War's Kindle Winters
Synopsis: War spends his first winter with you in your grandfather's cottage
Warnings: fluff, sleeping, laziness, heavy snowfall, cuddles, Soft! War
A/n: I did it for the sake of curiosity. And I'm a little proud tbh
*Flashback*
The snow had fallen to the earth, the trees were covered in a blanket of white, and little snowflakes danced in the cold air like ballerinas. You stood in the middle of the forest, A faint winter coat, gloves, snow boots, a case of arrows on your back, and your bow in hand. A deer wandered into your vision sniffing at the frozen ground, you let out a tiny sigh as smoke left your mouth, You grabbed the arrow, raised your bow at the deer, and pulled the string along with the arrow. You let go of the arrow as it flew in the air and shot at the deer's neck. The deer stumbled to the ground. You raced over to see that the deer is dead.
A dark shadow stood behind you in a menacing way, you turned around to see a demon in a dark cloak with red horns in the show. You smiled calmly knowing that it was just your grandfather, who you called since he didn’t tell you his real name. He looked around the area the sound of howling and growling filled the snowy grounds. He held out his hand, “Come now, we must head home before it gets dark.” “ Yes, Grandpa.” You answered sweetly as you dragged the dead deer with one hand and the other holding his. The two of you walked together back into your cottage in the mountain of winter.
***
It's been 25 years since then... 25 long years.
The sound of crunching snow and hooves echoed the first You and War rode side by side as you both trotted in the snow, you came to a stop at a familiar tree with a gash mark on it. You're close. " Come on, we're almost there," You said as you rode your horse past the marked tree, War soon followed you. The winds sang lowly as the flakes of snow danced in the earth. War has been by your side since he first met in The Crossroads, alone, your instincts heightened, and weapons ready at your side. He was utterly shocked to see a human wandering the dead earth for a century. Now, he's riding with you in a forest, following your lead. " It's here... after all these years it's still standing." You spoke to yourself as you stood before you the cottage in the mountain, it's like nothing changed nor touched since you left.
War went beside you as you looked at the wooden home with a little perplexity and a bit of sadness like you were here with someone before. Got off your horse, and you led her to the small stable house. War and Ruin watched you curiously as you locked up the gate in front of her horse. She walked into the buried snow towards her cottage.
War soon followed, his giant footsteps echoed through the dark room, with one swift of flame magic you first lit the empty fireplace. The fireplace blazed but soon calmed down, dancing like one small but giant light, you sighed as took off your armor and fur and lay on the small long desk. You turned to see War carefully observing since you walked in You offered your hand to him, " Come now get comfortable, we'll be here for a while. " He stared at you curiously and a little shockingly, no one in all his years of existence has ever shown this type of... feeling of genuine kindness and acceptance. He took off his armor piece by piece, except for his sword, he keeps it at all times. He followed you inside your home, and you stopped in the middle of the living room. " Wait here, I'll be right back,""You requested, as you hurriedly rushed upstairs to get him some clothes that can fit his muscular build. You came back down, with a checkered sleeve shirt and decant pants, you gave him the clothes and shoes him the way to the bathroom.
It was War's first winter with you in your grandfather's cozy cottage. As the snow fell heavily outside, the two of you huddled together inside, enjoying each other's company. War had never experienced anything like this before, and he was fascinated by the warmth of the fire and the softness of the blankets. As the days went by, War found himself becoming more and more relaxed around you. He had always been a warrior, always on the move, always ready for battle. But with you, he didn't feel the need to be constantly vigilant. He could let his guard down and just be himself.
One lazy afternoon, as the snow continued to fall outside, War found himself dozing off on the couch. You were curled up beside him, your head resting on his chest. He could feel your breaths against his skin, and he felt a sense of peace that he had never known before. As he drifted off to sleep, he found himself wondering how he had ever lived without you. You were his rock, his shelter from the storm. And he was grateful to have you in his life.
