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Title: Everybody Needs a Hero
Author: Sarah H
Word count: 3285
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Drama/Angst/Romance
Pairing(s): Harry/Peter
Warning(s): Slash; 'hot business interaction' near the end
Summary: Harry hates Spiderman more than anybody else in his life. The only person left that he even trusted was his best friend, Peter. And now he has no-one... or is that the case?
It was a cold night in the city. But that wasn't about to keep the inhabitants of New York city from leaving their windows wide open. Many had come accustomed to leaving them open, almost like an invitation to their neighborhood hero; Spiderman. And if their windows were closed, they had less of a chance of seeing him fly past using his own webs. But, if they were open, then they could just peer out at the slightest indication of movement or if a blur of red and blue colours flew past.
It wasn't nearly as cold as the country-side or the outskirts of the city, but it was cold enough for certain people to hurry along the sidewalks in their fur coats or leather jackets towards their warm and cozy little homes or apartments.
One window of one of the residences was wide open. No, not on purpose. It had been that way for several weeks. The inhabitant hadn't bothered to close it. No, he had been sulking in a corner of the over-large room with a bottle of alcohol stuck in between his long, pale fingers. His eyes were slightly red and wet from the many tears, and were fixed on a mask in front of himself. The Green Goblin's mask. He picked it up with his free hand, took a swig of alcohol, and gripped the mask a little harder. He narrowed his eyes slightly, pulled back his arm, and threw the old mask against the opposite wall. It missed its wanted target, and struck the side of a tall stand-up lamp, which promptly fell over, shattering the light bulb that was inside.
The crash was enough to scary a flock of birds away from the roof of the building. They flew towards the horizon, where only a small patch of light was fading away ever so slowly. Soon, they were but specks of darkness adding their own shadows to the night sky.
A blur of two colours could be seen far off in the distance, making its way towards an unknown destination. It wove its way in and out of alleyways, around tall skyscrapers, and eventually the blur of colours moved gracefully down towards the same building. The colours stopped, and several people on the ground stopped to point up towards the Osborn's residence, where the beloved Spiderman had disappeared to. Eventually, they gave up their hope of catching a glimpse of the popular spider, and went back to their own personal business.
Which is what our hero was doing. He hid behind a power box, and changed as quickly as was possible for a super-human such as himself. A few moments later, a fully-clothed Peter Parker emerged with confidence from behind the box, a school bag swung over his shoulder, and his trademark glasses hanging off his nose. He wore them even though he didn't really need them anymore. He walked into a dimly-lit messy room. His eyes wandered around for a few seconds before they landed on their target, and walked slowly towards Harry Osborn.
Harry's eyes narrowed a little more, and he stared down at the bottle in his hand. He kept his jaw clenched tightly, to keep himself from biting back several nasty remarks about his old friend. He had thought that they were friends. He told himself that he had thought wrong. They weren't friends. How could that even be possible? Spiderman had killed Harry's father. No. Scratch that. Peter Parker, Harry's supposed friend, had killed his father. In his eyes, Peter was no longer Peter. Peter had died a long time ago, along with his father. But he still blamed him.
"Get out." Harry managed to control himself and keep his calm long enough to choke out those two simple words. Peter frowned sadly, stared at the bottle of alcohol in his hands, to Harry's face, then finally down to the floor. A sigh escaped his fragile lips, and he turned around.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Peter glanced around at the mess again. "I really am."
"It's passed that. Sorry just doesn't cut it this time." Harry choked back a sob, and frowned. He kept his eyes on the alcohol the whole time. "First you stole my girl. Then you stole my father. You even managed to steal my source of money."
"I didn't-"
"You did that, all while keeping a straight face around me, and pretending to be my friend." Harry gripped the glass harder. "I would never consider you as a friend. Ever. You robbed me of my life. You're a villain." He said the last word like it was acid burning his tongue.
"I'm not the villain, Harry."
"And I suppose that you think my father was? No. He was a good man. A really, really good man. And you stole his life away from me!" Harry felt the bottle of alcohol break into his hand from the immense pressure he had put on it. He didn't bother even wincing when he felt several pieces of glass cut into his skin. It didn't hurt as much as what Peter had put through it.
"I did what he asked me to do. He wasn't himself, Harry. Didn't you ever notice that? And he eventually couldn't take it any longer. I did him a-"
"Shut up!" Harry buried his head into his arms, and sobbed. "Shut up! And get out!" His voice was thick with grief. "Just get out..." He sobbed.
Peter licked his lips sadly. He watched as a trickle of blood made its way down his friend's arm. He still considered Harry a friend. Even if Harry considered him an enemy.
"What will you do if I don't?" Peter took a few steps forward, dropped his bag to the floor, and folded his arms across his chest. The top of a pen could be seen tucked away neatly in the front pocket of his white, maroon criss-cross striped shirt.
Harry, with his back pressed against the wall, slowly found his way up to his feet. His head was hung forward in such a way that Peter couldn't see his old friend's face. Several bangs hung down over his forehead.
"Harry?" Peter took a step foreword, unsure of what the Osborn would do.
