14305/We Meet Again

We Meet Again
Date of Scene:	02 March 2023
Location:	The Strait Lace Steakhouse - Hellfire Club
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Susan Richards, Namor

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Susan Richards has posed:
    It's a rare day that Susan Richards has a free moment. Between the ongoing expansion of Earth into the galactic neighborhood, the occasional scientific mishap that requires the attention of the Fantastic Four, and a myriad of charity and other philanthropic obligations, Sue's spread thin between the Baxter Building, and other meetings around New York. But she's managed to carve out a small portion of her afternoon to meet an old...

    Well, that's the question isn't it? Friend? Suitor? Occasional threatener of the the surface world and by extension her family? Namor's a lot of things. Enough things that Mrs. Richards finds herself seated at the bar of the Strait-Lace Steakhouse, a small bowl of olives provided, matching with the not-so-small martini that the blonde finds herself nursing. She's dressed to impress, gleaming white heels, a little black dress with a gauzy '4' that shows a bit of cleavage in a nod to her more well-known public attire, but not being so daring as a particular costume Janet van Dyne still won't let her forget. She doesn't look for a clock, or her watch, doing her best to look like time isn't a constant pressure on her. The staff mostly seem to know her moods and expressions, deferent nods in passing, but no pesky asking if she needs a napkin, or would she like anything else. It's a brief moment of utter, silent solitude. That might be worth the price of her membership at the club alone.

Namor has posed:
Like Namor has always promised....

He will always come when Susan calls.

An old promise of a consistent love that never grew cold, Susan isn't waiting long. Whatever Namor is to her, whether it's suitor, friend, enemy, and sometimes lover, Namor arrives on schedule. To counteract the white of her heels and her black dress, Namor is wearing a full three-piece black suit with a blue sash of sorts around his waist bearing the Atlantean crest. His hair was dry for once, and when he spots Susan Richards? Why, he perhaps stares a bit longer than appropriate.

"Susan. You look beautiful."

They are finding less and less time to meet like this, so when they do? It's something cherished. "How are you?"

Susan Richards has posed:
Susan offers Namor a smile, perhaps a touch lopsided, a little self-depricating with her murmured greeting, "Hello, Namor. And of course I do. Valeria helped me upgrade my wardrobe. Literally. It's bigger on the inside than the outside, and it can have outfits waiting as soon as I think of them. It's a lifesaver."

She shrugs her shoulders lightly, gesturing to the seat next to hers with a slightly broader grin. "Oh, I'm well. Busy, of course. Always busy. I'm beginning to understand Reed's ability to get lost in his laboratory. I'd probably lose days to the budget and schedules at the Baxter Building if people didn't stop turning up for appointments after five. To say nothing of all the other initiatives we have going on."

Her eyebrows perk higher and she murmurs, "And you? I haven't heard much news of Atlantis. I'm not sure if I should find that worrying or reassuring."

Namor has posed:
"Your confidence never fails to astound." Namor grins, approaching the seat next to Susan as he draws near to her, taking a slow seat. His suit was perhaps form fitting, but a perfect match in the European style. "Valeria has always had an eye for detail. She possesses a kind few can match." He almost makes a comment of something else she can lose her days to, but he fortunately refrains, lest he fluster Susan too early in their 'date'.

"The tides present no news to offer. The Spaceport does well, peace flourishes between Atlantis, Wakanda, and Themyscira. My people prosper and that is good enough for me. The Empire flourishes." He smiles at her. "And I spend my evening with your wonder. I have no complaints."

Susan Richards has posed:
Susan laughs softly, her lips quirking, eyes narrowing slightly, "Yes, she's always been a wonder. Smart as a whip. Spirited and focused." She rolls her eyes, "And it just means every birthday, I worry she's going to get more adventurous. Do something ridiculous like take her friends up in an unshielded spacecraft. Though where she'd ever get such an urge..."

She nods her head and sighs out, "It does. Almost too well, really. I was expecting at least some of the sky to fall when it opened. Smuggled weapons flooding Earth, or some ambitious scientist with more ambition than sense to try stealing some tech. Instead it's just... more bureaucracy."

