11685/Delicious Discussions

Delicious Discussions
Date of Scene:	28 June 2020
Location:	Baskin Robbins - Salem Center
Synopsis:	Hank McCoy and Sandy Billings meet while on separate quests for sweet delights!
Cast of Characters:	Beast, Sandra Billings

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Beast has posed:
The ice cream parlor is doing a brisk business tonight. It's not yet dark, thanks to being early summer, and lots of people are out looking for tasty deserts. One such person tends to stick out more from the others by the fact that he's fuzzy and blue. It's Doctor Hank McCoy! Still dressed in a suit from a conference he'd had in the city earlier that day, now the X-Man finds himself with something of a sweet tooth that needs satisfaction before he returns to the Mansion.

Doctor McCoy stands in line behind a family with two small children. The adults seem a little apprehensive, but the kids are absolutely delighted. The PhD is more than happy to wave and smile at the little ones, making them giggle with delight. It's almost like they're meeting a cartoon character! One of them even greets him with, "Hi Sully!"

The parent's are thoughtful enough to remind their offspring, "Don't bother the nice man."

Hank replies to that with, "They're no bother. My resemblance to Mister Sully is one that hasn't been commented on before and I find it delightful."

The erudite scholar's words seem to provide some relief to the parents who are trying super hard not to be freaked out by the obvious metahuman among them. The little kids squeal in delight.

Sandra Billings has posed:
The doors open to reveal Sandy as she makes her way in at a brisk pace. Today the nurse is wearing a pair of jeans and a zip up gray cable shirt. Her hair is tied up into a bit of a messy bun adn she has a tired look upon her face. She can get a coffee frappe here that has double the 'kick' to keep her awake. Having come off a long fourteen hour shift at the ER, she is practically running on fumes. Lifting her hand upwards, she calls over to the counter girl that she recognizes.

"Hey Janet!"

"Hey Sandy!"

As she steps into the line, her eyes track over towards the large blue fuzzy mutant. Her brows lift upwards, eyes widening a bit at the size of him, then gives a glance to the rest of the customers to gauge their reactions. Stepping forward once the line moves, she rubs her hands together a bit to warm them up from the chilly room, keeping the large man in her sights, though trying not to stare. She recognizes him of course. He's famous in the medical field, but this is the first time she's ever crossed his path.

Beast has posed:
After eliciting another laugh from the tiny humans Hank can't help but to chuckle himself, an easy, cheerful noise. The greeting from customer to cashier is noted and Hank turns his head to see who just entered the ice creamery. Spotting someone who's trying not to stare at him, Hank inclines his head towards her in a friendly and polite manner, "Good evening." Lots of reasons someone might be not staring at him. After all, it's not exactly easy to keep his identity a secret when he does superhero things. Or science things. Medical things, either. Also human-mutant relations stuff. It's not always easy being blue.

Sandra Billings has posed:
As he speaks to her, Sandy finds her cheeks flushing brightly as she lifts a hand upwards to wiggle her fingers. "Good evening Doctor McCoy! Sorry if I was ... uh ... staring. I just wasn't sure if it was you." Instead of another huge fuzzy blue mutant. "I read your book on genetics and the mutant genome a few years ago during my RN studies. I really liked it." She takes a few more steps forward as the line lurches on. "It's nice to actually meet you in the flesh. Fur. Flesh?" She stumbles out her words a bit as she rubs the back of her neck.

"I'm Sandra. Everyone calls me Sandy."

"Everyone does!" Janet calls out from behind the counter. "Your usual?"

"Yes please! I'll pick up Doctor McCoy's tab also!" She calls over to her friend, taking out her wallet. "That is, if you're okay with that."

Beast has posed:
"Very nice to make your acquaintance, Sandy," McCoy replies to the woman with a sort of a half bow thing, smiling softly at her. "I'm glad you enjoyed my work. It's important to help understand the differences and similarities between the genetic sequencing of..."

"What's that word mean, Sully?" asks Hank's small new friend.

"Genetics is the study of how people are the same and how they are different based on traits they're born with," the teacher replies, doing his best not to go over the kid's head.

The child digests the information and nods their head.

Hank returns to the conversation with the interesting woman, "And thank you for the ice cream! You may regret it, I'm known for having something of a large appetite." Another smile as he turns towards Janet, now that it's his turn, "I'd love a large peanut butter swirl with Swiss chocolate ice cream and..." He looks at the toppings and lists off a bunch.

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Of course. I really enjoyed the material. I figured that if I was going into the ER field that learning about mutations may benefit me in case I had to work on one in the heat of the moment. I only realized that we just bleed the same blood and really there is no difference outside of a few twists of sequencing. So, hooray!" Sandy slides a credit card over to Janet as she places her own order for her large overly sugared up drink, then orders a medium sundae with a number of toppings on it as well.

