| Shopping with MJ |
| Summary: | Serenity asks Remy to go shopping with her so there will be a friendly face. MJ takes her to several boutiques. While Remy has to go, Simon Williams joins them for part of the trip as well. |
| Date: | 2016-09-01 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | Sven |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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It's just after breakfast when Serenity decides to call Remy LeBeau at the number he oh so helpfully provided to her.
Remy LeBeau answers. "Oui?" It's short and sweet and anyone who knows who it is that they've called will recognize the voice.
Serenity is a bit nervous about the call since Remy's not standing there with her for his empathy to overpower her nerves. "Remy? It's Serenity. I…" She pauses then says, "How are you this morning?"
Remy LeBeau can be heard to smile in the tone of his voice. "Well 'ello dere. Ol' Remy doin' just fine, chere. Jus' fine. An' 'ow 'bout you, hmm? 'ow're t'ings at de school for ya?"
Serenity pauses for a long calming breath that the phone doesn't pick up. "It's going okay. I talked to Jean like you suggested. I've decided to enroll in classes because she said my class schedule can be as flexible as I like. To accommodate my contract with Parker Industries, you know. Listen… I have a favor to ask you."
Remy LeBeau is patient and waits for her to continue. The smile remains in his voice. "Dat's not a bad plan at all chere. de school ain' perfec' but it's a ver' good place t' get settled an' get your legs under ya." He then sounds curious, "Yeah? What's de favor, chere?"
Serenity chews her lip a moment longer then says, "I'm meeting with a consultant this morning to buy some new clothes. Parker Industries set me up with her. Will you come along? I don't like meeting new people alone." She sounds so hopeful it's almost painfully pathetic.
Remy LeBeau pauses, "Well, if y' wan' Remy to come, 'e will, chere. Jus'…. realize Remy's opinion of clothin' probably ain' de same as what dey 'ad in min' for ya.." He chuckles. "Remy more de short skirt kinda guy den de nice suit kin'.."
Serenity hesitates over that, "I'd still appreciate you coming along. My driver should be here any minute. Should we pick you up or do you want to meet us at the shop?"
Remy LeBeau smiles. "Remy can meet y' there, sure. Jus' tell me where t' be an' when, chere."
Serenity rattles off the address of the boutique where she's meeting MJ and the time they agreed to meet. "Thank you so much, Remy. At least I know there will be one friendly face."
MJ arrives at Madonna & Co. (202 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) minutes before 10am, an hour before their regular 11am opening time. As previously arranged, the shop is showing signs of activity inside and has a sign indicating that the regular hours will be observed is posted on the inside of the window in the front door of the shop.
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Despite their being willing for MJ to enter immediately she smiles politely and declines, informing them that she will enter when her "client" arrives and waits patiently for the young girl's arrival.
Serenity arrives at the boutique before Remy but tells the intern driving her car to circle the block because there is no way she's getting out of the car before she sees the cajun. Once she sees him outside the boutique, her driver stops the car and lets her out to walk over nervously toward MJ.
Remy LeBeau arrives finally. A man on a black motorcycle with crimson rims. He pulls off his helmet and swings off the bike. Stepping onto the sidewalk he smiles as Serenity arrives. "'lo again chere. 'ow y' doin, mm? Look good at leas?" He smiles at her.
MJ thought she recognized the car from Serenity's description of it to her on the phone as it drives past but doesn't worry, the client being a little late won't bother the boutique as they have been promised a minimum purchase for this early and private opening time. When the motorcycle stops in front of the shop and the car pulls up next to it she nods, not surprising the young woman asked for a companion and then… its Remy LeBeau, yes that surprises MJ slightly but she quickly represses the expression, perhaps fast enough not to be noticed. When they approach she says, "Hello Remy," to the Cajun and then turns her attention to the girl. "You must be Serenity, good morning, I'm Mary Jane Watson. Its a pleasure to meet you," she says with a smile.
