2012-07-18 Look At What The Cat Dragged In

It's late. It's usually late when Remy goes out. It's when he works best and plays hardest. It's also when he makes unscheduled social calls. He's dressed down for the occasion, forgoing his armor in favor of a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled back and a pair of fitted slacks. He's not wearing his tinted glasses, either. At least not now that he's standing at Selina Kyle's doorstep.
He cracked open a side door and let himself into the building, so there's no warning from a buzzer or doorman. Just a brisk knock, followed by the sound of leather shoes scuffing against carpet. The Cajun's holding a single rose between his finger and thumb. The stem is short, covered in thorns, and wrapped in a twist of newspaper. Hand-picked. Or perhaps stolen. While he waits, he runs a hand through his shaggy hair, then brushes his knuckles against his bristly chin.
Selina is working. Or at least she is trying to convince herself that she is. But it's well past the time for such things and she's tired, so much so that she's not even going to go for a run along the rooftops of Gotham. A bath /was/ what she was planning on indulging in before collapsing into bed but the knock sounds, putting an end to that.
Sighing, she gets up and goes through the living room to the door but it isn't opened immediately. Instead, "Who is it," comes her voice from within the apartment only to be followed up by a thud, that being the sound of Selina's head being heavily rested upon it. So tired, she doesn't even bother peeking through the peephole to see who it is.
"It's your favorite Cajun, mimi," Remy replies. Though an awful lot was revealed the last time they saw each other, he's still smiling and he seems comfortable. "Lil' pig, lil' pig, let me come in. I bring you a present." He lifts the thorny rose up in front of the peephole for an instant, then lets his arm drop back to his side.
THe door flies open and Remy's tugged in by the front of his shirt, the surprise of his visit making Selina act rather impulsive. "How the hell did you find out where I live," she hisses, looking around him to make sure no one is around to see him. The door closes behind him just as his shirt is released and Remy gets a very abrupt snort. "Gift?"
Now the rose is noticed and she looks at it and then to the bearer of the blossom, whatever annoyance or anger she might have felt fleeing. "Oh. Thank you... can I get you something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee, maybe?" There's alcohol in her house, the owner of the penthouse in the possession of a very well stocked bar, but there is no offer of something stronger to drink made.
"Whoa!" Remy yelps as he's hauled into the penthouse. "Wow. You're pretty strong. Heh. And I'm good."
He pauses and clears his throat. A few seconds are spent smoothing his mussed shirt, but he's just buring time. Finally, he pulls a thick envelope from his back pocket and hands it to her. "Dis is your cut from de loose jewelry. T'ink of it as my donation to your foundation. And dis, too." He digs another envelope from his shirt pocket. This one is much smaller. Inside are a pair of earrings made from sapphires shaped like teardops captured in fine nets of woven silver. "A memento. That was some night, no?"
She's used to people being generous but not that generous and it floors her. "Thank you," she whispers before opening the second of the envelopes, the earings held carefully in the palm of a hand. "Oh... oh my." Blushing, she looks at them and then up at him, a brow arched. "Normally I'd be inclined to wonder if a man had ulterior motives..."
Not wanting the moment to be ruined drives Selina into silence as well as into the kitchen to get some water on for tea. "You're entirely too kind. Thank you."
Another quiet moment passes. Remy meets Selina's eyes and takes a deep breath. "Of course I have motives," he admits. He pauses and blinks, as if even he is surprised by his candor. Then he shakes his head and forges on. "I don't even know what your foundation's for. Just dat it's important to you. Anyway, it's only money." He shrugs his broad shoulders and grins boyishly. "De earrings are a bribe. So you smile when you t'ink of me. Is it working?"
Remy's banter gets her peeking at him from around the corner, her brow arching slightly as she regards him. "At least you're honest," she quips back. The earrings have been set down somewhere safe so her hands will be free while she's puttering around. "I will smile everytime I see them," she vows. "All joking aside, Remy... thank you for them. They are truly lovely."
