6375/Meeting at the Met

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Meeting at the Met
Date of Scene: 02 February 2019
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Synopsis: Selina Kyle and Janet van Dyne cross paths at an art gallery exhibition, leading to the making of plans.
Cast of Characters: Catwoman, Wasp (van Dyne)




Catwoman has posed:
Saturday night, Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a big gala party centered around a well-known painter's new exhibit, numerous celebrities out to be seen, socialites to hang on their arms and hopefully be seen with them. It's one of those black tie, black dress affairs, expensive tables, more expensive auctions, and paparazzi ready to document every last second of it.

While Gotham City is her main hangout, Selina Kyle is more than happy to make the drive over to New York City for a good time, though in this case she was driven by someone else. You never drive your own limo, and she's not about to roar in on a motorcycle in this weather and that dress. It's a classy little number, sleeveless and floor length with a slit up one side meant to show off the legs, and those curves, all of those curves.

Alone, she managed to get herself a spot at a table close to the back, giving her an opportunity to scout the room. The artwork was what it was. She had her eyes on the other people there. Any one of them could be a future target.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
There's a conversation going not far away that's several men talking pompously and interrrupted by a chiming femine laugh periodically. The woman laughing is on the short, even petite side, under average height and quite slender. The verbal wrangling (and a bit of posturing from the men) seem to be chiseling away at her patience and she looks around the room over a discreet sip of champage. By chance she catches Selina's eye, and a flickering look of mute appeal crosses her heart-shaped face.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, my friend is waving at me. Lady stuff. Please excuse me?" she requests, and steps quickly towards Selina. She's dressed in a dazzling daisy-yellow dress, with slit demisleeves and an asymmetrical hem that stops near her knee. It's close fitting enough to show she's got some muscle, rather than being merely skinny. Her black, four-inch heels click with her almost too-quick steps and she lays a purse on the table and clambers up into the seat with a smooth motion.

"Oh my god *help me*," she mutters at Selina, pleading. "My feet are killing me and I will throw a brick at the next one of those bloviating chumps who starts lecturing me on personnel management."

Catwoman has posed:
Whether by happenstance or choice, that table Selina's at has grown deserted. It may be a bit surprising, considering some of the attention others are drawing, to see her remain separate from it all, but she was never here to truly mingle in the first place. She's quite adept at making it look that way when someone takes an interest in her, but she always finds a way to send them along while making them think it was a great conversation.

While most stuck to the idea of that formal attire, there's always someone who has to stand out. Janet fits the bill with that yellow number, and while Selina never did wave at the woman in the first place, the men Janet's with have no idea one way or the other. They barely even notice her departure, for that matter, so engrossed in their boring, mundane topics, droning on and on.

So it happens that the table of one becomes a party of two, Selina running a hand through her short black hair, green eyes studying Janet by the time she's plopped down nearby. The Gothamite's own purse is kept close at hand atop the white tablecloth draped elegantly over the furniture, and she wears a tasteful pearl necklace, matching bracelets, and even a pair of pearl studs through both earlobes that feature small cat ears, colored gold, upon closer inspection.

"Bloviating?" she drawls. "Such a big word. That immediately puts you a step or two above most of the other hangers-on in this place. And I noticed those heels, darling. I made that mistake before, once." She offers a hand, palm down. "Selina Kyle."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet wriggles to get seated at the table. She's not much shorter than Selina but what little height she has is mostly leg, and it takes her a second to get settled in. When Selina offers a hand, Janet returns a brilliant smile and perks to an impeccably upright posture, shoulders back and arms going straight so she can clasp Selina's hand in both of hers. "I'm Janet van Dyne. So nice to meet you. And you like my shoes?" she says, turning an ankle out and peering down at her footwear. "I was a little on the fence, I adore Ferragamo but I thought the yellow soles might be a bit much, but they *do* work, don't they?" she says, admiring her own design sense. She plucks at the sleeves of her dress to re-settle it on her shoulders.

"Bloviating's a *great* word, isn't it? I think it literally means 'middle aged old guys lecturing women'," she quips. "It sure works though."

She wriggles her feet out of her shoes and exhales heavily in relief, before crossing her legs under the table. "Ohhh my god that feels better. Fashion knows no pain, but god that's the last time I forget to put gel pads in before I go to a fundraiser." White gold glitters at her wrist and ears, with flickeringly ruby dots the color of a sunrise on the beach adorning her ears. Subtle and tasteful, but expensive enough.

She's a chatty one, going on with a merry cheer until Selina interrupts her. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry." A hand lifts to flag down a passing waiter and a tray of hors d'ouvres. "So what brings you here tonight? Did someone rope you into it or are you just here to rub elbows with a bunch of bored East Coast real estate developers?"

