Chapter Text
Peter’s patrol had been going rather boringly.
He’d been circling over the same area the whole week, there’d been a string of muggings going on and the perpetrators had so far evaded capture. Peter hadn’t seen heads or tails of them, spending his time studying or idly snacking. They weren’t the most important thing in the world, but they’d been targeting particularly vulnerable people and Peter was keen on stopping them before they hurt anyone else.
“Incoming video call from Tony Stark,” Karen chimed, a small image of a sleeping Tony appeared at the bottom of the screen. It’d been a picture Peter took of him one evening when he’d fallen at one of his lab tables. In the bigger photo, you could even see a puddle of drool coming from his mouth, it was one Peter cherished greatly.
“Answer.” Peter waited until Tony’s face filled his screen, an image of the man standing in front of a wide area of windows, the morning sun strong behind him. It was in great contrast to the dark evening Peter found himself in. “Hiya.”
“Hey kiddo, out and about?”
“Yeah, but it’s been super slow. Trying to find those stupid muggers who’ve been targeting people on 18th street. They must have gotten wind of me being around, haven’t seen them all week.”
“You should be happy, bad guys being scared away by Spider-man,” Tony responded with a wide grin on his face. He moved a few steps away from the window, letting Peter see the large hotel suite behind him. “How’s everything else?”
“Good,” Peter answered. “Got 115% on the physics quiz you helped me study for. The American Lit group project is close to being finished but I haven’t really started on the history one.”
“When’s that due?
The weirdness of Tony Stark caring about his assignments was still a little hard to get over. Not only did Tony care, but he frequently helped Peter and Ned work on things. He wasn’t going to lie, having a genius look over your homework had its benefits. The only downside was Tony’s insistence that he finish most or all homework before he patrolled.
“I think in two weeks. Don’t worry, it’s Ned and me, we’ll get it finished. He’s coming over on Saturday to start.”
“Why don’t the two of you come to the Tower instead? I’ll feed you copious amounts of food and we can give May a break from having two teenagers bounding around the apartment.”
The weirdness of just how easily Tony invited him over was also hard to get over. But he wasn’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth. “Yeah, sure, Ned will be thrilled. I’ll ask May when I get home tonight.”
“Good, good, but uh, Pete, there’s a reason why I’m calling, actually.”
And there it was.
Peter knew this wasn’t just a check-in, Tony had been out in China for over a week now for SI business and while he received texts from the man, this was the first phone call. He knew Tony wouldn’t just call from halfway around the world just to ask about homework. There had to be a pretty serious reason for his phone call.
“Alright, what’s up?” Peter braced himself for the news he had been waiting for.
“They’re moving Osborn off the Raft. His pain in the ass lawyers finally managed to convince some judge he was worthy of a trial. They didn’t post bail yet, he’ll still be behind bars, but they are moving him at the end of the week.”
The news didn’t come as a surprise, not really.
It became pretty clear to Peter, despite what Tony kept insisting, that there was no way they could keep Norman in the Raft. They just weren’t holding him there on any specific charges, he was never actually arrested and never given any kind of fair trial, to begin with. While SHIELD had some ways of keeping certain types of criminals behind bars without the need for actual law and order, Peter knew this would never be the case for someone like Norman Osborn.
They had to convict him on something, but there was nothing they could stick on him. If they wanted to convict him on kidnapping and attempted murder, there was no way to avoid releasing Peter’s identity to the world. Even if they tried to keep it closed, there was no way it wouldn’t get leaked to the press.
Without those charges, all they had were what Peter had done under his hand. Peter refused to let Tony push the blame on Norman, no matter how much the many insisted. There was no way Peter could live with himself if he let someone else go to prison for his crimes, no matter what the circumstances.
“Okay,” Peter said, swallowing down the bile that had risen in his throat. The memories were always hovering in the back of his mind, like a bad dream that just wouldn’t go away. No matter how far away physically he was from Norman Osborn, the man seemed to find a way to take up enough space in Peter’s mind.
“I’m sorry, Peter. I swear that he’s just a slimy bastard but we’re going to take him down. I’m doing everything I can to work with SHIELD and the prosecutors on this. We’ve already got some things lined up and ready to go. There’s no way he’s walking out of a jail cell at this point, I promise you that.”
