Chapter Text
As the car slowed down and he started recognizing his old neighbors’ houses, Peter took a deep breath to calm down a bit. His heart was beating way too fast, and it was a miracle that his body was not actually shaking. It felt like it should be, but Harry’s grasp on Peter’s was helpfully firm. Peter knew that he would probably not have been doing this if it was not for Harry, but still, Peter truly could not imagine doing this without him. Peter did not know why he was so scared of doing this. This was Aunt May, the kindest person Peter knew. Yes, she knew how to be firm when needed, but she had never had a mean bone in her body. If Uncle Ben’s bravery and commitment to doing the right thing was what Peter aimed for as Spider-Man, Aunt May’s kindness and how she loved was what Peter aimed for as Peter Parker. He often fell short of it, as although it was easy to be kind and brave as Spider-Man, it was much harder as Peter Parker, but it was still what Peter strived for. It was what Harry deserved, too. So yeah, Peter knew he should had not been worried about Aunt May’s reaction as she was very much the ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’ type and actually followed that principle instead of being an hypocrite, but he could not help himself. What if that principle had its limit, like it did for so many people? What if she was disappointed? She had absolutely loved Peter’s ex-girlfriend and she was always talking about nice girls she knew to Peter. Would how she viewed Peter change? Would she smile and comfort Peter, but deep inside feel uncomfortable around him now?
All of those thoughts and more were swirling in Peter’s head, and they had been for days now, but it was time to be brave and do the right thing, like Uncle Ben would.
“Are you ready?” Harry asked, stroking the back of Peter’s hand with his thumb. “We can stay in the car for a bit, or we can do it another day.”
Peter was thankful they had been able to have Harry’s chauffeur to drive them from Harry’s place to Aunt May’s. Peter had really needed that calm environment and that privacy with Harry to not completely freak out already. However, he knew that if he were to wait around in the car, Peter would back down, and he could not do that. No, he had agreed to be a couple publicly, for Harry’s sake, and for them to be that, Peter needed to tell Aunt May first. He had promised Harry he would make it up to him, and Peter was going to do just that. He would not be a coward anymore, and be brave for Harry, just like Harry deserved it. Peter was so incredibly lucky to not have lost Harry, and he was going to make sure he would not mess up that second chance. He was also quite anxious on getting the whole ‘coming out’ thing over with.
“No, let’s go do it,” Peter said, and Harry nodded and let go of Peter’s hand.
They both stepped out of the car, and Peter took a deep breath again, looking at Aunt May’s house. He could do this.
Peter walked up to the house, and Harry followed, carrying a box of fancy chocolates. Harry had gotten them for Aunt May, obviously anxious to make a good impression. Peter knew that Aunt May liked those chocolates. It was the same box Harry had gotten Peter once or twice as part of the snacks Harry had given Peter when he was still Spidey. The snacks had usually been more nutritious, but sometimes there had been nice ones like those chocolates, and more often than not Peter had either gifted them or shared them with Aunt May. Peter had not thought of telling Harry that. It had slipped his mind, with bigger things to talk and worry about, and had just remembered when he had seen the box meeting up with Harry that day. Peter was sure Harry would not mind, but he would still tell him after this was over with.
“Here we go,” Peter whispered to himself and rang the bell.
Quickly, Aunt May opened the door, having been expecting Peter’s visit.
“Oh, Peter, come here,” she said, pulling Peter into a hug he had to hunch a bit over for. He did not mind, he loved those hugs. “You need to visit me more often, I miss you too much.”
“I will, May, I’m sorry,” Peter replied, hugging Aunt May back.
“You better, Peter,” Aunt May said in a stern voice which told Peter he had yet another promise to make sure to keep. Aunt May let go of Peter, and then visibly noticed Harry standing just a few feet behind Peter. “Oh, hello there. Peter did not tell me he was bringing a friend.”
Right, a friend.
“Hello Mrs. Parker, I’m Harry.” Harry stepped forward and shook Aunt May’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Peter has said such wonderful things about you.”
Harry surely knew how to be charming when he wanted to, Peter noted. It seemed to work on Aunt May, getting her to smile and warmly shake Harry’s hand before inviting him quickly inside. They all got in an removed their coats.
