Chapter Text
It was another normal morning Midtown School of Science and Technology. Peter Parker was near his locker, talking to his friend before class. They had just picked everything they needed for first period.
“See you later”, Ned said, but he wasn’t so sure. Peter had been skipping lunch and disappearing after class for a while now. He was getting better after the Decimation, no doubt, no more sudden crying, no more angry rampages, he seemed even happy, but something was still out of place.
The snap had taken them all away, Ned, Michelle, even aunt May, and they all came back ok, but Tony’s death hit Peter pretty hard. He thought that the new school year would mean a new beginning, however some things didn’t change much, and he was getting worried. For months Peter had not been himself, always sad, always holding the weight of the world. He began acting as a full time superhero, until classes started again; however, he still kept his extended his patrolling time, quitting all other activities he was involved before, and barely seeing his friends and family before.
When aunt May asked Ned and MJ, they tried to help Peter, and slowly he started to become himself again. They were relieved to see him joking and smiling, even though he still avoided to spend too much of his free time with them.
As Ned walked away, Peter turned around, heading to his class, when he was suddenly hit by a totally lost blond boy.
“Whoa,” he said holding the boy’s shoulders so he wouldn’t fall down, which didn’t work completely, since all his books ended up falling to the floor. “I’m so sorry. Let me help you with that.” Peter kneeled down quickly and started grabbing the books.
“It’s ok, thank you,” said Harley kneeling down as well. “I wasn’t even paying attention to where I was going. Better keep my eyes up next time.” He smiled and Peter could only stare for a while. “Thanks, Peter,” he said getting back up.
“Oh, how do you know my name?”. The brunette frowned for a while, wondering if he had ever seen him in the school before.
Harley suddenly flushed red. So Peter didn’t remember him from Tony Stark’s funeral, that was embarrassing. However, instead of clearing things, he decided to to pretend as if they had just met; he didn’t know why he was doing that nor the consequences that would bring to him. After a few seconds, he was brought back to reality when he noticed Peter staring back, questioning look on his face.
“I-I heard the other boy calling you. Sorry if it was creepy…” he made up.
“No, that’s ok”, he giggled, even though he didn’t remember Ned calling his name. But it was ok, he was kind of distracted at the time. “And What can I call you?”
“Harley. Keener,” this time he managed to formulate his answer quickly enough. “I just moved to New York, it’s my first day at this school and I’m kinda lost.” He scratched the back of his head, still a little red from embarrassment.
“Oh, I see. Well, let me show you around, that’s the least I can do after almost knocking you down.” Peter smiled. He was unusually welcoming, maybe because he liked the idea of meeting someone that hadn’t seen him in his darkest moments, or found out his secret identity.
“You know it was my fault, right?” Harley replied.
“Well, then the least you can do is make me company. Come on.” Harley’s heart beat a little faster as he felt the welcoming tone in Peter’s voice. It was a nice change, since he was pretty much hated by everyone in his previous school.
They walked through the hallways as Peter showed Harley everything; from his locker, number 359, to the gymnasium, from the cafeteria to his geometry classroom. As they walked, Peter would tell him about all the amazing opportunities in Midtown School of Science and Technology. He had been part of the school's marching band, robotics lab's club and Academic Decathlon team, Harley found out. From their brief conversation, he could notice that Peter was pretty much of a genius.
Harley was astonished about everything there. He didn’t have a third all those things in his previous school. This was nice shot at a new beginning, especially after the rough last five years his mom and sister had been through. The fact that Peter was treating him really nicely was also helping.
“This place is really awesome,” said him.
“Yeah, it is, but it’s also kinda strict, so we better get going to class. I wouldn’t want you to be late on your first day.” Peter walked Harley to his classroom. “Meet me and my friends at lunch! You’ll like them.”
“Okay! Thank you,” said Harley. “You’re being like super nice to me.”
“It’s nothing. I know it can be hard adapting to a new school. See you later!” Peter turned around and sprinted to his class, before he was late.
