Vanessa & Warren | Wednesday morning

[x-copycat.livejournal.com]

While lounging around her flat doing work on their respective laptops the couple starts talking about Warren's real estate ideas in District X. Vanessa suggests something other than a mutation-friendly apartment building is needed around the neighborhood.

A fair few blankets had ended up on the floor over the rug in front of the couch. The coffee table had been pushed off to the side and out of the way and most of the pillows and throw pillows Vanessa owned were also on the floor. She had made quite a comfy little nest for herself down there on the floor where she was currently laying on her stomach typing on her laptop. The metamorph had decided to take all the small jobs no one else wanted to take or had been putting off because they were essentially paperwork. She hadn't done this out of the goodness of her soul, of course. No, she'd done it because if everything she had to do involved searches and phone calls she could camp out here in her apartment with her shiny, new boyfriend. Alright, maybe Warren was sort of a fixture already but the boyfriend part was shiny and new and Vanessa felt like basking in it a bit, thus more time together even if it meant they were both working. Apparently her ass made an excellent spot for his laptop as well.

Her ass did make a great spot for his laptop. It was a pretty great ass in general, and he was having a little trouble not getting distracted by it. But she did need to work, and he had plenty to keep himself occupied with, currently flicking through property options for an office in District X. Some of them he'd seen in person, some of them he hadn't, and he still hadn't found one he absolutely loved. But maybe he was just being too picky? He wasn't sure. He looked up from his browsing, his gaze following the line of her back as he frowned slightly.

"How did you decide on this location for the office?" Maybe another opinion was necessary here.

"This specific location?" Vanessa paused in her typing to look at him as best she could over her shoulder without toppling over his laptop. "I didn't actually care about the specific location, to be honest. I got lucky because it was right near the center of the good part of the neighborhood but it was the space that won me over, not the location. My only real parameters were District X and big enough to be a P.I. agency with a staff of two but also possibly more down the line. Jean-Paul, also known as Mister Carlysle to my realtor," Vanessa paused as she smiled and so Warren could put together what the realtor's assumption had been, "combed through at least half a dozen to dozen different spaces with me. The one upstairs was the first that worked for me and having this place available too was a bonus since I never felt quite right subletting Adrienne's penthouse from her for a variety of reasons. Why?"

"Looking for an office for the law firm I plan to set up," he said, a bit of a frown on his face. "Jean-Paul and I have looked at a few places, and I've been sent stuff for others. But I'm still not entirely sure what I'm looking for - and then I keep being distracted about other projects I could do with the spaces I have seen. Like there's one building that you'd almost be better off just knocking down, and you could build a mutant-friendly apartment block in the space."

"Or you could build something the neighborhood actually needs. Like a library. Or a community center. Or a playground. You know, somewhere the kids in the neighborhood could go and hang out and not have to worry about getting hassled if their visible mutants because there are so many other mutants around that they aren't the outcasts all alone?" District X, years after becoming wreckage for the most part, still wasn't whole by even half. It was getting on its feet. It was forming community as best it could even with the homeless and the drug addicts and the prostitutes on the streets. "Mutants are about half the neighborhood population. I don't think having a mutant-specific building is really the way to go in terms of what the residents here need if you actually want to be of use to the community. Not to mention that marginalizing human renters who are mutant-friendly could possibly do more harm than good."

"... huh." It had taken a few moments for Warren to respond, digesting what Vanessa had said. The suggestions she'd made were honestly things he'd never thought of - partly because when he thought about community development, it was in the sense of infrastructure and real estate and Large Scale Projects. Not simple things like providing spaces for the community to interact, or providing resources for them. He just kind of looked at Vanessa, an almost baffled expression on his face. "I honestly hadn't thought of that."

"You look entirely baffled by it, lover boy." It was sort of amusing, actually. Vanessa understood not seeing the forest for the trees or possibly not seeing the trees for the forest in this case. She just didn't think of Warren as someone who would overlook something so simple, but clearly she'd been wrong there. "You hadn't thought of stuff that keeps people in a neighborhood and even moves people to one but you thought of a mutant-specific apartment building that could possibly cause trouble for residents when one of the hate groups got wind of it? Slick, señor abogado."

