6275/Alas, Tux, We Knew Ye Well

Alas, Tux, We Knew Ye Well
Date of Scene:	25 January 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	The battle of 'functional' vs 'fashionable' clothing continues, this time with the addition of consequences for busted seams and a bonus party across the hall.
Cast of Characters:	Wasp (van Dyne), Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Woman (Drew), Captain Marvel (Danvers)

---

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
A text from Steve Rogers: <YOU UP? BAD NIGHT. NEED YOU HELP GET OUT OF TUX.>

Who wouldn't want to hear that from Steve Rogers, late at night? It certainly doesn't bother Janet van Dyne anyway, and a florid grin spreads across her fine-boned features. She flickers her thumbs over the phone in her hand and drifts to lean a palm against her wardrobe. <Im at the mansion see you asap ;) <3 XOXOOX -JVD>.

With that, the pixie-haired fashionista dove into her wardrobe to pick through the options.

A few touches here and there-- Janet flitting around like an insect, tidying a few things, lighting a few candles. She plays with the room illumination with a critical eye.

At the expected knock, Janet stoops and peeks in a mirror. Hair cutely styled, a little makeup, breathmints. She heads to the door and pulls it open to lean against the door. One hand slides up high along the doorframe over her head, and her black silk nightie is not remotely made family-safe by the translucent shrug over her shoulders.

"Captain, a visit at *this* hour is WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Janet's tone goes from sultry purr to a shocked cracking at the sight of Captain America, and she points a finger at Cap with horrified accusation on her face. "You RUINED it!"

Captain America has posed:
Is he regretting asking for assistance? At this point, it's possible. Steve Rogers, in a navy-blue tuxedo that has seen much better days (wine stain spread in flush along all of his right lapel and shoulder as well as white dress shirt, seams at both shoulders and back popped, left hem of the pants torn, and his black dress shoes scuffed), is frozen solid before the open door to her bedroom.

His mouth hangs open and his eyes are wide in a spectrum of shock and dismay. Does he turn around?! Does he deny anything?!

It's hopeless. A hard gulp. "Janet, I can explain," he starts, holding up a hand as he gathers his tattered composure and dignity.

Iron Man has posed:
The yelling has roused another arrival to the 'party. From the immediate room across the hall, the door is flung open, and sounds of music and talking flood into the hallway. It was an unoccupied bedroom that Tony just decided to take over. Behind him, there are at least a dozen people laughing, having drinks, and so on. Tony's dressed immaculately, but with the edge of having removed his tie earlier, and his rakish, debonair quality is enhanced via the alcoholic influence.

"The party's out here too, huh?" Tony asks loudly, smile broad. His eyes fall on the stain, and then Janet's attire. "I'm guessing there were mixed messages on theme?" guesses the playboy billionaire. He has a drink in his hand. He also is wearing an iron man gauntlet on that hand, with cables running under the shirt sleeve. That's safe.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Owing to Janet's expertise on the subject, Jessica has gone shopping and found herself a respectable little black silky nightie with spaghetti straps and a little red bow at the chest. Though the term "respectable" is only relative to the bathrobe and slippers she wore before. Now her slippers, in addition to not matching one another, no longer even match her attire. And so she goes, with Netflix chattering away in her room, sneaking through the mostly deserted hallways back to her room. Barefoot. With mostly burnt popcorn. At least she isn't hearing total chaos anywhere, so maybe she'll make it back without being spotted.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet is taken aback.

Cap is not in remotely the condition she'd expected. Tony Stark is swaggering towards her with that smirking all-knowingness and giving her a lascivious one-over. And then Jessica Drew is slipping up the in a negligee and bare feet, and *somehow* making it look like a fashion statement despite the burned popcorn in her hand.

"...OoOOH!" Janet growls the vowel out at Steve through frustrated aggravation on her face. She gives him a look like this is all his fault AND he should have known better, and slams the door shut.

It opens a beat later and she's wearing low sandals and a thick pink bathrobe she's shrugged into. She scowls mightily up at Cap. "What did you DO?" she demands of him, querulously. "This was in perfect condition when you left! Do you know how hard it is to get my tailors to cooperate on a project like that?"

Captain America has posed:
Hearing the door behind him opening does not help Steve's case. He half-turns, putting the wine stain on clear display, and gives Tony a look almost beseeching -- help a man out, brother?! Very quickly, his expression flattens at the leering of the genius-inventor at Janet across the hall.

"Tony," he begins, clearly intending to chide the man into butting out, but then Janet's door shuts with a snap. A grimace and he glances back at it. His shoulders fall in a sigh. The blush summoned forth from earlier's initial viewing of the black nightie lingers in his cheeks. "Look, it isn't a big deal," he continues towards Tony, hoping again for some camaraderie here. "It was a fundraiser and -- "

And then Janet's back again, shrill and unphased by his visible remorse. Steve blinks. "I had to stop a robbery, Janet! I couldn't sit there and let people get shot!"

