Chapter Text
Peter Stark is, in all ways, soft. His room is pastel pink. His bed, while still being a bunk, doesn’t have another bed under it. Instead, there are pastel blue, pink and purple beanbags. A soft white faux fur rug is in the middle of the space under his king-sized bed, with bookshelves surrounding it. The wall next to it has fairy lights with clothespins for pictures. The pictures there are all of his friends and people he loved - the decathlon team after winning nationals, Ned laughing as they build Legos, MJ reading a book, Tony and his boyfriend, and, of course, Tony and him. Pictures of him growing up with his father, pictures of him as a baby with Pepper and Happy. There’s the only picture of his mother he has, holding him in the hospital before she passed away. There are pictures of his mother’s sister, May, and her husband, Ben, with Peter when he was still a kid. The massive bed itself has a pastel blue weighted blanket (that surprisingly helps with Peter’s nightmares) and a few stuffed animals. A soft bear that Peter’s mom had gotten him when she was pregnant, a little golden retriever that his Uncle Ben gave him for his birthday when he was 5, and a white cat with a pastel green bow around it that Peter had bought himself. They all sit at the head of his bed, and Peter cuddles them all every night. The room was only lit by fairy lights that lined the walls, little white flowers glowing. The furniture he uses daily is all white, and all decorations fit his aesthetic of not too loud or bright, but soft and pure.
It isn’t just the aesthetically pleasing room that caused Ned and MJ to call him a “soft boi uwu.” Peter’s clothing was mostly oversized soft sweaters and hoodies. Almost all are pastel or have a pastel theme. He even has a pastel gay pride flag on a white sweater. For pants, he was usually in either soft blue jeans or light gray sweatpants, but he does have a pair of light blue overalls with flower patches. His soft brown curls are usually topped with flower crowns to fulfill the effeminate appearance that Peter loved to have. He is a soft boy, and not just in appearances. Anyone who interacts with Peter (minus the bullies) will attest that the teenager is the kindest, most cheerfully shy person they will probably ever meet.
So, Tony is scared when Harley Keener, a boy known for his tough exterior, calls and asks for a place to stay. He hopes that, once both boys are in the lab, they will be able to get along. But, Peter’s entire personality clashes harshly with the sarcastic, “I don’t give a fuck about you” attitude that Harley possesses. He hopes - even prays for the first time in decades - that the two will put aside their differences. After all, Tony was planning on having them become CEO and COO of Stark industries. If they will take it, of course. And them not getting along will probably be bad for that.
So, Tony gives Harley rules. No bullying Peter, help make sure Peter is safe at school (because Tony knows there’s something happening there that Peter refuses to talk about), and don’t go crazy and blow up the lab. Harley needs a place, so he agrees. He’s not the type to bully, and he figures that if this guy is as likable as Tony says, it won’t be too much of an issue at school. He can probably just ignore Peter until they need to work together.
So, that’s why Harley is currently in the elevator of Stark tower with the Tony Stark. Leather jacket, motorcycle helmet, and a backpack with things Tony couldn’t buy, the only things he has. Harley figures the dude’s a billionaire, he can help make sure Harley has more clothing. He had spent the past 11 hours on a motorcycle, so he honestly just wants to get fed and go to bed. His plans of finding something mildly edible and crashing out the moment that the elevator doors open to the floor he would be on. But - then he sees Peter Stark.
Peter is on the couch, mug in hand, eyes glued to the TV. He’s in pajamas - a soft white set that has pastel iron man helmets all over. Around his shoulders is a white fluffy blanket that looks softer than anything Harley has ever seen. Peter looks to Harley and gives a smile that’s even softer than the blanket he’s in. He sets down the mug as Harley steps into the room. The movement isn’t his own doing - Tony has his hand on Harley’s back. Even if he has to reach up due to the height difference. Harley’s body just reacts so that he won’t make a fool of himself in front of this angel that must be Tony’s infamous son.
The smaller teenager gets up and walks over, blanket still on his shoulders as he holds out his hand saying, “Hi, I’m Peter!” with a smile that melts Harley’s heart. He takes the hand and shakes it.
“Harley.”
“Hey, Petey can you show Harley to his room? And maybe you should change since we’re going out for dinner. While my ego is boosted every time you wear those, I don’t think it’s exactly restaurant appropriate.”
“Sure thing Dad!”
Peter deposits the blanket back on the couch as he chugs whatever was in the mug. He automatically makes a face of pain and Harley can hear Tony sigh.
“Kiddo, didn’t you just make that hot chocolate?”