"Hey, it's not a bad idea," Warren defended. "Rooms at the mansion get adapted for people with special needs. This would just be doing it preemptively. I'm not sure most mutants would have the same resources Charles has when it comes to those sorts of renovations. They're not exactly cheap." He closed down his laptop, moving it off Vanessa and rolling onto his side. "And my life? Hasn't really involved community centers or playgrounds or anything like that. The Upper East Side and boarding schools just don't have them."

"Sounds like your life was dull. Mine involved a lot of stickball and hockey games on the streets and baseball cards in bicycle wheels." With her status as a table revoked Vanessa rolled onto her side so she could look at him properly. "Pre-emptive retrofitting could backfire also. How do you know that the people wanting to rent the apartment you have available will have that mutation? What if you never end up with a super strong person looking to rent? Do you rent it to someone else and then wind up with the super strong person looking for a place only when the super hearing person moves out? Charles fixes up the rooms based on who is in them. If you wanted to do a special needs apartment complex, so to speak, you'd need to work it much the same way. Which means you might be looking at renovations whenever tenets change."

"I know what fork to use at dinner, can't have been a complete waste of time," Warren said lightly. Discussions about his childhood and what it may of been lacking was not something he wanted to get into right now. "If it's generic retrofitting, not necessarily. Built-in reinforcements against enhanced strength and temperature fluctuations and soundproofing for all of the building, rather than specific apartments. If you're building a place from scratch, it's easier to build it in than try to adapt a place later on."

"I guess. But I still don't think it's as useful as, say, the same concept being used toward a shelter rather than an apartment building. There are a lot of homeless mutants around here. Bonus points if you get concilors involved to help these people deal with possible drug addictions they've developed as a means of controlling their powers or emotional or mental trauma that a lot of homeless have regardless of genetic status." Maybe she was getting a little too community outreach here but Vanessa had been in District X for nearly a year now. This was her home and she saw these people every day.

Warren didn't reply for a couple of moments, giving what she'd said serious consideration. She had an excellent point - and maybe his money and energy would be better spent on helping those most in need, rather than in what was essentially commercial venture. Eventually he smiled and shifted to rest his head on her hip, looking a little rueful. "That's probably a better idea, actually. Clearly I should just run all of my ideas past you." As much as he'd been spending a lot of time in District X recently, he still wasn't a part of it. And he wasn't entirely sure if he ever would be completely accepted.

"Yes, you should." Her smile suggested her lack of seriousness as she ran her fingers idly through his hair. "Or you should just get to know the neighborhood more so you can be brilliant all one your own. I'm not sure what sort of investment a nonprofit community venture like a shelter or community center would require but maybe you could find others to go into it with you if it's more than you could feasibly pull off on your own? Assuming you want to go through with any ideas like that anyway."

"No, I do, it's a good idea," he mused. "And I've been trying to get to know it. Jean-Paul's spent a lot of time introducing me to people and places, but..." He shrugged. "Maybe it was because I was obviously hiding or because I have money, but I don't think District X likes me very much."

"Wanna come out around with me and try again?" She figured the outsider vibe may have thrown off some of the more insular residents and business owners. Most of the people involved in the community or who owned businesses knew Vanessa, though, and many knew her better than Jean-Paul. There was a fair chance that if Warren was with her - particularly if they knew he was with her - that they may take to him better. "Missus Mulrooney will tell you what a heartbreaker I am and Maddie will memorize your favorite coffee drink and I'll show you the boxing gym and dojo owned by the brothers and the best Chinese place ever where Madame Wong knows Jean-Paul by voice."

"I am certainly not going to say no to an offer like that," Warren replied, moving so he could crawl up and plant a kiss on her lips. "We could both probably do with a break from work as well." Warren knew he had something of a workaholic tendency, something he was trying to break. At least for the time being.

