saudade

“Oh shit, I forgot to buy the cranberry sauce!” Peter jumped on his feet. It was the noon of Thanksgiving, and his aunt, MJ and Harry’s father will be there soon. His aunt needed the sauce for the turkey.

“Don’t worry, you still have time. You go to the grocery store, and I’ll clean and tidy up the rest of the flat, okay?”, Harry suggested. The plan had actually been that they bring the flat in shape together since there was more chaos than a single person could handle in a few hours.

“Are you sure you can handle it alone? We haven’t been very tidy lately.”

“I’m sure, Pete. Go and get that cranberry sauce.”

“I love you, Harry, I should tell you more often.” Peter put on his jacket and ran out of the flat.

Harry smiled but his smile faded as he saw all the mess he had to clean up all alone.

Peter was on the way to the grocery store as he saw smoke rising from a house. There was a lot of trouble on the street and fire fighters tried to calm down the people. “Save my baby”, a woman screamed at the fire fighters, but they didn’t move. It was about time Spider-Man intervened, so he ran to a corner of the house and undressed him to reveal the suit he was wearing every time he went outside and swung right into the burning house.

The air was so stuffy that it was difficult for him to breathe and because of the bright flames he also struggled to see something. Then he could hear a baby crying. Peter hurried and followed the crying, watching out for falling building parts. The crying was close now, but he couldn’t see the baby anywhere. He coughed and turned around where he saw the baby lying on the sofa. He grabbed it just in time. If he was a second slower, the baby would’ve been squashed by a falling beam. With the baby in his arms, Peter jumped out of the window.

He returned the baby to its mother. “It’s okay, your baby is fine.”

“Bless you, Spider-Man, bless you. Thank you so much.” The mother started crying as she looked at her baby that was still sleeping like nothing had happened.

“Don’t let him get away! Hold him! He’s under arrest”, a police officer yelled and ran towards Peter. Under arrest? What had he done to get arrested?

“Oh my god, there’s somebody still up there!”, a woman said and pointed at the burning house as horrible shrieks could be heard.

Peter didn’t hesitate and shot a web to swing through the window. The flames had spread so rapidly that almost nothing was to be seen of the flat. “Where are you?”, he called. He could hear someone sob, so he followed the noise and discovered a person covered in a blanket. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.” Peter approached the person and when he was there, the person turned around with a shriek, but it wasn’t a person. It was the Green Goblin.

Before he could do something, Peter was hit in the face, and he stumbled multiple steps back.

“You’re pathetically predictable”, the Goblin spat, “What about my offer? Are you in or are you out?”

“It’s you who’s out. Out of your mind”, Peter countered.

“Wrong answer.” The Goblin threw one of his balls and knives at him.

Great. Thanks to his spider senses, Peter could get out of the way before they hurt him.

The Goblin punched him in the face, but Peter fought back. He hit and kicked him, forgetting the flames surrounding them. One of the knives came back so Peter had to duck but the Goblin used his chance and kicked Peter in the face. He stood up and punched the Goblin and he was so focused he couldn’t see the knife approaching him.

The sharp blade cut the skin on his wrist like it was a piece of butter. The cut bled and hurt but it wasn’t that serious. Nonetheless, it made Peter furious, so he kicked the Goblin in the stomach and hung him up the ceiling with a few webs. The Goblin crushed into the wall which caused an explosion. Peter used his chance to disappear.

The doorbell rang and Harry let Aunt May and MJ in. “It’s good to see you two again. How are you doing?” He helped them out of their jackets.

“Everything’s going fine”, MJ replied.

“Oh, I’m fine too. Where’s Peter?”, Aunt May asked.

“Well, he forgot the cranberry sauce, so he had to go to the grocery store.”

Aunt May shook her head and smiled. “That boy. Where do you have the ingredients for our feast?”

Harry showed her everything in the kitchen as his father entered the flat. “Sorry for being late but I’ve got a fruitcake.”

“Have you been working all day again? I told you to take more time to rest.”

“It’s fine, Harry”, Norman rushed him off.

A rumble was heard from above. Harry frowned. “I didn’t know he was here again.” He went upstairs in their bedroom. “Pete? Is that you?” But when he arrived, nobody was there.

Peter was hanging at the ceiling, trying not to breathe. Just go away, he thought when he saw Harry followed by his aunt and Norman Osborn.

“How strange”, his aunt said and went downstairs. Harry followed her. Only Harry’s father was still standing there.