The rest of the winter passed in a blur of lazy days and cozy nights. War and you spent hours talking, laughing, and cuddling together. And as the snow melted away and spring began to bloom, War knew that he would always treasure his memories of that first winter with you in your grandfather's cottage. For War, it was a time of growth, of learning to let go of his fears and embrace the warmth of love. And he knew that he had you to thank for that. You had shown him a side of himself that he had never known before, and he was forever grateful.
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It's the Harry Osborn fashion post nobody asked for!
I'm no expert in menswear (all info + photo examples come from VintageDancer) so take this as speculation and feel free to correct any terminology. Still, I wanted to ramble about his interesting progression of clothes choices through the classic comics.
Ditko era (1965)
An outdated look even for the time: the bowtie, brown/grey color scheme, and wide high-waisted pants with a skinny belt are all kind of 1940s/50s things. Not to mention the hair.
It seems Ditko's only vision for Harry was Norman Junior. You know those eerie photos of politicians' families where the kids are dressed identically to their parents? Yeah.
Of course, once characterization catches up, there's a lot to be said about Harry's relationship with imagined "good old days" and his father's self-image.
Characterization catches up (1966)
John Romita is here and we get a flashback to baby Harry, who in contrast to his dad looks like an easter egg.
On a practical level, bright colors (1) draw attention to Harry as a new main character and (2) convey time passing. But it also fits with the reveal that he's a mostly sweet kid trying too hard to conform to an aggressively traditionalist role model.
I like that the bow tie sticks around. It has old-fashioned, dweeby connotations (as probably originally intended) but it also has appropriate oddball performer connotations.
Roomates era (1966-69)
Big checkered patterns, vests, and expanded colors; a showy take on the Ivy League 50s/60s style, unless I miss my guess. A bit more modern, but still in the realm of uptight dweeb. I love how Romita made him friendly without making him less weird.
It's a rather slow makeover from monochrome to bright and patterned. On a Watsonian level, it's fun to imagine that living away from his dad lets him gradually rediscover a colorful fashion sense.
The less formal at-home version of this look is a sweater or sweatervest with a collared shirt, a la baby Osborn.
The New Osborn Image (1969. nice)
Eventually both Harry and the editors get self conscious about keeping up with the times, and...
This is so charmingly "repressed young adult finally has their awkward rebellious self-discovery phase halfway through college" to me. Artists love to call back to this look because lol, retro facial hair, but I think its status as a bona fide short-lived Embarrassing Phase makes it sacred.
The New(er) Osborn Image (1970-72)
Exploratory phase over, his new look is something between Mod and Peacock Revolution: long coats, double-breasted tailored jackets, colorful turtlenecks, neckerchiefs instead of ties.
In my totally unbiased opinion this is the pinnacle of Harry costuming. He's found a public-facing sense of style that's fun. It's formal, but not just in a Norman-impressing way—he got here via personal experimentation and peer inspiration. It's the most joyful sartorial self-expression he ever seems to get.
Sure hope he's not about to experience personal-identity-shattering amounts of stress and tragedy!
spice up your mental breakdown by raiding your father's closet (1973)
At least, I think that's Ross Andru's angle. Harry moves back into his dad's townhouse and his clothes are uncharacteristically oversized and formless.
Drop the metaphor, fill your father's shoes for real. The fur-lined coat + leather gloves in particular strike me as unnaturally Normanesque. Earlier periods illustrated his Garbage Mental Health Hygiene with untucked shirts and unfastened collars, though his hairdo is still perfectly in place because everyone knows it just grows in like that.
I think the shirt he's committed in is the first short-sleeved shirt we ever see him wear. Probably too early in history for him to be given a pair of those grippy socks.
back to basics/dadclothes (1975-on)
Harry comes back in ASM 151 with two outfits: a grey suit and tie and a plaid short sleeved shirt with jeans. This split between utilitarian business clothes/simple comfort clothes sticks around into Buscema and JMD's 90s run.
This was probably meant to signal that he's more "grown up" and stable, but after everything else it just feels like a very lonely return to form and a widening fracture between public presentation and personal identity—this time self-enforced.
