certaininequities | IC Inbox for Ryslig

[the distraction comes right at the perfect time: Otto's out for some reason or other (probably planning a certain date), and Norman's been left to his own devices, pacing the room for a lack of anything else to do with his nerves.

he'd tried reading a book, but his focus had been next to nothing, so the cheap paperback thriller lies discarded on the armchair next to a cold half-cup of coffee. other than that, the room they share is as neat and clean as ever when Norman calls out:]

It's open, Parker!

[Peter lets himself in once given permission, clutching something against his chest. He's switched back to his civilian clothes before coming back home.

His gait is a little awkward from fatigue and taking a bit of a fall earlier. Nothing serious as far as Peter is concerned.]

Are you busy right now?

[the easy smile Norman reserves for Peter disappears almost instantly at the sight of him. Norman closes the distance between them, already reaching for what he assumes is the Spider-suit clutched against Peter's chest.}

Well - I am now! Peter, you're hurt. What happened? C'mon, sit - siddown.

[fretting, he guides Peter toward his armchair, reaching down quickly to sweep the book out of the way]

[The teenager blinks a little at the sudden shift. Norman gets a carefully bagged bundle in his hands. Rifling through the bag will reveal a loose t-shirt around Norman's size with a science pun on the front.]

I'm- Oh, I'm good! [Said with all the confused confidence the teenager can muster though he's being guided along to the chair.

The teenager sinks into the seat.]

I was just on patrol. I fell off of a balcony. Nothing major.

Nothing majo-- Peter, it was a balcony! Neith-- [he catches himself before he can say 'neither one of us']

You don't have that special endurance you had as Spider-man, anymore. [he pulls the bundle of cloth from the bag and shakes it at Peter demonstratively, still thinking it's the suit]

You've got to be more care-- Whuh?

[the little noise he makes as the t-shirt unfolds in his hand is decidedly comical, but not as much as the face that accompanies]

I mean, it wasn't that high up...? I can still probably sleep it off just fine?

[The reaction throws Peter off again. T

hen he remembers Norman is seeing the shirt for the first time.]

Oh, I thought you'd like the shirt? I mean, I thought it was funny.

[all that nervous energy he'd been radiating instantly stills. Norman holds the shirt out at arm's length by the shoulders, squinting, his lips minutely forming the printed words for half a second before he laughs hard enough that his stomach is visibly bouncing.]

Peter, this is great. Where'd you find it? Here.

[he holds it back out to him, not yet understanding that it's a gift]

I was looking around Bavan and someone was selling some shirts. I guess they saw stuff monsters liked wearing and copied it?

[Peter shakes his head a little. Smiling now at Norman's bright laughter and smile.]

No, it's for you! I got it for you.

[it may not have seemed as though his grin could get any wider, but it does. instead of taking the offered shirt, he pulls Peter into a hug - though he's careful not to hold him tight due to the recent fall]

Awh, Peter.... I love it. You're so sweet to think've me like this. Especially when -

[he pulls away, concerned]

You lost your job, are you sure you can afford doing this for me?

[Peter blinks a little, but returns the hug. He's a little surprised but accepts the hug easily enough. He sits back as Norman pulls away.]

Yeah, I think I can manage.

[He shrugs as he adds.]

I mean, like, people threw solars at me for doing a flip earlier this week, so I have a bit more.

If people threw enough money at you to by a t-shirt, I'm either really impressed by the state of this economy, or busking is a much more lucrative profession than it was in New York.

[he laughs as he takes off his jacket and slips the t-shirt on. it fits perfectly, which means-]

Gonna be a little loose once this wears off - if it ever does. But Tawna will take it in for me, I'm sure. I love this, Peter.

[the tiniest pause. but it feels too right and good to hold in:]

And I love you, too. As much as if you were my own son. I hope you don't mind my saying so.

I am in a really bright outfit, so I mean, extra solars? [Peter shrugs a little, smiling as he stretches slightly. His leg isn't happy, but he tries to not make much of a face at it.]

I'm just glad you like it! I know you like really corny puns to begin with, so it felt right.

[The sentiment draws Peter up short. His whiskers still for a moment, ears drooping as he tries to figure out his own feelings. He sounds more like the teenager he is when he speaks.]

You... do-?

I- I don't mind I mean, I just... [He trails off uncertainly.]

[oh. of course he said too much. stupid, stupid. that old REM song starts playing in his head, and he sighs, shaking his head in an attempt to turn it off. begone, Michael Stipe.]

It's alright, Peter, you don't - I don't expect you to - I understand if you don't know what to say to that.

[so, so stupid. what happened to the brain that wrote hundreds of scientific journals? what happened to the eloquent, charismatic businessman capable of bringing a boardroom to its feet? he realizes in that moment that he's no better at this now than he was years ago, faced with a very young boy with wide, wet eyes, asking him where his mother was going.]

