Chapter Text
"Goblin, I need your help with something?"
Goblin was sitting in the living room, on a long green couch, and by sitting, he was crouching on the armchair of the said couch, mindlessly watching Hell's Kitchen with Otto who was sitting on the other end, reading his notebook for work. Norman was resting in their shared subconscious so Goblin decided to take the driver's seat to ketchup on his shows, watching as his favorite Chef yells at amateur chefs for their awful cooking while Norman naps. Goblin watched the TV, chewing on the eraser side of Otto's pencil when Otto asked that question, causing him to blink a couple of times before turning to the six-armed man who looked right at him, causing him to pause from chewing, arching an eyebrow as he pulled the eraser out of his mouth. "You needing my help?" Goblin asked, watching as Otto gave him a nod, causing him to let out an amused scoff, a small smile in his features as he spoke. "Are you sure you're the real Otto Octavius and not some less smart knock-off clone?"
"So you think I'm smart?" Otto questioned, raising his eyebrow at Goblin who only let out an annoyed groan, turning back to the TV. He just laughed at Goblin's annoyance before he sighed. "No seriously, I do need your help?"
"What do ya need?" Goblin grinned, staring at the TV as he grabbed the remote, aiming it at the silver screen, pausing it so he didn't miss Gordon yelling at idiotic chefs, waiting for Otto to speak as he chewed on the eraser.
"It's... about Norman."
Goblin stopped chewing on the eraser, his brow furrowing in confusion as he turned to Otto. He stared at the other in worry, slowly pulling the pencil away as he spoke. "Norman?... is he okay? Did something happen when I was out and I missed it?!"
"No, No he's fine!" Otto quickly waved his hands at Goblin, shaking his head, scooting to the middle of the couch to better talk to him, watching as Goblin's worried glare disappeared, beginning to relax, knowing how protective Goblin is of his other half. "He's perfectly fine... it's just..."
Goblin waited for Otto to finish but he paused, causing him to tilt his head in annoyance, giving him a shrug shaking his head lightly. "Just what?"
"Well... you see it's our anniversary tomorrow," Otto answered, beginning to rub his hands together out of nervousness.
Goblin's features softened as everything began to make sense, beginning to sink off the armchair of the couch, sitting right next to Otto, setting the chewed-up pencil in the trash next to the couch.
Ah, their third anniversary from when they first got together.
When both Norman and Otto got together, finally making their relationship official after all these decades of knowing each other, Goblin wasn't there at the time, Norman was "Cured" from a monster like him. So when he came clawing his way back into Norman's mind, he was pretty surprised that Norman had the spine to actually go forward with dating the six-armed man. He found it very interesting that they were together now, and very entertaining when he used to torment Norman about it. When he first came back, he used to pick fights with Otto to make him fight with him. Starting to yell at him for something vile that he did. Whether it was trying to attack his actuators and him or hurt their children's, the spider-mans', feelings, and then he would quickly dip, letting Norman take control when Otto was in the middle of yelling at him. He would grin within Norman's mind, watching through Norman's tear-filled eyes as he looked up at his boyfriend in fear and confusion, cackling as Otto begins to realize who he was really yelling at when Norman begins to sob, his body trembling in fear wondering what Goblin made him do. The hurt in Otto's features for making his loved one cry used to fill Goblin with so much joy.
Goblin cringed at the memory forcefully pushing the memory back. A memory that he used to enjoy doing made him physically sick to think about now, having felt and continue to feel guilty for all the pain he had caused this family. So he quickly thought back to Norman and Otto's anniversary. The other half never really kept the date in mind, only realizing that it was time when one of them talks about it. He really should make a mental note of it just in case either one of them forgets.
"I forgot it was that time of year," Goblin said, honestly as he turned back to Otto. "Congrats on three years," He watched as Otto gave him a small smile, nodding in gratitude waiting quietly as Goblin spoke. "But why do you need my help with that?"
"I... I want to do something nice for Norman," Otto began, picking up a teacup full of tea, twirling it in his hand watching the liquid as he spoke. "Take him somewhere nice... like a fancy restaurant then do something after but I'm stumped on ideas," he then looked up at Goblin who tilted his head in confusion. "So I was wondering if... you had any ideas."
"Wha- me?" Goblin asked, pointing to himself in surprise, watching as Otto smiled, nodding his head eagerly. He only scoffed shaking his head. "Ottie, I don't know if I can help you in this department. I... I never... been on a date before, let alone knowing a good place to have one."
