The Harley Keener Villain Complex

Harley spills the tea. Peter still does not like it

The tension between the two boys could have been cut by a knife as Peter sighed nervously and chewed on his lip during which he tried to collect his thoughts

"How do I put this without you getting very much rationally and reasonably upset with me" Peter started off, letting Harley know that he was hoping for Harley to not get mad at him for proposing something reckless and dangerous

"Can't be as bad as what I'm gonna pull. Spill" Harley said calmly as Peter cocked an eyebrow challengingly. Harley was unsure what compelled him to be honest with Peter, but some part of him, a part he had long thought dead, evidently figured that Peter deserved to take a look at the cards he would soon play.

"Me first, alright. I- I'm quitting school. And spiderman. I-" all air was knocked out of Harley. He had expected a great deal of things. A great deal. Hell, he had even expected Peter to have come up with the same plan as he himself. But that- that was different, and somehow worse. The same Peter who used to be so enthusiastic about helping the little guy, about still being just Peter wanted to throw all of that away for what?

"No you're not" Harley said plainly, hoping he could somehow find a way to stop the other teenager from actually going through with it. He knew the impulse, hell, he had damn near acted on it. He was the resident king of running away, and the implications and guilt that came with it were not things Harley wanted Peter to live with.

"Hear me out Harley, please" In annoyed compliance Haley sat back on the desk chair from which he had jumped up in rage throwing his hands up in shock.

"I'm not pretending that I know what I'm doing." Harley scoffed, damn right he didn't. "Beck said something that really fucked me up" Peter looked away for a moment, seemingly collecting himself before elaborating "It very much hit me where it hurts and I just can't get it out of my head. Had I been strong enough maybe I could have saved Tony. I-" he paused again "I feel horrible for saying this but I am so sick and tired of being reduced to him. To just his prodigy. To just his successor which- I not even am by the way. I know that as much as you do. That's all you. But nobody cares about you and what you have to say and how you feel because they understand you're an adult." he met Harley's gaze against and his eyes were filled with as much pain as they were determination "I need- something. To learn. To just get something, find something that I can't use to reduce myself to just a product of Tony" he shrugged "I thought about going into the past. I really did. The infinity stones really speak to me but I'm over it. I am processing what happened, what still is happening. I'm not in a place where I am so stuck in my grief that I need to literally kill myself to change the outcome. I have worked past that with you and with Stephen" that hit Harley in the chest violently. Having Peter phrase his plan, precisely like that, just for what it was hurt. It was harsh and to the point and the only truth Harley has not wanted to face. He was right, and Harley wished he could hate him for it.

"So what, you just run away. Do the next thing that comes to mind?" the question came out more breathless than he had intended. Peter looked at him curiously and Harley could understand why. Had his days not been counted, not been damn near over he would need to address the painful twisting sensation in his stomach, how his heart was breaking at the thought of Peter leaving him behind.

"I thought about visiting New Asgard, maybe Kamar-Taj, studying magic- you know? The infinity stones left me with so many questions, so many existential questions just regular physics can't explain. I want to learn and to understand. Do something Tony didn't" once more Peter's plan was familiar, why else would Harley have gone to England instead of straight to MIT?

"Without me?" Harley couldn't stop the broken question before it had already slipped past his lips, that time it was Peter's turn to look shocked and heartbroken "I-" but no words came to take back the statement, to turn it into something it wasn't, into something that would make it hold less weight than it did.