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Post by Countess on Sept 1, 2024 2:11:59 GMT
Diana gently touches down outside the Planetary offices, faintly smiling to herself. She is smartly and professionally dressed, a muted beige complimenting her complexion well. In the crook of her elbow is a basket, one of those old fashioned wicker picnic baskets. Her heels click against the flooring as she enters the building, still holding onto that faint smile.
Diana is here to try again.
Recently, she had run into Stephen Strange, the two working on their respective sides building a bridge over to the other. It was nice- more than nice, it was a joy. They had been close before, and while Diana understood his position in it all, she missed him. Some things are worth working and waiting for, and that is exactly what she had done for him.
In their catching up, they had spoken on love. Diana's thoughts had strayed to romance, the kind of partnerships that made her feel more whole, or perhaps supported. She doesn't need another person- but they fulfill something in her that she thinks all people need in one form or another. Of course, she had thought of Steve Trevor, a love that had burned bright and died far too soon. But there was another, someone that was still a smoldering coal in her heart, a heat that kept her warm in the coldest of nights.
Susan Storm.
They had tried in the past- life got in the way. Their lives were busy, chaotic, and needed focus. There wasn't room for what they both wanted from each other, and that was alright. They persisted as friends and peers, but Diana always wondered... what if...
It is that very feeling that has her here, trying again.
Diana gets to the receptionist, polite in her greetings. "Could I please speak with Dr. Storm? I have her lunch," she says, patting the basket. Her smile widens, hoping for something... more. If not, that's okay. She has to try, though.
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Post by BijuuGuy on Sept 3, 2024 23:23:42 GMT
The Planetary HQ was a bustling one. While the scientific staff was "holed up" in the further reaches of the complex, for security reasons, the public face of the organization occupied a significant chunk of their visible buildings. People in suits hurrying to their next destination, the odd lab coat seen in the midst of them every once in a while. Most of these people were either staring straight ahead, their mind on their end point. Others were staring at their devices, all of which particular to the technological advancements Planetary gave its employees. Diana's landing drew the attention of several of these people, not to mention the citizens further away from the entrance. People flying wasn't a particularly exciting event anymore, more of a curiosity as to who it could be. Diana exuded a specific aura. As such, Wonder Woman was almost immediately recognized. Especially by the mild-mannered young woman at the reception desk. The Amazon's words jolted the girl awake, who had been focused on typing something seemingly of vital importance on her computer screen. Her eyes travelled upwards until they met Diana's, the girl immediately bursting into a noticeable blush. "Y-you're-- Wonder Woman! I... uhhh..."
Realizing how badly she had fumbled her simple task, the girl shook her head and straightened herself. Her composure regained, she gave it another try. "Yes, I will see if she's available!"Her earpiece was already at the ready, only needing to touch a tablet on her left hand side to directly call the woman Diana was seeking. She could faintly hear Susan's voice over the earpiece. If nothing else, she would catch that the reception girl's name was Melody. A name that seemed to match her auburn hair and pale complexion. The call didn't last long, with Melody soon focusing on Diana again, a warm smile adorning her face. "Dr. Storm will be right up, she'll just be a few minutes. You can take a seat right there if you like!"Melody's arm stretched to point at a row of seemingly very comfortable armchairs to Diana's right. Elijah Snow spared no expense, a man dedicated to detail. The girl's gaze rested on Diana a bit too long, admiring one of the finest heroes around. Melody realized this quickly, however, and turned away to resume her previous task, still blushing.
 It wasn't a rarity to see Susan Storm exist in her own world. Not within the confines of Planetary. Often seen behind a screen or in front of a whiteboard, talking to herself as if she would forget whatever train of thought she had going on at the time. Sue was always working on something. Be it a possible new technology or solving an equation. It was easy for her to get lost in her work. Especially when there was so much of it and it all looking like it could lead her to the next great discovery. But it would be remiss of Susan to not acknowledge the brightest minds working with her. It was rarely a solo effort. She simply had a few bad habits.
Having finished jotting down a formula, she took a few steps back from her whiteboard, adjusting her glasses just a bit. She needed to see the bigger picture. At least it was what she had told herself the last five times. Her hair was pulled back in a somewhat messy ponytail, wearing her Planetary suit as usual, a white coat draped over it. She still couldn't see the solution to her equation. Well, nobody said science was simple. But she had been wracking her head over this particular one for a long while.
She had made a promise. Susan didn't promise anything lightly. But her determination to avoid what had happened last time overcame every possible suggested obstacle.
Sue would have to wait a while longer to actually get to a solution, however, as her earpiece chimed, a soft voice requesting her attention on the other side.
"Melody, what do you need?"
