Work Text:
Since Harry had revealed to Peter that he was dying, and the cure might be found in his blood, Peter knew it was his destiny to save Harry. Not long after, Peter gave Harry what he needed, and took the fifty-fifty chance of losing his soul mate forever, or reimbursing the life that could be stolen from him.
Now, it was time to wait.
The transfusion had been done only a couple hours prior, but Peter was already anxious for the outcome to be revealed. Peter had as many fingers crossed as he could physically manage (he even attempted to cross his toes, it didn't work out well) in hope that Harry would make a full recovery, and would be free to go as soon as possible. But, unfortunately, that might not be the case.
The hospital surrounding made waiting so much worse. Something about the hospital gave finality to the situation, if there was an ending after the transfusion. Harry asked Peter if they could just do the process at home, but Peter fought against it, insisting that a medical professional should be the one to handle the situation. Peter may be Spider-Man, but he sure as hell didn't know how to inject blood into someone.
Peter planned on putting the duties of Spider-Man on the back burners to be the moral support for Harry. He was going to do whatever it took to make sure he made it out alive, or that he was there if anything bad happened.
But within a couple of days, sure enough, the odds landed in Harry's favor. The nurse had come in that morning and informed Peter that any disease that resided in Harry was now absent, and that he should be making a quick recovery. So Peter pulled his chair up to the side of Harry's bed, holding his hand in his own, and attempted to wake him up.
Ironically, Peter dozed off after a while, and that's when Harry came to. When Harry awoke, he squeezed Peter's hand as a reflex, and Peter immediately came out of his sleep. He called for the nurse, and was careful with Harry, even though he was ecstatic.
The nurse evaluated Harry to make sure everything was proceeding as normal, and when he was cleared, the nurse said he would be able to depart from the hospital the next morning.
Peter was absolutely euphoric.
"How long was I out for?" Harry asked Peter, still gripping his hand tightly.
Peter stared at his boyfriend under the fluorescent hospital lights, and responded, "Too long."
♡
Harry was more than ready to get back to his and Peter's home. Every aspect of his body felt better than it did while he had the disease, and Harry was astounded that his plan had actually worked. But there was something different about Harry, something that wasn't there before. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, and if it was negative or not.
His connection with Peter, though, was indefinitely stronger. If they believed they were soul mates before they shared the same blood, then what the hell were they now?
Harry was hesitant to ask Peter about this change, because he knew that Peter would blow it out of proportion and would go into overprotective boyfriend mode. Even though Harry appreciated it most of the time, he just got out of the hospital, and all he wanted to do was have some recovery time at home.
So Harry kept quiet the whole ride home, and Peter respected that. He was beyond happy that Harry had made it out alive, but undeniably, Peter sensed something different about his boyfriend.
♡
As soon as they got home, Peter tucked Harry into their king size bed, and left him to rest. By time the sun set and the night fell over the city of New York, Harry was still asleep, and Peter was keeping himself busy with chores.
Having Harry home again gave the giant house so much more life. Harry had inherited his father's home, and after he had passed, Harry invited Peter to live with him. Since then, the couple made the house their home, filling it with warmth and love and everything a house needs to become a home.
For those few days that Harry was in the hospital, the house had lost all of it's touch again. Peter was never there, only to shower and to change clothes, and of course, Harry was recovering from his transfusion. Peter noticed that when he did come home, it seemed so deserted. The furniture became cold and unused, and dust had already began to collect. The drapes were pulled shut, and the only light barely soaked through them.
Without Harry, the house didn't have life anymore.
Peter used the house as a metaphor for himself.
Peter kept busy while Harry slept: he tried to watch television, he attempted to dust the house (even though Bernard was still around, he wasn't present at the moment), and eventually, Peter just gave up and laid on the couch, waiting in case Harry needed something.
Like clockwork, when Peter almost fell asleep again, he heard his name being called.
"Peter! Come quick, it's an emergency!" Harry yelled from their bedroom, and Peter almost flew to their bedroom.
When Peter swung the door open, Harry was nowhere to be found. The bed was a mess of tangled sheets and blankets, a lamp had been knocked over, and a picture from their trip to Las Vegas was crooked. Peter searched for all signs of danger, like open windows and whatnot, but nothing seemed out of place.
Except for the white liquid dripping from the ceiling.
"Huh?" Peter said audibly as he turned his attention to the ceiling, and believe it or not, his pajama clad boyfriend was attached, upside down, to the ceiling.
"Peter! Can you believe it?" Harry exclaimed, both out of fear and excitement.
No, Peter could not believe it.
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Peter asked, and then said to himself, "How did this happen?"
"I don't know!" Harry said, still in denial, "I guess when they did the transfusion, I inherited not only your healing powers, but also everything else. I didn't think that was a possibility, since I wasn't the one who got bit by that radioactive spider, but here I am, crawling on the ceiling!"
Peter's head spun. How could he have been stupid enough to let this happen? Why didn't he think of trying his best to remove the radioactive spider mutation elements before Harry was injected with it? But if he would have done that, there would be a huge chance that the healing powers would lose their effect as well.
"Maybe if you just leave your spider powers dormant they'll go away, eventually," Peter proposed, trying to find a solution to this.
Harry detached himself from the ceiling, and made a safe landing back on his feet. "I don't want them to go away. I mean, I see you do Spider-Man stuff all the time, and I don't know, I always kind of wished I could be that cool," Harry admitted, and Peter knew that a confession like this was rare from Harry, he was always so headstrong to himself. "Plus, I could be like, your partner in crime. We could be super boyfriends, saving the city one crime at a time."