“Yeahhh,” Peter says with a sheepish grin on his face
“Did that hurt?”
“Mayhaps” Peter turns away from his dad, cutting off the man’s words. “So, your room is right across from mine! We have this entire floor to ourselves, and guest bedrooms in case someone decides to visit. Above us is the penthouse. I can give you a full tour either after dinner or tomorrow!” Peter’s chocolate brown doe eyes lock onto Harley’s. Tony’s hand is no longer on his back and the elevator doors are shutting behind him, presumably with the billionaire inside.
“Cool” Harley squeaks out as he feels a blush come onto his face. Shit
Peter doesn’t mention the blush on Harley’s face or the squeak as he walks down a hallway next to the TV. Harley follows and sees two doors.
“My room is on the left, yours is on the right. Dad got a lot of things and put them into your room. He usually finds stuff by looking through search histories and conversations I think, since he bought me a few things I only searched for on google. Course, FRIDAY or Karen could have gotten them too.” Peter ends the sentence standing next to his door, looking to Harley.
“Who?”
“Oh, FRIDAY is Dad’s AI. She’s everywhere in the tower, so if you have any questions you can just ask them and she’ll answer. You probably have the same clearance as me, which basically just means you’ll need Dad’s permission for going into his lab. Karen is an AI Dad made for me since I didn’t like having FRIDAY snooping.” Peter gives Harley another smile and Harley’s face begins to turn even redder.
“Oh. Thanks.” Harley gives a tight-lipped smile and walks into the room designated as his, leaning back on the door with a sigh before looking around the dark blue, almost black room.
To his right is a desk with a toolbox on it. Next to the desk on the right wall is a door that Harley assumes is a walk-in closet because Tony is just that extra. The wall opposite of Harley is a massive window. In the right corner of the wall with the window is a dresser. Why there is a presumably massive closet and a dresser, Harley has no clue. Maybe it’s just because Tony’s a billionaire. Or maybe the closet only has formal wear? That’s highly likely. On the opposite side of the room is a massive king-sized bed. At the foot is a black chest. Next to the chest is a door, which is opened to where Harley can see the massive bathtub. To his left is an entertainment system, with a massive TV, all the recent consoles, bookshelves filled with videogames and large speakers. But, the thing that catches Harley’s eye is in the middle of the room. A sleek black acoustic guitar with an amp and headphones. The body has a white decal of Harley’s name. He wants to marry it. He questions the amp before looking over the guitar and realizing it’s an acoustic/electric guitar, something Harley had only ever dreamed of being able to afford before.
He decides that changing into something more formal for the presumably fancy restaurant that Tony is taking them out to would be the better choice of things to do from the list in his head as he looks around the room. He walks to the closet and peers in to see dozens of suits, button-up shirts, slacks and khakis. He quickly pulls on a long sleeve dark blue button-up shirt and black slacks. He even changes his biking boots to a pair of dress shoes. The one thing that isn’t “fancy” that Harley puts on is his leather jacket. You just can’t expect him to not wear it. It makes him feel safe, and he doesn’t know exactly what to expect from dinner with the Starks. He peers into the dresser and sees underwear, socks, sweatpants, t-shirts and a few pajama sets. That just proves his theory on the dresser and closet front.
When he leaves his room and ventures into the hallway, he can’t see Peter. He shrugs, thinking perhaps that the other boy decided to take a shower, since he can faintly hear one. He sits on the couch to wait and pulls out his phone, calling his sister.
“So you didn’t die?” Abbie’s voice relaxes Harley slightly
“Well that’s rude. I don’t even get a hello.” Harley leans back and props his feet up on an ottoman in front of the couch.
“Hello, assbutt. You didn’t die?” He can hear her eyes rolling.
“Nope. I’m very much alive.”
“Spill.” Abbie’s demanding tone makes Harley roll his eyes.
“About what?” He shakes his head with a sigh in annoyance.
“Your new crush. And don’t say you don’t have one. I know what you sound like when you like straight boys.”
“There’s nothin sayin Peter is straight.” Harley grumbles out as a blush begins to form.
“So he has a name.” The smirk in Abbie’s voice is surely on her face.
“Shut up Abbie.” He almost growls out the words.
“Wait, you don’t mean Peter Stark do you?”
“Shut UP Abbie.” He definitely growls out the words. Damn his sister and her intelligence. Though, he figures that it’s just logic. He is staying with Tony Stark.
“Ohmygod it is. You have to send me a picture of what he looks like! no one knows except for like, the people at his school.”
