8626/Ace is High, Deuces are Wild

Ace is High, Deuces are Wild
Date of Scene:	10 November 2021
Location:	Bilbo's Ace of Spades, Metropolis
Synopsis:	Peter and Kara meet for burgers in Metropolis and catch up on their respective lives.
Cast of Characters:	Kara Danvers, Peter Parker

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Kara Danvers has posed:
In the foodie paradise that is Metropolis, Bibbo's Ace O' Spades isn't exactly on the list of every food blogger in town. But, the food is hot, plentiful, filling, and inexpensive. And Kra's enjoyed the restaurant many times since Kal first brought her here. And right now, she's at a corner booth, sipping on a glass of a glass of water, and waiting for Peter to arrive so she can share the experience with him. She's dressed in a nice, casual outfit; light blue polo shirt, white jeans, and a sturdy pair of flats for the late Fall weather of Metropolis.

Peter Parker has posed:
*It's THEM, isn't it? It's GOTTA be them! It's not me, right?*

Ten minutes late. One guy who was loco in the cabeza and waving a grenade around, two muggers, and one Suicide Slum altercation better imagined than described.
So, as Peter bolts out of the alley, tucking his shirt in, he tries to think of the best way to tell Kara he held up one of the most powerful girls in the galaxy for the sake of his crippling sense of duty.

Yeah, THAT won't sound like a guilt trip.
"Hi!" Peter waved as he jogged up to Kara's table, looking around at the place. "I've...never heard of this place before."
PRIORITIES, YOU GOOB.
"Uhm, it's great to see you, Kara. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long..."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara seems completely un-fazed by Peter being late. Before he can get into a serioius appology, she cuts him off with a kiss. "It's okay," she says with a gentle, patient smile. "I'm sure I'll hear all about it. "I'm just glad to see you..."

Suddenly, there's a shadow over the couple. And standing to the side, wearing a geasy apron and order pad in hand, is one of the biggest men that Peter's probably seen outside Rhino or the Hulk. There's a smile on the man's face and he looks at Kara with an almost fraternal expressoin. "Dis yer fella, Miz Kara?" he hasks in a resounding voice. Kara smiles back and nods. "It is. Peter Parker, meet Bibbo Bibbowski. Owner and proprietor of the Ace O' Spades." Bibbo sizes up Peter, giving a grunt of approval, along with a look that screams 'I will break you in half if you hurt her...' "I'll giv ya folkz a couple o minutes..." Then, he walks off to check on other guests nearby.

Kara looks back at Peter and smiles. "He's really a sweetheart, once he gets to know you..."

Peter Parker has posed:
WHOA. Yep, the Spider-Sense is tickling the nape of his neck. He is about to open his mouth and say something stupid when common sense kicks in and he says, "Uhh, yessir."
He gives the departing man-mountain another wary look as he sits down at Kara's table. "Are you SURE he doesn't have a costume in his closet...?" he whispers.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Well...he *does* hav a homemade Superman costume..." Kara whispers back. "He's very proud of it..." Kara giggles a bit and puts a hand on Peter's arm. "He's human," she assures him. "Just....Big." She slides the menu over to Peter; she's in here often enough to know what she's going to get. "The burgers are fantastic. And an orer of fries is big enough for us to split. And there's the cherry Soder Cola..." She cold go on and on, but she gives Peter a chance to examine the menu."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods and takes his eyes off of Kara long enough to look at the menu. He ponders for a few seconds, then says, "The double bacon cheeseburger looks good, and I have no problem splitting fries with you. But a cherry soda sounds great."

He paused, then said, "How have you been doing?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara sighs, taking Peter's hand into hers. "Busy," she says. "The Planet's been keeping me busy. Plus school, Plus..." she holds off on listing her responsibilities as one of the waitresses comes by to take their order. Kara takes the double burger, without the bacon, orders fries for the both of them, and a chocolate shake.After Peter orders, the waitress leaes and Kara continues. "I know I've been busy," she says to him, appologeticly. "But...things are slowly geting better." She looks at him with concern. "How about you? Anything happening in Manhattan? Everything going alright for ou?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter squeezes Kara's hand gently. "The Big Apple is always a happening place. Hallowe'en was interesting. An Elder God tried to come through at the Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island Hallowe'en night. Natch. Met with some interesting characters, found one got an extreme makeover to her benefit." He smiled to Kara. "And I aced my prelims, so I think I'll be ready for my finals in a month."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles proudly at Peter. She really is happy for him, and not surprised at his successes. "Well, the big news for me is...I'm getting an apartment here. Close to campus. A bit more privacy than campus husing..." She squeezes Peter's hand and smiles. "So...no reason for you to just come down, see me, and run back up to Manhattan. I mean...you can plan for longer visits now. If you want to." And there's no pressure from her, just an invitaion he can accept or decline as he wishes. "How's May doing?" she asks, wanting to return to a more neutral subject.

