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"Yeah we do. Spider-Man."
Peter's body was buzzing with adrenaline, fear, embarrassment and something else he'd pushed down a very long time ago. Harry was just smiling at him, catching his breath, still reeling from *whatever* just sprang out of him.
He'd almost died. He almost lost his grip on the coaster and dropped those poor people into the inferno below, the rest of the tracks crushing them afterwards. But he didn't because of Harry. *Harry.*
In his shock, Peter had completely forgotten to disguise his voice in front of Harry and unsurprisingly, Harry immediately recognised him. Was instantly able to tell who was under the mask.
And now here they are on a rooftop, readying themselves for quite the conversation
"I... Uh..." Peter's mouth hung open like an idiot and he reached up with one hand, grabbing the top of his mask and pulling it off his head. It felt heavy in his hand as his arm dropped to his side.
And yet, Harry was still smiling. Something akin to disbelief on his face but also, unmistakably, amusement.
"Before you say anything." Harry's voice brought him to attention. Peter's eyes darted from his face to the hand his best friend raised beside his head. "I just gotta double check something..." Harry bit his bottom lip to push back a wider spread grin, standing up.
Peter waited, fingers on one hand twitching around his mask, the other hand grasping at air.
Harry took a single step closer. "There's only...*recently*... Been two Spider-Men right?" Harry put up two fingers on his raised hand. The hint of a smirk was hard for anyone to miss. Especially not Peter who was hyper focused on every little detail of his best friends face.
Gulping away the dryness in his throat he nodded, smacking his lips together in a vague light-hearted manner. "Yeah. Yeah...not too long after you...uh... *left.*" He gestured vaguely and Harry nodded slowly.
Another step closer. "And you were the original?" The smirk was more evident now. Harry halted about a foot away
Peter nodded a second time, hand curling into a fist around the mask. A feeling of shame building in his chest. Thank god Harry's always been a good sport, so Peter's not afraid that he's hurt him or humiliated him in some way. But he has absolutely opened himself up to be terrorized for his past behaviour and Peter's not sure if his heart can handle Harry playfully smirking at him like that for much longer.
It was Harry's turn to nod again, hand on his hip, averting his eyes to look off over the city for a few moments, grin still overtaking his face.
God this is it. Peter was mentally preparing himself for an earful. Although Harry definitely doesn't look mad. Unless he's doing that thing where people smile when they're really angry.
The situation inside the vent flashed in front of his eyes in 4k for the first time in years. The way Harry looked, smelled...it washed over him in an instant.
Peter fidgeted with the suit fabric on his thigh. "Are we...um." Peter swallowed again. "We good?"
*We good?* Grow a spine Parker.
Harry met his eyes again at the nervous question, face falling to something less readable. The hint of amusement was still visible but it was shrouded by something closer to intrigue.
The silence was physically painful to Peter. All he could do was stand there feeling exposed and dirty under Harry's gaze. He'd kept this from him for so long and now it was all out in the open. He's not sure if he wanted Harry to call him out or to just pretend nothing happened. Both sound awful. He fully took advantage of his best friends crush on his alter ego, he feels like he *deserves* to be torn into a little bit.
Harry folded his arms, smile returning in spades.
"I just never knew you were so flexible."
Peter's cheeks matched the pink of his lips by this point. The way Harry bounced around the part that he knew Peter was thinking about. Harry burst into laughter, throwing his head back, clearly delighted by Peter's embarrassment.
"Seriously, since when can you do the splits? Also handstands? Wild."
When Peter met his eyes again all he could do was shake his head ever-so-slightly, biting back his own smile. "This isn't funny." He tried, defiantly.
Harry scoffed "It's *very* funny, are you kidding me?" He pointed over his shoulder back towards the Coney Island grounds. "Just before when I was telling that story-"
Peter groaned, covering his face with his hands, only spurring Harry on to laugh more. He spoke between giggles. "-I've been wondering forever about what was going on in *his* head. Now I know it's *your* head I should have been wondering about."
Peter just kept shaking his head, holding his mask flat over his burning face. "I really wasn't thinking." He murmured softly. That was a lie. If anything he was thinking too much. "I got... Caught up in--I--...I don't know." He's just rambling, trying to say something to excuse himself. What could be possibly even say? Nothing that would make it sound better, that's for sure.
Something in Harry shifted at that. Peter could feel his eyes on him even though he still had his face hidden in his hands. He dragged his hands down his face in time to see Harry's raised eyebrow. The look in Harry's eye sent a wave of fear to Peter's stomach as he spoke. "What? Were you messing with me or something?" It wasn't meant to sound accusatory, a slight dry smile on his face in the moment. But it still made Peter's heart lurch.
