Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Harley parked his bike at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, flipping through the contents of his wallet to ensure that he had enough cash to get somewhere and biting back the sharp sting of tears. He was angry, but above all else he was hurt. He thought that after his dad left their small dysfunctional family would always be there for each other. That’s what his mother had repeated to him every time she needed him to watch his little sister or give up that school field trip that cost too much, or asked him to get a job way too young. They were all they had, and they were supposed to look out for each other.

He should have seen it coming. The day he came out to his mother, a little over a month ago, she had shushed him. Eye’s wide in shock and an underlying anger that he hadn’t seen before. He knew Rose Hill, Tennessee, was a backwater hellhole stuck in the 1950’s, but he didn’t expect that his mother would hold those beliefs, not with all the shit she had copped after her husband left and made her that single mother. The one who couldn’t satisfy her husband, the one who couldn’t hold a decent job because her kids needed someone at home. Harley had heard her mutter about being better off if the bastard had died instead.

But to have her turn around and tell him to hide his sexuality was a knife in the chest. A new version of pain that had only been out done the day he came home to find his garage door hanging open and all the gear and gadgets he had made, or been gifted, gone.

Upset would be an understatement for the hurt he felt when he asked his mother what had happened. Had they been robbed? Was everyone okay?

No. They hadn’t been robbed.

His mother had avoided his gaze as she scrubbed dishes in the sink. “We needed the money.” She had told him. “It’s not like you paid for any of it anyway.”

“How am I supposed to make money without the equipment to work?” He had argued, still unaware of the extent of his mother’s reasoning. “I can’t fix cars without my tools!”

She had tossed a cup into the sink so hard that water had splashed halfway up the kitchen window before rounding on him. “You think anyone in this town wants to get their car fixed by a fag?” She had hissed. “I told you not to speak of it again. I told you to get a girlfriend and act normal! We already have it hard enough in this town without you shoving this in everyone’s faces.”

Abby, who’d remained a silent observer at the dinner table, curled in on herself and Harley caught the sight of tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Instead, Joline spots you in town with the Miller kid.” She continued, her face red in anger.

“What does Joseph have to do with this?” He had been stupid enough to ask. He and Joseph weren’t even a thing, they barely saw each other and when they did it was mostly because they were the only out gay kids in the area. Did they fool around some? Sure. But never in public, and never anything serious.

His mother didn’t answer him after that. Too angry to formulate any words other than an abrupt demand for him to get out. Leave. That she and Abby would be better off without him. Harley had looked at his sister hoping that she would disagree, but Abby turned her head away to stare at the floor.

So here he was. Everything he owed sold off and not a single cent of it handed back to him. To rub salt in the wound, she had already packed his duffle bag. All he had to do was grab the emergency cash he’d hidden under his floorboards and leave. Now, he had to figure out where he would be going.

He made a dinner of greasy gas station food and bottled water as he worked up the courage to call the only person he could think off.

Tony picked up after the fourth ring. “Potato gun! You better not be calling to tell me you failed that chem test.”

Harley let out a laugh of relief, trust Tony to be ready to yell at him about his grades. “Like I would tell you if I did, old man.”

“Of course not. Let me guess then. You… finally kicked the crap out of that EJ kid and now you’re suspended?”

“Getting warmer, but no.” He smiled weakly. “No. I need a favour.”

“Can’t get that water repulsor to work? I think you need a better lab than what you’re working with, kid. Don’t worry, I have a few things I wanted to send your way anyway, I’ll add it to the list.”

“Don’t.” He rubbed at his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Tony must have heard the emotion in his voice. “What’s wrong kid.”

“I… I need somewhere to stay.” He admitted quietly. “Mom kicked me out.”

The silence as he waited for Tonys’ response felt like it stretched for an hour, even though it only lasted a few heartbeats.

“Where are you?”

“About an hour over the Virginia border.” He explained quickly. “I think I have enough cash to get me to New York if I don’t stop anywhere.”

“I can send Happy for you in the chopper if you give me the co-ordinates.”

“You got space for my bike in that chopper?” Harley snarked, unable to help himself.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” Tony sighed and Harley could hear the computerised voice of Tonys’ AI in the background, obviously already planning out the trip.

“I’m not leaving my bike.” Harley argued. “It’s the only thing I have left at this point, I don’t even think I have a toothbrush on me.”

“I don’t want you riding through the night on that death trap, Harley. It doesn’t even have airbags!”

He laughed lightly as he remembered Tony crashing to the ground in his Iron Man suit. “And where are the air bags in that tin can suit you fly around in?”

“I added a parachute.” Tony told him, offended by the insinuation.

“You going to give me a bed or what, old man?” He asked, mentally flipping through his cash again and deciding if a coffee was worth the investment.

“I’ll take care of it, just get yourself over to the tower. I’ll have people waiting for you when you get here.” He sighed, tapping on something in the background. “I don’t want you riding if you’re tired. The moment you get sleepy, you pull over and catch some zzz’s. I don’t want to be scraping you off the highway.”

“Yes, Dad.” He snarked, shaking his head. “Seriously, Tony. Thankyou.”

“Save the Hallmark moment, kid. I’ll see you soon.”

Regardless of what Tony thought, Harley wasn’t going to be stopping for longer than he needed to re-fuel, rest and relieve himself, eager to be a hundred miles away from every homophobic piece of shit in his hometown.

He got his first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline as dawn broke the next morning.

-

Peter was swinging through Queens, enjoying the freedom that came with the cool night air when Tony called him. He had to jump across to the nearest roof top before he could answer, Tony had a habit of taking too much attention away from what he was doing, and he had swung face first into three walls and two dumpsters in the past by failing to multitask.

“Mr Stark.” He answered, the live feed of tony sitting in his lab filling half his screen as Karen patched the call through. “You got something for me?”

“No jobs for you, Underoos.” Tony told him, working on something off screen as he spoke. “How’s the hot Aunt? She’s getting that cast off soon, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, Wednesday. She’s itching to get back to work but they told her not to come in for another week yet.”

“Good, good.” Tony said absently. “I take it you’re not going to be around the tower this weekend then?”

Peter sighed in frustration. “I can’t. If I leave for too long, she tries to go out and do the shopping and things, she won’t just stay home and rest.”

“Why can’t she do the shopping?” Tony frowned at him.

Peter rolled his eyes, kicking at the loose gravel scattered over the rooftop. “It’s a three-story walk-up, Mr Stark. It’s hard enough for her to get up and down the stairs on her own without trying to haul up bags and things, but she’s stubborn.”

“Sounds familiar.” He muttered. “Look, I have a question for you. What’s the best school for a genius kid to go to in New York? And how do I get them in halfway through the term?”

“Midtown.” Peter blinked in confusion. “That’s why May was so happy that I got a scholarship there, but you can’t get kids in halfway through the program, Mr Stark. They’re really strict, so unless there’s extenuating circumstances or a lot of money changing hands, you can’t just get into Midtown. They have interviews and recommendation hearings and everything.”

Tony hummed, pausing in his work to look at Peter seriously. “Extenuating circumstances can help though can’t they. I can work with that.”

“What’s this about Mr Stark, you got a kid I don’t know about?” He asked getting more confused by the second. Why would Tony suddenly be interested in the best schools in the area?

“Not exactly,” Tony explained. “I know a kid, who happens to be an engineering genius, who found himself homeless today. He’s heading up here tomorrow and I’m going to set him up at the tower and sort his schooling out, so he doesn’t lose any credits. I’ll introduce you to him the next time you come round. Between the two of you, you’ll either get along or end up burning the tower down. Do me a favour and don’t give him any ideas where explosives are involved.”

“You know I didn’t intentionally blow anything up, right?” Peter defended quickly. He’d been on the receiving end of one too many lectures after his inventions had backfired in the lab. Tony had written new protocols into Friday’s mainframe to keep an eye on him while working with anything more volatile than a Bunsen burner.

“Save it, kid. It’s not actually you I’m more concerned about there. Potato gun can and will turn anything into a weapon if left alone for too long.”

