856/A Lovely Dinner

A Lovely Dinner
Date of Scene:	09 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	In which Mr. Rand has to cut dinner short, Marinette cleans up very nicely, Adrien leaves out details, and Nancy nerds out. Or everyone agrees that Plagg is indeed a cat.
Cast of Characters:	143, 142, Iron Fist, Dragonfly (Arazello)

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Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Early evening on a Thursday night. Nothing really special under most circumstances. Except in the penthouse that Adrien and Marinette live in.

Matinette has spent the past three hours cooking in order to make sure there was plenty of food for the business meeting that Adtien had scheduled this evening. She was more than a little relieved to find out it would be held in the apartment. The scent if meat cooking, breads and various herbs fill the penthouse fully. She's been fighting off little flighty kwami while trying to cook.

She had meant to be changed before it was timw for the meeting. And then she lost track of time. Which means when their guest arrives, she's still in jean cut offs, a tank top, barefeet, her hair up in a bun and flour dotting her face and clothes.

From the kitchen comes the call of, "Would you just stay out of that until dinner is ready!?"

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
Because Adrien was useless in the kitchen, he was on the sofa, dressed and ready for the meeting. On his shoulder sat Tikki and the pair were peering at a jewelry catalogue having a serious discussion about gemstones and settings and the like. His phone rings, the ten minute until your meeting alarm, and Adrien pushes himself up.

"Plagg. Come on. Stop annoying Marinette and I'll give you some cheese in the bedrom," he says as he walks into the kitchen to collect his black cat kwami. It takes some doing, and more than a little coaxing, and some pets from Marinette and maybe a dap of whatever that wonderful cheese sauce stuff she was putting together for whatever she was making for both the cat kwami and the blonde Chosen, and Adrien was dropping both the black cat and ladybug spirits off on Marinette's bed, with his tablet set up on a little stand for Plagg, and Marinette's pink comforter all bunched up into a small bed pit of comfy warm goodness.

Okay, so the kwami may have a salad plate as a platter with a sampler of what Marinette had made for dinner, and a few fingerling cookies for Tikki.

The doorman downstairs, having received the names of people allowed up to see Adrien, buzzes the penthouse upon each one's arrival so that Adrien can greet each at the door in turn. (IE: You are welcomed to pose meeting me at the door and coming in if that facilitates your entrance.)

Iron Fist has posed:
Today has been rough for Danny Rand, starting with a slew of meetings that went less than well: Delayed shipments of mechanical gear to a factory in Bludhaven, less-than-stellar profits for a new property investment in the city, and a staff shortage at the Gotham labs. From there, things only went south. So, to say that he was looking forward to his meeting with Adrien Agreste this evening - one that actually may not end in an awkward climax - would be an understatement.

"Danny Rand," the young CEO tells theh doorman once he arrives. "Here to see Adrien Agreste." After a moment, he ushers himself to the elevators and rides them up to the penthouse, where he meets Adrien at the door.

"Adrien!" Danny greets the young man with maybe a little too much enthusiasm. Chalk it up to being blasted in the face with delicious smells. "I've been looking forward to this. How are you?

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Oooh, this is ridiculous!" Nancy says to herself, alone in the elevator on its long trip up to the penthouse. "You're walking in waaaaaaaaaaay out of your league here now, girl!" She hastily checks her makeup in the mirrored walls of the lift, touches up her lipstick. Tucks a stray stand of hair away, takes a deep breath, and faces the elevator as it opens.
    "Adrien ..." Nancy blinks at the raw wealth on display, losing her stride and her composure momentarily. "Oh, wow!" she breathes. She shakes her head and rallies. "Adrien, thank you for inviting me!" she tries again. To her credit she doesn't do the obvious, "lovely place" thing and instead admires an objet d'art near the entrance. "I'm probably going to embarrass myself here, but ... that is a truly lovely little statue there."
    Her eyes try, but fail, to not gawk.

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
Very delicious smells. It's been the most wonderful kind of hell for the Agreste boy. He had been could at NOT counter cruising with his kwami. Adrien's smile for Danny was his usual mega-watt smile of perfect blonde male model, and he reached out to shake Danny's hand.

"Mr. Rand. A pleasure to see you again. Thank you for coming all this way. I would have come to you, if it had been easier," Adrien says as he lets Danny in. Turning to close the door, he smiles brightly again at seeing...

"Nancy! My pleasure. Come in. It was good to hear from you," he's saying eyes falling to the statue only when Nancy points it out. For a moment the smile falls into something closer to a faint pout of confusion.

