2013.09.15 - Dessert For Dinner

Hero Mux /*-Emma Frost-*\ - Saturday, September 14, 2013, 9:24 PM

Emma had to admit, she was very much looking forward to this dinner with the socialite Kate Kane. While they were at least casually familiar with one another as children, as a woman she always thought she grew up into quite the woman.

They were meeting in the high-end Italian restaurant Maialino. At the last moment, she called Kate and said that she would be a few minutes late for dinner, due to school business. When she did arrive, she was dressed in a white semi-sheer dress with ornate gold detailing swirling about, with her shoulder-length hair worn to one side.

She smiled when she spotted Kate, "I'm so sorry. Generally I'm never late, good evening."

Kate Kane, sadly, kind of had a habit of being late for dates like this ever since she started up her 'night job'. It had caused a lot of relationship issues. But now here she is, on-time, and she doesn't mind being the one who waits for once. She is dressed in a red, open-back gown with long skirts, and a white-satin sash about her waist that reflects the red of the rest of the garment, causing the sash to appear to shift between light pink and its actual coloration. Some red eyeshadow and lipstick accent her pale skin, and the naval star tattoo on her back is clearly visible when she is seen from behind.

She looks up upon hearing Emma's voice, a distracted expression immediately transforming into a smile when she sees the other woman. She rises from her chair and says, "And a very good evening to you, lovely Emma. It's fine, I'm usually the late one, and I haven't been here that long. Besides, waiting for YOU is worth it." She takes in Emma's outfit, how she has styled her hair, and all the other things inbetween and beyond, and then locks eyes with the blonde as she moves around the table to pull out Emma's seat for her.

Emma lifts a brow and graciously takes her seat, "Funny that, I'm usually early to everything. I guess we both have unusual behavior this evening."

She eyed her outfit and smiled, "So much red, I quite like your outfit."

The waiter approached and asked for their drink order, "Chteau Haut Brion Pessac-Lognan 1982."

She let out a soft laugh and adjusted herself in the seat, "I took a wild guess, and thought you might like red wines."

Kate grins and lilts, "Why thank you~." Then she returns to her own chair and seats herself. "I admit to having a fondness for this particular hue." She lifts a hand to gesture lightly towards Emma and says, "Though I find beauty in many colors and the faces and bodies that wear them." She takes a moment to rest her hands on the table and just sit back and LOOK at the other woman. She doesn't say anything, just takes her all in with her jade eyes. She's smiling the whole time, of course. Eventually, she thinks to reintroduce speech into this dinner date and says, "So, how has your day been so far? Have you been up to anything interesting?" Simple enough conversational topic. She can leave the flirtations aside for now. She wants to get a more in-depth knowledge of the woman that Emma is now.

Being gorgeous is fantastic, of course, but she hopes to find more than just a love of women to share with someone she knew as a child.

"Oh quite." Emma adjusted herself so that she was sitting straight, and placed a hand onto the table. As a small smirk sit at the side of her mouth due to Kate's staring, it was cute. "Oh quite. Put out a few fires with my company, and spend the majority of my day at the school."

She let out a sigh, and rested her chin on the back of her hand, "It's tough, many days. Running Frost International is more than enough of a challenge. But the school is my dream, so I make do. Regardless, just before coming here I was approached by one of my promising new students who asked for a more personal display of his abilities, he wants more direct tutoring."

And at that, no one nearby would hear their conversation. If they did wish to listen in, they were talking about anything normal and average. The joys of being a telepath. However to make Kate more comfortable, she lowered her voice and slightly leaned forward, "You see, I house and teach those with more unique abilities. Mutants, metahumans, humans with extraordinary abilities. It's quite challenging, and quite frankly fun."

The red-head listens, genuinely interested. When the topic changes to the revelation of the nature of the school, however, Kate's eyebrows go up a bit. She's surprises... But not in a bad way. "Back at the expo I thought it was great that you were giving kids the right direction early in life, so that we wouldn't need to make prisons like Mister Queen was coming up with -- both holding facilities and places to teach or re-teach adults things they should have received or learned sooner. While there are plenty of people without abilities who engage in criminal activities, I think those who do have them immediately feel a degree of isolation... And are almost assured to be treated differently -- especially poorly -- by others. Growing up is hard enough without that added layer of complexity."

Kate gazes off into the distance for a moment, before returning her gaze to Emma. She is also keeping her voice down, but the last thing she has to say, at least, doesn't need to be hidden in her opinion. "Your school is definitely something to be proud of."

The wines arrived and she took a small sip. It wasn't the type of wine she normally enjoyed, but the taste was quite pleasing to her lips, "Thank you, really. I am interested in Queen's project. Not sure how actually feasible it will be, in the end but I'm interested in anything that will shake up current society, but in a good way."