Catwoman has posed:
Selina returns a brief squeeze, the general greeting withdrawn from there as she makes like she's placing her hands back in her lap daintily. A hint of recognition passes as she makes like she's trying to place the name. "Janet van Dyne, Janet van Dyne.../the/ Janet van Dyne? What are the odds?" Oh, there's an excited look in her expression now, and it's very difficult to tell whether it's genuine or put on. "I /love/ your designs, girl!" The woman's footwear gets a brief glance, long enough to note the details, and she reaches down to hold up one of her own. Plain black, the heels are half the height of Janet's, and sure enough - gel inserts. "I told you, one time with that mistake."

Before getting too far into things, she adds a sniff to the creative definition of the word. "Nailed it." She's sure, once the waiter is stopped, to have some wine brought out as well. "Red for me, and you?" Sampling a bit of oysters au gratin, pastries with brie, mushroom, and rosemary, then a couple salmon sticks filled with boursin pepper cheese wrapped around pretzel sticks, she smacks her lips a couple times. "Not bad, if I do say so myself. They've managed to do something right. As for me? I figured I'd come see if there was anyone worth getting into a prenup with before filing for a divorce after half a year or so," she finishes in a deadpan.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet's smile returns with tenfold illumination, and she beams at Selina like she just got the best compliment imaginable. "Oh, you're so sweet!" she tells the brunette. "It's always nice to hear from someone in the real world. The entire industry is run by uptight models and bitchy gays, and they get all wrapped up in trying to, like, be 'artistic'," she says, fingers curling in the air to go with a disdainful wrinkle of her nose. "I'm like, 'Gianni, you can't hang bath curtains on a stick figure and call it 'art'."

She looks over at the waiter when he arrives, chiming in after Selina. "Rum and coke?" Janet requests, holding up fingers for two measures of rum and a half measure of coke. "Thanks so much." She offloads a pile of food onto the little plate provided and starts eating with a delicate touch and a deeply ingrained sense of East Coast manners.

So when Selina explains what she's up to, Janet chokes out a laugh around a mouthful of pepper cheese. She hastily catches the outburst with her napkin and titters quietly, eyes crinkling with sincere amusement. "Oh, honey, pre-nups are for suckers. Get in with an old guy and work him until he has a heart attack. At least, that's how they do in Manhattan," she amends. "'Sole survivor' spousal property. I mean, that's a *little* grim, though," Janet adds, still laughing, and lays a hand on Selina's wrist to give her forearm an impulsive squeeze. "Before throwing yourself down that well, let's at least canvass the room for eligible bachelors. I think the Rockefellers still have one who hasn't been hooked yet," she says, lifting on her seat and looking around the room.

Catwoman has posed:
Deeper talk of fashion is left for Janet to dig into, with Selina playing the part of the attentive acolyte more than anything else, though it's clear she knows how to dress to impress. Her makeup is subtle and complementary, the white of the pearls offsets the black accordingly, though if anything's different from the usual, it's the lips. No red, rather more of a gray to black shade, also actually going along with generally pale skin.

"I don't know how you put up with all that. I might tear out my hair." She leaves the harder drinks to Janet, at least compared to wine, and a slight nod follows the choices the woman makes when it comes to filling up her plate. A wry smile forms at the edge of Selina's lips at the reaction to her reasons for being here. "Honey, some gold-diggers do have standards. That'd be good money, but I don't fancy the thought of laying in bed with a cold fish. Plus, you don't know how long he'll hold on and I don't want a reputation as a black widow."

She drops her voice and leans a bit forward after the squeeze of her arm. "I've already done my canvassing. Why do you think I was over here by myself?" A pause, then she makes a show of tapping her chin a few times, as if in thought. "Actually...I have a charity thing to show up at relatively soon. I could use something new."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet eats like someone with a fast-burning metabolism, though she's at least dainty about it. The rum, however, gets thrown back in a couple of fast gulps. "Charity 'thing'? How vaguely mysterious," Janet says, teasing Selina with a smile. She shifts in her seat, refolding her legs, and uses the edge of a napkin to carefully brush her lips without smudging anything. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love your dress-- looks like one of Marc's?" she guesses, giving Selina a critical eye. "Little daring by his standards, but you can totally pull off the backless look," she says, enviously.

Her expression grows considerate, and she leans back to look Selina over again with a frankly assessing view. "You know-- normally I'd tell you to go to our private tailor, he's over on 32nd in the garment district. But I almost want to come up with something for you myself," she says, tapping a white-tipped nail against her chin speculatively. Her eyes narrow in thought. "What's the charity event for? Are we talking political, the arts and theater...?" she inquires of Selina. "I can get away with some things for Broadway fundraisers that would get you laughed out of the room at a political rally."

