Chapter Text
The Adoption.
Four Months Before the Events of Civil War.
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: MECHA!
IronMansMechanic: PETER!
IronMansMechanic: WHY ARE WE YELLING!
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: BECAUSE IM FEELING LIKE IT!!
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: ANyway, how are you? What’s been up?
IronMansMechanic: Oh. Uh. Yeah. Some Serious stuff is going down but i really really don’t wanna talk abt it, yk
IronMansMechanic: I just figured id give you the heads up
IronMansMechanic: I might not be in the mood to talk for awhile
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Okay, mech. Just know I’m here for you alright? You’re my best friend.
IronMansMechanic: You’re my best friend too. I love you, Peter
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I love you too, Mecha
Harley gripped his mom’s hand softly, “How are you feeling, Mama?”
“I’m alright, baby.” She murmured, her voice so much weaker than it had been a week ago. Macy glanced down to where Abbie was pressed to her side. “You two will be alright too. I promise.”
“Don’t talk like that, Mama.” He murmured, giving her hand a squeeze. “You’re gonna be alright. It’s gonna go away.”
His mom just smiled, that soft smile that she used to give him back when she was struggling to keep the lights on. The kind of smile she’d give him when she’d make him and Abbie dinner but skipped out on it herself.
It wasn’t one Harley wanted to see at the moment.
Instead of acknowledging that, he just squeezed her hand again. “I love you.”
“Oh, my precious boy…” She murmured, “I love you so much. Much more than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
“Mama-”
“Now,” she interrupted, voice soft and gentle. “Why don’t you go carry your sister outside so she can lay down and send Tony in. I’ve gotta talk to him.”
His gut sank. He was pretty sure he knew what the talk would be about. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about either, but he couldn’t deny his mom anything. Not before and especially not right now.
So carefully, he moved to take his sleeping little sister away from their mother's side, giving her a long glance before slipping out to the hallway where Pepper and Tony had made a permanent seat next to the door.
“She wants to talk to you,” He whispered to Tony, even as he moved to sit Abbie in the chair next to Pepper. “Tony- it’s- she thinks-”
“I know what she thinks, Harley,” Tony whispered back, voice thick. “I’ll go talk to her.”
Harley watched him enter the room with a heavy heart and turned to tuck his face into the side of Pepper's arm.
Tony slipped into the room with gentle steps, “Hey, Macy.”
“Tony,” The woman laid up in bed grinned. It struck Tony for a second, that Macy was still just as beautiful now as she’d always been. That kind of beauty came straight from the soul instead of just outside. It reminded him of Ana Jarvis and stirred up a feeling in his throat that he didn’t know how to process. “You look like you’re about to go bald from stress.”
“I am
not
balding,” he quipped back, trying to remain steady. Trying to remain normal in the face of this. “Rude.”
Macy laughed like Harley’s. “Don’t call a dying woman rude, Tony.”
“You’re not dying,” Tony said quickly and firmly, trying to pour his conviction into the words. “You’re going to be okay.”
“You’re not a fool, Tony Stark,” Macy smiled. “I know you know what someone who is dying looks like.”
“Macy-”
“I want you to adopt my kids.”
Tony closed his eyes, feeling his head rush. He knew it was coming. Everyone who was aware of the situation knew it was coming. It didn’t mean he felt prepared for it.
Macy powered on, still smiling even as tears gathered in her eyes, “It makes the most sense. You’ve- you’ve always been the dad that Jack never was. Have been since Harley was nine. You’ve taken him to science fairs and baseball games and all the things that fathers should do with their sons. And Abbie adores you, you show up to every single dance recital and father-daughter days since she was four.”
“You’re already their dad,” She whispered, moving a shaky hand to wipe a tear away. “This will just make it official.”
“Not if it means losing you,” The thought ran through his head, desperate. “Macy, they can’t lose you. They
can’t.”
“I’m going to die soon, Tony. Please. I just need to make sure that they’re taken care of.”
Swallowing, he nodded. This didn’t feel fair. He’d learned a long time ago that life wasn’t fair, but this? It was like when Jarvis had died. It felt cruel and long and painful. But whatever he was facing, it would be one hundred times worse for the kids.
He needed to be strong for them, no matter how much this was affecting him too.
“Will you send them back in?” Macy said quietly, sniffing. “I wanna spend all the time I can with them.”
Slowly, Tony pulled away and made his way to the door. Harley and Abbie stood next to it, both of their eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t find it in himself to meet their eyes, rather than just gently push them towards their mother.
A week later, Macy Marigold Keener was laid to rest in the Rosehill Cemetery.
A week later, Harley and Abbie Keener were adopted by Tony Stark.
One Month after the Adoption.
Three Months until the events of Avengers Civil War.
The First Day of School.
Six Months until the Incident.
Harley glanced down at his schedule as he tried to find his second class of the day. The first one had gone over like a lead balloon, with all the students clambering to talk about how he was the adopted son of Tony Stark and what that was like. Really, it just solidified his annoyance with the newfound fame, his discomfort leaking through everything he did.
If the rest of the school acted the way his first-period class had, he might just quit for good and try to get into MIT early.
Though. That might just encourage the media into thinking he was following in Tony’s footsteps.
He let out a harsh sigh and found himself outside the doors of his chemistry class. Quietly, he slipped in, offering the teacher a small smile before moving to pick out a place near the left side of the classroom- it was the perfect spot, close enough to the front to pay attention but not so close that he would draw attention to himself.
People started to trickle into the classroom, a few exchanged rushed whispers as they saw him. Ignoring this, he pulled out his phone, texting Peter.
IronMansMechanic: I literally hate this. Like So much.
IronMansMechanic: My day has been shit so far, this new school is NOT it. Everyone’s been so nosy and rude and dude some kid even asked abt my dead mom
IronMansMechanic: WHO DOES THAT?
IronMansMechanic: it doesn’t help that i don’t have any friends yet and i dont know anyone and i literally hate everything i will have A Break Down
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Do not have a break down, Mecha, I already know you’re doing great dude! Give it time, you’ll make friends. You’re pretty likable if I say so.
IronMan-DidNothingWrong:
Is there anything I can do to help?
IronMansMechanic:
youre already helping
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I’m glad!
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Also, brb, I’m getting into my chem class now.
Harley grinned at his phone, feeling warmth running up his chest. No matter what he was doing, what time it was, or how busy he was, Peter always texted back. It had been like this from the start of their friendship, really, and it had always made him feel so… so… warm and fluffy on the inside.
The same kind of warm and fluffy that was currently making a home in his chest as he spotted a very cute boy entering the class. Brown fluffy curls, deep brown eyes, a soft smile on his face, wrapped up in an oversized sweater and blue jeans. Eye candy at its finest.
His heart picked up slightly as the boy made eye contact with him and made his way towards him. For a brief moment, Harley felt like he was in a daydream, or a romance novel, about to get noticed by the cutest boy in school.
And then the boy opened his mouth and the illusion was broken, “Hey, not to be rude, but you’re sorta in my seat. Me and my friend have been sitting there all semester.”
“Oh.” Harley took a deep breath and offered a wide, fake, smile. “Is it really?”
“Um,” The guy fidgeted. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Cool. Care if I borrow it?”
The boy blinked. “It’s my seat.”
“Listen,” He said, a fake smile still pressed to his lips. “That’s too bad, you know, seeing as class is
just
about to start, and I’m already sitting here. Your friend wasn’t here to save your seat, so I think you can find somewhere
else
to sit today.”
The kid got a weird look on his face, though if Harley was honest, it was still really cute, before another boy popped up next to him. The boy stared at him with wide eyes and vaguely, Harley thought he could’ve been in the class before this with him. No, scratch that, this guy was definitely in his first-period class.
“Peter,” The guy hissed, before smiling widely at Harley. “Hey! Uh, Hi,
Harley Stark,
how are you doing?
“Harley Stark?” The kid, Peter his brain supplied, squeed, turning to the guy startled.
“Yep,” Harley said, popping the P. It was kind of getting annoying having people refer to him as a Stark and then immediately act like he was some sort of portal to Tony, “That’s the name, currently.”
“Um, yeah,” The guy chucked, “I’m Ned by the way- I’m uh, in your first class.”
“Oh yeah! You sit at the front next to that one asshole, right?”
“Asshole- Flash?”
Harley nodded, “Asking a freshly orphaned kid about his dead mom, talk about rude.”
Peter- but not to be confused with his Peter that probably was texting him right now- made a face, “Yeah, he’s like that.”
“Honestly,” Harley purred, sending a smirk to Peter, “Better to ask about my dead mom, than to be that dick head that thinks he had a claim to seats. One of them is rude, but the other is just annoying. And I'll take rude over annoying any day.”
Peter’s reaction was immediate, a bright red blush on his ears, “Wha- you- that’s not-”
“Class,” The teacher drawled, “Please take your seat. We have a lesson to start.”
“Buh-bye,” Harley did a mini-wave to Peter, “You should probably sit down somewhere, bud.”
The look of anger on Peter’s face satisfied him more than anything in his life. He wouldn’t say he lived for causing people to be troubled, but he wouldn’t say it wasn’t one of the biggest perks in his life. And for some reason- which was probably unjustified- this Peter kid just irked him right into annoyance. Meaning that now that Peter was successfully irked, Harley was satisfied.
“Well,” The teacher, who Harley still didn’t know the name of, droned on, “Today is a little bit of a free for all. There will be a point system, otherwise, just say the answer if you know it.”
He pressed a button on a remote and a PowerPoint in the background started up, reading ‘What is not true about acid-base indicators?’
This was easy, so he figured he’d take one for the team and started to speak, but a voice beat him to it, “The notion that Acid-base Indicators are strong acids.”
He didn’t need to look at Peter to know he was glaring at Harley, but Harley turned around anyway, and made eye contact with Peter, who actually was glaring at Harley. And he would admit, he kind of deserved that. He was a bit of a dick to Peter. But unfortunately, Harley was the kind of dick that didn’t mind getting his hands a little dirty and kicking some kid's ass because this was a challenge now, and Harley did not lose.
He turned back to the front, competitiveness burning in his gut. Bring it on Peter. Bring. It. On.
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I am having the w o r s t day ever.
IronMansMechanic: oh really,,,, poooooor baby
I ronMan-DidNothingWrong: Mecha, it’s not even funny, there’s this new kid, and he was totally trying to one up me in chemistry and I had to defend my place as top of the class. Not to mention he’s in my gym class and he was talking to one of my friends and my /best/ irl friend is like ‘yeah he’s pretty cool.’
