19730/A Very Spidery Christmas

A Very Spidery Christmas
Date of Scene:	21 December 2024
Location:	5D - Felicia's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	Felicia and Peter host a holiday party for their friends at their new apartment in Greenwich Village. Even Lydia Hardy and Aunt May are in attendance!
Cast of Characters:	Felicia Hardy, Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker, Doreen Green, Eddie Brock

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Felicia Hardy has posed:
Greenwich Village has a nice mixture of nicer apartments and, as you get closer to either the NYU or ESU campus, student housing. Peter and Felicia's apartment somehow manages to straddle a line. It's a far cry from some of the cheap, hotel-sized studio apartments next to the campus, but it's also distinct not the opulent (almost too pristine) luxury of Felicia's old East Side penthouse -- the one that blew up.

The loft-style apartment is spacious enough, with a full living area downstairs and a master bedroom upstairs. One more flight of stairs past that is the door to the roof access. It's all open and roomy with bare brick walls and huge, industrial windows that look out over Washington Square Park. Also unlike Felicia's old penthouse, there's lots of little touches that make this apartment feel lived in -- pictures on the mantle, plastic dinosaurs and framed comics on shelves.

In addition, it's been decorated for the holidays! There's a Christmas tree up near the fireplace. It's a little bare, but it's elegant. The touches like a few old ornaments that Peter made as a child (thank you, May) make it feel more personal, and there's a general sense of having room to grow -- ornaments that they collect along the way, perhaps.

There are lights and garland. It's not garish or tacky -- Felicia would never allow it -- but it does very much feel like a home decorated for the holidays rather than a professional production.

There's the scent of food rising from the kitchen. Some plates of finger foods have already been set out -- a cheese tray, a plate of deviled eggs, bacon-wrapped dates -- and there's a deceptively nice-looking older lady with short white hair, dressed in a green blouse and white slacks, in the kitchen with oven mitts. She's just pulling a tray of sausage balls out of the oven.

Felicia is also in the kitchen, wearing a crimson sweater, black leather pants, and ankle boots. Her long white hair has been tied up into a ponytail that swishes in her movements, and she seems like she might be trying very hard _not_ to 'help.'

"Here, let me..."

She's stepping forward to slide something out of the way, to make room for the hot cookie sheet, but Lydia Hardy snaps a _look_ over at her daughter.

"Felicia, stop hovering and go find something else to do. I have this under control," the older woman chides.

"I didn't invite you here to do all the cooking," Felicia insists.

"No, but I enjoy it. It gives me something to do to keep my hands busy while you talk to your friends. Now go."

"We don't even know that any of them are coming..."

"Felicia!"

"Fine!"

Felicia throws up her hands and relents, plucking the Santa hat off of the counter on her way out and looking around like she's hunting something. Probably Peter. He's definitely getting a Santa hat shoved on that adorable head of his. Either that or Felicia's going to shred a throw pillow.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's a lovely holiday. Time to relax, enjoy her time with friends, and shake out some of her own personal demons. Mary Jane is wearing a floppy Christmas hat, and a large classic 'ugly sweater' hanging down her body and set of jeans. The girl is not taking the holiday particularly seriously when it comes to things. She's working at going through and helping in the kitchen, going to clean things as Felicia finishes with them and she goes to do dishes and other things. It goes easier in shifts after all.

"Aunt Anna can't make it but she sends her regards. And also her surprise that you moved out of May's basement and in with a girl. She offered to send some fruitcake but I told her I wanted it for when I dropped by to see her later." Mary Jane would tease her best friend from her position while her hands were full of dishes and moving to shuffle things over to the washing machine and drying rack. Some sacrifices had to be made when it came to the brick that could be used as building materials.

"A pleasure to meet you ma'am." She would speak very politely to Lydia, that she hadn't met at all or heard Felicia talk about. So she plays up her role of being polite, and a friend of Peter's for everything. She doesn't know what Lydia knows, so she's not going to bring up anything without prompting.

At the agitation over from Felicia, Mary Jane readies herself to move over into an interception position to act as a buffer if need be with LYdia, and to let Peter get off perfunctory introductions and small talk if need be, and then to get herself to a position where she can take the brunt of the chatter if the other two need it. She was the social butterfly and could keep up a good narrative when it came to things. Being there ready just in case while also working and doing her part to keep things running in the kitchen smoothly.

And everything here was way, way nicer than her place in Aunt Anna's guest bedroom or her barracks at the Triskelion.

Peter Parker has posed:
The weather outside is distinctly frosty and there is the distinct possibility that New York City might even see a touch of snow by the time the big day actually rolls around. A white Christmas isn't exactly a common thing, but it looks like the forecast just might cooperate this year though for a moment nothing shows through those oversized windows overlooking the street and park beyond.

Peter is not exactly pulling his fair share of the weight in getting ready for the little holiday get-together, but in his defense a big part of that is because he isn't at the apartment at all..