The morning passed faster than Harley had expected to. He liked his classmates and was even invited to try out for some clubs. He was taking advanced geometry and literature, and his brain had pretty much collapsed with the amount of information he had just taken in. Gladly, it was already lunch time; he was excited to see Peter again, and maybe make some new friends.
He walked, to the cafeteria, finding the other boy waiting for him by the door. As they headed to the table, Ned and MJ looked surprised.
“What a surprise! To what do we owe the pleasure of your company ,Peter? ” MJ teased.
“Haha, so funny. Guys, this is Harley Keener, he’s just moved to New York. Say hi,” Peter sat down and then moved to free some space for the other boy.
“Hi,” he said, shyly.
“Nice to meet you,” said Ned, waving. “I hope Peter hasn’t annoyed you to death, he can get way too much excited when showing the school around”. He didn’t even try to dodge Peter’s hand, which moved quickly to hit him the arm, because he knew that the other boy’s reflexes were, well… super.
“Hey, new guy”, Michelle said. “What brought you here to New York?”
“Well, I got a scholarship to study here. Also my mom and sister live in Queens, so it was kinda natural for me to move here”. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention, but something about the trio looking at him made him feel safe to share his story. “Actually, I was gone during… you know… the last few years. I’m from Tennessee, but my family couldn’t stay there after that and ended up coming here.”
“Thank god you didn’t bring to us one of the spoiled kids that study here, Peter”, said Michelle. “I honestly can’t stand anymore of that.” Harley was a little thrown back by the bitterness in her tone, but she seemed to be a nice person behind all that. What wasn’t so nice was the way Peter looked at her. He didn’t even blink while she talked, like he was hypnotized. Or worse… in love.
Harley’s hand started shaking a little. “Come on, you’ve known them for like 5 minutes, can you keep your shit together? For god’s sake, act like a normal person”, he yelled at himself in his mind. He didn’t understand why he was over analysing everything. To keep his mind busy, he reached for his pocket and grabbed a small object. It was an ironman keychain he bought when he was a kid, right after meeting the actual hero. It served as a way of calming his nerves whenever he felt insecure.
As soon as the other teenagers saw the keychain, the atmosphere in the table changed completely. Ned and Michelle stared at each other nervously, and Peter suddenly became dead serious. After a few seconds, he grabbed his stuff and got up. “I think I should go for a walk before the next period”, he said and left without saying goodbye.
“What happened? Was it something I said?” Harley was worried.
“Oh, it was nothing,” Ned tried to tranquilize him. “Sometimes Peter does that. He’s kinda weird you know”. He tried to change the subject.
“Yeah, NYC is full of nutjobs. You should get used to it,” Michelle followed his lead.
After a while Harley finally understood. He remembered the funeral; he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so he stayed in his corner. It wasn’t like he had any friend in there, most of them didn’t even know about his existence. But it wasn’t like that for Peter. He was surrounded by people that loved him, but still he seemed so lonely, so empty. Harley realized his keychain must have been a trigger for him.
To him, Tony Stark was like a cool uncle; they kept contact over the years, but it slowly turned into a mentorship and even some kind of friendship, despite the age gap. He took his time to heal and had moved on already, but he knew that for Peter it wasn’t like that. Tony had been more of a father figure to him; it must have been harder. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating anymore.
“I better go as well. Don’t wanna be late on my first day. Thanks for the company guys, it was nice meeting you,” he said getting up and leaving.
The rest of the day felt blue, contrasting to the morning, when he was happy and excited. When he got home, he realized he didn’t even had Peter’s phone number to check on him or anything like that.
“How was your first day, sweetie?” his mom asked.
“Oh, just ok, you know. Made some friends, studied a little. The usual, I guess”, he didn’t feel like putting any of his problems on his mom.
