[CLOSED] I just wanna be there where you are

[ergon]

Who: Karen Page & Matt Murdock
When: The 21st
Where: The cryochambers place, continued from her text to him.
What: Karen wakes up, and Matt goes immediately to her side.
Warnings: None yet, maybe mentions of nudity?



I'm coming.

[ Matt tells her quietly, firmly -- he'd stepped away only for a moment in the hours he'd kept silent vigil, blankets at the ready, and more than willing to take on anyone that tries to keep him away from her. He can hear the tremor in her voice, and he turns up a minute or so after, a towel and a bathrobe in his grip.

He can feel the rapid flutter of her pulse rate, her shivering, and he wraps the towel around her before he holds her tight. He'd been worried; wondering if she would ever come awake again. ]

Hey, hey. I've got you.

Comments

[clericals]

[How long has she been out of it? Karen's hand trembles as she presses it against her forehead, her damp hair falling like a curtain around her face. She should've thought of things like blankets and bathrobes, but all she could think of was reaching out to him first, and praying that he was still there to reach back.

Like actual praying.

And then he's there, and she's pressing into the warmth of the terrycloth and the warmth of him.]

Thank you. Just, thank you for being here.

[Karen's voice breaks and she presses her face against his neck.]

[ergon]

[ She's trembling to her bones, and he holds her tighter, wrapping the robe around her. He's missed Karen; her laughter, her jokes, her perfume and soap. He's missed everything about her when she went into the ice.

Her hair is still wet, but it doesn't matter, he presses his face against it anyway, quiet regret laced in his words. ]

I'm not going to let anyone put you in there again.

[clericals]

[Somehow, she believes him. Maybe Matt doesn't have the same gifts as a superhero, but he's the best damn lawyer she knows. He can be very compelling.

Comforted by that, she Karen finally sighs and relaxes in his arms, but she doesn't pull away.]

How long was it?

[ergon]

[ Damn straight he can be very compelling. Matt doesn't let go for her, but he figures that she'd want to get out of here as soon as she can. He keeps his arm around her waist, guiding her out of the room. ]

A couple of weeks. What was the last thing you remember?

[clericals]

[Karen's head is still foggy, but she chews on her bottom lip as she tries to think back. Her eyes go widen when she remembers.]

They were going to board the ship! What happened?

[ergon]

They lost.

[ Like hell Matt was going to let them hurt Karen while she sleeps in the tube. He leaves out the rest of the details, and he squeezes her shoulders briefly, reassuringly. ] Don't worry, you're safe now. Are you hungry?

[clericals]

[Hearing it's a relief, even if the fact that they're still alive and talking right now told her that things went in their favor.]

Maybe, once I clean up. I still feel, I don't know, shaky. [But Karen draws strength from him with every passing second.] This is going to sound really weird, but did you...did you talk to me?

[ergon]

Yeah.

[ Matt admits after a pause. He'd read to her after awhile, having gotten himself a braille-based book -- but it wasn't anything interesting, just something to comfort Karen, to tell her that she wasn't alone. ]

Did you hear all of it?

[clericals]

No.

[But then why did she ask? Karen's confused herself for a moment.]

Maybe. I remember the sound of your voice and wanting to come back to it. But I don't know when, it could've been right before I did wake up.

[It could've been a dream. But Karen likes the idea now that she knows the truth.]

That means a lot to me. [She smiles.] Admit it, you told me dirty jokes.

[That good Catholic boy image doesn't fool her.]

[ergon]

[ Matt smiles now at that comment -- Karen's coming back to herself, she's always been astoundingly resilient. Her body temperature is adjusting, rising, and he doesn't let go of her as he leads her back to her room, careful to let her take the lead all the same, even if he knows the route to her dorm by heart. ]

Maybe, one or two. [ His smile widens a touch. ] Did you hear it?

[clericals]

I did. I almost blushed.

[Now Matt will know that she's joking. Karen isn't the type to blush much. Even if he can't see that to know one way or the other, he'd surely feel the heat in her skin.

She stops in front of her door, pulling away to face him a little more.]

Hey, you wanna...after I get dressed and everything, you wanna do something?

[ergon]

[ He laughs a little at that joke -- oh, he knows that she's not the type to blush too often, although he's inadvertently caught her at it once or twice.

Stopping politely, his brows are raised behind tinted sunglasses. ]

Do something? About that? [ The cryotubes? ]

[clericals]

No, uhm.

[She laughs a little before glancing down, her fingers going nervously to a few strands of her hair. She doesn't mean doing something to the cryotubes, though she's not exactly fond of them right now.]

Like...us. Do something.

[Date-o.]

[ergon]

Oh.

[ Oh, she meant a date. At least, that's what he thinks she means, right? Doing something? Matt's quiet for a moment, sensing her nerves, the pounding of her heart and her quickened breathing, realizing just what this means.

He takes a breath, steps a little closer and smiles. ]

I'd like that. [ Nevermind that this is a ship and they can't quite go anywhere -- they can make do. ] How about that coffee?

[clericals]

Yeah?

[Karen glances back up at him, watching him for a moment and trying to decide if he understood this time. Really understood.]

