Request by chenrmg (Wattpad)

HI SORRY I TOOK SO LONG MY BAD

also... this request was really vague so I hope this is good enough

I've been working on this one for like... 2 weeks. Deadass. Wrote more than half of it today lmao

TW: small mention of blood, needles

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Peter torpedoed through the water, tail flicking back and forth at lightning speeds. He laughed to himself, leaping out of the water gracefully before diving back under. His cherry-red scales sparkled and shone under the bright sun, reflecting small patterns on random rocks and ocean debris.

With a satisfied sigh, the young siren climbed up onto a rock to lay under the sun's heated waves. He flicked his tail contently, falling asleep on the rock.

This was particularly dangerous for two reasons: he was out of siren territory, and Peter was a rare type of siren. His red tail clashed beautifully with his blue-scaled gills, with a short, purple-hued fin tracing his spine and matching ones on each arm. Yes, Peter was truly a rare breed, and that was just in his coloring. He also stood out due to the fact that he was a male siren, which was extremely uncommon.

So, for Peter to be a male, rare-colored siren taking a nap in plain view was... less than ideal. Especially with all the hunters that came searching for the siren colonies.

But that day, Peter got lucky with who found him. Even if that luck came with a price.

Harley whistled mindlessly, tapping the guardrail of the fishing boat he had rented. Suddenly, a reflection hit him right in the eyes, making him squint and search for the source of it. He gasped when he saw the figure laying on a rock, quickly alerting the driver to slow down and head in the direction of it cautiously.

The boat approached the rock, crawling at a snail's pace as they got closer to the strange creature sunning itself. The boat slowed to a stop, idling in place as Harley tied the creature up and brought it into the boat. It stirred, groaning and trying to rub it's eyes before the rope pulled tight and stopped him in place.

"Wha-!" Harley backed up a bit as the creature struggled against it's restraints. "Oh my Neptune, I'm so stupid, please sir I don't want to die!" It cried. Harley frowned, tilting his head.

"What are you?" He asked, completely disregarding the creature's words.

"I'm a siren..." It mumbled, trying to flap his long red tail. Harley pulled out a notebook, writing something down.

"Really? I've never heard of a male siren before," he commented skeptically.

"Ok, then what the fuck else would I be?"

"Wow, someone's sassy!" The siren just rolled his eyes in response. "I'm Harley. And I'm not going to kill you."

"Thank Neptune," he sighed. "I'm Peter. Are you going to let me go then, or...?" Harley smiled sheepishly, shaking his head.

"Ah... no. You're coming back with me. How long can you be out of water?" He wondered, pen poised over his notebook.

"I dunno, maybe like... six hours, at the most?" Peter shrugged. "Haven't bothered to test that before."

"Right..." Harley sighed.

"Wait, why did you ask?" The siren asked nervously.

"Well, I need to have a tank system installed, don't I?" Peter tilted his head curiously. "I'm a scientist. And you're going to be my new study subject! So... I need to have you confined so you can't run- or, er, swim away." Peter shrunk back in fear, a soft whimper escaping his lips. "But I'm not going to dissect you or anything, I promise. Just a study, and then I'll set you free."

"Do I get a choice?"

"Nope! Pretty sure you don't even have rights, seeing as sirens are viewed as a direct threat to humanity," Harley shrugged, somewhat pitiful for the young creature. He genuinely did feel bad for Peter, but on the other hand... this could be the scientific breakthrough he'd been looking for. He couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.

"Look, I'm not a monster or anything. I said I plan on setting you free afterwards, and I'm not a liar." Peter let out a sigh, shoulders deflating.

"Yeah, alright. I guess," he mumbled half-heartedly. Harley smiled, nodding as he untied the young siren.

"Again, wasn't asking, but glad you and I can see eye to eye." Peter let out a soft huff, royal blue gills flaring out before returning to normal. Harley was fascinated, scribbling something down in his notebook. The siren glanced over quickly, eyebrows furrowing.

"What are you doing?" Harley looked up, tilting his head slightly.

"Taking notes," he answered bluntly.

"Can I see?" Harley paused for a moment, before shrugging.

"I guess." He turned the notebook around so that Peter could see. His brown doe eyes were wide with amazement as he reached out to touch it, only to have Harley pull it away quickly.

