Chapter Text
“So you finally got your act together, huh?” MJ raised their eyebrows and looked from Peter to Harley to their intertwined hands. Peter nodded bashfully.
“Good,” MJ leaned back on Peter’s desk chair. “It’s about damn time. The pining really got unbearable.”
“MJ!” Peter complained, heat rising to his cheeks.
She leveled him with an unimpressed glare. “You were talking about nothing but Harley, Harley, Harley. It’s really a wonder he didn’t notice anything.”
Harley’s hand tightened around Peter’s and his breath hitched. Peter, in turn, looked at him with raised eyebrows and took in the sudden red on his cheeks. He opened his mouth and Harley immediately hissed, “Don’t you fucking dare.”
Peter snorted and leaned in closer. “And if I do?”
Harley frowned. “Then you can sleep in your own bed tonight.”
Peter’s eyes widened, and he gasped. “No cuddles?”
Harley nodded gravely. “No cuddles.”
“Can you believe him?” Peter asked and turned around to MJ. “The audacity.”
MJ snorted. “What are you even talking about?”
“Darlin’, no,” Harley said and jutted his index finger out, letting it hover in front of his boyfriend’s face. Peter went cross-eyed to look at it, then caught it with his mouth.
“Are you eating my finger?” he asked indignantly.
Peter smiled, “Nom.”
“Stop it,” Harley demanded and pulled his hand back.
“Hey!” Peter complained and tried to chase it, but Harley pulled it out of his reach.
“Why do you even wanna eat my finger?”
“You’re threatening cuddle-withdrawal, I am in my right to eat your finger,” Peter declared. Then he grinned. “I’m curious now, though.”
“‘Bout what?”
“How long did you know I liked you?”
Harley raised his eyebrows. “When you told me.”
“Oh no, princess,” Peter said immediately. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
Harley groaned. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
Harley sighed. “No, I don’t.”
Peter leaned against his shoulder. “So?”
Harley bit his lip. “I think that would be the morning after that movie night.”
Peter put his hand to his ear. “I’m sorry? I don’t think I caught that.”
“You’re literally the worst,” Harley complained. “I’m not gonna let you into my bed tonight, seriously.”
Peter raised his eyebrows. “You’re lying. I can literally hear you lying.”
“Not fair.” Harley stared him down for a moment. “If you can literally hear me lying, then you definitely heard what I said.”
“That doesn’t mean MJ heard.”
Harley raised his eyebrows. “They weren’t the one asking.”
“I do wanna know, though,” she chimed in.
“Y’all are the worst.” Harley took a deep breath. “I said, I was sure the morning after that one movie night. When you almost kissed me.”
“And you chickened out,” Peter said cheerfully. “And why did you chicken out?”
“Darlin’,” Harley warned as his boyfriend turned to MJ, but he just ignored him.
“Because he thought you and I were dating!”
“Peter,” Harley shrieked, his cheeks burning in embarrassment.
MJ blinked. “Wasn’t I wearing several lesbian flags when we met?”
“He denies it, but I’m like a hundred percent sure he was too busy staring at me to notice,” Peter declared, and MJ chuckled.
“That sounds about right.”
“Shut up, Jones,” Harley hissed. “Just ‘cause I’m gay for him doesn’t mean you can bully me about it.”
“Shut up, Keener,” she mimicked. “I’m bullying Peter ‘cause he’s bi for you, too, you’re not getting any special treatment.”
“That’s how she shows their love,” Peter explained.
MJ narrowed their eyes. “Love’s a strong word, Parker.”
Peter shrieked and hid behind Harley. “Princess, protect me!”
Harley inched away. “Traitors don’t get any protection.”
MJ watched the two of them fondly, then they admitted, “You weren’t too far off, though.”
Harley’s gaze shot over to her. “Huh?”
“Peter and I did start dating last summer during our class trip to Europe,” they explained. “My last desperate attempt to appear cishet, I guess. Peter actually, genuinely liked me and he was pretty obvious about it so I decided I liked him too.” She looked over at her ex. “Now the thing was, I didn’t enjoy kissing him, or cuddling him for long times. Probably a combination of my sensory issues and me not actually liking him. Still, he enjoyed it so I decided it’s fine. Though after a month of that, I did start questioning my sexuality.”
Peter exhaled his nose. “We both realized we started falling apart. And I guess the final nail in the coffin was us trying to save our relationship by taking things a step further. Not our smartest moment,” he added.
“More like our dumbest moment,” MJ chimed in. “But that’s when I realized that I’m a lesbian so yay!” Then she watched him for a moment, a silent question in her eyes. Are you gonna tell him?
Peter nodded and looked down on his hands, and the only reason he didn’t start turning his ring again was because his right hand was caught in Harley’s. “I’ve known that I’m ace for a while now at that point, but there are so many aces out there who’re still willing to have sex with their partner to make them happy and I thought I could do it too, but …” He swallowed and bit his lips, and god he was anxious, but he needed to do this before he had a chance to get even more afraid. “I just—we only started dating two days ago but you should know. That I’m sex-averse, I mean.”
Harley blinked. “Does that mean you don’t wanna have sex with me?”
Peter rubbed his neck. “It means that, um, I don’t care if other people have sex but if I imagine myself doing it, it’s just … I get extremely grossed out. It’s got nothing to do with you,” he added quickly and looked up at Harley. “It doesn’t mean I love you any less. Just, I doubt I’m ever gonna be able to be okay with having sex with you.”
Harley just stared at him with wonder, his pupils dilated and his face flushed. “You—you love me?”
Heat rose in Peter’s face. He didn’t mean to say that, why did he say that? They were only dating for two days and this definitely wasn’t the time. “Yes, but that’s not the point.”
Harley blinked rapidly and licked his lips nervously. “Right. Um.” His eyes searched his face. “I—look, I didn’t start dating you just because I wanted to have sex with you. I mean, I hoped, and it would be nice, but—I started dating you because I like you. Romantically. And if you don’t want sex, then that’s completely fine with me. We don’t—we don’t ever have to do it, okay? If you wouldn’t enjoy it, then I don’t want it.”
Peter suddenly felt a lot lighter. Ever since Harley bolted on him that morning, that fear had weighed so heavy on his heart but now, now he felt like nothing could ever come between them. “I really appreciate it,” he whispered, and his voice broke, and suddenly there was worry in Harley’s eyes.
“You’re crying,” he said and cupped Peter’s face, rubbing his thumb over his cheek.
“Oh,” Peter breathed. Only now he noticed the tears burning in his eyes and spilling over. “I’m just—I’m just relieved.”
“It’s okay,” Harley whispered and pulled him into his arms, rubbing circles into his back like the morning Peter almost kissed him. “It’s okay, darlin’. That must have been real scary, and I’m so proud that you told me.”
Peter leaned into him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in even closer.
“It’s okay?” he whispered. “It—it’s really okay with you?”
“It’s okay,” Harley repeated. “It’s okay. I don’t need sex to love you, you hear me, darlin’? I love you, sex-aversion and all.”
Peter sobbed, “I love you too.” He burrowed himself deeper into Harley’s chest, if that was even possible. “God, I love you so much.”
And when Peter fell asleep in his boyfriend’s arms that night, he slept easier, for he didn’t have to worry anymore that Harley wanted more than he was willing to give.