A Very Marvel Thanksgiving

[mendndefend]

Growing up, Thanksgiving in the McNeil household had always been a grand affair. With ten mouths to feed - more, in fact, on the few occasions the Twoyoungmens had joined them, not to mention whatever extended family had made their way out west on any given year - Heather had assisted in the preparation of the traditional dinner since she’d been

Comments

[heatedrod]

Johnny was of the opinion that nobody should really spend the holiday season alone, but his own convictions only just barely got him out of his hut and over to the dinner Heather was throwing. (A Canadian throwing an American Thanksgiving dinner was a little strange, but he wasn't going to complain.)

He'd never spent a single Thanksgiving without Sue. No matter what they did, who they were with or where they were in life, they spent the day together and had dinner if they weren't off saving the world/galaxy/universe. Being surrounded by people he knew but not the one person he wanted drove every single point he'd been poring over since the fight with Rogue home. Keeping up appearances was easy, but Johnny wasn't up to the general merriment everyone else seemed to be feeling.

At least there was food.

[getemtiger]

Mary Jane was hesitant, at first, to approach Johnny. Even if she didn't have any idea what he thought about the whole breakup thing, he was Peter's best friend, and that really said a lot. Still, it was Thanksgiving, and he was there, and she would never know anything until she found out.

"Hey," she said as she walked up, her smile not quite up to par, though not for any lack of effort. She just couldn't get her heart in it, not here, not now. "Happy Thanksgiving."

[heatedrod]

"Happy Thanksgiving, kid," Johnny replied, looking about as excited to be around as Mary Jane did. He pulled her against his side in a one-armed hug, other hand holding his drink away. "How you feeling?"

He knew everything from Pete's side, but hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to Mary Jane about it. Not that he would now, of all places, but it was good to see her make an effort. At least he didn't feel so bad about his own mood now.

[getemtiger]

Mary Jane was admittedly relieved by the way he reacted, though she tried her best not to show it. There was no sense in making things potentially more awkward than they were already bound to be. Mostly, she just wanted to get through this without any unnecessary drama; knowing this crowd, that would be unlikely, but it remained true all the same.

"I've been better," she admitted, a little sheepish, because the way she saw it, there was no way for him not to know what had happened. Even though she was the one who'd left, it hadn't exactly been easy. "Keeping myself busy, though, helping get this together and all. How about you?"

[mendndefend]

As hostess, Heather's keeping an eye on her guests more so than her plate, anticipating the worst even as she hopes for the best. It's a thin line to walk, and while she's not naively striving for perfection, she's still trying her darndest to ensure things run smoothly. Even without all of the responsibilities of home, she's forever the professional, and a good reputation has ways of paying forward in the future.

Smile in place, she circulates the growing gathering, greeting new and familiar faces alike to get them settled. There'll be time to eat later -- for now, she has a job to do.

[like_arrows]

It's been a while since I was a part of what anyone might call polite society, but there are basic rules you don't unlearn, like that it's only right to thank the hostess when the opportunity arises. I don't know Heather, but that's all the more reason to be gracious.

"Thank you for having me here," I say when I've caught her attention for a moment. "It's, um... it's really great, what you guys managed to pull together."

[mendndefend]

"Oh, it was my pleasure," says Heather with a smile, dismissing the compliment with a small wave of her hand. Grateful as she is for all the help, she simply can't deny that this dinner was as much for her benefit as it was for everyone else's. "Consider it a vacation from the vacation."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

She hasn't met Heather before today, but her opinion of her for getting all of this together is pretty high at this point. There's an awful lot of people hear she doesn't know, but she does know the sort of connection most of them have. It's kind of a weird dysfunctional company, but she sort of likes it all the same.

"Thanks for doing all of this," she says as she comes up beside their hostess. "I bet a lot of people miss home around now."

[forhawkeye]

Thanksgiving hosted by a dead Canadian sounds like the setup to a really awful joke, but I'll hand it to Heather - she's done a good job, putting this all together. Besides, helping out has the added bonus of giving me a much needed sense of purpose after such a crappy month, even if that purpose included things like mashing potatoes for the better part of the afternoon.

My plate already loaded with food, I go sit down near the middle of the table. It's a holiday and I know the majority of the guest list - no point in playing the wallflower.