Peter Parker has posed:
"An apartment?"
Okay, he figured she just...zipped over to Titan's Tower. But if you want to live low-key like Kara did, yeah, okay.
"Well, that should work. We can hang out at your place. That'd be nice. Aunt May is well. She would like you to come for dinner sometime, especially if you don't have anywhere else to be on Thanksgiving." He blushed slightly. "I...kinda told her I'd ask you, see what you were up to."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Well..." Kara bites her lip. "I do have somewhere for Thanksgiving..." She sighs and pouts. "too bad I can't have one dinner with you and May, then fly off to the other one..." She lets that linger for a bit, before smirking and giggling. "Oh, wait...." She hugs Peter's arm playfully. "I would love to have Thanksgiving dinner with you and May." One of these days, when Kal tells her it's okay to share The Secret, she's going to have to make a choice between Martha's and May's cooking. Luckily, this will not be that holiday...

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter grins. "Great! You are going to LOVE Aunt May's deep-fried turkey. I handle the heavy lifting, of course, but we have it down to a science. And I oughtta know." He winks. "Anyway, we'll have snacks, dips and chips, then Aunt May is making most of the spread. I help out, of course, but they are all her recipes. Maybe you can meet my best friend, Harry. His father...well, he's not going to be around for Thanksgiving. So I invited Harry."
He was quiet for a moment, remembering how grateful Harry had sounded. Enough money to buy his own island, but nothing he had could buy Thanksgiving with his father.

"He's something of a Lothario, but he's a pretty decent guy."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Not worried he's going to try and steal me away from you?" Kara asks with a giggle. "I'll be happy to meet any friend of yours. And that reminds me...I need to talk to you about my new roommate..." Here comes the had part of this conversation. "She knows my identity. I haven't told her yours. I trust her, but that's your choice to make. If you don't want ot, or need time to get to know her first...I'll make it all work. No pressure."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter raises an eyebrow. Kara's not the type to just share her secrets willy-nilly, of course. So the person who knows her secret might have one or two of her own.

But that really isn't HIS business, is it? But he has faith in Kara's judgment of character.

"I...probably should meet her first. Relate to her on a level playing field, I guess."
And probably not overwhelm her with two heroes in the house.
"Besides, with the stuff coming out of Spider-Fail.com, I'd like to avoid having her be a fan of the site and react with restrained laughter." He winks to Kara.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara touches Peter's arm. "You'll like her," she says gently. "I promise." And she gives peter another kiss on the lips, whispering, "Thank you..."

Then, Peter's other comment catches her attention. "Wait...what's spider-fail.com?" She looks at him with concern; Peter doesn't always have the best luck in the media. She's very aware of how good she has it when it comes to media coverage and image.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter grins, then pulls out his phone, a cheap Android phone that was cutting-edge seven years ago. He taps a few keys, and then brings it up. He can barely restrain a snicker as he holds the phone up for Kara to see.

(OOC: Put spider-fail.com in your IRL browser. ;) )

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara looks at the pictures. She scrolls though them, shaking her head. She's not terribly happy here. She doesn't like anyone making fun of Peter. Not with how hard he tries and how much he sacrifices, "h, Peter..." she says in a pained tone. "Rao," she sighs. "Why do peopl have t find humor in being cruel..."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckles. "Kara...look at the bigger picture here." He puts the phone down. "The first time I saw it, I thought...this is a blow to my dignity. But then I realized I'm swinging around town in very stylish LONG UNDERWEAR. Dignity's pretty much gone by the boards anyway. And then I realized this wasn't a LIABILITY...this was an ASSET."

