[ooc: Same. We definitely need to explore more of those on RP. They're not the kinda muse that usually gets made and theyre such JUICY storylines!]
As Brianna and her family were left behind, Kate was already scanning their surroundings to come up with the next amazing and ordinary little story she and Matt would discover around them. But then, at the mention of his own love life, she could't help but be pulled by her own curiosity. "Really? Was it a 'the one who got away' kind of situation?"
She'd liked plenty of girls and guys that simply didn't notice her, plenty that did and a couple who were a casual thing. But, aside from bad breakups, this was the first time Kate experienced true longing for someone she could't have. Yeah, timing was a bitch for her too. Being born at least 20 years later was a real shitty thing.
For a moment, he tried to imagine him thirty years younger, now her reasons completely different ones. A boy who'd lost not just his dad, but most of his whole world. Someone, she guesses his old teacher, letting him explore a whole different view of what surrounded him simply by explaining what was past the apparent simple taste of vanilla. "Was that Stick? Is that how you--"
Someone, walking next to them, dropped a plastic bag with recent purchases. Suddely, Matt quieted down and was wincing. Kate turned to face him, asking over and over if he was okay as she held his cheeks. Finally, his face relaed again.
"Are you sure?" There was suddenly a note of hope in her voice. "We can go back home if this is too much."
[OOC: We do! Kate needs to properly meet Maggie and they need to have Angela on their hands to complete the family circle, LOL.]
"Mmm, yeah, I guess you could call it that. Though it wasn't just poor timing that led to it not working out. I guess I don't have one that was based just on timing." Matt's mind had gone to Karen and how they just could never figure out how to make things work between them. He'd made peace with it, and he truly, genuinely hoped they somehow found Frank alive so they could be together. "How about you? Have you ever had timing be the problem?" It was just natural for Matt to extend the conversation beyond himself. He tried to never just talk about himself but to inquire and engage the person he was with in return. He knew Kate hadn't had the greatest romantic relationships in the past though, so he was quick to add softly, "Unless you don't want to talk about it. I get it. We can go back to discussing strangers." He squeezed her arm in friendly support, because he didn't want to talk about something that might be painful. He genuinely didn't know how bad her dating past was or wasn't.
He smiled a little against her hands when they were pressed on the sides of his face once the pain passed. Reaching up he lightly put his hands over hers as he promised, "No, I'm okay. I swear. It was just a moment. This happens sometimes. Little moments of sensing things before things actually come back to normal. I think it's a good sign but I don't think I'm about to be overwhelmed anytime soon." It wasn't a quick recovery like turning on a light, and once he did have his powers back, he could control them, anyway. It had just surprised him in the moment to have that quick rush. It meant though that his powers were still there, which lifted his heart. His smile widened boyishly, letting him enjoy this moment with Kate even more now that he knew he was likely truly on the mend. "I think we'll still be fine to enjoy our noodles and pizza rolls."
Returning to the previous topic as they started walking again he said, "Yeah, it was Stick. He took me out for ice cream when we met. Told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. Showed me what he could do, what I could do if I trained with him. The funny thing is Kate, that he did broaden my world, but he also taught me something I don't think he intended. Because after him, I've met so many people who did the same thing. Not in the same way, but if you think about it, the people who matter to us? Or even sometimes just strangers we meet in passing? They show us a way of thinking and living we didn't know about before. Like a guy I recently defended, who reminded me that even a short jail sentence was wrong when society was rigged against him. Or like you right now. Showing me how you experience the world."
[ooc: Yesss, gimme the future mom-in-law and all the found family goodness!]
Kate knew very well what Matt was talking to, after all, the guy that sometimes kept her awake late at night - sometimes thinking, sometimes fighting by her side -, was right there, literally within her grasp. With her arm looped around his, a wave of guilt took over her. "Ah, no, no. It's fine! You can ask me about anything, Matt. I swear." The last thing she wanted was to endanger this sense of trust that had built up between them. But was it okay to talk about this with him of all people?
"He... It's more than just bad timing too." She couldn't bring up the age difference. She couldn't be so obvious. "I think he just doesn't see me that way and probably never will. He cares about me and is super sweet about it, but he has someone else anyway."
And she had to accept that even if Heather wasn't in the picture, Matt was a very good friend. Older, who liked women his age. Elegant, responsible. Maybe more feminine? He doesn't strike her as the kind who'd judge a girl over her hobbies, of course not. But the heart wants what it wants and it's not like taste on people can be chosen.
Kate certainly didn't choose this. She didn't choose the way her legs feel weak and her heart swells at the sight of that sweet smile. He leans into her palm as her hands frame that handsome face. Because he is so much more than this. He is the most gentle guy she's met. Thoughtful, alwats putting others before himself. Smart and fun, a little mischievous. Even bruised and scruffy, he is perfect in her eyes.
"Okay. Only if you're sure." Sounding much more sure of herself, she doesn't even notice the way her thumb strokes his face as she doesn't quite let go of him yet. She's happy to hear that he is finally going to feel back like himself. Even if what started as one of the most terrifying nights of her life ended being one of the best ones, leading to the most relaxing and enjoyable day she's had in what feels like ages.
Finally settling by Matt's side again and after giving his arm a rub, she waits for him to hold onto her. Lucky has taken advantage of the stop to leave his scent on a wall, but seems also ready to pick up their walk. "Like, different perspectives, right?" She had to admit, it was pretty great to be able to share her world with him. But not just the tastes, like this morning. She liked sharing what her home was like, the music she listened to. Ever since they became closer, Kate realized she enjoyed sharing her life with Matt and learning more about his.
"Sometimes... Sometimes when I close my eyes I try to notice things too." She suddenly chuckled, feeling self-conscious. "Never like you, of course. But... What it is like to count steps. The sounds the city makes. That sort of stuff."
The first time Matt used his powers, it was to tell that someone was in love. At that time, as a child, he'd wondered if it was a sort of sickness. Stick had assured him it was worse, but as Matt came into adulthood, he knew that was a lie. Love was the most wonderful, most incredible sensation a person could experience. Even with all the heartbreak that was involved, it truly was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Perhaps it made Matt a shit soldier in a larger war, but it made him human. He'd take a bleeding heart over one that didn't beat any day.
Go figure that it was now that his senses were dulled, that he couldn't hear Kate's heartbeat, couldn't thread her feelings through her words, couldn't sense her temperature nor smell her scent, that Matt's own heart betrayed him to himself.
The little fan of warmth he felt from the gentle way her fingers caressed his face, the way his heart quickened and his mouth turned dry. The way that this was the first time in so very long he felt any sense of peace and home, out on the streets of New York utterly blind, with Kate and her dog at his side. The words that Sister Maggie had said when he'd visited her in the hospital.
'She means something to you, doesn't she?'
Kate meant so very much to him.
He licked his lips and cleared his throat, his feelings betraying him in a way that confused him and made him feel guilty. He took her arm again, trying to make sense of the swirling of emotions inside of him. His voice was low and a little husky. "Yeah. Like different perspectives." Did Heather ever count the steps to live like him? To experience the world as he did? Or was that too silly and romantic a task for one more practical?
"It's a good sound, isn't it?" He said it quietly, head tilted at her. "The city, that is. There's music to it, when you listen to it right."
"Guess that's part of your world in different ways, taking in the different perspectives," Kate mused outloud. "I mean, as a lawyer and someone who really tries to bring justice, perspective is important." She doubts he was the kinda guy who ever defended someone he knew was in the wrong. Because, even when it came to Frank Castle, perspectives were a core point about that case.
People are sometimes complicated. The world around them is complicated.
Feelings are complicated.
