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The red strings of fate. A sting, invisible to everyone but the two it connected. Everyone who talked about theirs mentioned it on a pinky and their soulmate, the person that shared the string, having it on the opposite pinky. Its said that when one’s soulmate was feeling something intensely, an individual would feel it as well. When someone’s soulmate was grieving, even if they hadn’t met yet, they would feel a loss. When one’s soulmate was gleeful and happy, they would be cheerful. It was a comfort, that someone would always know how you’re feeling. But it also was terrible when the feeling was pain. Some people felt their soulmates die a painful death and it was horrible. Others felt their soulmates broken bones, or intense cramps. Simply because the string connected them. Some people hated it, refused to look into it. And, if the person on the other end was hurt by it, they didn’t seem to care.
Peter always wondered who his soulmate was. He felt terrible for whomever it was, attached via string to his left pinky. When he had lost his parents, his soulmate felt the anguish of the loss but wouldn’t know what had caused it. Until he was five, he would feel random pain without knowing why. That stopped after a feeling of abandonment traveled through the string. Peter didn’t understand until he was older, but when he did he just wanted to hug his soulmate and never let go. And he was glad that his soulmate was his soulmate. Because when Tony Stark said “I am Iron Man,” he felt not only his own glee, but the string vibrated with the same energy. When Peter had been at the Stark Expo two years later, he was sure that the rush of emotions when suddenly robots were attacking was confusing. Pure joy, then fear and confidence and pure joy once more, all in a matter of five minutes.
Harley always wanted to meet his soulmate. He wanted to have answers to all of the questions he had been building up since he could remember. Why the confusion for weeks as a toddler? What about the pain and grief? Did they feel what his father did? Did they know the reason it stopped? But he knew one thing - they both loved Iron Man. He wondered if the string would take him to New York City. It was a possibility, with the string extending to the Northeast of Rose Hill. When the Battle of New York took place he hoped not. But the fear in the string lead him to think that maybe it did. And he wanted his soulmate to be safe. But - after Iron Man had taken a missile into an alien portal and the string felt vibrated with relief, Harley knew that whoever was on the other end was safe. At least for a few months.
Peter didn’t know if his soulmate knew what was happening when he was twelve. He wished not. The things Skip would whisper into Peter’s ear made his eyes fill with tears. He was dirty. He would scrub himself in too-hot showers until his skin was raw. He stopped being happy. And the only emotion from his left pinky was concern. Then, one day as Skip was above Peter there was anger pulsating from the string. Peter felt himself cry, fearing that his soulmate was mad at Peter. Mad because he let this happen, let the pain happen to his soulmate for months. He wanted to protect people like his idol had so many times, but he was hurting the only person that was supposed to care no matter what. As he let those thoughts manifest, Skip finished and left Peter. He assumed that the kid would do what he always did, and Skip needed to get home since he technically wasn’t allowed to be at the Parkers’ anyways. But he didn’t. And May came home to see her nephew curled up in a tight ball crying, half naked. She quickly realized what happened and was so grateful her husband was a police officer. The investigation left Peter feeling shameful. But - surprisingly to Peter - the his soulmate was relieved and happy. Peter tried to understand why until May gently told him one night. His soulmate wasn’t mad at him. He was mad for him.
Harley was bullied. A lot. For is dad leaving, for his mama always being at the diner, for the way that he just understood everything in class and always got an A+. He was teased for understanding cars. He was teased for taking care of his sister. He was teased for every aspect of his life - even if he couldn’t control it. Kids would say that his father left because Harley was worthless. Others said his mama hated him too much to look at him and that’s why she was always working. The worst of them said that his sister would be a fuck up just like him. He wondered if his soulmate could feel the embarrassment that came from every insult hurled at him by the other children. He wondered if they felt his pain when he was shoved in the halls or punched and kicked when teachers weren’t looking. Harley hoped not.