“Are those for me, Harry?” Aunt May asked, pointing to the box of chocolates which Harry was carrying.
“They are, Mrs. Parker. I hope you like them,” Harry said, giving the box to Aunt May.
“Well I certainly do! I was wondering where Peter was getting those from. I’m glad to know they were coming from a nice friend like you.” Aunt May smiled and took the box, clearly happy about getting more of those chocolates.
Harry shot Peter a quick look, seeming a bit confused but not hurt, before looking back to Aunt May.
“I’m glad you’ve been enjoying them, they’re my favorite,” Harry said as Aunt May leaded them to the living room.
It was nice to see Aunt May and Harry interact positively like this, but Peter still felt like he could not breathe. As they arrived to the living room table, where they would probably be enjoying Harry’s chocolates or whatever Aunt May had prepared with some tea or coffee, Peter knew he had to spit the thing out, now. He had to get it over with or he might crumble from the pressure. His heart was beating too fast again, and it was hard to breath, but this time he could not reach out and hold Harry’s hand. Not until he had said the thing.
“Would you boys like some tea or-“
“I have something to tell you,” Peter blurted out, cutting Aunt May off.
Peter saw Harry straightened up at that, and Peter guessed he was not being as proper as Harry would like him to be. Aunt May seemed taken a back a bit, probably by the suddenness of Peter’s statement, but a kind smile quickly appeared on her face.
“Okay, dear, let’s sit down then,” she said gently and Peter nodded, sitting down at the table.
Harry and Aunt May did the same, both looking at him expectantly. Of course, that was enough for Peter to lose any courage he might have had.
“Peter, dear?” Aunt May asked, but Peter had lost his ability to even open his mouth.
He could not do this. He could not do this, only Harry knew, and what if Aunt May was not okay with it? But if Peter could not do this, then he could not be with Harry. What the fuck was he supposed to do, choose between the two?! Peter felt Harry’s foot gently bump into his under the table and only then he had realized he had forgotten to breathe. He took a deep breath as discreetly as he could and pressed his foot against Harry’s.
“Harry’s my boyfriend,” Peter ended up just blurting out as he took his deep breath. “Not my friend,” he then added, for some reason.
Aunt May’s eyes widened and she straightened.
“Oh,” she said, looking between the two of them. She kept looking for a few seconds before slightly leaned towards Peter. “What about Mary-Jane?” she asked quietly, but probably not quietly enough for Harry not to hear.
Peter was sure glad he had already told Harry about his ex high-school girlfriend, Mary-Jane, that night during which Harry had asked him to tell everything about himself.
“She dumped me a bit before the end of our last year of high school. I did not know how to tell you since you liked her so much…” Peter admitted, mumbling a bit. That had been one of the good thing about not living with his aunt anymore, he had been able to avoid that specific topic for nearly a year.
“Oh, right,” Aunt May said at a normal volume, looking slightly disappointed before adopting a more neutral expression. “Well, that explains a lot. Hopefully you’ll treat dear Harry here better, yes?”
Peter’s face turned crimson with embarrassment, whilst, of course, Harry started to widely grin.
“Yes, May,” Peter mumbled.
“Good, good,” she turned towards Harry. “Do tell me if my nephew is not being a good boyfriend, alright? I expect better of him now that he’s an adult.”
“I will, Mrs. Parker”, Harry said, thankfully deciding not to be a dick and start telling Aunt May all the ways in which Peter had not been a good boyfriend.
“Now, how did you two meet?”
Harry and Peter shared a quick glance at that, knowing they absolutely could not answer that question truthfully if they wanted Peter to get out of this house alive. Thankfully, they had already come up with a cover story which would become the official story for the world.
“Peter and I shared a class last semester,” Harry replied, taking the initiative to recite the cover story, and Peter appreciated it. Peter needed a break, his body still felt as if he was about to die.
