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Peter and Harry are currently at their favorite spot behind the bleachers. Unfortunately not by choice. They were hiding from Flash and his gaggle of morons and it may or may not have been Harry’s fault. Who knows?
The two sat on the polished floor of the gym. Harry was leaning his head on Peter’s shoulder and idly playing with the cuff of his sweater. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been down here, but it was an excuse to be close to Pete so he didn’t care.
“Think they’ve given up yet?”
“If Flash Thompson is anything, it’s infuriatingly stubborn.” Peter sighed.
“True, but I’m perfectly content missing calculus and staying right here.” Harry moved his hand to intertwine their fingers.
Harry is almost never this bold. Peter looked down at the display and smiled. “You do realize you get like 95% more handsy when we’re alone right Har?”
He chuckled nervously as he felt his palms getting clammy. “I…well, I don’t want to give Flash and his buddies another reason to make fun of us.” It wasn’t a bad excuse. It was pretty close to the truth actually, with just a few details omitted.
“Good point.” He squeezed his hand and kissed the top of Harry’s head. “Screw them.”
Fuck you, Peter. Why is he so sweet? Harry scooted up so he was face level with him.
“Peter…you’re so, so damn amazing.” Harry couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.
He chuckled lightly and brought their hands up to his face, kissing Harry’s smaller hand gently.
“You too buddy.”
Harry couldn’t take much more of this. He did the same as Pete and kissed his hand. That was okay, right? Peter did it first…
“I love you so much.”
Peter’s eyes widened a bit. Harry never said I love you first. It caught him a little off guard, but it also was one of the best things he’d ever heard. He grabbed Harry’s chin and guided his face closer. He hesitated before placing a small but tender kiss on Harry’s flushed cheek.
Harry heard his heart beating unbelievably fast as Peter’s lips pulled away. Did…did that just happen? Surely not. He opened his eyes to see a laughing Peter. How dumb does Harry look right now? Cause he feels pretty fucking dumb.
“You, alright?” Pete whispered already knowing the answer.
“Uhh, I…hah” Harry knows he’s already given everything away. Even a blind man could catch on. If he’s already fucked up this much. Welp, in for a penny…
Harry leaned in slowly, giving Peter a chance to back away. He didn’t. Harry’s soft lips met Pete’s chapped ones in a long yet gentle kiss. He didn’t feel Peter kissing back at first but that quickly changed when Harry's hands took refuge on his slender thighs.
It was everything. Everything Harry had ever hoped for. He would never forget this moment. He pulled away and tried to read Peter’s expression, licking his lips nervously.
“Pete?” He was visibly distressed.
“Wow…” Peter was finally able to articulate words again. “Can-“ He swallowed. “Can we do that again?”
He nodded, perhaps a little too quickly. “Please.”
Peter laughed at him again before grabbing the collar of Harry’s expensive shirt, pulling him in for a deeper, more passionate kiss. It was so clumsy, so awkward, but so perfect. Harry practically whined into the kiss and that made Peter feel…something. Something that he tried to ignore for a long time. Harry parted his lips and Peter took that as permission to-
“Harry, buddy? You awake?” Peter shook his shoulder gently.
Harry mumbled, and blinked rapidly, trying to settle back into reality.
“What?” Harry rubbed his eyes and looked around before settling his gaze on Peter.
“Morning, sleeping beauty.” He snickered and ruffled Harry’s hair. “Come on get up.”
Right. That’s right. He fell asleep in Peter’s bed. Of course, he had to have one of those dreams, the universe must despise him. At least the dream didn’t get too far, this could’ve been much more embarrassing. He sighed and propped himself up on an elbow.
“Shit. It’s my birthday right?” He yawned as he spoke.
“Yeah, sorry buddy.” He frowned playfully. “Now cmon get up. We gotta go downstairs.”
“Do I have to?”
“Don’t worry.” Peter ran a hand through his hair again. “Just look at me if you get too anxious.”
