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Harry Osborn was adamant about change. His whole life had been carefully constructed into a never ending routine of work, work, and more work. Each day was just like the last, and Harry knew that every day after would be exactly the same. It gave him a sense of security.
To keep up with his heavy workload, Harry replaced his sleeping and eating habits with a daily dosage of coffee. An unforeseen presence from above seemed to have cursed him on an early Wednesday morning, and alas, the coffee machine in his penthouse had unfortunately burned out.
Already running behind schedule, Harry only shook his head angrily at the useless coffee machine and waved off the incident. On the way out of his home, Harry stashed a couple extra dollars in his jacket pocket and closed the front door, deciding that maybe trying something different wouldn't hurt him or his busy schedule too bad. Harry was the CEO of Oscorp, so if he was late, who was going to punish him? Himself?
As Harry took the elevator down to the main lobby of his building, he decided that he was going to stop at the first coffee shop he came across. It didn't matter to him the quality and prestige of the establishment, just as long as Harry got his daily dose of what would provide the only energy he'd get to make it through a day of meetings and paperwork.
When Harry walked along the streets of New York, he saw several other businessmen entering and exiting a building a few buildings down, most of them with disposable coffee cups in hand. Harry sped up his pace and ducked into the building, following the hoard of other people like himself.
The inside of the building had a warm, comfortable aroma that most coffee shops carried. Like Harry had originally thought, the business was made up of mostly men in dressy attire, probably fetching a quick cup before heading off to work like Harry was. Even though the place was packed, the workers did their jobs fast, and before he knew it, Harry was at the front of the line.
Harry was greeted by a boy about his age, decked out in a white t shirt and a pair of black jeans (which all the other workers were wearing too, but it seemed to fit this boy's style perfectly). His eyes were hidden behind a pair of wide framed glasses, and the chocolate colored irises matched his tussled hair.
Then Harry realizes that the boy (Peter, according to his name tag) must have asked him what he wanted to order while Harry was too busy ogling his face.
"Oh, uh, I'll just take a regular coffee," Harry said, hesitating before he spoke.
Peter gave him his total and while Harry handed over the sum, Peter said, "Have you ever been here before? I've never seen you around," Harry shook his head, and then Peter spoke again, "Sorry if that sounded creepy, I just try to make it a point to remember our customers, and I definitely would have remembered you."
Harry blushed, which was something stranger to him, but then again, he was in a coffee shop at seven in the morning. Things were bound to be different.
"Well, I'm Harry, for the record." Harry smiled cockily, offering his hand to the boy for a handshake. Peter obliged, and met Harry's arm with a surprisingly strong grip.
"Nice to meet you, hopefully I'll see you around more often, but unfortunately, I have another customer to take," Peter said, and Harry nodded, stepping out of the way over to the side.
While Harry was waiting for his order, Peter switched out with another coworker so he could start making the coffee, probably for a reason completely unrelated to Harry's presence.
A short wait later, Peter called out Harry's name from the counter with the white cup of coffee in his hand. Peter handed it over with a smile and a wink, and just as quick as it happened, Peter was returning to his job.
Harry held back his smile as he rushed out of the coffee shop and out the exit, and maybe he stole a glance at Peter on the way out. Maybe.
It wasn't until Harry had reached the crosswalk that he noticed something unusual on his cup. Beneath Harry's name, written in black sharpie, was an arrow, and that arrow pointed down to a small collection of pre typed words.
Where the temperature warning would usually be, a tampered version of the writing remained. Words were marked out in black, and left one simple sentence. "Careful, you're extremely hot."
This automatically brought thoughts of Peter back into Harry's mind (not like they had simmered since Harry had left the coffee shop, though). Harry's insides tingled and he checked his watch, seeing that he was already late, but, seriously, when did something like this ever happen to Harry Osborn?
With this thought, Harry took off in a full fledged sprint in the opposite direction, letting the adrenaline of a new crush overtake his body with every step he took. Harry hoped that Peter's shift wouldn't end by time he got back, and that the boy with the chiseled jaw and the dreamiest eyes he had ever seen would still be beaming behind the counter.
In record breaking time, Harry skidded to a stop outside of the coffee shop, adjusting himself to where he looked like he hadn't just run the entire journey back.
Harry pushed open the doors and his eyes immediately flew to the counter, where, thankfully, Peter still remained. Peter shifted his gaze to the door for a millisecond, but Harry recognized the smirk that now danced across his lips.
The line was shorter this time, so Harry didn't have to wait long before speaking to Peter again.
When Harry was next, he held up the cup and pointed to the secret message Peter had left him. "Clever," He said.
"I try my best," Peter smiled, "So did you come all the way back just to tell me that or were you planning to ask me out on a date?"
Peter's exuberance caused Harry to grin, and then he replied, "I'd be crazy if I didn't. What time do you get off for lunch?"
"Noon."
"Convenient, so do I." Harry claimed, even though he could literally take off any time he wanted because he was the CEO, but Peter didn't have to know that, yet. "I'll meet you back here and then we can figure out where to go."
"Sounds like a plan," Peter grinned, "I'll see you then."
Harry nodded and went off with a wave, butterflies still afloat in his tummy.
Maybe change wasn't so bad after all.