“What is he being charged with?” Peter asked, hoping Tony would actually give him real details. Tony was trying his best to shield Peter from as much of it as he could, but the coverage was everywhere. Norman had only been arrested a little less than 3 months ago, the news was still very much covering the front pages.
He’d been right, there was no way the world was just going to accept Norman Osborn disappearing behind some shady government dealings. It only took a week before details started to emerge and then once the world knew it was SHIELD behind the charges and Norman was in the Raft, no one talked about anything else. Norman wasn’t helping either, his lawyers were constantly appearing on the news, giving press conferences, and pushing the narratives of Norman being a framed, innocent man. It didn’t help that information leaked about Tony’s involvement in Norman’s prison stay. If Oscorp was getting bad press, Stark Industries was also being looked at for trying to bury a competitor.
“I don’t know the legalese,” Tony started. Peter heard a voice off-camera and Tony held up a finger at Peter, turning his head to call out something in Mandarin before coming back. “Sorry, kid. Anyway, they were able to uncover some white collar crimes, OSHA violations, and other dealings. We’re trying to provide the prosecution with enough evidence that doesn’t mean compromising your identity. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it will be enough.
“Okay,” Peter repeated, feeling a little off balance, but really not wanting Tony to notice. There was no reason for him to be worried, Norman was still in jail at the moment. He was still far away from Peter and if for some reason, he’d get out, he was still safe. He trusted that Tony would do whatever it took to keep him safe. The thought terrified him just a little, knowing the extent he would go, but it was comforting all the same.
“I wish it was different, you know that right kid? I wish I could throw him in the deepest darkest cave and never let him out. He doesn't deserve this trial and you don’t deserve to have to relive all the shit you’ve worked hard to get past. Don’t worry right now, okay? I’ll be home at the end of the week, you and Ned will be over for homework and pizza on Saturday, and hell, I’ll talk to May you can stay the night and we’ll do our lab day on Sunday. Just a nice, quiet weekend, there will be nothing to even worry about.
“Thanks, Tony,” he responded genuinely, just as Tony turned his head away again, speaking in Mandarin a little louder than before. He could barely hear the response of the other person but it seemed to annoy Tony just a little bit.
He turned back to Peter, his eyes in the middle of rolling. “Gotta go, kid. I’ll see you in a few days. Text me if you need anything.”
“Bye,” Peter said softly, Tony gave him one last smile before the screen went to black and Karen informed him the call had ended.
--
“I think you should just leak the whole Norman is the Green Goblin thing,” Ned said in a hushed voice, peering over the phone he’d just been reading from. “Just leak some video of him doing the crazy stuff. That will totally sway public opinion against him. And it’s not like people don’t already think he is. It doesn’t even have to be convincing either, you know how the public is.”
There was really never anything that hinted at Norman being the Green Goblin, but after his mysterious prison sentence to the Raft, many people had put two and two together. Conspiracy theories were rampant, splashing all over message boards and the comment section of many articles. No one was doing anything to refute the claims, which just served to make things worse. Tony kept insisting they just don’t bring it up, the less they talked about it, the less chance anything came out. Peter was on board for the idea too, but it was still a little hard to see so much of the Green Goblin everywhere.
Ned had just finished reading a Bugle article to him, trying to insist that Spider-man was actually the Green Goblin and not Norman Osborn and that it was Spider-man to blame for the entire thing and Norman had just been trying to stop him. Peter hated how close to the truth the article felt. He was even a little concerned that someone at the Bugle had some kind of insider information about the whole thing.
“But it wasn’t him,” Peter insisted. “And if people find out that Tony lied about it, even to protect me, it’ll be worse. As much as I hate it, I think we’re better off just not saying anything.”
“I think it’s almost worse with the speculation,” Ned said, taking a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. “Someone’s going to start snooping you know. It didn’t take Happy very long to uncover Mason Banks stuff. All it takes is someone to look a little harder and then everything will come out. It’s always so much worse when people find out you’ve been lying.”
Ned was not telling him anything new, Peter had all of that sitting in the back of his mind almost 24/7. But he had to trust Tony and his decisions, they were the ones made with Peter’s best interest in mind and if Tony didn’t believe he could keep the information secret, then he wouldn’t have suggested it.