Should he be embarrassed or flattered that Peter knows him so well? Harry’s never particularly enjoyed his birthday. Being the center of attention made his anxiety skyrocket like no other. Not to mention it’s a constant reminder that his mother is no longer here. She was the only reason he tolerated birthdays. It’ll be fine, he has Peter.
“Okay.” He sat up fully and stretched out his arms before stepping onto the hardwood floor.
“You look good in my clothes.”
That comment shook any remnants of sleep out of him. “Thanks..” He didn’t even have time to think before Pete grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room and through the hallway. As soon as they reached the top of the stairwell Harry’s nose was hit with the aroma of…bacon! They ran down the stairs and Harry smiled as his eyes met MJ’s.
“Happy birthday Har!” She crushed him in a firm embrace that he reciprocated instantly.
“Thanks.” He sighed happily. He looked over and saw Pete grinning at them. Maybe today wouldn’t be so terrible. So long as his stupid feelings don’t get in the way, perhaps it’ll go smoothly. Probably.
She pulled away, wearing her classic smirk. “Talk about bedhead.” She attempted to clean up his hair, tucking a few curls behind his ears.
He’d never admit it, but he loves it when they touch his hair. It reminds him of when his mother would stroke his hair as he lay down on her lap. They stopped doing that as he got older, but he wished he’d asked her to do it more. He just, couldn’t bring himself to be around her for long. Watching her slowly deteriorate was far, far worse than the actual dying part. He wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy.
“Are those Pete’s pajamas?” She raised an eyebrow.
Harry blinked a few times before looking down at her. “Uh, yeah I didn’t wanna sleep in my jeans.”
“Ah.” She nodded her head and ushered him to the dining table, pulling out his chair for him.
Harry shook his head. “You don’t have to-“
“I want to.” She gestured to the chair and he sat down with an eye roll.
“Sorry buddy, today you get treated like a prince.” Peter sat down next to him and whispered. “Unless you like genuinely want us to stop. Cause, we will.”
They’re both so incredibly annoying. So much so that Harry couldn’t help but smile. As much as he hates his birthday, he doesn’t mind this.
“There he is.” Aunt May walked into the dining room with two full plates of food. She put them down in front of MJ and Harry. “Happy birthday kiddo.” She gave him a small hug from behind.
“Thank you May, this looks…incredible.”
She gave him a fond smile before walking back into the kitchen and quickly coming back with Peter’s plate. “Alright, I’ve got to head to Feast, just make sure you guys clean up in here yeah?” She gave Peter a knowing look before turning to Harry. “Hope you have a good day darling.”
They all said their goodbyes as May left for work.
“She’s easily collectively better than all of our parental figures combined.”
“No contest.” MJ agreed with a laugh.
“Guys seriously?” Peter shook his head in disappointment. “It’s pretty accurate though.”
The trio laughed and Harry felt so at ease. Why couldn’t it be like this all the time? Why couldn’t that all just exist? Why did Peter have to leave in the middle of the night…don’t just don’t Harry. You always do this. For once, fucking stop and just enjoy yourself you asshole. Self-deprecation has always been an unfortunate part of his makeup, but lately, he’s truly meant every single word he’s said to himself.
“May didn’t even make me wheat cakes for my birthday! What’s Harry got that I don’t?”
MJ clicked her tongue. “Don’t think you’d like the answer, Pete.”
“Oh? And what happened to “always seeking the truth” Wattson? Hmm?”
“Oooh.” Harry instigated while chewing on a piece of bacon.
MJ squinted at Pete, trying to resist a smirk. “Okay, fine. Let’s see… well he’s better with computers-“
“Debatable.”
She rolled her eyes. “As I was saying! He’s better with computers, always on time, and not insufferable.”
Harry looked back and forth between the two, now nibbling on some eggs.
“Hey, he’s pretty insufferable too!”
“Excuse you.” Harry tilted his head in feigned offense.
Peter leaned down to quickly whisper, “You’re great, shut up.” before sitting back up to continue. “And again, I’m still better with computers.”
