10209/All Together Now

All Together Now
Date of Scene:	20 February 2022
Location:	Parker Residence - 20 Ingram Street - Queens
Synopsis:	Susan, with Aunt May's help, cooks a grand Chinese dinner for Peter and his aunt.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Susan Sullivan

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Peter Parker has posed:
Some things take awhile to get back to normal. Some longer than others.

Aunt May had enjoyed Ted Kord's gift of a houseboat to live in during the crisis, but she was much more enthused by coming home. (And seeing that it had not been burned down or blown up.)
Aunt May had spent some time listening to what Peter had told her about the recent days, and seemed encouraged that the angels were not REAL angels. She was still settling in to her normal routine when Peter had asked if Aunt May would like to be joined in the kitchen by Susan, who had wanted to help cook dinner. She was entranced by the idea, and gave her approval.

Two nights later, the time was set, and Susan was expected to arrive at least three hours before dinnertime.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan arrives wrapped in a long, puffy coat. She doesn't have her dowel rod staff with her as she knocks on the door. She shifts nervously back and forth, tucking her hair under her hat and adjusting everything she can about her outfit in the few moments before the door opens. If she wore a fitbit, she would be able to see exactly how fast her heart was racing.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter opens the door and smiles. "Hey, Susan. Come on in!" He stepped aside to let Susan in. "Hope you came ready to work. Aunt May doesn't tolerate slackers in the kitchen."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Oh," Susan says, keeping a smile on her face. She enters and hugs her coat tightly against her body over her chest. She stomps her boots free from snow and looks at Peter's feet to see if she's going to need to shed them so she doesn't track water all over the floor. "I'm okay with doing the lion's share," she says. She is slightly distracted by how she can hear her pulse in her ears.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter helps Susan with her coat, then points to a rubber square where other winter footwear cluster like the members of a clique. "Boots go there, and then Aunt May is in the kitchen, waiting for you...with bated breath."

"I HEARD that, Peter Benjamin Parker!"

Peter sighs. "Jeez. Okay, let's get you out of those boots, and then you can concoct in the kitchen."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan clears her throat and blushes before pulling off her coat. One doesn't need spidey senses to notice the difference. Her figure looks the same as it ever did, but her chest, which before was a subtle affair, seems to have grown like the Grinch's heart since the last time the two saw each other. With a beet-red face, she hands her coat toward Peter. "Thank you," she says, shyly, which is also quite unlike her.

Peter Parker has posed:
"Suze?" He looks a little puzzled as he takes the coat. "Uhm...this is a different look for you, Susan. I didn't know you could...change your look like that."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan's face goes even brighter red. "I--" she says. "It's not a power," she confesses. She hesitates before confessing, "I just wanted to look good...I don't want you to pass me by...when you're ready. I'm sorry. I'm not here to fish."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blushes more than a little. "Oh...hey, it's okay. Really. As long as you stay you you really are, where it counts." He gives her an encouraging smile. "Now...go in there and knock it out of the park, Suze."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles and pulls Peter into a big hug. This time, it's for her, not for him. She soon has her boots off and slides along the tile floor into the kitchen. "Hey, Aunt May," she says. That was the only way Peter referred to her. That's about how she's going to refer to her, too, from now on, no matter what happens.

Peter Parker has posed:
Aunt May looks a little more tan, a little more relaxed, but she smiles curiously at Susan for a moment before hugging here gently. "Thank you, dear. Always a pleasure to have help in the kitchen. Peter means well, but...he's always too caught up in the technical details." She steps back out of the hug, then says, "All right. Now, as I understand, you'd like to make a Chinese dinner. Tell me what you are thinking, and we'll see what we can do."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan nods and after checking available ingredients, she begins directing like a head chef. She's not just trying to make a good impression on Peter. She does a lot of the work, giving Aunt May enough that she can feel helpful.
    Eventually, she walks demurely down into the basement to find Peter. She gently bows and says, "Peter. Wan-tsan." She clarifies, "Supper."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter, who's been working with his makeup work for his classes, looks up and quickly clears the textbooks and papers from the pool table and stacks them. "Right. I'll be right up."

Aunt May had known some trick and had apparently planned in advance - she had purchased calrose rice, a wok-styled pan, various sauces ranging from soy to teriyaki to kung pao. When Susan had gone questing, there was much to work with.

Aunt May waited for Susan to come back up from the basement and into the kitchen before saying. "You have a talent for this, Susan. We should trade recipes sometime."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Thank you," Susan says with a smile. "I just kind of go by what I saw my mother doing and what I saw watching my hosts cook when I was living in China." She takes a deep breath. "When I was eating regular food there, I mean." She smiles and explains, "I spent quite a long time training with monks. It's complicated. I didn't have, like, an eating disorder--" She stops and considers. "I mean, I did, but it was..." She looks toward the stairs. She called out in her mind for Peter, but of course, she wasn't telepathic, so nothing happened. She lets out a sigh. "...complicated," she says. Yeah, that sums up most of her life, really.

