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Peter waited by the fountain around the corner from Aunt May's house. He unlocked and looked at his phone that he had been absent-mindedly tossing to himself and rolling over on his palm to see his message to Harry still unopened.
2:30pm
Harry: dude I'm telling you. It's gonna be so sick! We have to go
Peter: ik it will but I'd have to ask May. We're kinda tight on money this month
Harry: am I a joke to you
Harry: what's the point of having a stupidly rich dad if not for this exact reason.
Peter: Harry pls no it's too much
Harry: ok consider it an early birthday present then
Peter: that's what you said about the last thing you bought me
Harry: Christmas
Peter: Harry
Harry: Peter
Peter: I'm serious
Harry: I'm gonna be there in ten minutes and show you videos of the line-up and you're not gonna physically be able to say no to me
Peter: you sure about that
Harry: 100%
Harry: you will be entranced. Swayed by the music and my sweet sweet voice
Peter: uh huh. Sure.
2:44pm
Peter: you almost here?
2:52pm
Peter: is the train down or something?
3:00pm
Peter: ?
He was trying to relax and just wait patiently but he couldn't shake the feeling there was a problem. Something deep in his gut was telling him something was wrong.
He continued to wait for another thirty minutes. During that time, he called Harry a few times only for it to go to voice mail. He spent some time waiting at the train station near Mays where he would hypothetically get off at, until he did something he never thought he would do. He called Norman.
It rang for several seconds before it was picked up by his assistant.
"Uh, hey. It's Peter Parker? Harry's friend." He coughed nervously at the lack of friendly acknowledgement from the assistant. She definitely knows who he is. "Uh. Harry was supposed to meet me... Nearly an hour ago? and he's not replying to my texts anymore. He said he was ten minutes away, an...hour ago, so I was just wondering if you'd heard from him?"
Suddenly the line went quiet and the assistant hurriedly hung up. Peter sensed something was definitely up.
He deliberated on his next choice for only a few seconds before he dumped his clothes in one of his many spots near his current location and pulled his mask over his face, zipping up the side of the nearest building. He made his way towards Oscorp to where he knew Normans office was and hung by just out of sight.
Peter could immediately sense the tension coming from inside his office. Norman was angrily pacing around the room, his knuckles white, gripping a small box. He breathed heavily between words on the phone.
"I swear to god... if you hurt him. I will use all of my power to make sure you DISAPPEAR. FROM. THIS. EARTH." He was furious, eyes wild like a madman. There's only one person Norman is that protective over.
"Harry..." Peter whispered.
"If he's harmed. You will not see a single fucking *cent* out of me, do you understand?"
He was silent for a bit, listening to the demands on the other end of the phone. His chest and shoulders heaved with anger at whatever he was hearing. Norman closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Fine. You'll have it. Just... Give me my boy back."
That confirmed it. Harry's been abducted and they've called Norman to work out some kind of ransom no doubt. Peter felt his own breath grow uneasy at the thought of Harry being in danger. He inhaled deeply and pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He can't afford to get sloppy because this is personal to him. He needs to treat it just like any other kidnapping. Focus Pete.
Norman hung up immediately called someone into the room, placing the small box on the table. Even from where he was outside the window, Peter could see it was a ring that Harry's mother left for him. He usually wore it on a necklace because he didn't wanna risk damaging it on a daily basis, but wears it on his finger when he's going to a function or some fancy thing with his dad. The people that took him must have sent it to Norman as proof that they had him.
Listening in to the conversation, Peter's brow furrowed. Norman harshly ordered around several people in close succession. Peter didn't like what he was saying.
"They'll tell me where to drop off the money. And when they do, you'll follow them. Find out where they're keeping my boy. And once we have a location, you get in there and make sure every single one of them gets what they deserve."
Peter never thought Norman would go to lengths like this. Taking the law into his own hands. He would do anything to protect Harry but this could just as easily backfire and hurt him. Clearly it was up to Spider-man to rescue the hostage. He couldn't take the risk not to.
The first priority was making sure Harry was safe. Not getting revenge on the guys who took him.