"You'll get the pages wet!" The scientist exclaimed, Peter shying away at the mild outburst.

"Sorry..." He mumbled. Harley sighed, shoulders slumping.

"No... it's ok, I just really need this research to stay in good condition. The water might make it smudge or rip," he explained.

"Oh. What do the little markings mean?" Peter wondered. Harley furrowed his eyebrows, showing Peter the notebook paper again.

"You can't read this?" He asked, pointing at a bullet point. Peter shook his head, eyes wide and innocent. Harley wrote down another note, before setting the book aside. "Are all sirens illiterate? Or just you?"

"Why would I need to know how to read? I live underwater, it's not like anybody is taking notes like you do!" Peter exclaimed, raising up his arms. Harley silently noted the uneven patterning of scales and skin that covered his arms.

"I suppose you're right."

"But you could teach me...?" Peter suggested, offering a shy smile. Harley raised an eyebrow, humming monotonously.

"We'll see."

It had been about two weeks since Peter's capture and introduction to living in captivity. Harley had stayed true to his word and refrained from harming the siren, and had even began teaching him to read. Peter missed the freedom of the open ocean, but there was also something about living with Harley that made the confined space worth it.

Harley had installed a tank system around his house. It had all gone together quickly, but held fairly sturdy and allowed Peter to swim from room to room, with a large outdoor area with large rocks and pavement to sun himself on. This area was particularly good for Peter's reading lessons.

"The... d- dog? Um... jumped... over the..." Peter struggled, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He let out a sigh, giving up. "What's that last one?"

"Fence," Harley smiled, snorting a little. "F-E-N-C-E."

"F-E-N-C-E. Fence," Peter repeated. "The dog jumped over the fence."

"Yes! Good!" Harley praised, handing over a seaweed snack for the good work. "You're doing really well, but we gotta take a break. I need to continue my research." Peter nibbled at his snack, frowning at the scientist.

"O-kay," he sighed. "What's today?" Harley looked apologetic, pulling out his notebook.

"I was hoping you would let me take a blood sample to analyze it?" He poised it as a question, tone hopeful that Peter would consent to it. The siren looked uneasy, shrinking back a little. "I know I promised not to hurt you, but it would be quick and it wouldn't hurt that bad."

"Do I have to?"

"Well, I won't force you, but considering how rare a siren like you is, it would make an excellent addition to my research. And I can help you through it, if you're that worried," Harley offered. Peter hesitated for a moment, before quietly agreeing. Harley clasped his hands together excitedly. "Wonderful! I'll be right back!"

Harley ran off, leaving Peter to his thoughts. He was getting awfully attached to the young scientist, and he wasn't quite sure what to think of it. In the siren colony, Peter had both male and female sirens constantly competing for his attention, but he never paid them any mind because no matter who showed up with gifts, they just weren't appealing to him. He always assumed he had something wrong with him, unable to feel anything towards anyone else.

Until he met Harley. Sure, at first he wasn't the biggest fan of the scientist, but he had really grown on Peter over these past two weeks. Peter wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. It was completely new to him, and it made him nervous. Being around Harley made his heart beat faster, when Harley would run his fingers over Peter's colorful scales a shiver ran through the siren's body, and when the blond would smile at him Peter couldn't help but smile back. He didn't know what this feeling was. Could he be sick?

"I'm back!" Harley exclaimed, holding up a small box. Peter gulped, ducking underwater and swimming into the corner. He just needed to relax, Harley wasn't going to hurt him. He said it would be fine, and he wouldn't lie to Peter, right?

"Hey, come on, I need you above water for this. Please come out from there," Harley called out, beckoning Peter to the surface. The siren swam up, poking the top of his head above water so that the small blue fins on his ears were sticking up.

"Yeah, that's it, come sit up here," the scientist cooed softly, patting the slightly damp pavement next to him. Peter cautiously swam up, slowly emerging from the water to sit up next to Harley. As he approached, Peter saw Harley open the box and pull out a few pieces of what looked like white cloth.

"C'mere." He patted the pavement again, letting Peter move himself up there. "Alright, I just need to dry and clean it first, alright? Let's see..." He took Peter's arm in his hands gently, turning it over to expose the inside of his elbow- where there were no scales in the way of the needle.

