4497/It Was Never Goodbye

It Was Never Goodbye
Date of Scene:	22 May 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Post visit with Darcy, the others wander in (Claire and Luke) and interupt Matt and Elektra /not/ breaking up. Words are had. Secrets get out. People storm off. Matt and Elektra are left not saying goodbye.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Elektra, Claire Temple, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage

---

Daredevil has posed:
The awkward meeting with Elektra and Darcy had become so much more awkward once Darcy had left, and Elektra and Matt were left sitting together, with a half-eaten pizza between them. "So, she was interesting," Matt says diplomatically. There were a dozen questions hidden behind those bland words. Wondering at the offer of a job and how the woman's other job, with SHIELD fit into things. He doesn't voice them though, just waves to Josie for a beer, before asking a much simpler question, pitched quiet as he studies the bare traces of whiskey in the bottom of his glass. "How have you been?" he asks.

Elektra has posed:
"She's nice," Elektra says quietly, still nursing that first beer. Her shot of whiskey still untouched. "If a little forceful. Tonight she was an excuse," Elektra admits.

She takes a long inhale, and sighs softly. "I know I shouldn't have. Not only because she deserves better, but we both know how dangerous this is. I let my emotions get the better of me, I suppose."

Matt is considered. "I could ask the same of you. How have you been?" Not answering his question, and perhaps answering it even so.

Daredevil has posed:
"You're right," Matt says. "You shouldn't have," there's a moment's pause. "But for what it's worth Elektra, I'm glad you did. I missed you."

The rest, the loss of control, coming here, it's met with a faint smile, "It was your turn, I was the one to go looking for you last time I think," he says, he really wasn't keeping score. He was just glad to see her, no matter how painful it was.

He notes the question wasn't answered. "I'm surviving," he says. "Firm's doing well, the fund is really helping people, as for the rest, my night job, I'm working things out, trying a new approach."

Elektra has posed:
There's a soft laugh from the woman, and a slight upturn of her lips at the corners. "I see. So we're keeping score?" Elektra nods. "I imagine your turn could be the carnival. Though to be honest, I didn't plan it this way. I really should be stronger."

But her gaze meets his own - well, his eyes, even if they are blind. "I wish things could have been different, Matthew. I still don't know who was responsible. All I know is there is a struggle for power going on that I can't pinpoint. I thought I'd brushed along the edges of it."

She shrugs and shakes her head. A negation of that thought.

"A new approach?" All questions now.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt chuckles in return, not a full laugh, but a chuckle. "Not really, but it seemed like the thing to say," he says, his hand sliding across the table on it's own accord for her to take it. "I know, so could I. If my teacher could see me right now," he gives his head a shake. "But when it comes to you, Elektra, I don't want to be strong," he admits. "Even though, I know we need to be, for both of our sakes." That last was nod towards right behaviour to keeping apart, but the words sound hollow right now.

"Makes sense," Matt says of the power struggle, before he comments on what really matters, "And I wish things could have been different too, everyday," he looks like he is about to say more but thinks better of it in the final second and instead turns to the other topic. "Trying to be less direct, only jumping in when there's immediate danger or something the cops can't handle. So, I'm not laying a beating on people like Marcus at the Hugo Building."

Elektra has posed:
Without a thought or pause, much as if she'd considered the exact same thing at the exact same moment as Matt, Elektra's hand slides across the table to meet his, fingers curling over his and tucking into his palm. Not once does she look away from his face, though.

"Stick would have my head for this," Elektra muses. "He believed emotion would be the death of me. For the most part, he succeeded in beating it out of me. You have always been the singular exception, Matthew. Only what good is loving you if it gets you killed, hrm?"

Her fingers squeeze his, as if anchoring there will keep him safe.. or from leaving her in a fit of sense and strength.

She listens to his new tactic, nodding as he explains. "Are you happy, though?" It seems an odd question, and not limited to his nightlife... or perhaps in particular to all aspects of his nightlife.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire is out and about after getting off shift, and the ER energy has her antsy. With a huff, she crosses her arms and leans against the nearest wall, considering her options. She pulls out her phone.

Matt >> Out at Josie's?

She grumbles to herself about pain-in-the-ass Attendings and starts walking toward the Hell's Kitchen watering hole.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt smiles as soon as their hands entwine, feeling the warmth of her hand against his own. Matt doesn't turn his head away either, he can feel her eyes on him, sense where her head was turned, it would be so easy to just lean across and-

"Wait, did you say Stick?" he says. The rest for the moment is put aside. "Stick trained you."

