17868/A Brooklyn Diner Late At Night

A Brooklyn Diner Late At Night
Date of Scene:	07 May 2024
Location:	Fred's Diner
Synopsis:	Late night in Brooklyn means coffee at Fred's Diner for Dominique, Vanessa, and Mary Jane.
Cast of Characters:	Vanessa Carlysle, Dominique Thiebaut, Mary Jane Watson

---

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
It's pretty late, nearing midnight. Fred's Diner isn't too busy. It's not quite time for the small rush that happens when the bars close down for the night. And those who were seeking dinner at a normal time are well done.

The door opens and Vanessa Carlysle steps inside. She's wearing a black leather skirt and stockings with heels. A top is revealing enough to suggest she's either been clubbing, or possibly could be a 'working girl'.

She makes her way over to the counter and takes a seat. "How's it going Vanessa?" the waitress asks, already moving for the coffee pot as Vanessa flips her cup over. "Slow night. A broke night," she says with a sigh.

The cook in back peeks out through the open window where he puts the food out for the waitress to serve. "Hey there," he says. Vanessa grins at him and shakes her head, as if to dissuade tonight's round of flirting from him.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique Thiebaut certainly isn't seeking food. She's seeking coffee. She too is dressed like maybe she's been out clubbing--black leather halter, black leather pants, fingerless gloves, a belt made of a gold chain no one has unironically worn since gogo dancers were last a thing--and she looks a bit tired, eyes down on the table's surface (coated in a cheap vinyl patterned to look like marble) as she cradles her cup in both hands. Steam rises out of it in lazy tendrils, like alien grass spotted through fog. When Vanessa comes in and starts a conversation, surprising in the silence--the TV in the corner is on, but muted--Dominique glances up through her eyelashes and sorts the new woman out into a couple of categories. Not as many as she'd like, though.

She raises her mug in a silent greeting to Vanessa. She might or might not be smiling. It's hard to tell, on her face.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle gets her coffee and adds some sugar and lots of cream, and stirring before taking a sip. She glances over at Domonique and makes a soft sound as if impressed. "I love that belt," she says, and completely unironically.

The lifted coffee mug greeting is returned before Vanessa takes another sip from her cup. The waitress makes a pass back down the counter. "Pie tonight?" she asks. This causes Vanessa to look over at the glass cylindrical case where slices of bluberry, apple and cheery can be found. The desire for one of the slice is definitely there, but Vanessa gives a little shake of her head. "I'm already late on rent, should probably just stick with the coffee," she says, but gives the waitress a smile of gratitude.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique doesn't respond to the compliment. Instead, she raises her right hand rather elegantly (images of a high school princess waving from a float in a parade come to mind) and contradicts to the waitress, "Excuse me, I asked you for a second cup five minutes ago, and you seem to have given it to her. Please be certain to charge me for it rather than her." She nods at Vanessa. "You can keep the cup, of course."

Okay, maybe she DID respond to the compliment.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She's not really tired. But she spent most of the evneing helping Aunt Anna rearranging the living room, then she was at the Triskelion for some training, and now she took the train into Brooklyn. She's supposed to go to the nearest field office in a few hours so she's just out to get some coffee. She heads into the diner, not quite looking frazzled as she lets out a yawn and go to stretch out.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The nice gesture from Dominique draws smiles both from Vanessa and from the waitress. She glances over her shoulder at Fred back in the kitchen, and goes over to get a slice of blueberry. "You two split it," she says softly enough that Fred won't hear it, setting it down between the two young women and setting down two forks as well.

And then the woman moves over along the counter nearer to where Mary Jane Watson is coming in. "Black, full caf?" she asks.

Vanessa flashes a grin over to Dominique after a grateful smile is given to the waitress. She picks up her fork and gets a bit of the pie from the side nearest to her. She eats it and lets out a heavenly sigh. "Mmm."

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
"Please, have all of it," Dominique invites, her accent slipping toward something more... cultured? Aristocratic? Something like that. It's gone now as her voice slides down to an earthier register, maybe something like Pennsylvanian. "I'm tracking my macros right now."

She tries not to let her eyes cut to the woman in the SHIELD uniform. Fortunately, she doesn't really need to. You'd be surprised how much you can observe through your peripherals.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
For whatever reason she goes to sit near the two. She glances over at the waitress, "Please. If you have the stuff from the bottom of the pot, I'll take that and keep it coming." The stuff from thebottom of the pot was generally the strongest, according to tradition. "And keep it coming. What's the greasiest thing you have on the menu? Going to be pulling pretty consistent shifts the next two days." By which she meant eight or nine hour shift, cuople hours off, then another one.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa has a fair amount of poise when it comes to her posture, though definitely lacks that aristocratic sound that Dominique manages. Vanessa sounds like a Midwesterner who has been in New York long enough to partially pick up the accent. But only a little.

