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“What?“ he shouted “what else do you want from me?“. Harley was so annoyed. Ever since he arrived at the tower to visit Tony everything was always about Peter. He wasn’t jealous thank you very much. He just wanted to enjoy his time with Tony like when he visited him before. But since Peter was there too everything changed. They couldn’t listen to AC/DC as loud as possible during lab time anymore, they could not cause explosions for fun, he wasn’t allowed to prank Peter, not even by putting peppermint mouthwash in his drink, and Tony even send him to his room to shower when he came to the lab wearing his new aftershave, just because Peter didn’t like the smell. Harley wasn’t jealous of the way Tony cared for Peter, no he was just annoyed by how much Tony babied him, when he was just a year younger than Harley.
Today was different though. Tony got dragged to a meeting by Pepper which was scheduled to last the would afternoon. That left Harley to have about an hour and a half of undisturbed lab time until Peter came over after school. Because of this Harley decided to have a bit of fun. He was finally able to wear his new aftershave and play his music as loud as he wanted to. And without Tony around he could finally go through with his plan to play Peter a little prank. Nothing bad or mean, just something they could laugh about. Maybe that would help breaking the ice between them and let them start building the friendship Harley knew Tony wanted them to have. Harley had programmed FRIDAY to play “the sound of silence“ at full volume whenever Peter tried to say something. When Peter tried to greet him once he entered the lab Harley could see that his plan worked out perfectly. He hoped FRIDAY had recorded the way Peter flinched and the look of genuine shock on his face because it would be enough to fuel Harleys good mood for days. Against his plans however Peter didn’t start laughing, not even the second time it happened when he tried asking Harley what was happening. He just sat down and deleted the code. “What was that for?“ he asked. “What? You not up for a little prank without Tony protecting you?“ Harley grumbled.
Why did Tony have to choose an Intern without any sense of humor? How was that even possible for someone like Tony? “He doesn’t protect me“ Peter mumbled half-heartedly before taking his notebook out without giving Harley a second glance. Harley shook his head. How did Tony expected them to become friends? They were nothing alike. He turned back to his work. “FRI start my playlist again please“. Instead of an answer the next song started playing over the speakers at full volume. Harley enjoyed listening to his music so loud he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts but just a few minutes later he was interrupted by Peter. “Harley, could we maybe turn the volume down?“. Harley groaned but told FRIDAY torture it down. Not much though because he always had to adapt to Peters wishes and today it was his turn to decide. He started getting sucked back into his work when Peter spoke up again. “What? What else do you want from me?“ he shouted without turning around. When he didn’t get an answer he shrugged. Maybe Peter finally learned that not everything was always about him. He went back to work yet again and didn’t even hear that someone got up and stumbled out of the door.
The next time Harley looked up the sun was already setting and his stomach was growling hungrily. “FRI please stop my playlist“ he said before turning around “I‘m going to order Thai, do you…“ Harley started before realizing Peter was gone. His notebook still open and pencils strewn across it. Peter never left the lab without cleaning his desk. “FRI, where is Peter?“ he asked confused. “Peter entered his bathroom at 5:47 pm and hasn’t left it since.“ “5:47? That was nearly an hour ago. What the hell is he doing in there? Having a spa day? Whatever, can you ask him if he wants to order Thai?“. The lab was silent for a minute. “Peter does not answer my questions“ FRIDAY reported. “What? Is he such a baby that he is still sulking over my little prank? Whatever, I‘m just going to ask him myself. Thanks FRI“ Harley said while he stepped into the elevator. FRIDAY took him up to the penthouse without asking. It was strangely quiet when Harley knocked on Peter‘s door. He got no answer. Harley rolled his eyes and opened it anyway. The room was empty and the door to the en-suite bathroom was closed so Harley banged his hand against it and shouted “Parker, stop acting like a child and tell me what you want to order. Otherwise you are getting summer rolls and I know you don’t like those.“ Everything stayed silent but when Harley was about to ask FRIDAY if she was sure Peter was even in there, there was some shuffling and a small moan on the other side of the door. “Parker? Are you okay?“ Harley asked suddenly uncertain. Nothing but whimpering. “Peter“ Harley shouted now panicking “FRIDAY unlock the door!“ he heard a small click. “Peter, you have 5 seconds to get dressed than I‘m coming in.“
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
The sight that greeted him when he opened the door was not what Harley expected. The room was dark, the only source of light falling in through the open door. Peter was slumped over the toilet, his hoodie and jeans thrown aside in favor of an old pair of sweatpants and one of Tony’s T-Shirts. The only signs Peter was even conscious were the quiet whines that left him and the way he scrunched his face in pain. Suddenly Harley wasn’t sure what to do. “Peter?“ he asked softly while crossing the room and kneeling down next to him. Peter didn’t answer but another moan left him. He scrunched his nose even more as if smelling something really unpleasant. When Harley sat down next to him the moan turned into a gang. While Peter started dry heaving over the toilet bowl Harley started to seriously panic. Peter hadn’t seemed any different when he had seen him in the lab earlier. What happened to him? Was this some kind of fast acting stomach bug? Or was something serious going on with him? Should he take him to the med bay? While Harleys thoughts kept spiraling Peter seemed to catch a small break. His eyes stayed close but after a few slow breaths he muttered “perfume“. “Perfume?“ Harley repeated confused “What are you talking about?“. “Stop talking“ Peter whispered. He seemed like he wanted to say something else but his stomach gurgled noisily and seconds later he was back to dry heaving and spitting bile into the toilet bowl. Harley was still as confused as before but he resorted to whispering to FRIDAY instead. “What is up with him FRI? Should I take him to the med bay?“. “Data from previous events suggests that Peter is experiencing a severe sensory overload. Taking him to the med bay is not necessary. It would however be helpful to remove or reduce sensory input such as lights, sounds or smells.“ FRIDAY whispered back. “Fuck“ Harley swore out loud. Peter whined and tried putting his hands over his ears without faceplanting into the toilet. “Sorry. Sorry“ Harley whispered “I‘m going to help you. Let me just get some things really fast.“ He crept out of the bathroom and closed the door as quietly as possible.
