So that thing I was telling y'all about? Yeah, it started. I think it's actually going really well, and we'd really appreciate it if you checked it out and gave us some feedback~ It's called Deject My Plague, if anyone would be interested c:
I'm actually spending more time on that than I am on this, so… Yeah. That's kinda why this hasn't updated in a while. And then I had to go on a family vacation/wedding and WiFi was sucky and I was busy with that a lot more than I wanted to be.
Anyways. Here we go. Enjoy.
o.o.o
Eventually, Peter decided to stop trying to sleep. All together, he probably got around four hours of sleep, so it wasn't too bad. It was only nine in the morning and he rose from the surprisingly comfortable air mattress and went to take a shower. Before entering the bathroom, he grabbed himself some clean underwear and a tshirt, deciding that the shorts he had slept in were still wearable.
Harry's clothes were still on the floor of the small bathroom, seeming to take up the entire room. The bathroom had plain white walls and it basically had three sections: the toilet on the far left, a sink in the middle across from the door with medicine cabinets on either side and a mirror in the center, and the shower stall to the right. It may have been small, but it was comfortable to Peter. He didn't really have to worry about being unaware of another person being there, which he sometimes got nervous about when in public bathrooms. Or he used to before he became Spiderman and gained his heightened senses and got out of high school.
The scent of alcohol was still lingering in the air and was heavy on Harry's shirt as Peter picked it up and hung it up on the towel hook that was screwed into the door, dropping the towel that had been hanging there onto the floor in front of the stall door. He placed Harry's suit pants and coat on the slim counter space between the sink and the wall of the medicine cabinet, just so they weren't on the floor.
Peter quickly undressed and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. The immediate cold caused him to want to climb on the wall and dodge the water, but he stood there and allowed it to wake him up more, feeling his body becoming more aware of itself. The water turned to a comfortable warm temperature and he began washing himself with soap, scrubbing his body.
Harry didn't seem to be sleeping too well. He did a lot of flinching and struggling, but at least he stayed asleep, for the most part. I just wish he would've been able to actually sleep with a higher quality than he was… I should go get us some coffee or something…
Peter grabbed for the shampoo he kept in the shower stall and massaged some into his hair and rinsed it out. Before turning off the water, he stood there for a moment and let the water run down his head and torso, just taking a moment to relax himself mentally. Once he was done he opened the stall door and picked up the towel and began patting dry his arms and chest, then rubbed the towel through his hair before returning to dry the rest of his body.
He stepped the rest of the way out of the stall and grabbed the clean pair of black boxer briefs he had grabbed and stepped into them. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, noting how tired he actually looked. Sure, Peter was used to long nights with very little sleep, but he wasn't used to waking up every twenty minutes with worry for anything like he had experienced with Harry. He quickly diverted his attention and finished getting dressed before stepping back out of the bathroom, leaving the towel he had used draped over the door of the shower to dry.
Harry had woken up in the time that Peter was in the bathroom and was now sitting at his desk, his head propped up by his right arm. His brown hair was a messy bedhead, but it somehow seemed better put-together than it was last night when he had arrived at Peter's apartment. "Morning, Har," Peter called out.
Harry seemed surprised, somewhat jolting his head out of his head and spinning around to look at Peter. "Uh, yeah," he swallowed hard and deliberate.
"Did you want to go out and get some coffee or some kind of breakfast?" Peter offered, "I don't really have any food here aside from some bagels and poptarts," he smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his damp hair.
Harry almost looked like he wanted to make a witty remark about Peter's food stock choices, but only replied with a hesitant yet thankful, "Uh, sure."
Peter grinned, excited that Harry was willing to go out. "Do you want something else to wear other than that?" Peter replied, gesturing to the clothes Harry was wearing. He clearly couldn't wear what he had come to Peter's in, but Peter was sure that he wouldn't feel comfortable with the bandages showing. It was still cool enough outside that it would be okay to wear shorts and a sweatshirt while walking around outside; no one would take a second glance at Harry if he were walking around with a sweatshirt on. There was also what appeared to be bruises visible on his neck. They were hickies. His skin was now a more normal-looking pale tone rather than the pink it had been last night and they were impossible to miss on the first glance.
Harry looked down at the clothes he was wearing: Peter's clothes. The dark tshirt was a bit too loose and the shorts were comfortable but they were still a bit big in the waist and rested a bit too low on his hips; Peter wasn't sure if Harry was wearing any underwear or not, either; he had the decency not to try to check his dress pants earlier when he moved them off of the bathroom floor. A flash of panic crossed Harry's eyes once he realized what Peter was referring to when he said that.
"Let me see what I have," Peter said with the purpose of cutting off Harry's panic. Peter went digging through his closet for a decent hoodie for Harry. He was able to find a grey pull-over and brought it over to Harry and offered to him, whispering, "Here."
