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Norman was in his office as he watched small snowflakes fall slowly but steadily over the city.
The date of the day was December 24, 2009, the so-called Christmas Eve had come quickly and although the Christmas spirit had begun to be felt for some time no doubt at this time was much greater.
Osborn was just looking out of one of the windows of his office in a quiet way, a few minutes ago he had finished a virtual conference with the heads of the Oscorp branches in London and Germany.
This was due to the next step in the distribution of the Connors Formula, as for the time being its sale and production was limited to the United States. During the course of evaluating the Connors Formula, Norman had been busy planning the sales and distribution that should follow.
In the end he decided that the use of Connors Formula should be strictly regulated and if it were sold as a common medicine it was basically impossible to keep such a record. So he had been building various health centers at key points in the country.
That way Oscorp would not need the help of third parties to commercialize the product and could keep full control of the number of units used. Of course even with this it was likely that somehow or other someone could get their hands on Connors Formula, but that issue had been addressed long ago.
Such a method had been successful, so he considered it was time to expand the range of the Serum, even so, he would start slowly to prevent the risk of a loss as much as possible. After all, a maneuver like the one he had done had a considerable amount of capital in it.
Small, soft knocks coming from the other side of his office door snapped him out of his thoughts, "Come in" indicated Osborn.
The familiar figure of this universe's Carol Danvers soon entered Norman's line of sight, "I thought you went home?" Osborn asked the air even though the person in front of him was completely fake, they had developed a certain friendship.
Alice just flashed a somewhat ironic smile as she looked at Norman, "I didn't think it's appropriate to do so, since you were still working, it just didn't feel right" she replied truthfully.
"It does" were Norman's only words as he nodded his head and began to stand up.
"Well then it's time to go home" he mentioned to Alice as he walked towards her.
Just like that, the male and female couple started their way to where each other's cars were parked. Because the day was Christmas Eve, Oscorp had less working hours than usual and most of the employees still on the facilities were security guards.
On the way to the Oscorp parking lot, both Alice and Norman had had a conversation about each other's plans. Nothing really deep, just small, unimportant things.
At the end and once they arrived at the parking lot, they both said goodbye and got into their respective transportation vehicles.
Norman looked at the watch in his left hand before starting the engine of his car, he had finished just in time.
…
Norman was currently standing in front of the large gates of the Richmond educational facility where Harry was studying.
The Richmond facility had been chosen after a long investigation by Bernard and Norman, after all they both wanted Harry to have the best education that would not lose out to the one he had received at Osborn Manor.
So far the choice had had positive results and the fact that Harry was surrounded by the children of New York's elite could be of help for his future, after all connections were always important.
The facilities they had were old, but at the same time had an aura of greatness about them, perhaps it was due to the years they had stood, of course with remodeling to prevent risky situations. It was a magnificence that few educational centers could even have.
"Rich people really are on another level," the words of a female voice reached Norman's ears.
His vision was set on none other than Felicia Hardy, who was dressed in black pants along with boots of the same color and a white colored coat that matched her hair. It was a classic winter outfit.
"Aren't you a wealthy person yourself?" asked Osborn casually.
"Certainly, my family has better economic circumstances than the great majority of families, but it's not so much as to stand next to the real rich" replied Felicia with complete honesty.
Norman just nodded his head at Felicia's response, though he was sure that the amount of wealth Walter had in his hands was ultimately a bigger amount than his daughter and even his wife could ever know. Though considering his wife's character, it was obvious that that kind of money would not be touched by her.
"How long until Harry's exit anyway?" asked Felicia, changing the direction of the conversation, "The stares are getting more and more brazen" she continued.
Norman knew what she meant by that, after all most of the other parents or guardians had their eyes on them, perhaps it was because Norman had never been so close to a woman since his wife's decease.
"It must not be much however for this reason it was that I asked you to stay inside the car, this is only the consequence of your own actions" pointed out Osborn in a direct manner.
The conversation of the two went back and forth constantly, it was a way to make time and not be bored while they waited for Harry's exit, which did not take long as the older Osborn had said.
Due to the security measures the facility had in place to keep the students safe, they needed the boy's guardian to show up to pick him up, otherwise he would not be allowed to leave the facility until his guardian arrived.
Bernard had already notified that Norman would be coming for his son and because of that there was no problem, once Harry saw the two people who came for him, he just showed a blank expression before turning to one of pure happiness.
Norman took his son in his arms who quickly asked him why he had come for him, "It's a surprise, but don't worry you'll find out in a few minutes" he replied with a smile to the little boy's questions.
Because Harry's teacher wanted to have a few words with Norman, he had to pass him over to Felicia, who quickly began chatting with him about what he had done in his classes.
Norman listened to the teacher's words as he watched Felicia's interactions with Harry. Once his chat was over with his son's teacher, he approached the two people waiting for him.
