Peter scrolled through the daily news on his tablet as he sat and ate breakfast. It was the normal things. A few hero stories, a few murders and robberies that he wasn't around to prevent, some other crime.
Then he saw it. In bold on his tablet "Head of Oscorp Passes Away." Peter skimmed a few lines before getting to a photo of a boy almost glaring back at the camera while getting into a black car. He was very familiar to him: Harry Osborn - his best childhood friend who was sent off to boarding school long ago. In reality, it was less than a decade ago, but it felt like everything in his life had changed because of one person's disappearance.
Peter and Harry had always been best friends. Even after Peter's parents were gone, the two young boys only got closer. Sure, things were different with Peter living with Tony, but it was still the same. They would still spend a vast amount of time with one another.
Peter still didn't know a few things about the deaths of his family members, but all he did know that his father sent him to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben to live with them when he was six or seven, but Uncle Ben had a different idea when he sent Peter to live with a genius-billionaire. It was scary, living with a man that Peter hardly knew. But his younger self knew it was going to be okay because Harry would still be there for him. Even after Aunt May and Uncle Ben were killed, everything was still going to be okay.
Tony had once said that he was glad Ben had made the decision to move Peter under his care; otherwise he would've been killed by the same people that killed his aunt and uncle… or worse. As memories and faces associated with them came pouring into Peter's mind, he asked himself: why shouldn't he help Harry through his dad's death? It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Spiderman antics, not spend time with Gwen, take photos. He didn't have much else to do but to go to the Osborn mansion.
Peter finished his breakfast quickly inhaling the rest. He ran back upstairs to put a clean shirt, pants, and and some shoes on.
Peter jogged back downstairs with his same old grey backpack, holding his Spidersuit. "Where are you going in such a rush?" Steve asked, surprised to see that is stepson wasn't still asleep when it wasn't even ten in the morning.
Peter stopped his rush on the last few stairs, hovering while watching Steve open the closet while looking over his shoulder at Peter. "Just out to visit a friend, Papa Steve," he replied, sliding his phone and wallet into his front pockets.
"When will you be back?" He asked, pulling his leather jacket out and sliding it on. Usually Steve was already gone by the time Peter woke up, so it was strange to be leaving at the same time as him.
"A few hours or so. I'm not sure." Peter was confused as to why Steve was being so nosey all of a sudden. Normally he wouldn't ask when Peter was going to be back or press any further than where he was going.
"Alright," Steve grabbed for the door handle as he spoke.
Peter watched as his step-dad swung the door open and remembered what he had seen in the foyer the previous evening.
"See you later, Peter." Steve skittered out the door and closed it behind him. Peter just barely got a glimpse of the blond super soldier's glutes and shuddered.
"S-See you." Peter quickly responded and wandered off acting like he had forgotten something, so he wouldn't have to go through an incredibly awkward elevator ride, in spite of Steve having already closed the door.
He let a few minutes pass by before finally leaving the penthouse apartment and going into the city he called home. Peter set off to Harry's with excitement and a hint of anxiety. The two boys had both grown a lot over the years and had no contact whatsoever, but Peter could sense that he and Harry still had a special bond with one another. Peter thought of using his spider abilities to get to his old friend's mansion quicker than New York public transport, but he decided against it because he wanted time to think things over; and there was also a possibility that Harry may still be sleeping.
Peter sat on the subway, closely watching people's movements to spy if anyone was starting up trouble. It was the little things he could do like this to make things better for these citizens; he didn't care if he saved the entire city, or the world, like Tony and Steve have. Spiderman is a hero that stands up for the little guy, and Peter was always going to proud of that. He was content with the media being unsure of how to view Spiderman on the scale of good and bad, so long as he was able to make a difference in a few people's lives.
Eventually, Peter got off at his stop, shaking as he walked to the Osborn mansion. He rang the doorbell and heard a crackly voice come over a small speaker sitting next to the left of the massive double wooden doors above the door bell.
"Who is there." The voice asked through the speaker.
"My name is Peter Parker. I am here to give my condolences to Harry." Peter responded back, holding the red button down with his index finger.
"Very well," the voice replied before the door opened. It was an older man. Peter couldn't be sure if it was someone that Peter had met as a child or not. "Wait here." The man said, walking up the large staircase and out of even Spiderman's ear shot.
Peter stood near the door for a while. It felt a lot longer than it probably was; he started thinking that he should leave. It felt like Harry wasn't coming. Every second he waited, he felt his desire to stay crawl out of his body. Peter was scared of this first encounter with Harry after so many years apart.
Just as he was about to reach for the handle of the door and bolt down the stairs, he suddenly heard two sets of footsteps echo down the massive staircase that widened at the bottom. One of the men was his long lost friend. His pale skin stood out against his dark suit and dark bags underneath his eyes. His face lit up when he saw Peter with a slight dimple in his cheek as he hid a grin.
"Peter Parker. Came to bring me some mourning flowers just like the rest of them?" Harry smirked in a way that almost made his eyes sparkle. This was the golden smile that he had remembered.
"No, I came to help you like you helped me after my family died." Peter replied, softly gazing towards Harry from across the entrance of the house.