Serenity grabs Remy's hand and holds it much like she might a security blanket as she finishes walking over to MJ. She glances between MJ and Remy when the redhead knows his name without being introduced. Hmmmmm. It sets the girl on edge a bit, something that's obviously to a practiced eye. She finally nods to MJ, "That's right." She clings to Remy's hand in the presence of the other woman. "I was told you're the one to talk to about getting good clothes."
MJ gives the nervous girl a warm and friendly smile when she notices the nervousness in action and word. There is a slight tick of her right eyebrow as her trained ear catches Serenity saying the same words with the /exact/ same inflection that she had used during their phone conversation a few days ago.
"Yes, Peter is kind to have said that," she says and then, trying to assuage the young blonde's edginess, she explains, "Mr. LeBeau and I met by chance just this Monday, so your escort doesn't know me that much more than you do." And she then asks, "Shall we go in and start looking at the options here? Please keep in mind, we do have other places we can look as well, but I felt this was the best place to start with."
Serenity nods quickly, "Okay. If that's what you think is best. You're the expert here." She glances at Remy again. "I haven't gone shopping for clothes in years so I'm a bit out of practice at knowing what looks good." She clutches Remy's hand a little tighter as she follows MJ into the store. She's not trying to cut off the circulation to his hand. Really she's not.
Remy LeBeau lets his hand be claimed by Serenity as he saunters up. "Goin' be alright, chere. Jus' have fun, mmm? Shoppin' s'posed t' be fun." He chuckles quietly as he realizes who they're meeting, "'lo again Miss MJ. Funny ol' worl' where we meet two diff'rent times in de same week wit'out plannin' on it. Nice t' see ya." He then nods as the conversation directs the trio into the boutique. "Remy jus' 'ere as moral s'pport. Ain' gon' be much use in helpin' pick out proper clothin'." He looks down at his outfit. "Remy can' often dress hisself ver' well." He looks back up with a self deprecating smile.
MJ leads the trio into the boutique. As they enter, the employee who came in early approaches them and hugs MJ, kissing the air next to each of her cheeks, before he says, "Miss Watson! Thank you for coming." Sven, as his name tag identifies him, then turns to look at Serenity and says, "Is this the young woman you told us about?" still addressing MJ as he looks over the blonde with a professional eye and seems to be studiously avoiding glancing at Remy for the moment.
MJ accepts the embrace and returns the greeting kisses in kind. "Yes, Sven, we need to help her with clothing befitting a musician on her way to star status," MJ explains.
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Serenity relaxes a little when Remy tells her to, but she shies back a little when Sven looks her over. In her recent memories being looked over that way does not mean good things for her. She admits, "I'd be happy to just get out of this t-shirt. I haven't had anything else to wear but t-shirts that look like this for a week." Never mind that she didn't have a change of clothes for years before that. No one's going to talk about that today.
MJ smiles at Remy and says, "That's okay, Sven and I can do the dressing and you can help out with the appreciating as well as the moral support," to him.
Then, on to the business at hand, she looks over Serenity's current attire and asks, "What would you normally wear other than t-shirts?" of the girl at the center of attention without coming across as judgmental or snobbish in any way.
Serenity chews her lip as she looks down at herself. She wears the kind of expression that normally goes with an umm as she does so but the unnecessary sound never materializes. Instead she thinks in silence before saying, "Pants, skirts, whatever got picked out for me." She's never chosen her own clothing before?
MJ nods to Serenity's response as Sven approaches with three dresses. "I would suggest these as a starting place?" he says somewhat questioningly.
MJ again nods and says, "Yes, that's an excellent place to start. Try these on please Serenity. You will find no mirrors in the dressing rooms." She indicates the mirrors outside the dressing room area as she says, "You can see the dresses when you come out to show us as well."
http://www.madonnaandco.com/MAXI-BEADED-BODYCON-DRESS.html
http://www.madonnaandco.com/OFF-SHOULDER-DRESS.html
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Serenity looks over the dresses for a moment, looking nervous at the fact she has to come out before she can see how the items look on her. She's also reluctant to let go of Remy's hand. Finally though she accepts the dresses and disappears into the dressing room to emerge in the maxi dress. It is obvious she's uncomfortable in it even before she gets to where she can see it in the mirror.