"Thanks," she says as Dominique indicates Vanessa can have the lion's share of the pie. "The blueberry is the best," she says softly, "If you're ever in the mood for some."

Meanwhile, the waitress gets Mary Jane her coffee. "Greasiest thing in here is Fred, but he's not on the menu," the older woman says.

"I am for her!" Fred says from the kitchen area, having gotten a gander at Mary Jane Watson.

"The burger is a good greasy one, and he actually does a decent job with it," the waitress says after rolling her eyes back towards the cook.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique Thiebaut's eyes tighten the minutest possible amount at Fred's declaration, and her leather pants creak subtly as she shifts in her seat. She adds him to the list of things to keep track of in her mental geography, and makes note of the weight of her coffee cup as she continues companionably enough, "Have they cherry pie here? If so, have you tried it?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Thanks for th erecommendation." To the waitress. "And I'll pass on that. I'll let Fred stay intact in whatever state he's in. I don't think I'm quite hungry." Sticking her tongue out in the kitchen at Fred. "And gimme the burger with all the works. I figure I'm going to need some lead in my belly to last the next few days and I'll just be grabbing things from the vending machines otherwise." She goes to put her order in, and glances over at Vanessa and Dominique, seemingly the only other two awake customers present and gives a wave to the duo.

"Okay to join? Wouldn't mind someone to talk to given I'm just going to be on the grind next seventy two hours."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle motions towards a chair beside her as if an invitation to Mary Jane. She replies to Dominique then, "They do, the cherry is my second favorite. Though I like it cold. Never quite had the taste for apple pie that others do. So I can't say if it's any better than the cherry to most people. Definitely isn't for me anyway."

The waitress writes up Mary Jane's order and goes and hangs it on a clip for Fred to get at. Soon the sound of a burger sizzling away comes from the kitchen back there.

Vanessa has more pie and then lets out a happy sigh. "Go out anywhere fun tonight?" she asks Dominique, apparently assuming she was clubbing.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique Thiebaut smiles faintly, a tug at the right corner of her mouth which vanishes before it's fairly begun. "As much as you can while--striking out," she says, a brief pause as she has to search her memory for the correct euphemism. The legs of her chair squeal against the floor as she scoots it slightly away from Mary Jane and slightly closer to Vanessa, which is either an attempt to share the personal space around the table more evenly or is some kind of snub; take your pick, though she does nod an amiable greeting at the redhead. "And you?" she asks Vanessa, before the conversation can make the question impossible.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "I'm not really a pie girl. I know, I'm a freak." She would quip. "I think about any type you can get in a diner tends to be good. Just ask the waitress, they know all and taste all." She would sile at the Waitress and turn her head over and takes a quick glance at Dominique.
    Recognizing the expression of looking for the correct term in her head. Trying to place the girl's accent - maybe she was english as a second language?

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
It isn't long before the burger plate is served up, with fries, and all the burger toppings there in a stack to be added as Mary Jane likes. As promised, it is greasy, but smells good.

Thank god Vanessa has the pie, as the smell of that burger would be lethal on her hungry stomach otherwise. She replies to Dominique, "Ah, no, no luck tonight. No club," she says. She doesn't go into what it was she was doing in her particular attire, that wasn't clubbing and didn't hit any luck.

Not with some semblance of a law enforcement officer beside her. Even if it isn't a cop.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique Thiebaut nods at Vanessa, a quick dip of the head to indicate the message was received. She turns her attention back to Mary Jane for a moment, offering, "Dominique. And you are?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would let out a yawn over and nod at Vanessa, "So what has you up and about? Working the graveyard shift or getting off of it?" She would inquire while going to take a big sip of her coffee, not even wincing at the heat from it. More than one way to put it. "Michelle Jones. Crunch time at work so they have everyone going full shifts. I don't feel like setting up a hammock at work for three days."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle smiles over to Dominique at the introduction. "Vanessa," she says. The waitress passes by and motions towards Vanessa with a thumb. "Been coming in here for pie and coffee for... what?" she says, looking to Vanessa for an answer.

"Since I'm clearly just 21," says the late twenty-something, "It can't have been all that long," Vanessa says in a jovial tone.

She looks over to Mary Jane then to say, "Ah, finishing up work mostly. The way it's looking." More pie then.

Dominique Thiebaut has posed:
Dominique Thiebaut raises her hand again, signalling the waitress over with the check, which she pays in cash: a bit anachronistic, that, but it has the virtue of speed. She makes some kind of quick note on the receipt and explains, "Ladies, do forgive me, but I have to get back to my dorm. I hope we'll see each other in the future." She offers Vanessa a hand to shake, explaining, "Always a pleasure."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Well, food here's pretty good I'll bet if you've been coming here for years. I think they always know how to treat the regulars right." or at least tolerate them. "I tend to got o Joe's a lot. If only for the reputation. They've always had a really weird advertising campaign that Iv'e been fond of." Sympathizing over on the finishing work bit at this hour.
    "Take care, have a good night."