Disclaimers:

Spider-Man and all its related characters belongs to Marvel Entertainment, which is owned by Walt Disney Company, and the Sam Raimi Original Trilogy belongs to Sony Pictures Entertainment. No infringement of these copyrights are intended, and not authorized by copyright holders.

While Mary Jane was checking the meals around the main table, Harry was constantly cleaning around the loft, wanting their first thanksgiving dinner together to be perfect as it could be. Aunt May and Gwen, meanwhile, were in the kitchen, preparing the main food for the occasion.

"MJ, can you stop goofing around?" Harry said in a hasty tone.

"Harry, relax," MJ giggled, as she was putting the jellied cranberry log back on the table.

"Yeah, relax, Har," Gwen agreed with the redhead. "We still got plenty of time to be ready."

On cue, Harry heard a metal clank of the elevator doors outside of the loft. "He's here."

Aunt May walked to the door after giving one more check on the turkey in the oven. "Are you ready?"

Harry quickly finished cleaning up before recomposing himself and MJ. "Yeah."

Aunt May opened the door, revealing Norman Osborn with a red rectangular box wrapped with golden ribbons in his hands.

"Oh, Aunt May, so sorry I'm late. Work was murder," Norman apologized with an exhausted smile. "I picked up a fruit cake."

Aunt May kindly take the box and placed it next to the kitchen table. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Osborn. We're so glad you could come."

After passing the fruitcake, Norman gave Gwen an acknowledging nod. "Ms. Stacy, it's wonderful to see you again."

"Great to see you too, Mr. Osborn," Gwen nodded back with a smile.

Norman then turned to his son and his mysterious redheaded girlfriend he was so dire to meet. "And who's this lovely young lady?" He asked delightly, as he was removing his coat.

"Um, MJ, I'd like to meet my father," Harry gave a welcome gesture. "Dad, this is Mary Jane Watson."

MJ offered Norman a handshake as she was smiling nervously. "Hi."

"How do you do?" Norman returned the handshake. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Happy Thanksgiving, sir."

"Now, where is Peter?" Aunt May asked in a rhetorical, yet fondly voice. "He'd better remember that cranberry sauce."

"I'm sure he'll make it here, Aunt May," Gwen said assuringly, knowing he's probably still on his web-swinging patrol.

Suddenly, an unexpected loud thump noise was heard from upstairs. The five turned their heads up, looking where the sound originated from.

"Huh, that's weird," Harry said. "I didn't know he was here."

Gwen tried to come up with a lie, assuming Peter had no idea they were already in. "Maybe that was just a bird that just flown by."

Harry noticed MJ lowered her head as she was rubbing the back of it, like she got another headache again. "Hey, you okay?"

MJ nodded in assurance. "Yeah, I'm fine," She said, trying to shake off another weird sensation feeling that just seemingly came out of nowhere.

Aunt May still had her eyes towards the stairs. "Peter?"

As she, Harry and Norman proceeded to walk up the stairs, Gwen follow suited. MJ then walked after them, due to that same tingling feeling directing her to where the noise happened.

"Peter?" Aunt May called out again. "Is that you?" She, as well as Norman, Harry, Gwen and MJ, walked into Peter's room, only to see no one's inside.

Harry looked around a bit, confused. "Pete?"

"How strange, there's nobody here," Aunt May said.

Gwen played along with her lie. "Told you, it's just a stupid bird that flew by."

Unknown to them, sticking to the ceiling above the crowd was Peter, who was still in his Spider-Man costume but his mask, leaving him exposed. And to his unfortunately luck, the bloody cut from his last encounter with the Green Goblin was slowly starting to drip.

"Bit of slop, isn't he?" Norman said, noting the messy state of Peter's room.

"All brilliant men are," Aunt May joked, as she, Harry and Norman walked back down the stairs.

Gwen noticed the redhead walked in further into Peter's room. "Are you coming, MJ?"

