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There was a feeling of guilt as he realizes that the man’s shirt was completely ruined. He doesn’t have the money to replace it, and he looks important — the fabric probably costs more than he would ever be worth. “You’re sure? I’m sorry about your shirt.” He says with a frown, looking at it then back to his face. “I’m okay.” He might just be paranoid, but he turns looking at the crowd making sure that MAN wasn’t there staring him down. “Is there something I can do to make up for what I did to your shirt? I don’t have any money, but I’ll do anything.”

Glancing at the fabric that was temporarily stained, Harry shrugged. There was definitely a part of him that cared, at least a bit, that he was going to have to push his morning agenda back again to accommodate for the collision. But, the repercussions for being rude to the other would be far more of a risk than reward, especially since just hours prior, RJ had caught him stupidly lip-locked with his own assistant. Granted, she was more than just that, but no one else knew that... except them, and now, probably him, too. Still, being aware of the consequences seemed to override any impulsive response that could have crossed him. “Seriously. Don’t worry about it,” he reassured, swirling the small amount of leftover coffee that was in the cup for a moment, then quickly chugging the liquid. Gaze returning to the boy, Harry studied his expression for a moment as he spoke. If anything, Harry should be the one asking to do anything to make up for their previous encounter, to keep the secret between the three of them, so to hear him asking instead caught him by surprise. “Ruining my coffee fix makes up for it. I probably need to stop drinking that shit... get some actual rest.” That’s what everyone else seemed to keep preaching at him, anyway. “Plus, this gives me a chance to make sure I didn't leave anything important behind this morning. Win-win situation.” Rarely did he actually forget anything work-related at his own penthouse, but he didn’t need to know that. Either way, he wasn’t prepared to let him feel any sort of guilt for a shirt that could easily be washed or replaced, at worst. 

                    Cassandra nodded silently but her eyes averted away, not really liking the fact that he didn’t really have a choice on that matter. She used to live day by day doing what she was told to do without really understanding why she was doing it was too late, she got blood in her hands. All she could do was hope for the best.     “ Maybe, you always have it in you, who knows? Or you can do it differently? For the better? “    He grew up in this world after all. At that point, Cassandra didn’t know what exactly she was talking about. She simply wanted to lift that weight in his shoulder for a bit. That’s what friends do, after all. 

                     It was hard to imagine Harry doing ballet. It was harder to hold a laugh.    “ Not me. I wanna see if you can be a good dance partner. “     Cassandra jested back. Thought it was just a joked, it got her curious about what he really wanted.     “ If you…well, what would you really wanna do? “

“I’m pretty sure I could at least convince people I knew what I was doing. Maybe like... to an extent in conversation, without the actual dancing involved,” Harry responded, shrugging. There were plenty of occasions where ‘faking it’ had applied in the past. Realistically, no one could mess the company up internally as much as Norman had already done, but he didn’t want to be the one to make the impossible become very possible.

His expression softened, his body finally loosening from the tension that was held within his shoulders. Although he wouldn’t admit it, Harry needed some sort of moral support, someone to be on his team and give him some sort of reassurance - fortunately, she had always been good at that. “I’ve already been groomed for this, so it just seems easier to follow suit,” he admitted, “never really thought of alternatives, if I’m honest.” 

“I don’t so either,” he smiled widely at the other, usually people that had their inner child as loud as his, were for the same reason. A lot of people didn’t really get the chance to enjoy their childhood, sometimes because they lived in a toxic place, sometimes because their parents wanted them to be adults already and made them do things that a child shouldn’t do. Chris thought that every child should have the chance to just be a child. When the other threw the pieces of the leaf that he crushed in his hand toward the Kryptonian, he couldn’t help but giggle like a little kid, and playfully throw a few toward the other, “Definitely nothing too rebellious, I never been a rebel, it’s mostly stuff like, make a snowman, snow fights, stuff like that.”

