3336/Breakfast in Starling

Breakfast in Starling
Date of Scene:	12 September 2020
Location:	Orchid Bay Boardwalk
Synopsis:	Jay and Val meet in Starling for breakfast. Talks are had and guidelines for Gotham are established.
Cast of Characters:	Jason Todd, Valeria Richards

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Jason Todd has posed:
It had been a long quiet night off while Valeria had worked on the Titan's wormhole problem, though around the edges of her super-science and Jason's DIY lair building a plan was made, meet at the Orchid Bay Boardwalk in Starling when both of them had finished their respective tasks. It was morning by the time the plan materialized, Jason promising breakfast as well as just walking on talking on the boardwalk, which was, it was made clear neither 'a thing' nor a 'date', just a place to hang out and see each other since it had been a bit.

So at the appointed time Jason is leaning on the railing at the Star City pier watching Orchid Bay glitter in the early morning sun.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria is a little late, mostly owing to some delays in finishing up some of the things she had been working on, which led her to lose track of time... but she's not too late, heralded by a plethora of texts before she arrives. She's still in her unstable molecule suit and his jacket, but at least the jacket makes it look less like what it is. She arrives at the pier railing and steals a quick kiss from him before leaning against it herself, staring out over the water. "It's a pretty morning," she notes idly.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason replies to those plethora of texts as they arrive, with his cultivated air of detached amusement and bravado. When he returns the stolen kiss his breath comes with the faint hint of cigarettes like that first kiss they shared before he smiles, and looks out over the water. "It's not bad," he agrees, putting his arm around Val. "Don't let any of the Arrows hear it but Starling's not a bad town." He's in his usual civilian uniform, jeans, plain black t-shirt, black combat boots and a leather jacket.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Haven't been here too often. Twice, I think, before this." She's been to Metropolis more often, but it's New York she mostly is fairly confined to. "But it's definitely not bad. Just not under Mom's hawk eyes." Val looks amused at that. "So where to?" she leans against Jay with a grin. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get summoned until much later today anyway, so we have time."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Been here a few times, we're not as close to the guys out here as we are with you and your family, but there were some team ups back in the day," Jason says making sure to keep his voice low even though there's not a lot of people out here, except for the seniors walking group and a few joggers with their ears stuffed with music blaring LexBuds.

There's a nod about Sue's watchful eye. "Where depends on you," he says. "Anything you always wanted to try here? Maybe another lame concert or something?" he says, already prepared to defend himself from swatting for that lame comment, a grin on his lips.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria snickers slightly, shaking her head. "Doubt there's anything like that this early in the morning," she replies, not swatting him, but elbowing him. "And you promised me breakfast, and after a night looking at sublight engines and wormholes, I'm //starving//."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason takes that elbow with a put on off, it mostly hit the jacket's armour anyhow, and smiles, "Sure, no lame concerts, only breakfast," he says. "Saw a dinner back by the arcade, if you're up for it, or there's always Starling City Coffee," he says pointing to the flagship store of the megachain with his thumb.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Mmm, greasy diner food, or overpriced, burnt tasting coffee and stale pastries..." Val smirks. "I'm gonna go with the place I can get hashbrowns." She grins a bit. "How far was the diner? Hopefully its at least somewhat sanitary." She grins a bit. "And that they have waffles."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Knew I liked you for a reason," Jason grins of her choice in establishment. "It's about down the end of the pier," he says nodding towards where it joins the boardwalk proper. "And I'm from Gotham so, can't say if my judgement on sanitary really counts here," he says with a look towards Val. Though he starts heading down the peer, with his arm around Val if she comes with. "And they damn well better have waffles now that you got me thinking about them."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Gotham is... a very interesting place," Val says diplomatically. Ish. She does let Jay lead her along, content to be strolling along the pier with him, at least. "Waffles, and hashbrowns. And coffee that isn't burnt and awful. I don't think that's asking too much." She grins a bit. "So hows the safe room coming?"