“That’s nice”, she smiled. “Now let’s have some dinner”. Harley definitely didn’t want to eat, but, specially now with his sister gone for most of the day in college, his mom was alone quite a lot and he wanted to comfort and make her company whenever he could.
He wasn’t the talkative one in their house, but that night he made some extra effort for him mom. After dinner he went to sleep, claiming to be tired.
The next day, Harley found Peter waiting for him by his locker.
“Peter, hey! I have to apolo…” he tried to say, but was interrupted.
“I’m sorry I left you yesterday, it wasn’t ok at all”, said Peter quickly. “I had some issues and just couldn’t stay, but I don’t want you to feel like it had something to do with you. You were ok yesterday. Oh, not ok, I mean, great, you were great,” Peter just kept spitting out a thousand words per minute until he stopped, confused. “Wait, you were going to apologize? Why?”
“Oh, you know, I thought I was kind of the reason you left suddenly...”, he didn’t want Peter to think he knew his secret, so he avoided talking about the keychain specifically. “Wasn’t it something I did?”
“Oh no no no. Please don’t feel guilty.” Peter blushed slightly. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’ve been working on some… uh, issues, but it’s ok now. Can I make it up?”
“Well, just having a full lunch would be nice”. Harley smiled. “I wasn’t sure if your friends would want me there without you.”
“Don’t be silly, Ned told me he liked your vibe”. Peter said touching Harley’s arm, gently. The blond boy smiled back.
“Oh, before I forget, can I have your number? I realized I only know you and your friends but we have like no way of contacting each other, you know.”
“Sure,” said Peter typing his number. “Sorry I didn’t think about that before.”
“I think we need to stop apologising every five seconds,” Harley laughed. “It’s becoming quite a pattern.”
Both teenagers headed together for class, chatting. From the on, everything had changed.
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“I don’t think this will work, Parker”, said Harley. He was wearing old jeans, a plain t-shirt and a cap that showed just enough of his blond hair; there were grease stains all over his face, shirt and arms, and he had a curious look on his face.
Both boys were inside Harley’s garage, the door open to let in some light, but clearly not enough. It was a windy saturday in october, and they had become close friends, even when Peter had a bad day and disappeared during lunch or after class.
They were working on Harley’s car that was actually an old model fixed on his free time throughout the years. He had just recovered everything from their old home in Tennessee, and started working on it again in the last few months; he was very proud about the result. Unbeknownst to most people, Tony had inspired him to become a mechanical engineer, and he developed a series of tasks he had to do before going to college, to motivate him; one of them was building his first car. Mr. Stark was the one to give him the old, mostly rusty and broken car, knowing the boy’s wish, and had also given him some instructions to help. Finishing his project was more of a homage now, and he felt that inviting Peter to help was appropriate, even though he couldn’t know the whole story.
“Of course it will. I’ve been through this a thousand times. I can make this car look like a fancy new model if you give me some time,” Peter answered finishing the final touches on the radio system he had just installed. “I never thought I’d enjoy mechanics this much, I’m more of a physics and chemistry guy, you know.” They had spent the last month working together, maybe that was the reason he was liking it.
After some minutes, it was done; a few more touches and the car would be ready to be used. Peter was much cleaner than Harley, but just as proud. They stood side by side looking at the result.
“Well, I think this calls for a celebration,” said Harley.
“I agree. What do you have in mind?” He said, staring at the other boy’s eyes.
“I have no idea, but I could use a movie night and some ice cream.”
“Sounds good to me,” Peter smiled. He had taken the day off from his super hero duties and wasn’t regretting it at all. They went inside and Peter, already familiar with the place, went to get the movie ready.
“If you don’t mind, I need to take a shower before. Feel free to use anything if you need,” he said heading to the bathroom.
Peter got the movie ready, made some popcorn and grabbed the ice cream. When he was about to sit down and wait, he remembered his phone was in Harley’s room, so he went there to find it. He had left it on the desk, and, as he turned around to leave, his friend arrived from his shower, wearing nothing but a towel. For a second all he could do was stare. Harley was very handsome, and, even though he had never seen him shirtless before, Peter had a feeling his physique would match his face. He wasn’t wrong.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” said Harley blushing.