Crunching more leaves between his hands, Harry nodded at the others words. He didn’t come off as the rebellious type, and he was usually pretty decent at deciphering the type of person he was interacting with. That was one benefit of being thrown into the business world so young — he could read people without much effort from his end. “So the harmless type of childhood rebellion, not the ‘hey I’m gonna crash your fucking car because you’re not paying attention to me’ type.” That particular instance was a fellow rich kid rebellion act, for once, not his own. “I can’t say I’m the harmless type, unfortunately,” Harry muttered, sprinkling the crushed leaves into the pile, “but I can say when it was harmful, it wasn’t on purpose. So I guess that’s something.”

“Didn’t really give up, but it’s better for everyone involved if we just get in the sheets, and then you get out.”

listening to his words, she couldn’t help but avert her eyes once more, remembering the day her parents had sat her down in the pod without any consent from her. without letting her stay with them, die on the planet where she’d grown up – letting her die with honor alongside them. however, they gave her a new purpose, one that was quickly thrown away when she’d landed on earth. kal-el hadn’t needed her, no one needed her, and that? that killed her. “ my parents died too, ” she whispered out quietly, her lips twitching as tears began to sting at her eyes, her throat tight. clearing her throat, she spoke again, taking in a deep breath. “ my dad – he was a scientist, my mom was a judge, ” intelligence, honour, and justice. kara tried to smile as she recounted the memories they’d shared, eyes closing at the last one they’d had;her pod drifting into the darkness of space as the planet of krypton exploded in her peripheral, her father’s gentle smile and mother’s warmth evident in their expression as she waved goodbye for the last time. she’d always tried to keep a strong surface, push people away. maybe that’s why she hadn’t come out as supergirl. it was a lot easier to go unnoticed when you hid behind a lab coat and some glasses. “ i know how it feels… to feel alone; even when you’re surrounded by people. i have my cousins but sometimes, i don’t know, even then i feel like i don’t matter, ” she admitted quietly, shaking her head as she looked up to harry. a smirk spread across her lips as a weak chuckle bubbled out of her. she’d listened to his heartbeat, the way it’d quickened as he lied. kara’s head cocked to the side as she studied his expression a bit more intently. “ has anyone ever told you, you’re a terrible liar, harry osbourne? anyhow, ” she began, straightening out her shorts as she readjusted herself on the couch, wiping at her wet eyes. “ it’s a little too late to get rid of me now – you’re stuck. ”

Admittedly, Harry hadn’t thought they had anything in common, but learning her father was also a scientist gave them some sort of similarity to each other. Although Norman was definitely more business-facing, he could work in the lab if he really wanted to. Ironically though, Harry was better in a lab than Norman could have ever wished to be — maybe that was part of the reason he wanted to force this legacy on him so badly, as if it were his way of acknowledging his son’s intelligence. “Sorry to hear about your parents.” As she spoke, it became more apparent to him that they had more in common than he had originally given her credit for. Without thinking, he pulled her into a snug fit against his chest, hugging her for a brief moment. “Don’t tell anyone I hugged you, ‘cause, you know... they will assume you’re sleeping with the CEO and all that,” he quipped, referencing their earlier conversation from the lab. If there was anything he could do quickly, it was change the energy in the room — it used to be a speciality of his, and still seemed to have the desired impact when surfacing in present day. Letting out a quiet laugh, he shrugged. “Guess I’m stuck, then. It had to happen eventually.”

