harry osborn

AT SOME POINT, I JUST -- I STOPPED PULLING MY PUNCHES. I GOT RAGEFUL. I GOT BITTER. I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO END UP LIKE ME.

marvel multimuse, with characters as loved by emrys. featuring @oscxrpceo, @stacysghost, @parkersbite, && the gambit. they/them, 25+, selective.

" is there anything about yourself that you haven't told me ? "

" will you come back to visit me ? "

" what could it mean ? "

" this is not the correct way , and you know it . "

" this is truly a room worth admiring . "

" your obsession borders on creepy . "

" this reflects poorly on your overall personality . "

" maybe this is why everyone left you . "

" are you just sitting around waiting for more dialogue ? "

" no one gets to tell me what to do . "

" everyone thinks you are very powerful . "

" there is nothing in the broom closet . no reason to still be here . "

" you're not even doing anything ! "

" please offer me some explanation here ; i'm genuinely confused . "

" the broom closet ending is my favourite . "

" you're fat and ugly and really , really stupid . "

" you're addicted to drugs and hookers ! "

" that kind of anxiety isn't healthy . "

" i'm not your enemy . really , i'm not . "

" i think perhaps we've gotten off on the wrong foot here . "

" how i wish to destroy you . how i wish to control you . "

" investing your trust in someone is difficult . "

" please , stop trying to make every decision by yourself . "

" this is it . your chance to redeem yourself . "

" i can't believe i've been so mistaken . "

" you and i don't even know each other . we're like strangers . "

" i still don't know you . and you don't know me . "

" you like being alone , don't you ? "

" perhaps you'll see me again , if you can find me . "

" i've escaped from that dull office and pesky narrator . "

" what are you talking about ?! "

" this is so stupid . why are we even doing this ? "

" you've demonstrated such bravery here today . "

" do you have zero consideration for others ?! "

" oh , thank god . you are willing to listen to me . "

" i think i feel ... happy . i actually feel happy . "

" no , wait ... where are you going ? "

" promise me you won't go back there . just - just stay here . "

" you are going to stay here , aren't you ? "

" please , don't take this from me ! "

" nothing good can come from this . "

" we can't be happy if we leave this place . "

" comedic timing is so difficult . i wish i was better at it . "

" it's just a bucket ! it can't think , it can't talk ! "

" i suppose you don't need me anymore . "

" you believe i'm real , don't you ? "

" give it to me ! give me the bucket , i need it ! "

" it's nice to see you again . "

" i'm on your side . we're in this together . "

" obviously the bucket isn't talking to you and telling you to do things . "

" do you see that i really have wanted you to be happy all this time ? "

" are you that convinced i want something bad to happen to you ? "

" that wasn't supposed to be a choice . how did you do that ? "

" can you see ? can you see how much we need one another ? "

" in the vast infiniteness of space , your thoughts and problems are materially insignificant . "

" when every path you can walk has been created for you long in advance , death becomes meaningless , making life the same . "

" although this passageway has the word ' escape ' written on it , the truth is at the end of this hall , you'll meet your violent death . "

It might be seen as weakness, and yet for a moment Harry doesn't care. He knows grief, deep in his bones, and he's never been able to see pain and ignore it, not without a very good reason. He doesn't have one of those now.

So he moves a chair back, rests his hand on its back. Even if he doesn't sit just yet.

It's almost laughable, to think the other might actually understand. Harry doesn't, because something in him tells him that the other might know more than he lets on, but it is hard to imagine.

He managed a shrug and a larger smile for Harry instead, not sure if his face really was warmer or if that was his imagination, "Maybe if they were more interesting to talk to, you'd be excited about them too." the sandwich that was Harry's was slid over to him once he reached the table. Both bags of chips and drinks were set between them, Peter figured they could grab their preference anyways.

"No problem, like I said, I figured you could use the excuse to get away for at least a little while. Kinda sounds like I got here just in time." exactly what the meetings involved he had no idea. Peter really just remembered Harry sounded less then excited about having to sit through them the last time they talked. He grabbed his own sandwich and took a seat to unwrap it, taking a few bites and settling back, "Are they at least done with you for the day now, or should I stall for as long as possible?"

