[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

[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?