After dinner was over Harley and Peter excused themselves to their room to talk. Natasha gave Peter a look, suggesting that she would find out what was going on.
Peter didn't dignify it with a response.
When they arrived at the room, Harley sat down on the bed and pulled the smaller boy into his lap, resting his chin on Peter's head.
"Care to tell me what's got you so down darlin'?
Peter sighed and gazed up at his boyfriend, giving him a quick peck on the lips. He felt his eyes mist as he looked away. He couldn't understand how such a wonderful person would want to be with him.
Harley caught the glazed look just before Peter averted his gaze and caught his chin, returning Peter's attention to his boyfriend. "What's on your mind, huh?"
Peter sighed and shifted slightly so he was facing Harley a bit more. "My class are going on a trip to Stark industries..." he began, confusing Harley. The blonde was taken aback, surely that couldn't be the whole reason for his sour mood.
Before he could say anything, Peter continued. "A kid in my class knows about... y'know..." he gestured to his chest area vaguely, hoping to get his point across. Harley understood immediately but was still confused. When he voiced this, Peter inhaled deeply.
See, Peter wanted advice on how to handle the situation. Flash had a habit of deadnaming him when upset or frustrated and Peter was sure that if any of the avengers made it seem like he was important or known, he would do exactly that.
Most of the people in his class just thought that when Flash called him 'Emma' he was simply calling Peter a girl. They were always confused by his reactions to this particular name because he was usually unaffected by the others.
Flash also used many other ways to bully him, sometimes physicality and Peter has so far managed to keep this fact hidden from his Family.
Peter wanted Harley to tell him how to deal with Flash not outing him to the Avengers, who were unaware of his past. As well as hiding the bullying. However Peter hadn't told Harley about Flash's bullying and so was in a bit of a predicament. Especially because Harley would be on everyone else's side.
So Peter began to explain a tame version. "Well, this guy knew me before my surgeries and therapy so he knows about everything... sometimes he'll let my old name slip, sometimes accidentally and others not really."
Despite the 'watered down' version, Harley was still fuming. Peter was quick to backtrack. "It's really not a big deal, it rarely happens and is almost always an accident but you, Dad and Nat and my friends are the only ones who know and my family is the avengers! If the guy mentions it and they see my reaction, they'll figure it out pretty quickly."
Peter took a deep breath. He was relieved to have got it all off his chest but was also nervous of Harleys reaction. The country boy didn't seem to quite believe him about the 'accidental' deadnaming but was willing to let it slide for tonight.
"Well darlin', it's totally up to you what you do with this. You can tell the team because we both know they're the most accepting people in the galaxy, you can keep it hidden and hope this guy doesn't out you or you can do a bit of both, maybe tell a few of the team that you think would figure out anyway."
Peter smiled up at his boyfriend, still incredulous that he had him and gave him another soft kiss in thanks. "Ok, well I'm going to give the slip to Dad and go to school tomorrow and see how it goes. I know I can't tell anyone tonight but if I'm up to it I'll do it tomorrow." Peter said as he stood to leave.
Harley only gave a smile in return.
Peter left the room to find his Dad in his private lab.
~~~~~
Well I hope this explains a bit of why peter was feeling so crappy! Hope you liked it! :)
682 words
Lila out 💜