The Arachnoids [A Starker Rock Band AU]

14: Sandwich Sleepovers

Tony sighs as he finally sits upright after what seems to have been an eternity. He stares at the floor and presses his lips together. He knows he should get up and get something to drink. Maybe even eat. The anxiety attack is slowly fading out, and Tony feels like he can breathe a little again. He still feels a little jittery, but he logically knows that he'll feel a bit better soon.
"All I have to do," he murmurs to himself, "-is to get up."

To his surprise, he actually manages to get out of his bed. He quickly grabs the nearest sweater he can find and closes his eyes when the soft material covers his body. He scrunches his nose a little when he pulls the hood over his head, he knows it's ridiculous, but it simply feels too soothing.
Tony slowly makes his way over to the kitchen and opens the first drawer to grab a pack of biscuits. It's not healthy, but at least it'll give him some much-needed energy to function again. He-

Ring! Ring!

Tony physically flinches when the doorbell interrupts his thoughts. Oh, God. Who could that be? Tony swallows as he walks over to the door. He hopes it's not his neighbor. Mrs. Cortes is a lovely old lady, but she only comes over when she needs help with something, and Tony doesn't have the energy to deal with something like that today.

When he opens it, he's even more surprised to find that it's not Mrs. Cortes, but Peter and Harley. His eyes widen.
"Peter? Harls? W-What are you doing here?"
"What am I-" Peter retorts and scoffs. Tony's shoulders tense at the harsh tone. "Tony, you hung up on me in the middle of a panic attack, I thought..." Tony doesn't know what to say- doesn't want to open his mouth. He can feel his defense mechanism kicking in, and he'd hate himself forever if he said the wrong thing to them.
"We're worried about you," Harley mutters, equally distant. Tony tightens his grip on the doorknob.

"Look," he whispers. "I just didn't want to ruin your night. I'm fine now. You can go back to-" Tony waves his hand in the air, "-doing whatever you were doing." Harley raises an eyebrow, and he shakes his head.
"I don't think so. You're not fine. Can we... Can we come in?" Tony eyes the both of them quickly and feels a heavy sensation washing over him. Could he stand seeing them together? Could he handle the jealous stinging?
"Please?" Peter whispers. Tony sighs, cursing in his mind as he steps aside. They make their way over towards his living room. Tony tries to ignore the rising shame at the mess that is his house. Why can't he just keep up with it?
"I didn't expect any guests," he tries to joke, but Harley's brows only furrow together more when he spots the biscuits discarded on the small coffee table.
"Please tell me you had something else for dinner."
"Natasha made me a little fruit bowl."
"And the rest of the day?"
"Ehhhh," Tony sighs. "Not much." Harley nods firmly at that and makes his way over to the kitchen. Tony can't help but feel like a bother, but he has to admit, he is hungry, and those biscuits weren't going to solve that.

Tony slumps into a chair and evades Peter's gaze.
"Tony?"
"Mmmh?"
"Why'd you cut the call?" His voice sounds so sincere. Tony hates it. Hates everything. Goddammit. Peter is here, for him , and all Tony does is give him some shitty, apathetic answers. The boy deserves so, so much more.
"Didn't want to, y'know..." He pauses for a second. "I heard you were with Harley, and I didn't want to ruin your date."

Tony looks down and stares at his feet. There, he said it. He low-key hopes that Peter won't put two and two together and figure out the extent of Tony's kindness. Please , he thinks, please let me have this friendship at least.
"You- Oh God, Tony!" Peter exclaims, shocked, and Tony winces.
"Peter, I'm sorry I don't-"
"Harley and I are not dating, Tony," Peter rushes out. " Fuck , you thought that we were?" Tony looks up, confused. Wait. What?
"I don't understand?"
"Tones, Harley is dating MJ. That's why he was at my place. They both were. And Ned." Peter explains slowly. Tony can feel the blood rush to his cheeks, and he wants to double over with shame. He completely misjudged this, judged them, over nothing . This is even worse than the two of them being together. It has to be.

Harley walks back into the living room. Tony doesn't even dare glance at him. The roadie puts a plate in front of him, a big ham and cheese sandwich, and stands there awkwardly.
"What'd I miss?"
"Nothing," Tony croaks out. Peter, however, does answer truthfully. Tony wants to vanish.
"Tony thought we were dating," Peter breathes. Harley huffs.
"You thought I was gay? Not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously," Harley quickly rushes out. "But I'm... Straight."

"It all makes sense now," Peter mumbles to himself.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" Harley asks.

"Wait, but does that mean-"

Tony jumps up from the couch, his fists balled together. He wants to scream at them to stop talking, but he doesn't say a word. He simply stands there, breathing heavily, and realizes that he's thoroughly fucked this up.
"Go," he hisses. "Go home. "

"Tony, no, we can talk about this. Please, don't shut down on us."
"I'm tired ," Tony sobs. "I don't want to fucking open up. I don't want to talk right now. I just want to sleep. So please, please leave me be."
Peter stands up as well. He walks over to Tony silently and wraps his arms around the man's body. Tony doesn't have the energy to ignore the way he sinks into the embrace. He grabs onto Peter tightly.
"Do you want me to stay the night?" Peter whispers. "Just like at the hotel. Nothing weird about needing a hug, remember?"

Tony nods very lightly, but it's enough for Peter to smile gently at him and nods back. Harley bites on his lips.
"I'll go. I'll be back in the morning," he says, directing it to Peter. Peter quickly says something back, but Tony barely even listens to it.

"Come, let's get you to bed," Peter then says to him. Tony frowns.
"But the sandwich-"
"You can eat it in bed. Let's go."

Tony follows after Peter. He feels like a child after having woken up from a nightmare, and he isn't sure if he likes the fact that he's allowing it to happen. He's not used to someone not ditching him.
He knows that Peter deserves so much better, but he'll take this comfort for as long as he can have it. Surely, one day, things will be brighter. They simply have to. They will. He doesn't quite believe it just yet, but it's something he has to hold onto.

Peter simply kicks off his jeans once they reach the bedroom and crawls under the covers so casually , that it doesn't feel so weird anymore. Tony hesitantly does the same thing and gratefully takes the plate with Harley's sandwich, eating it slowly while Peter talks about his day until the plate is empty.
"Wanna sleep, Tony?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry," he whispers.
"Don't be. C'mere."

Tony crawls into Peter's arms for the second time in a few months, and he closes his eyes. The warmth. The scent. The embrace. It settles the last shimmers of his previous conflictions, and Tony can feel himself melting into the touch more and more until he finally feels he starts drifting off.
"Thank you, Peter."
"Anytime."