( closed ) blind ninja meets whatever it is she is

[fogwells]

who: Matt Murdock & Jessica Jones
what: Super cool neighbors have a super friendly meeting!
when: August
where: Floor 9 of community housing
warnings: None, of course, absolutely nothing can go wrong!

[ He'd check to find out if Foggy and Karen were here, if they'd somehow been displaced like he was. Finding no hint of them, he wasn't sure whether to take it as something of relief or not. Not knowing enough about this place, it was hard to tell whether it was safer or more dangerous than Hell's Kitchen. Whichever was the worst, Matt didn't like not being with them to protect them.

The day had already been long, but it was just the beginning of his research, deciding to take it all one step at a time — all as Matt Murdock, and Matt Murdock alone.

Cane clutched in hand, he makes his way down the hallway of his floor, tapping at the ground in front of him. There's no need for it, not with his senses alerting him well of his surroundings, but he senses movement behind some of the doors to the other room. One in particular is about to be opened, sensing it in the way that feet tap across the floor, closer and closer.

When it opens, there's a woman there, practically his own height, with a heavy air about her.

Matt tilts his head up, facing her general direction, making sure not to look directly at her before shifting into a smile. ] Hi. You must be my neightbor.

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█ 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚗

[fogwells]

[ It's hard to separate his mind from her in the week that follows. His sight never returned since that night, the world around him once again shrouded in darkness, and yet he has a clear image of her formulated in his memory, collected with the rest of his lost memories. Her pink lips and bare skin somehow align together with the backdrop of a crystal blue sky he recalls as an eight-year old boy, pictures that no longer exist in his reality.

But it isn't merely his sight. Detecting things like Foggy's noodle lunch from a prior weekend was easy; even easier to cloud his scent was the lasting remnants of alcohol and sex even days after he'd left her apartment and hadn't turned back.

It's also days later, trying to flood himself with other futile distractions like the childish work of a paralegal, that he finds the mismatched fabric between his shirts — a sort of simple brand of cotton, too rough for his fingers when he runs them along the hem. They must have gotten mixed with his laundry, he realizes, a sigh escaping him as he tries to consider what his next approach should be. It's one pair of underwear, he knows she has plenty more tossed around her room; there's no need to return it.

So he doesn't know why he's in front of her door, knuckles rapping at the wood, listening in for her footsteps within. ]

[hardedged]

[ it's been one hell of a week, which jessica jones has actively attempted to suppress. there's a palpable tension between them, and she's avoided bumping into her neighbor from across the hall, for the most part.

it's easier that way. out of sight, out of mind. she doesn't want to recall the entranced look in matt murdock's gaze, nor the warmth of his gentle embrace. she'd prefer to forget that night completely.

however, fate has other plans. about a minute passes before jess opens the door, and a sharp scoff escapes her mouth. ]

What?

[fogwells]

[ He doesn't expect any form of warm greeting from her; in fact, that had already been out of the question even before she'd inevitably wanted to distance herself from him. Instead of the flat word that escapes her lips, he focuses on everything else. On the intoxicating scent of alcohol on her tongue, on the shift of her breath when she sees him, on the discomfort in the patterns of her heart beat.

Matt wears a tight smile, shoulders shrugging slightly. ]

Jessica. Long time no see.

[ There's always a little room for humor.

But as soon as he says it, he changes tone before she can shut the door in his face. ] I found this. Mixed with my things. I thought, I thought you'd want it back. [ And he holds up the found underwear, pinching each side with two fingers as he displays it for her. ]

[hardedged]

[ the blunt barb is a bit too soon, she mentally notes. not that jess has ever cared much for propriety. she scoffs, prepared to slam the door. yet, he stops her with a shocking revelation. her eyes widen once she discerns the item clenched within his hands.

he's touching her goddamn underwear, practically displaying it for the world to see. ]

Jesus. [ huffing a breath, she reaches out to snatch the fabric from him. ] Hands off.

[fogwells]

[ He lets her take the fabric without restrain, his palms immediately held up in surrender with a simple raise of his eyebrows. ]

Like I said, I found it in my luggage. Somehow, the laundry must have — [ He cuts himself off, unsure if he really needs to give an explanation at all or if she'll even care one way or another.