"Oh. Um. Thanks?" His tone is one of: when did that get there? And then Adrien shrugs, the smile returning as he closes the door.

"Please. Come in. Make yourselves comfortable," he says, playing at a good host while heading toward the kitchen.

"Mari. Our guests are here. Did you want to go clean up?" he asks of the brunette in the kitchen. In French.

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Kwami taken away with the finger foods and tiny souffles, it left Mati alone to get the rest of the food done. Or very close to done. There was just some garnishings left.

And then that call comes and she stops what she's doing. "Excuse me?," is called from the kitchen.

Jeartbeats later, the young woman who was the reason the apartment smelled as it did walks out, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Go get... Do I NEED to go 'clean up', Adrien? I didn't realize, after spending hours in the kitchen, I was supposed to dress up too."

Her eyes flit to Danny and then Nancy wherw they linger a moment and finally back to Adrien. "You're just all about leaving out details this evening, aren't you?"

She turns her attention to their guests and smiles. "Good evening amd welcome. If you'll excuse me... I, apparently, need to go 'clean up'."

Iron Fist has posed:
At first, Danny seems surprised that dinner is being made and another guest is being shown through the door. This was, after all a scheduled meeting. After the day he's had, though, something casual is more than welcome, so he quickly relaxes and makes himself more or less at home. "No problem, I'm honestly glad to make a home visit tonight," he tells Adrien.

His gaze flits about the penthouse, noting the decor and architecture only briefly, as if he is either accustomed to such wealth or not the kind of person to pay it any mind. Maybe even both. Eventually, he locks eyes with Nancy, then Marinette. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Danny." He smiles, especially to Marinette's comments.

With a glance to Adrien now, he says, "I would have brought a bottle of wine if I knew someone was cooking. Should we get the serious stuff out of the way first?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Oh, don't make a fuss on my account!" Nancy exclaims to Marinette, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent as she takes in the room with wide eyes. She nods Danny's way at his introduction. "Nancy. Arazello," she says. "I'm an engineer," she adds unnecessarily. Then seeming to recognize how out of place that is, proceeds to dig herself in deeper. "I showed Adrien where you can buy proper cheeses in America."
    She wrinkles her nose in annoyance at herself as she snaps back to reality.
    "Sorry, let me try that again. I'm a little distracted. I'm Nancy Arazello. Nice to meet both of you."

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
At the admonishment from Marinette, Adrien blushes lightly and his hand goes to the back of his head on a quick half-chuckle.

"Ah, no. Maybe.. your face? You have flour just there," he replies in french, starting to point at Marinette only to shift to point at his own face. His hand lower as he follows Marinette's gaze to Danny and Nancy and he smiles at Marinette again.

"I said a friend..." Oh, forgot to say a female friend. He's going to get used to this. It's still so new! Just the ability to HAVE any one over is novel in many ways.

"If you want to change, that is. I.. well. um..Right." All in french before he looks to Danny, as if the man offering to deal with business matters first was saving him for further foot in mouth.

"Yes. of course, Mr. Rand," Adrien says, switching back to English. Woops, forgot to make introductions too! Adrien can be an awkward social kitty some days, huh?

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Bluebell eyes land on Danny and Marinette smiles. "I'm Marinette. And dinner was my pleasure. Excuse me."

She turns and makrs it halfway up the stairs before she has to stop again.

"Oh, I'm not," is said in regards to making a fuss. "I think the Staff have the cheese shipped in, actually." She offers a bit of a smile before rolling her eyes at Adrien and switching to french. "Of course there's flour. Three fourths of everything in there uses it. I'll be right back. Keep them out of my kitchen."

And then it's up the stairs amd into her room.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Seemingly vaguely aware that something is up, Nancy eyes Adrien, then the stairs where Marinette has disappeared to. She narrows her eyes thoughtfully.
    "So ... uh ... You know ... Danny, is it? ... from business, Adrien?" she asks, trying to make as neutral conversation as she possibly can. "What line of business are you in, Danny?" She quickly adds, "I'm an aerospace engineer. But I mentioned that earlier. For no good reason." The giggle seems unbidden and unwanted, quickly stifled. "I currently work for LexCorp as head of advanced propulsions."

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
"Ah, okay, Marinette," Adrien replies as he watches the brunette makes her way up the stairs and to her bedroom. He watches a moment longer before almost non-chalantly leaning on the island counter between living room and kitchen in such a way as to prevent anyone from getting into the kitchen without bodily going THROUGH him. He smiles that megawatt smile again.

