request by OreoMilkShake360 and Warehouse12_Agent
apologies in advance, this one was written quickly to squeeze in before pride month ended :(
also not proofread cause I'm tired
anyways enjoy this poorly formatted mess
TW: homophobia, slurs
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
2 days ago
Hey Webheads! Spiderman here with an important announcement... I'm bisexual! Happy pride month to all of my LGBTQIA+ friends, and remember that you are always valid!
Peter chewed his thumbnail anxiously, finally pouring over the comments and replies to his announcement. He was pleasantly surprised– a lot of the comments showed support for him or others.
this gave me the courage to come out to my mom! thank you for being my hero, spidey :)
for years I've struggled with my identity and I've recently come to terms with it, I'm bi too! so cool to see representation in someone so many of us look up to, keep being awesome!
we support you!
HOLY SHIT YOU'RE BI? I'M BI!
you know what? I think I'll come out to my brother today. UPDATE: he accepts me! thank you for inspiring me to come out to him!
Peter liked a bunch of the comments, continuing to scroll. Of course, having an account with such a far reach also meant there were a lot of hate comments...
Bisexuality doesn't exist. your faking.
this is disgusting.
wow I didn't expect spiderman to be a f*ggot. unfollowed!
You know kids see this, right? I don't want you turning my kids gay.
this post turned my son gay. i hate u spiderman
Peter grimaced, scrolling through some of his other notifications. He had been tagged in another thread, so he went to check that out.
/Potato_Stark
1 day ago
I can't believe the amount of homophobia I'm seeing in the replies to /FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider in his recent coming out post. He does so much for our city and suddenly people are turning on him bc he's bi? Y'all disgust me.
you're defending him? what, are you gay now too?
/Potato_Stark
reply to comment
first of all, Spidey said he's bi. second, yes I am. what're you gonna do about it?
HOLY SHIT?
TWO famous people? this is a great month for the LGBTQ community
dudeeeeee wait I just had the best idea: Spidey and Iron Lad!
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider /Potato_Stark I ship itttttt
harley stark/iron lad and spiderman would be an absolute power couple I'm quaking rn
Peter scrolled through more of the thread with wide eyes. Harley Stark had come to his defense? The Harley Stark? Son of Tony Stark?! And not only did he defend Peter– well, technically he defended Spidey, but same difference– but he's also gay? As much as the hate comments had gotten to him, he was genuinely interested in what was happening online. Without a second thought about his own safety, he slid into Harley's DMs.
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
hey, just wanted to say thank you for helping me out. i appreciate it!
also, congrats on coming out, I hope you didn't feel pressured to do so!
/Potato_Stark
yoooooooo spideys in my dms?!
and np, I was going to come out soon anyway this just gave me a good opportunity to yk?
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
totally get that. its hard to know when the right time is
anywayyyy I was wondering if iron lad would maybe want to meet up sometime?
(you can say no)
Peter cringed at the message, groaning softly as he hid his face in his hands. That was stupid, there's no way Harley would agree to-
/Potato_Stark
sounds interesting. I'm in.
how does midnight tonight sound?
Peter thought he could scream from excitement. No fucking way, he said yes? And he wants to meet up tonight?!
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
I know this really nice rooftop in manhattan that would be perfect
/Potato_Stark
midnight on a rooftop, huh? pretty romantic
if I didn't know better id say this is a date
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
the night works in mysterious ways. who knows what will happen
/Potato_Stark
ok now it sounds like you're planning my murder or smth
/FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider
NO omfg
promise this is just a friendly meet up
plus its kinda weird that we've never actually met? i mean we're both out protecting the city and still haven't met up
/Potato_Stark
true
alr. midnight on the rooftop?
ill need the location
Peter sent Harley the location of the rooftop, excitedly holding his phone near his chest. He couldn't believe he was going to actually meet Iron Lad– Harley Stark– and on his favorite rooftop, no less! He immediately started getting ready, showering and cleaning up his appearance. Not like it would matter since he would be in his Spiderman suit, but he wasn't taking any chances. Harley was a celebrity– and also very hot. Peter didn't want to embarrass himself.
