11256/A Tower by any other name!

A Tower by any other name!
Date of Scene:	21 May 2022
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Janet's visit has Pepper not only picking the best of the best of designs, but also getting ALL the good gossip!
Cast of Characters:	Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, Janet van Dyne

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Pepper Potts has posed:
Not a great day in the City of New York. Dark, overcast skies make for some difficulties to having open air events. It also makes it a touch harder to enjoy one's amenities that are out on the extended balcony. So, the party comes in, after a fashion.

Dressed down in comfortable slacks, a form fitting tank top is covered by a light fabric button-down shirt, gathered at her hips in a quick and loose tie. Her hair is down, and she's in barefeet. Comfortable. Doesn't mean she doesn't have a touch of makeup on, just to highlight her eyes, her cheekbones..

She has a glass of wine in hand, and she's walking across the small distance to the couches that are beside the dark fireplace.

"I have a call out to Carlo's, and they should be here within the hour."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony is standing at the big window overlooking the dreary weather conditions summoned up for them in New York City. Wearing a black suit-jacket over a vintage Primus T-shirt that's tucked into his slacks. Likewise barefoot, he stands with one hand in his pocket and the other around the glass of scotch displaced by a single ice cube which clanks against the sides of said glass when he gives it a little swirl in response to Pepper's announcement.

One finger extends out from his glass, held aloft and pointed towards the window, "This reminds me that I should really start collecting more meteorological data. Jarvis, make a note that I want to revisit the Snow-Man project."

"Yes sir." The disembodied voice announces dutifully as he turns to pad barefoot over towards the bar to refill his drink after finishing off the contents.

While he might not particularly well versed in the design world, it is without any doubt that Tony Stark has been to his fair share of fashion shows. Obviously his situation has changed dramatically since then... But he still doesn't look like the notion of joining is completely abhorrent. "What's the overhead on me redirecting a few of the low orbit satellites for a weather experiment?"

Janet van Dyne has posed:
<Miss van Dyne has arrived,> JARVIS informs the room.

The elevator door *whooshes* open and the socialite steps into the penthouse with her usual bravura. "Everyone can relax; I'm here," she says, making her own announcement. Janet's outfit is on the bold side: a high-waisted bell skirt, sharply pleated and covered in extravagant primary colors, and a dress blouse in an eye-searing shade of salmon pink. It's sapphires and rose gold for jewelry, eaerrings and a ring, and four-inch black Ferragamos. Even her makeup is a little nod to the ensemble, bringing out the youth and blush in her olive-toned complexion.

Pepper's near and Janet moves over to her with a smart step, giving her a familiar hug in greeting. Janet looks down at Pepper, then at Tony, then gives Pepper glance from under a lifted brow. "I'm not going barefoot," she says immediately. "Tony I hope you're prepared for the evening, Pepper's getting a sneak peek at the fall line," she informs the billionaire. Janet looks around the room, trying to decide something and swinging her clutch loosely against her opposite palm. "Where's the console? I have the designs loaded here," she says, and digs out a holographic data disk. 'Fall 2022- TOP SECRET' is written on masking tape in bold black Sharpie ink.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Satellite imagery should be pretty easy to get. Taking some of the weather satellites?" Pepper shakes her head as she settles on the couch, her leg folding underneath her as she does so. She's turned green eyes to the handsome man in suit, still talking, her expression both fond and amused. "We could always send up our own?" But, then again, Tony could probably log into the entire system and 'borrow' them for a few days.

'Experiment'. Pepper frowns briefly as the word is finally caught and the meaning filtered down. "Experiment? As in.. seeding clouds experiment, or.. something m-"

JARVIS' announcement, however, cuts her off in mid-thought, and she sets the mostly undisturbed glass of white wine down onto the coffee table as she rises again, ready to greet her friend.

"Janet," Pepper enthuses as she meets her, the hug is added to with the double cheek air kiss. "So glad. You look.. amazing." Like usual. She laughs as she looks down; there's feet.. and toes. "Oh, no." and the thought is waved away. "Just.. relaxing."