"I'll be right with you guys in a sec," MJ said, still trying to figure out why her weird sensation feeling guiding her to Peter's room.

"Okay then," Gwen walked back down the stairs, leaving the redhead alone.

After a short while of exploring around the room, MJ heard a tiny splat. She looked down to see a tiny drop of blood on the wooden floor.

Curious to how it got there, Mary Jane raised her head to the ceiling, only to see nothing's there. Then, that feeling suddenly stopped, like it was faded into the distance until it was nothing. Although still confused, she just shrugged and walked back down the stairs.

After minutes of waiting in the living room, Peter finally emerged from the loft doors, with a small can in his hand. "Hey, everyone!"

MJ, Gwen, Aunt May, Norman and Harry all stood up and greeted him when they saw Peter came in.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Peter apologized for his delayed arrival. "It's a jungle out there. I have to beat an old lady with a stick to get these cranberries."

Everyone laughed in response to Peter's joke.

Aunt May walked up to her nephew, giving him a welcome kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Peter," She kindly taking the cranberries off his hands before he joined with the rest at the table. "Now that everyone sit down, and we can say grace."

Gwen gave Peter a friendly hug after the latter removed his jacket. She then leaned next to his ear so that nobody could hear. "Were you upstairs?"

"Yeah, but no one found out, luckily," Peter muttered.

Gwen nodded as they broke up the hug, relieved that no one found out his secret.

As the rest gathered around the table, Norman offered Peter a greeting handshake. "Parker."

As Peter sat down on his seat, he couldn't help but gave a little frown as he stood awkwardly when MJ and Harry were sitting next to each other in front of him. What he didn't seem to realize, the moment he lowered his eyes, MJ gave him a strange curious look at him, as if Peter's the one gaining her attention more than Harry's.

Gwen, being the perceptive one of the group, glanced over her eyes when she quickly noticed how they each gave weird, lovely looks, yet either somehow remained oblivious to each other. As much as it really annoyed her to see Peter always being his usual shy-self when it comes to confessing his feelings to the girl he loved, it probably wouldn't be a good move to jump in either, considering that Harry's the one dating MJ right now, and she wouldn't want to indulge on their relationship against their wishes.

The blonde could only stay back and let it all play out, hopefully for the better.

Aunt May grabbed the plate of the thanksgiving chicken from the kitchen stove before moving back to the main dinner table. "Here we go," She placed it on the center, allowing its smoked flavor reached out to its surrounding occupants.

"Aw, it looks delicious," Mary Jane said, admiring the cooked chicken.

Tempted by the jellied cranberry log next to his plate, Norman was about to reach for it with his index finger, but Aunt May slapped it away, not tolerating any impoliteness at the dinner table.

"Norman," Aunt May scolded him with a stern look. "Will you do the honors?"

Norman slowly licked his finger clean as Aunt May still maintain her stern look. He then picked up the kitchen knifes on the table, sharping them repeatedly with a smirk on his face, obliging her.

Smiling in satisfaction, Aunt May was looking around table when she noticed a thin line of blood sticking out from under her nephew's sleeve. "Why, Peter. You're bleeding."

Gwen noticed it too when she was hovering her chin over her best friend's arm. "Yeah, what happened to you, Pete?" She asked in concern with worried eyes and slightly dropped jaw.

Peter looked down, realizing he forgotten about the cut from earlier. "Oh, yeah. I... I stepped off a curb and nearly got clipped by one of those bike messengers."

"Let me see," Aunt May walked over to Peter's side, inspecting the wound. "Oh my goodness. That looks awful."

"It's nothing," Peter reassured his aunt.

"I'll get the first-aid kit," Aunt May said, walking to the kitchen to grab one from its residing spot on top of the fridge. "And then we'll say grace. This is the kids' first thanksgiving in this apartment, and we'll do this properly."

Norman had his eyes inspecting the wound, noticing how suspiciously similar to the one he encountered during 'work'. "How do you say that happened?" He asked Peter.