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Spoiler alert here, he’s not.
IronMansMechanic: it sounds to me like your just jealous of this guy talking to your friends
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I am not!
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: And the worst part is he’s grinning and when he grins he’s hot- what an asshole.
IronMansMechanic: oh yes
IronMansMechanic: how dare other people be hotter than you peter
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: You, sir, are an asshole.
IronMansMechanic: yeah du
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Abjfsfjefejskf no you’re not, I’m sorry. I’m just pissy.
IronMansMechanic: lmao dude i really am but even then
IronMansMechanic: it sounds to me you have a crush on this guy and are envious that hes so much smarter and cooler than you
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Hey Mecha??
IronMansMechanic: ye
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Fucking die.
IronMansMechanic: i wish lmao
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Mecha, babe, we talked about this.
IronMansMechanic: either way, im sorry youre having a bad day
IronMansMechanic: Though I’m pleased to report after a nightmare of my first and second period, which remind me to tell you abt this BITCH i met in my second period, im finally talking to people! Which is good and normal and means im getting a good grade at being a new student, which is both normal to want and achievable
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I’m glad you’re at least having a good day!
Two Months before the events of Avengers Civil War.
Four Months until the events of Spider-Man:Homecoming.
Five Months until the Incident.
The Great Prank War.
Harley hadn’t started the prank war.
Peter Parker had started the prank war by putting his Aunt May’s strawberry jelly sandwich into the spot that Harley had been sitting for the last month.
So in retaliation, he’d rented a mariachi band, with some help from Tony, and hired them to follow Peter around in passing periods and during lunch. To which Peter had glued his notebook to his other notebook. To which he’d filled Peter’s locker with Orbies. Which had earned him a bucket of glitter on his head- and the insistence from Ned and MJ that he and Peter were flirting, which they were not flirting and ever had been. That had led him on a wild goose chase to get llamas to follow Peter- which had ended not great, seeing as the beginning part of the prank left him crying and in tears, even if the ending part of it had much the same effect in reverse. He was steadily ignoring how Peter had held him during that, instead choosing to focus on the fact that he was a pranking god and puny Parker was nothing.
Now, however, he was faced with a dilemma as he watched Flash Thompson shit on some poor girl's work for the seventh time in one sitting. As much as he wanted to continue to beat Peter, some things were wildly more important, like showing this absolute dick up.
He turned to where Peter, Ned, and MJ were talking, snapping to get their attention. “Hey, Parker?”
“Yes?” Peter bit out hesitantly, eyes narrowing. “If you’re going to sic another llama on me-”
“Oh no,” he mumbled, eyes flicking back to Flash. “We need to call a truce, and we need to call one now.”
“What! That’s so unfair, dude, I haven’t even
gotten
to pull my next prank-”
“Though,” Ned chimed in, grinning, “I don’t think anything you have planned can beat the llamas.”
Peter huffed, “Shut up, Ned.”
“He’s right, but either way,” Harley cut through their banter to motion towards Flash. “I’m thinking you and I should team up to put that asshole in his place. As fun as you are, Parker, you’re no asshole. Just annoying.”
“I resent that and you.” Peter huffed again, pouting, but followed Harley’s gaze to where Flash was sitting. “But I agree.”
Harley tossed Peter his phone, “Add your discord.”
“Okay..?”
The ultimate Mechanic
so heres the plan
im going to supply the both of us with sixteen cans of silly string
and then we can silly string dicks on his car
Be With You
You realize that this is kind of mean right?
The ultimate Mechanic
uh doy
Be With You
Oh yeah, this is Flash we’re talking about.
The ultimate Mechanic
uh doy
Be With You
So during eighth period right?
The ultimate Mechanic
ye ye
Be With You
And you’re sure that you can get the silly string?
The ultimate Mechanic
the fact that you doubt me is sad
plus i was originally planning to do this to you but then i realized you didnt have a car
Be With You
NDJSKLFBSAL DIE
The ultimate Mechanic
lol i wish
Be With You
Harley.. No..
He grinned at Peter, tossing him a can of silly string. “You ready for this?”
“I was born for this,” Peter smiled back, in a sort of awkward sort of cute way. “I’m considering this revenge for all the Penis Parker jokes Flash makes.”
“What's up with that anyway?”
“You don’t wanna know,” he huffed, “Let’s just say that me and Flash have known each other a long time and that is a bad thing.”
Harley laughed, rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say… penis.”
“Hey!”
For a moment, the two worked in silence, offering grins to each other in silence and occasional ‘nice dick’ jokes. It was sort of… nice. Harley wouldn’t lie to anyone, he was pretty aware of the fact that he and Peter had slowly become less rivals or enemies and more… friends. It was nice.
This was nice.
“I’m out of string,” Peter laughed to himself, turning to Harley. “How about you?”
“Last leg of the can, but I got a little more.” Harley finished the penis he was on before nodding, smiling at Peter and holding out a hand. “Nice work, Parker.”
“Not so bad yourself, Harley.”
“So does this mean we're at a truce?”
“Yep. Truce.”
One Month until the events of Avengers: Civil War
Three months until the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming
Four Months until The Incident
To say that Abbie was excited to meet Harley’s friends was a bit of an understatement. She was bouncing around with excitement- mainly because Harley had been hyping them up quite a bit. Harley wouldn’t say he talked about his friends excessively, but it also wasn’t like he never mentioned them to his sister. She was especially excited to meet Peter, because ever since an unfortunate game night where she had found out about the events of The Great Prank War, she hadn’t let him get a wink of ‘he’s just a friend and a lot more conspiracy that Peter Parker was his Peter, which was ridiculous, to say the least.
She was also excited because she had asked if Wanda Maximoff could come to the party, and Wanda had said yes. Harley always wanted to laugh when Wanda was around his sister- which she kept being dragged to talk to her- because Wanda clearly didn’t know what to do about this child who adored her, but she still absolutely loved Abbie. Harley didn’t know how to feel about Wanda- the way she acted around Tony like she was guilty of something and the both of them knew it- but if Abbie liked her, then Harley just had to approve of her.
Tony had actually asked all of the Avengers to come- mainly because Abbie wanted to meet all of them, not just the three she already knew. She was especially excited to meet Clint Barton because, from what Harley could understand, Barton was bringing his family including his kids, a fourteen-year-old boy, a girl that had just turned ten, and a baby boy. Abbie was kind of hoping that the girl would like her since they would both be ten.
She had been dancing on air the entire day, but thankfully stayed away from the kitchen so that Pepper and Harley were able to actually make a cake that she liked. It was their mom’s recipe, a strawberry buttercream cake that used to take him and his mom all day to make for her. Not for the first time, Harley was glad that her birthday was on a Saturday, meaning that they actually had enough time to make the cake. It had to be perfect. Harley needed it to be perfect.
It was her first birthday without their mother.
Macy had set the bar when it came to birthdays, really, and now… it was up to him to carry on that torch. Which was only complicated by the fact that Abbie didn’t actually have any friends in New York City yet. Ergo, he asked his friends to come. Problem solved! This wouldn’t be a bad birthday, not for his sister.
He had told his friends to show up about an hour early, but both Ned and MJ had opted to come when the party was actually getting started. Something about being busy- though Harley had a bet with himself that they just wanted to test their theory of Harley and Peter being madly in love. It worked out though because Tony wanted to talk to Peter about a possible internship. Which was lame, and Harley was totally not excited and happy for him.
He put the cake in the oven and turned to Pepper, “Hey do you wanna start on the icing?”
“You’ve got it, Harls,” Pepper smiled, and started to gather all the ingredients to make his mom’s icing recipe, “After all, you pretty much made the cake yourself.”
“Watch it Pep,” Harley chuckled, “I’m still not allowed to use the oven.”
“I mean, you did almost blow up the house.”
“Now you hush,” Harley pouted, folding his arms across his chest, before grinning and walking away, “I’m gonna go shower for a second, will you take the cake out of the oven?”
He stepped into the hot water and started to wash the flour, sugar, and any other remaining food items on him. Something between the steam and the heat relaxed him immensely, but he hated the actual water of the shower though. It reminded him of the water tower falling. He never really got over the feeling of being thrust forward in the water struggling to keep his head above the water, before giving up and going down. Ever since then he kind of avoided water. Except for showers, because showers felt nice. At least, the heat of the shower did.
Harley couldn’t stop himself from thinking about everything that had happened in the year. On one of the last days of eighth grade, he came home to a dying mother. She died in the summer. He moved in with Tony in August. He started high school in September. Wash, rinse, repeat.
It finally hit him though, that his mom hadn’t lived to see Abbie turn ten. And she wouldn’t see Harley turn sixteen. She wouldn’t see Abbie walk down the aisle, and she wouldn’t see Harley graduate from MIT. She wouldn’t get to experience any of that.
He was glad for the water in the shower for once. It hid his tears.
By the time he was out of the shower, the entire house smelled like his mom’s strawberry cake. He didn’t cry, just let himself imagine it was his home in Rose Hill and his mom was waiting outside in the kitchen. When he finally left the bathroom, he almost dropped his towel in surprise. “Jesus Parker! Warn a guy!”
“Um,” Peter’s face was bright red and he wouldn’t make eye contact, “I tried.”
Harley checked his phone, seeing a billion texts from Peter, “So you did.”
“Can you like,” Harley motioned to the door, “leave so I can change?”
Peter choked, “Yep."
The second he was out the door, Harley held his face in his hands and groaned. At least Peter hadn’t seen the goods. Not ass wise, and not dick wise. A brief scene passed in his head, and he pushed it away with force. No time for dirty thoughts.
Or maybe, he grinned to himself, it was perfect timing.
He slipped into his comfy pajama shorts, and pulled over a hoodie. Personally, he didn’t think the shorts were that sexy but when he had shown MJ, she had catcalled him to make fun of how short they were. Opening the door, he headed out to face Peter, “So what's been up?”
“Um- uh,” Peter gulped audibly, “Nothing much.”
Harley glanced over his shoulder, bending down to grab some clothes on the floor. The resulting blush on Peter’s face was satisfying, and Harley broke the silence by snorting, “Any reason you’re a tomato?"
“No.”
“You sure?” Harley stepped closer, raising an eyebrow, “No reason at all?”
“Yep.” Peter squeaked again.
Harley grinned, moving past Peter to the door, “Then come on, Tony wants to talk to you.”
Peter went quiet for a second before following Harley, “Tony?”