Peter Parker has posed:
Aunt May rests a hand on Susan's shoulder. "You don't have to explain. But it all looks and smells delicious, and that is what counts." She chuckles as she hears boards creak elsewhere in the house. "He's on the way up. Shall we set the table?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    While the place servings are set already, Susan trembles just slightly. She takes a moment to center herself. "You can sit down, Aunt May," she says. "I'll bring food out to you both. I know I'm the guest, but I want to treat Peter like he's the guest. Make sure he sits facing the door." With that, she ducks back into the kitchen.

Peter Parker has posed:
Aunt May nods, looking bemused as she steps out of the kitchen to meet Peter and they settle in at the table.
"It smells pretty good, Aunt May."
"It looks even better," Aunt May replies wryly.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan comes out first with tea. She is tense, but surprisingly graceful as she moves to the table. She pours the tea, and while she doesn't make eye contact, it's clear her focus is on Peter.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blinks and looks at the tea. This was new to him; she could tell. He looked to Aunt May, who gave him a warning look.
Okay, he wouldn't try adding lemonade to it.
Aunt May nods to him after both cups are poured, and Peter took a slow sip. "Hmmm..." he said. "This is good. Different, but good."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan lets slip a smile and bows a bit. She then moves to the kitchen and returns with a tray of goodies. Aunt May may not have a lazy susan in the middle of the table, but she didn't have a lazy Susan cooking, either. As Susan sets the tray down, she takes covers off and sets them aside. She sits across from Peter with her back to the door. She gestures at the food. "Chicken Dumplings," she says, "Spring Rolls, Chow Mein, and Fried Rice," she says. That'd be why it took so long to make. "I think you can eat. I haven't worked out the Disney Princess way of doing grace or whatever." She looks briefly at Aunt May, then back at Peter. "I think this is the first time I've eaten with someone except my parents for the last decade."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter goggles a little at all the food. Aunt May just smiles and says, "Well, sit right down and settle in, and Peter will say grace."
Peter blinks, but nods dutifully before waiting for Susan to sit. "We do this before every meal, but if you just want to take a moment while we do so, we won't try to push it on you." He bows. "Bless us, Oh Lord, for these Thy gifts for which we are about to receive, through Thy bounty and Susan's skilled cooking. Amen."

He looks up and grins. "Okay. I'm starving!"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan recognizes the hyperbole and lets the people she cooked for take first. She takes a small amount for herself. There's a lot there, far more than the three can eat together.

Peter Parker has posed:
Usually, you can tell how goodd the food is. If more people are talking instead of eating, the food is okay, even good.
If they are eating more than talking, the food is great or they are seriously too hungry to talk. The former seems to be true here. Apart from the occasional compliment from Peter or Aunt May, the primary sounds are cutlery against dishware (Peter seems to prefer cutlery to chopsticks, in spite of his increased dexterity.)

"Wow, Susan...this is great. You should try to get a job as a cook in one of the Chinatown restaurants," Peter said when he came up for air halfway-through.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan, meanwhile, uses chopsticks as easily as her own fingers, and between dainty bites, she smiles at Peter's compliment. "Thank you," she says. "I hadn't really considered that. Machinist or maker or something isn't really panning out." She holds a morsel for a few moments before she says, "I haven't seen my boss in about three months. I'm still getting paid, but I've just been doing my own thing. I also don't know how long until the landlord kicks me out of her apartment. I assume rent is still being paid." She takes another small bite and chews thoughtfully (and silently).

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter raises an eyebrow. "Who's your boss? Maybe I can do a little, y'know, detective work."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I was hired by a woman named Mairin Moran. She was learning magic from a very hostile woman. I really don't know much about her. She was also into some robotics projects that were kind of shady. I'm not sure about anything," Susan admits. She huffs out a sigh. "If you do find her, though..." She doesn't finish that sentence, instead taking another bite.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods. "I'll...keep an eye out. If you have technical know-how, I can talk to my boss - Ted Kord of KordCo. If you run into a sudden lack of employment, I can see about getting you some work there?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles a bit. "Thanks," she tries. She looks down at her rice. "Hopefully, we get the scratch-built van built before I get kicked out of the apartment."

Peter Parker has posed:
Aunt May points at Susan. "I think you'll be just fine. You have good skills, good friends, and you're always welcome here. So just remember that and try to think a little higher of yourself from now on."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles. "I think alright of myself," she tries. "Just really nervous, tonight." Aunt May is a woman. She's almost certainly picked up how Susan feels about Peter. She doesn't know if May knows about Kara, but at least she's going to know about Susan's feelings. She could be stone-faced if she needed to, but she hadn't been, and she'd been dropping cues every time they interacted.

Peter Parker has posed:
Aunt May nods. "Well, just relax, dear. Everything is truly delicious." She sighs. "It's been a chaotic few months, and although my extended vacation was quite enjoyable, I am truly glad to be home again." She smirked to Peter. "And you kept it VERY clean in my absence."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles. "Thank you, Aunt May," she says. She looks at Peter. "Maybe...when you're up for it...next time you could take me out for pizza?"