend I am asking you nicely to drop this wing woman shit right now”

“Harley, it’s OK, everyone-”

“I don’t have a crush on MJ!”

“Yes, because consistently angrily denying you have a crush on someone is the perfect way to convince people you don’t have a crush on someone”

“But I don’t” Harley implored, “I really don’t and even if I did, it’s pointless because she likes Peter and he doesn’t like her-”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that ” Sadie murmured

“You’re insufferable, I hope you know that” Harley said bluntly

“Pride myself on it babe” she replied brightly, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a pink SUV turned up to take her home, “And if it means that much to you, I will forget everything I know about your puppy love crush on Michelle Jones. We can just find ...another common interest”

Harley grinned. He didn’t know what else, if anything, he and Sadie would be able say they have in common but he was pleased she wanted to make the effort with him all the same. Once Sadie was gone, a grinning Peter approached Harley.

“Still got an admirer then, I see” he observed as Sadie pulled away, “Or is she trying to convince you that you’re in love with MJ”

“Second option, ding-ding-ding” Harley confirmed with a smirk.

“And do you?” Peter asked

“No, absolutely not” Harley insisted, “I think Sadie might be one of those girls who sees a guy and a girl interact and just immediately assumes that means that they’re in love”

“The idea of MJ being in love with someone is so weird ” Peter stated as they began their walk back to the subway station, “Not that she’s not capable, but because, well...I can’t imagine who that person would be”

“Really?” Harley asked. Peter’s cluelessness about this, of all topics, gave Harley no end of pleasure. 

“Sometimes I wonder if she might have a bit of a thing for Ned” Peter mused, “He’s like...the only other boy she can stand to be around except me. And you, now, I guess”

Harley laughed out loud.

“Ned?” he exclaimed, “You think MJ has a crush on freakin’ Ned of all people”

“You know what I’d really like, now we’re on the topic of Ned” Peter went on, ignoring Harley’s over the top laughter, “Is for you and him to talk. Properly. I’m not an idiot, I can tell you haven’t really forgiven him”

“Fine” Harley sighed, “But only because I love you and because you’re the only person in my life who makes me feel actual, human emotions”

“Yeah” Peter replied sarcastically, “I’m the only one. Couldn’t be that you have a heart the size of Manhattan or anything”

“Dude, if my heart is the size of Manhattan, then yours is bigger than...god, who knows” Harley replied with a genuine earnestness, “Jupiter? The Universe? Tony’s ego?”

“Oh, you don’t wanna start a compliment war with me today, Keener” Peter warned him, “I am feeling tired, emotional and full of gushy sappy declarations that I can feel swelling up inside of me”

“Gross. sounds like you need to go see Bruce” Harley grinned, “And please, if you really need to, go and tell Sam you love him. And let me record it.”

Peter rested his head on Harley’s shoulder as they caught the train back to Manhattan. He was surprised that Tony had allowed them to do so, the subway seemed like a particularly vulnerable place to be if one was being stalked by terrorists. Telling himself it was because Tony was trying to teach him some lesson about working without having to rely on him for everything, Peter found himself slowly starting to nod off as he looked at Harley. 

“You know what the really fucked up thing about all this was” Harley said suddenly just as Peter was about to let sleep beat him, “Throughout all of it, with the exception of Sadie, I keep getting the distinct impression no one in that apartment has a crush on me ”

‘Damn it, I can’t even go there with you, Keener’ Peter thought to himself, ‘I can’t lose you, not now, and telling you that I have a big fat bisexual crush on you is going to drive you away and I need you to stay here with me.’

Peter pushed his thoughts about Harley out of his mind once again. They truly were irrelevant, especially at a time when they were facing such a serious threat from some of the most dangerous operatives in the world and their friends were directly at risk. 

“You have a crush on you” Peter murmured as he closed his eyes. Was sleeping on a subway cart the best idea when an international terrorist group were stalking you? Probably not, but Peter needed sleep and so nodded off in Harley’s arms. They got back to the tower in one piece.

-

Darren Davenport’s townhouse was empty. Not literally empty, just figuratively empty, and that was the way it had been since his mother died. 