He ignores the butterflies in his stomach that Peter's smile always gives him in favor of grabbing his sandwich and opening the wrapper, smiling back. "God, if I ever start thinking those old boomer farts are interesting, just let the Rhino run me over."

It's a tease, really. He knows that Peter would never, and something about that fact, that Peter wouldn't let him get hurt, makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He eats a few bites of his own sandwich before speaking again. "You actually did. I was beginning to think that if I had to listen to more talk about spending reports, my brain would melt out of my ears." He checks his watch, then makes a thoughtful noise around the food in his mouth. "I'm sure Fels will be annoyed about me ditching for the rest of the day, but, honestly, I'm the CEO. What is she gonna do, write me a strongly-worded email?"

@oscxrpceo asked: "I don't want to be alone tonight."

------

In the evenings, after Peter was done with studying and classes and whatever odd job he'd picked up to earn some money, he went out as Spider-Man. Every night, for months now, that was how he'd spent basically every day. Most of his free time went to squeezing in a few more hours of patrol at different times to help keep people from being able to track when the webbed hero would show up anywhere in the city. Didn't give ciminals and other bad guys a chance to try and plan around patrols to commit crimes. Originally that was the plan for that evening and late into the night as well but now...

Peter looked at Harry and was quiet a moment, frowning slightly with worry. It was something he was familiar with feeling himself, on days he missed May more than usual, or dates he remembered that were important to him, Ned, and MJ. Remembered spending nights where he couldn't sleep on the phone with one or both of them, now replaced with staying out on patrols longer. He didn't really hear it from others often, and if he did it was usually someone asking Spider-Man for suggestions of where they could go for help and to feel safe.

People didn't really ask Peter Parker for help when they felt like that.

It'd been a stressful week for Harry, and it was only Tuesday. Between frustrating conversations with his father, and the anniversary of his mother's death, and classes, and a lingering cough... he'd decided that homework can wait and that Peter looked as strung-out as he felt.

Seriously, when does he sleep? He'd be more worried about it if Harry wasn't an insomniac himself. Too many nights at clubs, or up late studying, or at his mom's bedside worried about her. It'd be hypocritical to lecture him about sleep, and besides, Peter basically disappears half the time anyways.

Five + meeting Sparrow Ben

@oscxrpceo asked: “I’m tired of hearing excuses. Let me show you how I feel.” 💋

------

Peter had never really forgotten how he'd felt about Harry. Eight years was a long time, and a lot of things could change. It was enough time to think that those kinds of feelings faded, something to keep to himself but still remember vividly. The way he felt when Harry was over and they got to spend time together. The warmth when Peter hugged him and felt it returned, the silent questioning when they fell asleep just inches apart from each other. How he only had one friend in the whole city and he never felt lonely despite that, yet felt so completely gutted when Harry said he was being sent away to boarding school.

There had been plenty of time for things to fade, he didn't think they would creep back in. Didn't know if he even wanted them again, because he was scared to do anything back then he really didn't have the guts to do anything different now. Harry was his best friend, he shouldn't want more than that. He should feel happy just having this. Harry didn't do complicated and that's all Peter was. Complicated. Way, way too complicated. In more ways than he could even begin to count at this point.

He went over and Harry just kept lingering so close and Peter kept telling himself not to lean in closer. Do not reach out for him, they were friends, he needed to accept that. It was fine, he was fine, he wasn't tripping over his words or fidgetting. Gesturing more, messing with his hair, getting distrated because Harry was really close and kept getting closer and--

....and as soon as Harry kissed him, Peter's mind shut off. Completely. When he could start to think again, the first thing was that the kiss was pretty gentle but very sure. The second thing was that Harry's lips felt exactly how he thought they might and Peter didn't let himself wonder if that was a weird thing to notice. Instead, he felt his brain reboot itself and reached up to catch Harry's arm, loosely and gently but trying to keep him there. Just a little bit longer, even a few seconds.