~
Midnight finally arrived, and Peter– as Spiderman– was out on the rooftop, anxiously awaiting Harley's arrival, when he heard the tell-tale sound of rocket boosters from behind him. He turned, finding himself facing Iron Lad. He was taller than Peter expected– although that also could've been the suit.
"Hey there, Spidey," Harley greeted, pressing a button to make his suit retract. He was still considerably taller than Peter had expected, especially knowing that he was the son of Tony Stark. He had a couple inches on Peter, but not too much of a difference that it was embarrassing.
"Hey," Peter replied. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You as well." Harley extended his hand, Peter shaking it hesitantly. "Great, enough of the formalities. Did you really invite me out here just to say hi?" Harley had one eyebrow raised, a ghost of a smirk on his features. He definitely knew he was good-looking, and Peter faltered nervously.
"I- well- uh-"
"A lot of people are shipping us together. I'm sure you've seen?" Harley continued, still smirking like he knew something Peter didn't.
"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I've seen it." Peter swallowed thickly. "How do you–" He cleared his throat. "–how do you feel about it?"
"You know, I think the public might be onto something. We would make a pretty awesome couple." Harley was so forward about it. "How about this: you and I go on a date. Completely out of the public eye. If we hit it off, we continue. If not, we become friends instead." Peter nodded slowly. "Sound good to you?"
"...Yeah." Peter cleared his throat again. "Um, yeah. That works for me." Harley smiled, nodding once.
"Wonderful. I'll see you Friday night, same time and place. I'll bring dinner." Peter just nodded dumbly, watching dumbfounded as Harley brought the suit of armor back around him, shooting Peter one last smirk before it closed around his face and he shot off into the night.
"Oh my god," Peter murmured to himself. He just got a date with Harley Stark? This whole thing was... insane. Peter was looking forward to it, though.
~
Their date had come and gone, and more had followed in its wake. Peter eventually revealed his identity to Harley, who promised to protect his secret with everything he had. Eventually, their relationship became serious enough that they wanted to announce it online.
"How would we do that? Should we do like, one of us announce it and the other reply? Or both of us announce it? Or maybe we post a picture together?" Peter rambled on, worrying over what to do.
"Darlin', if you don't want to announce it-"
"No! I do! It's just..."
Harley nodded sympathetically. "It's not going to be easy. And yes, we'll get some hate over it." Peter made a face. "But there's also so many people out there that support us. In the end, it's our decision to say something. We don't owe them anything."
"Yeah. I know..." Peter sighed. "It's just scary."
"I'll be here the whole time. We go through it together," Harley assured. Peter nodded, humming.
"Okay. I think we should each post something then."
"I'd like to post the picture of you as Spiderman with your arms around my neck, then," Harley decided. "If that's okay."
"Sure. I'll post a picture too... I like the selfie we took on the rooftop during the sunset."
~
Both Harley and Peter posted their pictures, announcing their relationship in a more subtle way. Similar to each coming out post, they were met with mixed comments of support and hate.
omggggg so cute! fav couple :)
Disgusting. I don't want my kids to see this.
good for you but do you really have to flaunt it around? not everybody wants to see this
y'all are gonna make such a great couple, congrats!
Harley gently kissed Peter, cradling the side of the brunette's face. He pushed Peter's phone down, keeping it out of view once they broke apart.
"No more scrolling, okay? I know there's some hate but there's also a lot of positive comments too. No need to focus on the negative," Harley insisted, voice soft and low. Peter nodded, letting himself get wrapped up in Harley's arms. The Internet would always be like this– Peter knew he couldn't expect 100% support from faceless individuals online. At least here, with Harley, he could be happy. He was able to be true to himself around the blond, both as Peter and Spiderman, and that felt amazing. Harley was Peter's happy ending– and Peter was Harley's.
sorry if that felt rushed I'm actually so exhausted