As he arrived back from the sleepover, Darren could immediately tell that his Dad was in but had not noticed his absence. There was laughter coming from the dining room, laughter that made Darren cringe and want nothing more than to be able to retire straight to his room and not come out until it was all gone. 

It wasn’t an option.

Sean Davenport prided himself on his son. Darren was his whole world, his projection, his desire to live a life he’d never quite been able to overrode his ability to care about his son in any real emotional way. Sean Davenport collected objects. The home was full of random crap (as Darren called it) that Sean had collected over the years, stuff that Darren knew was pretty much worthless and cheap but Sean involved collecting them. Truth was, Sean Davenport was a man who enjoyed owning things.

And things, sometimes, included people.

And those people most of the time, included Darren.

As Darren ascended the stairs, the laughter become more pronounced and Darren became more and more agitated by it. It was some of the guys from Sean’s work, men that Darren was already pretty familiar with and comfortable around. He had known them all his life, they had all gone to his mother’s funeral.

“Oh, there you are” Sean snapped, dragging Darren just away from the living room door so as not to be seen, “Did you have a nice time at your thing?”

“Yeah, it was great thanks” Darren replied, “Do I look OK or do you want me to go and change before I come in?”

“Change” Sean replied with a nod, “You don’t look bad, but you could look better, and I need this lunch to go well. An impeccably dressed, handsome, intelligent teenage son is going to stand me in good stead as far as that promotion goes”

“Yeah, I get that” Darren said with a sigh. He picked up his duffle bag once more and headed to his bedroom. Getting undressed, Darren carefully picked out one of his best dress shirts and jeans to be worn downstairs, and couldn’t help but feel he really was one of those things that his father liked to own.

Ever since his Mom had died, Darren had felt like a puppet. He got on with his father perfectly fine, but there was no love or affection there. Sean had always, always, been more interested in what Darren could do for him than any great love for his son. It had only become worse when Darren’s mother died, and over a decade later, they were still finding themselves in the bizarre situation of talking but not talking, speaking at each other and about one another but not really listening to anything that had been said.

Once he was ready and satisfied, Darren headed back downstairs and towards the dining room, where he soon picked up on a fifth and unfamiliar voice laughing along with a joke his dad had just presumably told. He guessed the new man was his father's boss, the one the whole luncheon had been put on to impress. 

“Ahh, Darren, please come in!” Sean announced before Darren had even blipped on anyone’s musical radar, “Mr Pierce this is my son, Darren. Darren, this is Mr Piece. My boss.”

Darren smiled as Mr Pierce - who immediately insisted on being called by his first name, Alexander - stood up and shook his hand.

“Nice, firm grip on your son Davenport” Pierce said, sounding impressed, “Your father’s been telling us all about your many achievements, I think you have a bright future son”

“Thanks” Darren said with a smile.

Alexander Pierce sat back down, raised his glass of wine and proposed a toast to Sean and Darren Davenport. Father and son extraordinaire. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 27.

Nothing but Everything.

Peter was spiralling. He was trying to convince himself that he was coping, but he knew he was running mainly off of a mix of adrenaline, fear and a complete refusal to let HYDRA hurt any of his friends. The days were long and his (now nightly) patrols of Queens seemed to be a never ending run of feeling off kilter and thinking every little noise he heard, and Spider-Man heard a lot of little noises, was the sound of Bucky Barnes emerging from the shadows, about to attack him. 

He was always fine, in the moment. It was hard when he got back. Harley’s ability to hack into anything and everything he could had proven incredibly useful, there was now a direct communication line built into the suit so the boys could converse easily as Peter patrolled around his old neighborhood. Harley had also managed to tap into several CCTV outlets in order to track and relay the goings on that Peter would have missed otherwise. They were a unit, a solid team, and Peter no longer felt lonely in his heroism. He thanked the god he didn’t believe in every night for allowing Harley Keener to come into his life. 

They were just two plucky young kids, preparing to take on a threat far bigger than either of them, and they were doing it together. The downside was, however, that they were just two plucky young kids preparing to take on a threat bigger than either of them. And it knocked a lot out of them both. 

