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Peter ran out of the room momentarily, yelling "First step..." behind him before returning with a notebook and pen. He held the items in his hand, swinging his arm back before throwing them across the room to an unsuspecting Harry. "...observation." Peter finished, his breaths mimicking his increased heartbeat. The items hit Harry swiftly in the chest, earning a wheeze from the afflicted teen. Harry composed himself, holding the items in his hands and giving Peter a playful glare.

"Pete," Harry laughed, "do we really need-"

"Write, Osborn." Peter teasingly demanded, faking a serious tone and pointing for emphasis.

Harry rolled his eyes, laughing as he spoke, "Oh my god... Alright, fine, you win. Shoot."

Peter excitedly plopped down next to Harry, one leg folded on the couch cushion while letting the other dangle over the edge. He faced Harry with eager eyes as he started to list every strange occurrence he could recall from the day.

As Peter verbalized the day's events, counting on his hand as he went, Harry wrote down key words for each. Together, they came up with reasonable – as far as superhuman abilities go, anyway – explanations for each one. No longer needing glasses? Enhanced vision. The door handle? Enhanced strength. Walking on walls? They thought much longer on this one. Under the assumption that a bug bite was the cause, it would be safe to further assume that it was the result of said bug's wall-crawling capabilities. Peter almost considered adding enhanced hearing, but he wasn't sure he wanted to let Harry know that he'd heard some of the things Harry had uttered. That was a conversation for another time, if it would be a conversation at all.

"Wait, you walked onto the ceiling?" Harry clarified.

"Yeah," Peter laughed nervously at the sheer obscurity of the idea. He couldn't believe what he was describing actually happened at all, let alone happened to him. "Crazy, right?"

"No crazier than the rest of it, I suppose," Harry replied, shaking his head in disbelief as he examined the list.

Peter hummed in response and watched Harry look over the paper. His eyes drifted downward to where Harry's eyes were focussed, taking a moment to admire his handwriting. It was surprisingly neat, with few stray marks or mistakes. He knew he'd been talking fast, but he could hardly tell that the writing was rushed.

"Pete?" He heard his friend say his name. Peter looked up to find Harry no longer focussed on the paper, but staring expectantly at him. "So, what's next?"

"Oh, so now you're interested?"

"Of course I am! I want to know what's going on with my best friend!" Harry replied with a laugh, leaning over to nudge Peter softly.

Peter could feel his heart spike. He truly appreciated all of Harry's support, and he couldn't even begin to explain how happy he was to have his company. He didn't know what he'd do without him. Part of him wanted to wrap his arms around Harry in a tight embrace to express how much he truly appreciated him; how much he meant to him. But he held back, knowing he'd never be able to explain such an impulse. Instead, he decided to play along. Peter wore a smirk and jokingly retorted, "Nah, I think I just wore you down."

Harry just rolled his eyes, giving Peter a look that said, 'Yeah, sure, whatever you say'.

Satisfied with Harry's reaction, Peter decided it was time to move on. Readjusting his position on the couch, he focussed back on the task at hand.

"Okay so, we know all these things are connected, most likely by this bite-" Peter gestured toward his previously afflicted hand, but the bite was nowhere to be found. Peter's confusion quickly escalated to astonishment. "It's.. gone," Peter breathed, looking at an equally shocked but intrigued Harry.

Harry's eyes widened suddenly, as if a switch had just gone off in his mind. He repeated their findings aloud, listing them off slowly as if he were putting the pieces of a puzzle together. "Strength, sight, heightened metabolism, stickiness- Peter, you didn't come across any particularly strange looking spiders this morning, did you?"

"I.. I did, actually," Peter replied, suddenly remembering the picture he'd taken on his phone earlier. He pulled up the picture, showing it to his friend, who's expression escalated further into that of shock, but at the same time of clarity.

"Yup, that's the one." Harry breathed, as if he had just made a world-changing scientific discovery. And, in a way, he did.

"What do you.. You think that could be what bit me?"

Harry: "Has to be. Everything we've listed has consistencies with a spider's abilities, and the way you've seemed to pick up on them makes sense considering these are experimental spiders." Harry explained the best he could to Peter, certain now that they'd finally found the answers they'd been searching for. Harry paused momentarily, scanning Peter's face for confirmation to continue, which he found in Peter's clearly interested body language and expecting face. "My father has been working with this kind of thing for a while now. I don't know all the details, something about experimental testing on animals with gene-splicing technology. The spider bite must have – I don't know – transferred some of its DNA into your's." Harry stopped once again, hoping this time for a response of some kind. He watched Peter for several moments, scanning his clearly shocked expression and deciding he'd need to let him process it all. A lifetime seemed to have passed before he finally saw his friend move again.

"Wow," He stretched out the word, letting it fully fade away before pausing to take a breath. "That.. actually makes a lot of sense." Peter breathed, thinking over what Harry had told him. It explained everything. "Well," Peter stood up with eager eyes, making a shrugging motion with his hands. "The only thing left to do is test the hypothesis. Shall we?" He extended his hand to Harry as he finished, inviting him up.

Harry let out a breath – more of a sharp exhale than a laugh – taking Peter's hand promptly. Instead of using it to pull himself up however, he allowed a smirk as he used all his strength to pull Peter back down. Peter not-so-gracefully landed on the couch cushion where he had previously been sitting.

"Hey! What was that for?" Peter asked his friend playfully, although he couldn't help but feel a bit shaken from the sudden jolt. He waited a few seconds for a response, but was instead faced with silence, a lengthened stare meeting his eyes. He couldn't quite place what he saw on Harry's face, but regardless he could feel his own face reddening. Peter suddenly became very aware of the hand still holding his. His heart nearly skipped a beat as he sheepishly let go. "Harry?" He tried again.