"I mean, I don't get out as much as you do. But it's fun. Suddenly you hear the neighbors. Or things going on down there." A block ahead from where they were standing, a busker started to play. Kate instantly laughed, making music of her own. "And then the music can also be literal," she pointed out.
An elderly couple ahead of them walked their french bulldog. Lucky pulled on the leash a little too excitedly and on Matt as well, wagging his tail at the opportunity of meeting a new friend. Kate held onto Matt protectively, even though they both stumbled ahead a couple of steps.
"Oh, dears, are you alright? I'm so sorry, Frankie gets so excited."
"Hey, you get out plenty," Matt quietly interjected, always quick to refute when Kate put herself down in his perspective. No, she might not have his powers, but that didn't mean what she did sense was any less worthwhile to him. He was slightly distracted now dealing with the inner wave of confusion, the battling of emotions. What he felt for Kate in that moment had decidedly not been just friendly. He'd wanted nothing more than to turn his head and kiss her fingers. It was wrong. Wasn't it? It certainly wasn't right given he was dating Heather. Plus Kate was so much younger than he was. She was his partner. His friend. Mixing all those together was a recipe for disaster, wasn't it? It was just a momentary impulse, a stress response to the comfort she was providing him.
It was momentary. It was... music? There was music playing now, a backdrop to her laughter.
Memories of dancing at Fisk's gala, with Kate. Saying her name in the hospital afterwards.
Moments.
"There's a busker by 5th and 8th's subway entrance, who I-" Matt's voice ended in a slight yelp as Lucky tugged him forward unexpectedly. He tumbled into Kate, though managed to stay on his feet, as the dog swerved them to go make a new friend. His arm ended up sliding around her, holding onto her waist tightly to keep himself rooted. It was a lot harder to balance without relying on his normal reflexes that went part and parcel with his abilities. Oh, he still had his ninja training, but he was used to also having his sonar radar to tell him what was around him.
"No, no it's," Matt cleared his throat, slowly straightening upwards. He offered a sheepish smile. "It's fine. We're sorry. Lucky likes making new friends, too. May I?" After getting permission, Matt slowly let go of Kate to reach his hand out. He couldn't tell where the dog was precisely, so the bulldog had to come to him to sniff at his fingers. Matt then knew where they were and gave their head a pat. Lucky nosed in then, wanting affection of his own. "Frankie seems like a sweetheart."
Trying to plant her feet firmly on the ground to keep them both falling, Kate found herself gasping as Matt wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. One of her hands landed on his chest, almost as if she was attempting to stop something, to put a boundary that was long lost. Her gaze slowly crept up, finding that scruffy chin and jawline, those lips that were dangerously close.
Kate bowed her head, finally letting out the breath she had been holding. She smiled at the couple, looking a little flustered by glad about the distraction. "Yeah, he gets pretty excited himself and can be kind of a clutz," she offered, watching Matt reach down to make a new friend himself.
"Oh! He... Frankie kinda looks like a Frank we know too," she let Matt know. The dog was mostly covered in black fur, but that white marking on his chest was something else. Besides, Frankie could have been named Frownie, to be completely honest.
"That's such a funny coincidence," the lady pointed out, "My niece and her husband are just like you two, they also have a golden retriever. Wonderful with kids. Do you have some of your own yet? You made an excellent choice for a family dog."
Matt gave a little laugh as Kate mentioned the dog looked like Frank, painting a picture for Matt even if he didn't know exactly what Frank looked like. He could entirely tell what she'd meant. "This Frankie is a lot more personable than the one we know," he teased back at Kate. "We might wanna start inviting this one instead to dinner parties." As though Frank wouldn't rather shoot himself than attend a progressive wine pairing tasting menu at Matt's. Or rather shoot Matt instead for even suggesting it.
"Oh - um, no..." Matt flushed a little, straightening up and having a moment of looking guilty as the woman mistook Kate and Matt for a couple. It wasn't the first time that happened. Normally though Matt just smiled at it and laughed, but this time? Hearing it suddenly made him feel a little in the wrong. Like there was some part of what was said that was forbidden and tempting rather than ridiculous. Like he was doing something wrong by enjoying her company, moments ago having had the impulse to turn his head and - "No, we're friends. Really good friends. Kate is one of my best friends." Perhaps three times was the charm to sound believable.
Crouching down and getting a faceful of licks from a Lucky that was in desperate need for attention, Kate's hand found Matt as they both petted little Frankie. "Definitely has a better temper. Probably better manners too." Kate looked up at the couple. "Is he potty trained?" She turned to Matt then. "Is our Frankie potty trained?"
Okay, so maybe she was being a little mean towards Castle now, specially since she had really enjoyed his company the last time. But she was well aware of how tense the relationship between him and Matt was and it didn't hurt to mess around a little.
Of course, fate seemed to have the last laugh at their expense as the couple made a huge mistake judging them too. "Oh, no, no, we're just friends, yeah." It felt a little like a stab to say, but it was the truth. That is, until Matt called her one of his 'best friends'.
Kate had called him that once, only to later feel foolish and almost childish over a statement that was not reciprocated at the time. Matt had probably not even realized it. But it had made Kate wonder if people his age even talked about having best friends. It made her wonder if after Foggy, anyone else was worthy of the title. At the time, she wondered if Matt never wanted to find that kind of closeness again.
It made her question if she was only the girl he worked with at night and had a familiar relationship with.
Of course, that had been a long time ago. She was well aware of it now.
"Oh, lad," the older man waved a dismissive hand before holding up his ring finger for Kate to see. "That's what we used to be. Now we've been together for forty years! My advice is, put a ring on it or run for the hills, there's no middle ground."
"Charlie!" His wife called him out with a smack to his wrist.
"Besides, you can't see it, but this one's a beauty. I'll hurry up before soemone else claims her."
"Alright, we're done here. I'm so sorry, dearies. I swear, I can't take him anywhere!" Huffing, the lady pulled on her husband's arm and tugged on the dog's leash. "Come along, Frankie."
Matt gave a small snort at her question regarding Frank being potty-trained. "I wouldn't trust him on the carpets." Too many bloodstains that way. Perhaps it was a touch dark-humored, all things considered, but sometimes humor helped keep hope alive. Matt wanted to think that maybe Frank was still out there ready to ream them both for this type of joking. Funny, how he held out hope for a killer. A killer who had also saved his life. Complicated ties bound this group of people he was working with together, some tenuous and others so strong Matt felt like they were a safety line. A part of him hated Frank Castle, loathed what the man did and stood for. Another part of him trusted Frank and wanted him in this fight against Fisk.
Maybe they all needed to trust one another a little more. Trust, not fear, was what could break Fisk. An outstretched hand rather than an iron fist.
Figurative iron fist. The literal one in Matt's phone contact list was fine.
Trust started with honesty. He felt he was honest with Kate. With Karen, and with everyone else in the fight. Was he honest with himself, though? That wasn't a question with an easy answer. He knew he wasn't being honest with Heather, and while he was terrified that he might not protect her otherwise, he was still being dishonest.
"It's fine," Matt said, softly, as the woman chided her husband. He stood up and waved goodbye, the husband's words settling beneath his skin. He paused then said, a touch loudly so they'd hear as they'd started moving away, "Hey, excuse me! Sorry. I just... I wanted to say, that's really beautiful. What you have." A best friend turned spouse. No matter what happened in Matt's life, it was genuinely sweet to hear about someone else's happiness. "Thank you for sharing that with us. Have a happy other forty." He smiled and took Kate's arm, bumping her a little as he found her elbow.