Jessica catches his attention in his peripheral, in the opposite direction, and he glances that way only to do a double-take. Now the blush is to his ears. The joys of being Irish. He freezes up before averting his gaze in the safest direction possible: his shoes. "Hello, Jessica..." he greets her, voice low and as polite as he can make it.

Iron Man has posed:
Drunk Tony's not getting attention at first. And he's drunk enough to need a little time to sort out exactly why. Then he's on board. "What, does he need a new suit?" Tony asks as if it really were a minor thing, dropping to a more conversational tone, and crossing the hallway. The door to the party he was in remains ajar, spilling music and chatter continually into the hall. He picks up loud and clear on Steve's request for help, and moves to Steve's side, looking at the stains with indifference.

"I destroy suits all the time," Tony announces, responding to Steve's hopeful look by doing what he always does: making it about himself. "Usually I'm on fire, though." He takes a big drink from his glass, smile roguish.

"Hey," Tony says to Jessica, looking right at her with an upnod. Her attire is fine, and doesn't faze him even a hair. He does keep looking, though.

Two women peek out of the party door, seeking their host. "Tooooooe-neeeee?" asks the brunette unsteadily. She definitely has a drink.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica, whose gaze has been averted downward in an 'if I can't see them, they can't see me' fashion, freezes, oversized bowl of popcorn cradled against her midsection. Slowly, she raises her gaze to see Steve doing his best impression of a Georgia thermometer in July. "Oh uh. Hi, S-steve." And Tony. And she has two thoughts.

"Ohhh shit."

Hi, Tony.

Except she voiced the wrong one. "Er...Hi Tony. I um...Brought popcorn." She did. She really did.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet's jaw is rocked sideways, arms folded over her breasts and fingers drumming expectantly at Steve's hasty clarification. She looks back at Tony and uplifts her chin at him with a narrow-eyed defiance when he heads closer, and bolts her feet to the ground so the two men aren't bowling her over.

"He *GOT* a new suit," Janet tells Tony, peevishly. "Brand new. Hand-made. By three of the most PAIN in the ASS--" She fumes, seethes, and grates her teeth. The door to her room is pushed open and she starts to reach for Steve to tug him onto the fitting stand in the corner of her room. It's at that moment that Jessica joins them and both men give her a significant amount of attention. Or... non-attention, in Tony's case. But still her arrival moves things like gravity, and particularly Janet's examination of Steve becomes dagger-slit sharp. His gulping, flushing reaction to Jessica's arrival puts Janet's lips into a thin line.

"Fine. Come inside and let's try and salvage it," she says. Instead of dragging Steve inside by the wrist, she beckons him with a brusque wave of her hand. Tony and Jessica are given a look, and then she rolls her eyes at the floating question coming down the hall.

"You two can come sit in here, but your floozies stay put," she advises Tony. She heads to her workbench to retrieve a few sewing tools, leaving the door open behind her.

"Who was getting robbed?" she asks Steve. "Was it to do with the fundraiser or was it some smash and grab deal?"

Captain America has posed:
Steve stands there and considers the state of his dress shoes. In his opinion, they're perfectly fine...well, they could use a little shining. He's not unfamiliar with the concept. Maybe a buff there, to work at the smudge caused when he had to tackle -- He gives Tony a flat look at the sound of the drunken attendees behind them.

"Couldn't have the party at your tower?" he asks the billionaire nearly under his breath, already aware that it's more of a rhetorical question / complaint than anything else. However, at that point, it's time to step into the lair of the dragon. Putting forth an air of polite patience to hide just how flustered he is (so much for arriving home to quiet after all), he steps into the room. At least Bucky isn't going to know about this fiasco. Maybe. A glance back towards Tony and Jessica before he stops in the middle of the room.

"Stan Hardy's running for governor and offered to host a fundraiser-dinner if I showed up," he replies to Janet. "I told him he had to make it a worthwhile cause. He chose Doctors Without Borders. Turns out that some insane woman in an oversized fedora who could teleport replaced the entire kitchen staff with gunmen and the main course with devices that would have paralyzed everyone in the room. Gas," he explains. He does not explain that the vials of liquid intended to aerosolize of liquid meant to aerosolize are still in the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket. In fact, upon realizing it, he grows a touch more solemn yet. Totally innocent, he.

Iron Man has posed:
Party at the tower? "That's tomorrow," Toe-knee looks to the 'floozy' girls thoughtfully, and holds up his un-gauntleted hand in a 'just a minute' gesture to Jessica, Janet and Steve. He'll take care of it. Well, he'll take care of /something/. If he heard Steve's comments about the gas and the villain or anything else, he's ignoring it for the moment. Or that's what the 'one second' gesture was for.

He finishes his own drink, downing the last of it. He then walks back to the party door, to the girls there.

The playboy then hands his empty drink to the brunette and takes the other, full glass, from her. There is no shame or awareness, only pure entitlement.

He turns back towards Steve and the open entry to Janet's room, while sipping the new drink. But then coughs and frowns at the liquid. "This is a /Sprite/," Tony says, baffled by the lack of alcohol, and abruptly walks through the door back into his party, with purpose.