As Harry recounted their initial rivalry whilst taking the same class, to how they had started getting closer after bonding over their love of science and family losses, Peter took the time to calm himself down. As he watched Aunt May listening to Harry’s story as if it was the greatest love story anyone had ever told her, Peter realized how grateful he was for her. She had not made any comment about Peter being with a guy. She had not shown any disgust, only confusion and, yes, disappointment, but only about Peter messing up with Mary-Jane. She probably would have had the same exact reaction, albeit with maybe a little bit less confusion, if Peter had brought a girl instead of Harry. And now, she was more than happy to learn more about Peter’s relationship with Harry, and Harry was more than happy to take the burden of telling the fake story so Peter would get a break. Peter was so thankful and so fucking lucky to have both of them. He should have had told Harry the truth ages ago so he could had meet Aunt May earlier. Seeing Harry and Aunt May talk together felt just so right.
“You must be a very clever boy too to have gotten that internship and to have done so well in that class,” Aunt May said, smiling, and Peter swore he saw Harry blushing.
“That’s very kind, but Peter helped a lot with that class, I owe him a lot, and well, I’m Norman Osborn’s son, Oscorp CEO’s,” Harry explained.
“Oh, well, are things going well with your project?” Aunt May asked.
“I’d like to think so, yes.” Harry nodded.
“Then you’re still clearly a very clever boy. Helped or not, you sat that exam on your own to pass that class, and you’re the one doing your project, not your father,” Aunt May pointed out, clearly determined to praise Harry.
“Thank you Mrs. Parker, I really appreciate it,” Harry said, his smile looking a bit more tensed, but still smiling.
“Please, dear, call me May.”
“I will, May.”
Aunt May’s smile widened, and then she stood up.
“Now that Peter’s absolutely lovely announcement has been made, let’s get some tea so we can enjoy the pie I baked for you, shall we?” Aunt May said.
Immediately, Harry stood up, looking as if he had two propulsors instead of feet.
“Please, let me help you with that, May,” Harry quickly said.
“Oh you’re so kind Harry, thank you.”
Peter hesitated offering his own help, not wanting to be rude, but watching Harry and Aunt May walking together to the kitchen, Peter decided not to. Harry needed this, Peter thought. So, he waited, smiling as he heard some laughs coming from the kitchen. He just hoped they were not about him… They probably were, though. After a few minutes, Harry came back carrying the tea pot and the tea cups, followed by Aunt May who was carrying the pie. Both of them had big smiles.
“Your aunt was telling me about the lovely pictures of you as a kid she’s got, Sp-Peter,” Harry said, setting down what he was carrying.
Good thing Harry had caught himself in time with that nickname. They probably should stop using it all together if they wanted to avoid slip ups. However, Peter was much less happy about Aunt May telling Harry about embarrassing pictures.
“May,” Peter groaned.
“You were an adorable little kid, Peter. I’m sorry if you find me being eager to show pictures of you to your boyfriend embarrassing,” Aunt May said, having found a way to silence Peter’s protestations.
It did worked, as hearing his aunt refer to Harry as ‘his boyfriend’ brought a warmth to Peter he had not known he needed.
“Fine,” Peter mumbled.
If it meant that his aunt and boyfriend would get along, then Peter supposed he could endure that humiliation.
“I’ll get the photo albums once we’ve eaten the pie, alright, dear?” Aunt May said to Harry whilst cutting the pie into slices.
Harry nodded but made a face, and Peter instinctively reached for his hand. He stopped himself, before remembering he could actually take it, and so he did. Harry squeezed Peter’s hand as he sat back down, and Peter squeezed back.
The rest of the afternoon went as well as it had previously been. Having Aunt May show Harry Peter’s most embarrassing kid pictures was more than mortifying but Peter endured it. Peter focused on how much love Aunt May was giving Harry, and how Harry was so eager to receive it all.
“I love you,” Peter whispered into Harry’s ear as Aunt May turned the page of the photo album.
Harry’s attention immediately shifted from the photo album to Peter, and Harry’s wide eyes locked onto Peter’s. Harry did not say it back, but he did not need to. The way he looked at Peter, the way he pressed his shoulder against Peter’s, and how he gripped Peter’s hand again answered Peter instead. Harry had trusted Peter and waited for him to find the right time to say it and Peter would do the same for Harry.