“Uh, no. I think the old man would murder me.” He says it with so much conviction that it would make the most determined person stand down.
“Ugh fine. Well, gotta go and finish my homework. Love you Harls. Thanks for calling in.”
“Love you too, stinker.”
Harley hangs up before he can hear Abbie’s retort and decides to scroll through Instagram while he waits for everyone to be ready. He rolls his eyes at the usual antics of the few friends he had left in Rose Hill. He thinks for a second before unfollowing them all. He had no reason to keep them there. Most of them were just his “friends” because they’re the only LGBT allies in Rose Hill. He decides to delete everything on his own account to restart it, like his life in NYC will be more photogenic. He wonders who he could follow and decides he’ll ask Tony and Peter. He is going to the same school as Peter, at least that’s what Harley thinks from the rules Tony had given him.
When he heard a door close in the silence he looks to the hallway. Peter comes out and Harley realizes just what type of aesthetic the 5’6” teenager has. He’s in a pale blue knit sweater that is just a tad too big, pale gray skinny jeans, and light pink high tops. Harley’s heart seems to beat faster as he looks at Peter’s face and head. His hair is slightly damp, as if he had dried it with a towel instead of a hairdryer. The natural large curls are surrounded by a flower crown. The crown is made of large pale pink and blue fake flowers, with smaller pale yellow ones in the gaps. His eyelids had pale pink on them, with a light pink pigment on his lips. Something was making him glow under the artificial lights. Holy shit he looks angelic Harley thinks to himself.
Peter’s looking at Harley nervously. Harley gives a big smile and ignores the thoughts that are running through his mind that he would visit at a later, more private time. Peter visibly relaxes, shoulders slumping as he walks over to Harley.
“I bet you weren’t thinking that I would look like this.” Peter gives a small smile as he sits on the couch. Not right next to Harley, but close enough that they could talk without being too loud.
“I didn’t have expectations for you. I mean yeah, Tony told me a little about you when he broke into my garage, but that was years ago. Anything that he said then either evolved or was disregarded in the past 5 years.” Harley shrugs and Peter looks at him closely.
“What, uhh, what did he tell you about me?” Peter’s gaze is curious and Harley gives a small smile as he remembers when the old man had come into his garage.
“Well, he told me that you’re smart, like flowers, and that you’re probably going to be the genius of our generation.” Harley answers truthfully. Under his breath he mutters, “He said nothin about you bein the more gorgeous person on earth which is so unfair”
Peter’s face grows faintly pink, as if he could hear Harley’s low tone. Before Harley can ask about it, however, the elevator doors open and out comes Tony. He smiles and Peter quickly gets up to stand by his father.
“Hey kiddo, your flower crown looks good. Is that the one you were working on last night? Oh and the eyeshadow matches it, how lovely.” Tony’s tone is as soft as his gaze, a smile on his lips that is reserved only for the short teen.
Peter’s smile grows as he responds happily, “Yeah! I decided to use my leftover yellows from the pride one because the gaps between the blue and pink was too noticeable. I think it turned out really good!”
“It sure did, kiddo,” Tony’s tone and smile shifts from the soft ones that he was gracing Peter with as he addressed both teenagers, “Now, let’s go out. And you are going to see what a proper tuna sandwich looks like.” Tony points at Harley as he speaks. Harley joins the Starks in the elevator and the doors close. The elevator begins to move automatically and within seconds they are at the garage.
“Is doc going to be eating with us?” Peter asks as Tony waves to Happy.
“Uh, I don’t think so, kiddo. He’ll be here tomorrow though.” Tony puts a hand on Peter’s shoulder and one on Harley’s back, leading them to the car door that happy had opened.
Harley looks at them in confusion and Peter notices and begins to explain.
“Doc is Dad’s boyfriend. I call him Doc or Doctor Dad when I really want something. He’s a sorcerer!”
“I didn’t know magic exists.” Harley slipped into the car first, followed by Peter and then Tony.
“Well you do now. He’s very important and has a flying cape.” Tony motions for the boys to put on seat belts, and they do so.
“Dad, it’s a cloak!” Peter rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he pulls out his phone.
“Whatever.”
They fall into a comfortable silence as the driver begins to navigate to wherever Tony has decided they will eat. Harley tries to ignore Peter’s leg pressed against his own, but there’s not enough room for it to be any different.
When they arrive, Tony exits first. Peter follows and Harley comes out last. They are in front of a clearly fancy restaurant and Tony walks in quickly. Peter follows his father at the same speed, but Harley takes a moment to appreciate the red awning and cursive wording in bright yellow lights. He walks inside after a moment and stands next to Tony as he requests a table for 3.
