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Yeah! I- if you want them I mean! [THe apprehension on Otto's face is enough to make Peter a little nervous. His smile falters just slightly.]

If not, that's cool. I mean, you're- we're- [The verbal floundering begins as Peter starts to feel a little self-conscious. Now he's wondering if he's way overstepped. His whiskers droop slightly, as he holds the bundle a little closer to himself.]

It's about what you want I mean.

[The confirmation is already enough to send Otto reeling. Peter really thinks of him like-? Even after-? Why would that-

But as Peter begins to falter and those whiskers droop, Otto realizes his confusion needs to be swept aside. This must've taken a lot of courage and energy to do. Peter really went out of his way like this just for him.]

Of course I'd want them. I... I'm honored. [He gets up from his chair to close the distance between them. With that, he can place a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.] Thank you, Peter.

[Peter breathes out a relieved kind of sound at Otto's response. The anxiety ramping up at Otto's initial reaction dropped back to its usual level.

His smile returns, still just slightly tentative.] I know it's probably kinda- of assuming stuff on my part, but I wanted to make you something.

[There, a verbal disclaimer so Otto can nope out if need be.

Peter loosens his hold on the things he made. Unfurling the fabric of a shirt to reveal a octopus plushie. The toy is clearly handmade, with rough stitches in places and one droopy tentacle where Peter had run out of stuffing. The embroidery around the eyes as glasses is slightly skewed in one spot, but still readable as eyeglasses.]

[Otto has no intention of nopeing out. When the shirt is folded open, he takes in the revealed gift with wide eyes. ... It's an octopus. Right. He told Peter about the actuators, but he never mentioned the 'Doctor Octopus' thing and how much it bugs him, did he? Too late now. He knows why Peter has that association, and he knows this was done with all the best intentions. That's what matters.

So he smiles and picks the plushie up with one hand.]

You made this yourself?

Yeah, I like sewing, and I thought... This would be something you like? [~~Peter unintentionally hits Otto with the big ole rat eyes.~~ Peter looks up at Otto hopeful. His whiskers starting to wiggle slightly.]

You can flip it too, I mean. It has a cranky face on the other side.

[Curious, Otto tilts the plushie upside-down and tries to do the flipping thing. It takes him a few seconds to figure out how that works, but he manages the reversal all the same, revealing the cranky face. It even has a different color.]

Oh! That's very clever.

[Peter brightens visibly, happy for the compliment. Just as proud that Otto seems to like it. For once he isn't denying a compliment.]

I thought it'd be kinda cool to be able to do with him. I wanted to do your glasses, but the square shape looked better on the toy.

I agree, this does look better. [And it's not just because he doesn't want a toy octopus to bear too close a resemblance to him, though that does factor into his opinion.] Thank you, Peter. I'll make sure to find a good spot for it. On the desk, perhaps.

He'd be a good way to tell people if you're open to visitors too probably. Just flip him. [He's only half joking with that suggestion before Peter remembers the second gift still in his hands.

He shakes it out a little bit, holding up a long sleeve shirt for Otto.

I know you're a lot... fancier than I am, but I thought a shirt to work in or whatever with a dumb joke on it would be fun?

[He turns the black shirt so Otto can see the shirt. The design on the front was drawn carefully by ~~these little rat hands~~ Peter himself.]

[The remark about the uses of the octopus is amusing to Otto, but not as amusing as what's on the shirt. As a physicist and as someone with a cheesy sense of humor, he can appreciate the joke immensely. So he laughs.]

I'm not sure I would categorize that joke as dumb, Peter.

[Any nervousness Peter has about the shirt immediately drops away at Otto's response. His ears perk up, and his whiskers are wiggling as he smiles back at Otto.]

Oh- I- I'm glad! I've never seen you with this kind of shirt, so, I wasn't as sure.

It's certainly not the sort of shirt I would usually wear, but then... I've never encountered a shirt with a brilliant physics joke before. This changes everything.

[He holds out a hand to accept it from Peter's hold.]