It was then time to leave and Aunt May not only made Peter promise again to come see her, but she made it clear she wanted him to bring Harry with him again. Peter knew there would be no objection from Harry and so assured her that he would.
“You’ve got good taste, Peter. Make sure to not lose that one, or I’ll be more than quite cross with you,” Aunt May whispered to Peter when they hugged goodbye.
“I’ll do my very best, May,” Peter promised once again.
So many promises made all in the same week, but Peter was planning on keeping all of them.
The next one on the list was to not keep their relationship private anymore. That was a tough one as well. Some of the reasons for that were similar to why Peter had been nervous to come out to Aunt May: being afraid of how people would react and treat him. Peter had lived his life as a straight white man. He had not been a rich one, but even poor he had had a lot of privileges that other people had not have. It was not something Peter had really not thought about until now. Now, the world would know he was not straight. Now, he might get the glares from the dick-guy they were sharing an office with, and whatever else Harry had been getting as an openly gay guy, even though Harry had only publicly come out somewhat recently. Peter knew it was not right for him to try to hold on desperately to that privilege, but he was scared. He was scared of how the world was going to treat him now. He knew that he would obviously still have it easier than a lot of people, but he was scared nonetheless of that change.
The fact that Peter was dating Harry Osborn, the son of Norman Osborn – aka the CEO of Oscorp –, whilst they were interning at Oscorp was not going to fly under the radar either. What were people going to say about that? Would they give him shit for it? Would they insinuate that Peter had slept his way into getting the internship? What a fucking stupid thing to think. Sure, as if Harry had that kind of power over his father’s company – for now – and as if Peter had not deserved it way more than any of the dumbasses who might think that.
Peter would be able to fight back those dumbasses, now, he realized. He would be able to tell them to shut it and defend Harry without raising any suspicions. Not only that, but it would be expected of him. That was certainly a positive, and one that Peter held onto as they planned on slowly becoming more openly affectionate with each other over a course of a couple of weeks. Harry had wanted to just act like the couple they were starting on the Monay morning after having met Peter’s aunt, as Harry was still clearly riding that high, but Peter had pushed back on that. Harry knowing Peter’s true identity and shifting their relationship from Harry-Spidey to Harry-Peter did not mean all the dangers from being associated with Spider-Man had just vanished. They still had to be careful, which was why Peter had planned how to transition their relationship.
First, they had started to act slightly less cold to each other at the internship. Not friendly exactly, just no more Peter running away from Harry and Harry making a point to ignore Peter. Then, a couple days after – as Peter was working with a very tight deadline thanks to Harry’s eagerness – Peter had went to Harry’s apartment as Peter Parker for the first time. It had been a very strange experience, having to walk through the fancy lobby and take the fancy elevator, and then hang out in his normal clothes. At the same time as Peter Parker had started to come more often to Harry’s apartment, Spidey had started to come less and less. All the while, they would get warmer and warmer with each other at Oscorp. It was a far from perfect transition. Peter wished he had more time to take it more slowly and make it look more natural as he was worried that someone who would had been keeping tabs on Harry’s visitors and would notice Spider-Man getting replaced by Peter Parker, but that had not up to him.
Eventually, Spider-Man stopped visiting all together, and Harry got his wish. Peter had been dragged by Harry to eat lunch with Harry’s friends, as they would have lunch together every single work day, and he had been introduced to them as Harry’s boyfriend. Peter’s heart had been beating so fast, and Harry’s friends reactions had ranged from being confused to seeming suspicious, probably because they had seen Peter being a dick to Harry on that first day. Still, they had welcomed Peter in their little lunch group, although one of the girls, Gwen, had grilled him. Clearly she was going to take some time to warm up to Peter, but at least Peter and Harry had gotten to run through their fake story again. It also meant that she cared about Harry, and Peter wanted Harry to have people who cared about him. Alex had actually turned out to be a nice guy who was not at all into Harry, as he was straight. Lisa, although seemingly sharing some of Gwen’s mistrust, had been also very nice. She had even congratulated Peter on coming out and had given him tons of advices, as she was apparently also bisexual. Getting those advices from her and meeting someone Peter knew to be bisexual for the first time had felt quite odd but validating in a way. It was as if Peter had been waiting to meet another bisexual person to finally believe, deep down, that it was what he was and for it to not be some vague overwhelming concept anymore. Overall, lunch had been great.