Peter could tell Harry was still hesitant, but he accepted the sweatshirt and pulled it over his chest. He bit his lip as he looked at the the sleeves coming down to the start of his thumb.
All things considered, Harry looked about normal. From what Peter had seen in pictures, Harry usually had slight bags and redness under his eyes, so it didn't appear as though he were more sleep-deprived than usual. His hair, though, was a total mess from sleeping when compared to the perfect state he almost-always kept it in. Right now it was a bit… fluffier. It actually went pretty well with Peter's clothes on his body rather than his usual fancy apparel. He actually looked like a boy rather than a man. It was a good look for Harry.
"So, do you want to come with?" Peter asked, watching Harry as he still sat at the edge of Peter's bed.
"Uhm," Harry replied, thinking about it.
Peter could tell that there was fearful and nervous thoughts going through Harry's mind: he was probably afraid to go outside after having been violated like he had been and Peter could only imagine how he was feeling right now. After a flash of how Harry had been acting the night before flashed through his mind, he offered, "I could make a run to a shop and pick something up, if you wanted. You could stay here, and-"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, cutting Peter off. After a moment, he looked surprised by his own interjection. "I… I don't want to be left alone again…"
Again? When I was in the shower? Or last night…? Peter wondered what Harry meant by that, but let it slide. "Then shall we?" Peter offered a hand to the darker-haired boy.
Harry didn't accept his offer, as he started getting up on his own. He seemed slightly offended that Peter offered him assistance like that: as if he wasn't able to get up by himself because he was weak. But Peter didn't think that, but he knew Harry would be defensive of himself. Once Harry was on his feet, he muttered, "Yeah," and started walking toward the door.
Peter watched Harry take a few steps. He seemed to be walking better than he was several hours ago, but his steps were definitely closer together than what was natural for him; he needed to take extra care with his steps, it seemed. Peter quickly caught up, grabbing his wallet and keys before slipping into a pair of sneakers and following Harry out the door; Harry had stepped into a pair of black slides. Once out the door, Harry went to the elevator and pressed the call button before Peter thought he would. Peter couldn't really tell whether Harry was anxious or nervous to get out of the apartment building.
Peter stepped into the elevator behind Harry, the doors closing a few seconds later. The elevator room was small, enough for around four people, but it almost seemed too small for the two of them. They began descending and Peter did a side glance, examining Harry with alarm. Harry's expression showed a significant amount of apprehensive panic; he was trying to keep his eyes focused on one of the buttons in front of him and he refused to blink.
"Harry?" He asked, hoping his friend was okay.
Harry hesitated a moment before shifting his icy eyes to Peter, "Huh?"
"What's going on in there? Are you sure you're okay with this? I can really just go pick up some coffee and be back within five minutes, if you'd rather stay here…" Peter offered again.
"I was just remembering looking at these buttons last night…" Harry broke eye-contact with Peter and returned to the lit-up buttons. He shook his head while closing his eyes before leaning into the elevator wall behind him, and looking up at the tiles on the ceiling.
All Peter wanted to do was to pull Harry close and let him know everything was going to be okay, but he seriously had no idea how to do that. It was kind of difficult; Harry was unpredictable and in a fragile state. Anything Peter said could be taken as offensive or perceived as threatening, and Peter really didn't want Harry to perceive anything he said in either of those ways. So Peter just gave him space.
The elevator reached the ground floor, and Peter took the lead this time with Harry close behind. Peter waved at the front security officer and walked onto the streets of Manehatten, pausing to allow Harry to get within his peripheral vision.
"I was thinking we go to this small restaurant that's about a block away. They make surprisingly good eggs," Peter smiled.
Harry was squinting his eyes while looking at Peter, "Sure, whatever you want. I'm not really hungry..."
He seems so defeated... Peter thought as he looked at his friend with concern. He just nodded in reply as he led the way toward the restaurant.
They got there within five minutes, and they got a booth in the corner. Of the other twenty booths and tables in the room, just under half of them were occupied. The diner gave off a feeling of home with a touch of cheap décor. The tables were all grey with a faux wooden border with chairs that were covered in an almost-pukey green seats with floral backing in a pleather.
Harry took his seat first; Peter sat across from him in the booth and was facing the smaller division of the room, facing a wall that had the door to the kitchen along with a counter that had the cash register. The woman that had seated them quickly brought over a couple of waters and menus and told them their waiter would be over shortly.
o.o.o
Seriously, Let me know how you like this. Or don't like this. It's really mundane, which kind of bothers me. I have about a thousand of the next chapter typed out, and if that gets reader approval, then I'll continue as I am (otherwise I'll rethink some things xD)
