It's a Spider Thing. {Peter Parker and Natasha Romanoff}

{17} meanie, beanie, it rhymed

COFFEE AND BAKED GOODS floated past Peter's nose, enveloping his sense so that it was all he could smell as he stood outside of the small café on the corner of a busy street; it was half hidden in the wall. People and cars milled about, all in a rush to get somewhere as Peter observed them in silence- his headphones were resting comfortably against his ears, blocking out the noisy world as he waited patiently for Harley to arrive.

Peter never thought he'd be meeting one of his classmates in person.

Part of him thought he'd scare everyone off since he didn't have the best social skills, but apparently, Harley Keener thought him interesting enough to stick around. It was baffling.

Across the street, someone raised and dropped their hand in greeting.

Instinctively, Peter tugged off his headphones, letting them rest on his neck as his attention shifted. Harley was jogging across the road towards him, and Peter could feel the way his heart suddenly quickened at the sight- for a brief moment he thought he was having a heart attack but there wasn't the pain or the fear that should have flooded his system.

"Peter, right?" He questioned, stopping just a few feet away.

Southern accent. Brown eyes. Golden hair- Peter sucked in a sharp breath to replace the air that had been knocked from his lungs. It was like he was seeing the boy for the first time, as if he had finally come into focus and Peter could see every tiny detail; his laptop's camera didn't do the freckles scattered across Harley's face justice.

At the beat of silence, Harley chuckled to himself nervously before covering it with a dazzling smile that was only slightly tinged with concern. Peter blinked.

"Yeah. That's, that's me. I'm Peter."

Harley was amused and surprised by the slight stutter. The Peter Parker he knew in his online lessons rarely spoke unless he was called on for answer, but when he did, he was always calm and collected. Almost like he was bored of the class except for the look of excitement that would flash over his face when they moved onto new topics- underneath the cold demeanour was a teenager who wanted to learn everything he possibly could and that was what was so interesting to Harley.

That, and his jawline.

"Cool." Harley brightened. He shook off his nerves and gestured behind him. "Coffee and robots?"

"Coffee and robots." Echoed Peter, following Harley who led the way into the café.

The inside of the building was less busy than the outside world and Peter was secretly thankful; his senses were acting up because of a nightmare the night before, and he did not want to have an overload on his first meeting with Harley. He also didn't want to have Natasha come and pick him up and accidently run into Harley- he cringed at the idea.

His sense hummed but lacked the usual hysteria of danger. It was a prickle of the skin, anticipation.

Harley's hand curled into the cuff of Peter's sleeve, fingertips brushing his skin but the teen was too confused to process what was happening. Instead, Peter allowed Harley to tug him firmly towards the counter where a barista was waiting patiently with a warm, customer-service smile that was plastered on her face as she quickly asked for their orders. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Mocha please." Peter requested, face burning as her eyes dropped to watch Harley finally release Peter's sleeve as he briefly glanced at the menu.

"A black coffee please."

A moment later, Harley felt his phone buzz in his pocket and sighed, looking upwards as if asking some higher being to give him strength before glancing at the caller ID. 'The Mechanic' flashed on the screen, catching Peter's attention as well as a muttered half threat of; "I will block him." then Harley was looking back at Peter, offering a crooked smile that Peter swore he did not find beautiful- not at all, not in the slightest; how did someone know they liked someone?

"Gotta talk to the old man, be right back." He explained before stepping off to the side.

While Harley wandered off, Peter's mind spiralled. He'd never thought too much into emotions and partnerships, he just knew that the likelihood of forming bonds with people were not high in his line of work so Peter was therefore decidedly terrified and against whatever the hell his heart was doing when Harley was right next to him. What the fu-

The barista dropped a drink tray on the counter in front of him and smiled again, though it seemed much more genuine. "Cute boyfriend." Peter's face burned as he spluttered out a quiet,

"Not- no, we're not- thanks, coffee." and scurried off. She giggled after him.

Harley turned around, stuffing the phone back into his pockets, his ears pink, when he noticed Peter approaching and carrying the drinks tray. "Thanks darlin'." He said with a warm smile, settling down at the nearest booth. They both sat across from the other.

"No- no problem." Peter squeaked before clearing his throat. "So, robots.

Harley nodded, fighting back yet another grin.

When he first messaged Peter, it was to strictly talk about the project- no one in that class was the least bit interesting. Not that he'd paid much attention to the students in the first place. But Peter? Who cares that he had text him a bit more than he initially intended to, and at absurd times in the mornings. He was fun to chat to and could match his level of snark. Not to mention he was gorgeous; and Harley had no shame in admitting that to himself as he watched Peter relax across from him.

"Robots." Harley mused before sipping from his coffee and lurching back from it, "Hot."

"Who'd have thought." Mumbled Peter, laughing slightly as Harley rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion and stuck out his tongue, frowning.

"Don't bully me."

"I would never." Peter teased as Harley pulled out the plan for their project.

He huffed. "Meanie."

"Beanie." Peter shrugged as Harley made a face. "It rhymed." He defended.

After a few hours of fawning over their project together and each boy being enamoured by the other's knowledge of science and robotics- they decided to go for a walk so Harley could get his "tour of New York" that Peter had promised.

They'd only walked a few blocks before Peter started complaining.

"If we are walking together, please take into consideration my tiny legs. I can't keep up with you and I don't want to be jogging to keep up with your leisurely stroll- you titan." He huffed dramatically.

He was actively not using his ability; it was an agreement Natasha and Peter had come to at some point during their early months of living with one another. Since Hydra had never taught him much restraint, Peter was having to teach himself (with the help of Natasha) and that even included the normal stuff like walking around, not just sparring and in fights with low class criminals.

Harley's laughter echoed as he turned and smiled brightly.

"We don't have all day Parker, put on some roller blades and grab my sleeve." He teased, stopping anyway so Peter could join his side.

"Who's the meanie now?" Peter mocked, though it lacked conviction.

"Beanie." Harley reiterated from earlier. "It rhymes." He winked before Peter quickly looked away and pulled the other teen across the main street by his wrist with a small puff of air; Harley thought he looked adorable with the blush coating his cheeks and couldn't stop staring at the teenager's face until Peter was suddenly jerking him forwards, expression morphing into panic.

"Shit." Harley gaped, staring at the car that carried on driving as he tripped onto the pavement; it had blacked out windows. "Thanks- Peter? You alright?" 

A/N

Am I getting the right level of sass? I'm always so worried about dialogue not being right for the character ya know? But I really do like their first meeting. #parley what can I say :))

Anywho! Let me know of any spelling mistakes! xoxo.