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It's Valentine's day, and it's also the first Valentine's day Norman and Otto are celebrating as husbands. The two got married about a year after the whole multiverse debacle. Some protested their idea of getting married, saying it was too quick and they hadn't been together long enough. It was true, somewhat, that they weren't officially together, but the two had known each other since their college days. They had been pining after each other for years, both afraid to tell the truth, afraid to risk it all for the sake of true happiness.
All it took was the two of them being transported to a completely different universe, witnessing three different Spider-man's, and finally being cured, for them to reveal their feelings for each other.
But now they were back, they were home with their spider-man, and everything seemed to be going okay. This didn't mean the two didn't have their problems. Occasionally, Norman would have his night terrors and flashbacks of the Goblin taking over his mind, and every night Otto would hold him tight, whispering in his ear that the Goblin was gone and he was home. Otto's comforting words calmed Norman down for the time being, but when nightmares kept occurring and getting worse, they both knew Norman needed professional help.
So, while Norman was receiving healing through therapy sessions, Otto would be home, cooking a delicious dinner for the two of them while waiting for his husband to come home.
Norman would come home with a tired look planted on his face until he noticed the steaming, mouth-watering food on the kitchen counter that changed his drowsy expression into a bright smile. "How was it, sweetheart?" Otto would ask, hoping things were getting better with Norman.
"Well, I talked a lot and got a lot of solutions I might try. I honestly feel like I'm improving." Norman said, eyeing the plate of food he so desperately wanted.
"That's wonderful to hear Norman. Here, I made us dinner." Otto grabbed the two plates of food and sat them down on the kitchen table, walking around the tired Norman who kept his eyes set on his dinner.
"Come here," Otto grabbed Norman's tie, causing him to turn his gaze to his love-struck husband. Otto pulled him in closer and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
"I love you and I'm proud of you." Otto gave a comforting smile as he ran his hand through Norman's hair, providing the loving touch he desired. Norman looked up to Otto, who was towering over him, and expressed his love for him through another gentle kiss.
Norman was always appreciative of Otto's cooking; a plateful of various items of food was exactly what he needed after a long, but helpful, session of therapy.
This Valentine's day, all Norman wanted to do was make Otto a delicious meal and let him rest for once. Now, Norman wasn't the best cook, but he knew a few things here and there. He watched enough cooking shows on television to get by, however, when this idea was presented to Otto, he suggested that he should help Norman with dinner, because who knows what would happen if Norman was left in the kitchen by himself.
"Honey, I have a wonderful idea for this Valentine's day." Norman draped his arms over Otto who sat gently on their dark green couch. Otto turned to face Norman who stood right behind their couch, grinning widely at the sight of his husband.
"And what's that?" Otto continued to grin.
"I want to cook for you." Norman watched Otto's affectionate smile slowly turn into a confused frown. With his one eyebrow raised, Otto replied, "Oh, honey that's so thoughtful of you, but, um," Otto struggled to say what he needed to say, afraid to hurt Norman's feelings with the truth. "Well, Norman, you aren’t necessarily the best cook." Otto flinched and tensed his body, prepared for Norman to respond with a playful punch.
"Oh Otto I'm aware, but I just want to return the favor. You always cook for me. I want you to rest for the day and I'll do the cooking. Don't worry about it."
"Okay Norman, I love you and I'm so appreciative of what you're doing but you can't cook, and I really would love to fix you a wonderful Valentine's dinner." Otto attempted to cover up his concerned smile with a genuine smile, however, it only made him look even more nervous.
Norman didn't reply, which caused Otto to worry if he had hurt his feelings. He genuinely didn't mean to, he just knew that whatever Norman tried to cook would ultimately be a disaster. Norman continued to stay silent, his head slightly down as he fiddled with the loose string on the couch.
Then Otto figured it out, Norman wasn't hurt, he was guilt-tripping him, and it was working. Otto smiled to himself, thinking about the power Norman has over him. "Norman, I know what you're doing and fortunately for you, it's working."
Norman lifted his head up, revealing a cheeky smile that Otto couldn't resist. "Fine, you can cook but, I'm allowed to help you cook and I know that totally defeats the purpose but this is the compromise I'm offering."
"Sounds like a deal to me." Norman bit his lip and hurriedly ran over to the kitchen to look at the countless cookbooks that were stacked on the counter. "Ooh this is exciting, there are so many options!" Norman stared into the cookbooks with a look of a child on Christmas morning. Otto couldn't help but blush over his adorable husband, watching him flip through the cookbooks, picking out dishes he thinks Otto may like. Okay, maybe this isn't too bad of an idea. Otto thought for a moment.
Two days passed and the day finally arrived. Otto woke up to the blinding sun shining across his face, he rubbed his eyes to wipe the morning feeling off and looked over to his sleeping husband who lay beside him.
Otto couldn't help but reflect on how beautiful he was, every feature fitting perfectly, creating a flawless human. Perhaps it was Valentine's day spirit but Otto couldn't help but think about how lucky he was to be married to Norman Osborn.