“I just came to pick my phone up. Sorry.” He looked away. “I’m going to wait for you in the living room.” Peter left the room quickly, still a little flushed from the moment.
He had never been in denial about any of his crushes before, he always talked about it with Ned and his aunt. After things didn’t work out with MJ and they decided to stay as friends, he didn’t feel anything for anyone in a long time. However, since the day they met, Peter had been getting this tingling feeling in his stomach everytime he was near Haley. It wasn’t like the nervousness with Liz, he felt cozy and safe and he didn’t want to be away from everyone like before.
He was scared about this feeling he didn’t understand; was it wrong? Was it mutual? Was him willing to risk everything over something he didn’t even fully understand? All his questions were left unanswered, though, as Haley arrived, now fully dressed, to watch the movie.
“So, what did you pick?”
“We’re watching The Hobbit.”
“Oh no, why would you do that? I refuse to spend 3 hours watching anything.”
“Shut up. I can’t accept that you’ve never seen it, it’s almost against the law. No complaining,” Peter smiled. “You’re gonna like it, I’m sure”.
“You better be right, Parker.” Harley sat next to him. With his enhanced senses it was impossible for Peter not to feel the smell of his shampoo, or hear the fast beat of his heart. This only made him feel more confused.
It only took them an hour and a half before they were both asleep. Harley was exhausted, as always, and seeing him falling asleep and resting on his shoulder, unknowingly, stopped Peter from paying attention to the movie, until he felt his own eyes closing.
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Two weeks had passed. Harley and Peter got out of his car and headed to class. Before they could enter, Flash passed by them, mocking:
“I see the two lovebirds are now coming together to school, huh. I hope this doesn’t distract you from our basketball match, Keener.” Harley had joined the team a months before, and, for his displeasure, Flash was also playing. He never missed one opportunity of messing with the two friends, even after Harley threatened to fight back.
“Don’t say you didn’t deserve it if I punch you in the face, Thompson,” the teenager replied.
“Calm down, Harley, let’s go.” Peter grabbed him by his arm. “You won’t punch him,” he whispered as soon as they were far enough.
“No, but I could if I wanted,” he clenched his fist. “He gets me on my nerves, you know”.
“Yeah, that’s what bullies do, but we can’t give away to them”.
Peter couldn’t stand Flash either, but he was more worried about Harley’s reaction. Was he mad because the jokes were annoying, because they were homophobic or because he couldn’t stand the possibility of the two of them being together? He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea himself, but he sure didn’t hate it that much. I mean, it was normal, right? His insecurities were taking over but, thankfully, they had to go their separate ways now for class. He hated that he couldn’t read Harley, the teenager was too good at hiding what was bothering him.
“See you later,” Harley said before going away, but, at lunch time, Peter was nowhere to be seen.
“So he’s not coming today?” Ned asked.
“Why would I know?” Harley replied, pretending not to be disappointed about Peter’s absence.
“Don’t try to fool us, new boy,” MJ added, “You know Parker’s schedule by heart and you can’t deny it.”
“It’s been two months already, can you not call me ‘new boy’?” He replied, avoiding the other part of the comment. “Well, I thought he was okay today, but I guess something must have bothered him.”
In his mind, Harley had already scanned everything that could have triggered Peter, and the only thing in his mind was Flash’s comment, but why would Peter be so affected by that? He got up to look for his friend, but there was no sign of him, nor any answer to the messages he had sent.
…
The next day, he found Peter by his locker.
“Hey, stranger, where have you been?” He asked, a touch of concern and caution in his voice. “I was getting worried when you did not reply.”
“I’m sorry. I remembered I had this huge assignment to do and ended up getting caught up in it,” he replied, vaguely.
