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Two Peas in a Pod

Summary:

Peter tells Harley about his feeding tube. He doesn't react how Peter expects.

Notes:

Happy ending i promise okay enjoy :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

It was a great date. It really had been. Harley and Peter had gone to the park and took a walk round the pond where they had fed the ducks with the specialised duck food that was sold in the cafe across the road. They had gotten ice-cream from the cafe, Peter had chocolate and hazelnut and Harley chose raspberry ripple. They had sat on a bench and talked, arms wrapped around waists and heads resting on shoulders until talking blended into kissing and kissing blended into cuddling. 

It was a great date, and now they were on their way back to the tower where the pair would kiss each other goodnight and Peter would patrol back to his and May’s apartment just in time for dinner. 

It was a great kiss. A really great kiss, but when Harley spoke, it took Peter off guard and made his heart leap into his throat. “How ‘bout you stay the night?” He asked. “We could watch movies and cuddle until we fall asleep.” 

He wanted to. Peter really wanted to. He relished in the feeling of Harley’s strong grip, found the ba-bump ba-bump of his heart a comforting melody as it lulled him into a calm sense of security with his head resting on top of Harley’s chest. He wanted their legs to tangle under the sheets and he wanted to wake up trapped in his embrace, watching him sleep until he woke up too, and smiled, accusing him of doing so in a voice laced sweet with sleep. Peter really wanted to. 

It was the dream, wasn’t it? To have a partner to spend every moment with- sleeping and waking- and one day he hoped to have it, but tonight he couldn’t.

 Peter couldn’t do spontaneity anymore. Not with his feeding tube, not with his pain. But Harley didn’t know that. Couldn’t know that. Peter was almost certain that if he told him, it would be over and Harley would dump him. There was no reason to date him once he knew. But could he really keep it from him? “I can’t, sorry.” Peter said.

And then, what he had been dreading. “Why not? You always say no to sleepovers. Is it a sex thing, because I promise-” 

“No! No.” Peter waved his hands, interrupting Harley. “That’s not it. I-” Peter stopped. Harley deserved to know, but that didn’t stop the wave of anxiety from rolling through him. 

He worried about the responses Harley could have. I’m sorry, but I want somebody normal. Even though Harley already knew that Peter wasn’t at all normal. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be a carer. Even though he didn’t need to be. I’m sorry, but I can date people like that. Meaning disabled people like him.

Or, there were the more veiled responses, like Harley pulling away until Peter broke up with him, or treating him like glass. Harley looking at him differently than before and denying it when Peter brought it up. 

But he deserved to know. Peter knew that, and he also knew that he deserved someone who wouldn’t treat him like that. He deserved someone who would look at the tube and shrug it off like nothing had changed. Like no revelations about Peter had happened. He knew he deserved to be loved like that, so he plundered on, deciding knowing was better than not knowing. 

He took a deep breath. “Okay, so It’s not that I can’t have a sleepover tonight–” He said, hands clasping and unclasping nervously. “- I just need to tell you something. And I understand if you don’t want to do this any more.” 

This caused Harley to furrow his brows. Taking a step forward, he took Peter’s hands into his own and squeezed reassuringly. “I have a feeding tube, which I use at night, and because of it I have a special bed. I have to sleep at a certain angle because I might choke on it in my sleep.” 

Peter looked up at Harley, who was quiet for a moment, taking the information in. Dread began to pool in Peter’s stomach as he worried at what the silence meant. This is it, he thought. This is when he tells me that it’s over. This is when I find out he doesn’t want me anymore.  “Okay,” Harley said. “So, we sleep over in your room.”

“W-what?” Peter blurted. He realised that over the course of the conversation he had convinced himself that Harley wouldn’t accept him, even though he had given no indication not to. 

“What do you mean ‘what’?”

Peter started giggling, overcome with relief, and his giggling caused Harley to start giggling too. “I thought you were going to break up with me!” He admitted. 

“Really?” Harley replied, and when Peter nodded a yes, he stepped closer until their foreheads were touching. “I would never.” He said. Hands wrapping around Peter’s waist, he leaned in and kissed him. 

It was a great kiss. A great sleepover, too.

Notes:

This took me two days to write because my laptop ran out of charge and i didn't have the energy to find my charger