Priorities.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess looks from Janet to Tony with wide, green eyes, her lips a little agape. "Am I one of your floo-" Just then a giggle from the door of Tony's little party catches her attention, and she nods sharply. "Got it..." And she ushers her popcorn quickly inside Janet's door. "I didn't come dressed for company. I thought I could just zip down and get...well, some days I guess it'd pay to be Flash." Her cheeks are pink as she seats herself on the couch and tries to tuck the bottom edge of her negligee beneath her thighs. "You said I should go shopping..." And yet here is Janet, in a fluffy pink bathrobe. JD, you trendsetter...

However, she's a little mesmerized by Steve's story. "God I hate people who have that /mind crap/ going on...It just isn't playing fair."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"What'd we talk about the other day, Jessica? Whatever you're wearing when you die, those are your clothes forever." Janet bustles around and flashes a quick smile at Jessica, trying to show there are no hard feelings. She retrieves some of her tools and propels Steve up onto the little dais. Strong lights come on overhead to illuminate the situation, and she exhales a sound of utter dismay. "Steve, I'm not sure I can salvage this," she admits, looking worried. Fingers pluck at the tuxedo. "Here, give me the jacket. Let me see what I can do," she says, and stands on tiptoes to tug at the back of Steve's collar. She glances at Jessica and shakes her head. "Teleporters, Jess, not telepath," she advises the woman. "Still a pain in the rear though. Someone who isn't deterred by bank doors is a little scary as a villain."

Captain America has posed:
Even as he's being chivied along to the pedestal, Steve throws one last beseeching look at Tony. Wait, don't leave -- ...him. He steps up onto it with a martyred sigh and turns up his hands, if only to assess the cuffs of the suit's arms. These faired...well enough. Never mind the lost cufflink!

Carefully, he reaches into the interior pocket and palms the small vials. No larger than a roll of nickels a-piece, the Captain slips them into his pants pocket. He's then content to shrug off the beleaguered suit-jacket and hand it off to the fashionista. At least three sections of the coat's seams are completely torn; he nearly separated the right arm entirely. It leaves him in the matching suit-pants and the wine-blotted white dress shirt. At least his bowtie is straight and balanced?

"Right, teleporter," he agrees, comfortable enough with this topic of conversation to appear to relax a noticeable amount. "I've never seen her before either. I'll have to look into SHIELD's files. She was...off her rocker. Never triggered the devices on the tables. It was like she was too distracted by me throwing punches to continue the robbery. I was outnumbered one to eleven." A grimace. "I was lucky enough to have a level-headed woman at our table to keep the other diners from panicking. Cranston. Natasha," he adds. "Steady as a rock..." This takes on a suspicious, thoughtful tone.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I know, but it's still kinda the same thing. You shouldn't be able to affect anything outside your mind with...like, your mind." Jess shrugs and leans back, watching the other two, and nonchalantly lifting a perfectly greyed piece of popcorn to her lips. "I mean, if you had uh...telekinesis, or whatever, you could Cinderella his ass without birds or rats," Jess replies, with a nod toward Steve. "Just sew him all up while you're eatin' bonbons and reading a magazine. Y'know?" But Jessica is clearly distracted by something the size of a roll of nickels in Cap's pants pocket.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"That sounds like it cuts into my bonbon time," Janet whispers to Jessica. She seats herself at a sewing table and starts flickering at the threads with a seampopper, using a larger magnifying glass to help her see. "We're going to have to sew this whole thing all over again," she mumbles, sounding frustrated. "Absolutely strained all these stitchpoints, the fabric has to relax."

"Natasha. Wasn't that the woman you were doing this for? Your totally 'not a date'?" Janet inquires of him, with an air of lofty indifference. "Think she was in on the score from the getgo? Surprised she didn't shoot you in the back."

Captain America has posed:
"Anything but cutting into bonbon time," mutters Steve under his breath, now standing on the pedestal with his arms lightly folded. Still, he seems slightly amused by the concept of time dedicated to high-end chocolates. A shake of his head at the inquiry about Natasha.

"Didn't even know she was going to be there," he makes to claim, his expression guileless. "Turns out that her grandfather knew me as well, back in the war. I've still got to look him up, I didn't run across him in person while I was out on the Front. As far as being in on the score? I don't see why she'd try it. She's a multi-millionaire, maybe even a billionaire. I bet Tony would know her." He gives the closed door that mutes the party sounds a considering look.

"Language," he adds off-handedly towards Jessica, his tone not entirely serious.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica nods knowingly at Janet's observations. Bonbon and otherwise. "Sounds like she was on the take, for sure. And it sorta sounds like the gassy chick might've been 'compromised'..." Jess does a Jean Grey fingers-to her temple gesture.

But then comes Steve's chiding for her language. "You've said worse than /that/," Jessica retorts, wide-eyed as her gaze snaps self-consciously back up to his face. "I heard you."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Steve's absolutely terrible, he curses all the time," Janet says. The jacket is disassembled into components and she uses a brush to card at the material and relieve the stress on the threads, working with a surprising dexterity and focus to help them repair and heal.