“Stark,” Harley responded to the unasked question.
“That's what I thought you meant.”
Harley glanced at him, but stopped in front of the door to the lab, “Well I’m glad you have half a brain then Parker.”
Abbie was inside of the lab on the couch, and Tony was standing near a table where Dum-E was stationed. Both of them looked towards the two as they entered, and Harley grinned, “Hey Tony, Abbie, this is Peter B. Parker.”
“I’m familiar with him,” Tony grinned and took off his gloves, sticking out a hand, “I’ve been watching your work for a bit now.”
“Uh, um, me?” Peter stuttered out, taking Tony’s hand, “My work?”
“Yeah,” Tony grinned, “Has Harley not told you that I’ve been thinking of making you an intern here at Stark Industries?”
Peter seemed to have a mini fangirl moment, but cleared his throat long enough to glare at Harley, “No! He did not!”
“To be fair, Parker,” Harley shrugged, plopping himself right next to Abbie, who grinned at him in a demonish way, “I didn’t think it was that important.”
“Not- not in- Not important?!”
Abbie laughed, “I see why you like this one Harley.”
“I do not like Parker.”
“Really,” Abbie tilted her head in a way that anyone who didn’t know her would think was innocent, “I thought he was your best friend.”
“No, no,” Peter grinned at her, “That’s MJ. Harley hates me.”
“Does he now?” Tony raised an eyebrow at Harley. In a way that Harley knew meant ‘is that why you chose to wear shorts five times too small?’ but he preferred to ignore that.
“Yeah,” Abbie grinned at her brother, “Does he?”
Peter smiled at the freshly turned ten-year-old, and Abbie’s smile dropped and her eyes grew wide as he said, “Your brother sic'd three llamas on me, but even then, I doubt he hates me.”
Abbie sat there with wide eyes and Harley groaned, “Abigail, do not.”
“Do not what?” She squealed, “Don’t reveal how much effort you put into your pranks?”
“Why yes, Harley, do tell how much effort you put into your pranks?” Peter grinned and Abbie giggled.
And that seemed to be the moment that Abbie had decided that Peter was the best person on the earth. Harley, Who? It was like he was dust in the eyes of his sister, who was chatting away at the ear of his friend, who for his part, was listening intensely. It was kind of.. domestic.
By the time the rest of his friends showed up, Abbie was playing with Lila Barton and hanging around Wanda Maximoff with stars in her eyes. Ned and MJ were talking to a few of the Avengers- along with a very grumpy Cooper Barton, who was probably forced to come. Peter was hanging around the doorway, watching Abbie play with Lila.
“Hey,” Harley leaned against the wall, “Thank you for being so cool about her.”
Peter looked at him, “What do you mean?”
“She can be…” Harley tried to find the words, “A bit much. Loud, talkative, and invasive.”
“She’s an angel.”
“You’re right,” Harley chuckled, before going quiet again, “Ned and MJ mentioned that you used to be like her.”
“What do you mean?”
Harley gestured to his sister, with her thick-rimmed glasses and messy hair. She was huffing a bit as she danced with Lila, and tried to get Wanda to dance with her. Harley smiled at the scene, “Bullied, for starters.”
“Oh,” Peter went quiet, “Yeah, I was.”
“Did it get better?”
“Not really,” Peter looked up, “I had really close friends when I was younger and then very suddenly didn’t, which didn’t help at all. My saving grace was my uncle Ben, but… he couldn’t really help.”
“Uncle Ben?”
Peter glanced around, “He died a while ago. A robbery gone wrong.”
“Oh.”
“But,” Peter continued, “Him and Aunt May were really the only support system I had before I met Ned and MJ, but I don’t think Abbie will have that problem.”
“Really?”
Peter nodded, “Look at her. Everyone in the room adores her, and everyone can tell how much you care. She had so much more support than I did. I think she’ll be okay.”
Harley’s heart burned as he looked at Peter, who was smiling at Abbie- who noticed and bolted over. She pulled him away, insisting that he come dance with them.
Harley ignored the way his heart burned.
IronMansMechanic: anyway
IronMansMechanic: ive figured out my feelings
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: About?
IronMansMechanic: Peter Fucking Parker.
IronMansMechanic: i hate him
IronMansMechanic: hes so annoying and cute and its not fair
IronMansMechanic: like i know that he doesnt like me all that much
IronMansMechanic: well i actually dont know that
IronMansMechanic: but heres the thing
IronMansMechanic: we were just hanging in the living room
IronMansMechanic: bc i invited them to come hang out for my sisters birthday
IronMansMechanic: cause shes getting bullied and doesnt really have any friends and i know she likes all the stuff that we talk abt
IronMansMechanic: and hes so good with her
IronMansMechanic: hes so nice
IronMansMechanic: and perfect
IronMansMechanic: and my sister absolutely loves him
IronMansMechanic: i hat ehim
IronMansMechanic: i hate Peter Fucking Parker
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Peter Parker?
IronMansMechanic: ye ye
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: Is he the guy you’ve been texting about recently?
IronMansMechanic: uh doy
IronMansMechanic: keep up dude
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: I’ve got to go
IronMan-DidNothingWrong: We’ll continue this later, yeah?
IronMansMechanic: ye ye
When Tony had offered to bring them to an MIT presentation, Harley had jumped at the chance. It was his future college- Tony had been more than happy to indulge in his eagerness. They’d gotten a full tour, shitty college guide and all, before Tony had brought them to the presentation room.
Now, however, it felt… unreal. What was happening was unreal.
Harley stared at the screen behind the scenes of the presentation that Tony was giving with wide eyes. He pulled Abbie closer but didn’t look away. Abbie was shaking, “Harley, what's happening?”
“I don’t know, Abbie,” Harley muttered, “It's going to be okay. Everyone in there is going to be okay.”
Then the explosion happened, in a flash of orange, and a familiar red wisp. Harley moved his hands in front of Abbie’s eyes. His own eyes were glued to the screen. ‘Avengers Cause Chaos In Lagos- unknown how many are dead- Iron Man, War Machine, Thor, and Hulk not on Scene.’ The entire scene was chaos. The building was on fire, half of it blown up. The pedestrians on the street were scrambling in a panic.
Tony ended his presentation, rushing to his kids, “Come on, we should go.”
“Tony,” Harley muttered, as his guardian picked up Abbie who was still shaking, and held onto his wrist, “What's going to happen to them?”
“That's not your place to worry about, kiddo,” His voice was tight.
Harley followed Tony down a few hallways, his pace fast. They were all going to be in trouble. All of the Avengers. None of them were going to get out of this unscathed. But the Accords- he tried to think, had they been passed? He realized that they hadn’t been, but were going to be passed soon. The timing of this was bad. All of this was bad. Wanda being involved made it worse somehow. The accords would have been able to protect The Avengers based on their hero safety clause that Tony had bullied into being included but this- this would set fire to the fuel that was causing them in the first place.
They came to a hallway where a woman was waiting for the elevator. They stepped next to her, and Harley felt crooked. Off almost. The woman cleared her throat slightly, not looking at them.“That was nice, what you just did for all of those MIT students.”
She either didn’t notice or didn’t care that Tony was taking care of two children. One of whom was shaking in his arms, and the other was looking just as distraught as his brain raced through what was going to happen. Tony nodded, “Yeah. They deserve it.”
“They do,” She looked him in the eye, “You know. When you got the money. Break as many eggs as you like.”
Something in her tone made Harley reach for his little sister, and for Abbie to reach for Harley. Tony let her go, if only so that he could stand in front of the two of them.
She reached into her purse and Tony instinctively stuck an arm out in front of the two children. She brought out a photo, “I guess he was one of those eggs.”
She pushed the photo onto his chest, “You know, my son, was a good man. Graduated honors in high school and got a full ride to MIT. But, before he went to college, he wanted to do something. So he went to Sokovia to help with the relief efforts.”
Harley let out a soft gasp and held Abbie a little bit tighter. The woman paid the two of them no mind as she continued, “And now he's dead. Maybe not by your hands, but definitely at your fault.”
Harley wanted to protest, but Tony’s arm was still out in front of them like he wasn’t sure if they would need protection or not. He stayed quiet.
“Tell me, Stark,” She stepped closer to him, "Do you think you fight for us? You just fight for yourself. Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead. And I blame you. Charlie Spencer is dead. And I blame you.”
She turned on her heel, leaving the photograph of her son in the hand that Tony wasn’t using to shield his kids. She hesitated for a second before looking over her shoulder, “Do you love your kids, Stark?"
“Of course.”
“What would you have done if it had been one of them?”
The Events of The Avengers Civil War
Three Months before Spider-Man: Homecoming
Four Months before The Event
IronMansMechanic: Peter?
IronMansMechanic: Are you around?
IronMansMechnaic: Text me when you can.
Harley sucked in a harsh breath, feeling tears gather in his eyes. His phone buzzed, but hope died in his chest as he read Peter’s discord handle.
Be With You
Hey.
The ultimate Mechanic
Heya.
Be With You
What’s up my dude?
The ultimate Mechanic
I’m just… worried about an internet friend.
Be With You
Oh
Are they okay?
The ultimate Mechanic
I don’t know.
He’s stopped talking to me.
It kind of hurts.
Be With You
Harley….
maybe he has a good reason?
The ultimate Mechanic
Like what?
Be With You
What if they know something,
And really wanna talk to you,
But are afraid of how you’ll react?
The ultimate Mechanic
Not possible
My Peter knows everything about me. He probably knows how I’d react to anything.
Be With You
What if he was like in love with you or something?
The ultimate Mechanic
Doubtful
Be With You
Why do you say that?
The ultimate Mechanic
Common, Parker, you of all people know I’m fucking awful.
Be With You
What?
You’re not awful!
Look at what you did with setting up the Ngozi Fondation! That’s a pretty kind thing to do.
The ultimate Mechanic
Peter, come on, you know what I meant
Anyone would set up the Ngozi foundation if given the chance.
Don’t go easy on me just because I’m sad.
Be With You
Harley, I am not going easy on you just because you’re sad.
You’re a good person. I know because I’ve seen it. The way you are with Abbie, the way you care about people. The way you know the details of things just by looking at it. You wanna help people, Harley.
The ultimate Mechanic
Even then though, my Peter could never be in love with me.
He’s six times as good as anyone I know
Be With You
How well do you know him?
The ultimate Mechanic
Pretty damn well.
Be With You
And it's safe to say that he knows you pretty well?
