Tragedy in Tennessee - A Parley/Parkner Story

Chapter 2

Peter's POV-

Peter watched as Harley froze at the sight of the Avengers. Without thinking, he simply slipped his hand into the blonde boy's, lacing their fingers together so Harley would have something to ground himself with. Said boy turned and looked at him, smiling gratefully. It was clear he was on the edge of breaking down considering everything, and Peter knew how that felt. He'd been there, more times than he wanted to count. 

"Mr. Stark?" He whispered. Tony looked over. "Maybe we should let him settle in first, then do this later. It's already been a long day for him." 

One glance at Harley was all it took for Tony to nod. Peter gently guided Harley back into the elevator, taking him to the living quarters floor. He could hear Tony explaining the situation to the team as the doors closed. Once the doors closed, the blonde boy slumped against the wall, still gripping Peter's hand in his own.

"Thank you... I-it's just a lot... I lost everything, and..." He sighed. "I-I find myself thinking... if I'd just gone with them instead o-of staying b-back to keep working, w-would it have turned out different?"

"Don't start with that, Harley." Peter whispered. "Digging yourself into 'what-ifs' is a terrible idea, especially now. Grief is... not fun to deal with." 

Harley looked up and frowned. "Why do I feel l-like you speak from experience?" he said. Peter smiled weakly as the elevator doors opened. He guided Harley to his room and sat on the bed with him. He fiddled with his fingers as he started talking.

"W-when I was 6, I-I was suddenly dropped off at my aunt and uncles house while my parents went on a sudden business trip. I-I barely got to say goodbye. It was a couple days later when I found out their plane never made it to California. I lived with my aunt and uncle for a while. When I was 14, my science class took a trip to Oscorp. I got lost, and found myself by the labs where they were experimenting on spiders, using radiation and gene therapy. One escaped and bit me. I was sick, violently sick, for a week. Then when it was over, I was suddenly two inches taller, ripped, and had abilities. Two days later, me and my uncle Ben went on a walk, and... I watched as he was shot and killed in front of me. They never caught they guy who did it. It was as if he never existed. H-his last words to me were 'with great power comes great responsibility.'  I-I've never forgotten that. A week after he died, Spiderman was born. Then, Mr. Stark came up and took me to Germany, where I fought half the Avengers and broke part of my spine. My healing took care of it though. He gave me a suit, and soon after, I found myself caught up in a weapon's dealing ring. The leader had this crazy suit, and called himself the Vulture. I had to save my friends in DC because a bomb exploded and had to pull them up the tower. I was trying to take Vulture down, and ended up getting caught by Mr. Stark. He took my suit away, and I had to use my homemade one. The night of Homecoming, I found out that Vulture was my date's dad. He threatened me in the car, then I ended up following him in my homemade suit, got a building collapsed onto me and had to lift a building off before I crashed Mr. Stark's plane that Vulture was trying to hijack. I saved his life, and he got sent to prison while his family moved away." He took a deep breath. "Mr. Stark doesn't know about the building incident, but... I get PTSD flashbacks from that a lot, and from the night uncle Ben died. Of the night my parents left. So yes, I speak from experience. Grief is an old friend." 

Harley watched him carefully. "God, I-i'm so sorry, Peter." he whispered. Peter let out a dry laugh.

"Yeah... Parker luck, I guess... But I will tell you this. The pain doesn't go away... I-it just gets easier to deal with. Yes, some days it comes back hard and it's hard to keep going... but those days eventually become few and far between. And when you have someone to share with and to trust, it's better." Peter saw Harley nod. He leaned forward and hugged the taller boy close. He felt long lanky arms hug him and a head bury into his shoulder. 

They sat there together in comfortable silence for a while. It was only broken by FRIDAY speaking up.

"Captain Rogers asked me to inform you that dinner is ready." She said. Peter nodded and pulled back. 

"You think you're up for meeting the team now?" He asked, being met with a nod and a soft 'yeah'. He stood and held his hand out to Harley, knowing they could both use some grounding at the moment. 

That was how they walked into the kitchen. Hand in hand as they talked to each other quietly. Tony glanced at Steve and smiled. He knew this would be good for both of them. Peter smiled. 

"I'm sure Mr. Stark already told you guys about him, but this is Harley." He said. The blonde waved. "and for you, that:" he pointed. "Is Natasha, then Bruce. Vision, Wanda, Sam, or bird 2, Scott, Pietro (sue me, he's alive here, i dont care), Clint, otherwise known as bird 1 or vent dweller, Thor, Loki, Rhodey, and Bucky. T'Challa is in Wakanda right now." He said. Harley nodded, and followed Peter to the table, sitting beside him and gripping his hand under the table. 

"Alright, we've got three lasagna's and leftover pizza, then Bucky's cookies after." Steve said setting out dinner. Harley took a small serving, but just picked at it. Tony noticed.

"Come on, kid. You need to-" Peter held up a hand, cutting him off. He leaned over and spoke to him softly.

"It'll feel better if you eat some. Maintaining your physical health can help with mental and emotional health." He said. Harley paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking. 

"Yeah, ok." He said and began to eat his small serving. The brunette nodded and squeezed his hand. Steve looked a bit impressed. Peter, the typically energetic, nervous teen, had fallen into his place as Harley's support quite easily. 

That night, Peter helped him unpack then smiled. "I have school tomorrow, so I'll be leaving around 7:30, but if you can give me a second, I can program you into my watch, so that if you need me, it'll inform me and I can come help you." 

"Ok." Harley said. Peter spent a few minutes, programming him into his watch. 

While Peter was working on the programming, Harley leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Peter." He whispered. The boy blushed at the kiss and smiled.

"Anytime, Harls." He said. "Goodnight." He moved to his room then lifted his hand to his cheek, smiling. Then the realization hit him. He grabbed his phone and texted Ned and MJ.

Spideyboy: guys, im so screwed.

emmmjay: did you finally realize youre not straight?

chair dude: what? 

Spideyboy: MJ, HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT

emmmjay: dude, It's been obvious since you were 14

chair dude: wait, so youre not straight

spideyboy: Well, I just got the urge to kiss a guy, so no, obviously not. but i still like girls so... I guess... im bi?

emmmjay: well, not necessarily. did you care that it was a guy?

spideyboy: yeah, it was different

emmmjay: then yes, loser, youre bi. welcome to the club.

chair dude: who was it

spideyboy: ill tell you tomorrow

Peter sighed and laid in bed, thinking for a bit before falling asleep