“Good thing you’re not in the weapons trade anymore.” Peter let slip before his brain caught up to him. “Sorry, Mr Stark!”

“Shut it.” Tony waved him off. “I’ll let you get back to arresting muggers.” He hesitated, pinning Peter with a stern look. “Try to keep out of trouble for the weekend. Go home and look after Aunt Hottie, or whatever. I can’t be worried about two teenaged menaces at the same time and this kid a bucket full of problems at the moment.”

“Okay, okay.” Peter promised quickly. “I’ll let Happy know if anything happens, alright?”

Tony smiled at him. “Good kid. I’ll talk to you later.”

Peter didn’t know what to make of the phone call. He had no clue that Tony had another kid out there somewhere that he was looking out for in the same manner. A part of him whispered that he might be a little jealous that he wasn’t the only boy genius in Tony’s life, but he was also a little excited to find out who it was. If they were smart enough to get Tony’s attention then, surely, they were something special and Peter got on well with everyone else in Tony’s life, there was no reason for this kid to be any different. Hell, if Tony was looking at get them into Midtown, then he would have a lot of time to hang out with him and figure out what kind of kid this was. This was good. Of course, it was good. Tony wouldn’t take in a kid that wasn’t a decent person, and if Tony was right, he’d actually have someone who could keep up with him to hang out with at Stark Industries.

-

The Stark Industries Tower was bigger and flashier than he had imagined. Harley knew that Tony was a bit of a show off, but he couldn’t reconcile the tower with the image of Tony battered and bruised in his garage, completely at ease with improvising repairs to his suit from whatever scraps he could find lying around. In hindsight, he should have known better, the man built the first Iron Man suit while being held captive in the Middle East after all.

He spotted the tower while he was still ten minutes out from arriving, and even then, he got lost twice on the roads leading in. The signage to the entrance of the building wasn’t as clear as it could have been, or maybe it was because Harley hadn’t slept in the past 30 hours. Either way, he was exhausted and ready for a nap when he found a parking spot and hefted his bags over his shoulder to make his way into the building. It was still early in the morning which earned him quiet a few strange looks from the security guards hanging around the lobby, while there were a handful of workers moving around inside and two receptionist sitting behind the front desk, it was clear the usual business day foot traffic wasn’t here yet.

Harley eyed the different entrance points on either side of the reception desk, they had full body scanner and security checkpoints everywhere and it was clear that no-one got into the building without thorough clearance and approval. He watched as a man who had walk in behind him, moved straight past reception to the scanner on the far side, waving an ID card over one of the smaller scanners before stepping into the full body scanner. He watched as the top panel lit up green and the man moved on, unhindered by the security team who had been watching on.

“Can I help you?” One of the ladies behind the desk called for his attention.

Harley blinked, for a moment forgetting why he was here to begin with, before stepping up to the counter quickly. “Yes, Ma’am. I’m Harley Keener, I was told to come here, and someone would be waiting for me?”

 A flicker of confusion passed over her face as she turned to her computer, entering his name, and searching for any records. Harley took the time to look at her properly. Brown hair pulled back into a bun that would have been neater at the beginning of her shift the night before, long pink nails that clicked against the keyboard as she typed, and Missy printed neatly on the badge she wore on her blue shirt.

“Harley Keener…” She mused quietly, looking him over with a warm smile. “I’m sorry, we weren’t expecting your arrival until later today. Someone will be sent down to arrange your security pass in a moment.”

His stomach had sunk when she apologised and for a fleeting moment, he thought he would be turned away, but now relief washed over him and he smiled at her. “That’s alright ma’am, it’s been a long trip, but I got here faster than I thought I would.”

Missy hummed thoughtfully. “The couches over there are quite comfortable to wait on.” She suggested and Harley flicked his eyes over the deep red chairs that lined the inside of the floor to ceiling glass panels at the front of the building. “You look like you could use a rest… and a coffee. Is there something I can get you?”

Harley chuckled lightly. “I love a coffee, ma’am. Black with a little sugar, would be perfect.”

“Go sit down, I’ll bring it out to you while we wait.” She smiled as she got up and moved away from the desk to an automatic door label ‘Staff’ to the back of the lobby.

Harley dropped his bags down next to the couch before sitting down. Missy had been right, the couch felt like heaven after being on a bike all night, if he closed his eyes he could easily fall asleep right there. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh and looked around at the lobby again. He took note of the public access areas to the side, the kids only zone that was filled with computers and beanbags, the signs pointing down the hall that declared museums for Stark Industries and the Avengers Initiative further into the building. If he wasn’t so tired, he’d consider heading over to have a look through them.

Missy came back out carrying two mugs, hip checking the ID scanner with her card and passing through the full body scanner without looking up. Harley guessed that you got used to the security protocols pretty quickly when you went through them several times a day.  

“One sugar, black.” She grinned handing him a mug.

“You’re an angel.” Harley smiled in return.

She shook her head indulgently. “You’re going to have everyone wrapped around your little finger with those southern manners, Mr Keener.”

“Please, call me Harley, ma’am.”

“I’ll call you Harley is you stop calling me ma’am.” She countered with an eyeroll. “I’m not that old yet.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Harley grinned, biting back a laugh.

“Oh, you cheeky sod!” She accused light-heartedly. “I like you.”

Harley tilted his head in silent salute as she turned to head back to her desk.

It didn’t take long after that for Tony to step out of the private elevator wearing grease-stained jeans and rubbing sleep from his eyes. An unhappy Happy trailing after him before splitting off to the nearest security checkpoint.

“Potato Gun!” Tony called, stepping through security, and spreading his arms wide.

“Tony.” Harley grinned, hastily putting his mug down on the coffee table at the side and getting up to embrace him.

“When did you et so tall, kid?” Tony asked, squeezing him tightly.

Harley returned the hug with vigour. “When did you get so short, old man!”

“Watch it!” Tony threatened lightly, letting him go and stepping back to get a good look at him. “I don’t let people insult me like that in my own home.”

“What?” He grinned back. “You can figure out how to fly but you can’t grow a few extra inches?”

“Alright, knock it off before I kick you out.” Tony threatened without any heat behind the words. “Get over here. Friday, take a full biometric scan of Harley and add his details to the mainframe. Happy is sorting out his ID card as we speak.”

Harley stepped up to the scanner and tried to hold still as it took a laser scan of him from head to toe and back up again. “So, what does all this do?”

“Friday is uploading all your data into the mainframe so that you won’t need your card to get in and out of the building, though you will need it if you don’t want happy yelling at you all the time. She’s taking all your vitals, your retina scans, your fingerprints, facial recognition. The full works. This will be link to your ID card and you’ll be able to access everything in this place with a few exceptions.”

“Am I going to be here enough to warrant that kind of access?” Harley blinked at him as he processed what it all meant.

“Considering you’ll be living with us in the penthouse, yes, I think you’ll be here often enough to use it.”

“You live here?” Harley stared at him. “I thought this was just the work site?”

“Live, work, play.” Tony shrugged, nodding towards Happy who was walking over with a freshly printed gold ID card. “What’s taking so long? The kid is dead on his feet here.”

“Gold passes take time, Tony. Do you have any idea how many security protocols they override?” Happy huffed in annoyance, scanning the new card into the system and typing something into the computer on the side.

“No.” Tony looked at him. “That’s your job, not mine.”

Happy shook his head as Tony wandered over to grab his bags for him, Harley followed to pick up his coffee as well.

“Come on, kid.” Tony clapped him on the back as they made their way through the security checkpoint together. “Let’s get you upstairs and unpacked.”

Happy stopped them briefly, holding out the ID for Harley to take. “Keep this on you at all times.” He told him sternly, giving him a hard look until Harley nodded. “I will not be re-printing this if you lose it and security will throw you in a holding cell if you don’t have it, understand.”

“Yes, Sir.” Harley said, taking the card and clipping it to the front pocket on his jeans the way Missy, behind the counter, had done with hers.

