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Peter Parker Stark and Harley Keener Stark. Two peas in a pod since they shared a room at the orphanage. Even with Harley being a year older than Peter, the boys connected instantly. They refused to leave without the other, and threw the biggest temper tantrums if separated. Peter was only a year old when Harley was sent to live with a foster family - the boy screamed until his voice was gone, but that didn’t stop the tears or flailing limbs. Apparently Harley did something similar because after only a day, the foster family was done with the two year old. As soon as the boys were reconnected, the boys calmed down.
It’s safe to say the orphanage workers learned quickly.
The funny thing is, Peter and Harley were polar opposites of each other. Where Peter was shy and timid, Harley had no problem speaking his mind. Peter was quiet, Harley was loud. Peter was sensitive, Harley could take a hit, and then return it twice as hard.
From the very beginning, Harley has been protective of his younger brother. That’s what they called themselves. Nothing else described their relationship better than being family. And Harley was serious about people treating them as such. The other kids at the orphanage often picked on Peter because he was smaller, skinnier, and much smarter. However, Harley was quick to stand up for Peter, not afraid of letting the whole world know that his brother was off limits. The black eyes he gave were evidence of that.
As for Peter, he was smart. Like, wicked smart. With him being nothing but skin and bone, his vision problems, and his asthma, Peter had a harder time playing along with the other boys. So instead he stayed indoors, reading books, solving puzzles, and building LEGO’s. His easy retention of knowledge played a crucial role in the Peter-Harley dynamic. When Harley’s way of problem solving didn’t work, Peter had a more scientific approach. Aka, Peter knew all the ways to make payback look like an accident.
The poor woman who ran the orphanage - Mrs. Binkley - was desperate to get rid of the boys. She spent more time coaching the boys on how to behave at an adoption fair, and making sure their clothes were neatly ironed, than she had with any other child. Still, most people only wanted one or the other. Not both. And the boys were not leaving each other’s side.
It wasn’t always bad, though. The older Peter and Harley got, the more their crazy antics died down. That’s not to say it didn’t still happen, but they started helping out more, and causing mischief less. Honestly, there were times when the matron wondered how she ever successfully ran the orphanage without the two of them.
Almost like they were guardian angels, Peter and Harley would look out for the other children, making sure they were happy, and healthy. They held the babies, played dress up with the wannabe princesses, read stories at bedtime, and spent hours building LEGO towers just to see the kids giggle when they pushed it over.
Eleven years with almost a constant headache, and the one thing that finally gets the boys adopted? A fucking alien invasion in New York City, with a group of trained assassins, a super soldier, a God, and a tin man all fighting for the lives of everyone in the world.
Except, it’s not like you think. They didn’t get adopted because people started thinking about how short life is and how they wanted to make the most of it. They didn’t even get adopted because the orphanage was destroyed and there was barely any room for them all at the temporary shelter.
No. Peter and Harley were adopted because Peter saw an alien, put on a plastic Iron Man mask, and decided to try to be a hero. The twelve year old - obviously followed by his protective brother - walked right up to the foreign creature, ready to fight. The twelve year old, mind you, who couldn’t even walk up more than two flights of stairs without needing his inhaler.
If it weren’t for the real Iron Man blasting the extraterrestrial enemy into oblivion, Peter and Harley would be dead. End of Story. Goodbye. The end. That’s how it would have been, but Iron Man did save the day, and the boys made it out of there alive and unharmed. The boys were quick to find safety after that, both too shocked to say anything after their near death experience.
When Tony Stark showed up at the temporary orphanage shelter a week later, nobody was surprised when he told them what happened. It was a typical Peter and Harley thing to do. The two of them always wound up in some sort of crazy trouble, giving everyone around them a heart attack in the process.
Mr. Stark requested to speak to the boys, and to say Peter was scared would be an understatement. Harley was completely unfazed, simply shrugging his shoulders when the man questioned what they were thinking. “We didn’t mean to steal your superhero thunder, old man. There’s no need to get your panties in a twist.” Harley had said to Tony. And it should have made him mad, but Tony laughed harder at the comment than he had at anything else in a long, LONG time.