Jason Todd has posed:
"You mean it's a shithole?" Jason asks, before chuckling. "I know it's a shithole but it's my shithole so, I don't mind." Jason is content walking along beside Val, his expression lightening. "Not at all, and definitely sounds like real breakfast," he says.

The question about the safe room gets a smirk. "Safer, less of a death trap. Got it set up to ping certain people if I have to use it. Wanna be on that list?" he asks. "Not that I'm expecting you to come down and beat up owl ninjas but, if you wanted to pass the word to your family, that might be handy." Even if it was against the rules

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Sure," Val replies, leaning against him a bit as they come up on the diner. "It would be good to know, at least-- I can't imagine you needing it, but... it's nice to know you have it. Just in case." She gives him a wry grin. "I mean, are you going to let some stupid owl ninjas win?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Walking through the door Jason nods, "Consider it done," he says as the hostess greets them and shows them to a booth by the windows, far enough from the other diners so that when she goes to get their coffee while they go over the menus Jason says, "Not sure, they're going to be that easy. They're twisted, even for Gotham and they know a lot. So rather be prepared than have them catch me off guard again," he says shifting his wounded leg a little under the table.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria skims the menu, satisfied with there being both waffles and hashbrowns. She's normally NOT much for carbs, but after the last few hours? "Mm," she peers over at him. "I can't imagine anything in Gotham being an actual problem for you or the others..." she murmurs quietly. She seems confident in his ability to wreck anything that's causing him issues. "But yes. If something happens to you, I would want to know. I don't know what I could do. Maybe send Pierre."

Jason Todd has posed:
"We're good but there are a lot of these guys and they don't work like the regular psychos we deal with," Jason say, pausing to look down at the menu himself. "Waffles, hashbrowns and bacon for me," he decides, before digging into his jacket for his phone and hitting a few buttons. "And you're on the list," he says, before offering a wry smile. "Actually not a bad idea, I doubt they're ready for a Doombot. Anyhow, we'll get it sorted out," he says even if he's not filled with his usual confidence. "Would kinda like to be able to have you over at the Red Cave some other night, it was sort of nice coming back to you like that after patrol."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Yeah, it was nice..." Val admits, after ordering her own breakfast of waffles with strawberries and cream and hashbrowns. "Kind of liked being woken up by you." She blushes slightly but grins. "Your 'work' hours are weird but I suppose I can work around them."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason leans over to steal a kiss as Val blushes. "Yeah, liked waking you up too," he says before settling back on his side of the table again. "And says the girl who's just back from Met where she spent all night working to save my brother's idiot friends from a wormhole," he says brows arching with amusement as he takes a sip of his coffee.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val waves it off. "Nadia asked for help, and Vic isn't an idiot." She doesn't say anything about the others. That's clear enough. She adds a bunch of creamer to her coffee and pours some of the syrup into it instead of sugar, stirring before she sips. "The walls ready for paint?" she asks, grinning a bit.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Dick too," Jason says as his brows arch at the syrup in the coffee. "Is that good?" he asks her, stopping his reach for the container of sugar. "Texted him last night, he's going after them. Which yeah, they're his people, he's got to, but it's still dumb." He shakes his head.

There's a grin about the paint, "Yeah, living room and bedroom are good to go, got to fix a couple of last things in the hallway before it's ready though. Got that colour you suggested too, by the way, it fit."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Of course it did," Valeria looks pleased. "And yes, it tastes better and doesn't have as much of a glycemic reaction," she says absently about the syrup. "Walls painted so really it will just need a few more touches and it won't look so much like a murder hole. I mean, starting with actual dishes and less boxes of takeout." She grins, teasing. "Maybe frame a few things and hang them on the walls. I saw one of these really nice wall shelves that actually have a concealed area for things." She figures he would probably immediately go towards handguns but eh. "Could find some neat little knick knacks to display on it. Might even start feeling a little like normal for a bit."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason waits for Val to be finished the syrup before he goes ahead and adds a little to his coffee, stirs, takes a sip, makes a considering noise and adds a bit more. "Not bad," he admits. There's a smile for that and the paint too. "Didn't know your genius extended to coffee additives and home decor," he teases warmly before taking another sip of that coffee. Yes, he was liking this syrup thing.