The extra patrols were the worst kept secret in the tower. Everyone knew that Peter was over exerting himself every night, everyone knew that Harley had become his right hand man, but no one spoke about it. Everyone was too busy dealing with the HYDRA threat, but they were all dealing with it on totally different levels. Tony and Pepper were focused on the bureaucratic side of the issue; keeping SHIELD and the government happy and as calm about The Avengers roles in proceedings as they could. Steve, Rhodey and Sam had all shipped out to Europe in order to take out some active bases around the continent with Natasha, Wanda and Bruce staying on hand just in case any major threat came to New York. 

Clint Barton and Scott Lang were on standby, both too worried with the fate of their own at risk children to take time out to come to New York. Tony and Pepper had made an agreement that with Baby Stark on the way sooner than any of them liked to think about that Iron Man would not be making an appearance unless it was absolutely necessary. The world needed Iron Man, but everyone precious in Iron Man’s life needed Tony Stark at the top of his game. 

The threat was undeniably real. It had become painstakingly obvious around three days after the apartment sleepover, when a shaken Michelle Jones called Peter and told him some news that felt like it had stabbed him in the heart.

Miles Morales had gone missing. The enthusiastic, artsy freshman that Peter had once saved from Flash’s bullying but who had since faded into the background of Peter’s life with so many other things coming into focus - their relationship had mainly just been a quick nod at one another in the hallways since Peter had started dating Liz - had vanished seemingly into thin air whilst walking back from a friends house.

His face plastered pretty much every free wall in Queens. Peter, in his distress, had pulled some strings with Tony and Pepper and managed to get Miles’ name and face on as many television and radio stations as was possible. He knew it was fruitless, a pointless waste of time, and he felt awful for wishing that Miles had been simply taken by someone who wasn’t a HYDRA agent so that maybe he could be found quickly. Everyone in the tower knew that Miles had been taken by HYDRA. It was the catalyst for Peter and Harley turning their campaign to find and confront Bucky Barnes to eleven (Pepper had barely succeeded in stopping Peter from heading to Europe with Steve and the others to personally save Miles). 

The whole thing was taking a massive toll on Peter. He barely spoke to Liz anymore, to the point he was actually kind of losing respect for her for not dumping him, and had been forced to cancel two of his weekly meet ups with Ned due to be just too damn tired to move out of his bed. Ned was spending more and more time with Flash, which was making Harley more and more irritated by Ned and less inclined to keep his feelings private. The only thing that hadn’t really been affected was Peter’s friendship with MJ, he was beginning to wonder if she’d figured out he was Spider-Man, because she was the only one who seemed to get how he was feeling (her choice of comfort being to send him cat memes on the hour every hour) and had been giving him as much information about what was being said about Miles’ disappearance as she could. 

MJ and Harley were the only things in Peter’s life that made any sense anymore. As always, despite her support, MJ kept herself at something of a distance. He’d been speaking to her every day but they’d not seen one another since the sleepover. Harley was present. He was there, in the moment, with Peter at all times. They were dedicated to one another, the only thing tethering one another to reality. They clung to one another in the rare moments they slept, ate together, laughed together when an (increasingly rare) light-hearted moment stumbled its way into their lives and, most of all, they cried together. 

Brothers. Harley had adopted the phrase. He used it so often that Peter had started to wonder if it had pushed some of his other vocabulary out of his brain permanently. 

Peter had grown to hate the word. Every time he heard it come out of Harley’s mouth, it stung just that little bit more. The amount of time he was spending with Harley, and the intensity of that time, had done little to stop the overwhelming whooshing feelings and heart sinking sensations that Peter got every time he saw Harley smile or every time Harley pulled him into a bone crushing hug and assured him everything was going to be alright. The crush was mutating into something more, and it was the last thing Peter wanted. But he needed that comfort, and so he let it fester.

Long story short, Peter Parker’s head was an absolute wreck. 

“You need to slow down, kiddo” Pepper said to Peter softly that Friday night as they both sat down on the sofa, Peter resting his weary head on her lap. She played softly with his hair as he gave a contented hum. It was just the two of them, for now, as Tony had taken Harley out for their own little pep talk and everyone else was busy with the business of the day. “You’re going to burn out”

“I’m fine” Peter insisted. His breath was shaky, full of too much anxiety and sadness to convey his lie. Pepper rested her chin on his temple and sighed. 

