thwip !

“case and point exactly. both of those times involved absolute insanity and lots and lots of spider-man being in mortal peril. danger follows you, parker.” the words were said in a joking tone, even if there was quite a bit of truth at hand. “wait, what? i might be right about a vacation?” a slow smile started, and mary jane shifted slightly in the seat beside him to face him better. “let’s take this idea and run with it while i’m still ahead. a vacation with no spider-man. it doesn’t even need to be long, i’d be happy with a weekend.” she felt like she was rambling now, though it was clear that the idea of a getaway brightened her mood considerably. “florida? california? disney world.” reaching for the coffee mug put before her once the waitress brought them over, she nodded as she blew on the surface of the coffee before taking a sip. “they are my absolute favorite christmas movies, yes. and as you’re well aware, that’s my favorite genre of movie anyway, so.” grinning around the rim of her mug, she sighed and tucked back into his side. “sounds like a plan. i’m holding you to it, and we’re turning your second phone off. at least for an hour or two. it’ll be peter and mj time, spider-man can take a few hours off. but yes, i already planned on decorating your apartment, so…i’m glad you’re in agreement there. i’ll bet that gale will be sending you a thank you card for saving her from my christmas-related-annoyances this year.”

“I know … it should be my middle name at this point.” Peter isn’t always happy about it — having a normal day isn’t possible without having to sneak away and deal with a problem. He has two phones for this reason, his personal number and then another for Spider-Man. This number given to those who don’t know his identity and connected to all the police scanners through the city. Several police officers let him have access just for being fans of his work and like having his assistance. He also has a twitter and instagram account which has become very popular. It felt better having the two separated since it had been very chaotic having it all on the same device. Plus this meant being able to literally turn off that side of his life when hanging out with Mary Jane. “A weekend without Spider-Man. Only the two of us. I’ll even leave THAT PHONE at my apartment.” He says with a grin while looking over at her. “Disney World! We should go to Disney.” He insists as his eyes light up at the idea.

“Well you are the boss. Come on it has to feel at least a little good right? Being the head honcho, calling the shots and all that.” Of course Wally personally had no aspirations like that but it was a good thing. Or it was supposed to be. Peter was doing a great job in any case. He was glad F.E.A.S.T. had someone competent in charge. He set the box down and started back for another one, shaking his head at Peter’s question. “Nope. No note. No phone call. Nothing. I already checked the clothes too. They’re all clean. Nothing shady at all. Not that there would be anything shady in them but I just wanted to be sure.” He’d definitely got some sinister gifts before so maybe he was just slightly suspicious of gifts. But hey, he fought a guy named the Toy Man. In his head that justified it.

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“It does feel good and trust me I’m way better than the guy who was running things before me.” Peter had been one of the most valued volunteers at the place still since he has been here since a young teenager to help out. He knows everyone, their life stories, their families and what they like or dislike. Martin Li had owned F.E.A.S.T. before him and turned out to be a supervillain. He went to Rykers and Peter took over ownership of the shelter. He has been doing great things with it the last few years. “I’m just happy to help other people who need it.” He followed Wally toward where the boxes were, and bended down to look through one of them. “There’s so many gloves in here, even some for kids. This is amazing. Really … no name or phone number? Well, whoever donated these did a good thing. I hope they know it.” He picks one of them up and starts bringing inside. “It’s always the right call to check the donations before we start handing them out, good work, West.” He was really glad to have Wally around. He has become an important part of the team.

… “you especially. you go anywhere in the world and crime is somewhere.” it would seem that wherever peter went, trouble inevitably followed or would be quite easily found. spiderman could never catch a break. “but we should try sometime soon. as much as i like new york, i feel like you and i could both use a break.” even if it was just for a weekend, it would be nice to get away for a little while. try to feel like a normal couple enjoying a vacation somewhere. not to mention she was making more money than she’d ever made before in her life working for tony stark, so may as well do it now.  “i definitely can’t say no to that face, and you damn well know it.” it made it hard sometime, especially when she was in fact mad at him. “the christmas prince movies are like, the definition of cheesy christmas movie and they are my favorite.” christmas movies were undeniably her favorite, and she found herself watching them at all times during the year. a cheesy christmas movie never failed to cheer her up, and well, she’d seen them all enough that she didn’t need to be fully paying attention to know what was going on “you might, and in that case, we can fangirl together, tiger.” mary jane slid into the booth beside him, settling herself comfortably into his side. “i thank you now for enabling me, and apologize for dragging you into what my sister calls christmas hell because decorating starts this weekend.”