Has he really been so callous to ditch Felicia and her mother to take care of all the arrangements? Well, kinda. But he has a pretty good excuse.

He has instead spent the afternoon with his Aunt May, meeting her at one of the nearby FEAST shelters. That there would be one not that far off is not a huge surprise. College is not cheap and more then a few students as ESU or NYU need the assistance that those shelters offer.

After several hours of volunteer work, Pete is finally arriving at the apartment, complete with his aunt in tow, the door opening as he calls out, "We're here," he says, announcing his presence before ushering his aunt into his new home for the very first time.

It's a strange feeling still, in some ways. That he has any home outside his aunt's place back in Queens. It might take a little getting used to, particularly at this time of the year. Even on those occasions when he has lived outside the hosue he grew up in, like rooming with Harry, he would always be the one travelling back to Queens for these sorts of holiday get-togethers.

This is definitely a first.

And while it might be a little strange and take a little getting used to, Peter is also just a little excited to show her around. The decorations might not be quite as elaborate or extensive as likely featured back at May's place. But it just means that they have room to grow.

Escorting her in, Pete wears jeans and a festive sweater as well., gesturing about the apartment. "See? Everything's in good shape. They have everything under control," he insists as May sighs. "Oh Peter," she says with a shake of her head, making a beeline towards the kitchen where those already present are to be found.

Because clearly May has her priorities right. Even if her nephew maybe doesn't.

Doreen Green has posed:
It's not long after Peter's arrival that the door swings open a second time. After a knock for the sake of being polite, since company was being expected was no excuse to just go barging in. But as soon as the door is open you get the full ethusiasm of Doreen Green coming through. "Happy Holidays everybody!"

She's wearing her usual jacket, but underneath it is wearing a customary 'ugly holiday sweater' that has a pair of squirrels holding nuts over a fireplace to play with the 'chestnuts roasting on an open fire' song lyrics, accompanied by a scarf loosely around her neck and a santa cap on her head. Tippy-Toe is sitting on her shoulder, her usual pink bow replaced with a festive red and green one.

Doreen holds up several plastic wrapped bundles in her hands, while Tippy-Toe holds one up over her head with both forepaws. "I brought nut logs for snacks!" A pause, then a soft chuckle as her tail flicks. "Mom made way too many for even the squirrels and me to eat by ourselves so we figured we'd share."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
This is what Lydia Hardy does to Felicia -- MJ's already in the kitchen, helping, and she hasn't even made a proper introduction, yet!

"Oh! Em-Jay, this is my mother, Lydia Hardy. Mom, this is Mary Jane Watson. She grew up with Peter," Felicia makes the quick introductions, smiling between the two of them.

Although, almost as an afterthought, she looks back at MJ and nods towards her mother. "She knows," she says, momentarily cryptically, though there's a knowing glint in her eyes. "About Spider-Man. May still doesn't."

"And Black Cat," Lydia chimes up disapprovingly, setting down the hot cookie sheet, tossing her oven mitts aside, and offering a polite hand to MJ and a warm, friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you, dear. If you're one of Peter's friends, I just know you must be wonderful."

"_I'm_ one of Peter's friends, Mom," Felicia chimes up.

Lydia turns her gaze on her, smile turning patronizing. "Don't fish for compliments, dear. It's impolite."

A bubble of laughter rises out of Felicia's lips, and she makes a vague gesture from MJ to Lydia with the Santa hat she's still wearing. "Good luck," she offers with a roll of her eyes, though she turns just in time to see Peter and May come in the door.

"Thank God," Felicia sighs in utter relief and sincerity at the sound of Peter's voice, heeled ankle boots clicking across the floor towards them as she intercepts May with a quick hug. "May, I'm so happy you could make it. Please, make yourself at home. I've been evicted from the kitchen, but there are snacks, and the mean lady with the white hair is my mother."

"I heard that," Lydia chimes up.

The open design of the lower floor of the loft means that the kitchen isn't actually a separate 'room' -- just sort of separated from the dining and living areas by the tiled floor and counter. Sound travels.

"Mom, this is Peter's aunt, May Parker," she calls back over to the kitchen. "And Doreen just got here!"

"Is that how I taught you to make introductions?"

"I was _evicted_," Felicia complains, though there's still a friendly smile on her lips. It's the holidays. That gives her mother immunity from being strung up by one of her grappling lines from the fire escape... right? Because if not, maybe it would be quieter..

"Go on in, May. I'm sure the two of you will get along famously." Because, let's face it. To Lydia Hardy, Peter Parker -- the man who 'rescued' her thief of a daughter from a life of crime -- walks on water. All his friends, and especially his aunt, are automatically wonderful people.