“Are we done?” Tony snarked harmlessly. “Can I take the kid upstairs now?”

Happy waved them off, turning on his heel to go and speak with his security team.

Tony led them to the private elevator, pressing the button for the highest floor once they were inside. “The penthouse is actually three stories in one. This will take us to the ground floor, then there is either another elevator or stairs inside that. The main floor is the common area, lounge rooms, movie rooms, communal kitchens, etc. Then there are the guest rooms, avengers’ quarters, and rooms for Peppers family to use when they’re in town. And the top floor is our level. It’s self-contained if you’re not up to eating with the rest of the team, and it’ll only be us, plus Peter and Pepper, living up there.”

“Peter?” He asked, leaning back against the wall as the elevator rose quickly.

“He’s my intern. Another genius kid like you, I found him dumpster diving in Queens and building tech that could rival my own. He lives with his aunt, but he spends so much time here it was easier to give him his own room, otherwise he wouldn’t sleep half the time.” Tony smiled at him. “He’s around your age and he’s got a scholarship to the best stem school in the area. The same school I have a meeting with later to enrol you into.”

Harley sighed dramatically. “I just got here and you’re already sending me off to school.” He pouted, putting on his best sad eyes. “Don’t I get a breather? Time to adjust to all this change?”

Tony glared at him. “Are you trying to guilt trip me?” Harley wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. “That did work the first-time, kid.”

“Oh, come on.” Harley dropped the act and relaxed. “Seriously though. I just got kicked out of home and this is the first time I’ve been to New York. Don’t I get a few days to adjust and settle in?”

“You’ll see more of the city heading out to school and hanging around with nerds your own age than you will bumming around the tower.” Tony assured him. “I don’t want you losing your academic standing because of what your mom did. Why did she kick you out anyway? Get caught stealing her liquor or something? Blow up the family home?”

“Came out of the closet.” Harley huffed, angry all over again. “Blowing the house up would have been a better story.”

Tony paused to consider him seriously, all humour falling from his face. “She kicked you out for being gay. What a fucking bitch.”

Harley laughed coldly. “Better to lose a son than have a fag in the family.”

The elevator opened and Tony led him over to the next on to head up to their apartment. “Honestly, I think people should require a permit before reproducing. The number of unfit parents in this world is astounding.”

Harley sipped his coffee nervously. “You don’t mind then?”

“Kid, I spent years being drunk or high or both. Do you really believe that I was only sharing my bed with women during that time?” Tony raised a brow at him, daring him to disagree.

Harley laughed, a real whole-hearted laugh for the first time in days, as they step out into the main apartment.

“I’ll show you your room and let you get some rest.” Tony ushered him inside, bypassing the main area to walk down the hall. “Then you can get some rest. We’ll deal with everything else later.”

Chapter Text

Harley had never seen anything as terrifying as Pepper Potts and Tony Stark teaming up together to get things done. It was brutal and elegant, and he truly felt sorry for the string of people they steamrolled. He did. He promised that he did. The laugher that bubbled out of his throat after each encounter was a nervous habit, not enjoyment. Ask anyone.

They bulldozed through the legal offices, whipping their lawyers into a frenzy to push through the paperwork to grant them both temporary guardianship of Harley, which would be enough to allow them to enrol him in school and keep his mother from forcing him back to Tennessee in the unlikely case that she changed her mind. Harley wasn’t far off turning 18, but Pepper assured him that it was best to cover everyone’s asses legally, something she had learned from working under Tony for soo many years. And it kept the school happy not to have to deal with a potentially compromising custody arrangement for its students.

The school had been next. Tony had retrieved all his transcripts from Rose Hill, as well as writing up his own recommendation for why Harley deserved a spot at one of the best STEM schools in the country. One that he was told had a waiting list five years long that parents started applying to while their kids where in diapers. Harley shivered at the idea of parents micromanaging their children’s lives so much that they had mapped out their entire education from infancy. This horror was only cemented in his mind upon introduction to Mr & Mrs Thompson. Two school Board members who had worked hard to secure their positions for the sake of their darling sons future. He wanted to gag. Tony turned away to hide an eyeroll, and Pepper schmoozed them. She encouraged them to talk up their sons’ successes, agreed with them at all the right moments, and then reminded them of the sheer talent of some of the unrecognised, genius children in the world, and how many advancements humanity was losing by not providing the same educational advantages to these delicate young minds. After all, where would Stark Industries be in Tony had been raised without those same opportunities.

The school board had umm-ed and ahh-ed as they went back over Harleys’ history. They questioned the quality of his education and whether or not an A from a public school held the same standard as an A from a specialist school. They questioned his work ethic at some of the less than favourable notes from his teachers.  ‘Harley is a bright young man but not the most interested student’, you would be bored out of your mind too when the school was teaching him content years below his level and refusing to let him graduate early because ‘being kept amongst your age-appropriate peers was important to social development’. Was it any wonder Harley had to learn to fight off bullies as a kid?

In the end, when Harley had started to struggle with being polite and Tony had given up all pretences of it, Pepper had smiled and suggested that they talk with her privately while Tony and Harley explored the school. A Mr Worthington had cast his vote to allow Harley into the school and stood up to act as their guide, while Pepper prepared to rip the others apart in the politest way possible.

“Remind me not to tick her off.” Harley had muttered as the wandered the halls with Mr Worthington droning on about the accomplishments of the school and its students.

“She’s the only person in the world that terrifies me.” Tony admitted clearing his throat.

“So,” Mr Worthington rubbed his hands together gleefully. “We have many excellent programs here, Mr Keener. What subjects are you interested in?”

“Well, Sir.” Harley smiled politely, glancing around at the trophy display cases they had lining the walls. “I’m interested in a lot of things, but my main points are Physics, Chemistry and Engineering. I’d love to be able to build a full-sized rocket from the ground up, see if we can’t find a way to make interplanetary travel possible.”

“You had to go there.” Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s not enough to know it’s possible, you have to make it work too.”

“If they can do it, then so can we.” Harley grinned. “You broke through atmospheric levels in a tin can suit and almost killed yourself throwing a nuke into space. We have the ability to make is safer with enough time.”

“Do you have any experience with engineering?” Mr Worthington asked, directing them down a different path and pointing out the classrooms and labs as they went.

“Yes, Sir. I built my bike from the ground up. It’s not the prettiest piece of machinery, but it’s certified and matches the specs at motocross.”

“Please buy a car.” Tony whined at him. “Any car you want, I’ve got a garage full of them, pick one.”

“It’s safe.” Harley argued, ignoring the strange look on the board members face. “I followed all the national guidelines, it’s certified and registered.”

“Well, you are going to love our workshops here.” Mr Worthington continued. “We have a brilliant robotics program as well. Let me show you some of the things our students are working on.”

“Lead on.” Tony declared, dropping the argument and ready to follow.

It took another half hour of exploring before Pepper called them back to the administration to sort out his schedule. The staff who had come in on their day off to facilitate the meeting looked on in awe as Pepper handed over the paperwork to declare herself and Tony as his guardians and emergency contacts; until Pepper handed them the NDA form to keep them from going to the press about the arrangement, forcing them to keep their mouths shut about who Harley’s guardians were. The look on the elite Mr & Mrs Thompsons’ faces were priceless when they realised, they couldn’t brag about Iron Mans kid going to school with their son.

Harley spent the rest of the weekend with his bike in Tony’s workshop. Familiarising himself with high tech tools and upgrading everything he could get his hands on. He even went as far as to manufacture the plastic guards for the bike to make it look like you would find it on the showroom floor and blend into the New York traffic, painting it a deep blood red to finish. Tony was still complaining about the bike, but he didn’t have much to say about the condition of it after watching Harley work on it.

“You going to be alright, kid.” Tony asked him over coffee first thing Monday morning. “New York isn’t anything like Rose Hill.”

Harley shrugged, pushing the last of his eggs around the plate with his fork. “Can’t be any stranger than finding a dead billionaire having a panic attack in my garage.”