Like I said I don't mind, I just... [Again, he feels unsure how to respond. Everything he says feels weird, or too canned of a response.

Peter does care for Norman, just as much as he does Otto. Both men have been nothing but kind to him, protective, caring-

It feels nice to have this. He's afraid if he gets comfortable it will be ripped away from him.

The truth accidentally slips out with a weak kind of laugh as he drags a clawed hand through his fur. The claw tips catch on dark curls.]

I kind of have a bad track record with people feeling that way about me. If I say it, I'll probably jinx you.

[It isn't a logical line of thought, but it's there.]

Awh, Peter.

[his voice softens with a small sigh, blue eyes crinkling at the corners with sympathy]

Please don't say that. If anyone's going to jinx me, I've already done it myself. My son, Harry? He thought I was terrible, I'm sure. To say nothing of my ex-wife.

I mean, I don't know everything about you, but you've been good to me? [The teenager is more than aware he doesn't know enough about Otto and Norman in comparison to how much they know about him.]

Maybe we can say... we just negate that with each other?

An inverse function.

[he grins. look at these two goddamn math nerds]

I like it. And I want to change that other thing. You not knowing me. ... Both of us not knowing each other, really.

[The fact he caught the partial math joke does make Peter laugh a little.]

Yeah, I'd- I like to change that too. I know you guys mostly know me because of Spider-Man stuff, but, there is other stuff we can talk about too. [He's a bit more tentative with that sentiment, almost a little shy.]

I'd like that a lot. You wanna have a seat, stay for a while? Or d'you have somewhere else t' be?

[he knows certain topics might come up, but he's prepared to politely deflect them: he doesn't want to discuss May or anything related to his or Otto's recent past until they're both present]

No, no I don't really have anywhere else to be. [The teenager moves to settle back down in the seat he had been in previously, smiling at Norman still]

Uh, tell me about you-? Whatever you want to talk about I mean.

Edited 2022-06-15 03:46 (UTC)

Me, huh?

[despite having invited this conversation, Norman's not really sure where to start. he folds up the shirt and moves to put it in his bureau, along with the handful of others he's bought and is carefully rotating between loads of laundry. it's the only informal one he's got, aside from a black polo shirt with a few horizontal stripes of green across the chest]

Well, uh ... back home - my world, I mean - I ran a company that dealt primarily in pharmaceuticals, but did some related mechanical engineering once in a while for extra revenue.

[Peter nods a little, smiling back.] That probably kept you pretty busy. I don't really know a lot about pharmaceuticals, but I can guess the industry is like, really big.

Were those your only two divisions-? [At least in his world, companies tend to over extend themselves pretty quick to try and compete with Stark Industries.]

Yeah. To be perfectly honest, the engineering was only originally s'posed ta be for medical equipment, but ... when things got a little tight at one point I had to diversify our output to keep us from going under to a competitor.

[he pauses, thinking about the days he spent scrambling from phone call to phone call. even the blockier car phones were yet to be, and he'd switch between living in the lab or his home office, constantly revising schematics or pleading with investors and board members, trying to make them see his vision. as stressful as the memories are, he beams proudly, not feeling any shame in it, not for this]

Turned out so well that we bought them. ... It's how we got the military's attention and landed a couple of contracts. I wish we hadn't had to go that far ... but ... if I have my way I can restart Oscorp here, and keep it the way it was supposed to be.

[he frowns a little] Dr. O'Deorain disappearing puts a bit of a stumbling block there... she was going to share her findings on species DNA so I could try and make medicines to combat some folks' symptoms, maybe even lessen the hunger.

I mean, a lot of industries and companies get swallowed up by the war machine our system kinda turned into. [Dating MJ and being a modern teenager means Peter is fairly aware of more than a few things.] You guys were just trying to survive in a space where it's pretty hard to manage that. I'm glad you were okay, even if it's not quite what you wanted for the company.

[Peter brightens a little at that line of thought.] Oh man, I hope you can get back on that-? It'd be really nice to give people here some kind of reprieve.

You're incredibly enlightened for someone your age.

[he can't help but wonder if His Parker would have had the same thoughts. he was a brilliant scientist, but socially and in terms of the bigger picture, he was pretty blind. Norman is, to say the least, impressed]

If I can, you've got a job if you want it. I'm going to need someone to help me with engineering the centrifuges and such. But that's a ways down the line. Something to think about. ... What did you want to do with yourself, Peter? You know, before ...

[he mimes climbing a wall. please stick a 'dork' sign on his back someday when he's not looking]

I love threat threads yay

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just pulls this icon out again, its fiiine

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