Even though Kate was slightly mortified over the fact that some old man had just pretty much placed a label on her, called her hot and tried to convince the guy she -- The guy she has very strong feelings for to stop being blind in the only way he could... Well, Kate took it all like a champ, didn't she? Even if that sweet old lady apologized over how clearly mortified she was, Kate still found a little humor in the bizarre situation. She waved at them both, ready to change the subject, when Matt did something truly sweet.
It was such a simple gesture. A confession towards a stranger. Words that to some might seem meaningless, but that can completely change one's day. She knew that this couple had certainly changed hers, but this? It was different. Like pointing out that someone is wearing a cool shirt. Saying that someone did a great job with their eyeliner. Knowing you will never see them again, but that sharing a little love is so incredibly simple.
The world was in desperate need of more love. This? This was also part of rebelling. Of resisting and rebuilding. This was what Fisk could not offer, but that they did.
"You are so sweet together!" Kate quickly joined in and complimented them as the couple turned, both looking surprised and overjoyed as they waved back. "Have a fantastic day and an even more beautiful life!"
Beaming with more confidence than before and already feeling much better, Kate giggled softly as Matt pulled her towards him. Their arms looped around one another's as they picked up where they had left their little adventure.
"You've never called me one of your best friends before."
Matt didn't hold it against the man for saying he couldn't see how beautiful Kate was. Even Foggy used to tease Matt about how he somehow knew which women were hot by their standards. Matt knew he didn't see and experience the world like others did. He had seen Kate, though. In his way. He remembered running fingers over her face. He remembered committing those angles and shapes to memory, to carry and assign to her alongside her heartbeat, step, and scent.
He knew physically, she was beautiful. He also knew that her courage, strength, and compassion were far more attractive than anyone knew and many underestimated.
Not that he should find it attractive.
He focused instead on their goodbye with the couple. Frankie's parents, since they hadn't exchanged names. They didn't need to. Sometimes those sorts of connections went beyond the common identifiers. Like a shared understanding, an exchange of appreciation. It was a sweet moment that he could tell lifted Kate's spirits, too.
Lucky was now back to being better behaved as they walked arm in arm.
"Hm. No. I guess I didn't." He paused then admitted, "I guess I don't talk about it all that often in general." Matt was incredibly affectionate, but using words of commitment, labels that mattered, those came slower to him. "Is it all right? That I called you that." Kate had long since taken a role that mattered deeply to Matt, a role that was similar to Foggy and Karen. Nobody could ever replace Foggy, but Matt's heart was big enough to have more then one best friend. He considered Karen one too at one time.
"Of course it's fine," Kate was quick to point out. Even if he wasn't able to listen to her heartbeat to double-check how sincere she was, the excited nuance in her voice spoke for itself.
"A long time ago I called you one of my bestfriends," she told him, unsure if he would remember it. "I didn't know if it was dumb of me or if I was overstepping. People..." She licked her lips, suddenly feeling her mouth a little dry. She was well aware that things had changed between them since then.
Deep down, something calm, that reassurance that regardless of what was going on things in the future would be better, it spoke with a new voice now. It told her that something had changed between them in this last few hours. She still remembered, after all, what it was like to be held to him as they feel asleep in each other's arms.
Even if they were only meant to be friends, she knew she could trust Matt blindly. That regardless of labels, they were partners. They had each other's backs, cared for each other. Maybe friendships can also last forty years. That doesn't make them any less important than other types of feelings.
"I didn't know if I had crossed some line. Because sometimes I feel very strongly about people like, right off the bat." Was that a sign of her being childish? Trusting too much? Is that what he thought back then? "But you're very special to me. You know, a real partner. I know I can count on you at all times and I hope you know you can count on me for anything. You..." She should probably shut up. Because just as she trusted too much, sometimes she also spoke too much. "Like, life has been so hard these last few months. But since we started hanging more, almost every day, things have also felt great too, Matt. Like, I almost feel guilty about it."
Matt listened. Not with any special hearing, just to the words that Kate said. He was quiet and attentive, more easily blocking out the city and focusing on her now that his powers were stripped away. His world might have shrunk in some ways, but it had expanded to include her in that little bubble. They were walking side by side, having a conversation that applied only to them, with the greatest city in the world - in Matt's opinion - as their backdrop. Writing their own stories as they went, with words weaving those callings together. Matt didn't believe in destiny, it was against his religion that focused on humanity's free will. He did believe though that certain people made the world better, and it was up to everyone to act on their own agency and not let those people go when found.
Kat meant so much to him.
'She matters to you, doesn't she?'
"Hey." He spoke softly. Matt could yell, he'd yelled plenty in his life. At enemies, at adversaries. Occasionally at loved ones when heated. In general though he tried to keep a calm and steady cadence. The world could get so loud, that sometimes, it was the quiet that cut through it. He didn't want to be harsh and pointed, not in his personal life. In court and as Daredevil was another matter. This was also part of him, though. This quiet. One shouldn't be all angles that cut.
Even Stick had kept a child's bracelet.
Kate mattered to him, and she'd taken the leap in saying it first. He paused and moved to stand in front of her. They were blocking the street and he didn't care. People walked around the stopped pair, muttering a little as they went. He stood firm in front of her, hands resting on her arms. "You feeling strongly is a gift. It might feel like a curse sometimes, but don't ever let the world take that from you. I'm not always... I don't always do so well at it." Like how he hid from people he loved after Elektra died. After Foggy died. When life dealt him emotional blows, Matt retreated to stop from being overwhelmed. "Life is hard, especially right now. You though, how you are? That's gonna be what matters. That's what'll be left standing. Good people who can trust, who should be trusted. I promise you that I won't leave you alone. I wasn't... I hadn't used those words since Foggy. And Karen leaving." The words best friend. "So. don't feel guilty. Just took me awhile to catch up to using them."
It shocked her, the way Matt made her both come to a stop, suddenly stepping before her as if he could stop the whole world that surrounded them to quieten it down. To capture her full attention.
As if he didn't already own that.
Kate smiled, a little nervous and self-conscious, unsure of what he was doing, where he was going with this. It felt like one of those really intimate moments, out for everyone to see. But he pushed through those feelings, until the world was indeed silent and his words truly reached her.
Bowing her head, Kate simply nodded. But then, aware that he would't be able to sense it like he normally did, she chuckled to herself.
Grabbing his hands, her placed them on her face and repeated the gesture.
"Sorry, I was nodding."
Best friends. It did mean the world to her.
"Thank you, Matt."
Because this wasn't just about what they meant to each other. This was Matt reassuring her that it was okay to feel the way you did sometimes. As long as you're not hurting anyone, right? It might be a curse though. Because right now, as she squeezes the hands holding her cheeks, she wants nothing but to stand on her tip-toes and kiss him. And it hurts. It hurt her every day sometimes, like carrying a splinter under her skin. A pain you grow used to after dealing with it every day. But then, every once in a while, you move differently, you touch something you cherisgh, you dance with someone and they hold you in a way that pushes the splinter even deeper. Straight to the heart.
Kissing him would hurt people who don't deserve it. Matt included.
He smiled a little when she apologized as she placed his hands on her face to feel her nodding. "It's all right. Everyone does that sometimes." Nodding in agreement or shaking their heads, or holding up papers and pictures, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see them doing it. It didn't bother Matt when those minor faux pas moments happened, they weren't malicious. Nonverbal cues were a common part of most communication across the world, sometimes people just had to get a little more creative to make them work when someone was visually impaired.