While Serenity is changing into the first outfit, MJ looks around at accessory options and returns as Serenity steps out wearing the first dress. She disguises her instinctive response to the studs running down the dress' front and sides and then simply says, "No," as she intervenes between the girl and the mirrors. "That's not for you because it doesn't flatter your beauty. There's no need to even /look/ at it, Serenity," she says with an apologetic look towards Sven when she believes the blonde won't see it as she has just spoke unkindly about one of their products… but at least it was before the store was open to the public.
Serenity is visibly relieved when she's told to go back and take off the dress. She does so without a word, on silent feet. Definitely not much unnecessary noise from this one. She disappears into the dressing room again and comes back out in the next dress. The hem comes down to her knees but a slit up the left side shows a significant portion of her thigh.
While Serenity changed this time, MJ asks Sven for knee high stockings for the girl to try on and grabs a leather belt from the accessories section on instinct before returning to see the next dress being modeled by the singer.
Noticing the boots on Serenity's feet and indicating them with the direction of her glance, MJ suggests, "Why don't you leave those in the dressing room for now and just go barefoot. We can look at shoes shortly," as she looks over Serenity in the well shaped, off the shoulder dress.
"Well, what do you think of that?" she asks her "client" and the room in general with a discrete glance to Sven to remind him, unnecessarily based on his smiled but silent response, that he's excluded from the question.
Serenity glances down at her boots and flushes red. She stops moving as her embarrassment in front of the other woman makes her clumsy and she almost trips. She licks her lips then finally moves to where she can see herself in the mirror. She doesn't quite recognize herself in the dress so she just looks for a long time before responding quietly, "I think it looks okay."
"Alright, that one is a yes then," MJ says with a smile as Sven hands Serenity a pair of knee highs to put on as well. "Lets see that third dress?"
Serenity disappears again. This time when she returns it's in a stylish off the shoulder number that is long in back but stylishly short in the front so that it shows off a good bit of her thighs. As requested she has left the boots behind and walks out in the knee highs instead. When she looks in the mirror this time, she actually smiles for a moment before she suppresses in and tries to look more serious.
MJ nods and, as Serenity is looking at herself in the mirror, comes up behind the young woman and says, "I think this belt would enhance this wonderfully." She reaches around Serenity and, with the skill of someone who dresses and is dressed by others frequently, puts the belt on the blonde from behind so that it drapes over her hips.
http://www.madonnaandco.com/KNIT-HI-LO-OFF-THE-SHOULDER-DRESS.html
http://www.madonnaandco.com/LEATHER-DRAPED-BELT.html
Serenity tries on the belt and nods. She goes back into the dressing room and proceeds to go through a series of options. Skirts of silk and distressed jeans that Serenity doesn't very much like because they remind her too much of not being able to buy new clothing. Cardigans of crochet and off the shoulder tops combined with knit black pants then followed by a flashy top of black with sparkles in it. Along the way a fringed leather handbag is added to the collection along with a cuff bracelet that looks like a braid made of antique metal.
Amid Serenity's trips into and out of the changing room MJ found time to try on an over-sized shirt/dress and has it set aside as part of the purchase but not as part of the blonde's acquisitions. In the end, when Serenity comes out in her pants and sparkly top outfit with low black pumps that MJ promised would compliment the outfit, the redhead grins happily at the musician. "That looks lovely… but it is missing something crucial," she says.
Looking around, MJ grabs a necklace comprised of an antiqued silver chain with a vintage inspired watch which hangs to the girl's waist when the model puts it on her.
"That's perfect for wearing out today for the rest of the shopping don't you think?"