"Pants, Steve, pants," Janet says with a commanding lack of focus, and snaps her free hand in the air twice. Her green eyes fix closely on the sleeves and backseam of the jacket as the cloth responds to her deft touch. "Bring 'em over here."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I um...Need some air!" Jess blurts as Janet demands Steve's pants, and she nearly spills her popcorn as she stands up and all but rushes out the door toward her room. "I'll be back, I just need....a..." She peers around as she opens her door, for the first thing she sees. "Spoonrest."

Captain America has posed:
"Oh, do I?" The Captain asks drily of Janet in particular, arching an eyebrow at her. "I think you're thinking of another Steve. And sometimes...things slip," he amends, giving Jessica a wry little nod in passing. "Heat of the battle."

Still, he blinks at the fashionista's request. Jessica's sudden disappearance gives him more reason to linger on the pedestal rather than acquiesce to the request. "Do you have a pair of pants I can wear instead?" he then asks of Janet, tone forced to politeness.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet blinks when Jessica vanishes, silently spreading her hands in the raven-haired woman's wake with an expression of askance. "Okay," she grumbles, and takes her seat.

Steve's given a glance when he hesitates, which turns into a coquettish sort of browflirting. "Steve, are you *shy*?" she asks him, in a baiting tone of voice. "I thought you were in showbiz. All that time around the pretty chorus girls, surely a little thing like a wardrobe change isn't going to set you aflutter!"

She stands smoothly then and turns in a contrapposto pose, her robe mysteriously loosening itself a bit enough to slip down off her shoulders a few inches. A bare knee a bit of thigh emerge as she turns a thigh inwards. "If you need a robe, you can borrow *mine*, of course," she says, fairly purring at him with an expression wholly devoid of remorse or innocence.

Captain America has posed:
Steve's severely polite expression crumples. A small wrinkle of his nose as he inhales and then looks effortlessly down his nose from his place upon the pedestal at the fashionista. His breath leaves him and he averts his gaze even as he mutters a low stream of continuous irritated Gaelic under his breath as first toes off his dress shoes. Clunk. Clunk. The black belt slithers from the loops of the pants and he throws it to one side, the stream of melodic language continuing and having gained a crisp fierceness. His fingers dextrously work the buttons free and with a rustle of clothing, he shucks the pants entirely. Quickly, he palms the two vials again and slips them into the pocket of his dress-shirt. Now in black boxer-briefs and dress socks, he steps down and walks over to Janet's desk.

Not dropping her gaze, he finishes his little tirade in the foreign language as he places the pants on the desk with an audible //slap// of his hand. Then, without further comment, he locates the nearest blanket, be it on couch or bed, and whisks it around his waist like a towel, complaints be damned, before retreating back to sit on the pedestal.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet's face twitches at Steve's back. It's hard to tell if she's insulted that he didn't take the robe or upset that he didn't take the bait. Either way, it turns into an aggrieved scowl at Steve's back and she takes to the trousers with marking chalk and a seam popper, working in furious quiet for a few moments.

"I think I can darn the one little tear here. Fortunately, this is what a good tailor does-- soft thread, strong fabric. Lasts a long time that way, the first thing anyone does is blow out a seam before they tear fabric. /Usually/."

She eyes Steve, drifting closer to him, and a frown crosses her face. Janet reaches out to touch his chin and try to rotate his cheekbone towards the light. "You need to duck more," she advises him. "Did you get this looked at by the docs yet?"

Captain America has posed:
"Makes sense to me." That's all that Steve can dredge up right now in regards to busting seams, still simmering quietly as he is. At least it's Janet and he's not put in a position where he'd have to travel to his room without something as meagre as a blanket. With elbows resting on his knees and arms loosely crossed in the space between them, he looks to one side and by his frown, appears to be thinking when he's approached by the fashionista.

The Captain can't keep up the stalwart silence, not in the face of what appears to be honest concern. It's not in his nature. On his cheekbone, a lovely shiner wherein the skin almost broke. The strong lightning shows the broken blood vessels spreading out beneath his skin. "'It's just a flesh wound'," he quips quietly, proud of himself for being able to make a pop-culture crack. "Pistol-whipped when I was following through on a hit. It'll teach me to duck more." He glances up at Janet and shrugs, not concerned.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Well, he hit you in the head, so he didn't hit anything vital," Janet says. She gives him a fondly playful smile and pushes his face away with gentle pressure from her palm, putting no effort into the motion whatsoever.

The fashionista moves to her heavy sewing desk and starts her repairs again with dextrous flickerings of a threadsnipper at a pair of tweezers. "Okay. So gunmen, bombs, poisons, right? And this friend 'Natasha'--" Janet rolls the word around her mouth with a dramatic eyeroll--"happened to be there *and* helped you fend off the ninjapirate assassins?" she inquires of him, pointedly. "That's either a stroke of good luck or, y'know: she set you up?" she inquires, making the question's answer painfully obvious in her tone.