When Tony Stark had been declared dead by the media and Peter was dealing with losing his idol, he felt almost betrayed by the string on his finger that was excited when he woke up. The day before had been difficult, with hearing that his hero - the world’s hero - was dead. But the curiosity and excitement through the string made him have hope. It was close to the same feeling he felt when he saw Iron Man. So he hoped that his soulmate, whoever they were, had found the missing body and Tony Stark was alive. Later that day, fear trembled the string. Peter was concerned. He didn’t want the person on the other end - whoever they were - to be this scared. He feared for the other end’s life. He was relieved when the fear turned to annoyance. His soulmate wasn’t in serious pain. They were fine. The next few days leading up to Christmas were interesting. Excitement every once in awhile through the cord and then curiosity. Peter wondered what was going on with his soulmate. He was convinced that Tony Stark was alive because of the string. And sure enough, on Christmas Day. Tony Stark was alive.
Months after he had helped Tony Stark, Harley Kenner walked into the garage he found the mechanic in after a difficult day at school. And the room had been transformed into a lab. The car that Harley had been fixing up but couldn’t afford new parts for looked new. There were tools that Harley knew the name of but had never help. A computer, a chemistry set, a fridge stocked with drinks, even a robot, all of it was a surprise. Curiosity wiggled on the string and Harley knew he was sending back excitement and happiness when he saw who had given him these things - the mechanic. And it inspired him. Someone cared for him. The call that happened after - with Tony Stark himself - inspired Harley to stand up. So, the next day he walked up to the main bully and broke his nose. After that, no one messed with him. And, when word got around, the people messing with his sister also stopped. And Harley’s life seemed better.
Then, three years later Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. The bite made him feel hot and cold, and in pain. It felt like he was going to die, and there had been fear vibrating on the string. He wished that he could help the person on the other end, always southwest of him. He wanted to follow the string and tell them that he would be okay. Even if he didn’t believe it. They were both in pain, horrible pain, excruciating pain, and it was Peter’s fault. Then, he realized his powers. For a day, he felt childlike joy. The fourteen year old was even happier when he realized his soulmate would be feeling the same, unadulterated happiness. He hoped that it made up for the pain the days before had brought onto the other end. And the next day he lost Uncle Ben. And he lost himself in the grief. When worry ran though the miles long sting, Peter felt guilty. And then he felt even more guilty for not helping Ben. And then he felt more guilty for making his soulmate feel the guilt that only he should feel. And even more guilty for the pain that his idiocy had caused the other person. His soulmate, whoever it was, didn’t deserve this. They didn’t deserve to feel the consequences of Peter’s mistakes. His guilt consumed him so much he didn’t feel the concern vibrating though the string.
Six months later, Peter met his idol. And he felt the same excitement he had all those years ago when Tony was thought to be dead. And if he wasn’t so nervous he would have asked the man about it. Asked if he had met anyone in 2013. Asked if they lived to the southwest of NYC. But he didn’t ask. He took the suit and began his internship, which involved getting close to his idol, stopping crime, and swinging through New York City on webs of his own making.
When Peter was crushed by a building during his pursuit of the Vulture, he felt the concern. He felt the worry. And it helped. Tony’s words, his soulmate’s emotions, all helped him push off the building. He stopped the vulture, accidentally put his soulmate in more pain, and got Tony Stark’s approval.
The jealousy wasn’t something Peter expected to come from the string. He didn’t know why his soulmate was jealous, but he wanted to help. He tried his best to be calm and happy, listening to music that relaxed him almost 24/7 to help. Sure, it probably didn’t help that he had horrifying nightmares that made him wake up in a panic. He didn’t know if his soulmate would be affected. Sometimes, it seemed like the other person was also trying to comfort Peter. After a particularly bad nightmare involving Ben’s death combined with the crushing building, the concern and then relaxed sensations the sting provided helped Peter calm down.