He blanched, eyes wide and desperate. "No! No! Absolutely not! Not at all! " Peter quickly tried to stamp out that theory and Harry's face relaxed. "I-... I just..." He paused and Harry looked on expectantly.
"Well?"
Peter weakly flailed his arms, looking at Harry with desperate eyes. "When I'm Spider-man I'm kind of in character y'know? The whole charming, unserious thing. It's all a part of the suit." He relieved the pressure on himself by taking a few well-needed steps backwards. Harry was still waiting for a suitable explanation.
Peter tried to hide the shake in his voice. "But when you were in danger it was really hard to separate what Spider-Man would do from what *I* would do but I had to double down on the Spider persona otherwise you'd definitely figure out it was me. I...and then you....then we..." He paused, hot shame rushing to his head thinking about the time in the vent. Harry noticeably tensed up but didn't make any moves.
Peter sighed "I couldn't look you in the eyes for a month. I just kept thinking about it, about *you* and I couldn't work out where Spider-Man ended and I started and how much of what I was doing was because I was playing a part or-" He forced himself to stop his word vomit before he said anything he'd regret. "But regardless, you're *you* and I couldn't stop feeling ashamed whenever I saw you because I felt like I'd betrayed your trust or that I'd tricked you and I felt so gross hiding it because I *wanted* to tell you about this! I really did-" he started waving the Spider-man mask around.
"Pete."
"-But then I'd have to explain myself and I didn't even know how to explain it to my own brain, let alone you, and everything I thought of sounded terrible and then too much time had passed and the more time that passed it got worse and weirder to bring up again and I-"
"Pete, *Pete.*" Thankfully, Harry interjected. Speaking gently yet firmly. Holding his hands up in front of him, Harry began to reach out. A simple, friendly gesture. Where instead, a mass of black tendrils shot out of his hand and Peter was shocked out of his panic, springing backwards onto the wall behind him.
"Woah!" Harry reeled back looking from his hand to Peter as the tendrils receded back into his arm. Slowly creeping down from where he'd landed on the wall, Peter planted his feet back on the floor of the roof they were standing on, momentarily distracted by the question of Harry's newfound abilities.
"Sorry..." Harry started a little absent-mindedly. "Don't quite have the hang of this thing yet."
Peter was grateful for the topic change. "What is it anyway?" He slowly started closing the gap again, one small step at a time.
Harry took a deep breath. "I think it's my cure? Doctor Connors said it was a suit...an exoskeleton of sorts..."
Peter's eyes widened in amazement. "So not only does it cure you but it also gives you super strength apparently?" Recalling not even a few minutes ago when Harry single handedly lifted half the rollercoaster and the Big Wheel off of him.
"Apparently." Harry shrugged, chuckling at Peter's face.
They fell silent again. Just looking at each other. Peter steeled himself enough to break the silence. Trying to regain some dignity and composure after his panic earlier.
"I guess we have... multiple things to talk about." Peter watched the smile on Harry's face grow gentler for a moment, before springing back into that same teasing grin.
"Not that much" He shrugged. Smile growing broader as Peter tilted his head in confusion. "I feel a little better knowing the reason you didn't tell me you were Spider-Man is because you'd previously tried to seduce me."
Peter's burning face was thankful for the cool night air. "Oh my g- Stop."
"Am I wrong?" Harry crossed his arms, grinning ear to ear, waiting for a response.
"Yes!" Peter announced confidently. Not totally a lie since it wasn't his intention. "Also you started it! You said it yourself!" Pointing a finger on his free hand.
"*I* was flirting with Spider-man." Harry corrected, lips pursed to hold back a brighter smile he may have decided wasn't appropriate. He locked eyes with Peter again. "*You* on the other hand..." His face had fallen thoroughly into the unreadable now.
Peter sighed, seriously considering stepping off the building edge and swinging away. He truly hadn't put any intelligent thought into this revelation. In the moment, he explained that day away by it just being a fun thing he does as Spider-man. Spider-Man is carefree and cool and charming. he was just playing the part. He'd put years of effort into denying it ever happened for the sake of his own sanity. For the sake of their friendship. Repressing any feelings that tried to surface when his eyes trailed over Harry's face when they stayed up late at May's on a school night. Tucked into his twin bed reading comics and talking about nothing. Pushing back urges to put on the suit and go to visit Harry just to see what might happen.
His cruel brain imagined scenarios where Harry discovered his identity and called him a creep. Even though he knew it was all his imagination, it was enough to dissuade him from spilling the beans to Harry specifically.
