Cruel Summer: Parkner’s Version

Summary: Harley arrives in New York the same day that Peter finishes his junior year of high school. A summer romance is inevitable, really.

Author’s Note: I wrote this in like 3 hours while listening to Cruel Summer on repeat b/c I had a mighty need after this fic idea wouldn’t leave me alone for days. I hope people enjoy it but even if no one likes it but me that’s fine because I satisfied the itch.

Cruel Summer (Parkner’s Version)

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night
You know that I caught it
Bad, bad boy
Shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought it

Peter remembered the first time he met Harley with a visceral clarity. It was the last day of his junior year, and while there were half a dozen parties he could have gone to, that was not really his scene. Besides, it was an internship day. So instead he headed to Avengers Tower. 

He expected to see Tony when he walked into the lab, which he did, but the man was not alone. 

“Underoos! How was your last day of school?” Tony asked. “I’m glad you swung by, I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Hey Tony. School was fine. I’m glad to be done for the year.” Peter shrugged. “Who’s this?” He asked curiously. The mystery person was underneath one of Tony’s cars, so Peter could only see that they were wearing worn jeans and steel-toed boots.

“This is Harley Keener. I think I’ve mentioned him before?” Tony kicked one of the boots. “Leave the car alone and come introduce yourself, kid.”

Harley rolled out from under the car and Peter felt his breath catch as he tried not to stare. He looked about 16, and was wearing a white muscle tee that was stained with sweat and motor oil. Harley’s eyes were bright with interest and his hair looked unbearably soft in a way that made Peter want to run his fingers through it. 

“You must be Peter Parker. The Mechanic’s told me a lot about you.” 

Oh and he had an accent. Peter was gone.

Killing me slow, out the window
I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more

Technically speaking, Peter did not have to be at the Tower every day. His internship was supposedly only four days a week, and Spider-Man was not a full-time Avenger. But Harley was staying at the Tower for the summer. And ever since they had met, there had been something like a gravitational pull between the two of them. 

Peter justified it by saying that Harley did not know any other teenagers in the city, and Peter was only six months older than him so Peter was the obvious choice to show Harley around. Yet that did not explain why Peter made the effort to commute almost daily from Queens to Manhattan. Did not explain why he obsessed over every text message. Did not explain why, when Harley kissed him, he kissed back. Did not explain why he followed Harley into his room at the tower, and texted May that he would not be coming home that night. Did not explain why he let those actions become a pattern.

And it’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh, whoa, oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, whoa oh
It’s a cruel summer
With you

Harley was from Tennessee, and spending the summer in New York was the first time he had ever left the small town where he grew up. The city was often overwhelming and overstimulating for him, when he was used to such a different environment. At the same time, part of him loved it. He certainly missed his home, the clean air, the stars. But the city had so much life. There were more people than he had ever seen in his life. And there was one particular person that he was growing to care for more than he would like to admit. 

Today, the two sixteen-year-olds were visiting Coney Island. Harley had mentioned offhandedly that he had never actually seen the ocean, and Peter had insisted that they go to the beach. The whole way there Peter was his usual animated self, cheerfully telling him stories about his friends Ned and MJ. Harley felt a pang as he remembered that there was a time limit to staying here. In September he would return to Rose Hill, and Peter would be staying in New York, staying with his real friends, not with Harley.

He did his best not to let his mood sour, and laughed along with the stories as they navigated New York traffic. Tony had lent them one of his many cars after discovering that they had been planning to take the subway. But it had the unfortunate effect that they had to navigate through the many other drivers. Despite the fact that they both had licenses they decided that Peter would drive since he was more experienced in the city. Harley was a fair mechanic, but he preferred to drive on open roads and had little patience for the various combinations of bumper to bumper traffic, jaywalking pedestrians, and erratic drivers who feared no gods. 

When they got to the beach, however, Harley noticed that Peter’s mood also dipped. Harley noticed him tense for a moment as he stared at a particular section of beach before he seemed to fortify himself and smile again, though in a way that seemed almost fake. 

“Let’s head over this way, yeah? I’ll show you the best parts of the beach.” 

There was an element of forced cheer to Peter’s voice and Harley hesitated for a moment before nodding. If Peter did not want to talk about it he would not force him.

“That sounds good.” Harley held out his hand. “Lead the way.”

Peter’s smile softened as he took Harley’s hand in his. 

