13296/Peak Dining

Peak Dining
Date of Scene:	07 November 2022
Location:	Peak Restaurant, NYC
Synopsis:	Pepper Potts and Janet van Dyne catch up after the Adventure of the 10-Year-Old Avengers!
Cast of Characters:	Janet van Dyne, Pepper Potts

---

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Peak NYC is one of the hottest restaurants in the city. It sits atop 30 Hudson, one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan and commands unparalleled views of the city's landmarks, including the Flatiron Building and the Empire State.

It is where Janet's invited Pepper Potts for dinner, and the restaurant has accommodated the privacy of the two women by quietly striking several tables and offering them a discreet corner with the best views of the city beyond.

Janet gets there a little early. It's dark enough outside to drive home that winter has arrived, and the socialite's dressed for inclement weather in her own fashion-conscious way. A men's camelhair suit jacket serves as a winter coat with a boldly unorthodox outline, paired with a white turtle neck, white thigh-high boots, and a skirt with a hem brief enough to conceal under the jacket's panels. The host intercepts her at the door with a warm welcome and walks Janet back to the table to get settled, while her assistant ghosts along in his typically unobtrusive way.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper isn't too far behind, that is to say, right at her heels. She'd had Happy drive her with the instructions that he could return home, and that she'll find her way, thank you. Tony is doing, well, Tony things now that he's no longer a 10 yr old. Quantum physics and high level maths have been too long ignored, and thus?

Pepper is on a dinner date with someone who is inarguably one of her best friends. The other, a friend from Uni. She, too, is dressed for the occasion; a dark-colored woolen cloak that hangs to her knees and has a proper wrap is settled upon her lithe frame; beneath, of course, is Janet-designed clothing. Upon her feet, her pumps.

"This is perfect. I might even have a Mimosa tonight." No, better yet? A very dry martini. With olives.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Hug hug, kiss kiss, the banal little formalities of New York's aristocracy are observed once the two women are joined at the table. However, Janet makes no disguise of her happiness seeing Pepper arrive, and genuine affection accompanies the expressions she offers.

"Pepper Potts, enjoying a drink?" Janet grins mischievously at the redhead. "Though we missed the chance to really lean into some adolescent bad behavior," she informs her, taking the seat opposite Pepper's. "Drinking's much more fun when you're underage, and who knows when *that* will happen again?" Janet crosses her legs neatly to one side and accepts the menu passed to her by the busboy. "I thought I'd ask the chef to surprise us tonight," Janet tells Pepper. "Though it'd be a crime not to start with some oysters and caviar," she supposes.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Those even in partial view might consider such a ritual as contrived, but there is a warmth in the air with the pair, and any thought should be quickly dispelled. Pepper's smile holds genuine affection for the other woman, and as they find their seat, her brows rise with a distinct flair of wry amusement. "It was bad enough that I ate so much junk," she mourns. "I don't think I can even look at another ice cream soda, much less pizza. Or burgers. Or.." She's ticking off all the //distinctly fattening// stuff, without a mention of lemon grass smoothies anywhere to be had.

"That will //never// happen again," Pepper laughs, green eyes gleaming, "And if that was the case, I am not sorry you missed all of it." She's most definitely enjoying herself and the laughed banter.

"A surprise would be amazing. As would the oysters and caviar. I was considering a martini, but I think this really should be paired with champagne."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet laughs merrily at the commentary from Pepper. "Oh god, I just had this mental image," she titters. "A little roly-poly Pepper at 10 years old, ice cream in one hand and a ...corn dog in the other," she snickers. "Hair in barely-constrained braids. Like that, uh... that one girl, from the books. I think she had freckles...?" Janet ventures, nose wrinkling in thought.

She's saved from rumination by the head waiter arriving, and she raises an apologetic finger at Pepper to place their order. "Oysters and caviar, a bit of everything," she requests of him. "And a bottle of Dom, the older the better. Though I won't turn down a good Taittinger if your sommeliere feels strongly about it," she tells him. She casts a brow over to Pepper to gauge the redhead's preferences for their appetizers.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Pippi Longstocking?" Pepper helps, adding in the visuals by gesturing at her head with both hands, ears and straight out to the sides. "No." The word just falls so trippingly off the tongue. "I don't think I gained weight," her tones turn to something a little bit self-conscious as she looks down, but relief floods that lean, adult face soon enough. She leans forward, "Tony did cut my hair. I remember letting him. I thought it was a good idea, thinking that it'd keep me from getting more maple syrup in my hair." She smiles at the memory and shakes her head soon after, "Clint made pancakes for us all. I had some maple syrup with a little bit of pancake."

Janet's order absolutely has her approval, and turning her face towards the waiter, she nods, concurring. "That is perfect, thank you." There are some things that Pepper will certainly trust her friend with; one is fashion and the other is fine dining. As far as the first, it is what her friend is and does, lives and breathes. The second, well.. she relies on others. Her chef at SI, and the catering at the upper-crust gatherings that she has to attend with (or without) Tony.

As usual, Pepper is more than happy to allow Janet the lead on this. She's never been disappointed!

"So, I am NOT going to regale you with the goings on of a 10 year old. Even though I did discover a different side of Clint."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet pouts at Pepper. "Oh, c'mon, you can't dangle that bait in front of me and then not share," Janet protests. She shifts around in her seat a bit, twisting at the spine and interlacing her fingers on the table. Of course Janet can't quite sit like a normal person, because who would see her boots if they're tucked away?

"I mean-- Clint's a sweetheart deep down," she points out. "Yeah, he comes across like a hardass, but I get the sense there's a heart in there. He's so quiet about his personal life though, I don't even know if he's got family," she admits. "Mom and dad, some old girlfriend hidden away in ... North Dakota, or something."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's hair is slightly shorter than she normally sports; there's something of a medium bob with curtained bangs. Still poker straight, but angled and very fashionable. And not Pepper's 'normal' hairstyle. It hangs just at her shoulders, and it frames her face, high-lighting the freckles. That's the 'fix' for that hair emergency.

"Clint was so patient," Pepper shifts her position in her seat, getting comfortable for the evening and the conversations that will be flowing for the next few hours, "And believe me, we really did test it, I think." Think? Nope. She knows. They were horrible. "Though he did leave Happy and Vision behind. We only got to see him the first night, or so."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet's nose wrinkles. "I guess I should read the debrief more closely," she admits. "They're just so dreadfully boring. I just skim the highlights and call it good. I'm glad people got a chance to... be kids again. I wish I'd been there," Janet admits. "I spent my childhood in boarding schools and then puberty hit me like a runaway truck. Even Steve got to play... stickball, or whatever, in the street."

There's a melancholy little sigh and then Janet flickers her gaze back up to Pepper. In that microsecond she puts an utterly believable smile in place. "Jesus, lookit me getting all maudlin and I'm not even drinking yet," she scolds herself. The champagne arrives with a welcome timeliness and Janet offers Pepper a toast across the table. "Welcome back to adulthood, darling," she proposes.