Work Text:
Tonight was one of the biggest nights of the year for New York City. The Jubilee Gala took place every year to celebrate the founding of New York City and tonight the people of the city were celebrating 395 years since its founding.
Ever since he had met Penelope, he had always been accompanied by her and Pepper, but nstead of Penelope being right next to him where she usually was, talking to him about science shit and making fun of people wearing the most ridiculous outfits, it was Harley instead.
Penelope had ditched him.
She was, usually, all up for these kinds of things. Despite her daily attire of baggy pants and t-shirts with the most horrendous science puns on them, Penelope loved to get all dressed up. She and Pepper would spend hours shopping for outfits, and then spend the whole day of the Gala doing their hair and each other's makeup, so Tony cannot fathom why Penelope had decided she didn’t want to go.
It wasn’t like he had gotten any word that she wouldn’t be accompanying him. He didn’t even get a call from Penelope herself - May had called him late last night and, after apologizing for calling so late, informed him that Penelope couldn’t make it - and he knew he wasn’t the only one disappointed. Pepper frowned and asked him if he knew if there was anything wrong with Penny and said how this was uncharacteristically unlike her. He had agreed, but they had both decided not to dwell on it any longer.
Now, he was stuck with Harley - which wasn’t something he particularly minded because Harley was one of the most sarcastic people he knew - but that was the problem. The boy was too acidic.
He had complained about this in the car the whole way there, much to Happy and Peppers’s dismay. Harley acted like Tony wasn’t insulting his entire personality, and the boy even took the time to continue making his stupid comments and correcting Tony.
Pepper told him he was being dramatic, and it was probably nothing he should take offense to and Penelope probably had some personal things going on.
“You also have to realize she’s twenty-one now Tony,” Pepper had told him as she reached over to straighten his tie, “Penelope’s in college and probably has some big test coming up, so she’s most likely just studying.”
“But she never misses Galas. She loves them. She probably just didn’t want to be around Harley.” He had grumbled. Pepper had finished straightening out his tie, and then roughly smacked him on the shoulder. He could hear Harley laughing in the background.
“You shouldn’t be so mean to Harley. He’s a wonderful boy.” Pepper had said, and he watched as Harley shot him the most condescending look ever and flipped him off as he snuggled up into Pepper's shoulder. Tony snorted without humor and leaned back into his seat.
Pepper said he was pouting, but that’s false. It’s false because Tony Stark doesn’t pout, and Tony Stark definitely didn’t miss Penelope.
Pepper gave him a sad smile as they pulled up to the building in which the gala was being held. This year the gala was taking place in Gustavines - a fancy, historic venue that lay directly on the Hudson that Tony remembers being in a couple of years ago for some Stark Industries event.
Tony groaned as he saw all the paparazzi lined up outside the building, and Pepper had, once again, slapped his shoulder and leaned forward towards him, “Play nice Tony, or I’ll revoke your lab privileges for a week.”
Tony had blanched and nodded quickly, “Yes dear!” He said sing-songy “I would never do anything to go against you”. He heard Harley giggle as Pepper glared at Tony. “I’m serious Tony.”
Tony, once again, nodded and then jumped out of the car the second the car came to a complete stop.
Like always, he was immediately engrossed in flashes from paparazzi. Over the decades and decades he had been in the public eye, he had been used to the constant attention from the paparazzi. After he had revealed himself as Iron Man, the attention seemed to have gotten worse, and it didn’t get any better after the Avengers were formed and out into the public eye.
Still, he put on a fake smile with far too many teeth and let the paparazzi do their thing.
He talked to a couple of them, some older ones who he had seen occasionally at other events, and answered a couple of questions from people asking about Stark Industries and the Avengers. When Pepper and Harley had caught up with him - both of them being shown with as much attention as the paparazzi as himself - and they had slowly made their way into the building.
