Participants:
| Scene Title | Charming(?) the Ladies |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Rudeness abounds as Luke tries to hit on two girls at once(one of which this was the second time) and fails miserably. |
| Date | October 7, 2010 |
Located in the Upper West Side, West Side Sushi is a small sushi bar and restaurant that caters towards a medium income though manages a more upscale environment. The decor is tasteful and modern, vibrant in the tone of wooden floors, reflective glass bars, tricky lighting fixtures and artwork on the walls. A winding bar occupies one side of the building, the other devoted to private, comfortable tables with booths and armchairs. A decent range of Japanese cuisine is offered, from light meals to proper dinners, with a focus on sushi of varying prices. A full range of liquor is also available, including sake.
It has a trendy kind of vibe that implies temporary success and limited lifespan, but while it's in its prime, it's a nice place to go, with a casual if still sophisticated ambience with prices that aren't out of reach of the common man but quality that doesn't guarantee it will be overlooked by the wealthier patron.
It's a nice evening, cool and comfortable. Perfect jacket weather, really. Elle Bishop is decked out in the loose blue jeans that have become a standard on her, and a loose-fitting black t-shirt with an owl printed across the front; over her shoulders is a grey hoodie-jacket, which is unzipped.
She's hungry, and only Sushi can fill that need; so, Elle's decided to treat herself. She deserves it, after all, after all she's been through in the past few weeks. The petite redhead slips into West Side Sushi, pushing the hood off of her head, and making a bee-line for her usual seat. Once settles, she promptly orders her typical meal, the sashimi platter, smiling brightly to the wait staff all the while.
This is a zen place. A place to relax, soothe oneself with delicious ethnic cuisine. And they do it so amazingly well here!
Luke has been lurking in and around the sushi shop ever since he saw that blonde that one day who said she goes there 'all the time', but she never visited it since. Naturally, this irritated him, because he figured it was just her blowing him off. Bitch.
He was in the sushi restaurant today, and seated off to the side with a plate of cooked sushi. Scowling into his food, he glances up when the door opens, but it's some redhead. Oh well, maybe she'd like to talk. Pushing the remains of his food to the side, he gets up and goes to sit near Elle, eying her.
The redhead arches her brows as Luke moves to sit closer to her, turning to peer thoughtfully at him with dark green eyes. She remembers him. He must not have had anything to do with the Institute, or something. A faint smile is cast up to Luke as he seats himself, the redhead running her fingers through her hair. "Hello." She's at least acknowledging him. That's good, right?
There's a vague sense of deja vu, because wasn't that girl sitting in this exact seat that one time? Eh well. "Come here often?" should be deja vu to Elle as well since he's behaving the EXACT SAME WAY. He's not very original, is he?
The redhead peers quietly up at Luke, a thoughtful look on her face. "No, actually. This is my first time eating here." She smiles faintly up to Luke, sipping at her tea as it arrives. "Is the sushi good here? I saw it and I had to try, I love sushi." Elle leans back in her seat.
"It's all right." Luke doesn't seem terribly interested in talking about food. "Got a name?" he asks, blatantly ignoring the check placed right next to his elbow. Hah, checks. Who'd actually pay money for stuff like this?
Enter another female into the sushi shop, this one of auburn hair that's pulled into a neat bun. Looks like she'd just come from work, and military besides, clad as she is in boots and a flight suit. And after work means it's time to enjoy a decent meal in a quieter atmosphere.
While entering, Gavyn pushes her sunglasses more firmly into place, covering her eyes in a practiced gesture that leaves her other hand free to tuck her cover into a thigh level cargo pocket. There's little to do at the door and she came here to eat. So, snagging a menu, she makes her way toward a table. Of course, there is the required casual glance around, taking in the other diners in passing.
Elle raises her eyebrows, tilting her head back as she peers at Luke thoughtfully. "You're in luck. I do have a name." She says this with a smile, and nothing more, tilting her head toward Luke. She feels like being a bit…difficult. As Gavyn enters, the fiery redhead offers the woman a warm smile, leaning back in her seat as one hand raises to wave to the other woman. Just a friendly stranger-wave.
