Supersuit

The internship at Oscorp slid into Penny's life so seamlessly that after a few weeks, it was like she'd never been without it. Three days a week after school, she took the bus after school, using her Internship ID to get in through the side door. Laura or Susie or Mike, the regular receptionists, would greet her by name, and she'd walk through the security scanner before heading to the elevator that would take her to the internship lab.

Harry would always stop what he was doing, pulling her into a hug right there in the open doorway, his lips pressed to her cheek so close to her mouth that the little black camera in the corner of the room couldn't tell the difference. Then the two of them would sit at their own desks and catch up as they worked on their own projects. And for just a little while, Penny almost forgot about being Spider-Girl. Not completely…she still had nightmares about the ferry and about DC…about nearly dropping an elevator full of her friends (and Flash) to plummet to their deaths while she was forced to watch. And she still felt guilty that she wasn't patrolling every day.

But going to the lab and working with Harry was fun. It was nice to work on actual, challenging projects. It was nice to have time to have sleepovers with Ned where they could watch movies and build LEGO sets together again. She liked being able to have whole conversations with May where she wasn't constantly worried about hiding something. School felt suddenly important again. She had more time to focus on Academic Decathlon. And when Flash started to make fun of her for faking not one, but two internships, she pulled her Oscorp Intern ID out of her pocket and stuck it in his face in front of the whole team, trying not to glow when Liz practically snatched it out of her hands, going on and on about how cool it was that she already had an internship and thankfully not asking why she'd quit the one at Stark Industries.

On weekends, she went on 'dates' with Harry, the two of them going out to dinner or just hanging out at her apartment. May didn't ask why he was suddenly around more, but Penny could tell that her aunt wanted to talk. She didn't bring it up, though, and Penny figured she could put off that awkward conversation for a little longer. On their 'dates' they talked about the internship or school, just like old times, until finally, about a month and a half after starting the internship, Penny finally brought up the suit.

They were eating pizza in Penny's room, binge watching The Office on his tablet, and it almost felt like a real date. But no matter how much fun she was having reconnecting with her best friend, and no matter how nice it was to have time in her life again for things she loved, she couldn't help the old pull. Bad things were happening. The Vulture was still out there. People were still getting hurt. And as long as she had the ability to stop those things and didn't, they were happening because of her.

And Penny couldn't stand how selfish that made her feel.

"I made a list of materials I think we'll need for the suit. Ned already agreed to do a lot of the programming."

Harry turned the volume down, turning to look at her, instantly all business, and she got the feeling that he'd been waiting for her to bring it up. "Do you have it on you?"

She jumped up, pulling a notebook out of her desk drawer and handing it to him. "I started on the design. I liked a lot of stuff about the old suit, but it doesn't have to be that fancy. I'm mostly thinking about webshooter combinations and making sure the suit is flexible enough to move in. I'll have to make it by hand…"

He browsed the list, nodding to himself. "I have a sewing machine in my room."

And just like that, they were off.

They huddled around her notebook for almost two hours, sketching out ideas and listing materials they would need. She video called Ned too, so he could give his input. And by the end of the evening, they had a pretty good start.

At the internship on Monday, the two of them took turns working on their own projects while trying to sneakily collect materials for her suit. Penny tried to tell herself that this was kind of Harry's company too, so what they were doing wasn't technically stealing since she had his permission, but she felt guilty all the same. Just not guilty enough to give up on her new project. Because as badly as she wanted to go patrolling, she wouldn't do it until the suit was done. She couldn't stand the thought of Mr. Stark seeing her on Youtube in a hoodie and goggles again. Because then he might make her stop. But if she was in a suit, one that she'd built, that was just as good as the one he'd given her, then he wouldn't have any right to tell her to stop. He wasn't her boss. He wasn't even her mentor.

He was just a rich guy who, when it came down to it, hadn't wanted anything to do with her.

Working with Harry was easy, and she couldn't help wondering if working with Mr. Stark would have been easy too. Would he have taught her better ways to build a suit like this? Would he have sat down with her and showed her how to put together the code for an AI like Karen? Would she ever be able to replicate Karen?

She hoped so.

May had looked worried when Penny had thrown all of her Iron Man figurines into a box, along with the Iron Man mask she'd had since her uncle had bought it for her at the Stark Expo, but she hadn't wanted to look at them. Hadn't wanted to think about how badly she'd failed. Besides, she wasn't failing now. Little by little, her suit was coming together. Ned wrote line after line of code. Penny and Harry stared at their computer screens for so long that when they closed their eyes, they could still see the plans for her suit like they were burned into their retinas. Harry took bits and pieces home to sew together at night after his dad went to bed and couldn't catch him…not that his dad was keeping close tabs on him anymore. Now that he was 'dating' Penny, Norman finally seemed proud of his son.

Penny didn't know which she hated more, Norman's new pride in his son or Harry's happiness at finally pleasing his father. Because the moment they let the act drop, she knew it would all go away.

Penny and Harry were in the middle of a text chain with Ned on a Wednesday afternoon, the three of them throwing out ideas for web fluid storage, when the door to the lab opened. Harry was the first to react, dropping his phone onto the floor and turning back to his tablet, switching the screen so seamlessly that Penny could tell he had plenty of practice. She was a little less subtle, putting her phone face down on the desk after locking it and turning to face who she thought was Luka but who turned out to be Mr. Osborn.

"Dad?" Harry asked, not quite able to hide his surprise. "What are you doing down here?"

"Am I not allowed to check on my own interns?" he asked, smiling down at the two of them. "Luka reported that the two of you are doing excellent work down here. I thought I'd come see it for myself."

