11815/Fair Trade - After Dinner

Fair Trade - After Dinner
Date of Scene:	29 June 2022
Location:	Empire State University
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Kitty Pryde, Peter Parker

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Kitty Pryde has posed:
Dinner at the little Italian restaurant was enjoyable for Kitty. After the table was cleared, Peter Parker had a chance to go through the rare Wonder Woman comic that had been the cause of the Jewish girl meeting him.

The bill settled, Kitty steps out onto the sidewalk, turning to wait for Peter Parker to emerge as well. The sun is down and the summer heat has cooled off a little. The streets are still fairly busy, though rush hour is tailing off as most people have made it home. Not that New York City bustle ever really stops.

"There's a little corner shop down the way that has ice cream. Maybe grab a pair of ice cream bars or sandwiches or something and then you can show me the pictures you brought?" Kitty Pryde asks Peter, turning to him and giving him a soft smile. "Park across the way we could sit in to look at them?" she suggests.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter did relax a bit at dinner, slowly, although there was still the occasional flush as a turn of phrase put his foot in his mouth. But he was polite, and attentive, a good listener. And generally spent as much time simply listening to and watching Kitty.

"That sounds like a great idea," replies Peter with a warm smile. "Ice cream, a nice walk in the park, oggling super heroes..." He laughs softly. "Lead on," he says, waving an arm in front of them to send her in that direction. He falls into step next to her once she starts.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde walks alongside the dark-haired young man, her hands slipping into her back pockets, her bag slung over a shoulder. "So how did you end up getting into that line of work, taking pictures of superheroes?" Kitty inquires as she glances over now and then at Peter.

"And during dinner, you mentioned Mr. Stark as if you were familiar with him. I didn't get a chance to ask, but I sense there's a story there?" she asks, torso twisting a bit to direct the question fully to Peter. "Something to do with school that you met him?" she asks.

People pass them by on the sidewalks, most not paying too much attention to them. Heading home, some carrying takeout. Others with laptop bags or briefcases. A lot of students, with ESU just there. Up ahead is the small ice cream shop, that has a window counter that opens on the sidewalk.

Peter Parker has posed:
The good thing going for Peter is that he has generally been nervous every time Kitty asked a question, or that he looked at her, so there was not anything unusual about the way he almost trips when she asks about the origins of his photography career. "Uh, I just liked doing it in high school, and I got lucky." He looks at Kitty. "I happened to be one of the first to get a clean photo of Spider-man, and the Bugle paid me a ton for it, and I guess..." He shrugs. "I started out lucky, and then just kept doing it, and got good."

Mr. Stark. It might appear that he is starting to sweat. Just a bit. "Yeah, so I think I mentioned, my Uncle died and my Aunt didn't have a lot of money saved up, so I applied for a scholarship and got it, and so I got to meet Mr. Stark and we kind of geeked out a bit over some tech." He smiles. "Guy pays for me to go to school, so I figured, you know, may as well be nice to him, right?" He flashes a grin, and leans over towards her, whispering a bit. "I get to go to his parties every once in a while. Let me know if you ever want to come. You might even get to a see a real superhero up close!" His enthusiasm is genuine - this isn't meant as a pick-up line. He seems to be starting to slowly calm himself as they walk.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's face lights up with interest as Peter relates both tales. She leans over to bump against his shoulder lightly. "Wow, that would be pretty cool," she tells him. Smiling, Kitty says in a light-hearted tone, "I didn't realize that I was sharing custody with someone who hobnobs with the rich and famous."

They reach the ice cream counter, and Kitty pulls out her phone. "Dessert is on me," she offers, and then orders herself an ice cream bar that has Nestle Crunch coating on the outside of it.

While she waits for Peter to place his order, Kitty picks up a small local newspaper that is sitting nearby in a stand. Her eyes skim over the headlines and her expression falls. It's not so much a newspaper as someone's oversized pamphlet. The headline is about the threat that mutants pose to normal, God-fearing folks. The other sections on the front page list different ways for people to get involved.

She doesn't read it fully, but long enough Peter won't have any problem scanning it sufficiently to pick up the topic. Kitty crumples it up and shows a little vigor in the way she throws it into a trash can. She turns back to pay.

