Log:Foiled Lunch Schemes

The Madness of David Flyte 2020/02/26 	 Connor Porter Grimm Moonshadow

37

Serafino's Restaurant

Serafino's, a Colonial Bay tradition and one of the finest restaurants in the city. Views of the bay are seen through the massive glass walls to the east. Its interior is resplendent in crisp white and deep maroon. Tables spaced with delicate care achieve the perfect balance of intimacy and atmosphere. The staff are friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable, watched over by the maitre'd to insure a pleasant dining experience for the patrons. The world-renowned cuisine includes traditional Italian dishes as well as a variety of seafood and nouveau fusion dishes. There is always demand for a table; reservations are required, and a dress code is strictly enforced. Then, too, the prices are as high as the quality of the food... but Serafino's is never lacking for business.

It's been a few days since the plan was made in Geneva for a lunch. Grimm may have been dragging her feet attending, but she's had other things to deal with, and needed time to unwind, deal with Lereau in secret, and have an accidental confrontation with Charity. Still, she agreed to it, and so she arrives outside the restaurant at the appointed time...only to be halted at the door. "Dress code?" she asks incredulously.

Connor shows up just after Grimm does. He's dressed normally, but with a sport coat and tie as well. "You didn't know what the place was like, did you?" He chuckles quietly.

Moonshadow stands with Gabrielle and whispers conspiratorially as other women enter, "Which of these is the least objectionable to you?"

Gabrielle looks up at Connor and shrugs helplessly. "Uh, no, I didn't. I've never gone to a place that had a dresscode beyond requiring people to wear shirts. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to dress for a place this fancy." She glances to Moonshadow, then watches the other women. Tennis wear and yachy wear, bright colors? Grimm looks beside herself.

Moonshadow continues, "I was thinking maybe something in midnight blue? What do you think?"

Porter could show up in a suit. He does own a few. Then he'd pass the dress code. He'd still never likely make it into the building, though. Vigilant heroes, vigilante semi-heroes, Starguard, UEMS, orbital laser cannons, irate life-forms in Ceti Alpha VI... they'd all vaporize him before he walked three steps.

So Porter just shows up as he normally would.


 * FLASHTHWUMP*


 * THUD*

"Ow." He stands up, giving a wave to the familiar folks outside. "Am I late? Early?"

Connor smiles slightly as the irony of Grimm's situation, given that the shoe was on hte other foot not so long ago. "Think a business or a semi-formal occasion. A suit. Or a dress. Not club wear unless you're in a really famous band and can throw around money." He waves to Porter as hte other man arrives. "Just about on time, actually."

Grimm takes a moment to think. She's been getting into a lot of vintage films with Carpenter, and those ladies always look so classy. She lifts her hands to smooth her hair back. As her hands pass over her face to get there, her makeup changes to less rocker and more classic bombshell. Lighter bronzey eyeshadow, thick dark lashes, and red lips. Her piercings disappear. She hasn't changed her face, but the makeup change makes her look so different.

Smoothing her hands over her hair, Gabrielle's hair curls more into classic waves rather than the wilder ones she has. Then her hands drop down to her shoulders and sweep down. Her leather jacket, band tee, shredded jeans, and boots drop away as something else drapes over them like a curtain. In a blink of an eye, she's wearing a long sleeveless dress that looks almost black, but when the light hits it in areas, it appears that midnight blue Moonshadow suggested. The dress reveals the curves Grimm usually has hidden by her casual attire. "Suitable?"

Connor blinks. "Yeah. You look great, Gabrielle. I feel like a slob in comparison now." He chuckles quietly.

Grimm chuckles in return. "You look fine." She looks to Porter. "Just on time. It's a miracle!"

Moonshadow says, "We can't have that, Uncle." Suddenly, Connor appears to wearing a tuxedo, in classic black. "Better?"

Moonshadow changes her own appearance as well, white pencil skirt and shell top with a green blazer.

Connor looks down at himself. "Umm...no, thanks. I'm good with how I was dressed, really. I don't really need to be wearing a tux."

Laurel shrugs, "Ok, as you wish." Connor reverts to his former appearance, and the tuxedo appears on Porter.