[The teenager readily hands the shirt over to Otto, his smile still bright and pleased. The teenager took a guess at what size Otto wears, so it should fit.]

I used to have a lot of these kinds of shirts back home. I found like one or two of them around, but I need to like recreate ones I used to have.

[He's not going to try it on immediately, but at the very least, he'll hold it up in front of himself to estimate whether the size is right. It seems legit.]

Hah, that's the sort of project I'll encourage with heartfelt enthusiasm. [...] You should see if you can make one for Bruno as well, some time. He's a big fan of cheesy puns.

[Normally, he'd include Norman in that sentiment as well. Right now, however, he doesn't feel comfortable saying his name in front of Peter. If Norman ends up getting a pun shirt as well, it'll be 100% Peter's decision.]

I'll keep that in mind, try to buy more blank shirts after patrols or something to see if I can keep making pun shirts. I owe Bruno a shirt at least for helping me so much.

[It's Peter who does bring Norman up, be it slightly hesitantly. He doesn't want to ruin the mood, but he can't pretend Norman isn't important either. Norman is someone they both care about.]

I had bought like, one of these kinds of shirts for Norman way, way earlier, so I thought it'd be cool if you guys matched. I made him a different stuffed animal, since I thought that'd be cool too.

[Peter wanted them to match? Oof... That's a little painful, now. He tries not to let it show, instead turning around to set the octopus down on his desk, next to the laptop.]

He'll love that, I think ...What sort of animal did you make for him?

[Peter's gaze drops for the moment, not quite sure what to do with his hands. Without the shirt to hold onto, he's going to pick at the sleeve of his own shirt.]

Not... exact matching shirts or anything. I tried to find puns in both of your fields. [Given what Peter knows of what happened, he feels a bit bad about matching.]

I thought he'd like an axolotl? Its kind of silly, but I thought he'd like the animal.

An axolotl? [The octopus is angled so that it's facing the door, and with that, Otto steps back from the desk again.] It's a sort of salamander, isn't it? The kind that lives in water?

Normally, I'd like google it and show you some pictures but we're in a place with weak internet. [Oh how Peter misses the internet he's used to sometimes.]

Yeah, they're these cool salamanders that live in water. They have these cool like side gills. [He tries to imitate that by placing both palms near his face, wiggling his fingers. The addition of his whiskers wiggling just adds to the picture.]

I thought it'd be cool to make one for Norman. It can do the same cranky face thing too.

['Google it'... Otto's still getting used to the fact that it's a verb in Peter's world. Oof.

The gill imitation triggers a chuckle, though. That looks so ridiculous, especially on rat features, but Otto loves it.]

I don't know how he feels about salamanders, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture either way.

Me either, but the idea kinda hit me, so I went with it. I saw this really cool fabric and it kind of made me think of him. [The teenager is unaware of Otto's suffering via google being a verb. In his mind its just undeniably a verb now.

He drops his hands back to his sides as he continues.] It's this really gradient rainbow that's soft to the touch.

[One last twist of the octopus, then Otto withdraws from the desk again to join Peter.]

It sounds like you know a lot about this. Will you be starting a business in stuffed animals?

[Peter snorts a little in amusement at that.] I know a little bit. I could probably never like- do a business or anything. I mostly know how to mend stuff and do like really small stuffed animals, as long as they're all kinda round.

Skills can always be developed further. It only takes practice and, on occasion, some guidance.

[Is Otto saying this because crafting plushies is a safer hobby than crime-fighting? ...Yes, but he also thinks the plushies are nice.]

Yeah, fair I guess. Though, I'm pretty sure only you guys will really like the stuffed animals I made since they're janky.

[Peter is decidedly unaware Otto is trying to steer him in a direction that isn't super hero-ing. He assumes since the stuffed animals aren't immediately perfect, its not worth going after.]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, OCTAVIUS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 015.03.020.15 * OCTAVIUS has joined 015.03.020.15 <OCTAVIUS>** You've reached Dr. Otto Octavius. Please leave a message.

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