paged | ❢ open rp ❢

[ It had been a week since she took her desk at the new Nelson, Murdock, & Page. Karen was still on good terms with the Bulletin and sometimes spent her lunch going over to say "hello", keep her ear to the ground for any stories popping up. Sometimes she would even swing by to see Sister Maggie. Her heart still ached for the Father but she was going to make sure his sacrifice was worth it. She was going to continue to help Matt and Foggy save Hell's Kitchen.

They could do it together.

Especially now that those walls were gone. All of them were on the same page now and while that was... different, it was a good kind of different. They had been through the gauntlet and they had come out on the other side again, still whole. If a little beaten. Matt's bruises took a long time to heal but at least this time Karen knew how he got them and... felt pride this time.

After a week of working in the office with him again, she leans against the doorframe of his office, ]

Hey. Do you want to grab something to eat? Call it a night?

[A week full of milestones. Their first series of office sessions, crisp new business cards--the braille printing was more expensive but this was something Matt was not going to compromise. He'll take the smaller office without the window. The new paint smell had finally faded. The office felt like home.

There's no mistaking that they had been through hell collectively. All the same it was like a bad side trip and they're finally on the path again together. No lies, no hiding. Lessons learned. Wounds mending. Matt has kept the tiny cross on the simple black chord, it rests against his chest. Any time it shifts he thinks of Father Lantom, of Sister Maggie.

Now and again through the thin walls he can hear Foggy's voice rise and fall as he talks on the phone. With it the gift that's Karen's laughter. Nelson, Murdock and Page. Together. Home.

Matt takes another drink of coffee. The tread of heels approaching has him lift his head. His glasses have fallen down his nose and he gives them a little push.]

Is it six already?

[Just because he has a watch doesn't mean he actually pays attention to it. He pushes back from the desk and tilts his head, giving her a smile.]

...that sounds perfect actually.

[Like she's offered him a vacation or a hundred dollars. The same kind of humbled, warm glee at the invitation.]

[ She grins wide at that, shaking her head, now knowing that he can "see" it in his own way. ]

And people call me a workaholic.

[ It's an easy tease. Especially when Foggy left half an hour ago and she's finally closed her own laptop. ]

How does a burger strike you, Counselor?

[He stretches his arms out side to side before lowering them. After he rolls his neck from one side to the other. The aches and pains of wearing a costume without armor have finally lessened. As usual, he just does not know when to quit.]

Oh you are, still. No mistake about it.

[The softness of his smile after only means it's a gentle tease. Matt presses the keys and the computer starts to shut down.]

Are you reading my mind now, Miss Page? That sounds perfect.

[ Watching him stretch, she resists the urge to walk over and try to help him loosen his muscles. She's no masseuse but she has a feeling she would be able to reach those muscles better than he could on his own. ]

Call it intuition from one workaholic to another.

[ She pushes herself off the doorframe and goes back over to her desk to grab her purse and jacket. The days were getting warmer but the nights were still pretty cool. ]

True insight.

[He calls after her as he gathers his things. The messenger bag is getting far more use these days, more files, more cases. For the first time in a long, long time he feels like himself. Daredevil and Matt Murdock together at peace in one skin in a way he never thought would happen when his heart was split into two.

Blazer on and packed bag slung over his shoulder. Matt walks to grab his cane and it's his turn to hover near the door of Karen's office.]

Burgers, huh?

Hell yeah.

[ She grins as she shakes her jacket on and heads over to him. ]

With fries and a large coke to put some rum in maybe.

[He straightens the strap on his messenger bag with his free hand. Glasses hide his eyes but his face is set in a serene expression. Dare he say savoring. Because that's what he wants to do in moments like this. Drink it in and deeply. All the time before he felt thirsty for this kind of honest and real acceptance.]

You have a gift with words, Karen Page.

[ Once she's close enough, she reaches forward to give his tie a little tug, ]

I could say the same about you.

[ And while the touch on his tie lingers, she lets it go and opens the door to the office, ]

C'mon. Food awaits.

[ And she goes through, passing the door off to him. ]

[Not even really touching him and he is enchanted with her willingness to reach out to him. He smiles and steps out the door, holding it open a moment before finding the keys in his pocket.]

...wanna take a cab? My treat.

[No rain to walk in, just a simple luxury of arriving. And a chance for Matt to be in her presence and welcome distraction.]

[ She goes through and waits for him on the other side, looking back to him, ]

Are you sure?

[ Normally, she would offer to lock the door for him. But now she watches him to it himself and still smiles. She can't be mad about it anymore. Not after the miracles that have happened. Matt was a walking one, in a lot of ways. She knew that now. ]

Yes, yes I'm sure.

[Door shut and locked he come back to her and with still a little hesitance, reaches for her arm. Like they had so many times before.]

Conserves our energy. And leaves the stroll for later.

[Walker he may be he wants to spend the most time with Karen.]

[ Karen smiles more at that, giving a nod as she gives him her arm. He has to keep up appearances, too. ]

Sounds like a plan.

[ Her words come out soft, fond. It's only as they walk and leave the building that it really sinks in how much she's missed this. It's not just Matt basking in the wave of acceptance. He finally knew all her dark secrets and still... he made her feel special.

They hail the cab and the silence between them is comfortable, Karen bumping her knee with Matt as the driver takes off after she gave him the address to the burger place. She wants to take his hand but maybe that's too fast for them right now. ]

[Appearances of blindness yes, he knows what damage he had caused. Trust and care that Foggy have given to him when he was at his lowest, when he lashed out and didn't deserve it. They are still his friends. And it's humbling. Though what else is grace supposed to feel like?

Before he can get lost in his own head at the cab experience her knee bumps his. Matt's lips curl and his head tilts down as he bumps right back.]

Do they actually sell rum at your fabled burger place? I was sold with or without it.

[The promise of her company was the real lure.]

[ She nods, ]

They do. Also got beer on tap but not much else. Their food more than makes up for it, though.

[ Another gentle knee bump -- where her knee stays pressed against his. The contact isn't the same as holding his hand but it's good enough to test the waters. ]

Your tastes on everything but coffee are second to none.

[Their one and only date at the Indian restaurant as one example that comes to mind. Another that delicious stew. And each and every pastry or good that was not payment those struggling days of Nelson and Murdock. That time feels so long ago.

The bump takes him back to the present. Another bump, softer, slower and with purpose because he wants this. He wants Karen the way people want a better life or stability.]

Thanks for reminding me to call it quits. I probably would have made a meal of the Quest bar.

[Which...has been on his desk as a suggestion by Karen to ingest a thing or two every once and awhile.]

❢ open rp ❢

post-s3 | for fightlikehell

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