"Get out, Peter Parker. Get out. Now." Harry finally pulled up his head, and looked at Peter with a glint of sadness in his eyes, behind a face full of anger. His hands shook suddenly as he tried to calm himself down.
"No." Peter stood his ground, and unfolded his arms. Harry growled at his reaction.
"Get out." Harry took a few steps forward, but Peter didn't budge.
"No."
Harry's fists clenched and unclenched as he thought over what was happening. Without warning, he threw himself at Peter, and began to hit the poor boy as hard as he could with all the force his fists had. He ignored the pain that grew in his hand. He had forgotten the glass that was still there. But he kept hitting. Peter, somewhat surprised by the sudden attack, stood there, unmoving. He slowly held up his arms to block the attacks to his face, so Harry was confined to pounding on his chest and arms as hard as he could.
"Harry..." Peter whispered, breaking Harry from his own thoughts. He began to sob uncontrollably, and eventually, his fists came to rest on Peter's upper chest. Peter got them both to sit down slowly. Harry sunk down to the floor, crying uncontrollably. Peter grabbed Harry's arms, and shook them gently. "Harry, you don't know how hard it was to keep it from you. And when your dad got involved... He was doing very wrong things, Harry. They were horrible things. But it wasn't him. It was the power inside of him. I think he was completely helpless. It was almost a form of... brainwashing. Harry, I didn't want to... to kill him. He-he attacked me. He wanted me dead. And, in the end..."
Harry's sobbing had died down a bit, and he was listening very carefully to Peter. Peter trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"You're no hero." Harry growled as he tried to pull away from Peter's strong grip. He couldn't. He felt like the bottle that he had been holding a short while before. He felt as though he would explode if he wasn't let go. He was breaking down, from the inside out. He closed his eyes, and frowned.
"Harry, get a hold of yourself. You need to..." Peter was taken aback when Harry stopped trying to get away, and looked up at him.
"To what, Peter? I need to what? Lighten up? Is that it? Huh? Lighten up?" His whisper turned into a scream of fury, and he broke free from Peter's grasp, throwing Peter to the floor. Peter looked up at the ceiling, and felt suddenly quite helpless.
"No... Harry... look at yourself. Look." Peter gestured to the man in front of him. Harry's hair was messed up slightly, there were dark circles under his red eyes, his face was pale, and his clothes were as dirty as the room he was in. "When was the last time you left here? Left this place?"
"What does that have to do with anything." Harry groaned when he clenched the hand full of glass.
"Everything. I mean... I... I did this to you, didn't I? I never meant... It all happened so fast. Harry, I never wanted to hurt you. Ever. Please know that." Peter glanced around to find his glasses. When he looked back at Harry, the pair of glasses was in Harry's hand. Harry was inspecting them.
"You never really needed them, did you?" Harry changed the subject.
"I did..." Peter watched as Harry looked them over a few times.
Peter got up, disappeared for a minutes, and when he came back, he knelt down next to Harry, with bandages and a kind of medicinal gel in his hands. Harry glanced at Peter. He was confused.
"This is going to hurt."
"Wha-" Harry broke off in a groan of agonizing pain. He closed his eyes, and kept them that way as Peter put a soothing gel all over his hand, then bandaged it up. All with gentle care.
"I told you it was going to hurt." Peter whispered as he got up, and before Harry could open his eyes, he had disappeared outside. Harry got up to his feet, without glancing down at his bandaged hand. He walked outside, and looked around. He noticed Peter was leaning over the side of the building.
"Peter, I..." Harry couldn't find the right words anymore. He was so mad, but, he couldn't stay that way towards Peter. Even if his father... Well, he did swear that he would kill Spiderman.
"Don't say anything, Harry. I know, you want me dead. And that's all I want to hear." Peter's eyes were closed, and he was listening to the cool wind that was blowing by.
"I... I did say that. But... Peter, I... I wanted my revenge on Spiderman. I want Spiderman dead. I want him wiped off the face of the earth. But... I never said that I wanted my best friend to die along with him..."
"Best...friend...?" Peter's eyes snapped open, and he glanced back at Harry. He was confused.
"I... I... I don't know..." Harry leaned against the railing. Peter sighed, and went back inside. He walked towards his bag, but he never got there. He was knocked off his feet by Harry, who had pounced on him. Harry flipped Peter over so that they were facing each other. He started to fumble with the buttons on Peter's shirt, and had an odd look on his face.
"What are you doing?" Peter looked up at him. He was completely confused. Harry became angry with the buttons, and started to rips apart the shirt. "This is one of my only good shirts!"
"Spiderman was... He was... hurt when he brought back my dead father. He had wounds... He should still have those scars." He ripped Peter's shirt it was down to the last button. Harry ran his hands over the smooth skin, pausing to see if any scars were present. He checked Peter over several times before he sat up slightly, a weak smile on his face. "You don't have any. So you couldn't possibly be Spiderman."
"But, Harry, my regeneration is ten ti-" Harry pushed his hand onto Peter's mouth, cutting him off abruptly.