JMD uses the goblin costume to talk about Harry's struggles with self-image and emotional compartmentalization, but I think it works because that theme was already there in a less dramatic way. Particularly once the colors went back in the closet.
The thing about toxic performative masculinity is that it hates to admit that it's just a performance. Showy fashion can be attractive to people who've been told they flunk out of gender for physical or mental reasons because it's entirely performance (hence the art of drag) (and hence transmascs who joke they dress like silver age Harry). Also, I think it's just a fun personality trait for him to enjoy bright and meticulous dress, dangit.
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and i'd give up forever to touch you
chapter twenty-six. tell me we both matter, don't we?
Summary: Wilbur only has a few days left, and yeah his music is now decent, but now he's got one more problem, his clothes. (Yeah, it's totally his clothes and not the issue of your very complicated relationship.)
ao3 link. ~3.4k words. masterlist.
***
for wilbur, he’d been panicking every day since he said yes to you once more.
playing onstage is very different from recording by yourself, studio or childhood bedroom. he’s never done it. it never occurred to him that it could, posting those songs online. it was all just to cope with his life and focus on something else besides the numbing in his head and body. something to do besides lay in bed and be left alone in his thoughts, day in and day out.
techno, ever the helpful person, had asked what he was going to wear and that itself brought up another topic to sweat his hands over.
he hadn’t even thought about his clothes! and after rummaging through his clothes, the stuff he wore daily and then the stuff he saved for special occasions— nothing was good enough for your concert.
“we can always go shopping,” his brother spoke from his bed, flipping through a beauty magazine with little interest in what wilbur’s panicking over now.
“shopping, yeah of course, except for the little problem called money, tech, i can’t just go and buy clothes-” and with that techno’s head lifts and tilts on his shoulders, giving him that blank stare.
“did you forget the part where i said ‘we’?” and wilbur didn’t exactly become sour at that, but he was considerably a little less stressed.
“okay then, well let's go now, get dressed.” will said as he swiped techno’s feet off his bed, snagging the sweater on his bed and shoving his head through it, not watching or listening to how techno started to grumble about how early it is, how they could go later but of course, wilbur isn’t going to listen to all that negative talk right now.
so that’s how they found themselves in the nearest shop, a little place called angelina’s with bright walls with checkered patterns, neon words lighting up the business as well as other weird little glowing creatures, plugged into the wall. with many sections only being sectioned by size, it’s popular for people with good taste, obviously. no wonder techno chose it.
they’re there thumbing through shirts and pants, with techno only showing will the silliest of options, including the biggest faux fur coat will’d ever seen, a pink button up with little lobsters and anchors, bright green jeans, and the never-ending collection of stilettos.
“will.” his mono voice never betrayed him, seeing as will was always caught off-guard by what he showed him. this time it’s another pair of stilettos, but covered in orange tufts of fur.
“you know you’re being real helpful right now,” will comments, trying his hardest not to smile because it was a real ‘what the fuck is that’ kind of moment. where in the fuck did his brother find those?
“the best help a brother can know,” his little smile with closed eyes, hair tangled and looking the worst bird-nest made by man. it was a sight to see.
he’d probably get the same amount of help if he asked his other brother for help, now that he’s thinking about it.
“okay, since you’re not actually taking my real, and very genuine, advice, i think you should call this person you’re obsessed with and talk clothes with them,” and though it would seem like a good idea based in good intentions, he waits for the other shoe to drop, “because right now, i’m just a lil’ bit hungry, and if you need more of my opinions, i’ll be over there.” and as he leaves he gives wilbur a clasp on the shoulder and heads to the bakery across the street.
he didn’t know what he’d expected. techno wasn’t that much help with his party outfit then, and considering it’s one of techno’s lazy days where he wasn’t needed professionally, his go-to outfit had been this puke green hoodie and sweats, and for some reason, his white platforms, the one that’s about four added inches in height. he’s not sure what the reason is, but he’s sure it’s to distract everyone from the mess on his head.