"I have a sweet tooth also. Though sometimes I wish I liked the taste of broccoli more. I could stand to lose a few." Her eyes roll upwards and to the side. Once he completes his topping decision and her card is swiped, she tucks it back into her wallet, then shuffles off to the side for hte line to prepare their treats.

"So, do you live around here Doctor McCoy?" She asks curiously. "I work at Lenox Hill. You know, the /busy/ one."

Beast has posed:
"It's always good to hear that people in the medical field are educating themselves to better treat their patients!" exclaims the blue dude with genuine happiness in his tone. "There is always the chance you'd need to treat someone with a radically different physiology as a result of their mutation, but that's fairly rare and there's not really a good way to prepare for that without a comprehensive national health care system that takes the possibility of something like that into account."

"You don't look unhealthy," McCoy says after giving Sandy a looking over. "Quite the contrary, you seem healthy and vibrant, though I'd wager you just finished a long day at work." At her question he nods his head, "I live not terribly far from here." Then he nods, "Quite busy. Healthcare is one field where I wish things were slower, for the sake of everyone involved, but unfortunately that doesn't seem very likely."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"It doesn't, no, but it keeps me in a job and I'm paid by the hour. So, I'm not going to complain." Sandy says as she takes her drink and sundae, then gives him another smile as her head tilts towards a table. "Do you want to join me? I always stay here until my next bus comes which won't be for awhile. I don't mind the company if you don't have anything pressing at the moment."

She starts for the table, glancing over to him past her shoulder to him with a welcoming smile. Once she settles in, the weight of the chair can be heard creaking a bit. She has some weight to her, but not /that/ much weight which should cause such an interruption in teh chair's stability. It also appeared that she was settling herself as gently as possible.

Beast has posed:
"In that case, we'll celebrate your good fortune in having employment, then," Hank says as he grabs his ice cream and moves to follow her. "I would be most pleased to sit with you. As a member of the medical profession I'm certain you have all manner of interesting anecdotes."

McCoy's chair also has a little bit of difficulty, the brawny blue fellow being equally cautious when easing himself into a seat.

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Well, most of my day consists of plucking bullets out of people, stitching them up, setting bones, rushing people from the ambulence. It's non-stop and frantic. I wish I could say it's more 'interesting' like what you do with your research, but it's mostly just run about and try not to panic and lose someone on the table." Sandy says as she puts her sundae to the side, then leans forward to take a sip from her drink.

"I'm more interested in your stories of course. I am sure someone of your profile and life experiences has so many interesting tales to tell." She props her chin up in the palm of her hand, giving him another smile.

Beast has posed:
Starting in on his ice cream, Hank listens to his new acquaintance speak, nodding thoughtfully with the spoon still in his mouth. When he's got his grub down his gullet he speaks again, "Well, it does sound exciting even if it doesn't create the best stories to tell."

He carefully studies the woman as he speaks, nodding his head once more, "I've got any number of stories that might be of interest, depending upon what strikes you as worth hearing. I've been recently working on some biochem experiments to try to develop a new organic polymer that might be able to be used in place of Kevlar, however I've yet to have any luck with that."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Really now?" Sandy asks curiously as her brows lift up higher with interest. "So, you want to create a new type of body armor? That is fascinating. Are you working for the local law enforcement? The government? Either way, I'm sure someone of your caliber can solve it. Have you looked at reinforcing carbon fiber? It's really lightweight and sturdy. They are making some airplane and vehicle components out of it to try and ease the environmental impact of fuel. Lighter the vehicle, the less fuel to burn and it improves the carbon footprint. I don't know a lot about that obviously but I came across an article when I was going down an Internet rabbit hole."

She stuffs her mouth full of sundae, happily munching on some peanutbutter cups that she had hidden away. "MMm. This is so good. I love Baskin Robbins. It's so old school." She dabs at her lips with a napkin, then goes back to listening to him. "Sorry if I babble a bit. I get excited easily about science stuff."

Beast has posed:
"There are numerous uses for Kevlar as it's a high strength, somewhat heat resistant polymer, but one of the applications for the new material I'm working on could, theoretically, be body armor," Hank says with a nod. "I'm not actually working for anyone on the project, it's just something I'm spending some of my spare time on." Because he is a huge nerd.

He also takes a big bite of his ice cream, enjoying the taste. Based on the way he keeps looking at Sandy it's clear he's enjoying the company as well. "It's quite delicious. My love of sweets is only overshadowed by a love of learning. And learning won't fill your belly." He lets out a tiny chuckle at that. "Never apologize for being excited about science, my friend! It's key to making our world a better place for everyone to live in."