Catwoman has posed:
A hopeful draws near, some young twenty-something with shaggy hair and what he thinks is a good-looking beard (it's not). Selina makes eye contact with him long enough to give him a slow but stern shake of the head followed by a glance elsewhere, sending him off on his way for another target. "Look at that one. Yeah, the puppy over there. I'm really not eager to show anyone their way around in bed. Had enough of that already, you know?"

She waves a hand without committing one way or another to who the dress designer is, leaving it as a mystery for the moment. "Ahh, it's not important, but thanks. I do a lot of charity work for big cats. I've got a masquerade ball in a few weeks and I want to be the center of attention, if you know what I mean." Then she gives the other woman a clear smile. "And if you're interested, I wasn't going to accept anyone but you coming up with it."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet looks over her shoulder and gives the young fellow a polite smile that turns into a neutral assessment as he walks away. She looks back at Selina, then wrinkles her nose and shrugs negatively. "I'm biased. The Avengers are ninety percent beefcake these days. I get almost no work done," she says, with an utterly unconvincing sigh of feigned exasperation. The attempt to innocently look upwards and appeal to the sky above doesn't help her case.

"Masquerade balls are *so* fun, oh my god," Janet agrees, perking again. "I love it, there's the pagentry, the *mystery*, just-- so great. Oh! We could do a reversible dress and masque for you!" she suggests, brightly. "You know, in case you get some ex or something shows up and you need to switch from disguised to being identifiable. Then you can just---" she mimes flipping clothing on and off. "Or I guess you could just keep two outfits," she amends, and fishes in her purse for an Altoid's tin. Her posture becomes a little conspiratorial and she opens it with the edge of her nail and produces a few oddly colored pills. "Sorry. I need a little pick-me up. Adderall?" she says, offering one to Selina before putting the container away. Janet pops the pill into her mouth and washes it down with a gulp of her remaining drink, looking utterly unrepentant. "Though then the next question is, do you want to go as *yourself* or not," she adds, following up without missing a beat. "Which is totally a thing, sometimes it's good to make yourself a little, y'know, accessible," she says, head tilting and shoulders bobbing back and forth afew times. "In case there's someone out there who needs a little courage to make a move?"

Catwoman has posed:
Selina raises her hands, feigning innocence. "I wasn't going to bring them up. I heard you don't hide that whole thing, but that's your business." The /last/ thing she'd do is let the world know who her alter ego is. The trouble that would bring...uh uh.

She clasps her hands together against the tabletop, interlocking her fingers slowly. "Ahh, you feel the same way. They're great for making a statement and pretending you don't actually know who's behind the mask when it's obvious all along. Are you saying I should swing by somwhere sometime and try a few things out?" she wonders. "That way we could see what works the best.

As the bit with the pills comes up, she shakes her head and raises a hand to decline the offer. "You got ADHD or something?" comes the question, no real judgment seeming to follow. "I'll have to think about whether I want to go as me or have a different look. Part of the idea is for people to eventually know who's writing the big checks."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"That's the whole point of being part of society, darling," Janet reminds Selina. "To let others know where the pecking order is. So you can play that any way you want. Make a game of it, even! That could be fun. See how long it takes everyone to idenfity each other, and last one standing gets to win something?"

"And no. No ADHD," she adds, waving down a waiter and relieving him of a champage flute. "It's been a long night and this is the first interesting conversation I've had all evening. A little booze, a little ritalin, and I'm back in the gaaame," she says, dancing in her seat a bit.

"Anyway. You, yes, my studio, this week," she tells Selina. "I can get some of it sewn up ahead of time but a fitting's going to take a while. We can get your heels and purse done at the same time, though, that'll save some effort. My cobbler's this tiny little raisin of a man from Europe, *love* him, he's seriously a maestro when it comes to these specialty jobs. I'm always worried he's going to get poached by Louboutain, which *always* comes up right before he's due an annual raise," she says, with a tolerant eyeroll.

Catwoman has posed:
"Whatever gets you through the night," Selina remarks. Maybe she's been there, done that a time or two, or three. "And don't worry about me, there. I know where I sit on the pecking order, and it's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights." Now, that is some bravado and it sounds like she means it. This woman /does/ have an ego, that's for certain. "I might have to work that idea of a little contest in, though. It'd probably take more than just a partial mask, however."

Digging into her purse, Selina comes up with a little black book, thumbing it open and producing a pen. "Oh, look. It just so happens that the upcoming week is free of obligations. You pick the date and time, just let me know where, and I'll be there. If it's going to be a while, maybe we should have dinner as part of it. After the fitting, of course, dear." A polite smile is offered as Janet gushes over her footwear man and she says, "How charming. So, what do you think of some kind of feline motif?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet whips out a cell phone and like a true millennial, is flickering through her calendar keypad as fast as Selina could write in a book. "Thursday looks good for me," she concludes, then. "I'll chase the design crew out of my office and we'll have some space to work."

