Chapter Text
“Taxi-- Oh, come on! ” Harley curses loudly when yet another cab drives past him without stopping. Although it’s not even rush hour yet, catching a cab from Grand Central Station has turned out to be harder than he thought. Not wanting to have to use the subway, Harley takes out his phone to call Happy.
Happy picks up after the fourth ring. “Hey, kiddo,” he says, sounding surprised. “How’re you doing?”
“Hey,” Harley says tersely. “Can you pick me up from Grand Central?”
“Grand Central?” Happy repeats astonished. “Are you coming home? Tony hasn’t said a thing.”
Harley chuckles. “That’s because he doesn’t know yet. I, um, want to surprise him. Can you pick me up?”
“Yes, sure… when are you gonna be there?”
“I already am. Call me when you’re here, I’m going to grab a coffee. Thanks.”
Without waiting for a response, Harley ends the call and walks back into the station. Twenty minutes later he climbs into Happy’s car, asking to be chauffeured to Stark Industries.
“Tony has a bunch of appointments until 5:15 p.m., so I don’t know if he has time to receive you,” Happy says, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
Harley shrugs his shoulders. “I’m sure he’ll have a minute to spare for his only son.” Winking, he leans back and takes out his phone to open Instagram, seeing that he has two thousand likes on his coffee post so far… that’s definitely improvable for someone with almost five hundred thousand followers. Sure, some of his followers might only follow him because he’s Tony Stark’s son, but Harley doesn’t care about that too much. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about college anymore - at least not for the time being - he can finally dedicate his time and energy into becoming a successful influencer.
Twenty minutes later Harley struts into the lobby of Stark Industries, insisting to walk over to the front desk and greeting some of the employees he’s known for years. When Harley was younger, Tony and him spent half of their father-son-weekends down in the lab to tinker with robots. Once Harley started going to high school, however, he’d rather hang out with his friends than spend all his leisure time with his dad.
Approaching Nancy Perkins at the first desk, Harley catches sight of a cute boy standing at the other end of the fifty feet long reception. The boy seems to be laughing over something Theo Gibbins, one of the other employees, said to him before he turns to go straight towards the elevators. Harley doesn’t realize he has been staring after the boy until Nancy clears her throat.
“Mr. Keener?”
“Hm?” Harley turns to look at her. “Sorry, I-- Do you know who that was?” He jerks his head towards the elevators. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around before.”
Nancy’s lips curl into a smile. “The boy who was talking to Theo? His name is Peter Parker. He’s an intern. He started working here about… two months ago. He’s a sweet kid.”
Harley turns his head to take one last look at the elevators, but the boy - Peter - is nowhere to be seen anymore. “Can you tell me which department he works in?”
“Um… sure,” Nancy says, typing something into her computer. “Oh, yes, R&D.”
So he’s working with Quentin… perfect. “Sweet, thanks.” Harley flashes her a charming smile. After exchanging a few words with the desk clerks, Harley takes the elevator all the way up to the management floor. Natasha Romanoff, Tony’s personal assistant, tells him that his father’s next appointment is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
“Great, thanks,” Harley says, moving towards his father’s office. Twenty minutes will be enough...
“He still said he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“I’m sure that doesn’t apply to me.” Ignoring Natasha’s outraged expression, Harley reaches out to grab the door handle. At the last second he changes his mind and knocks. Yet he’s barely waited five seconds before he pushes the door open. “Hi!”
“I told you not to-- Harley? ” Tony’s sitting in his office chair, making a weird, fast movement with his hands. He’s gaping at his son, his cheeks unusually red. “W-What, um… what are you doing here?”
Frowning at how flustered his father looks, Harley closes the door behind him. “Long story,” he chuckles nervously. His heart is pounding rapidly in his chest as he walks towards his father’s desk, knowing there’s no sense in hiding the truth from him. He just needs to get it over with.
Tony rolls forward in the chair, closing the gap between his stomach and his desk. “Look, um, how about you let me finish something real quick and then we, um, grab a coffee? I really need to--”
“They kicked me out of MIT,” Harley says hastily. He drops into one of the chairs in front of Tony’s desk, bumping his knees at the visual cover reaching from the table top almost all the way to the floor.
For a few seconds Tony just stares at him, his eyes widening in shock. “They did what?”
Harley swallows thickly. “They kicked me out, but it’s not my fault. They, um… Well, some of my classmates got caught selling midterm exam papers on campus, and… they basically claimed that I had hacked some of the school’s computers to obtain and sell the papers to students. Which I would never do.”
Tony grits his teeth. “Harley, excuse me for saying this, but they wouldn’t kick you out if they didn't--"
"You know how jealous some of my classmates are of me," Harley huffs. "They don’t like me because I’m your son and because I’m smarter than them. Ten fucking students falsely accused me of doing it, and I wasn’t able to provide an alibi, so to speak. Everyone on campus knows that I theoretically have the skills for it, so there was nothing I could have done to prove my innocence."