Unfortunately. Norman wasn't getting the money location until tomorrow. So Peter had no choice but to swing around biding his time because there was no way he'd be able to go home and relax while Harry's whereabouts was unknown. He sent May a message saying he was out with Harry, not technically a lie. He had every intention to be where Harry was as soon as he could. Eventually, he got tired enough to swing up to a rooftop lounge and take a nap on one of the daybeds.
He hated that he didn't have a choice but to wait. If he had a way of finding Harry, he would be doing it right at that moment. But he didn't so he couldn't. He just needed to keep tabs on Norman's guys.
The next day came around and Peter waited impatiently, perched on a good vantage point until the agreed upon time.
Eventually, one guy arrived and then Norman's. They handed over the money, then they were instructed to wait there and Harry would be brought to them. The one who'd made the deal did so, and stayed in place, while another of Norman's men followed the guy with the money.
Now, when someone else is also watching the person you're watching. They can be easy to spot. So here Peter was, watching the watchers watcher. There was another guy on the kidnappers side presumably, watching this all go down. That's the one Peter is the most interested in.
The kidnappers must have been prepared for Norman to try something, so the person collecting the money wasn't gonna go back to where Harry was. But there was someone else here keeping an eye on the deal, who was.
While Norman's guy followed the money. Peter followed the watcher. He got into a car and drove in nearly the complete opposite direction of the other guy. Pete kept his distance and swung out of sight. They were probably sending Norman's goons on a wild goose chase to give them enough time to decide what to do with Harry.
Hopefully. They'll keep their promise and release Harry. But these guys can be unpredictable. They get nervous at the last minute and go back on deals to ensure their escape with the money. They'll keep their trump card close to their chest if they feel it gives them the upper hand. Since the trump card is his best friend, Peter had to make sure this was done right.
Tailing the car for about fifteen minutes, it pulled into the underground parking of an office building. Peter raised an eyebrow. Interesting choice. Paying for parking, getting their cars plates and registration on the parking lot cameras... All in the middle of a kidnapping? He could write that off as a stupid move.
*Or,* these people have more influence than he originally thought. Possibly connections in high places. Maybe someone with a little more sway and power was responsible for this.
He's actually kinda glad Norman's guys got sent to the wrong location. He'll be able to take his time and assess this situation while making sure Harry is as safe as possible.
Peter made his way down into the parking garage, sticking to the ceiling, staying out of sight. Eventually, the man got out of the car and went to the elevator. He watched the elevator number go up and stop, then headed outside to find the floor from the outside of the building.
"Into the vents we go..." Peter talked to himself as he slipped into the ventilation system and made his way to the right floor.
Peering down through the grates. He found what he was looking for.
They were in what looked like a big function room. Long tables and lots of chairs. And tied to one of these chairs was Harry. Sitting there looking more annoyed than scared. He had something wrapped around his mouth to gag him and his hands were tied behind his back. Peter breathed a sigh of relief since he looked completely unharmed. At least they took that threat from Norman seriously.
He was gonna have to work from the outside in. Take care of all the guys outside of Harry's room and slowly work his way inside until he could get Harry out safely. But he couldn't risk leaving any unconscious guys lying around because that's just gonna make them grab Harry and move him. He didn't wanna leave Harry open to getting hurt when these guys started getting nervous.
Maybe the best course of action was to just grab Harry and make a break for it? He could easily just swoop down and snatch him. But then he'd have to make a run for it under potential gunfire with Harry at his side.
He definitely felt better having eyes on him. Just being able to see Harry eased his nerves. It made it easier for him to focus on formulating the best plan.
There were armed guards inside the room with Harry as well as outside. There were guards patrolling the corridors, and there were also guys standing by on the ground floor by the elevators. This office building was in use by other not-criminal people. But it looked like the floors below and above these guys were empty.
Somebody with sway must have given them this floor. There's no way a bunch of wannabe kidnapper's could take over an entire floor of an actively used office building and ensure that their antics couldn't be heard by any adjacent floors.