It became a weekly occurrence seeing Tony Stark at the orphanage. The man even donated a large check to go towards rebuilding a shelter for the kids. So when Tony walked in one Tuesday morning, two months after the attack on New York, announcing that he was there to adopt Peter and Harley, it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Anyway, that was almost four years ago. So why am I telling you all this? Because it’s important for you to know that Harley has always been the one to protect Peter. Not the other way around. Not the way it’s currently happening.
“Please.” Peter pleaded, blinking back tears. “Please don’t make me do this. I’ll do anything else, please.”
“I already told you.” Flash scowled, pulling Peter’s hair tighter, forcing the boy to look up. “Stop complaining or the deal’s off.”
It should have been easy to fight off Flash, but he can’t. He’s weak, useless, a waste of space. So Peter closes his eyes, praying for the end to come quickly.
(ONE WEEK PREVIOUS)
“Harley, seriously, this isn’t funny anymore. You’re gonna get in trouble.” Peter is watching as his idiot brother is climbing the fence to Midtown Tech. It started out as a joke.
Harley and Peter were watching a cheesy coming-of-age movie. The main character had planned a date with the love interest, deciding that spending the night ‘under the stars’ on top of their school building was a great idea. Peter commented on how that was so obviously fake, and that getting on the roof would be impossible without entering the school. Harley countered that saying he could probably do it.
That’s all it was. Two seemingly harmless observations about a stupid movie. But one thing led to another, and Harley now felt like he had to defend his honor. Hence, the reason he is currently trespassing. And, like any good person, Peter couldn’t let Harley go alone, lest he get hurt. Or in trouble. Either option is viable at this moment.
“Harley, stop!” Peter whisper yelled, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. “I believe you, okay? I believe that you can do it. You don’t have to prove anything, just come back.”
“Come on, Petey! Don’t wimp out on me now. We came all the way here, so we may as well do what we came here for.” Harley laughed, walking backwards to face Peter.
“No! I don’t want to get in trouble.” Peter crossed his arms, standing his ground. “And you don’t want to get in trouble, either. You’re already on thin ice. One more strike and Midtown will kick you out.”
“We’ll only get in trouble if we get caught.” Harley rolled his eyes. Peter was not making this easy. Just give him a few minutes, he’ll get to the roof, and then they can go. “You standing outside the gate like that is a dead give away. Hurry up!”
With that, Harley turned, running into the darkness between two buildings. “Damn it.” Peter muttered, checking his surroundings before climbing the fence himself. “Now I know how dad feels when I do stupid shit as Spider-Man.”
For the record, Harley was right. He did manage to reach the rooftop without going inside the building. But only because they had both forgotten that fire escapes exist.
Also, for the same record, Peter was right too. He just didn’t know he was right until Flash cornered him in an empty bathroom a week later after an Academic Decathlon practice.
“Back off, Flash.” Peter tried to move past the bully, only to receive an elbow to the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Super strength does not equal immunity to pain, in case anyone was wondering.
“Not so fast, Penis. I have something for you to take a look at.” Shoving his phone under Peter’s nose, Flash smirked, knowing he already won. “I think it would be very interesting to see what would happen if Principal Morita got a hold of these pictures. Don’t you think?”
The photo on the screen was a clear shot of Harley, climbing up the fire escape on the side of the school. It looked like he was looking around, checking to make sure no one was around - which he probably was.
“Imagine my surprise,” Flash continued, a menacing smile planted on his face. “to see one of my classmates trespassing on school property late at night. Do you think Morita will give me some sort of reward when I tell him how I saved our school from another one of Keener’s practical jokes?”
“Flash, you can’t show that to anyone.” Peter reached out for the phone, but it was snatched back quickly. “Please, you know they’ll kick him out.”
Taking a step back, Flash slipped his phone into his pocket. “Well, that’s why I’m here. To make a deal.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll do anything. Just please delete that picture.” Peter easily agreed. This is Harley they’re talking about. He’ll do anything to keep his brother out of trouble.