It didn't matter anyway. Just like Harry said. He was flirting with Spider-Man. Not Peter.
Peter, completely exasperated, shrugged helplessly. "I-...I'm really sorry Harry. Is there anything you want me to say? Any way to fix this? I will literally do anything."
Peter watched Harry's chest rise and fall. He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Doesn't matter." He met his best friends eyes once more and smiled that bright confident Osborn smile. "What *does* matter. Is that you and me have superpowers. And we need to run some experiments."
Eyebrow raised, Peter pointed at him. "Experiments? On your suit?"
Harry looked towards the roof exit. "Duh! We'd be bad scientists if we didn't." He looked like he wanted to pat Peter's shoulder and then reconsidered, glancing down at his hand for tendrils. He brushed it off and nodded over his shoulder. "I'll go make sure the lab is empty then we can get to work. Meet me there in an hour."
*
While Harry made his way to the EMF and checked for any potential witnesses. Peter swung around, biding time and having several imaginary conversations with Harry in his head where he explains himself perfectly and nothing is weird or creepy about it.
He managed to stop torturing himself and focus on the suit. He's never seen anything like it before. Doctor Connors really outdid himself. There's no sign of Harry's illness at all.
His scientist brain kicked in so hard it actually disrupted his panic over Harry. He was just genuinely excited to figure out what was going on with this suit. If it weren't so late at night he'd consider calling Doctor Connors to talk to him about it. How does it work? What's it made out of? This could literally be revolutionary if it's replicable.
Swinging into the EMF, he immediately spotted Harry on the second floor. "Hey Pete! Watch this!"
Without further warning, Harry leapt off the balcony. Peter instinctively rushed forward but right as he got close, a mass of black tendrils burst out of Harry's torso, breaking his fall. His best friend was chuckling breathlessly, disbelief and astonishment on his face as he stood up, the tendrils retracting.
Peter strolled up beside him "Unbelievable..." He mused, watching it sink back through Harry's shirt.
"Right? Let's find out what else it can do!"
Harry proceeded to cause damage that he'd probably feel bad about in the morning when the adrenaline has worn off. Peter got completely caught up in the scientific process. And by scientific process, he means throwing things in the air and seeing if Harry could hit it with the tendrils. He did! And also busted a few windows in the process
Amongst all the experiments, one constant stuck out. Whenever Harry directed anything, even kind of in Peter's direction, the suit would reach out to him.
More like leap out, violently. But still. Everytime.
Harry appeared to have total control over it *except* for when the tendrils ejected within a few feet of Peter. When Harry would just reach out for a shoulder pat or a high-five. More tendrils.
It intrigued Peter. What could it be doing?
"Hold up. New experiment idea." Peter interrupted Harry before he tried to walk around on tendril stilts again. "Why do you think it reaches out for me?"
A look flashed over Harry's face and his cheeks went a slight pink. "Uh... dunno!" he said quickly "Haven't thought about it."
Peter bit the inside of his cheek. He wondered if it was something Harry was doing subconsciously, or if it was the suit, or a mix of both. He couldn't deny how curious he was. Although he wasnt sure about pushing the boundaries of their friendship more than he already had by lying to him. Now he's suggesting testing the suit to see if it's reacting to Harry's feelings for Spider-Man. He's still wearing the spider suit after all.
"At first I thought maybe it sensed illness but I'm not sick and also that would imply it could think for itself." Peter glanced away and back to Harry. "My only other theory is that it's acting on what... you want."
Raising his eyebrows, Harry clicked his tongue "Little full of yourself, huh Spider-guy?' He half heartedly teased. Peter felt his face go hot but stuck to it regardless.
"I'm just saying!" Peter gestured down to the Spider-Man symbol on his chest. "Maybe it's tapping into some part of your subconscious that's still into...*this*." He gestured again with more vigor, trying not to sound as embarrassed as he felt.
Harry was staring at him again with that same unreadable expression, vacant yet intrigued, scanning Peter for an answer he wasn't saying outright.
When Peter had explained his thoughts to Harry, the other man cleared his throat, raising a questioning finger.
"So...you wanna play gay chicken with my suit?"
Peter scoffed through a smile and rolled his eyes. "I'm curious about what it's trying to do! What makes it reach out, How far it'll go. If it's just me or if it's others too." he listed out all his questions to Harry's unchanging expression.
There was a pause in the conversation until Harry spoke up again.
"So you wanna play gay chicken with my suit."
"Yeah ok Harry. I wanna play gay chicken with the suit
"Thanks for the honesty" Harry snapped his fingers and finger-gunned with one hand. "Also? Pretty certain it's just you. It's never leapt out at anyone else." He leaned back on his desk, looking off to the side, looking over the damage with vague guilt for whoever had to clean it up.