"My pleasure," Remy replies, spreading his arms wide and dropping a graceful, courtly bow. He comes up smiling, too. "So. How long you been playin' Robin Hood for?" he asks. It's an honest question. No joking or laughter. "You cracked dat safe like a pro. And you definitely know how to handle yourself."
Selina has to think about that. It sometimes feels like it has only been a few days since she first started to steal to earn money for her foundation but... "It feels like forever," she says outloud, not noticing she does. "Several years, now," she eventually answers, grinning when she does. "What about you?"
"Long time," Remy admits, though he seems quite at ease about it. "Very, very long time. Sort of a family business, if you know what I mean?" He smiles, shrugs, and make a small, thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "I got no regrets. I seen more t'ings in my life than any two people could or should hope to."
For some reason Selina looks a bit surprised, the reaction manifesting in the angling of her head and the arching of a brow. "Sounds like something one might read in a novel," she says before breaking out into laughter. "Well, it sounds like we're cut from the same bolt of cloth, doesn't it?" The kettle whistles suddenly and shrilly, Sel's signal to get back in the kitchen.
"Maybe," Remy replies. "But you're educated. Upscale. Noble goals and ideals. I'm just an ordinary guy trying to make two ends meet in de middle." He winks a red and black eye to take the heat off of his little joke. "Still, we do seem to have a bit in common. I'm hoping we see more of one anot'er. Maybe split a job sometime."
Working as a team is a bit of an alien concept. It is nice, the thought of having someone to rely on and who'd have her back but at the same time it's not exactly something Selina's used to. "I never really worked with anyone else," she points out very gently. "I don't know if I can make that work. But if you'd like to try..." A box of tea is gotten from a cupboard once the burner on the stove's shut off and is placed in a mug. "You sure you wouldn't like some tea?"
"I suppose I'll have a cup," Remy agrees. "And I would. Like to team up, I mean. You know as well I do dat some jobs can't be done alone."
Suddenly, he's behind Selina, one hand at the small of back, one restling lightly at her elbow as she pours. "T'ink about it, chere. De goons at de jewelry store could've been trouble for just one of us. And you doubled your payout, no?"
The touch is unexpected and for a moment there is an urge to turn around and slug him but Remy's voice - his accent in particular - lulls Selina into a state of comfort that renders her unable to lash out like that. "I will need to think about it," she eventually mutters. The second cup of tea is made and handed to her guest, Remy looked at as if she's seeing him for the first time. "It does sound like a good idea," she says in afterthought. "But I need time to consider this."
Remy bows his head and accepts the cup in both hands. "Of course, mimi," he replies demurely, his eyes locked on Selina's. "Take all de time you need. I hope I can still call on you socially while you consider my offer."
Confident. Direct. Somehow still reserved, bordering on old-fashioned. Remy's bearing is a mishmash of puzzle pieces that seem to have come from different sets. A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth as he eyes his female counterpart.
"I don't see why you wouldn't be allowed to," Sel says as she raises her tea to her lips. The first sip gets her to sigh, the stresses of the evening's work melting away. "I am not going to forbid you from seeing me just because I'm mulling over an offer." Shaking her head, she wanders into the living room to go flop onto one of the plush, comfortable couches.
A low, rumbling chuckle slips out of Remy's mouth before he can clamp his teeth together and stifle it. "Heh. Heh heh. You're either extremely clever or adorably clueless, mimi. I'm not sure which it is, but I find it very fetching." Still smiling, he drops down at the opposite end of the same couch, kicks his shoes off, and curls up with his feet tucked under his bottom. He takes a sip of his tea, hmmmms pleasantly, then drinks deeper.
"Wait. What the hell do you mean by that," grunts Selina, what good mood she was in shot to hell thanks to that. "Are you making fun of me?" Remy makes himself at home which is just as off-putting as his statement was, it causing a frown to form. "I am glad you are comfortable. Perhaps I should give you a massage or something as well?"