“Never going to live that down, am I?” He shook his head, pushing back in his chair. “You know you’re actually going to have to pay attention in class now? The whole school is filled with budding geniuses. You won’t be the big fish in a little pond here.”

“Can’t imagine they’ll have anything worse to throw at me than Tennessee did.” He argued weakly.

Harley didn’t really know what to expect of the new school, but he’d faced down a town full of religious homophobes his whole life so it couldn’t be that difficult. He knew New Yorkers weren’t known for their manners or their neighbourly habits, but he could deal well enough with everyone leaving him the hell alone until he graduated anyway. He didn’t need friends or likable teachers to keep his head above water and once he was finished with high school he’d be heading straight to MIT and working on his PhD. Maybe more than one, like Tony. He would secure himself a job somewhere and build a life a gay, backwater, Tennessee kid could only dream of. No one would be able to say anything about his sexuality then.

“I’m not worried about the workload. I can do this shit in my sleep. The only thing that’s different is the resources and the amount of kids that will be walking around.”

 Tony hummed in thought. “If you’re worried about anything, find Peter. He’ll help you out with whatever you need.”

“I’m not going running to your intern to protect me from the big bad city, Anthony.” Harley rolled his eyes. “What a great way to ask for an ass-kicking.”

“I wasn’t meaning like that!” Tony defended, raising his hands in surrender. “He can help you out as a friend. Give you advice, or whatever. He’s a good kid and I was hoping you two would get on well anyway, considering how often you’ll see each other around here.”

Harley abandoned his eggs in favour of his coffee. “What’s he like?” He sighed, unable to argue with the benefits of getting along with Tony’s boy wonder. “How will I find him in a school this size?”

“He’ll probably find you. I expect one of those Board members has blabbed to their kids about how you got into the school at such short notice.” He mused, unconcerned with the NDA’s that Pepper had insisted upon. Tony didn’t hide who he was or what was important to him, and he wouldn’t have any issues with Harley announcing his new living arrangements to the entire school if he chose to. “Peter is the living embodiment of a Labrador. Smart, loyal, excitable. Once he decides he likes you, you’ll never get rid of him. He’s innocent, so don’t corrupt him!”

“Corrupt him?” Harley smirked, sensing a challenge. “Am I such a bad influence that he can work for you without a problem but befriending me would be corruption?”

“He’s a sweet kid, alright.” Tony side stepped the question. “He’s grown on me, and I’d hate for him to turn into another one of you.”

He pressed a hand to his heart in mock offense. “I’m wounded, Tony. That you would think so little of me.”

Tony sighed, defeated. “Get out of here before you’re late for your first day of school.”

Harley grinned triumphantly as he got up to dump his dishes in the sink. “Don’t you know how fast my bike is?”

“Don’t.” Tony said covering his face. “Don’t make me think about that, and you better keep your helmet on. If I hear about you riding around without the right gear, I swear I’ll make the Hulk look like an adorable kitten!”

“You fly around in a metal death trap!” He countered easily. “At least mine has insurance.”

“Remind me to update that when you get home.” Tony got up to follow him out. “Am I supposed to take photos or something? Hand you a packed lunch? Tell you not to get into any fights?”

“It’s not my first day of grade school, Dad.” Harley grabbed his bag and headed for the elevator, patting his pocket to make sure his ID card was still on him to keep Happy satisfied. “I promise I’ll text you a warning before I get suspended, okay?”

“Why do people procreate?” Tony muttered to himself. “Who would willingly want to raise a child.”

“Later, Old Man.” Harley grinned at him as he stepped into the elevator, pressing the number for the ground floor.

“Have fun at school, son!” Tony snarked, sending him a wide shit-eating grin as the doors closed between them.

Harley laughed his way down to their person garage where his bike was waiting for him.

-

Peter was having an awful morning. One thing was for certain, the Peter Parker luck was out to get him. He overslept after a late night on patrol, he could thank another store robbery and a bunch of incompetent police for that one. How hard was it to keep track of two guys? He had to run to catch his train. His bag got caught on the edge of a fence as he ran and ripped the entire length of the bottom of it, spilling his books and things all over the street. Have you ever had to scramble to collect your things while pedestrians walked over you? Peter could say without a hesitation that humanity was at its worst first thing in the morning when everyone was rushing to where they needed to be. He was ready to call it quits and head back to his bed as he fished his homework out of the flooded gutters of the street. His teachers wouldn’t believe him when he had to explain this. He shoved his things back inside the bag, wishing he could use his web fluid to seal the hole without giving himself away, and settling for carrying his bag upside down by the straps so he wouldn’t lose anything else on the way.

Peter had to pull out his noise cancelling earphones long before he even reached the school. Downside to giving a kid with chronic anxiety heightened senses, a bad morning could quickly turn into sensory overload if he wasn’t careful. Tony had helped with that when Peter had explained why he made the lenses on his suit so dark, adapting his suit to act as a shutter and allowing him to focus with more ease; he did the same with the earphones, a neat little trick that helped dial out the unnecessary background chatter. To normal people they would be noise cancelling, but for him they dialled his senses back to normal ranges and made the everyday world a little more bearable.

His heart rate had dropped back down by the time he walked onto the school grounds and made his way through the student parking lot, and he was hopeful enough to think that he could turn the day around. It was going to be a good week. May was getting her cast off soon and would be able to get out of the apartment more, something she was looking forward to. Ned had gotten the new Lego death star set and they were planning on making a day of it over the weekend. Plus, Tony had arranged a meeting for May with his lawyers to get compensation from the cab company that hit her; they both knew how stressed May had been when she had to plead with their landlord to get an extension on their rent, Tony had offered to pay but May refused to accept the help.

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the new vehicle in the parking lot. It wasn’t unusual for kids to get new cars and show them off to their friends but almost no-one at the school rode a motorbike. It seemed to be the one consensus between the parents at the school, cars were acceptable, but bikes were dangerous. So, the custom red bike being dismounted was enough to draw his attention.

A quick look around the lot told him that he wasn’t the only one curious to see who it was. The guy took off his helmet, opening a bag strapped to the back of the bike to tuck it away, before running his hands though his shiny hair; fluffing it up where the helmet had glued it down, turning it almost golden in the sunlight. To say that Peter blue screened, wouldn’t be an understatement. His thoughts froze on the beautiful face. On the long lines of his tall frame as the guy pulled his bag off to shrug out of his leather riding jacket, folding it up neatly and storing it away with his helmet. Peter brain picked up enough to notice the unassuming jeans and the well-worn, practical over stylish, boots. Somehow it made the whole scene more appealing, and he couldn’t blame the group of girls a few spots over for bursting into fits of giggles.

Peter blamed his useless teenage hormones for not being able to focus on anything other than the guy on the bike, if he had managed to pick his jaw off the floor sooner, he might have had time to avoid Flash surprising him from behind.

His bag was ripped out of his hand before his brain processed what was happening and Flash stood in front of him laughing at the tear in it.

“This is truly a new low for you Parker.” Flash taunted, pulling the bag out of reach when Peter grabbed for it.

“Just give it back, Flash.” He tried to defuse the situation now that he could spot Flash’s’ cronies coming up to support him. “It’s just my schoolbooks. There’s nothing interesting in there.”

“Of course, there isn’t.” Flash laughed, turning the bag around and shaking it till all his things had scattered once more over the pavement. “You couldn’t afford anything interesting but coming to school with a broken bag is a new low. Maybe I should start calling you Pathetic Parker instead.”

Peter sighed and waited him out, too used to the bullies’ antics to give him the satisfaction of reacting anymore.

Flash huffed when he didn’t respond, tossing the bag onto the ground with the rest of his belongings, leaning into his space close enough for Peter to smell the peppermint toothpaste on his breath. “You know, one day Parker, the rest of the world is going to see you just like I do. You won’t be able to keep up this act forever.”