Ok. Choice made. He'll make this quick. He waited until the guards outside were as far away as possible before making his move. There was a pile of boxes in one corner of the room and Peter shot a web at them to nudge them around and make noise. After he'd done it a few times, one of the men in the room walked over to it.
"Is there a rat in here for something?"
"Or something" Peter whispered to the other man who held his position, stealthily slinging him up inside the vent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry's eyes widen in surprise.
That made Peter pause for a second. It's not the first time he's been Spider-Man around someone he knows, but it's the first time he's been Spider-Man and directly interacted with Harry. What if he recognises his voice? His mannerisms? What if he lets slip something that lets Harry know they know each other and he just puts two and two together? Harry knows him really well after all.
He can't afford to get distracted. He puts on a bit of a voice when he's Spider-Man anyway. That's gonna have to be enough. Maybe he'll make it a bit deeper than usual.
When the other guy walked away from the boxes and turned around to see the other guard gone, Peter swung down and grabbed him too. Webbing him up in the vents. "Don't worry guys. It'll dissolve! Y'know... eventually. I hope your boss gave you bathroom breaks!"
Peter dropped down into the room and strolled up to Harry. He felt something in his chest swell at the way Harry was looking at him. Eyes basically sparkling, sitting up straight, focused on his every movement. It made him feel a little awkward and uneasy. The way Harry seemed fixated on every detail about him.
The shiver that ran up his back was totally normal...surely.
*Go away Peter. It's Spider-Man time right now. Confidence. Charm. Here we go.*
"Hello there Mr Osborn! Sorry to drop by unannounced, I should have booked in ahead of time." He chirped and pulled the gag off from around his head. Harry looked positively mystified.
He chuckled. "Harry is fine. And *you* don't need an appointment." The slight smile that followed those words made Peter's heart do a backflip. Was that flirty? Surely not.
Spider-Man gets hit on a lot and sure, it usually starts off like this but Harry wouldn't... probably.
Well Harry's said some flirty stuff about Spider-Man in the past. Wondering what he looks like, watching videos of rescues and fights. There was one time when Harry said he "sounds hot." Which did make Peter choke on his lunch at school. He wouldn't call Harry a fanboy by any stretch but the more Peter thinks about it, Harry's definitely shown... interest.
Peter took a subtle inhale and walked around him to free his hands. "That's good to know! I have so many ideas for you to give to your dad."
Harry let out a soft scoff. "You'd be telling them to the wrong person. You're better off trying someone he actually listens to." He sighed, rubbing his wrists. "But I wouldn't mind hearing them anyway. You seem like a smart guy."
Peter has witnessed Harry's smooth charm before. Between situations where Norman needed someone to like him in order to get them to agree to some deal, and when he's actually flirting with someone. But he's never been subjected to it. And it certainly feels different on this end.
Peter offered him his hand "Well maybe we could just get coffee instead then."
Whoops. Ok now *he's* the one flirting. Bad Peter. It's so easy to get swept up in it if someone's hitting on him. Especially with the mask on. Honestly he can be an absolute menace with how cheeky he gets. Keep things light and playful, that's what he's best at.
Harry smiled wider and took his hand "Coffee sounds good. You a latte guy?" Letting Spider-Man help him to his feet. His hand lingered in his grasp for a few seconds while Peter explained his plan.
"With a bit of vanilla" he said quickly "Ok. How are you with vents." He floated the idea past Harry and the young man shrugged looking up then back down at Spider-Man.
"I might sneeze?"
Spider-Man nodded "Fair. It's either that or you wait here while I clear out the hallways. I wanna give you a choice if you have a preference."
Seeing Harry's uncertainty, he spoke up again. "You don't have to worry though. I'll keep you safe." He always forgets no one can see him smile under the mask. Maybe he could get an LED display or something to use as a mask.
"I trust you." Harry's smile was bright enough for the both of them. Peter tried not to get too lost in it.
He clapped his hands together to try and break the tension that kept threatening to build. "Alrighty. Just gotta get you up there..."
Peter took a step towards him and hesitated for a micro-second before steeling himself. "'Scuse me for a moment..." He moved to wrap an arm around Harry's middle, slow enough so Harry wasn't surprised by the action. His face heated up instantly when Harry closed the gap till their chests touched, looping an arm around his shoulders, resting his other hand on Spider-man's bicep.
