Tate let out a relieved sigh as he sat down at his desk. The four screens before him all lighting up as Friday powered on his computer. He rolled his shoulders and neck to relieve the tension. Frustration and soreness from the day still lingering in his muscles. His legs aching from the day, left over pain from the injuries flaring up making him tetchy. One hand massaged his thigh absentmindedly as he began filling his computer screens. One tab had a map of the city on display. A red dot emblazoned with a spider was moving across it. Peter's daily patrol across the city on screen. Outside, the skyline was darkening with the dregs of sunset.

Tate's phone began buzzing. The boy leaned back into his chair with a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair as he pulled the device out of his pocket. "Hello?"

"How Y'all doing up there in the big city", a familiar voice spoke. Tate found himself grinning widely at the over emphasised accent.

"Harley!" He crowed down the line. "My brother from another mother. What are you doing? How's Tennessee?"

"Good. We're all good down here. Abby is in the preteen eye rolling stage of her life, which is driving me up the wall. More importantly, how are you? Back on your feet yet?" Harley's voice was laced with concern. The other boy, who was only a year older than Tate, taking on the role of big brother. (Not that Tate needed another big brother. He had Jason and Charley already). Tate just sighed fondly.

Harley had taken Tate under his wing as soon as Tony had introduced them four years ago. Ever since Harley had helped Tony out all those years ago, the billionaire paid him a visit once a year. It hadn't been long after he had adopted Tate that they went down for a visit. Thirteen year old Harley had kidnapped him into his garage and ever since, they had been virtual buddies. Harley was practically adopted by Tony anyway. Even though they didn't see each other in person very often, Harley was the closest Tate had to a older brother. And the southern boy definitely knew it. He had been calling once a week ever since news of Germany had reached him. (Tate would never admit it but he was fond of Harley's nagging).

"I'm walking now. I just have to be careful not to overstrain myself". There was a cheer down the line. Tate grinned, eyes watching Peter's tracker dart around the city as he listened to the phone.

"Gotten back on a skateboard yet?"

"Almost", Tate winced and rubbed at his thighs again. The muscles were seizing which made sharp pains dance up his legs. "I can do short journeys. No tricks yet. I have to be careful of my knees and joints". Momentary bitterness filled him at the reminder that his damn legs were still limiting him. It must have shown in his voice as Harley paused. When the other boy replied, his voice was gentle and warming.

"Hey. I know it's all shit but this won't last forever. It must be hard now so that it can be better later. The more you look after yourself and heal properly, the less likely it is going to hinder you later on".

Tate huffed. "I know. It's just frustrating".

"Yeah", Harley murmured back. "You got anything planned for your birthday? It's coming up soon."

Tate grimaced. His sixteenth birthday was the week after homecoming and he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do. He had never really celebrated his birthday before being adopted. It used to involve him and his mom taking the day off from school or work and going shopping. It was a day just for them. Since she had died, it hadn't been the same. Tony and Pepper tried their best but Tate never really knew how to deal with his birthday.

Tate opened his mouth but Harley beat him to it. "Whatever you have planned, Tony has already arranged for me to come and stay for the week. I'm dying to see your new apartment. Have you moved yet?" He smiled. Harley knew him well.

"No but Tony has brought a lake house on the edge of the state. He wants to vacation there this Christmas".

"Sounds nice. The old man told me on the phone. He's also invited me to Christmas".

"That would be cool", Tate hummed. With one hand, he reached out and pulled out a bottle of painkillers from his desk and shook out two. "You can meet all my friends when you visit for my birthday. Be warned, the group is rather big now".

"Popular kid", Harley chuckled. "Tony mentioned that he has a new intern". His tone was teasing. "What's he like?"

"Oh, Peter? Yeah. He's working for dad now". Tate knew that as soon as he had spoken, he had made a mistake.

"His name's Peter? What do you think of him?" Harley's grin was audible down the line.

"He's nice. Very cute. Reminds me of a puppy sometimes. He is very into mechanics and chemistry. You'd like him". There was more he could say. Tate thought about it and realised that there was so much more he could say. It clogged up his throat worse than  dry swallowing the pills. He coughed and stopped.

Harley hummed. "Sounds like a good kid".

"Yeah". Tate stuttered. He felt anxious and he didn't know why.

"Is he a good friend?" Harley knew what he was doing. His tone was too light and prompting. Tate fell for it.

