15442/You can't beat that view

You can't beat that view
Date of Scene:	08 August 2023
Location:	Eyrie Building, Midtown
Synopsis:	Danny and Gwen.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Fist, Ghost Spider

---

Iron Fist has posed:
Danny Rand was not a morning person. He usually preferred to sleep until at least noon. Not that he got much of a chance to do that. But he would sleep until noon if life would allow it. Unfortunately, sometimes he had to be up early, and today, it was more like a really late night for him.

He was dressed in a light grey suit, English tailoring, most likely the result of Huntsman or Cad and the Dandy, either way, certainly one of the Savile Row tailors who had started a business in New York. Thing is, he didn't wear a tie, the white Egyptian cotton shirt unbuttoned at the top, and he wore white sneakers.

He had just finished a morning meeting with David Xanatos, something that the board had requested he expedite, and was taking in the view of the castle. Sunrise had only been about 48 minutes ago. It was curious to him that the meeting had been scheduled for 6:14 AM, exactly 15 minutes after sunrise. No doubt there was a reason, but the minute made him wonder.

Ghost Spider has posed:
*THWIP*

This has got to be some kind of practical joke.

*THWIP*

Worth it -- best view in the city, he said. You know what, Kevin? Next time we take the elevator...

*THWIP*

At this rate, I'm going to run out of webbing by the time I get to the top. I'm starting to get dizzy. Maybe I should turn around and start going around the other way...

*THWIP*

That's /literally/ a cloud...

*THWIP*

Ghost Spider circling the Eyrie Building, maypole style, working her way to the top of the tallest building in New York with a khaki backpack slung on her shoulders when her phone rings and she reaches into a pocket (don't ask) to pull it out and check the screen. Kevin. It wasn't her Spidey-Sense that started tingling. It was her Kevin-Sense.

"You are not cancelling on me. I'm in outer space for you. You know how the sky goes from pretty blue to black in the movies when the space ship launches--" "No! Tell him you have plans!" "UGH. I hate you so much right now. Fine. I'll drink all this coffee by myself, but you're responsible for whatever I do next." "Yeah, yeah.. tell it to the judge." "See ya, dork."

*THWIP*

With a final, mighty pull of her last rope of webbing, the black-and-white clad spider launches herself up towards the castle, to the edges where the stone gargoyles are perched. She pirouettes once gracefully in the air and then attaches herself to a wall, grabbing a ledge and flipping herself up onto the ledge.

She wasn't exactly hidden. During any of it, actually. She /was/ trying to be discrete, but there's only so discrete she could be during all of that. There were windows everywhere and mostly she counted on people's heads being too buried in work and phones to care about there being a spender, costume figure flying by.. much less sitting up next to the gargoyles and taking in the view.

Iron Fist has posed:
The Eyrie Building really should be considered the tallest building in the world. It had the highest usable floor in the world. Just, it didn't have one of those controversial antennas when it came to these things. How someone defined the top was up to debate, as so many buildings had a narrow piece of metal shooting up, just to give it that extra oomph. Likely they were compensating for something. But David Xanatos and Xanatos Enterprises, they were a different sort.

When the Ghost-Spider finally reached the top, she startled one Danny Rand. He took a step back, slightly. He didn't startle easily. But seeing a figure emerge from the edge of the stonework at this height surprised him. Not the other man who was approaching, however, also a blond.

He was carrying a silver tray, with a matching cloche. The man had glasses, and didn't seem to be phased one iota by the new arrival. "Ah, hello Ms. Spider, would you care for a croissant?" Then turning to Danny, "Mr. Xanatos thought you might also enjoy coffee au croissant."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Ghost Spider was already settling in, supremely confident that she would be the only one silly enough to be standing outside, above the cloud layer, at this time in the morning. She had her hood pulled up over her masked head, the hints of pink with blue webbing catching the sunrise, and she was talking to herself. Who else are you going to talk to in a situation like this?

"Hey, look at that... he wasn't wrong about the vie--AGH!"

As soon as Owen Burnett spoke up, that slender, feminine figure all clad in black and white she promptly fell off the edge of the building out of view, the sound of her scream rapidly dissipating.

Three seconds later, webbing hits the edge of the ledge, and with a graceful aerial somersault, Ghost Spider reappears, landing in that iconic crouch, one leg stretched out to the side, her big white eyes fixing on Owen.