Kissing Peter -- it's something Harry would never have thought would actually happen. And the fact that it did, that his impulse control finally won out against his logic, is a miracle. It's something he'd thought of doing as long as he'd known Peter, as long as he'd known what kissing was. A hand in the other's soft curls, pulling him down to Harry's height.

Harry knew his lips were chapped, but standing this close to Peter, being able to finally, finally fulfill something he's always wanted, it's electric. He never wants to leave this moment. He could die right here, let his father's illness take him, and he'd be happy.

He only pulls away because he needs to breathe, resting their foreheads together and giggling despite himself. "You should have."

"Hey I have a job you know, it pays me and everything." Peter laughed. Was he going to clarify how much Jameson paid him? Nom definitely not, because he knew it was low in just about every possible sense of the word. He really didn't need to give Harry that kind of ammunition to use against him, or to worry about. But it still was the most flexible thing he could get that worked with how unpredictable his schedule could be. That didn't stop Peter from groaning and letting his head fall back on the couch cushions, "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

Having food for in a few hours was definitely a plus side, though. Three hours sounded about when he would start getting hungry again himself. Peter wondered if Harry had actually noticed or just threw out the first number to come to mind.

"I like classic horror movies and Alfred Hitchcock films. That in no way makes me a horror buff." he defended, following the instructions and finally managing to get Netflix up. One of these days, Peter was going to remember how to work that. He looked back at Harry again and smiled, "Though at the rate we're going through them, we both might end up being horror buffs in a few more months." which would mean Peter had to come over a lot more often and he honestly couldn't think of a single thing wrong with that idea.

"Yeah, you can't convince me that it's anywhere near what it should be paying you," Harry laughs as well. "One of these days, Pete, I'm going to come up with some job for you that you'll love doing, and it'll give me an excuse to make sure you're actually getting paid what you're worth. And, yeah, man, you absolutely walked right into that."

He relaxes into the couch, hitting the dial button on the number for the pizza place to order. "Hi, can I get three large pizzas, pepperoni and mushroom. Ranch on the side, yep! Delivery to - yes, hi Mrs. Petrouli. Yeah, it's Harry. No, I'm not working myself too hard, I'm actually sitting down to watch a movie with - yep, I'll tell him you said hi. Cash as usual. Thank you, Mrs. Petrouli."

"Elaine says hi," Harry says, sitting up to set his phone on the table before grabbing a blanket and getting comfortable again. "I feel like that just makes you a classic film buff, dude. Hitchcock has some weird fucking movies. Hey, what if we watched that one about the birds? That counts as both, I think. "

@oscxrpceo asked: “ the look on your face says there’s more on your mind . ”

------

It turned out there was an Oscorp after all, it just took a few months after the incident at Liberty Island for it to really make a place for itself and be known. Which still felt kind of crazy to think about, that it had shown up after all and Peter sometimes wondered what else was still coming. Not always an encouraging thought. He'd met Harry three days into the fall semester, when Peter had been running late and basically threw himself into the first abailable seat he could spot with the kind of speed that should have knocked the chair over. The only reason it didn't was his sense of balance correcting for it before the chair could barely even tip.

That chair happened to be right next to Harry, who was greeted with a grin and a slightly flustered but cheerful "hey man", and now they got lunch on campus together between classes most days of the week. Somewhere in that time, Harry either got really good at reading him, or Peter wasn't hiding being distracted as much as he thought. He was still thinking about homework, honest, it just maybe wasn't everything he was thinking about.

No, seriously, who frowns at brownies? Peter is straight up looking at the pastry like it personally ruined his day, and Harry is staring at him over his laptop, eyebrow raised. He'd been trying to slog through a mock business proposal for his econ class, but, really, study lunches with Peter are his favorite part of the day, and yeah, he had gotten surprisingly good at reading the other.

It's not like Peter is hard to read. He's actually really expressive, and even though Harry knows he's a fellow science major, he sometimes wonders if the other wouldn't be happier in theatre classes. "Man, what did that brownie do to you, seriously? Don't take out your busy schedule on the world's most delicious sweet treat."

He's half tempted to reach out for it, to liberate it from it's fate of being stared down. "Sorry, I'm joking to break the tension. Is there anything I can do to help? God knows I don't want to write this econ assignment."