Peter folded his arms and resisted the urge to stare at Harry without much luck. Every time he's distracted by the excitement of a new science experiment, he's brought right back to Harry just as quickly. He couldn't explain his train of thought if he tried. Peter's eyes trailed down his form until Harry turned back to him. Peter snapped his head back up to Harry's face, hoping he didn't notice the laser focus he had on his thighs.
Peter took a few slow steps forward. Harry shifted slightly, eyes locked on his best friend. When their eyes met, they froze in place, both mentally thrown back to the last time the air grew heavy around them like this. On the balcony of Harry's apartment, close enough to touch, to reach out, but holding back.
Peter wondered how Harry's perception of that day has altered now he knows it was Peter. Did whatever feelings he had for Spider-Man get wiped out by the fact that he's Peter? A memory that was romantic and sexy and exciting, is now only awkward because it was just Peter under the mask?
But nothing has changed on Peter's side.
Peter held out his hands with his palms facing the ceiling, beckoning Harry over. The other man pushed himself up off the desk and strolled forward. He glanced down at the gloved hands and back up at Peter for a second before putting his hands in Peter's. Right as fingers curled into eachother, another mass of tendrils shot out of Harry's wrist to grab Peter's. Harry yanked his arm back, but not quickly enough to stop the tendrils from securing a solid grasp around Peter's wrist. So instead, with a shocking level of strength, Harry just yanked Peter forward, the spider knocking full-force into his chest. Peter managed to stay on his feet, well-trained at being thrown around. But Harry very nearly tumbled flat onto his back.
Peter took a big step forward, wrapping an arm around Harry's midsection to catch him, his other hand still stuck in the black mass. Harry's other arm flailed out and wrapped around Peter's shoulders, grabbing at the strong, suit-clad shoulders in a short-lived panic.
Peter stood back up, pulling Harry to his feet with ease, chest to chest, Harry's breath washing over Peter's neck. Peter was about to drop his hold on Harry but couldn't help but notice Harry wasn't letting go. If anything, he was relaxing into it, his head resting on the side of Peter's face. Peter might get lost in it if it weren't for the tendrils still crawling up his arm.
"How... did I never notice that you smell the same?"
Catching him off guard, Peter let out a gentle scoff. "What?"
Harry went on "I guess it's not so unusual to assume that you might use the same products..." Harry seemed to be talking to himself more than Peter. His shoulders slumped and his grip on Peter lessened slightly.
"We've hugged hundreds of times, then I get stuck in a vent with, and swing through the city with Spider-Man and I didn't notice that you smell the same."
Peter once again mentally sank into a ball of shame. Now Harry's going over the event and realising it was obviously his nerd best friend.
Peter chuckled breathlessly, hand adjusting on Harry's back, finding a new spot to hold. "You're literally the only person who would notice that."
Harry hummed, his hand sliding across Peter's shoulder and settling on the back of Peter's neck. He pulled back just enough to look eachother in the eyes.
Once again, Harry's face was unreadable. Eyes slowly moved up Peter's face but no emotion was obvious. Desperate find something else to look at, Peter focused on ripping his arm from the tendrils. It was easier than earlier, watching it sink back to Harry again.
Peter couldn't shake the feeling that he's permanently altered their friendship. Harry would never say it but it was obvious to Peter that he's fucked something up. He wishes he had a good excuse. A clear explanation that perfectly explained why he lied to him. It wasn't to trick him or mess with him. He just... He doesn't even know.
"Before..." Harry started by dropping his hand. Unpleasant cold air hitting the back of Peter's neck added to his discomfort. "You asked me what I wanted you to say?"
Peter blinked and gulped. "Harry..." He doesn't know how to apologize. Nothing is good enough. If he could go back in time and tell him the truth he would! Maybe things would have been different.
Peter's mouth felt dry and tense. Words refusing to form. But Harry wasn't having the same issue. He glanced away, only to meet Peter's eyes again, a hint of sadness behind the otherwise vacant expression.
"I wanted you to say that you felt something that day but you were just too scared to say anything..."
A breath that hitched in his throat, his palms getting sweaty in his gloves. Peter felt like his world had slowed to a stand still. Harry being the only thing in focus.
Harry went on. "I wanted you to say, that you kept it from me because you didn't want to ruin our friendship, even though your best friend has been painfully in love with you since about.." he clicked his tongue as he thought about his answer. "...ninth grade?"
"Ninth-..." Peter was flabbergasted. There's no way. Harry was always encouraging him to go for Liz...MJ... Why wouldn't he say anything? "But-" Peter blinked and shook his head.
