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[certaininequities]

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Comments

[certaininequities]

[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?

just pulls this icon out again, its fiiine

[heyunderoos]

[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.

[certaininequities]

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.

[heyunderoos]

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.]

[certaininequities]

[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.]

[heyunderoos]

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.]

[certaininequities]

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.

[heyunderoos]

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?

[certaininequities]

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.

[heyunderoos]

[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.]

[certaininequities]

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]

[heyunderoos]

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.

[certaininequities]

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.

[heyunderoos]

[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.]

[certaininequities]

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.

[heyunderoos]

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.

[certaininequities]

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]

[heyunderoos]

Well, a lot of people my age think about this stuff. MJ especially, she talks about late stage captalism, rallies, that kinda stuff. After the snap, blip, whatever you want to call it- a lot of society kinda fell apart. When everyone came back from death, it made everything fall apart again. I couldn't really not do something as Peter or Spider-Man.

[Peter attributes a lot of the awareness to MJ. Though teenagers his age in his time period are very aware of things that need to be fixed. He could be a lot more aware, but kept his focus on New York.]

Yeah, I'd be happy to help! I'm not an expert or anything, but I can definitely help!

[He snorts a little at the miming of climbing. Sadly, both of them are dorks, so they'd both need the sign slapped on their backs.] Uh, before the spider bite, I thought a lot about chemical engineering? Maybe mechanical engieering. I liked both a lot. Ned and I were in robotics club together before I quit.

[certaininequities]

[he mouths the words 'late stage capitalism' in a kind of wonder. maybe the kids really are alright. it's the sort of things that he, Jonah, Otto, Rosie - and yes, even Caroline - used to sit up talking about over cheap beer in the common room of the Columbia dormitories. none of them had been rally people, and in the 70s most of the rallies had died down, but they had all had their eyes on the zeitgeist and were planning their moves accordingly, trying to figure out how to tame the wild world so that they could saddle it themselves and ride off into the sunset. it had been so long ago, and for a moment his heart aches. what they could have all been...versus where they all were now. thankfully, Peter's offer of help jars him back to the present]

Both of those are things I'd be happy to help you learn more of here, y'know. They're completely in my wheelhouse. Why'd you quit the club? Because of the bite...? Or somethin' else?

cw: bullying mention, sexual harrassment based nickname

[heyunderoos]

[Peter nods a little at that, his large dumbo rat ears flopping a little with the motion. His usual embarrassment towards the bigger ears is sidetracked at the moment.]

Otto did say that was more stuff you could tackle. He and I talked about my spider-man equipment and my web formula. I was trying to refine it since it doesn't seem to be working here? So, I'd definitely like to learn from you on both fields. [Okay, back on topic, Peter, back on topic.]

Yeah, I quit Robotics along with Band initially because of the spider bite, and new superpowers. I didn't do it for really good reasons then, I thought I could be cool like Ironman, and I'd stop being called 'penis parker' by Flash.

Then, [His smile wanes just a little.] Ben died a bit after. So, my priorities changed again to less... selfish reasons. I never really picked either activity back up.

[certaininequities]

[his face lights up as though Peter had just called him 'Dad' or something. but then Peter adds something that confuses him, and two more things which just plain make him upset]

Teenagers are always going to come up with terrible nicknames. Sometimes I wonder if it's a rite of passage. ... I'm sorry about your uncle. The Peter I know lost his, too. I don't know much about it, only what Harry was able to tell me.

[he reaches out and puts a broad, warm, reassuring hand on Peter's shoulder] Y'must miss him every day. It was like that when I lost my mother.

[heyunderoos]

I can't really get too mad at him, Flash is kind of lonely. He's just lashing out at someone he thinks is an easier target. [Peter shrugs a little at the thought, but tries to brighten his wane smile at the reassurance. It's not perfect, but he's trying.

The offered comfort of a hand on the shoulder also helps.] Yeah, there are... a lot of days where its worse than others. May and I usually would figure out the bad days together.

[certaininequities]

Well ... for what it's worth, if you ever have one of those here ... you can come talk to me, or Otto. We've both lost family.

[heyunderoos]

[Peter nods at that, running a hand through his hair. He appreciates the sentiment, even if a small part of him feels guilty for possibly imposing on either man. It isn't logical, but most emotions aren't.] I- thank you, I'll keep it in mind.

[He blows out a short laugh, the sound is a bit too airy in an attempt to shift the mood back.] Sorry, I made everything super awkward. We were talking about you and I kinda derailed it.

[certaininequities]

Th' conversation was meant t' be about both of us, Peter.

[his reminder is gentle, even though he's smiling a bit, amused.]

Honestly, don't worry about it. Here, your turn to ask me something.