Norman eventually woke up, only a few minutes after Otto had. He turned over to Otto, and with his bedhead and with his morning, groggy voice, he said, "Happy Valentine's Day my beautiful Otto Octavius."
"Happy Valentine's Day my darling," Otto replied. Otto's bottom-left mechanical arm grabbed the small gift from under the bed and placed it on Norman's lap.
Norman, eager to open up his present, leaned over to place a soft kiss on his husband's lips. "Thank you," He whispered.
Norman opened the present, smiling widely as he realized what it was. It was the classic, chocolate hearts along with a teddy bear that when you squeezed it, would say "I love you" in a high-pitched voice.
"This is so cliché," Norman said, his smile beaming.
"Oh shut it, you love cliché," Otto replied, biting his lip at the sight of his joyful husband.
"You're right, I love it." Norman leaned over to kiss Otto again, but this time it was in a more playful manner, like he was pouncing on his husband. They fell back onto the bed, Norman showering Otto with small kisses. "I love you so much," Norman said, looking down at Otto.
"I love you infinitely" Otto replied with a cheeky grin.
"There's no way you love me more than I love you. I love you infinitely, times 100."
"Norman, you went to MIT, you should know that statement makes no sense." Otto raised his eyebrow as his lips curled into a soft smile.
"Sometimes love doesn't make sense," Norman said as he bit his bottom lip, knowing that he definitely won this argument.
"Fine, you win. Let's just say we love each other the same." Otto then whispered, I love you more though, which Norman definitely heard. The two sat up again, facing each other, and both staring with lovestruck eyes.
Finally, Norman retrieved his gift from his bottom drawer, slowly handing it to Otto. He gave him a small box-shaped gift with light pink wrapping paper covering the item.
Otto gently tore the paper off, revealing a small navy blue box; he raised his eyebrow in wonder, thinking about what it possibly could be. As he slowly lifted the lid of the box, Otto let out a slight snicker, scrunching up his nose as he pulled the item out of the box. He held a stuffed green octopus in his arms while looking at Norman whose face revealed that he knew this gift was a wonderful idea.
"It's you!" Norman held out his arms and grinned widely.
"It's me," Otto looked at the bright green stuffed octopus that had an adorable cartoonish expression, "I love it," Otto kissed Norman to express his gratefulness, staring into his eyes and thinking how amazing his day was going so far.
The two of them began to get dressed and ready for the day; Otto putting on an old MIT sweatshirt and cargo pants and Norman staying in his sweatpants but dressing up his look with a casual blazer. Norman had decided to go to the store for the ingredients he needed for his perfect Valentine's dinner. Otto suggested he tag along, however, Norman told him to simply relax, which was something Otto wasn't used to doing.
It took Norman an abnormally long amount of time at the store, which worried Otto and made him think about all the possibilities and horrible outcomes that might've happened. Luckily, the sound of Norman opening the door of their house had ceased all negative thoughts running through Otto's mind.
Otto had been sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, waiting for the turn of the doorknob and for his husband to come home. Once he heard the door, he had immediately ran over to his husband, who had a bag of groceries in his hands, and brought him into a warm embrace.
"Norman! I was worried, what took you so long?" Otto said, his hands still planted on Norman's shoulders.
"Otto honey, I've never really had to go to the store before so this time was a little confusing for me. I had to ask like a hundred people where the vegetables were." Norman laughed slightly and then stopped once he realized Otto wasn't laughing along with him.
"Oh come on Otto, it took me a bit at the store, there was no need to be worried." Norman placed the groceries down on the kitchen counter and walked back over to Otto who had the same expression planted on his face. Norman placed his hand on Otto's face, cupping his cheek, and whispering, "I'll always be safe, I promise."
"I can't lose you Norman, I can't," Otto said, his voice slightly breaking.
"Oh honey, you won't ever lose me. I'm here and I'll always be here." Norman finally noticed a small smile forming on Otto's lips, providing a feeling of relief.
"Let's cook shall we," Norman softly stated, his hand still gently holding Otto's cheek. Otto slightly nodded, nervous yet excited for their cooking date.
"I've chosen the perfect dinner dish." Norman took out the cookbook he had been looking at these past two days and opened it up to the page he previously bookmarked.
"Creamy Tuscan Chicken," Norman stated, an immense smile forming on his face.
"Oh, I don't know Norman, that one is a little complicated." Otto nervously smiled, attempting to ease the situation.
"It'll be fine Otto. I already have the ingredients and besides, I've got you to help me."
"Alright then, I guess we can give it a shot." Otto kissed Norman's cheek and grabbed his apron that read, "In my defense, I was left unsupervised" which was a gift Norman had got him on his birthday last year.
Otto had grabbed the chicken from the fridge, "Okay, first we season the chicken with some salt and pepper."
