16401/The Gang's All Here

The Gang's All Here
Date of Scene:	30 June 2024
Location:	Delmar's Deli-Grocery, Jackson Heights
Synopsis:	A larger than average group of the Spider-fam get together for sandwiches and catching up!
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Spider, Firestar, Spider-Man, Kid Arachnid

---

Ghost Spider has posed:
Ghost-Spider is presently lounging on the side of the Empire State Building, wayyyyyyy up towards the top, as she does. She's 'laying' on the side of it as if the side of the building were a lounge chair, phone up in front of her face, head bobbing to the tunes playing through the earbuds inside her mask.

>> To Angel: PETER'S BACK!!!

>> To Angel: Also, I'm quantitatively the worst girlfriend on the entire planet.

>> To Angel: But he forgave me. We all need to meet up...

>> To Angel: FFS. How are you not on Spider-Comm? Will you install this, please? We all use it to talk.

>> To Angel: (Spider-Comm.apk attached)

Then Gwen's swiping. Swipe. Swipe. Swipe. Into the Spider-Comm app she goes -- which is super handy. It has functions for geo-located neighborhood relevant NYPD calls, secure comms between members, an 'Oh Shit' alert button that sends your location out to the entire group, and even a 'Share my Location' that can be turned on and off at will for the whole group.

Peter did a good job with it, really.

>> SPIDER-COMM: (GS) Hey, guys. Anybody up for sandwiches at Delmar's? Street clothes? 6PM? Flexible. Trying to find something that works for people.

It was _never_ easy to work out schedules. It was bad enough for Peter and Gwen, and they essentially lived together. Trying to add even just Miles to the schedule? Not to mention Angelica?

It's nuts.

But eventually they do get enough approximate census in the form of things that sound like 'Maybe!' or 'I can try!'.

And at the designated time, Gwen is there, coming up the sidewalk with her blonde hair pulled back from her face by a thick black headband. She's got on a black vest over a white blouse and a purple miniskirt, low-heeled back leather calf-boots on her feet, and a designer backpack slung over one shoulder that she's using as a purse (and a storage container for her costume). Try as she might, there's just no way to hide her costume under a mini-skirt without delving into the realm of nano-technology.

Firestar has posed:
Getting the messages, Angelica smiles when she hears Peter is back. The reveal of Gwen being the worst girlfriend gets a soft sigh. Seeing the invite to join the com, she does as she is asked and is soon learning how that will work.

>> SPIDER-COMM: (AJ) Dlemar's sounds great. See you there.

The time is agreed to and she makes her way to restaurant as indicated. She walks towards the pretty blonde with the stylish gear and smiles. The red head walks to her and winks,"Hey you. Thanks for the invite." she offers as she gets near,"You're looking spectacular as ever."

She looks around to see if Peter is actually present and on time. Nope. Nothing new about that. Poor Peter.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter actually did get the message and was happily making his way over to Delmar's. He was jonesing _bad_ for one of their subs and a gigantic thing of bad-for-you beverage of a non-adult variety, but as was only right and proper for a Parker trying to meet a deadline, something happened.

That something being an ATM, cash compartment violently ripped open, flying through a plate-glass window and landing in the street. Luckily it didn't hit anyone on the way by, but it was a close thing in a couple of cases.

From inside the shattered storefront he heard a familiar voice.

"I said I want a meatball sub, extra cheese, hot sauce, and peppers! AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!" Judging by the whimpering that accompanied that shout, the person behind the deli counter was not reacting well to Aleksei's hanger.

Time to go find a place to get changed and deal with it before anyone got hurt or before the Rhino decided he also wanted dessert.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
Miles tapped a response into his phone and glanced to Sabine. "You wanna come?" he asked softly, Sabine already had a wounded look. "That white girl from the picture?" asked Sabine with a quietness that wasn't her usual. "She's my best friend." Miles explained. "Go on then. Spend time with your 'friend'." said Sabine, seeming wounded. "Don't be like that." asked Miles, but she was already well into being like that. "Whatever." said Sabine.