Peter whimpered softly, breathing heavily now. Harley stopped to look him in the eye. "Hey. It's going to be real quick, ok? I just need a few seconds to draw blood, and then you're all set. I can give you a treat after too, I made something for you." Peter stared into Harley's blue eyes, reminding him of the beautiful bluish color the ocean seemed to have. He was starting to feel homesick, despite his feelings towards Harley- whatever they were.

"I wanna go home..." Peter mumbled, voice breaking. Harley's gaze softened, letting go of Peter's arm. He looked away, sighing.

"I know... I just need a few more days, ok? And then you can go back home and I won't ever bother you again." Peter frowned at that. As much as he wanted to go home, he also wanted to stay with Harley and keep learning how to read. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Peter stuck his arm out for Harley, allowing the scientist to dry off the inside of his elbow with one piece of cloth, then clean it up with a sanitizing wipe. He pulled the needle from his box, and Peter had to fight his instinct to swim away.

"I need you to look away, alright? It makes it easier," Harley informed. Peter inhaled sharply, turning away from his exposed arm. "Why don't you tell me about your home? Got anybody special?" Harley uncapped the needle, holding Peter's arm still while he searched for a vein.

"Um... not really. A lot of sirens show up with gifts, but I always turn them down."

"Why's that?" Harley found a vein, tightening his grip on Peter's arm so he wouldn't lose it.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Not your type?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"And what is your type?" Harley held the needle just above the skin, waiting for Peter to answer first.

"Umm..." You. "I dunno... aH-!" Peter yelped, feeling the needle pierce his skin. Harley drew blood as quickly as possible, removing the needle and capping it. He pulled a bandaid out of the box, unwrapping it and smoothing it over the crimson bead that was beginning to form.

"YOU FUCKER!" Peter screeched, pulling his arm away and cradling it gently. Harley chuckled, cleaning up his supplies.

"See, you're fine! And that's a waterproof bandaid, so hopefully it stays on." Peter's anger cooled off quickly. That was actually really sweet of him... "I'll be right back." Harley left, and Peter sighed. He was definitely falling for Harley. This could never end well.

The blond returned holding a small object in his hand, grinning widely. Handing it to Peter, he says:

"You did really well. I'm proud of you." The siren hesitates for a moment before accepting the gift. Even though in his culture, accepting a gift means accepting a proposal (sirens tend to skip over dating entirely. A lot of them don't marrying for love, but rather for reproductive reasons. It's just the way their culture works.), Peter knew that human culture was different and they often gave gifts to friends and family.

"I know sirens can't really have some things, so I made you a special brownie. Chocolate free, completely safe for you to eat," Harley explained.

"I..." Peter looked up, eyes wide. "Thank you..." This was probably the sweetest thing anybody had ever done for Peter. Even the sirens who brought gifts as proposals didn't go this far. And Harley had just meant it in a friendly way, surely.

"Of course, it was no problem. You deserve a treat for letting me do this study. Anyways..." He trailed off, changing the subject quickly. "You clearly have a type, but you're not telling me. Why? Embarrassed?" Harley teased.

"I- I don't have a type!" Peter protested, gills flaring.

"I think you just don't want to admit that I'm your type," Harley smirked. Peter sputtered for a moment, struggling to deny it.

"...Shut up..." Peter crossed his arms, huffing with annoyance. He slid back into the water, pouting where Harley couldn't reach him.

"Oh, come on darlin'," Harley purred, southern accent shining through. Peter choked a little in surprise, unsure of what to do. Was Harley teasing or flirting? Could it maybe be both?

"Can you come up here? I'd actually like to ask you something." Peter flicked his tail, gliding through the water up to the surface.

"Yes?"

"Why did you accept the brownie?" Peter practically felt his heart stop.

"Wha... what?"

"Gifts, aren't they like proposals to sirens?" Harley questioned. Peter was completely frozen, unsure of what to do.

"I- uh-"

"I know they are. You accepted my gift, why?" Peter finally found his voice, finding a gentle retort.

"Why would you give it to me if you didn't want me to take it?"

"I never said I didn't want you to take it."

How tf did we get here um anyways I'll just end it here and make a part 2 since this chapter is already more than twice the length of a normal chapter

Also if it takes a while... Im busy ok I promise I'm not ignoring y'all on purpose