"You and Norman like the same things, though your a little more extreme with it am I right?" Otto asked, watching as Goblin looked up in thought, shrugging his shoulder as he gave him a nod turning back to him in agreement. "So... So tell me what you would think the perfect date might be. Just something you would like but you'd know Norman would like it too."
Goblin was very hesitant to answer at first, feeling very conflicted. He had never been on a date once in his existence so he didn't know the first thing about it unless he looked through Norman's memories but looking through memories was far different than experiencing them yourself. He could watch memories of Norman go on dates but could never feel like he was there. He could watch as Norman gives his late wife, Emily, or his current boyfriend, Otto hugs, or hold hands, but he couldn't feel it, because he wasn't there... even though he really wished he was.
Goblin leaned back as he began to think his features softening as he cast his head to the coffee table in front of him. Deep down he did want to experience what dates were like. He wanted to go out for dinner, talk about their day, tell funny stories to make the other laugh. Goblin wanted to go on a romantic stroll and hug and hold someone's hand... he wanted to hold his hand. He quickly shook the thought aside, beginning to think about what the perfect date would be for him... even if he couldn't have that.
"Well... Norman and I share a sweet tooth," Goblin began, as he turned to Otto who was looking at him with a nod, letting Moe take his teacup from him as he kept his eyes on Goblin, waiting for him to continue. "And Norman saw on our way to work that this fancy restaurant that served desserts only just opened. He sounded very excited about it and wanted to go, but we were too busy at the time. I- he would love that as a date."
"Okay, okay that's something," Otto nods his head with a smile, scooting closer, his grin growing wider. "What else?"
"Uh, okay. Um," Goblin backed up a bit, trying to think of another thing he'd want, casting his head down as he thought long and hard. He looked back on Norman's fondest memories when he stopped at an area of New York called Time Square. He watched through Norman's memories of it, of him taking his wife, Emily, and a young Harry to watch the neon lights, shopping, and pausing to watch the street performers there, watching as Norman would pull Emily into a slow dance when the musicians played something slow and calming, wanting so badly to feel what Norman felt that day... almost craving it... craving to do that with Otto-.
"Uh um," Goblin shook his head off that unwanted thought, turning back to Otto. "Times Square... he loves Times Square," He whispered looking up at the other man with a small grin. "Maybe... take him to shop around... watch the street performers, go to a museum, the theater, anything like that."
Otto smiled at Goblin fondly, looking from him to his notebook, opening it to a blank page. "That's perfect, GG. Thank you," He whispered, as Flo handed him a none chewed-on pencil, beginning to jot down what Goblin had said. "First we'll go to the desert restaurant then after we can spend the rest of the day at Times Square... Tomorrow is gonna be perfect."
Goblin felt as his lips pulled upward in a smile, a chuckle leaving his lips as he watched the man next to him jot notes down, making a list of what he and Norman were going to do tomorrow, the actuators watching their owner write. The other half loved when Otto would take notes and plan out what he was going to do before it happened, earning him the nickname, The Master Planner by Norman and the others, always grinning when Otto's plans didn't go as planned, causing him to pout in annoyance, grumbling as he rewrites his plans. Goblin liked Otto that way... he thought it was cute- sweet! sweet! That's what he meant... sweet.
Goblin looked from Otto to the ground, knowing that Otto wanted this date to be perfect for Norman. However, he began to frown as he remembered the last time an important date didn't go as planned for Otto... and it was all his fault. When Goblin was beginning to change his ways, he was a little shit. He wanted to make Norman and Otto's life a living hell for something so stupid and childish that he was mad about at the time, pranking them here and there... taking control at important times... and the last time he did was at a dinner date. One moment it was just Norman and Otto having the most romantic date ever then the next Goblin took over and began to embarrass Otto in front of people, shouting as he drank their wine pouring it all over his and Otto's clothes, and eating Norman's food rather loudly, making a big mess with it. But he went too far when he snatched a box that he saw was sitting in Otto's lap looking it over with a grin, opening it up to see a black metal band with a giant emerald in the middle. But his amused smile vanished when Otto slammed his fists angrily into the table, causing the room to go silent, beginning to yell at him for ruining his chance to propose to Norman, his mood dropping when Otto's angered features began to fill with pain, beginning to sob into his hands, unable to take Goblin ruining his plans any longer, this being the tipping point of all Otto could take.
Luckily, Goblin knocked Norman out when he took over, so he didn't know that Otto was going to ask for his hand in marriage. He then quickly hid the ring into Otto's coat pocket as he sobbed, too hurt to focus on Goblin hiding it from Norman, before letting his other half take over, who was confused but didn't care, beginning to comfort Otto who just sobbed into him.
