It Only Takes a Second

- XXXV -

(A/N [post-publishing edit]: If you're rereading and you remember there being a very anxiety-inducing part that came before this chapter, you are correct. I unpublished the joke chapter that I posted years ago on April Fool's Day. This story has gained enough traction on the platform since then that I realized people were not understanding it was a joke-- oops. But if you were here when it was originally up... I'm sorry XD.)

*Two weeks later*

"Peter!" Harry exclaimed, leaping off of the couch as his boyfriend stepped out of the elevator. His muscles contracted in protest, but he didn't care. It had been a week since he had last seen Peter, because Peter's school had started, and Peter had already emerged himself in several school activities that kept him busy afterschool.

Peter threw his arms around Harry in a loving embrace as he barreled into him. He had missed Harry a lot, and even though they had been texting, it wasn't the same as being there in person.

"Hey kid!" Tony greeted, waving from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter, reading something off of a StarkPad and sipping coffee, despite the fact that it was nearly eight at night.

"You didn't tell me you were coming!" Harry cried, before spinning on his heels to see Tony. "You didn't tell me he was coming!"

"We wanted to surprise you," Peter grinned cheekily, shoving his hands down in his pockets with a small shrug.

Harry leaned forward and kissed Peter adoringly, before breaking away and giving him a small, shy smile.

"I was thinking we could have a movie night tonight, if you two would be interested?" Tony suggested.

Harry was just about to agree with Tony, when Peter cut him off. Surprised, Harry took a step back to look at Peter- movie nights were Peter's favorite, he couldn't believe that he was turning the idea of one down!

"Actually," Peter cleared his throat sheepishly. "I was hoping to, if it's alright with you, maybe take Harry on a date tonight?"

Harry's face and ears grew warm with the best kind of embarrassment (because there were good and bad forms of embarrassment), and he couldn't help but look down at his feet timidly.

"Of course that's alright, if Harry wants to!" Tony exclaimed, shooting Peter a grin with a small wink that went unnoticed by Harry.

Peter had texted him around lunch while he was down in the lab, asking about a surprise date for Harry that night. Tony had been more than willing to help him out, but Peter had told him that all he had to do was play along and act just as surprised- he would take care of the rest.

Tony had noticed how quiet had been all week without Peter around, and while he was way better off than he originally had been when he began living with them, it was upsetting to see him take a step back in progress when he had been doing so well. Bruce said it was to be expected, with the whole 'two steps forward, one step back', but Tony was still worried. Sometimes it seemed as they were going 'one step forward, three steps back' instead.

And Peter made it better. Whenever Harry was around Peter, it seemed that the progress of his mental and physical health soared, and he seemed to be completely himself. Yes, he had some slip-ups from time to time, but that was expected of anyone.

But when Peter wasn't around, Harry seemed to be more reserved and tentative than normal. He was comfortable with Tony and Pepper, and occasionally he would open up around everyone else, but he wasn't the same loud, giggling teenager that he was when Peter was with them.

Part of Tony was worried about how reliant his son had become, and worried about the worst- what if something happened to Peter? Or if they broke up? What if something went wrong at the trial and he lost custody? Thoughts raced through his mind, making it hard for him to sleep. In fact, he didn't think he had slept for more than two hours since... Tuesday?