kara’s breath caught at his words, shaking her head “ subtlety was never my strong suit, ”the blonde murmured quietly as she avoided his gaze. there was always hushed tones, but nothing was ever quiet enough for her. harry was smart, she had to give him that, but at the end of the day there was only one end goal  “there were a couple of scientists who – one went missing, they said it was an accident in the laboratory but norman – well, let’s just say anyone who spoke… they weren’t really talking much at all anymore, ” she muttered quietly, fingers interlocking as her thumbs twiddled together in nervous energy, swallowing as she remembered the monster that glanced back at her the couple of times she’d encountered it; once as kara danvers, the second as supergirl. eyebrows knit together as she recounted the memory, the maniacal smile and empty golden orbed gaze falling upon her. “ i’ve seen the green goblin, ” kara whispered softly, her tone hushed as she kept her eyes down to her lap before returning her gaze back up to harry as she shook her head. “ i’m sorry, you’re right. but i was there the day one of the scientists took the serum himself and if your father was even a third of what he was like that day –, ” she stopped her words as she licked her lips. kara hadn’t had the same strained relationship with her parents, however, she knew what it was like to have your entire world blow up right in front of you, with no control over what would happen, or ability to stop it. literally. “ i need to make sure if you get the chance to take this formula, YOU DON’T. i need to make sure that - that if you were injected, you don’t end up the same way your father did. i know, you don’t really know me, ” she said, a soft sigh coming between her lips as she spoke, her tone sincere. “ – but i can’t sit back and watch anyone else get hurt. not again. ”

Nodding, Harry’s thumbs twiddled, fighting each other for dominance of his nervous energy that had formed throughout the memories playing back in his mind. He was well aware of the Goblin, even up close and in person, masked and unmasked. It wasn’t surprising to hear that scientists who talked a bit too much for Norman’s liking had gone missing in action. That seemed to align with how he usually solved his problems — taking them out, silently. Of course, he knew she had observed Norman in his natural habitat, probably even more so than he had. Being his son, it was easier for him to be terrible to Harry and dismiss it as them being family, dealing with family matters... employees, however, were a little more tolerable to him. They weren’t his, he didn’t have the same kind of control. “Yeah, me too, while I watched him die in my arms.” Mentions of the Green Goblin had images flickering back to him, his father in the suit, pierced through the chest. Although he was alone by the time Harry had reached him and very much dying, he had a different look in his eyes, not the usual anger or disappointment that laid there many times before... almost appearing grateful that the boy he had dismissed, nearly disowned, and pushed all negative emotion to was the same one to be by his side in his last few moments as his Green Goblin suit was nearly torn from his body. Even with all of the terrible things Norman had done to him throughout the years, Harry still held the man in his last moments, cradled on the rooftop he had been fighting on what felt like just moments prior. “Love you, dad.” Just like that, like it was a cue, there was no one left to be held, just a soulless body. With watery eyes at the recalled memory, Harry quickly blinked away the tears, taking a shaky breath. “Yeah well, I didn’t willingly take the serum. Can’t say that doesn’t mean it’s not in me.” As much as he wanted to believe his father wouldn’t have unknowingly injected him with the serum, he knew Norman would stop at nothing to see the results he wanted. If Harry wouldn’t willingly be a villain, fine, he would still make damn sure an effort was given to do so. “Anyway, you don’t have to watch out for me. I’ve got things under control.” He lied through his teeth. There was only a scared little boy left in shell of the old Harry Osborn, and anyone who had been around him laughing, smiling, goofing off throughout high school years would be able to see that there was definitely something different about him now.

Maybe his inner child was so active and loud because he was barely able to enjoy his childhood, both because of his abusive parents, and because before he knew it, he was a teenager, because of his uncontrollable growth spurts. He did get back to being a kid after in the Phantom Zone for the second time, but kids can barely have fun in there. “Yeah, he is very active, more than other people’s, I’m not sure why though,” he lied.

“Yeah, well, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Harry didn’t have the intention of his last remark sounding like he was berating the other male. If anything, quite the opposite — there were times that he wished he was able to be a kid again, purely for the lack of responsibilities. Crinkling the leaf into tiny bits that covered his hand, he tossed the crumpled bits at the other. Norman was always, well, Norman... so when Harry was of age to understand the family business, he was spending days in Oscorp as if it were some sort of side mission to finish the last quest of a video game. “What does your inner child usually talk you into doing? Just stuff like this, nothing too rebellious?”