Goblin felt worse than nothing after doing that, knowing how important that date was to Otto and he just ruined it... like he did everything. Otto didn't hold any ill will from it and forgave him easily but he still didn't prepose to Norman, holding onto the ring and trying to find a perfect time to do so. Goblin never told Norman about the ring, he didn't want to ruin Otto's chance again if he did so. He knew better now, he knew never to take control if they were ever on a date, only if it were absolutely necessary such as Norman being in immediate danger such as a mugger trying to rob him or getting in the middle of a restaurant fight, etc.
Goblin shook the memory from his mind as he gave Otto a small grin, seeing that he was still writing the plan out. "I hope yours and Normie's date is perfect too," He whispered, watching as Otto finished writing, turning to him with a small smile. "And... and don't worry. I won't try and ruin it," Goblin quickly added, causing Otto to blink in surprise. "I promise to stay right in here unless there is an emergency!" He then tapped a finger on Norman's head with a nervous grin, but he froze when Otto took his hand into his own, causing his nervous grin to melt away, feeling as Otto's gloved hands gave him a firm, yet gentle squeeze as he spoke.
"Don't worry, Goblin," Otto reassured, holding his hand tightly. "I know you wouldn't jeopardize our date on purpose now... You don't have to keep reminding me... I forgave you remember?"
"I still feel bad about it," Goblin frowned, cast his eyes down in sadness lowering himself further into the couch, looking rather small. "It was an important date for you, and I-"
"You made an honest mistake," Otto quickly interrupted, watching as Goblin looked up at him in shock, becoming tightlipped as the six-armed man spoke. "Which you have apologized for and Norman and I forgave you for it... You don't have to beat yourself up over it."
Otto watched as Goblin cast his eyes to the ground, clearly still guilty for what he did. He let out a small sigh, a smile forming on his lips as he looked at Norman's other half, tilting his head as he spoke. "You know, Norman and I are very proud of you," He began watching as Goblin blinked with wide eyes, slowly looking up at him in shock. "You've come a long way. The Green Goblin we knew would never feel bad for something like this... and the Goblin we knew wouldn't give me the time of day to help plan a date... it's wonderful progress."
Goblin's ears and cheeks began to burn bright red as he looked down at Otto's hand in his own, the six-armed man beginning to rub the top of his hand with his thumb to reassure him. He wanted so badly to hold his hand tighter... to pull him into a hug for his kind words... wanting so badly to kiss-
"Uh," Goblin shook his head of those thoughts, squinting his eyes as he cleared his throat, throwing on an annoyed scowl and he pulled his hand away, crossing his arms. "Whatever, Calamari... not that big a deal."
Otto only grinned, patting Goblin's shoulder. "Okay GG, whatever you say... but thank you for the ideas tomorrow... that was really nice of you."
"... You're wecome."
"I think I got everything planned now," Otto began as he grabbed his notes, looking them over with a smile, before turning back to Goblin, who began to slowly shake his head squinting his eyes shut. "I'm gonna talk to Norman when I get the chance... he doesn't like surprises so I might as well just tell him... Is there any way I could talk to him now?"
"Yeah, actually," Goblin answered as he held his head in his hand as his vision began to become blurry, knowing that it was Norman waking up. "Norman's... up now."
Goblin?
Yeah, I'm here. Sleep well?
I did, thank you... is Otto up?
Yup. Loverboy wants to talk to you. You can take over the yoke, pilot.
"If you don't mind," Otto began watching as Goblin/Norman's head snapped toward him, his eyes closed, fluttering every now and then as Goblin was beginning to let Norman take over, but waiting a sec to hear what he had to say. "Could you... give Norman and I some privacy when he takes over?"
"Yeah, don't worry Pumpkin Spice Octte," Goblin grinned able to feel Otto's bored expression staring back at him. "I won't eavesdrop," he whispered his vision slowly leaving him as he was beginning to be pulled back into Norman's subconscious. "Might take a nap... keep my show paused will ya?"
"I will don't worry," Otto grinned, rubbing Goblin's shoulder as the other half's head leaned forward, fully blacking out. He kept his hand there, grinning wider when Norman took his hand, slowly lifting his head with a yawn, taking the reins of Norman and Goblin's shared body. He watched as Norman blinked away the blurry vision with a sigh, slowly turning to Otto with a small loving smile. Otto then rested his hand on Norman's top shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. "Welcome back, love. Did you sleep well?"
"I did," he whispered, resting his hand on top of Otto's gloved one. "What did I miss?"