“And Tony’s ready for it. He’s got the… real footage all locked away. There’s no way it can get out, even if someone goes looking for it. And they’re ready to place the blame on the Mason Banks alias if they need to. Tony wouldn’t tell me any real details, but I guess they feel confident in using it if something comes up. Tony’s done everything he can not to link anything back to either me or Norman.”
Peter wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more, himself or Ned. Of course, he’d be worried about the possibility of people realizing it was him who’d done all those things. The guilt still ate away at him, even more so knowing that Tony and SHIELD were ready to lie for him.
“I still don’t know why they couldn’t go after him about Dr. Raxton’s murder.”
“Yeah well,” Peter said in a loud sigh. He hated talking about what happened with Dr. Raxton, no matter what the context. “That’s what I said too. But SHIELD doesn’t want to release any footage of … the Green Goblin or anything. They can’t prove Norman murder anyone without opening up the possibility of the Green Goblin evidence. It’s… it’s stupid and it’s annoying but I dunno,” Peter finished with a shrug. “Ye Ole Parker Luck strikes again.”
“You even try to say this is really all of your fault, I’m throwing my pudding in your face,” Ned said sternly, holding the little plastic cup of pudding. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Ned,” Peter whined but held his tongue. It seemed everyone in his life got roped into trying to stop all of his self deprecation. It didn’t always work, but he was at least trying to make an effort to listen to them.
“You know very well that you’re the victim here and that you did nothing to cause this to happen,” Ned said, a stern look across his face. “Eat your lunch,” he commented, pointing to Peter’s uneaten sandwich.
“Geez, yes Mom,” Peter joked but went for his food. “Are you going to be my guy in the chair tonight?”
Ned let out a sigh, frowning a little. “Don’t think I’ll get the chance. Lola wants to have a family dinner, no phones allowed. You’re invited too, you know. She told me the other day that you don’t come around enough anymore.”
As appealing as it sounded, Peter shook his head. “Nah, I’m hoping to get the jump on those muggers. Since it’s my usual night off, I want to give them the element of surprise.”
“Just be careful,” Ned responded in a very mother hen tone.
“When am I not careful?” Peter countered, with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “Careful is basically my middle name.”
Ned stared at him, eyebrow raising. “Uh uh, sure.”
“Thanks,” Peter deadpanned. “Your faith in me really lights my way, Ned. Don’t know what I would do if you weren’t there, constantly supporting me.”
Ned stuck his tongue out, which Peter just as maturely returned before diving back into his sandwich.
-
One of the very last things Peter was expecting was seeing an email from Harry Osborn waiting for him when woke the next morning.
The email address looked legit, looked the same as all of the other emails he’d gotten from Oscorp and he had no reason to believe it was fake.
Dear Mr. Peter Parker,
My name is Harry Osborne and it’s come to my attention that you’ve had correspondence with my father, Norman Osborn the previous year. I would like to extend to you a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the nature of this correspondence. Please respond with your availability, so we may work something out.
Thank you,
Harry Osborn
Peter read it over three times before getting out of bed and tossing his phone aside. He could ignore it, maybe it was spam or maybe it was Norman Osborn trying to play some kind of trick on him. He didn’t think Norman had access to email but that didn’t mean his lawyers didn’t. The whole thing was devoid of personality, so formal and even a little off putting.
If it really was Harry contacting him, who knew what type of information he might want from Peter. In fact, who knew what information he might have already had on Peter. Maybe Norman had hidden information on Peter’s identity somewhere and Harry wants to confirm it? Maybe he wants revenge on what happened to his Dad? Or maybe he knows nothing and is just curious as to why Norman had reached out to him in the first place. Maybe he thought Peter was a secret long lost half brother or something?
There were a million options, both good and bad as to why Harry would reach out to Peter. And probably a million reasons, that Peter either should or shouldn't respond back.
After showering he considered asking Tony about it but knew without a single doubt the answer. Tony made it pretty crystal clear that he’d burn down the world to keep Norman Osborn away from him. And when Tony was that determinedly stubborn about something, there was no way he’d consider it. It didn't matter that it wasn’t Norman, Tony wouldn't want him anywhere near the Osborn name. He was pretty sure if the Oscorp building was up for sale, Tony would buy it just so Peter didn’t have to see the name in the city’s skyline.