When Peter was kicked out of May’s apartment because of his secret identity, he knew sadness was going towards his soulmate. And in that moment, all he wanted was to hug the person on the other end of the string. He wanted to know what his other half would do to help calm him down. He wondered who his soulmate was. And he just wanted to cry. Tony had quickly come to help, and it made things easier. The jealousy that would spike up every week only got worse. Then one day the jealousy morphed into confusion, then happiness, a slight twinge of regret that was replaced by happiness in a few seconds. And Peter was glad for his soulmate. He didn’t notice that night as he slept that the string moved. He couldn’t see that the sting bound by no laws of physics go above him and towards the compound before moving as if the angles were shifting. All he could see was his nightmare.
Harley looked at his string in fascination when he was on Tony’s private jet. He watched it stretch out, not seeing where it lead to. But it was enough for him to know. His soulmate - the one person that would be able to answer all of Harley’s questions - lived in New York City. His guess years before had been correct. Harley watched the string on his right pinky with fascination, watching as it stretched upwards as the plane descended. It didn’t do much in trying to find whoever was on the other side. There were thousands of multi-story buildings. He figured that after a flight landing at 2:04 AM meant sleeping until he could go look for his soulmate. He felt excited. Tony would help for sure. Unless he was with that stupid intern he was always talking about. Harley felt the twinge of jealousy for a split second before the string shakes with a panic that almost caused Harley to be swept into a panic attack. He quickly grabbed the earbuds resting across the back of his neck and put them in to listen to a calming playlist. He pushed the feeling forwards and focused on it, trying to help the city dweller that he was connected to.
When Peter awoke from his nightmare, he’s having a panic attack. A massive one. The kind that made any little noise, even the ones he made, too much. The lights of the city were way too bright, like Peter was staring into millions of stars instead of streetlamps and lit rooms. F.R.I.D.A.Y automatically shielded the room, causing it to become dark and quiet, oh so quiet. Peter calmed down after a few moments of the calming waves from his pinky. He looked down and blinked hard. Once. Twice. The string had moved. Instead of going southwest, it was going down and north west. Peter didn’t know what to do. Did he tell Tony? Did he go trying to find where it was leading? Peter quietly began to wonder and watched in fascination as the string moved, aware of F.R.I.D.A.Y opening his room back up. Peter idly thought that the angle meant that his soulmate was coming into the city. Were they looking for him? Peter decided that the excitement he felt from the string’s new position was too much for him to sleep. He exited his room in nothing but the Hello Kitty pants Tony had bought him a year before and moved to the kitchen, deciding to grab a drink of water and a 2AM snack of cookies. He watched TV quietly, putting on some How It’s Made and not paying attention to his favorite show as the string’s angle suggested the other end was getting closer and closer. Until it was going almost straight down.
Harley was watching his string as it moved until it was almost directly above him when the driver entered the garage of Stark Tower. He tried to understand before one obvious answer came up to him. Tony’s stupid intern that was living with him was his soulmate. It was the only logical reasoning he could come up with unless somehow there was someone trying to sleep on the roof. He left the car, southern hospitality taking over as he thanked the driver and grabbed his duffle bag out of the trunk. The elevator opened and Harley turned to see Tony with a grin on his face.
The mechanic walked out of the elevator, hands in his sweatpants as he looked at the boy with dirty blonde hair. Who was looking at his pinky and then upwards. Tony thought about it as he greeted the teenager. “Well hey there-”
“Old man, your intern - Peter - is he here?”
“Uh yeah? Wh-” Tony’s mind began running until the conclusion he came up with came out of Harley’s mouth.
“He’s my soulmate.”
Harley didn’t notice that the red line was evening out until the elevator doors opened. As Tony turned, Peter and Harley caught each other’s eyes. Both of them looked to the other’s hand and Tony could just watch and move out of their way as both boys began to move. It was slow at first - as if they didn’t want to break the illusion in case it was a dream. But after three steps from Peter, he was almost running. It took Harley four and the two met in the middle in a hug, the string connecting them vibrating with the emotions radiating off of both of them.