Goblin was now in Norman's subconscious, letting out a sigh as he stretched, an emerald green, silk robe with long sleeves and fluffy feathers on the sleeves, beginning to form around him, hugging it close, tieing it tightly around his thin waist, picking up the ends as he walked toward a lounging chair that formed out of nowhere. Goblin made Norman's subconscious look like his old home, being the place where he and Norman talked most... finding comfort in that home so he wanted the place he reside most of the time to be comforting and welcoming, knowing that he would be trapped here most of the time, which he was okay with now, knowing that Norman would let him have full control of his body.
He let out a groan as he turned around flopping right into the comfortable lounge chair leaning back with a sigh closing his eyes in contentment. Sitting around Otto and Norman's house and watching TV was exhausting. Goblin slowly opened his eyes, as he stared at the ceiling, thinking over the last of his and Otto's conversation. So much had changed over the few years he came back... he had changed and Norman and Otto noticed it.
Norman and Otto knew that there was no getting rid of the Green Goblin. He was a part of Norman no matter what, and no serum was going to get rid of them now. So they decided to make a deal with the darker half. If Green Goblin gave up his evil ways and did not kill or hurt anyone for his own, malicious gain, then Norman would allow him to have some control of his body for a few hours throughout certain days. Goblin wasn't as strong-willed as before due to the serum, so Norman could hold him back much easier and was able to stop Goblin from taking full control now, able to take control as soon as the other half tries to hurt Otto or the Parker brothers, sometimes locking him up for days leaving him feeling restless, wanting to be free. It didn't even have to be for that long. He would be happy to be free from Norman's subconscious for even a millisecond, so he reluctantly took the deal.
It was a little rocky at first. Otto and the Parker brothers didn't trust him and had to deal with him when he gave them such a hard time. He used to be very childish, throwing tantrums when he got angry and lashing out at everyone around him. Goblin resented the small group that Norman had around him at first, They were the reason he was weaker now so he could care less about them. But after a while, Goblin started to develop more feelings other than just hate, rage, and a lust for power. He started to feel things like fear, guilt, sympathy, joy... love. At first, he detests these feelings, thinking that Norman's weak emotions were starting to bleed into Goblin, becoming as weak and pathetic as him. But eventually, with a little help from Otto and Norman's therapist (That he pretends to hate), he began to accept these emotions and he come to find that they weren't that bad.
He liked these new feelings, feeling happy every time he did something that was considered good to Otto or the Spider-men. The joy of their proudness of him feeling far better than the joy of trying to destroy or break them, which made him feel sick to think about now. He liked the feeling of pride he got if he ever accomplished a task even if it was small, like cleaning up after he made a mess of with his breakfast, or beating a hard level on a video game that Petey showed him how to play. He even started to like the feeling of love. No... he loved it.
He was able to feel Norman's emotions as if they were his own in a sense, able to feel Norman's feelings toward his job and the small family he had found. Norman loved that his job didn't feel like a job anymore, not worrying about funds to keep his business going, trying to crawl his way to the top and that his company was now helping in making the world a better place instead of using it for military contracts. He also cared dearly for the Parker brothers, loving them like they were his own children that he was very proud of and wanted them to succeed in life, and he loved Otto with everything he had in him, and Goblin couldn't help but love Norman for that.
Over time, he started to realize how much he really cared for his other half... his better half. He was now so happy for Norman, happy that he loved working at his job again and proud of how far he's come with it, he was happy that he had the three Spider-men that he called his sons that he loved so much and was joyful that they loved him in return, and Goblin was happy that he was able to find love again with Otto... and truthfully, Goblin was happy to feel the same way.
He couldn't do much at Norman's work but he would always protect him if a co-worker becomes cross with Norman, taking the wheel to set the worker straight (without violence). He became a lot closer with the Parker brothers, which he felt that he didn't deserve. Green Goblin had caused so much pain, especially to the youngest of the three, but they somehow managed to forgive him. As for Otto... he didn't know what to think of him. He was... conflicted.
At first, Goblin knew that Otto despised the deal of letting Goblin have some free time, and he always tried to give the six-armed man such a hard time because of it at first. Otto had to be there through his temper tantrums, preventing him from breaking anything they had in their house, having to restrain him sometimes when it was too much and wait until he burned himself out or when Norman took control. As revenge, Goblin would sometimes "accidentally" break one of his projects, or tease his actuators too much to the point where they were dangling him upside down, cackling to himself in enjoyment until an annoyed Otto makes the actuators drop him. But his most favorite way to annoy Otto was to flirt with him. He didn't mean anything by it, to him it was just all in good fun, getting a kick out of how flustered and annoyed Otto got, his face burning red as a tomato as he call him pet names or used pick up lines on him. Otto thought that Goblin was a nuisance on Norman's life at the time, trying to torment him any chance he got.