"Do your thing." Harry said, oozing with charm, giving him permission to spring into action.
Peter nodded, his throat feeling dry all of a sudden, and secured his hold around Harry's waist. Raising his other arm and pointing his web shooter at the open vent grate. They shot up into the vent and Harry scooted back while Spider-Man moved the vent cover back into place.
Harry made a noise and Peter whipped his head towards him. "You ok?"
"Yeah. They took my phone. It's not super important." He said despite sounding disappointed.
"Oh I understand the attachment. You have no idea the amount of times I've nearly dropped mine."
He half heartedly chuckled, his mind clearly on something else. "Ah. It's more that I had messages to check."
Peter raised an eyebrow under the mask. "Did you needa contact someone?"
Harry sighed, shoulders slumping a little and shook his head. "I can talk to him later I guess. C'mon, I hate it here. Which way do we go?"
Peter got the feeling he knew who Harry was talking about. And it's a good think Harry couldn't text Peter and hear Spider-man's phone go off.
Spider-Man nodded in Harry's direction. "That-a-way champ." *Champ?* Peter suffered in his mental prison as he crawled through after Harry.
Somewhere behind them, Peter's senses picked up the empty room being discovered. They needed to pick up the pace. He didn't wanna subject Harry to hiding from gunfire or dodging attacks from these people.
"Uh. Where to now?" Harry whispered as he was faced with a vertical vent. Peter shuffled past him.
"Allow me." He got in front of Harry and positioned himself so Harry could get on his back. "All aboard." He moved his arm like he was pulling an old school train horn cord and Harry stifled a louder laugh. Peter couldn't help but smile at the sound.
Harry got closer and put his arms around Spider-man's shoulders, leaning against his back. Then Spider-man reached forward and stuck his hands to the vent wall, climbing down as quietly as he could with the extra weight.
The feeling of Harry's chest against his back, his breath on the back of his neck and his ear. Peter would be lying if he said he was thinking about anything other than Harry touching him more. His skin tingled and his suit felt too warm and too tight. Every movement made friction against his skin that he couldn't ignore. It also acting as a barrier between him and Harry.
He could only breathe normally again when they reached the lower level. Harry eased himself down and started crawling again since there was only one way to go. Peter followed in suit, actively avoiding looking at his butt. Trying to look anywhere *but* his butt.
He almost missed it when Harry started to speak. "What are you gonna do about these guys?"
Peter blinked a few times and forced himself back into a speaking role. "Nothing right now." He said plainly. "You're my priority. I gotta make sure you're safe before I jump into battle with a bunch of kidnappers."
His answer seemed to cause a stutter in Harry's crawling. "But what if they get away?"
Spider-Man shrugged. "Then they get away. *For now*." He corrected. "But I'm not putting you at risk for the sake of saving myself from more work later."
Harry didn't respond at first. Just kept crawling. Until suddenly he murmured a quiet "...Sorry."
Now Peter had to react to this situation like a stranger who doesn't have intimate details for Harry's personal life.
Harry's insecurities about not feeling *good enough* isn't something they've talked about. But that doesn't mean Peter hasn't noticed it. Not smart enough, not responsible enough. All of it usually revolving around his relationship with Norman.
Of course Peter doesn't agree but that doesn't mean anything. Only Harry can change Harry's mind in that regard.
"Nothing to be sorry about." He reassured him in as sincere a voice as he could manage. "It's my choice to do things this way. Even if I was rescuing Bruce Lee, I'd be making the same decision."
That seemed to make Harry feel a little better. Letting him know he doesn't view him as some delicate vase he can't let touch the ground or it might shatter. Harry's always been the outgoing one between the two of them. But sometimes Peter wonders how much of that was just Harry doing it for Peter.
The vent creaked a little too loudly and his spidey-senses snapped him out of his head and into action. His arm shot out, grabbing Harry's ankle and pulling him back until Harry was basically underneath him. Harry was lying there, stunned, laying on his side, until Peter released his leg after deciding they'd been still and silent for long enough to not catch anyone's attention. Harry relaxed onto his back, simply staring up at him but Peter was too in the zone to notice.
