~*~

Peter slept until the evening and woke up to hear Harry clattering about in the kitchen. Still bleary from his nap, Peter rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. As he washed his face to freshen up, his image in the mirror caught his eye. Everything seemed normal but not, as if the image reflected wasn't what he expected to see. His body was normal, which wasn't unusual since he never exercised and wasn't particularly fit. But he ran his hands over his torso, as if he thought he would find something else.

"Thought I heard you wake up." Harry stepped into the bathroom. "Dinner's almost ready. I would have gotten you up sooner, but you looked like you needed the sleep."

"Oh. Yeah," Peter mumbled absently. "Thanks for that."

"You still look out of it though," he commented, coming up behind Peter and setting his hands on the shorter man's shoulders. "Maybe you have mono or something."

"I don't know." He shook his head and splashed water on his face. "I keep staring in the mirror, like I think I'm going to see..."

"See what?"

"I don't know," he frowned. "Something." He touched a hand to his stomach. "Did I always look like this?"

"Uh, maybe? I guess. I didn't see you completely naked until a couple of months ago." Harry blushed. "Well, at least not when I was remembering to look."

"Oh. Because it feels like at one time... I thought I looked different."

"Maybe you should put on your glasses," Harry winked, handing him the plastic frames. "You'll see better."

Peter looked down at the frames like they were foreign objects before hesitantly taking them and putting them on. "Maybe," he sighed. "Did I always need these?"

"Ever since the third grade." Harry looked at him skeptically. "Maybe I should let you sleep."

"It's fine," Peter said, pulling on an old shirt from off of the top of the laundry pile. "I'm sure you put a lot of effort into dinner and I should read for tomorrow and get some problems done."

"I don't want you fall asleep into your plate. And you should get rest before you go and see my dad's shiny new scientist."

"So soon? That's tomorrow?"

"Dad called while you were asleep. Dinner's in a few days but you're invited to the lab tomorrow. You know he doesn't like to waste time."

"I know," he replied as he pulled on pants. "Are you going to be there?"

"Tell me you're kidding. You know I'd only get in the way," he scoffed. "Wouldn't understand a thing any of you guys would say. It would be awkward in the worst third wheel way."

"I like you to be there," Peter murmured and took his hand. "You wouldn't? Even for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," he said, giving him a peck on his cheek. "And it's for you that I'm staying away. You'll want to talk to Octavius, not get distracted by me and my constant begging for attention and explanations."

"You should stay. I can't lose you!" Peter cried out, then blushed.

"Whoa, Pete, calm down. It's a day, not a big deal. What's gotten into you?"

Peter froze and suddenly realized his breathing was heavy. "I'm sorry Harry. Got a little carried away, that's all." He walked out into the room. "Let's have dinner. What'd you make?"

"A stir fry. You want forks or chop sticks?"

"Fork. Too clumsy with anything else."

"Well I'll make the effort," said Harry as he set out the plates. "Try to learn a new skill."

Peter only nodded and sat down in silence, fumbling with his fork and wondering why he couldn't focus.

~*~

The night's sleep did wonders for Peter who woke up, stepped out of the shower, looked into the mirror, and saw nothing weird. Feeling reassured, he ran over his schedule in his mind as he went to the bureau to pull out a fresh shirt.

"Already set one out for you," said Harry through a mouthful of Cheerios, pointing towards the chair by Peter's desk. "Ironed and everything. I figured you'd want to look your best today."

"Thanks." He grabbed the powder-blue shirt off the back of the chair it was draped on. "And don't eat on the bed. You're going to attract ants."

"It's fine," he rolled his eyes and changed the channel on their bedroom television before eating another spoonful. "Calm down and get dressed before you're late."

"And what will you be doing today?" Peter asked as he did up the last button and looked for a tie.

"Ties are in the closet, on the right. I will be hanging out in my boxers, enjoying our cable."

"I'll make sure to tell your dad you were attending class."

"Why bother? He assumes the worst of me anyway."

Not sure how to respond, Peter settled for silence and adjusting his Windsor knot in the mirror. He cinched his belt, slid on a coat and gave a nod to harry who was still stretched out on the bed, half-tangled in the sheets and slurping up the last of his cereal.

"Enjoy your day," he said with a nod to Harry.

"You too," Harry called back, not taking his eyes from the television.