Miles stayed put, watching Sabine leave, he exhaled once through his nose. "She can't even handle half." he said to whatever part of his mind that listened to him monologue, and set out for the meetup.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Angel!"

Gwen's reaching her arms to pull the other woman into a hug before she ever gets there, a broad smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Oh, please. Look at you!"

That smile turns into a bit of a grin when she steps back again, catching the look-around.

"He's coming. I have assurances," she promises with a knowing smile. "You know how he can be. Miles is coming, too! I haven't introduced you to Miles, has Peter?" Then there's a brief glance around. It's not too crowded, right at the moment. "You wanna chat for a minute before we order? Maybe buy him a _few_ extra minutes.."

There's a couple of wrought iron tables set up on the sidewalk, and Gwen motions to one that seats four, already moving towards it.

Firestar has posed:
A soft laugh and Angelica returns the hug offered by Gwen. She shakes her head as they part and she replies,"It's more fun to look at you." A light joke.

The smirk widens to a full smile and she tells her,"Oh I could be content with it just being us. I was just curious to see if if really could find his way to a dinner meet." she teases.

She shakes her head and admits,"I haven't met Miles that I know of." A nod as she follows after Gwen to the seats,"I always enjoy girl talk with you Gwen. You are one of the few with the unique understanding of the life I live."

Spider-Man has posed:
So there he was, in a back alley, more-or-less out of sight, shoes off, taking off his pants and shirt to put his super-special feetie pajamas on. It wasn't dignified and it was _way_ too slow for emergencies. Peter resolved, right then and there, to either wear the costume all the time - which would get pretty rank pretty quick - or invent something where he just slaps it against his body and the costume puts itself on.

Uniform finally on, civvies and his briefcase/backpack webbed up discreetly to keep them out of the muck it was time for Spider-Man to swing into action!

"Yo, my masn Aleksei, how 'bout you take a chill-pill and we sort this out like regular folks, OK?"

Spider-Sense dodge a can of hurled peaches.

"Or we can not be rational about this, because apparently you're hangry, and we'll try waiting for the boys and girls at SHIELD to carry you away to a very nice jail cell. Your call!"

More Spider-Sense assisted dodging baked beans.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
Miles Morales slipped into the seat across from Angelica and Gwen at the table. "Pete coming?" he asked tersely. He glanced to the middle distance, as if he might find Peter there, he let his eyes unfocus and relax. Then he glanced to Angelica, "Hi." he said. "I'm Miles." he glanced to Gwen and offered her a greeting look, he rolled his shoulders back as they seemed to want to slump, but he wouldn't let his mood slip into his posture, he didn't want to answer questions and Gwen would likely be able to sleuth him out. Mask up, Miles Morales.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Gwen tells Angelica. "All work and no play makes Pete a dull boy. Besides, you would not _believe_ where he's been. Turns out.. he wasn't ghosting me after all. I just wasn't looking hard enough. He okay, but being surrounded by his tribe will do him good, you know?"

She hasn't been in her seat long when Miles showed up. She'd just dropped her backpack on the ground when her eyes cut over to him and a frown touched her features.

"Miles, this is Angelica Jones."

No doubt, the 'AJ' from the Spider-Comm app. So, she was 'in the know,' though how much she put on the app about HER secret identity is up to her.

"Angel, this is Miles Morales."

And even as she says the words, she's rising out of her seat, slipping around behind Miles, and draping her arms around his shoulders. She gives him a squeeze. Not lingering, but enough to show that 'she noticed' before she goes back to her own seat.

"Angel and Peter have known each other for a _long_ time," she asides to Miles.

Firestar has posed:
"He works too much for sure." Angelica replies with a nod,"As for where he's been. Very little would surprise me, but it might be fun to try. Maybe if you told me he'd been quilting with Aunt May for some sort of spree or something, but that wouldn't be too surprising really."