He felt her face in his hands, felt the soft skin of her features against the rougher edges of his fingers. He committed the feeling the memory, letting his fingertips brush over her face briefly as a reminder of what she looked like before he let her go. "Foggy only let me do that once to him," Matt recalled quietly. "Said it was a little weird." Matt had respected that boundary, and with it, his memory of what Foggy's face looked like had long ago blurred from his mind. "I guess it can be a little weird. I'm sorry if it is." He wouldn't do it to Kate if she thought it was, but she hadn't seemed to mind the last time.
Lucky pulled at the leash, his nose angling towards one of the many vendors and shops that promised food. Matt gave a little smile again, nodding in the direction of the dog. "I think he's getting a little antsy for those noodles."
"I swear I try to remember," Kate protested softly, hating that even though she was so used to his presence and his needs, even now she could still forget about this sometimes. However, of course Matt didn't seem bothered.
Under her touch, Kate felt his hands shift. She let go, sure he was pulling away. But Kate was wrong. Matt's hands moved slowly, his fingertips tracing her cheekbones, her jaw, her nose, evading her parted lips. It was done before Kate realized it. She wanted to ask him to keep going.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, good point." The people around them seemed to be growing impatient over the way they were also blocking the road. Holding onto Matt's arm again, she walked quietly by his side for a moment.
"I don't think that was weird." She suddenly offered, remembering what Matt said before. "Touching someone's face," she clarified. "Like, I get why it may have been for Foggy." Men aren't probably crazy about other men touching them maybe? It's like crying in front of other people. Not everyone is comfortable with that. "But I think it's cool. Like, I can't imagine myself actually remembering what makes faces feel different." But how do you try to learn that? Matt had good reasons to try, she didn't. "Like, I'd like to try it, but it would be extra weird if I asked someone."
"Hey, no, I know you try to remember. Don't be so hard on yourself. Nobody's perfect. Especially since I can do things other people in my position can't normally." Matt knew that his abilities muddied the water even further, since it wasn't always a clear line of what he could and couldn't sense. He couldn't read a paper that was held up for him but he knew when someone was holding up a middle finger in his face, for instance. "I'm sure I've sometimes spoken in a direction where Clint can't read my lips without thinking. I like to think he doesn't hold it against me."
He lightly felt over her face, recommitting the angles smooth edges to memory again. He gave a quiet smile that was satisfied when he was done and took her arm so they could keep walking.
"It might be a little weird to most people if you asked to feel their face, but you can feel mine. I'll understand." Kate wanted to know what his world was like, just as he was learning more about hers today. "It takes some getting used to, but eventually, you start to tell faces apart by touch. And Foggy did a lot for me in other ways, so yeah, I can understand and respect that boundary." It wasn't coming from an awful place, and Matt would rather Foggy be honest with him than not.
"Can Lucky come into the store with us? He's not technically a service dog, but I'd feel bad leaving him tied up outside."
Edited 2025-05-24 18:14 (UTC)
Aaaaaw, I love this one so much! The whole new batch is so pretty! <333
That was the thing about Matt, he always tried to be fair on people and to remind them of the good things. Of the lack of malice in them and sometimes, in the world too. Kate, always the overachiever, would beat herself up over the smallest and silliest of details, but Matt knew how to take the edge off the things she sometimes carried with guilt.
Good thing she is not a Catholic too.
"I'd like to try," she was quick to agree, knowing it was a safe space to try with Matt. "What things do you pick when you touch someone's faces? Like..." She was being selfish, maybe. Stepping again over that dangerous line. But Kate needed to know. "What did you notice about mine?"
It was purely educational. Asking to know what to look for with her own closed eyes later.
"Oh, yeah! Everyone knows him by now and love him. It should be fine." It was, at least most of the time. "And now you mention it, we can stop here." Making all of three them stop, Kate reached out to hold the door open for Matt as she greeted the owner of the store.
[OOC: Like, I started RPing without any icons so they aren't needed for me to enjoy playing, but icons are a fun extra that I like when they're around.]
"We can try it when we get back, then. Up to you whether I shave first or not," he teased her, because while he did feel scruffy at this point, he didn't have a razor at her place. He and Clint were not close enough to share a razor with the man. At least not on Matt's end. He couldn't speak for Clint, whom he knew had a different upbringing and therefore possibly different thoughts on where boundaries were drawn.
What did he notice when he touched Kate's face?
The mere question made his heart quicken, a subtle touch of heat coming to the surface.
What did he notice about hers?
"Everything."
The word came out quiet, like a caress. Not the harsh inspection of a cross-examination looking for a flaw, but rather, the gentle removal of a barrier to reveal sweet truth. He'd said too much, and at the same time, nothing at all. He cleared his throat and tried to explain. "Symmetry. Nice lines when you smile. Strong brows and soft cheeks. A head angled to take anything on. Hair that falls against your face like it won't be denied."
Right.
Dangerous, and he was glad they entered the store. He stood patiently by with a smile as Kate greeted a worker she clearly knew well. "It all smells good already. Shall we get some expert advice on which noodles to try?"
[ooc: Definitely! For me it's a choice to every month do this small investment with the paid account, but I do enjoy having the extra icons so much.]
"Why would I mind the beard?" Honestly, she was so used to seeing Matt this scruffy that having him shave would probably be a little odd at first. Not that she'd mind! Not that... Not that she should have the power to make that call, really.
Was it a big deal? Should it feel like a big deal that he offered? Why did that feel wrong? Like, once again, she was stepping into a territory where she shouldn't feel so welcomed.
It was almost as confusing as Matt's answer to her question. Kate smiled, ready to call him out on how cryptic Matt was being, but he interrupted the silence between them.
For a moment, Kate was left speechless, her heart once again doing all the talk that for once Matt was not able to listen. He had memorized things that felt familiar as she thought of the reflection she caught sight of every day, of the million selfies she'd taken and photos she shared with friends. Strong brows. Symmeetry. Nothing too telling. Except that Matt thought she had a nice smile. Or at least, nice lines around it.
Hair that fell like it won't be denied.
That was more than simple memory. More than a reflex. He was reading through his touch and putting almost poetry into his words. It was so much more than the description she had been expecting.
It was an odd, warm sensation she couldn't shake off, not even as they were greeted by Mrs. Sato. "Oh, she knows exactly what I like. Hey, Mrs. Sato!"
"Kate, sweetie. I haven't seen you in a while. Oh, and you come with my handsome boy." The middleaged woman wasted no time and walked out from behind the counter, offering Lucky some biscuits the dog wasted no time in devouring straight from her hand. "Oh, two of them. Where have you hiding this one?"
"Oh, no! No, no, no." Kate shook her free hand, shocked by how often now people mistook her and Matt for an item. "This is my friend Matt. He -- I wanted to introduce him to the wonders of instant noodles."
"There's neatly trimmed facial hair and then there's crazed hermit. If I don't shave today, it'll start to qualify as crazed hermit," Matt said teasingly in return. He normally was never clean-shaven, but there was a huge difference between having a small bit of manicured scruff and not shaving for a few days to just let the beard do its own thing. He wasn't someone who liked the latter, even if Kate didn't seem to mind or notice.
Matt was many things, several of them even nice and gracious things. However, he also had a decent ego on himself when it came to his looks and charm, so when Mrs. Sato initially cooed over seeing her handsome boy, there was a brief moment of confusion on Matt's face. He thought handsome, of course, was applied to him, yet he didn't know this woman. It took a moment for him to sheepishly realize she meant Lucky, then for the embarrassment to shift back into pleasure when the compliment circled back around to him again.
He held out his hand, waiting for the older woman to shake it, as he gave her a charming smile. "Matthew Murdock. I can already tell from your hospitality and the wonderful smells here that I should blame myself for not having visited your shop sooner. Please, I have Kate here to show me around, but if you've got anything new she wouldn't know, keep us in the loop." A bark, then Matt added, "See, Lucky agrees with me."