It was a very large event, and such had very, very important people. Tony didn’t see anyone he immediately recognized as ‘important’, but he knew that the Mayor and Commissioner of Police were in usual attendance, as were people like Harry Osborn and Reed Richards and, unfortunately, Justin Hammer, and then the occasional King T’Challa of Wakanda. There were also a bunch of big names in the science industry here, which was one of the only reasons Tony sort of enjoyed socializing at these kinds of things.
Despite his past offenses, Tony enjoyed hanging around with people of his intelligence. Most of them were, like him, quick-witted and very easy to talk to, and he heavily enjoyed talking about what other news was going on in the world of science.
Pepper, who was probably the only unflappable and collected one of the trio, led them through the menagerie of tables until they found the one with their name tags taped onto the cloth cover. Pepper sighed, turned to Tony and Harley, and situated them with a quick glare.
“Okay boys, you can go mingle off with your nerd friends now, but,” Pepper sent a pointed look to Tony who started backing away from them, “I want to hear nothing, absolutely nothing of you getting into any sort of trouble.” She waved a finger at them which was mildly threatening, at least to Tony. Harley didn’t look an ounce of bother.
They had both shared their promises about how they wouldn’t get into any trouble and then Pepper had left the two of them alone to go make conversation with some of the company’s shareholders which was something Tony would never do. Seriously. Tony just loved Pepper so much, but maybe because she did all the responsible things for the country. Maybe not, who knows?
So now, Tony sat alone and annoyed at a table with his worst enemy - do not tell Pepper he just said that - Harley Keener. Tony glared and Harley glared back. After a couple of minutes of just glaring between the two, Tony broke it so he could take a sip of water.
Harley sniffed and got a look in his eyes, a look Tony didn’t know if he liked. “This is just a pleasant evening, ain’t it old chap?”
Tony narrowed his eyes. “I’m not that old Keener.”
Harley shrugged and took a sip of his water. “I beg to differ. You’re forty-nine, that’s like… halfway to your death.”
Tony snorted. “Nice math skills, you learned that at Harvard?”
Harley scowled and glared at him, but there was no real anger in it. “Harvard is one of the most esteemed schools in this country.”
Tony let out a hum and leaned back in his chair, admiring the chandelier hanging from the roof at the center of the dance floor.
It, oddly enough, reminded him of the night he and Pepper had danced together at that event back in 2008. He still remembers that night very vividly, and every memory is almost engraved in his brain, from the color of her dress to the feel of her soft skin, and the way she wore her hair-
“Hello? Are you there?” Tony was snapped out of his daydreaming by Harley, who was snapping a finger in his face. Tony batted it away.
“What?”
Harley placed his chin on one of his hands. “Why’d she ditch?”
“What’d ya mean, Keen?”
Harley blinked at him. “First, never make nicknames again, secondly,” He leaned forwards, which, almost, reminded Tony of a middle school girl looking for gossip, “Why’d Penily ditch us?”
Tony scoffed. “You cannot go around making fun of me for my nickname choices when you call her ‘Penily’ and, for your information,” He sniffed, wiping his eyes like he was wiping away tears, “She made plans with any one of her friends tonight and didn’t want to cancel. At least, that’s what May said.”
Harley snorted and then giggled like Tony had just said the funniest thing on the planet, and Tony gave him a confused look as he sat up straighter. “Are you finally going insane kid?”
Harley came down from his laughing high and coughed before taking another sip of water. “You think Penelope ditched because she made plans? Think logically, Tony.”
Tony narrowed his eyes at Harley, curling his lip in confusion. “I am thinking logically… I don’t get what you’re leading at.”
Harley laughed again. “She canceled because she has a date, Tony!”
Tony sputtered and violently coughed into his hand, ignoring the pointed looks from the people around them. “You’re insane! Penelope is not going on a date. May said she made plans with friends and-”
“Last year, she had plans with Ned to go see some old showing of Star Wars, but canceled because of the Gala.” Harley nodded his head. “What aren’t you understanding? We all know that Penny wouldn’t cancel for Ned or Michelle - of course, unless they were in a serious accident or needed her - so it’s only logical she’s missing out because of a date. Boom, logic.”