She glances to Miles when he is introduced and nods,"Nice to meet you Miles." She considers the down turn in the man's face and general appearance, but doesn't pry. She'll let Gwen do that. She snorts softly as she adds,"Pete and I are getting our gray hairs soon."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter, back at the Rhino-bodega, is trying to secure him so that SHIELD can come and take him away. And that's when he was just a touch too slow, too close, and wound up taking a a box of pasta to the face. It hurt, and it promised to be spectacular later, but for right now he was focused on getting Rhino squared away. It took them almost 20 full minutes and a great deal of property damage before he was able to put Aleksei away for SHIELD to come and pick up. He snatched up his webbed backpack and then swung for the skies - not coincidentally in a direction towards where he was supposed to be meeting Gwen.

He could find a rooftop to change back on. Wouldn't be the first time, likely won't be the last.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
Miles Morales glanced between the two older women for a moment in disbelief. "You can both tell that easy? Boys don't stand a chance." He had read both of them read him. "It's not a big deal, some stuff with a girl." he offered peaceably. He shifted his posture, "Are you a reporter, Angel?" trying to make the connection.

Ghost Spider has posed:
'Boys don't stand a chance.'

"You're just figuring this out?" Gwen asks Miles.

Her whole demeanor with Miles is a careful combination of playful sympathy, careful not to cross a line into outright mocking, but obviously not interested in _helping_ him wallow, either.

Her eyes are back on Angel then, her smile thinned to something far less than amusement. More like a cringe.

"Not quilting," Gwen says significantly. "He... had some trouble with one of his students and spent a couple months out of his own mind."

Which for anyone else would be a _super_ convenient excuse for a teacher and a student that wanted to justify some alone time... but, what can you do? It's Peter. Gwen trusts him implicitly. She didn't even ask to see the official incident report when he got free!

"And he's already hard back at it again. I'm not even sure he sleeps. I'm pretty sure he just lies there, waiting..."

Her eyes flicker with mirth.

Firestar has posed:
Angelica smiles at Miles and shakes her head,"Us older ladies have you younger guys figured out. Just accept it and move on." she teases lightly.

She doesn't want to make him wallow any more than he is and mostly just tries to lighten his mood. She looks at Gwen and nods,"That sounds like our boy. Staying out there helping others and then laying in bed staring at the ceiling waiting for the next call for help. He seems to want to abuse himself sometimes. Love that man, but I worry."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter finally walks up to the agreed meeting-spot, his messy in-crying-need-of-a-haircut hair going every which way and what was proving to be a potentially spectacular shiner around his right eye. Backpack-briefcase slung over his shoulder like the grad student he was. "I am so sorry." he said apologetically as he walked up to their table. "You would not _believe_ the day I've had so far." he said, and then realized he was being rude. "Angelica! You look lovely. Gwen, stunning as always. And hey, it's a Miles! Good to see you, kid." he said as he sank into his chair. Thirty-seven minutes later, Peter. May raised you better than this!

Kid Arachnid has posed:
Miles Morales glanced at his phone, showing some concern. "I gotta take this." the screen flashed the letters M o M, showed a handsome picture of a middle aged Puerto Rican woman smiling dreamily at the camera her son was holding. He'd have to excuse himself moments later after finding out Sabine had called his mother to complain about him and had been a little loose with the truth, expanding on Mile's and Gwens relationship in accusatory tones. "Mom....MOM...if something was going on you'd be the first to know." he sighed, glanced to Gwen and then fist-bumped Peter. "Its an insecure thing. Yeah." he shrugged to the others apologetically and made the universal sign for 'I gotta go.'

He walked slowly down the sidewalk, "Why she even call you? WHAT?!" Miles threw his free hand up in the air in defeat. "Embarrassing. Lamento que te hayan arrastrado a esto." he said swapping back and forth. He smiled off in the distance, his mother had reacted with joy. "I love you too. Yeah I know. I'll talk to her."

Ghost Spider has posed:
"You and me both, but he's doing better at holding everything together than I am. So, at least _my_ worry seems misplaced. I need to fix my own problems before I go trying to tell him what to do about his. I'm off the research project I was working on at Alchemax because I missed too many days, and the band is _basically_ broken up."