Okay, sure. [There's a smile in her voice, and her heart keeps pounding that way while everything else relaxes.] Maybe the next time we stop somewhere, we can try for something a little grander.

[There's only so much they can do on board the Moira. But Karen doesn't really care, not as long as she's with him.]

[ergon]

[ Yes, he really understands it -- he understands it from the way Karen's heartbeat races like his own, the small swell of happiness that he's always been afraid of letting himself feel. It's not so now, now that they're here and Matt has never been more aware of her closeness.

They stop outside her room, and he can't help but smile. ]

I'd like that very much. Coffee on an alien world; can't beat that kind of date.

[clericals]

Alien coffee.

[Karen points out, amused. She has no idea what alien coffee would even taste like, but it would be worth taking a chance on with him. Karen smiles, leaning against her door for a moment.]

Anyway, it won't take me long to go in and change. You can wait in the room, if you'd like?

[ergon]

[ It doesn't escape his notice that it'll be the second time Karen will be dressing in front of him -- but Matt simply nods, still mulling over her earlier words, the promise of more.

Won't that be nice, really? ]

Sure. [ He steps inside, taking in the dorm she lives in, how it's so much like her, how this is all so familiar and welcome to him. ]

We've come a pretty long way.

[clericals]

Yeah, we have.

[Their relationship before wasn't what Karen would call strictly professional. There was some flirtation in the office, unless it was completely wishful thinking on her part. And while they're not exactly moving in and adopting a cat together here, it feels like the beginning of something.

Karen pauses as she collects her clothing, sounding a touch horrified.]

...Please tell me you were talking about us and not the Moira.

[Because it suddenly feels like he could've been talking about the Moira, and Karen's embarrassed already.]

[ergon]

I was talking about us.

[ Matt's chuckling quietly, but he likes it -- us. He likes the ring of it, even if whatever this is is so new that he dreads the idea of ruining it before it's even started, the way he always does.

He doesn't even know what this is yet, but he knows that he likes it, and he appreciates her for all that she is, and what she has come to mean to him. He hears the rustle of clothing, aware of her movements and her proximity, and thinks of the night they had first met. She had been so afraid but so brave, like no one he's ever met before.

His fingers tighten briefly on his cane. ] Do you like it here?

[clericals]

[Karen practically slumps with relief, though the embarrassment lingers either way. She continues changing, unconcerned about doing it with Matt so close by. It's his question that catches her off guard, obvious in the pause and the inhalation of breath with no immediate answer to give it to.]

I don't know. [She glances back at him before continuing.] It feels a little sterile sometimes. Stagnant. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?

[ergon]

I don't know.

[ He says after a moment. But it gets under his skin, the way things are stagnant, as Karen says, how the ship lacks the frenetic pace of New York's pulse, the lifeblood of the city that pulses in Hell's Kitchen, the smells and sounds of the city, organic and contrasting against its sterile nature.

Matt is itching for a good fight, for something -- anything that he can do -- but in such close quarters what is there to do but bide his time? Karen doesn't know what he does after-hours, and for her safety he knows he never will tell her. ]

I miss the city. [ He smiles wryly. ] And Josie's. Think Foggy's there drinking without us?

[clericals]

He'd better not be, not if he knows what's good for him!

[There's an implied threat in Karen's voice, one that she wouldn't carry out. The only thing she would do if she saw Foggy right now is hold him.

Which is exactly what she does to Matt. Karen finishes getting dressed before she comes over to him, touching his arm, giving him little clues as to what she's about to do before she actually does it.]

Yeah. Me too. [Karen leans back again.] But we're going to figure this out, and once we do, nothing will stop us from going home. [She starts to laugh a little.] You'll be back in confession before you know it.

[ergon]

[ Matt can't help but smile at her exuberance. Even in this place, she can't quite shake off her nature -- Karen is resilient, stronger than she knows, and he's drawn to her hopelessly, warmly, like she's the sun and just a touch out of his reach.

But she touches him, and he senses her thoughtfulness, her care, and he swallows, unable to help a tinge of longing for her, to be closer, to let her know how he wants her. He steps closer to her, fingers lightly coming to touch her jawline, her cheek, quiet and contemplative. ]

I was afraid you wouldn't wake up.

[clericals]

[She's wondered about this, thought so much about the way Matt might "see" her. Karen holds her breath, so focused on where he touches her, the way he touches her. His hand is so gentle. If only she knew what they're capable of.

But it wouldn't change her mind.]

Matt, I'm so sorry. [His words are so honest, raw with fear, and not because he's a blind man alone on this ship. The idea of not waking up to see him scares her too, and she draws him closer into her arms.] Do you know how many regrets I would have if I hadn't? Things...I haven't told you. Things we haven't done.

[ergon]

There's nothing you should be sorry for.

[ He tells her firmly, and he senses her worry, her fear, and he takes her in to hold her close, pressing his lips to the crown of her head. He doesn't resist the pull, the shock and the reminder that he could lose her at any time. He's heard of the stories, of people who go into the ice and spend far too long in there.

She's the best of him, she makes him want to be a better person, and with her he feels like he could be that way, and he swallows a lump in his throat. ] Things you haven't told me?