Vanessa & Warren | Tuesday night

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Warren and Vanessa meet up for dinner and discuss his burgeoning new legal firm and the prospective arrangement for their respective businesses to work together.

While typically the first to arrive almost anywhere, Vanessa had run behind schedule a bit tonight. The truth of the matter was that she found being pink pointedly unsettling. She couldn't put her finger on why, however. It was her body, her bone structure, just not her pigment. There was simply something distinctly wrong about being in her body but not blue, which she saw the irony in considering how very often she had wished to simply be normal colored in the past. On top of that she was dealing with dinner with Warren. Sure, she'd spent a fair amount of time with him while she was in the mansion and that had gone fairly smoothly, but she hadn't seen him since. In the end she decided to turn up in work attire - slacks; a crisp, white collared shirt, and a blazer. Just like when she was blue, she was only wearing black and white. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, which she had left that way as some sort of symbol of how she felt inwardly.

All in all, her various issues had resulted in her being the second to turn up at the designated thai restaurant. Luckily all Vanessa had to do was mention she was meeting the man with the wings and was shown directly to their table. Having kept her powers issues under wraps for the most part, Vanessa felt overwhelmingly naked as she approached the table. That did not stop her from affecting a casual smile. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I got held up at the apartment." It was technically true. Vanessa chose an adjoining side of the table to where Warren sat rather than sitting opposite without giving any reason for it. Sitting across from him would have put her back to the door and there was no chance she was volunteering for that.

"It's not a problem," Warren said with a smile. For a moment he hadn't recognized the woman being directed to his table, but by the time she reached him, he'd worked it out. The way she moved, the bone structure, the look in her eyes. But it was her, and so the shock had faded by the time she reached the table. Although he was tempted, he didn't get up to get the chair for her, instead letting her do it for herself. He was dressed more casually than she was, in jeans and a shirt.

"I'm glad you could come." Of course, he could have talked to her about this in a less formal setting, or even over the phone. But never let it be said that Warren gave up the opportunity to take someone out for dinner, especially an attractive someone.

"I decided your company was preferable to that of a book. It's quite a distinguishing honor, that." Vanessa smiled. "Though I suppose your stock goes up in direct proportion to availability. Something of a supply and demand issue, I would think. The book is there any time I want it but you're a bit more illusive so turning you down would have been terrible strategy on my part."

"I am honoured. I hope I can prove sufficiently entertaining enough that you won't regret stepping out for the evening. I've been something of a bore recently, all work work work." He smiled at her again, before turning his attention to the waitress who showed up to see if they wanted to anything to drink. He looked at Vanessa, waiting to see if she wanted anything.

She ordered a thai iced tea and waited until Warren had ordered and the young woman had departed before responding. "All work and no play? Now, now, that is not the Worthington playboy I recall. Your reputation is going to wind up in the mud if you continue on this way. You should at least keep up being seen out and about with a myriad of beautiful arm candy, perhaps of either gender. If you insist on being dull you should at least cultivate a reputation that says otherwise." Vanessa teased, fingertips running along the edge of each piece of silverware. Her eyes glanced over to the door, not for the first time, before they returned to Warren. "That way you can live vicariously through yourself. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I have such a burdensome reputation," Warren said with a melodramatic sigh. "All those pretty people to spend time with. Parties to go to. It's just such a pity I have better things to do with my time." Which was half true. Most of Warren's friends were very pretty people, and he was happy to spend time with them. But he wasn't about to do it just to preserve his reputation. "But I still make time to see my friends. So not quite all work and no play."

"Just most work and some play? You really have become a very dull boy in a very short span of time," Vanessa admonished. The sigh that followed wasn't half as melodramatic as his had been a moment ago. "I suppose I'll need to find someone else to get my fill of vicarious scandal from. You're really inconveniencing me with this turn you're taking to the land of the serious and upright, you know."

"What can I say?" Warren said with a shrug. "I'm something of a workaholic most of the time. When I have something to keep me occupied. I've been working on getting things set up for my new law firm." He smiled quietly, but a little proudly. "It's all finally starting to settle into place."

His announcement drew a soft smile to her lips. "So then you passed the bar when you retook it?" Belatedly, she wondered if she should have brought that up. He was studying for the exam when she had been abducted. The topic may have been a bit too close to home. "I'm glad things are coming together for you. Did you ever decide where you were going to set up your office precisely?"

"That's what the piece of paper I got recently says." The smile got a little bit broader at that. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. The current favorite is not far from your offices, and just around the corner from your coffee shop." Warren wasn't entirely sure that opening an office around the corner from hers really counted as giving her space.

"So you'll be a bonafide local?" She grinned at the prospect. "That's great. And it will be vastly more convenient as I try to repay you for all that dedicated take out delivery while I was on house arrest." There were complications to consider, of course, but why should she want to do that here and now? She and Warren had been on amicable ground since their...whatever it was they did. Their pause button? 'Break up' didn't really seem to fit.

The door to the restaurant opening drew Vanessa's gaze which gave her a nice respite from any thoughts threatening to encroach on their pleasant evening. Her paranoia was a fantastic diversion for thought. She was still smiling when she looked back to Warren. "Being so close will also make it loads easier to refer people over to you when we have people stumbling into the office who need legal help."