"Work be damned!" The declaration came with Vanessa's foot searching to hook around the back of Warren's waist so she could drag one of them closer and steal another kiss. She was, she had realized recently, very easy to distract with the prospect of kisses. Much more easily than she was by the prospect of sex. Then again, sex they had started as a very fun but not particularly emotional thing. Kissing for the metamorph tended to be much more intimate much more easily. It was a holdover from her days of prostitution she didn't really talk about. Eventually her foot did worm its way into prime foothold territory and dragged herself closer to Warren. After another kiss she grinned.

"Come, señor, let me show you the fine people of my land and the downtrodden as well." Vanessa delivered her line in the best stage baritone she could manage without a male voice to work with. "Um...but you might need to convince me to move." With that an arm was winding around his shoulders and she was going in to steal another kiss.

* * * * *

It was quite awhile later that Warren and Vanessa actually managed to leave the apartment, and Warren was having trouble keeping a smile off his face. His arm was draped over her shoulders, and a slight breeze was ruffling the feathers of his wings. It was still something of a novelty for him, to be out walking without them strapped down or sunglasses and a hat hiding his identity. He couldn't help but smile at everyone they passed, eschewing the usual aloofness of the New York pedestrian.

Vanessa's thumb was quite contentedly hooked through one of the back, side belt loops on Warren's pants. She leaned into his side as they walked, thoroughly enjoying Warren's new habit of being out and about as himself entirely. There was something about hiding some very prominent, intrinsic part of yourself that she didn't like. She couldn't say why. Vanessa wasn't one to think anyone should declare things about themselves such as sexuality, ethnic background, genetic status or socioeconomic standing, but when it was obvious she thought covering it up was just a bit sad. If you didn't have an arm then so what? Prove to the world you could still surf like that one chick. If you had wings - gorgeous wings at that - then hiding them was practically a crime against yourself.

"That's Empire Mixed Martial Arts," she said, pointing to the dojo a few blocks up. "He does Brazilian Jujitsu, kickboxing and a few other things, none of which is my style. Alfonso seems like an alright guy. He's Argentinian and his brother owns the boxing gym I use next door. I only really see Alfonso when they're bickering about something. Usually over whose gym is more valid. Stodgy old guys, as old guys are wont to be."

"Aren't they supposedly the most entertaining sort of old guys? Or at least that's what Grumpy Old Men taught me." Warren grinned. "Though let me guess - they've been having the same argument for as long as anyone can remember?"

"More or less. It's pretty much about the validity of MMA versus boxing. Personally, I still maintain kick boxers are pussies who can't throw a decent punch to save their lives so they need diversion tactics. But that's just me." Vanessa sounded remarkably like she was repeating something that had been said many times before. To be honest, it had been Eamon's stance she had adopted. Kick boxers could be skilled fighters, but in Vanessa's experience the kick took so long to get up and strike a decently agile boxer could get out of the way. Now, muy thai was a different story altogether. Those guys were amazingly impressive fighters. "Ignacio owns the boxing gym. He's very old school but also fairly awesome. I got his respect the first time I knocked a bloke out in his ring who had decided to fuck with me because I'm a blue chick and somehow that was even worse than me just being a chick in the gym."

"Why am I not surprised to hear you won that fight," Warren replied, an amused smile in his face. Warren didn't have much of an opinion when it came to different styles of fighting, mostly because he couldn't tell the difference. He'd learned a mix of various forms through his X-Men training, but nothing more than he really needed to protect himself and occasionally beat up bad guys. But he'd be the first to admit that his strength as a member in the team was his scouting abilities, not his fighting skills. "I'll have to remember to never get on your bad side." He leaned in and pressed a kiss against her hair, mostly joking with the comment. He was pretty sure Vanessa wouldn't hit him if they got into a fight. Unless for whatever reason he needed and/or deserved it.

"That's right, beware the warrior woman at your side, Mister Worthington." It was entirely possible she sounded just the least bit smug when she said that. Vanessa was certainly not the picture of a warrior walking down the street with him right now, but she still had her right hand free to draw the knife on her belt if need be. Some habits did not change even when you were giddy with a new beau. She was pretty confident she could win most fair fights and a few dirty ones, though, if mutant powers didn't come into play. District X had a lot of mutants but most weren't nearly as powerful as the people at the mansion.