The ultimate Mechanic
Better than you, obviously.
Be With You
Ha ha, funny.
But seriously. If you two know each other that well, he’s probably dealing with something he can’t tell you about.
The ultimate Mechanic
He can tell me anything.
Be with You
You really care about him, huh?
The ultimate Mechanic
If I ever had a soulmate, its him.
Be With You
Then he’ll come back when he’s ready.
The ultimate Mechanic
How do you know?
Be With You
Trust me.
I just do.
The ultimate Mechanic
Okay
Thank you, Peter.
“I want to go see Wanda.”
Pepper stared at Abbie with wide eyes. They were all sitting at the dinner table, eating Chinese takeout. Tony was away, trying to get Rogers to sign the accords, so it was a small tonight. Take out, then they’d do their homework, and Pepper would go to Pepper things. At least that's what they were all planning to do until Abbie dropped the statement.
Pepper furrowed her brow, “Abbie, I don’t think that's a good idea.”
“Why not?” Abbie crossed her arms, and Harley looked back and forth between the two girls. An unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
“For starters,” Pepper shifted, looking at Harley to back her up. Shrugging, he offered no such form of backup, so she continued alone, “She’s on lockdown in the compound until we can get the law off her back.”
“Then we can go to the compound.”
“Abbie,” Pepper’s voice was kind but stern, “No. We won’t go to the compound. It's a little dangerous being around Wanda right now.”
Abbie’s face turned red, “She is not dangerous!”
“Abbie,” Pepper clearly had never dealt with a child that wanted something, “She’s not dangerous on purpose but-”
“She’s not dangerous at all!” Abbie snapped, her face still red, “You just don’t like her!”
Pepper was starting to get annoyed, trying to keep her calm. “Whatever I may feel about Wanda doesn’t mean anything. She’s not stable.”
“You’re wrong!” Abbie was screeching at this point, and Harley could sense the impending meltdown.
“Do not scream at me!”
Abbie’s entire face scrunched up, and Harley knew what was coming and spoke up, “Abbie-”
“Screw you,” She screamed, pointing her finger at Pepper. “Screw you so much!”
“Abigail Macy Keener!”
“Abbie!”
Abbie, however, stormed off. Pepper looked at Harley with a frown, “Is she always like this when she doesn’t get her way?”
“No,” Harley rubbed his temple. “Just when people she respects are involved.”
Pepper wiped her mouth. “Should I go talk to her?”
“Nah,” Harley shoveled another fork full of food in his mouth, “She needs a moment to herself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pepper, I’ve been in charge of her my entire life,” Harley looked at her, “I know her better than anyone on this earth. Just give her a few hours, and then I’ll talk to her and explain why going to see Wanda is a bad idea. Okay?”
“Alright,” She gave him a tired smile, “Thank you for knowing what to do in this situation.”
“No problem. Abbie may like Wanda a lot, but it doesn’t change the fact that we can’t go to the compound.”
“Okay get up,” Harley turned the light on in his sister's room, “Stop sulking.”
Abbie sat up, “What..?”
“Go get dressed,” Harley’s voice was quiet, “I’m taking us to the compound.”
“Harley, you can’t drive!”
“Not legally, but,” Harley fixed her with a stare. “We both know that I’ve been able to drive a car since I was ten.”
“You’re right,” Abbie pulled herself out of bed, pulling on a coat, “Thank you.”
Harley paused, biting his lip. “I’m doing this because I don’t want to see you sad, Abbie. But make no mistake. If we get in trouble, I won’t take the fall for you, okay?”
“Alright.”
“And besides,” Harley offered his hand to his little sister, “We’re not taking the car. Friday is jetting us there.”
“Um,” Abbie squeaked, grabbing his hand and letting herself be guided towards the platform on the roof, “Is this a good idea?”
“Probably not.”
“Is it a good idea to trust Friday?”
“Little boss,” Friday’s voice took on a slightly offended tone. “The fact you need to ask is hurtful.”
Abbie giggled, smiling at the ceiling. “Thank you, Friday.”
The actual ride to the Avengers Compound was fairly smooth and easy, taking around thirty minutes for them to land. The whole time, Abbie was uncharacteristically quiet, and Harley was a little worried. Abbie was a chatterbox at heart, so it was normally a bad sign when she was quiet for a little more than a few moments.
The last time she had gone quiet for more than a few minutes, she had gone quiet for a few weeks. She was four years old, and Harley had yelled at her about how their dad was never coming back. Harley didn’t think that this was anywhere near that serious, but it still worried him more than he would like to admit. She couldn’t normally handle not talking for more than five minutes without making small comments, and here she was having been quiet since they had gotten on the plane.
As it landed she turned to her brother, “I think I’m gonna apologize for telling Pepper ‘screw you.’”
“I think that's a good idea,” Harley felt proud that his sister was realizing things that she might need to do regarding their new family. “She’s been really good to us, Abbie.”
“I know,” Abbie’s voice was soft. “I just think she’s rude to Wanda.”
Harley considered this for a moment. He knew why Pepper didn’t like Wanda. The fact that she had a hand in the creation of Ultron by fucking with Tony’s head made him jumpy, but he knew that she would never touch a hair on Abbie’s head. No one would, not if he could help it. He spoke just as softly Abbie had when he replied, “I think she might have a right to be. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be friends with Wanda, right?”
“Right,” Abbie looked down at her shoes. “Can we go to the compound now?”
“Of course, honey,” Harley grinned and stepped out of the plane, helping her out.
“Hey Viz,” He waved upon entering the room, “Hey Wanda.”
“Wanda!” Abbie called happily, racing towards her favorite Avenger.
Wanda smiled, wide and bright despite the bags under her eyes. “Miss Abbie! How are you?”
“Hungry,” Harley said in Abbie’s place, glancing at the kitchen stove, “Little miss priss over there didn’t finish her dinner.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we have made some food then,” Vision spoke smiling, gesturing for them to sit down at the dinner table.
Abbie blushed, and looked at her shoes again, “I am kind of hungry.”
“Kind of?” Harley snorted. “Your stomach was rumbling the entire way here.”
“Oh?” Wanda asked, smiling at the kids, “Well then we have just the food for you.”
She ushered Harley and Abbie to the table, with a wide grin on her face, “It's a food that reminds me of home- me and my twin brother made it a lot in our youth- and it's fantastic! Paprikash has a tendency to warm the soul, I promise.”
Abbie grinned and began talking to Wanda in a rapid-fire exchange. Harley observed the surrounding area.
He had been here when he had come to the compound the first time. But so much had changed in the few weeks since he had first come here. Abbie was trying her best to pretend that none of it had happened, but nothing changed the fact that it had all happened. And from what Harley could tell, it wasn’t exactly peaches and cream from anyone’s perspective. Wanda looked tired, Tony looked exhausted, and Harley had a bad feeling.
Everything that was happening was just adding fire to an already big flame. He was still on the lookout for who was going to get burned, to try to stop it before it reached Abbie or him.
“Harley?” Wanda asked him, her voice loud and interrupting his thoughts, “Would you also like some paprikash?”
He nodded, his eyes trained on her hands.
By the time the four of them were done, all four of them were talking comfortably about a multitude of things. Abbie was laughing loudly, and was generally just having a time of her life. Wanda was talking to her enthusiastically, and even Vision had a small smile on his mouth. The whole scene was one of domestic bliss.
Harley couldn’t shake the feeling in his stomach. Something wasn’t right. Something really wasn’t right. No matter what he did he couldn’t get the feeling out of him. He almost wanted to ask Abbie if they could leave, but he had snuck them out so that his sister could be happy. He wasn’t about to take that away from her. So instead, he silently helped with the dishes.
He realized that he should have asked Abbie to leave when Clint Barton showed up out of the blue.
“Hey guys,” his voice was tense. Harley stepped away from the sink, and started backing up towards Abbie, “Wanda, suit up.”
“What?” Wanda looked surprised, “Clint what’s going on?”
“Yeah, Mr. Barton,” Abbie spoke up curiously, and Harley almost wanted to tell her to stay quiet, “What’s going on? And is Lila around? I wanna play with her again!”
Thankfully, Clint didn’t even glance at Abbie, too focused on whatever was going on, “Wanda, we have to go. Cap needs us.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Barton,” Vision's voice was strong, “But Wanda is under strict orders to stay in the Compound.”
Abbie looked confused, “Why? And Why does Captain America need help?”
“Abigail,” Harley grabbed her arm, “Stay quiet okay? We need to start getting ready to leave.”
“Harley, why-“
“Steve needs us?”
Clint nodded, “He’s in some trouble. He really needs us.”
“Okay,” Wanda made a move to the door, “I’ll go suit up.”
“No,” Vision lightly grabbed Wanda’s arm, his eyes pleading, “Wanda you can’t-“
An arrow meant for Vision's head grazed past them, and Abbie let out a startled scream. Harley grabbed her, pulling her under the table, so she would avoid any crossfire as Vision stood up, his entire body shaking and he pulled the arrow from his forehead.
He threw it back at Clint, “Mr. Barton, please, stop this there are children-“
Clint unleashed a barrage of more arrows, Vision phased until he wasn’t solid, and they struck the wall behind the kitchen table. Abbie was crying, her eyes wide with fear. Wanda made a turn to go, and that’s when Abbie rushed out from under the table.
“Wanda, Wanda,” Her voice was shaky, and Harley was rushing after her, “You can’t leave.”
Wanda looked away from her, taking her hand away from Abbie, “I’m sorry, Abbie.”
Harley tried to hold onto Abbie, “Abigail, we need to go.”
“Wanda,” Vision's voice was tight, “I can not allow you to go.”
“Then don’t,” Wanda didn’t even look at Vision, just flung a hand back. Her eyes stayed on the floor as if her decision to go was tearing her apart.
The red mist surrounded Vision and suddenly he was being slammed down all of the floors in the avengers compound. Abbie screamed, her sobs wracking her body, shaking with pure fear as the entire building shook. Harley cursed, pulling Abbie closer, moving towards the door.
The ceiling cracked and Harley looked up. He pushed Abbie away, throwing her far away from him. He heard Abbie scream. A flaring pain crawled through his arm as he fell.
He thought he heard several people scream, shouting something or another, but his vision was blurry. He could make out Abbie was screaming his name, but that was the only thing he could actually focus on. Harley couldn't breathe. The last thing he saw before his vision went black was Abbie, sobbing at his chest in terror.