Porter whews at arriving on time, and then joins in the blinking at Grimm. "Wow. He's right. You look really nice." Then he blinks again as he's wearing a tux. "Um. Thanks?" he looks around at the others, not sure where that came from. "So... lunch? Or is it brunch?" Just because he could theoretically rub elbows with these sorts of people doesn't mean that he does.

"Thanks, Porter," Gabrielle smiles, feeling more confident now that she's gotten votes in from everyone.

The Maitre D seems to approve of Grimm's changes, and Porter's upgraded attire. "It seems most of your party is here. Right this way," he says, leading them to their table.

Laurel follows the Maitre D', walking next to Porter.

Connor follows as well, heading over to the table. Though he does wait for both Laurel and Grimm to sit down before he does.

Grimm follows along and takes a seat, trying to behave and hold herself more lady-like. She looks around at the other diners for examples to follow, since this isn't really her comfort zone. My, how the tables have turned.

Porter follows, making sure to give any servers, especially those carrying trays, a wide berth and the right of way. He doesn't want to be wearing other peoples' food or drink in addition to someone else's tux. It may be foreknowledge of high society, or just him being him, but he helpfully pulls out the ladies' chairs for them before taking his own. "So, what's the plan?"

Connor smiles. "I think...the plan is to have lunch. But I'm just guessing. Though I'm wondering...should we wait for Horizon?" He looks over to Laurel.

Laurel checks her PDA. "It looks like he's been called away on assignment. An emergency in Richmond." She looks at Porter, "Since it looks like your lady wasn't able to join us either, I guess it's just the four of us."

Grimm looks pleasantly surprised when Porter pulls out the chair for her. "Wow, thanks. Seems like you got fancy on us all of a sudden, Porter," she grins.

Porter shrugs to Laurel. "Yeah, guess it's just us four. Though it might be nice to take Para here again sometime..." He looks around, fairly sure they've been here at least once before. "Right. Lunch." A nod to Conner, then Grimm gets a sheepish shrug. "eh. Not really fancy. Just, I used to do this..." He gestures at one of the passing servers, rather than diners.

"You, a waiter?" Gabrielle laughs softly. "I can't really imagine that. Or at least, not imagine it for long. You were a waiter at a fancy place like this?"

Connor smiles and looks to Porter to see what hte answer to the question is. The waiter comes around and pours some water for everyone and leaves a small basket of bread on the table.

Laurel takes a sip of her water, "Mr. Porter, I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Laurel Talbot, aka Moonshadow. Dr. Duran is my adopted Uncle."

"Yeah," Porter nods, adding, "though not for very long. Imagine me trying to carry a bunch of glassware. With hot food and drinks in them. To people..." Another shrug. "Only takes a couple mayors or congress-people with hot lasagna in their laps or red wine on white dresses..."

Connor smiles and asks Porter, "So...something I've wondered: At what point did your abilities manifest? How old were you?"

Grimm snickers at Porter's talk of dropping food on multiple mayors. She picks up the menu and looks it over. Her eyes widen from time to time as she notices prices, then quickly moves on to another item in hopes of a lower price.

"Um..." Porter thinks on Connor's question. "Twelve? Thirteen? About the same time girls went from 'Ew, cooties' to 'Ooh, cuties?'" He chuckles with this shrug. Then he notices Grimm flipping menu pages. "Lots of stuff to pick from, isn't it?"

Gabrielle's eyes widen again from looking at one of the prices on the menu, then looks up to Porter and nods. "Uh, yeah. Lots of fancy stuff," she replies. "I didn't realize you were so young when you started getting your powers."

Laurel says, "I started my training when I was about seven. Not having anyone else around made it a little easier to study."

asks Connor, "What about you, Uncle? When did you decide to be a teacher?"

Connor notices Grimm's reaction on seeing the cost of the items on the menu. "Lunch is on me, by the way. I'll cover it."

Porter chuckles again. "Well, I didn't even realize that's what they were. I just thought it was part of being a teenager. You know, tripping over your own feet, tongue-tied trying to talk to people, microwave exploding when you tried to make a snack..." A shrug, then a blink. "Seven? I think I was still training on writting the alphabet when I was seven..." He then looks to Connor now that questions have come back to him. Porter doesn't realize that may be the reason for Grimm's looking until Connor mentions it. "Oh. I can cover it if you want. No big deal."