Peter's still between her and Doreen, so she stops briefly in front of the brown haired young man, pausing just long enough to open the Santa hat in her hands and reach up to place it on top of his head, positioning it 'just so.' There's a look in her eye, though -- one that suggest she might be considering a murder -- despite her smile. "Good timing, as usual, Spider," she whispers softly, low enough to keep May from hearing. "Now she can talk to May." Then a brief kiss is placed on his lips, her smile turning a little more sly as she starts to pull away. "I like that on you..."

Finally, though, it's moving to greet Doreen, laughing softly as her blue eyes light over Tippy-Toe holding up a plastic bundle, too. "That's fantastic. I'm so glad you came. Please, feel free to add them to the table and make yourself at home. Food is all just help yourself. You know Peter. MJ. Have you met May? And my mother, Lydia, is in the kitchen. She's the one with the mean streak."

"I heard that," Lydia muses, though there's a distinctly bemused lilt to her voice at Felicia's antics.

Maybe the attitude runs in the family, and it didn't come from her father, the world-renown thief she followed in the footsteps of.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would give a bright smile over at Lydia and then say charmingly, "You remind me completely of my own mom." She's very, very bright and cheerful over with that and sells it rather well. Felicia and Peter, that have heard Mary Jane talk abotu her family before.. Might get a -hard- chuckle out of that one if no one was making eye contact over it. She cranes her neck to give the pair a quick sigh and a gestur eof thanks for not spilling her own end of things. Ancient barbarian spirit, not quite so secret agent.. Yeah, those came about somewhat trickier to bring up in casual conversation.

Quickly remaining over as a buffer if need be for small talk to help keep things over in the kitchen.. Just until Doreen comes in and Mary Jane gives her a bright smile, "Hey, great to see you. Glad you could make it." She doesn't know Doreen that well, but the girl has one of the brightest smiles and is one of the most upbeat people that Mary Jane has ever met in her time in the Big Apple. Well, other than Singularity who was pretty much impossible to top when it came to that.

Then May comes in and Mary Jane is going to give her a quick hug as well, "May! Been way too long. Sorry Anna couldn't make it, but I'll be catching up with her tomorrow if you want to drop on by and say hi. And please don't ask her for some of her fruitcake. She hasn't changed the recipie since her grandma taught her." And as far as Mary Jane knows, said blocks could still be buried somewhere in a basement, fresh as the day that they were interred.

Peter Parker has posed:
While there were plenty of nerves on Felicia's part about meeting May or the first time -- one reason it was put off for as long as it was, though Peter's time wandering around the city as a Spider-Monster certainly didn't help -- the older woman greets her warmly, "Thank you for having me over dear," she says, giving Felicia a brief hug.

She might not have quite as favorable a view of the white haired woman as Lydia does of Peter, but if there is any resentment about Felicia convincing Peter to move out it certainly doesn't show.

Then she turns towards Doreen with another smile, though perhaps blinking briefly at the squirrels that detach themselves from her. But clearly May remembers Doreen from the Feast shelters previously. "It's good to see you as well dear," she says. "here, I can take those nut logs into the kitchen and get them ready to share," she offers up, finally turning for the kitchen.

May and Lydia haven't actually met yet, so while Peter might have every confidence that it will go well, there still might be just a hint of tension there. If the two women don't get along it might not change anything, but it does make it a little more complicated to be sure.

The muted sound of conversation from the kitchen can't really be made out, though Peter does still glance over there on a number of occasions, just to make sure it would seem.

"Make yourself at home Doreen," he offers up, motioning about hte spacious living room with it's view of the park beyond and the cozy Christmas decorations.

Then he is turning back towards Felicia, her upbeat attitude perhaps belied just a little by the quiet vehemence of her greeting. Still, Peter returns that kiss, slipping an arm around her as she slides that Santa hat into place on his head, the cap leaning at a jaunty angle. "I guess the real question is whether you've found yourself on the naughty or nice list this year," he says lightly, teasing her just a little.

Raising a hand, he waves to MJ as well, catching a glimpse of her. "MJ, glad you could make it," he says cheerfully. The weather might not be ideal -- though the possibility of a little snow really doesn't bother him -- but the chance to actually get together with friends for the holidays instead of finding himself locked in some life or death struggle definitely makes for a nice change.

Leaning over, Pete brushes his lips across Felicia's cheek once more. "I should go say hi to your mother. I wouldn't want to lose my status as the favorite," he says, just a hint of a smile shining through.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Another knock at the door, and Eddie Brock enters next. He's carrying a plastic bag and a bouquet of flowers that looks like someone else picked it out for him. Is it weird for him to show up? He was invited, after all. They probably forgot he was on the Spider-Comm as well. They'll say it was a mistake and be awkward about not wanting to tell him to leave. Elbowing the door shut carefully, Eddie glances around for the hosts of the day, finding them on the other side of Doreen.