The next few days were a terrifying blur. He was knocked out cold for two days before coming to with a cast around his arm and a panicked little sister by his bedside. After that, it was a rapid-fire series of events. Rhodey fell, the rouges were captured, and Spider-Man started to become a regular visitor on their roof.
It seemed that after Tony gave him the new suit, he couldn’t help but drop in. Which had led to a good few moments of him and Spidey talking on the roof late at night. Harley was pretty sure he was a little in love with him.
Right now, however, all thoughts of Spider-Man were gone as he stared at the map connected to the Iron Man suit.
Normally that wouldn’t be alarming. But normally they didn’t have reports of two supersoldiers in the base, both of which seemed to turn on Tony in a second's notice based on Friday’s panicked reports before the AI had been cut off from the suit.
“What?” Rhodey breathed out, terrified, his hands balling into fists on the arms of his wheelchair. “What do you mean you’ve lost contact with the armor?!”
“Captain Rogers disabled the arc reactor, Sir,” Her voice was still panicked, more terrified than Harley had ever heard her.
Pepper’s head shot up, “Steve knows that’s his main power source, right?!”
“I assume so.”
“Fuck,” Rhodey growled, “This can’t be happening. Friday, send Tony’s last known coordinates.”
“Right away, sir.”
“We need to get him out of there,” Pepper’s voice was shaking. “The armor has taken enough hits that we’ve lost contact with it, there's no way he won’t freeze- metal isn't- it's not an insulator- god what should we do.”
“Friday, get the Iron Redemption armor ready,” Harley’s voice was shaky, but his mind was made up. “I’m going after him.”
“Absolutely not!” Pepper snapped, wheeling on him, “You’re already hurt Harley Keener, do not think for a split second that I’m going to send you into a battlefield where we don’t know what’s happening!”
“Someone needs to go save Tony!”
Rhodey sighed, sharp and panicked, rubbing his temple. “But that someone can’t be you, Harley.”
“Why not?” His voice was raising, “Why can’t it?! He needs help! He needs my help!”
“Harley!”
“He’s my dad!” Harley was crying at this point, angry tears streaming down his face, “He needs my help!”
“And what do you think will happen if Rogers is still there and decides to take you out too?!” Pepper was screaming, her usually calm composure broken, “Tony can’t lose you, Harley! I can’t lose you! Abbie can’t lose you!”
Harley let out a loud and ugly sob, “And I can’t lose him!”
“You will not,” Vision spoke up. “Friday has armed me with his last coordinates. I will go, and report back immediately.
Pepper turned to him, “Bring back my fiance.”
“I’ll bring him back,” Vision's voice was stern, and he rose into the air. “Alive. I promise you.”
He phased through the roof.
Harley turned to Pepper. “I can’t lose him.”
“Harley,” Pepper snapped. “None of us can! Do you really think that I could?! Or that Rhodey could?! But sending you would just hurt you more!”
“I don’t give a fuck if it hurts me!” Harley roared, tears streaming down his face as he slammed his fist onto the table. “I want Tony back here! Safe!”
“So do we!”
Harley couldn’t take this. He couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t take this. The room was spinning, but he just ran. He ran out of there and onto the roof, with the cold air and birds. He screamed, slamming his unbroken fist onto the roof and he let go.
He was choking on sobs, and shaking so hard he doesn’t even realize strong arms have wrapped around him, “Harley, hey, Harley, it's okay. It's okay.”
He shakes harder, sobbing into Spider-Man's shoulders, “We lost contact with the iron man armor, this isn’t okay, god nothing is okay!”
“Mr. Stark is tough,” Spider-Man adjusted the two of them so Harley was practically in his lap as he cried, “He’ll be okay.”
“I can’t lose him,” Harley was shaking, “He’s the only dad I’ve ever known- he showed me how to drive when I was ten- he taught me how to throw a punch- I can’t-”
“And you won’t,” Spider-Man rocked Harley back in forth in his arms, “You won’t lose him.”
“I just lost my mom,” Harley sobs even harder into Spider-Man’s arms, “I just lost my mama, and now, and now I’m losin’ the only other person I’ve ever had as a parent- god, I’m- fuck-”
“It’s going to be okay!”
“It's not going to be okay!” Harley screamed, burying his face into Spider-Man’s shoulder, “Nothin’ has been ‘okay since my mama died! Since my mama left me the fuck alone with my baby sister that can’t lose anyone else! Can’t lose me, can’t lose Tony! I can’t even do this now, what am I gonna do if we find Tony and he’s not okay?!”
“He will be,” Spider-Man's voice was sure and certain, not wavering, “He will be. Maybe he will be beaten up and broken down, but he will get there. You, Harley Keener-Stark, wil be there for him and make sure he’s okay.”
“How do you know?!”
“Because I know you.” His voice was stern, “We may have only just met, but I know enough about you to know who you are, Harley Keener. You’ll help. You’ll always help. Especially, people you care about.”
Harley was sobbing, into Spider-Mans chest. Spider-Man just held him.
Vision found Tony and brought him to the nearest hospital he could find. The damage that was done to him was almost immeasurable. Six broken ribs, a shattered collarbone, internal bleedings galore. It was gruesome. His face was swollen, and his throat was so badly bruised that he had to be placed in a medically induced coma in order to help him breathe.
It was bad.
It was Horrible.
But Tony Stark was alive, and Harley Keener was so fucking thankful for that. He was going to be okay. Harley was going to make sure that he was going to be okay.
The events of Spider-Man Homecoming
One Month Until the Incident
One Month until Harley’s birthday
Harley was friends with a bunch of nerds.
That’s what he had decided when MJ had looked at him like he was stupid when he asked them to hang out one weekend, raising a brow and bluntly asking, “You realize that none of us will be here this weekend right?”
He had not, in fact, known that. “What? Where are you going?”
“It’s Decathlon baby,” Ned smiled at Peter, “And Peter is coming because Peter is our strongest player.”
Peter sighed, “Alright, alright, I get it, I’m going.”
“Hold on,” Harley made a T with his hands, “Why did I not know that you guys were in Nerd Club?”
“I mean,” Ned shoved a fry in his mouth, “I’m pretty sure we’ve told you.”
Peter looked at him, “Yeah I’ve definitely mentioned it before.”
“Whatever,” Harley muttered, rolling his eyes, “Nerd Club Members.”
And that had been that. They were nerd club members and that was all. End of conversation, etc etc. The world was spinning fine and Harley was cooped up in the lab all weekend.
And then the live coverage of the Washington Monument’s Elevator going down came on the screen. And for a moment, Harley was almost impressed. A gut feeling in his stomach said that somehow, someway, it was probably Peter's fault. So he was almost impressed. And then he was very scared because holy shit, that’s rough.
Abbie was freaking out more than he was though, “Harley! Your friends are in trouble!”
“Abbie,” Harley snapped in front of her face, trying to figure out how to snap her out of her pacing, “They’re going to be okay.”
“Are you sure?!”
“Yeah, look, Spider-Man’s on the scene,” Harley scrolled through his phone and then looked up, “Spider-Man? What the hell is he doing in Washington?”
Abbie looked at him weirdly, “Why do you care more about Spider-Man than your friends?”
“I do not care about Spider-Man more than my friends!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay so,” Harley admitted, shrugging, “Maybe I may have a small amount of feelings for Spider-Man and I care about what happens to him.”
“But not your friends?”
Harley threw his hands up, “Of course, I care about my friends! But I also know that they’re probably going to be fine! I’m more worried about if Spider-Man is going to be able to meet on the roof!”
“Harley?”
“Yes?”
“You’re a bad friend.”
“Abbie I will hit you.”
Spider-Man was already on the roof when Harley got there. He slipped next to him, sitting down pretty close to the edge, “Hiya.”
“Hey,” Spider-Man responded.
Harley grinned at him, “So, I saw on the news that you saved a bunch of people. I have to thank you, my friends were in that elevator.”
“Really?” Spider-man’s voice was teasing as he spoke, “If I had known that, I’d have been faster.”
“Oh really?” Harley raised an eyebrow, “So you save people based on who they’re friends with?”
“Only when their friend is cute.”
Harley felt himself blush, “Yeah right. You have too much of a hero complex to actually leave people hanging when they’re in danger.”
“The sad part is,” Spider-Man leaned back, “you’re completely right.”
“I know. I’m always right.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Spider-Man chuckled loudly.
Harley observed him, glad that the suit was a little bit skin tight. Spider-Man was pretty well defined. He sighed, looking up to the sky, “Thank you though, for saving my friends.”
“It’s all part of the job.”
“But still, thank you.”
Spider-Man stood up, “You know that you’ve said that three times now.”
Somewhere off in the city, sirens went off. Spider-Man looked at Harley, “I have to go, beautiful.”
The image of the web-slinger pulling away, swinging through New York City was ingrained in Harley’s mind, just like the word beautiful was engraved in his brain.
The ultimate Mechanic
Holy Shit
the hings i would let Spider-Man do to me
DO NOT TALK TO ME
So you’ve mentioned
May The Force
Please dont go into detail
Be With You
W H A T
The ultimate Mechanic
listen
l i s t e n
he was flirting with me
DO NOT TALK TO ME
Or were you flirting with him
The ultimate Mechanic
im always flirting with him
Be With You
Dude, you work with him!
The ultimate Mechanic
so
DO NOT TALK TO ME
Tsk tsk, Peter
Do not take this chance away from harley
If he wants to fuck a spider
Let him do it
The ultimate Mechanic
yeah dont slut shame me peter
Be With You
HDSJLFVHSAJLFVHLJFVHLFHDSJLFGHLF
May The Force
Harley you slut shame yourself
The ultimate Mechanic
yeah
it comes with being a slut
Be With You
Hey, I don’t think you’re a slut Harley!
DO NOT TALK TO ME
No he is
May The force
No, he is
The ultimate mechanic
no i am
Be With You
But
But
The ultimate Mechanic
do not doubt my sluttyness
its rude
i worked for that reputation
DO NOT TALK TO ME
Yeah peter
Thats fucking rude
May The Force
Oh my god, Peter, thats so rude
Be With You
ISNT IT RUDE TO SLUT SHAME
The ultimate Mechanic
not when you’ve worked as hard as I have for the reputation
DO NOT TALK TO ME
Aren’t you a virgin though
The ultimate Mechanic
tht was a private convo you bitch
god
rude
DO NOT TALK TO ME
Either way
What exactly would you let Spider-Man do to you
The ultimate Mechanic
spicy stuff
ned is pure and is on here so like
tell you in the DMS
May The Force
THANK
Be With You
WHAT DO YOU MEAN
Despite all the good work Spidey was doing, it seemed that one mistake was able to set that all back. Tony had stormed into the lab, talking about how Spider-Man no longer deserved his suit and all the reckless action that the guy had taken. It made Harley feel… well… not so great. Not great at all.