When they get to the booth, Harley sits down first. Peter slips in next to Harley and Tony sits across from them. They all take a moment to look for drinks and order before Tony begins talking.
“Alright kiddies, appetizer, entree and dessert for both of you, so start looking. How about calamari?”
“I’m not too sure, Dad. Some places serve pig anuses instead of squid.” Peter casually says.
Harley looks at Peter with a shocked expression. “They serve what?” his whisper is full of surprise and disgust. Peter nods and Harley shakes his head.
“Nope, how about lobster rolls?” Tony captures both of the teeangers’ attentions. They nod and move onto entrees. When the server comes around, Tony orders for himself and Peter. Harley orders for himself and they hand the menus to the server with smiles all around. They fall into comfortable conversation as they wait for their food.
“How was the ride up kid?” Tony looks to Harley as he takes a sip of the coffee he had ordered.
“Long. Didn’t see much of anythin. Stopped by a diner for lunch and had some killer fries. The burger was good, but I wish I had enough money to get gas and the other burger option they had. It was stuffed with cheese? I might have to make somethin like it.” Harley finishes with a sip from the coke he had ordered.
“I think we have some blue cheese. That could make an interesting flavor, if you’re not picky,” Peter’s soft voice pipes in as the teen takes a picture of his strawberry cream soda. Tony chuckles as the teen’s actions, causing Peter to look up and take a picture of Tony, who makes a goofy face with his tongue out, nose scrunched up and eyes crossed.
“Yeah, and with that we wouldn't need to add too much so the risk of them exploding or somethin bein too big.” Harley pulls out his phone and begins to look up recipes.
“Hold on, you still have a shitty phone? That’s it, when we get back you’re getting one of the unreleased models that runs off of F.R.I.D.A.Y. That way no one will be able to hack into you and no matter what you’ll be able to contact me. Unless you go into space. Which none of us will ever have a reason to.” Tony pulls out his phone and begins to type.
“Hey Dad, can Ned come over after school Monday? He got a new lego set and his little sister keeps on trying to steal it.”
Peter’s words cause a small pain in Harley. Was Ned a boyfriend? He could be. What if Peter isn’t even gay? Although the mention of a pride flower crown suggested otherwise. Yellow is in a lot of pride flags, not just the gay flag either. Maybe he is pan? Or nonbinary? Wait, why does it matter? Harley’s thoughts are interrupted as the appetizer is placed in the middle of their table with three small plates. Tony gives a smile to the server and grabs one of the mini lobster rolls and a plate. Harley places the other two plates in front of himself and Peter without a second thought and grabs a lobster roll for himself.
The trio doesn’t talk as they eat. Peter looks at memes, Harley looks at recipes, and Tony is texting his magical af boyfriend. Harley ignores people asking him why he unfollowed them, ignores the questions of where he is, and mostly ignores how Peter’s leg brushes his gently every few minutes. Tony finishes first, and he watches the two teenagers as they finish. Harley finishes second and begins to ask Tony to buy different ingredients for his culinary master plan.
“I wanna be able to make my own buns, ya’ know? That way I can make sure they go with the flavor of the burger perfectly an’ not overpower it.” Harley shows Tony the recipe he’s decided will be best for the buns.
“Yeah, some places have too much bun and not enough meat. There’s a fast food place - Petey was it Sonic or Burger King that had too much bread?”
Peter looks at his dad as he finishes the lobster roll. “Oh, Sonic. You could hardly taste the meat. They have tater tots though, which I can get behind.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna taste the meat in these. And the cheese. I’m debating on something fancy for the cheese on top or not. These are kinda fancy already, but I don’t know if I should go the whole way or not.” Harley takes back his phone from Tony, who has the ingredients of the buns on his phone for the split-second Harley can see the screen.
“I say go full steam ahead. Find the fanciest cheese that will go with the flavors.” Tony smiles at Harley and thinks for a second before, “Okay, both of you scooch closer. I’m taking a picture of this.”
“Wha-why?” Peter looks to his father with curiosity, while Harley’s gaze could be described as more surprised. His eyes are wide, his mouth is dry, and he quickly drinks his coke and focuses on the bubbles in the drink to avoid looking at either Stark.
“Well, better now than later. Eyes up, Keener this is important.” Harley flushed red and tore himself away from the drink, leaning back and looking at the man. He didn’t know what to do with his arms, so he folded them over his chest, rubbing on the worn leather of his jacket.