What had been less great, or at least less fuzzy feeling, had been dealing with the dickhead in their office. At first, Peter had hated the idea of acting ‘gay’ around the guy. Peter knew that the dickhead would be, well, a dick about it and Peter did not know if he was ready yet to deal with someone being homophobic towards him for the first time. Peter knew how to act when that would happen to other people, but he did not know how to handle it if it was towards himself. He had been tempted to ask Harry if they could just tone it down around the dickhead, figuring Harry would understand, but Peter was not sure that would be really helpful as the guy was bound to find out anyway.
Also, Peter was a spiteful guy. A spiteful guy who could be as much as a bastard as his boyfriend could be a little shit. Not only that but, apparently, together, they could be an homophobic guy sharing their office’s worst nightmare. It had started small, with Harry’s hand resting for too long on Peter’s shoulder whilst he was helping him with some Oscorp software. When Peter’s problem had been fixed and he had gotten up to get some water, he had noticed the look on dickface’s face. It was as if Peter had just let out the worst fart ever in the middle of the office and was leaving the guy fester in the smell. After that, Peter had made a point of being affectionate towards his lovely boyfriend. This was payback for all the bad looks the dickhead had given Harry. Indeed, Dickface did not have to share the office with only one non-straight guy anymore, but two of them now, and even worse, it was two non-straight guys in a public relationship.
Once that Peter had figured out a way to get revenge for his boyfriend without getting in trouble by punching the guy, all of his worries about the guy acting homophobic had been overshadowed by Peter’s spite. Bit by bit, Peter had been more open about treating Harry as his boyfriend in front of dickface. The small touches had turned into lingering ones from Peter’s part. Peter was also finally working on finding Harry a cute nickname, now that he would be able to use in public. So far, ‘Love’ had been the one which had had the most effect on Harry. It had made Harry actually blush the first time Peter had used it and it would make Harry smile in such an adorable way every time Peter would use it since. Then, finally, Peter had started stealing quick kisses from Harry, always making sure to not linger too long but to let the dickhead see it. Peter was aware he was pushing it a bit but he was still being careful to not cross any lines, and he was having way too much fun. Harry was either not complaining despite having figured out what had caused Peter’s willingness to be so open. Harry had even taken part in the revenge once he had figured out what was going on. Once, after their first quick kiss in their office, Harry had looked at the dickhead and had straight up asked him “what, are you jealous or something?” in response to the guy looking so clearly pissed at them. Peter had really been tempted to kiss him again, for longer, after that one.
On the bright side, they were clearly being successful in their revenge against Dickface, and even the other guy Harry’s and Peter’s shared office had been enjoying it the revenge. When it had been only the two of them in the office, that other guy had actually congratulated Peter on managing to piss off the dickhead as much as Peter had. He had then asked if Peter and Harry were actually dating or if they were just faking it to fuck with the guy. Peter told him they were actual boyfriends and the chill guy had again congratulated him. ‘If I was gay, I’d be jealous of you,’ the guy had said, probably referencing what Harry had asked Dickface. Peter was not sure how to take that comment exactly, but he was glad to know that their other officemate was chill with it and actually enjoying the ‘drama’.
On the negative side, Peter had been asked to go to Norman’s office. Well, the person who had come by the office to announce that ‘Mr. Osborn wanted to see him’ had not specified which Mr. Osborn, but it was still pretty obvious as Harry would not send some guy to get Peter. Harry could just text Peter, if Harry needed him for something. Of course, the random man had come to make his announcement when Dickface was there, making the dickhead smirk and giving Peter a terrible feeling. Had Dickface complained? Was this why Norman wanted to see him? No, if it was something as dumb as giving Peter a warning about proper conduct, Norman would not be the one giving it. Still, Norman must have known by now, Peter had realized. Peter had been worrying about so many things he had forgotten that by being openly in a relationship with Harry whilst at Oscorp, Norman might end up hearing about it. Peter knew that the man did not actually give a shit about Harry, but he clearly cared about his image, and Harry’s sexuality apparently impacted it. Peter should had seen coming Norman seeing Harry’s relationship with Peter as impacting his image too.