Mr. Big 'n' Tall glances around the apartment. He'd never been to Felicia's penthouse, and the Parker residence in Queens is only a memory to his Other, so all in all it compares favorably to Eddie's own apartment in the basement of a brownstone down elsewhere in Greenwich. They got that going for them at least. Hanging his plastic bag on a few fingers, he manages to free his index finger and thumb to unzip his letterman jacket and reveal a navy blue Christmas sweater, with white trim and several snowflakes. Apparently he's really made an effort to show up and show his good intentions.

Doreen Green has posed:
"Yeah, good to see you again too." Doreen hands over the nug logs to Aunt May. Except for Tippy's, she's already working on unwrapping it with her little paws and teef. And once her hands are free she stands on her toes and waves towards the kitchen. "Hello, Felicia's mom! Happy Holidays!"

Then she finally gets a chance to look over the apartment, letting out a whistle that gets an extra squeek from blowing through her buck teeth. "Quite the place you two have here. And still conveniently close to the campus too." Tippy-Toe looks up from her snack to chitter something at Doreen. "You're probably right about there being a lot of nice spots for a stash, but you behave." She wanders in a bit farther, to conveniently clear space at the door for anyone else that may be arriving.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Oh, that's nice of you to say, dear," Lydia Hardy says warmly to MJ, turning to set a serving dish down beside the stove and then turn to greet May Parker properly. Once that's done, she even moves to the edge of the kitchen to offer a polite wave across the room towards Doreen.

There's a brief pause, like the older woman was questioning exactly what she was seeing, but her smile never falters. And Lydia Hardy is far too experienced a hostess to say anything about the woman with the squirrel ears, tail, and... squirrel. "Happy Holidays, dear!" she calls warmly, instead.

Peter's question about the naughty or nice list has a kind of palpable, sensual, almost predatory energy coming from the white haired woman in his arms. Felicia's eyes fix on him, and for a moment, it's like the rest of the room falls away -- like it wouldn't bother her in the least to drag him into the next room, guests be damned.

It's not unusual for her, to those who know her outside of these social gatherings. She moves and she hunts like a cat. But here, surrounded by family and friends, she's mostly managed to keep to the G (or at least PG) rated smiles. It apparently doesn't take much from Peter to crack that facade, however.

"A little of column A. A little of column B. Which one gets me the present I want?" she purrs back at him, hungry smile curling her lips like she was honestly contemplating devouring him where he stood.

It was, however, the break she needed from her mother. A kind of reset button to help her remember that this isn't just about tolerating a visit. It's about having fun, and once Peter starts pulling away, she offers him that cheek as throaty laughter bubbles up.

"Go on, Wonder Boy," she insists, eyes flashing playfully. "I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together."

She's barely separated from Peter before Eddie knocks and enters, though on the way she glances back at Doreen with a warm smile. "Thank you! We looked at... a lot of places. By the time we were finished, I was pretty sure I was qualified to be a real state agent, myself," she muses.

Then her eyes are lifting up to Eddie to with a knowing smile, holding out her empty hands -- maybe for his jacket, maybe for whatever else he wants to hand over.

"Hey, Eddie," says the white-haired woman, her voice more tempered than her usual Black Cat playfulness, but there's still an edge to it -- a desire of that side to creep back out. "Welcome to the party. I'm glad you came. Have you met Doreen? And Peter, MJ, May, and my mom are in the kitchen."

She keeps saying 'in the kitchen' like it's a different room and not just a partition on the main living area. But, in fairness, she could have fit a couple of these apartments in her penthouse. So... force of habit, perhaps.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's still strange having Eddie being a part of the group. But he's proven himself more than enough to have earned it. They're all about second chances and getting better. And Eddie's more than shown that he's a good guy. Well, they're good guys. She would give a wave over to Eddie, "Heya, Eddie. Been awhile. Still taking pictures on the side?" She would ask politely over to him while giving a smile to Peter at the welcome. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Well, the end of the world. But weren't they always borderine on that this last decade or so? Really who could tell now? What mattered was that they were all here together and enjoying themselves with friends and family.

She goes to walk over towards doreen to bump elbows with her, and then sweeping about the place to give a smile to May and lets her and LYdia introduce one another. "Really love what you've done with the place, Felicia." SHe would take a few steps back now that introductions were over with and general food prep was mostly done as small talk began. "You've really gotten setup here quick. I think when I was going out to my first apartment I never got the boxes ever all the way done. For all I know half of them are still back there in the first place." SHe'd come on a Greyhound and a backpack to New York in the first place while essentially running away. So even with being a clothes horse not remotely on budget with Felicia.. She still had surprisingly few things that she actually -needed- and kept track of.

Peter Parker has posed:
Hey, if he embarasses himself he really brought it on himself.

It would probably be a good idea for Peter to remember that both his aunt and Felicia's mom are present. Either way, it is possible his ears heat ever so slightly at Felicia's counter-teasing, though he only shoots a grin her way.

"I'll be back in just a few. I'll go see if I can make myself useful.," he promises before motioning towards the table where the food that is already prepared sits. "No need to stand on ceremony everyone. Grab waht you want. If you have any drink requests let me know," he says to the assembled guests before starting for the kitchen.