MJ couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips. “Sure thing tiger. Alright, nobody’s gonna claim your nerd crown. It’s all yours.”
“And I’ll wear that crown proudly. You call me a nerd like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is.” MJ and Harry respond in unison and it forces them all into a fit of laughter. Harry nearly choked on a bit of egg, causing MJ and Pete to still in concern. After a couple of seconds, Harry manages to get it down. They stare at one another blankly before laughing even more. Gosh, Harry loves these idiots.
They ate their food, joking and teasing one another relentlessly. Once they finished, Peter got up to collect the dishes and carry them to the sink.
“I missed you, Har.”
Harry turned to look at her. The confusion on his face was evident.
“We don’t hang out as much anymore. You’re my only friend willing to go get a mani with me.” She giggled, showing him her nails. “They’re a mess and writing as much as I do, doesn’t help.”
Harry chuckled, feeling guilt rise within him. “I know…I’m sorry.” He looked down at his hands. “My cuticles are a disaster. We’ll get them done soon?”
“Definitely.” She smiled fondly at him.
Peter walked back over to them and clapped his hands together. “Okay! Now, the fun can really get started.”
“I’m afraid.”
Peter snickered. “Nah nah it’ll be great.”
“Soooo, Harry, we were thinking of binging your favorite show today.” She raised her eyebrows at him.
He gasped. “No- stop it. You guys hate it!!” He tried hiding his excitement but failed miserably.
“We don’t hate it per se.” Pete shrugged. “Anyway it doesn’t matter. It’s happening.”
Harry smiled. “You guys don’t have to. Seriously we can do something else.”
“You heard him Pete.”
Pete glared at MJ playfully and she put her hands up in surrender.
“That’s how much we love you, buddy.” Pete walked behind him and patted his shoulders. “C’mon.”
They all walked over to Mays sofa and Harry sat in the middle for once, with MJ to his left and Pete to his right.
Peter opened the ottoman beside him and pulled out their favorite “hang out” cover. He threw the cover over Harry and MJ. Then he pulled the ottoman in front of them so they could all rest their feet on it. Pete grabbed the remote and selected Netflix.
“Aghhh.” Harry was already grinning stupidly.
Peter smiled, shaking his head as he typed ‘glee’ in the search bar.
“Who’s your favorite character again?” MJ stared inquisitively at the screen seeing if she could pick the character out from the thumbnails.
“Hm. There’s lots of good ones. Well, they’re all terrible people but, my favorite? He doesn’t come around ‘til season 2.”
“He? I always thought it was one of the cheerleaders.” Pete chimed in as he navigated to the first episode.
“Santana? Shit. Maybe she is my favorite.” Harry laughed at his own indecisiveness. “Listen, we can all give our opinions after we’ve seen a few episodes.” Harry couldn’t help a joyful squeal that left his mouth as the first episode started.
Pete and MJ looked over at Harry then their eyes met. Harry’s excitement made the two so incredibly happy. It had been too long since they’d seen it.
As soon as a few lines of dialogue passed, MJ and Harry looked over at Pete judgmentally.
“What?”
“Peter, you psycho turn on the subtitles.”
“Ohh.” Peter sighed. “Jeez, you two nearly gave me a heart attack.” He did as they asked and set the remote back down.
“Oh, we nearly gave you a heart attack? It’s only fair, especially after that stunt with rhi-” MJ stopped her sentence abruptly and Peter’s smile faded.
Suddenly the air in the room felt very tense and Harry wasn’t quite sure what just happened. What was MJ gonna say?
“You guys alright?”
For a moment only the sound of Kurt Hummel being thrown into a trash can could be heard.
“Yeah, yeah. I was just talking about the paper…that Pete wrote for Ms. Rheinhart’s class. It was a mess.” She played off a laugh.
Peter agreed after a few seconds. “Oh, yeah. It was terrible!”
MJ was good at lying. Pete, not so much.
