Summary:Aunt May has Plans for the Waynes and Peter. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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The Uber driver stops the Honda CR-V at the gate and looks up. "Ma'am, is this the address?"
A voice from the back seat says with a firm tone, "Why yes, dear boy. Be so kind as to announce yourself. I believe that is the intercom right there?"
The driver shrugs, pulling up alongside the panel and pressing the button. "Hello? Yes, I'm dropping off a Miss May Parker?"
"MRS. And do say who I'm here to meet."
A sigh. "MRS. May Parker to speak to Bruce Wayne and family?"
Inside Wayne Manor is a different story. Bruce was currently trying to help Cassandra with a reading lesson, a frown pulling at his features. "Are there any languages you know besides English?" he asks Cassandra. He tries asking her in Cantonese and Japanese, but it seems body language is still working best. That's when there's a polite clearing of a throat. "Master Bruce?" asks Alfred. "There is a Mrs. May Parker here to see you?"
Bruce considers, and then there's a grin. "Tell her to come in - and find Selina." he offers with a coy smile. "She's soon to be the lady of the house, after all."
Cassandra is, perhaps, showing the most frustration by the reading lesson than she's shown Bruce in anything else he, or anyone else has tried to teach her thus far. She's not getting anywhere, and the other languages? Well. So far no spoken languages have shown to reach her, at all.
Still, she hadn't given up, just been more pointed, and more firm wth her own body language to express her frustration in a mature fashion for someone who - well, can't speak.
But, when the lesson appears to be over, the girl seems quite honestly relieved. And she looks to the others to see what is going on, and who this apparent new person is that is going to be introduced.
Graduation means school is out, and extracurriculars are out, and for quite possibly the first time in her life, Helena doesn't have half a dozen things demanding her attention at once. Sure, the actual heroing thing is taking up some of that time. But in the rest of it…Well, idle hands are not a good thing, really.
She's settled for a movie marathon, watching Star Wars in the media room. She was going to introduce Cass to it, but Dad had to be all responsible with the reading and the language lessons.
An arrival, though, is a welcome distraction. Pausing the movie, she pops out of her chair and heads for the door, brushing the wrinkles out of her t-shirt and shaking a hand through her hair. You know, just in case.
He says that like she hasn't owned the place since she walked in~
At least that's what she would say if she'd had the impeccable timing to enter at exactly that moment, but even Selina Kyle can't always be sauntering into view, which some have reasonably surmised to be her mutant super power.
In fact, she looks a bit confused for a moment as she's informed, Saying "Maaaaaaa… aayyyy???" as her brain tries to conflate her personal assistant's first name with the last name of the person who introduced her, before she makes a sharp "Oh!" sounds and snaps her book shut. "Right, right. Thank you Alfred~. I'll be right down."
A minute later Selina's dressed in what she has somehow mastered as 'casually stylish comfort', grinning a bit as she catches up behind Helena, nudging her once with her elbow and coyly asking her, "Nervous?"
The gate opens and the driver goes, "Hunh. Whaddaya know."
"Quite a bit, dear boy. Now, chop-chop."
The driver chuckles and drives up to the front gate. "Okay, we're here. Just press…"
"Dear boy, I have done this before. Green button, white top button, and poof!"
The iPhone on the driver's dashboard shows up with the approved payment, a five-star rating, and a generous tip. "Wow. Thanks, Mrs. Parker."
The old woman stepped out of the car, closing the door behind you. "Thank you dear. Drive safe."
The Honda SUV drives away, and May Reilly Parker, "Aunt May" to her friends and family, walks up the wide, gentle steps up to the main door. Good heavens, they looked like they were made of solid oak.
She stopped at the door, then pressed the doorbell, waiting patiently.
The door opens, and the older British gentleman that opens it is completely prim and proper. Dressed in his butlery suit, there's a lift of a brow at the woman standing at the door. "You must be Mrs. Parker. I am Alfred. Welcome to Wayne Manor. I believe the Lady of the House, Selina Kyle, is expecting you." he offers to her as he moves out of the way to allow May entrance to the main hall.
"We'll work on your lessons again soon, Cassandra." Because she needs to know what words are - especially important ones outside of combat. As he comes out of the library, he notices his daughter and fiance, and moves over to press a kiss to Selina's cheek. "She looks like a handful." he muses to the other women.
Cassandra watches Bruce, unexpressively for a long moment before moving to follow him out of the library as well. It is clear, simply by her features she is not in anyway a child of the Wayne's, her darker complexion and frame of her eyes give her heritage away as having derived from halfway around the world.
Unlike any of the others, she does not greet May. She simply looks at the older woman, seemingly indiffrently so. But her brown eyes are most attentive, nevertheless. Strangely focused.