Serenity looks at herself in the mirror and whispers, "I don't look like me, but I guess I'm not supposed to." She murmurs, "It all looks so nice. He was right about you."
"Thank you, but the clothes are just clothes," MJ says and clarifies, "You will always look like you because that is who you are. Your clothes are there to bring people's attention to you… or hide you. Sometimes both!" She grins at that as it may not be clear as it is almost a zen koan.
"I think this is a success for here, ready to move on to another shop?" she asks.
Serenity nods quickly. As they are moving toward the door Remy's hand is grabbed again but when he gets a call, Serenity whispers that he shouldn't feel bad if he has to go. When he indicates he needs to, she gives him a tight hug and whispers her thanks to him for coming. He leaves and departs on his motorcycle while Serenity's purchases are being packed up. She calls her driver to let him know she's ready to leave while that's going on so he can be waiting outside when they come out.
MJ says a quick goodbye to Remy as she confirms with Sven that the prior arrangements are satisfactory for completing the purchase and then moves towards the front of the store to wait for Serenity's car with her.
Flying overhead, as pure luck or chance would have it, was Wonder Man. On a typical daily patrol - he had the hours to kill anyway. But he saw a shock of familiar, beautiful red hair, and he descended. A contrail of blue, purple and even black motes of energy followed him, and as he descended, he touched down ever-so-gently on the road, surprising a cab driver.
"Well, hello!" said Simon, brandishing a not-so-dangerous, but very handsome smile.
Serenity blinks in surprise when Wonder Man drops out of the sky. She's seen him flying overhead before. He's a recognizable figure after all, but it never once occurred to her she might meet him. She takes a step back as though MJ might be a protective shield. In the absence of Remy's mutant charm, the young woman is more wary but it's hard to be wary of Wonder Man. I mean, it's Wonder Man!
MJ smiles, both at Simon's landing and brash greeting and at the young woman's cautious response to that landing. "Hello, Simon," she greets the Avenger with seeming familiarity, "I think you might want to step out of the way of the traffic," she adds playfully. As an aside to Serenity, she says, "We sometimes move in the same circles, what with his status as a movie star and all," to explain the familiarity.
"Hey, it's New York," Simon added, as he took a few steps towards MJ, and the cabbie continued on his way. "Yeah. Actors and actresses, you know," he said to Serenity. He smiled, leaning down a little to look the younger woman over, past his red sunglasses. "And who might you be, young lady?"
Oh god, he's patronizing. It's hard not to be, though, when you're an icon in so many ways.
The patronizing question is probably a good thing since it pushes Serenity out of her shock at seeing someone so famous by accident. "Well I might be anyone right? That's the whole idea when you don't know someone. You, of course, are Simon Williams."
A peal of laughter is MJ's reaction to the response the blonde gives the actor-superhero. After that she says, "My friend here is Serenity, she's the inaugural act of a new record label funded by Parker Industries, Simon," to Wonder Man, with a hint of laughter still coloring her voice. She smiles at Serenity as she says, "That's right, don't let someone else dictate your position. Come at them from your own place of power even if they try to treat you like a child," in a way that is more supportive of the young woman than chastising her friend (and secret teammate).
"I apologize. I don't mean to condescend," Simon said, humbling himself. "Sometimes I come off larger-than-life, and you looked stupefied. I wanted to be gentle," Simon teased. He offered a hand and a big, meaty arm to the young Serenity. "Simon Williams," he introduced, even if she knew the name. "A pleasure to meet you, Serenity. Is that your stage name?" he asked.
Serenity manages to put on a smile, "That's right. Serenity's my stage name." She takes the offered hand to shake it just as her driver pulls up with the car. The intern gets out to help put Serenity's packages into the car.