Hang your head low
In the glow of the vending machine
I’m not dying
You say that we’ll just screw it up in these trying times
We’re not trying

Peter knew that he should probably tell Harley that he was Spider-Man. They had been doing whatever… this was for about a month now. And over that time Peter had realized that Harley meant more to Peter than perhaps he wanted to admit. It was why Peter was making such an effort to make Harley feel welcome, feel at home in a place unfamiliar to him. 

All the same, Peter should have realized that he would have a negative reaction to Coney Island. He had not been there since his final fight with the Vulture sophomore year. That fight was over a year and a half ago, but going back to the beach made it feel like yesterday. He was surprised that he still managed to have a good time with Harley, but he also wasn’t. He always had a good time with Harley. 

With Harley he could just be normal. Just be Peter Parker. He had not been just Peter for a long time, and he had almost forgotten that person even existed. In many ways, Harley helped him rediscover himself. Maybe that’s why he did not want to tell Harley about Spider-Man. Harley already knew the real Peter better than almost everyone else, who had various preconceptions or Spider-Man clouded visions of him, even Ned and Aunt May. Harley had none of that. 

He also feared whether Harley would want to stay around him if he knew the truth. Harley did not seem like he wanted something permanent, and telling him about Spider-Man, involving him in that part of his life would be permanent in many ways. There were many things that Peter might want from Harley, but he hesitated. Giving his heart away was serious business, and Peter had been too many times.

In the end, the decision was taken out of his hands.

So cut the headlights, summer’s a knife
I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know

Harley was playing a game on his StarkPad in the penthouse when he heard the knocking. He really should have gone to bed by this point, it was half past two, but he could not sleep. He was thinking about Peter, which was not unusual.

Tonight, he was thinking about what it would be like to take Peter back to Tennessee. What it would be like to bring Peter to explore the woods behind his house, to show him all his haunts the way Peter had shown him his? What would it be like to lay on their backs together in the grass and stare up at the stars that he could never see in the city?

But it was all just a dream, because what interest would Peter ever have in coming to a small town in Tennessee when he had all of New York?

And then Harley heard the knocking, almost too quiet. But he looked up anyway and saw, to his shock, that Spider-Man was on the balcony. And he was bleeding.

Oh, it’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh, whoa, oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, whoa, oh
It’s a cruel summer
With you

The early hours of that morning were a blur for Harley. FRIDAY had made some kind of announcement as he rushed over to the doors, and he helped Spider-Man inside, who was mumbling incoherently, though Harley could have sworn that at one point he had heard him say “I love you”, and suddenly Tony was there and they were taking him to the medbay, and then Dr. Cho was there and Spider-Man was out of his arms and Harley felt empty except he realized he was covered in blood and it was Spider-Man’s blood he had Spider-Man’s blood on him and Harley was spiraling and he slid down the wall.

He was shaking and looking at his hands for he did not know how long until he got his breathing under control and went to his room and managed to take a shower. He saw red going down the drain and his thoughts were spiraling again and oh my God that’s blood that’s Spider-Man’s blood what if he’s dead and Harley bit his own lip so hard he bled and he scrubbed quicker before rushing out of the shower. 

When he re-entered his room to get dressed he looked around for clothes and his eyes settled on a hoodie that had MIDTOWN written across the front. He realized it must be Peter’s and picked it up almost absent-mindedly. It smelled like him, and suddenly Harley felt himself calm down. He should call Peter. That would definitely help. Peter would know what to do. But no, Peter and Spider-Man were friends. He could not call Peter at — four o’clock in the morning — at tell him that his friend might be dead. He should find out. He should know. Harley got dressed, and hesitated for a moment before putting on the hoodie. 

He shot a quick text to Peter, asking him to call Harley when he woke up, and then made his way back to the medbay. Hopefully there would be an update, so that he would have something to tell Peter when he called Harley back.

When he got there, Dr. Cho was just leaving.

“Is he okay?” Harley rushed over to her. “It’s just— I mean—”

“It’s okay, Harley. I know how close you two are to each other. Yes, he’s okay. He pulled through, and his advanced healing will take care of the rest.” Dr. Cho smiled. “You can go through and see him now, if you want? I think he is sleeping, though Tony is with him.”

She rested a hand on Harley’s shoulder in a way that she probably thought was reassuring, but Harley was only confused. He did not even know who Spider-Man was, what did she mean about them being close? Still confused, he entered the room, and gasped when he saw on the bed, looking horribly pale and also small in a way he had never seen before… Peter. And it all clicked. Peter was Spider-Man. It was Peter who he had held half dead in his arms, and Peter’s blood that Harley had washed off in the shower and Harley was going to be sick. It was Peter who had been riddled with bullets and fallen into Harley’s arms and said “I love you” as he was dying and it was too much. So he took one last wide-eyed look at Peter before spinning on his heel and running out of the room.

