InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Tra, la, la nothing"

Rose Tyler (by_any_other) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2015-01-18 17:34:00

Entry tags:

matt murdock, rose tyler, zz:status complete

Directory Lookup (Matt)
The City was easier to navigate than she had any right to expect. After a morning spent at the City Library, she'd learned that the most recent phone book on file didn't have any mention of 'The Doctor' or 'John Smith.' She'd expected to feel disappointed. She hadn't expected to feel... lighter. And, when she found no mention of Leonard McCoy, she was surprised again to feel nothing but a gentle regret that wasn't entirely free of satisfaction either.

The next name she'd looked up had been a little easier - Matthew Murdock. She already knew his home address (and how interesting that her name was already in the phone book, too), but the business address was new information. Checking her watch, she decided that it was close enough to lunchtime for her to bring him something. She wasn't exactly the best cook, so she found a Chinese take-out place and stopped there before heading up to the address of the law firm where he worked.

Receptionists. Rose never really knew how to talk with those.

"Uh, I -- I'm just a friend, I don't actually have any appointments, uh. He... He teaches me martial arts forms --" The receptionist was staring at her as if she'd grown two heads. Rose lifted the paper bag with a black-and-white panda on it. "Lunch delivery," she sputtered at last, hoping it worked.

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by_any_other
2015-01-22 03:06 am UTC (link)

Relinquishing lunch to his care, then relinquishing herself as well, she went where he directed. After curling herself up in the corner of the comfortable couch, she patted the cushion beside her. It was strange, how she assumed he could see whatever she did. She should've been more thoughtful. But then, he'd hardly ever struggled with how she'd behaved in the past. He was, she thought, quite remarkable.

"Just settling in, really," she said with a shrug. "Who was that woman out there -- do you know her?" She was a dragon lady, and there was no mistake about that. Rose supposed she should be glad that she wasn't some busty redhead with green eyes. There'd be no competing with that.

When did she feel like she needed to compete? The thought brought her up short. She laced her hands in her lap and lifted her shoulders, feeling strangely uncomfortable.

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ablinddevil
2015-01-22 03:20 am UTC (link)

Matt took the bag from Rose, setting it on to the desk. He untied he small knot, and began to relieve the bag from the cartons. A carton each, and a container of rice, brig with a pair of chopsticks set atop. He wasn't sure if Rose was familiar with chopsticks. If she wasnt, there was silverware prepackaged in the bottom of the bag, if so, then he would toss the rest out.

More than seeing the gesture Rose offered, Matt could hear the way her palm tapped invitingly against the cushion of his green couch. Without hesitation, Matt piled the cartons and utensils together and moved to her without hesitation. Matt settled, offering Rose her portion of the lunch and utensils. "Thank you for lunch. That was very thoughtful of you," Matt breathed. He meant it.

At mention of the receptionist, Matt smiled and nodded, "That's Paulina. You have to forgive her, she's very old school, and she doesn't know who I am." He hoped Rose would understand. "I'll talk to her. I have a feeling by the way you brought her up that she gave you hell out there. That's part of her job, filtration. But you're different..." Matt said, looking down at his cartons of food. He began to separate the cartons, setting the rice off of the side for the moment. He opened the lid of the main course, poking at the meat with the chopsticks. "I'll tell her that you're interning here. That way she can't do anything if you show up, and you'll have access to the building if you want it."

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by_any_other
2015-01-22 03:33 am UTC (link)

There was something in his voice when he thanked her, something warm and soft, and she felt herself leaning into it - perhaps not physically, but certainly in other ways. Was that good? She didn't know. She didn't know at all. Rubbing the back of her hand over her forehead, she flipped open her rice and dumped it all on top of her entree. That's how you were supposed to eat beef and broccoli, at least she thought so. The chopsticks were a disaster waiting to happen. She unwrapped herself a fork instead, feeling a bit silly when Matt picked out chopsticks. Well, he was better at dino-wrangling than she was, too. Rice-wrangling had to be less difficult, in the long run.

"An intern," she echoed, brightening a little. "I suppose that means... Well, I'll have to be here at least part-time, right? To keep up appearances and all. I guess I could help out around here, if you wanted?"

She paused. "Not that I'd be a secretary or anything," she added quickly. Rose Tyler, defender of the pens. No, thank you.

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ablinddevil
2015-01-22 03:48 am UTC (link)

Matt shook his head at Rose, grasping adeptly at a stray shrimp from within the carton. "No. Not a secretary. You'd be my intern, a lawyer in training. If you want...you don't have to.." He didn't want her to feel forced into the position or like she didn't have a say as to what spot she held. Eventually, he supposed, she would take over Frank's office if she wanted it. He knew she would be good at it if she really tried. She was already good at so many things, he wondered if even she knew what she was capable of.

He would never have stuck her with Paulina, either. Matt valued Rose more than that. No. She belonged behind a large oak desk helping the citizens of The City with their problems, much like he was. Not a pen pusher.