MJ smiles knowingly when the singer answers Simon's question and gives her a nod that is both approving and a "I see what you did" at the same time. She then says, "We're in the middle of a shopping trip currently, Simon, but if Serenity wouldn't mind we could use a man's perspective on the outfits," to the Avenger. She does not say that he'll be roped into being their pack mule as well if needed, because that should be patently obvious for anyone in her opinion.
"You look unaccustomed to all this," Simon gave a soft smile. "Recently discovered?" he asked, both her and MJ. "If so… if I can give any advice, never lose your roots. I left Hollywood because of just how fake people were, and how eager folks were to turn tragedies into spectacles to pad their accounts and get more screen time. Not to say that there aren't people of integrity there. But it left a bad taste in my mouth." Now he's on the soap-box again.
"Ah, sorry. So, you're off, then?" he asked, both ladies. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Oh, a man's perspective?" he asked. Well, he may not have the fashion savvy of Janet van Dyne, but he can give it a shot. "Sure, happy to help."
At the mention of tragedies Serenity has to close her eyes and fight down the urge to breathe more quickly as she repeats the mantra, please not now, over and over again in her mind. She shifts her weight uncomfortably from onto foot to the other. When the expected flashback does not occur, she finally opens her eyes again. An embarrassed look between Simon and MJ is quickly followed by, "Sure. Let's go." She may not be entirely comfortable with the addition of another person but she's so relieved not to have collapsed into a puddle of fearful shaking that she doesn't say anything.
The trio get into the car provided by Parker Industries, which rocks slightly as Simon enters it. MJ gives the driver directions to the next boutique and they ride to the West Village. Once they arrive the shop is as MJ described it during the trip with colorful dresses in the front window and potted flowers growing around the steps leading up to its entrance.
MJ gets out first and says, "See, truth in advertising, its just Darling."
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"Ah, would you look at that," Simon said, though he was mildly uncomfortable. He didn't like being in vehicles that weren't really accustomed to someone of his size, and particular density.
Serenity gets out once the others are out of her way. "So… you don't like cars, hmm, Simon?" She looks at the boutique. "I would never have thought to come here."
"Its actually a fairly popular boutique but it is quaint and easily overlooked," MJ says to Serenity. She then steps up next to Simon and says, "I don't know if you can do it the same way, but my co-star was able to fly at very low speeds and would fly along with vehicles to avoid problems like that."
She then moves to guide her companions to enter the shop.
"I would," Simon smiled, "but I'm just so heavy," he said to Serenity. "I'm a *very* solid dude." He gave a little laugh after climbing out of the vehicle. "I tried that, actually, MJ. But cars move at different speeds all the time. So it's always me bumping against the seat, or pulling against the seatbelt, if I'm trying to match speeds or even simply hover. And if I'm not careful, I'm so strong I'd tear right through the ass end of the car. Or the seatbelt." He didn't want to think about bursting through the front, and what might happen to the engine, or the driver.
Serenity follows MJ toward the cafe now. She doesn't even think about it when she grabs Simon's hand and holds onto it like she was doing Remy's earlier. She just needs something to hold for a while and Simon's there.
Apparently today the townhouse turned shop is also hosting a local harpist performing choice classical pieces to entertain visitors to the shop.
MJ is greeted by one of the owners who then steps away to allow the model and her companions to shop freely after also greeting Serenity and Simon.
Suddenly finding his hand being held, Simon rather instinctively went into Big Brother mode. He was good at that. His hand was gentle in Serenity's, and he accompanied both women in silence, besides giving people who recognized or waved at him smiles and waves of his own.
Upon hearing the music, Serenity immediately looks to the harpist and smiles gratefully when she realizes the harp is properly tuned rather than slightly off. She squeezes at Simon's hand for a moment then flushes when she realizes what she's doing. "I'm sorry. That was very presumptuous of me." She releases his hand and moves further into the boutique to pick up a bracelet with an S engraved in it to show to MJ.