Captain America has posed:
Steve rolls his face with the shove regardless, giving her a smirk. "You're no nurse," he mutters and shakes his head slowly. He sits up straighter after a second if only to see what the fashionista's up to. While she makes her point, he doesn't believe it, not by the subtle set of his jaw.

"I think she's more experienced than she lets on, but being able to remain calm under pressure isn't a marker of nefarious intent. Besides, she threw me a dinner platter since I left the shield at home. Could have let me get shot instead." An eyebrow. "Since someone didn't want to fit the tuxedo for body armor, I think we can be thankful Miss Cranston was thoughtful like that."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"I *do* have a cute little nurse's outfit though," Janet points out with an airy, feigned diffidence. "Too bad Halloween's not around the corner. Though I could help nurse you back to health if you're... wounded," she tells Steve, with a suggestive lift of one eyebrow over a slow, impish grin.

"And don't mention the body armor thing. That wasn't my call, that was the tailors. If you knew how impossible it is to get the three of them in a room together without it turning into a peevy little bitch session--" she shudders and grunts negatively, slashing her hand through the air. "But let's be honest, Steven, even if this was absolutely bulletproof, you'd have still blown a few seams out," she tells him. "There's I can only do so much to let the back out before it's gonna drape like a curtain on you, unless you're flexing."

Captain America has posed:
"So stop letting it out." Steve shrugs yet again, unmoved by the frayed plight of the tuxedo coat and pants. "There's a line between fashionable and functional and I gotta stay on the functional side of things. You wanna dress me up, it's gonna have to be fitted for movement or it's gonna suffer for it." A lift of his hand to drop it on his blanketed knee. "Use less expensive fabric next time if cost is an issue. Or let me pay you for it so it's my loss," he offers out as options. He's certain to add more flatly, "And you get your license and then we'll talk nursing."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"OR--" Janet wiggles a pair of heavy fabric scissors in Steve's direction. "You shut your piehole, Mister American Man, and enjoy the fact that you've got a loving, endlessly forgiving friend like me who gave you a three thousand dollar tuxedo and is now repairing said tuxedo, for FREE." She actions the scissors at him from ten feet away. Snip snip.

"Because if you want to insist on a cash exchange, I can start billing you *my* hourly." She goes back to mending the hem of the pants, fingers flickering. She has no trouble speaking around the pins and needles in her mouth, and kneeling on her chair as she is, she looks weirdly... domestic in her fuzzy pink bathrobe. "But, I'm just as happy to work out some other kind of exchange, of course," she advises Steve, with another failing attempt at demure coquettistry.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol has instincts about doors being ajar, and while this is Avengers Mansion, and it's unlikely that anything really threatening is happening...a certain Doctor Strange did manage to have the Mansion disappear into a demonic dimension or other, if not outright destroyed not too long ago, so best look rather than be sorry later.

"Janet!?" Carol asks as she flings the door wide open and walks in, "are you..." but she doesn't complete the sentence, it's quite apparent Janet is okay, "hi Steve," she adds with an impish grin on her lips.

Captain America has posed:
Both hands lift, palms out, at the distant indignation of scissoring. Snip snip. Steve smirks to himself regardless. The advisement to follow has his eyebrows lifting up into his hairline. Then the smirk returns, just faintly, proof of the deeply-set streak of snark that rarely surfaces in the Captain.

"Happy to make you another pan of brownies for your efforts," he offers so innocently. Upon hearing the door open, he sits up, briefly surprised. Then, of course, the blush returns at a light intensity. Hey, he's wearing a blanket now, things are perfectly under control. "Hey Carol. Fancy seeing you here." The Captain is unfailingly polite by tone. "Janet's fine," he's sure to add blandly.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Steve's in a blanket, black dress socks, and his shirt looks like it was the loser in a street fight. Janet, in her pink bathrobe, looks like the soul of feminine domesticity. She looks at Carol in surprise at the sudden entry, but a beatific smile crosses her face. "I'm fine!" she assures Carol. She sets Steve's trousers aside and hops off the stool. She scurries over to the taller blonde and hugs her effusively, obligated to pop on her toes and reach to do so.

"Steve had an accident with his tuxedo and a bunch of robbers or...gangsters or... something. I don't know. I'm just repairing it for him," she explains. "C'mon in, have a seat. You want some coffee or something?" she offers Carol. "We're just chatting while I work."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Believe me, Steve, it's nowhere near as fancy as seeing you. That's damn fancy right there." Carol outright laughs as she answers Steve's comment. "But do hold it a moment, I didn't know you were into baking brownies...just how good are they?" She looks immediately to Janet, under the assumption that Janet already been paid with brownies before for services rendered.

Not a stranger to the problem of being taller than average, albeit it served her quite well throughout the years when dealing with assholes, she does her best to just shift a bit lower, making it easier on Janet to reach for that embrace. One that Carol gladly returns. "Always good to see you, Janet, and apparently it's never boring in your room, always a fascinating guest or something else happening." She grins as she shoves Janet gently towards Steve, "oh, I wouldn't dream of disturbing the maestro as she commands the fabric." She then looks at Steve again, "did you have the gall to put a van Dyne original to risk?"