May would most likely side with Tony, although she might think it’s worth it. As much as May believes in people and their inherited goodness, she also wouldn’t want Peter to be hurt. She might consider telling Peter to set up the meeting at the Tower or convince him to meet Harry with Tony too. Just because Norman turned out rotten, didn’t mean Harry was like that too. She wouldn’t judge Harry too harshly, not until she had reason to believe he was up to no good.
He knew Ned would be skeptical too, probably try and hack into Oscorp to see if the email was real or if they had any dirt on Peter. He didn’t want that either, and couldn't put his best friend in harm's way anymore. Couldn’t risk anything that might cause problems for the trial either, if someone caught wind of Ned hacking into Oscorp, for any reason.
“You look distracted, everything okay?” May asked, as they sat at the breakfast table before they both left for the day. His half eaten bagel was in one of his hands and without realizing it, he’d been staring at his phone on the table next to his plate.
“Um, yeah, I’m fine, sorry.”
“If this is about Osborn’s upcoming trial…” May trailed softly, giving him the very best comfort smile she always had. Reaching over, she put a piece of hair behind his ear lovingly. “I know this is scary for you and a little uncomfortable, having the possibility of Osborn getting out of jail. But I promise you something, Pete, I’ll always be here to keep you safe. I know I don’t have a shiny, fancy suit of armor, but that’s never going to stop me from trying to protect you.”
Peter laughed. “Honestly May, I don’t think you even need a suit of armor to save the world, in any case, I’m sure Tony would make you one if you asked.”
“He offered once, you know,” she said with a light hearted laugh. “Right after I discovered you were Spider-man. It was after I threatened his life if he didn’t do everything in his power to protect you, he offered to build me my own suit if I wanted to go out and patrol with you.”
The thought of May in an Iron Man type suit made him laugh, not because he didn’t think she was worthy of it, but because he knew she would probably cause just as much havoc as she would prevent it. It warmed his heart knowing May would totally come out to protect him, even if he was the one with actual powers. “Thanks, May, I love you but you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine, okay? The trial.. I saw it coming a mile away. It’s not bothering me.”
“I love you too, Peter, always and forever, you got it? If you need anything, just tell me. If you want to go on vacation for a bit when the trail starts, we can do that. You don’t need to try and put on a brave face about this either, alright? It’s just me and you, baby.”
“I’m fine, really. I know Tony’s going to keep him in jail, possibly forever. And on the off chance he gets out, I know Tony will keep him again. I’m not… I’m not really scared of him,” Peter insisted, although he really wasn’t sure if he meant it anymore. Norman’s trial did bring up old feelings and now Harry is reaching out.… well, it seemed like Peter wasn’t going to get rid of the Osborn family anytime soon.
May got up, walking over and pulling Peter against her stomach, arms wrapped around his shoulders. “If you insist, baby, but I’m here if you need to talk.”
“Thanks, May.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes, before she let go, walking over to dump her coffee mug in the sink, as Peter went back to his bagel.
-
It wasn’t until Peter was sitting in 1st period almost an hour later that he made the decision.
He figured since he at least thought about what the others would say, it counted just as much as actually asking them. It was obvious that everyone was really worried about him, he didn’t really want to add to it. If he could just quietly contact and speak to Harry, it might be a good way to close the door on that part of his life. He wouldn’t have to keep wondering if he should have, or what could have happened if he never did.
Typing a short reply, he agreed to meet Harry, giving him a few days and times to choose from. He didn’t include anything else in the text, not wanting to give anything away.
“Ohh,” Ned whispered from his right side, leaning a little closer to him at their shared lab table. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
“What?” Peter’s eyebrows raised, head tilting. “What look?”
“Like you did or are about to do something really, really, stupid.”
“What?” Peter blanched, slightly in mock surprise. “I do not have a face!”
“Yeah, Pete, sorry but you do. I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re doing something dumb and just a second ago? You had the dumb face.”
“Mr. Leeds?” Mrs. Warren’s voice broke through their conversation. “Do you have something you’d like to share with the whole class and not just Mr. Parker?”