Peter immediately imagined himself fighting off some of the most malicious villains, and then, he saw his boyfriend next to him, in the same danger Peter put himself in everyday.
The thought made him sick.
"No," Peter responded, and Harry's face fell a little, "That would be cute and all, but being Spider-Man isn't cute, Harry, and I don't think I want you to put yourself in that type of danger. I love you too much, and I don't want you to get hurt." Peter assured.
Harry frowned, "Come on, Pete, it would be fun. All I would need is some training and I would be fine. We basically have the same powers, right?" Harry asked, his eyes glimmering with hope.
"I'll consider it," Peter said, and he wondered when he was the one making the decisions of the relationship. Harry had always been so stubborn, even in the worst stages of his disease, but now? Harry was letting his emotions show more, and that made Peter feel a stronger bond with him.
"Okay," Harry grins, his dimples becoming more prominent, "I'm still really tired, I might go back to sleep. Can you lay with me?" Harry asked innocently, and Peter almost melted.
"Yeah, of course," Peter nodded, following Harry into the already disheveled bed.
Harry immediately falls asleep in a fetal position with Peter's arms wrapped around him. Unfortunately for Peter, he spends his night listening to his boyfriend's breathing and staring at the clock. The thought of Harry having the same powers as him makes Peter feel sick. Harry is stubborn, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and if he wants to be Peter's sidekick, then he will sure as hell be it, whether Peter approves or not.
♡
When Peter wakes up, his arms are no longer full of Harry, and the opposite side of the bed is warm, but a body doesn't remain.
This wouldn't be unusual if Harry hadn't just turned into a spider mutant.
"Harry?" Peter asked loudly, pushing himself out of bed. Peter checked the whole bedroom, looking for any traces of webs or a Harry dangling from the ceiling. When he doesn't find anything, he follows this procedure through the whole house, until he hears a glass shatter from the kitchen.
"Oops!" Harry calls out.
By time Peter reaches the kitchen, Harry's sitting on the top of the island with ingredients for cereal next to him. The only thing missing is a bowl, which is lying on the floor, broken into a million small pieces.
Peter leans in the door frame, watching his boyfriend attempt to be triumphant.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Peter asks, and Harry turns toward him with bright eyes.
"I'm trying to teach myself to be swift with these web things, but it's not working," Harry pouts.
"Want some advice?" Peter asks, and Harry nods willingly. Peter moves next to Harry, and readjusts his hand, "The trick is aim and agility. Keep a steady hand, and keep your eyes on the prize. Be strong with it too, and you have to be prepared if a backfire does happen. Try it," Peter urges, and watches his boyfriend prepare to shoot.
Peter can't help but notice how adorable Harry looks when he's trying to focus. When Harry's really trying to capture his attention on something, he'll squint his eyes and bite his lip, and every time Peter sees him do it, he falls in love with him a little more.
Harry let the web go, and it hit a glass bowl with a thwap, and quickly boomeranged back to Harry, causing the bowl to smack right into his chest. Harry hissed at the encounter, carefully cradling the bowl into his hands.
"Control is also key," Peter said, taking the bowl from Harry's hands, "Once you learn to use your reflexes, you'll be a master at this." Peter leans in and kisses his boyfriend, who's still sitting on the counter top in his pajamas, on the cheek.
"Okay," Harry said, waited a beat, and then spoke again, "Were you this bad when you first got bit by the spider?"
"Worse, if you can believe it," Peter admitted as he opened the cereal box and began to pour the fruity flakes into the bowl, "It takes time. You'll get better. I know you can."
Harry nods, watching his boyfriend finish making his cereal. After Peter passes the bowl of fruit cereal over to Harry and starts to brew a pot of coffee, he decides to ask Peter the golden question again.
"I know you said that you'd consider the thing I asked you about last night," Harry started, clearly walking on eggshells, "But, shit, I don't know. I just thought it would be really fun."
Peter sighed, letting a pregnant pause make a presence before he answered.
"Harry, you know what it's like for me being Spider-Man. You're the one who always offers to clean up my aftermath, and you're worried sick doing that. I don't want to have to worry about you getting hurt while I'm already out there risking my life. Do you know what I mean?" Peter asked, and Harry agreed with him, to an extent.
"But what would be the harm in having an extra person on your side every once in a while? I obviously wouldn't be able to do it all the time, but what if it came to the circumstance that you were in a really sticky situation, and you needed someone to double up with? That could be me, and it would be victorious, because it's like two Spider-Mans." Harry validates.
Peter considers this, then queries, "Not all the time?"
"Not all the time, only when you need me," Harry answers, the smile on his face sickly sweet.
The idea of Harry endangering himself out in the open made Peter absolutely sick to his stomach, but he knew his strong willed boyfriend wasn't going to let up. If Harry wanted to fight crime with Peter, there wasn't a doubt in Peter's mind that said Harry's stubborn personality wouldn't follow through.
So Peter smiled as his boyfriend, and leaned on to kiss him on the cheek before saying, "Only when I need you."
♡
Harry kept his promise: the mysterious nameless masked figure in a green and purple spider suit would only become available on the scene when Spider-Man was in trouble. Spider-Man was grateful for the help when it came, and the public noticed that the two heroes must be in some sort of partnership.
The media blew up with news reports, articles, and even a fan base for the two mystery heroes. The phenomena went global overnight, and restored whatever lost faith anyone may have had about the single hero.
Even Peter had come to enjoy this attention, and he was glad that he could now share this aspect of his life with Harry, though he did worry for him a majority of the time.
But as his boyfriend and his superhero, that was Peter's job.