saudade

Some weeks and many flat inspections later, Peter and Harry had found the right one to a normal price. The flat was quite big and cosy but not too expensive. Peter has got a job from Dr. Connors, a science professor at the nearby university, and he spent his free time in his Spider-Man costume. He took Uncle Ben’s words serious so now he tried to save New York’s population from criminals.

Harry has got a place at a university, and he used the time before the start of semester to prepare for it. Every week, his father came to have a look on what he was doing, and he was pretty annoyed by that. He was a grown man, and he could take care of himself. There was no need to be controlled.

Today was ‘inspection day’ as Harry liked to call it. His father said he just wanted to ‘check on how his son is doing’ but Harry knew his father felt the need to control him again. He was spending most of the time he’s been here on the phone anyway since he was married to his company, so Harry decided to continue with his university preparations. He just hoped Peter would come home soon so he didn’t have to be alone with his father anymore. Peter would loosen up the awkward silence between them.

Finally, Peter came home and lifted Harry’s mood immediately.

“Dad’s making his weekly inspection, spending half of it on the phone”, Harry complained and took off his glasses to clean them. He hated them but when he had to read so much, they were necessary, and Peter said he looked adorable wearing them, so he tried to wear them when Peter was around. “Could you help me with this exercise here? Maybe I’m just not concentrated enough but how should I when I have someone in the room who’s been making calls for hours now?”

When Peter didn’t respond, he looked up to his boyfriend to check on him. Peter looked drained and exhausted. “Are you all right?”

“I was late for work and Dr. Connors fired me”, Peter sighed.

“He did what? It’s his loss, that’s for sure. But why were you late again?”, Harry asked. He knew Peter sneaked out a lot and he didn’t know what he was doing or where he was going, and it concerned him. Normally, Peter would never risk getting fired.

“Ah, Peter! It’s good to see you, boy. Maybe you can help me”, Norman said when he finished his call.

“Help you?”, Peter asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you probably know who Harry’s been dating. He tries to deny it, but I can see when my son is in love with someone. Do you know her?”

“Do I know her?”, Peter repeated, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t know who she is.”

“Dad, could you just stop? I told you I’m not looking for a girlfriend right now”, Harry groaned in annoyance. He would give anything to just tell him Peter was his boyfriend, but he wasn’t ready to do so. Not now after their relationship finally stabilised. He couldn’t risk destroying it again. “Pete, you’re probably looking for a job now, aren’t you? Maybe Dad can help you out”, he changed the topic.

“No, it’s fine”, Peter politely rejected the offer.

“I’ll just make a few calls, it’s no problem”, Norman said.

“I couldn’t accept it, Sir, but thank you very much. I’ll find work on my own. I like to earn what I get.”

“I respect that. You wanna make it on your own steam.” His father gave Harry a ‘take an example’- look.

Harry just wanted his father to go back home. Wasn’t it enough that he got a place at a university and was preparing for that after his father expected him to fail his graduation from school? Will he ever be enough, or will he always be compared to everyone surrounding him?

“Dad, I have to work now. I’m sure you’ll understand that”, Harry said and took a closer look into one of the books that laid scattered all over the table.

“You could be more polite to your father, you know. But I don’t want to keep you from working since you finally got how to become someone respected – only by hard work”, his father said before he finally left.

Harry let out a sigh.

“So, how are things with your girlfriend going?”, Peter laughed.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. I told him I don’t want a girlfriend, but you know what he thinks.”

“Well, a blind man with a crane could see you’re in love.” Peter smiled and kissed him. “Have I already told you how cute you look when you have your glasses on?”

Harry smiled shyly and got up to go into the kitchen. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Today seems like a pizza-day to me”, Peter responded.

“With a glass of wine, a blanket and a good movie?”

Peter grinned. “Exactly.”

So, they spent the evening on the sofa, cuddling.

“I still can’t believe you put those things on your pizza”, Peter said and pointed at the pineapple on Harry’s pizza.

“So what? You just don’t know what the superior pizza is”, Harry responded.

Peter shook his head. “You’re insane. And that’s why I love you.”

Harry kissed his cheek and turned on the TV. “What do you wanna watch?” He zapped through the channels to see what’s on TV and give Peter the opportunity to choose something.

“What about Star Wars?”

 Harry hated these movies, but he knew Peter liked them, so he watched it with him.

It didn’t take long for Harry to fall asleep which made Peter smile. He wrapped another blanket around Harry and took another sip from his glass of wine. Peter really needed to find a job. He knew Harry would find a way to pay his part of the rent too, but he didn’t want that to happen. It was his fault he lost his job, so it was his turn to find a new job.

When Peter saw the newspaper on the table, he knew what his next job would be. The Daily Bugle was looking for someone to take photos of Spider-Man, so he knew who’d get that job as a photographer.

The next day, Peter put on the suit and took his camera to take some photos of Spider-Man swinging through the streets of New York. He checked the pictures he took via self-timer and to his surprise, the quality was good. He immediately went to The Daily Bugle where he was led to the office of J. Jonah Jameson.

“What the hell is a kiddo doing here?”, Jameson barked as Peter entered the room.

“I’ve got the pictures you wanted, Sir”, Peter said and gave the pictures to him.

Jameson took them and examined them. “They’re all crap.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll give you 200$ for all of them.”

“Seems a little low.” Peter knew the pictures were good, and he also knew he was probably the only one Jameson could get his photos from.

“Go somewhere else, then”, Jameson snapped at him.

Jameson would miss the only chance of pictures and Peter was sure there were other newspaper who would gladly buy his pictures, so he took them as Jameson gave them back to him and got up.

“Wait. I’ll give you 300”, Jameson said, “Spider-Man: Hero or Menace? That’s a good headline.”

Peter felt offended. How could anyone think Spider-Man was a menace after all the things he’s done? He protected so many people from harm and this man seriously thought he was a menace? “A menace? He was protecting-“

“You take the pictures and I make up the headlines, understand?”, Jameson interrupted him.

“Yes, Sir.” Jameson handed him a cheque so he would get his money. “I’d like to have a job, sir.”

“No jobs, freelance. Now get out of here.” Jameson shoved Peter out of his office. “And bring me more photos.”

Peter smiled a little. So, he’s got a job, maybe unofficial but it was still a job. He went to the secretary to cash his cheque.

“Welcome to The Daily Bugle”, the secretary said and gave him a smile.

“Well, you look happy”, Harry said as Peter returned to their flat.

Peter grinned. “I’ve got a new job.”

“Wow, that fast? Where?”

“At The Daily Bugle. I’m a photographer”, Peter told him proudly.

“I’m proud of you, Pete, I really am. And I’ve got good news for you. Dad just called me. Apparently, there will be some kind of OSCORP street festival and important guests will be there, and I thought you’d like to go with me? It could help you with your photographer career.”

“That’d be great. I bet it’s exactly what Mr. Jameson wants.”

“Do you have certain pictures to take, or do you just go wherever he sends you?”, Harry asked.

“I take pictures of Spider-Man”, Peter revealed.