Which of course is when the door opens once more. That Eddie Brock of all people walks through it is a little bit of a surprise, and yeah, maybe Peters shoulders bunch just a little, reflexively, preparing for the worst. It's a hard habit to break.

But he fights that impulse down and instead lifts a hand in the direction of the other man, gesturing towards the table once more. "Food's on the table," he says simply.

Then he is into the kitchen.

Though as Felicia has pointed out, in the open concept floorplan it isn't so much a separate room as just an area of the main living space, the island counter divinding it out. Still, it offers some semblance of privacy, compared to the main level with the open ceiling and the loft above that runs over the kitchen, giving it the impression of being slightly more confined. "Ladies," he says, offering up a smile for May, Lydia and MJ. "It's good to see you again Lydia. Glad that you could come," he adds, moving over to hug the other mother in the room before perching himself nearby.

"I know it's a little belated, but if you need a hand with anything I'm at your service," he offers up.

But May is quick to shake her head, warmly but firmly. "No, no Peter. I think Lydia has this under control and I'll happily give her a hand with anything she needs. It will give us a chance to talk," she adds, making a shooing gesture in his general vicinity. "Go, socialize with your friends."

Eddie Brock has posed:
Eddie tilts his head at Felicia's smile, offering her the bouquet. "I know it's not much, but it's like a housewarming, right? To make a house a home, or so I was told." His hand now free, he uses it to scratch the back of his head. Parker took one look at him and left. "And you wanted me to visit him in the hospital?" He gestures at Peter as he speaks, making the plastic bag crinkle. That in turn turns his attention back to the gifts he's brought, and he produces a bottle of red wine from the bag. "I'm not an expert on any of this stuff. Hope you get to enjoy it." he says, holding the bottle out for Felicia to take. If she does, she'll notice that his bag is still carrying weight, since he's not just here to ply Felicia with alcohol and flowers.

Briefly, he sets the bag down to shed his jacket, shaking his head at the hostess with a gentle grin. "Just tell me where to put it, you got your hands full with all of this." he tells her, gesturing around at the gathering of people around and settling his eyes on MJ. "Hey, MJ. I'm still trucking, thanks for asking. Yourself?" He keeps the question vague on purpose, knowing she's with SHIELD and that half the people here have secret identities the other half don't know about. Hell, he's one of them. Picking that bag back up, he asides once more to Felicia. "Hey, I'm gonna go give this to Peter, mind coming along and maybe talking him down if you got to?" He glances at the bag. "I wasn't sure what his drink of choice is."

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green bumps her elbow against MJ's with her seemingly everpresent smile. She glances back at the door and waves towards the large fellow that entered. "Happy Holidays!" He's here meaning he's friends with at least one of the other people present, and that was enough for the friendly Squirrel Girl that won't use the entire catchphrase because she respects that Spider-Man has the appropriation to it.

She picks up some crackers and cheese from the snacks, stacking them together. "It's great being able to get together like this, isn't it?" A chance to just do normal people things. The superhero equivilent to work-life balance that a lot of them often find it very hard to make time to. Though she's careful to not saying anything into that regard, because she's not sure how 'in on it' Lydia or Aunt May are. She may not do the whole secret identity matter (the tail makes it a bit hard) but she's still respectful of the friends and allies that do.

She pauses as she feels Tippy-Toe shift from one shoulder to the other, glances sidelong at her, then reachs up to gently pick the squirrel up and set her back on the right shoulder with a soft but firm, "No. You know indoor trees and wreaths are not for climbing on."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Oh, Eddie! Flowers! You shouldn't have!"

It may be shocking for some, but Felicia does have a bit of a reputation for being a provocateur. So, when she raises her voice _just_ enough to pitch through the entire apartment (without being crass about it), those that know her well are sure to understand that she's hamming it up a bit.

It's not insincere. She does genuinely seem to like the flowers. But she may also be getting a dig in at Peter.

...Who did not come home with flowers.

Maybe just to try to intentionally ratchet up that animosity a little? Or maybe just because she likes being a pest. After all, it does draw Lydia's gaze up and towards the door with a sudden frown. Peter is, as previously discussed, her favorite. Sometimes it appears even above her own daughter. If Felicia's two-timing Peter at their own holiday party? Oh.. one can almost see the steam starting to come from Lydia's ears.

Which is probably more likely the reason for the show. Either way, she seems to be grateful to Eddie for the opportunity to let a bit of that mischief out into the open.

She takes that bouquet and draws in a long breath, tucks them into her elbow so she can accept the wine. "Thank you," she says, voice dipping to a more conversational volume as she gestures to the closet near the door. "You can hang it up in there. And then join us. I'll get a cork screw to open this and let it start to breathe. Don't worry. I won't let him get you."

There's a playful wink, then, as Felicia turns to make her way back towards the kitchen and the others gathered.