turning away from his brother, knowing he’s very capable on his own, he pulls his phone out, scrolling through the contacts list until it lands on your name. he presses on it, the call button staring him down.
he looks away, phone lowered to his side as he takes a quick glance around the shop. okay. what would be acceptable to wear on a stage for a performance he’s only going to be a part of for a moment? maybe white shirt, black pants, and whatever shoes he has on at that moment. that sounds… right.
still, he should call you and confirm that this is okay to do or think. shouldn’t he?
he really didn’t want to bother you, especially during these last few days they had left before the concert. and then of course, what would happen after that? he’d lose your number, at your request, and what then? move on with his life?
his chest ached at the thought of living a life without you in it. you’d been so important to him for a while, even when the two of you didn’t talk, you’d never really leave his mind.
but what else could he do besides move on? that’s what you’d do, move on. move on and start a new year at college. grow a little more, become so talented with music, fans would be swimming at your feet. fame would be around the corner, he knows it. but he has to leave and maybe one day, his existence in your life could be a funny story to tell at a bar.
even if he wanted nothing more than to stay in your life, he’d leave so you could get on with your life. you must be dying to close this chapter, dying for him to get out.
and as he lifts his phone, deciding to call you and figure out his outfit, your name appears on his screen, your face filling the space between. the shock makes him drop his phone.
he quickly picks it up and answers, “oh, hey, i was meaning to call you-” and that’s when he cuts himself off hearing a crash in the background, “what was that?” he asks immediately, “are you okay?”
your voice, it’s so shaky. “i- wilbur can you uh- oh i hate to ask you this but can you come pick me up?”
“text me the address, i’ll be there.” and he keeps you on the phone as he exits the store, crossing the street and hearing a car screech to a stop, he pats the hood of it before rushing to the other side, pushing his way inside of the bakery and finding techno at the bar, eating something akin to waffles before he reaches him. “hey, we gotta go,” techno’s eyes flash a little something he doesn’t understand but he wipes his mouth and calls for a to-go box. the waiter drops it off unceremoniously and techno all but stuffs the plate in there. he leaves a big tip where he was sitting and they rush out of there.
getting in techno’s car and telling him the address, his eyebrows furrow but he’s peeling out of the street, heading towards you as fast as he could.
“hey, are you still there?” he asks, feeling his fingers tremble so he rubs them out on his pants, wiping the clammy sweat as well. he hears you respond so quietly, it almost breaks them, “we’re almost there, just hang on.”
he almost snaps at techno to drive faster but considering they’re already going well-past the speed limit they’re lucky they haven’t been pulled over yet.
pulling to the side of the street, he looks over the property and finds it a mess. the yard is littered with trash and various furniture, those solo cups everywhere and if it wasn’t those cups, it was beer bottles. the typical party gone wrong. and he knew you weren’t a little saint but what were you doing here?
“hey i’m here, do you need me to go inside?” he doesn’t know why he said it, only that he did, and the little voice that begs him to is the reason he throws the car door open, rushing out of the car to the front door. “where are you?” he asks as he opens the door, looking around to find a bunch of people fighting and then there you’d been, hidden on the staircase as people kept throwing crap around and shouting.
he helps you up and walks with you outside, and if he’s being honest, not a single person noticed them leaving. but it didn’t matter, he tells himself, helping you into the backseat and sliding in next to you. you were drenched, wrapped in a blanket when he found you and he didn’t need to be a genius to see you were shivering.
he leaned to the front as techno made their exit, ignoring him as he turned the heater up. (“oh yeah, boil us alive, that’ll be good.”)
“just head to the college dorms,” he says, but he doesn’t hear it as he adjusts the fans above their heads to blow on you. your hair wet and sticking to your face, you try your hardest to not be obvious, but you didn’t hesitate to glue yourself to wilbur’s side.
“what happened?” he asks you quietly, watching you shudder out a sigh, eyes glancing around. “why were you there?”