Instead, he licks his lip cautiously before giving it a soft bite, giving himself a swift moment to think before he speaks again. ]

I know you won't do things like small talk. If anyone's gonna reply "fuck off" to being asked "how are you", well — [ A minor shrug of a single shoulder, with a huffing breath of amusement. ] But I — Jessica, I really do want us to have the chance to talk.

[hardedged]

[ crumpling up the cloth in her fist, she shoves the underwear inside the back pocket of her jeans, then squints at him angrily. ]

About what?

[ she snaps back, her posture as intimidating as ever. ]

I had enough of your pillow talk last time.

[fogwells]

I'm pretty sure there wasn't much talking happening on that pillow.

[ An honest and too blunt response, but Matt can't help himself, not when he's with her. There was never ever much beating around the bush when speaking with Jessica, appreciating how straight forward they could be in most of their conversations. Most, but not all — there were some things either of them fought too hard to avoid.

He takes a single step closer, still keeping a relative distance. ]

I just want to set things straight. I want to talk about what we drank that night.

[hardedged]

[ jess replies with a dry snort, her grip tightening over the handle of her front door. she's never been a fan of confrontation, especially when it's not on her terms. ]

It was some magic bullshit. Not the first goddamn time it's happened here.

[fogwells]

[ His lips press tightly together, clearly not satisfied with her answer. It's formulated in standard Jessica Jones fashion, vague and flat as if trying to segue into the end of a conversation.

But Matt doesn't take the bait. ]

It restored my sight. Not permanently, but I saw you that night. [ He pauses briefly, taking a brief as his voice softens when he continues. ] What changed in you?

[hardedged]

[ her gaze narrows into a stern glare, and she licks her chapped lips out of instinct. as if the gesture could prevent the truth from slipping out of her mouth. ]

Went off the deep end, Murdock. Why else would I sleep with you?

[ another callous, flippant response, followed by her stepping back and shutting the door in his face. ]

[fogwells]

[ His only surprise is that she hadn't shut the door on him sooner. And perhaps that's the cue provided to him that it's his time to walk away, to let the conversation cease there — but he'd already walked away once.

Her footsteps are still close by, giving him an opening as he steps closer to the door, hands bracing themselves on either side of the frame as he leans in, his lips close to the wood when he speaks. ]

Because despite all appearances, I know you don't hate me, Jessica. [ Overly confident, but he doesn't stagger. ] Because I honestly believed for a minute that maybe — that maybe whatever you drank did affect your — [ What's the word? ] — feelings towards me. But then I realized that we drank the same thing. And all it did to me was give me sight, it didn't create a false image, it just allowed me to see something I couldn't see before because I was actually blind.

[ He catches a breath, licking his lip in the midst of a thought before he continues, ]

All the drink did was affect perspective. It didn't change reality.

[hardedged]

[ jess almost walks away, straight into another room, yet she halts once he starts to speak. that goddamn asshole, so smug and self-righteous. so confident that he knows what's in her head.

he doesn't know shit. ]

Go to hell, asshole!

[ indignant, she yells out, her voice muffled but loud enough to resonate. ]

[fogwells]

[ There's no scenario in this that doesn't end with her angry at him. Somehow he's well aware of that. He's had enough conversations with her to know. ]

Jessica, please open the door.

[ He says it almost quietly, but still clear enough to be heard through the barrier. ]

Don't shut me out.

[hardedged]

[ god, she wants to break something right now, preferably him. murdock's words strike jess to her core, and the realization frightens her. ]

Thought you were blind. Not deaf. I won't say it again. [ a frustrated exhale. ] Go. Home.

[fogwells]

[ Home is a funny thing. She means his own apartment here, he knows that, but home is Hell's Kitchen. He isn't going back there anytime soon.