She smirks lopsidedly and shakes her head, "But if things are well, that's good to hear. And what of the Emperor, hm? You can't just be sitting around waiting for me to text you about grabbing a drink. You've got alcohol at the palace, no?"

Namor has posed:
Her laugh was always something to behold. Namor enjoyed it greatly. Perhaps in a different time, a different place, Susan and Namor could have been together. But alas, the stars never truly align like that.

"If she's anything like you, perhaps it's best to let her run free. Too many limitations placed upon her will restrict her greatness and cause her to resent you. Let her enjoy her youth." He chuckles. "She's like her mother."

"There's always another invader. Another crisis to handle in the tidal wave of ambition. I suspect you'll never be crushed by such a weight however." He nods affirming it before he hums.

"It's quite lonely drinking by myself, you know. The palace has the finest of drinks, but without one to share it with, it becomes like shifting sands." He pulls out a bottle of gorgeous design. "That's why I brought the quality to you."

Susan Richards has posed:
As Sue takes another sip of her drink and laughs softly, head shaking slowly, "Oh, she's a lot like me, it's true. It's why we get along so well and I give her some leeway. It's why I let her go on a fieldtrip to space at all..." She perks her eyebrows and murmurs dryly, "I just made her doublecheck the math on their energy shielding."

She smirks and sighs out, "And there is, isn't there? But sometimes riding the edge of that wave is... exhilarating. I /do/ remember being youthful, even if it was..." She draws a slow breath and sighs melodramatically, "So long ago, yes?"

One blonde brow quirks as she eyes the bottle, partly in admiration for the craftsmanship, and partly in playful half-serious skepticism. "This isn't some Atlantean elixir that's particularly potent to humans, is it?" Her voice is low, playfully teasing like she doesn't truly believe it... but perhaps there's just a bit of suspicion that's more than simply a fancy bottle.

"Though if we're going to be drinking that much, I'm not sure doing it in a restaurant is... all that proper."

Namor has posed:
Namor raises a brow. "And here I thought you were just telling me a metaphor." Namor looks amused, as if a bit perplexed who would willingly send their child to space. Then again, he's speaking to the matriarch of the Fantastic Four.

"Not long enough for you to forget I hope." He winks at her. "We had fun." He remembers those trips to the beach...and the lake house.... But he saves his comments on the fun they'd get up to, instead looking to the drink he produced.

"Don't worry. This won't addle your brain into hopeless love." he teases her. "It does have a slight vinegar taste to surface dwellers I'm told." He grins playfully towards her. "And even if it were...I rather like the idea of /that/ kind of memory." He winks.

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue smirks and sips her drink once more, eyebrow lifting higher at that wink, swallowing, murmuring dryly, "Why Namor, I assure you. I have a very impressive memory." Her eyes lock on his in the wake of the comment, legs carefully crossing as she laughs softly, "Oh, I imagine not. Love potions are a myth. Or at least, rare enough no one's ever tried a real one on me. Unless they also had a real amnesia potion. But that's not worth worrying about."

She tilts her head and sighs softly, "So I see, is that your plan, hm? We rekindle the old days, I enjoy this rare vintage of treat, and perhaps we make a new memory? I will give you this, Namor... you are consistent. Certainly a... steady figure in my life."

Namor has posed:
"Good."

Namor grins at her. The memories all rush through his mind as he locks eyes with her, pouring them both a glass of the Atlantean beverage. His hand gently swirls the amber-colored liquid in his glass as he chuckles a lttle bit. "Are they?" He hums. "Perhaps you just haven't had a real one quite yet." He teases her playfully, apparently more than willing to make her laugh.

"Plan?" Namor hums. "I do love making new memories, but I assure you, I'm not /that/ diabolical." He teases her even further, quite amused. "I figure that's you putting it nicely." He offers her the glass of alcohol.

"Try it, if you dare."

