A/N: Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter. I hope it makes up for it though. R&R. Enjoy!

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IV

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"Before I do anything else, I'm going to pay the OsCorp board a visit and…relieve them of their positions," Harry tells Peter as they stand up.

Peter looks at him, surprised and shocked. What had happened? What went on during the time he was down in the abandoned train station with Gwen working on the cure that might have possibly saved Harry's life?

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"They framed me for Max's accident and accused me of being the one that covered it up even though I had no idea of it," Harry explained.

He may have been looking more like himself during the past ten, fifteen, minutes or so, but now, his voice was starting to change again. Harry was starting to sound like that goblin-creature he had transformed into and Peter knew that that wasn't a good thing. If he could calm Harry down enough, perhaps he could get him to think rationally again. It seemed, for the time being, that Harry had been cured from his deadly illness due to the spider venom he used even though it mutated him into something so unlike himself. Maybe if Peter managed to perfect the cure he and Gwen had been working on, it would negate all of the spider venom Harry had used. Although it was a long stretch, it was still a possibility.

"That's what happens when your dad hires asshole, I guess," Peter said, not really thinking about what he had been saying. It was just the first thing that popped into his mind. But Harry barked out a laugh, a short, sharp one, but it wasn't tainted by the Goblin's presence.

"Yeah, that's true," he said. He then looked at Peter and the taller boy felt as though he was being dissected.

That was something Harry had always been good at: looking at people and being able to discern a lot of things about them that not many people would pick up on. He was far more observant than anyone ever gave him credit for but that was part of his brilliance. Most people only saw the rich, arrogant, spoiled kid but Peter knew that he wasn't all that. He had always known that. Harry was quite intelligent and cunning; hell, he had been able to make a clear and sure-fire connection between Peter and Spider Man just by piecing together a sentence with a newspaper photograph.

Regardless of that, though, Peter felt as though things were returning to normal. Well, not normal. Things would never be normal again. Too much had happened between them in such a short period of time for them to return to normal, at least this soon. It would probably be quite a while until their usual normalcy would return. But things seemed to be getting better. Harry was acting more like the Harry Peter had always known and cared about and that was a huge relief.

"This doesn't change anything between us, Peter. Nothing can change that," Harry told him at last, after seeing into Peter's every soul and finding whatever he found there.

"Everything is subject to change, Harry," Peter countered softly, his mind on autopilot and his mouth going without his knowledge.

"Not this, Peter. Not even if you perfect your cure," Harry said, still sounding like himself.

"I don't know what you want me to do or say, Harry. I know that nothing is going to make up for any of this," Peter told him, his brown eyes never leaving the blue-green ones. The green, Peter noticed, was starting to recede and was being replaced by the bright blue color that he was so used to seeing.

"Maybe it'd be a good thing for you to suffer from this guilt then," Harry replied, starting to sound angry. "It'll remind you that you shouldn't betray your friends. Or, in our case now, your mate."

"Betraying isn't the same thing as protecting," Peter responded, sounding small and insignificant. He felt lower than dirt. If it hadn't been obvious before, it was now: Harry wanted Peter to suffer. Well, he was getting his wish.

"The funny thing is, in order to 'protect' someone, you sometimes need to betray them. So, in a way, they are one in the same," Harry said and when he looked at Peter, he could the green starting to come back. "Besides, I never asked for your protection. I asked for your help."

"I know you did. And I know I should have told you but I didn't want to get your hopes up in case Gwen and I failed," Peter tried to explain.

"False hope would have been better than leaving me in the dark!" Harry snapped, his face contorting in anger. "Telling me about it before hand wouldn't have caused all of this!" Harry gestured around them, the moonlight causing his body armor to shine and shimmer like the surface of a lake at night.

Harry's words left Peter feeling defeated. Yes, the older boy was right. Telling Harry may have prevented everything that had happened after Electro died. But the cure wasn't ready and Peter had no idea if it would have even worked. And he had no idea just how much time Harry had left. No explanation would justify him not telling Harry, however, and Peter understood that the results of what had happened fell upon his shoulders alone. It must have been hell for Harry to find out that Peter, the one who basically sent him to the gallows, was his mate after everything.

"You're right, Harry. I should have just told you about everything," Peter admitted and sat back down. If he hadn't, his legs would have given out and he would have crumpled.

"Yes, you should have. And now…now, you're just going to have to live with yourself," Harry said, his voice beginning to sound like the Goblin's as his face started shifting. The gleeful look on his face didn't waver though.

Peter didn't know what to say or do or even think anymore. What was left, really, to say, do, or think? He doubted that things would improve any time soon. Even if he managed to perfect the cure and gave it to Harry, Harry wouldn't forgive him for putting him in such a state in the first place. Having known Harry for so long, Peter knew that he'd never be forgiven for what he had done. They were at a standstill and how the hell were they supposed to work through that? They were soul mates, bond together for life, and Harry seemed to want nothing to do with Peter except to see him suffer and drown.