"That...it was easier for you to act that way with me as Spider-man and not Peter..."
Peter kept shaking his head, holding a hand up beside them. "But...you were flirting with Spider-Man..." It made perfect sense. Rich, handsome Harry Osborn and the cool mysterious superhero. Not Peter. Never Peter.
Harry laughed a short, dry laugh. "Spider-Man somehow felt more attainable than Peter Parker." The step backwards that Harry took, felt like a knife in Peter's stomach. "It was easy to hit on a masked superhero. Definitely not easy to hit on your best friend."
Peter's mouth was agape. He had to pull back all his focus to close it and reply. Think of *any* reply.
Harry beat him to it, running a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his head. "Look if this is all just...too weird. I'm cool to forget about it. We don't have to talk about it." His eyes were off to the side, looking at nothing in particular.
No.
"I get that you were *in character*" he raised his hands in finger quotes. "It's not a problem. I'm a big boy, I can move on. The outright confirmation is probably what I needed anyway." He scratched the top of his head, a tired, dragging motion, then his arm fell to his side.
Speak idiot! Literally just say a word!
Tell him how you thought about him, how you dreamed about him. How you would spend day after day looking for any excuse to be with him.
"I-" he barely squeaked out before he went silent again. Harry looked at him with eyes full of sympathy with a hint of something else behind it.
"Pete, don't hurt yourself. It really is fine. I genuinely mean it. No hurt feelings, still best friends. Everything is good." Harry was comforting him now. Again. After everything Peter did to make this messy, Harry's the one comforting him.
That just won't do. He needs to say something, *do* something. He needs to show Harry that it wasn't some impulsive, meaningless thing.
Without thinking further, Peter surged forward, grabbed Harry's face and pressed their lips together all in one fluid motion. Peter's heart threatened to pound right out of his chest and into Harry's. The instinctive freeze from Harry faded immediately, raising a hand to hold Peter's face when the Spidey-senses told him to move.
He tore himself away and bent backwards, tendrils just barely scraping past his cheek as they shot out of Harry's fingers. Peter stayed like that for a moment, staring up at the tendrils while Harry, wide-eyed, tried to get them to retract.
Peter could have laughed at how irritated Harry looked. He glared down at his own hand like it had insulted his mother.
"God...dammit..." Harry muttered. "Excellent timing."
He knew he should be concerned or even slightly alarmed at how the tendrils kinda acting like they were trying to kill him but you could argue that Peter's brain was severely distracted. Peter stood up straight and considered his options. Either they could talk about their feelings and stop experimenting on the suit. Or. They could kill two birds with one stone and run some tests.
Peter feels like being selfish for once.
"Hey, that's the point of the experiment right?" Peter murmured. Harry was about to ask what he meant when Peter brought their lips together again. One taste just wasn't enough. He needed more. Nothing in his imagination could have prepared him for the real deal.
The second Harry moved his lips, fully reciprocating, Peter could have buckled at the knees. He doesn't know why he tried to hard to convince himself this wasn't real. Something he could have had years ago if he'd stopped overthinking.
Sliding a hand down to Harry's waist and placing the other on the back of his head, fingers embedded in the soft curls, Peter breathed him in like he'd never get another chance. The feeling of Harry's lips curving up into a smile as they kissed, sent waves of warmth through him. One of Harry's hands cradling the side of his face, the other wrapping around his back, fingertips grabbing at his shoulder blade through the fabric of the suit.
The sense of normalcy left quickly however, as it was almost instantly that Peter started to feel the tendrils crawling over him. But whereas before, it seemed violent and impulsive. Now it was decisive, methodical. The way it wrapped around Peter's bicep, then unfurled and roamed down to his waist. It was more or less following where Harry's hands went, as he could feel more tendrils crawling over his neck, slowly encircling it from where Harry was holding his face. A clearly dangerous, yet a tantalising feeling that Peter needed to push back on. He simply lifted a hand and brushed the curious tendril away and it wrapped around Peter's hand instead, looking to try and form around his hand like a glove.
Tongues brushed together and Peter hummed into the kiss, bringing Harry closer, hand spread out over his lower back. Harry gently bit down on Peter's lower lip, opening his eyes to see the impact such a simple action had on his best friend. The hero sighed, hungrily slamming their mouths back together like he was making up for lost time.
Eager for more but cautious of getting carried away, he brought both his hands to cradle Harry's face and neck, and encouraged Harry to let his hands roam. Harry took the initiative to grab ahold of Peter's waist and hips, holding their bodies together.