Sandra Billings has posed:
Nodding her head, Sandy giggles. "I practically live in the library on my days off. I live alone and my family are both in the medical field so I never see my parents these days, even though they gotta be close to retiring. I think they're just too stubborn to." Sneaking another glance up at him, her cheeks flush a bit.

"As much as I love to learn, I think a double peanutbutter cup sundae like this can pull me away from a book any day of the week." She admits with amusement in her voice. "Though my book collection is definitely a nice runner up for dessert. I love curling up on the couch in my pajamas in front of the fireplace with some Tolkien and drift off into a world of elves and hobbits and dragons." She sighs wistfully.

"I'm actually trying something new which is scary and exciting. Gardening. I have a small garden now on my balcony at my apartment and I'm trying to grow some spices. I even put together a solar panel heat lamp since I only get 'so' much sun during the day from how my building faces. It's so hard! But, I really enjoy it. Maybe if this works out I can move on to vegetables and challenge myself."

Beast has posed:
"I don't see myself ever retiring," Hank confesses. "There's too much still to learn out there! It wouldn't surprise me if your family felt the same way about helping people."

"I'm partial to Twinkies, myself. The ice cream is a nice change of pace, however." The big blue dude smiles. "Ah. I love a good book as well. It's a necessity sometimes when you need a good escape from the world."

"Gardening is a worthwhile endeavor," McCoy says with a grin. "It's good to get outside and play in the dirt. Gardening can be quite therapeutic, after all."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Oh I love Twinkies too. Ho-Hos are my go to though." Sandy sighs happily at the idea of those deliicous yellow cream filled cakes. She spaces out for a few moments before she gives a small giggle to herself. "Maybe they can make a Twinkie sundae here. Use marshmallow sauce to drizzle on it... lemon ice cream." She licks her lips.

She gives another glance up at him, looking into his baby blue eyes, then offers him a smile. "You are blue all over, huh? Your eyes are /so/ blue." She says as she leans forward a bit, keeping her chin propped up by the palm of her hand. "Okay, so, I don't want to be rude of course .. but can I ask you about your fur?" She says with a motion of her free hand towards him. "Is this a natural mutation?"

Beast has posed:
"That's quite the delicious idea!" Doctor McCoy says happily, glancing over towards the counter to look once again at their numerous varieties of ice cream and toppings.

His attention returns to Sandy. "Quite blue throughout," Hank continues making eye contact with woman, a smile appearing on his face. When asked about the fur mutation he shakes his head, "No. I accelerated my mutation during a foolhardy attempt to... remove it. I regret making the attempt, however the secondary mutation it caused further increased my physical prowess and enabled me to be in a situation where I can better protect those who may need it."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Well, I like it. The blue and the fur. It's really unique." Sandy furrows her brows a bit in thought, then says, "Why would you want to get rid of your mutation for? Were you.. ashamed of who you were?" She ventures out carefully to him. "You are one of the most smartest people in the world in the career of science and genetics. I guess I'm a bit surprised."

Reaching for a napkin, her hands fidget with the paper, glancing over her shoulder for a moment before she looks back to him. Her voice drops a bit softer to him. "Did you ever figure it out? On how to remove it?"

Beast has posed:
"Thank you. I find that it's rather striking, as well," There's a little bit of a chuckle from the teacher. When asked if he was ashamed Hank has to pause to analyze his feelings, "I don't know if shame entered the equation, though it could well have. Mostly I was afraid of being ostracized by my peers at school, I think. At the time I was the star of the football team and I was outed as a mutant. I wanted to get back to where things were before that came out."

The next two questions get his head to shake, "No. There's too many variables. I wouldn't want to be able to, except to save those whose mutations are killing them."

Sandra Billings has posed:
Reaching out, Sandy lays a hand over his, curling her fingers around her large, fuzzy digits. She gives him a squeeze, one that is surprisingly quite strong. "I can relate to that in a way." She says softly as she clears her throat quietly. "Growing up in Manhattan, I'm surrounded by skinny girls who look amazing in everything and I stuck out like a sore thumb. I did everything I could to try and lose weight and fit in, but, it just never happened. I was teased quite a bit, kind of pushed me into the book nerd that I am today. Books aren't mean."

As her hand gives him another squeeze, she offers him up a grin. "If we went to school together, I'd have tried to convince you that you are perfect the way you are. Though, like you said .. this is quite fetching as well."

