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streetlevel

Leave Matt a message below!

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From:

hawk_shot

Yeah, no, I don't wanna associate those two things together, options off or whatever.

Okay, that's a good point. But can you at least pretend that you're trying?

[Even though she can tell he is self-conscious about how he sometimes starts babbling away, Kate enjoys it every time.] Hey, no. I totally feel you. And don't stop on my account, I love your ranting.

From:

streetlevel

Foggy and I did some of those quizzes on it once. Yes, we were drunk.

Will we both pretend, then?

... you do?

From:

hawk_shot

Let me guess, you guys got perfect scores? After all, you had the healthiest marriage I've ever heard of. [Bromance goals.]

Will you pretend for me, too?

Of course. I like it when you get all passionate and shit, it's pretty fascinating to hear you. Unless you're bullying me, obviously.

From:

streetlevel

It wasn't a perfect score. Just a very compatible one. It was all fun and games until Marci scored lower with him.

Uh-uh. If I gotta pretend then you do, too.

I don't bully you. I'd never bully anyone. I take that word seriously.

From:

hawk_shot

Noooo. She did? [Damn, that must have been a tough one. Even if Marci sure knew from the very beginning that she had a tough opponent. Kate wondered how the woman was doing these days. The blonde had a great sense of humor and she and Foggy had been a great couple.] Did Foggy sleep on your couch that night? Or were you a good husband and you gave him the bed?

Guess we have a pretend deal here then, sir.

Okay, okay. [She knew that she ought to take this seriously. Kate had learned not to take things lightly when something really mattered to Matt.] You know I'd never really think that you're capable of bullying anyone, right? [Hell, sometimes she can't help herself.] Maybe you would have been tempted if you had seen Kingpin with that hawaiian t-shirt. But no, I know you're not capable, Matt.

From:

streetlevel

I think Foggy and I both ended up on the couch that night. It was a lot of drinking.

Virtual shake on it.

I know. Wait, Kingpin in a what?

From:

hawk_shot

Did you guys win a case? Or was the compatibility test that exciting?

Virtual shake on it, pal.

The night I met him. I might have had a concussion and maybe memory might trick me. But this is a thing I will never forget. Fisk dressing in a white suit, but wearing a red hawaiian, floral shirt under his jacket. I shit you not.

From:

streetlevel

... you know what's sad? I honestly can't remember any longer. This was years ago. I just remember we were all together, drinking and hanging out. I don't remember why.

Don't think I won't bring this up to him the next time I see him.

From:

hawk_shot

I don't think that's sad. It's kind of the opposite. I mean, the greatest memories are not attached to special dates. But a good time with you and your friends was like, a regular Tuesday or whatever.

I better be there to see his reaction, Matt. Besides, someone needs to describe it to you!

From:

streetlevel

Yeah, I guess that's true. Sort of along the lines of it being the people and not the place.

... I'll owe you that exchange if I don't fit it in tonight, Kate. You can hold me to that.

From:

hawk_shot

And you really nailed it when it comes to having amazing friends.

Hey, I'm gonna stick close just to hear that tonight. And, you know, maybe help you if things get dirty or whatever. Use those heels as the mortal weapon they were designed to be.

From:

streetlevel

I want to say back at you but the only friend of yours I know is Clint. Seems imbalanced.

You got my back, I got yours. And what matters most is protecting the innocent people's.

From:

hawk_shot

Well, you know yourself. You're a pretty big friend of mine now.

Should we go in with a strategy? I know we both think on our feet, but... Vanessa is his weak spot, isn't she?

From:

streetlevel

I'm boring. I want to know your other friends. Unless you're embarrassed by me.

Vanessa is my target. When I take to the floor with her, clear everyone else out.

[Target. Matt doesn't use those words. Venom drips from his tone. Fisk has been his enemy for twenty years. Fisk has been his mountain and boulder. Fisk has been what he's won.

Target.

The devil is hunting tonight. Matthew isn't after Fisk's weak spot tonight.

Tonight, the Devil Himself is getting his due.]

From:

hawk_shot

I would never be embarrassed of you! [She does sound worried, though. He is joking, right? Please be joking.] You're probably the most respectable friend I have, Matt. I'm just worried of scaring you off with a bunch of horny Swifties.

[The shift is too clear. Not just over how he words things, but because she recognises that tone.

Can she argue with him, though? She's just as angry as Matt. In a way, they both carry a history with Fisk.]

Wow, no pressure. I just have to keep the task force and Fisk busy. [She tried to joke.]

From:

streetlevel

Respectable is probably a good way to put 'old.' Although I think Peter's more clean-cut than even I am.

... no, I wouldn't leave you to handle Fisk alone.

From:

hawk_shot

That's so not what that means! The audacity, Matt. Quit putting words in my mouth. [She sounded both shocked and holding back a laugh.] I mean me and my friends are such a mess while you're a respectable lawyer that wears a tie at all times and listens to jazz.

Exactly. We are a team. And if you force me to dance with that evil walrus to distract him I'm never forgiving you.

From:

streetlevel

I think part of that does come with age, though. Not always, but I remember being much more of a mess in my early twenties than I am now. Or maybe now I'm just a mess in other ways. Either way, I bet your friends are nice.

I'll find a way to speak with her that doesn't leave you hanging. I promise.

From:

hawk_shot

What were you like in your early twenties, Matt? [She instantly smiles at the mental image of him maybe in something less formal, acting a little goofier maybe?] Ok, once this is over? Big night out and drinks. I'm introducing you to my friends. Then we can go, totally shiftfaced, to feed the ducks in the harbor. Someone's gotta tell them that Marshall is good.

Good. Whatever happes, tell her that even you can tell that she looks tired.

From:

streetlevel

A little cockier, a little less cynical. A lot more figuring out how I was going to get anything done. Law firms don't just land in someone's lap - or well, not when you have no money or firm to inherit. I did a corporate internship while going to law school and quickly figured out even if that's where the money was it wasn't for me.

That's the ultimate insult, huh?

From:

hawk_shot

Did you and Foggy partied like crazy or were you guys all business? [It could go bothw ways, really. Because she had met the older, more mature version of them both and had seen what a pair of fun dorks they had been together. But then, hard work was clearly what got them there.] Wish I had met you back then. You think you would have liked me? [Well, shit, that sounds so wrong.] I mean, I could see all of us hanging and stuff.

[She would have melted for him. Like she does now.]

There's way cheaper ones. But I'd like to think this will fuck with her head.

From:

streetlevel

There was some partying, especially at Columbia. Of course I would have liked you. You're a good person, Kate. We might not have had that many overlapping interests, but I think we'd get along.

I do wonder if she and Fisk sleep easily. I hope they don't.

From:

hawk_shot

Well, aside from the vigilante work, not sure if we even have many interests in common now. But I like to learn about the stuff you're interested in.

That makes two of us. [She considers things.] I honestly don't understand how some people can be evil. How do you live with yourself doing the stuff they do?

From:

streetlevel

Boxing, maybe. Even if your type of boxing isn't the same as mine. We both like to read, don't we? You're right though, our interests don't overlap much.

I don't understand it, either. Unfortunately, I do know what it feels like to hate and want to hurt. I like to think though that I don't want to hurt people who don't deserve it. I try not to use violence first, period. [He does not always succeed, and it makes him worry and wonder about himself.]

From:

hawk_shot

Kick-boxing? I'm sure we can meet in some middle-ground, Mr. Ninja. [They still owe each other a sparring session.] You read more than I do lately, but yeah. Guess you can really get along even if you don't always share the same hobbies. Like, the love for a dog.

Matt, you know that what you do is totally different...