"I promise you're not anywhere close to crazy hermit," Kate said firmly. Honestly, there was something... mature about how Matt looked with his beard. Not like she needed any reminders of how much older the man was, but Kate couldn't deny that this look on Matt reminded her of something homely and soft.
Even though Kate was unaware of how Matt was briefly humbled down, she did notice how her friend suddenly pulled the big guns of charm. Asshole. There was no way he was not aware of the effect he had on people.
"Oh, Kate." Mrs. Sato wasted no time, taking Matt's hand and shaking it as she covered her mouth, seemingly trying to supress the need to giggle at his antics. "This one is a keeper. So much nicer than that punk you brought last time. Older this time, but good to keep."
"Mrs. Sato, it's nothing like that, Matt--"
But the older woman was shushing her already.
"I have an eye for these things. And you?" She directed her attention to Matt. ""Open up." Barely waiting for Matt to obey, she shoved some mochi in his mouth for him to bite. "Fresh."
"We're not here for fresh, but--"
But Mrs. Sato was interrupting Kate again. "I know, korean instant noodles. Spicy or extra spicy? Terrible sense of taste", the woman called Kate out even when she was talking about the products she was selling herself. "Noodles should be japanese and fresh. And men? Like him, not delinquents."
Was Matt playing up his charm a bit in response to having been humbled next to a dog? Maybe. Yes. It was harmless in his mind, and well, he couldn't blame Mrs. Sato. Lucky did have charms that even Matt couldn't reach. That didn't mean he wouldn't try his hardest though to win over someone who meant something to Kate. Who didn't want to be on good terms with their friend's shopkeepers? It was a totally normal inclination. He also tried to open his mouth to protest that they were actually dating when a delightful ball of bouncy freshness was shoved into it.
The expression on Matt's face showed pure pleasure and like perhaps Mrs. Sato was the real keeper. He raised his hand a little while Kate was insisting on the instant noodles and said with soft pleading, "A little freshness too for after? Where is that mochi and those fresh noodles kept? Perhaps some fruit and mushrooms, too. Do you have lychees?" What? Surely he'd get his senses back eventually and a delightful meal made with lovely ingredients would be a nice follow up to the sodium crash course they were now having.
He preened a little at Mrs. Sato's compliment, but loyally threw Kate a bone as he leaned his elbow out to bump her. "In Kate's defense, I did ask for her to show me spicy junk food today. To see what it was like. She's just being a good friend. I figured I should go to the expert on it. So I guess we have to go with the extra spicy. And some mochi to cool it down afterwards. How long have you had this shop, Mrs. Sato?"
Grateful as she was over Matt's support, Kate didn't miss the way the shopkeeper's face completely lit up at his genuine interest. "Twenty years and counting," she stared proudly as she went from left to right around her shop, not letting the pair choose for themselves as she packed a bag for Kate.
Aside from the freshness of the produce, it was one of the reasons why Kate always returned to Mrs. Sato's place. The woman was all hard love at times, but genuinelly knew what she was talking about with her recommendations and Kate would take them in blindly.
"Lychees, shiitake and also strawberries. There's no strawberries like japanese starwberries. Nihon no ichigo wa mottomo oishī."
Stopping by the counter again, the woman grabbed a couple more biscuits which Lucky gladly wolfed down.
"Huh, yeah, I'm taking some more miso and also I don't have any soy sauce at mom's place." Mrs. Sato swiftly went from one corner of the shop to the next one, filling Kate's bag. "Oh, do you have those those--?"
"Frozen gyozas that you love?" With a sound of disapproval, the woman headed to grab a packet for Kate. "One of these day I'll teach you to cook them yourself. Prety girl like you needs to eat healthier to attract men like this one."
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streetlevel) wrote2024-12-23 08:39 pm
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As Brianna and her family were left behind, Kate was already scanning their surroundings to come up with the next amazing and ordinary little story she and Matt would discover around them. But then, at the mention of his own love life, she could't help but be pulled by her own curiosity. "Really? Was it a 'the one who got away' kind of situation?"
She'd liked plenty of girls and guys that simply didn't notice her, plenty that did and a couple who were a casual thing. But, aside from bad breakups, this was the first time Kate experienced true longing for someone she could't have. Yeah, timing was a bitch for her too. Being born at least 20 years later was a real shitty thing.
For a moment, he tried to imagine him thirty years younger, now her reasons completely different ones. A boy who'd lost not just his dad, but most of his whole world. Someone, she guesses his old teacher, letting him explore a whole different view of what surrounded him simply by explaining what was past the apparent simple taste of vanilla. "Was that Stick? Is that how you--"
Someone, walking next to them, dropped a plastic bag with recent purchases. Suddely, Matt quieted down and was wincing. Kate turned to face him, asking over and over if he was okay as she held his cheeks. Finally, his face relaed again.
"Are you sure?" There was suddenly a note of hope in her voice. "We can go back home if this is too much."
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"Mmm, yeah, I guess you could call it that. Though it wasn't just poor timing that led to it not working out. I guess I don't have one that was based just on timing." Matt's mind had gone to Karen and how they just could never figure out how to make things work between them. He'd made peace with it, and he truly, genuinely hoped they somehow found Frank alive so they could be together. "How about you? Have you ever had timing be the problem?" It was just natural for Matt to extend the conversation beyond himself. He tried to never just talk about himself but to inquire and engage the person he was with in return. He knew Kate hadn't had the greatest romantic relationships in the past though, so he was quick to add softly, "Unless you don't want to talk about it. I get it. We can go back to discussing strangers." He squeezed her arm in friendly support, because he didn't want to talk about something that might be painful. He genuinely didn't know how bad her dating past was or wasn't.
He smiled a little against her hands when they were pressed on the sides of his face once the pain passed. Reaching up he lightly put his hands over hers as he promised, "No, I'm okay. I swear. It was just a moment. This happens sometimes. Little moments of sensing things before things actually come back to normal. I think it's a good sign but I don't think I'm about to be overwhelmed anytime soon." It wasn't a quick recovery like turning on a light, and once he did have his powers back, he could control them, anyway. It had just surprised him in the moment to have that quick rush. It meant though that his powers were still there, which lifted his heart. His smile widened boyishly, letting him enjoy this moment with Kate even more now that he knew he was likely truly on the mend. "I think we'll still be fine to enjoy our noodles and pizza rolls."
Returning to the previous topic as they started walking again he said, "Yeah, it was Stick. He took me out for ice cream when we met. Told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. Showed me what he could do, what I could do if I trained with him. The funny thing is Kate, that he did broaden my world, but he also taught me something I don't think he intended. Because after him, I've met so many people who did the same thing. Not in the same way, but if you think about it, the people who matter to us? Or even sometimes just strangers we meet in passing? They show us a way of thinking and living we didn't know about before. Like a guy I recently defended, who reminded me that even a short jail sentence was wrong when society was rigged against him. Or like you right now. Showing me how you experience the world."
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Kate knew very well what Matt was talking to, after all, the guy that sometimes kept her awake late at night - sometimes thinking, sometimes fighting by her side -, was right there, literally within her grasp. With her arm looped around his, a wave of guilt took over her. "Ah, no, no. It's fine! You can ask me about anything, Matt. I swear." The last thing she wanted was to endanger this sense of trust that had built up between them. But was it okay to talk about this with him of all people?
"He... It's more than just bad timing too." She couldn't bring up the age difference. She couldn't be so obvious. "I think he just doesn't see me that way and probably never will. He cares about me and is super sweet about it, but he has someone else anyway."
