Parley Oneshots

Run the Mile

request by spidey-543 

hello

TW: exercising in a binder, gender dysphoria

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Harley had a secret.

No, it wasn't that he was a super hero. He was just a high school student, that would be ridiculous.

No, I'm talking about a different kind of secret.

Harley was trans.

You couldn't always tell just by looking at him. Harley passed incredibly well– hormones and working out helped, plus he had always been tall. Maybe not crazy tall... but 5'10 was pretty good. No major complaints.

Yeah, he had no problem appearing masculine, nobody had ever questioned his gender (well, since he changed schools), and nobody paid him any mind. Truly, Harley Keener was just another high school student. As far as anyone knew, he was cis.

But things can go wrong quickly, especially with such a big secret. Harley was about to learn that the hard way.

It was a school day, a warm, spring day. And Harley had gym.

Normally, gym was fine. He would usually keep a hoodie on during class, avoiding too much activity so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself. It was always cold in the gym, so having a hoodie on was really no problem.

"Hello, class!" The gym teacher chirped, sunglasses perched on her head. "Today, we'll be going outside to run the mile!"

Great... well, no big deal. He would just walk it, take the bad grade. He had an A in the class anyway.

"Your times for the mile matter, so no walking if you want to pass this class! Every student must complete the mile in under 12 minutes, which should be easy if you actually run it," the teacher added.

Harley felt his heart drop. This would never end well. His choices sucked– fail gym or risk passing out and having everyone know his secret. It was a choice between two evils– and Harley wasn't sure what to do. He needed gym to graduate...

~

Peter sighed. He hated gym class, not because it was hard but because he had to pretend to be bad at it. You see, Peter– aka Spiderman– had super abilities that made his high school gym class a breeze. But that was a secret, because Peter was known as the nerdy kid who was bad at sports.

Oh, if only they knew.

But today, Peter would have to run the mile. It was fairly warm outside, a nice spring day. It might actually be enjoyable, if it was possible for one to enjoy such a horrid class. Peter would certainly try to enjoy it.

He followed his class to the outdoor track, standing behind the starting mark.

"Remember: 12 minutes or faster is what you want to get!" The gym teacher reminded. "Ready? Take your mark... get set... go!"

The class of students burst forward, a few people breaking out into a full-out sprint. Peter lagged behind the middle group, deciding this would be a good place for him to be. Not awful, but not one of the top places, either. Non-suspicious.

~

Harley kept up a slow jog pace, his binder starting to feel more restricting. His chest felt like it was being crushed, and his breath came in short pants.

"Oh no... no no no..." Harley muttered under his breath, falling behind the majority of the class. He had been doing pretty well up until this point, but now he wasn't sure if he could continue on. His chest ached, pain shooting through his ribcage with the slightest movement.