saudade

“Are you sure, I shouldn’t accompany you until you are home, Aunt May?”, Peter asked.

“Yes, Peter, I am. I think Harry needs you more than I do. He’s been through a lot today. I’ll call you when I’m home, okay?”

“Alright. Take care of yourself.”

She hugged him and kissed his cheek before she left.

Peter helped Harry cleaning up the kitchen.

“Are you feeling better now?”, Peter asked as he washed the dishes.

“Yeah, I’m just angry and disappointed. I thought of calling him, but he should be the one calling. He owes me an apology”, Harry said impassively.

“He does indeed. What do you think of another relaxed evening with a good movie? You can choose the movie this time.”

Harry smiled at the idea. “I’ll get the blankets and you the food.”

They laid on the sofa, sharing a blanket and watched The Lord of the Rings, Harry’s favourite movie. Peter got them two mugs full of hot chocolate and a few snacks.

“Thank you, Pete. It means a lot to me”, Harry said.

“What do you mean?”

“Moments like these when you try to cheer me up. I’m glad to have such a wonderful boyfriend like you.” Harry took Peter’s hand.

Peter smiled. “I love to see you happy. You deserve it.”

The telephone rang. Peter sighed and got up to pick up the phone. “Parker?”

“Peter Parker?”, a female voice asked.

“Yes?” He frowned. Who was the person on the phone?

“Your aunt has just been admitted to the hospital.”

“What?” The telephone slipped out of his hand.

“Pete? What happened?” Harry jumped on his feet as he saw the pure horror on his boyfriend’s face.

“Aunt May is in the hospital.” Peter’s voice was shaking.

“Oh my god. Is she okay?” Harry hugged him and tried to calm him down.

“I don’t know. I have to go now.”

“I’ll go to her house and pack some of her clothes and you go to the hospital, okay? I’ll come as soon as possible.”

Peter nodded and handed him the key to his aunt’s house. “Thank you.” His whole body was shaking as he put on his jacket and left the flat.

A cab drove Peter to the hospital. As soon as he arrived there, he jumped out of the car and ran into the building.

“My name’s Peter Parker. My aunt got admitted only a while ago”, he told the man at the registration desk.

The man told him where he could find his aunt and Peter ran as fast as he could. He used the stairs because he was too impatient to wait for the elevator. What has happened to his aunt?

Peter could hear Aunt May groaning in pain as he entered the station. He ran into the treatment room where a whole team of doctors and nurses took care of his aunt. “Aunt May!”, he called and approached her. “Is she gonna be okay? What happened?”

“You have to leave”, a nurse told him and shoved him back from his aunt.

“Tell me what happened”, Peter insisted.

“Those eyes! Those horrible yellow eyes!”, Aunt May groaned, her voice full of horror.

The Green Goblin knew who he was. He attacked Aunt May. All because of him. If Peter had walked her home, he could’ve protected her. He could’ve lost his other parental figure because of his actions again. Peter struggled to breathe, and his throat was tight. He was responsible for what the Goblin did to his aunt.

After what felt like an eternity, a nurse told Peter that Aunt May was okay and he was led into her room. He took a chair and set down next to her. When he took her hand, he couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “I’m sorry, Aunt May. I never wanted you to get hurt.”

It knocked on the door and Harry entered the room. “Is she okay?”, he asked and put the bag with her clothes on the floor.

“I think so. They doctors say she’ll make it.”

“That’s good news. What happened?” Harry took a chair from the corner of the room and placed it next to Peter. He sat down and put Peter’s hand into his.

“I don’t know. It’s all my fault”, Peter sobbed.

“Pete, don’t say that.” Harry stroked his hair to calm him down.

“I should’ve walked her home…”

“Don’t blame yourself for something you had no influence in. What’s important is that she will wake up soon. She will recover.”

Peter’s head rested on Harry’s shoulder. “Thank you for being here.”

“Of course. I’ll stay with you, don’t worry.” Harry kissed Peter’s forehead.

When Peter woke up, Harry was still sleeping next to him.

“Good morning, Peter”, Aunt May said.

“Aunt May! How do you feel? Are you okay? I was so worried.”

“Yes, I am. There is no need to worry.”

“How long have you been awake?”, Peter asked.

“Oh, just in time to see you sleep while leaning on Harry.” She smiled as Peter blushed.

It didn’t take long until Harry woke up. “How are you, Aunt May?”

“I’m fine. There is no need to worry but it was good to see you two sitting at my bed when I woke up.”

“We brought you some clothes”, Harry said.

“Thank you, dear.”

“You should try to sleep again. You need to rest”, Peter instructed.

“Peter, dear, would you get me a glass of water, please?”, Aunt May asked.

“Sure. I’ll get us some coffee too.” Peter left the room to get the drinks.

“Thank you for being there for Peter”, Aunt May said.

“Of course, I am. I’ll always be there for him. And I’ll always be there for you”, Harry assured her.

“Will you watch out that he won’t spent too much time here? He needs some rest too.”

“I will, I promise. Peter was so anxious and worried yesterday. I fear that he still blames himself”, Harry told her.

“He always thinks the fate of the world rests on his shoulders. He’s a good boy.”

“Yeah, he is. I’m glad to have him. And I’m glad to have you. You and Ben have been more like family to me than my real family. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me”, Harry said quietly.

“And you’re like a son to me too, Harry. I’m so proud of you. It’s good to know Peter is in good hands. But you should try to work things out between you and Norman. I know he’s not easy, but it’ll make you feel better. Who knows when you’ll get the next chance to do so?”, Aunt May said.

Peter came and handed him a cup of coffee and handed the glass of water to Aunt May. It didn’t take long until she fell asleep again. When MJ came to visit her, Harry excused himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about Aunt May’s words. Who knows when you’ll get the next chance to do so? What happened to Aunt May showed him how fast things could went downhill. She was right. He needed to work things out with his dad. And he had to finally make the move and come out to him. He couldn’t hide his relationship with Peter forever.

So, he went to the Osborn mansion. When he entered the foyer, he heard a weird laugh from above. “Dad?”, Harry asked as he climbed up the stairs. No response, just another laugh. “Dad, is that you?”, he called again.

“What is it?”, his father asked.

“We need to talk.” Harry took a deep breath. “I’m scared to tell you, but I can’t stay silent about it anymore. I don’t want to lie anymore.”

“Scared to tell me? I haven’t always been there for you, have I? Why should you be afraid of telling me something if I hadn’t failed as a father?”

“You’re busy. You’re an important man. I understand that”, Harry said.

“That’s no excuse.” His father was right. It was no excuse.

Sweat was pouring out of his skin. His heart was beating in his chest as if it was about to explode. Harry took a deep breath. “I’m in a relationship with Peter.” Finally, he said it. He stared at the floor because he didn’t want to see the disappointment, the hatred in his father’s eyes. His eyes filled with tears as he prepared for the screams he was about to endure.

But his father said what Harry was expecting the least. “I am proud of you. I’ve lost sight of that somewhere, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.” His father hugged him. “I’ve always been proud of you. You could never disappoint me.”

Harry started crying. Tears of relief, tears of joy, tears because he finally heard the sentence he had been waiting to hear for so long and tears because he could finally accept himself for who he was.

“I love you so much”, Norman said and gently stroked Harry’s back to comfort his son.

The next moment, Harry fell on the floor where he laid unconsciously.