Peter stared over his shoulder at nothing until Flash smiled and walked away. Maybe the day wasn’t about to pick up as much as he had hoped.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before dropping to his knees to collect his things from the ground for the second time that morning. Shutting out all the sympathetic looks and quiet murmurs from the students still milling around the lot and wishing they would go inside and leave him alone.

“Here.” Some one handed him a bundle of his books and papers roughly stacked. Peter stared at the offering before looking up to meet the soft gaze of the bike guy. “You looked like you could use the help.” He said in way of explanation, the southern twang to his words causing the ground beneath his feet to shift.

“Yeah, ah…” Peter shook his head, trying to clear the fog that came with a pair of bright blue eyes on him. “Thanks. I-I mean to say, I appreciate the assistance.” He closed his eyes for a moment and cursed his inability to talk coherently around attractive guys.

The guy didn’t mention anything strange about his reaction, probably hoping to lessen Peters humiliation, he just picked up Peters bag to have a look at the tear in it. “I can help you with this.”

Peter blinked in confusion as the guy got up to walk back to his bike, taking his bag with him and leaving him on the ground with his things stacked in his arms. Around him the other students had lost interest in the new guy or watching Peter’s struggle and started to walk inside the building to get ready for class. In the back of his mind, he saw the humour in rushing to get to school on time only to risk being late while standing in the parking lot. It seemed appropriate summation of what his luck was like.

By the time Peter followed, the guy had turned his bag inside out and was reinforcing the bottom with tape, sealing the tear closed. Standing across the bike from him, he was struck by the fact that the guy was bigger than him, not just taller but wider in the shoulders. He had to forcefully redirect his attention from the guy’s chest to where he was working on his bag with quick competent movements.

“Is that hundred MPH tape?” He asked as they guy worked silently and being rewarded with a brief glimpse of a smile.

“A must have tool for any country mechanic.” He said with a hint of self-depreciation.

“You just… carry that around?” Peter cringed internally at his own question.

“What,” the guy looked at him, amused. “And you don’t?”

Peter averted his gaze, his face uncomfortably warm as the guy turned his bag out the right way again and ran a neat line of tape across the tear on the outside before holding it out to him.

“You can take it.” He offered when Peter failed to move, unzipping the top and holding it open for him to drop his books inside.

“Right, sorry.” Peter stammered, quickly putting his things away and trying to shake of his embarrassment. “Sorry. I don’t- Are you new here? I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“It’s my first day.” He said, offering his hand after Peter slung his bag over his shoulder. “The name’s Harley.”

Peter took it quickly, surprised by the rough calloses on the palm. “Penis Park- I mean, Pathetic Parker- shit, fuck. No. That’s not-“

“Parker.” Harley nodded, frowning in concern now. “I take it that guy earlier is a regular problem.”

“That’s Flash.” Peter sighed, defeated, dropping the handshake, and stepping back a little. “He’s been like that for years. His parents are on the board, and he doesn’t like scholarship kids very much.”

Harley hummed in thought quietly, examining Peter closely, before padlocking the storage bag on his bike and slinging his school bag over his shoulder. “I don’t like bullies.” He said softly, looking over the emptying parking lot. “I should go. I’ll get an earful if I’m late on my first day, but… I’ll see you around Parker.”

Peter watched him leave, mentally kicking himself for being such a disaster. “Peter.” He said to himself when Harley was halfway up the front steps to the building. “My name is Peter Parker.”

He dragged his own feet forward to face the rest of the day before he was late as well, meeting up with Ned and sinking into the seat of his first class with moment to spare.

“Dude,” Ned smiled at him, enthusiasm unhindered by Peters sour mood. “Did you hear about the new kid? Betty overheard the teacher talking this morning about the board interviewing him over the weekend. He’s supposed to be some big shot, kid genius, that just moved here. She said his parents made the whole lot of them sign NDAs to keep his parents’ secret. Can you imagine how important you would have to be to need to hide who your parents are?”

“They signed NDAs?” Peter repeated slowly, the slow dawning of dread washing over him. “Oh, God no!”

“What?” Ned looked at him carefully. “You don’t know who it is do you?”

Peter groaned and buried his face in his hands before he could bring himself to explain. “Mr Stark asked me what he would need to do to get a kid enrolled in Midtown.”

“Tony Stark has a kid?” Ned whisper yelled at him, glancing around quickly to check that no one was paying attention to them. “How did I not know this?”

“No.” Peter argued weakly. “I mean, I don’t think so. He just said that he was helping this kid out because…” He trailed of unable to spread gossip about what Tony had said about the kid being homeless, that wouldn’t be right for him to disclose to anyone no matter how much he trusted Ned. “Just, because. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m pretty sure that this is the same kid Mr Stark was telling me about and… and…” It hit him all over again, like a stone sinking his stomach. “And I made a complete idiot of myself in front of him.”

Chapter Text

Walking through empty hallways was one thing. Harley had gotten a pretty good understanding of the school layout while being shown around on the weekend. But halls filled with students gave the spacious building a distinct feeling of confinement. Students milled around lockers or clogged up the hallways as they caught up on gossip and he felt like he was in a different dimension. It was a long way from Rose Hill High, where everyone knew everyone and there were barely enough students to fill a class.

Harley didn’t know anyone here, but by the end of first period, he was sure most students knew who he was. They whispered behind their hands, shooting him looks across the classroom and hallways. He thought it wouldn’t be hard to play spot the outsider in this school, it didn’t help that Harley was taller than most students, or that he wore the same jeans and boots that he had been fixing cars in the week before, with oil stains and scuffed hems. He had a feeling that Tony was right about one of the board members leaking details about his enrolment, because if they hadn’t the sleaze bag that was harassing Parker that morning wouldn’t have been trying to suck up to him now.

“Flash.” The guy introduced himself, leaning against his table as Harley pulled a note pad out for calculus, sending him what he thought was supposed to be a winning smile that made Harley cringe internally. “You would have met my parents over the weekend, they’re on the board.”

Harley hummed, piecing it together quickly. “Mr & Mrs Thompson, I assume?”

“That’s right.” Flash grinned at him, happy with the recognition.

“And I didn’t catch your name?” Harley looked him over, noting that every carefully selected piece of his clothing radiated with ‘white collar’ wealth.

“What-“the guy stumbled for a moment, looking off balance by the request. “My name is Flash.”

“I mean sure, I got that.” Harley shrugged him off easily, wondering if he would be stupid enough to take a swing at him if pushed too far. “What I meant was, what is your real name, not the nickname you gave yourself when you were five, because you thought it made you look cool?”

If he was trying to channel some of Peppers’ unshakable calmness, he could only imagine that she would be proud of him.

The girl seated at the table with him scoffed into her thick book, glancing up only for a moment to let them know she was amused by the interaction and Flash sent her a poisonous glare before schooling his features into something more polite.

“My name is Eugene.” He looked down his nose at him. “But everyone calls me the Flash, because I’m so fast.”

“I wouldn’t consider that a compliment, especially if it comes from a romantic partner.” Harley challenged him, flicking his eyes to the front of the room, and wondering when the teacher would make their appearance to force an end to the encounter.

“On the sports field.” Flash told him, clearing his throat from the momentary embarrassment. “And in the classroom. Ask anyone, I’m one of the top students here.” The girl snorted this time, burying her nose further into the pages. “I know you’re new here, so I’ll be happy to show you around and give you the rundown on how the school works. You came from a small country school, right?”

“That I did.” Harley admitted, lounging back in his chair annoyed by the scorn in the guy’s voice and doing his best to look unaffected. “And now I’m here.”

“How did that happen?” Flash asked leaning closer. “Move in with your Dad, maybe?”

Harley laughed at that, wondering if this guy was trying to hint at Tony being his father. “No. I wouldn’t even know where to find the prick.” He shot a quick look at the girl hidden behind the book. “Pardon my language, Miss.”

The girl dropped the book low enough for him to see the death glare she was sending him. “Like my delicate female ears can’t handle a few curse words, cowboy?”

“Just hoping I didn’t cause any offence.” Harley back peddled quickly. New York manners were definitely not the same as where he came from.