[like_arrows]

"So which part of this do we have to thank you for?" I ask, leaning towards Kate with a grin when she sits nearby. By now I'm ready to believe Kate can do pretty much anything, but the mental image of her cooking is still kind of hilarious. Maybe it's the whole New York upper crust thing she has going on, even if she's pretty much the opposite of any definition of socialite I've ever heard, or maybe it's just that my mental image involves an apron.

[forhawkeye]

"Oh, you know, the real glamorous stuff," I reply airily, gesturing with a slight twist of my wrist as though I'm about to discuss fine art instead of side dishes. With a laugh, I break character, and give her a smile. "I mostly peeled and mashed, so, like, the potatoes and the apples in the pie."

Honestly, it was sort of like I was back in the soup kitchen again, which wasn't a bad feeling.

[like_arrows]

"Maybe they're not glamorous, but they're definitely necessities," I say, grinning. It feels like years since my last real Thanksgiving at home with my family, longer even than it's really been. Even if I got out of here, I'd never get that back again, and no matter why that might be, I can't help a little regret at the thought. It's gone almost as quickly as it comes, though. Today's not a day for being sorry. That's the other three hundred and sixty-four. "I don't know how you guys managed to pull this off."

[segaboybrodie]

Thanksgiving was an AMERICAN TRADITION. Brodie didn't really give a shit that they weren't actually in America at the moment, and that some of the people in attendance weren't even American (the Alpha Flight chicks and Wolverine were Canadian, for Christ's sake).

Mostly, he was just glad that the day didn't mean a fucked up Thanksgiving like the ones he'd had back home. Maybe he should have been all nostalgic for home and shit. And it wasn't like the brain children of Stan Lee didn't have their own issues.

But when there wasn't a chance that his cousin Walter was gonna stick his dick in the Turkey and call it Suzanne...there was definitely something to be thankful for. To this day, Brodie STILL didn't eat stuffing.

He'd shown up early, outfitted with a pretty fucking authentic Indian head dress that the clothes box had given him and an Apache Chief t-shirt. Who the fuck cared that there wasn't REAL turkey? he was excited as shit.

[like_arrows]

"Really?"

I don't really think about it -- the question just bursts out of me when I spot Brodie looking like someone tarred and feathered his head. True, Thanksgiving might be more fun if it were more than just sitting around eating, but that's special.

"Is this some kind of quaint New Jersey custom no one ever told me about?"

[segaboybrodie]

"It's a fucking AMERICAN tradition," Brodie said, sounding offended. Jesus fucking Christ, he was just being FESTIVE. Since when did being festive mean that people looked at you like you were a fucking retard?

"Pilgrims? Indians? Remember all that?"

[like_arrows]

"I remember those," I say, arching an eyebrow as I raise my hands. I come in peace and all that. "I just missed the part about costumes on the invitation." Not that there was an actual invitation on paper, unless I missed it.

[tearsthrulife]

Rahne isn't here so much for the food or the holiday as for the people, but she supposes that's as good a reason as any when they're supposed to be giving thanks. Anyway, call it cliche, but she figures she's got a lot to be thankful for in showing up here. The lack of powers still sucks, of course, but it could be worse. How it could be worse, she isn't going to think about while there's food on the table, but it's true all the same.

Walking over to the table, she gestures to the first empty chair she finds with her foot, plate held in one hand, her glass in another. "This seat taken?" she asks the person sitting next to it. Saving seats seems kind of juvenile when they all know each other, but to each their own.

[like_arrows]

"Not at all," I reply, smiling when I see it's Rahne. There's only a small handful of people I'd really consider myself at all close to here, outside of the others from home, but Rahne's definitely on the short list. Besides, it's Thanksgiving and we're supposed to all be getting along or whatever, which should last about as long as it takes to carve that bird Wolverine hunted down. "Come on, sit with me."

[tearsthrulife]

Rahne doesn't need to hear any more than that before she does exactly as Nico says, returning the smile and sitting down in the empty chair. "Good," she says. She doesn't know Nico like she does, say, Jamie or some of the others, but has come to think of her as a close friend anyway, the kind of person it does make sense to be sharing Thanksgiving dinner with. "Kind of amazing, how much they could put together here, isn't it?"

[like_arrows]

I'm pretty sure kind of doesn't even begin to cover it. Even back in L.A., we couldn't have put together a spread like this -- although I guess it helps when you don't have to pay. I'm pretty sure they still paid for it plenty in effort and, like, foraging, though.

"I couldn't do it," I say by way of agreement, nodding as I heap vegetables on my plate. Everything looks so good. "Even back home with magic, I couldn't do it." Okay, probably with magic.