“You’re not fine, sweetie, this isn’t fine” Pepper said calmly, “Staying up until god knows what hour every night patrolling, you’re not eating enough and I can tell that you’re driving yourself crazy with all this”

“I have to protect my friends, Pep” Peter said quietly, “I have to make sure they’re OK. Miles is probably...he’s probably ...and I could have done more for him.”

“Peter, this isn’t your battle to fight” Pepper insisted, “And you will be of no use to your friends if you end up breaking apart because you decided the balance the whole weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Teary eyed, Peter sniffled and turned his head away. Staring out of the window, at the beautiful sight of Manhattan at summer sunset, his heart was unbelievably heavy. He felt like an idiot. He should have seen this coming. Of course, he couldn’t just have a nice happy new life in Stark Tower with his new family. Peter Parker didn’t get to be happy, and when he did, it didn't last very long. It was only ever a matter of time until his whole life blew up once again, and seemed to be about five minutes from midnight. 

“Peter, honey, talk to me” Pepper said affectionately.

That was all that Peter needed to finally let it all out. He cried. He cried harder than he’d cried in a very long time, the weight of everything that had been resting on his shoulders had converted into tears that streamed down his face. Pepper soothed him by rubbing his back and allowing him to curl up into the foetal position on her lap.

“Oh, Peter ” she said sadly, “You don’t need to bottle all of this up. It’s not healthy.”

“I’m so-sorry th-there’s j-just so m-much g-g-going on” Peter whimpered, he felt out of control and so lost, “All of this cr-crap with H-Hydra and Liz and Ned and Harley and...I j-just don’t k-know how m-much longer I can k-keep this up Pep”

“You don’t have to keep anything bottled up now, sweetheart” Pepper said softly, “You can tell me anything, you know you can”

“I know” Peter said quietly, his sobs subsiding a little, “I just...don’t wanna stress you out y’know? Cos you and Tony have got so much going on with SHIELD and stuff and you’re pregnant and I’m-”

“Peter Benjamin Parker, if you’re about to imply that you’re not important enough for me to worry about, we are about to have a serious problem” Pepper snapped, “You and Harley...you’re all Tony and I worry about. Not SHIELD. Not HYDRA. Not Steve and his increasing dependency on knitted jumpers. You and Harley. You’re our kids, you’re-”

“Please don’t say brothers” Peter breathed, wincing at the pain the word caused him as if it was physical, “Please.”

“Why not sweetie?” Pepper asked, “You’ve been holding back when it comes to that word, and I know you’re scared of letting people close to you, but nothing bad is going to happen to Harley if you tell the world he’s your brother”

“He’s not my brother” Peter said angrily, getting up and facing a now concerned looking Pepper who flinched a little as he moved. Peter immediately felt awful but the adrenaline was pumping through his veins and the emotional spillage was going to continue regardless of how much he wanted to stop it, “I love him, Pep. But not in the way you love a brother”

Pepper’s face fell. She picked herself up and took a deep breath before walking over to Peter and placing a hand on his shoulder. He crumbled again.

“You love him...like…”

“Yeah, I think I do” Peter cried as she hugged him, “It’s all so fucked up in my head Pep, sorry for cursing, and I’m so confused and messed up and I’m going to ruin everything by-”

“Hey, hey, hey” Pepper said quickly as she stroked his hair, feeling relieved as the boy seemed to ease into the hug a little more, “Oh, Peter, I had no idea. I thought...well, I thought you were holding back on the brother thing because of...well, that doesn’t matter now”

“I’m sorry I'm sorry I'm so fucking sorry, I’m going to ruin everything” Peter whimpered, he pounded his forehead with the palms of his hands, “He’s gonna think I’m a freak if he finds out”

“No, he won’t” Pepper said firmly, removing Peter's hands from his forehead as she did so, “Harley is the least judgmental person I’ve ever met and I know damn well that if he ever found out about this, he would support you in exactly the right way. He will, also, mercilessly tease you but that’s just Harley. He loves you.”

“I feel stupid” Peter muttered, “Please don’t tell anyone”

“Of course I won’t” Pepper sighed, “But you know that you can come to me with this anytime you want, right? I’m always here for you, no matter what the problem is”

“I’m not saying I want Harley to be my boyfriend or anything” Peter clarified, “He’d be a nightmare, I just...I dunno, it’s a crush, I guess.”