Twisting around to check on Tony again, she gives him that bright eyed look before returning to her friend. "I am very excited about this.. and the console is over there." She gestures in the direction of a small table that is near the great glass plated wall that overlooks the balcony and the vista that is NYC. "No one can look in. Promise."

Tony Stark has posed:
After refilling his glass, Tony leans against the bar with his phone in one hand. He's nodding to what Pepper's saying to him, but that would be about the only way anyone would know he's listening to anything that isn't on that screen. Since that's where his eyes are glued. "I think I'll send up a few more." A few is a loose numerical representation of however many he needs, which could vary wildly at any given second.

He doesn't have a chance to get into whatever project he's drawing up, what with Jarvis announcing Janet, and even looks up from his phone to greet her with a grin. Glass held up in salutations before lowering along with his gaze to the device in his hand.

After a few more seconds, it's slipped into his back pocket with him pushing away from the bar. Rattle, clanking his glass up for a sip. "I'm thinking of bringing sandals and socks back." Offering Janet a side hug greeting 'sitch. "I promised Pepper I'd run it past you before I commit, but I'm really thinking enough time has passed on that douche trend to necrotize it."

Pepper has pointed out the console and he just nods in a vague 'that way' direction. "Yeah, I've got my best security guy on the job tonight. Only thing that slips past Happy is promotions."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet accepts the half-hug with a tolerant expression and a thin smile, shaking her head at him ruefully. "Hey, I /like/ Happy," Janet observes in the guard's defense. "He's very thoughtful. Always asks the room before going on a food run. Speaking of, who do I have to screw to get a drink around here?"

The socialite moves to the holographic system and inserts the data disk. There's a hum, a *whir*, and then wireframe mannedquins start populating the room with ensembles of light projected around them. Fashion-forward options for the city professional on the go; evening gowns and cocktail dresses; some deceptively flattering casual wear; and a selection of maternity clothing. A beaming smile of pure pride crosses Janet's face and she walks back into the middle of the room, spinning smoothly on the ball of one foot and making the mannequins float and dance along with her. "I am going to -wreck- them at Milan this year," she declares, and pushes one of the mannequins away. The virtual wireframe sails into the distance and vanishes in a sparkle of light, only to be replaced by a new one sporting a different dress entirely.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Just don't say 'experiment', please? Not before.."

And there he is, back into his work. Pepper exhales in an indulgent sigh before looking at Janet, making quick eye contact. It's obvious, or should be, how fond she is of Tony. How in love she is with him.

"Okay, now.. what would you like?" It's Pepper that'll get the drink, and as she approaches, she gives Tony a quick kiss and a whisper in his ear before sending him from the room. Now, she can tend the bar, and as Janet brings up the data, she's watching, also attentive.

"Oh Janet.. those are amazing," is breathed. "I'm definitely coming this year."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Anything but bourbon," Janet says, looking at her designs. A fingertip taps at her lower lip in thought, the silent metronome betraying the beat of her considerations.

"Well this obviously isn't for you, but--" Janet moves to the 'Maternity' mannequin, helpfully labelled as such by giant floating letters above it. She pushes it away to the left and it vanishes while another swings into place, like she's sorting them on the worlds' biggest carousel.

"Here we go. I've been wracking my brain for how to break into the India market. It's tough," she admits. "But then I got the idea, I don't have to sell these in Mumbai. I just have to get the diaspora in New York to start wearing them." She sets the mannequin aspin in a lazy arc, putting a beautiful saree-style dress on display. "It's a saree for white people. It's all sewn together, one piece. And in production we can add a little fabric here, and here, and--" she tugs and pulls at virtual cloth and it settles comfortably loose around the display model. The wireframe's belly expands to someone well into their third trimester; the saree still fits quite nicely and the vividly appealing colors help break up any direct lines.

"Peggy's getting the first one off the rack. What do you think?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
"No." See how the word comes flowingly off the tongue? Pepper uses it so often that it's second nature. "Not likely." Not that she //can't//, she just isn't in a position and therefore, won't.