“I don’t think that’s true! I’ve only been outside of New York twice my entire life! So what that both of those times involved fighting as Spider-Man. It wasn’t my fault really …” Peter chuckles a little at his words but knows the truth. The second time he didn’t even bring his suit with him but Fury had other plans at the time. “You might be a little right. I won’t even bring any web shooters with me. Not even these portable ones.” He says sliding his sleeves down to reveal the bracelets around his wrists. They appear as normal jewelry or whatever you want to call it to civilians but Peter knew they actually were capable of shooting webs and electric ones. He would leave it all behind for a weekend or a week alone with just MJ. Besides if anything does happen then he has his strength and acrobatics. “We do need one. Where would we go? Somewhere with a beach maybe?”

@spidrwcb

There was nothing like volunteering to help other people. Being the Flash was amazing of course but the reason the Flash was so loved in the cities they protected was because they cared about everyone. Barry had really built a reputation and the citizens truly trusted him. He had done his best to keep that reputation going. After all as far as they were concerned Barry had never left. But it was also something he enjoyed. Not just something to keep the public on their side. Sometimes it was the little things that made a big difference in someone’s life. So when he found out there were volunteer opportunities at F.E.A.S.T. he had signed up right away. He pushed open the door with a huge box in hand looking for the man in charge, Peter Parker. “Hey Boss man! Just got a huge donation of winter clothes! There’s like 20 other boxes out there. You want to help me bring them in and get them sorted?”

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It was never part of Peter’s plan to become the boss of anything but taking over ownership of F.E.A.S.T. had fallen into his lap. Nobody else knew the residents who frequented their services and stayed there better than him. He knew everyone’s names, their life stories, and could see how important the shelter was to people. It provided homecooked meals, a place to sleep, and so many other resources. He poured so much love into this place that he doesn’t even mind being the one in charge. There was a lot to do this time of year — his main focus at the moment is preparing for the winter season and also Thanksgiving. He wanted to make sure that everyone got to have a meal together too. He was walking through the space with a clipboard under his arm when a familiar voice stops him. “You can just call me Peter unless you prefer boss man. Twenty boxes of winter clothes? I’d love to help bring them in and see what we’re working with. This is great! Any idea who donated ‘em?” He places the clipboard down behind the front desk and walks over to Wally. “It’s so important that we can get winter coats, hats, gloves, and whatnot to those who don’t have them. New York winters can be brutal. Lead the way, West.” Peter continues to smile, feeling a relief that this is something that could potentially be crossed off the list of things to do.

“i think the chaos is just in our blood. it’s something genetic for new yorkers.” while she wasn’t technically from new york, she’d been around long enough to consider new york home. she’d been in and out of queens for a good chunk of her childhood, and then had settled there permanently once her mother had died. she didn’t want to put down roots anywhere else, even if she wasn’t one to like the idea of roots or settling down. “but i can agree to that. it would be nice to not have to carry pepper spray everywhere, but that’s just the nature of the beast.” crime was everywhere, but sometimes it felt like new york definitely had more than it’s fair share. she might be biased when it came to that though, considering she was dating spiderman and saw it first hand. “i know you don’t, tiger. i don’t either.” mary jane couldn’t help but laugh, and nodded. “yeah, you are. it’s your niche.” mary jane was happy for the lesser foot traffic, considering how late it was, as it allowed them to take their time. new york was always so busy, and while there still were certainly people bustling around it was so much calmer. “now that you’ve said that, i’m going to hold you to it. you’re going to have to watch all of the christmas prince movies and pretend that you love them just as much as i do.” mary jane offered a pout as he pulled back from the kiss, over-exaggerated and clearly playful, and she leaned in to quickly peck his lips again. reaching out to re-take his hand as they started to walk, she yawned again. “good. don’t let me fall asleep once i get comfy, i’m tired.”