Captain America has posed:
Steve lifts a shoulder and lets it drop. "The brownies get eaten." So...they pass muster? Or maybe more that the occupants of the mansion partake of whatever's available when stumbling in from missions. Still seated on a pedestal under the bright lights of the room, he's got his elbows on his knees and his arms loosely crossed to hang between them right now, kilted to his shins as he is by the blanket he's borrowed.

A silent snort at Carol's insinuation of damaging precious fabric. "More that the robbers at the fundraiser I was attending had the gall to skip over reading the guest list. You'd think someone would figure that S. Rogers might be someone other than a donor. As I was telling Janet, I couldn't stand by and let people get shot. Functional, Janet. The tuxedo has gotta be functional." He flicks his brows at the fashionista. Irresistable force, meet immovable object in terms of stance on outfits.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"He *did*," Janet remarks at Carol, and scowls heavily at Steve as if suddenly remembering the gravity of his offenses despite his explanation otherwise. "I brought in three of my best tailors on overtime and he complained the *entire* time about how he needs body armor and freedom of movement. *I* learned to fight in a cocktail dress and four inch heels," she points out, shifting to knee on her stool again. "But Steve thinks he needs--" She blinks, staring off into the middle space for a beat. "Huh. That actually gives me an idea," she remarks, and spins her stool around so she can nearly scramble over her desk for sketch paper and charcoal pencils.

"And yes, they *are* pretty good brownies," Janet admits to Carol. "Not *that* good, but... really pretty good. Anyway, what're you up to?" she inquires of the leggy blonde aviator. "Bring me any good gossip?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Wow, you have to work on your hyping skills, Steve, like...I wouldn't advertise Janet's clothes as: they get worn." Carol was trying to keep on with her point, but just break out in laughter at her own joke, just imagining what Janet would do to a copywriter who dares present her with that suggestion.

The laughter only grows when Steve makes an astute point about the the level of idiocy displayed by those poor robbers, "and they keep wanting to cut funds to Education," Carol tsks as she speaks the words. But jokes aside, Steve does get an appreciative tap on the shoulder, "you did no less than I would have expected, Captain."

When Janet makes her argument, however, Carol does take her side, "she has a point Steve, fighting in heels should be illegal, fighting in a cocktail dress? At that point you should just get a technical win for even trying."

"I'll be sure to try those brownies next chance I get then, gotta try for myself," Carol notes, before sharing, "I've been trailing Rogue, actually, seeing the girl drop from both Avengers and the X-Men signaled of trouble...sure enough, I was spot on, she's back with the X-Men since. Hopefully got a bit of sense knocked into her noggin."

Captain America has posed:
That scowl from Janet is met with an infuriatingly-bland smile in return. He holds up three fingers to accent her point and mouths the number at Carol. Such a travesty! A quick flash of a grin up at Carol then for her agreement in regards to his actions.

"I'll make up a double batch of brownies next time," the Captain promises before glancing back up at Carol again. His brows knit and his eyes flick to Janet before he shares with the room as a whole, "From what I saw lately of her, I'd hazard that she did get a reminder or two." He briefly shares of his presence at the latest ruckus between a group of X-Men led by Cyclops, with Rogue being present, to combat what appeared to be a fairly invincible doppelganger of the redhead with signature white streak in her hair. "It took all of us, Pietro included, to take her down. They left on their jet with the person encased in ice, courtesy of Iceman. Rogue looked a little...flustered to have seen herself get beaten down like that." His is a sympathetic scrunch of face in passing. "I can imagine it'd be a case of dissonance."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
'"Right?" Janet asks Carol. "And he's complaining that his tux was too tight." She snorts angrily through her nose at Steve again, and tosses her head in an angry shake.

But she tunes into the mini-briefing, hands and pencil working almost independently of her mind and voice as she chats with the two other Avengers.

"So it... *wasn't* Rogue?" Janet asks, a little confused. She looks back and forth between the military officers. "I'm a little confused there, last I heard, it was totally her tearing it up again. Which, I mean, you'd think that at some point people would realize not to mess with southern belles, amirite?" she inquires, and laughs at her own witticism.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"All I can say is I'm sorry I wasn't there..." Carol, enjoy a chance to beat on a Rogue look-alike? Whatever could be the reason for that...

"Oh, Steve, Janet has this argument down easy...try and fight in a cocktail dress, then say how tight a tux is," Carol grins a knowing grin, hell, she's actually worn a tux or two in her life. "Yeah...the one causing the mayhem wasn't Rogue, the one trying to stop her, was. Sometimes it gets complicated like that."

Captain America has posed:
"Respectfully, you two can do the fighting in a cocktail dress because you sure as hell will never catch me in one, much less see me do a good job of fighting in one," asides Steve, careless of his wording. He swings back to the main conversation at hand easily enough.

