Request by lovlymadain

Ok um... so this might've been requested... a year ago... errr... my bad...

But here it is! (This is why I stopped asking for requests, bc some people have been waiting for WAY too long and I feel bad :/ sorry besties I'm trying to get all these requests done but there's just SO MANY AHHHHHH)

TW: minor character death, hospitals, depressive/numb state, mention of guns

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Peter was living a good life. After the death of his parents, he moved in with his uncle Ben and aunt May. After their death, he was adopted by two loving parents, by the names of Sam and Josie. He lived in New York City, went to high school, and worked as Tony Stark's personal intern. Sure, he had been through a lot, but Peter was happy where he was in life.

Well, at least he was. Until the day it all went to shit.

It had started out as a normal day. Peter went to school, and walked to Stark Industries after. He was allowed to assist Tony in the lab on Fridays, so he was busy double checking a few crucial equations for their latest project. Harley, Tony Stark's nephew, was also there in the lab that day. Peter and Harley were around the same age, and got along well. All in all, it was a fairly average day.

Until a lower-level intern had ran in, calling Tony to the phone. Peter had paid it no mind, focusing extra on the equations in hopes of impressing the genius upon his return to the lab. When Tony returned, he had a strange expression on his face, looking a shade paler than usual.

"Mr Stark? Is everything alright?" Peter wondered.

"Yeah, uncle Tony, you look like you're gonna be sick," Harley frowned.

"Um... Peter, I need to speak with you privately, if you don't mind..." Tony was clearly startled by whatever that phone call had been about, and it made Peter nervous. Glancing at Harley, he followed the billionaire out into the hallway.

"Mr Stark?"

"Peter, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but..." The genius sighed, running a tired hand through his thinning hair. "Your parents... they were involved in an accident..."

"An accident?" Peter questioned, feeling a growing pit of dread in his gut. Tony wasn't meeting his eye- he would look anywhere else, in fact. It was doing nothing to calm his nerves.

"Yes, well... apparently, your apartment was broken into..." Tony finally met his eyes, and Peter could see the obvious pity in that gaze. "And the robbers, Peter... they had guns. Your mom, she didn't make it, and your dad... is in the hospital. But he isn't expected to make it through the night. I'm so sorry, kiddo." Peter was frozen. He couldn't do anything other than stare blankly at the older man. He wasn't sure this was real. Was he even real?

"...What?" His voice sounded like it would shatter into a million pieces, and that's how Peter felt at the moment.

"Do you want to go to the hospital? Y'know... say goodbye?" Peter nodded numbly. What was he agreeing to?

The next few minutes were a blurred mess. All Peter knew was that he ended up in a car, being driven to the hospital. There was a hand on his shoulder, Harley's hand. The blond murmured soft words of comfort while Tony drove them.

They arrived at the hospital, ushering Peter inside and asking for direction. They pushed him into Sam's room, letting them have some space.

"Dad...!" Peter cried, running in to hug his adoptive father. The man was extremely weak, wrapped up in bandages and connected to multiple noisy machines. He smiled sadly, hand shaking as he cupped Peter's cheek.

"Hey, Pete. Look, kiddo, I'm really sorry. I wish your mother and I could've stuck around longer, but... sometimes things happen," Sam chuckled weakly. He had always been a calm, laidback person, even in his final moments. "I just want you to know... I'm proud of you. You're so strong, and I want you to continue living your life. Live it to the fullest, Pete, don't let the past hold you back." Sam was visibly fading, becoming paler and paler by the second.

"No, please, don't leave... Dad..." Peter cried, shaking his head as he held one of his adoptive father's hands in his own. "Please..."

"Hey. It'll be ok. Just remember how much your mother and I love you, alright Petey?" Sam was smiling, eyelids drooping dangerously. "Goodbye... I love you." His hand went limp, eyes closing for the last time. A loud, continuous beep filled the silence in the room, signalling of the final breath that had just been taken.

Peter couldn't think. It was like his whole world just stopped. Doctors and nurses ran in, pushing him aside as they worked, eventually turning off the heartbeat monitor.

"Time of death, 4:17 pm."

~

It had been a week. Peter had been moved out of his apartment and into Stark Tower, where Harley and Tony attended to him. Harley was by Peter's side practically 24/7, making sure the brunette ate and drank water during the day. At night, he would hold Peter and whisper to him words of comfort until he fell asleep.

Even with all this, Peter felt numb and empty. As if his father's death was his own. Was he even alive anymore? He sure didn't feel like it.

Peter had never felt this way before. When his birth parents had died, he was too young to understand what was happening. A few years later, when his aunt and uncle died, he was hurt, but he got over it. He was still so young when that happened...

He had lived with his adoptive parents the longest. He was adopted when he was 9, almost 10, and he was now 17. Peter had suffered through more than a lifetime of pain and loss in his 17 years on Earth.

Harley knew this. He knew how badly this loss was affecting Peter, and he did everything in his power to stay by his side. He could tell the brunette was slipping further and further into depression, helplessly spiraling.

~

They spent weeks together. Tony and Harley both did their best to help Peter, Tony acted as his father figure while Harley... well, Harley was just trying to help the smaller boy. He had never cared so much for another person before, never thought that he would do anything for someone, sacrifice whatever he needed to in order to help... and yet, here he was, skipping school for over a month just to stay with Peter. Skipping out on invitations to things, skipping out on events and activities. He would stay with Peter no matter what.

Peter was grateful for it. He loved Harley, in more than just a friendly way. But he would never admit it. Not that he was in the right headspace for a relationship anyway.

What he didn't know, however, is that Harley loved him too. And the blond would wait for Peter as long as he needed, eternity if need be. Being around each other kept them both steady, souls intertwined in an unbreakable bond. They found comfort in each other no matter what.

Peter was laying down, head resting on Harley's chest as the southern boy ran his fingers through Peter's messy hair comfortingly. They had been sitting like that for awhile now, and Peter squirmed around for a moment before flipping over, laying directly on top of Harley with his arms draped down on either side.

"You're comfortable?" Harley wondered. Peter sighed calmly, closing his eyes.

"Mhm." Harley nodded, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. He could tell Peter was nearly asleep.

"Alright. Sleep well, darlin'."

We started out strong and ended... not so strong

Its like 6 pm now... I've been working for hours so I suppose this is good enough to post so enjoy the content and please go check out some of my other stuff, I work pretty hard on everything I publish so... show it some love!