Ships II Peter/Harley Pepper/Tony Happy/May

Warnings II A protest being shut down, shots fired - literally, bullet wounds

There's too much meet-cute in the world. Lets go meet ugly UvU

The protest had gone well. It was, in a word, chaotic.

The whole campus had gone, along with an addition of around four hundred outsiders, including Tony Stark, and, notably, The Black Panther. The invitation of the Canadian exchange students only made it more interesting, especially when the cops came to close it down and they raided the campus Starbucks to pay the cops off with donuts and coffee.

And then the rain really started to pour as the army began filtering in, aiming their firearms every which way, and the crowds dispersed into their own dorms.

But, including Harley, around a hundred people stayed, chanted, held their signs and spread their word.

And the guns began to fire.

Harley always knew he loved the MIT campus, but he didn't know why. He knew he loved that they let him park his motorbike on grounds, but he didn't know why, until he was skidding across the ground away from bullets. He launched himself at the bike and started to rev the engine, the front tire gripping the pavement as he made the first uneven jolt forward. Smoothly, the bike glided across the pavement and off the campus.

Another bout of gunshots sounded, closer this time, and someone jumped on the back of Harley's bike.

His fellow protester gripped his middle tightly, though their arms oddly spaced, although they were afraid of injuring Harley.

"F*cking drive!"

The decidedly male voice yelled, their voice irrationally frightened.

Messily, the bike revved over another stone, and they were off campus and on the highway. Onward to the heavens Harley aimed his bike off the sideroad, onto a bushy driveway he knew led down to the hidden location of the Stark lakehouse.

The person on his back seemed to notice too, and they loosened their hands around his waist, "sorry about that, I didn't want to get shot again."

"You got shot?" Harley yelled, accidentally putting his foot down and jerking them forward over a hurdle of gravel.

Taking a moment to regrip as Harley righted the bike, the stranger replied, "Well, yeah. I couldn't let anyone else get hit."

"Not to say you dumbass, but you freaking dumbass!"

The stranger chuckled, "fair enough."

Instead of replying, Harley focused on the gravelly driveway. It looped around with its twists and curves and sticks. Sticks were littering the ground, covering every inch of gravel and mud.

They had passed the duckpool before Harley looked down at the familiar spandex-covered arms around his waist and stalled the bike violently, (nearly stalling his heart too).

Spider-Man was bleeding out on the back of his bike after participating at a protest on MIT campus and he hadn't noticed.

"Woah there!" the Spider yelled, "you might kill us."

It was a joke, but when Harley looked down at the blood pouring from the hero's wound it wasn't funny.

"You need medical attention."

"I'll be fine, but if you could drop me off at the Stark Cabin, that would be much appreciated."

"I'm headed there anyway, so it's fine."

"Let's get going then," Harley could almost envision the nervously pained smile plastered across the face under the mask.

He took one last look at the wet crimson soaking the paintjob of his bike and then turned the engine back on. 

Painstakingly, the bike dipped and dove over the track, barely missing a tree or two as it finally jolted to a stop outside the cabin.

Obvious enough from the outside, the cabin was currently inhabited. The windows were open, giggles echoed from inside, and three expensive looking cars were parked parallel in the drive. What could only be told by someone that knew the Starks, was that everyone was home. Tony and Pepper, each with their own ridiculously expensive car, had to be home, along with the evasive Morgan Stark, who was evident enough what with the booster seat.

The third car, Harley would recognise the nondescript limousine anywhere, belonged to Happy Hogan, the (fore)Head of Stark Security, and one of Tony's closest friends. And, from the sound of the feminine laughter and the look of the pink leather jacket in the passenger seat, he'd bought his girlfriend. Lastly, Harley could see from where the bike stood in the driveway island, the two suit docking stations were closed, meaning both Iron Man and War Machine were on the ground in the house.

His family, were home.

And Spider-Man was bleeding out on the back of his bike, but Harley was trying not to think about that.

"Do you want me to call Tin Can out?"

"Nah," Spider-Man smiled - smiled - "I'll walk in."

And so, Harley watched in confusion, as the bullet-ridden (Harley could clearly see at least three bullet holes) hero walked flimsily around the back of the house to the pool, where Harley could hear splashing.

He wondered, for an instant, if he should stop the hero from scaring the family - from scaring little Morgan.

Reaching out, he grabbed the man's arm "hey man, don't scare the Starks like that."

"It's okay." The hero eased away from him.

As the two of them rounded the corner, Morgan layed eyes on Harley and squealed excitedly. "HAWLEY!"

"Hey Mogs -"

But he was cut off by an even more violent cry as Morgan layed eyes on Spider-Man. He prepared himself from confusion, crying screaming, disgustedness, but of all things, not for her to yell:

"PETAH!!!"

And launch herself at the wounded guy.

He watched as Spider-Man (Petah?) caught the girl and let her climb on his shoulders, "Hey Mogs!"

"You haven't wivsted in ages P'ter." She said accusatively as she hung herself across the man's face. Harley couldn't help but gape at the interaction.

"Sorry Morguna, but college has kept me really busy."

"And yaw boyfrien." She said it so accusatively that Harley almost thought it might have been a crime for a hot minute.

And the words registered. Spider-Man does is gay?

And taken?

The media would have a fit.

The man just pried Morgan off his face, "I told you Morgan, me and Johnny broke up after the Mysterio disaster."

"But den why did you come wif Hawey?"

"Because we were on campus yelling about stuff and the bad guys came and shot me."

"They weren't bad guys, Pete." Harley watched in awe as his pseudo-father pulled Morgan away from Spider-Man, "they were law enforcement."

"They were bad to me," Harley could see the frown through the mask.

"Sure they were, kid." He turned to Harley, "Harley, I've been meaning to introduce you to this guy for a long time - this is Mr-Doesn't-Visit-While-He's-In-College, Mr-Doesn't-Visit-While-He's-In-College this is Harley."

Spider-Man nodded to him and pulled off his mask. Harley, though he wasn't proud to admit it, almost let his brain short circuit.

Spider-Man, was the cute guy he'd been half pining over for the last two semesters in advanced bio-chem.

Spider-Man, was the adorable brunette that spilt his coffee all over the proffesor "on accident" after he said something blatantly homophobic.

Spider-Man, was the uber smart guy who listened to his own music and drank red bull on the day Bruce Banner came in to give a lecture on the Electromagnetic Spectrum Mutations.

Spider-Man, though it pained Harley to admit, was his long-term crush.

Spider-Man, was Peter Parker.

"Hey," Unmasked Peter offered, smiling softly.

"Hey." Harley replied, breathless.

"Hey again."

"Hey," Tony cut in before Harley could reply with another 'hey'. "I'm hungry and lunch is waiting. Along with the rest of the IronFam."

And so they trailed into the house like obedient children, bugt Harley didn't miss the wink Peter sent his way. And he most definitely noticed the chills it sent down his spine.