Especially when Spider-Man had stopped showing up to meet him on the roof.
He’d been so focused on that detail of his life that he’d completely neglected the social aspect of his life. Which led him to where he was right now. Getting taken to the homecoming dance by Peter Parker.
It wasn’t his fault! Peter had asked him in order to save him from the dreaded clutches of some dick heads that seemed hell-bent on flirting with him to get to Tony and Stark Industries as if Harley wasn’t smart enough to see through all that.
He pointedly ignored how his heart fluttered at the idea of dancing with Peter.
Instead, he focused on showing up MJ. Yes. That was the only reason that he was slipping into a soft, pastel, floral suit, letting his sister braid his bangs back, and putting on makeup. Nothing to do with Peter at all.
By the time he was ready he truly felt beautiful. No oil splattered on his cheek just smoothed freckled skin. Just his mom’s blue eyes and bright red lips that made him look soft and.. And.. beautiful. He was beautiful right now.
It seemed Peter agreed if the slack-jawed way he was staring at him said anything. It was kind of cute, the way Peter’s cheeks were flushed with a soft crimson, eyes wide and trailing over him. Harley grinned, “So are you ready to go?”
“Um,” Peter gulped. “Uh, yeah, yeah I am.”
Tony grinned at the two of them, “Just remember, don’t do anything I would have done at your age.”
“Tony, shut up!”
Peter got redder. “Mr. Stark it’s not like that!”
“Uh-huh,” Tony shook his head. “Sure kids. Go wild.”
Harley grabbed Peter’s hand, “Come on, Peter, let’s leave Tony and his nasty thoughts alone. Happy’s driving us right?”
“Yeah,” Tony smiled and took a sip out of his mug. “Be home before midnight.”
Harley rolled his eyes, waving goodbye to Tony. The elevator door closed, and Harley let go of Peter’s hand, “So what did Abbie do?”
“Why would you think she did something, haha,” Peter was looking away, his blush just as strong as it had been earlier, letting out a stilted and awkward laugh.
“Because she had the potato gun.”
Peter chuckled lightly, “That’s all the answer you need, then.”
“Yeah, don’t know where she found that,” Harley grinned at him, “I’m sorry about her. I’ve been trying to tell everyone that this isn’t a date but… you know how that goes.”
“Yeah,” Peter nodded, “Aunt May has been insisting that this is a date.”
“Is it?”
Peter opened his mouth, just as the elevator door opened, revealing Happy who looked anything but. He motioned for them to follow. “Guess I’m stuck on driver duty again, huh?”
“Sorry about that, Happy,” Peter grinned instead of answering Harley’s super important question. “But you know Mr. Stark’s been busy.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Happy walked to the parking lot, opening the door. “I think he just wanted to avoid an awkward car ride with his son and his son’s date.”
Harley snorted, “It’s just Peter.”
“Yeah, just Peter.”
Peter was quiet, his eyes trailed to the ground. Harley nudged him with his elbow as they got in the car, and whispered, “Don’t take what they’re saying too rough. Tony doesn’t hate you, he just was angry at Spider-Man and took it out on everyone else- especially in the internship program.”
“Yeah,” Petter muttered, somehow looking even worse, “I get that.”
The ride to the dance was fairly short because no matter how bad New York traffic was, Happy was always one step ahead. The actual dance itself looked as horrible and as a teen movie-like as it possibly could. They stepped out of the car, and Peter immediately looked around. Harley did too, looking for their friends.
Peter’s breath hitched, but Harley paid no mind as he noticed Ned, “Oh hey, Ned.”
He grabbed Peter’s hand, “Let's head in my dude.”
“Alright,” Peter sounded confused like his mind was putting together a puzzle, “Alright.”
Harley felt himself grin, “Oh my god, do you see MJ in that dress?”
MJ, who had noticed them by this point responded to Harley’s grin with a middle finger, but Peter wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on some girl from gym class. Liz, Harley’s brain supplied. He didn’t know why his heart hurt so much at the realization that this girl was the one that Peter had originally wanted to ask according to MJ. She was beautiful, and suddenly all that confidence that Harley held drained out of him.
Peter coughed, “Um, hey, I’ll be right back.”
Harley watched, as Peter pulled himself away from Harley and walked toward Liz. He turned away from his friends and grinned as he walked to them, “Heya.”
“What’s Peter doing?” MJ asked, raising an eyebrow, “Aren’t you his date?”
For some reason, those words stung. He grinned through the ache in his stomach. “Not really.”
He glanced to where Peter had been. Neither Peter nor Liz were there. The sinking feeling returned. He frowned, trying to shake out of it. MJ’s brow furrowed, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” His voice cracked. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Harley scanned the rest of the room. No Peter. No Liz. Very few options were actually likely. Most likely though, was that he had gotten ditched. He smiled at MJ, ignoring the stinging in his eyes, “Actually no. I don’t feel so well. I think I’m gonna go home. I’ll see y’all.”
“Hey,” A voice called from Harley’s right, from where he sat perched on the roof. It was about one AM and freezing. Harley was still in his suit from the dance, but he wasn’t sure that it mattered.
Harley glanced at Spider-Man, quickly wiping the tears out of his eyes, “Hey. I thought you didn’t have access to that suit anymore?”
“I didn’t,” Spider-Man hissed as he sat down Next to Harley, “I found it on my bed when I got home.”
“Oh,” Harley sniffed, putting on a smile, “So how's life?”
“I should be asking you that, Harley,” His voice was concerned, “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not.”
Spider-Man looked at him, “You’re really going to lie to someone injured?”
“You’re injured?” Harley looked at him, wide-eyed. “Where? Are you okay? What happened?”
“Harley, I’m fine,” Spider-Man told him with a heavy voice. “I’m more worried about why you’re sitting on the roof crying.”
“I’m not-”
Spider-Man might have been wearing a mask, but even he could read the look he was getting. He sighed, “Okay. Maybe I was crying. What does it matter?”
“It matters because you matter, a lot.”
Harley ran a hand through his hair, but held it, and curled in on himself. “It’s stupid.”
“I bet it’s not.”
“I just,” Harley felt his mouth go dry. “I got left at the homecoming dance.”
Spider-Man’s breath hitched. “Oh. That sucks.”
“Yeah, it really does,” Harley muttered. “I was just… getting my hopes up I guess. About the dance. About him.”
“What?” Spider-Man whispered .“What do you mean?”
Harley looked up at the sky. “I miss Peter.”
“Parker?”
“No- well yes, but no,” Harley shook his head, “My Peter. I’ve mentioned him before, the internet friend. I miss him. I used to talk to him every day, but now… he doesn’t talk to me. And it sucks because I really loved him. And he would know what to do.”
“About?”
“Peter Parker,” Harley curled in on himself even more, “I went with him to the homecoming dance.”
“Isn’t that good?” Spider-Man whispered. “Do you like him?”
Harley paused, thinking about what he was going to say, “I tried not to like him. But yeah. I do.”
“Oh.”
“And it just sucks,” Harley’s voice cracked, “Because Peter Parker clearly doesn’t like me.”
“What do you,” Spider-Man cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”
Harley laughed dryly, trying not to let the bitterness sink into his tone. “He ditched me at the dance. Plus he’s Peter Parker. Why would he go for someone like me?”
Spider-Man looked at him again, “Because you’re Harley Keener? You’re amazing!”
“No, I’m not,” Harley glanced at the ground, far far below them, “I’m a bit of a petty asshole, I don’t do anything nice. Peter didn’t like me at first, for a pretty good reason, because I’m just such a petty bitch that I didn’t like him and then he really didn’t like me and… I don’t know. It makes sense why he wouldn’t like me. I’m a fucked up piece of shit, that’s petty and always kind of rude and just not very cool, and I’m not exactly attractive, and-”
“I don’t think that,” Spider-Man’s voice was solid and firm, “I think that you like to belittle yourself, and bottle up all of these things to the point where you don’t even let yourself think about them. I think that you like to mind read and pretend you know what Peter feels because you’re scared to think about what could be. Most of all though, I think that you’re amazing. That you try so hard to be good, and it shows because you are. You’re so good, Harley Keener, you’re so good. You see all this bad stuff in yourself but that’s not true. You’re amazing.”
Spider-Man took a breath, “Harley, you’re- you’re so beautiful. You smile, and the entire world wants to see it because Harley, you take everyone’s breath away by just being you. You’re eyes, are so so expressive, and amazing, and have so much life in them- God Harley, you don’t even know how fucking amazing you really are do you? You’re so beautiful Harley- your freckles are so fucking cute, and you just- You’re amazing Harley you have to believe me, you need to-”
Harley kissed him. Not actually, but close enough. The mask was blocking off the actual meeting of lips but Harley couldn’t take it. This guy- this hero- was sitting here, telling him everything Harley had wanted to hear that night and it was nice. God, it was so nice. He may not have been the person that he actually wanted, but he was someone.
And he was someone that Harley did like, a lot. He may not be Peter Parker, but god, for a split second he wished that Spider-Man was. God, he wished that they were the same person because then all of Harley’s problems would melt away. But… at the end of the day, he wasn't Peter. This wasn’t someone actually confessing to him. This was a friend, comforting another friend about a broken heart.
God, he felt like an idiot.
Harley pulled back, wiping his eyes as he did, “I’m sorry.”
Spider-Man just stared at him, so Harley continued, “I just… I’m just confused. I’m just confused.”
He stood up, walking away from Spider-Man quickly, not looking back. He had already messed up enough.
The events of Spider-Man Homecoming
The Incident
Harley’s birthday
He avoided Spider-Man for the next few weeks, the days dragging on and on. Instead of focusing on the lack of Spider in his life or the fact that his Peter still was ignoring him completely on Tumblr, he turned to his friends that were here. The friends that he hadn't messed up with just yet, the ones that he trusted and cared about and cared about him. Despite his confusing feelings for Peter that had revealed themselves on homecoming night, he found himself getting closer and closer to him. There was a lot of flirting. Like. An almost uncomfortable amount between the two of them. MJ and Ned had been expressing how Harley just needed to make a move and he just knew that they were doing the same to Peter.