Flash let out a loud laugh, which won Mrs. Warren’s glare in return, as Ned sat up straight in his chair, moving away from Peter. “No, Mrs. Warren. I was just asking to borrow an erase, that’s all.”
Peter pushed over the one sitting next to him, despite the fact that Ned had been typing his notes and not writing them. Mrs. Warren seemed happy with the answer and went back to the board, continuing her lecture.
The interruption was enough to distract Ned from asking anymore questions. Peter was surprised to see a reply back before the period ended, offering to meet up next Saturday at a small cafe closer to Queens than it was to Oscorp. Harry must have an idea as to where Peter lived if he made the offer, it was clearly out of his way.
“Don’t make me get an ‘I told you so’ ready,” Ned said, as they packed up their things when class ended. “You don’t have to tell me what you did, but at least be careful.”
Peter didn’t respond, but a part of him really hoped Ned wouldn’t have to either.
-
Walking into the small cafe, Peter got hit with a sense of deja vu.
It wasn’t the same cafe he’d met Dr. Raxton at but he had the same nervous anxiety about meeting with Harry Osborn. He didn’t really know what to expect and he feared that Tony would somehow learn about the meeting and storm in, guns blazing.
He didn’t have to lie to anyone about where he was, May was out with Happy and Tony was busy all day. Neither of them specifically asked Peter if he was meeting his sworn enemies only son for coffee, so he simply didn’t tell them what he had planned for the day. May knew he was going out, but he was vague enough that it really could have meant he was doing anything. There was a part of him that regretted not telling anyone, just in case this was one big trap, but he felt confident enough that it wasn’t, or that he could get out if he needed to.
He didn’t take his web shooters, too nervous that Harry would notice them, but he was more than just his shooters anyways.
It took him a moment to see Harry sitting at a table towards the back. He’d seen a few photos of him, in some of the articles about Norman, but it was his near identical appearance to Norman that really did it for Peter. He had the same face shape, dark brown eyes, and much to Peter's dismay, shared the same straight lined smile as he arrived at the table.
As he moved closer, it seemed that Harry knew exactly who he was, getting up from the table before Peter arrived. When he did so, Harry had his hand extended out, greeting him with a much warmer looking smile. “Hi, Peter, it’s nice to meet you.”
Taking a second to shake his hand before he sat down, Peter nodded. “Nice to meet you too, Harry.”
Unlike the feeling Peter had with Norman, there was none with Harry. His spider sense was perfectly dormant, providing absolutely no hint of possible danger. Taking a relaxing breath, he settled into the chair a little better. He couldn’t get himself to look Harry in the eye, so he looked slightly to his right, hoping it was good enough.
“Thank you for coming to meet me, I can understand any concern you might feel.” Harry gestured his head towards the coffee bar behind Peter. “If you’d like something, feel free. Just let them know it’s on my tab.”
“Oh, no,” Peter said, eyeing the glass of ice water Harry must have brought to the table for him. “I’m fine.”
Truth be told, Peter didn’t think he could accept food or drink from any Osborn for the rest of his life. He tried to smile at Harry, not to look so terrified of the offer. “Thank you anyways.”
“Of course. So uh, I know this is kind of out of nowhere, and thank you again, for coming, I know the email I sent was very vague. There’s still so much interest in what’s going on at Oscorp, I didn't want to risk our emails with each other leaking. I know Stark’s working hard to keep your name out of everything.”
“Oh yeah, well, I really have nothing to do with what’s uh, going on with N-, your Dad. I only met with him at Oscorp twice …,” he trailed a little unsure suddenly as to how much information Harry might have about the whole thing.
Harry let out a laugh, so unlike his Dad’s, it took Peter by surprise. “Pete, really, don’t worry. I know you’ve got no reason to believe me, but I’m not Norman. That guy’s an asshole, I really just wanted to apologize for how that guy treated you.”