She taps the power button and pushes her phone back into her little purse. Selina's flashed a pleased smile. "Dinner sounds wonderful, if we get done in time. Fair warning though: there's a pizzeria around the corner from my building that makes *the best* pizza in Manhattan, and yes I know *everyone* says that, but he totally delivers up to my offices all the time. If we get stuck, there's always a pizza pie. Unless you're one of those keto fitness types," she says, wrinkling her nose at Selina. "Which is ridiculous, and whatever you're doing keep doing it, your arms look *great*."

She blinks her train of thought into motion again. "Felines. Felines! Yes, I saw your earrings-- loooove them, those are so kitsch I could die," she tells Selina. "I could probably come up with something. Little ears, some eyeliner pencil and we could draw whiskers on your face," she says with an impish amusement.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle considers the phone, a knowing look sent toward the other woman as she goes the more conventional route with the date once they've settled on the time. "I'll be coming over from Gotham, so if traffic's being a bitch I'll give you a heads-up. Pizza's okay with me, as long as we get some garlic knots with it."

She merely explains, "I lead an active lifestyle. Thanks for noticing. I'm sure you have to keep yourself in great shape as well with what you do." She touches an earring as it's brought up, practically purring. "When I saw these, I simply /had/ to have them." It's worded just so it's unclear whether she paid for them or obtained them in an alternate fashion. Then she feigns scratching at the air as an initial idea is floated. "Is this the part where I say 'meeeow?'"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"I'm literally the only person who *needs* to work out," Janet says, and sighs wearily. "St-- Captain Rogers insists he needs to exercise but I think that's psychological. He's never in anything but perfect condition. Then there's Jen Walters, who is *awesome* by the way, love her, but--" Janet's hands lay flat on her sternum and she rolls her eyes, though smiles fondly. "It's just not fair anyone's *that* buff and can still rock a swimsuit. I guess Tony's the other person who actually uses the gym but more often than not he's nursing a hangover and using those diet shakes to cheat."

"So, yes, the struggle is real, and you are not alone," she reassures Selina. "Now if you wanna go with the kitty motif, I think we can do that. It's a really gutsy move, the 'themed' look," Janet warns Selina. "But if you can pull it off in the right company, it's like: wow. I was at an ecological fundraiser and I have no idea what the keynote speaker was talking about, but I saw an actress running around dressed like a *tree* of all things and even I had to admit: I was jealous I didn't think of it first. She looked absolutely stellar."

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle has the good grace to nod along to the explanations of those Janet works with. "If you got it, flaunt it. That's what they say. I'm good with a nice drink here and there, but I don't like being off the mark in anything I do." There's a thoughtful pause as she looks out over the rest of the gathered crowd, most of them milling about before various paintings and sculptures while the artist no doubt bores everyone in telling them of his inspirations for the pieces.

"I saw something about a new member. What's he all about?" She could only be speaking of a certain Wakandan. Before that gets an answer she downs the last of her wine, but not before swirling it around a few times in the bottom of the glass. "I like cats," is her simple answer, before the wine - or the enjoyment of a bad joke - leads her to comment about the woman dressed as a tree, "Sounds like someone you could root for."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet clucks her tongue and laughs all at once, swatting the air in Selina's direction. "Oh, my god, bad puns," she groans. "That's terrible."

She finishes her drink and sets it aside. "New-- oh! King T'challa?" she inquires. "Yeah, there was a press release about it. King of Wakanda," she explains. "It's a little country in Africa but apparently very high-tech, and lots of rare gems and valuable minerals or something. He's such a doll though, i mean, kind of stern-- in a good way-- but he's also just an old-school gentleman," she says, with an appreciative sigh. "Like, open the doors, pull out chair, 'no I'll get the check' type. Plus, *extremely* cute. And single," she says with a pointed look and uplift of a finger.

"Listen. I hate to scoot but I've gotta say my goodbyes and head home. It was so nice meeting you though, Selina," Janet says, stepping into her heels. She looks at Selina and offers her a quick hug. "I'll see you Thursday, right?"

Catwoman has posed:
"Of course it is," Selina sniffs her amusement at the reaction to the joke, but a pointed look of interest takes shape at the mention of a few things. Gems, minerals, that sort of thing. "Maybe I'll happen to find myself around him one day and see what makes him tick. He sounds like someone who'd be good to make a prenup with," she teases, but before too much of a reaction can follow she clarifies, "I'm not being serious with that, and there wasn't a single man here I had any interest in marrying either, for that matter."

She rises about the same time Janet does, adding, "That sounds like my cue to work my way to the exit as well." The embrace is returned, if mutedly, kept to a generally professional politeness rather than being something beyond that. It also allows her to keep her belongings close by, and Janet won't find anything of her own missing either. "I'll be there. It was fun chatting."