{Forgive Me?}

I got my first request :D Again a reminder, all these chapters are available on ao3 as well.

Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own MCU. Stan Lee owns it and my heart as well.

TW: Angsty beginning. Happy ending. Non-powers AU. I'll be changing the prompt a little because we all know that Peter tends to overthink his words and would never say anything hurtful to anyone, even when insulted (*cough* Flash *cough*).

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(Note: Peter is Clint and Laura's biological son. Peter and Cooper are twins, Cooper older by a few minutes, both 16-years-old, followed by Lila and Nathaniel. For the sake of the story, let's pretend that Clint didn't hide his family and they live in New York. This is mostly in Cooper's POV).

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Cooper is confident and loud, Peter is shy and tends to stay quiet. Cooper doesn't have much interest in academics, Peter is at the top of his class. Cooper is an extrovert, Peter is an introvert. Cooper tends to wear leather jackets and tight shirts, Peter leans towards soft and oversized hoodies, sweaters, and flannels. Cooper is a (respectful) playboy, Peter doesn't do relationships.

The twins could not be any more different, yet they cannot live without each other. They completed each other.

How could this have gone so wrong?

**********

"Hey, Emily," Cooper grinned flirtatiously at the blonde, "How're you doing?"

Emily Jones was the blonde, green-eyed beauty of the school. Everyone had a crush on her, Cooper being no exception. She was the first girl he actually liked and wanted to date properly instead of short dates. He had finally decided to gather the courage to ask her out.

They both chatted for a while, walking towards their houses. Then, Cooper popped the question.

"Emily, I kind of like you a lot, will you go out with me?" he hesitantly said.

Cooper's heart dropped to his feet when he saw her lips turn down.

"I'm so sorry Cooper. I have a crush on someone else actually," she softly said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

"Hey, no problem, Em," he said, grinning easily, masking his feelings, "Can I know who this crush is?"

"It's actually your brother, Peter," she shyly said, "Oh, there's my house. See you later Cooper." She jogged to her house, waving again one last time before disappearing inside.

Cooper smiled at her. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.

**********

"Hey Chunkamunk," Peter grinned happily at his brother, "What's up?"

Cooper didn't answer, staring at his twin, trying to see what would be that Emily liked in Peter that he didn't have.

They had the same curly brown hair, but Peter's curls were softer and fluffier than his. They both had brown eyes, but Peter's were huge doe eyes while he had small hooded ones. His skin was tan, but his brother had pale skin which contrasted nicely against his brown hair and eyes. Cooper was taller than him, Peter's chin reaching his shoulder. His arms were bulging with muscles because of archery, but Peter's arms were full with soft, lean muscles. Not too much but not too little.

The more Cooper looked at his brother, the more the jealousy in him increased.

"Cooper?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Peter's worried face.

"You alright?" Peter said, sitting down next to him, now wearing a hoodie he stole from Cooper's closet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cooper smiled fakely at him. Peter frowned but didn't question his brother.

He started rambling about some science stuff that Cooper didn't understand a word of. The more he spoke, the more Cooper seethed, noticing how his brother's voice was softer and more soothing than his, how he was smarter than him, how his eyes lit up as he rambled, how he giggled adorably in his hoodie paws at his own jokes. The perfect boyfriend material and Emily's ideal type to the T.

"JUST SHUT UP," Cooper shouted. Peter started and looked at him with wide puppy eyes.

"Broball? What-"

Cooper scoffed loudly, his jealousy blinding him, "For god's sake, just shut up. You ramble way too much. Nobody in school even likes you because you're such a big nerd. And why do you keep stealing my clothes? Don't you have your own? And those annoying nicknames you keep calling me? You're so needy, clinging to me for everything and hugging me. If it wasn't for dad's status as Hawkeye, you would be bullied the most there. You're too annoying. That's the reason why I have had friends and you don't."

Cooper took a deep breath after his ramble.

.

.

.

Then, his words caught up to him.

His eyes shot up to look at Peter, his heart breaking when he saw the anguish on his face and the tears streaking down. In his fit of rage, he had forgotten one crucial fact.

Peter was a huge gay disaster.

"Right, sorry," Peter said softly, getting up and backing towards the door, "I'll just go."

"Pete-," Cooper said, getting up. Idiot. Such a big idiot. Why are you such an idiot, Cooper Barton?

"I had promised Ned that we would study French together. I'm gonna go. Bye Broba-," he hesitated, "-Cooper," he corrected. And then he was gone, chucking the hoodie he was wearing on the bed and running out.

"You don't even have French," Cooper whispered to nothing, his guilt weighing him down.

**********

The next week was terrible for Cooper. He could have apologized to his brother when he came back from 'studying French', but his pride was too much, so he simply ignored him. The worst mistake he could have made.

Peter no longer tackled him for hugs. He no longer snuggled in his bed in the middle of the night for cuddles. He no longer rambled about random things. He no longer clung to him in the middle of the school. He no longer called him ridiculous nicknames. He no longer stole his clothes. In fact, all the clothes Peter had stolen from Cooper were back in his closet, washed and folded neatly and a sincere sorry note on top of the pile.