While Peter was trying to savour every touch, the taste, the tiny gasp Harry let out when Peter pulled his hair on the back of his head...
*Something* in the air started to shift.
Harry's grip got rougher, more passionate, *hungrier*. Peter almost didn't feel the tendrils doubling in number and slithering over his back, up his arms, down his legs, wrapping around his thighs. Everywhere Harry touched left a trail of black behind, stuck to Peter like grease stains. Harry wasn't giving either of them a moment to breathe. It felt like Harry was trying to tear off the Spider-Man suit with his bare hands. Trying to claw through the fabric like an animal
Peter's mind is in a haze, his own urges taking hold. If not for his Spidey-senses, it might have devoured him right then and there.
Peter holds back automatically. On a day-to-day basis but especially in moment like this. Constantly cautious of his strength. He was letting Harry take the lead purely so Peter didn't accidentally hurt him out of eagerness. But tearing himself away wasn't so easy with Harry being so... intense. He thought he'd just have his own willpower to fight against but Harry's cure gives him one hell of a power up...
Caught in his thoughts, Harry backed Peter up until his back hit the window that looked down to the rest of the lab. Peter could feel the cold glass through his Spider-man suit as he was pressed firmly against it. His arms felt like they were going limp, grasping at Harry's back and shoulders with hands that were refusing to obey him. His mind couldn't ignore the strangeness but his body was getting everything it wanted. Harry's hand stretching over the side of Peter's face and neck held him in place, tilting his head and kissing him harder. Peter was intoxicated by the way Harry's tongue left trails of tingles that spread to the back of his throat and down his back. At the same time he felt the tendrils constricting him, pulling them together.
He managed to pull his lips away from Harry's to try and speak but Harry just latched onto his neck instead. Peter nearly whimpered as his best friend sucked on the sensitive skin, locked in Harry's unusually strong but captivating hold.
"H-...Harry wait..." He breathed, pushing a little harder on Harry's arms. "The suit-... it's doing something." His voice broke as he tried to get Harry's attention, electricity shooting up his spine with every touch. He's not used to needing to harness this much of his strength, certainly not against Harry. Even so, he was still cautious of using too much.
Harry dragged his tongue along the skin and Peter saw stars. He swore he heard something low and bestial coming from Harry. Almost like a different voice. Teeth leaving behind indents in his skin and the desperate noise that left Peters lips made Harry smile against his neck. Hands that felt closer to claws, raking down his back and holding his hips in place. A thigh nestled firmly between Peter's legs, the friction causing swells in his groin.
Peters gasp segued into a moan the more it felt like Harry might push him right through the window. He was close to just giving in as he felt the tendrils crawl up the back of his neck, spreading over his head. His need for more was unbearable. Something came over him, threatening to cloud his mind. When Harry brought their lips back together Peter couldn't risk savouring it, no matter how much he wanted to.
He broke away just enough. "Harry." Peter said as firmly as possible, a hand pressed flat across Harry's chest.
That did something. Harry's eyes snapped open and he dug down deep, ripping his hands away like Peter was a hot pan from the oven. Peter felt the tendrils tugging on his suit and his skin, apprehensive to break contact. As Harry stepped backwards, the tendrils detached from Peter but hung in the air between them. He watched as it receded, slowly, reluctantly, until it was tucked beneath Harry's skin.
Both of them breathing heavily, Harry spoke first. "Sorry- sorry, I'm sorry." Harry chuckled lightly, no real humour in the laugh. Pausing to catch his breath "Think I blacked out a little there."
Peter let out a short exhale. Still thrumming from their experiment, his senses still on high alert. He shook his head "Are you okay?" Peter noted that Harry was staring at his hands, his arms. His face said his mind was running a million miles a minute. Whatever he was thinking, he raised his head and nodded.
"Are you?" His eyes flitted over Peter's body, up and down. Peter knew he was checking for tendril-based injuries, but he couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine.
Peter matched the chuckle with one of his own and shrugged. "A little intense for a first kiss but I don't entirely mind it."
Harry pressed his lips into a thin line to stop his smile from completely taking over his face. "Yeah...Need to get a better handle on this thing..."
Peter hummed in agreement. "Unfortunately I think we'll need to do some more experiments before we try that again." He was seriously tempted to just the greedy and take chances but he knows better than that. Until they know what this thing is trying to do, it's better to keep his distance.
Harry feigned a look of confusion. "What? Not into tentacles?"
Peter punched his arm with the side of a half closed fist. "Do not even joke about that."
"I'm genuinely surprised I beat you to it."