She hummed in annoyance but dismissed the argument easily. “You can call me Michelle. I don’t need to hear any of this ‘Miss’ shit.”

Harley nodded. “Noted. I’m Harley, by the way.”

“You got a last name, Harley?” Flash interrupted.

“Keener.” He offered, blinking at the disappointed look in his eyes. “And I’d say I moved in with my eccentric uncle, if I had to give him a title. He’s not actually related to me.”

“What’s his name?” Flash tilted his chin up, clearly sniffing at the information he hadn’t gotten from his parents.

“I call him the old man.” Harley evaded with a smirk, nodding at the front of the room where a teacher was walking through the door, and dismissing the conversation.

Flash frowned at the teacher but wandered away to his seat across the room slow enough to show that he wasn’t afraid of getting into trouble. Harley shook his head at the display at he watched the rest of the room settle around him. Two tables in front of Flash was the cute boy from that morning, nervously looking between him and where Flash was passing him to get to his seat.

Parkers leg was bouncing under the table, his elbows resting on the table as he chewed on the end on the pen in his hand. It wasn’t often that Harley could apply the word adorable to a person over ten, but Parker managed it. He thought the guy was good looking that morning, despite being stressed and upset. Now he held a firm line of determination in his frame that shone through despite the show of anxiety. When he looked back at him, Harley sent him a small smile, hoping to ease at least some of his stress if he knew that Harley was on his side. Parker went pink as he returned the gesture and Harley thought it was a good look on him.

“Are you planning on paying attention, new kid?” Michelle asked him, not bothering to look up from her book to watch the teacher either.

Harley cleared his throat quietly and turned his attention to the front of the room. “I was paying attention.” He argued lightly. “Just maybe not to the course work.”

“I would ask which one of them got your attention, but I don’t care.” She admitted. “I am curious about what you have against Eugene?”

Harley dropped his voice as the teacher started on rollcall, listing lasts names and ticking of the students without waiting for a response. “I wasn’t here for five minutes, and that kid was harassing a guy in the parking lot. I don’t like bullies, and I really don’t like people who name drop to get their way.”

“You met my parents.” Michelle mocked, dropping her voice to sound more manly. “They’re on the board.”

Harley huffed a laugh.

“Keener?” The teacher called, pausing to look up from his folder to search the classroom. “Do we have a Keener?”

“Right here, Sir!” Harley raised his hand politely to identify himself.

The whole class turned to look at him as each class had before this. Taking in the new guy and storing his name away for closer inspection later. If you ever wanted to know what it felt like to be a caged animal at the zoo, he thought this came pretty close.

The teacher frowned in confusion before moving on quickly and talking to himself again. “Leeds… Madison… O’Reilly…”

“The last guy tried to make me introduce myself to the class.” He nodded appreciatively.

Michelle tilted her head to look at their teacher in thought. “I think you are the first transfer student we’ve had in years.”

“I guess everyone was expecting something more interesting.”

“They were expecting a flashy rich kid like Eugene, from all the rumours that are floating around.”

“Then I won’t apologise for disappointing.” He decided, looking forward to watch the teacher introduce the topic for the day.

He was hoping that Flash would get the hint and leave him alone after that, but it only fuelled the boys’ intentions. The next time he was approached at his locker, Flash had a couple of cronies at his back, trying to block his exits.

“What can I do for you, Eugene?” He asked as he traded his book overs.

“It’s more like what I can do for you.” Flash grinned, confidence back in full with his friends surrounding him. “You see,” he started, clapping Harley on the back, and keeping his hand in place. “I noticed you sitting beside the loner earlier and I just couldn’t help the need to see a man of your stature with people of his own ilk. If you understand what I’m saying?”

His temper flared, hot and bright, and he sent a silent apology to Pepper for not being able to bite his tongue. “I’m from Tennessee.” He hissed, pushing the hand roughly from his shoulder. “I know what racism is and I have no desire to be part of your KKK jerk circle. Do you understand me?”

“Hey,” Flash held his hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t being racist! You misunderstood. I meant unpopular… Blue collar. Obviously, you don’t fit in with them.”

Harley clenched his hand into a fist by his side and carefully shut the locker door with the other, looking down his nose at the sleaze ball. “And what makes you think you know who my people are?”

“Come on, Keener!” He smiled brightly, trying to smooth away the anger. “You don’t have to hide anything here. It’s common knowledge that your guardian drowned the board in paperwork to get you in here. It takes a powerful man to get what he wants so quickly. You’re new to town. I have connections… You have connections… let’s stop playing and help each other out.”

Harley fought the urge to ignore the rules of engagement and deck the guy right there, but he promised Tony a heads up before he got suspended so he forced himself to wait.

“I don’t think so.” He told him, narrowing his eyes on the way Flashes friends took a half step forwards.

Flashed huffed an amused laughed, scrubbing at his jaw in thought. “You’re new.” He said again. “I’ll be nice, take a few days and think things over. Maybe you’ll realise that you don’t want to end up like Pathetic Parker over there.”

Harley followed his gaze to Parker chatting with the guy he’d been seated with, standing across the hall, before looking back to meet Flashes eyes. “Seems like he might be a step up from your company.”

“You think that now.” Flash licked his lips, the motion more predatory than seductive, before pasting that sleazy grin over his face again. “Come talk to me when you change your mind.”

“Hey, Eugene.” He called before he could take more than two steps away, Flash turned back with a smug expression. “Leave Parker alone unless you want to handle this the Tennessee way.”

Flash huffed, looking at his two friends at his sides. “What way would that be?”

“Well, it doesn’t involve your daddy or your lawyer.” He drawled, exaggerating his accent. “But it does involve a parking lot.”

“Is that a threat, country boy?” Flash demanded, looking him from head to toe slowly.

“It’s a warning.” He clarified. “You should learn the difference.”

Flash made a show of puffing up his chest and sticking his chin in the air confidently before walking away slowly. Pulling the same move he had in the classroom to prove he wasn’t intimidated.

Harley didn’t understand it. The guys in Rose Hill would hunt you down and kick your ass if they wanted to, they didn’t make a show of being untouchable. You either proved yourself in a fight, or you stayed away from the action. Harley had learned how to fight to defend himself, after that, most guys left him alone. There was still the occasional asshole who would decide they needed to beat the queer out of him or were just spoiling for a fight with the first person they came across, but they didn’t start a fight without being willing to take a hit in return.

He pulled his phone out and sent Tony a quick, less sarcastic than it seemed, warning about breaking his record and being a walking suspension before his first day was over. At least he was giving him a heads up.

-

“So?” Ned asked when they claimed their usual empty table in the cafeteria. “Is he Iron Man’s kid?”

“I’m not gonna call Mr Stark to ask.” Peter scrubbed a hand through his hair, looking around at the other kids and noting that Harley was in the same break period, sitting across the room in the corner and playing with his phone. “What would I even say? ‘Hey, you remember that kid you spoke about but never actually gave me a name for, did you pay off the school board to get him admitted?’”

“That’s direct.” MJ raised a brow at him as she sat down next to Ned. “Who paid off the school board?”  

“Tony Stark.” Ned muttered, biting into his apple. “Rumour has it that’s how Harley got in.”

“Not rumour!” Peter hissed quietly, looking around to make sure no one else was listening in. “You can’t tell people that. I said I didn’t know if it was the same kid.”

“Listen,” Ned continued turning his attention to MJ to explain. “Mr Stark calls Peter over the weekend to ask how to get a kid into Midtown asap, and now Harley is here and everyone’s talking about how the board and school admin had to sign NDAs to keep quiet over his parents. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together.”

MJ set her latest book aside and peeled the lid off here yoghurt, swirling the liquid around with her spoon. “So why is Peter freaking out? Shouldn’t you be making nice with him for Tony?”

Ned rolled his eyes at her. “The guy looks like he could model. Peter’s Bi panic kicked in before he could get his name out.” Peter groaned, dropping his head onto the table, and MJ sent Ned an amused look. “I’m straight, not blind.” He told her.