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“Maybe. I think that makes sense with all the bright lights and the loud noise.” Peter wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he ever moved somewhere quiet. He always viewed that as something to be suspicious of — almost convinced that it meant one of his rogues were up to something. There were so many of them at the point and he sure was tired. Now isn’t about any of them, he pushes the thought of patrolling and anything involving wearing his spandex out of his mind. Queens would always be home, nowhere else is quite like it. He knows the people and doesn’t want to ever leave. Maybe he would like to get a house one day — he has the money set aside but it seems silly to have so much space for just himself. Besides his place right now has the fancy fridge Tony got for him. “I know. You go anywhere in the world and crime is somewhere.” He inhales for a moment as he let it all sink in. He sometimes wonder if everything that he does is enough.

“Who could ever say no to this face?” Peter teases for a moment as he poses with a bright smile. He doesn’t have a single mean bone in his body and maybe that was also part of his charm. This was nice, not sure how many more nights would be so calm with the holidays around the corner. New York always got a little crazy around Thanksgiving with the parade they throw and everything. It kept crime under control for at least one day unless people were brave. He was always watching. “What’s a Christmas prince movie?” Peter realizes maybe that’s a silly question but wants to know what he’s being roped into. If this makes MJ happy than Peter is more than happy to watch them all. “What if I end up genuinely loving them too?” He asks while they approach the door after a few more minutes of walking. Peter uses his free hand to open it so his girlfriend could go in first. One of the waitresses grabs two menus and starts leading them over to a free booth. “We’ll start off with two cups of coffee, please.” He says after sliding into one side. He didn’t mind if MJ sat across him him or next to him — whatever she preferred.

…

“i can agree with you there. i think new york will always be my favorite.” she’d spent most of her childhood in the tri-state area, though had moved a little farther south at time. perhaps she preferred new york because it was always where she felt most stable, as her aunt anna had always been the one point of stability in her childhood. it was always the closest thing to home she’d known. “i hate to tell you this, but as a new yorker who has been displaced a few times…it’s a little boring without the chaos. i think we thrive in it.” she laughed a little, sighing. “and i think you thrive with all the crime, considering.” she wouldn’t complain about less crime, certainly. especially if it meant that peter got to take a bit of a break from the spider-man thing, but she would never speak that aloud. she was happy when he was happy and proud of both personas, even if it was taking years off her life from worry at times. thumbs gently tracing along his cheeks, she nodded. “absolutely wonderful. also adorable, but i wanted to lead with the wonderful thing.”  she smiled again, leaning forward to press her forehead gently against his. she swayed a little, swearing under her breath, the slight shift evidently enough to mess with her equilibrium at the moment. “mmm, fair. but i’m still excited for snow. maybe someone could just stay inside with me on snowy days instead.” the words were teasing, and well…she knew better. spider-man took a night off for no one. “i agree. it keeps thing…far from boring.” even if she could use with some boring sometimes, she wasn’t sure she’d want things any other way. after all, if things were different then it wouldn’t be them. another smile started as he leaned in and she met him half way, sighing in content against his lips as her eyes momentarily slid to a close.

“I know. I think everyone is just used to the chaos by now. I wish there were less robberies and gangs hanging around … but I don’t know if New York would know what to do if all the bad guys just went away. It isn’t going to stop me from trying to make it less chaotic as possible.” Although in Peter’s experience when you take out one mafia leader another will pop up in their place. It was a never ending cycle that he has learned the hard way time and time again. He rubs the back of his head with his free hand, since MJ is right. She was always right after all. Peter was allowed to tap into the police frequencies thanks to some connections he has made over the years. He can’t swing more than a block before another call comes in. Spider-Man is a full-time job but one that is necessary. His rogues would get out of control without him there and who would stop all the petty crime? Someone has to look out for the little guy. “I know … but I don’t like to look at it in the aspect of thriving of benefiting from it.” He has seen how ugly it could get. It reminds him of the kid he had been tutoring who got killed. He spend the rest of the night sobbing on a rooftop after his mother broke the news to him. Just an example of how crime affects the community that nobody ever thinks about.

She could see he was struggling with determining what sort of information he could trust her with. “Ah, a mutant,” she nodded. Pieces were now falling into place. She couldn’t blame him for being hesitant to share this information. There was a time when staff would’ve had to report unregistered mutants. Christine never did even back in those days. She signed an oath to protect all life. “What is your ability, if you don’t mind me asking?” She needed to know because sometimes certain treatments and medications had unintended consequences to the biology of metas. These medications were designed and tested on homo sapiens, not homo superiors. She frowned when he mentioned that the likelihood that the other guy would come back was pretty high. “Was this a hate crime or were you out looking for trouble?”