When Norman Osborn turned around to leave, the blood from his wound dropped on the floor and Peter swung out of the window to hide under the small balcony. As he had the feeling nobody was in his reach anymore, he climbed down the wall, undressed himself and put his normal clothes back on before he ran to the next grocery store since he still hadn’t bought the cranberry sauce.

Harry desperately tried to have a conversation with Aunt May, MJ, and his father while they were waiting for Peter. He couldn’t stand the awkward silence.

Finally, Peter entered the room. “I’m sorry, but it’s a jungle out there. I had to beat an old lady with a stick to get these cranberries.”

“Now, sit down, everybody so we can say grace”, Aunt May said.

Harry sat down next to Peter and his father next to him, MJ and Aunt May sat on the other side of the table. Aunt May put the plate with a big turkey on the table.

“It looks delicious, Aunt May. Are you sure you won’t live with us? We still have a free bedroom”, Harry said. His father frowned and Harry immediately regretted what he said. Why was he so stupid? His father knew exactly that the flat had only two bedrooms and he believed one was Peter’s room and the other one Harry’s.

But his father didn’t seem to notice his mistake. He was too occupied with the food.

“Norman!”, Aunt May scolded him for touching the food. “Will you do the honours?”

His father took the knives and sharpened them to cut on the turkey.

“Peter, you’re bleeding”, Aunt May said.

“I’ll get the first aid kit.” Harry stood up and got bandages.

Carefully, he rolled up Peter’s sleeve to have a look on the wound. It was a deep cut that bled quite a lot.

“Where did you get this?”, Harry asked while he took care of his wound.

“Oh, I stepped off a kerb and got clipped by one of those bike messengers. It’s nothing serious”, Peter murmured.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go”, Norman said and stood up.

“Why?”, Harry asked and stood up as well.

“Something has come to my attention.”

Did his father notice how close Peter and him were? His heart was beating inside his chest as he could feel the panic rising inside him.

“Thank you, everyone. Mrs. Parker. Enjoy the fruitcake.” His father literally ran out of the room.

“Dad!”, Harry called and followed him outside.

“I planned all this so you can get some distraction from work because I’m worried about you, and I don’t want you to be lonely. And now you have to leave?”, Harry confronted his father.

“I’ve got to go”, his father said.

Harry grabbed him by his arm. If it really was about his relationship with Peter, now would be the only moment to tell him. Now or never.

“Dad, is it about me and-“, he tried to say, his voice shaking and his heart was almost exploding inside his chest. Cold sweat spurted out of his pores everywhere.

“Harry, please. Just look at her. Do you think she’s sniffing around because she likes your personality?”

“What are you saying? MJ has nothing to do with it. We’re just friends.”

But his father didn’t even bother to listen to him. “Your mother was beautiful too. They’re all beautiful. Until they’re snarling after your trust fund like a pack of ravening wolves. Do what you need to do with her and then broom her fast”, his father spat and entered the elevator.

What the hell was that? He swallowed and entered the flat again.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why he was like that”, Harry muttered ashamed of his father, ashamed of himself.

“Well, I know exactly why he was like that! You must have told him we are a couple or something like that. Thanks for sticking up to me”, MJ snapped.

“I didn’t tell him anything like that! I tried to stop him, and I tried to come out in front of him”, Harry yelled and his voice broke. He fought back tears. Once again, he had ruined everything.

“Oh … I- I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that”, MJ said quietly, “Can I do something to make you feel better?”

Harry shook his head. He wanted to be alone. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for ruining the holiday.”

Then he ran upstairs. He went to the open window to get some fresh air to calm down. Why couldn’t he have a normal father? Or why couldn’t he himself be normal? Why did he always have to make things complicated?

A knock on the door.

“Harry?”, Peter asked softly and hugged him from behind.

“I’m sorry, I tried to tell him, but he didn’t let me”, Harry sobbed.

“I’m proud of you for trying. I know how hard it must have been for you. I love you whether he knows or not.” Peter placed a soft kiss on his neck. Trying to come out to his father was the greatest proof of Harry’s love Peter could ever get.

“I don’t know why everything I plan gets ruined.”

“It’s okay. Nobody of us blames you, not even MJ. She’s feeling horrible about what she said to you. Will you come down to have dinner with us?”

Harry nodded and took Peter’s hand as they went downstairs.

Even after this horrible incident, they had a nice Thanksgiving and the things between Harry and MJ could be worked out. They have made up again.