"He is. He waits for me at at the door to our classes when we share. He likes to wear these dorky T-shirt's with terrible science puns and prefers to carry his text books rather than actually use his backpack. Which is just weird. He also gets really competitive. Charley, Jason and him got into a really aggressive game of mario cart during the sleep over last week. It then dissolved into a popcorn fight and Peter is scarily accurate. He had Callum and Ned begging for mercy by the end", Tate broke off into giggles at the memory. "He looks all innocent half the time but he's so devious. It's so funny when he catches people by surprise. Like a switch has been flipped and he's now an imp".

Harley interrupted with a amused chuckle. "Seems like you know a lot about Peter. Good for you Tae".

Tate scowled, pulling his legs up onto the chair so that he was curled comfortably. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing". Harley was teasing him. "You'll figure it out eventually".

"Figure what out? Harley!"

"I'm just saying that it's good that you have such a close friend Tae".

Tate scoffed. "Your tone is not so innocent. Just tell me what's so funny".

"Nope. I am going to Lord this over you forever".

Tate huffed loudly and Harley sniggered. "Aww come on Harls, what did I say?"

"You just know a lot about Peter. I'm don't recall you speaking so much about your other friends before. I hate to say it Tate, but you are quite closed off".

"Am not".

"Are too. You don't really speak about the things you like or about yourself. You're a private person. Which is fine". Tate made a grumbling sound at Harley calling him out. "It's not a bad thing Tate. It's just rare for you to speak about someone else so much. Do you like Peter?"

"Yeah I like him. He's a good friend", he responded without thinking.

Harley sighed audibly down the line. "No. I mean do you like him, like him".

"Like him, like him?" Tate was confused.

"Like him maybe romantically? Not just as a friend?"

"What?" The question made his brain falter. "Like, if I have a crush on him?"

"Yes".

"A crush?" Tate repeated. His brain felt like it was fizzing out. It was as if someone had opened his skull and dumped five bags of popping candy in his head. Too many thoughts overlapping at once. (Did he like Peter? How do you know when you like someone? Could he even feel like that for someone? It had never happened before. Should he call Callum? No, Callum would laugh and read the heck out of him. What did he do? Would Peter even like him back? Oh, god, did wondering if Peter liked him back then did that mean that he did like him?). It was all too much.

"Yeah. Do you feel like you may have a crush on Peter?" Harley's voice had softened. It became calming and reassuring.

"I don't know". Tate felt like he had just pushed into the sea and was being knocked around by tides. "Harley. I've never liked someone before. I thought I was on the ace spectrum".

"Hey. Tate, it's okay. You use the term Demi which means that you're still on the ace spectrum. Having a crush on someone doesn't mean you suddenly feel attracted to everyone. How long have you known Peter?"

"Three months". It was actually closer to four months.

"You know that you don't have to rush anything Tae. I was just teasing. There's no pressure for you to do anything", Harley reassured.

Tate pressed a hand to his cheek. The skin was warm with a blush under his fingers. He thought about Peter. How the other boy's eyes crinkled when he smiled, how he liked to tap his pen against his lips when he was thinking on a hard problem. The way his voice would go high and fast when he was particularly excited about something. The way he was always moving. Too much energy and strength in a small body. Feet tapping or knee bouncing, only falling still in slumber or when he was busy working on something particularly delicate. He smiled with a crooked grin and his hair would develop a slight wave if he didn't gel it back. He loved science but found joy in photography as a hobby. He would hunch himself up in class as if to make himself disappear but when with friends, Peter would unfold and the true brightness of his personality would blind you.

"Tate? You still there bud?" Harley's voice brought him out of his head.

"Yeah", Tate murmured. "Harls. I think you might be right".

"I usually am".

"Holy shit".

"Mood".

"But, like, holy shit". Tate spun in his chair, eyes wide. "I have a crush? How do you have a crush? I can't cope with this. Holy shit".

"Tate", Harley was laughing. "It's not the end of the world".

Tate opens his mouth to retort but a sudden beeping interrupted him. He twisted the chair round. The screen displaying Peter's tracker, was flashing. With a few taps of the keyboard, he pulled up the local security cameras of the area and grimaced. "Fuck", he muttered. "Harls, I'm going to have to call back and freak out again later. Someone just tried to blow up Spider-Man". On the video feed, the deli on queens burned. Peter in his suit haloed by the fire.

Unedited