And all that reminds him is how he may never see Foggy or Karen again. ]

Don't do the same thing I've done for years. Don't — [ He swallows, needing to take a breath as he wonders what the last words he said to Foggy were. Nothing precise comes to mind, but he does remember when he'd chosen his own pride over the only person who'd ever cared about him enough to stand with him at his worst. ] Don't shut people away because you think it'll be easy. Because you think maybe it's better, safer to be on you're own.

[ His palm presses over the wood of the door. He can sense her warmth from within. ]

It's not.

[hardedged]

[ she's had enough. with an incredulous scoff, jessica swiftly opens the front door, reaching out to grab hold of him by his jacket. then, using her enhanced strength, she lifts matthew up until his feet hover above the ground.

if a threat won't work, perhaps this will. ]

Out. Now.

[fogwells]

[ Matt spends most of his days getting beaten and bruised, the constant knock around of his head to blunt services too much of a regularity. What he isn't accustomed to is Jessica and her strength. Even though he'd known what she can do, he isn't prepared for the sudden force of it on him.

He takes in a large breath with his surprise, mouth gaping from the sudden shift in his breathing due to being suspended.

His hands brush over her wrist, trying to ease her. ] Jessica.

[hardedged]

[ the shock is clear on his expression, and for a moment, she hesitates. despite her demeanor, jess doesn't intend to harm him, only scare him away.

her grip loosens slightly, as jessica restores his balance and plants him back on the floor with a rough shove. ]

Goddammit. Just leave.

[fogwells]

[ He stumbles slightly when he's back on his feet, his balance always more heavily affected than others when it's forcibly shifted, due to the sensitivity of his senses.

But he straightens himself, his breath regulating itself while he falls into silence. One that doesn't last when he finally asks quietly, his voice almost a whisper with her standing so closely. ]

Do you really want me to?

[hardedged]

[ yes. no. jesus, this is far too complicated, and she wants no part of it. the soulmate shit was bad enough to cope with, considering how intense and insane the past week was. however, dealing with the aftermath now is even worse. ]

So we had a one-night stand. [ offering a dismissive snort, she leans against the threshold of the front entrance. ] Big fucking deal.

[fogwells]

[ If she'd said yes, he'd have walked away. There was only so much he could push, knowing a little stubbornness is required to counter her own, but that if she really despised him, if she really wanted him out of her sight, there'd be no use in forcing his presence on her.

But there's no answer, which he presumes makes it safe for him to linger.

He purses one corner of his lips, with a slight shrug of a shoulder. ] I like to think of it less as a one-night stand and more as two good friends sharing a moment.

[hardedged]

[ this asshole... ]

Bullshit.

[ she corrects matt in an instant, glaring at him. while jess isn't forcing him to move anymore, she won't give him the satisfaction of agreeing with those words either. ]

And for the record, counselor— [ the edges of her lips twist into a smirk. ] I've had better.

[fogwells]

[ He may not be able to see her anymore, but that smirk is always easy to sense, always picking up on the slight lift at the corner of her lips, because it's always so significant when she allows it to happen.

His own smile plays, amusement and smugness all rolled into one. ]

I wasn't at my best. I usually don't have my eyes to distract me.

[hardedged]

[ another witty retort. she hates him, how easily he can brush off her criticism without a care in the world. from the moment they met, matthew murdock has never failed to irritate her.

and jess knows, more than anyone else here, that there's only one way to shut him up.

reaching out, she grabs him by his jacket yet again — only this time, she spins murdock around to pin him against the nearest surface. with his back against the wall near her door, she dips her head, seeking to silence him with a kiss. ]

[fogwells]

[ For a brief moment, he really believes she might be throwing him across the hallway this time, that he hasn't at all learned his lesson in how much he can tease and banter with her, thwarting off all her attempts at tearing him down. He has no intentions on fighting her, but he realizes he should put a little more effort in defending himself if she has plans to beat him to a pulp —

She doesn't.

For a brief moment, he's frozen still, surprised at feeling the contact of her mouth, on account of everything she'd just declared. But it's been a week since they had their "one night stand", as Jessica calls it, and her lips are still just as familiar when they press hard against his.

He can barely catch his breath, but he takes in hers, returning the grazing of her mouth with ease, something intoxicating in the rough motions of her kiss. ]