Marvel One Shots

•peter&harley introduction•

peter parker sits alone on the couch. memories of tony flooding his mind as he lets the tears spill on his cheeks. the second aunt may had, reluctantly, left, his shoulders began to shake.
he noticed someone sit beside him. a boy he'd never seen before. he tried to wipe the tears away before the person beside him saw, but they continued coming out.
"i'm harley keener." his voice was raspy.
"i'm pe- peter parker." his voice shook. he remembered the first time he had introduced himself to tony in his aunt's living room.
the boy, harley, leaned back against the couch. his face was looking up toward the ceiling, and his eyes were closed.
"i didn't know tony for very long, but he changed my life. my dad had left me, but when i met tony, he was like the father i never had." he laced his fingers together. "i haven't kept in touch with him. i've seen him on the news, but i haven't ever tried to reach out to him. i regret that now." he opened his eyes. peter saw tears in them. "when they called me, i don't know who it was, i broke down. tony, was great. he had always been a hero. i understood immediately that he was the reason everyone was back. he was the reason everything was okay now. i guess that's what he would've wanted."
peter spoke up without even thinking about it. "i didn't know tony long either. he was like a father to me, too. i've lost a lot of people. i never wanted to lose him, too." hearing harley's story made him want to share his own. he knew in that moment that if anyone would understand, it would be harley. "he saved me. five years ago, even though it didn't feel that long to me, i turned to... dust? but now i'm back. i owe that to him. he lost his life so i could live mine." he couldn't look at harley. embarrassment flooded his body when he felt his lips curl down. "i knew him for two years. that's it. he changed my life. before, i had no money. i had nothing really. it was just me and my aunt. he gave us a nice apartment. he made me a suit. he, he saved me. us. that's what he did." he thought of tony's dying body. how lifeless his eyes were when his arc reactor light turned dark. "he was a hero. i'll never live up to that. no one can. iron man has always been everyone's hero, but tony was my real hero."
suddenly he was pulled into a hug. "tony was a true hero. he didn't recognize that. but he was. he saved me, too." harley's own voice broke. "i'm sure he cared about you. a lot."
"tony never told me much, but he probably missed you a lot. maybe that's why he took me under his wing. maybe he felt bad. for leaving you."
"yeah, maybe, kid."
the boys were still hugging, crying. they thought of their father, who may not have had the same blood as them, but who showed them the way. how to be a true hero. they both knew that in another world, they could've been like brothers. without having to say it aloud, they knew they'd keep in touch. tony would've wanted that.

little did they know, happy stood in the corner, watching with his own teary eyes. he was thinking the same thing as they were.