Pepper makes a martini, then, and once completed, adds the olives before bringing it over. Handing it, she watches as the model manniquin swells into that third trimester, and brows rise. The mention of Peggy, however, allows her to breathe a little easier. "Very pretty. I like the lines, and the draped folds."

Pepper moves around the model rather than swiping at it, and nods slowly, "That'd be nice for a red carpet, I think. The season is beginning again."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Never say never, Pepper darling," Janet says-- but her grin's a mischevious, teasing one, gently needling the redhead right in her sensible pragmatism.

Janet comes around to the model Pepper's examing and nods approvingly. "Good choice. I call this the ankh cut," she says. It's a sleek, close-fitting number that glimmers with shades of silver and cyan depending on how the light catches. The neckline covers from the collarbone down, but the arms and most of the bare back are left exposed. "This is for the Met," she agrees, and touches the haptic controls to engage a hidden option. Abruptly, a *lot* of the dress disappears; the front now indeed looks like an ankh, leaving most of the belly, hips, back, waist, and shoulders all exposed. "But my design team talked me out of it. Said the room reads were going for something a little more, uh..." she nosewrinkles. "Conservative this year."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper smirks, the expression reaching her eyes easily, "No." She shakes her head and looks back at the dresses. "Getting a little too old and set in our ways," she softens, finishing the explanation. "You first." A challenge and a gentle tease, all in one!

It's to the dresses again, and she's eying the one that she'd called the 'ankh', nodding her acknowledgment. "Too risque for the Met? Really? I wouldn't think so." Pepper chews at the inside of her cheek, considering. "I like that one too. Oscars, perhaps? For next year?"

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Are you kidding? Me and Steve?" Janet lifts a brow at Pepper, but there is just a *hint* of color in the pool of her throat. "We can barely find time to screw, let alone go out on dates like normal people. Kids on top of that? He's got a full-time girlfriend, and her name is SHIELD. Sometimes I feel like his piece of side tail. So don't be holding up waiting on me for a gender surprise party, whatever the hell that is."

Janet sips (gulps) down her martini and pulls an olive off the skewer with her teeth, munching happily. "Look, the Met is where all the old blue-blooded biddies in their 90s show up to remind the city who owns this town," Janet tells Pepper. "It's all about the... y'know, the Astors and the Rockefellers trying to flex on the Sbarros. And you do that by showing up at a fancy party looking hella swanky, and donating a few hundred thousand to struggling artists."

"The *Oscars*, on the other hand-- absolutely hells to the yes," Janet says. "I heard last year there was a catfight backstage. I only sent ten JVD bags out," she says with a gleeful grin. "And kept the names off six of 'em. You in a van Dyne dress, you're going to have them eating out of your -palm-."

She flicks through a few more options, some of them neatly styled but relatively simple cocktail dresses, and other gowns a fantastic display of artistic creativity-- including a nearly skin-tight full-body dress in pearl and silver, complete with a mermaid tail hem around the ankles and a hat that a small car could shelter under. "This is 'My Fair Lady, lookit dat ass'," she proclaims, and spins the mannequin around with a flick of her fingers. Indeed, the tight dress leaves almost nothing to the imagination!

She leans around the holoprojection. "Any of these blowing your skirt up yet? I feel like you tricked me into leading with the really good stuff."

Pepper Potts has posed:
A laugh exits the redhead, and she shakes her head. "Exactly when did you ever think you were like 'normal people', Janet? When we get take out and Armand delivers it?" A Michelin star chef as delivery boy! "Enjoy it and embrace it." Pepper's tones drop a touch conspiratorially, "Just whisper in his ear."

A grin remains behind from the earlier laugh, and Pepper takes the side trip to retake her own glass of wine that she'd left on the coffee table. Finally, she's back and around, looking through the manikins as if in a showroom. "That's easy." Guess who heads the Maria Stark Foundation? Lots of money there, and specifically geared to the arts. "All those 90-somethings love Tony. He charms them like no other." Though, in comparison, the Stark pedigree isn't anywhere near as long as the Astor, or Rockefeller.