Was Peter fucked, Peter wondered as he stepped into the elevator. His brain was freaking out about having to deal with Norman so suddenly and he was doing his best to shove it all down. At least Harry had not been there when the person had come fetch him. Harry was in his lab, unaware of what was happening, meaning Peter did not have to worry about him freaking out too, hopefully. Peter quickly changed his mind about that one once he stepped into Norman’s office and saw the guy sitting at his desk, reading some newspapers. Actually, Peter wished he had went to see Harry before going to Norman’s office. Peter wished he had told Harry and had let Harry convince him to let Harry come with him. Peter wished there was Harry there, with him, so that Peter could hide behind him, just like he had done so at the ball. Peter wished Harry was there to protect him from the man responsible for the dark room.
After what felt like forever to Peter as he stood frozen in the office, close to the door and far away from Norman and his desk, Norman finally looked up from his newspaper.
“Parker, sit,” Norman said, putting down his newspaper and gesturing to the chair in front of him.
“I’d rather not.”
Peter had no desire to get any closer to Norman nor to get any further from the door. He was aware that he was standing comically far away from Norman, but that was Norman’s fault for having such a comically big office. Norman stared at Peter, and Peter stared back, quite keen on keeping an eye on the man. Objectively, Peter knew that Harry shared some of his facial structures with the man, but Peter could not see anything of Harry in that cold, hard face.
“I’ve heard you’re in some sort of relationship with my son,” Norman stated, but it sounded like a question.
“Yeah, I’m his boyfriend,” Peter replied, probably not politely enough, as he was confused as to what Norman wanted from him.
What, was Norman going to make sure Peter was treating his son properly? Of course he was not going to do that. He was going to want to make sure Peter would not be a problem for him, Norman, just like Norman probably wished he could make sure Spider-Man was not a problem to him. Fuck, what would Norman do if he knew that his son’s boyfriend was Spider-Man? What fucked up thing would he tried to pull? Would Harry be able to protect Peter? They were both five days a week in Oscorp, but they were not always in the same part of the building. Would Harry be able to do anything so many floors down from Peter?
“Yes, I am aware of that,” Norman said, leaning back in his fancy chair, his eyes still on Peter. “What I want to know is what’s your intentions with him?”
Well, Peter definitely could not say the first answer his panicked mind had come up with. Thanks fuck Peter was having some trouble speaking right now, giving him the time to think through his panic. Still, he did not like Norman’s question. That was a dumb question, and one that should not be coming from Norman. Norman had no business in Harry’s and Peter’s relationship. Their relationship was in spite of him; Norman did not get to act all inquisitive about it as if he actually cared about Harry. All Norman wanted was to get information on how to make it benefit him, and Peter would not give him that. That, and because Peter was struggling with the whole ‘talking’ thing right now, so he was more than happy to stay silent. Although, Peter would had preferred staying silent just a few steps back, outside of Norman’s office.
“Do you plan on marrying him one day?” Norman asked after a few moments of silence.
That was fucking rich of him to ask. Why did Norman want to know, did he want to walk Harry down the aisle or something?
“I love Harry but I think it’s a bit too early to talk about marriage just a few months in, isn’t it?” Peter said a bit too quickly.
Norman raised his eyebrows, and Peter thought he had offended him somehow, before he realized what he had just said. Peter had said he loved Harry. Peter had said it to Norman, and he had said it without even thinking. It had come out so easily, as easily as when he had told Harry, and as he would tell him on occasion even though Harry had not said it back yet.
“You’re right, of course, but I like planning ahead, thinking of the future as early as possible. That’s what a good CEO needs to do, after all. You can’t be successful in life if you don’t know where you are going and how.”
Norman was acting as if he was giving Peter amazing life advice, but Peter could only think of how Norman had moved the conversation away from his son and to him being a CEO. As if you could conduct relationships like you conducted business. As if Peter was planning to run his relationship with Harry in such a way. Norman looked down to straighten the newspaper he had set down on his desk, and Peter did see Harry in that movement. However, whereas Harry would do it when nervous, Norman did not look nervous one bit. He looked like a man in control.