A glance over at Rose, and he smiled at her, "Going the route of the fork?" It was a playful tease, one he knew she would get. "I was thinking of finding a gym to practice in. Maybe in the morning before work. If you're interested in keeping up with the training, I would be more than happy to have the company..." He was giving her the option to run. They were in a new place. New rules. She was not bound to him nor would she ever be and she had the right to choose. A whole city was out there waiting to be explored and taken. But that was up to her. He would not invade her life.

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by_any_other
2015-01-22 04:11 am UTC (link)

She'd have immediately assured him that she very much wanted to be a lawyer in training - but her mouth was full. She settled instead with nodding emphatically, before she reminded herself that nodding wasn't going to help her. Instead, she chewed and swallowed as quickly as she could without choking herself.

"The tao of fork is powerful," Rose intoned, brandishing a smirk and a speared broccoli floret. "And you know, I like all your ideas. The internship, the gym... Sounds pretty all right to me... I mean, if you're sure that's okay with you, of course. I mean, I don't have to, if you'd rather..."

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ablinddevil
2015-01-22 04:45 am UTC (link)

"You're right, that is a very powerful Tao," Matt nodded, agreeing with her. A lot of things had power, but there was no arguing with a determined woman.

He poked at the Chinese, and added the rice, eating a bit more heartily than he had planned. Working made him hungry and often he found himself skipping meals due to being swamped and caught up in cases. Lucky for Matt, there wasn't much on his plate at that moment. He had finished up a few things on his last case, Andrew Brandt, and that was pretty much over.

Then Matt looked at Rose, offering her a warm smile, "I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want you to participate. I just don't want you to feel like you have to." He knew she didn't, and wouldn't...Rose was her own woman and be had an idea that she wasn't going to do anything she didn't want to.

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by_any_other
2015-01-22 04:51 am UTC (link)

That smile. She smiled back, though she knew he couldn't rightly see it. He could hear it, though, if she talked - and so she did, letting her smile transfer through the quality of her voice.

"I don't feel that way," she promised. "I was actually a little sad that we don't have a beach to practice on anymore. Or maybe we do? I don't know; I haven't done a lot of research on where we are, yet. But a gym would be easier, anyway, right? Unless we want a beach. Then I suppose we should look for one." But together. They two. She was still smiling.

"I think I'm gonna like this City," she said.

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ablinddevil
2015-01-22 06:01 pm UTC (link)

He hoped that this place had a destination as serene as the shore that had once held the TARDIS. And though Matt could never truly appreciate the view with his eyes, all of his other senses had come alive around the moving ocean water and pristine sandy coast. Especially when he was concentrating and had Rose at his side. Her scent complimented the salty tang of the air, and he hoped to once again have that mixture of smells before his ultimate departure from the world.

"I would go with you to look for a beach. There has to be an easier way to check besides wandering the streets, though. Maybe a map or something from the Internet." He used a computer frequently, but the screen never looked to him anything more than a solid glowing square. He couldn't see anything on it, like someone else could, and it was the same with a television.

Cities did have their advantages. But the beach and jungle had its perks too.

Matt poked at another bit of the broccoli and shrimp, gathering that and a few grains of rice in the prongs of the chopsticks, before offering the morsel to Rose, "You should try this, the flavor is fantastic." And it wasn't because he couldn't see, but that was a majority of it.

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by_any_other
2015-01-23 03:04 am UTC (link)

Against her will, her heart skipped in her chest. What was that? she wondered to herself, setting her fork down on the edge of the styrofoam container and putting her fingertips over the strange organ in her chest. She was sure that she was done with that feeling. It'd come to her before, but... She was sure that she'd been done. A weird smile touched her mouth briefly. Apparently lunch on chopsticks was enough...

... it was more than that, though, and Rose was lying to herself if she didn't admit it. She steadied Matt's hand with the fingertips that had been over her heart and took the bite he'd offered. The action felt... intimate. More, perhaps, than he meant it to. Get a hold of yourself, she silently thought to herself.

"'S'good," she said, once she'd swallowed enough. "I'm really glad you like it; I kinda guessed." Taking up her plastic fork again, she pushed the food in front of her around in its container. "You know," she added after a second. "If you can sneak out for the rest of the day, we could go see about the beach..."

And what a bad influence she was, encouraging the man to abandon his post on the first day that he took it. But Rose had been built for adventure, not for desk work.

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ablinddevil
2015-01-23 03:17 am UTC (link)

Matt felt the dip the chopsticks had taken when they had met Rose's lips, and he would be lying if he denied that his own heart was fluttering. It had been quite a long time since Mart had allowed himself to become close to someone, especially someone like Rose. Matt denied himself the experience, chalking it up to being overworked in a double life. By day a lawyer defending the poor against the rich, and by night the vigilante crimson hero defending the streets.

But maybe he had been doing himself a disservice. This was a nice feeling.

And at the offer, Matt turned to look down at his container for a moment. A smile found his lips and he nodded, "I'd like that. And how about we abandon this Chinese and go to my place first. We can prepare a picnic, if you want, and have a better lunch on the beach."

He would tell Paulina to hold his calls and take messages. He was going to be out for the day.

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