Vanessa turned them at the next block so she could head to Puccini to see Maddie. Warren got a number of looks as someone most people didn't recognize but Vanessa mostly just stared down the ones she didn't know or waved at the people she did to distract them from their staring.

Warren just smiled back at those staring. He wasn't completely unused to being the object of people's attention, as much as he wasn't particularly fond of the spotlight. If he was going to be honest, the only place he liked people paying him this much attention was in the courtroom. But he had chosen this, so he just had to get used to it.

"You know, I'm starting to feel a little bit like you're showing me off." Warren leaned his head closer to hers, murmuring to her with a smile. He didn't mind at all, but it was rather amusing.

Turning her head just enough to place a kiss on his cheek, Vanessa grinned. "I'm not intentionally. You're just so damn pretty that me being wholly proprietary about you comes off a lot like being shown off. But I could try to keep you to dingy alleys if you'd like." At least there weren't that many people out on the street. It was a weekday, after all, so most people were off at school or work or wherever they went during their days.

"Oh no, I don't mind at all," he replied with a grin, leaning in for a quick kiss. "Dingy alleys aren't really my sort of place." He looked mock horrified for a moment. "I might get my wings dirty, and then where would we be?"

He had opened himself up for her answer all too easily. It was such a perfect opening she almost didn't take it. But how could she resist? "Why, we'd be on our way to the shower in such a devastating circumstance." Vanessa batted her eyes slowly and kept a look of utter innocence on her face.

Warren just laughed at that, squeezing the arm around her shoulders to hug her in a little closer. "In that case, maybe we should find the closest dingy alley. I think I could stand to get a little dirty if that was the case."
"And abort your tour of the seedy and not-so-seedy side of the neighborhood?" Vanessa wore a scandalized expression, mouth agape, eyes wide and a hand clutched to her chest.

"When my other choice is being wet and naked with you?" He flashed her a wicked smile, before sighing melodramatically. "I suppose I should let you finish the tour. Insert something here about the good of the people or something like that. I'm very selfless like that, you know."

He got a very light elbow in the side for his melodrama and a wide smile. "Yes, for the good of the people. We can't let you go off being inefficient or the people will suffer. All the poor orphans and drug-addled teens grungy and grimy with nowhere to go!" Just as she finished saying that she veered them off to the side and pulled open the door to Puccini Cafe. It was comfortable looking inside with benches all along the walls and couches and armchairs clustered around low tables in addition to the more traditional tall, hard-backed chairs around higher tables. The counter was flanked by the espresso machine and the employee work station to one side and a display case filled with pastries, sandwiches and the various lunch time selections du jour. There were already four people in line so Vanessa simply queued up behind them.

Warren was still chuckling when they joined the queue, and did his best to resist wrapping his arms around Vanessa and kissing her while they waited. Distraction was bad. Instead he glanced around the cafe, taking in the surroundings and the other patrons. "Is this your regular coffee spot?"

Vanessa nodded. "Aye. When I go running in the mornings I end here, grab coffee and walk back to the flat to shower. I probably shouldn't drink my coffee quite so quickly but it's time efficiency at it's best! And I have other taste buds. I don't need them all."

"Is the coffee that terrible?" Warren asked, trying to hide a little bit of a smile. Call him a snob, if you will, but unless you were drinking bad coffee just to keep yourself awake, drinking it so fast was something of a crime.

"Shhh." Vanessa clamped a hand over Warren's mouth and looked around as if checking to see if someone had overheard him divulge sensitive information. "Don't you let Maddie hear you assert such things or you'll have her against you forever and there will be days you want your coffee ahead of the line or waiting for you at a regular time and if you want these sort of perks you better make nice with the pretty redhead behind the counter."

Warren kissed at her palm until she moved her hand, then grinned at her. "I'll have you know I'm reputed to be very charming. You're the one potentially not properly appreciating the coffee provided by this fine establishment."

"I properly appreciate the coffee later in the day when I come back. That early I am appreciating the jolt of caffeine because I like having it to replace my endorphin rush, thank you very much." With that the last person in front of the stepped aside and Vanessa moved them up to the counter with a big smile on her face.