“Doctor Connors is quite pleased with you,” Norman said, looking up again at Peter. “He said you were going beyond expectations.”
What a weird change of subject, Peter thought, but Peter noted that Norman was acting as if it was not. Was it not, then? How did Peter’s performance impact his relationship with Harry? Peter stayed silent, fighting his swirling mind to try to form a coherent hypothesis.
“You’re studying Physics at Columbia, correct?” Norman asked and Peter nodded. “Just finished your first year, top of your class in most of your classes… But you’re attending on a scholarship.” Norman paused. “That must come with a lot of pressure and not as much freedom as some of your more fortunate classmate have.”
That man sure did know a lot about Peter. He knew way too much for Peter’s comfort. Clearly, he had dug into who Peter was. Or, alternatively, he had just read Peter’s application for the internship at Oscorp. But why was Norman pointed all of that out? What was he trying to find out?
“Your reasons for wanting to intern at Oscorp were also quite interesting. Clearly you know a lot about our research and you’re quite passionate about it,” Norman added.
This felt like an interview, but an interview for what? Peter already had the internship at Oscorp and he doubted Norman would offer a job to someone who had completed only one year of their degree. Also, what was the link between this and Harry and their relationship?
There. That was what the interview was for, for the position of Harry’s boyfriend. That was fucking rich coming from Norman. First of all, Peter was already Harry’s boyfriend. Yes, their relationship had still some issues needing fixing, but they were in it together, Peter knew that. On top of that, it was none of Norman’s fucking business whom Harry was dating. Harry was a grown ass man who could pick his own damn boyfriend. What did Norman think? That if he did not like Peter enough by the end of this ‘interview’ he could tell Harry to dump Peter and then find Harry someone Norman approved of instead? Sure, Norman, sure.
“You also work at the Daily Bulge, correct?” Norman asked, but Peter knew Norman already knew the answer to that and Peter was not in the mood to play along with his interview bullshit. Norman did not seem to mind, resuming his dissection of Peter. “You take pictures of that vigilante, Spider-Man. Your pictures are quite impressing, I must say. How do you do it? How do you know when and where to be to take those pictures despite being already such a busy university student?”
Oh shit. This was veering way too close to Norman figuring out Peter was Spider-Man for Peter’s taste. Peter knew it was not a good idea to stay silent or to attempt to lie. Peter did not trust his lying skills enough to hold up well enough right now, not in front of Norman and under so much pressure.
“I don’t have to be there, sir. I just need to be smart about how I use my equipment,” Peter replied, trying his best to keep a neutral face.
For some reason, Norman’s lips stretched into a small smile. It looked disturbing. Peter did not want to make Norman smile.
“Smart, both on how you do it and for how you answered that. You said just enough to show your intelligence, without so much that I could pick a random intern and have them steal your job.”
It was good that Norman had been satisfied with Peter’s explanation, which was somewhat truthful, but Peter did not like receiving praise from that man. It felt as nice as touching a slug, and those compliments were bullshit advices disguised as compliments so that Norman could feel good about helping out Peter.
Still, what Norman had said was useful. Norman was right, Peter had something Norman could not take from him. Not the Spider-Man pictures specifically, but how valuable Peter had made himself be. Peter was valuable to Jameson, as nobody could take pictures of Spider-Man as good as his. Peter was valuable to Harry, being Harry’s boyfriend and all. Peter was valuable to Dr. Conners as Peter was basically dealing with all the things Dr. Conners had been too busy to do research on and, as Norman himself had said, Peter was doing an amazing job. So, Peter was not some random kid with no power. He had some power in this conversation, he just needed to figure out what it was, how to use it exactly, and why.
“I know,” Peter replied.
Norman raised an eyebrow then scoffed, but he strangely did not look angry, not even annoyed.
“Of course you do,” Norman said, smiling slightly again.