"Man, you're a volatile one," Remy muses, shaking his head. "You insist I have tea and den get mad when I stop to enjoy it. And you can't see a compliment dat's starin' you right in de face."
He sets his cup aside and leans forward, rising up a bit and resting his hands on his knees. "I don't cross state borders to give away priceless jewelry and fat stacks of cash to just anyone. I like you, chere. I t'ought dat would be obvious by now."
That is not the most shocking thing she's heard and perhaps she's come to expect it to some degree or another. Most men 'like' her in one way or another, after all. "Is that right," she asks coyly. She has to stop and think, now. She really hasn't given much thought about other men since she met Steve but she can not help herself and gives Remy a bit of a once-over. He's soft on the eyes and he's nice. But still. "Thank you. I... well, I like you too." Probably not exactly the way he might want her to but she does.
A weighty handful of seconds pass as Remy cocks his head to the side and considers Selina. Unabashedly, his eyes search hers, then her entire face. It's a practiced, studied examination. "No," he finally says. Not disappointed, exactly, but there's a wistful quality to his tone and bearing. "No, you don't. Not yet, anyway."
Like a Vegas dealer leaving a table, the Cajun dusts his hands off, spreads them, and bows his head slightly, sending a curtain of shaggy hair down to surround his face. When he straightens, he's smiling and relaxed once again. "I hope you'll still consider my offer. It'd be nice to work wit' a professional. Certain t'ings a lady can get done dat even I can't manage."
The wistful tone gets Selina to look down, looking slightly sad. "We'll see, I guess," she whispers but then she is pulled out of that mood by Remy's further words and actions. The bow actually gets her to laugh, her good mood returning to her swiftly. "I told you I'd consider it and I will, don't worry. Although... I think we're going to have to set some boundries of what I will and will not do."
"Sounds fair," Remy agrees. "I'll start. I don't kill nobody. I don't even like to hurt nobody if I don't have to. I don't take stuff from people who can't afford to lose it. S'why I made a crack about your Robin Hood complex. I'm de same way. And I never betray a comrade. Backstabbers go to Special Hell."
His piece said, the thief kicks his legs out and shrugs his shoulders. "I'm mostly flexible, otherwise. You?"
Sel can't help but to smile. "Mine are pretty much the same. Just tack on how I won't sleep with anyone I'm going to be stealing from to that list, though... well, usually." There are times when that's a good way to get information or do recon on the location of a job but she tries to avoid doing so when possible. "Now that we got that out of the way... got anything lined up?" Sounds like she might have come to a decision already.
Remy grins impishly, looking like a mischievous teenager more than anything else. "Always. Several, in fact. A wealthy housewife has offered me twenty thousand dollars to dig up somet'ing incriminating on her husband." One by one, he ticks the jobs off on his fingers. "I know where dere's a new piece of sculpture going on display. Very upscale. S'right here in Gotham. Too big for me to carry off wit'out some help or a distraction." Another finger, plus a small wiggle from the Cajun as he considers the possibilities. "Corporate bigwig got in contact wit' me about a sabotage job. High risk, high reward. Endless possibilities, mimi."
So many options. So much potential for fun as well as money. The latter definitely appeals to her but that should come as no shock. "Let's ruminate over that and decide once we're rested. I think better after a good night's sleep. There's a spare bedroom if you'd like to spend the night." Selina grins while rising. "And Remy? Do keep in mind that I know what I have in my home and where everything's kept..." A joke.
"Stay de night? Lady, I didn't know you could be so bold." Smirking at his own quip, Remy shakes his head and cuts the air with one hand. "Thanks, but no thanks. Somet'ing about stayin' in the spare room at a pretty girl's house offends my delicate sensibilities. Call you tomorrow."
Still smiling, he stands, slips his shoes back on, and makes for the door. "What a night," he mutters to himself in a playful stage whisper.
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