Spider-Man crawled forward, until his head was over Harry's and peered into the grate that nearly popped open as Harry put his weight on it.
Below them, there were men hurriedly getting into position to guard every exit and when Harry disrupted the vent cover, some of them actually looked up. He hates it when they look up.
It's a good thing he doesn't need to use the front door, because there's no way he'd get Harry out of there without chance of bodily harm.
They were gonna have to wait for the suspicion to die down a little before trying to move again.
Exhaling, his fingers tingling with a mild bit of stress, he checked back into his current situation and his breath caught in his throat again.
Without even realising it, he'd nestled a leg in-between Harry's, his arms on either side of him, straddling Harry's other leg. The kidnappee just lay there, completely still, trying to not get in the way. When Peter finally met his eyes again, there was a noticeable flush over his face. They were only a few inches away, Peter was essentially holding himself up in a half-plank so he wasn't just laying on top of him.
"Ah." He started, whispering as quietly as he could, his heartbeat quickened the more he processed his current position. "Sorry...Are you ok?"
Harry took a deep breath "Golden." His chest rose and fell, Peter taking note of the pulse visible on his neck as he gulped.
Was it the claustrophobia of the vent or was Peter turned on right now? It was anyone's bet but the safe bet was definitely the latter option.
The tension was clear between them. They could both feel it. Heavy breaths, deep, slowly heaving chests. The way Harry's eyes were pinned on his. It was a good thing Harry couldn't see how Peter's eyes were trailing all over his face underneath the mask.
Peter let out a shaky laugh. Feeling the air get thicker around them as he subconsciously lowered himself down, just a smidge, some part of him yearning for the contact.
"Wow. I uh... Sorry. This is... Very unprofessional." He subtly tried to adjust their position without making noise but quickly gave up at the first creak that might be noticeable to the people on high-alert, patrolling beneath them. He felt certain you could hear his heartbeat in his voice.
"I don't mind." Was all Harry said. And Spider-man swallowed to relieve the dryness in his throat.
*I really wish you minded. This would be so much easier*
Peter cleared his throat as subtly as possible. "Just gotta... Wait for them to move on, then we can too." He tried to ignore the way Harry's leg lightly brushed the inside of his thighs at every slight movement. As well as how he had to hold himself up so his own thigh wasn't just directly pressing against Harry's crotch.
"Cool." Harry was barely listening at this point, eyes on his face but his mind somewhere else. Peter was finding it hard to focus as well. To the degree that he missed a window where they *could* have moved and had to wait for the next one. Sparks scattered over his back when fingers lightly brushed over his stomach, slowly travelling up to his ribs.
"How did you get like this?" Harry's voice was so soft and genuinely questioning. His ever inquisitive nature caused a warmth in Peter's body.
Peter tried to suppress the full body shivers as Harry started tracing slow shapes on his chest, giving him unwavering eye contact. "Ah. You know the story right? One radioactive spider and... well, here we are." He really tried to not end every sentence with an awkward chuckle but he didn't know how else to even try and ease this mood. There has to be a way to make this less sexy. It didn't matter how often Spider-Man shyly broke eye contact, Harry was relentless.
Harry hummed. "I don't mean the powers, necessarily..." He began, moving one of his hands to sit on Spider-Man's waist, a firm, confident hand placement that had Peter tingling all over. "I mean. The whole hero thing. Not everyone would do what you do just because they inexplicably got powers."
That caught him off guard a bit. "Oh... I..."
He had to think about that for a minute. The time passing as he searched his psyche for the answer, Harry just waited patiently. Fingertips leaving tingling trails over his pecs. The other moving up and down his side. Peter tried not to twitch at the tantalising sensation on his waist.
"I guess there's...just a lot of people I wanna protect." His voice softened naturally as he stared into the eyes of one of the very people he desperately wants to protect. "And... y'know. If I *can* do something. I wanna at least try."
