"I mean, it was really good soup." Keira shrugged. "But I shouldn't have to play James Bond because I want to skip work for one day. You can just say 'hey I have a headache' and no one bats an eye, but when I call in sick, suddenly Siobhan's my fairy godmother who has to check in on me. Dammit, I should be allowed to go see the penguins at the zoo with my boyfriend without being backed into a corner of lies of my own making."

"That's probably the single most poetic and dramatic thing you've said." Norman replied.

"I need to try harder, then."

"I don't mind. It keeps my mind off of this."

"Norman, I promise it'll be fine, you're better with people than you think you are. You handle your board members perfectly fine and that's a thousand times harder than this will be."

"Dear, I don't care what my board thinks of me. Your parents on the other hand..."

The evening breeze colored with June's warmth blew lazily by the closer they walked to where Keira's house was. Keira laughed and sighed.

"Oh, I think it'll go better than you think." She smiled.

"Meeting Caroline's parents was the single most terrifying thing I had ever done and I'm certain her father thought about kicking my ass several times." Norman recalled.

"My dad's the easy part, it's my mom who's gonna be the challenge." Keira laughed again.

"Your Vietnam veteran dad, father of one daughter is the easy part?" Norman asked incredulously. Keira shrugged.

"Considering he admires you and your company, yeah, I'd say he's the easy part."

"He what?"

"You should have seen his face when I told him I landed my first job at Oscorp, I have never seen him that excited. He likes what we do and he appreciates that you're a self made man who built it from the ground up." Keira smiled. "My mom, on the other hand, doesn't watch the news as much and just knows you as 'someone I met at work.'"

Taken aback before trying to appear nonchalant, Norman continued, raising an eyebrow.

"And when your father heard you were dating me...?" He asked. Keira's face went beet red.

"See, that's the thing... I never said precisely who I was seeing... just that I met him at work, as my mom says. As far as they know, it's a completely blank slate. But based off of what little I've mentioned, I think they think you're a good guy. Make no mistake, though, my dad likely will have the talk with you regardless. It's this one."

Keira climbed the steps to the front porch, taking in the front of her childhood home. It wasn't a very large house; most places in New York weren't. It was comfortable, though. Sparing no second thought, she knocked on the door and stepped back so she was only one stair above Norman. She glanced down at him with one last reassuring look before the door opened.

"Oh, Keira, it's good to see you!" An older woman greeted, embracing Keira in a large hug.

"Hi, Mom. How have you been holding up?" She asked, pulling away.

"Well enough. The air conditioner busted last week and it took three days for someone to come fix it. You just can't find decent help these days." Keira's mom finally spotted Norman on the steps, trying to not look uncomfortable. "And this must be your boyfriend!"

"Yep. Mom, this is Norman." Keira said, gently pulling him closer. He offered her mother a handshake, which she accepted gently.

"I'm Donna, it's nice to meet you." She greeted with a warm smile.

"My pleasure." Norman replied, stepping closer to Keira. She held back a giggle, finding his slight awkwardness adorable. He's trying his best. She thought.

"Come inside, please, dinner's almost ready." Donna held the door open so the pair could walk inside. The familiar setting of the living room with the boxy old television in the corner and photos of Keira on the mantle made her smile. "Richard, come downstairs, they're here!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." A gruff older voice called back. Keira met her father at the bottom of the stairs, minding his cane as she hugged him. "There's my girl."

"Has everything been okay for you lately? Did your doctors appointment go alright?"

"Yeah yeah, just the usual reports." Keira's father waved it off. "It took three days for someone to come and fix the air conditioning. You just can't find decent help these days. Anyways, where's this young fellow of yours?"

Keira laughed and walked with her father back to the living room. Her mother was back in the kitchen while Norman stood in the room, looking at her photos on the mantle curiously.

"Before you ask, that was a choir concert with my friend Anthony, the one who teaches at Midtown. We never dated, he was with Anna, his wife now." She spoke up jokingly. Norman looked at her almost sheepishly.

"I wasn't assuming anything." He said. She laughed with an eye roll.

"Anyways, Dad, this is--" She started.

"By golly, he looks exactly like that Mr. Osborn fellow." Keira's father said. Norman's face went red as Keira let out a laugh.

"There's a reason for that, Dad." She said. Richard blinked a few times, squinting. Following along, Norman extended a hand with a smile.

"Norman Osborn, it's nice to meet you, sir." He said. Richard looked between Norman's hand and his face, suddenly understanding.

"Well I'll be. My Keira managed to strike the fancy of Mr. Osborn? I never would have thought."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad." Keira said sarcastically.

"She's smart, considerate, and beautiful, I'm the lucky one. Any man would be lucky to have her." Norman said, pulling Keira close and kissing her temple. She blushed, hiding her face in his chest.

"You said anything else and we'd have a problem." Richard said. "Donna! Get out the good plates!"

"I've already used the regular ones! Besides, I'm not finding the key to the china cabinet!" Donna called back.

"But this is Mr. Osborn! He's been on TV several times, he's one of the most important men of our time! I've told you this a thousand times!"

"I don't care if President Bush is in my living room, we're using the regular plates!"

Richard waved off Donna's words, turning back to face Norman and Keira, both barely hiding the laughter threatening to bubble up.

"I hope you're in the mood for baked ziti." Richard said.