Peter's gaze hovered on him a moment longer, watching him set the bowl aside and stretch out on the bed, extending his legs and torso and reaching above to flex his arms. Then he settled down, laying in a prone position with a grin on his face. He looked calm and cheerful, even though his position held shades of something else for Peter. Harry stretched out beneath him and everything was wrong... Peter stepped back into the room and knelt on the bed to kiss him.

"Mmmph!" Harry looked at him in surprise. "Pete! You're gonna wrinkle your clothes!"

"You're worth it," said Peter with a shy grin. "Always worth it."

Harry thumbed Peter's chin. "If I had time I'd get you out of them altogether. But I wouldn't want you to let my dad down. One of us has to fulfill his expectations. You'd better get going before you end up being late."

"Alright, I'm going," Peter said, sliding off the bed but stopping again at the door. "I love you Harry. Remember that."

"Come back tonight and show me!" Harry laughed as he left.

~*~

"You want me to what?" Dr. Octavius looked at his employer skeptically. "I understand that you're funding my research and I'm grateful for that. But I don't have the time to waste..."

"Parker is not a waste of your time," Norman interrupted. "He's a very close member of the family, yes, and he is dating my son. But more than that, he's legitimately brilliant. Your colleague Connors has him doing lab work and I'm sure you'll develop a similarly high opinion of him if you spend any time together."

"Very well," he sighed. "But I would have appreciated some prior notice. What am I supposed to talk to him about anyway?"

"Your research, what else?" He glanced at his watch. "Speaking of Peter, he's probably here by now. I'll go down to the lobby to find him and bring him up to make the introductions."

"As you will," Otto replied with a nod.

"Is there a problem?" His wife left the boxes she was unpacking as soon as Norman was gone. "What's going on?"

"Osborn wants me to meet with some college kid that he's been talking up. It's his kid's boyfriend, which probably tells you all you need to know right there. A little stroking of the ego, a nod towards his nepotistic urges and I'm sure I can be rid of him."

"Well if you're sure." She kissed his cheek. "Now what else needs unpacking?"

"We need to put the shelves up, but I can help with those." He turned his head towards the door. "And I think my boss is back with his guest."

Sure enough, the door swung open a moment later revealing Norman with a slight twenty-something standing next to him.

"Dr. Octavius, I'd like you to meet Peter Parker," he said, pushing the boy towards the scientist.

Otto almost pitied the child; he looked terrified, wide-eyed as a deer with a truck bearing down on it. When he took Otto's hand, he held on like a vise and pumped with a manic urgency.

"It's good to meet you doctor," he said breathlessly, staring at Otto as if he couldn't believe they were both actually there and talking. Otto wondering what might be running through the boy's mind at that moment, if he really was genuinely impressed or frightened or both.

"Norman says you're quite the scientist."

"Oh, well, I, uh, do my best. I'm just in school but I hope to work as a scientist. One day." He flashed a weak grin. "If Dr. Connors passes me."

"Norman seems to have no qualms about your talent."

"He's very kind," said Peter, maintaining his wisp of a smile.

"Let me show you around the lab," Otto offered, breaking their grip. "I apologize that it isn't more in order, but my employer was quite insistent," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, that's alright. You can show me whatever you like. No need for apologies."

As he lead Parker around the lab, Otto found himself pleasantly surprised. Beneath the shyness and the distracted air, there were flashes of brilliance surprising in a boy his age. He asked questions, showed genuine interest and, once he'd grown comfortable with the situation, conversed intelligently about Otto's project. Once Peter had left for class, he told Norman about it with a bit of a laugh.

"He was even somewhat worried about my design," said Otto, gesturing towards the schematics that Norman was holding. "Of course, I assured him there was nothing to worry about. Poor boy looked like he was going to have a heart attack at the idea of me testing out the machine and kept coming back to how unsafe it was."

"He's right," Norman murmured.

"What?" Otto's head snapped towards him.

"Here. You'll overload unless you build up the machine to reinforce the field." He passed the diagrams back to Otto. "I trust you have enough time to make the changes?"

Otto looked at him, pale. "I've worked on this my whole life," he whispered in a confused voice.

"And most people have trouble seeing flaws in projects they've worked on for too long. Besides, don't consider it a slight to your talents. Consider it proof of Peter's."

With another nod, Otto stared down at the paper and thought back to the boy he'd met earlier.

He'd have to get to know this Parker boy better.

~*~