“i- i don’t know, i just woke up there, in somebody else’s bed and i didn’t know if something had happened and then people just started to get angry- and i- i didn’t- i didn’t know i called you until i heard your voice.” he nods, but he’s still, wrapping an arm around you and rubbing your shoulders. you needed comfort and you’ll probably remember it all, the unpleasant parts and all, later when you’re somewhere safe and where rosie could guard you from harm.
techno slows down as he enters the parking lot and wilbur guides him to your building, watching as you stopped shivering from the cold but you did continue to shake a little.
it had to have been terrifying for you. and if somebody did do something to you- he forces his arm around you to relax, as he had to remind himself you’re there with him now, safe.
he didn’t want to think about you getting hurt, didn’t want to think how this will affect you.
when techno parks, he tells him he’ll only take a few minutes, guiding you up the stairs and when it’s too much, the two of you sit on the stairs, doing some breathing exercises that techno had taught him. when you’re okay, he helps you up again, guiding you to your room where he takes the keys from your hand, and unlocks it for you.
you walk without him to your bathroom, a sliver of the door left open. like you didn’t want to be alone. a shower turns on. and because he didn’t want to feel so useless, he gets you some clothes, a sweater and some shorts, and tries to not think too deeply about the underwear when he pulls a pair out for you.
“will?” you call for him and he’s next to the door in an instant, eyes away from the opening to give you the space you need, but he’s there. “i think there’s towels in rosie’s room, can you-” you don’t even have to finish and he’s already going in. thank fuck that your roommate isn’t here at the moment, else this would’ve been awkward.
a second later, he hands you your clothes and towel, biting his inner cheek as he thinks about techno.
he didn’t want to leave you right now but it’s already been ten minutes.. a few minutes later, the water shuts off and a few minutes after that, you step out, somehow swallowed up in your clothes.
he doesn’t know what to do with himself. and when he’s about to offer a hug, you throw your arms around him, squeezing tight as your shoulders heave up and down. he didn’t hesitate to wrap you in his arms, squeezing you just as tight and buried his face into your wet hair.
"what happened?" he asks, wondering if any of it came back to you, but also very wary to ask after this, having no way of telling if you were hurt.
"i don't even know," you cried into his sweater, tears soaking into the fabric but he could care less, focusing on holding you and making sure you didn't unravel in his hands. "i remember getting there but nothing else, and then somebody was dunking people in the pool outside—" and you could hardly speak after that, so he just held you, reaching around for his phone and sent him a text the best he could.
'come back later.'
"and when i got back out they started getting angry and i couldn't- couldn't focus and then they started throwing things-" and that's where you stopped, letting him hold you was enough for now. and the both of you secretly hoped that rosie would be out for a while.
after a while, he guided you to your bed and tucked you in, and before he could stop himself, he asked, "do you want me to stay?"
he didn't expect you to say yes, even more surprised when you asked if he could stay in the room. he sat down next to the bed, where you could reach him if you needed him.
he closed his eyes, thinking back to the shop from earlier. he'd just been out with techno shopping for clothes for your concert and here he was, in your room as you tried to mellow out for now.
would there be a concert now? if something bad happened to you and you end up remembering, would you even want to go anywhere outside of your room?
he didn't want to think about it but while you slept, he had to be quiet and ready in case you needed him.
and speaking of which, he felt a hand touch his head and that's where he reached up with one of his own, holding your hand in his and holding tight. he never wants to let go now. (what'll happen after the concert? after he moves back home? you won't need him then, just for right now. and sure, his heart will break, but that doesn't matter right now. you do.)
time passes slowly, he doesn't know how long he stays there until rosie comes in, questioning looks galore but he just shakes his head. 'talk later.' he mouthed.
rosie's mouth flattened into a line, nodding before leaving, closing the door and leaving the room coated in a darkness. save for the little light that comes through the space between the blinds.
"will?"
he looks up and your grip hasn't changed, but you lean over the edge a little, face covered in an emotion he doesn't know.
