1071/Raclette!

Raclette!
Date of Scene:	09 April 2020
Location:	Chelsea Residences
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Drew, Mason Tavner

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Jessica Drew has posed:
Two lozenges of light lay on the cobblestone yard behind the thick wrought iron rails that run parallel to the street. Vertical blinds, opened wide, block most of the view into the English basement.

Inside her office, Jessica has set up a Parson's table, courtesy of the local Goodwill that has four ladder back chairs pulled up to it. Besides the table setting and wine glasses, a strange half-crescent moon apparatus resting on a flat stone is set on one side of the table. It already has a half a round of raclette cheese speared on it, waiting for the heat lamp to be turned on. Next to it, under a cloche cover is a plate of sausage, ham and dried meats from the Alps of France, Annecy, specifically and a bottle of Pinot Gris from a vineyard not far from the Lac d'Annecy, Haute Savoie.

The flare of a match being lit, accompanied by the smell of sulphur and Jessica lights the tall white candle that grace the table. Stepping back, she admires the table then looks down at herself, brushing the flared skirt of her red dress before going back behind the counter that separates the kitchen from the half living room/office/dining room area.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    It is a foreign thing for Mason Tavner to stand in front of his mirror and ponder himself for longer than a handful of seconds. Even more rare for him to go back and change what he's wearing to try another glance into the silvered glass with hopefully better results. And yet here he was an hour and some ago, standing there trying to eyeball his 'look' and not knowing whether or not it would work or was suitable.
    At first he'd tried a few casual looks but then realized he was just wearing what he'd usually wear at work.
    Then he tried more formal but that looked way too much like he was heading off on some sort of psy-op drop box gig. Which... wasn't his speed.
    Until finally he decided on a burgundy sweater and some grey chinos with brown Italian shoes. It worked. Sort of. Then again he wasn't exactly a man with an eye for fashion.
    So when he arrived and stopped near the door of the address he'd been given, he paused there. Checked his breath with an exhalation into the palm of his hand. Then shook his head and seemed to ponder the door for half a second with raised eyebrows before he finally thumped his knuckles on the wood. Three times. Yup. Then the wait.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Not a long wait, it is a small room, the door opening directly into a narrow hallway that leads into the room, not luxuriously large but bigger than the street view might give. Jessica rises on the balls of her feet to give him a welcoming kiss on the cheek as she admits him into the room indicating the daybed couch as a place to sit in lieu of the dining table.

"Good right on time. No fashionably being late. Are you hungry?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
A timer pings in the kitchen and she excuses herself to pull a boule of French country bread out of the oven. Talking to him for over the counter, "Do you mind putting this dish out while I slice the bread?" She indicates the dish heaped with cornichons, pickled onions and cherry tomatoes. The sound of crusty bread being cut can be heard.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    "Hey there," Mason says as he accepts the kiss on the cheek and offers one of his own in return, very European perhaps. Or just affectionate. But he steps into the room, smiling to her as he brushes a bit of lint off his sweater, then sweeps a hand over it to make sure it hangs right.
    "Very hungry. Been looking forward to this."
    He smiles as he steps along that small hallway in her trail. There's a nod as he follows after toward the place she indicates to sit, but just before he heads there he says. "Oh hey," His hand catches hers and gives a gentle squeeze just as he's passing by. "Thanks for the invite."
    And he uses that as an excuse to stop her with that small touch to bring her attention back to him for a quick second over that counter. A second where he steals a more proper kiss, finding the corner of her mouth and then drawing back a little. "Sure thing."
    He then takes that dish and heads back to the table with it.

Jessica Drew has posed:
The bread receives quite a smile after his searching for a second kiss. She heaps the bread into a basket to place on the table, the smile still hovering at the edges of her mouth painted a rich red to match the color of her dress. A snick and the heat lamp is turned on.

"I will let you do the honor of opening the wine though guests normally don't do that," she says, standing near him, indicating the wine, overly conscious of how much she would like to kiss him. She hides it by handing him the bottle of wine and an opener.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    With the steady manner of a man who has had to perform this duty many a time, Mason takes up a place near the table, applying the cork screw and the bottle opener properly careful not to fragment the cork as he twists and gets it mostly set.
    "So are we celebrating a special occasion?" He asks idly, looking at her with a small smile at the corner of his mouth. "I heard that op in Brazil we hit had some meaty intel. But other than that..."
    There's that faint pop and then he takes up the bottle opener in one hand and the bottle itself in the other, walking over to claim the glasses and set them on that counter between them. "Or perhaps just celebrating we finally got some time off around the same time as each other?"
    The bottle tilts on its side, the wine gurgling faintly as he pours it into each glass. A hearty amount, to be fair.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Ah, no appetizers so you know. Just an arugula salad to finish with and a dessert. I didn't want to overload us," she answers, picking up her wine glass then lifting it slightly in a salute. "Celebrating having concurrent days off while in the same city. That's rare enough with how busy we've both been, don't you think?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Almost on cue with his mention of Brazil, 'Aguas de Marco' sung by a woman plays softly in the background.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    There's a faint clink as those glasses are joined for a brief instant, then he smiles and heads back toward the table, pulling up a seat so he can watch her while she works and still be close enough at hand to be of service should she need him.
    "Works for me." That said he looks at the spread, and perhaps evilly steals a bit of the dried meat and munches on it, "I'll make do. Somehow." That last said with a half-smile as if teasing her a little bit.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Come sit down," she indicates the chair in the middle of the table and she seats herself across from him. "Hand me your plate and we can get you started." With the edge of a big icing spatula she scrapes a ribbon of soft pale yellow cheese on to it and hands it back to him.