"I'm sorry... did you say /croissant/?"

Look. Ghost Spider was NOT for sale. But if she /were/ for sale, croissants would be an excellent point to begin the negotiations.

"Wait.. Mr. Xanatos? THE Mr. Xanatos?" They'd seen her, and instead of sending a herd of security guards to either arrest her or at least shoo her off their building, he'd sent refreshments. That was surprisingly cordial.

"I mean.. it seems rude to decline, at this point. Especially since my plans got cancelled."

Finally, she looked over at Danny, and somehow the squint in her eyes suggested a smile. That, and the warmth in her voice.

"Hey! I'm sorry. Am I interrupting? I wasn't exactly expecting a... oh my God. You're Danny Rand! Woah. This place is lousy with rich, powerful men."

Beat.

"I should really hang out here more often."

Iron Fist has posed:
Danny moved to the edge of the castle... was it a rampart? He wasn't too sure. Adjustments had to be made to accommodate it up here. But it was as if he was going to try and reach for her. Owen on the other hand was unimpressed, as if he knew that she had made her way up here on her own, and that she would be able to get down, or back up, the same way.

Danny was relieved to see her return, safe and sound. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Was that for show, or a did you really fall off the building? It's a long way down."

Owen, continuing to hold the tray in one hand, "indeed I did. Freshly baked."

Smiling at her antics, and her awkward lack of a filter, Danny shook his head, softly smirking. And then he remembered he hadn't answered her question. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm Danny Rand." He offered a hand to the girl. Meanwhile, Owen set the tray down on a nearby table. "Please, stay as long as you wish, and help yourself to the croissants and refreshments. Now, if you'll excuse me," and he would begin walking away as if this had been the most normal thing in the world.

Ghost Spider has posed:
/Was that for show.../

"Trade secrets, Mr. Rand. I'm afraid the way of the Spider must remain a closely guarded secret..."

Blink. Blink. How exactly did she get those huge, white eyes of her mask to be so expressive, anyway? She even sort of looked like she was grinning, somehow.

/Freshly baked./

"Look, I just want you to know that I'm giving this place five stars on SpiderGuide." That wasn't really a thing, was it? "I was sitting on top of the Croft Building last week, and the service there was terrible. You guys are really going above and beyond, here..."

As irreverent as she can be, Ghost Spider seems happy, supremely confident in her own skin. Er, body-suit. But when that hand is offered to shake, there's something a little more formal about the way her posture shifts. She straightens.. not tall, about average height for a woman, but a woman with impeccable posture and an impossible amount of grace.

"Ghost Spider."

She placed her hand in his, looking up at him with those big white eyes for an almost awe-struck moment, before she heard the tray being set down and Own making his departure and leaving the food for her! She was SO hungry. Then again, she was always hungry, despite her modelesque physique.

She turned towards Owen's retreating back, her hand still lingering in Danny's because she'd forgotten to take it back.

"I LOVE YOU!... I mean, thank you!" She clears her throat. She couldn't blush through the costume, right? Those eyes conveyed so much, though. "Please tell Mr. Xanatas thank you for me!"

A moment later, she looked back at Danny and finally pulled her hand back.

"Sorry. This is weird, right? I'm not the only one that thinks this is weird?"

Iron Fist has posed:
It was interesting to be so close to a Spider. He had met Spider-Man in the past, but rarely this close, or this calm. When he had, it had been during some kind of physical altercation, so he had been focusing on his opponent or opponents. But now, he could regard Ghost-Spider. He wanted to know how the mask worked. Except even if she told him, it would probably be too technical for him anyway.

"The Way of the Spider..." he repeated, musing to himself.

"Oh, I don't have... much... involvement with Xanatos Enterprises," and he couldn't really talk about the joint venture with the Rand Corporation that was in the works. "Ever been atop the Empire State Building?" He asked. It had long since been dwarfed, but there was something sentimental about that one.

With her hand in his, she declared her love... though Danny was smart enough to recognize that it was meant for Owen Burnett, who also caught it. He paused, turned, and took a slight bow, "my pleasure, Ms. Spider. Of course." And then he would turn and continue to whatever he was about to do.

"Well, there's a certain someone in my life who might find it weird that a girl in a bodysuit was confessing her love while shaking my hand, but I think she'd understand." Now, free, he headed to the table, seeing a pot of coffee, two cups, two small plates, napkins, and a... "woah," there had to be six croissants under there. Two filled with chocolate, and marked as such, two filled with Brie, and two plain ones.