Peter Parker has posed:
"Err," replies Peter, smiling warmly as Kitty bumps against him. "I wouldn't say I hobnob with the rich and famous." He laughs. "Usually when I'm at those things it's more about Miss Potts trying to make sure I'm not sneaking drinks." He grins, slowly relaxing a bit more. Maybe the contact helped. He is talking at greater ease. Also, less of a filter. Surely there were no reports of how Pepper was chasing Spider-man for doing that at Tony's birthday party.

"No, please..." offers Peter, but she beats him to the punch. He sighs, and then orders one of the Nestle chocolate dipped cones with peanuts on it. "Oh, wait, are you allergic?" Perhaps an odd question, but Peter thinks of these things.

As he watches the pamphlet's ultimate fate, Peter sighs deeply. "It tears me up to see that," he says softly. "Mutants are people, just like us. They have big hearts, bigger hearts than most, honestly, and I wish people would just leave them alone." There is an edge to his tone - an anger, and a sincerity. "Maybe if all people knew them better, it wouldn't be so bad, but so many people won't even give them the chance."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde pays and gets her ice cream bar, stepping away from the counter with Peter. "Nope, not allergic," she tells him. "Thankfully I don't have any major allergies. Even hayfever season is pretty light for me. Just a few sniffles," she says.

Kitty removes the wrapper and walks with Peter over to a crosswalk so they can cross to the other side of the street where the entrance to the park is. "Yes," she says with a little sigh and a glance back at the publication. "Lots of prejudice in the world. People always looking for someone else to blame when their life isn't how they want," she says, shaking her head.

Her free hand goes to the necklace about her throat without really thinking about it, fingers brushing the Star of David charm. The light changes so they can cross. A dog walker with at least a half dozen dogs follows behind them, a husky straining at the leash to get nearer to them so he can sniff the pair.

"I've seen some... well, yeah. Some pretty bad stuff like that," she says, frowning. "And it just, fuels more anger. A cycle we need to figure out how to break," she comments. "Sorry, I know it's not the most pleasant of subjects. Though, nice to hear how you view things," she says, flashing Peter a small smile.

Peter Parker has posed:
Following along with Kitty, Peter nods. "Good to know. I used to have allergies, actually, but then..." He pauses, and luckily enough it's by the crosswalk, so he can pause and use that to cover for his abrupt sentence ending. "Hold on," he says, putting up a hand in front of her as a car whizzes by probably a bit faster than they should. Then they continue.

"That's really what it is, isn't it?" He notices her fingers, and he knows the history there too. "Jealousy, is a lot of it. Or fear." He sighs. "Like how no matter how much good Spider-man does in this city, Mr. Jameson _still_ won't let him be, and keeps hounding him." This seems to have him slightly more worked up than the mutant conversation earlier, but only by a slight degree.

He drifts over a bit closer to Kitty as they walk along the path when other folks pass near. Either to clear space on the pathway, or some minor element of protectiveness. "I don't know that there is a way to break it, but I wish there was." He sighs, and then looks at her, returning the smile. "Why wouldn't I view things that way? Almost every mutant I've ever met has been great."

Sadly, Spider-sense does not work on speaking without thinking, and he looks away quickly, hoping that he doesn't need to explain _that_ one.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty doesn't seem to find anything unusual about the comment, or if so she doesn't show any reaction anyway. "I've never been a big fan of Jameson. Just a bit too blustery for my tastes," she says. "I've never really understood what he has against Spider-Man either. When he first showed up, I mean I read the stories and believed them at first. But after awhile you start to see a pattern in them. Or at least, I did. Seems like Spider-Man is helping people, a lot more than not," she says, with a little shake of her head.

"How about over there," she suggests, pointing towards a round fountain, the edge of it wide enough to make for a comfortable seat. If Peter likes the idea, she takes a seat. "Ok, Mr. Parker. Lay some of these pictures on me," she says, taking a bite of her ice cream bar.

Peter Parker has posed:
It is hard for Peter to suppress the smile as Kitty speaks to the truth of Spider-man. "Nice to hear how you view Spider-man," he murmurs, a near echo of her comment earlier. "He's really just trying to help," he says. "Certainly he's helped me - I pay my rent taking pictures of him!"