Which lead to this mortifying moment. Technically, a dare at his birthday party from MJ led to this mortifying moment but honestly, all Harley could focus on was the way that his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he stared up at Peter. The other boy was looking at him with wide eyes, cheeks just as flushed and red as Harley’s were. It made something nasty swirl in his gut.
It wasn’t every day that you get pushed off of someone’s lap, after giving them a pseudo lapdance and almost getting kissed.
A chord in his gut snapped slightly.
“What the fuck, Parker?” He ground out after a second of shock. “That hurt.”
“Sorry- sorry,” Peter brought his legs up, hugging his les to his chest, “I’m sorry- I just, I thought someone was coming.”
“So?”
“So? Harley,” Peter’s voice went up a pitch, face getting more red. “If anyone had seen that-”
“Seen what? That you were about to-”
“That you were straddling me in a sexual position with my hands up your shirt?!”
“What does that matter-”
“It just does!”
“That makes no sense,” Harley snapped standing up, running a hand through his hair. “So what if someone sees us having a moment?!”
Peter rolled his eyes, standing up as well snapping in annoyance. “Who says we were having a moment?!”
“Oh fuck you,” Harley snorted, stepping towards him. “Like you weren't into it.”
“Like I was into something that you and Mj coerced me into doing?!”
Harley scoffed, shaking his head. Of course, Peter would try to act like this. Of course, he would play it up like he wasn’t into it, like he hadn't agreed and been participating just as much as Harley had.. Not that Harley was falling for it. “You fucking forget I was on your lap. I could tell exactly how into it you are.”
“That's-” Peter’s face was redder than a tomato, “That's completely not the point!”
“So what is the point?!”
“The point is that we could have been seen!”
“Why would that even matter?!”
“Because they would assume we were dating!”
“Why is that so bad?!”
“It's not!”
“Then why the fuck are we standing here screaming at each other?!”
“Because you kissed Spider-Man!”
“Why does that matter?!”
“It just does!"
“God Parker," Harley snapped at him, running a hand through his hair, “Sometimes I think you don’t even fucking like me!”
“Oh fuck off,” Peter pointed at him. “You know that's not true!”
“Oh really?!”
“Yeah! Of course I like you! You’re my best friend!”
Harley blinked hard and stepped back, “So then what the fuck was all that flirting?”
Peter stayed quiet, and Harley could feel himself start to shake. “Was all of that fucking fake? Did you mean fucking any of it? Did you ever actually fucking like me? Why the fuck would you cuddle with me watching romance movies if I was just your fucking best friend?! Why the fuck were you feeling me up if I was just a friend?!”
Peter wasn’t saying anything, just staring at Harley. Harley was panting, out of breath from the small angry rant. They stood there in the silence and Harley couldn’t take it. “Fuck you, Peter.”
He stormed away, towards the door of the arcade. He didn’t look to see if Peter was following, but as he felt his heart sink away into his stomach he knew he wasn’t.
This was fucking awful. He felt fucking awful. His head was pounding and he truly felt as though he had been run through the ringer. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair! His Peter wasn’t talking to him, and suddenly this Peter was being a douche bag to him just because what- because he kissed Spider-Man?
Why was everyone in his life so dead set on leading him on. Why couldn’t they just tell him the truth! Was that so hard to ask for? For the truth!
He made it out of the door, braving the raging thunderstorm that had started. He couldn’t breath, he was so angry. He was so tired. What were all those moments this month if not Peter finally feeling the same way? Fuck, Harley was looking too deep into this. It was like he was a kid again with a crush on a boy who would never love him. And it fucking sucked.
Water was pounding against his skin but he just kept walking away from the arcade, ignoring how every drop felt like ice dripping down his spine. He made it to the street before Peter shouted after him. “Harley! Wait!”
“No!” Harley turned on him, face hot. “No! I won’t fuckin’ wait for you to make up your mind Peter!”
“My mind’s been made up! For a long time, Harley, come on!”
Harley scoffed, throwing his hands out, motioning for Peter to stop stepping towards him. “Then what is it Peter?! Do you fuckin’ like me?! Do you fuckin’ wanna date me?! Make up your fucking mind, Parker! Because I’m not here for your fucking games!”
“Harley-”
“Fuck off!”
He was crying, and he was so grateful to the rain, “You’re fucking driving me insane Peter, god dammit!”
He was about to scream more, about to flail, scream and curse at Peter. He was so fucking angry, he was seething. He was hurt. God he was so fucking hurt.
That's when the hands grabbed him, jerking him into the back of a van, his voice catching on a scream.
He made eye contact with Peter, who was running towards them, eyes wide with panic.
The van doors closed, and Harley jerked as the car moved forward.
He let out a strangled cry as the asshole in the black mask leered at him. The masked man’s hands made a grab for his hair, growling at him. “This the right fuckin kid?”
“Yeah,” The man on the left nodded. “That’s the Stark kid."
“Fuck yeah,” the fist in his hair tightened, leaving Harley gasping in pain. “You realize we’re gonna get loaded from this, right?”
“I know.”
“Y’all are so fucking dumb,” Harley spat, glaring. Everything hurt, his vision blurring slightly. But he couldn’t just sit here and take it. He wouldn’t just sit here and take it. “Y’all realize you just kidnapped the son of Iron Man right? You know he’s gonna fucking kill you two, right?”
“He won’t,” The man holding his hair jerked his hand, forcing Harley’s head back. Harley ignored the action, forcing himself to stay calm despite the feeling that his throat was slowly closing up on him.
The man on the left laughed, heartily, like he enjoyed seeing Harley get messed with. “Not if he wants his son back alive, he won’t.”
Harley blinked and cursed under his breath. If Tony even suspected for even a second that they would actually kill him, he wouldn’t even try. These guys knew how Tony thought. Well, maybe they just knew how every parent thought. If Harley was gonna get out of this, he needed to figure it out himself.
“Stop in the next alley,” The man on the left- Harley was pretty sure he was the asshole running this show- demanded. The driver made a sharp turn, throwing the doors of the van back open, before stopping. The guy holding his head released him, only to grab is arm and throw him back at the brick walls of the alley.
Harley landed with a sickening thud, but he wasn’t about to let this good opportunity go to waste. He sprung to his feet, running towards the end of the alley way trying his hardest to make it there, his legs burning with the effort, but he couldn't stop. He needed to get out of there, he needed to get out of there, he needed to get out of there. Someone grabbed his hoodie. He choked.
He fell to the floor, hitting the back of his head as he wheezed, the feeling of being winded hitting him hard. He gasped out a breath, just to try to get his bearings but the feeling of his jacket collar going against his neck as he ran full speed was one he wasn’t sure he would ever forget. He coughed, spluttering as the man who had grabbed his hoodie, started to pull him. His shirt rode up and he felt the sting of concrete being dragged against his skin, and he cursed, “Let go of me-”
“I will admit,” The man who was in charge’s voice came from behind him, and he circled towards Harley, crouching down so he was parallel from his face. “You’ve got balls.”
“However,” The man tsked at him, standing up again. “You’re not a man yet.”
Harley knew the foot was coming before the impact hit. That didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. Because it did. It hurt. It hurt when the foot came down on his chest, a sickening feeling of dread and pain overwhelmed his senses as the first kick ended and the second kick came down harder. He couldn’t breath, the sense of the air exiting his lungs was paralyzing him in place.
He didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t know what was happening. Except he knew exactly what was happening, because he recognized the foot coming down on him. He tried curling in on himself, but he couldn’t manage. Whatever kind of shoe this guy was wearing, he obviously knew that he’d have to kick a kid.
“Stop,” Harley couldn’t breathe, and instead of a command, it came out as a pathetic wheeze, something a dying animal would make. Distantly, he thought of days on a black top when he was ten, before Tony had taught him how to throw a punch.
He wanted to fight back. Wanted to kick back and scream. But he couldn’t, not when he was in so much pain. “Stop, please stop, stop, please, stop.”
“Mmmmmm,” The guy kicking him raised his foot, considering it for a second. Harley curled in on himself at the opportunity, assuming he was just gonna keep kicking but it stopped. For a blissful second the kicking stopped, as the guy turned to his partner. “What do you think, Z?”
“Kid deserves it,” Z grinned at him. “So I suggest you keep kicking. I’ll get something to bind his hands with, so he can’t get away.”
The guy gave a thumbs up, and Harley muffled a shout as the foot came down even harder than before, a sickening sound ringing in his ears. He could taste blood in his mouth from the force of the foot hitting his body. He couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt. Everything hurt so badly. He couldn’t think.
He was pulled off the ground with a groan, his jacket digging into his skin as ropes dug into his wrists. Z pushed him onto the wall, his head hitting the brick hard. He saw spots, his body aching in all sorts of pain. He was bleeding, somewhere under his clothes, but he wasn’t sure where. He wasn’t sure what was happening. He wasn’t sure this was happening.
“You’re going to call Stark,” Harley almost missed the demand made by the boss. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, and it must’ve showen, because the man repeated himself. “You’re going to call Stark.”
Harley wanted to say no.
Tony would panic, and when Tony panics it usually ended bad. As it was he would assume the worst and end up wounding himself more in his bid to save Harley. Flying the Iron Man suit with the amount of sleep that Tony had been getting was a disaster waiting to happen. All of the time and energy he had going to Rhodey’s legs, creating more things, and helping himself, were draining and even if he didn’t want to admit it, Harley could see it. Tony couldn’t handle seeing Harley hurt right now. He especially couldn’t handle fighting in the Iron Man suit, knowing one wrong move could kill his kid.
More than anything though, a sickening part of him whispered that he could save himself. Tony had done it so many times. Tony has saved himself before. He could save himself. He was Harley fucking Keener, and he could get himself out of this. He raised his head, the cold rain grounding him. “No.”
He should’ve expected the punch to the gut, but he didn’t. He wheezed, choking on air again as another punch rolled into his stomach. Z growled at him. “What do you mean no?”
Harley didn’t even get a chance to respond before the fist came back down on him, landing a solid blow to his cheek. In an instant he knew why the punches hurt so much, as a large gash found its way into Harley’s face. It must’ve been a ring of some sort, and damn did it hurt like a bitch.
The boss gave a hand gesture and Z stopped, looking like he wanted more than anything to continue the bashing. The boss stepped towards him, raising Harley’s face to look at his cheek, “There’s a difference between bravery and being a fool, Stark. Learn the difference.”
“Now,” He presses his finger into the cut, making Harley flinch back. “Let me ask you again, call Stark.”