"Okay, seems easy enough." Norman grabbed the salt and pepper from the overhead cabinet and began to pour a small amount onto the chicken. Meanwhile, Otto had turned on the stove to heat up some oil for the chicken. Norman had turned around to look at his adorable husband who loved to cook. He could see it in his eyes, it's like all of Otto's worries disappeared when he was cooking. Norman couldn't help but stare, however, this led to Norman accidentally dumping an excessive amount of salt and pepper onto the chicken. He attempted to scrape it off, but the damage was done.
"How are we doing over here?" Otto asked as he walked over to Norman who attempted to hide the overseasoned chicken.
"Absolutely fantastic." Norman lied.
"Great, when you're done, just place the chicken on the stove. The oil is already heated up, I'll start working on the sauce." Otto beamed, causing Norman to let out a small whimper. He saw how excited Otto was about cooking and he had already messed this up, perhaps the sauce will cover up the salty taste of the chicken.
Norman placed the chicken on the pan, allowing them to sizzle and cook to a crisp. Norman sighed and walked over to Otto who was chopping the onions and surprisingly wasn't shedding a single tear.
"How do you do that without tearing up? Those onions burn!" Norman said, rubbing his eyes.
"Just years and years of cooking." Otto winked, still chopping the burning onions. Otto handed the garlic to Norman, asking him to chop it up. Norman thought to himself, Okay I can do this, just a simple chop.
The garlic chopping was going surprisingly well, no mistakes, no excessive amount of salt. Okay, maybe this isn't completely ruined. Norman smiled to himself. Otto leaned over towards Norman, checking on his work as school teachers do to their students.
"Norman! You diced these, not chopped them." Otto furrowed his brows, heavily sighing.
"What's the difference?" Norman's response only caused Otto to shake his head in frustration. "It's fine, it won't hurt the taste too bad."
Otto took all the vegetables and added them to the pan containing the oil, he mixed them together and needed to add the heavy cream to the mixture. He needed someone to stir the pan but was reluctant to allow Norman to do it, however, he had no choice.
"Norman, come stir this pan. It's an easy task." Otto bluntly stated, attempting to not sound so frustrated.
Norman hurriedly walked over to the stove and took the spoon from Otto's hands and began to stir the mixture. Otto added the heavy cream, cheese, and parsley to the vegetable mixture as Norman continued to stir. Things seemed to be going well until the mixture began to boil, causing some of it to pop and burn Norman. This caused Norman to jump and accidentally hit the bowl of cheese that Otto held in his hands, dropping the whole thing on the floor.
Otto simply stared down at it, not saying a word.
"Otto honey? I'm so sorry." Norman attempted to look into Otto's face that continued to stare at the cheese on the floor.
Otto looked up at Norman and gave him a sarcastic smile without saying a word. He turned off the stove and poured the sauce over the chicken, making two plates and quietly setting them down on the table.
The two cleaned up the kitchen, allowing their food to cool down before they devoured it. Norman, who was worried by his husband's confusing actions, was unsure how to ease the situation and decided just to stay out of Otto's way. Otto took off his apron, washed his hands, and sat down at the kitchen table, facing directly in front of Norman.
Before they ate, Otto finally said a word. "Norman, I want to apologize for being frustrated earlier. I love you and I appreciate what you did."
"Thank you sweetheart for letting me cook with you, I enjoyed it immensely." Norman smiled, temporarily forgetting about the overseasoned chicken.
"Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life," Otto raised his glass of wine which was followed by Norman doing the same thing.
Otto took a bite of food and as he chewed, his expression turned into a confused look that quickly turned into a look of disgust.
"Oh, wow that's very salty." Otto attempted to swallow the food as he examined the rest of the chicken that lay on his plate.
"Damn it, I thought you wouldn't notice," Norman whispered as he avoided eye contact with Otto.
"Notice what?"
"Don't get mad, but I accidentally overseasoned the chicken." Norman furrowed his brows, afraid of the reaction he might receive. However, the reaction he got wasn't what he expected. Otto responded with a light chuckle that turned into a genuine, loud laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" Norman continued to furrow his brows, genuinely confused by this unusual response from Otto.
"My husband can't cook to save his life." Otto continued to laugh, causing Norman to let a smile form on his face.
"You're right, and I will never try to cook again." Otto's contagious laugh infected Norman, making him laugh through his words.
"Don't get me wrong, honey, I'm thankful for your attempt but maybe this just isn't your thing." Otto ran his hands through his hair with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Sorry about this, I really wanted to do something special for you."
"Don't apologize Norman, this is the best Valentine's day I've ever had." Otto stood up from his chair and walked over to Norman, placing a hand on his cheek.
"As long as I have you, nothing can ruin my day." The two kissed each other, allowing their hands to run through each other's hair.
"How about we order some takeout?" Norman bit his lip as he looked up at Otto.
"Sounds perfect to me."
The two had ordered some takeout that arrived shortly after they made the order and cuddled together on their couch.
It was their first Valentine's Day as a married couple; Otto lay on the couch with Norman wrapped up in his arms, both watching a cheesy rom-com that Norman had chosen.
This was truly a perfect, memorable Valentine's Day.