9186/Christmas Time Is Here

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Christmas Time Is Here
Date of Scene: 20 December 2021
Location: King's Landing Scrap Yard, Brooklyn, NY
Synopsis: Susan and Spidey meet up after a long hiatus and talk gifts and secret bases.
Cast of Characters: Peter Parker, Susan Sullivan




Peter Parker has posed:
It's five days to Christmas. The snow is falling lightly, with no breeze. The night is relatively quiet, with only faint sounds of traffic.

And there is music. A CD of music from a popular Christmas cartoon is playing on a beat-up CD jukebox, and right now it is the dulcet sounds of the Vince Guarauldi Trio playing "Christmas Time is Here," the one with the kid's choir singing.

Spider-Man is currently testing out the new addition to the gym, a wooden training dummy used in many martial-arts dojos. A straight, thick piling with short wooden poles jutting out at head, arm, and lower-leg level.
He's found it helpful when training, and he hopes others do, too.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan's hair is growing in nicely, but she's still got a hat on to cover it. She's got a long, parka-padded coat on. She stops as she sees Spider-Man duking it out to Christmas tunes. She can't help but giggle at the image.

Peter Parker has posed:
The area is quiet enough for Spidey to hear the giggle. It's good that his ears pick up something before his Spider-Sense does.
Spidey turns to see Susan in the heavy coat, and smiles at that. "Hey there, Susan...do you mind if I call you Suze, or do you hate that nickname?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Been a while since anyone's tried it," Susan says. "Though maybe leave cute nicknames for when we're dating, yeah?" She shrugs off her backpack and swings it around. She sets it somewhere safe and opens her coat. She's definitely not dressed warm enough for winter in New York. She doesn't even appear to have sleeves of any sort. She folds up the warm layer and sets it down, taking slow, deep breaths as she focuses herself. She wouldn't be the first eastern martial artist to train to ignore or withstand the cold.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey hmms. "Maybe you have a point, there." He chuckles, but then says, "It's good to see you, though. With all that's been going on, I have been hoping to see you. We should keep our friends in mind, especialy during the season." He nods to her. "How ahave you been?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan considers. She looks at her hands. "You know, it's funny," she says to her hands. "I've spent so long in isolation, you'd think I could deal with it better." She puts her hands on her hips and looks at Spider-Man. "Lately, I'm finding people dropping out of my life." Moving to the masked man, she says, "I suppose I shouldn't have stayed away from you for so long, but it kind of hurts my heart to see you and know you're just out of reach." She reaches out and places a finger in the middle of his chest spider. "Even now."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey sighs. "Susan...I kinda get it. But you are my friend. I want to help you any way I can, even if we can't have that kind of close relationship. Because I want to be your friend. But...if it's better that we not interact for the sake of your feelings, then I understand that. I respect you, andd would never want to be a source of anguish in your life." He paused. "You seem to have had too damn much of that already. If you need time, I'll give it to you...but you are always welcome here."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Actually," Susan says, a bit bashfully for her, "I think I may have made a misstep." She huffs out a breath which is clearly visible in the cold air, though she doesn't seem at all bothered by the cold. "It's nice to see you, Spidey. You're sweet and considerate and you're everything I need right now."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nodded. "Wellll...maybe you're a little overdue for some good right now. Oh! That reminds me. I got you something for Christmas. It's not much, but I did get a Christmas bonus, so...I wanted to get my friends gifts for Christmas."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan hesitates. "Really?" she asks. She huffs a bit. "I wish I would have gotten you something, now."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiles gently. "Gifts are freely-given, without expectation of any kind of return. It's a gift, not emotional blackmail. Besides, it's something I hope you don't have to use. I keep the gifts stored here, less chance of anyone finding them. You want to open yours now? I know it's a few days early, but I kinda want to see if you like it."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles. "You know what?" she says, "I'm cool with an early present." She reaches backward, her coat taking shape as it rises up to float to her and slide onto her arms. She drops her hands and shoves them into her pockets.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey grins and holds up a finger. "Be right back."
He heads over to the office and lets himself in with a key. He comes out a couple of minutes later with a box roughly the size of a microwave oven. It is wrapped in newspaper, with "SUSAN" written on the front in Sharpie.
He hands the box to Susan, still smiling. "Merry Christmas."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Oh!" Susan says, eyes going wide. She reaches out to take the box from him. "I imagined it would be smaller." She moves to set it down someplace convenient and begins unwrapping it.

Peter Parker has posed:
At first glance, it's not much to look at - a basic backpack, the kind of big backpack kids use to carry home weekend homework plus all those huge textbooks.
The interesting part is the list taped to the front, detailing stuff like energy bars, water pouches, windproof lighter, thermal blankets, flashlight, radio, a multi-tool, and more.