"Everything okay?" asked Felicia calmly the moment Norman returned to her side. Harry just calmly watched his father as he held Felicia's hand and held out his other for Norman to take.
The elder Osborn only sighed at his son's actions, but soon relented and took his small hand and began to walk away after signaling to Felicia with a slight shake of his head.
"She just wanted to notify of the accomplishments Harry has had in a private way, but because I never show up she hadn't had the opportunity" he replied simply to the young woman's question.
"So she basically looked for an excuse to chat with you, right?" a new question came from Felicia's beautiful lips.
"Yeah, she basically did that" as the talk between the two older people went on, Harry just kept silent, shifting his gaze from Felicia to Norman quickly and repeatedly.
The Oscorp heir's mind didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was something strange. The best solution he could come up with was simply to start asking about the surprise his father had mentioned.
Once the conversation changed to that topic Harry could feel things returning to normal, and although he didn't know what had happened he was glad to be of help to his father.
…
Norman watched with a sense of joy and amusement as Harry seemed to be having difficulty keeping his balance on the ice skates and how when he was about to fall, Felicia would have to step in to help him.
Currently, the group of three were at an ice rink, however, except for the three of them there was no one else, this because Norman had rented the ice rink, so he wouldn't have to deal with the annoying stares of people.
Such a situation had happened after Harry had shown a strong interest in going to an ice rink after hearing about the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park.
Norman had no problem taking him to such a place, but because Harry also wanted to go along with Felicia, the situation was a bit more complicated. While the three of them had previously gone shopping together, it had been a different situation.
In the end he decided that he found reasonable, after all the money he had earned had to be spent somehow or else there would be no point in even gathering it.
"Dad" as he thought about the events that had happened, Norman heard his son call, "Aren't you coming in?" Harry asked once he made contact with him.
Norman shook his head his clothing wasn't right for doing so and he really didn't want to have to skate around wearing a business suit, but seeing Harry's excited look and Felicia's expectant one the words of rejection refused to leave his lips.
However, despite that he was not willing to do such a thing in his current clothing, so he took out his phone and called Bernard, who by the way had declined Harry's invitation claiming that he had some muscle pain, and it would be impossible for him to do such an action.
Of course, Norman was sure that this was a blatant lie, but he was more than used to his old butler's way of thinking, and although he was sometimes a bit annoying there was no malice in his actions.
About 10 minutes later, Bernard arrived with Norman's change of clothes as he watched with a grandfatherly smile at Felicia and Harry's interactions. Bernard began a lighthearted conversation with the two people while Norman changed.
Once Norman came out he could tell that Bernard was still in the facility and approached him along with the skates he had picked out. "I thought you were leaving" Osborn pointed out as he took a seat next to the older man and put the skates on.
"I may have some pain, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying this familiar scene" commented Bernard enthusiastically, changing his earlier thoughts.
Norman smiled at Bernard's words, "Do what you want" he told him before starting to enter the ice rink.
"Can you skate?" the beautiful voice of Felicia reached Norman's ears.
"Do you doubt my abilities?" the answer from Norman came as another question.
"Never" the answer was quick and without hesitation, which made a small part of Norman's insides feel satisfied.
Although Norman really didn't know how to ice skate, since he never tried it in his previous life and the old Norman had never done anything like that either, it was a simple thing to learn, at least for someone like him.
Time passed quickly as the three people in the rink were constantly having fun and the one outside the rink watched their interactions with a smile. Even though there were no other people, the rink felt as alive and warm as if there were dozens of them.
…
The 25th of December could be a contradictory day for people, there were some who loved it, others who hated it and others were simply indifferent to the so-called Christmas Day.
For the Osborn family, this time it would be the first time that day would be celebrated with Norman's presence at the mansion. The decorations had long since been put up all over the Osborn family grounds and at a glance one could see the care they had taken to do it.
Early in the morning Norman had been awakened by an excited Harry, the elder Osborn only gave a sigh of relief and joy to see how the little boy had changed so much.
The reason for waking his father was of course to open his presents, but Harry didn't expect Norman to deny his wish and tell him that he should wait a little while. Harry didn't understand why he should do that, but he didn't think much of it anyway.
Norman had done that because he had received a call from Mary Jane on the night of the previous day, in short, she wanted to stop by Osborn Manor to give Harry a small gift, but she didn't dare to just show up without asking permission first.
The request of the beautiful redhead was quickly accepted by Norman, who also mentioned to her that there was no need to ask permission for such a thing and that she was welcome to Osborn Manor at any time.
It was because of that that Norman would wait for MJ's arrival for Harry to open his gifts anyway, he would just have to wait a bit. While the two men of the Osborn family had their breakfast, the doorbell of the Mansion rang and Bernard went to greet the newcomer.