The truth was that he had spent the last night patrolling and trying to figure everything out. After getting in a fight with some criminals, he decided that maybe he should give Harley some space.
“Oh, okay. What are you doing tonight? It’s friday, I figured we could hang out a little, what do you think?”
“Oh, I’m not so sure, I think I should spend some time with my aunt, you know,” he lied.
“I see. Well, let me know if anything changes.” Harley couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face this time. What had happened?
“Okay.” Peter turned away, heading to class. He hated being so distant, but he didn’t know what else to do.
That day, Peter skipped lunch again and went to the streets. This time, he had faced a much more dangerous and armed criminal, which got him badly wounded. He went home, thankfully his aunt was away for the night, and started to take care of his scratches and bruises; soon his healing process would be done.
He was startled when he heard the doorbell. He didn’t even remember to put his shirt back on before opening the door. Harley was standing there, holding a bag with some food and movies.
“I’m not good at this ‘respect your space’ thing, so I came to visit you and see what’s going on, why you’re pushing me away”, said the boy. “Wait, what the hell are those? What happened? Was it Flash? I’m going to freaking kill him,” he shouted after seeing the bruises and cuts in Peter’s torso and arms.
Peter was so tired that he didn’t even remembered that. He panicked. He couldn’t tell him about his secret. Not now, not in that way. “I-I fell from my bike. I thought a night stroll would be a good idea, but it wasn’t”, he lied again. “Don’t worry, I’m fine, I swear.”
“No you’re not. Please talk to me, what’s going on?”. He realized he hadn’t got in Peter’s house, so he entered and closed the door behind. It didn’t take Peter five seconds before he collapsed on the couch.
“I’m just… I can’t tell you. I just can’t”. He felt the warm tears in his eyes. He hated lying, he hated hiding from Harley and he hated that his feelings weren’t mutual.
“Hey, hey. You can trust me, I’m here no matter what” he replied.
It wasn’t the first time Harley had seen one of Peter’s attacks. One time, after going to Morgan’s birthday party, in September, Peter got pretty shaken up on the way home and couldn’t breathe; he left to Harley’s house and the boy helped him through it. They were less frequent now, but it was the first time his attack wasn’t related to Tony or some super hero issue.
He sat next to Peter on the couch, holding the boy’s shoulder. They stayed together like that for a few moments, no words needed, just the reassurance that everything was ok. Harley hated seeing Peter like that, especially not knowing the reason. He held him tight, until he could feel his breathing slowing down. Harley felt the need to protect Peter, even though he was the superhero.
“I’m sorry,” Peter muttered.
“Don’t you ever apologise for your feelings, Peter”. It was one of the rare moments Harley called him by his first name. He was taking care not to press any of his injuries. “What can I do?”
“Why were you so mad yesterday? When Flash mocked us,” Peter asked, looking at him with his brown, shiny eyes. “I mean, I know he gets on your nerves, but I don’t know..”
Harley wasn’t expecting that. It hit him like a punch in the guts. What did Peter mean by that?
“I hated his homophobic comment, that’s it. Why?” He hated that Flash thought that him being with Peter was a joke. He cared a lot about the other boy, but he wasn’t sure how they felt about each other. They never talked about it, they just became slowly each other’s routine.
“I don’t know, I just thought something else bothered you. Like… nevermind.”
“Nothing about you bothers me, ok?” Harley wasn’t sure about what that meant, but he said it from his heart. “I won’t let a stupid comment from a stupid bully get between us.”
They were close, staring at each other. Peter could feel his breath, his stare, the static where their bodies touched. They were just so close.
“I won’t either,” he replied. He leaned in Harley, now holding his hand. They didn’t need to talk about it, they didn’t need to understand it all, they just needed to be together, exploring this unknown, irregular path.