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Peter is suddenly panicking internally on how to explain what his powers are. If he says it that could easily link him to his identity. The woman seems nice though and maybe she wouldn’t tell anyone if the truth came out. He knows that when it comes to lying he isn’t always the best at it. He tends to stumble over his words when nervous like right now. “Uh … spider physiology. I’m really strong and can crawl on walls.” Among other things but that’s just the obvious of it. He doesn’t want to explain the whole spider-sense thing to someone else. Peter fidgets with his fingers for a moment while looking over at the nurse. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“no, no it does not. or late night won-tons, or anything else that i might be craving. there’s endless possibilities in the city. chicago and seattle weren’t too bad in terms of being able to find food, but most everywhere else definitely had a lot to learn.” and even if she could cook, hotel amenities didn’t always allow for that. “and not to mention good diner food totally stops in the midwest.” shaking her head again, mj shrugged. “but not everyone can be new york, i guess. they don’t even know they’re suffering.”  new york would always be home, even if that was still a strange concept for mary jane. “and coffee. i need coffee first and foremost.” she was still feeling more tipsy than not, and her head was starting to hurt. mj couldn’t help but grin when she looked over and noticed his blush, squeezing his hand again. unable to quite help herself she paused walking to move in front of him, biting slightly at her lower lip as she felt her grin growing. “you are absolutely wonderful,” she said quietly as her hands moved up to both sides of his face. her initial word choice had been adorable, but she decided that wonderful was certainly safer. he never failed to make her smile, and the blush to his cheeks made her feel warm inside in a way she couldn’t quite describe. “and it’ll be better once it snows. snow is new york city is my favorite.” coupled with all of the decorations that would go up around the city. wintertime in new york was without a doubt her favorite time, and while she was certainly sad about not performing at the moment she was also glad there was a good chance she’d be home for it this year. “always an adventure,” she repeated with a nod. “i don’t think i’d have it any other way, tiger.”

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At least it sounds like a few other cities knew what they were doing but Peter hasn’t been out of New York much. The last time had ended disastrously with Mysterio following him out there. He doesn’t know how Quentin knew about the vacation but maybe someone tipped him off. He knows that the other man isn’t aware of his true identity but that whole encounter left him getting hit by a moving train because of the illusions. Eventually Peter took him down but before anyone else got hurt and managed to keep who he really is a secret. Quentin tried to trick him but didn’t quite succeed in the end. Although he can’t explain how painful it had been waking up to the injuries and calling Happy to pick him up. Nobody else can live to tell the tale of being hit by a subway — never wishing that on anyone. Between that and then when a sentinel crushed his leg a few months back … maybe Peter deserves an actual vacation. One that doesn’t involve saving the day and just getting to relax. Maybe it could be something MJ would be interested in since she was back in town for a while. “Nowhere quite compares to New York. I wouldn’t change anything about it except maybe a little less crime. All the chaos just feels like home.” He doesn’t really remember the city ever being anything different. They’ll get that coffee, probably need a whole pot of it actually. Maybe they’d be up until sunrise but Peter doesn’t mind if that meant spending that time with her.

They pause and maybe Peter is blushing as MJ places her hands on the sides of his face. He really missed having these moments together. It makes him realize how much they’ve grown up since they were teenagers. “You think so?” His lips turn into a smile, unable to stop himself from doing so. He might have argued that she was actually the one who is wonderful. She certainly puts up with so much when it comes to HIM. All those nights Peter passes out on her balcony exhausted from patrol or bruised from a fight. All the time worrying about him when the sinister six come out to play and leave Peter hanging by a thread. You never know what could happen when your best friend is a superhero and Peter doesn’t enjoy making her worry. Tonight isn’t filled with such negative emotions, only wanting to focus on how seeing MJ smile makes him smile that much more. “I think snow is pretty to look at but makes swinging around a chill experience.” Peter teases but maybe they’d get to do some of those holiday cliches together this year. Nobody else Peter would want to do that with and will extend an invitation for her to join the Parkers for Thanksgiving if she wanted to. “I wouldn’t have it any other way either. I like our adventures.” He says before leaning in to press their lips together for a kiss.