***

As high as Keira's hopes were, dinner went even better than she had expected. Even during some of the more awkward parts of the conversation, Norman kept his composure and impressed both of her parents. He even offered to help clean the dishes before Richard asked to talk to him. Knowing what this likely was, Norman steeled himself and agreed. Back inside the living room, Richard started.

"Now, I assume you know what this is, so I'm not gonna start the long preach about not hurting my daughter. But I am going to make it very clear that if you make one false move, I'm going to kick your ass back to the stone age. Wealth and brains won't save you then no matter how much you think it will."

"I have no intention of hurting her. I'll treat her the way she deserves to be treated with the highest regard. I'll give her a good life where she need not want for anything." Norman picked his words carefully, flashing back to the same conversation with Caroline's father several years ago.

"I'm glad to hear that, but she can survive without you if it came down to it. Her mother and I made for damn sure she knew how to sustain herself. Giving her a good life doesn't and shouldn't equate to making her dependent on you."

"You've taught her well to go on this long. She's a smart woman who can do whatever she needs to do to survive."

"So you understand. Good. And... one more thing."

"Yes, sir?"

Richard sighed and gestured for Norman to sit down on one of the chairs. He complied, albeit nervously as Richard claimed the edge of the sofa next to it.

"We taught her for years that getting involved with someone with a kid is a bad idea. My nephew married a woman with two daughters by her ex husband and he's been miserable for years because of it. That being said, usually the problem arises with the previous spouse. It's Keira's life and I'm not going to dictate how she lives it, but just know that I know that she could face problems with your son."

"I made Keira aware of Harry as soon as our first date, and it didn't deter her. He's a sweet kid, just reserved around new people. I'm not expecting much out of him once they meet, but I've also been making sure he knows I'm seeing someone so it's not as much of a shock."

"That's the best you can do. You're a good man and you make Keira very happy. And if she's happy, then I'm happy. Just don't hurt her and we'll be all fine and dandy."

"Understood, sir. Thank you." Norman almost released a sigh of relief.

"I have to say, I rarely hear of a man so eager to help clean up." Donna said, coming into the room with Keira.

"Well, it'd be rude not to. Besides, it's a force of habit. My roommate in college would have had my head if I didn't clean up. Otto made sure I at least knew how to cook some things as well. I lived off of the omelets I had to make."

"Well, hopefully we'll have a chance to try some."

Keira let out a yawn, signaling her fatigue.

"I'd better get her back home." Norman said, extending a hand for Keira to take. She accepted it and rested her head on his shoulder gently with a tired but content smile. "It was nice meeting you."

"You as well, Norman. Feel free to come back any time." Donna said, offering a simple wave.

"Yeah, maybe you can show me some of your projects." Richard added. Norman smiled, offering a wave with his free hand as he led Keira out the door.

"They liked you." She said.

"I'm glad, because I don't know what I would have done if they didn't." Norman admitted.

"Nothing. It's my life." Keira yawned again.

"Should I get us back to your apartment?" Norman asked as they walked down a few blocks looking for the car.

"Actually, can we make one stop first?" Keira asked.

"Sure. Where to?"

"Central Park." When Norman raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "It's a nice night and I'd hate to waste it."

"Fair enough."

***

Central Park was big, but Keira knew exactly what her destination was. Still, she didn't want Norman to know exactly what her plan was until she knew that he would know.

They took a couple of laps around the Conservatory Water lake to admire the statues in the late evening light until Keira made a gentle right. She kept their conversation going so Norman wouldn't notice as much.

After a little more walking, her destination was just over the ridge and she sighed.

"I'm still glad my parents approved." She said.

"Me, too." Norman replied. Keira smiled up at him as they kept walking.

"I figured since they had a say, someone else should as well."

Norman looked at her a little confused until he spotted the cherry blossom tree on the small hill and he was taken aback.

"That's..."

"The tree you spread Caroline's ashes around." Keira confirmed. "You mentioned it a while back. I'm a woman of science, but I believe in spirits and ghosts. You don't have a close relationship with your parents, so I figured asking her was the next best thing."

Once they reached the tree, Keira invited Norman to sit with her under it. When he obliged, she grabbed his hand again and leaned against his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while, the only sounds heard being their breathing and the wind rustling the branches.

"I know this is probably a bit strange, Caroline, but I figured you ought to have a say in this. He was your husband first and it's only fair that I make sure you're comfortable. As Norman promised to keep me safe and happy, I promise to do the same for him. You can trust me with him and Harry once I meet him. Not to replace you, but to carry on for you. If you feel so compelled as to send a sign for your opinion, feel free." Keira said aloud, staring up at the pink flowers of the tree.

Norman almost couldn't believe it. It wasn't like he expected Keira to just outright disregard or ignore his past with Caroline, he just... didn't expect this. Not only that, but she valued the thoughts of this woman she never met. Norman felt his eyes misting over, falling in love with the woman laying on his shoulder all over again.

The wind blew again, this time taking a few of the flowers with it. It was a gentle wind, gentle enough to slowly bring one   blossom down to rest on Keira's lap. They stared at it and then at each other. Carefully, Norman picked up the blossom and rested it in Keira's hair behind her ear. She grinned, kissing him lightly.

"I suppose that's a 'yes,' then?" She said.