Peter didn’t know when Harley had left. He woke up in the couch next to a note:
“Sorry I had to leave, but my mom needed me. There’s coffee in the kitchen, I’ll be back later, if you want. Don’t forget to take care of your bruises. -H”
…
As the days passed they didn’t speak about Peter’s attack, but it shifted things a little. Harley seemed more touchy and sweet, always checking on him, sometimes brushing their hands for comfort and other things like that. Peter was still confused, but had given up trying to figure everything out.
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It was the end of November, one day before Thanksgiving. Peter and Harley were walking together into a room, the later practically dragging the other.
“No, you can’t do that! We live in a free country, you know!” Peter complained, but not really making an effort to escape Harley’s grip even though he had more than enough strength to do so.
“I don’t care about it. You’re getting in that room and swallowing your pride,” said the other boy.
“It’s not about pride, I can’t let them down for months and just ask to go back into the team. They’d never let it. MJ asked me a thousand times and she won’t forgive me just because we’re friends”.
“You’ll never know if you don’t try, Parker. Now go in there, apologise and ask for a place back in the decathlon team. You need something to keep your nerd side alive”.
“Are you really trying to encourage me with that argument?”
Harley didn’t have time to answer, as all the teenagers studying together were now staring at them. What followed was a series of horrifyingly awkward apologies that were almost too much for him to handle. Peter had a cute but annoying way to always speak too much, specially when he was nervous, and MJ wasn’t accepting any half apologies or anything less than full dedication to the team. Peter was right, she was ruthless, and that’s what Harley liked the most about her.
After what seemed like an eternity, the accepted Peter back into the team. Harley felt relieved after seeing his looks. He beamed with excitement, and that made his efforts to convince him to to this all worth it.
They waited for MJ and Ned and left to enjoy the rest of their afternoon.
“You owe me 5 bucks,” MJ said suddenly.
“No I don’t,” Ned replied. “You said he was coming back after the winter break. You gave him too much credit”.
“No, you said it would be after the break. Don’t try to fool me, Leeds”.
“Wait, what the hell are you talking about?” Peter asked.
“Oh, I knew you were going to come back to the team. I just didn’t know when,” the girl replied.
“Well, at first we weren’t so sure. In the beginning of the year we were all really shaken up, specially you. But when you got better we knew it was a matter of time,” Ned completed. The duo had become quite good at finishing each other’s sentences; if Peter didn’t know any better he would even think they were hiding a relationship.
“I’m not that easy to predict,” Peter crossed his arms, trying to look serious.
“I mean, he did need a push to do that,” Harley backed him up. “But it was obvious he wanted that deep down.”
“Oh my god, you guys are impossible,” Peter pretended to be mad.
The four left together and grabbed some milkshakes after school. They talked about everything, their plans for Christmas, what to expect of senior year, approaching faster than they expected…
Peter felt radiant, no more compulsive patrolling, no more pushing his friends away. Things were good… Well, until he heard police sirens not far away.
“You know, guys, I just forgot that I promised my aunt to help with, uhm, Thanksgiving dinner and she’s going to kill me if I don’t get home quick. Sorry”. He rushed out of the place, ready to change into his spider suit. It felt strange saying that to his friends, but he still didn’t have the guts to tell Harley his secret, he felt that maybe it would ruin things or something like that. He didn’t have time to think about that, though, as he needed to catch some criminal.
Harley, on the other hand, found it quite amazing all the excuses Peter would come up when they were together. Of course he would never pressure him or anything, he didn’t want to force the secret out of him. He also had his secrets, like the fact that he already knew Peter, and he didn’t like the idea of the other boy finding that out any time soon.
The trio just spent the rest of the afternoon together. Harley was really getting used to New York, he could almost feel himself calling it home really soon.
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The day downed with a cloudless sky that morning, the cold wind whistling through the barely closed window in Harvey’s room. The blond boy laid on his bed, his right arm hanging by its side, while the other rested on his chest. On the floor there were pieces of metal, nuts and bolts, alongside with a pile of papers covered in drawings. The room was a complete mess, the desk was covered by pencils, notebooks and tools, not one inch of the floor was visible because of all the clothes around. Harley’s mom had gone away for few days to visit some relatives and was coming home today, Christmas eve; she was surely going to have a reason to ground her son for the rest of his winter break.