She turned her eyes down to the display of flowers in the middle of the table, "I agree. I have a few students who spring to mind who got involved in criminal activities who were talented, just life dealt them cards they weren't quite ready to deal with. I personally select each and every student who is accepted and receives a scholarship. They must be bright (even if it is without a proper education) and unique in some way. I tell them and I mean it, I view them as the future of tomorrow."

She opened the menu and took a quick glance, as the waiter waited for their meal orders, "Fruta Mare Ensalata, thank you."

Though there is plenty of reason for Kate to be a cynic, she really isn't. At least not about some things. The potential to truly 'fix' the world is something she has major doubts about just because people NOT being completely awful to each other seems to go against human nature itself. Even when it's not intended, people hurt each other. And when they intend it, it hurts really, really bad. Pain is an excellent teacher, but it also leaves damage behind -- and not just the physical kind. What would the world be like if people learned not from pain but from pleasure? Positive reinforcement? A hug instead of a spanking? A kind word instead of a cruel one? An explanation instead of a shouting match? Walking away instead of fighting?

It would be a world in which Kate Kane didn't exist, probably. Or at least not the Kate that sat here now. Her twin sister died in a shoot-out following being kidnapped when they were little. How much had that pain shaped her? Probably 100%. Playing the blame game wouldn't fix anything, but the destructive impulses of humans came from somewhere and people had to be held accountable. So, while she does have hope that Emma's school will succeed... On one level that she is loathe to admit to, it is because she would be glad to have that much less pain to deal with. She seems lost in her thoughts as Emma orders, staring at her menu, and likely taking some verbal prompting to get her attention. If none is offered, eventually she looks up, blinks a couple times, and says, "Uhh... Hot fudge sundae, please."

Then she smiles at Emma lop-sidedly and shrugs helplessly. "I have a sweet tooth."

Emma held out her hand to stop the waiter, "That sounds like fun, I'll take the same thing."

Why be an adult if you can't occasionally have dessert for dinner? Emma as a rule read the minds of those around her. For better or for worse, she knew quite a bit about those around her. While she didn't quite know Kate's secret, parts of her mind seemed closed off she was beginning to see a very interesting mind in front of her. Her favorite kind, and it had similar thoughts to her own "Enough about me, give me the chance and I'll talk about myself so much your ears will fall off. What about you? What catches the lovely Kate Kane's attention?"

Kate looks slightly embarassed. "I spaced out for a bit there, huh? It's okay if you talk about yourself. I like your voice." She's grinning again, her darker introspection abandoned for now. "But if it's my turn... I seem to spend a lot of time going to various functions and fancy events and so on. It's not entirely something I want to do with my life, but I'm the heiress so I need to make sure to keep up appearances and all of that. Otherwise I'd just spend all my time coming up with new and ever more scandalous things to give the well-to-do reason to wag their tongues over." That or wag her own tongue in an entirely different sense.

"I keep apprised of what's going on in Gotham and around the world... I keep looking for opportunities to help out. Earth isn't a very happy place, and I think that no matter how small or how large, we should all do what we can to change that. Whether that means donating to charities or romancing pretty blondes, I'm going to do my part." She then looks pointedly at Emma, her gaze dipping a bit before coming back up. "...Do my part and then some, in some cases." She then pulls a hand out from under the table and hands over a smallish blue box with a cyan ribbon around it. "Given what we ordered for dinner I'm glad I decided against a gift of chocolate. It might have been overkill."

A smile spreads across her mouth, she had met quite a few heiresses in her day. Some were just out to party, others to know the business, and others were all of the above. There was no wrong answer out there, but she tended to respect more than the other. She rested her elebows on the table and leaned forward, bring her face a bit closer to Kates, "Then I have another question to ask. Should I open a branch in Gotham? I know the environment, but I know there is potential there. The world does, of course. You know it more then I do. Say the word and it's done."

She let out a soft giggle as she received the gift and opened it, "Oh this is lovely! Thank you. Could I trouble you to put it on for me?"

Kate is starting to sip at that wine finally, when she hears about setting up a branch in Gotham. She gets immediate mixed feelings. On the one hand, it does actually sound like a good idea. There are a lot of kids who could use guidance. But the number of ones with special abilities seems to be lower than in places like Metropolis... It tends to be more about mental illness or growing up in the crime-ridden streets, or coming from broken homes, and the like. Another feeling she gets -- concern for the safety of such a branch -- surprises her a little. She doesn't want to see Emma experience pain and disappointment because some crazy decided it'd be a swell idea to cause problems at her school. Seems she's already getting attached to the other woman.

She decides to just voice her thoughts out loud. "Would you be taking in only those with unique talents? There are a lot of kids who could use help, but I don't know how many fit the criteria you mentioned before. I know one person can only do so much, but when I think about all the ones who might be left out just because they only have their wits and what they learn on the street to survive with, and not any special abilities... I think it's a good idea either way. But I think I'd like to help make sure the branch is all that is can be. Maybe I can donate or help get PSAs out and so on." The red-head shrugs.