Gabrielle looks a little embarrassed at the offering, though she does appreciate it. "Thanks, you guys don't have to," she says, wanting to try and pay her own way. The offer to get a side-gig singing comes back to Grimm's mind.

Connor smiles and shakes his head to wave off Porter, "It's the least I can do. I'm happy to cover it. Just don't order any champagne or something." He chuckles.

Laurel says, "Wait a minute. I invited you guys. I get to pay."

"We could always just stick to bread, too," Porter offers. "I think they're free. Or, like, get separate checks, if all that's a big deal. But we can worry about that after lunch." He does snitch some bread for himself, though.

Laurel looks at Connor, "You haven't answered my question."

"Okay, we'll figure it out. I'll stop worrying," Gabrielle smiles warmly. "Thanks." She still picks out something on the frugal side.

Connor smiles. "Which question is that, Laurel? I'm afraid I might have spaced it."

"When did you decide to be a teacher?" she repeats.

Connor nods, "Ah. Well, while I was in high school, honestly. I was...good at math. And I wanted to figure out something I could do with a degree in the subject. I considered going into a science-oriented field, but while I was an undergrad, I decided I also enjoyed explaining the subject to people...and I ended up deciding to become a professor. Several years of grad school later...and voila."

Gabrielle smiles faintly, though she wonders how much Order may have affected that.

A waiter comes up to the table and. "How's everyone doing? Are you ready to order?"

Laurel looks around the table to see if everyone is ready, and if so, orders chicken parmagiana.

"I'm glad there'll always be smart people to learn smart things, but also know how to explain them to the rest of us," Porter shares his grateful view on teachers. "Oh, shoot..." The arrival of the waiter reminds him that he needs to look at his menu. So he does. "Um, get everyone else's first. I'll probably be ready by then..."

Connor chuckles, "I'm set. I'll like the chicken marsala. And a Riesling."

"The, um...um...chicken picatta," Gabrielle orders. She decides to stick with water for her drink.

"Rhysling? As in 'Green Hills'?" Laurel asks Connor.

Connor smiles slightly. "Umm...not in this case, Laurel. As in 'from the Rhine region'."

"The lasagna, please," Porter goes with simple. Mostly because the others' orders were way quicker than expected.

The Waiter takes the menus and goes to put their orders in.

"Sounds like you know your wines," Gabrielle comments.

Connor smiles, "I know the ones I like. That's all. If you asked me trivia about wines, I'd be at a loss."

"But I thought professors knew _everything_" Laurel teases.

"I wouldn't even know what to ask for wine trivia," Gabrielle smirks as she reaches for her water and takes a sip. "Like...I think it would be something like, how many colors does wine come in?"

"The only thing I know about wine," Porter adds his two nickels, "is that I shouldn't sample them. Not more than two, at least."

Moonshadow says, "And steer clear of...I think its called Angel's Blood?"

"Angel's tears. How do you know about that?" Gabrielle asks, intrigued.

Laurel replies, "It's what Amelia was drinking to not deal with Hunter's death."

Gabrielle leans back with her water, little a little surprised. "Sasha was doing the same, though he mixed it with his. Odd. I always got the impression it made you feel more. He was always crying when he was drinking it. I haven't touched the stuff myself."

"Neither have I, but Amelia was in pretty bad shape." Laurel shrugs, "She's not perfect, but she's family."

Connor nods slowly as he listens. "I...don't think I've tried it, personally. But I might be remembering incorrectly."

"Do you remember drinking something that made you drunk very quickly and made you cry glowing tears?" Gabrielle asks with a smile. "It's something I don't think you'd forget if you had tried it."

Gabrielle sips her water. "I think Sasha drinks it because he finds it cathartic."

Connor chuckles at Gabrielle's description. "Nope. So, I think it's safe to say I haven't tried it."

Laurel says, "When I was hurting I tried whiskey."

Gabrielle nods and smiles at Connor. "Yeah, I also figure it wouldn't be your cup of tea. I'm kind of afraid of the stuff myself." She looks to Lauren and the smile dims politely. "Whiskey's my painkiller of choice. Pretty effective. The hangover isn't as bad as when I have tequila. I swear, tequila is like the devil's drink or something."

Connor nods. "I tend to stick to Scotch if I'm drinking hard alcohol. Something about it reminds me of old libraries. The kind of place you can get lost in."