He slips down on the edge of the fountain, sliding over to sit next to her. His hip brushes hers for a moment before he shifts to give her a bit more personal space. "Sorry," he says, as he digs out his tablet. He powers it on and there is a photo on the lockscreen, an action shot of Spider-man looking right at the camera. He tabs in a code without seemingly concerned that Kitty is right there and watching (0862) and then pulls up his photo roll. He scrolls quickly and comes to a shot that has the SpacePort as back drop along with a bunch of dignitaries, aliens, and Wonder Woman clear in the center of the frame. "That's the one I was telling you about."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde looks away as Peter is unlocking the tablet, a conscious act to not see his passcode. She looks back as he has it unlocked, and scoots over closer to him to be able to see the tablet better without him having to turn it away from where he can see it.

"Wow, that's a great shot. What kind of camera do you use?" she asks him as she leans closer. "She's so statuesque. I mean it's wonderful and deflating at the same time, for another girl," Kitty says, though she's grinning and breaking out in a quiet laugh at her own words.

She leans down a little bit more, eyes searching the photo. Kitty hadn't been able to attend, though the sight of one of the Shi'ar brings a quick smile to her face. The grin grows a bit at some memories of Chancellor Araki at one of the feasts that Lilandra threw when the X-men were with her in space.

"Getting to hobnob with heroes AND aliens," Kitty says as if amending what she'd said earlier. She reaches up, resting her arm and elbow on Peter's shoulder so she can lean over better to view the photographs. "Did you get to speak to any of them?"

Peter Parker has posed:
There is not really much that Peter can do as Kitty leans over other than to let his arm move back behind her so it is not trapped, and give her room to lean in. It kind of floats behind the two of them, as he tries to set it back down on the fountain edge but realizes that doing that would definitely put it in contact with her backside, and he is not about to do that just yet.

"Oh, I've got a Nikon DSLR that has a great zoom, although for this posed one I wasn't that far away. The press box was pretty close to the action." He turns and looks at Kitty, a bit surprised at her comment. "Deflating how?" he asks, genuinely surprised. "I mean, sure, she's her, but..." He shrugs. "She's not really my type," he says, looking back to the tablet.

When her arm moves to his shoulder, his own finds a perch, slipping tentatively around her waist. It's a place to set it, of course, although his hand rests at the fountain itself, kind of at a diagonal around her. But giving her access to his side to lean. "Uh, well, sort of?" He thinks back, and flushes a bit. "Wonder Woman is the one who picked me to take this photo, and a couple of the X-Men were, uh, taunting me, I think?" He chuckles. "They seem like a fun bunch."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's attention is on the photo, but clearly she's listening to Peter Parker as she responds to what he said. "Really, tall and beautiful, breasts out to here and legs longer than the line at a movie theater on opening night," Kitty says. "So what is your type then?" she asks, though still seeming focused on the photo.

"Well that's awesome. I'd have loved to be able to be there and see it all," Kitty says. "Heck, would be fun to play around in their computers," she adds with a little chuckle.

"So what is it that you're wanting to do once you graduate? Have any specific career or companies picked out you're aiming towards?" she asks, finally turning her attention away from the tablet, to Peter himself.

Peter Parker has posed:
"I mean, she's lovely, and really nice, but..." Peter chuckles. Ok, Parker, even when you needed glasses you couldn't have missed these signs. You go toe to toe with the Green Goblin and crack jokes all the time. Just do it. "My type are girls with a sense of humor, who are passionate about what they believe in and genuine." He looks at Kitty. "The other stuff, I mean...it's what's inside that counts, you know?"

He laughs at the computer remark. "Oh, I doubt you'd have much success with that. I am sure they're computers are more secure than Fort Knox."

Her gaze coming back to him catches him a little by surprise, and she probably catches him quickly bringing his eyes back to hers. "Uh. I don't really know, honestly. I mean, I could always go and join Mr. Stark, he's said he always has a job open for me, but I just am not sure that's what I want to do with my whole life, you know? It's a lot of responsibility." Being an Avenger, that is.