Harley dropped his straw on the table, mimicking a mic drop, completely ignoring Tony’s existential crisis at the other end of the table. Pepper, however, did not, and the second she saw her husband’s face she rushed over.
“Please tell me you two haven’t gotten into trouble already.” She said, approaching the table with a drink in her hand.
Harley had whipped around with a large smile on his face. “Nope! In fact, we haven’t even left the table yet.”
Pepper had done nothing but raised an eyebrow and motioned over to Tony. “What happened to him then?”
Harley shrugged. “I just told him the truth.”
Peppers eyes narrowed at Tony, and then back at Harley. The boy had a mildly smug look on his face as he chuckled and took a sip of his water. “What was ‘the truth’?”
“I just told him that the real reason Penny ditched us tonight was because she has a date, but I guess he didn’t want to hear it.” Harley, once again, shrugged and started giggling as if the whole thing was a funny joke. Which, to him, it probably was.
Pepper frowned. “Did she tell you that?”
Harley shook his head. “No, but it’s pretty obvious. Last year, she canceled on Ned to come to the Gala, but I talked to Ned and Michelle earlier and they both said Penny wasn’t going to be with them tonight. So, the only logical conclusion is that she is on a date.”
Pepper hummed and curled her lips together. “I guess I wouldn’t be too shocked… she was telling me about this boy she-”
“She what!” Tony had practically shot up from his seat, once again, earning odd looks from the guests around them.
Pepper nodded. “Last week, she mentioned how there was this boy she really likes in a couple of her classes. I think she said he was coming back to New York for winter break… now that I think about it, I think Penny has known him since they were children, but I can't remember all the details about it.”
Harley had thrown his arms up in the air like the sports team he was rooting for won. “I knew it! In your face, old man! Once again, my Harvard intellect comes in at full play.”
Tony groaned and shoved his head in his hands. “I can’t believe it.”
“Oh dear, don’t take it as an insult, you’re the last one who knows about this, I’m sure she was just embarrassed about telling you.” Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly squeezed it. “Unless, of course, you’re more insulted about Harley’s Harvard comment, but I’m betting it’s about Penelope.”
Tony groaned again and nodded his head. Harley laughed again.
Pepper frowned, but there was still softness in her eyes. “Tony, you need to realize that Penelope is an adult now. She’s twenty-one, so it’s no surprise that she’s starting to date. I mean, just last week you were bugging her about not acting like a normal twenty-year-old.”
Tony took his head out of his hands and glared at Harley, who looked mildly insulted. “We don’t even know if he’s telling the truth.” He pointed an accusing finger at Harley, who frowned.
Pepper sighed. “You’re right, but I suppose we should… take it into consideration?”
Tony shook his head. “Nope. Absolutely not. I will not believe little Penelope has a boyfriend.”
“You know, going on a date doesn’t mean she’s dating the person she’s going on the actual date with, you know.”
Pepper and Tony, both in sync, whip around to face Harley, who looks on the scene like he’s watching a particularly good movie. When he realizes they’re both staring, he shrinks in on himself as an apologetic smile wavers on his face. “Sorry.”
Pepper huffed and turned her attention back to Tony. “Like I’ve said fifty times by now, she is an adult. She is growing up which is just something you need to understand. She’s not that wimpy little 15-year-old anymore - the one who went out as a crimefighting vigilante at night but was too scared to spar with Natasha Romanoff - and she is making her own life choices.”
“Uh, guys?”
“Not now Harley.”
Pepper gave Tony a sad smile, one of which he sent right back to her. “I know, it’s hard to come to terms with the fact-”
“Guys!”
Pepper and Tony both turned to Harley in, what must’ve been record time, and both gave the boy equally annoyed looks. “Can this wait for a second Harley? Go mingle around with your science friends while the adults have a conversation.”
