riverviewlogs | ( closed ) blind ninja meets whatever it is she is

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( closed ) blind ninja meets whatever it is she is

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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[ 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.

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.

[ 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.

[ 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?

[ 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. ]

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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?

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

[ 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. ]

[ the sharp scent of whiskey remains on her breath, though perhaps he's used to that by now. his touch, just as before, is like goddamn electricity, and the surprise rushes through her. perhaps a part of her had hoped that murdock was mistaken, that the potion was responsible for enhancing the chemistry between them. but now, she's forced to acknowledge that she was the wrong one.

after jess deepens the kiss for a moment, she abruptly regains control over her senses and pulls back. swallowing hard, she releases an incredulous scoff. ]

Keep it in your pants.

[ When she draws back, when he's able to catch his breath again, he cracks an all-knowing smile, the beginnings of a chuckle playing at his mouth. It's typical of her, really, almost like a bad habit, that he isn't thrown into any level of surprise.

He doesn't shift from where she's pushed him tightly against the wall, his head merely leaning back, not needing to get a feel for the air around her to get his own grasp of her roller coaster of emotions regarding his presence at her door. ]

Jessica. [ The name slips from his tongue as easily as it is to take a breath. He gives a lick to his lips, shaking his head lightly. ] I'm not making anymore excuses. [ With a brief pause, he gives a minor shrug, his following words honest. ] I like kissing you. It's as simple as that.

[ she doesn't anticipate that response, the candor in his voice unwavering yet unexpected. it both vexes and entices her at the same time. jessica shakes her head, her expression twisting into an ugly scowl, while she futilely attempts to slow down her quickening heartbeat.

he's a cocky bastard, in more ways than one. ]

Yeah well, feeling's not mutual.

[ clearly. with a roll of her eyes, she shifts her stance, prepared to walk back inside her apartment. ]

[ Not all of Jessica's actions are predictable. There's something in that brief moment where everything's still, a second that lasts like multiples in the anticipation of how she'll respond, of wondering which emotion she'll give into.

And yet, when it comes, he still doesn't waver, clear conviction in his tone and lack of hesitance. ]

I don't need to read your heartbeat to know that's a lie.

[ her hand grasps the knob of the front door, tightening around the handle until it suddenly breaks off with a sickening crack. the truth is that murdock's right, and the part that frightens jessica beyond measure is that she has no idea how to cope with this realization.

it's better being on her own, she's always believed that. however, day by day, he's slowly moving past her emotional barriers. she doesn't need whatever the hell he's offering, she tries to convince herself — a shoulder to lean on, an open ear to listen, a chance to warm her bed at night. she doesn't want his fucking friendship.

most of all, she doesn't deserve it. ]

You don't know a goddamn thing about me.

[ there's a harsh degree of magnitude underlying her words, though the intensity isn't directed at him. only at herself. she knows the truth. she's always been a piece of shit, and that won't ever change. silence suspends in the air, heavy and thick between them, as she enters her apartment and slams the door shut. ]

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( closed ) blind ninja meets whatever it is she is

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