"Thanks. We hired a decorator for the furniture," she tells MJ along the way, gesturing towards the shelves of plastic dinosaurs and figurines, the framed comic books, and on top... there is a plastic T-Rex wearing a Spider-Man T-Shirt, holding the central place of honor on the shelf. "It's really Peter's things that make it feel a bit more... like a home. I tend to stay light on personal effects."

"I keep telling you to come get some things," Lydia chimes up, plating some more food.

"I know, Mom. I will. I promise," Felicia answers, swinging by Peter again with her flowers and wine, leaning in against him briefly and leaning up to brush her lips against his jaw. She lingers for just a moment, though. Enough to faintly whisper, "Talk to Eddie. Please?" Her eyes, bright blue, find his for just another moment before she slips far enough into the kitchen to set the flowers down and collect a corkscrew.

"I'll put these in water," Lydia murmurs, though there's a darkness to her tone as she shoots Felicia 'a look.' One that Felicia either doesn't notice or isn't concerned with, because she simply rolls a shoulder in response and raises an eyebrow as if to ask, 'What?' the most innocent way possible.

Then she's back out of the kitchen again, making her own way to the table with wine bottle and cork screw, already starting to open the bottle with practiced ease as she makes her way towards Doreen. "It _is_ great," she insists, a bit belatedly, but no less sincerely for it. "I'm used to having these gatherings with a bunch of stuffy people that I don't really care to talk to. It's nice to be surrounded by friends for a change."

Peter Parker has posed:
When the mask goes on, Peter can seem like a very different person then he is as Spider-Man.

Some of that comes from the fact that in the early daysslipping into the Spider-Man persona was something of a release, a way to escape his life as Peter Parker. To get a little excitement, to get a little adventure and just generally live a very different sort of life then the one he was used to as the resident big brain at Midtown high.

Of course that had decidedly mixed results, given what happened to his uncle, given the lessons he learned. Still, he has never really lost that sort of projected care-free attitude once that mask goes on.

A little more of that bleeds through into Peter these days, he's hardly the retiring wallflower that he was back then. But still, when the mask goes on very few people would associiate Spider-Man with Peter Parker -- beyond the fact that the majority of photos out there of Spidey happen to have a credit to Peter Parker the photographer.

Suffice to say, while he might be a little easier to bait when the mask goes on, he is a little less so otherwise.

It probably helps too that a holiday get-together is really not the sort of place that he wants to go looking for trouble. Not that his natural tendancies lean that way generally.

With May's insistence, he gives a slow nod, and flashes a smile towards Lydia, nothign on his expression suggesting that he has taken note of Felicia's little dig. Instead he plucks up the plate with Doreen's nut log cut up into slices as his aunt sets it down in front of him.

"Thanks again for this Doreen," he says, holding up the plate for a moment and starting to walk it back towards the table where the other little snack type foods have been assembled.

When Felicia intercepts him he merely arches an eyebrow. The sound that he offers up in return is frankly non-committal, but after stopping by the table to lay out the latest addition to the spread he does continue on past it towards their unexpected guest. "Eddie," he says in quiet greeting. "Nice to see you. Thanks for coming," he offers up politely.

It's not precisely friendly, but it's not unfriendly either. He remembers well that the man helped to try and track him down, that he was there when they went to confront Hammerhead and discovered that Felicia was, in fact, alive. They might have a history, it's true.

But the past isn't the only thing that defines them.

Doreen Green has posed:
"Always happy to share with friends and family! Gotta help spread the holiday cheer," Doreen replies to both Felicia and Peter cheerfully, after munching down her crackers and cheese. "Spending that time together is one of the best parts of the season. Glad you guys did this before I went home to my own parents over the holiday break."

She might be the only one in the room that has both parents alive and well but we're not going to think about that and bring the moment down.

Instead she turns her attention to Felicia with the wine bottle. "Need help with that?" She makes a face to jut out her buckteeth a bit. "I can bite out the cork." But Felicia has found the proper utensil for the matter so that was probably for the best, but it would of been rude to not offer.

Eddie Brock has posed:
It's not exactly what he expected when he asked for back-up, but if a quick whisper works one way to stop Felicia from shooting someone in the head from up close, why wouldn't it work for something similar like this, but the other way around? Eddie apprehensively joins Peter at the table. "Hey. You're looking.. better?" he observes/asks. "I got you something. I didn't know what you like to drink, so.." Eddie's hand dips into his bag for the last of his gifts, and retrieves a 64 fl. oz. bottle of Snapple, apple flavored. "..I played it safe. I guess."

Glancing at Felicia passing the flowers off to her mother, he adds quickly, "You know she'd be infinitely worse if I'd given -you- the flowers, right? Actually, you might've gotten a couple of your jokes in if I did, so there's me dodging a few bullets." He pats Peter on the back, bunching up the bag in his hand somewhat noisily, but not so much that it overpowers the general vibe of a party. "Thanks for inviting me. I wasn't expecting it. I'll leave you to it now, alright?" he offers, his arm around Peter to squeeze the opposite shoulder lightly. It's intended as a friendly gesture, not the spirit of Christmas intimidation.