Beast has posed:
Looking down at the hand on his, Hank raises a single eyebrow. The side of his mouth curls upwards into a smile, but he doesn't move his hand. "I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. People being made to feel different because of looks is something I wish that I could do something about."

Her comments afterwards cause McCoy to wear a broad grin on his face, "I appreciate the thought, Sandy. I'm lucky to be as good looking now as I ever was."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Humble too!" Sandy laughs as she gives his hand another squeeze. She has /quite/ a grip. Once she lets go, her shoulders rises upwards again. "I don't think much about highschool now though. I got a Masters and I put myself through school and now I'm a nurse. I'm happy as a clam that I made something of myself. I'm sure most of the girls will make great trophy wives, but I have a life of meaning."

Then, after a few seconds of thinking, she clears her throat. "I think you're good looking." She compliments as she peeks up at him from behind a veil of brown bangs. "I would .. go to dinner with you if I was asked." She hints with a smile curling upon her lips.

Beast has posed:
"Ah! It's good to be proud of yourself. You're in a noble profession, doing things to better the world and to take care of people. I'd say your pride is quite justified," Hank says, smiling as he glances down at the hand on top of his.

"Thank you. You're quite the looker yourself," the PhD says rather softly. "I think I would very much like to take you out to dinner some time, soon, if you have no objection. I'm sure we could find something quite suitable for us."

Sandra Billings has posed:
Cheeks flushing, Sandy giggles happily, her smile pure along her face. "Really? I would love that. I think it'd be fun and we can talk about so many things. If you want, I can cook for you. /That/ is something I'm good at. I make a mean steak. I can make salmon. Burgers. Lasagne. I used to work in a bakery to get me through college and I became a confection designer. You should see the cakes and cookies I can put together. Confectionary design is it's own form of artwork."

"But if you feel more comfortable meeting somewhere, I'm okay with that too. I can eat just about anything and I'm not afraid of exotic dishes. I'm up for whatever you would want to go to." Using her index finger, she traces a circle on the table in front of her, giddy and a bit shy.

Beast has posed:
"That sounds wonderful," Hank says to Sandy. He'd probably be blushing himself if he wasn't covered in blue fur. "That all sounds wonderful! I think I'd have to defer to your choice, as you're the expert." The remark about confectionary design gets a chuckle, "Truly an art form I can appreciate."

"I'll leave the decision up to you, Sandy, whether you'd prefer to cook or to go out. I do know of a remarkable Ethiopian fusion restaurant that recently opened."

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Really? Ethiopian fusion?" Sandy asks curiously with interest. "Okay, how about this. We go out and get some of that first, see how well we hit it off, then our next time out if we agree to it, I can cook for you. Maybe even make it a picnic or a grill setting out at one of the local parks and we can enjoy an afternoon outside in the fresh air."

"What's the name of this place called? I can pull the menu up at home later and plan out some dishes ahead of time." Taking her phone out, it's a cheaper, older model, but it still has a screen with Internet. She glances back up to him again, giving him another bright and warm smile as she looks into his blue eyes. "So, besides Twinkies and playing with polymer, what other interests do you have that I should know about?"

Beast has posed:
"Excellent idea!" says the blue fellow with enthusiasm. "Your plan is quite excellent."

"I believe it's called Bole," Hank says with regards to the name of the restaurant. As far as his interests go he chuckles, "When I'm not in my lab, devouring delicious delicacies or reading I sometimes find myself playing the keyboard. I enjoy chess quite a lot, as well." His head inclines in a nod, "When you're not saving lives, reading and designing delicious confections what is it that you do to occupy yourself?"

Sandra Billings has posed:
"Oh. That's easy. /Sleep./" Sandy laughs loudly as her eyes roll upwards. "I work fourteen to sixteen hour shifts. I get one day off a week. I usually sleep until about two in the afternoon and then I get up and fall into the shower where I try not to fall back asleep under the stream of warm water. From there, I just clean my apartment, play with my tabby, go shopping and get groceries, then I head back home to play with my garden, find some books to read before I fall asleep knowing I have to be up at four in the morning to go back to work."

"Labor shortages. I live in a rougher area so there is never a dull night when it comes to people coming in hurt." Her shoulders give a rise and fall. "But, /when/ I am lucky enough to go on vacation, I tend to take the train down to Virgina Beach so I can walk the Boardwalk, get a nice hotel and treat myself to the ocean and fresh air and a chance to explore."

Beast has posed:
"That makes a great deal of sense to me," Hank chuckles at the remark about sleep, joining in Sandy's laughter.

"Ah yes, vacation. Virginia Beach is quite nice, I understand. I enjoy the sand, myself, even if it does tend to get in my fur."