Despite his room being as messy as if as a hurricane had passed through there, the rest of the house was impeccable. The living room was decorated with lights and a big tree. Harley’s family, especially his mom, loved Christmas time; they would spend all day together playing with their newly received gifts. A few months ago he overheard his sister on a video call with their mom, she was saying that now that he was back they could finally enjoy the holiday again. For a couple of days he felt terribly guilty, that’s why he had spent the last three days crafting handmade gifts for his family and, of course, Peter.
He couldn’t expect what was going to happen next, however.
…
Peter woke up sweating that morning, even though it was chilling outside; at some time, his aunt May had put his blanket over him, something that always made him feel happy. Usually, his enhanced metabolism kept him warm enough, but he didn’t have the guts to tell her that. It was such a nice and loving gesture, and Peter appreciated it very much. It was a quarter past seven, a little early to wake up when you have no classes, but he remembered that Harvey had mentioned loving opening his gifts the day before Christmas, he just couldn’t wait and always ended up convincing his mom. This year, Peter knew she was away and only arriving by dinner time, so he wanted to surprise his friend.
He grabbed a small package on his desk; the crumpled red paper matched perfectly with the yellow ribbon and the note written “from your favorite new yorker”. The ride to Harley’s home was easy and fast, he knew the route by heart already. On his way, though, he had an idea that seemed brilliant at the moment. As soon as he arrived, he noticed that no one was around.
“Perfect,” Peter said to himself. Normally he wouldn’t do that, but it was Christmas and he had this strange, warm feeling in his guts. He climbed the wall of the house and opened Harley’s window. They were unlocked, it wasn’t like anyone could normally reach the second floor after all. Without paying much attention to the state of the room, Peter placed the gift gently over a chair, in a way that was impossible for Harley not to notice. Part 1 done.
Quietly, he went down to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. He was no chef, but at least he knew how to make scrambled eggs and coffee. He did his best not to make a mess, and he was at least 80% successful. As he was cleaning, trying not to make too much noise, he heard sounds coming from above. “Damn”, he thought. Around 10 seconds later, the blond boy appeared downstairs with what looked like a potato gun in his hand.
“Don’t shoot, I come in peace,” Peter joked ready to dodge a potato. It took Harley a moment before realizing his house wasn’t being invaded by an intruder.
“Peter? What the… Did you make breakfast?” He asked, confused. “I’m sorry, I’ve had roughly 5 hours of sleep this night, I’m still a little drowsy”, he smiled.
“I’m sorry I startled you,” Peter scratched the back of his head. “I was trying to make a nice surprise, you know, but actually it seems that’s not my biggest talent”.
“It’s perfect. Scrambled eggs are my favorite. Thanks, nerd,” he said, playfully pushing Peter, as he rushed to grab a forkful of the food in the plate. He tried to act naturally, but he was shaking inside. He was already feeling a little emotional, and Peter had hit a really sweet spot for him. “Come here, I’ve got something for you,” he said going to his bedroom.
When he got inside the room, he saw the package, now on the floor, as he had let it fall down when he jolted from his bed to get the potato gun.
“Hey, what’s that?” He went for the package.
“Well, it was supposed to be the part one of your surprise, but you had to go all super mode and try to kill me… didn’t even notice it”, Peter made fun of him.
“It’s not too late for that shot. Don’t you try me,” said him, smiling secretly. “Speaking of, how did you get in here?
“You left your door open. Actually, I might have just saved your life, who knows which villain would have faced the potato gun if it wasn’t for me”.
“If you really think I won’t shoot you, don’t be so confident.”
“I mean, you could try…” Peter threw a pillow at him.