"Needless to say, the issue was resolved. I figure if there was further concern with the fake Rogue, we'd have been contacted given my involvement. I've gotten no phone calls or texts." Reaching into his shirt pocket and careful not to jostle the two small vials tucked there, he frowns down at his phone. Nope, nothing of note. He slips it back into the pocket once more.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"You don't have the legs for a little black dress," Janet tells Steve, primly. "But if you want to prove me wrong, I've got a friend who works the drag scene that I could call. I bet he's got heels and a skirt that'd be just your size~" she says, trailing off with a singing, taunting tone.

"Oh! Carol!" she says, focusing on that notable. Her sketchbook is set aside, momentarily forgotten. "I was thinking we should go out clubbing soon. You, me, Jen, Jessica-- we'll take my plane down to Rio for a weekend, stay at the beachhouses down there. Get away from the mansion for a while," she offers. "It'd be my treat!" she adds, belatedly. "Either that or we hold a rave in Tony's new party room, and frankly I don't think there's enough disinfectant in the world for me to feel comfortable in there."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"So long as you concede the point, Steve," Carol grins and goes about high fiving Janet for a verbal duel well fought.

"Trust me, Steve, as someone who used to be their pilot back in the day, you don't want texts or calls from the X-Men, they deal with some crazy soap opera level chaos."

As Janet quips at Cap even after he conceded that specific battle, Carol winces, "that was outright savage, Jan." The invitation for a getaway is catching Carol a bit off guard, but she's not one to ever be against well earned down time. "If it's your treat, who am I to refuse? Count me in, thanks Jan!"

Iron Man has posed:
Once again, there is a burst of laughter and music in the hallway that heralds Tony's return. He heads back down the hall to then arrive, and proceed to loiter, in Janet's doorway. He changed up the previous glass of clear liquid for something honey-colored. He stops there, looking inside, brows lifted. He's very 'relaxed', leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.

He still has the iron man gauntlet on his left hand, the cables disappearing on that same side into the sleeve. The palm is lit up in a warm gold, that make the drink held in that hand even more golden than it already was naturally.

"Did I miss treats?" Tony asks, having caught the end of the conversation. He waves two fingers from his free hand to Carol, greeting her.

Captain America has posed:
His gaze slides to the window even as Steve shakes his head at the offer for a decidedly different affair of fashion. "That'll be a cold day in hell," he mutters. "Yeah, point conceded," he's sure to add louder with a wry smirk. Let the women work the cocktail dresses, he'll risk Janet's wrath for another borrowed tuxedo -- life just doesn't play fair with those seams and that's not his fault! He stretches out one leg from beneath the blanket and gives the unfinished suit-pants a rather forlorn glance while the two women talk party plans.

But a familiar silhouette at the door makes the Captain glance up. A quirk of his brows in bemusement at Tony. "You didn't miss anything," he makes to claim in stark counter to his blanket-kilted state of semi-undress.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Wonderful. I'll figure out some times with Jen and Jessica. I think Jess needs some time out in the world, y'know? And it'd be good for the four of us to have some girl time. It's been a while."

She pivots on her chair and waves welcome at Tony when he sidles up to the door. Kneeling on the counter-height stool, she's twisting lazily back and forth with one hand propelling her from a point on the edge of her big sewing desk. "Jessica ran off to find a spoonrest for some reason," she tells Tony. "No idea what's up, but--" she wiggles a finger at Carol. "See, like I was just saying, she needs to get out more."

"How's your little party going, Tony? Are your guests behaving?" she inquires, mirthfully.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"And by you didn't miss anything, Steve means you totally missed how Janet won an argument with him. Also, hi Tony." Carol jumps in after Steve spoke, looking at the glass in Tony's hand, and immediately following with, "is there more of that?" She doesn't need to ask what it is, the golden hue tells all.

"A party...? And I wasn't even invited? Oh, Tony, you wound me..."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony considers Janet's question. "Well, none of them are stripping," Tony comments, looking at Steve steadily, then back to Janet. "So you're ahead of us on that one. What happened to the chastity thing?" Tony asks of Steve idly, while clearly needing some of that doorframe to stay as steady as he's being while standing. He seems to realize it as well, and comes inside, to smoothly collapse into a chair. He minds his drink: he doesn't spill it.

"Yeah, just go across; follow the sounds of the awesome," Tony says descriptively, gesturing towards the party. "It wasn't an invitation thing, just spur of the moment, with the models from a marketing campaign meeting."

Captain America has posed:
Steve's eyes slowly lid until it's crystal clear that he's unamused by this line of questioning from the drunken inventor. He pulls his black-socked foot slowly back underneath the covering of the pilfered blanket.

Logical ignorance of that particular line of questioning is the Captain's choice. "Janet asked to fix the hem of the suit-pants, Tony. It seemed only fair to let her, given I managed to tear them." His eyes flick to the fashionista. "Thanks for the blanket, Janet." Says the man who just snatched it off her couch amidst a spitfire streak of Gaelic.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Tony, you wouldn't know chastity if it walked past you in six inch heels and a swimsuit," Janet tells the billionaire with a smug expression. "And it doesn't count if her name actually *is* Chastity," she adds, a beat later.