Maddie gave Warren an appraising once over. "Ah, new special?" she asked, grinning.

"Dessert du jour," Vanessa replied even as Maddie was already making her coffee.

The redhead's eyes moved over to the winged man. "Well, dessert du jour, what will it be?"

"First I'm a trollop, now I'm dessert," Warren complained good-naturedly, a matching grin on his face. "A latte for me, thanks."

"A latte?" Maddie made a disapproving noise as she shook her head. "I can see why he's a du jour and not a, uh, du month? They have a word for 'month' in French, right?"

Laughing, Vanessa replied, "Pretty sure, but you'd have to ask Jean-Paul. All the French I've picked up from him involves calling him my cabbage in an affectionate tone and swearing."

"Ah," Maddie began wistfully, "the perk of multicultural living. Life would not be complete without expletives in many languages. I can tell you that you're mother has the face of a whore in Italian." The last was said quite proudly.

"Probably true in my case."

"Du mois is what you're looking for," Warren said, rather amused at the interplay between the women.

Maddie stopped and peered around the espresso machine at the winged man. "He speaks French?" Her voice was clearly interested and curious, both.

"Not really," he replied, laughing a little. "I learned some at boarding school once upon a time. And I've been to Paris a couple of times, so I actually remember a little of it."

"Hm...you can keep him," the barista decided. "You should at least upgrade him to dessert du mois."

Vanessa smiled over at Warren. "You seem to be lord of the upgrade."

"Why thank you," Warren said with a flash of his most charming smile to Maddie.

"I am very ambitious, you know." He turned his attention to Vanessa. It was true, in a sense. He hadn't wanted to climb the corporate ladder, nor was he particularly interested in getting involved in the more political sides of being a lawyer. But he had big ideas, and the ambition to get them done. "I'll just keep climbing the upgrade ladder until I reach the top. Or you kick me off."

"I may need to preemptively kick you off just to keep your cockiness in check." She was kidding, but that was just the sort of thing she really would do.

When Maddie handed over their drinks the metamorph attempted to pay but got waved off from it. "In celebration of Monsieur Dessert," the young woman informed them with a wink then promptly shooed them on their way away from the counter so she could get to the next people.

The amused look on Vanessa's face left the cafe with her and reasserted itself even after sipping from the hot coffee. "Maddie likes you, so that's one more than you had before, aye? And Missus Mulrooney will love you, but you're going to meet the unwashed, shady bit of the neighborhood before you meet her."

"You and your need to deflate my ego," he said with a melodramatic sigh, before winking back to Maddie as he took his coffee from her. His arm slipped back around Vanessa's shoulders as they wandered back out onto the street.

"So you're going to attempt to traumatise me before taking me somewhere nice again?" His tone was still teasing, even if there was a trace of concern in his tone. It wasn't that he was particularly worried about going into what most of New York considered extremely dangerous territory, but he was worried about the reception he would get.

"I'm going to show you something other than the pretty rebuilt buildings and the pretty buildings in rubble they are next to." She intentionally avoided the building next door to the cafe and guided them in the opposite direction in case Mason spotted her. That could get awkward a little. "It's easy when you're this far north to just think the neighborhood needs some buildings rebuilt or torn down. Further souther it's pretty obvious that's not all the neighborhood needs."

Warren nodded, the playful manner sobering up a little as he did. "Lead away," he replied quietly, sipping at his coffee. He honestly hadn't strayed south all that often, other than when he visited the Angels clinic for meetings. And even then he hadn't paid too much attention to the area as he was departing.

District X was small enough that Vanessa's coffee wasn't even finished by time they hit the needier part of the neighborhood. She paused on a corner, the street in front of them sort of an imaginary dividing line between the part of District X that was getting its life back together and the part of it that had watched its life fall apart and never recover. Seeming lumps of dirty blankets were people sleeping in doorways of businesses that had never reopened. Small groups sat clumped together on the sidewalk talking, drinking their 40's in paper bags or smoking out of pipes. Most of them weren't visible mutants and Vanessa's best guess put the transient population split about evenly between human and mutant in general.

"Welcome to the rest of District X, lover boy."