“Stop that,” replied Harley, laughing already. “Let me open my gift, I’m curious!” His eyes were sparkling as a little kid’s would on Christmas eve. He slowly unwrapped a small notebook.
“It is supposed to help,” said Peter. “Whenever you feel pressured, scared, anxious… you can write it down. I know things get hard sometimes, and I hope this can help.”
“Wow. This is…” Harley was truly speechless by the kind and thoughtful gift. “Thanks,” was all the could say, but the look in his eyes were enough for Peter.
“I’ve got something for you too!” He discreetly wiped his eyes. He grabbed some kind of watch from his desk. “Here, I made it myself, so I’m not sure it works pretty well.”
“Thanks! I love it,” Peter said trying it on. However, when he pressed a button, it started making strange noises. “Was this supposed to happen?”.
“Uh… actually, no. Maybe I should do some improvements. This button was supposed to be a light,”
“Well, I like it even more now. No need to take a look, I’ll keep the noises,” Peter smiled. “Now I think you need some help, this place is upside down and your mom’s arriving soon!”
The two boys spent the rest of the day together getting the house ready for Harley’s mom arrival. Right before they arrived, Peter left to his house; Christmas eve was the day he would watch movies with his aunt until they both fell asleep.
The next day was magical. Peter woke up to the smell of chocolate pancakes, his favorite. aunt May was waiting for him with a plate full of pancakes by the Christmas tree, next to a gift.
“Morning, aunt May. Merry Christmas!” Peter rushed to her. “Got you a little something”. He gave handed her a small box containing a bracelet. “Pepper helped me choose it, I’m not really good with gifts”.
“Peter it’s lovely! You shouldn’t have! How did you pay for it?” Now she seemed more worried than happy.
“Oh, don’t worry, you deserve it. You’re everything to me, you know that.” He hugged her.
“Well, I got you something too”, she said.
When Peter opened the package, he found a ring attached to a chain. Peter recognized it immediately.
“Is it?”
“Yes. Let’s say that Pepper also helped me. It’s one of his rings, to give you confidence when you’re… well… in the field.” She was still a little uncomfortable to speak about his superhero routine. “You seem better now, so I thought it was finally appropriate.”
Peter couldn’t find the words to answer, he just held the ring tight in his hand. Seh was right, he was finally better and ready for it.
Meanwhile, Harley was having the best day of his life with his family. Since he came back, it was the first time things seemed normal. They had loved their gifts and seemed really happy. After having lunch together, Harley went back to his room to look at the notebook again. When he opened the first page, there was a little handwritten note.
“Dear Harley,
This year has been quite a bom on all of us hasn’t it? Things changed when you came in September. Thanks for being there for me in my toughest moments. I hope this notebook/diary can be there for you just like you’ve been there for me. Not that I won’t be as well, but you get what I mean.
Remember if you make fun of me for being sentimental I’ll kill you.
P”
He felt warm. As the months passed he had closer than ever with Peter, and loved how the boy paid attention to the details. He was one of a kind, with a heart as big as the moon. Yeah, Harley was definitely gonna make fun of him for that.
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It was a cold January morning. Peter and Harley were laying on the grass in Central Park, talking about random things. Peter suddenly turns, lying on his side, facing Harley. This day he was planning to tell him about his secret, about being Spider Man. He had planned this day a thousand times, but he always backed out; he couldn’t tell him that he’d been keeping a secret for so long. Instead, he said:
“You know, I wish we could just stay here forever. I can’t believe classes are starting again so soon.”
“Yeah, me too. It’s not like we won’t still see each other all the time, but...”
“But it’s fun not having to worry.”
“Not dealing with Flash’s jokes. I miss MJ and Ned, though.”
“You’re right, maybe going back won’t be that hard.”
“Yeah, I guess it will be fine. I bet you miss all your nerdy activities too,” Harley joked.
“Shut up,” Peter replied laughing.
They laid there just enjoying the sun and each other.