Chapter Text
Summer 2010
Peter Parker met Harley Keener when they were both eight years old and attending summer camp in the Catskills. To say it was best-friendship-at-first-sight would have been an understatement, to say the least.
“Is that your Iron Man bag?” A voice drawled from above Peter’s head.
Peter looked up and saw a blonde head hanging upside down from the bunk bed above his own. He clutched his bag closer to him and replied in a hesitant voice, “yeah...why?”
“Dude! That’s so cool! I have one just like it at home! My mom wouldn’t let me bring it, though.” The other boy shimmied over to the step ladder and hopped down. “I’m Harley, what’s your name?”
Harley thrust out his hand for Peter shake, which the other boy shyly took.
“My name is Peter. You really like my bag?” Peter smiled.
“Heck yeah! Iron Man is the coolest! Wanna see the book I brought? It has awesome pictures of the Iron Man suit.” Harley didn’t even wait for a response and dove for his duffel bag.
They spent the rest of that afternoon bonding over a shared love of all things Iron Man, the work of Tony Stark, and then, science in general. By the time the dinner bell rang, Peter and Harley had decided they were meant to be best friends.
“I can’t believe you got to go to the Stark Expo! How was it? Did you get to see Tony Stark? Did you get to meet him? Tell me everything!” Harley hopped backwards, talking animatedly to Peter.
“It was so cool, Harls. You can’t even imagine. I didn’t get to meet Mr. Stark but they had all of these cool robots flying around. And one landed in front of me and I got to pretend to shoot it with my hand ‘pulsor and a guy dressed like Iron Man shot it from behind me! It was AWESOME! And then my dad and uncle took me for ice cream after.” Peter sighed happily. “My mom wasn’t happy when we got home though. I think she was mad we got home so late and we only ate snacks instead of dinner.”
The two boys giggled and ran back to their cabin, ready for their first night at camp and all of the fun they were sure to have.
~~~
Harley and Peter were essentially glued to one another for the following month. Wherever one went, the other followed a half step behind.
Before they knew it, it was time for the final campfire before they left in the morning. After eating too many s’mores and staying way past bedtime, Peter and Harley promised to always stay in touch. They exchanged addresses so they could write to one another until next summer.
“I can’t believe camp is over already! I’m gonna miss you so much, Harls.” Peter sniffled and hugged the other boy tight.
“I’m gonna miss you more, Petey.” Harley replied, trying not to tear up.
Behind them, their respective parents were loading up their luggage and souvenirs into their vehicles.
“I promise to write every month! No, every week!” Peter swore.
“Not if I write to you first.” Harley smiled.
They eventually parted at the prodding of their parents. The Parkers smiled at Harley’s mom who wore a similar, exasperated grin.
The boys leaned out their car windows, waving madly and shouting even more goodbyes.
~~~
Over the course of the next year, Peter and Harley were true to their words. They diligently wrote to one another, at least once a month. They included stories about their friends at school, pictures of fun places they went, and of course: any facts or news about Iron Man and Tony Stark. By the time summer rolled around again, it was like they never left camp.
Summer 2011
A year older and wiser, and even more prone to finding trouble to get into. If the camp counselors thought the boys were hard to separate before, now it was like the two were made of Vibranium; never to be parted.
They traded stories that hadn’t made it into their letters. Peter voiced his desire to go to a “really cool science school” in his hometown, and Harley shared his ideas for “the mother of all potato launchers”.
Before camp ended, the two boys found themselves skipping stones along the lake talking about their plans for the next year.
It was while they were gathering more rocks that Peter noticed a carving on the canoe shed that looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, he realized this was where his dad and Uncle Ben had carved their initials!
“Harley! Look! This is where my dad carved his name! And my uncle too! We should do it too.” Peter immediately started looking for a rock that would be sharp enough to leave his initials behind.
“That sounds like a plan, Pete!” Harley watched as Peter painstakingly imprinted P. P. into the weathered wood. Once he was satisfied, he passed the rock to Harley. Harley was a bit quicker, albeit messier with his own H. K.
Looking over their finished products, both boys smiled and threw their arms over each other’s shoulders. They made it back to the mess hall just in time for the goodbye dinner, the carvings of R. P. and B. P. now joined by P. P. and H. K.
~~~
Things did not turn out as they had planned for the summer of 2012.
Harley’s mom decided in January of that year that she wanted to move back to Tennessee full time. It was such a sudden decision, Harley didn’t have a chance to write to Peter and get him to hold off on his letters for a while.
Unfortunately, Peter was dealing with the loss of his parents at that same time. His world had narrowed down to the unending grief he was feeling. He moved into the Queens apartment his Uncle Ben and Aunt May had, barely leaving his room. As such, he didn’t remember to send a note to his best friend that his address was changing.
The next time either of them sent out a letter, they received them back a week later with the stamp “RETURN TO SENDER - NO SUCH ADDRESS”.
Harley felt abandoned. Peter was inconsolable.
~~~
This next part is a bit more familiar. Harley finally got his wish to meet the famous Tony Stark and even got to help him fix his Iron Man suit. It was everything he could have wanted! Except he didn’t have his best friend to share it with.
Peter finally came out of his grief and achieved admission to Midtown Science and Technology like he had desired. Not long after this, he was bitten by what he came to realize was a radioactive spider. At first he was terrified what it would all mean, but he came to accept his powers and new responsibility. This was a rather rough time for Peter as his uncle passed away as well. He might’ve coped better if he had his best friend to talk to.