Spider-Man - Chapter 4: Kitchen Wars (Patreon)

Aunt May had made the pasta, while Peter was responsible for the grilled smoked fish.

Long ago, Peter had wanted to take over all the cooking so Aunt May could relax. But she'd taken one look at him, raised her spatula indignantly, and declared, “The kitchen is my territory, little Peter. Are you challenging me to a fight?”

And so a war had begun. Each cooked a dish and asked Uncle Ben to judge who deserved control of the kitchen.

Aunt May prepared Ben's favorite Swiss steak.

Peter made French mushroom soup.

The competition left Uncle Ben breaking out in a cold sweat.

On one side stood his adorable nephew. Peter might have been very young at the time, but he was already an excellent cook, and the sight of the little boy taking his task so seriously was almost unbearably cute.

His food was also delicious.

On the other side stood the woman who'd shared his life for so many years, the loving partner who'd spent those years keeping his stomach full.

Her food, unfortunately, was absolutely terrible.

Both cooks watched him closely as he forced their dishes down. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to say anything decisive.

With two fierce pairs of eyes fixed on him, he finally delivered his miserable verdict. “How about... taking turns?”

That was how the great kitchen war had finally ended.

Of course, Aunt May later tried Peter's mushroom soup for herself and realized she couldn't compete with him at all. She spent quite a while weeping to Uncle Ben and declaring that she'd give up cooking and take up knitting instead.

In the end, Peter had to coax her back into the kitchen and ask her to cook alongside him before she cheered up.

At least his lessons had helped improve Aunt May's cooking. These days, they generally split responsibility for each meal between them.

“Peter, I heard you've made a new friend at school?”

Aunt May had finished the pasta and was chatting with Mary Jane on the living room couch. She'd sent Uncle Ben in as her advance scout, so he'd pretended to come into the kitchen for some fruit while asking his question.

“Mm... if you want to call it friendship.” Peter considered it. “We just happen to share a few interests.”

Gwen was far more popular than Peter.

She was a beautiful blonde, and her father was the police chief. Even if she preferred being on her own, people could write that off as an expression of her personality.

Peter, on the other hand, deliberately kept everyone at arm's length. He wasn't devastatingly handsome, either, and he wore glasses like some four-eyed nerd.

Well, he wasn't actually nearsighted. He only wore them to make himself look more studious, in the hope that other students would leave him alone.

And his grades really were excellent. He and Gwen had both earned perfect scores on their entrance exams.

Some of their classmates disliked high achievers, apparently because better grades made them feel pressured about their own performance.

So while Peter and Gwen were both outsiders, their circumstances weren't quite the same. Hardly anyone liked Peter or paid him any attention.

Gwen, meanwhile, attracted admirers like flowers attracted bees and butterflies.

To be fair, those perfect entrance scores were exactly what had drawn the two of them to each other's attention in the first place.

They shared similar tastes in music, equally impressive grades, and an interest in science. They were both called weirdos, and both wandered outside the ordinary social circles.

With so much in common, it was only natural that they'd become closer. And just as naturally, their classmates had started spreading rumors about them.

That was a form of bullying in itself. At this rate, they'd never convince anyone the rumors weren't true.

Still, if Gwen didn't care, why should he?

“Oh, is that so? My goodness. I thought it might be like before, when you couldn't even bring one friend home.” Uncle Ben opened the refrigerator and absentmindedly picked up something he assumed was a piece of fruit.

Peter was unusually mature for his age, but Ben still worried about his future and his social life.

“What's his name?”

“Her name is Gwen,” Peter replied.

“Mm... wait, what?” Ben had been about to nod when the answer registered. A girl?

That could complicate things.

Both Uncle Ben and Aunt May had always assumed Peter and Mary Jane would end up together. After all, the two had grown up side by side, and little Peter used to take Mary Jane's hand and drag her everywhere.

Anyone with eyes could see that Mary Jane had feelings for him.

Yet their relationship had cooled since they reached their teenage years. They weren't nearly as close as they used to be.

Uncle Ben had no intention of interfering in Peter's choices, but he couldn't resist offering a little advice. “Well, you're growing up. Just remember to be careful.”

“We're ordinary friends, Uncle Ben,” Peter said with a sigh. “Besides, I've always thought of Mary Jane as a younger sister.”

“Oh, all right. I don't understand you young people anymore.” Ben shook his head.

“Hold on, Uncle Ben.”

“Uh, what is it?”

“Why are you holding an onion?”

Ben glanced at what he'd taken from the refrigerator. It wasn't fruit at all. It was a bright purple onion.

“Oh... I like eating these. See?” Desperate not to reveal that he'd come in to gather information, Uncle Ben took a big bite and even nodded as though he enjoyed the taste.

“Okay, but remember to rinse your mouth before dinner. Otherwise, you won't be able to taste the food properly.” Peter shrugged.

The instant Peter turned away, Ben spat out the onion, stuck out his tongue, grabbed a pitcher of water, and started gulping it down.

There was a simple reason why Peter remained unmoved by Mary Jane's constant advances.

They'd already tried being together, and it hadn't worked.

Perhaps it was because Peter hadn't transmigrated directly into the body of a grown man, as so many other transmigrators did. He'd come to this world as a child, and that had given him an enormous influence on young Mary Jane's life.

According to the original story, Mary Jane's troubled family background left her without a sense of security. She learned to rely on herself, grew into a strong and independent woman, and eventually found a place where she belonged with Peter.

Things had developed much the same way here, at least in part. Mary Jane was fiercely independent.

But this Peter wasn't the naive, clueless little bookworm from the comics.

Ever since they were children, he'd helped Mary Jane escape the shadow of her family troubles, cheered her up, and cared for her in all sorts of ways, much like an older brother.

Her home life was genuinely heartbreaking, after all.

As a result, Mary Jane found all the security she'd been missing in Peter and started pursuing him romantically.

Peter could only think, I treated you like my little sister. Since when did you start wanting to sleep with me?

And although Mary Jane had seemed mature on the outside back then, she was still a terribly childish little brat at heart.

So he'd rejected her completely.

That had led to a whole series of unpleasant incidents, which was why he still kept her at a distance today.

“I've already decided I'm not going to be Spider-Man. So why do I still have to deal with all this nonsense?” Peter muttered to himself. “I really wish the day of that exhibition would hurry up and get here.”