Norman raised an eyebrow, as he knew that MJ would not arrive so early, when Bernard returned he had a feeling of surprise to see Felicia following him with a smile.
Harry greeted her immediately with enthusiasm, Norman greeted her shortly and continued "Felicia what brought you here?" he asked directly.
Felicia didn't care about Norman's question and answered quickly, "I woke up this morning and there was just a short note from my parents saying they were going on vacation for a few days, you know I have no problem with that, but they should have at least told me before" she ranted without any consideration and her tone of voice had an emotion of aggravation in it.
Norman just shook his head at Felicia's rant, although he had to admit that the argument she presented had logic and could be considered a mistake on Walter's part.
"So, I thought I'd come and spend some time here after all it's not really good to spend Christmas, alone right?" adopting a pitiful attitude as if she were an abandoned little kitten spoke Hardy.
Norman didn't respond for a few seconds before finally giving up, "Have a seat" he said softly to Felicia who followed his directions with a big smile on her face.
Norman's gaze shifted to Bernard, "Could you prepare one more dish?" unlike another day, Norman had given vacation time to all the Osborn Manor employees except for the guards and a chauffeur who would be in charge of going for MJ, but Bernard insisted on staying and doing his duties.
The Osborn family butler nodded in agreement and began walking in the direction of the kitchen. Despite Felicia's sudden arrival, the lively atmosphere did not stop in the slightest and instead was amplified.
Time passed steadily and Felicia had delivered two small boxes to each of the Osborn's as gifts, neither had opened them yet at the young woman's request.
Currently, Norman and Harry were dressed somewhat formally as they stood in front of the fully decorated pine tree, Bernard looked like a professional photographer with all the gadgets he had at his side.
Felicia was only watching from the side, but a feeling of happiness ran through her body. While the unplanned photo session was going on, the doorbell of the mansion rang again.
"I'll go" before anyone could say anything, Felicia spoke and headed towards the entrance of the mansion, once she opened the door the first thing her vision looked at was a long red hair.
Felicia recognized the woman in front of her immediately, Mary Jane Watson, Harry's original nanny, and she attended the same university as her, only two years younger.
She had to admit that the redhead possessed a beauty that was comparable to her own, her gaze observed the Watson's surprise, clearly not expecting to be welcomed by another woman. Felicia only flashed a smile before speaking, "Are you looking for Norman?" she asked.
…
Mary Jane Watson looked down the familiar path that would lead her to the Osborn mansion with joy and a small amount of nostalgia, it had been about a month since she had not been back to the Osborn home.
She had been busy to be able to come due to college and the fact that acting work took a lot of time out of her day, she hadn't been able to find time to visit them. Of course, she still kept in touch with Norman through messages and calls and even Harry, but it just wasn't the same.
This time due to the Christmas celebration most of the workers including the actors had been given the day off, so she thought she would stop by and pay them both a visit. Before that, however, she had to get Norman's approval, and he agreed to her request.
Her gaze was drawn to the bag that held small boxes next to her, while the gifts she could buy were not up to par for someone like them, she still wanted to give them something as a token of gratitude and affection.
She wasn't stupid maybe she might be slow on some issues, but ultimately she wasn't stupid, she knew that somehow Norman was protecting her otherwise a newcomer to the entertainment industry wouldn't have all the benefits she has.
Maybe the gift couldn't make up for everything Norman had done for her, but she just wanted to show her gratitude and if she could see him smile at her gift, she would be more than satisfied and happy.
The car soon stopped and MJ left her thoughts before thanking him and saying goodbye to the driver, then she got out along with the bag of gifts and because they were not heavy there was no need to ask for help.
For a second she was enchanted with the decorations that were all over the Osborn mansion, with firm steps she approached the front door and rang the bell while arranging the gift bag in her hand.
It was impossible for her not to bring her gaze to the necklace that adorned her neck, the same one Norman had given her on her birthday, probably her favorite of all the ones she had and even though they weren't too much she knew deep in her heart that it wouldn't change anytime soon.
A smile appeared on her beautiful face and as she heard the door open she looked towards it, the smile still present on her face, however it froze when she saw a beautiful white haired woman.
For a small second MJ's mind made a short circuit, she recognized the woman in front of her however she didn't know what she was doing in Norman's home, soon her mind traveled back to when Osborn gave a lecture at her university.
She remembered how Gwen had mentioned that Norman seemed to have a close relationship with Felicia Hardy, however, at the time she didn't think anything of it. MJ watched as Felicia seemed to be analyzing her with her eyes and after a few seconds without saying anything she spoke.
"Are you looking for Norman?" she heard her say in a soft, caring voice along with a smile on her face as she referred to Norman. MJ's vision blurred for a few seconds at the naturalness with which she had asked the question.
The smile she had on her face seconds before was completely forgotten.