Harley sent them both an offended look. “First off, I am twenty-two, legally an adult,” He exclaimed, over pronouncing the ‘adult’, “And secondly, Penelope is right behind you.”
Tony whipped around and Pepper stared at Harley with an unimpressed look. “Really, Harley? I mean, I could understand it at another time but-”
Tony turned slowly back to them, comically so, if you asked, and sputtered for a couple of seconds. Pepper stared at Harley, and then at Tony, and turned around to face the large crowd of people on the dancefloor.
Turns out, Harley wasn’t joking about Penelope being there, because low and behold, the girl was in the middle of the dance floor, spinning around a faceless man.
“She looks amazing,” Pepper had muttered, and she wasn’t wrong - Penny had on a black v-neck dress and had her hair styled up in the bun she always put it in for events. She had a full face of makeup on (something Pepper didn’t really expect because Penelope usually never wore make-up, even for fancy occasions like these) and was adorned in a couple of pearl necklaces and bracelets that Pepper was sure she had gifted the girl.
Pepper turned and stared at Tony who, instead, stared at Penelope with a glare. One more look at Penelope proved to Pepper that he wasn’t glaring at Penelope, but at the man whose arm she hung off of. Pepper couldn’t tell who it was at first glance - they were both facing away from them - but she thought he looked familiar.
Tony had figured out who it was before Pepper did, which was quite a surprise. He was usually very bad with faces, but she was shocked to see his lips curled down in disgust and his eyes darken.
Harley, who had appeared next to them, narrowed his eyes and let out an unamused noise. “Holy shit, that’s Osborn.”
If Pepper wasn’t such a composed person who had respect for her reputation, she might’ve dropped her glass because, there, standing right next to Penelope, cradling her waist as they danced, was Harry Osborn.
May, Penny had decided, was an angel sent down to earth from the heavens to do nothing but less this earth.
It was no real surprise that Penny was bad at getting all dressed up. Her usual attire of corny science pun t-shirts and overly baggy pants was not worn because she wanted to wear it, it was worn because she had no ability to dress herself.
She was extremely thankful that May was in town. She was even more thankful that May had raised her, and knew of her horrible attire because that meant May had invited her over to assist Penny in getting ready.
Penny could literally not be any more thankful. She doesn’t know what she would’ve done without May.
May, when she had learned that Penny had no dress (you can’t really blame her, she had grown out of all her other dresses, and she never had any need to wear fancy things anyway, so why would she have gotten a new dress?), had gifted her a beautiful light blue v-neck dress.
When asked why she had never seen May in the dress, or seen it at all, her aunt admitted it was her bridesmaid dress for her mother and father’s wedding, but after she had no real need for it so she stuffed it in her closet and hadn’t thought about it since now.
The dress was, understandably, one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing Penny had ever worn. She was surprised it fit her so well and really complemented every part of her body - after the spider bite, she was extremely insecure of her muscles and they were the main reason she strayed away from wearing tight clothing.
Due to Mays insisting, she had pushed through and sucked it up in her wants to look nice for Harry. May, after seeing her finished project, must’ve taken a million photos, cried a bit, and then taken a million more photos.
Still, as she stood staring at herself in the mirror of her old bedroom, Penny couldn’t see what May found so beautiful about her.
Sure, she looked fine at first glance, but the second she stared for longer she kept finding things wrong with her; her thighs were too big and fit awkwardly around the skirt part of the dress, her muscular arms looked too un-feminine, her Spider-Woman scars made her feel dirty. She sighed, frowning lightly as she gave the dress a small spin.
She didn’t even realize her spidey sense was alerting her of someone else in the room until she felt the familiar arms looping around her waist, pulling her back into an even more familiar chest.
She let out a breath of contention as Harry nuzzled his face into her neck, leaving small kisses on her collarbone. She giggled and knocked her head against his.
“Ma chérie, tu es tellement belle.”
She hummed and turned around so she was facing him, his hands not leaving her waist, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. The hands positioned on her waist pulled her impossibly closer to him.