The buzz in his pocket is ignored for the moment. This was too important. It wasn't like there were a ton of people named Stick out there teaching people martial arts but he wanted to be sure before he started jumping to conclusions and giving his heart more reason to quicken. "Describe him," he says, the kiss he had been contemplating forgotten in his surprise.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra leans, only her body follows the language of his. Where he stops, so does she. They're like a mirror, and their pause creates an intimacy that holds the conversation between only the two of them.

"I don't think I've ever mentioned his name before, but, yes, that was his name. I always thought it strange. Only you learn in time to not ask stupid questions of the man."

Her words are an odd combination of fondness and.. something else. Ephemeral. Undefined. Or perhaps too defined for words. Love? Only, not the kind of love she holds for Matt, and certainly not an emotion Stick would thank her for.

"Gnarled and wizzened bit of an old man - he was always old. Even when I first met him. And blind. Like yourself. He's where I learned not to take the face value as the measure of a man's skills. You remind me of him."

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire grumps her way into a nearby 7-11 and pours herself a cup of hot chocolate, admonishing herself against coffee at this hour. After she pays, she pulls out her phone and frowns. Nothing's come back from Matt, yet.

Matt >> Working tonight?

She sips the chocolate and trudges in the bar's direction.

Daredevil has posed:
That frozen moment of intimacy with their faces leaning close made him wish he could forget about Stick, but he couldn't. She didn't even get to describing him before he knew it was the same man. The bit about stupid questions told him all he needed to know. He chuckles mirthlessly, shaking his head. "Of course he taught you," he says. Things were beginning to make sense, and even as he fought the implications of it all, they fell neatly in line.

The description blew away all doubt.

"Sword in a wooden cane, wore a lot of old army jackets?" he supplies. "Fond of fortune cookie wisdom, and preparing for the 'war'," that last word is said with scorn, despite having spent the better part of the last year fighting the Hand. "And I hope you mean we're alike because we're blind, because, beyond that, he and I are nothing alike."

The second buzz of his phone, gets an annoyed sound but no answer from Matt. Clearly, he must be very busy with work.

Elektra has posed:
Memory has Elektra's features softening, even if her past wasn't a kind time for her. It had forged her into what she'd become, though. "Yes. That war of his. Always going on."

That sofness remains, "You're a weapon, child. You have to stop thinking like you're anything else. There's a war to be won and the weak don't survive. Do you want to win, or do you want to be dead?"

The words slip from her lips with ease, and with darkness. For Elektra they bring up memories of dark rooms and training mats. Of bruises and cuts, and opponents she couldn't see. Concrete that smelled of blood and sweat.. And what it felt like to feel a man's heart beat its last for the first time.

She's brought out of her reverie by his comment that they're nothing alike. "No," she tells him, denying that. "You're very alike. Your ethics - how you stick to them. The way you throw yourselves into what you believe. How your bodies move like liquid through the space you live in. The gestures you make and the pauses you take when you fight." She shakes her head. "All Stick."

She asks Matt quietly, "What happened between you?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt is still stunned by it all. This couldn't be chance. "I see he kept the same lines," he remarks about what he told Elektra. "Did he give you the one about the mind and body connection." The mind controls the body, the body controls our enemies, our enemies control jack shit when we're done with them. It had been a favourite of Matt's when he was training. It was something that he carried with him into the Hell's Kitchen night. Or had, he was trying to be different now.

Which made the comparison so much harder to take. He wanted to deny it, say she was wrong but in his heart he knew she was right, that Stick was very much a part of who he was, and by the sound of it, part of who she was too. Damn the old man.

He doesn't argue, but he does answer the question, "He wanted me to kill," he says. It was the truth, but not all of it, and that holding back is plain in his body language. Yes, the idea of killing had troubled him, but it had been reaching out to Stick, wanting him to be mentor rather than just a man training him for war that had broken their connection and left Matt alone, again.

Needing something to keep his mind off of things, he reaches into his pocket for his phone and runs his hand over the screen the electronic voice reads "Two messages from Claire Temple. Then follows them up with "Out at Josies'" and "Working tonight?"

Elektra has posed:
Elektra nods when he asks about the sayings. "Yes, that too. 'You don't get to cry in war. You let your enemies be ruled by their emotions. Emotions are for the weak. If you can be bound to it, you can be used by it. Think fast, girl! And if you cry, we'll start over again..."

She shakes her head and draws her shoulders into a shrug. "I suppose it makes sense now, why he asked me to go to that party that night. To look for you. You were his failure. He wanted me to see what I could have become." There's an irony to her tones. "What I became, if you ask him. My falling for you was the one thing he didn't foresee. We parted ways not long after you and I broke up. You wouldn't kill. I refused not to love. A singular exception, but he thought it was enough."