Any trace of humor vanished from Harry's expression, "Like I did?" He echoed.
"That, and I figured you might want a break from all those suits," referring to the responsibilities Harry had as CEO of Oscorp. Peter encouraged, "Come on, we're eighteen and it's the last summer before college. You look like you need some fun and we need some time to catch up."
"Yeah, you're right, "Harry replied, biting his lower lip and walking down to Peter. "Let's just try not to get arrested."
And Peter experienced the most natural movement as he and Harry locked one another in an embrace, just as they had when they were kids.
Harry smiled awkwardly as they released one another. "I missed you."
"Yeah, me too." Peter lowered his hands down to his sides while Harry put one on the door and the other down into his pocket. "So where should we set off to?"
"Anywhere but here," Harry replied, opening the door and leading the way out.
Peter stepped into pace with Harry as the boy in the lead pulled out a pair of dark shades and covered his eyes. They strolled down to the sidewalk, not knowing really where they were going. They seemed to decide together to turn left on the cement. They strolled along until they came up to the edge of the harbor.
It was a sort of park, with trees and gravel paths that went down near the water. Along the path was vibrant grass and trees, including a few larger boulders that were placed there for decoration. The dark aqua-colored water sparkled under the sun's golden rays, a pleasant breeze tossed the water into a mild wake. Some hoary clouds dashed across the sky, threatening to cover the sun and take the warmth away.
"I haven't been here in ages." Peter picked up a rock and flicked into the harbor. It skipped more than six times until it was just skimming the top of the water.
"I almost forgot that this place existed," Harry replied, picking up a rock himself. "I guess that's what happens when you want to forget a place and everything about it, right?" Peter knew that he was referring to his father. "But whatever I did, I couldn't forget about you."
Peter just smiled, watching Harry skip the rock he had picked up. It left only three rings before submerging. "So, what school did you end up at?" Peter asked trying to make small talk.
"Just a rich kid boarding school in England. We didn't even have to try to pass." Harry rolled his eyes in disgust. He had always been a bright kid, and being placed in a school that didn't require him to try must've been frustrating.
"Sounds like buckets of fun." Peter replied sarcastically.
Harry plucked another rock from the ground and turned it over in his hands before hurling it into the harbor and grunted at Peter's sarcasm, "Yeah...buckets…" He mumbled then stared at Peter and suddenly blurted out, seeming to be analyzing Peter, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Me? I, uh…" Peter thought back what felt like five minutes ago: breaking up with Gwen. Losing the person he thought was the one. But he felt like it was going to be okay now; Harry was back. Things would be okay. "No." He decided. "Do you?"
"Naw. I don't do relationships; just casual flings," Harry smirked.
"Ah. Yeah, I never seemed to be especially popular. Y'know, being the science geek all the time," Peter laughed, infecting Harry as well."Is it weird being top dog now?" Peter asked. He kind of wondered if Harry got a significant amount of disrespect from the senior partners that have been there before he was.
"Yeah, a little; I was kinda surprised my father even gave me the company with how he threw me away and shit." Harry's words grew colder with each phrase as he grabbed a rock and whipped into the harbor. The clouds above started to compact closer together turning as dark as coal.
Peter noticed the sudden burst of anger Harry had displayed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that." His gazed brushed over Harry's dark shades before locking his eyes onto the water, watching the ripples as the rock splashed into the harbor. He then took a seat on a bigger rock near the water's edge and began to fiddle with his hands.
"Don't treat me like a child, Peter, that's all that has happened for the past twenty-four hours. I can handle questions." Harry was obviously frustrated and he plopped himself down onto rock next to Peter's, he seemed to have his attention focused away from Peter. "It's okay, I'm okay." Harry mumbled partly to Peter but mostly to himself. The truth of it all was that Harry really wasn't okay and Peter subconsciously knew this and it was evident in the way he was acting. "It just feels like shit. We both got fucking dumped. Have you even figured out anything about your parents' death?" Harry asked curiously.
"All I have is a briefcase that I haven't even looked in... it just sits in my closet collecting dust..." Peter looked down at his feet and dug the toe of his running shoe into the dirt.
"I'd rather have that than a whole company to control," Harry sighed.
Peter scooted over to Harry's rock and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was distracted and didn't really seem to notice Peter's actions until after he scoffed in disgust at a couple walking by. Harry glared at them and then realized Peter's contact. "Don't." He huffed, half-swatting Peter's hand away, half-backing away himself and looking up at the sky.
Peter glanced up to the darkening sky as well and gazed at the clouds. "Hey, wanna come back to my place and play games or something? It looks like rain's coming."
We haven't really gotten a chance to talk. We just have kind of brushed over a few topics and gotten reaquainted with one another, but we haven't really unwound and had fun… We should...
"Uh, I guess," Harry replied, seeming unsure of his answer.
"You don't have to; I just thought it might be nice for you to take a break for a while longer."
"Yeah, you're right." He sighed, agreeing with Peter.
Harry pulled an iPhone out of his pocket and called for one of the drivers that did not quit and or got fired when his father died and commanded them to come pick him and Peter up from the park.
o.o.o
So, we kind of did things similarly to the movie, but we're writing our own thing. So yeah.
Strrrufff.