There was a moment where Peter feared that Harry knew exactly what Norman had done to him, he opened his mouth ready to deny everything but found himself not having to. “I know you only came to learn about your Dad and he seemingly dicked you around. I wanted to offer all of your Dad’s work if you still wanted it. I’ve been doing a little house cleaning and realized all the stuff Norman was keeping from you. Dr. Connors even mentioned you had come by and he thought Norman was being a bit of an asshole about things. You deserve to have unlimited access to whatever you want in terms of what your Dad’s done. In the least, as an apology for Norman’s asshole behavior.”
Maybe a year ago Peter would have still jumped at the chance, but he’d spent a lot of time with James, talking about the life his parents had led. While knowing what was going on at Oscorp might have been nice, he just simply didn’t need it anymore.
“I’m good, honestly but thank you. I uh, I really just wanted to know what he’d done and I got more than enough information now.”
Unlike his Father, the answer didn’t seem to bother Harry, he simply shrugged, reaching for his coffee cup and taking a sip. “Alright by me. If you ever change your mind, feel free to reach out.” He pulled something from his pocket, pushing it along the table to Peter. “Personal number, text, call, whatever. If you don’t mind, if you do need to reach me I’d prefer it not be through Oscorp. As I said, I don’t want to risk Stark’s wrath by getting his protégé involved in anything.”
Reaching over, Peter took the business card from the table, giving it a glance before putting it in his pocket. “Thanks.”
Feeling as if the conversation was over, Peter attempted to push his chair away but Harry asked another question. "You go to Midtown, don’t you?”
“Uh, yeah,” Peter answered, sitting back in his chair nervously. There wasn’t a lot of information about Peter Parker online, Tony made sure of it. It wouldn’t have been very hard for Harry to find it, but his interest was piqued as to why Harry would want to find it in the first place.
“Sorry, don’t mean to sound like a stalker. I googled you, honestly. Knew you had to be pretty smart for Stark to be interested in you.” He shrugged casually. “I went to some stupid private school,” he added, not sounding anything like a brag. “Graduated a little early, couldn’t wait to get out there if I’m being honest.”
Not expecting a friendly conversation, Peter was a little thrown off. He didn’t usually do very well in random small talk to begin with, but with Harry it was even more startling. He really didn’t know anything about the boy in front of him. He regretted not looking up even the smallest bit of info before coming out here.
The only thing Peter could think about was the stark contrast between the way Harry spoke to him than the way Norman had always talked to him. He had the feeling that Harry didn’t really want anything from him, wasn’t expecting Peter’s compliance, and most importantly, didn’t seem like he had any alternative motive.
So he let himself relax back into his chair. “Oh, know what college you’re going to?”
Harry laughed, a warm genuine laugh, adding a roll of his eyes at the end. “I can tell you the school everyone else wants me to go to. But honestly, I’m not that keen on even going to college. What about you? I’m sure Stark is pushing you into going to MIT.”
Peter laughed. “Yeah, he’s pretty excited about it. It was always my first choice anyway, but he’s being… a little extra about it. I’m only just starting my junior year now, so I’ve got some time before I need to worry about it, I guess.”
“You think that,” Harry said, with a smile. “But just you wait, people will make you feel like you should have started doing this in the 1st grade. It’s amazing just how much people push college onto you, especially when they think they know best for you.”
“My uncle used to say that,” Peter said, a fond memory coming to the surface. “Well, complain about it actually. When I got into Midtown there was all this stuff about getting in college and he said it was too soon. Said I should enjoy being a kid for as long as I could before I’m faced with the uncertainty of college.”
Laughing, Harry nodded. “Wise man! I say enjoy your youth while you’ve still got it!”
“You’re like my age,” Peter said laughing, feeling at ease with Harry.
“Ah yes, but take it from me young padawan, I’ve seen your future. I’m a “protégé” of Norman’s, I know exactly what that means. College followed by endless boring board meetings with little time for actual fun. Although, since you’ve got Stark I’m sure he’ll make time for you in his labs. That’s the one thing I envy most about you, Peter, your mentor actually gives a shit and wants you to succeed.”
Harry took a sip of his coffee, but before Peter could reply he shook his head with another laugh. “Sorry, sorry. You don’t need to hear about my daddy issues all day long. I’ll let you enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for coming out again, I appreciate it.”
The abrupt end to their friendly conversation was a bit odd, but Peter pushed back from the table anyways, getting up. “Yeah, sure, I’ll see you around.”