Harry desperately wishes he could be as oblivious as Pete is sometimes. Why have they been lying to him so much? Why is he too afraid to call them out on it? It’s your birthday Harry, you promised yourself you wouldn’t ruin it. Look at how much effort your friends are putting into making you happy. Hell, they’re even watching Glee with you! Just fucking deal with it. It’s fine.
“Mine wasn’t much better, so no worries Pete.” He smiled convincingly enough. “Now shhh and pay attention!”
The two quickly shut up and turned their attention to the show.
The air around the trio slowly returned to normal and by the time the first song played Harry lip-synced along happily. He felt MJ staring at him and turned to face her, using his voice now.
“The taste of her cherry chapstick.” He sang to her, unable to keep a straight face.
“Strawberry actually. And it’s lip balm.”
Harry snorted and turned back to the TV.
“So, we hate Rachel, right?” Pete asked, turning to Harry.
“Uhh, I mean I want you guys to form your own opinions, but yeah. She’s gross.”
Pete nodded and they all watched intently, occasionally commenting, and singing along to whatever songs they recognized. As the first episode came to a close, Harry leaned over Pete to grab the remote and hit pause.
“So, thoughts?”
MJ pondered for a moment. “It’s somehow even more ridiculous than you said.”
“Yeah. I will admit, some of the dialogue had me clutching my metaphorical pearls, but it was pretty funny.”
Harry grinned. “Episode 2?”
Instead of responding Peter smiled at him and hit play on the remote.
They weren’t 20 seconds into the episode before there was a knock at the front door. Pete hit pause quickly and looked at the two.
“Expecting company Pete?”
“Uh, no.” He got up and walked towards the door. He inhaled slowly before opening it.
“Morning Peter. Is Harry here?” Norman wore his Cheshire-like smirk.
Peter looked back to see Harry mouthing ‘no’ while shaking his head frantically. He slowly turned back to Norman, trying to act casual.
“Erm, no sir.”
Norman’s expression hardened for a moment before it softened into that disingenuous smile. “Well, when you see him, tell him his father would like to celebrate his son’s birthday with him. If that’s at all possible.” He nodded before raising his voice. “Did you hear that Harry?”
It’s an understatement to say Peter was extremely uncomfortable.
“In any case, it was nice to see Peter.” Norman took a few steps forward and Peter nearly flinched. “Thank you for being such a good friend to Harry. It means…more than you know.” He patted Peter’s shoulder gently before turning and walking back to his black SUV. Peter watched as Norman was driven away.
He closed the door and sighed heavily. “Think he knows you were here?”
“Hilarious, Peter.” Harry deflated onto the couch. “He’s so annoying. Y’know he still hasn’t said anything about yelling at me unprovoked the other day.”
MJ slung her arm around his neck. “At least your dad cares enough to check up on you. That’s something, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Pete walked back over and plopped down next to Harry. “I never even met my dad so, you’re currently winning the father contest buddy.”
“The bar is extremely low.” Harry quickly added. “And I just- I swear I make a few mistakes and he acts like I’m not capable of anything anymore. He’s more worried about the optics of having a failure for a son than wondering why I’m actually fucking upset.”
“Harry you’re not a failure.” Pete leaned his head on his shoulder. “Why have you been so upset bud? Tell us what’s wrong.”
Tell them what’s wrong? They’re what’s wrong. He’s what’s wrong. Everything is fucking wrong. Maybe a little bit of the truth could salvage this. He sighs and grabs both of their hands, holding them gently.
“It’s just hard to not think about my mom whenever my birthday rolls around. I know it’s been nearly two years since she passed, but my dad’s only gotten more insufferable and I just feel so lost without her.”
They both listened intently and Peter squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I get it Har and I know that you know, we will always be here for you. And I mean that. Don’t let your emotions just fester, believe me, it doesn’t end well for anyone.”