Having said his piece, he finds a trash can to dispose of his bag and heads off to another corner of the room, alone for now. He's glad to have had some sort of talk and not be sent flying through a window, at least, but still feeling like hanging around would be pushing his luck.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
The differences between Peter Parker and Spider-Man may, in fact, vary in 'intensity' based on how well you know him. On one hand, he has the same build, the same voice, the same penchant for being late everywhere he goes. But no one seems to notice those things.

For Felicia, the defining difference has always been that she likes to _play_ with Spider-Man -- to flirt, tease, play chase, and, in the beginning, convince him to leave the mask on. She liked the mystery. She liked the excitement. It scratched an itch that made her purr.

Like a spoiled magic trick, she thought she'd be disappointed once she knew what was underneath that mask. And to be fair, for a time, the first time he took off that mask, she was a little horrified that she'd spent so much time playing the sorts of games they played with a... boy. Peter had only been eighteen when they started their first dalliances.

Over time, she came to appreciate Peter Parker in a different way. In some ways, much, much more than she could really get out of the thrill of the unknown. Peter was able to earn her trust in a way that no man had been able to. Not since college. Not since she'd learned what men were really capable of and vowed never to be powerless again.

Unfortunately, that quest for power, for control, for the next thrill... in can come out when she's not exactly proud of it. Moments when Peter is being Peter, and not Spider-Man. Moments when his Aunt May is standing just as close as her mother is and forming the same sorts of opinions about her behavior. And for a moment... just for a moment... when Peter doesn't rise to the bait, when the only reaction she gets from her mother is a disapproving stare, and she realizes that she didn't dare look at May... a pang of remorse crosses her expression.

It isn't often that Felicia allows those sorts of regrets to bubble up to the surface, much less to show. But she's far from perfect. And when it really hits her, it's Doreen she's standing next to, her smile faltering as her eyes flick back towards Peter, distracted for just a second. Thinking. Watching. Supervising. Eddie may not think she's where she needs to be, but she is.

"No, but thanks. I've got it. After so many years hosting, I can do this with my eyes closed," she muses. And, in fact, she was pretty much doing just that. She wasn't paying any attention to the bottle. Not even after the *pop* of the cork and the way she lazily set it on the table -- also without looking. Her attention, instead, was up on Doreen again, with just the occasional flicker of her eyes back towards Peter and Eddie.

She's trying to catch Peter's eye. To say the thing she needed to say without rushing across the room to interrupt.

To say she's sorry. It's hard, being... normal, sometimes. It's new for her, to learn to pull in her claws.

"So, where's home?" Her gaze is back on Doreen, that pleasant smile curling her lips. "We keep... running into each other, but I never have a chance to learn much about you. I mean..." There's a little gesture, then, towards Tippy Toe, as she unscrews the cork from the corkscrew. "There has to be a story."

Peter Parker has posed:
There was never much of a chance that anyone was going to go flying through a window at this particular get-together. Not without some pretty extreme provocation.

For one thing it would probably be pretty hard to keep May in the dark if a generally melee broke out in their new apartment. His Aunt has occasionally turned a blind eye towards things its true, being like so many other people and not seeing what perhaps should be obvious because they'd just rather not. But watching Peter battle someone that is considerably tower and has qutie a bit of weight on him? That might tip her off to the fact that he's not entirely normal.

More then that though, aside from May, everyone present or invited is already 'in the know' They afterall have access to the Spider-Comm system and that makes them allies. Of varying sorts perhaps, but still alies. While Peter might have, historically, preferred to work alone, he has learned to temper that impulse.

And even back then he didn't usually just casually assault his allies, no matter what they might get up to.

Joining the other man by his chosen spot, he dips his head and offers a half-smile. "I would almost have to be," he agrees. Being the Man-Spider was not particularly relaxing, that much is certain. And while they might have run into one another after that, he hadn't been sleeping much and was pretty much consumed with grief after what he thought was Felicia's death. That doesn't tend to leave people at their best.

When Eddie produces the bottle of Snapple, one of Pete's eyebrows arches again, though the corners of his mouth twitch in amusement. "I can't say that I've ever had another man give me flowers," he agrees before shrugging his shoulders, his tone turning wry. "But then I can't really say that I've ever had one give me a bottle of Snapple before either, so..." he says, lifting it towards Eddie in a sort of salute. "Thanks for this. And for dropping by," he adds quietly.

It even sounds somewhat genuine.

"I'll go put it in the fridge. Maybe we can split it later," he suggests, the smile not quite so hidden now.

Yeah, perhaps he is messing with him a little bit now.

See? No windows broken, no furniture smashed. It's a Festivus miracle.