"Bike messenger... knock me down," He answered dully.

After a few moments of thought, Norman put down the knives, much to everyone's confusion. "Well, excuse me, I have to be going," He quickly got up from his chair and walked away from the table.

"What, why?" Harry asked, dumbfounded by his father's sudden departure.

"Something... has come to my attention," Norman said in a rush, hastily putting back on his coat.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly.

Peter, MJ and Gwen looked at one another with raised eyebrows on their confused faces.

"I'm fine, just fine," Norman said, before giving a farewell nod to Aunt May. "Thank you, Mrs. Parker. Everyone, enjoy the fruit cake," He then walked out of the loft in a rush.

Still having no clue what's even going on with him, Harry jumped out of his seat and chased after his father. "Dad!"

Peter, MJ and Gwen still gave each other a confusing, yet also curious looks as they overheard the exchange going on between the two Osborns.

"I planned this so you'd meet MJ, and now you have to leave?" Harry questioned.

"I've got to go," Norman's about to enter the elevator, before his son stopped him by the grab of his arm.

"This girl is important to me," Harry begged to his father.

Norman rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Harry, please, look at her. Think she's sniffing around because she likes your personality?"

Harry became baffled by his father's words. "What are you saying?

"Your mother was beautiful. They're all beautiful, until they're snarling after your trustfund like a pack of ravening wolves," Norman retorted in a gravelled voice.

"You're wrong about her, Dad," Harry defended against his father's accusing words.

"A word to the not-so-wise about your girlfriend: Do what you need to with her, then broom her fast," Norman said harshly, before shutting the elevator doors on his son's face.

MJ exhaled in disbelief, feeling hurt from hearing Norman's words. Peter and Gwen couldn't help but feel bad to hear such harsh words being said about her.

Harry walked back into the loft, looking dejected.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Harry," MJ said, sounding disgruntled as she stood up from her seat.

Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You heard?"

MJ put on her trench coat. "Everyone heard that creep," She said, as hurtful tears started glistering in her eyes.

"That creep is my father, alright," Harry boasted, MJ just brushed past him to the loft door. "If I'm lucky, I'll become half of what he is. Just keep your mouth shut about stuff you don't understand!"

"Harry Osborn!" Aunt May exclaimed in disapproval of his loud tone.

MJ gave one more glancing look. "I'm sorry, Aunt May," She apologized tearfully, before leaving the loft, almost carefully easing her arm to not break the door as she shut it on the way out.

Peter, Gwen, Harry and Aunt May were all left alone, idling awkwardly silent at what turned out to be a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner.

Words: 1952

A/N: The drama's really was over the place in this chapter.

Peter and Mary Jane's feelings desperately longing for each other, despite being oblivious as hell, the latter had to deal with her current boyfriend's father giving his depiction of her (which was not too different to how her abandoned father would say about her), and Gwen just being a fourth wheel in all of it. Imagine being that position; it would've been awkward, I bet.

Anyway, the tensions is starting to get close to the walls as we're just a few chapters closer to the climax of the first movie.

With that said, any constructive criticisms and comments would be greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

Reviews:

CT311998: Thx for your kinda review, as always.

Peter always the difficult type when it comes to choosing the girls he loved, so I considered it to be fitting he would have struggles here as well, even when he didn't know they were actually the same person. I also knew I have to bring in Gwen's father sooner or later, considering he's only been referenced in this fanfic so far till now.

DCDGojira: Appreciate your comment.

And thanks for understanding my decision to let me keep my fanfic story self-contained.

Commander 117: Thx, man.

And I may have to decline the challenge then. I already said I prefer to keep my fanfic stories self-contained to how I would write them without getting other franchise heroes and events that likely wouldn't contribute to the story involved. It would've been convoluted as heck if it were to be me taking a chance at that. So, yeah, sorry, this is a challenge that I couldn't even or will do.