“He’s right. You quite literally cannot get rid of us.” She squeezed his hand firmly. “I know you, Har. Don’t let your brain convince yourself you’d burden us with your problems. We’ve all got mountain loads of trauma, it’d be easier to navigate it all if we’re honest with each other.”
Pft. Honesty. Yeah right.
Harry needs to get out before he says something he regrets. “I know. I know. You’re both completely right.” He sighs. “Should I tell him I’m here?”
“Only if you want to buddy.”
“I guess I could just see what the hell he has planned. I just hope it isn’t too much.”
“Honestly it’s 50/50 with him.” MJ laughed. “Maybe try talking to him about…everything?”
“Right, 'cause talking about our feelings has always been a stand-out trait of the Osborn boys.” Harry said sardonically.
“Well, I think you did a pretty good job right now.”
“Thanks, Pete.” He sighed as he stood up. “I’ve gotta go get my phone from your room.”
Harry started walking towards the stairs.
“Mind if I join you?”
“It’s your room…so…no?” Harry squinted at him questioningly before ascending the stairs. He heard Pete’s footsteps closely behind him.
Harry entered the room and Pete closed the door behind them. He grabbed his phone to text Norman. He could’ve called him, but Peter was here and he really didn’t feel like getting yelled at in front of him.
Harry was going to put the phone in his pocket, then he realized he was still wearing Peter’s clothes. He slipped off the pajama pants quickly and felt Peter staring at him just like last time.
“Did you come up here to talk, or just like…watch me change?”
A faint pink spread across Peter’s pale face. “Uh, well I just needed to get a look at those ridiculous boxers again.” He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “They’re kinda growing on me. Should I get a pair?”
Harry doesn’t even know what’s happening anymore. Against his better judgment, he did a little spin. “Dunno. They look good on me though right?” That…is not what he expected to come out of his mouth.
“Yeah, yeah they do.” He stared for a few beats too long before grabbing Harry’s jeans off the floor and handing them to him. “On a serious note, I wanted to tell you, that if your dad somehow messes your day up, please text me or MJ. We’ll figure something out.”
Harry’s very glad to have his jeans back. If the conversation had stayed on his wardrobe any longer, he would’ve had something a little harder to explain. He turned his back to Pete and slipped on his jeans one leg at a time.
Peter, for some reason, was having trouble looking anywhere that wasn’t Harry. He noticed how Harry’s jeans struggled to move past his- agh mmm, wow what a nice poster of Crusher Hogan. Peter forces himself to recall his first wrestling match.
Harry fastened his jeans and grabbed his phone, turning back around to face Pete. “Dad said he’s on his way.” He sighed before grabbing his jacket off of Pete’s dresser and slipping it on quickly. “I’ll text you guys, don’t worry.” He gave his trademarked half-smirk. “And uhm, thank you for y’know everything. You do so much for me Pete, but in the past, I don’t know, 24 hours? You’ve been unusually kind to me.”
The admission made Peter feel somewhat guilty. He should always be this attentive to Harry. He knows with all of his responsibilities, being Peter is getting more difficult by the day, but he needs to make time for Harry. He’s gonna try at least.
“I just felt the need to remind you how much you mean to me, to us. MJ and I care for you so much buddy. Don’t let anyone, including yourself, tell you otherwise.” Peter moved forward to embrace Harry tightly. “I love you, idiot.”
Harry hugged him back eagerly. “I love you more.”
“Doubtful.” He chuckled softly.
If only he knew.
Harry felt his phone buzz and pulled away from the hug. “Think that’s him.” He grabbed his present off the dresser and smiled at Pete.
“Yeah.” Pete ushered him down the stairs and Harry swiftly put on his boots.
He ran over to MJ and leaned down to hug her. “Bye. I’ll see you guys later. Sometime? I don’t know.”
She returned the hug. “Just tell us if your dad is being an ass.”
Harry smirked as he pulled away. “I know.” He walked over to the front door, looking back at them. “Bye!” He stepped outside to see his father waiting with his window rolled down. He looked about as happy as he usually does. This should be fun.