Harry pulled away to give them some much-needed air and lay his forehead on her own. She moved one of the arms she had looped around his neck and ran it up and down his back, “Well, hello to you handsome.”
He snorted and pulled her into another quick kiss, and then pulled away so he could fully look at her. He ravished in the sight of her as his eyes scanned her. “You are stunningly beautiful.”
She giggled and pressed herself against him. “You already said that.”
He made a face of contemplation, “I don’t think I did. Here let me tell you again,” She sighed as he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” Penny hummed as she felt his lips trail further down her face and down toward her neck. “You’re sappy.”
“Only for you, chérie.” Harry hummed against the crook of her neck, and Penelope giggled.
They stood in a small silence for a couple of minutes, just relishing in each other, before Harry pulled away from her. “We should probably get going, don’t wanna be late, right Nellie?”
She sighed and stretched out her arms. “Yeah, guess not.” Her eyes trailed to an assortment of pearl necklaces and bracelets on her desk. “Go wait with May, I’ll be right out.” Harry kissed her forehead and stalked out of the room, no doubt going to find May and pester her about random things that May had no interest in. Penny giggled at the thought.
She grabbed a necklace, and a couple of bracelets, and slipped them on. She struggled a bit with the necklace, but eventually got it and headed out to the living room where she heard Harry and Mays voices.
May squealed like a teenager when she walked out and cried about how ‘She looked so amazing’ and that ‘Her little girl was all grown up’. She hugged Penny tight in her arms and swung her around like a ragdoll as Penny insisted that she’d been grown up for a while now.
May pulled away from Penny and pushed Harry towards her, before running off to the kitchen and calling back, “Wait there, I’m gonna take a photo!”
Penny blushed and waved her hands in the air, “I’m sorry about her, she’s always enthusiastic about things like this.”
Harry grinned widely, turned to look towards where May ran off to and turned back to Penelope. “I don’t mind. Hey, how long do you think it’ll take for her to come back?”
Penny contemplated this for a moment. “Well, she never remembers where she puts her phone, so I’ll say at least five minutes before-”
She was cut off by Harry pulling her in for another kiss. One of his hands looped around her waist and the other went to cradle the back of her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her.
Their intimate moment didn’t last for long and was soon interrupted by the flash of a camera. Penny jumped back as May smiled at the two of them and then looked down at her phone. “That is, for sure, going on the wall. You two are just so cute.”
Penny looked up and saw Harry hiding his face, and when she closer inspected, she could see that he was blushing. She snickered.
May clapped her hands together and looked between the two of them. “Well, I better let you guys go. I’m sure you don’t want to be late!”
Penny and Harry said their goodbyes to May and rushed out of the apartment building. They both loaded into Harry's car and started on their way to the event venue.
“We’ll be pulling in through the back to avoid the paparazzi. You don’t mind, right? I mean, I guess I just assumed that you wouldn’t want to be in the spotlight.” Penny turned to look at Harry. She had, honestly, not thought about the paparazzi at all. She was always seen with Tony and Pepper, so she supposes it must be best if they entered through the back.
She leaned back into the comfortable seat. “Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks.”
Harry smiled over at her, and she went back to staring out the window. Before she knew it, they were pulling into the back of a very, very fancy building, and Harry had handed the car keys off to a valet as they both jumped out of the car.
Harry slid his arm between Pennys and looped them together as they headed towards the back entrance. The security officer nodded his head as they both approached and opened the wide door for them to enter.
The second they entered the main area, Penny was entrapped by the beauty of the whole place. There was a gorgeous chandelier centered above what Penny thought looked like a dance floor and the tables were covered with lace covers and adorned with flower vases. It reminded Penny of something out of a movie.