Gabrielle chuckles at Connor's romanticizing of Scotch. "Maybe it's the smell? Scotch makes me think of old things when I smell it for some reason."

Connor chuckles. "It's likely the smell, yeah. I almost prefer that over drinking it, to be honest."

Laurel smiles ruefully, "I don't think I had enough, then. Cuz the pain was still there when I stopped drinking."

A waiter comes by with a bottle of Riesling and a wine class for Connor, filling it just a little to let him taste first before doing a full pour.

Gabrielle laughs lightly. "Well, the scent is all part of the experience, right? You could probably nurse a glass for a long time just to enjoy the smell of it. Maybe you could ...hmmm." She seems to get some sort of an idea about something.

Connor smells the wine and then takes a sip. HE then nods to the waiter. "Very nice." He sets teh glass down so the waiter can fill it.

Laurel wonders if there's a perfume that smells like Scotch. Or old books.

Gabrielle's idea may be secretly stolen. She leans back and smils to herself.

The waiter fills up the glass for Connor and departs.

Connor nods. "I should probably takes a trip to Scotland and actually tour some distilleries. I haven't had a chance to do so yet. Maybe this summer if things have settled down by then."

"You totally should," Gabrielle grins. "Bring some books with you, book a stay at one of the cozy castles with those giant plush chairs in a study with a fireplace. I could totally see you enjoying that," she chuckles.

Another waiter comes by with the food, placing everyone's dishes before them efficiently.

"If you went with him, you could see it in person," Laurel says to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle sets her glass down, smiling at Laurel's suggestion. "I'm sure he'll need a vacation from my shi--" she stops and covers her mouth, remembering they're in a fancy place. "My stuff after things are resolved," she adjusts her language.

Connor chuckles and smiles, "I'm also pretty sure that Gabrielle's boyfriend might have issues with us taking a trip like that together."

Laurel raises her eyebrows, "Boyfriend?"

Porter returns from powdering his nose. Because 'weewee' just doesn't sound fancy, even if it is French. And all it took was three sips of water. He sits back down and blinks, looking to Grimm. "A trip? Where are we going?" Obviously, he didn't catch all of it.

Connor chuckles and says to Porter, "I was just saying that I was intending to visit Scotland at some point in the near future. That's all."

"Yeah," Gabrielle states in response to Laurel as she picks up her knife and fork and starts cutting into her chicken. Her response is pretty neutral. She looks to Porter and chuckles. "What he said. We aren't going anywhere."

Laurel looks back and forth at Gabbrielle and Connor, "But I thought..."

Gabrielle looks up at Laurel after taking a bite from her plate. "Thought...?"

Connor takes a sip of his wine, "What did you think, Laurel? That Gabrielle and I were a couple?" He shakes his head and smiles, "Nope. We're just friends."

Laurel's voice dropped as she finishes..."That you liked each other."

"Oh. Sorry." Porter rubs the back of his head. "I missed a bunch, I think." On the bright side, food! He starts to dig in, then points out, "Frehz li eee thotha..." Ahem. He chews more, and swallows. "Friends like each other. That's why they're friends."

Gabrielle blinks a few times at that, buying time to think of an answer that won't be as kneejerk as the last time and that hopefully won't hurt Connor's feelings. "Well, yeah, what Porter said. I like him as a friend."

Connor chuckles and nods to Porter, "Exactly. I...am reasonably sure that Gabrielle and I would likely try to kill each other sooner or later, if we tried dating." He seems more at ease than the last time a topic like this came up. Perhaps the trip to the club last night actually helped him relax a little bit. "But...we're good friends. Heck, she's friends with my uncle, too."

Gabrielle laughs quietly at Connor's estimation. "I got to keep up a reputation as a femme fatale after all. Sometimes you just got to...y'know, kill someone you're dating once in a while," she teases.

Moonshadow says, "My mom almost did that, once."

Porter just offers a polite smile and nod at that, but no comment. Because lasagna! Has has spent alot of time as a feline relatively recently...

Connor continues eating, but looks over at Laurel, "You mom tried to kill your father?"

Gabrielle gives Porter a secret, apologetic look. And maybe a gentle foot nudge under the table after making the bad joke, considering what her powers did to him recently. She keeps quiet for now about the parents thing, letting Connor field that.