Another laugh sounds, and it's enough that Pepper's shoulders rise to claim it. "Oh, that didn't happen.. did it?" She's honestly all about the gossip at times, and it's just so nice to be able to be, well, human, around one of her best girlfriends. That includes being a touch catty. "You didn't.. that is.." and she laughs all over again. "You //know// I'll wear something of yours. And if that's the case?" She's not above it.. not always.

Still, she's wandering, and an off the shoulder, black and paneled dress catches her eye. It has a wide white 'collar', but it certainly sits low enough for a bit of decollage. The panel cut-outs are in the back, allowing for a nice, slim line. A new version, and a very slinky one, of a LBD.

"This.." and she spins it. "For the shareholder's dinner next month."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"JARVIS, upload Pepper's wireframe to, uh--" she squints at the label over the mannequin. "Jesus. Nine...alpha-six... two-three-two-fou--"

<Nine alpha six two-three-two-four,> Jarvis repeats without any hesitation. The wireframe twists and adjusts size, matching Pepper's posture perfectly. Extra emitters come online to give the display some color in her skin and eyes, and even a few of Pepper's preferred hairstyles are loaded in.

"I'd drop the hemline an inch and pick some more conservative shoes, but this would do you well," she agrees. "Classy, understated, sexy but not slutty. I mean if you -want- to go slutty--" Janet makes a scissors motion and 'cuts' the virtual fabric down to the navel! "Bam, tits out in two seconds."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Thank you, JARVIS," Pepper responds easily. The AI has studied Pepper for so long, so many years, it's very much like one of those oft-mentioned but never seen Life Model Decoys. Uncanny, really.

"Oh, I like that," and with the hemline's rise, and the shoes, Pepper nods. "This is.." A laugh bubbles out again, and she shakes her head, "Not for the shareholders, Janet." Though.. "But, if you could stitch a break front, and have it hidden?" For later? The redhead is nothing if not, well.. she's alive, and she does like surprising Tony on occasion.

"It might be a way to apologize to him for having to go to the dinner to begin with."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Ooh, I like the way you think," Janet applauds her friend, her clapping palms softly echoing around the room. JARVIS helpfully cues up an 'Applause!' sound riff and acclamations descend from the speakers concealed in the hardwood. "I'll put a little coil wire in there, it's an invisible thread," she explains. "You'll pull it like a ripcord and--" she holds her palms up to her chest facing outwards and waggles some jazz hands.

She drains her martini and moves to the bar for a refill while Pepper looks at the rest of the merchandise. "Any other big events coming up soon? Weddings, parties, holidays? I've got some pretty hot funeral outfits. I mean, for you, not for the, uh--" she gestures vaguely at the ground. "Stiff. That'd just be weird."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Unlike what Janet has lamented, Pepper does have something of an active love life. It's just that sometimes she has to remind Tony that it's okay to come out of the workshop sometimes! Her smile hints at that and she nods her approval at the dress modifications. "Perfect. Put me in for one." Which may or may not mean that any others either won't hit the market, or will be in such short supply that there is no chance that two people will be wearing the same dress at the same event.

Pepper loves the individual shopping; it's the pretty dresses, the red carpet evening gowns that catch her eye more. Her every day business suits are a no-brainer. She's well suited (pun!) and all that is required to update that particular wardrobe are new jackets, and the occasional new A-line.

"Tony's birthday is the end of the month. Of course, we're going to have a party for him on the yacht." She considers, "The baseball game, though I don't think that'll be like a day at the Ascot." Pepper is actually looking forward to that, given her tone. "The summer formals. Stockholder dinner.." which has already been considered. "Of course, your presence in Milan."

Once she's done looking, Pepper has full faith and trust in her friend to find the necessary looks, now that they've talked 'shop'. Once done, Pepper moves back towards the bar, following her friend at some distance, her wine glass emptied.

"Now," and she begins again, "You have to tell me who got into the cat-fight at the Oscars.."