“Our table is on the east side of the dance floor,” Harry explained as they head over towards their own table, “It’s my favorite place to sit because it faces directly out towards the Hudson. Everyone usually sits in the same places every year. I’m always over here, Hammer’s usually sitting on the South Side, Stark always-”
Penny was suddenly hit with a horrifying piece of information. Tony was going to be here. Not just Tony, Pepper too, and probably Harley. She didn’t know how she could let it slip her mind, but it did, and now she was, most likely, going to run into them.
“Tony’s going to be here.”
Harry looked down at her, eyebrows curled in confusion. “Yes, and you always come with him. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“I didn’t really… tell him I’d be here. Or that I was going on a date. I’m sorry.”
Harry’s mouth opened in an ‘O’ shape and a small twang of guilt ran across his face, “It’s fine, I really don’t mind. I’m guessing,” He spoke, taking a seat, “That you weren’t comfortable telling him you’re dating the CEO of his rival company?”
Penny sighed and sat down next to him. “Yeah, I was… I didn’t know if he would be mad.”
Harry gave her an understanding nod and took two drinks from a server, handing one to Penny. She sniffed it and scrunched her nose at the vinegary smell it emitted. “What is this?”
Harry sniffed it himself and then took a drink. “I think it’s wine". Penny frowned. “I’ve never had wine. Is it good?”
Harry hummed and took another sip. “I’m not a big fan of wine, but this stuff isn’t too bad.”
Penny swirled it around and took a sip of her own. It didn’t taste bad, but it definitely wasn’t amazingly good. She took another sip.
“Is it good?”
She made a face. “Eh, so-and-so.”
Harry nodded looked towards the dance floor, and then back at Penny. “Would you want to dance with me? We have a while until the speeches start.” He looked down bashfully, “Could be nice to pass the time.” He said quietly.
Penny smiled. “I’d love to dance with you, Mr. Osborn.”
He snorted and stood up, offering his own hand to Penny. She giggled and took it, letting him lead her towards the dance floor. There was a decent amount of people on the dance floor, but not enough where everyone was all cramped together.
When they had finally gotten to a spot Harry deemed ‘suitable’, he slipped an arm around her waist and grabbed one of her stray hands, swaying them back and forth to the music. She lay her head down on his chest and wrapped one of her arms around his own waist. It was nice, Penny thought, but she had never danced with anyone so she didn’t have anything to compare it to. She didn’t need to compare it, though, because this was probably one of the best moments of her life.
Harry didn’t say anything except make small comments every now and then, small comments on her outfit and how beautiful she looks. Every single one would make Penny blush, but she was guessing that that was his goal.
Everything was nice for a couple of minutes, and Penny was perfectly content with being in Harry’s arms. It wasn’t until the fifth song that everything had gone to absolute shit.
“Too beautiful, you’re too beautiful and it’s not fair. It should be illegal to look as nice as you do” Harry had whispered into her ear, eliciting a snicker out of her. “Well, you’re not too shabby yourself, Mr. Osborn, but I’m simply better.” She had said, unhooking her hand from his own and placing it on his chest.
Harry snorted and pressed his forehead down against hers, “Always so condescending Nellie.”
Penny smirked and trailed a hand towards his neck, looping it around and pulling him closer. “Good. You’re below me, Osborn, and you should remember it.”
Harry hummed against her head as he kept swaying them. “Come over to my place after and we could make that happen.”
Penny spluttered and blushed, burying her face in his chest as they both laughed. Harry loved to make her all flustered like this, just like she did him.
She was just about to go back and taunt him when she was suddenly engulfed in the feeling that she was being watched. She straightened up at the feeling and glanced around, and it wasn’t long until Harry must’ve realized there was something wrong.
“What’s wrong Nellie? Your tingle going off?”
She smacked him in the chest. “Don’t call it tingle. And yes. I think I’m being watched.”
He frowned and glanced around the room, the same as Penny. “You sure it isn’t just the paparazzi? I mean, I think they have a reputation for sneaking into events like this.”
She curled her lips. “No, I think…”
Harry, of course, noticed when her voice trailed off and her eyes landed on something across the room. When he had found what Penny was looking at, he stared, and Tony Stark stared right back.