As was, frankly always, the case, Sue's voice was kind, gentle. As if they were old friends. Melody quickly filled Sue in on who was there to see... her, specifically. Her eyes widened slightly, initially unsure how to take in the information. Diana couldn't see it, but Susan blushed ever so slightly. It had been a while since they had crossed paths. Diana had spent more time with Johnny by now than with her. Merely an observation, an amusing thought. Still, it filled her with unexpected joy to hear Wonder Woman requesting her.
Sue gave Melody an affirmative answer, before closing the channel and immediately heading to the upper levels. She didn't change, she barely did when at work. Only to swap out a coat if needed. Sue wasn't sure if Diana minded, but likely not.
On the elevator ride to reception, Sue took a few minutes to reminisce. Indeed there was something promising brewing. Though at the time, it was all new to her. Still was, actually. But their connection felt genuine and something perhaps worth pursuing further. To be frank, Susan hadn't thought about anything of that sort in years. Her heart was filled by her family, her mind and will fueled by her work. Of course, that was the capable single mother and renowned scientist talking. Johnny and her kids had other opinions. Their loved one deserved to be happy, to find someone to share it with. But perhaps more importantly, to find someone who understood her on a level others couldn't. Sue sometimes felt too old for such things. For which her family accosted her, in a loving way.
Stepping out in a comfortable stride, Susan's scientist look took on a whole new vibe in this new, softer light. The corridor didn't last long before her eyes were upon Diana once again. She had dressed up. Sue reminded herself that there were practically no occasions where Diana wasn't the best dressed in the room. She clearly took pride in that. It was an effortless confidence which drew so many to Diana.
Sue's smile was a beaming one, filled with unexpected excitement and joy in seeing her again.
"Diana! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to these parts?"
Her polite question took a moment to settle before Susan realized that she knew the reasoning. Melody did fill her in on the lunch part. Sue let out a brief laugh before slowly shaking her head a couple times, aiming to correct her initial "confusion."
"Lunch, of course! Sorry, I've been neck deep in equations for a week, my mind is all over the place. This is very thoughtful, Diana."
Her correction a veritable success, she offered Diana a thankful look before gesturing the Amazon to come with.
Their trek wouldn't be a lengthy one, not to the bowels of Planetary, but into the next building of the public offices. Their canteen was a sizable one, yet with enough greenery to make it feel infinitely more comfy. Not to mention the floor to ceiling windows, which covered about 80% of the seating area. Susan lead Diana to a table near the windows, with a view over the waterfront. Whether knowingly or not, Sue had picked a fairly romantic place. At least within a place like Planetary.
Taking a seat, she waited for Diana to settle in.
"It's been a while. How are you?" |
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Post by Countess on Sept 5, 2024 23:12:17 GMT
Instead of sitting, Diana stays where she is, taking the time to get to know Melody a bit more. She had always been an extrovert, someone willing and enthusiastic to meet new people. Before long, she knows about her family, her hopes, her work here, things that make her smile. Diana is quick to share about herself, too, never one to have a one sided conversation. Such things are a give and take- plus it is a chance for her to tell her favorite story about her daughter wanting to be Wonder-Robin... complete with pictures of her in the outfit she had made for the occasion. The tutu really adds to the vibe.
By the time Sue joins them, the two are all smiles. Diana spots her easily, hearing her gait across the room. How could she forget it? She had spent time listening to it, picturing it, missing it. She gives her farewells to Melody, then walks over to meet Sue part of the way over. "It is good to see you, Sue," Diana says in that voice that just whispers her love and adoration. A hint of a glow is beneath her overcoat- her rope is on her side, as it always is. She is so patient, so present. To answer her, she lifts the basket in her arm. "I have been told the best way to someone's heart is through their stomach," she says, making her intentions here very, very clear. Diana follows her, nonetheless.
"I hope it is not rude of me to approach you at your place of work. I do not want you to feel ambushed, nor put in any position of coerced or forced compliance," Diana says, open about her thoughts on this. It felt like a place where Sue would have the most power- but, it may be too intimate for her to allow around her coworkers. It is also giving her an out, in case she wanted to go somewhere more private. There are many parks nearby, they could allow for something more natural.
Their stop has her grinning a bit. A nice atmosphere, though somewhat public. When she sits, Diana opens the basket, first pulling out a blanket. She truly had thought they might go elsewhere, but it works. She puts it over the table, making the space all that more romantic. It isn't a cliché red checker, but a thin quilt from her home. It is simple, a Eight Pointed Star Quilt Block using various patterns in red, white, and blue. It had been a gift, and Diana cherishes it.