“ not usually just – this week has been… kind of taking me out of my element, ” she murmured quietly as long legs tucked beneath her. biting down on her lower lip as she listened to his words, keeping brown eyes locked on the paperwork as he spoke. she’d known about the strained relationship between father and son, and the whispers around the office were hard to ignore, no matter how much she’d tried to. kara wasn’t one to pay attention to gossip because most of the time, it had been just that; gossip. to hear that the overdose had been one of truth was slightly jarring, however if she had a father similar to norman, she wouldn’t think it was that far of a stress, she could see the regret and pain that his eyes held and she found herself softening as she took off her glasses, turning her body toward him. “ did… i don’t know – did he ever seem… VIOLENT? ” she asked delicately, her words careful as brows kneaded together. “ i need you to be honest with me, because whatever it was that he took, look, i won’t sugarcoat it, from the research i did the only thing i can COMPARE it to is the super-soldier serum that captain america was injected with but this one would’ve been had a negative chemical reaction. the way that it intertwined with his DNA – probably would’ve had some of the same symptoms as say bipolar disorders, or schizophrenia. ” kara’s fingers slightly twitched  as lips pressed together firmly, eyelashes fluttering as she cocked her head slightly to look harry directly in the eye, listening to his heart rhythm. she already knew what norman was and she had a sneaking suspicion harry knew too – now, now she just needed to know if he was following in his footsteps, and if he did; who was in danger? “ he wouldn’t be himself. it would’ve turned him MUTANT. he would be… obsessive, angry. unable to create clear thoughts… was there anything he was hyper-focused on? ”

“He was always violent, just never in front of other people. Same timeline of when it became worse than his usual amount,” Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair. For a moment, he just listened to her words, and they were enough to thoroughly convince him that she already knew the answers to the questions being asked. They were too specific, even if the same could be asked of the super-solider serum. Of course, since she did work in the lab, that felt like even more of a tip-off. Sure, maybe she wasn’t the one who created it, but the men in the lab were arrogant and wanted everyone to know about their successes, including partnering with others on a project that Norman himself recruited them for.  Just as easily as Norman could destroy an ego for someone with his words, he could also create one — that energy always went to the employees who could be manipulated to his benefit. “I know you know what he was,” Harry spoke flatly, his eyes shifting to witness her reaction. For his own psyche, he decided it was best to stop answering the questions about his father, and just confront the situation head-on from there. If they both knew what he was, there was no point in acting as if they didn't, and hurting himself to the point of no recovery for the remainder of the night. That was the only benefit to being in his penthouse for the conversation instead of the Oscorp building, seeing as the only person who would interrupt them was Felicia, and she was already aware of the situation, no thanks to Norman from the grave. “So, what’s the point of coming over here, acting like you don’t know anything about it other than the lab reports? Why am I reliving trauma to answer questions we both know the answers to? What are you wanting to know, for real? Be straight with me, please. I need you to, because if I keep answering these questions, it’s going to fuck me up.” 

looking down to her figure, her nose scrunched slightly, her hands running up the sides of her body. “ well, you know, gotta keep in shape to compete with all these HEROES in the city around here, ya know? hold my own.” it’d all happened so fast, his eyes scanning across the phone screen, the words flying from his lips, legs walking quickly out of her office as she tried to get the words out as quickly as she could. “ i-i meant here in the buildi –. ” he was gone. letting out a breath, she ran to her door, sliding down as she felt her wrist begin to vibrate, indicating that something had gone wrong in the city, a groan falling from her lips as her head leaned back against the door before brown eyes glanced down under her shirt, the bright blue, red, and gold staring back at her, the ‘ S ‘ symbol staring back at her, reminding her of the promise she’d made. coming to her feet, she went out onto the lab floor. “ WHO WANTS A COFFEE? ” she yelled out before making her way quickly to the elevator, closing the door quickly behind her, stripping down to the suit that she dawned beneath it, taking off her glasses before taking reaching the roof top access, taking off into the sky.