"They still can't--"
"The school also found some drugs when they searched my dorm room," Harley mumbles so quietly it was barely audible.
Grabbing the edge of the table Tony leans forward, growling, "What kind of drugs?"
"Nothing serious. Just… some weed and some MDMA."
"Nothing serious? " Tony hisses, an angry vein popping out of his forehead. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
"Well, it's not heroin or methamphetam--"
"I don't fucking believe you." Tony buries his face in his hands. For a few seconds they are both silent before Tony asks, voice more worrisome than angry now, "Are you dealing with drugs? Are you doing them yourself?"
"No," Harley quickly says. "I smoked some of the weed and took two pills for a party, but that’s it, I swear. One of the guys I hooked up with gave them to me. The school believed me on this, which is why they agreed on not alerting the cops if I left campus immediately."
Sighing deeply, Tony flashes Harley an exhausted look. "All right, let's talk at home, okay?"
"Actually, I was hoping you'd let me borrow the jet. After all this stress I could really use a vacation, and I've been thinking--"
"Absolutely not." Tony's face hardens. "You’re not going on vacation for getting kicked out of school. You’re going to work your ass off so they’ll accept you back in the fall.”
Harley leans back, folding his arms in front of him. “What if I don’t want to go back? I know you have a low opinion of Social Media and stuff, but I have five hundred thousand followers on Instagram. Do you know how much money I could make with one single promotion? I already got in contact with a beach resort down in Miami Beach. If I go there today and tag them in a few posts, they will let me sleep there for free and pay me ten thousand dollars on top of that. I know it sucks that they kicked me out, but this is my chance to follow my dream.”
When Harley’s done, a muscle in Tony’s face twitches. “Your dream? I thought your dream was to take over this company one day?”
Harley shrugs his shoulders. “I mean, yeah, but I’m only twenty years old and I expect you to be working for at least twenty more years. So until you retire, I could focus on building my career as an influencer.”
Once more, Tony sighs deeply. “Look, son... You know I would never tell you not to follow your dreams, but I won’t let you throw away your education just so you can fly around the globe and upload photos on Instabook, and TikTube and what not. Once you’re done with college I don’t care what you do, but as long as you’re living off of my money, I expect you to at least try to do your best. I’m not saying you can’t do your ‘influenza’ thing as a hobby, but first, and foremost, you need to focus on your education. Without a proper education and years of experience in business and engineering, there’s no chance you could ever take over this company.”
“But they kicked me out,” Harley groans exasperated. “And you don't even know if they will allow me to come back.”
“I’ll give them a call,” Tony says. “There needs to be a way for you to continue your studies. And even if their decision is final, you could still apply for another college... maybe even in New York. I happen to know that ESU offers a major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.”
“But… it’s March. Even if they let me go back, the next semester won’t start until September.”
“Then there’s plenty of time for you to do something useful and earn your own money for once,” Tony growls, leaning forward. “You’re gonna start working here tomorrow. Full time.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Harley hisses, seething when Tony chuckles.
“Then you will have to do a lot of those promotions, because I most certainly won’t pay for your trip to Miami... Or let you live in a multimillion dollar penthouse, or a mansion in the Hamptons.” When his son just glares at him, Tony sighs again. “Look… I know you’re an adult, Harley, but you still have a lot of growing up to do. There are boys and girls your age, who have a shit ton of responsibilities to shoulder. Who also work their asses off in order to afford college and to support their families. You haven’t worked a single day in your life, and although I’ll gladly provide you with anything to make sure you’re living well, there’s a time when you need to take some responsibility. And that time has come.”
“Fine,” Harley snaps, jumping up. “Whatever. I’ll do it my way then.” With big steps he’s walking towards the door. Before he wrenches it open, he turns around again. “All of my stuff is still at MIT. Please be so kind and hire some guys to bring it back to the penthouse. Thank you.”
As soon as the door falls shut, Tony lets out a frustrated groan. He’s biting down on his bottom lip when he peeks under the table, looking guilty. “You okay down there?”
“Sure,” Peter mumbles, glad to be finally able to crawl out of the narrow space. “But there’s a spider living under your pedestal. I’ve never struggled so hard to contain a scream.” Groaning, he stretches his aching back, only to blush deeply when Tony stands up as well to finally tuck himself back into his pants. “Do you think he… noticed anything?”
“I highly doubt it,” Tony snorts. “Trust me, if my son had seen me sitting there with my dick hanging out of my pants, he would’ve said something. Sorry you had to listen to that.”