He eyes her and the continued decor advice, but where another time, or another girl might have had him leaving money on the table and heading for the door, today though, with Val, he just chuckles, "You're getting scarily good at figuring out what I like. That sounds perfect, but not so many knick knacks that there isn't room for books," he says with a nod. "As for framed things, only really have one picture, but I think I can find some posters or something to liven the place up."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val rolls her eyes, though she's grinning a bit. "Hrmph. You aren't //that// hard of a read, Jay. Considering how many times I got poked and prodded anywhere I sat or leaned..." she teases. "More places for you to squirrel things away seems right up your alley. And all of you," she refers to the Bats as a whole, "seem to like your secrets and your hidden things. I'd consider it pathological at this point." There's no heat or insult to it. More amused. "And decor, not as much, but having your environment set up in a manner that is relaxing helps with focus. If things are out of place and unfinished you will always have a part of you stressing about it. Painting it, finishing it off, it stops being a mental drag. You can shift the resources to what's important to focus on."

She sips her coffee and then grins over the mug at him. "And besides, you're also more likely to get me to stay a night or two that way."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jay grabs his heart in mock hurt, "You'll hurt my Wayne ego," by which he means, Bat-ego, "Talking like that, you know my family is all inscrutable and impossible to read," he says smirking into a sip of coffee. He sets down the cup again listening as Val lays out her reasoning, not able to stop from both grinning and nodding. "Guilty," he says of it being pathological. Before his head bobs again about the psychological side of things. "Okay I'll buy that," he says, having to admit that after living in spotless safehouses, the mess of the cave was eating at the edges of his patience when he was at home.

"Guess that genius also applies to incentivizing too," he jokes with a grin at Val as their food arrives.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Already beginning to cut her waffle into small bite sized pieces, Val grins at him. "Is it an incentive? Hmm. Who would have guessed?" She makes a small hmm of thought. "I would offer to go take a peek after breakfast, see what other sage advice I could offer..." she gives him an innocent look. "Maybe test out the bed and see if its still suitable for napping. Or other things."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason looks at his whipped creamless waffles and swipes a little of Val's off of hers with a finger and popping it in his mouth. "Yeah, that might be a bit of an incentive," he says before he turns to his own waffles, getting them ready to eat. A brow raises, "Hmm," he says caution and other things clearly warring behind his eyes. "Suppose I could use some help checking things out, making sure they're up to the Richards standards," he allows. "Only rule is you're home before nightfall."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Hm. Don't want to risk Mom's wrath if I stay the night?" Val teases, before taking a bite of her waffles. "I could probably get an okay from Dad and avoid any trouble."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason shakes his head, "Owls," he explains. "But might be good to get your dad to sign off on things anyhow," he says around a bite of waffles. Based on past experience these visits tended to go longer than planned.

Valeria Richards has posed:
That was her experience, too. Val frowns at Jason, though. "You are really worried about this," she says quietly. Generally, Jay has been relatively full of bravado and... well, damned close to fearless. "I mean, I can text him. But it's not like you're going to take me around doing... the work you do." She tilts her head a bit. "So it shouldn't really be an issue."

Jason Todd has posed:
"They're not like the others," Jason says, "They know where we sleep and even if they haven't used that knowledge yet, they will eventually. I'd rather you not be there when they did." Truth be told he wasn't sure he wanted to be there when they did. He frowns remembering the jolt of helplessness that came of facing all those owls in the alley before Rose came. "Anyhow, just need to be careful until we can find them and deal with them."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria gives him a concerned look. She doesn't normally have those, so it looks a bit odd on her face. "I mean... they are just zombies, right? Maybe fast or something, but..." she blinks. Look, her family deals with crazy shit //all the time// so her concept of dangerous is fairly skewed.