The heat in Peter's face subsided while his mind drifted to the "cure". The way it moves, it's almost like it's alive, like it has its own thoughts. It seems like when Harry's not thinking about it, the tendrils just sorta do whatever they want. But he does have *some* control over them if he's focusing.
But whatever *that* was? Peter wasn't thinking clearly enough to deduce whether that was just Harry's regular response with the suit adding to it, or if the suit was affecting Harry in some way, making him act differently.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Peter wanted to double check. Ignoring the way his lower back was still twitching.
Harry smiled and nodded, glancing up from his arms. "Yeah. Sorry again. I think I just got a little excited and the suit...took it from there?"
Peter titled his head, raising an eyebrow and Harry went on.
"I guess the way I'd describe it is... It does like...an interpretation of what I want? Kinda... Takes what I'm feeling and comes to its own conclusions." He stared down at his hands again as if he was expecting more tendrils to sprout from them.
Peter considered the new information. "So... maybe... what we need to do is train it? To listen to you?"
Harry shrugged "Maybe? If that's possible anyway. At least teach it to not be so extra." He flourished a hand with a grin. "Some subtlety would do it some good. I'm trying to be a gentleman."
Peter bit back a wider smile and a louder chuckle, feeling his reaction getting eaten up by Harry who scanned over this face with bright, sparkling eyes.
Peter's cheeks were threatening to tear since his face wanted to smile so badly. He wanted nothing more than to just get back to it. Make out on the desk, the couch, the floor, he didn't care. The warmth of Harry's body was still on his hands, he could still taste him on his lips. If it weren't for that damn handsy suit, Peter would be sucking a bruise into Harry's neck by now.
"Any ideas on how to speed run this? Because I gotta be honest, I'm having a hard time focusing." Peter admitted, tugging at the fabric around his neck. The room felt too warm.
Harry visibly got an idea, his eyes lighting up. He smiled and waved him over. "Wait. C'mere."
"Harry..." Peter started, a warning in his voice. He knew better than to mess around with unknown variables but Harry hasn't had to deal with the stuff that Peter has. Villains using crazy magic and biological or mechanical enhancements. All things that could be used for good in one way or another but are only used for themselves.
Harry just perched on the edge of his desk and folded his arms behind his back. Peter did his best to ignore the casual way Harry spread his legs. He gulped and forced his brain to listen to Harry speak and not just examine how his pants hug his thighs.
"I think it's connected to my emotions..." Harry nodded for Peter to come closer. Peter was tentative, waiting for further explanation before he got any closer. Harry continued to explain his train of thought. "It somehow knows what I want, and if I want it enough it gets pretty forward about it."
"Yeah we gathered that part." Peter loosely folded his arms, vividly recalling the touch of the tendrils all over him.
Harry bit his lip, eyes flitting over Peter for a moment before landing back on his face. "What if we try it again but I just don't do anything." Harry tilted his head. "Kiss me. But I'll just sorta sit here and try to relax while you do."
Peter couldn't resist the opportunity to tease. "So you want me to do all the work?" Peter joked and Harry didn't smile or chuckle, just gave him a look that's gonna be in Peter's dreams tonight. Any semblance of cool that Peter had, got stomped into the ground when Harry's hooded eyes pinned to Peter's face.
"Well in order to test the theory, you need to be in *complete* control. Then we can see how much me holding back affects the suit." He let his head tilt to one side and made no attempt to hide his eyes trailing up Peter's body. "Do whatever you want."
The feeling that overcame Peter was close to feral. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was obviously a bad idea but apparently when it comes to Harry, his willpower is only so strong.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to settle down, Peter stepped into the space between Harry's legs. He paused before lifting a hand to cup Harry's face, letting the other hold the side of his neck. Harry just stared up at him in anticipation.
He took a few seconds to wait for any tendrils. Nothing so far as he took a firmer hold of Harry's neck, angling his head up. Harry moved like a doll, simply staying where he was put. Peter's suit felt too tight all of a sudden.
After a beat, Peter leaned down and pressed their lips together. He could feel his own heartbeat quicken at the slightest contact. Gently taking Harry's top lip between his own. Pulling Harry's face closer, the other man simply let his head flop back, putty in Peter's hands. Something spurred in Peter's chest and he pulled back, turning his head and clearing his throat.
"What?" Harry breathed, blinking at Peter as he looked off out the window where they had been moments ago.
Harry is going to be the death of him.
"Sorry." Peter chuckled, turned back to face him. "Just needed a second. Let's try that again."
Connecting with more confidence this time, more of a game plan in place, Peter flicked his tongue across the seam of Harry's lips and Harry opened his mouth for Peter to slide his tongue inside. Harry let out the softest of moans and that feeling in Peter's chest grew. At the same time, Peter noted tiny tendrils crawling along his fingers. They were barely thicker than noodles, a stark difference to the others from before.