“Peter, as you know you have the option to be CEO if you want it-”
“And you know I want to, so that it will have one more blood Stark before that’s impossible.” Peter’s interruption makes Harley wonder what he means with “before that’s impossible”. Could it be? Is Peter gay?
“Yes, but as I was saying, right now Pep is acting as both CEO and COO. After thinking about it for quite a while - since 2014 or so - I think that Harley might be a good fit for COO. Now, you don’t have to. I can find-”
“Sure.” Harley’s reply is casual, almost bored in tone. But inside he’s jumping up and down like a little girl who just was given not only a pony, but a princess castle that had magical creatures like fairies and talking animals in it all to herself.
“What?” Tony looks at him, surprised. He had been thinking that it would take more convincing.
“I’ll take it up. Not to bash on you or anything, old man, but Miss Potts is probably the most capable woman and even she seems stressed to me. Now, nothin about you Peter, but that kind of stress needs to be alleviated. You had gray hairs in your 20’s, old man. Can’t have Petey here turn out the same.” Harley shrugs and the server along with another person in an apron come up.
“Alright, I have a Tuna sandwich for you,” they place the sandwich in front of Tony, “shrimp linguine for the cutie, love the flower crown,” the server places a plate of noodles with shrimp mixed in front of Peter who flushed a little, quietly thanking them, “And for the rockstar we have crab mac n cheese.” They finish with a large bowl of mac n cheese with breadcrumbs and crab in front of Harley. “Enjoy your meals, guys!” The server leaves with a smile.
“Now, Harley, notice how the tuna isn't completely saturated with mayo and has more than just tuna! Such elegance.” Tony takes the top off his sandwich to show Harley, a teasing smile across his face.
“Shut it old man, and eat that before I steal it and add mac n cheese.” Harley takes a bite of the pasta and almost moans. It’s that good. The crab mixes with the cheese surprisingly well and the noodles are perfectly al dente. He takes his time to appreciate it and almost cries when he takes the last bite of crabby cheesy goodness.
He looks up for the first time since the food was placed in front of him when a dessert menu hits him.
“Choose something.” Tony says pointing at the menu. Harley takes the menu and looks over it, wondering what he would get. He’s pleased to see a dark chocolate cake that looks good. The server comes back, and once more Tony orders for himself and Peter while Harley orders for himself.
“So, Harles, you’re enrolled in the same school Peter goes to. You guys have some classes together and lunch. I also got a map printed for you with all of your classes marked, it’s back at the tower. You’ll be starting on Monday.”
“Cool.”
The silence is mildly awkward as all three look at their phones. Harley finally decides to respond to people black in Rose Hill. He sends a mass text to everyone that he doesn’t want to talk to, “Hey ya’ll. I’m no longer in Rose Hill, in fact, I’m in NYC. I’m leavin that shithole behind and never comin back unless it’s to see Abbie. So piss off so I don’t have to block ya”
He hits send as the desserts come to the table. Peter had gotten an ice cream sundae with vanilla ice cream and strawberries, Tony has a coffee cake and Harley got the dark chocolate cake, which came with caramel ice cream. They all quickly finish and leave, the car they had arrived in already pulled up to the curb as the exited the establishment (after Tony had paid and given a large tip). Once more they were all in the back of a car, Harley and Peter’s legs pressed together.
“I never got the picture! Guys! We need the picture!” Tony took out his phone and turned to the two teenagers. “C’mon, at least try!”
Harley, who was behind Peter in the camera’s view, turned and put his arm around the shorter boy. He plastered on one of his signature smirks whilst the shorter just smiled shyly. Tony took a picture and nodded.
“Good. Now, both of you are leaving the tower at eight. Get some sleep. I’ll be in my lab once we get back.” Tony turned away from them and the two teenagers did the same.
“You better get some sleep tonight, dad. Otherwise, doc will put you under another one of those sleeping things and you’ll have Pep coming for your head, since you have that really important brunch tomorrow with that Japanese company.” Peter pulls out his phone to open a photo editing app to mess with the pictures he had taken at dinner.
“Alright. I want you two to try and bond or something tonight. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so it’s better just to get the awkwardness away.”
“Tony, I am literally going to pass out within the hour. I drove a motorcycle all the way from Tennessee. We have an entire weekend, we’ll bond then.” Harley pops his neck and leans back into the seat, opening his phone to play a game.
The ride is silent and soon, they are back at the tower. True to his word, Harley goes into his room, puts on pajamas and passes out. The last thought as he slips into slumber include that of a short boy with large brown curls and soft chocolate eyes.