Crossing back over to the kitchen, Pete is true to his words, putting his Apple Snapploe into the fridge and despite the ladies attempts at shooing him out, he moves to stand close to May once more, joining in the chatter taking place in the kitchen.. The quiet sound of festive music fills the apartment along with that chatter of conversation and laughter.

Glancing her way, Peter does shoot a brief smile over towards Felicia before his attention is once more diverted back to the ongoing discussion between his aunt and Felicia's mom.

Doreen Green has posed:
"Oh, my family is originally from Canada," she starts to explain to Felicia. "But have dual citizenship. As do I for going to University and such." She's chatty as someone that has squirrel related abilities might be expected to be, but that doesn't mean she's not picking up on some of the more subtle cues going on around her. There's also the indication towards Tippy-Toe, as a general indicator of her various squirrel related aspects. "Of course there is. But give me one moment."

Doreen scoops up a plate on the end of her tail, grabs a few pieces of the various snacks and sets them on the plate. Then takes it in her hands and walks over to Eddie has kept to the end of the gathering. "Here.. Eddie was it, you didn't take any snacks before you walked away. Merry Christmas!"

Then strolls back to the kitchen side, having done her bit to try and make Eddie feel a little more comfortable while respecting the apparent want to keep a bit of distsnce. Some people just don't want to be right up in all the social roundabout like herself. "Now as I was saying." She reachs back to flick the tip of her tail with a hand. "I was born like this... but I'm not a mutant because of specific little scientific details that don't need to be gotten into. Something about my abilities not being inherently genetic like that." She shrugs, and pops one of the pieces of nut log into her mouth. Letting others' minds linger on the moment with that info. Aunt May and Lydia probably looking at their childen and surrogates they raised present, and thinking about how much more of a handful a toddler than can jump and climb like a squirrel would be. "Doesn't matter, terms are terms. I just like using my abilities to do good for other people." Though she will go into the entire backstory of The Unstoppable Squirrel Girl if anyone asks farther.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Eddie manages a grin now that he and Peter are definitely on speaking-at-a-social-gathering terms. "Careful with that bottle. I've been told it packs a.. punch?" Someone needs to take him away, there's quips going now. "Sounds good." he offers good-naturedly to Peter offering to split the Snapple.

Then Doreen comes to bring him snacks, of which he gratefully takes a few. One for him, one for the parasite. "Thanks, Squirrel Girl." the large man in the XL Christmas sweater offers, pondering something. "Do you know who I am, actually? We might've never met face to face like this." he notes with a grin at her hesitation with his name. "Merry Christmas."

Doreen quickly heads back to the kitchen, and after a few, so he doesn't look like he's just following people around, Eddie goes there as well. "So, what does a guy in an itchy sweater have to do to get a drink around here?" he asks of anyone within earshot with access to the cabinets. He isn't about to make himself at home just yet.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Much like Doreen, Felicia doesn't seem to mind being in the 'social roundabout.' She is, ultimately, just as comfortable in a ballgown in the middle of a gala -- the center of attention -- as she is in a catsuit ensuring that no one sees her.

What she doesn't seem to be is all that... domestic.

She'd gotten a glass and poured herself some wine while she was listening to Doreen explain where she's from, but she got a bit still as she watched Doreen make that plate of food for Eddie.

It didn't seem to make sense... until it did, when she walked it over to him and handed it to him. And in the continuing vein of too little, too late, Felicia takes that moment to set her glass of wine aside and start making a plate of her own.

Except, not for _her_.

It's odd, how strange it can feel, to do something so... simple. So routine, yet to be doing it for someone besides herself. Maybe if there's a silver lining, it's the fact that she wants to.

"You were _born_ that way?"

Yeah, Felicia's interested. Maybe not like a scientist would be, but more like a random, curious cat would be. She listens to the whole thing, but when Eddie comes over, she takes that opportunity to glance briefly over her shoulder.

"Mom, could you?" she prompts with a nod towards Eddie. A glance towards Doreen, and she adds, "I'll be right back. I really want to hear the rest."

But then she's turning, making her way over to Peter with that plate of food that she offers up to him with a kind of... worried, hopeful expression. She doesn't say anything at first, but her eyes do flick very specifically towards the top shelf of the figurines -- to the T-Rex wearing the Spider-Man shirt -- before looking back at him again.

"I love you," she murmurs, lingering close to his side for a moment longer.

The scents of the food still fill the air. The lights on the tree and decorations all glow. There's the bustle of activity in the kitchen as May and Lydia work on cleaning just as efficiently as they were working on cooking.

It's their new home. And just in time for the holiday season, filled with friends and family alike. In this moment, it's hard to ask for anything more than that.

So with a final touch of Peter's arm, Felicia makes her way back towards the table of food and smiles from Eddie to Doreen.

"Okay. Tell me all the rest. I want to hear the whole thing. How did you get to be known as the Unstoppable Squirrel Girl?"