"It's basically a bug-out bag. Five days worth of food, water, supplies, tools...there's even a one-person tent in the bottom panel. I didn't want to make it look TOO new, because you know how much of a magnet for thieves that can be..."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan beams as she finds out its purpose. "Aww!" she coos. "You're looking out for me," she concludes. She puts it on. It looks bigger on her than her usual one, but not by much. Her regular backpack seems to carry a laptop or something in it, judging by the way it hangs on her frame. "I love it," she informs him. "Makes me wish I still had the van." Her smiles fades slightly. "Or anything, anymore."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Well, if it gets too cold and you don't have anywhere else to go, you can sleep on the pull-out bed in Harry's Hovel in the basement. It's not the Ritz, but it's warm. There's a no-expiration bus and subway pass in the bag, too."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Hang on," Susan says, furrowing her brow. "Did you just say you paid for unlimited bus and subway travel, or is it a one time use ticket thing?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey blushes under the mask. "Well, it wasn't THAT much of a bonus. But there's $20 on each pass, for emergencies, and it won't expire no matter how long you have it."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Fair," Susan says. She smiles again. "It's nothing to sneeze at. Maybe you can upgrade it when $20 no longer buys a subway ticket, huh?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Well, if you get low, there's always your birthday, right?" His smile softens. "Seriously, it's looking to be a savage winter. If I didn't have layers under an already heated suit, I'd be freezing my spinnerets off right now. It seemed more useful than a Nintendo Switch."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan nods. "If not for the intense meditation training," she agrees, "I wouldn't be going out in my gi." She grips the straps of her new backpack and does a little contented hug-shrug thing. "I love it, Spidey. Thank you."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Hope you get to use it as little as possible. But...better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it." He looked thoughtful. "Would you like to see something amazing someone gave me?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Susan nods. "If something's amazing to YOU," she says, "then I want nothing more than to see it if you choose to show me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods and leads Susan over to the office, opening it up to guide her in.

When he found it, it was grungy, dirty, with junk covering the desk. Peter had done a pretty decent job cleaning it up.

The corner held a large safe with a combination lock. A heavy thing. But Spidey just moved it aside as if it had been on some invisible track, revealing a panel in the floor.

"I didn't crack the safe, but I needed a safe place to keep stuff." He lifted the panel, then took out a cardboard box with a lid. He carried the box to the desk, then opened it and put the contents on the desk.

It is delicate and exquisite. A beautiful woman in a Greek tunic, holding up a spiderweb the size of a bedsheet. Carved in stone, it is almost delicate in its intricacy.

"A friend gave me this. It is a statue of the Greek character Arachne...and, honestly, the only work of Themiscyran artwork not owned by the Amazons. My friend, Terry, was one of the first men to visit the island since the initial envoy decades ago, and never before that. He helped them out, and he was given this. He remembered me and thought it would make a good gift. It is over a thousand years old."
His voice is almost reverent. "I haven't taken it home yet. It is...beautiful and compelling, yet humbling I might be able to see atoms and molecules in my lab, but I was never artistically-inclined. I feel like I'm going to drop the thing because it's too amazing for a schmuck from Queens to possess."

Peter Parker has posed:
Susan is almost certainly listening--she almost can't not listen when Peter talks--however her jaw is practically on the floor as she beholds the Amazonian artwork. "Wow," she finally says. She reaches out, but doesn't touch, pulling her hand back, instead. "Yeah, it's delicate. How has that survived a thousand years?" she ponders aloud.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter shrugs. "I can barely imagine it. When the artist can live as long as the artwork they create, they can get pretty good at taking care of it. I worry one day if any of the Amazons see it, they're going to demand it back."

Peter Parker has posed:
Susan gawks for a few more moments, then closes her mouth as her face turns during a realization or revelation. She pulls her phone from her pocket and starts googling. She scrolls a bit, then holds up a map on her screen. "I thought that word sounded familiar," she says. "Themysciran Arts Center. It's here in New York." She pulls her phone back to look at it, scrolling some more. "There's also an Embassy. They might have some artwork there." She looks up from her phone screen at the Spider-Man mask. "You could offer it to them if you think you shouldn't have it."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man sighs. "If I try to give it back, they might see it as an insult. I think I'm going to just put it up in my room at home. No one but me really goes there, anyway. I can put it on the desk next to my ROCKY movie poster."

Peter Parker has posed:
Susan gives Peter a half-hearted shove. "Hey," she says. "At least make sure the poster is framed and looks like a museum piece." She turns her attention back to the sculpture. She is silent for a moment and says, "Spider-Man...maybe we should invest in someplace a little more fortified than a junkyard. Somewhere we can all meet safely and privately and store things like this." She looks up at him. "Is that something you'd be down for?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man does not laugh. The question is valid. "Well...it would be good to have someplace a little more suited and a lot more private. But it comes down to where we will get the money for such a training center."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan considers before moving to sit somewhere that isn't inappropriate. "You build stuff, right? So do I. We got a junkyard at some point. All we need is a secret enough spot to build. I am absolutely down to weld and do electrical engineering and make such a place look like an old building." She smiles. "You should see what proper weathering can do."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey hmms. "It'll take a lot of work. But I can do what I can to try and find potential sites we can use, something that checks off all the boxes. Secluded but not too far away from the center of town, accessible without detection, zero chance of being discovered by accident..."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I'm really kind of surprised you're using this space, then," Susan says. She scratches the fuzzy hair behind her right ear. "I mean...anyone with a drone could find you exercising here."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Yeah. But there is an emitter up on the roof. Runs a signal that updates every hour while no one is here. Any drone pointing a camera in this direction just sees an empty lot." He chuckles. "The code was MONSTROUS, but I figured it out."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan blinks a few times. "Why are we not building a huge, flying base, then? If we can make it invisible, just set up the parameters and make it fly. We could even start building it right now!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey shook his head. "I like your ambition...but big flying bases costs M O N E Y. If anything, we need to stay RIDICULOUSLY low-profile. I mean excavation alone would be a herculean task, if we did find a base..."

He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Let's work with sustainable goals."