Moonshadow says, "Well, him too. But I meant her first serious date. She...the Beast was stronger in her."

Connor nods slowly as he hears Laurel's explanation. "Ah, I see. I'm hesitant to ask how it turned out."

Moonshadow says, "My father stopped the Beast. That's when she knew she could be with him."

"Interesting," Gabrielle comments politely in between bites. "Though...I hope she was with him for more reasons than that."

Porter gives Gabrielle a friendly smile and then looks to Laurel. "Yeah. I mean, it sort of sounds like a fairy tale thing... but 'You stopped me from killing you, so let's get married' doesn't quite sound like Dinsey material, you know?"

Connor smiles. "Depends on how it's spun, I suppose. I've seen movies with plots like that. But typically not animated kid's films."

Moonshadow says, "Her Beast wasn't only triggered by anger or pain. She already wanted to be with him, I think."

"Ohhhh. One of those...'lady in the streets, beast in the sheets' kind of...things," Gabrielle suggests and wrinkles her nose at the thought of it.

"So... how's everyone's food?" Porter asks. Clears his throat. Adds, "Everything good? Need any more water or bread?" Certainly just the server in him triggered by the familiar atmosphere.

Laurel smiles, happy for the interruption, "It's very good. Tell us, Mr. Porter, how did you meet your lady?"

Connor chuckles, "My food tastes great. I've never had a bad meal here, to be honest."

"I'm really enjoying mine," Grimm is happy for Porter to be the diversion. "This is my first time eating here, and this is amazing."

Porter chuckles and his cheeks pinken some. "It's just Porter. And Para? Er... wow. I'll have to think on that..." Mostly by thinking at Paragon. To ask.

"You don't even remember?" chuckles Gabrielle.

Connor smiles slightly as he sees Porter hesitate. He finishes up his food and takes another sip of wine.

Porter's cheeks darken more. "Well, the first time we met... Oh, right. She was training. I didn't talk to her much, because I was there with somebody else and talking to them instead... So, yeah. Guess I was mostly a jerk to her."

Gabrielle winces sympathetically. "Well, that's...a start?"

Laurel turns to Gabrielle, "And how about you? How did you meet your boyfriend?"

Gabrielle sits back a bit and smiles a bit. "Well, I was teasing some do-gooders with this illusion of a kitten and tossed it. And then this tall, dark, handsome Starguard agent in uniform dove in the way to catch the kitten while flashing me the most stunning smile," she answers, sounding a bit dreamy and sentimental as she recalls it. "I have a bit of a thing for guys in uniform and I asked him out."

Connor smiles slightly, "I didn't realize you liked guys in uniform. That's interesting. I figured you'd lean toward the rocker sorts."

Gabrielle flashes a grin. "I do like Rocker types, but something about a uniform really does it for me. Or a nice, tailored three piece suit can, too. Hey, I like what I like," she shrugs.

Gabrielle adds as she reaches for her glass, "Anyway, Mal turned out to be really sweet and caring and just...a genuinely good person. I wasn't a great person when I met him. I was a bit drunk on my powers, letting them control me more than I controlled them, and used them for selfish purposes when I wasn't hunting monsters. He made me want to be better."

Connor smiles at Gabriell's description. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that."

"Don't feel bad," Porter pipes up. "I think that happens to alot of people. The first part. It's the wanting to be better that doesn't always happen. That's the good part."

Gabrielle smiles at Porter. "Well, he's been really busy on duty and stuff, so I've kind of backslid a bit, I think. I'm still working on myself," she says quietly.

Moonshadow says, "That's all any of us can do, I think."

Connor smiles slightly, "Gabrielle, I think you have a good excuse for any backsliding. Influences from beyond, and all that. You're doing a good job of keeping things at bay."

Gabrielle smiles back at Connor. "Thanks. Sometimes it's hard to realize that when I can't really see or sense the things you can. It feels like it's me. Realizing I have friends to support me has helped a lot."

"You'll be fine, Gabrielle. And, yeah... keeping the whole universe safe can be a little stressful." Porter nods to and with Connor. "Besides, any issue you have here at lunch, or right after, are probably my fault, anyhow." So they all have a good excuse.

Gabrielle looks back to Porter and smiles. "I know I will. We will. And I'm not going to blame you if anymore weirdness happens."

Next: Log:Cutting Fate's Strings