Warren chuckled at that. He'd noticed Vanessa's constant checking, but was mostly ignoring it. She had good reason to be paranoid. Perhaps it wasn't entirely necessary, but it was clearly what she needed to do.

"Bishop's already raised the possibility of having us on retainer. Mutant cops, mutant lawyers, seemed like a good match." He didn't quite come out and ask her if it was okay with her, though it was on the tip of his tongue. It did make sense, but he didn't want to do it if she needed more space than that.

"I knew I'd agreed to go into business with that man for reasons aside from his devilish good looks and ability to get a PI license legally." She tapped a finger against her temple. "I'm a smart one. I can't say that we've had much need of lawyers for us or clients just yet but that possibility always exists. Furthermore, odds are eventually you'll need someone to look into something for a case. A formal business relationship undoubtedly holds more water than 'so some friends of mine are PIs' with most judges." Vanessa was, obviously, ignoring all other pertinent points of interest here and focusing on the strictly professional points, all of which were beneficial. There were some less beneficial possibilities involved but those all fell into categories she labelled as stuff she only thought about when she should be sleeping but wasn't.

"Exactly." Warren watched Vanessa sharply for a moment, trying to read past what she was saying. He wasn't entirely sure she was as okay with it as she seemed, but he wasn't going to press. It was work, business, and they could keep things professional. He presumed. "You and Bishop will have to meet Jennifer. She's an old law school friend of mine who has been working at Legal Aid here. She helped me out on a case I worked on a month or so ago, and she's coming on board as my partner." Warren was actually looking forward to Bishop and Jennifer meeting. She was one of the few people she'd met that could rival the man in height.

Vanessa nodded. "I assume she's good at what she does if you're asking her on board as a partner?" Granted, Vanessa herself had accidentally wound up with a partner in X-Factor so she didn't discount that possibility entirely. Warren seemed much less likely to jokingly extend an invitation to someone. "What types of law does she have her background in? For that matter, I don't actually know what types of law you have your background in either."

"Much better than me," Warren replied. "Or at least, she was up at the top of our class all the way through school. She's been struggling to get anywhere since because people are wary about hiring a mutant for their law firm." Warren's annoyance about the whole situation started to bleed into his voice. "Her background is mostly criminal - she's been working at Legal Aid for a few years now, though she's mostly been handed the shit no one else wants. The worst criminals, the hopeless cases. But she's done what she can with them." And now she was going to come work with him. Which he decided would be a much better option for her. "My background is primarily civil, mixed with business. Most of the cases I worked on in California were anti-discrimination cases. Mutant cases a lot of the time, but there were more than a few LBQT cases as well."

"A mutant and a woman? She was fucked from the go, aye? Tell me she's a lesbian with poor parents, though, and I may need to advise you not to go into business with her. Clearly she's gotten the karmic short stick and she would only drag you down with her." She was obviously kidding from her tone. "A combination of criminal, civil and discrimination experience should be handy to have locally. I'm sure more than one person in District X needs help or advice with discriminatory practices."

"I don't think she's a lesbian," Warren said with a thoughtful smile. "But her dad was a sheriff, so not exactly raking in the money." He flashed Vanessa a grin. "I think we should fit in nicely. And god knows I've got enough money sitting around the place that we should be able to take on a fair amount of pro bono work. Or at least I'd like to."

"You know," she paused, one finger pointing at him. Vanessa had nearly called him 'lover boy' but had stopped in time to realize that habit was a bad idea here. She continued on as if the awkward pause hasn't just occurred. "The possibility exists of embracing philanthropy to such an extent as to render yourself penniless, my friend." Calling him her friend seemed strangely itchy and uncomfortable. Vanessa plowed on regardless. "Just make sure you don't bankrupt yourself while doing all that pro bono work, okay? It's a good thing, I don't debate that, but all things in moderation or what have you."

Warren shrugged. "My trust fund makes more money than I spend at this point. And even if it didn't, it gets replenished by the money I get for being a major shareholder in Worthington Industries." Warren seemed vaguely uncomfortable discussing his financial status - he hadn't really done anything to earn the money he lived off, and a large part of him didn't feel like he deserved to have it. Which is why he ended up doing things like spending money on his friends or doing lots of pro bono work. Or at least that was part of it. The rest of it was just simply being a generous and philanthropic soul.

"As long as you don't wind up destitute and on the street. Or, rather, destitute and in the mansion." Though she was fairly sure a number of the people who lived at the mansion would have wound up homeless and poor if it hadn't been for Xavier. "A lot of people will be very grateful to have lawyers around who aren't concerned with leeching every last penny they have out of them. And then asking for another hundred just because."

"Not all lawyers are like that," Warren protested instinctively. Sure, there were those types out there. But there were also plenty of people around who weren't, who had gone into law for reasons other than just to make money. "But I take your point. There wouldn't be much point in me setting up shop in District X if I wanted to make that sort of money."

"Not unless you had devastatingly terrible business sense, anyhow. District X is a fairly mixed bag socioeconomically. There are plenty of people who are on the more comfortable side of things financially but far too many are scraping by or underwater, not to mention those who are on the streets." She shrugged. "Anyhow, I'm sure it will work out for you and your partner."

"Which I don't," he said with a smile. "And here's hoping. I have a good feeling about this."