“Anything?” Flash asked, quirking an eyebrow. It was the first clue that Peter would regret his words.
“Yes. Anything.”
“Strip.”
“What?”
That is not what Peter had expected. He thought Flash would make Peter do his homework, or demand money. Not this. Whatever creepy thing this is.
“You heard me.” Flash reached back, locking the door to the bathroom. Hardly anyone was left in the school, but you can never be too safe. “Strip.”
“I’m not going to strip, Flash.”
“Then Principal Morita is about to get a very informative email.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Flash made his way to compose the email.
“Wait! Stop.” Peter crossed the room, holding his hands out in protest. “I’ll do anything else. Please.”
“I made my terms. You strip, or I press send.” Flash started typing again when Peter didn’t respond.
“Fine!” Peter yelled. He doesn’t see any other way out of this. It’s either do what Flash is asking, or let Harley be kicked out of school. There really is no choice. Peter has to protect his brother. “I’ll do it.”
Peter didn’t see how the situation could get any worse, but as he stood there, butt naked in the boys bathroom, squirming under Flash’s intense gaze, it got worse. And it kept getting worse.
First it was “play with yourself”, then “fuck your fingers”, leading to “make yourself come”, and landing at “give me a blow job”.
It was humiliating, degrading, demeaning. Flash laughed at the noises Peter was making, calling him names like slut, and whore, commenting on his body and size. Tears stung his eyes, but Peter will not cry. Not in front of Flash. Not for this.
“Please.” Peter pleaded. “Please don’t make me do this. I’ll do anything else, please.”
“I already told you.” Flash scowled, pulling Peter’s hair tighter, forcing the boy to look up. “Stop complaining or the deal’s off.”
It should have been easy to fight off Flash, but he can’t. He’s weak, useless, a waste of space. So Peter closes his eyes, praying for the end to come quickly.
Of course, nothing ever goes the way Peter wants it to go. After Flash is finished coming down from his post-orgasm high, he knocks Peter to the ground, kicking his foot into Peter’s stomach to keep him down. “I knew you’d be a slut for my cock. I think I could get used to this.” The bully pulls out his phone, opening up the camera. “A few more blackmail pictures should keep you from telling anyone.”
Then Flash leaves. He just walks out the door, leaving Peter to pick himself off the floor, finally releasing the built up tears. Slowly, Peter gets dressed, trying to compose himself before heading home. Decathlon practice ended 45 minutes ago, but he usually did a quick after school patrol on the way to the tower. Him showing up an hour after what was expected wouldn’t be suspicious.
Instead of swinging home, Peter decides to walk. He needs time to wrap his head around what happened. No. Peter knows exactly what happened. What he needs is time to put on a happy face, and pretend that he isn’t crumbling on the inside. It was for Harley, he reminds himself. He did it to protect Harley.
Harley has been willing to fight for Peter their entire lives. The least Peter could do was make sure his brother wasn’t kicked out of a good school.
FRIDAY’s cheerful voice greets Peter when he steps on the private elevator that leads to the penthouse. “Hello, Peter. Welcome home. How was school?”
“It was fine.” Peter ducks his head, forcing his shame back down.
“That’s good.” The A.I responds. “Boss wanted me to remind you that Morgan’s birthday party starts at 5:30, and that if you’re late, he’ll take away your lab privileges.”
Fuck! Morgan’s party. “FRIDAY, what time is it?” He asks, panicked, searching for his phone in his backpack.
“It is currently 6:00 pm.”
Sure enough, when Peter checks his phone, he has multiple missed calls and texts from Tony, Pepper, and Harley. All of them asking where he is, and why he’s late. Damn it. He’s gonna be in so much trouble.
The elevator doors open, and Peter’s stomach drops as all eyes land on him. Peter could only be grateful that Pepper insisted on a small, family party instead of the usual crowd. For a second he feels like he’s back in the bathroom with Flash, with the way their gazes drill into him.
“PETEY!” The squeal of Morgan breaks the silence, and the now 6 year old barrels through the room into his arms, already asking a million questions. “What took you so long? Was there a bad guy? Did you forget my birthday? Mommy and Daddy said that you wouldn’t forget, but then you weren’t here, and I was worried that you didn’t love me anymore.” Only Morgan can say something so heart wrenching, so casually.