“No, because I want to know what the hell you’re thinking!”
Penny winced and hung her head down in shame as Tony yelled at her. He, at least, had the decency to lead her away from the main event and do it somewhere private - a small sitting room down the hallway from the main area.
“I don’t get why it bothers you so much.” She mumbled, feeling an immense amount of shame and embarrassment rush through her. “We weren’t doing anything that bothered you…”
Tony scowled, “Oh, like hell you weren’t-”
Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder and sent her a slightly disappointed look, which made Penny feel ten times worse. “Calm down Tony. You won’t get anywhere with you being this angry.”
He huffed but took a deep breath, and Pepper spoke while Tony took a small break. “We’re just concerned for you, dear. The Osborns don’t have the best reputation - especially with how Norman used to be the Green Goblin - and Harry never seemed like the best person…” Her voice trailed off as she looked down at Tony.
Penny clenched her eyes together in an attempt to stop herself from crying. They were acting like her going out with Harry was such a big deal, and just the thought of that made her want to cry, and she did because if Penelope Benjamin Parker was good at anything, it was crying.
She burst into tears in front of them, and they at least had the decency to look at least the littlest bit guilty. She choked on her sobs and wiped her face with her hands. “He is a good person! He treats me really well and he’s nothing like Norman!”
Pepper and Tony looked at each other with mirroring guilty looks, and they both winced when they made eye contact.
“It’s just that- It’s just that we’ve been dating for so long and… and I love him and he loves me and-” Penny’s rant was cut short by another sob, and Pepper moved closer to her and sat down next to her.
Tony met her eyes as Pepper whispered small apologies to Penelope. He stared at her for a second and she must’ve understood what he was wanting to say because she gave him a small nod and motioned down the hallway. He nodded back to her and rushed down the hallway back to the main event room. When he walked back into the main area, he scanned the area until he found what he was looking for, or rather who he was looking for.
He saw an uncomfortable-looking Harry Osborn sitting down at a table and a glaring Harley Keener sitting across from him.
The uncomfortable look on Harry’s face didn’t disappear as Tony got closer, and if anything he looked more uncomfortable as Tony shooed Harley away and took his place at the table. As Harley was walking away from the table, Tony saw how he glared back at Harry and made a throat-slitting motion at him.
Harry diverted his gaze as Tony stared him down, looking everywhere but at the man across from him. Tony scowled, “So. What’re your intentions with my daughter?”
Harry looked mildly surprised and confused at the same time, looking at him almost like he didn’t actually expect him to be so straightforward. “To… to date her? I’m… not sure what other intentions I could have but…”
Tony slammed his hand on the table, which made Harry jolt in his seat. “Be serious, Osborn.”
Harry's eyes darkened and a scowl overtook his own face, and he glared at Tony. “I am." Tony glared right back, “Are you using Penelope to get closer to me?”
Harry's face twisted in anger and he pointed an accusing finger at Tony, “Fuck you Stark. First off, I’ve known Penny longer than she’s known who you are. She is the most important thing in my life and I would never, ever use her to get close to someone, nonetheless you.” He spat the words out with more venom than Tony thought was possible.
Tony nodded in approval and sat back down, completely ignoring the seething Harry Osborn across from him. “So, you’re one hundred percent only dating Penelope because you love her?”
That only seemed to make Harry more mad, “Yes, you asshole.”
“And you would never do anything to hurt her?”
“No.”
Tony hummed in approval. “Alright. I still don’t like you, but you should probably know that your girlfriend is crying her eyes out in the hallway.”
Harry blinked, stared at him for a second, and then shoved himself away from the table and started to head toward where Penelope was.
“I’m sorry I assumed you were dating Penny just to get close to me. It was a shit thing to do and, personally, if my dad had ever said that about me and Pepper I’d probably punch him in the face, so thanks for not doing that.”
Harry stopped and looked back at him. “Thanks?”
Tony nodded, and then Harry was gone.