Beat.

"Again."

This is not new news.

"I'm not even sure I want it to get back together, anymore."

Miles had answered his phone somewhere in there. She'd given him a little nod of understanding and just kept going so it didn't seem like it was causing a disruption.

But then there's Peter over her shoulder, and her smile brightens.

"Don't sit!" she calls out too late, already reaching for the backpack at her feet to stand and sling it over her shoulder. "We need to go in and order. I was afraid if I got you something too soon the pigeons might eat it before you got a chance."

Like they did the other day. Neither one of them had enough money to be feeding pigeons that well.

She offers a vaguely sad smile to Miles at his departure, but she nods at him. Watching. 'Talk later,' she mouths, trying not to interrupt his call.

It wasn't easy. She liked Miles. A lot. He... liked her, too. Maybe... more.

They both sort of knew it. She just didn't know what to do about it.

So it sort of made things awkward, sometimes. And.. harder for Miles, sometimes, apparently.

Sigh.

But then she's turning around, looking back at Peter, moving over beside him and setting a hand on his arm... and like _really_ look at him. And pause.

"_That's_ why you were late?"

She's looking at his eye, but there's a sympathetic curl to her lips despite the accusation in her voice. She understood. She was still going to give him crap about it, though.

Firestar has posed:
The Parker luck. Angelica smirks a little as he talks about nobody believing his day. She nods a little at hte compliment he offers and winks,"Such flattery Mr. Parker." she teases mildly.

Her gaze looks concerned for Miles as he gets up to leave and only having part of the information. That is just enough to not know what is happening. She offers him a wave and then moves her attention to Gwen again.

"Worry usually is misplaced when it comes to our lives. Sure it can be tricky and we worry anyway because that's what we do. If we didn't care, we wouldn't worry."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter let out a giant sigh. Of course he'd have to get back up to go order the food his belly was screaming for. To amuse himself, he spent a few moments contemplating who he should eat first in case of cannibalism. He decided on Angelica, as she was not as lean as Gwen was. "Bout a block or so off campus. Rhino got hungry, apparently was a little short for the bill." he said with an empathetic shrug. He'd been there. He'd just never robbed anyone about it. "He's a surprisingly good shot with a box of pasta." he said, gesturing towards his face. Then he cranked his neck around to look at Miles and his conversation. "Poor bastard." he said, again with empathy. "I used to get those calls from May." he confessed. "Just with less Spanish. I think."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Geeze. An already whipcord lean ballerina gets bitten by one tiny irradiated spider, loses what few percentage points of body fat she had left, and all of a sudden she's not delicious anymore..

On the bright side of things, fashion modeling agencies paid a lot of money for models built like twelve year old boys. (Okay, it's not _that_ bad.)

Out of sheer instinct, she reached up to touch Peter's cheek, maybe to still him for just a second so she could take a better look at it, but when his gaze followed Miles, she dropped that hand again.

"Wait.. I could have been calling May to complain about you this entire time? _Why_ have I never done that?"

Mirth fills her eyes and she nudges him with her shoulder as she starts into the Deli.

"So who was it? Who was calling to tattle on you? Was it MJ? I bet it was MJ... _God_ she can be a drama queen..."

Because she has a WHOLE FREAKING BAND IS NAMED AFTER HER.

Seriously.

The Mary Jane's?

Whatever.

Firestar has posed:
Like she doesn't have a complex about her weight, now she is more appetizing. Too much meat on her bones.

Angelica smirks and she tells Gwen,"Aunt May is the ultimate weapon. Use it wisely because otherwise the sword becomes a nuke and then we'll never see him again."

She smirks a little at the mention of MJ. It's fully understandable the sentiment about Mary Jane and the drama queen. She isn't likely aware of the band thing so that gets a quizzical look.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter sighs. "Yes, it was MJ. From her perspective, she got girl-next-door privs with May." he said with another sigh. "I'll always love that woman, but she could and did drive me _crazy_." he said, perhaps foolishly with an ex and his current partner _right there_, one of whom could microwave a Pop-Tart from the other side of a football pitch and the other was notoriously short-tempered and had a mean left hook.