MJ looks at the bangle Serenity shows her and says, "That is an extremely versatile accessory, it would go with absolutely anything," gladdened to see the young woman getting personally involved, "You could make that a signature item and wear it constantly. And, unlike some people's signature items," a glance in Simon's direction with a wink and a smile, "You could remove your's to enhance anonymity once it became a known part of your professional persona."
A moment later she sees and indicates a russet-brownish colored fitted blazer and says, "Oh, that would be wonderful for when you need to be dressy but don't want to actually put on a suit," to Serenity and asks their male companion, "Don't you agree, Simon?"
Serenity nods to MJ's suggestion then says she's going to wander for a bit and to call her when MJ's picked out a few things for her to try on other than the blazer. She goes immediately to the jeans she spots and tries to find a few pairs in what she thinks is her size.
MJ has no problem allowing Serenity to wander, feeling that she is here to advise more than dictate. As the blonde wanders deeper into the two story townhouse turned clothing boutique, MJ quietly says, "This seems to be doing good for her, she almost seemed ready to rabbit when she first showed up even with Remy there to back her up," to Simon not needing a reply but ready to strike up a conversation while they wait if he wishes.
Serenity collects several items all on her own and troops them into a fitting room to try on, hoping that this one will have a mirror inside so she can check out the items before showing them to MJ and Simon.
Darling's changing rooms do indeed have full length stand mirrors in them for shoppers to use. Not as versatile as the three paneled trapezoidal found at Madonna & Co. they still serve the purpose the blonde was hoping for.
In the mean time, while waiting for the young woman, MJ looks around and finds some items to suggest for Serenity: a white shoulder bag, a silver collar necklace, a pair of heels and two pairs of boots. All of these are handed to Simon to carry/juggle as MJ continues looking at items and for Serenity to come out to model her findings for them.
Wonder Man is happy to simply play pack mule (to be honest, he expected this of MJ. 'Going shopping,' tends to mean that.) He would pretty much approve almost the use of everything, except the heels. "Heels in New York are simply dangerous. People, especially women, already sacrifice so much in the name of fashion, we don't need you rolling an ankle just to 'look good.' Okay?"
Big brother, indeed.
When Serenity finally emerges, she's wearing skinny jeans and an off-the shoulder top. This is followed by a different pair of jeans and a black sleeveless top. This is followed by a ruffly brownish skirt with a matching tie shouldered shirt. At Simon's comment about the heels, she says, "They make my legs look good, but they would be rubbish for running away, yes." She disappears again to return in a red top matched to more jeans.
"However, you'll need at least one pair to wear to awards shows and the like," MJ advises Serenity while giving Simon a -don't you dare cross me on this- look followed by a smile to show there's no true hard feelings with the otherwise somewhat harsh look. "Otherwise Peter'll be forcing you to go on these sort of trips before every event to have custom made outfits and shoes… well, that may happen anyway, but having one pair may forestall it a while for you," she hedges and then adds, "Plus, they're so cute and I'm risking him being upset with the dress I bought myself at Madonna and Company already so save me," in a playful, half-kidding fashion.
"I don't even mean running. Just going for a walk, with all the cracked sidewalk and curbs and stairs everywhere," Simon said. Not to mention the occasional rubble from construction or a superhero/villain-related occurrence." Simon, ever practical… in his tank top, pants, boots, bracers, and sunglasses.
Serenity tilts her head, "Are you suggesting that I might not be able to walk in heels safely?" She grabs the heels from MJ and bends down to exchange the shoe she is wearing for them so she can walk down a long stretch of floor and back in them. "I do know how to watch out for cracks in the sidewalk."
MJ playfully, but more firmly than Serenity and others around might be able to tell, elbows Simon in the side. Intentionally mangling Shakespeare as only a trained actor can get away with, MJ says, "There are more talents in the minds and bodies of women, Simon, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," and winks at her fellow actor before giving Serenity a sisterly smile.
"I'm saying it's hard *enough* to walk in the streets of Manhattan, without further complicating it. Jeez," Simon said. "It wasn't personal. I trip sometimes, too." He rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "I'm not disparaging anybody, just the streets of New York and stiletto heels."