“Alright, birthday girl, breathe.” Tony walks over, taking the still talking Morgan out of Peter’s arms. “I’m sure Petey has a good explanation for why he’s late. Right, Pete?”
The look Tony gives him very clearly says, ‘lie your ass off, because you and I both know the real answer will upset the girl.’
“Y-yeah. I..uh..” Peter struggles, trying to rack his brain for any acceptable excuse.
“He was picking up your birthday present.” Harley jumped in, ignoring the glare Tony was shooting at him. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess you’re too old for surprises now that you’re 6.”
Furrowing her eyebrows, Morgan looks at Harley like he was stupid. “Nuh uh. You can have s‘prises whenever. Remember when daddy got mommy the…” She was cut off by Tony covering her mouth with his hand, shushing her as he did so. When Tony let go she gave him a sheepish smile. “Oh yeah. You haven’t given it to mommy yet.”
Melting at the guilty smile Morgan gave him, Tony turned his attention back to Peter. “Let’s go put your stuff down in your room. I want to hear all about this surprise you got for Morgan.”
Handing Morgan to Harley, Tony grabs Peter’s upper arm, leading him out of the room. The silence from Tony as they walk send shivers down Peter’s spine. When they walk in the room, Tony closes the door gently while asking FRIDAY to soundproof the room. “Sit.” Tony orders, pointing to Peter’s bed.
Doing as he’s told, Peter keeps his eyes glued to the floor, only glancing up for a brief second when Tony hasn’t started yelling yet. His adoptive father is just staring at him. Waiting for Peter to say something first. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.” Tony snaps, mentally cursing himself for losing his cool so quickly. He promised Pepper that he would listen to what Peter has to say before yelling at the kid. Taking a deep breath, Tony tries again. “I need an explanation. Go.”
“I..” Peter started, only to be cut off.
“And don’t try to tell me you were in the suit. I get a notification every time you put it on.”
“I forgot.” Peter admits quietly. Maybe if he can stick to half truths, he’ll get out of this without having to tell the whole truth. “I stayed after school to practice some more for decathlon, and lost track of time.” Half truths with some believable lies.
“That’s not a good enough excuse, Peter. We were counting on you. No, Morgan was counting on you to be here. You know how sensitive she’s been lately about this type of stuff.” Tony *proudly* said calmly.
“I know. I’ll apologize to Morgan when I see her.” Peter said, feeling a little cross. Pulling the Morgan card wasn’t fair. It made him feel like nothing he was doing was enough. He tried to protect Harley, but failed Morgan. If he had remembered and been there for Morgan, then he would have failed Harley. Even if he had managed to do both, Peter would have lost.
“You don’t get to be snippy with me.” Tony scolded after hearing Peter’s tone. “You messed up, and I - as your parent - am correcting you. Like it or not, that’s how it is.”
A fresh wave of tears pricked at Peter’s eyes. Why does he have to be such a disappointment? Bowing his head, Peter pressed the heels on his palms into his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you, Peter.” Tony chided, huffing in annoyance when Peter didn’t move. “You know what? Fine. If you’re gonna have an attitude, then I’ll leave you to it. I’m gonna go out and enjoy Morgan’s birthday. You can stay here until you’re ready to talk.”
The door closing was the only indication that Tony had left. Again, it was like with Flash - being left alone to pick up the pieces by himself. He made sure that the room was still soundproofed and asked FRIDAY to cut off her recording in his room before, for the second time in as many hours, Peter let himself break down.
Peter is hungry. His stomach has been growling for the last two hours, but he knows if he leaves his room, he’ll have to talk to his parents. And Peter would rather be hungry than talk to anyone. He wants to be left alone to mourn the loss of his...I don’t know...innocence? virginity? happiness? Whatever. It doesn’t matter what he’s mourning, just the fact that he feels like a part of him is missing, and he knows it will never come back.