I’m drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Said, “I’m fine, ” but it wasn’t true
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you

When Peter woke up it was to the familiar ceiling of the medbay. He sighed deeply and was gratified to realize that it only marginally hurt to do so, which was a good thing considering he was pretty sure that he had shown up to the tower with at least 5 bullet wounds. As he sat up he noticed that Tony was in the chair next to him reading something on his StarkPad. Noticing that Peter was awake, he immediately put it to the side.

“You gave us quite the scare kiddo. I thought we talked about this. You’re supposed to dodge the bullets.” Tony frowned.

Peter sighed. “Sorry Dad, I just–” Peter snapped his jaw shut. “I mean, Mr. Stark, I mean, Tony, I—”

“Hey, hey, no, I’m not mad. Bambino. It’s okay. I’m glad that you’re okay. Just, please, I need you to be safe. You’re like a son to me, I could not handle it if anything happened to you. None of us could, Santa Maria, if you could have seen Harley’s face—”

“Harley was here?” Peter asked, face draining of all color. He was not sure whether to be more elated about Tony calling him his son or more distressed about what Harley might have seen. He was starting to remember more now about what he had done when he got back to the tower, what he had said, had Harley even heard? Peter’s mind was white with panic.

“Yes. He was the one that found you. Or rather you found him. I’m curious why you had not told him about Spider-Man yet, but that’s your business. But he knows now. Dr. Cho did not realize that he was not in on the secret and let him in to see you. He said he won’t tell anyone, but he refuses to talk about anything else.” Tony hesitated, looking at Peter uncomfortably. “You know I’m not always the best at emotional stuff, but if you need to talk—”

“I think I need to talk to Harley, actually. When can I get out of here?” Peter asked agitatedly. “I mean I honestly feel fine.” He practically leaped out of bed.

“Pete wait—”

“Sorry dad, I’ve got to do this!”

And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I screamed for whatever it’s worth
“I love you, ” ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?
He looks up grinning like a devil

Peter had been in the medbay for two days. Harley had snuck back in twice to check on him, just to make sure that the other boy really was healing, always making sure to leave before anyone else could question him. He did not know what he felt now. All the initial anger had drained out of him. Peter had a right to keep his identity a secret. Whatever the two of them were, it was not something built to last. There were no guarantees beyond this summer together. Harley was just a kid from a small town in Tennessee, a nobody that Tony had chosen as a charity project and that Peter had for whatever reason decided to taken interest in for a summer fling. 

Objectively, Harley knew he was a genius. He knew that he deserved good things in life, but he also could not help but be always waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Tomy to lose interest and decide that he was not worth it. For Peter to throw what they had aside. And now that he knew Peter had a whole secret identity that Harley was not trusted with… well it just sealed the deal, did it not? What they had was not permanent. 

So to say that Harley was surprised to hear a knock on his bedroom door at the tower and find Peter on the other side of it was an understatement. What truly caught him off guard, however, was the way that Peter had near tears in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” Peter whispered, cupping Harley’s face in his hand, looking up at the other boy. Despite Peter being slightly older, Harley was taller than him by several inches. 

“It’s alright darlin’,” Harley murmured. “I understand.”

“Do you?” Peter asked softly, before drawing him into a kiss.

It’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh, whoa, oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules, in breakable heaven
But ooh, whoa, oh
It’s a cruel summer
With you

Harley felt like his heart was going to drop out from under him. The option that was being dangled in front of him seemed like it was too good to be true, and he hated it and loved it all at once. Tony had apparently been speaking with his mother and offered to host Harley for his final two years of high school, putting forth the argument that his academic record would look better if he was attending a prestigious STEM school in New York as opposed to his small public school in Rose Hill.

He could not deny that there was a large part of him — the Peter-shaped part of his heart in particular — that wanted to stay in New York. But that was part of the problem. Would Peter even want him that close? Their relationship had always had an end date. What would they do if that endpoint disappeared?

But Harley was also a realist. Because Tony was right that his prospects for college would be much better if he stayed in New York, and if there is one thing that Harley was not going to do, it was going to organize his entire life around a summer romance he had when he was sixteen. That said, he was going to talk to Peter about everything because… he didn’t want this to be just a fling. And maybe if he played his cards right… This summer could lead to more.

I’m drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Said, “I’m fine, ” but it wasn’t true
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I screamed for whatever it’s worth
“I love you, ” ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?