Serenity takes off the heels and holds one in her hand to display it, "They also make very good weapons when you need them." She gestures as if bashing someone in the temple with one of the heels. The other heel is removed and her other shoes put back on before she goes back to trying and displaying various outfits that are often black and clingy or swishy and wonderful for spinning in even if the spinning does make them flare up to display an alarming amount of thigh. The spinning seem to make Serenity happy and put a smile of child-like glee on her face.
MJ doesn't blink at the suggestion of weaponizing the heels as it is a concept almost everywoman has considered or practiced after all. And then she laughs happily at the glee on Serenity's face regarding the latest outfit combination.
Long distance to Wonder Man: Serenity imagines doing that spin in front of Pete instead. ;)
Wonder Man, from his perspective, is simply happy to see the new young starlet happy. Hopefully it won't get to her head. But Simon was strong, silent, and happy to carry stuff!
Serenity stops spinning and tries on the rest of her outfits before returning to MJ and asking, "Do you have anything else for me to look at?"
"Try on these boots. I think I got the right size," MJ suggests as she hands the two pairs that Simon had been holding for her to Serenity. "Also, I think that this collar necklace would compliment some of the outfits you have picked out if you'd try it also?" she asks, waiting to bring up the shoulder bag which she rescues Simon from having to continue holding after handing the silver nacklace to the younger woman.
Serenity does not need a dressing room for any of these items so she just tries them on right there to make sure the items fit properly. "Oh nice and comfy on the boots. There would be great to run in."
This latest reference to running finally reduces MJ's normal smile to the barest hint of a concerned frown. "Do you have to run often, Serenity?" she asks the young blonde concerned about the meaning behind this as she is personally aware of situations that lead to an instinct to run… to be aware of the exits at all times.
Serenity chews her lip for a moment then asks, "Peter didn't tell you? I was running from someone when I met him. He saved me from an attack in Central Park one night. People who can't run get caught. As do people who don't realize they're being chased like a fox to the hunters by a hound." She looks down and takes several long calming breaths again.
MJ takes a slow calming breath herself as memories of having to be on the move constantly with her mother and sister to stay out of the reach of her father come to mind. She then says, "Well, as much as it may not seem so yet, that life is likely already behind you if Peter is by your side, Serenity."
Serenity nods slowly, "I'd like to believe that, yes." She doesn't but she'd like to ever so much. She shies away from further details about her past and indicates she think she's ready to move on to the next store. Another drive sees them picking up yet more items, including a leather biker jacket that makes Serenity smile as she thinks of a certain Apache teacher at Xavier's who she think might own one of the bikes in the garage.
Another car ride looming, Simon asks the two women to excuse him. After MJ thanks him for his company he takes to the air again to resume his patrol of New York.
At the next store, MJ again allows Serenity a free reign to look for items that please her although she does beg off one of the employees when they begin to approach Serenity with a pair of leather pants to go along with the jacket. After the clerk steps away she says, "They look hot and attractive to the fans but… they are hot, and you don't want to think about how hard they are to get into and out of."
Serenity nods to MJ about the pants but when she finds a pair of faux leather pants with a satiny lining, she definitely adds those to the tally. Finally she admits to tiredness before murmuring, "Thank you for all your help."
"You are quite welcome, Serenity," MJ says accepting the younger girl's need to call it quits. Not everyone has her enhanced endurance after all. "Good luck with your endeavor with Peter."
Mary Jane Watson has given you a cookie.
With one last hesitant smile, Serenity gets into the car she came in and instructs her driver to return her to Xavier where she can then figure out how to squeeze this many clothes into the dorm closet.
As the car drives off MJ walks down the street until she can turn the corner into a discrete alley…
…moments later Iron Spider-Woman leaps from one of the buildings and begins webslinging across town towards the Upper East Side.