Peter felt lighter, at least something was off his chest. 

“So, do you like more boys, or is it just limited to Harley?” Pepper asked

“Harley’s the first” Peter said surely, “I mean, I’ve seen Steve without his shirt on and didn’t feel remotely flustered so yeah...I think this might just be a Harley thing”

“Well, now we can definitely never tell him” Pepper said with a laugh, “His ego’s bad enough now without having to hear he’s more attractive than Steve Rogers. Can you imagine the chaos that would cause?”

“He’d declare himself lord and emperor” Peter replied with a chuckle, “He’d probably end up doing a photoshoot for Teen Vogue”

“I can just picture his resume” Pepper carried on, “ High school and college graduate, extremely skilled at mechanics, better looking than Captain America!”

Peter laughed his first genuine laugh in a while 

“Also, if you really want to get over a crush on someone, your best course of action is to imagine them throwing up” Pepper advised, “Works every time”.

Peter shot up as Harley and Tony walked back into the living area. Tony had his arm on Harley’s shoulder and from the red, blotchy, heavy look on Harley’s face it seemed as if their chat had been just as intense - if not more so - than Peter’s with Pepper. The boys immediately found one another’s eyes and smirked.

“You look like shit” they told one another in unison before laughing. Tony breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to give Pepper a kiss on the cheek as the boys hugged one another, ninety minutes they’d just spent apart being the longest they’d gone in a very long time.

“I broke mine in thirty-three seconds” Tony whispered to Pepper.

“Ha, I win” she whispered back, “Peter folded in twenty-two”

-

There was a new plan. Peter and Harley were to stick to their existing formula, Tony thought Harley’s hacking idea was ingenious despite Pepper and Bruce’s misgivings, but Peter’s time actually swinging through the streets was cut in half. In order to stop the boys becoming too anxious over this downgrade in vigilante time, Tony had cut a deal with local law enforcement to allow two of his suits to keep patrol of the area in Spider-Man’s absence (of course neglecting to mention the fact that his two teenage wards had illegally hacked into the districts security systems). This had initially been hard to pull off but Miles Morales’ disappearance had seemingly kicked off a chain of more abductions with no less than five more kids aged between eleven and sixteen going missing in the following week and the police were desperate to stop any more.  

Not that this stopped Harley and Peter from constantly surveying the hacked CCTV footage from around the area, looking for any sign of Bucky. The Hell’s Angel watch accounts that Harley had followed were still regularly updating with reported sightings but none of them seemed to match up with what they could see on camera. 

“People are just saying they’ve seen him to fit in” Harley said, face pressed practically up against his laptop screen on Thursday night, “He’s not shown up on any cameras in over a week and I know we can’t discount that HYDRA have maybe either doctored the footage or are just clever enough to avoid being caught but something stinks here”

“I think it might be you” Natasha Romanoff’s voice rang out from Harley’s bedroom door. The two boys turned around and smiled at her before immediately re-focusing their attention on the laptop screen. They both groaned in protest when Natasha forcibly closed it. 

“We’re both seventeen in like two weeks, Nat” Peter moaned, “You can’t just come in here and give us a friggin’ curfew”

“Actually, I’m seventeen in two weeks” Harley corrected him, “ You are seventeen in two weeks and four days”

“Well, at least they’re not throwing a charity fundraiser on my birthday” Peter teased back as Harley pushed him.

“You’re a nuisance”

“And you’re pedantic”

“You’re both pedantic nuisances” Natasha snapped, “You also both smell to high heaven and look like you haven’t slept in days. I want one of you in the shower now, Pepper and Tony left me in charge and I want you to not smell like decaying feet by the time they get back”

Harley and Peter looked at one another and grinned.

“You can shower first” Peter told him, “You have less time to live than I do”

“I think my one-hundred and three hour time advantage over you is somewhat cancelled out by the fact that you regularly jump off of skyscrapers, Parker” Harley smirked, “But I will go first because, unlike some people, I have a reputation of not smelling like decay to uphold”

And with that, and a quick kiss to Peter’s temple, Harley grabbed a towel and headed off to the bathroom. Natasha grinned and sat herself down next to Peter, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder as she put an arm around his. 