“Okay.” MJ mused. “Since you two suck at talking to people. What did Tony actually tell you about the kid he mentioned?”

Peter sighed, lifting his head to the side so his voice wouldn’t be muffled as he replied. “That he is an engineering genius. Not to leave him alone around anything that can be turned into an explosive. And something about ‘Potato Gun’, I think he used it as a nickname, it was weird. But then again, he keeps calling me Underoos, so…”

“So, you have a little information, now match it up to what we know about Harley.” She prompted.

“He rides a bike.” Ned started, looking at them to add more.

“He doesn’t like bullies, and he fixed my bag with 100 MPH tape that he carries on him.” Peter cracked a small smile, thinking about the way Harley didn’t hesitate to help a stranger out.

“Flash tried to get info out of him in math.” MJ said, flipping her book open on the table and letting it lay there so she could read and eat at the same time.

“And…?” Ned asked when she failed to elaborate.

“And…” MJ looked up, flicking her eyes over to the corner where Harley was sitting before responding. “Flash tried to get him to say who he was living with, who his guardians were, and Harley gave him the run around. Said he moved out here to live with an eccentric uncle type that wasn’t actually his uncle and refused to give him any other details.”

“Not My Starks biological kid then.” Ned nodded in thought. “Do you think he knows about you?”

“About me?” Peter questioned, feeling the colour draining from his face.

“Yeah, about… you know.” Ned made a small gesture mimicking his web slingers.

“No.” Peter said quickly, unable to believe he didn’t consider the possibility before. “Mr Stark wouldn’t tell anyone that. Not without letting me know.”

“Good.” MJ said with her mouth full.

“But if he mentioned Harley to you, he must have said something about you to him, right?”

Peter considered it was possible, especially if Harley was living with Tony now. He would have to explain who else had access to the Tower apartments, and Tony had told him he thought they would get along enough to work together.

“Maybe. But we still don’t know for sure. It could just be a coincidence. He might not be the same guy.”

MJ sighed, rolling her eyes at him. “When has anything in your life been a coincidence, Peter?”

Peter shrugged, not sure if he was hoping Harley would be connected to Tony or not. “It could be.”

They made it to Mr Harringtons labs for the last session of the day, taking there usually seats towards the back where they could be mostly ignored, Peter and Ned at one table with MJ at the table behind them so she could hide which books she was looking at through class. Flash stopped in the aisle and send him a particularly venomous glare before taking his seat not far from them. He got the feeling that if Flash wasn’t getting what he wanted out of Harley, then he would be the one paying for it later.

The whole room fell quiet when Harley stepped through the door, looking down at the schedule in his hands to check he was in the right place. Peter didn’t think the students at Midtown had been so collectively interested in one person before. Most of the students here had gone to the same middle school, elementary school, some even went to the same day-care together. They knew everyone here and the only new kids came at the start of freshman year. Harley Keeners entrance to the school was unthinkable for most of the student population.

Harley scanned the room silently when he was satisfied he was in the right place, tucking the papers away and looking for open seats. Peter looked around as well. There was an opening at the front next to Max, and another two rows in front of where he was sitting. Harley looked at both options with a carefully neutral expression before his eyes landed on Peter.

Peter felt his face heat up under the look, unable to move while Harley watched him, but his gaze soon slid past Peter to the empty seat behind him next to MJ. The small smile that slid over his face had Peter averting his eyes and trying to calm his racing heart. MJ smirked at him and pulled out her sketch book.

“Please don’t.” Peter whined at her quietly.

“This is happening.” MJ told him, unconcerned with his meltdown, and picking out the pencil she wanted.

Peter sent her a tired glare and turned away, trying to pretend he was anywhere else. Ned clapped him on the back in sympathy that didn’t reach his face.

Harley tipped his head at him. “Parker.” He acknowledged on his way past, stopping at MJ’s desk. “Michelle, would you mind if I shared with you again?”

MJ looked him over calmly, only a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

“I know you’re not always this polite… Is it the female thing again?” She asked pegging him with a hard look.

“No…” Harley promised uncertainly, holding a hand up as he thought of an acceptable answer. “It’s a decent person thing. I try not to be rude to people without a reason.”

MJ studied him quietly, forcing him to wait nervously to see if his answer had been acceptable to her before she used her foot to push out the chair next to her in offering.

Harley smiled in relief, dropping his things onto the table. “Thankyou.”

MJ hummed in response and turned her attention back to her drawing.

Ned swivelled around in his chair to lean over MJ’s side of the desk and talk to Harley.

“Ned Leeds,” he introduced himself quickly. “Is it true you made half the board cry when they interviewed you?”

“What?” Harley huffed in confusion. “No, that didn’t happen.”

“Are you sure, because no one has gotten the teachers to say how you got in.” Ned continued, eyes firmly on Harley as Peter dropped his head in his hands again.

“Didn’t happen.” Harley told him in amusement.

“Are you the secret love child of one of the board members?”

Harley shook his head.

“Are you here under witness protection?”

“Ah…” Harley looked from Peter to MJ for support and found none. “No.”

“Where are you from? Is the accent real?”

“Rose Hill, Tennessee.” Harley got out before Ned could steamroll him with more questions. “The accent is real. This is the first time I’ve been out of my home state.”

“Why did you pick Midtown?” Ned kept going while Mr Harrington walked into the room.

“I didn’t.” Harley told him without offering anything further on the subject.

“Alright, settle down!” Mr Harrington called out over the class and Peter had to tap Neds arm to get him to turn around again. “I have an announcement for you lot so you should all be focusing on me.”

“Announcement?” Ned whispered, looking at Peter to see if he knew anything; Peter shook his head, trying to focus on the teacher rather than the gorgeous guy sitting behind him, he swore he could feel Harleys eyes on the back of his neck, and it was distracting.

“In an unexpected twist of fate,” Mr Harrington continued, arranging several stacks of paperwork on the desk in front of him. “Midtowns’ Junior and Senior classes will have the opportunity to visit a very interesting development company. One that is known not to give tours to high schools, so this is a special treat for all of us. More so for our class that has been selected to go first.”

Betty raised her hand from the front row, eagerly waiting until Mr Harrington gestured for her to ask her question. “Where are we going, and why do we get to go first? Why not the whole year at once?”

“Good questions.” He acknowledged, looking around at the students, happy with the level of interest he had created in the topic. “Due to the sensitive state of the company, they didn’t want anymore than one class group in the building at the same time. I’m sure we can all understand the strain that might put on the security detail to try and keep track of everyone. And I don’t actually know why our class was selected first, just that it was at the request of the board.”

Flash puffed out his chest proudly, automatically taking credit for something he knew nothing about.

“Now I need you all to listen closely before I tell you where we are going.” He paused to make sure he had the rooms attention and the entire class seemed to hold its breath, except for Harley who was more interested with studying the students’ reactions around him.

“We will be going this Friday, for the full day so some of you will need to arrange alternative transport to school because we will be leaving early and getting back later than normal. You also need to have several forms signed.” He pats the piles of paperwork in front of him. “Including security checks and Non-Disclosure Agreements. If you don’t have these forms signed and handed in by Thursday, you will not be going.”

He waited until the words had sunk in before nodding to himself. “Trust me, you want to be part of the first group to see behind the scenes of Stark Industries.”

“Stark Industries.” Ned beamed as the class leaped into an uproar, talking excitedly over each other as Mr Harrington sat back and let them go for it.

Peters stomach sank as he considered his class walking around Stark Industries where he was too well known to go unnoticed.

“Oh no.” He groaned dropping his head on the table again.

Harley huffed a laugh behind him with a quiet, ‘Son of a bitch’, that went unheard to everyone without superhuman hearing. Peter considered pulling his earphones out again to drown out the 20 voices speaking at once.

“Did you know?” Ned dropped his voice to ask him.

Peter shook his head. MJ had said that nothing happened to him coincidently, which meant that Harley really was Mr Starks new kid and Peter knew what it took to get him into the school so quickly.