"No, of course not," Helena lies to her mother, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and lingering behind Alfred's shoulder, bouncing a bit on her toes. Once he opens the door, she's quick to pop out and hold out her hands to May, smile bright. "Aunt May, weclome!" she greets with enough warmth to make up for Cassandra's lack thereof. "Please come in. Thank you, Alfred," she adds with another smile for the butler.
Selina smirks slightly as Bruce makes his comment and notes "Ah, good," kissing Bruce on the chin and finishing: "She'll fit right in~" The family seems to deal exclusively in handfulls, after all. Selina watches with a smile as Helena greets their visitor before stepping forward turning on the proverbial hostess charm with the charisma Selina Kyle tends to bring to bear. "Mrs. Parker, thank you so much for coming. Welcome to our home." She reaches out both hands to May in greeting, and gestures towards Helena and Bruce in turn, saying, "You've met my daughter, Helena. This is my fiance, Bruce Wayne…" she steps past Bruce, briefly touching his arm, and then puts one hand on Cassandra's shoulders. "And this-" she speaks a bit more softly, but still in earshot "-not to put you on the spot, hon-" before going back to normal speaking volume, "is our Ward, Cassandra Cain." She smiles sympathetically and gives Cassandra's shoulder a light squeeze, "She's not fluent in English yet, so forgive her if she seems awkward."
With that Selina steps back into the center of view. "Anyway! It's good to meet you. We've heard so much about you and Peter from Helena~" That one's JUST to embarrass to Helena.
Aunt May is polite enough not to rubberneck. "Thank you, Alfred. I must say, you have a perfectly modultaed voice. Like Basil Rathbone." She smiles pleasantly, glancing tto his face before looking forward again. "This is a very lovely house, Alfred."
As Bruce Wayne arrives, she has to agree with Peter's assessment. He can be very imposing. The young lady following him is strangely silent, but God gives a person two ears and one mouth for a reason, after all. May gives her a pleasant smile and nods her head to Cassandra.
Then Helena arrives and May's eyes crinkle as she smiles, placing her spindly hands in Helena's own. "Ah, so good to see you, dear! Peter has been positively DESOLATE the past few days. You should call him."
The arrival of Selina Kyle reminds her of Bardot, from AND GOD CREATED WOMAN. She had thought the movie scandalous at the time. Miss Kyle had that aura around her.
"Well, thank you for having me. I know I showed up unannounced, which is HARDLY proper, but I wanted to do something for Peter and Helena. It's a little bit of subterfuge…I hope you will allow me this excess before I explain."
"Should I be dismissing Helena for this, then?" Bruce asks with a curious lift of his brow as he settles a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She's got a lot of Selina's looks about her, but when they're close together, there's little doubt that she's Bruce's child. "I believe she wanted to introduce Cassandra to some of the current culture in the theatre room."
Cassandra doesn't nod to May as the other nods to her. Not exactly. Still, the ever-silent asian girl of age near enough to be somewhere around Helena's seems to understands, well enough. There's a glance between May, and Selina. Then, between May, and Helena. And, lastly, between May, Helena, and Bruce. Her eyes rapidly, focused, watching everyone, as if somehow she understood everything that was going on. THere's certainly no confusion on her features.
Selina doesn't get a blush out of Helena, but Aunt May does. "Oh, I hope not!" she exclaims. "He was just making a lot of progress on his project and I didn't want to be a distraction. But I'll make sure to reach out. There's been a lot of adjusting the last few weeks," she says ruefully, looking up as her father steps up. "Star Wars," she adds in explanation, smiling crookedly between Cass and Aunt May. "It transcends all things."
Curiosity turns to a brilliant grin as Selina answers good humoredly "I understand completely Mrs. Parker. Conspiring around our children is half the reason I get out of bed in the morning~." and gives Helena a bit of a fond wink. Okay! Professionalism start! Wait, quick smirk at the Star Wars exchange. She has no idea how her daughter became a nerd. It's all Dick's fault, she's sure. Okay, now professionalism. "But yes, I'm all ears." She says, letting the matter of her family's attendance settle itself.
May smiles playfully. "Oh, there's no harm if Helena knows. It's mostly Peter I want to surprise." He looks to Helena, then to Bruce. "He's a gifted young man, but he is terribly shy…sheltered…prone to self-isolation. He's very sweet on you, though, Helena. Which is why I'd like you to invite him to dinner here. However…" Aunt May smirks. "*I* will be the one doing all the cooking, and it will be my dishes. And I hope that you will all attend as well, if you are able." She looks to Alfred. "I know I am trespassing in your territory, but I hope you will give a poor old woman some leeway and allow me to utilize your kitchen." She looks back to the others. "And, I hope to demonstrate the type of cuisine Helena is enjoying when at my home in Forest Hills. It may not be the elegant fare you normally serve, Alfred, but please permit me a little vanity."