“Fuck. I am such an asshole“ he muttered to himself. He never understood why Tony would insist on keeping the volume of music in the lab down when he used to enjoy it too or why he would always protect Peter from such seemingly harmless things. But if he understood FRIDAY correctly this wasn’t Peter first sensory overload and it was Harleys fault that he was experiencing one right now. Peter was in pain because Harley had to be selfish and play his music as loud as possible and practically bathe in his new aftershave, just to out of spite. Well done Harley. But now was not the time for self-hatred filled monologues. Not when he could hear Peter retching and whimpering next room. Now he was on a mission. With that in mind he made his way to his own bathroom. He took of his clothe and stepped under the shower. He let the clear water run over him to get rid of his aftershave as quickly as possible. He dried himself of and put on fresh clothes. First problem solved. Second problem: the lights. Even though it was autumn Harley knew he had brought a pair of sunglasses with him to New York. Just in case it was really sunny and not because Tony whore them all the time of cause. He opened his bedside drawer and found them quickly. Second problem solved. The last problem: sound. Harley had headphones, but they were quiet old and had no noise canceling feature yet, so they wouldn’t actually help much. “FRIDAY, does Tony have some noise canceling headphones laying around by any chance?“. He didn’t really expect him to because Tony never seemed bothered by loud noises but surprisingly FRIDAY navigated him to a drawer in the living room where he could find a pair.
With the third problem solved Harley made his way back to Peters bathroom. This time he didn’t knock but just slipped inside quietly. Peter was still slumped over the toilet bowl, occasionally spitting bile in the water or gagging emptily. When Harley slipped the sunglasses on his face and the headphones over his ears he could the Peters muscles loosing some of their tension. “Better?“ Harley whispered. Peter nodded slowly. After letting him breath a few times he asked “Are you still nauseous or do you think you’re ready to leave the bathroom?“. Slowly and with a raspy voice Peter answered “Dunno. Still nauseous. Smell in ‘ere makes it worse though“. He was right, Harley hadn’t noticed it in his panic but the smell of vomit was nearly strong enough to make him nauseous too. “You’re Right. How about I go get a bucket and you try to rinse your mouth and get into your bed?“. When Peter nodded Harley got up. On his way out he let FRIDAY close the blinds in Peters room and dim the lights in the hallway. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the first bowl he could find, hoping it wasn’t important to Tony and Pepper, before heading back. When he re-entered the bedroom Peter was just crawling under his sheets. Harley walked over to the other side of the bed, sat down next to Peter and put the bowl between them.
“You don’t have to stay. I know you don’t like you and I’m disgusting“ Peter whispered unsure. “I don’t hate you, I just needed some time to start liking you I guess. And you’re not disgusting, you’re just sick. I would never leave you to deal with this alone, not when it is my fault it is happening in the first place.“ Peter didn’t answer, just sat up straighter and put the bowl on his lap, hand hovering over his stomach. “Oh Pete. Are you still so nauseous?“ he just nodded. “Don’t worry. Just get it up“ Harley murmured while stroking his back softly. He could feel Peters muscles tensing before he began gagging emptily again. “Hey, easy there. I don’t think you have anything left in you“ he said after a particular painful sounding retch. “Sorry. Sorry I can’t…“ Peter stammered before another gag stopped him. “There is nothing to apologize for. Just try to breath Pete.“ Harley moved his hand from Peters back to his stomach slowly, not wanting to make it worse. He started moving it in soft, slow circles. He could feel Peter stomach gurgling angrily and tried to soothe it with his hand. When he found a particular tense spot he started massaging it carefully. Peter groaned softly before cradling the bowl closer again. Harley could feel his stomach convulsing until Peter finally brought up a small wave of vomit. He relaxed into Harleys side. “There you go. Do you feel better now?“ Harley asked softly. “Yeah. I think I’m done now.“ Harley took the bowl away, not wanting the smell to set off the younger boy again. When he got up to clean it out Peter grabbed his shirt and whined tiredly. “I’m not leaving if you don’t want me to. Just cleaning out the bowl real quick“ he chuckled. When he settled back into the bed afterwards Peter sighed content. Harley started moving his hand in soothing circles over Peters stomach again when he heard a soft “thank you“. “Don’t mention it. Try to sleep for a bit“. He smiled to himself. He never understood why Tony was so protective over Peter but now, now he couldn’t imagine being anything but like that himself. And if Tony and Pepper came back from their meeting to find both boys fast asleep next to each other and asked FRIDAY to take a picture of them, no one had to know.