"In your experience." He adds that onto the very last thing the other says; because the multiverse is vast and .. it is, mostly true. It's very, very rare that Harry Osborn looks the same across multiple universes. However, he had found a handful of times when they did. Which is always a disadvantage for him when it comes to Spider-Man. Speaking of - a rarer occurrence than finding a similar looking Harry, was to find a good, long lasting relationship between a Harry and a Peter. But that doesn't matter here, yet.

"Yeah, in my experience," he repeats, blowing out the smoke, resisting the eyeroll that threatens to take over his whole face. There's something about this Harry that's throwing him off, making his eyebrow twitch as he flicks the ash off the end of the cigarette. He doesn't know the other's entire deal, but he'd met his fair share of homicidal Harrys in the last six months. His vibes are off. Not in the way that he's not very clearly Harry Osborn, but in the way that he feels he should protect himself better. "Even met a Gwen Stacy once that was the Goblin."

"I'm pretty sure the general concept of bad thing taking over a person's body and controlling them pre-dates Catholicism. By a lot." Peter said, deeply amused by the conversation and leaning over to help pick up some of the spilled popcorn, "But I'm also a lot better at physics and chemistry than I am theology so I guess I could be wrong." they might be called the same name and they might function a little differently between belief systems, but Peter was pretty sure of that. At least that ghosts and spirits very definitely existed outside of any christian belief system.

"You still aren't allowed to be possessed...and the next time you convince me to watch a movie with that in it, I'm holding the popcorn bowl." he teased, "Maybe you should let me pick a sci-fi movie next time after all." even if he was half tempted to make it the second Alien film.

"I mean, you're right, but Catholicism definitely weaponized it the most," Harry says, dropping his handful of popcorn back into the bowl. At least they'd already finished what hadn't spilled. Harry had been forced to study business, no chance of branching out to what he'd actually been passionate about -- biochem and history and art -- so he makes a note to himself to make Peter teach him some chemistry later. And that's not even a ploy like the movie was. "Actually, I saw a paper the other day that said the concept could go back as far as ancient Greece."

He rolls his eyes fondly at Peter's words, conceding that Peter can hold the popcorn bowl. It'll probably end up the same way that this one had, too. "I don't think I'd really have a choice in the matter if I got possessed, to be fair. Demons aren't going to listen to 'my best friend said I'm not allowed to get possessed', it'd ruin the whole point of being possessed. Ugh, that's stopped sounding like a real word. You can pick the movie next, just don't make me watch Hitchhiker's Guide again, I don't understand that plot."

He wasn't really sure how Harry would handle that news, "She swiping pens from you or something? Do I need to get you more from the campus store? They sell them individually and in different colors, I'll find you a cool one."

The fidgetting made him wonder if that really was a slip from Harry before the suggestion was voiced and he paused again. It wasn't like sharing a bed, or couch, or wherever they'd passed out while watching movies together, was a new thing. It just hadn't really happened since they were kids. When it was arguing about who slept next to the wall and sometimes litterally climbing over each other to race down when May called them for breakfast. Or waking up in the middle of the night and laying there quietly, not sure how close might be too close and not daring to test it...

That would have been at least nine years ago, plenty of time that had gone by, sure. But Peter couldn't place why it would make Harry seem nervous to give the option. Unless he really thought the idea would bother Peter that much, "...you're not going to kick me in your sleep or anything, are you?"

Resolutely ignoring Peter's offer to buy him pens. Taking care of him is Harry's job, not the other way around. It's a job he takes very, very seriously.

Waiting for Peter's response to his suggestion of sharing the bed is pure torture. He's trying to be normal about this, not freak out about it too much. Applies logic to the situation -- just because Harry's couch is expensive doesn't mean it's actually comfortable. And with the blizzard roaring outside, it's the warmer option. Even if they don't wind up cuddling for warmth (though Harry would not be opposed).

He keeps chewing on his fingers, teeth catching on a hangnail and forcing himself to stop it before he winds up needing a bandaid, too. Harry shakes his head, wiping his fingers on his pants. "No, I just -- we haven't shared a bed since we were kids. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."