"Master Bruce, I…" Alfred is already in protest mode when the oldest Wayne cuts him a smile. "I see." Bruce muses quietly as he glances over from May to Selina. "The gesture itself is rather.. unique." He's not even sure if he's ever tasted Selina's cooking. Not that he's ever asked her to. There's a pause as he glances towards Alfred. "I don't think she would be a terrible burden, would she?" he asks curiously.
"No, I suppose not." Already, Alfred feels the slight afront to his sensibility. He's handled the family meals for /years/ and noone's complained. He's reluctant about the entire idea, but finally leaves the decision in other hands, a furtive look to Selina.
Cassandra suddenly moves from her position near Bruce, and walks over to Alfred, looks up at him, and offers him a brief, but sincere smile. Then, it's him she stands next to, comfortably, and continues to assess the situation.
"I would love to invite Peter over," Helena assures May, the corners of her eyes crinkling with her smile. "Though I'm not sure if we'll be able to keep it a secret of any sort, the way he worries about you. Maybe if we told him you were busy cooking for a church function, then he wouldn't worry?"
Alfred, of course, is another story. But Helena's been working Alfred since the say she was born. "It'll just be like mothers day and fathers day, Alfred," she promises. "It's not really about the food so much as it's about the gesture. I really want Peter to feel comfortable here."
Selina's cooking isn't horrible, but it's mostly relegated to eggs, bacon, and that's it. Not really on Alfred's level. She meets Alfred's harrowed glance with a look of mild sympathy, and heavy mischief. It's not that she doesn't understand, or doesn't appreciate Alfred, it's just that… Selina Kyle has never quite grasped the concept holding most things 'sacred'.
So Alfred's gonna have to take one for the team.
"Devious. Scandalous. Unheard of. I love it. Mrs. Parker- oop." She pauses briefly as Cassandra moves past her suddenly, letting a beat pass before trying again, "Mrs. Parker, we'd be honored to have you cook for us and your nephew~" And as Helena placates Alfred, Selina nods. "Exactly; Alfred will appreciate the break, *and* the opportunity to grump about it~" She gives him a look only Selina Kyle can give, which is to communicate 'Love ya Alfred, but I'm having too much fun' which… has come up more than once in the last eighteen years or so. "We could always send someone-" probably Alfred, "-to pick you up after Peter leaves. It'll work out."
Aunt May smiles to Helena. "I am sure I can obfuscate Peter. It is for a good cause, after all."
She looks to Alfred with an apologetic eye. "It will only be for one night, Alfred, and I promise to leave the kitchen the way I found it. I will need some help, of course. I am familiar with my stove and burners at home because I've cooked on them for years. Peter repairs them often. But I would be very grateful for your guidance." She smiles gently. "And, in return, I will give you the recipe to my award-winning lattice apple pie. And I do not give that out to any Tom, Dick, or Harry. Not when I've won ten awards for it."
Despite Cassandra's support, which will certainetly earn her extra dessert in the future, Alfred knows when to step off the hill. "Very well, Miss Selina. The kitchen can be hers for the meal." he says with a sigh, before raising a brow. "Try a Bruce, Dick, Selina, Jason, Helena, Stephanie, Tim, and Cassandra." He rattles off the names in order of when they were part of the family, starting with the patriarch.
"It wil be find, Alfred. And I'm sure she will enjoy your company in the kitchen." Bruce points out helpfully, but for the most part, he's leaving this to the women.
"That pie is no joke, Alfred," Helena points out in support of the offer. But she knows when they've won, grinning broadly. "You just tell me when you want it done, Aunt May, and I'll make sure he shows up. Eventually," she adds with a fond roll of her eyes. Even if she knows why Peter runs late, it's still something to keep in mind.
"Oh-ho~" Selina muses, putting one hand on her chin. "Consider me convinced." She grins, nodding as Helena does her bit of conspiring and confirms, simply, "We'll make it happen."
The old woman smiles. "Now, if we are going to do this, there is something that we must all agree on."
She winks. "You all have to call me 'Aunt May.' All my friends do."
"Alfred will come around - but he is the glue that keeps this family together at times." Sometimes, quite literally. Bruce has nothing but support for his butler, but he's left this decision to Selina, and he's going to stand beside her in this - and why wouldn't Alfred want a day off. Bruce will make sure he has no duties at all for the day.
It'll probably drive Alfred mad.
"Aunt May, can I give you a drive back into town?" Helena offers, already moving to a side table to retrieve her keys. "No time like the present to go and check in on Peter, after all." She surely has no ulterior motives here at all.
"Oh?" Selina tilts her head curiously as Aunt May sets up her request, then smiles when May gives it. "Ha. Deal. A pleasure, Aunt May~."
As for Helena, Selina crosses her arms and gives a bit of a wry smile, "Well, it's all right with me, but curfew's still in effect, young lady."
Aunt May smiles. "Why thank you, Helena. I am sure Peter is in his basement lab, reading some computer screen. He's a good boy, but it's not a terribly exciting life he leads."