The Arachnoids [A Starker Rock Band AU]

18: Five Feet Apart

"Aight, dude," Ned says and leans back in his chair. His lips are curled into a smirk, and Peter already braces himself for the question to come. He knows his friend too well. MJ smirks and nudges Harley, the poor roadie awfully oblivious to what's about to go down.
"Just ask," Peter grunts semi-teasingly.
"Are you going to make this official with Tony before, during, or after our tour?"

Peter stares at Ned. His jaw drops at the question. He knew something was coming, but he didn't expect this. So, in the end, he gives the most basic answer he could've ever given.
"... Official?"
"Oh, come on!" MJ chimes in. "As if you don't know what we're talking about."

Peter can feel his cheeks heating up fast.
"I... Tony and I- eh," he stammers, "-we're just... Really good friends, y'know?" Peter knows how fake it sounds, and he wishes he could vanish. He's only making this worse than it already is. Harley snorts and nudges MJ this time.
"To hell with that! You're not 'really good friends'. You two are literally two bros chillin' in a hot tub, five feet apart 'cause they're not gay."
"Oh my god!" MJ laughs, "I can't believe you know that vine!"
"You wound me! I may be straight, but I'm vibin' on the right side of the Internet."

"They're not five feet apart, though. And they both know they're very, very gay," Ned smirks. Harley laughs.
"That makes it even worse, not gonna lie."
"Hey!" Peter says, exasperated. "I'm right here!"
"Tell me I'm wrong," Harley deadpans, and Peter clamps his lips together. Harley hums, obviously pleased with himself. "I knew it."
"Fine," Peter sighs. "We may be interested in each other. But nothing happened. We never talked about it, eh- Not really, anyways. Besides, Tony is busy with Morgan right now. Let's have him have that peace for a while." Peter sighs. He gets up from his chair, needing to do something other than just sit there and take it all. He chews on his bottom lip and stands there awkwardly, not sure where to go.

Harley's teasing posture vanishes, and a hint of seriousness flashes across his face.
"I don't know if you realize it, Pete. Because yeah, sure, Tony is doing much better now that he has Morgan back in his life. But he's never as peaceful as when you're around. You... Light him up."
"I don't think..."
"No, Peter, you do. I don't think he realizes it yet, but he's madly in love with you. And well, you are madly in love with him too ."

Peter doesn't answer right away. It's a bit much, to be honest. He's definitely been aware of his liking towards the other guitarist, but he never thought it was more than that. When he thinks about it, though, it makes so much sense. He wants to spend every bit of free time with the man. He wants to take care of him. See him smile, and laugh, and live his best life. But he wants even more. He wants to hold Tony at night, in the safety of the man's cotton sheets. He wants to wake up next to him, listen to his cute little snores. He wants to be there and support The Avengers' shows, even when The Arachnoids are no longer there to open for them.

Shit.

Shit.

" Shit. "

-

Meanwhile, on the other side of Central Park, Tony laughs as he watches Morgan run around the small studio with one of Steve's drumsticks. She's too sweet to actually throw it or hit something too harshly, but every now and then, she uses it to poke into the floor or Tony's leg.
"Careful with auntie Natasha, little monkey!" He chuckles when he sees her charging towards Natasha. The redhead crouches down and grins.
"Come here," she says, and when Morgan listens, she giggles out loud and glances in Tony's direction mischievously. Oh boy.
"Daddy!" She shrieks and runs towards him. "Nata says I can go buy my own instrument soon!"
"Oh, did she now?"
"Yeah! Oh, oh! Do you think Petey wants to come along? He's so cool!"

Tony doesn't know why he blushes, but he does, and he's very aware of both Steve and Natasha noticing it. Dammit.
"I'll ask him, 'kay?"
"Okay!" And just like that, she runs off again. Where she gets the energy from, Tony doesn't know. He keeps a close eye on her, but when he sees she sits down and discards the drumstick for one of her own toys, he loosens up a bit.

"So," Steve clears his throat. "You and 'Petey', uh? What's that all about?"
"What do you mean?" Tony says, knowing damn well what they're talking about but unsure whether he's ready to acknowledge his thoughts.
"You two are pretty close," Steve simply says. "One might think it could be more. You talk about him. A lot. And you brought him along to Pep, didn't you?" Tony thinks about that for a second.
"I guess I did? I... He's amazing." Tony laughs breathlessly, almost mocking himself. "But he's only 22. I'm not gonna be the one to drop that bomb on him unless he's the one asking for it."

"I understand that, Tones," Natasha says and sends him a knowing smile. "You should at least talk to him about it, though. Heck, you two are going to have guitar battles and duets on stage. I reckon that's gonna be intense enough as it is."

Tony feels a little dumb when he realizes she's absolutely right. He should talk about this with Peter. As vague as they may have been about this all this time, it's one hundred percent clear that Peter's intentions are inching towards something other than just a friendship too. And if he doesn't tell Peter, then how can the kid ever make up his mind?

Tony doesn't say anything, and neither do Steve and Natasha. But Tony can read from their faces that he has their approval, and it makes him feel lightheaded just thinking about the possibilities and what it could mean to him. To them.

Now he just has to figure out the right moment to bring this up. Only three days left before they get on their flight for the second half of their tour. That should work out just fine. Right