“Do we really smell?” Peter asked

“You smell fine, I think Keener’s been spending too much time indoors” Natasha said wryly, “I mean, at least you get out and patrol. He just sits in here watching CCTV cameras all day, it’s not healthy”

“I’ll take him with me next time” Peter said with a grin, “He’s always talking smack about wanting to swing from buildings.”

“Very good idea, little one” Natasha replied, “But there are a few things you need to get sorted out that I’m going to say to you now, bluntly, because no one else will-”

“OK…”

“Number one; you need to talk to Liz” Natasha said sternly, “I don’t really care how you’re feeling either way but it’s not fair on the girl to ignore her like this. Especially when she’s so concerned about Spider-Man and you getting hurt. First thing tomorrow, you call her-”

“Fine” Peter sighed, “I’ve got some more apologizing to do, haven’t I?”

“Oh, I’m sure you can win her around with your puppy dog eyes in no time at all, Pete” she replied with a smile, “And ‘ my boyfriend accidentally didn’t talk to me because he was too busy trying to save everyone’ isn’t exactly the worst reason any girl has ever been ghosted”

“Who taught you that word?” Peter asked suspiciously

“Wanda” Natasha replied with a smile, “But I’m fairly sure that Harley told her. Apparently, he’s writing us all a guide so we can understand your weird references”

Peter smirked. Typical Harley.

“I kind of...err, said something embarrassing to Pepper yesterday” Peter said slowly, not really understanding why he was about to say what he was, but knowing that he could trust Natasha in the same way he could trust Pepper, “About Harley”

“Oh, I see” Natasha breathed, “You gonna tell me what it was or am I going to have sit here and guess?”

“It’s not a big deal” Peter muttered, tugging at his sleeve, “I’ve just been having a few feelings lately and I don’t really understand what to do with them”

“Right” Natasha nodded, giving Peter’s arm an affectionate squeeze, “I think the best thing you can do is be honest, kid, which is lucky considering that’s pretty much your default”

“Are you joking?” Peter snapped, harsher in tone than he meant to be, “I’m the biggest liar on the planet, I’m always lying to people and I’ve got so good at lying that it scares me. Especially lying to myself.”

Natasha sighed and patted his hair.

“I thought we’d all agreed you were going to take it easy and stop beating yourself up?” she sighed, “And if you do lie to people Peter, at least you’re lying to protect them. You need a vacation”

“I do not need a vacation!” Peter protested, “The last thing in the world I need right now is to go off somewhere and laze around whilst kids are going missing here!”

“Well, you need a break” Natasha kept on, “I’m going to talk to Pepper and Tony when they get back, you and Keener need some time away from all this for a while. God knows I do too, maybe I’ll take you both to stay with Clint”

“Clint?!” Peter replied incredulously, “Why would we want to go and stay with Clint? I don’t know Clint”

“And this will give you a chance to get to know him” Natasha said brightly, “Let me help you, kid, I know you’re worrying yourself sick but you’re sixteen years old and you need some time just to be a careless kid”

“Then take me to the zoo for an afternoon or something” Peter huffed, “I can’t leave the city, not right now”

At that moment, Harley walked back into the bedroom following his shower and gave both Peter and Natasha a suspicious look.

“Why’s Peter leaving the city?”

“I’m not”

“He is - it’s OK, though, you’re going with him”

“I can’t leave the city! I have CCTV systems to hack”

“She’s sending us to live with Clint on a farm.”

“Oh. Well that might not be so bad.”

“ Harley !”

“What? D’you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a cow in the flesh, Peter? Too long. It’s weird”

“You’re both coming, with me, this weekend” Natasha said happily, “I’ll call Clint and Laura, and then I’ll tell Pepper and Tony what’s going on when they get back.” With that, she gave Peter’s hair a ruffle and practically skipped out of Harley’s bedroom. Peter gave the boy a furious look and sighed.

“What?” Harley asked with a laugh, “I think a nice break in the country might do us some good, dude, things probably have got a little too heavy around here lately”

“Am I the only one who cares? That kids are going missing? That Miles has gone missing?” Peter snapped

“Peter, that’s a really unfair thing to say” Harley sighed as he sat down next to Peter on the bed and cast an arm around his shoulders, “We’re all trying our best, but there’s a lot of people working to end this shit and we can afford to take a break. It’ll be fine.”