Peter smiles sheepishly. “It’s okay. Actually, I’m sorry that I was… eavesdropping, kinda. I mean… I’m sure your son had meant for that to be a private conversation.”
“Well, I couldn’t have possibly told him that he’d just interrupted my intern in finishing his blowjob,” Tony snorts, flashing Peter an affectionate smile. “I guess this was a stupid idea to begin with. Thanks for wanting to help me relax between my meetings, though.”
Blushing, Peter nods. “You’re welcome. Um. I should probably get going, it’s 3:25 already. Good luck for your next meeting.”
“Thanks, baby,” Tony says softly, lifting a hand to caress Peter’s left cheek. “You really make my life a lot more exciting, you know that?”
Peter laughs. “That was a little too exciting for my liking. Should I… make it up to you in the evening?” Smiling seductively, Peter wraps his hands around Tony’s neck. “I’m having my midweek dinner with May tonight, but I could drop by later.”
“Fuck yes,” Tony whispers, letting his hand slide down Peter’s back. Tilting his head back Peter stands on his tiptoes to kiss Tony, but after only a few seconds the man already breaks the kiss. “Shit.”
“What?” Peter asks, barely able to resist from grinding himself against Tony.
“Harley. I doubt he’ll actually fly to Miami in a commercial plane, so he’s most likely gonna be home. And I should really talk to him, but… hm, maybe we can see each other tomorrow? I could sleep over at your place for once.”
Heat flashes up to the nape of Peter’s neck. Tony had only been in his apartment once, and that was four weeks ago when he dropped him off after a date, feeling the desperate need to use a toilet. Tony had made such a fuss about the mold-infested ceiling in the bathroom, that Peter has sworn himself to never let him set one foot into his apartment ever again.
“It’s fine, um… how about the weekend? If he stays in the penthouse, maybe we could go to the Hamptons? You said you wanted to show me that for a while now anyways.”
“I wish I could,” Tony sighs, pulling away from Peter. “It’s that kind of weekend this week, so… it could be a while until we see each other again.”
That kind of weekend… Meaning that Morgan would be spending it with her dad. “Oh… okay, yeah, sure,” Peter mumbles, nodding understandingly.
Another knock on the door makes them flinch. “Tony, they’re all waiting for you downstairs,” Natasha’s muffled voice comes from behind the door.
“Coming,” Tony shouts, leaning down to give Peter one last kiss. “Call you later. Wait a minute before you walk outta here, okay? I’m gonna take Nat down with me.”
“Okay. Bye.”
To make sure Natasha wouldn’t see him if she peered into the room, Peter hides behind the table once more to wait with bated breath for the minute to pass. That really was a close one earlier. Peter dreads to think what would have happened if Harley had actually caught sight of his father, getting blown by a boy one year younger than Harley himself.
Ever since Peter and Tony started screwing-slash-dating two months ago, they’ve tried to avoid bringing up the fact that Tony has children, especially a grown-up son, as much as possible. Although neither of them cares about the big age gap between them (Peter actually thinks it’s hot), there’s no point in denying that there’s a difference between knowing it and being made painfully aware of it.
Sighing, Peter eventually gets up, walking up to the door on tiptoes. He opens it very slowly, and only once he’s sure that there’s nobody bustling around the antechamber of Tony’s office, he dares to relax.
Two minutes later Peter steps out of the elevator on the fifteenth floor, heading straight towards the R&D department. Just when Peter turns around the corner leading to the offices, he sees Quentin Beck, his supervisor, standing in the middle of the corridor, talking to none other than Harley Keener. Like a scalded cat, Peter ducks back behind the corner and presses himself flat against the wall. Did they see him? What is Harley doing down here? Is he close to Beck? He is one of Tony’s most trusted employees and friends, so maybe--
Peter snaps out of his distressing thoughts when Thomas Pattinson, one of his colleagues, walks by, flashing him a puzzled look. “You okay?” he asks, raising his brows.
Grinning stupidly, Peter nods. Without hesitation he hurries off, fleeing into the bathroom on the other side of the corridor. Dear god. Cursing himself for being so paranoid, Peter decides to wait a few minutes and actually use the toilet. If Tony’s sure that Harley didn’t see him, there’s no point in running away from him and acting all weird.
Urging himself to act normal, Peter eventually walks back towards the offices. Fortunately, Beck and Harley seem to have left, and when Peter can’t find Beck in his office either, Peter returns to his designated workstation to get some actual work done.
An hour later Peter’s phone vibrates, signalling the income of a message. It’s Ned, sending him a stupid Star Wars meme. After sending him back a couple of emojis, Peter notices the Instagram notification at the top of his screen. He moves his thumb to slide it down, gasping when he reads: ‘harleykeener2000 sent you a follow request.’
So much for dodging a bullet earlier… They are fucking screwed.