"Ooh! Get me one, Carol!" she says, fluttering a hand hastily in Carol's direction to get her attention-- before the blonde aviator beelines out into the hallway.

"And besides, stripping's a little *tame* for my kind of parties. Strip Twister, on the other hand, *that's* a game that the whole party can enjoy," she says. Rolling her lips inwards to suppress a smile, she rolls her eyes in the direction of her spinning stool as it completes two squeaking full rotations, with flashes of her insincere expression of innocence through each turn.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"I think I'll skip, impromptu parties with professional models don't sound like something I should get involved with, even if it's just to get a drink." But then Janet comes up with a scorching one, causing Carol to laugh, "my god, Tony, I think Jan just said what I heard." Turning to look at Janet, Carol adds, "to be fair, Chastity is almost always an ironic name, so I'd wager it's self picked, and not given by parents...otherwise, those parents deserve to be shot."

Just as Carol is about to reconsider, when Janet states she'd like a drink as well, she lifts her arm at a buzzing on her wrist, "scratch that, Jan, Alpha Flight stuff, I need to jet...see you guys later, good luck on salvaging Steve's tux!"

Iron Man has posed:
"Mm," Tony says, with an entirely unconvincing, overly large nod of head at Steve. He believes ALL that. Really. He yawns a little bit, drawing out his handheld device from one of the front pockets of his suit jacket, and one-handedly goes through a series of small gestures. He then tells it, "Send up some pants and a sweatshirt for Captain America."

"To Ms. Van Dyne's room, sir?" asks the prim AI voice.

"You guessed it." Tony's lips move in a poorly-fought smirk as he quirks one brow at Steve, and drinks from his glass. "Better add a ball cap, too, in case this ends up being a walk of shame."

He also considers the Chastity burn. It doesn't phase him, of course: it's Tony. "I /do/ see a lot of women in high heels and swimsuits; she'd blend in," Tony agrees, smirking. He's playing along. "I'm pretty good about asking names even if I don't remember them," the drunk playboy decides. He sets his glass down on an arm of the chair and starts to disengage the iron man gauntlet at the wrist, but pauses to wave to Carol.

Captain America has posed:
Janet gets an eyebrow for her thoughts on strip-whatever-that-is and a faint blush. The soldier wills the rise of heat away from his face with effort and a sigh.

"Thanks, Carol." The gratitude is at least half heart-felt towards the departing pilot. The Captain then frowns at Tony fiddling on his phone. For at least a second, there's a readying in Steve's seated posture, as if he's about to stand up, blanket be damned, and take that phone away from the inventor. No more impromptu photos on any social media, no!

Thankfully, not an online status posting -- rather, an attempt to help. Well-meaning, but the usual Starkly approach. "A ball cap, Tony..." Steve rolls his eyes and runs his hand down his face, squinting at some point on the middle of the floor. He does exasperation well. His eyes rise to the man again. "Look, don't worry about it. I'll walk to my room with the blanket. No one's going to see me. Or care."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"No, Carol, bring me one bef--!" Janet's cut off by Carol's abrupt exit stage right, and exhales testily before flapping her hands on her thighs. "Darnit, I wanted a drink," she mutters.

"What am I saying, I *have* drinks," she remarks, and clambers down off her stool and heads to her fridge. She comes up with a wine cooler, uncaps it, and takes a sip.

"Oh, Steve, stop being a drama queen," Janet tells Cap. "The hall's full of party people, and I'm not gonna get these slacks done anytime soon. Let Tony help you out, okay?"

Iron Man has posed:
"Yes, let Tony help you instead of embarrass you; you've been doing well enough on your own, I figured we'd have a change of pace, huh?" Tony chuckles, and starts to get up. The robot was very fast, fetching the items from the same floor and bringing them immediately over. Tony doesn't really even look up as the robot comes inside, at first. It is a small 'roomba' type, trundling in with the stacked clothes on top of it. It approaches Tony until Tony gestures it towards Steve. It has appropriately sized dark blue sweatshirt and pants, with a white Avengers 'A'. It's nicer than the gift shop versions: some new swag Tony must have forgotten to mention they have available. And yes, there's a gray ballcap, same branding.

"I have a party of models to enjoy, and my glass to refill. Maybe some twister to suggest, if things keep going well," Tony chuckles to Janet. "Come by if you like; drinks and food," Tony says. The robot follows him out.

Captain America has posed:
Rising to his feet at the sight of the wee Roomba-like robot, Steve is very certain to keep a firm grip on the blanket about his waist as he walks over to collect the clothing on offer. It'll do and more; he does take the ball cap, though it gets a narrow look in passing.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Tony, thank you." A short nod to Tony. "Go enjoy your party. We're good here." A little curl of a smirk gives away his rueful amusement about the proceedings.

Steve sobers as he glances at Janet. "I'm going to borrow your bathroom to change," he informs her with a flick of his eyebrows and then proceeds to walk over towards it, heedless of concerns and apparently ignoring any ribbing. Regardless, the faintest blush of pink at his ears exists even as he disappears behind the door...and locks it for the sake of his privacy and sanity.