But then again, Bats' concepts of dangerous isn't exactly normal, either. So if Jay is actually... concerned? Scared? Not that he'd admit it, but Val isn't stupid.

She slides her plate across the table and then moves from her booth seat to join him in his, scootching him over as she sits beside him. Then she snuggles up next to him. "Okay." She isn't arguing with him as she probably would with her parents, or anyone else. "When and if I come see you in Gotham, we'll plan it out more carefully, and we'll stick to whatever you think is safest. I don't want to get hurt, and I'm pretty sure you don't want that either. Besides, scars wouldn't look good on me. I like being a pure and untouched temple of perfection." She gives him a wicked grin.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Fast, skilled, ruthless," Jason enumerates the owl ninjas virtues, before looking up and noting that concerned look, his own concerned expression retreats behind his own dispassionate mask and he takes a sip of coffee.

When Val joins him he watches her out of the corner of his eye until she's snuggled up against him and he wraps his arm over her shoulders. "Temple of perfection, maybe, but I don't think the other two apply any more," he says with a tight if wicked grin of his own. "And planning works. I definitely want you to visit."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val smirks. "Oh, they don't? I had forgotten. It's been a bit." It really hadn't, not really. But that won't stop her from needling him a bit. "Then we can start discussing better sheets and pillows. Seriously, you spend a third of your life in bed, may as well make it comfortable." It's clear from her tone she is just picking at him to get a rise out of him.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Does feel that way, doesn't it?" Jason says taking another bite of his breakfast, while looking at Val out of the corner of his eyes. The last bit gets a laugh. "Maybe for normal folks, but I think the family and I have it down to an eighth," he says, leaning over to sneak a kiss from Val. "But we'll see if you can convince me on staying in bed longer than that."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"I can think of a few ways," Val replies, stealing another kiss back before returning to her breakfast. "At least a couple of which are high on my to-do list." She laughs, then grows serious. "Do you want me to talk to Dad, though? Really. If this is something really weird..."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason chuckles tucking into his own food, "Huh," he says finishing a bite. "Good to know," he says grinning.

Then Jason becomes serious as well, "About statying the night?" he asks. "I'm tempted, and I'm probably paranoid but lets plan on making it just the day. I'll get you back to the 'Loop before I have to work."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Mm. I mean about... current Gotham troubles. I know... your dad doesn't like outside interference, but I personally have no desire to go to any more funerals anytime soon." Val pushes her half-empty mug aside a bit. "Especially not yours. You're beginning to grow on me, like the one of my omnitools that has this little annoying click when I shift modes on it. I really disliked it at first but now the click is kinda just nice and expected."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Oh," Jason says when Val explains. "I am sure Bruce will go to him if he needs it," he pauses. "Or we could mention it to both of them before dinner, just to make sure."

A genuine smile crosses Jason's face at the last bit, as he turns and looks at Val. "A clicky omnitool huh?" he asks her, clearly amused and maybe a little touched.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val rolls her eyes, flushing a bit and grinning. "Yes. Don't get too excited. I still threaten to recalibrate it at least twice weekly." Yes, of course she talks to her tools. She leans back against him, sighing softly and relaxing some. She's obviously tired, and the coffee isn't helping much.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Me? Excited?" Jason says, making a face and shaking his head. "Never." Feeling Val relax against his side, Jason looks over. "Want to head to Gotham?" a wry smile forms on his lips. "Get some rest."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Maybe actual rest first," Val agrees tiredly. She, after all, is only human and doesn't have the remnants of the Lazarus pits in her veins, nor cosmic radiation or anything else fun. "After finishing breakfast." She leans over and kisses him gently, then returns to at least attempting to finish her breakfast.

And once they are done, she'll happily accompany him back to Gotham and his not-quite-so-murderhobo den for the rest of the day.