Part of Peter knew that that wasn't right. That a mate shouldn't want pain and suffering to come to their other half. But another part of Peter knew that he deserved it and he couldn't argue with that. He didn't expect Harry to give him a free pass on this and he didn't deserve one anyway.

"I'm leaving," Harry announced and his voice brought Peter back to the present and out of his thoughts.

Looking up, he saw that Harry looked more like the Goblin than he did himself now and the brunette knew that the OsCorp board would turn up dead by the morning. As Spider Man, he should try and stop Harry and prevent that from happening. But Peter wasn't Spider Man, not anymore. He had decided to give that up and although the decision was made very recently – maybe half an hour ago tops – he was still going to uphold to it. It was the only way he could pay for what he had done. People would die; people died every day everywhere, with or without Spider Man. Why would giving that up feel like such a big deal when it really wasn't? Not when one considered that New York City was just one place on a big planet full of other cities and people.

"Are you going to stop me?" Harry asked him, his green eyes narrowed and his expression guarded. Peter just shook his head.

"No…no, I'm not," he muttered softly. Harry looked slightly surprised by his answer.

"Why not? Aren't you Spider Man? Don't you save people?" he sneered, his face contorting into a grotesque expression full of disdain and loathing.

"No… I'm not Spider Man. Not anymore," Peter said. "And I don't want to be ever again." At that, Harry frowned. He seemed unpleased by Peter's decision. Why? Peter didn't understand it and he couldn't think straight enough to even attempt to.

"Why not? Why are you giving up being Spider Man now? Why now when so much has already happened?" Harry snapped at him. Peter sighed heavily, feeling drained and defeated and utterly worn out.

"Because it's the only thing I can think of to pay for what I've done," Peter replied softly and looked away from Harry.

"Nothing can pay for what you've done," Harry countered.

"I know that, but I owe this to you. To everyone who died because of me," Peter said.

"If this is a trick…" Harry began.

"It's not. I mean it. I'm done," Peter said.

"But if you're lying to me…I may not be able to kill you, but once I'm done, you'll wish I was," Harry threatened and suddenly, he wasn't Harry anymore. He was the Goblin, an entity, a threat, all on his own.

It suddenly hit Peter that this was his mate. That Harry and the Goblin both were his mate, that they were one being in one body and that they were his. And he was theirs. He had a mate and although things were truly awful between them, that didn't negate the sudden rush of joy and happiness that threatened to overwhelm him at any given moment. His face must have shown what he was feeling because Harry stopped getting on his glider and crouched down in front of him, scrutinizing him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry seethed.

Peter knew that the sudden realization that he had found his soul mate had caused him to enter a state of euphoria – along with the overwhelming feelings that he was already buckling under. But right then and there, even with Harry glaring so hatefully at him, all Peter wanted to do was reach out and touch him, press against him, and stay by his side. And more than anything, he didn't want anything to happen to Harry. Not ever. It didn't make sense why he was suddenly feeling this way, but he was and Peter didn't have it in him to protest.

"You're my mate," Peter whispered softly, his brown eyes wide.

"We've already established that, Peter," Harry growled, looking irritated. Harry was so close to him…Peter wanted to touch him, to make sure that he was there, which made no sense. But his brain wasn't functioning and he didn't have the energy to try and think.

Without any kind of warning, Peter reached out and pulled Harry to him. He was hard and cold thanks to the armor and incredibly uncomfortable, but Peter leaned his forehead against his chest and exhaled. Finally, the haze of confusion that had been clouding his mind began to fade away and everything seemed to be getting better. Being so close to Harry was the ultimate relief and Peter sighed contentedly, all of his feelings draining away and out of him.

Harry was stiff and unresponsive for a while before he wrapped his arms around Peter's shaking shoulders. He had had no idea his shoulders had been shaking. Clawed fingers began to wind into his hair with a gentleness that surprised Peter. The fact that the Goblin could be so gentle was surprising, but it was a good surprise.

"I don't…want you to hate me," Peter confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know that you have every right to…and I don't blame you for it, but…but I don't want my mate to hate me…"

His emotions were all over the place and he didn't understand why and he didn't understand them. They were just there and he was feeling them and not thinking. His confession and the pleading, desperate tone weren't going to change anything. Harry wasn't going to change his mind even though they were mates. Not after what Peter had done.

"I…can't promise you anything, Peter," Harry said after an eternity. His sound was his own again and he sounded just as conflicted as Peter felt. Even though his words didn't promise everything, they didn't sound as convincing as the other things Harry had said before then.

"I have to go, Peter," Harry said and he pulled away. The sudden loss of contact left Peter craving for more.

"Don't go," Peter pleaded desperately. He didn't care that Harry was going to kill the OsCorp board; all that he cared about was that he didn't want Harry to be away from him.

"If I don't, I won't have anywhere else to go," Harry said and before Peter could even open his mouth, he was on his glider and drifting away, toward OsCorp Tower.

"That's a lie," Peter said to himself as he watched Harry go. "You'll always have a place with me."