to say it had been a LONG day had been an understatement. two bank robberies, and a stolen car, not to mention her daily load of usual work, and of course, COFFEE. but just as promised, her watched DINGED with a text messaged from an unknown number and she had to keep reading over the address again and again as she sat in her own apartment, in her pajamas, following the directions up to his apartment, laptop in toow and arriving to the front door with harry looking over her to come to the conclusion that yes, in fact, they’d lived in the same building. confusion plagued her features as she looked up at him, brows kneading together. “ i live literally a floor down, thought i might as well get comfy ” she murmured out, exhaustion plaguing her features, hair slightly dishevelled, makeup wiped off, dawning a pair of pink pajama as she shook her head, walking into the apartment. it’d been sunny enough in new york, but she’d been spending most of her time indoors and today been the only rainy day they’d had within the past week. glancing down, she saw a bit of the blue peek out and she quickly hid it away as she turned to him, a smile coming to her lips as she sat down, taking out the copies she’d made for herself. “ okay – we should get started on any symptoms he presented before his death? ” she started out quickly, eyes glancing over as she spoke. “ mania? sudden changes of mood? ” kara needed to keep herself on task, making sure she would just get to the science of it all; that, she understood. it was easy. being around harry? it wasn’t. honestly, she’d thought the whole day about being near him again and the way she seemed to stumbled, letting her words slip. she felt COMFORTABLE around him and that? that was dangerous.

“Are you usually asleep by now or something?” Harry’s features reflected his confusion, which quickly disappeared at the mention of her own living situation. Of course we do. Flipping the lock on the door, he ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to investigate the reports or even that he was against spending time with her outside of work hours, but his life seemed to be slowing down, until his father’s files were found. If Felicia hadn’t recently discovered the password-protected files from her computer, Harry probably would have just scheduled a meeting in the building that was suitable for both of them. This was urgent though, and if the information landed in the wrong hands, it would certainly cause bigger problems for him... especially since only his photo was within the body of the document. Granted, he thought he was only trying on a new costume for a bigger project at Oscorp, and his father actually cared enough to have him test it, but that wasn’t the case. Hands shoved into his pockets, he paced the area for a moment. The same outfit clung to his body, the only difference being some buttons from the top of his shirt now open. Fingers rubbing the stubble along his jawline, his mind trailed back to the last time he had faced his father, and months prior to try to pinpoint anything specific. “Honestly, Kara, his mood was always changing. That was like... since I was a kid, though. He was cold, but he wasn’t that solid when it came to hiding things — everyone slips up eventually.” That was true, everyone did slip up at least once. Norman slipped when he didn’t bother checking for Harry’s presence on his last living day, his son discovering the secret identity, then the hidden lab shortly after in the following days. “As for mania,” his words trailed off, brows knitting together as he finally sat next to her on the couch, “good question.” Leaning forward, his fingers interlocked, elbows now resting on his knees. “I guess more so... when he called me to come back a few days after kicking me out for the drug overdose.” Though, Harry figured that was an event she had already heard about and suspected, considering at the time, it was mentioned in hushed whispers. It wasn’t on the list of Harry’s Greatest Hits in terms of memories. In fact, that was one memory that was still fairly vivid for him, even after suffering from slight amnesia. “It was in waves after that.” If anything, talking about his past was starting to trigger more memories, as well as built up anxiety that he had purposely avoided.

With Kara coming over to discuss lab reports from the time of his father’s reign, as well as reports of him, they often sidetracked to discuss other work-related topics in the midst of reviewing. After remembering a conversation with Felicia earlier, he wanted to bring it up. Partially because he thought it was funny, but also to try to get some sort of cue for it being true or false. “Hey, I’m on your side — I don’t think you do, either,” he replied, eyes skimming the lab reports in his hands, “Felicia’s protective, though, I don’t know. I guess she’s worried I’ll spiral or something. Complicated.” It wasn’t that complicated, but they weren’t together — that was easy enough to explain, without any details that would provide more information than he was willing to give.