Peter nodded along with Harley’s statements. He knew he was pretty much resigned to going on the break to Clint’s home, all the while knowing that he’d never forgive himself for leaving if any other kids vanished whilst he was gone.

He wondered if maybe Harley would never quite be able to understand Peter’s perspective. This was his neighbourhood. These were the kids he’d grown up and known all his life and more and more of them were going missing, kidnapped by an organization who would break and abuse them for their own gain. 

“Please stop torturing yourself” Harley’s voice rang out as Peter realized he’d once again drifted off into his own little world. Harley’s voice was soft and his face was practically pushed against Peter’s, “I’m not going to stand back and let this break you, Pete. You need this break. I’m worried too, I’m just as worried as you, but we can’t be the ones this all falls too.”

Peter felt tears begin to stream down his face and tucked his head on to Harley’s chest as they both lay back on the bed. 

“I just can’t get it all out of my head” he whimpered, “It’s all I think about. Day and night, I haven’t slept in so long. I miss sleep, we were just getting good at it”

“We were” Harley chuckled, “And that’s the whole point, Pete. We can help but if we’re burned out and not thinking straight, we’re going to end up causing more harm than good. A nice weekend on Clint’s farm with no noise or air pollution, surrounded his annoying children and pretty wife is just what we need.”

“Maybe” Peter yawned. “Harley?”

“Yeah” Harley replied softly. 

Peter hesitated. It was all on the edge of his tongue. I love you . Three little words, three tragic little words that threatened to blow what was left of their already shattered world into smithereens once and for all, and Peter was willing to risk that if it lets just some of the crushing weight he was feeling yield. 

He stopped himself. It wasn’t the time. Harley was everything, more than just a crush. He was a friend and he was a brother. Like Pepper said, Harley was the least judgmental person in the world, a free and open spirit who would accept anyone as long as they treated him and everyone else with basic respect. 

There was so much going on in Peter’s mind, he was amazed he hadn’t buckled under the weight of it all yet, and so much of it wasn’t even about HYDRA. It was about Ben and May. About his parents and his time on the streets, about what happened to him before he came crashing through that vent into their lives.

“You can tell me anything, dude, you know that” Harley spoke as soft as ever, intertwining his hands with Peter’s as if expecting the outpouring of something .

Peter took one look at Harley and knew what he was saying was true. If Harley Keener had some flaws, lying certainly wasn’t one of them. He was an open book. Even when Harley could lie, he didn’t.

‘Mr. Keener did you slam Flash Thompson into the locker?’

‘He deserved it!’

‘Boys, who donated Steve’s jumpers to the Salvation Army’

‘It was me. They look dumb on him,’

'Harley, why is there a Stark Drone flying towards the Empire State Building’

‘Sam told me I couldn’t hack into one’

“I know” Peter whispered, feeling himself curl into Harley’s space more and more. Harley did not flinch for a second. Peter breathed heavily. This wasn’t good. He knew he should have been distancing himself from the boy, trying to get any and all thoughts of this stupid ridiculous inconvenient infatuation out of his mind, but he couldn’t help himself.

There was too much going on. There was too much stored in the dark parts of Peter’s mind that clouded his judgement, haunted his every thought and stopped him from being the full person the world needed him to be. It was time. 

"Anything” Harley repeated, “You’re my brother. There’s no one I care about in the world more than I care about you”

“Ditto” Peter replied with a smile. He felt so safe. 

To confess everything would be scary. To be so open and vulnerable and raw was really going to take it out of him, but Peter knew that he would never start to recover until those wounds had been opened and then re-shut.

He remembered what he’d thought when Harley had needed to see his mother for one last time before letting her go for good.

You have to be ready for closure.

And Peter knew, in that moment, he was ready. He was ready to let go and move on and start a new chapter of his life where the past could no longer hurt him. Harley was safe. Harley was good. Harley would not run away and leave him.

“Harls” he said quietly.

“Yeah Pete” came the soft reply.

“I’m ready” Peter sighed, “To tell you everything.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 28.

I’m Going Back To The Start….