Harry smiled at that answer. A smile that made the fluttering inside Peter get five times worse. He knew Harry felt the same. He's the definition of doing what he can with the privilege handed to him. He's not one to sit idly by, and neither is Peter.
"Sounds like you were raised by good people." Harry's voice was barely a whisper now.
Peter smiled under the mask even though it couldn't be seen. "I was. Yeah."
The moment was broken abruptly by conversation beneath them, loud and frantic enough for them to make a move.
That's their cue. "Ok. C'mon." Spider-Man used all his willpower to properly lift himself out of Harry's enticing aura. "Let's get out of here before steam starts coming out of the vents..." He mused and Harry stifled a chuckle, his face going pink at the comment.
They managed to use the ruckus below them as a cover to get to where Peter first entered the building. He climbed out first, sticking himself to the outside of the building and helped Harry out after him and dropped down onto the platform at the top of a staircase at the side of the building, leading to a single backdoor. Hopefully no one was planning on using it in the next few minutes.
Peter was proud of himself for a job well done. He's glad he was able to do that without knocking heads. Although now that Harry's out, he might need to go back in there and knock heads.
He definitely needs to go knock heads.
He eyed a cafe across the street and nodded to himself. "Hey Harry. Could you head down there for a couple minutes? I'll be fast, I promise."
Harry agreed and he waited until Harry had entered the cafe before he re-entered the building, smacked around everyone responsible and left out the same door ten minutes later.
Harry was waiting at an outside table with two donuts and coffees. "It's not much of a thank you but you did mention getting coffee."
Peter beamed. "Hey It's more of a thank you than I usually get." Obviously he doesn't do it for the thanks. But it's nice. Especially from someone cute.
*Brain. Stop. Bad.*
"Oh right. Here you go." Peter handed Harry his phone. "It's dead but atleast it's in one piece." He may have opened every single app and played a few videos to kill the rest of the battery so Harry wouldn't try to call Peter.
Harry took it gratefully and shoved it into his pocket. They were the only ones in the cafe so Spider-man only had to put up with a couple photos taken by the excited staff as he lifted his mask enough to indulge.
They didn't talk much. Just enjoyed each others company. Their knees brushing under the table maybe by accident, other times on purpose. Peter talked a little bit about other rescues that didn't go nearly as smoothly because the victim freaked out and gave away their position. He wasn't sure if Harry was actually listening to him or just giving him expert seduction eyes, smiling a little brighter whenever Spider-Man lost his train of thought because he looked at Harry for a second too long.
When they were done, Peter clapped his hands together, standing up and giving a two finger salute to the worker who had given him a free croissant. "You good to go?"
Harry stood up with a smile "Yeah. But I can flag down a taxi, it's cool."
Peter waved him off dismissively. "No need for that. I'll give you a ride home if you'll give me five stars on my Spider-Uber. I'm trying to get a side-gig going." He finger gunned and Harry let out a short laugh.
"I'll give you five stars if you deserve five stars." Sliding his hands into his pockets and giving him a challenging look that caused another disruption in Peter's body.
Mentally shaking it off, Peter scoffed. "Wow ok. A business man's son through and through I see." Peter feigned offence and Harry just shrugged and grinned.
"I only endorse stuff I actually use."
With a surge of confidence, Peter strode forward. "Well then I guess I have to provide an experience worth repeating."
Putting an arm out and pulling him close, Harry didn't need to be told to secure his arm around the heroes shoulders.
Peter zipped up onto the roof for a better starting point. A couple of storeys up. Peter splayed his hand over Harry's side to cover as much surface as he could.
"Hold on tight." He said before dropping off the roof without any real warning. Harry let out a tiny peep at the drop, tightening his grip. But relaxed as they started to swing, resting his head against the side of Spider-Man's face.
Peter tried not to lean into the touch and throw off his centre of gravity. "Straight back to Oscorp then?" He yelled over the wind in their ears and Harry considered it for a moment.
"Yeah...I probably should go make sure dad isn't planning to blow anything up in retaliation..." Seemed like it wasn't his first choice.
Peter side eyed him under the mask. "Got somewhere else to be?"