"Go ahead and put what ever you would like with it. Bon appetit!" Smiling she takes another sip of her wine before serving herself.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    "See now," Mason says in that low key lazy way of his, though smiling as he does so, "My personal understanding of you as an individual. It matters so much on this food being good. So be careful." He accepts the plate and then adds a few sausages and some of the dried meat to it, taking a little of this and a little of that as he looks across the way at her with a smile in his eyes.
    "One minute you're super cool in my eyes and then one misstep with the food, instant uncool." That said he smiles to her and then starts to indulge, slicing up bits and pieces of food and adding cheese in luxurious measure to it.
    A moment passes, he bites. Chews, then closes his eyes with a smile. "There we go. Moment of danger averted."

Jessica Drew has posed:
"I thought you would like it." A beat. "Because you're so cheesy." The clink of a knife on china punctuates the words and she doesn't hide her grin.

"I'm not that cool, Tavner. I think you may be cooler than I am. I do nerd and spider, pretty well. Add some street fighting and martial arts into the mix and you have the girl." The candles waver in a current of air as she rises to go into the kitchen. With a metallic clank, she pulls a heavy skillet out of oven and puts it on a trivet on the counter. A rich smell of baked apple laced with caramel wafts into the room to join the buttery cheese and the tang of the sausage and dried meats.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    "Oh man, all those points just lost for a bad joke." Tavner shakes his head sadly, smiling a little as he looks off to the side, his head drooping down a little as he lowers his gaze as if he had just witnessed a social train wreck in real time. But then he tilts his head to look back at her, nostrils flaring for a moment.
    "You've really pulled out all the stops though haven't you?" He chews on his lower lip and nods slowly with a thoughtful hesitation before he offers a few more words. "Now I'm gonna have to come up with something at least half as good when it's my turn to entertain."
    He leans to the side, trying to peer into the kitchen and get an eye on what she's doing.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Maybe I did pull the stops out." She catches his eye, "But I wanted to share a little of a favorite holiday I had in France once. A chalet on the edge of the lac d'Annecy and all of this."

She sweeps a plate out littered with the remains of the salad, goes into the kitchen to return with a tray with brandy snifters, a bottle of brandy and two large slices of the upside down apple pie so famous in France. "Normally the brandy is for afterwards but I like the two together. Calvados. Not from the same region but then neither is the tart or pie or what have you." Asking his permission before pouring with a dip of her head, she pours them both a modest amount of the brandy, passes it to him and slips his plate in front of him. "Enjoy," she says then takes a sip. Eyes downcast, she pauses a moment before rising and coming around the side of the table with her glass of cognac which she sips from again before leaning to kiss him.

"I...I just wanted to taste what that would be like."

Mason Tavner has posed:
    At the pouring of the brandy he had smiled to her, nodding once as he accepted it. Then he took a sip when she bids him to enjoy and for a time he does, smiling as his brow knits while he looks at the glass as if he had been duly surprised. Which hew as.
    Then she steps around to his side there, settling in next to him and there's a small kiss stolen. Just a brief touch of warm lips and that tang of the liquor as an aftertaste. It is a lovely thing to have one sense coming upon the other, creating a unique experience.
    His smile broadens a little, easing over a little just enough so their legs touch and he tilts his head to the side, "Well, if you like it... there's lots of brandy to be had in the world if each one will get me a kiss."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Looking him directly in the eyes, "I won't need brandy every time I kiss you."

Slowly, she angles her face to brush his lips with the plush of her own, then leans back to watch him a moment before rising to walk slowly back to her place. Picking up her fork, she gestures at the the slice of tart, "It's better warm."

Mason Tavner has posed:
    When she moves off he'll reach and catch her hand, smiling a little bit up towards her eyes when their gaze meets in that moment. He takes a deep breath, then lets his fingers slip from hers as she continues to walk back to her place. And that expression on his features seems to just tell her silently that he's only letting her get away from him for now. Perhaps not so easy later.
    "Most things are. Except ice cream. Ice cream soup though still good." That said he shakes his head as he looks back down at the meal, as if trying to remember what he was doing with it in the first place.