Harry jolted back to reality, pulling his hands back and feeling his own cheeks redden in realization of what he'd done. "Hm? Oh, yeah, right. Let's test it, definitely. But tomorrow? It's getting late."

Peter sighed and nodded his head, an understanding smile forming on his face. "Fine, you're right. I'll set up a mattress and-"

Shifting slightly in his seat at the statement, Harry stopped him. He hadn't thought about staying overnight, in all honesty. He'd figured he'd be able to help Peter calm down and settle in; that after a few hours he'd want to be alone, anyway. "Wait, I'm staying overnight..?" Harry wore a slightly confused expression, but under the surface he was ecstatic. He hoped that he'd heard Peter right. Of course he wanted to stay the night, but he didn't know how to ask outright without sounding like he really wanted to.

The brunette was standing now, his feet shuffling on the floor after having sprung himself off the couch moments ago. He'd become so caught up in the excitement and so comfortable with the company that he'd jumped to conclusions. "Oh! Sorry, I.. I just assumed..." Peter started hurriedly, trailing off at the end. He felt like an idiot. Why would Harry even be able to stay over, even if he did want to? He had a company to help his father run, after all. He didn't want to be the reason his best friend got into trouble. He'd already taken up enough of his time. Peter felt his face noticeably drop. The embarrassment and regret he felt must have been painfully obvious now. He buried his face in his hands in an attempt to cover it up.

Harry laughed, standing up to pull his friend's hand away in an attempt to see his face. "No, it's okay! Really! It's no problem at all." He searched Peter's face, finding his eyes and giving him a reassuring smile.

"Really? Okay-! I'll uh.. I'll go set up a mattress upstairs then." Peter darted away sheepishly. His embarrassment soon subsided and was replaced with excitement as he stopped at the 'guest cabinet' in the hallway, where he figured he'd find what he was looking for. Peter searched through the shelves, finding some sheets in a bin at eye-level and taking notice of the mattress at the top shelf. He turned around instinctively to search for a ladder in order to better reach the top shelf. But a thought stopped him. He impulsively turned back around with a start and propped his foot onto the wall before using the weight to pull himself up, balancing himself by letting one hand stick to the ceiling. He used the other hand to pull the now eye-level mattress off the shelf with ease, letting it fall to the ground before doing the same himself. Peter landed gracefully, straightening up as he processed what he'd just pulled off.

Peter's heart was pounding.

His breathing was accelerated from the sheer thrill and astonishment he felt. He laughed inwardly before picking up the mattress with ease and turning to walk back across the living room and upstairs.

Harry watched in amazement as Peter made his way back across the living room, carrying the mattress without struggle despite having almost no grip on it. "You need any help with that?" He tried, although it was clear the answer was no. To Harry's surprise though, Peter stopped before passing the couch and turned to face him.

"I could use some help grabbing the sheets, actually. Follow me upstairs, I have to tell you what just happened."

Harry laughed, curiosity rising as he stood up to help Peter. 'Tell me what happened? In the hallway?'

Another hour passed by in an instant as the boys prepared the extra bed in Peter's room before readying themselves. All the while the aforementioned brunette excitedly explained how he managed to use his abilities — on purpose — he liked to add, to reach the top shelf. "It was awesome!" He eagerly said, earning a laugh from an impressed Harry. He couldn't help but smile at Peter's excitement.

"You really are like a... a bug-boy, huh?" Harry jokingly made up the nickname, feeling that it fit the situation well. He only received an eye-roll in return.

"Oh my god.." Peter laughed, "Please do not start calling me that."

The two finished preparing for the night, and Peter turned off the lights after finding an extra t-shirt and pair of sweatpants to lend the raven-haired boy. Finally, the two settled down, Harry falling lazily on the makeshift bed they'd set up on the floor and Peter mimicking the action on his own bed. Peter laid on his back and focussed on nothing specific as he thought about everything Harry had said earlier.

"Har?" His voice hinted at concern.

Harry hummed in response.

Peter was silent for a few moments, as if contemplating whether or not to go through with his question. Finally, he spoke. "Am I an experiment?"

He heard a light chuckle come from the floor, although the seriousness displayed underneath his lighthearted tone made it clear that he recognized the weight of Peter's question. "Of course not, Pete. What happened, it was an accident." 'You're so much more than an experiment; you're extraordinary.' Harry didn't speak the last part. He didn't dare mutter it, either. Now knowing the source of Peter's newfound abilities, he could only assume he'd gained enhanced hearing as well. His face reddened slightly at the realization. No doubt he'd heard some of the things he'd muttered throughout the day. Man, if his crush wasn't painfully obvious before...

"Yeah... Yeah you're probably right. But..." Peter paused for a moment, not expecting a response. He sat up to face Harry, letting him know the importance that his next statement held to him. He continued, taking a breath as Harry returned his gaze. "...Please, For my sake... can we keep all this between you and me? I.. I don't want anyone, not your dad, not even Aunt May or Uncle Ben to know... at least... not until we can really figure this whole thing out... promise me?"

Harry scanned his friend's eyes to the best of his ability. He could tell how important this was to Peter, and he understood the fears he possessed. Maybe it would be better to tell their guardians right away, but maybe it wouldn't. They couldn't know for sure. He knew Peter was right: they could only trust each other with this, for now. He softened his expression in understanding despite the minuscule amount of light in the room, and spoke in a gentle tone. "Yeah Pete, I promise."

The relief Peter felt was immense. He was so lucky to have a friend like Harry. He smiled, finding a comfortable position as he lay back down. "Thank you." He heard Harry mutter something back in response, but he had already fallen too far into unconsciousness to process it.

Harry watched the brunette for a moment more before laying back down and closing his eyes as well. "Anytime, bug."
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