He wondered how much Harry was holding back. How much desperation he was pushing down. Peter stoked his tongue into the waiting mouth and Harry sighed, making himself totally pliable for Peter. In turn, Peter fell to the urge to deepen the kiss further. Sucking in Harry's bottom lip between his teeth, gently dragging bone over the tender skin. The tendrils were practically vibrating against his fingers, starting the crawl up his wrists. Notably much slower than before.
Peter reached down and grabbed Harry's thighs, pulling him closer, slotting their bodies firmly together. Harry shuddered and tightened his grip on his own arms, keeping them pinned behind his back. Peter returned a hand to Harry's neck and let the other drag up Harry's side, creeping up his shirt and spreading over his back. Kissing the corner of Harry's lips, then his jaw, he kissed along the jawline and bit his ear, nibbling on the skin beneath it until he'd gotten a satisfactory reaction from Harry.
His body shifted against him, every slight movement was a more desperate move that had been stopped in its tracks. Trying his best to abide by his own rules of the experiment. Peter lowered his roaming hand and grabbed the base of Harry's thigh, holding him in place and grinded into him. Harry's body instinctively rolled with him and he let out a gasp, tipping his head back. Right as two much larger tendrils grabbed ahold of Peter's waist.
Peter did his best to stifle a very pleased smile, pressing his face into Harry's neck. Harry must have been able to feel it because he just uttered a simple "Jerk..."
Peter chuckled and raised his head back up to reconnect their lips. He pulled away the tiniest bit to murmur "I'm just trying to be thorough." He leaned back in and their lips moved together until Peter pulled back again. "For the experiment." Returning to the kiss with more intensity. The pressure on Peter's waist subsided the slightest bit as Harry furrowed his eyebrows, clearly trying his hardest to regain composure.
He wasn't sure how long to let this go on for. All Peter knew was that he was getting hard and Harry could definitely feel it. Harry's legs fidgeted on either side of Peter's hips, itching to close, to pull Peter closer, to lock Peter between them. He knew because once again, tiny tendrils sprouted from Harry's thighs and slowly creeped over Peter's hips, connecting them with weak strands of black.
But, hypothesis confirmed. If Harry's not directly acting on his urges, the tendrils aren't as intense. Not by a long shot.
As Peter sought to go deeper, Harry let out a groan and broke the kiss. He slowly let his head fall back, twisting his lips in irritation. Peter chased his lips on instinct but pulled himself back when Harry spoke.
"We gotta stop." He said through gritted teeth. He took a deep inhale and lowered his head. "This is physically *painful* for me. It's like every cell in my body is...reaching for you."
Peter gasped softly. "Romantic." He mocked.
Harry pushed a flat palm against Peter's chest on instinct and a small black tendril stuck to him like a suction cup. Though it was easy enough to pull away. Peter took a couple of steps back as a further precaution. They still didn't know exactly what the suit was doing but better to be safe until they understand it more.
Harry's shoulders slumped, his hands relaxing on either side of him, fingers curled over the edge of the desk. "Man...You wait so long for something and then it's right there and you can't even take it." Harry's eyes darted from Peter's chest to his hands and up to his lips.
Peter's face went right back to a shade of pink. He rubbed the back of his neck and made the maybe selfish decision to close the gap again, fitting himself between Harry's legs, taking hold of his face again. Harry's hands were twitching at his sides, his breathing getting heavier just from the closeness. Peter stroked a thumb over his cheek. "We'll work it out. It was ages before I stopped sticking to things when I was nervous."
Harry giggled though there was still something else in his eyes that Peter didn't recognise. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead. "I didn't have a lab *or* my best friend to help me out. We'll get this sorted in no time."
"There's that Parker optimism..." Harry leaned forward into the touch.
They sat in silence, in eachothers arms. Nothing more to say really. Maybe they'd be able to think of something later. But for now, the answers to the long awaited questions had been given in one way or another.
"So what now?" Peter spoke into Harry's curls. He had half the mind to swing them both back to May's and just see where the night took them. But he needed to behave himself for now.
Harry peered over Peter's shoulder towards the couches. "Honestly I could go for like a forty minute power nap."
Peter followed his gaze. "Oh for sure. Great idea. Just forty minutes then we can get back to it..."
They woke up five hours later, to Norman entering the room. Staring at the damage and the stare of the two young men. Before Harry could explain himself, Norman raised a hand.
"I don't wanna know. Just don't do it in the office. It's unprofessional."