"You aren't Spiderman. Spiderman is still out there. And I'll continue my hunt for him." Harry withdrew his hand. "You can't be Spiderman, because I... I lo-"
A flash of lightning startled the two, and Harry a little more than Peter. He looked down, and noticed that he was clinging to Peter's arms. Then he noticed that Peter's whole chest was uncovered. The sound of a sudden downfall of rain could be heard through the open windows and doors of Harry's home.
"Peter?" Peter's face had fallen, and he looked quite sad all of a sudden.
"MJ... It was raining when she... She broke up with me. Went back to that rich guy that she was supposed to marry before..." Peter fought back the tears. "But I should be happy for her. She's getting married tomorrow. She even invited me to the Wedding."
Harry didn't respond. He felt bad. But he felt the anger disappear with every moment that passed, until he felt that he was ready to tell something to Peter. Or, rather, a few things.
"I never really... Liked Mary Jane in that way."
"But... you were going out with her, and-"
"I liked her. As a friend, Peter. I still do."
"But... then why?"
"I wanted to make to make you jealous of me. For having her. Because I knew that you liked her a lot. But... I like someone else. I've liked someone else for the longest time."
"But, Harry, Who?"
"..." Harry fell silent. He wanted very much at that moment to just run away. Because he knew that if Peter ever found out who, that he'd be mad with him. Maybe even disgusted with his best friend. He would have all the reason to be.
"I... Harry... who? Why won't you tell me?" Peter frowned slightly. "Who?"
"You." Harry sat up, and looked down at Peter. He was still partially sitting on Peter, keeping him from getting up. But Peter didn't try to. "I... I've always liked... you..."
"Me?" Peter was shocked. But he wasn't disgusted. In fact, a smile found its way to his face, which brightened up all of his features. "Well... would you mind if... If I like you, too?"
Harry couldn't take it any longer, and he forced his lips against Peter's. He put his hands on Peter's chest as Peter granted him the kiss of a life time. Peter, after the initial shock, responded, and deepened their kiss. Harry's hands stroked the Peter's sides, and Peter moaned into their kiss. When they both broke away for air, there was an initial struggle, during which the removing of clothes took place. Somehow they found their way to Harry's room, and collapsed onto his bed, kissing each other passionately.
All thoughts of Mary Jane were wiped completely from Peter's mind, and the fury and anger towards Peter that once resided in the back of Harry's mind was completely wiped out of existence as they were both suddenly full of blinding pain and pleasure.
They both came nearly at the same time, dirtying the once clean sheets. Neither of them minded in the slightest. Harry rolled over and off of Peter, completely satisfied for once.
"Peter..." Harry moaned as Peter found his way onto his lover's body. They caressed each other, and were both held by one another as sleep claimed their minds and bodies almost immediately.
The following morning, Harry woke up with a warm and fuzzy feeling that spread out all over his body. He opened his eyes, and noticed that Peter Parker's head was nestled gently against his chest. He stroked Peter's head before rolling him to the side, gently. He covered Peter with a thin blanket, and headed out into his office. He picked up the phone reluctantly, and awaited the voice of his secretary.
"Hello?" The sweet voice of his secretary answered the phone.
"Yes, this is Harry Osborn. I will not be available for any meetings for the next few days."
"Alright, Mister Osborn, sir. May I inquire as to why? Your partners may want to know. I'll have to give them a good enough answer, Mr. Osborn."
"Yes, tell them that I have a business interaction going on. And it's a delicate operation. One wrong move and I may lose a potential new brilliant scientist."
"Very well, Mister Osborn. I wish you luck with your business interaction."
Harry hung up the phone without a further reply, and he returned to his room. Peter was already awake. He had awoken shortly after his heat source had left him. Harry realized that he wasn't wearing any clothing, and blushed slightly. But Peter was in the same position. Harry climbed back up onto their bed, and he grabbed the back of Peter's head, pulling him into another wonderful kiss. When they broke away, Peter stared at him hungrily. Whatever arguments that they had between them were no longer present.
Harry smiled as Peter pulled him under the covers in a playful way. They fought for the only pillow for a few minutes, and Peter finally gave it up when Harry pulled him into a heated kiss. Peter settled for using Harry's chest as a pillow. It was more comfortable, in his opinion.
Soon the two were at it again. They fought over the sheet, with neither of them eventually winning. The sheet fell to the floor, and both the boys shuddered as the wind from the windows next to the bed blew by.
Harry pushed Peter over onto his stomach, and smirked suddenly. He didn't like the idea of lying to his secretary about where he was. So he would just have to complete his business interaction. Peter knew what was coming, and smiled softly up at his new boyfriend. Harry lowered himself down, slowly. That would be his most favourite business interaction, with his most favourite client.
"Peter" Harry murmured gently as the pleasure blinded the two boys for a split second. "I love you..."
It would certainly be his most memorable business interaction ever. And it wouldn't be the last one, either.
"I love you, too..."
Everybody needs a hero. And now, Harry didn't just have one, he owned one. He owned a hero that he would have once killed, were he given the chance. But he was saved and realized that he didn't need to do that. All he needed was a hero. Someone that could save him whenever he needed to be saved the most. And so he was saved. Saved by a hero. By a friend. By a lover... By Spider-Man.
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