"can you-" you breathe a little heavy before shutting your eyes closed, tight as you could, before opening them, "can you hold me for a little bit?" and he whispers his answer, standing up and kneeling onto your bed, shuffling around until you sit in between his legs and he holds you with your back to his chest. arms wrapped around your shoulders as you relaxed in his arms.
"i don't know what it is about your body wash but i swear it's like lavender," your voice cracks here and there while you talk, and he pretends it doesn't affect him in any way.
"must be magic, huh," he says, although kidding, you hum in agreement. and the two of you fall in silence, no talking, just the rise and falling of your chest and your stuttered breathing.
"can i ask you something, wilbur?" you're the first one to break the silence and he tells you you could ask him anything. he can't see your wobbly smile. "if i'd been more like rosie, would you have said yes if i asked you out?"
why are you asking him this? why that question?
why now?
"i-" what could he say?
"i was going to ask you out a few weeks after we met, one of those nights where we were alone in my car eating junk food, talking about music. but then i brought up rosie again, and like magic, you had this look in your eye, where you paid a little more attention to me because of her. i never ended up asking you out but it's the thought. you would've said yes if i was rosie, huh?" why were you asking this? why did you clutch at him a little harder when he didn't say anything?
"... i was a jerk back then, a complete jackass." he didn't know what answer you wanted, but when he said that, it almost felt like the wrong answer.
"it's because i wasn't rosie, isn't it? you can say yes." he hears it now.
you want him to admit he didn't like you then or maybe ever, because you weren't rosie.
he says your name quietly, he doesn't want you to hurt over this, he never should've put those cameras in your room. he should've never said yes because you mentioned rosie. shouldn't have, should've, words like those tend to repeat these days, don't they?
but your shoulders start shaking again. "it's okay, you can say it, you never liked me, you liked that i was an opening to her."
he shakes his head, maybe that was true in the beginning but- over time you were what he wanted, what he dreamed of at night. who he wanted to be an absolute freak over.
"i like you," he says your name again and this time he could almost feel how the words wash over you. "but you need a guy who won't make you doubt your worth." he can feel your head shaking in his arms. "you need somebody better, somebody who is right for you."
"i don't want somebody better, you idiot." he feels something drip onto his hands, his wrists. fuck, you shouldn't be crying over him, especially at a time like this. "i've wanted you from the get-go." and he can hear you sniffle, feel how you press your back into his chest more, how you grip at his forearms. "you ruined me for anybody else."
and there it was. the truth. he did ruin you, didn't he?
he didn't know if he could ever love anybody else besides you and here you sat, feeling the same fucking way.
he couldn't do this to you though. what if he fucked up? what if you decided you didn't like him anymore? the insane amount of what-if-questions floated around his brain and he didn't know what to say.
"it wouldn't be a healthy relationship." he says quietly. i want that for you. a normal, healthy relationship where somebody loved you for you. he couldn't be that for you, he knows that. he's fucked up and he can't give you that something.
the quiet voice in his head that sounded too much like yours piped in, telling him you didn't want that. you've said it so many times. but he can't do this to you.
"i don't care." and he shakes his head. "nothing about us is normal or healthy."
"you said it yourself, i've ruined you."
"i did say that, and i mean it. i can't love anybody else like i love you."
his heart breaks. breaks and breaks until it's no longer in pieces but in piles and piles of dust. he's ruined you, fucked you up. and you love him, against all that. how could you love him? how could you love something so ugly?
and that, he supposes, is what you'd ask him.
"you can't leave yet." you say, and you didn't have to hear yourself to know how pathetic it was to say that. you didn't know how you've lived without him before but it kills you every-time you have to, now that you've met.
"i- i won't."
and be it minutes or hours later, he didn't know, but you spoke up again. "i meant it, i love you, you know."
and he can't swallow, willing himself to contain the sobs begging to be released. he could only let the tears fall down his cheeks and into your hair. "i know."
your hands tug at his sleeves, "say it back. please." your voice cracks, even if it's barely above a whisper, your voice cracks like his heart.
he can't.
he can’t do that to you.
***
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