Details to discuss another time. This is a date, not a business meeting. She puts the matter aside when when she sees Emma's reaction to the present. All seriousness vanishes as she almost leaps up to help as requested. Moving behind Emma, she takes the ends of the necklace, putting her arms around the blonde and then drawing the jewlry up with her fingertips so she can remain close and clasps it behind Emma's neck. "I'm glad I guessed right. I had to measure by the mere sight of your lovely neck when I ordered it made." She stays behind Emma for awhile longer, turning her hand over and brushing the backs of her fingertips down the side of the other woman's throat.

Their order of double fudges arrived a bit early, since it was such a simple meal. And it did indeed smell delicious. As it arrived Emma was completely confident in her meal. Emma was very sure of every decision she ever makes, and nothing was different that evening, "I take on talents of every kind, mutant, meta, human every. Each are important for many reasons. Were I to open a small branch, would you be interested in running it?"

As Kate helped with her new necklace, she tilted her head to the side to brush subtly just against her hand and as she helped put the piece of jewelry on. It was an odd gesture for her, she received gifts often. But so well delivered on top of someone so interesting on top of this, Emma was interested. She cared not about the fudge before them, or anyone in the restaurant and rose to touch her hand on hers, her blue eyes just reaching her stunning green pair, "No stress. But you clearly know the area. And I would be more than willing to... help in the limitations in your education knowledge. This is a decision you should not take lightly."

Kate looks back into Emma's eyes from where she stands behind her. To help in a way that doesn't involve violence? She simultaneously wants such a thing desperately and yet realizes that a lot of her pain and anger that she diffuses through her work on the mean stress of Gotham would no longer have an outlet. She enjoys beating up bad guys, and yet all this has got her thinking things like, 'what if I could help them without having to do that first?' It also has her thinking, 'Just how much time would I actually have to devote to running a school if I tried to split my time between the two?' This IS a serious subject that she shouldn't take lightly. But she's only somewhat thinking about these things.

Right now, she's more focused on Emma's eyes. She leans down, bringing her face closer and closer, and with one hand brushes aside Emma's hair from her ear. Then she whispers, "I'm interested, but you're right. I should take the time to think about it and make sure." Her red lips just barely touch Emma's skin before she straightens up, allowing her hand to slip away with great reluctance, and then returns to her seat. "I am deeply honored you'd even offer to entrust something like that to me. But I want to make sure there's nothing that would interfere with me doing what I'd need to in a position like that. For tonight, I think we should focus on the sweet things we should put in our mouths." Then she lifts her spoon from her sundae and says in an all-innocence tone, "Oh, and the icecream too." Then she slowly licks the vanilla and chocolate from the spoon.

Maybe Kate doesn't have a one-track mind, but it's clear her thoughts and feelings aren't going to stray too far from the subject of her date for the moment.

Emma felt as if her heart skip a beat as Kate's hand was so close to her face. She has quite a few suitors who deem themselves worthy of her attention. Whether they deserved it was quite rare. There was a quiet intensity to Kate that Emma enjoyed, and what should could casually pick up from her mind kept her interested.

She took her place again at the table,"No answer needed today or tomorrow. After speaking to you, you know Gotham. We /both/ know there are troubles in Gotham, but it has potential. It always has."

She took a bite of her fudge, and subtly lifted her eyebrows as she lowered her voice, "Could always skip ice cream."

Kate is feeling similarly. Every time her thoughts stray to other topics, they come right back to the lady across from her. It feels like there's definitely something special here or at least more interesting a connection than is typically the case. She sees herself in Emma in some ways, but also things she wishes were part of her (no innuendo for once). When Emma so willingly suggests they bypass the icecream, Kate's smile broadens. She licks her lips, glances at the icecream sadly for a moment, because, you know, it's ICECREAM with CHOCOLATE, but then she decides. After one decently large spoonful, savoring the taste, she uses her napkin to clean her mouth this time and starts getting back to her feet. "Sounds like a plan. Unless you had an idea as to where to go already, I know a place nearby..."

Any thoughts that Emma would be getting from Kate at this point would be... 'Racey' to put it mildly. Though there is one brief moment as she's lifting a finger to indicate to the waiter she's ready to take care of the bill, where a stray thought inserts itself into the mix of OTHER things.

.oO(I wonder if they can give us refrigerated to-go containers for the icecream.)

Emma gestured for the waiter to come over, "We'll need these to go thank you."

Ther desert for dinner was quickly packaged up. She took the bag of food and slid it onto her arm as she led Kate of of the resturaunt, with an arm slid across her waist, "I live here now. Of course I know a place."

There was something about this girl. There were obvious dirty thoughts of course, but something that she just couldn't quite place yet. Perhaps a fellow rich girl with a rebel streak, a notion to change the world, or something else entirely. She made it a top priority to find out what exactly in that is. And she would relish in the investigation.