But let's be real, until he grew up mentally and not just physically he was a _terrible_ partner. For anyone.

Ask Angelica about it sometime.

"If I look pathetic enough can I get someone to walk in and order me a meatball sub?" he asked.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen refuses to microwave a Pop-Tart, much less from a hundred yards away, so she must be the one he's worried about beating his ass. That's probably not the end of the world, even if she might opt for more elegant ways to make him regret his live choices...

She was, after all, a dancer before she was a fighter. Grace and elegance are baked into who she is.

"Oh, he's never done anything to warrant that level of escalation."

Aside from the fact that she spent _months_ crying herself to sleep that Angel is very aware of. But then, they figured out that wasn't actually his fault, in the end.

The quizzical look from Angel gets a dismissive little wave of her hand. "I'm a drummer. The band is the Mary Jane's. She's our lead singer... _when_ she's our lead singer. Like I said. I'm done. It's been years."

Back to Peter, though, she lets out a mock exasperated sigh and slips her backpack back off of her shoulders again, shoving it into his arms. She yanks a phone out of one of the side pockets (she always pays with 'tap' on her phone) and then points back at the table.

"Sit, you big baby," she chides, leaning in to give him a kiss on the jaw.

"Angel, you too. I'll grab yours. Just tell me what you want. You guys can have some time to catch up while I wait."

Firestar has posed:
A nod and Angelica muses,"All right. We'll spare him for now." She winks at Peter and reaches out pat his hand,"You aren't so bad Parker, you're just not always so good either." That is definately a tease, shot fired. She winks and looks up to Gwen.

She considers for a long moment and says,"Oh what the heck. A patramie steamer with provalone sounds like fantastic way to make me happy and then make me cry when my hips won't go through the door."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter winced. Yeah, he knew just what she was referring to. And accepted it, owned it, and tried to live it down. And how was that going for him?

Not great.

So he turned a little bit to face Angelica. "So. How's life been going for you?" he asked pleasantly. "Grad school's eating me whole and whatever scraps are left JJJ's making demands on." he admitted with a shrug. Peter, thy name should have been "Overbooked".

Ghost Spider has posed:
"On it. Be out in a minute. You two are in charge of not losing our table," Gwen assures, smiling. Then she's headed inside to place the orders and wait.

Firestar has posed:
Watching Gwen go, Angelica winks and tell her,"I'll make sure he doesn't wander off."

She looks back to Peter and shakes her head,"Life has been...life." she admits,"Taking an annoying gen ed for the summer and doing some tutoring for people. My booking is easier than yours it sounds like."

Spider-Man has posed:
"I have a distinct sense of being treated like I'm four." he said with a faintly sour look. "I can't help but wonder why that is." he said with an arched eyebrow. "Angelica? Any thoughts on why this might be?" he asked archly.

"Other than practicing on me for your gen ed class requirements?"

Firestar has posed:
Shaking her head, Angelica laughs softly and replies,"You're being treated like someone that is loved by two women for different reasons and conditions that want to know that you are safe and care for. Get over it because it isn't likely to ever change."

Her features soften a little and she adds,"She was worried Pete. So was I. She was beside herself and going through all the stages of loss. Neiter of us knew if you were alive or not. I know you get busy and sometimes it can't be helped. Just bear with both of us and let us smother you."

Spider-Man has posed:
"I don't know. Could go either way." he said, but he was smiling when he said it.

Fine. He was gonna get smothered, then.

Firestar has posed:
Rolling her eyes, she glances at her phone and then sets it aside,"You're going to be loved and worried about whether you like it or not. You're going to do better with relationships or I am going to burn your tail and put you in line." The last unlikely to happen, but she does sound convincing.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter sighed as he waited for their food to arrive. "General ed requirements, huh? Which degree are you going for? Gwen and I are both in grad school so, yeah, we can empathize. The crazy scheduling and that's before you add our ... extracurriculars ... to the mix. It can get a little - or a lot - nuts." he said.