Did Norman like Peter? Surely he did not. No, Norman was a fucking awful father and he was homophobic – well, Peter assumed he was since he had hit Harry for dancing publicly with a guy – there was no way he would like Peter, his son’s boyfriend. No, Norman was just happy with the optic Peter was going to give him by being Harry’s boyfriend or something. If not that, then, it was for another fucked up reason, but not because Norman liked Peter.
“You know, Harry reminds me of his mother. I see so much of her in him,” Norman said, leaning back in his chair again.
Once again, changing the topic of conversation. Peter knew there was a reason for it, some lesson Norman wanted to force onto Peter whilst disguising it as advice, but Peter was really not in the mood for it.
“Is that why you hit him?” Peter asked before he could remember to be scared of Norman again, just as he had been a few moments before.
Realizing what he had just said, Peter braced for Norman to lose his shit, to demand an apology, and to order him out of his office. Instead, Norman sat up and just stared at him. It was not shame, it was not anger, it was something different that was on Norman’s face, but Peter could not tell what.
“He told you?” Norman said in such a neutral tone it felt disgusting.
He was not denying it. Norman was not shocked at the accusation, he was not bothered, not anything. As if it was normal. Peter hated it. He loathed it. That man had hit Harry for taking a boy to a ball and probably on other occasions too. This man had been such a dogshit of a father to Harry that it had made Harry think Norman not hitting him meant that Norman just did not care enough to do it. The worst thing was that Harry was probably right.
“I figured it out myself,” Peter replied, trying his best to still contain his anger. Peter sure as hell was not going to throw Harry under the bus on that one. “Like you said, I’m smart.”
“You’re cocky, too,” Norman pointed out. “Don’t make that your downfall.”
Only Norman Osborn could take a threat and make it sound like an advice instead.
“It’s not being cocky if it’s calculated,” Peter replied and saw Norman’s eyebrows raise at that. Norman looked as if he was eager to hear Peter’s train of thought. Peter happily obliged. “What are you gonna do? Fire your gay son’s boyfriend who’s your best intern and works in press, as you’ve pointed it all out?”
Fuck, Peter had basically threatened Norman Osborn, the CEO of Oscorp. The man who would probably dream to have Peter stuffed into one of his lab to study his powers as Spider-Man. An egregiously rich man with enough power to completely fuck up Peter’s life. His boyfriend’s father who was giving his boyfriend a shit ton of money, money Peter was happily indirectly enjoying through Harry’s gifts. Yeah, that man, and Peter had just threatened him in his own office.
Peter had a point, though. He did have power too, and this would be exactly how he would use it against Norman and his desperate need for a squeaky clean public image. It made Peter wonder, why was Norman so desperate to maintain that image? Was he hiding something more than him being an abusive, or at least very neglectful, father? Something else than whatever that fucking spider had been?
“As I said, Harry reminds me of his mother,” Norman said after quite some time of staring at Peter.
What the fuck was that supposed to mean?! Yes, Peter understood that Harry reminded Norman of Harry’s mother, but what was the point of bringing it up again and why the fuck would he use it as a response to Peter’s threat?
“I look forward to seeing what else you’ll achieve during your time at Oscorp, Peter,” Norman said, straightening up and picking up his newspaper again.
That sounded enough like a dismissal enough for to take it. Peter did not bother to reply to it, or even nod, and instead hurried to the elevator.
Only once the doors closed and relief hit Peter, did he realized how terrified he had been to not make it out to that office. Peter was okay, he had made it out. Norman had not called some random people to take Peter to his secret evil liar or whatever. Peter’s body still felt uncomfortably tensed, as if his muscles had not gotten the message yet that he was safe, but he was.
Then it hit him fully. Peter had straight-up threatened Norman Osborn to destroy him in the press if Norman were fire Peter. Not only that, but the guy had been way too chill about the threat. What the fuck had happened in that room?! Peter might had been in there and might had been an active part of the conversation, he still did not know what had actually happened.
Peter needed Harry. He needed Harry to tell him what this all meant. Surely Harry would know, he knew how to speak Osborn after all. Peter also needed to speak to Harry because, one, Peter needed to go freak out to his boyfriend about what had happened, and two, Peter was determined to not fuck up the ‘no secret’ rule.
So, Peter went to get his boyfriend.