But over time, Otto began to see Goblin in a different light. He noticed that Goblin would take over Norman and prevent Norman from getting hurt before Otto could get there to protect them, keeping him safe if a lab experiment went wrong or if someone tried to harass or mug him. The six-armed man also noticed that Goblin was beginning to show more emotions than before, sometimes the darker half would be crying when he was throwing tantrums, realizing that he wasn't doing it because he was angry or wanting to give Otto a hard time, he was just hurt and upset about something at the time. So Otto began to comfort him instead of restraining him, holding him close until he got it out of his system.
At first, Goblin would thrash in anger, spitting curse words at him, trying to punch and pull away from him, thinking he was trying to restrain him but as the six-armed man began to rub his back and run his hands through his hair, he'd begin to calm down. His angered yelling turns into sobbing as he clutches onto Otto, letting him hold him in his warm embrace as Goblin let his frustrations out, screaming into his chest and crying until he calmed down.
He also came to realize why Goblin pranked him so much, was because he was just bored and wanted some kind of attention whether it was good or bad. So, he asked the Parker brothers if he could help fight crime with them, so long as Otto kept an eye on him, which they accepted, giving him back his suit and glider and pumpkin bombs only designed to stun those around or smoke bombs instead of explosive ones. When they weren't fighting crime, Otto made sure to keep Goblin entertained, letting the gremlin wrestle with his actuators for fun or he would give him rights to the tv. He would even join him to watch a movie with him and play board games on the side. Now, Otto thought fondly of Norman's other half, he couldn't imagine a world without him and in truth, Goblin felt the same way about Otto. He felt very close to Otto now, happy that Otto wanted to be there for Norman and love him dearly, giving Norman the life that Goblin knew he deserved. Goblin thought of Otto as nothing more than a threat to him in the beginning, an impasse in his way but now he come to like him... maybe a little too much.
Goblin would continue to playfully flirt with Otto to get a rise out of him, but he was stunned when Otto began to flirt back to get on his nerves. It did get on his nerves that it didn't work on Otto anymore at first, but as it kept on happening, he found that the tables had turned. When Otto flirts back, he would begin to feel as flustered as Otto once did, his ears and face turning bright red as his skin began to burn in embarrassment, getting to tongue-tied to retort back, sometimes going speechless turning away with a grumble, trying to stop the feeling of his face heating up when he heard Otto chuckle at him, but he started to feel that way all the time now even when Otto wasn't playfully flirting with him.
His heart would flutter every time he saw Otto smile and would catch himself staring at the other man, staring at his wide broad shoulders and strong, burly arms, knowing that he gave the best hugs out of everyone in the house. If he were to lay his head on his chest he's sure his slow breathing would sound like a calming steady thunderstorm, his heartbeat sounding like the steady beat of a bass drum through his ears. He would get butterflies every time Otto smiled at him or laughed at his stupidity, loving the sound of his belly laugh, and his eyes... God his eyes. They were a warm, darkly golden brown, and Goblin felt like he could get lost in them, wanting to take his glasses off of his face to get a better look at them. At first, he just thought these feelings weren't anything. That it was just a fluke but over time he began to realize that he might actually, generally love him.
Goblin had never experienced anything like love before, he really couldn't due to sharing a body with Norman, but he knows of it because of Norman's love for Otto. He would watch through Norman's eyes as they would go on dates, hold hands when they go on strolls, lean into each other for warmth when it was cold or just wanting to be close, he would watch as Otto looked lovingly into Norman's eyes and truthfully... Goblin wanted that, never able to fully feel what they felt because he wasn't Norman... but he wanted it to be him. Goblin wanted to hold hands with someone, wanting to go on dates and long stroll in the park and look lovingly into someone's eyes... and he wanted to do that with Otto.
Goblin squinted his eyes shut as he shook his head, looking from the ceiling to the far wall with a look of solemn in his features. He knew that he couldn't have that with Otto... Otto loved Norman and no one else. That, and Goblin would just get in the way of Norman's happiness and he didn't want that... ever again. Goblin also couldn't find another partner due to being in Norman's body, so there was no chance of him ever finding what Otto and Norman had but he was okay with that. As long as Norman was happy, he was happy... that's all that mattered to him, so he pushed these feelings down, determined to be there for Norman.
"Don't worry Norman," He whispered to himself mostly, not wanting to interrupt him and Otto's talking about their date tomorrow. He then closed his eyes with a sigh, beginning to drift off as he spoke. "I'll make sure your date with Otto is perfect... that I promise you."
Even though I wish it was for me.