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue smirks, head tilting back, draining her martini to the last drop, tongue slipping out to lick said drop from the rim of the glass, settling it aside to disappear at the hands of a Hellfire Club employee who's there and gone in an instant. She watches that glass fill, eyes tracing the swirling liquid, her lifted knee gently flexing, slowly kicking her foot up and down as she leans forward. "Oh! So you simply came up here with this bottle _without_ considering me drinking it? Hoping I'd make some sort of... nostalgic connection?"

She reaches out to take the glass when offered, fingers lingering against fingers for just a moment before she's taking a sip, eyes closing, swirling the beverage around her mouth.

    She allows a ten count before swallowing, one eye peeking open as she murmurs softly. "It's good. Tempting."

Namor has posed:
The tongue slipping out to take that last drop from the rim of her glass makes Namor smirk at her a little bit, desire visible in his eyes. Even still, Namor couldn't help but start to chukle as she takes a good sip of the drink.

He snaps his fingers when she murmers. "Seems the love potion failed. Oh well." Clearly humor and mischief in his eyes rather than anything serious. "Finer than anything they can make on the surface." he chuckles softly. He does push his foot ever so slightly forward to gently nudge her own crossed foot.

A playful contact.

Susan Richards has posed:
Susan laughs, a genuinely amused noise, bright and free and so very emblematic of the woman who has tempted the affections of so many from sheer chemistry. Her lips quirk and she sighs out, "Well, darn. Maybe next time you can try hypnotism. I'm sure they sell mail order books. They probably even come with a spiral pendant to spin in front of my eyes."

Her ankle flexes, letting her shoe dangle from her toes in the wake of that nudge as she perks an eyebrow, "Oh, I don't know if I'd go that far. I mean, I can't be sure until I've tried all the options from the surface world, hm?"

Her lips part for another sigh, "Really now, Namor, I'm not sure that we can spend the evening sitting in the steakhouse... so the real question is, should we avail ourselves of the club's other services? Some dancing? Entertainment? ...I honestly can't recall if there's karaoke. But if there is I'm going to need the rest of that bottle. And some more martinis."

Namor has posed:
"You know my telepathy isn't that good."

Namor's TELEPATHIC?!

Well, supposedly only with sea life. Though he grins at her when she laughs, a sound coming from her that he genuinely enjoys. Yet even still, the chemistry they share is something they've touched on only in subtle cues. But, that flex of her ankle seems to perk his eyebrow.

A temptation indeed.

"Then you can be certain to try all the options of Atlantis." He grins at her playfully. Though suddenly, she's asking to do entertainment. "To dance with you sounds like a great time. I'm afraid I'm much too sober to try this 'Karaoke'." He grins. He stands up to his feet, offering Susan his hand. "Shall we?"

Susan Richards has posed:
There's a soft laugh from Sue as she sighs out and rolls her eyes, "And hypnotism is make believe, darling. Telepathy's real enough, but I've also got some training in defending against it. Professional requirement in the new age of industrial espionage." She hums out, "Besides, if your telepathy only works with sea life, I think I need to at least be in a swimsuit to count."

Sues ankle flexes once more, fitting her heel back into her shoe before she's rising smooth, graceful, onto those tall heels like she's all too used to wearing them. Or maybe she's just using her powers to invisbly steady herself. She'll never tell.

She laughs softly and places her hand in his, "Well then, dancing it appears to be. Or something else. I don't know how often you visit the club, but there are a wide range of facilities. I'll give you a private tour, perhaps. I've been something less than entirely present recently. A reminder for myself would be most helpful as well."

Namor has posed:
"At that point, it may be wise to explain hypnotism. Mind control is a form of hypnotism, which is simply commanding authority over another's mind. They may as well be synonymous." Namor grins playfully at Susan, thoroughly amused. "It is...difficult for a telepath to breach my mind. Perhaps I may yet assist you in forming a Mind Palace." He smiles softly at the Invisible Woman.

Her lovely ankle is placed back into her shoe. He can't play /too/ much footsie with her yet, even if he does delight in touching her. Though she slips into those tall heels and sets her hand in his, a smile on his face.

"Whichever you prefer. I don't visit too often but...I'd love a private tour if you'd like. I do always enjoy our walks."