Harley hissed in pain, the guy’s fingernail digging into his cheek. “Let me get my phone.”
“Where is it.”
Harley shuffled against the wall, moving his hands to feel for where the phone was. He was hindered by the fact his hands were bound to each other, but in the end it didn’t even matter. His phone wasn’t on his body. He knew exactly where his phone was. On the table of the arcade where he had given a lap dance to Peter. Peter . Peter knew he was in trouble, there was no way in hell he hadn’t already called the police or Tony or someone. Harley relaxed internally. Help was on its way, and it was just a matter of time and staying alive.
The boss looked annoyed, “Well? Where. Is. It.”
“Well,” Harley lifted his head to the rain, trying to figure out a plan. His brain fired off words before he could fully think them through. “You see, fuck you.”
“I’ve had enough of this,” Z grabbed Harley’s hair, yanking hard as he tossed Harley to the ground again. “I don’t care who this kid is, no one fucking talks to us like that.”
Harley could feel the rain on his face. He was grateful for that. He was so grateful for the rain. Because even though his mouth tasted like blood, and he was sure he was bruising horribly, and maybe looked a little more than broken, he knew the rain was washing all of that away. The blood. The bruising. The pain. It was taking that away.
He felt cold, because the rain was cold. But at least he was feeling. Feeling the rain as a kick landed on his jaw, his head pushing back against the pavement of the alley. Feeling the rain as his ribs cracked under the constant blows to his chest. Feeling the rain as he gasped out choked breaths because he wasn’t sure if he was breathing. He wasn’t really sure that he wasn’t breathing, either, he just didn’t know what he was doing. He felt like his body had given up on him completely.
He wasn’t sure any of this was actually happening. He felt pain, like a fire consuming his body all over. But he felt the rain too. His senses were going into overdrive, or going numb. Harley really couldn’t tell. One of the men, Harley didn’t know who and couldn’t find it in himself to care, slammed their foot down on his ankle, and Harley let out a scream. Loud and piercing, because jesus fucking christ that hurt. And he wasn’t sure if this was actually happening or if he was hallucinating, but he didn’t care. All he knew is that it hurt. It hurt. God it hurt.
And it wasn’t stopping.
It didn’t stop when lightning flashed, illuminating the alley with a sickening crack that Harley thought was thunder but it might’ve been the sound of his wrist breaking in his own ears. He wasn’t really sure. It didn’t stop, though, as the rain came down heavier, pelting all three of them so hard that his skin was stinging. Or maybe the stinging skin was from where one of the guy's rings was catching on his skin. He wasn’t really sure. It didn’t stop when Harley saw the gleam of a blade in the shine of the lightning.
Then it stopped, only for him to be forced onto his feet. Harley couldn’t breathe, his lungs felt like they were on the verge of collapse. His ankle was burning and he couldn’t feel his left wrist or his hand. He couldn’t see, his vision was spotting. His head was spinning. He thought they said something but he couldn’t hear them over the pain. He couldn’t.
They seemingly didn’t like the fact that he didn’t answer- or maybe he did answer and he just couldn’t tell what his own voice was, or what he was saying- because suddenly that silver blade that looked like it was glowing in the flashes of light was buried deep in his gut. Harley was pretty sure he was screaming, but he couldn’t tell.
The men jerked away from him, and Harley sank to the ground.
Spider-Man stood in front of them, snapping a web out to grab one guy before throwing him to the other side of the alley.
He turned to the other, who charged at him. He seemed to be expecting it though, as he tore his body to the side, dodging the punch. He grabbed the guy's arm, tossing him to the floor, his knee jutting into the guy's chest. Harley wanted to call out for him to turn around because the other guy was charging, but he couldn’t think straight. He was pretty sure he was going into some sort of shock.
He must’ve said something, enough for Spider-Man to look back at the guy he originally threw and glare. He slung a web towards him, pulling him towards him, stepping out of the way to make sure that they were together. He said something, and Harley couldn’t make it out.
He couldn’t make out anything.
He knew what Spider-Man did next though, mainly because he had designed the specific web blaster. The electric web, the one that electrocuted the things it touched. Made to dismantle weapons that couldn’t be touched, and had to be short-circuited. He shot it at the two men, who might have screamed. Harley couldn’t tell. And he wasn’t sure he cared.
He was leaning against a brick wall, with the rain pooling on his face, mixing with the blood in his eyes. The world around him looked pink, the water diluting the red substance like it was a paint. His eyes were blurry, as Spider-Man got on his knees in front of him. Harley tried to focus on him.
“...rley,” His voice was fuzzy in Harley’s ears, “Harley, I need you to help me.”
“What?” Harley slurred, his voice sounding fake to his own ears. He still wasn’t sure what was happening. A part of him whispered that this was the first time they had seen each other since Harley ruined everything, and another part was whispering that he was dying. Harley ignored the latter, and his mind jumped to the former. “‘M sorry, Spider-Man.”
Spider-Man leaned in a little more, his hands inching closer to Harley. Harley flinched, not meaning to. He raised his wrists and Spider-Man untied him, then paused. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Harley.”
“But I kissed you.”
“Harley,” Spider-Man sounded like he was panicking. “You were just beaten and all you can think about is how you kissed me?”
Harley shrugged, the movement making him hiss in pain. His vision swam again, and his voice was coming out in quick gasps. “You deserved to know I was sorry.”
“Harley, oh god,” His voice was tight and his eyes were directed at the knife still lodged in Harley’s gut. “You were stabbed.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
He inched closer, “I’m gonna pick you up, okay?”
“Why?” Harley’s voice sounded drowsy in his own ear, and he turned his face to the sky. The rain was nice.
“Because I need to take you to the hospital.”
“No,” Harley was still looking up, letting the rain wash away all the blood on his face. “No hospitals.”
“Harley-”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Of course, but Harley, we need to-”
“You were the first kiss I actually cared about,” Harley breathed, his voice coming out weak in his own head. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, only that it was better than what he had been doing. So he kept babbling. “You were the first kiss I actually cared about, isn’t that wild- and Peter- god- I’ll miss my Peter- because he was the first guy I felt like was good to me- and Peter Parker oh god, I didn’t mean to yell at him-”
“He knows that,” Spider-Man shushed him, eyes wide with what Harley presumed to be panic. “He knows that, but you won’t have to miss them because you’re going to the hospital and you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay, Harley.”
“-I really really like him,” Harley looked at Spider-Man, his head rushing, “And I never- I never got to tell him that-”
“He knows Harley,” Spider-Man’s voice was tight and his hands were shaking. “I know, Harley. Please let me get you to a hospital.”
“Of course you know,” Harley laughed his thoughts a little everywhere, “I told you about him- remember? Right before- Right before I kissed you.”
Harley coughed, the taste a startling metallic coming out of his throat. He could tell that the blood was coating the back of his teeth, probably escaping his mouth. He closed his eyes. “You have to tell- you have to tell Abbie I love her.”
“Harley-”
“She needs to- she needs to know- that I- that I love her,” Harley coughed again, harder this time. More blood escaped his lips. “She needs to know- you have to tell her.”
“Harley,” Spider-Man was begging, inching closer, grabbing his right hand, “I need to get you to a hospital!”
“No- no hospitals- please, no hospitals.”
“Fuck, Harley, please!”
“I don’t- I don’t wanna die in a hospital- please.”
“Harley, Harley you can’t die,” Spider-Man was crying, under the mask. Harley wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. “Harley, I can’t- you’re not gonna die, we’re gonna get you to a hospital and you won’t die.”
“I don’t want to die in a hospital. Please.”
“Harley,” He said his name like a sob, and his hands moved to take his mask off. “Harley, please.”
Harley froze. Before him was Peter Parker sobbing, eyes red with tears. His breath hitched, and he was bawling, hands clutching Harley’, “Fuck- Harley- you’re my best friend, please, please, I love you- you can’t die- you need to go to the hospital- fuck I can’t lose you Mecha! I can’t fucking lose you, Harley!”
If Harley thought that he had been baffled before, he wasn’t sure what was happening now.
His mind was spinning.
His mind was actually spinning.
Because Peter Parker wasn’t Spider-Man. He had ruled out Peter Parker immediately. Peter Parker wasn’t Spider-Man. And he was his Peter. He had always thought that he wasn’t Peter Parker because they were different. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t happening.
He pushed up the wall, forcing himself to stand, “Oh my god.”
Peter couldn’t be Peter Parker. Peter couldn’t because that meant that Peter had ditched him after he had said he hated him. Harley couldn’t breathe, his lungs felt like they were burning. In his vision, he could see Peter stand up. He couldn’t breathe. Peter was his Peter. Peter knew everything about him. Peter had ditched him.
His head shook, “You can't be my Peter.”
He was shaking. His whole body was shaking. This wasn’t okay. None of this was okay. His peter had cut off almost all ties with him. And this whole time it was Peter Parker, the boy he was falling in love with. “You can’t- You’re not. You can't- you can’t be Spider-Man.”
But it would make sense. How many times had he and Peter talked about his day and he thought it sounded familiar. How many times had he let himself consider that it could be him, though? The thought never even crossed his mind. The thought genuinely never crossed his mind.
“You can’t- you,” Harley’s tongue felt heavy. “Fuck, you are my Peter.”
His head was reeling and he took a step away from Peter, who was quick to step toward him. His vision was swimming.
Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Of course, he was Spider-Man. Looking back at it, it made so so so much sense. He was so dumb. God, he was so dumb. Because Peter Parker was so obviously Spider-Man. They were both so good. They were both so smart. And they both broke Harley’s heart.
Peter Parker broke Harley’s heart.
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t breathe.
“You- fuck,” Harley’s vision was going black as he took a step away from Peter, hugging the wall of the alley, the rain making him pretty sure he was going to fall. “You are Spider-Man.”
Peter was still crying as he nodded, and Harley knew. Harley knew. This was the boy he was in love with. This was the boy who had stopped talking to him when he had named dropped him because he had figured out who Harley was. This was the boy who then proceeded to not say anything about it to him. This was the boy who he had talked to about it, and yet, this was the boy that didn't change it. This was the boy who had taken on the job of a hero and befriended him once again on a different side. This was the boy he had confessed to liking, and kissed, and who didn’t respond. This was the boy that acted like nothing had changed. This was the boy he was in love with.
He was Spider-Man. He was his Peter. He was Peter Parker.
His hands shook, and he pushed farther away, his vision blacking completely.
He collapsed.