Luke narrows his eyes at the smartass comment, and was planning a retort(eventually) but then another lady comes in, and Luke whistles. "I love a lady in uniform." he's doing this deliberately as a slur to Elle, who he's technically still in the middle of talking with.
The wave is returned, albeit as more of a nod than an actual wave. No reason to be rude, the red head seems friendly enough even if what bit of the exchange between Elle and Luke was caught seems to be rather coy. Though, Gavyn, for her part, rolls her eyes at Luke's assessment. Not that he'd see it behind the shades. "Yeah, I can see why," is her reply, coupled with a once-over of the man.
A faint smile is cast back to Gavyn. She likes her already. She knows a fellow bitch when she sees one. Since Luke doesn't respond to her smartass comment, Elle happily takes a sip of her water, yawning softly. "Most ladies in uniform aren't as likely to love you, I'm sure." She mumbles this out, turning to peer up at Luke thoughtfully.
Luke snorts at Elle. "It takes all kinds." And with that, surely there's one kind of girl that would like his kind, right? "It's better when the uniform comes off, naturally." he adds towards Gavyn. Who knows, maybe being rude turns her on?
Don't count on it. Gavyn offers a smirk to Elle, amused but relaying disinterest in the male's attempted advances. Then she pointedly looks at Luke. "Really now. You think it'd be that easy?" The smirk remains but the signal that follows needs no words. The menu is opened and lifted, attention turning onto the selections printed within.
Elle laughs faintly toward Luke, running a hand through her fiery hair. "Honey, honey…you're not going to do well in the wild world of women, behaving like that. The only ones you'll get acting like that are the ones you really don't want to be be between the legs of." She smirks. "Try chivalry and gentlemanly ways. It gets the ladies much more interested." She sips at her water, turning a small grin to Gavyn, her dark green eyes reflecting Gavyn's disinterest.
Luke snorts. "Chivalry is dead. And if I acted gentlemanly, I'd get laughed at. No one acts like that anymore either. Welcome to the real world, ladies." disgruntled, and recognizing failure when he sees it, he gets up and leaves. Oh, and that check? Riiiiight next to Elle. Enjoy.
The menu comes down as Luke leaves, and the look directed at Elle is a 'Can you believe that'. It's hidden behind sunglasses, of course, but the impression is there, probably noteable in the quirking of her lips. "Why is it all the guys think chivalry is dead," she asks. Honestly, why is it? "Or better yet, why do guys think they'll get laughed at over it?"
Elle rolls her eyes after the teenager, shaking her head. "Chivalry really isn't dead. And the guys who realize that are the ones who get the most attention." She smiles faintly, leaning back in her seat. "I'm laughing more at the fact that he thinks acting like a little…Quagmire…is going to get him any ladies." She giggles softly, putting one hand over her mouth.
"Quagmire," Gavyn muses. She lifts a hand from her table and nudges those sunglasses up again. "Good word choice. Far better than anything I would have chosen." A grin works its way onto her features, tugging up the corners of her mouth. "Too bad those who've learned are few and far between, and often already spoken for, hm?"
"Oh god, don't I know it." She rolls those dark green eyes up toward the ceiling, then back down to Gavyn. "Madison Cole, by the way." She bobs her head toward Gavyn with a small, respectful nod. "You new around here? I don't think I've seen you in here before." She lied to Luke, of course. She does come here all the time…just not much recently.
New? "Not really." The girl allows herself to be interrupted, pointing out a couple of selections from the menu and placing an order to the server who approaches. "Gavyn Mitchell, and the place came reocmmended." The conversation is picked up again rather easily. Her hands fold upon the table top, and there's some mild interest while she regards the red haired woman. And no, she's never been here, specifically, before.
"Nice to meet you, Gavyn." Elle smiles faintly, nodding her thanks to the server as her sashimi platter is served, and she begins to happily eat the raw fish. "It's a pretty good place. I love it here, great atmosphere, when that thing isn't hanging around." She gestures at the door, after Luke. Then, she's smiling back to Gavyn, gesturing to join her by the bar. "Here, come sit. Rather than sitting alone and eating lunch, you and I can sit together and…generally chatter, or something."