Peter couldn’t formulate the emotions he was feeling into words. He would try later, and the closest he came to was feeling like he was home for the first time. He felt whole, complete. When it was brought up later, Harley agreed without a moment of hesitation. The two of them hugged for a few minutes before pulling back, grabbing each other’s hands and asking rapid fire questions.
“Why are you always so anxious at night darlin’?”
“Nightmares what do to calm down during that?”
“Listen to music. Why are you always in pain?”
“I’m Spider-Man, why did you feel so excited when Tony was missing years ago?”
“Uh, we’re talking about you being a vigilante later, but I found the old man in my garage. Why was there so much pain about two years ago?”
The two talked about their lives, asking about the bad days and the good days - Tony figuring out more about both of them that he never knew, and making mental notes on how to help both of them based on what was being said. After about ten minutes with no sign of the two stopping, the mechanic decided to clear his throat to get their attention. The two teens had forgotten Tony even existed and quickly turned to the man, the hands not connected by the string separating.
“As happy as this makes me, both of you need to get to bed. Yes, you can be excited but you need sleep. Peter you literally got stabbed three hours ago. And Harley you were awake long enough to board a plane at one in the morning-”
“Why 1AM?” Peter’s curiosity took over and Harley also looked at Tony, as if the shorter boy had asked a question that both of them had.
“It was the earliest since Pepper came back a few hours ago and he all but demanded to be here ASAP. Now, Happy take the kid’s bag and you two are going into your rooms to sleep.” The head of security sighed but compiled and made his way to the elevator quickly, opening it before the three geniuses reached it.
The mutual disappointment and Peter’s silence as they walked to the elevator inspired Harley’s question of, “Why can’t we be in the same room? And don’t get all nasty that’s for after a few dates. I’m a gentleman.” He winked to Peter and the shorter boy turned into a tomato.
Tony sighed and Peter’s face flushed as the elevator began it’s ascension of 93 floors to the penthouse. “Fine. But if you are both still talking at 3 I’ll have F.R.I.D.A.Y alert me and I will personally throw you into your rom, Harley.”
The teen just held up his hands, one of which was still interlocked with Peter’s. The shorter boy laughed as Harley put his hand down, and Peter leaned on Harley. When the elevator door opened seconds after Peter’s laughter died out, Happy moved to Peter’s room and opened the door to throw the duffle bag inside. The teenagers followed and Peter closed the door after both thanked Happy. They let go of each other’s hands for the first time since initial contact and Peter sat on his bed. Neither had gotten a good look at the other before and hadn’t focused on looking at the other, but now that Peter was looking at Harley while he picked up the duffle bag and pulling out a pair of red and gold plaid pajama pants he was entranced. The dirty blonde hair was curled and messy with random cowlicks sticking up. His jawline wasn’t chiseled but it wasn’t soft. His lips were thin and pink, nose straight and eyes that were a combination of blue green and gray. The one thought that Peter had after looking at Harley was Wow my soulmate is hot. Overall, Harley was attractive. Peter let himself fall back, so that his feet were still planted on the floor put his head was on a rumpled blanket. He heard shuffling and then Harley was standing over him. Shirtless. Peter had a Gay Panic™ as he looked at Harley’s naked chest and abs before giving the other boy a wide smile.
Harley didn’t know what to expect for a soulmate. He looked down at Peter and smiled. The mousy brown curly bed head combined with chocolate brown eyes and a smile that made butterflies dance in Harley’s stomach made him want to protect Peter from the world. He tried to ignore Peter’s half naked body to avoid any unwanted blood circulation. He was a gentleman, after all. Or at least Tony he would be. But he couldn’t help his eyes taking in the amount of pure muscle mass Peter was. He moved his eyes back to Peter’s face and was grateful he wasn’t the only one looking at body more than face.
“We should probably sleep. You like cuddles, city boy?” Peter moved and nodded as Harley laid down. The boys faced each other and Peter snuggled into Harley’s chest. Harley wrapped an arm around Peter’s waist and placed a kiss on his forehead. The two fell into calm sleep, the beginnings of love in their hearts.