Ghost Spider has posed:
/Ever been atop the Empire State Building?/

"One of my favorite spots, actually. It's so... iconic."

Ghost Spider smiled (eye smiled, at least) between Danny and Owen. If that expression was sincere at all, she wasn't lying about wanting to come back here and repeat this experience. She was a spider. A vigilante. At best a menace and at worst a fugitive. It must have been rare that she was so well received. Not once had either one of them tried to kill her or turn her in to the proper authorities. This was almost as comfortable as being around the other Spiders.

Almost. Aunt May's hospitality would not be trumped. By anyone. Ever.

She watched Owen disappear, leaving her alone with the Rand CEO, and that mention of a certain someone that would understand provokes a nervous laugh.

"I hope so, because I don't need Homewrecker added to my growing list of alleged crimes against humanity. I've got enough angry mobs chasing me around on a daily basis at it is. The last thing I need is to alienate my entire gender. Just tell her I don't get out much, and there were free croissants involved."

Ghost Spider actually seems to bounce a little, rocking her weight to the balls of her feet awkwardly until Danny moved on to the table and she followed.

"There's /chocolate/? Either I didn't survive that fall and this is the afterlife, or the air up here is making me light headed... Do you want coffee?"

She was already reaching for the coffee pot, pouring a cup for herself and hesitating to give him a chance to answer before she poured his.

Iron Fist has posed:
She was positively adorable. She was polite. And she was someone who used her abilities for good. It was easy for Danny to like her. He couldn't really speak for Owen, but presumably, Mr. Xanatos saw some benefit to befriending the superhero community. Plus, how many people could even make it up this far, without the use of an elevator?

"Angry mobs? Well, my father once told me that if they're trying to kill you, then you must be doing something right. I don't think he had crimes against humanity in mind, though. What did you do?"

He nodded, adding, "please," as she went for the coffee. "So, do I need to look away so you can roll up your mask or take it off to eat and drink? I don't want to compromise your identity." There was something about the way he said it, his tone of voice, body language, just, something unspoken. He also cast a gaze, slowly looking left, up, right, and back down. He was trying to suggest that there might be cameras about.

Ghost Spider has posed:
In reality, this was stupid. When you had a growing list of supervillains trying to kill you (and some number of them were, themselves, probably rich and/or powerful), you didn't just eat random free food that someone gives you (especially when they prepared it specifically for you because they knew you were coming). That's how you get poisoned.

But, come on. Chocolate croissants. There are way worse ways to go.

/What did you do?/

"You mean like.. since yesterday? Let's see. I got blamed for tearing up part Katz's Diner -- which I didn't do. Actually, it wasn't even torn up. Deadpool got /finger paint/ all over everything, which I wasn't even there for, and then /I/ got blamed because I was trying to web up Bebop and Rocksteady /outside/. Um.. a few days ago I stole an armored truck. From /Juggernaut/, who was trying to steal it from Rhino, who was trying to break into it in the first place.. and technically I only /moved/ the truck, but that meant that I also had to help get Spider-Man away from the police. After this whole thing about him being blamed for trying to kill the Mayor.. which is /totally/ bogus, by the way.. /that's/ not a good look..."

She sighs softly. It might lead the uninitiated to wonder why the Spiders even keep trying. So many people were convinced by the Daily Bugle that Spider-Man was a menace, the police never really accepted them no matter how much good they did, and it wasn't exactly like there were big pots of reward money at the end of every near-death experience.

/Do I need to look away.../

"Oh, no. We're good. I do this all the time."

She nodded her understanding, seeming to both get and appreciate his concern without actually tracking his eye movement. Still, she reaches up, grabs the bottom of her mask, and pulls it up over her neck far enough to gather it and perch it directly on top of her perfectly pert nose. With just that nose and the lush curl of her lips finally exposed, not only could she be even more expressive, she could finally dig in!

"So, what's a rich a guy like you doing in a dump like this?"

Dump. Right. There's that playful quirk of her lips again.

She snags one of those chocolate croissants and her cup of coffee, but instead of sitting at the table like a civilized person, she walks back over to that ledge, leaping gracefully up onto it (without even spilling her coffee) and sitting down with her legs tangling over an edge that was /so/ dangerous. Yet it didn't seem to bother her at all.