"Yes. His corporation is working with my father's to set up a runway here in New York. Head of Propulsion? I thought you were just an engineer. That's fantastic. It must be so interesting, making rockets and engines and all sorts of things like that!" Because Adrien is a physics nerd but doesn't have time to study it.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Finally safe ground!
    "Oh, not rockets. That's pretty old stuff now. With Mr. Luthor's interest in extraterrestrial influences I'm tasked with investigating the various spacecraft propulsion systems we've seen with an eye out toward replication." Nancy animates and loses her awkwardness as she warms up to the topic. "Much of the actual physics is well beyond me; I'm more coordinator of the research now. I do some actual research of my own, of course, but mostly I evaluate and coordinate research on a wide variety of long-shot projects."
    She pauses.
    "Oh, I'm doing it again, aren't I? Nerding out. It's just that this is probably the area I'm most comfortable in these days." A gesture takes in the room. "I'm not great at social things."

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
"Oh! You're trying to reverse engineer alien tech?" Adrien says, sounding interested as Mr. Rand's phone rings and he excuses himself to the home-office. (OOC Note: Player had RL, needed to idle, disconnected) Adrien just gives the business contact a brief smile and nod. To Nancy's nering out, Adrien laughs, a warm sound, relaxed and easy.

"It's okay. The topic is facinating, so I don't mind hearing about it," he offers, polite and sincere. Because it's way more interesting than modeling.

In Marinette's room, the tablet is playing softly, volume down so it's just loud enough for the two kwami to hear it. They are curled up together in the warmth of the comforter, nearly all of the cheese items on the tray are eaten. One of the slices is on the bed, tucked under Plagg's paw as if it were little more than his favorite plush. There's a nibble taken out of the corner, but it's mostly uneaten. Plagg's eye are closed, his body lax safe for the occasional twitches of sleep.

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Marinette had, of course, paused to check on the little kwami while she was up there. What she found shocked her and made her smile. Good! It was working then!

The actual process of cleaning up was relatively quick. She hadn't really been -that- much of a mess. It was mostly just the flour needed off her face and she needed to change clothes.

Finally, the door to her room opens and shuts again, as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the occupants within, and then she's making her way downstairs.

Cutoffs and taken have been traded in for a dress that's layered and fae cut, the color bleeding from dark red to pink tones and then ending in white. She's paired ot with a pair of black and silver sandals with kitten heels. She's even left her hair down for a change!

"Ready for dinner?," is asked as she reaches the bottom of the steps.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Yes, reverse-engineering and in some cases perhaps improv..." Marinette's return cuts off Nancy's exposition, mercifully. "That is a gorgeous outfit," she blurts as Marinette arrives from upstairs. Self-consciously she looks at her own rather severe outfit. She pastes an insecure smile onto her face and adds, "And the food smells wonderful! What kind of cuisine is it? I'm going to be obvious and guess French, but I really don't know much about cooking."
    A safe little white lie, that.

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
Marinette's return cuts off Nancy and makes Adrien completely forget how to do much of anything, most notably how to close his mouth. He straightens from the counter he was leanly oh so casually upon. His eyes trail over Marinette from kitten heels (he loves kitten heels on her, just realizing by the way) to loose hair (ohmygod loose hair is really a wonderful thing).

He is a meme.

What I think I said: You look completely amazing, Marinette. Pawsitively purrfect, right meow.
What I really said: "Wow."

He doesn't even notice Nany's little white lie.

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Mari's eyes slide to Mamcy and she smiles. "Thank you. Took me forever to get the fabric dyed properly." And then a brow arches before she's nodding. "Oui. French food."

Adrien's reaction has a light blush touching her cheeks. "Better than flour, mon amour?," is asked playfully as she crosses the room towards the kitchen.

"Are you both ready to eat?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Eat. Yes, eating sounds lovely," Nancy says, awkwardness returning as she stops talking about things she knows. "I'm American, of course, so I don't know much about food." Another little white lie. "And I know even less about all the fancy utensils and such. Feel free to correct me if I'm using the wrong fork or something. I'm always eager to learn."
    Her engineering instincts take over.
    "How do you get that wonderful colour change going on?" she asks of the dress. "Is that a trick of the layering or is that actually the dye itself?"

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
Playful banter from Marinette makes Adrien unstick and he smiles as she draws near. Nodding, he looks over at Nancy in time to suddenly look confused.