"I miss you," Diana says simply, taking her seat. "I wanted-" she continues, cutting herself off briefly. "I will be clear. I am here with ulterior motives. I hope to woo you, Susan Storm, in the ways of my Sisters and Mothers. We went our separate ways, a mutual agreement between peers, and I no longer see the wisdom in such an action. You are worth being a priority in my life, and I wish to try and show you what life we could have together," she says taking a breath.
"If my advances are unwelcome, I am happy to break bread as friends, nothing more. The choice is yours, and there will be no ill will or bad blood either way. You have always been held high in my esteem, and your rejection would not change that. Nor would it affect any projects, current or future, that may be between our respective groups."
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Post by BijuuGuy on Sept 17, 2024 20:49:27 GMT
Susan's warm chuckle met Diana's words as they made their way to their eventual destination. She quickly eased her companion's worries of dropping in suddenly at her place of work. Susan hadn't really seen the harm in that when it was by people she was fond of. It was what she told Diana and hoped it would satisfy.
Diana got swiftly to work with laying the table, Susan's romantic nature being somewhat lacking still, not entirely understanding the gravity of the situation yet. Otherwise, indeed, she would've taken them to a more... remote location. But she still remained a woman of science first and foremost. Well, that was half-true. Her children came first no matter what, but most people would know what she meant regardless. Including Diana.
However, the blanket and Diana's following words made everything crystal clear. Wonder Woman had rarely been one to mince her words. She was so steadfast in her convictions, knowing what she wanted wholeheartedly at all times. Qualities Susan shared but didn't always show.
She listened to Diana lay her heart out on the very blanket she had just adorned the table with. Susan's smile never left her. That soft, matronly look she was known for. Except this time, it was accentuated by a seemingly grateful grace. Sue wasn't going to lie, this remained new to her. A path she hadn't taken before. Yet, the allure had been present for a while. She didn't have the time to tell Diana of all the events that had affected her recently. But the fact that she was there now, saying the exact things Susan seemingly needed to hear was enough to spur the scientist to speak of something other than the mysteries of the impossible.
"Diana... You are extraordinary. I can only imagine what life must be like for someone who has experienced what you have. And to have you open a new chapter in my life was exhilarating. Which then turned into fear. Which turned me to the two constants in my life: my family and my work."
Sue's words sounded like those of someone about to reject an Amazon. However, she wasn't entirely finished.
"I didn't think I could have anything else anymore. I had experienced all that I thought I wanted. And then I realized that why should my book end because I had the family and the job that i dreamed of. I wondered why can't I have room for something more, something different? For a moment I thought I was just lonely. But..."
She didn't need a lasso to tell the tale of her heart this time. It was like dusting off a book you'd been neglecting, because you were frightened of how it might end.
Wondering would've been worse than potential failure.
"when a person makes the universe's greatest mysteries feel mundane, how can I ignore that?"
If those words didn't make it clear, Susan wasn't sure what would, aside from a direct physical gesture. But there was time for that. For now, her words would have to do. She left them in the air for Diana to respond, all the while realizing what she had just said. Instead of fear, she simply adjusted her smile to reflect the phrases she had just uttered. It was a smile, compounded by a look, which welcomed opportunity and romance.
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Post by Countess on Sept 19, 2024 23:51:35 GMT
Diana is quiet and patient as Susan answers her. There is so much beneath the surface of her beloved's smile, a calculating that she had grown very quickly to adore all those years ago. There is so much the two share, and even more than makes them different. The places they do not share, they make them more whole of a person, Diana thinks. Two is not always better than one, but they together can be greater than the sum of their parts. Small things has drawn the Amazon to her, like a star in the night showing Diana the way to somewhere new and unexplored. Adventure, the unknown, the horizon... they have always called to her. So, too, does Sue.
Where Susan thought of them, as well as her own life, as a book and its chapters, Diana saw them as a circle. She was always going to come back to her, even if it took a little while. What, from the outside, might seem as something spontaneous, was the truth of Diana knowing her own heart. There was much put into this, long ponderings in her way. What takes others hours takes her moments- it allows for so much more than sheer impulsiveness. She couldn't do that, anyways, not when Susan is involved. A careful, considerate woman deserves careful consideration.
"You still fear, Susan," Diana says gently. Where Sue is not physical, she is. Like a soft breeze she reaches out to the Storm, softly placing a hand over hers. "I have patience. I have understanding. I have love. All these things, and more," she says, choosing her words with so much weight to each of them. They are all plucked for her and her alone. "Once again Eros drives me on, that loosener of limbs, bittersweet creature against which nothing can be done. You are, I think, the evening star, the fairest of all the stars, and I am in awe to behold you."