He paused, then continued, "...work with me here. Okay. If they are LAUGHING at me...then they are not SCARED of me. Not just bad guys, but regular people, too. Men, women, children...if they think I'm some kind of goofy person, then they are more willing to interact with me...and less liable to think of me as a Threat or a Menace..."
He takes another deep breath. "Second...any bad guy who thinks I'm a clown isn't going to be so careful around me. They're more apt to make mistakes. And that helps me."

He points back to the phone. "The main goal is saving lives. And the less regular people are afraid of me, the better. Egos heal, Kara."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles, closes her eyes, and leans her forehead to touch Peter's. "You. Are amazing," she says adoringly. "I mean...you can take anything and spin it into a positive. I'm so lucky to have you in my life." She smiles, hugs Peter's arm again, then sits up staight as their food arrives.

"You are indomintable, Mister Parker. Nothing and no-one can defeat you. And tht's just one of the reasons I care about you."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckles, then smiles at the food as it is placed in front of them.

That...is a LOT of fries. Maybe he should visit more often. Wait, he intends to. It's the perfect plan.

After the waitress leaves, Peter smiles to Kara, looking into her eyes. "Hey...I get knocked down plenty of times. I get outsmarted. I get played. But the thing is...tomorrow I get up and start again, because it's a new day. As the old Jackson Browne song goes, I get up and do it again...Amen."

He picks up the burger. "Anything I should know about this thing before I bite?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara glances at Peter, smirking. "Your cholesterol level's okay?" she asks teasingly. There is quite a bit of greese and meat juices dripping fom the burger...

Meanwhile, Kara starts on her shake first. "The thing is..." she says after a long drink through the straw. "I do the same thing. I get up andkeep going, no matter what. But it's easy for me to do it. Skirt pictures aside, I don't have nearly the same amount of problems with publicity that you do. A lot of that is thanks to Kal, but yeah. I get good publicity. People like me. I don't have to deal with a Jemeson or with internet trolls. And I just think that it's so unfair that you don't get the same respect for doing the same things. Saving people. Protecting people. Stopping the bad guys. I know you don't do this for fame or recognitoin, or anyting like that. you do it because it's right. Because great power does come with great responsibility. And I will tell you flat out, I don't think I could do this, having to deal with the stress you do." She smiles, a bit of ketchup from the burger on her upper lip. "You're my hero, Peter Parker."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blushes, and chows down to give him some time to work on that. His eyes suddenly widen...then close to half-level as he moans slightly. He chews, swallows, then says, "...I think that's one of the best bacon cheeseburgers I've ever had in my life."

He sips his soda, then looks to Kara. "I think you just have different problems than I do. Some are bigger...okay, quite a few are bigger...and the responsibility is greater. But that's commesurate with what you have to work with. We're in different weight classes, you and me. And that's okay. We each have our own struggles. I'm willing to bet money you have struggles about certain things. I know you have your people to worry about, and the concept of that weighs heavy on you. You're a paragon of Fighting the Good Fight, in ways I can never imagine...but I'm sure you have problems that would FLATTEN me. And you keep going. And THAT...is why you are MY heroine, Kara Danvers."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara looks pleased with that. "Someday, Peter, you're going to learn how to just accept a compliment. But until then...I guess we inspire and save each other?" Kara is okay with that. "But we'd better hold off on the congratulations or we'll be here all..."

Kara suddenly sits up alert. The sounds of gunshots in the far off distance have reached her super-hearing. "Time to punch the clock," she says with a sigh. She givs Peter a kiss on the cheek and smirks. "I'll be back to pay. Or Bibbo can just put it on my tab..." She devours the rest of her bruger, her shake, and half the fries in a super-sped instand, then makes her way out the front of the diner. Once outside, Kara rushes towards the alley, and changes into Supergirl in a blur. Then it's up, up, and away to stop the growing gunfight...

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter watches her go, smiling slightly.

She was some kind of amazing, that was for sure. Anyone who can consume calories like that and not gain an ounce...

He looks back at the burger. "Hoo, boy. Well, better finish this. You know what Aunt May says about wasting food."

As he ate, he wondered about how this was going to work, but he kept getting distracted by those guileless eyes...

Jeez, he had it BAD...