Pulling Together

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 and I'm not making any money from this fic

Summary: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SECOND MOVIE. The conversation between Peter and Harry, where Peter as Spider-Man refuses to help Harry, takes a different turn

Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the two Amazing Spider-Man films; mentions of violence; AU

Author's Note: I really shouldn't be writing yet more stories... but this one and another idea won't leave me alone. So I'm writing this one and then that one.

This... did turn out a bit more angsty than I was expecting, though...

Peter ducked under the window ledge, trying really hard not to listen to Harry's angry ranting. A big part of him thought he should leave, but he knew how supportive Harry had been when they were both much younger. If their positions were reversed, Harry would give up his blood without hesitation if he thought there was a chance it might save Peter.

What did it make Peter that he wasn't prepared to take the potentially fatal chance with his friend's life? Less reckless, perhaps, but he couldn't blame Harry for being angry with him. He could see that his friend wasn't well and Peter knew that he should have tried harder to convince Harry to work with him.

Peter waited until Harry's angry shouting and the crashing of things being thrown around had died down. He risked raising his head and saw that his friend had collapsed onto the couch and was staring at the far wall, his face conflicted.

He could leave. Peter knew that. Maybe he could wait for Harry to calm down and then return later, as Peter, and convince him that waiting was the best thing to do. The trouble was, Peter still wasn't sure he could persuade Harry to listen to him. And he thought Spider-Man was a villain. That hurt Peter far more than he could have thought possible.

And how rational could Harry be when he was dying?

Peter took a deep breath and pulled himself up over the window ledge and back into the room. Looking flushed, Harry immediately scrambled to his feet, but before he could speak or move, Peter shot webbing at first one wrist and then the other, sending Harry flying back against the wall and pinned there.

"Let me go!" Harry struggled furiously, tugging at his trapped wrists.

Peter shook his head as he slowly approached his friend, feeling his heart aching. "I'm not running away."

Harry froze, cocking his head to one side. Peter saw the moment the realisation passed across his face. "Peter?"

There was no point in denying it and Peter wasn't even sure he wanted to try. He lifted his hands and peeled the mask of his face, dropping it to the floor. "It's me." This wasn't like telling Gwen his secret. He'd known that she would never betray him.

But did he even know Harry anymore?

"Why won't you help me?" Harry whispered.

Peter looked at him, seeing the misery on his face. He wasn't sure which was worse. Now that the anger had gone, he could see how... broken Harry looked. "I don't want you to die."

"I'm dying anyway."

Peter shook his head, not wanting to believe it, but unable to deny the evidence before his eyes. "I want to help you, Harry. But I can't be sure how my blood would react in your body. It's true that it might heal you, but what if it makes you worse? What if it takes away any chance for you to survive?" He dropped his voice. "I couldn't live with myself if I killed you. You're my best friend, even if you have been gone for years."

Harry shook his head, staring at the window. "I want you to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere." Peter stepped closer to him. "I'm not refusing to help you, Harry. What I won't do is be the cause of your death. We need trials. We don't have to apply for funding or anything. If we isolate the gene that causes your illness, we can figure out how to treat it. Together."

Harry said nothing.

Inwardly hoping that he was doing the right thing, Peter retrieved a penknife from the desk and cut through the webbing around Harry's wrists, careful not to nick his friend's skin. Harry watched him, but when he was released, he merely remained against the wall, rubbing his wrists. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because you know who I am. I've trusted you with my biggest secret." Peter moved closer to Harry. "Trust me with yours." When the other boy didn't move, he reached out to pull Harry into an embrace. "I will do everything I can to save you. You have to trust me."

Harry didn't pull away, but neither did he return the embrace. "That doesn't change the fact you lied to me."

Peter nodded. "I know." He was at a loss of how to proceed, except... "What's going to help you trust me again?"

Harry snorted softly. "It's not as if I can ground you."

"That might be a bit difficult to explain to Aunt May." But talking about grounding - a predominantly child's punishment - caused another idea to occur to Peter. "What about corporal punishment?"

"If you're talking about spanking, that's only normally used on children."

"Hey, I'm just throwing a suggestion out here." Peter gently pulled back so he could look into Harry's eyes. "You need to figure out what's going to help the most."

"Would a spanking even work on you?"

Peter shrugged. "I heal fast. It doesn't mean I can't be hurt."

"I can't hold you. My hand..."

"Don't worry." Peter walked over to the couch. Reminding himself of what was truly at stake here, he slowly leaned over, bracing his hands on the back of the couch. "You might want to lock the door. You know, unless you have a good excuse ready in case someone does walk in."

Harry didn't reply, but a moment later, Peter heard the click of the door being locked. He then felt a slight dip on the couch next to him. A moment later, a sharp line of agony impacted his right cheek.

Peter grimaced, but held still. The second strike impacted just below the first and Peter gasped quietly, biting his lip as the third and fourth strikes were each aimed lower and lower, until they reached his sit spot and thigh - both of which made him draw his breath in sharply.

Harry shifted slightly and Peter felt him begin to repeat the pattern on his left cheek. It was hard, but Peter managed to stay still, though his hands clenched repeatedly at each subsequent strike.

This was repeated twice more and then Harry began alternating cheeks, striking left and right as each stroke stung Peter's backside. Keeping himself still was growing harder as the discomfort quickly grew to stinging pain.

A couple more circuits in and Peter couldn't help shifting slightly, crying out a little every time his sit spots and thighs were hit. Tears blurred his vision, though they were only partly caused by the pain of the spanking. The guilt about leaving Harry had been crushing him and he could feel its weight begin to finally lighten.

The next circuit brought more tears from Peter's eyes and he pressed his head into his arms to muffle his sobs. A moment or two later, he felt Harry's arm slide around him and instantly leaned into his friend, taking the comfort.

It took a little while, but Peter felt his tears begin to die away. "I should have handled that better," he said quietly.

"Just... please don't disappear again?" Harry asked. "I can't do this without your help."

"You're not going to be able to get rid of me. We'll run the tests and I'll save you. I promise, Harry. You can trust me."

"I know."

The End