There's hesitation so slight, it may have just been imaginary. Gavyn picks up her glass of water and moves over to the bar, taking up a seat beside Elle. "Thank you," she says, once again nudging her glasses into place. "So, good food here then. I'm not a fan of raw fish, but the selections seem appetizing."
The redhead smiles faintly. "Well, you really have to get the good stuff to get a real taste of sushi. I love sashimi, myself. It's delicious, and it practically melts in your mouth." She giggles softly. "You'll like it here, I'm sure." Then, she taps the side of her head, peering over at Gavyn. "What's with the sunglasses? Photosensitivity or something?"
"Something like that." Doesn't sound much like Gavyn cares to elaborate. Her manner even implies she'd rather not get into a discussion over it as her focus seems to drive into the glass she still holds. "Any other good places to eat around here? I don't get out a whole lot, kind of trying to start. Y'know. The whole social thing."
"Well…if you don't mind diner type food, The Nite Owl is good. If you're looking for ritzy, there's d'Sarthe's in Central Park. Um…there's all kinds of places, really!" The redhead smiles cheerfully over to Gavyn. "So I take it you're in the military, from that outfit. What branch?" She pops another piece of the sashimi in her mouth, sighing contentedly.
There's another moment of interruption as Gavyn's food is delivered. Tempura veggies and a steaming bowl miso, all smelling very delicious. The girl dips her head to the server, offering a smile and a quiet word of thanks. "Air Force," she replies, hands weilding chopsticks deftly. A slice of cucumber is picked up and dipped into the soup. "How about yourself? What do you do?"
The redhead smiles faintly. "I'm in between jobs right now, but mostly, I do government work." She raises a hand up. "Higher up things. I was HomeSec for a while…stuck to it for a good long while, but it really wasn't for me. Thinking of getting into a less…hectic department." Less brain erasing in Cardinal's department, as well.
That seems to peak the airman's interest a little, she pauses in the act of chewing the bit of cuke and selecting another breaded veggie to look at the red head. "Really. Must be beyond my clearance level then." It's a statement of fact. Gavyn doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered. She nabs a wedge of squash, this too taking a swim in the miso.
'Madison' chews down some more of her sashimi, smiling faintly. "Oh, I'm fairly certain it was." Not to mention, Elle's not about to tell some random woman that she's the daughter of the former director of the now fallen Company. That's knowledge she is quite happy to keep to herself. "So, how long have you been in New York, Gavyn?"
Everyone has secrets, and Gavyn isn't one to pry. Hell, she's got some of her own. "Four years this November." The answer comes slowly, and a keen interest is taken on pushing the piece of squash about in her bowl. It floats, the tempura batter soaking up the soup and becoming soggy. That's a touchy subject, but not easily avoided. "You? Seems like you've been here a while."
"To be honest…I can't tell you how long I've been here off the top of my head. Time goes by way too quickly these days. I'd have to get a calculator out, or something." 'Madison' smirks, crossing her legs as she regards Gavyn. She quickly pops the last of her sashimi into her mouth, and pays her bill with cash. No need to leave a paper trail. "I should probably get going, Gavyn. I have a bit of business to attend to…" Mainly, she's going to go see if Cardinal will give her something to do. She feels lazy.
Gavyn nods. The remainder of the tempura veggies are placed into the bowl to soak briefly. Makes the going down taste that much better. "Nice meeting you," she says to the other woman. Sunglasses are again nudged up higher onto her nose as she looks over at the red head. "And thanks for the suggestions." No, really. Thanks for the suggestions. The mess hall isn't always the best place to eat.
"Nice meeting you, too." She smiles faintly. "Oh, also try Piccoli's Deli. It's pretty awesome." She flashes a brighter smile to Gavyn this time, zipping up her jacket and making toward the door. "Perhaps I'll see you around some time." Then, the tiny redhead is out the door and on her way home, with a full belly and an amused look on her face.