Diana continues on. "There are no sights I could show you that would be worthy of your gaze, but I will take on this Sisyphean task. My days and nights will be spent with you on my mind, my heart, and my tongue," she says, whispering this now. She draws in close, like how lovers do when they say things only their other half can understand. "I do not make the mysteries mundane, no, you draw them in and give them life. Do this, with me. Give me life, Susan, and I will be your pathfinder, your oracle, your devoted dancer in your light. Together, we can navigate these uncharted waters. Here, there may be dragons, and we will vanquish them. You give me strength; allow me to do the same for you."
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Post by BijuuGuy on Sept 30, 2024 20:32:49 GMT
Diana carried the spirit of a poet, no doubt about it. Words flowed from her lips like nectar. Aside from her striking appearance, confidence, bravery, the woman knew how to woo indeed. The Amazon was clear in her intent, her hand placed on Susan's caused the scientist to blush ever so slightly. She wasn't wrong either, Sue was afraid. Because she had heard such words before. Not in the way of such delectable prose, but in a way that spoke to her heart still. And that ended... she didn't finish that thought. He had no place here.
She placed her other hand softly on Diana's, quietly astounded by how her skin felt. Sue listened intently to Diana's advances, her imagination painting all sorts of scenarios. Adventure, romance, discovery. This was still new ground for her. But there was something stunningly alluring about doing what she did with someone like Diana by her side. Her bluntness accentuating Susan's maze of a mind. She wasn't entirely sure how to act yet, debating how to respond.
Uncertainty took hold, in the way that she didn't want to rush it. Giving in wouldn't be difficult, yet she was afraid that it would be over too soon if she did. Instead, she glanced over at the bountiful meal Diana had brought with her. But before addressing that, Susan dug into her social skill, summoning a suggestive tone that hadn't been heard in years.
"Mind and might make for good companions. I could use some of that strength."
Her following smile was a knowing one. She didn't know what more to say immediately. Sue had been a scientist for longer than she had been a superhero now, her charms were rusty. But she was indirectly saying yes to Diana, being sure that the Amazon would catch on.
"But I think strength comes best from a full belly, don't you think? And I'm honestly starving."
Sue didn't move an inch, instead expecting Diana to leap into their menu for the day. Though there was perhaps a glint in Susan's eye that was prepared for whatever else Diana might decide to say or do.
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Post by Countess on Oct 12, 2024 13:34:27 GMT
The corners of Diana's lips quirk upwards ever more, her heart skipping beat after beat as Susan's emotions wash over her. There is uncertainty, yes, but also that bud of hope that Diana had always seen in the scientist across from her. Neglected little thing, but something Diana is no stranger to nourishing. She will shower Sue with her love, enrich her with gentleness, and bathe her in patience. There, perhaps if Diana is lucky, she will see Susan blossom along with her. They can grow together, if they can, as all good lovers do.
There is still a weight upon Susan, however. Or perhaps a better metaphor is an old war wound, a jagged scar that aches in the right circumstances. Though Sue refuses to think of him, Diana has no such qualms. Reed. The pain he caused her, she can feel it even now, years and miles away from him. Diana cannot erase the past, but she can forge a beautiful new one. It won't heal- no, such things never do, in Diana's estimations- but she can make it easier to bear.
"It is yours. All my strength, I give freely," Diana says, then her smile turns a little cocky. "Name your foe, and I will vanquish them as I did in days of old," she says, then lifts up an arm, comically boasting as she flexes. "Nothing will stand in my way and not shake with fear, be it Villains or Excel Spreadsheets, Doom or Grant Boards, I will fell them in the name of our love," Diana says, always so free with the L word. Sue would know- the woman already feels it, felt it forever, for everyone she comes across. A gift from Aphrodite, she once told her. Knowing Diana, it was nothing but the Gods honest truth.
"Food! Yes, I have prepared a veritable feast in hopes of wooing you- to romance or friendship of course. Regardless of how this turns out, Susan, I wish to be close to you in any way you deem you are comfortable with," Diana says, once more making sure Sue is the one with all the power in this situation. She gives it with glee. Hell, she would give Sue her rope to bind her with if it made her happy. Perhaps some day, it will. Thoughts for another time.
Sue was right in her prediction, Diana is immediately unpacking the basket, the smell of the food now wafting up to them once she removes a wooden board off the top. From there, she procures many little Tupperwares, each one filled with bright, colorful, fresh food that she places onto the board. By the end of it, she produces for Susan a charcuterie board laden with fruits, cheeses, meats, breads, nuts, pickled vegetables, honey, and olives. There is a mischievous look in her eyes that grows with each addition. Diana chose finger foods for a reason. Two glasses are procured, and Diana fills them from an amphora. The liquid is fruity, a deep red, though not alcoholic. A sip reveals it for what it is- a sweetened pomegranate juice, native to her home.
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