Firestar has posed:
"Physics. My condition made me an expert before I was in high school so it stands to reason." she replies,"I'm getting a late start since I was up in Canada for a while. I should have been working on a degree while I was there, but I focused on being part of the team."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter nodded. "Somehow, with all the crazy, I'm still working on my Ph.D." he said. "Chemical engineering, with a sideline in biophysics. Kinda appropriate, yanno, given ... things." Then he saw an opportunity to tease his old friend and took it. "You still having epically bad hair days because of the ..." he said, and then made a radiation-eminating-out gesture with his hand.

Firestar has posed:
"We really are gluttons for punishment aren't we?" she asks when he mentions the work he is doing,"It's a wonder we have time for anything else."

An eyebrow quirk and Angelica blows a raspberry gently and then replies,"Behold the power of hairspray."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter just laughed, then ran his fingers through his own hair. "Back in the day, you had a portable hole in the ozone layer over your head and you still looked like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket on your bad days." he gently teased.

Firestar has posed:
"Some things never change." she replies. She blows another raspberry and informs him,"It wasn't my finger in the light socket." She leans on the table a little and she adds,"I mean I could shave my head, but I'm not going to."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter paused to try to think of what body part she might have been sticking in the light socket. The mind ... boggled. Time to think of something else before things really got obvious. "Yeah, good call on not shaving." he said. "Your head, I mean." he added with a little bit of color to his cheeks.

Oh, Peter. Never change.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Thank you, Mr. Delmar!"

Gwen's voice can be heard coming out the door, and in her hands are a collection of three wrapped sandwiches, piled in a triangle, as well as a collection of screw-capped plastic bottles in the other -- two waters and one bad-for-you beverage of a non-adult variety.

She's half-way out the door when an adolescent obviously more excited to get out than she is in comes pushing past her, narrowly avoiding knocking everything out of her hands because Spider-reflexes are a thing.

The dad, following him in, is trotting to keep up. "Sorry!... Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

Gwen pauses just long enough to laugh, but she doesn't linger. "Probably." And then she's moving on.

The dad's almost inside when he stops to turn back. "B341!" One of the Brooklyn bus routes.

"And M15," Gwen calls back over her shoulder with a smile.

It was kind of fun having her face on the side of a bus for a makeup advertisement, even if it kind of was asking for trouble with the whole Ghost-Spider thing.

Soon enough, she's setting sandwiches down. "Okay. Pastrami for the lady. And a water.. to balance out the hip-guilt. A meatball for the gentleman, and your usual to drink. And _I_ got an Italian."

She's slipping down into a seat, then. Smiling.

"What did I miss? Anything good?"

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter grinned as he tore into his sandwich with a suitable amount of indecorum. "Just catching up. Reminded her of her own personal hole in the ozone layer and her near-terminal misuse of hair-care products to tame her mop." he chuckled. Ah, blessed sugar and caffeine.

Come to Papa!

Firestar has posed:
Angelica rolls her eyes and tells him,"Just remember the number on that would be jungle queen. You're hair might look pretty funny fully steamed." She shakes her head and winks at Gwen.

She takes the sandwich and drink and tells Gwen,"You're a saint. I don't care what Peter said." She winks with the eye away from him, so he doesn't see it.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Paper rustles as Gwen opens her sandwich and settles in to eat... and then lets out a soft sigh. "Napkins."

Once more, Gwen's back on her feet, rolling her eyes. "Let her have her ozone hole. She's more than earned it," she muses, ruffling his hair on the way past. But her gaze is flicking back over her shoulder at Angel a moment later.

"Oh, I'm under no allusions. He needs _someone_ to vent to about how miserable I make him on a daily basis. Be right back!"

That grin lingers until she's once more pushing her way back inside the store and disappearing from sight. Because a professional model does not simply sit at a picnic table and eat dinner without a supply of napkins handy.

Because.. adoring fans. Or something.

Besides, Peter's eating a meatball sub. He's _going_ to need napkins. And clothes don't count as napkins.