That was the last straw for Cooper.

**********

Laura Barton was the wife of Hawkeye, a superhero. She was calm in most situations, ranging from kidnappings to applying ointment on her husband's bruises and cuts. But nothing could have prepared her for her eldest son, who rarely cried, to come sobbing to her.

Wait a minute, let me rewind this for you to understand better.

Laura was snuggled up to Clint, watching some movie on the TV and softly chatting with him.

Then, Cooper burst into the living room, sobbing. Clint immediately shot up, searching his son for any traces of wounds only to have Cooper throw himself at his father. The couple exchanged worried glances with each other.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked softly.

"I messed up, mom," Cooper cried, "I hurt Peter."

Clint guided him to the couch, Laura sitting down beside him.

"Tell us from the beginning champ," Clint said.

Cooper sniffled a few times, then told his parents everything. How he tried to ask Emily out, what she said, how he got jealous, how he shouted at his twin, how he hurt Peter.

"Now he doesn't ramble to me, he doesn't cling to me, he's stopped stealing my clothes. I hate it dad, mom."

Clint pursed his lips and Laura sighed.

"Sweetie," she said sadly, "You know how Peter is. He probably thinks it's his fault. He is not even trying to make you feel guilty. He's genuinely trying to change himself so that you like him better." Cooper muffled a loud sob at that.

"All my hoodies are back in my closet too," Clint muttered to himself, furrowing his eyebrows, "And he hasn't hugged me since a week. Laura's hoodies and clothes are back too. He's really trying to change himself to match your tastes."

Clint met Laura's eyes and motioned towards the kitchen. She nodded and left, trusting him to handle it. Cooper was closer to Clint while Peter was closer to her.

"Cooper, I am very disappointed in you," Clint said. Cooper nodded bitterly, "Trust me, I'm disappointed in myself too."

"You shouldn't have taken your anger out on your twin. It's not his fault that Emily girl didn't like you or that she had a crush on him. If she doesn't like you, she's missing out on something great. And what you said to him was targeting all his insecurities. You hurt him, buddy."

"Will he never forgive me?" Cooper asked, already fearing the worst.

"Cooper, Pete isn't even angry at you. He thinks it's his fault. You need to go talk to him. Tell him what caused you to act as you did. And that you didn't mean a word you said, the most difficult thing to convince him of. He is probably hating himself right now Cooper, and you need to stop that."

Clint smiled secretly as he watched his son nod determinedly. It's all going to be alright. After all, he is a Barton.

**********

Cooper sat in their shared bedroom, waiting for his twin to come back. Peter had been staying out for large amounts of time after school, either studying with Ned or hanging out with MJ.

He sat up when Peter came to the bedroom. The doe-eyed boy smiled softly at him, muttering a quiet, "Hey Cooper."

"Hey Pete, wait up," Cooper said, shooting up to his feet. He strode up to his brother, determined to make this right.

Cooper straight up pulled the smaller boy in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry Peter," he whispered.

"What for Cooper?" Peter asked, genuinely confused.

"Stop calling me that," Cooper exclaimed, anguished, "Call me Broski, Broball, all those ridiculous nicknames you called me. Stop calling me Cooper. I didn't mean a thing I said Pete. I was jealous and I'm the worst brother in the world."

"You were jealous of me?" Peter asked, even more confused. What the hell is happening?

"Yes, Pete. That girl I like? Emily? I asked her out, and she said no, saying that she has a crush on you. I got jealous. Jealous enough to forget that you are a huge disaster gay. I didn't mean a word I said. Forgive me?"

Peter pulled away from the hug, looking up at his brother for any signs of lying.

He then smiled genuinely at him, "It's okay, Coope- Broseidon."

"No it's not okay," Cooper exclaimed, "First, get out of your ridiculous hoodie and change into one of mine, like, right now."

Peter giggled and went to the bathroom, changing into one of Cooper's oversized hoodies and coming back outside.

Cooper, in that time, had lied down on the bed on his back, his eyes closed, tears leaking from the corners. How could Peter forgive him so easily? He deserved worse than that. How could he have been such a terrible twin? He opened his eyes when he felt a light weight settle on him.

Peter was lying on top of him, wiping away his tears with his hoodie paws. "It's fine Brotato Chip. Don't cry."

Cooper wrapped his arms around his twin's waist, turning them both to their sides. Then, he pulled Peter's head to his chest, running a hand through his fluffy hair and pressing a kiss on his forehead.

"I know you, Pete. I know you'll still think of those idiotic words I said. I love you, little brother, more than anything else in the world. I love your hugs, your cuddles, your ridiculous nicknames, your stealing my hoodies, your ramblings, your nerdiness, everything. I'll keep reminding you this till you believe me."

When Clint and Laura peeked in the twin's room to check on them, only to find both of them asleep, Cooper holding Peter's face in his chest almost protectively, both of them smiled knowingly at each other.

And if Cooper was overprotective of Peter, tackling him in hugs and snuggles and glaring at anyone who tried to look at him the wrong way, nobody said anything.

After all, twins are born together to be best friends forever.