"Oh…"

Penny couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine. There was something in his gaze when he looked at her…something…calculating. Why? He'd never looked at her like that before. Was he on to them? Did he know, somehow?

No. There was no way. The camera didn't have audio, and besides, why would he be checking up on them. They were acting like they were dating and doing all of their work, and Harry's grades were as perfect as always. So were hers. Why would he suspect anything?

As soon as the look appeared, it was gone, and he was once more the genial father of her friend, a mask she never believed, but was somewhat comforted to see anyway. He sat on a stool between them, combing through their work and pointing out improvements, but in a surprisingly kind way. He smiled and laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder, and her friend beamed at the attention. So when he left and Harry was still smiling, she kept her mouth shut about her stupid suspicions. Of course he hadn't been looking at her any different. There was no way he knew anything. She doubted he even cared what they did in their free time, or if they wanted to work on some extra projects.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

It was a week later on a Friday evening that her phone buzzed while she was eating dinner with May. The two of them were at their favorite Thai place since Penny hadn't had her internship that evening, and Penny was halfway through a bowl of Pad Thai, which she'd somehow managed to eat while also being quizzed by May.

"So…how's Liz?"

"She's fine, I guess."

"Did you see her this week?"

"Just at practice. And in PE class."

"Did you try asking if she wanted to be partners in PE?"

"Ned is my partner in PE."

"But you could switch."

"No, May!" she groaned, feeling her cheeks flush.

"The Homecoming dance is coming up pretty soon, isn't it?"

"It's still, like, a month away."

"It's not too soon to see if she has a date."

"Of course she has a date!" Penny told her, still blushing. "She's, like, the most popular girl in school. Everyone's probably asked her. And she's been busy planning it and…besides, I don't even know if she likes girls."

"You won't know unless you ask."

Realizing suddenly that this was as good a time as any, Penny took a deep breath. "Actually…um…there was something I wanted to tell you. About that."

"Oh…okay."

It was then that her phone buzzed, but she ignored it, knowing that if she didn't go ahead and have this conversation, she might put it off forever. "So…you know Harry and I are working together a lot, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well…his dad…I mean, you know how Mr. Osborn is."

"I do," she agreed, eyes narrowing. "Did he say something to you?"

"No! Nothing like that. I mean…so, Harry kind of…asked me for a favor." May was silent, waiting, and Penny plowed ahead. "When I first started the internship, he told me that his dad had been hard on him lately and…um…he asked if I would pretend to be his girlfriend." Her voice lost steam as she went, lowering into an almost whisper by the end, and May furrowed her brows, leaning in.

"So…you're pretending to date Harry? Because of his father?"

"Yeah. Just like…at the lab and stuff. That's why we've been hanging out more. So his dad will buy it."

"Is this something you're okay with?"

"Yeah. I mean…it's fine. I like hanging out with Harry and it's not like I have a shot with Liz anyway so…" She trailed off again, shrugging.

"Baby…"

"No, really. It's fine. I promise! I just wanted you to know in case his dad came around and mentioned it or something. It's just to keep his dad off his back."

"If you're sure you're okay with this. But honey, if you decide you don't want to do it anymore, you don't have to. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

She reached out, patting her hand. "You're a good friend, Pen. Harry's lucky to have you. And just for the record, Liz would be too."

She blushed again at that, shaking her head. "May," she muttered, pulling her phone out of her pocket now that the moment was over. "Oh…Harry called."

"Maybe he's asking you on a fake date."

Penny rolled her eyes, sending him a quick text asking if everything was okay.

"Or maybe he's asking you to get fake-married."

She snorted. "You know the bride's parents pay for the fake wedding."

Before May could respond, Harry's response came through. "There's a big gala next weekend for charity. My dad wants us to go."

"Do you mind if I call Harry really quick? He's saying something about a charity gala."

"Fancy. Now, is this a real gala or…"

"Funny," Penny deadpanned, tapping his contact in her phone and pressing it to her ear while her aunt grinned, taking another bite of her food.

"Pen?"

"Hey. I'm not rich enough to know what a gala is."

He chuckled. "Basically think black tie formal party. Fancy little sandwiches that waiters in black and white outfits bring around on trays. Tiny glasses of champagne. Lots of rich, powerful people paying a lot of money to show everyone their new outfits and trophy spouses while they give some money to charity."

"What's the charity?"

"I don't know. Hungry penguins or whales or something. Maybe narwhals. It's something ocean related."

"Should I wear a penguin themed dress?"

"My dad's stylist already has a dress picked out for you."

"Is it penguin themed?" May lifted an inquiring eyebrow, but Penny decided to let her wonder for a little while longer. "Is there a dead fish prop?"

"Sadly no. The dress is blue, though."

"Penguins aren't blue."

"But the ocean is. Besides, I wouldn't swear to it being penguins. It could be dolphins."

"Technically the water is clear, not blue."

"Touche." She could practically hear his grin over the phone. "Can you be here tomorrow sometime to try it on. She's got your measurements but she might have to adjust it."

"How does she have my measurements?"

"Witchcraft, I assume."

"Nice. You think she can curse somebody? Flash has been getting on my nerves lately."

"You can ask her tomorrow. Text when you're on your way? Or do you want me to pick you up?"

"I'll take the subway. See you tomorrow."

May was grinning at her when she hung up.

"Are you sure he's gay?"

"We both are," Penny told her shortly, and her aunt's face softened as she held up her hands.

"Alright. So. The gala is penguin themed?"

"It's something ocean related. Apparently I get to wear a blue dress. Do you mind if I go over there tomorrow to get fitted."

"As long as you promise to send lots of pictures."

Thanks for reading!