And she had to accept that even if Heather wasn't in the picture, Matt was a very good friend. Older, who liked women his age. Elegant, responsible. Maybe more feminine? He doesn't strike her as the kind who'd judge a girl over her hobbies, of course not. But the heart wants what it wants and it's not like taste on people can be chosen.
Kate certainly didn't choose this. She didn't choose the way her legs feel weak and her heart swells at the sight of that sweet smile. He leans into her palm as her hands frame that handsome face. Because he is so much more than this. He is the most gentle guy she's met. Thoughtful, alwats putting others before himself. Smart and fun, a little mischievous. Even bruised and scruffy, he is perfect in her eyes.
"Okay. Only if you're sure." Sounding much more sure of herself, she doesn't even notice the way her thumb strokes his face as she doesn't quite let go of him yet. She's happy to hear that he is finally going to feel back like himself. Even if what started as one of the most terrifying nights of her life ended being one of the best ones, leading to the most relaxing and enjoyable day she's had in what feels like ages.
Finally settling by Matt's side again and after giving his arm a rub, she waits for him to hold onto her. Lucky has taken advantage of the stop to leave his scent on a wall, but seems also ready to pick up their walk. "Like, different perspectives, right?" She had to admit, it was pretty great to be able to share her world with him. But not just the tastes, like this morning. She liked sharing what her home was like, the music she listened to. Ever since they became closer, Kate realized she enjoyed sharing her life with Matt and learning more about his.
"Sometimes... Sometimes when I close my eyes I try to notice things too." She suddenly chuckled, feeling self-conscious. "Never like you, of course. But... What it is like to count steps. The sounds the city makes. That sort of stuff."
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Go figure that it was now that his senses were dulled, that he couldn't hear Kate's heartbeat, couldn't thread her feelings through her words, couldn't sense her temperature nor smell her scent, that Matt's own heart betrayed him to himself.
The little fan of warmth he felt from the gentle way her fingers caressed his face, the way his heart quickened and his mouth turned dry. The way that this was the first time in so very long he felt any sense of peace and home, out on the streets of New York utterly blind, with Kate and her dog at his side. The words that Sister Maggie had said when he'd visited her in the hospital.
'She means something to you, doesn't she?'
Kate meant so very much to him.
He licked his lips and cleared his throat, his feelings betraying him in a way that confused him and made him feel guilty. He took her arm again, trying to make sense of the swirling of emotions inside of him. His voice was low and a little husky. "Yeah. Like different perspectives." Did Heather ever count the steps to live like him? To experience the world as he did? Or was that too silly and romantic a task for one more practical?
"It's a good sound, isn't it?" He said it quietly, head tilted at her. "The city, that is. There's music to it, when you listen to it right."
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People are sometimes complicated. The world around them is complicated.
Feelings are complicated.
"I mean, I don't get out as much as you do. But it's fun. Suddenly you hear the neighbors. Or things going on down there." A block ahead from where they were standing, a busker started to play. Kate instantly laughed, making music of her own. "And then the music can also be literal," she pointed out.
An elderly couple ahead of them walked their french bulldog. Lucky pulled on the leash a little too excitedly and on Matt as well, wagging his tail at the opportunity of meeting a new friend. Kate held onto Matt protectively, even though they both stumbled ahead a couple of steps.
"Oh, dears, are you alright? I'm so sorry, Frankie gets so excited."
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It was momentary. It was... music? There was music playing now, a backdrop to her laughter.
Memories of dancing at Fisk's gala, with Kate. Saying her name in the hospital afterwards.
Moments.
"There's a busker by 5th and 8th's subway entrance, who I-" Matt's voice ended in a slight yelp as Lucky tugged him forward unexpectedly. He tumbled into Kate, though managed to stay on his feet, as the dog swerved them to go make a new friend. His arm ended up sliding around her, holding onto her waist tightly to keep himself rooted. It was a lot harder to balance without relying on his normal reflexes that went part and parcel with his abilities. Oh, he still had his ninja training, but he was used to also having his sonar radar to tell him what was around him.
"No, no it's," Matt cleared his throat, slowly straightening upwards. He offered a sheepish smile. "It's fine. We're sorry. Lucky likes making new friends, too. May I?" After getting permission, Matt slowly let go of Kate to reach his hand out. He couldn't tell where the dog was precisely, so the bulldog had to come to him to sniff at his fingers. Matt then knew where they were and gave their head a pat. Lucky nosed in then, wanting affection of his own. "Frankie seems like a sweetheart."
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Kate bowed her head, finally letting out the breath she had been holding. She smiled at the couple, looking a little flustered by glad about the distraction. "Yeah, he gets pretty excited himself and can be kind of a clutz," she offered, watching Matt reach down to make a new friend himself.
"Oh! He... Frankie kinda looks like a Frank we know too," she let Matt know. The dog was mostly covered in black fur, but that white marking on his chest was something else. Besides, Frankie could have been named Frownie, to be completely honest.
"That's such a funny coincidence," the lady pointed out, "My niece and her husband are just like you two, they also have a golden retriever. Wonderful with kids. Do you have some of your own yet? You made an excellent choice for a family dog."
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"Oh - um, no..." Matt flushed a little, straightening up and having a moment of looking guilty as the woman mistook Kate and Matt for a couple. It wasn't the first time that happened. Normally though Matt just smiled at it and laughed, but this time? Hearing it suddenly made him feel a little in the wrong. Like there was some part of what was said that was forbidden and tempting rather than ridiculous. Like he was doing something wrong by enjoying her company, moments ago having had the impulse to turn his head and - "No, we're friends. Really good friends. Kate is one of my best friends." Perhaps three times was the charm to sound believable.
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Okay, so maybe she was being a little mean towards Castle now, specially since she had really enjoyed his company the last time. But she was well aware of how tense the relationship between him and Matt was and it didn't hurt to mess around a little.
Of course, fate seemed to have the last laugh at their expense as the couple made a huge mistake judging them too. "Oh, no, no, we're just friends, yeah." It felt a little like a stab to say, but it was the truth. That is, until Matt called her one of his 'best friends'.
Kate had called him that once, only to later feel foolish and almost childish over a statement that was not reciprocated at the time. Matt had probably not even realized it. But it had made Kate wonder if people his age even talked about having best friends. It made her wonder if after Foggy, anyone else was worthy of the title. At the time, she wondered if Matt never wanted to find that kind of closeness again.
It made her question if she was only the girl he worked with at night and had a familiar relationship with.
Of course, that had been a long time ago. She was well aware of it now.
"Oh, lad," the older man waved a dismissive hand before holding up his ring finger for Kate to see. "That's what we used to be. Now we've been together for forty years! My advice is, put a ring on it or run for the hills, there's no middle ground."
"Charlie!" His wife called him out with a smack to his wrist.
"Besides, you can't see it, but this one's a beauty. I'll hurry up before soemone else claims her."
"Alright, we're done here. I'm so sorry, dearies. I swear, I can't take him anywhere!" Huffing, the lady pulled on her husband's arm and tugged on the dog's leash. "Come along, Frankie."
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Maybe they all needed to trust one another a little more. Trust, not fear, was what could break Fisk. An outstretched hand rather than an iron fist.
Figurative iron fist. The literal one in Matt's phone contact list was fine.
Trust started with honesty. He felt he was honest with Kate. With Karen, and with everyone else in the fight. Was he honest with himself, though? That wasn't a question with an easy answer. He knew he wasn't being honest with Heather, and while he was terrified that he might not protect her otherwise, he was still being dishonest.