In the time he’s been in his room, Peter has already taken two showers, cried until his tears ran dry, and ripped two pillows in half. The pillows were an accident. He got a little carried away while screaming into them. While the need to cry has been replaced with a soul crushing numbness, Peter still feels dirty. He’s contemplating a third shower when his door cracks open a little, and Morgan silently squeezes into his room.
“Hi, Petey.” She says with a sad smile. “I missed you at my party. I brought you cake.”
The little girl climbs onto his bed, pushing a plate with a messy crumble of cake on it. “Did you cut it yourself?” Peter asks, smiling at the thoughtfulness of his sister.
“Mhmm.” She nods, snuggling into Peter’s side. “I wasn’t sure if Mommy and Daddy would let me bring you any. Daddy says you were being grumpy, and needed a nap.”
Rolling his eyes, Peter took a bite of cake, grateful to finally have a little bit of food. “Of course he said that.”
“Petey.” Morgan sat up, a serious (seriously cute) look on her face. “I have to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me.”
Setting his plate aside, Peter sat up straighter, giving his sister his full attention. Morgan placed a hand on each of his cheeks, squeezing a little as she pulled his face closer. “Are you okay?”
Peter couldn’t fight back the tears that welled in his eyes at the concern in Morgan’s voice. For only being 6, she looked so worried, and scared. He felt bad for making the girl worry, which only caused more tears, finally overflowing onto his cheeks. “Are you mad at me, Petey?”
The question broke Peter even more, and he pulled Morgan closer to him. “No, Morguna. I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. I’m sorry I made you feel that way, and I’m sorry I missed your birthday.”
“It’s okay. It’s just a birthday.” She sighed, wrapping her arms tighter around Peter’s neck. “Peter? What’s wrong?”
Shaking his head, Peter wiped away the tears on his cheek. “You don’t need to worry about it.”
“But it’s making you sad. And it makes me sad when you’re sad.” She pulled back to look at Peter again, her own eyes glistening with wetness. “Please, Peter.”
“Something happened.” Peter isn’t sure why he’s telling his 6 year old sister. Maybe because he’s desperate for someone to hear him? Or maybe he subconsciously hopes that she’ll tell Tony or Pepper. “I won’t tell you what, but it was bad. Really, really bad. But I can’t tell anyone because they won’t understand, and they’ll be mad.”
“Did you do something bad?” Morgan asks cautiously, but there’s no judgement in her young eyes.
“No.” Peter answers. “I was trying to do something good.”
“Well then Mommy and Daddy won’t be mad.” She says matter-of-factly. It really surprises Peter how confident she sounds in her declaration.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I know that I’m right.” Morgan places a kiss on Peter’s cheek, then climbs off the bed, heading toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Peter asks, confused by the sudden departure.
“To prove that I’m right.” Morgan closes the door behind her before Peter can scramble out of bed. He did mention that he only subconsciously wanted Tony and Pepper to find out, right?
“Morgan, wait!” he calls after her, panic filling his chest. By the time he reaches the living room, Morgan is already sitting on Tony’s lap, her brows furrowed as she tells him what Peter told her. “Morgan!”
Tony and Pepper both look at Peter, worried by what they just heard. “Morgan, go play in your room for a bit.” Tony suggests, helping her stand from his lap.
“But I want to stay here with Petey. He’s sad and I want to make him happy.” The girl protests, giving her best pout.
“I know sweetie, but right now, Petey, Mommy, and Daddy need to have a grown up talk. Then you can make Peter happy, okay?” Pepper comforts, grabbing Morgan’s hand in her own, and walking her out before she could object.
Once Morgan was out of the room, Tony patted the seat next to him, signaling for Peter to sit. “Morgan is really worried about you.”
“I know.” Peter agrees timidly. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”
“Oh, I don’t think you scared her, bub. She’s a tough cookie. She just has a heart too big for her own good.” Tony laughed softly, squeezing Peter’s knee. “Morgan said you told her that something bad happened.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Peter whispered. The possibility that Tony and Pepper could be mad at him, is too much of a risk.
“Peter, baby, why don’t you trust us?” Pepper asked sadly as she walked back in the room, sitting next to him.