"I thought you were Italian?" he asks, because Adrien assumed off the surname. And then, he inhales like he might say something else, before his eyes catch Marinette and Nancy gives him soemthing to answer instead of asking about Nancy's cooking.

"I think it's the dye, actually. Marinette is incredible with clothing."

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Marinette nods, confirming Adrien's words. "It's an actual dying technique, yes." The compliment makes her blush again and tuck her hair back. "I think you migjt be a tad bias, Adrien, but thank you," is said with a smile.

She motions towards the table. "Shall we then? I wouldn't worry to much about the silverware, honestly. As long as you enjoy the food."

Which reminds her. "The kitten is finally to a point where there's some food left over now," is said to Adrien as she's starts in to the kitchen.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Oh, no, I'm dyed-in-the-wool Brooklyn here. Grandma was Italian. Well, sorry, not Italian. There's no such thing as an 'Italian' except outside of Italy. Grandma was Tuscan. Grandpa was Ligurian (and you don't want to know the scandal that caused back then!). Mom and Dad were both New Yorkers: Dad's Manhattan, Mom's from Queens. But they met in ..." Nancy babbles but trails off as she realizes she's doing it. "Grandma just made sure I kept a few of the old country ideas alive is all," she summarizes lamely.
    "You have a kitten?" she asks, changing the subject jarringly. "Is it a piebald one, or a tiger-striped one or something monotone?"
    She sits down where designated as she asks, trying very hard not to clash with the chair. Perhaps red wasn't the best choice of colour for an evening out...

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
"Oh. That's right," Adrien says of Nancy's geneology thing, like it's coming back to him. It's been a while since the two chatted. He moves to the table when Marinette mentions to, eyes lingering on her for a moment. He smiles in something like surprise and relief and awe at the mention of the cat.

"Really? He didn't eat everything in sight? That's... wow. I never thought I'd ever..." Adrien just shakes his head in wonder, smiling. "You're the best, Marinette." To Nancy he pauses then smiles with a nod.

"Yes. a very small kitten. A black one. He's a pain in the butt most of the time, but... I can't imagine life without him anymore," Adrian says, lips quirking in a grin. He steps forward to get Nancy's chair and then turns to get Marinette's...

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
"He just needed a proper diet..." Marinette calls from the kitchen.

The first dish is brough in, carried on a large tray and set to the table. "He's a sweetheart. Absolutely adorable," Marinette adds of the little kitten. And then she's off to get more of the food.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Nancy shuts up for a change and watches the arrival of the food appreciatively. And for someone who "can't cook" seems to be taking an unusual interest in it, almost as if she's trying to catalogue ingredients, spices, cooking techniques, etc.

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
Adrien pulls out a chair for Marinette and turns to help her into it... and there's no Marinette! The model blinks, confused, starting to look around when her voice calls from the kitchen. His lips frown and his brows pinch. Why is she in the- OH! The frown clears in an instant and he moves to step forward, toward the kitchen.

"Do you want help? And that makes it sound like I don't know what to feed him, Mari. I took care of him, fed him what he wanted. And he is not a sweetheart. He's a menace," Adrien 'argues' about the cat.

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
It's really just traditional french food. There might be an odd spice here and there because of her mother but...

"I know you did, Adrien. What he wants and what's best aren't necessarily the same though. And help wiuld be fantastic, thank you." And then thete's a giggles. "He's an absolute darling."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Yep, sounds like a cat to me," Nancy says to Adrien's 'menace' comment. Her eyes dance with amusement. "A darling and a menace wrapped into one. I always wanted one but Ken said that ..." She stops dead, face darkening.
    "You have put the efforts of many restauranteurs to shame, Marinette," she chooses to say instead, her voice artifically level, as if being forced into shape. A bland smile is worn as she says it. "I may have to bring some of my favourite bistro's chefs here to learn from you."

Adrien Agreste (142) has posed:
With Marinette accepting his help and the girls both confirming that Plagg is an adorable cat, Adrien gives up with a smirk that fades into worry as Nancy cuts herself off. It's not the first time, and Adrien looks over at Marinette to see if she caught that also... as he pulls out Marinette's chair when all the dishes are brought to the table so everyone can eat.

Marinette DuPain (143) has posed:
Folding her skirts under her and settling into the chair that was pulled out, there's a slight nod of Mari's head. She caught it, yes.

There's a soft laugh from the young woman. "That's kind of ypi. Thank you. Hopefully it'll taste as good as it looks to you."