"It's fine," Matt said, softly, as the woman chided her husband. He stood up and waved goodbye, the husband's words settling beneath his skin. He paused then said, a touch loudly so they'd hear as they'd started moving away, "Hey, excuse me! Sorry. I just... I wanted to say, that's really beautiful. What you have." A best friend turned spouse. No matter what happened in Matt's life, it was genuinely sweet to hear about someone else's happiness. "Thank you for sharing that with us. Have a happy other forty." He smiled and took Kate's arm, bumping her a little as he found her elbow.
He held onto someone he trusted.
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It was such a simple gesture. A confession towards a stranger. Words that to some might seem meaningless, but that can completely change one's day. She knew that this couple had certainly changed hers, but this? It was different. Like pointing out that someone is wearing a cool shirt. Saying that someone did a great job with their eyeliner. Knowing you will never see them again, but that sharing a little love is so incredibly simple.
The world was in desperate need of more love. This? This was also part of rebelling. Of resisting and rebuilding. This was what Fisk could not offer, but that they did.
"You are so sweet together!" Kate quickly joined in and complimented them as the couple turned, both looking surprised and overjoyed as they waved back. "Have a fantastic day and an even more beautiful life!"
Beaming with more confidence than before and already feeling much better, Kate giggled softly as Matt pulled her towards him. Their arms looped around one another's as they picked up where they had left their little adventure.
"You've never called me one of your best friends before."
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He knew physically, she was beautiful. He also knew that her courage, strength, and compassion were far more attractive than anyone knew and many underestimated.
Not that he should find it attractive.
He focused instead on their goodbye with the couple. Frankie's parents, since they hadn't exchanged names. They didn't need to. Sometimes those sorts of connections went beyond the common identifiers. Like a shared understanding, an exchange of appreciation. It was a sweet moment that he could tell lifted Kate's spirits, too.
Lucky was now back to being better behaved as they walked arm in arm.
"Hm. No. I guess I didn't." He paused then admitted, "I guess I don't talk about it all that often in general." Matt was incredibly affectionate, but using words of commitment, labels that mattered, those came slower to him. "Is it all right? That I called you that." Kate had long since taken a role that mattered deeply to Matt, a role that was similar to Foggy and Karen. Nobody could ever replace Foggy, but Matt's heart was big enough to have more then one best friend. He considered Karen one too at one time.
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"A long time ago I called you one of my bestfriends," she told him, unsure if he would remember it. "I didn't know if it was dumb of me or if I was overstepping. People..." She licked her lips, suddenly feeling her mouth a little dry. She was well aware that things had changed between them since then.
Deep down, something calm, that reassurance that regardless of what was going on things in the future would be better, it spoke with a new voice now. It told her that something had changed between them in this last few hours. She still remembered, after all, what it was like to be held to him as they feel asleep in each other's arms.
Even if they were only meant to be friends, she knew she could trust Matt blindly. That regardless of labels, they were partners. They had each other's backs, cared for each other. Maybe friendships can also last forty years. That doesn't make them any less important than other types of feelings.
"I didn't know if I had crossed some line. Because sometimes I feel very strongly about people like, right off the bat." Was that a sign of her being childish? Trusting too much? Is that what he thought back then? "But you're very special to me. You know, a real partner. I know I can count on you at all times and I hope you know you can count on me for anything. You..." She should probably shut up. Because just as she trusted too much, sometimes she also spoke too much. "Like, life has been so hard these last few months. But since we started hanging more, almost every day, things have also felt great too, Matt. Like, I almost feel guilty about it."
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Kat meant so much to him.
'She matters to you, doesn't she?'
"Hey." He spoke softly. Matt could yell, he'd yelled plenty in his life. At enemies, at adversaries. Occasionally at loved ones when heated. In general though he tried to keep a calm and steady cadence. The world could get so loud, that sometimes, it was the quiet that cut through it. He didn't want to be harsh and pointed, not in his personal life. In court and as Daredevil was another matter. This was also part of him, though. This quiet. One shouldn't be all angles that cut.
Even Stick had kept a child's bracelet.
Kate mattered to him, and she'd taken the leap in saying it first. He paused and moved to stand in front of her. They were blocking the street and he didn't care. People walked around the stopped pair, muttering a little as they went. He stood firm in front of her, hands resting on her arms. "You feeling strongly is a gift. It might feel like a curse sometimes, but don't ever let the world take that from you. I'm not always... I don't always do so well at it." Like how he hid from people he loved after Elektra died. After Foggy died. When life dealt him emotional blows, Matt retreated to stop from being overwhelmed. "Life is hard, especially right now. You though, how you are? That's gonna be what matters. That's what'll be left standing. Good people who can trust, who should be trusted. I promise you that I won't leave you alone. I wasn't... I hadn't used those words since Foggy. And Karen leaving." The words best friend. "So. don't feel guilty. Just took me awhile to catch up to using them."
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It shocked her, the way Matt made her both come to a stop, suddenly stepping before her as if he could stop the whole world that surrounded them to quieten it down. To capture her full attention.
As if he didn't already own that.
Kate smiled, a little nervous and self-conscious, unsure of what he was doing, where he was going with this. It felt like one of those really intimate moments, out for everyone to see. But he pushed through those feelings, until the world was indeed silent and his words truly reached her.
Bowing her head, Kate simply nodded. But then, aware that he would't be able to sense it like he normally did, she chuckled to herself.
Grabbing his hands, her placed them on her face and repeated the gesture.
"Sorry, I was nodding."
Best friends. It did mean the world to her.
"Thank you, Matt."
Because this wasn't just about what they meant to each other. This was Matt reassuring her that it was okay to feel the way you did sometimes. As long as you're not hurting anyone, right? It might be a curse though. Because right now, as she squeezes the hands holding her cheeks, she wants nothing but to stand on her tip-toes and kiss him. And it hurts. It hurt her every day sometimes, like carrying a splinter under her skin. A pain you grow used to after dealing with it every day. But then, every once in a while, you move differently, you touch something you cherisgh, you dance with someone and they hold you in a way that pushes the splinter even deeper. Straight to the heart.
Kissing him would hurt people who don't deserve it. Matt included.
Kate didn't want to lose her best friend.
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He felt her face in his hands, felt the soft skin of her features against the rougher edges of his fingers. He committed the feeling the memory, letting his fingertips brush over her face briefly as a reminder of what she looked like before he let her go. "Foggy only let me do that once to him," Matt recalled quietly. "Said it was a little weird." Matt had respected that boundary, and with it, his memory of what Foggy's face looked like had long ago blurred from his mind. "I guess it can be a little weird. I'm sorry if it is." He wouldn't do it to Kate if she thought it was, but she hadn't seemed to mind the last time.
Lucky pulled at the leash, his nose angling towards one of the many vendors and shops that promised food. Matt gave a little smile again, nodding in the direction of the dog. "I think he's getting a little antsy for those noodles."
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Under her touch, Kate felt his hands shift. She let go, sure he was pulling away. But Kate was wrong. Matt's hands moved slowly, his fingertips tracing her cheekbones, her jaw, her nose, evading her parted lips. It was done before Kate realized it. She wanted to ask him to keep going.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, good point." The people around them seemed to be growing impatient over the way they were also blocking the road. Holding onto Matt's arm again, she walked quietly by his side for a moment.
"I don't think that was weird." She suddenly offered, remembering what Matt said before. "Touching someone's face," she clarified. "Like, I get why it may have been for Foggy." Men aren't probably crazy about other men touching them maybe? It's like crying in front of other people. Not everyone is comfortable with that. "But I think it's cool. Like, I can't imagine myself actually remembering what makes faces feel different." But how do you try to learn that? Matt had good reasons to try, she didn't. "Like, I'd like to try it, but it would be extra weird if I asked someone."