“What?” Peter was taken aback at the claim. He does trust them. He trusts Tony and Pepper more than anyone. Except for Harley, but that’s a given. “I do trust you.”
Gently taking his hand, Pepper pulls Peter closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Then why won’t you talk to us?”
“I don’t want to disappoint you.” Peter admits shamefully, his voice thick with emotion.
“Hey,” Tony says, placing a finger under the teens chin, lifting until Peter was looking at him. “I have a feeling that what you did won’t disappoint us. But if I’m wrong, and I don’t think I will be, then even if we are disappointed, we still love you. You’re still our son, and nothing you do will change that.”
“It’s really bad.” Peter sniffs, his bottom lip trembling.
Wiping a stray tear from Peter’s cheek, Tony scoots closer until the kid is tucked nicely between them. “We’ve got you. No matter what.”
Harley’s heart is racing, and his breath is labored and heavy, as he sinks to the floor in the hallway. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop..okay that’s a lie. He had meant to eavesdrop, but he didn’t expect to hear that.
Guilt rushed over him, a wave of nausea causing him to double over as he spilled the night’s dinner all over the floor. Peter was..Damn it! He can’t say it. Can’t bring himself to think it. Harley had spent his whole life looking out from his brother - fighting off bullies, and giving verbal beatings to anyone who even looked at Peter the wrong way.
And now this. The worst thing that could probably ever happen to Peter, happened because of him. Because Harley just had to get on to that stupid roof. Fuck. Why couldn’t Flash have threatened Harley with the picture?
“Harley!” Pepper shouted as she saw her other teenager sitting on the floor, surrounded by his own vomit. “Are you okay?”
“You heard, didn’t you?” Peter asked softly, stepping around Pepper at the end of the hallway.
Nodding his head, Harley ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “You shouldn’t have done that!” He yelled, glaring at Peter. “I could have handled it. You didn’t have to..ugh! You just..shouldn’t…” Harley broke off with a sob, covering his face with his hands.
The anger left as quickly as it came, and he felt bad for yelling at his brother. Peter was only trying to protect him. It was stupid, but Harley can’t say he wouldn’t do the same if the roles weren’t reversed. “I’m sorry.” He said, letting his head fall back against the wall.
“We can finish this later, but first we need to get this cleaned up.” Pepper hates to interrupt, but she really doesn’t want to have this conversation while the smell of vomit fills the air. “Harley go shower, and then meet us in the living room.”
It was less than 20 minutes later when the four of them sat around the living room again, this time Peter and Harley both leaning on each other for comfort.
“He took pictures.” Peter broke the silence first, deciding to lead with another pressing issue. “Before he left, Flash took pictures. He said he needed blackmail.”
“I’m gonna kill him” Harley growled, his hand squeezing tighter around Peter’s.
“Not if I beat you to it.” Tony mumbles under his breath, earning an arm slap from Pepper. “I’ll take care of the pictures. All of them.” He added, looking at Harley. “I can have FRIDAY hack into his phone and delete them. If he’s sent them to anyone, I’ll know too.”
Peter’s stomach dropped at the idea of Flash sending them to others. He hadn’t thought of that.
“What if he sent them to the whole school?” Peter voiced his fear, his eyes wide as he looked at his dad for help.
“We’ll deal with that problem, only if it becomes a problem. Until we know, let's not worry about it.” Tony answered calmly, although he was just as concerned about it as Peter.
“If he said he needed them for blackmail, I don’t think he’d show anyone.” Pepper added. “That would defeat the purpose of him having them.”
“What do we do now?” Peter asked, leaning further into Harley’s side.
“I’ll call the lawyers first thing in the morning, while Tony talks with your principal. You both will stay home from school because I don’t trust the place with my kids right now.” Pepper said, her tone not leaving any room for argument. Although, no one would have argued with those plans. “As for right now, we are going to let Morgan pick out a birthday movie, while we build the best blanket fort. Peter, you’re going to eat dinner, because he didn’t eat anything before. Then we are going to snuggle for as long as it takes to replace the bad feelings with love.”