“Wait!” Flash stood up, grabbing half the room attention as he turned to face them; Peter stomach twisted waiting for whatever attack he was going to deliver this time. But Flash didn’t look at him this time, he looked straight at Harley instead. “Seems like a strong coincidence that we get a new kid and suddenly we’re the first school to get a tour of the most advanced tech company in the country. You had something to do with this.”

Harley lounged back in his seat, doing a good job of looking unaffected by the attention. “Did I?”

“You know Tony Stark! That’s how you got in here.” Flash declared loudly, eyes wide in excitement.

Harley didn’t bother responding, keeping his mouth firmly shut as the class started getting up to crowd around them. Flash laughed, doing the inevitable and turning to Peter with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

“This is it, Penis.” Flash grinned. “You can’t keep lying now.”

Harley stood up, pushing his chair back with his foot. “I thought I told you to leave Parker alone, Eugene.”

Flash stammered over a reply, looking worried now that he knew Harley was connected to Iron Man. “You don’t understand, he’s lying. He’s been telling everyone that he works with Stark for years!”

“And.” Harley looked unimpressed, folding his arms across his chest, and staring Flash down.

“Stark Industries doesn’t hire high schoolers. My parents couldn’t even get me an application.” Flash sneered. “There is no way that Penis Parker has an internship.”

Harley looked back at Peter consideringly, and Peter did his best to sink into his chair.

“I told you to stop calling him that” Harley said to Flash, taking a step forward that had a few students stumbling backwards to avoid the confrontation. “Unless you’re taking me up on my offer to settle this outside?”

“Why?” Flash demanded, seeming genuinely confused. “He’s nothing to you. What’s your problem?”

“You’re my problem.” He shifted to block Peter from Flashs’ gaze. “It’s not about Parker, it’s about you pushing people around because Mumm and Daddy never tall you ‘No’. It’s about the fact that you’re only attempting to be nice to me because someone told you that you might get something out of it. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer friends that stand next to me when the chips are down.”

The gathered crowd ‘ooed’ quietly and MJ stood to move around the desk and get a better view.

“New kid has heart.” She commented, sending a small nod to Peter and Ned in approval. “I don’t think you’re wanted here, Eugene. Maybe you should give it a rest, hmm?”

Flashs’ eyes lit in anger, but he took a step backwards cautiously, gaze locked onto Harley and ignoring the rest of the class. “What’s Stark going to think when he hears you defending a guy who’s been lying about knowing him, who’s been trading off his name without proof?” He demanded sullenly. “All your ‘connections’ to him will go down the drain quickly after that, and you’ll be wishing you had done things differently.”

“I doubt it.” Harley shrugged, unconcerned, watching the crowd dissipate as quickly as Flash left to find his own seat again.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Peter said quietly, looking up as Harley turned back to him. “Flash is an ass but he’s mostly harmless.”

Harley shook his head in disappointment. “Mostly harmless doesn’t mean everyone should bow down to him, Parker.”

“I can handle it.” Peter protested weakly. He was spiderman for crying out loud, he knew how to deal with bullies and Flash wasn’t the worst villain in the world.

Harley looked unimpressed. “Then why haven’t you handled it?”

He didn’t have anything to say in response to that. How could he explain that he couldn’t have handled it before he got bitten by a weird spider and turned into a superhuman and that standing up for himself now would give something away. Besides, it was easier to deal with the taunting than letting Flash pick on someone else instead. He was used to it.

“So…” Ned tapped a pen on the desk as the silence stretched. “Does ‘potato gun’ mean anything to you?”

Harley startled, tearing his eyes away from Peter and fixing them on Ned. “Where did you hear that?”

“Ah.” Ned pointed to Peter and MJ snorted at them.

Harley blinked at Peter again, looking him over like he missed something; Peter swallowed thickly, biting his lip, and waiting for him to come to whatever conclusion he would.

“Smart, but that’s a given with this school.” Harley listed on his fingers. “Scholarship… Intern… Innocent.” He smirked, holding his gaze. “And I’m betting you live with your aunt, wonder boy.”

“Wonder boy?” MJ grinned deviously and Peter knew he wouldn’t be living that one down.

“Peter.” He sighed, closing his eyes, and trying to get his name out smoothly this time. “My name is Peter Parker.”

“Well, Peter.” Harley smiled, soft and full, with a hint of mischief in his eyes. “I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble we can get into together.”

The words were mildly worrying, but the look in his eyes had Peters heart picking up double time, the thought of spending some time doing anything with Harley sounded far too appealing to turn down.

Chapter Text

Harley bypassed the apartment and went straight to Tony’s lab. Dumping his bad onto one of the office chairs at a spare workstation as he went.

“You didn’t tell me he was getting bullied.” He accused, kicking his father figures chair before sitting down next to him.

“Who’s getting what now?” Tony asked, pulling himself out of his schematics.

“Bullied.” He repeated shortly. “Your intern. Bambi eyed, Disney princess, looking guy. Bout yay heigh?” He gestured, raising his hand to his chin.

Tony blinked at him, processing his words, before leveling him with a fatherly glare. “Disney princess?” He copied, growing frustrated. “Bambi eyed?

You will not be hitting on him, Harley!”

Harley didn’t bother to hide his smirk. “Whoops.”

“No.” Tony shook his head, standing up before promptly sitting back down. “No.”

Harley kicked back, resting his feet on the desk, and enjoying Tony’s meltdown.

“I can’t do this.” Tony mumbled to himself. “I need Pepper. You will be getting a lengthy lecture about why incest is bad!”

Harley laughed. “Not your kid, old man. And neither is Parker.”

Tony muttered under his breath. “Unacceptable.”

Harley didn’t reply, allowing his amusement to die down as he waited for Tony to catch onto the original conversation. He didn’t need to wait long.

“What do you mean bullied!?” Tony demanded after a moment. “Since when? Why wasn’t I told about this?”

“No idea.” He commented with a sigh. “But I got the impression it was a long running thing; he looked resigned to it.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “He knows how to handle himself. Why would he let some kid pick on him.”

“I was wondering about that to.” Harley looked to him for an explanation. “I know you would help if you knew, but Peter said he could handle it, but he hasn’t done anything, and he clearly isn’t interested in asking for help. What’s with that?”

“Kid still thinks he has to do everything alone.” He sighed, looking up again. “He’s stubborn. What did you do about it?”

Harley felt a spike of pride at Tony knowing he wouldn’t stand for that behaviour. Even when it was about strangers.

“Told you I was a walking suspension.”

“I didn’t get a call.” Tony commented.

“Yet.” He agreed. “I told the horses ass to leave Parker alone or we’d settle it between ourselves in the parking lot.”

Tony laughed. “I bet the bastard hated that.”

Harley nodded in agreement.

“Who is it? Do I need to get involved?”

Harley rolled his eyes fondly, knowing that it was no empty promise from the man.

“You remember the lovely Mr and Mrs Thompson?”

“Really?” Tony smiled slowly. “Their perfect little angel not living up to expectation?”

“Should have spent a bit more time a home with their kid instead of planning his future presidency.”

“And will I get to meet this lovely young man?” He asked.

Harly huffed a laugh at the devilish look in his eyes. “Considering Pepper bribed the board with student tours of Stark Industries…” He waited for the thought to settle into Tony’s brain. “Our class, including myself, Peter and our favourite Thompson, will be the first ones to receive the honour. This Friday.”

“Friday.”

“Yes, sir.” The AI responded.

“This Friday,” Tony clarified. “In four days.”

“Do we have plans, sir?” Friday asked curiously. How the AI managed to have and convey those emotions, Harley could only guess.

“Yes, Friday.” Tony addressed her for the first time. “Could you ask the available avengers to spend the day here. I have no doubt they’ll all want to be part of tour; in their own ways.”

“Should I warn Peter?” Harley grinned, excited to see where this sabotage would lead.

“Like he warned us about getting bullied?” Tony blinked at him in disbelief. “I’ll be disappointed if you do!”