ETA Snazzy New Icon
He lightly felt over her face, recommitting the angles smooth edges to memory again. He gave a quiet smile that was satisfied when he was done and took her arm so they could keep walking.
"It might be a little weird to most people if you asked to feel their face, but you can feel mine. I'll understand." Kate wanted to know what his world was like, just as he was learning more about hers today. "It takes some getting used to, but eventually, you start to tell faces apart by touch. And Foggy did a lot for me in other ways, so yeah, I can understand and respect that boundary." It wasn't coming from an awful place, and Matt would rather Foggy be honest with him than not.
"Can Lucky come into the store with us? He's not technically a service dog, but I'd feel bad leaving him tied up outside."
Aaaaaw, I love this one so much! The whole new batch is so pretty! <333
Good thing she is not a Catholic too.
"I'd like to try," she was quick to agree, knowing it was a safe space to try with Matt. "What things do you pick when you touch someone's faces? Like..." She was being selfish, maybe. Stepping again over that dangerous line. But Kate needed to know. "What did you notice about mine?"
It was purely educational. Asking to know what to look for with her own closed eyes later.
"Oh, yeah! Everyone knows him by now and love him. It should be fine." It was, at least most of the time. "And now you mention it, we can stop here." Making all of three them stop, Kate reached out to hold the door open for Matt as she greeted the owner of the store.
It really is! New icons make me happy.
"We can try it when we get back, then. Up to you whether I shave first or not," he teased her, because while he did feel scruffy at this point, he didn't have a razor at her place. He and Clint were not close enough to share a razor with the man. At least not on Matt's end. He couldn't speak for Clint, whom he knew had a different upbringing and therefore possibly different thoughts on where boundaries were drawn.
What did he notice when he touched Kate's face?
The mere question made his heart quicken, a subtle touch of heat coming to the surface.
What did he notice about hers?
"Everything."
The word came out quiet, like a caress. Not the harsh inspection of a cross-examination looking for a flaw, but rather, the gentle removal of a barrier to reveal sweet truth. He'd said too much, and at the same time, nothing at all. He cleared his throat and tried to explain. "Symmetry. Nice lines when you smile. Strong brows and soft cheeks. A head angled to take anything on. Hair that falls against your face like it won't be denied."
Right.
Dangerous, and he was glad they entered the store. He stood patiently by with a smile as Kate greeted a worker she clearly knew well. "It all smells good already. Shall we get some expert advice on which noodles to try?"
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"Why would I mind the beard?" Honestly, she was so used to seeing Matt this scruffy that having him shave would probably be a little odd at first. Not that she'd mind! Not that... Not that she should have the power to make that call, really.
Was it a big deal? Should it feel like a big deal that he offered? Why did that feel wrong? Like, once again, she was stepping into a territory where she shouldn't feel so welcomed.
It was almost as confusing as Matt's answer to her question. Kate smiled, ready to call him out on how cryptic Matt was being, but he interrupted the silence between them.
For a moment, Kate was left speechless, her heart once again doing all the talk that for once Matt was not able to listen. He had memorized things that felt familiar as she thought of the reflection she caught sight of every day, of the million selfies she'd taken and photos she shared with friends. Strong brows. Symmeetry. Nothing too telling. Except that Matt thought she had a nice smile. Or at least, nice lines around it.
Hair that fell like it won't be denied.
That was more than simple memory. More than a reflex. He was reading through his touch and putting almost poetry into his words. It was so much more than the description she had been expecting.
It was an odd, warm sensation she couldn't shake off, not even as they were greeted by Mrs. Sato. "Oh, she knows exactly what I like. Hey, Mrs. Sato!"
"Kate, sweetie. I haven't seen you in a while. Oh, and you come with my handsome boy." The middleaged woman wasted no time and walked out from behind the counter, offering Lucky some biscuits the dog wasted no time in devouring straight from her hand. "Oh, two of them. Where have you hiding this one?"
"Oh, no! No, no, no." Kate shook her free hand, shocked by how often now people mistook her and Matt for an item. "This is my friend Matt. He -- I wanted to introduce him to the wonders of instant noodles."
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Matt was many things, several of them even nice and gracious things. However, he also had a decent ego on himself when it came to his looks and charm, so when Mrs. Sato initially cooed over seeing her handsome boy, there was a brief moment of confusion on Matt's face. He thought handsome, of course, was applied to him, yet he didn't know this woman. It took a moment for him to sheepishly realize she meant Lucky, then for the embarrassment to shift back into pleasure when the compliment circled back around to him again.
He held out his hand, waiting for the older woman to shake it, as he gave her a charming smile. "Matthew Murdock. I can already tell from your hospitality and the wonderful smells here that I should blame myself for not having visited your shop sooner. Please, I have Kate here to show me around, but if you've got anything new she wouldn't know, keep us in the loop." A bark, then Matt added, "See, Lucky agrees with me."
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Even though Kate was unaware of how Matt was briefly humbled down, she did notice how her friend suddenly pulled the big guns of charm. Asshole. There was no way he was not aware of the effect he had on people.
"Oh, Kate." Mrs. Sato wasted no time, taking Matt's hand and shaking it as she covered her mouth, seemingly trying to supress the need to giggle at his antics. "This one is a keeper. So much nicer than that punk you brought last time. Older this time, but good to keep."
"Mrs. Sato, it's nothing like that, Matt--"
But the older woman was shushing her already.
"I have an eye for these things. And you?" She directed her attention to Matt. ""Open up." Barely waiting for Matt to obey, she shoved some mochi in his mouth for him to bite. "Fresh."
"We're not here for fresh, but--"
But Mrs. Sato was interrupting Kate again. "I know, korean instant noodles. Spicy or extra spicy? Terrible sense of taste", the woman called Kate out even when she was talking about the products she was selling herself. "Noodles should be japanese and fresh. And men? Like him, not delinquents."
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The expression on Matt's face showed pure pleasure and like perhaps Mrs. Sato was the real keeper. He raised his hand a little while Kate was insisting on the instant noodles and said with soft pleading, "A little freshness too for after? Where is that mochi and those fresh noodles kept? Perhaps some fruit and mushrooms, too. Do you have lychees?" What? Surely he'd get his senses back eventually and a delightful meal made with lovely ingredients would be a nice follow up to the sodium crash course they were now having.
He preened a little at Mrs. Sato's compliment, but loyally threw Kate a bone as he leaned his elbow out to bump her. "In Kate's defense, I did ask for her to show me spicy junk food today. To see what it was like. She's just being a good friend. I figured I should go to the expert on it. So I guess we have to go with the extra spicy. And some mochi to cool it down afterwards. How long have you had this shop, Mrs. Sato?"
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Aside from the freshness of the produce, it was one of the reasons why Kate always returned to Mrs. Sato's place. The woman was all hard love at times, but genuinelly knew what she was talking about with her recommendations and Kate would take them in blindly.
"Lychees, shiitake and also strawberries. There's no strawberries like japanese starwberries. Nihon no ichigo wa mottomo oishī."
Stopping by the counter again, the woman grabbed a couple more biscuits which Lucky gladly wolfed down.
"Huh, yeah, I'm taking some more miso and also I don't have any soy sauce at mom's place." Mrs. Sato swiftly went from one corner of the shop to the next one, filling Kate's bag. "Oh, do you have those those--?"
"Frozen gyozas that you love?" With a sound of disapproval, the woman headed to grab a packet for Kate. "One of these day I'll teach you to cook them yourself. Prety girl like you needs to eat healthier to attract men like this one."
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