Harry let out another frustrated exhale. "Kinda? I got grabbed when I was on my way to hang out with my best friend. I just hope he's not worrying. He can be a bit on the anxious side." He paused. "In a cute way, but still. I don't want him stressing. If I had to choose between him and dad, I'd choose him."
Peter was having a very confusing mix of emotions under the mask. He's been thriving and having fun flirting as Spider-man. He doesn't need to associate this with Peter. He's not ready to come to terms with that yet.
But since Norman is on the warpath. It definitely seems like the better option to stop that as soon as possible.
"You'll see him soon. You can let him know there's nothing to worry about."
By the end of the trip, Harry started looking a little pale. He's always had a bit of motion sickness, but he would put it aside for Peter because he knows how much Peter loves the Coney island rides. Harry looked irritated at himself for feeling queasy after what might have been perceived as a romantic swing through New York.
They dropped down on the balcony of Harry's apartment, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone inside. The house keepers and security notifying Norman.
"Heh. Sorry. Guess I need to work on steadying the ride a little." He noted Harry's pale complexion and the other man grimaced.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I didn't even throw up, so I'd give you a three star minimum."
Peter chuckled, his hands on his own hips. Harry took a breath, the colour returning to his cheeks pretty quickly after they'd stopped swinging.
"Thank you. Really. You made this whole situation a million times better." The grateful smile was the least flirtatious thing he's done in the past thirty minutes.
"That's my aim at all times. Glad it worked out."
And just like that the air felt heavy again. Standing a foot apart, close enough to see Harry's eyes scanning his mask like he could get a signal to continue if he looked hard enough. If only he saw that face under the mask was feeling the same way. Giving him all the signs he could ask for.
There was a hesitation in both of their movements. An impulse to close the gap, to reach out.
An impulse that neither of them gave into.
When Peter started to lean into a step, started to *think* about getting closer, he naturally pivoted into short step to the side.
At the exact same time, Harry smiled and nodded, thanking him again.
"Anytime! If you get kidnapped again just let me know."
A door crashed open behind Harry and Norman charged into the apartment like a man on fire. His eyes fell on Harry and then on Spider-Man. The hero gave him a cute little wave and hopped back into the balcony edge before he had to engage with Norman.
Falling backwards off the balcony, he blew a kiss and swung away.
Harry never talked about it. He told Peter he got rescued by Spider-Man but never went into detail. He always wondered why.
*[Some years later]*
"And that's the story of how I totally, almost kissed Spider-Man." Harry finished with a flourish, keeping his head on a swivel for the next game to try in the middle of the Coney Island carnival
MJ was hiding her smile behind a toy she had won, eyes wide and pinned on Peter. "*Wow* Did you know about that Pete?"
Peter was glad it was dark out. But even in the low light, his expression was obvious. He cleared his throat, giving MJ a *"stop it*" stare, managing to shake his head and squeak out a "Nope. That's crazy."
"I was young and prideful and didn't wanna talk about getting kidnapped. But now as a full adult, I acknowledge it as the high quality story it is." He thankfully hadn't turned around to look at Peter so he couldn't study his facial expressions. "I know it's hard to believe but he was a real flirt! I guess I kinda started it." He grinned, tapping his own chin.
"Oh I believe you." MJ kept on nodding, reaching out an arm and tugging on the back of Peter's shirt in a *"you are going into more detail later"* way.
Peter ran a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his head, dreading bringing up past feelings that he had pushed so far down that they'd subtly reemerged disguised as "close friend" feelings.
It also made telling Harry he was Spider-Man complicated. He wanted to tell him when he told MJ. But for obvious reasons it would have lead into an entirely different conversation.
Light-heartedly swatting MJ's hand away, grabbing ahold of it instead, they walked along behind Harry as he switched topics, trying to find the muscle-up stall.
Maybe he could tell him one day and it'll just be funny. Like, "Oh by the way Harry? That tension-filled rescue you had with Spider-Man? It was me all along! Surprise!"
He sighed and leaned into the touch when Harry threw an arm over his shoulder, tugging him into a half hug as they walked.
It might be for the best if that conversation doesn't happen for a while.