"I don't know what happened to him after I left."

Matt's texts give her pause. "Should I go?"

Daredevil has posed:
"Yeah, that sounds like him," Matt agrees his lips drawn into a tight line. Though it breaks into an exasperated and sardonic grin when she mentions it was Stick who sent her to the party. "Huh, yeah, that sounds like him too, see what weakness looks like," he says. And yet out of all of that things turned out the way they did. It was confusing and touching all at once. God had given them a very twisted path to walk.

"Guess he's not quite the teacher he thought he was, that was a pretty big oversight. Guess feeling don't factor into much of what Stick does," he says uncharitably of their old mentor. Still he tightens his hold on her fingers.

"Oh, he's still alive, he came through last year, some business about the Yakuza. Didn't go well," Matt says. Realizing it had not been long after that the Hand had become a problem. More things to bring up with the old man if he ever showed up again.

Elektra's question gets a shake of his head. "No," his grip tightens and he almost pulls her hand towards him with the urgency of his feeling. "I mean, you can, but Claire and I, we're not," he says. "I mean, you can stay, she's probably most of the way here by now."

Elektra has posed:
"You can," Elektra says quietly. "I won't lie and pretend it won't hurt. But it would make things simpler. You know that, right?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, "Elektra, I know," he says. "And I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind, but, when have I ever done simple?" there is a tight and self-effacing smile at that, with just a hint of boyishness to it. "I want you Elektra, always have," he says. Then, with no further reasons not to he leans in for the kiss he thought of before the spectre of his old teacher drove it from his mind.

Elektra has posed:
It's like the hand. Where his hand crept across the table, and without thought, hers met it and curled into its safety? So, too, does she complete the arc that allows their lips to meet in that kiss. And what is only a simple touching of lips becomes so much more, the gentle gesture drawing up wells of want and need.. and more.. the depths of her love for this man.

Stick was likely right, she was a failure. Her love for this man was going to be her downfall - she could see the writing on that wall already in her dealings with the Hand. But she couldn't deny herself this one small veneration of lips to lips. A prayer she hoped would carry them both through to whatever end would become.

Claire Temple has posed:
By the time Claire arrives at Josie's, the pair have become... close. Claire strides through the door, glances at Matt's favorite booth as she makes her cursory trip to the bar before finding a seat, and... oh. Oh, boy.

Claire grins to herself and fusses with her phone as she makes a point of waiting until her drink is ready before she goes back to the booth.

Matt >> How's the night job?

Finally, drink in hand and tab started, she makes her way back to the booth.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt savours every sensation of the kiss. The touch of their lips, the sound of their hearts momentarily racing, but that was just the surface. Under it, there was the feelings, the sudden need for this woman who had defined so much of his life, his love for her and her love for him in return.

He could barely think of anything else but burning this kiss and those feelings into his memory, just in case it would be their last. A piece of her, he could hold onto even if what always happened, happened again, and they were torn apart.

Reluctantly, he parts his lips from hers, smiling, "Thank you," he remarks lightly before his phone buzzes reminding him Claire would be on the way. Then as his senses disentangle themselves from Elektra he realizes he was wrong, not on her way, here, and coming over drink in hand. He can't help but chuckle and rest his hand against his forehead. "Hi Claire," he greets as she joins them.

Elektra has posed:
It's a measure of how gone she is for this man - and how right Stick was - that Elektra didn't notice Claire's arrival. That it takes until the kiss is breaking apart for her to notice the other woman coming up to their table.

"No thanks, Matthew. Just don't make this sacrifice mean nothing." Even as she knows - knows beyond a shadow of a doubt - that she won't be able to stop herself tonight. That she won't ask, she'll merely arrive, and hush those lips of his with her own as she climbs into his bed. It's a thing she doesn't give voice to, nor is she proud of it, but it sends a sudden thrill through her and a sensation of relief. The decision made, she's absolved of having to apologize for it.

Her blue-eyed gaze is turned upon Claire. "Matthew said you were coming to join him. No worries. I can leave." And to make true her words, she goes to rise and leave her seat.

Claire Temple has posed:
"Ah... Entirely up to you," Claire says, holding her free hand up in front of her. "I suppose it's getting late," she says as she stands at the end of the table and regards them both.

"Figured I'd stop by and visit for a bit, but didn't realize you were, ah... busy," she says, this last focused on Matt. "Really busy. Look, I didn't want to interrupt." Her heart rate gives her away on this point.

Daredevil has posed:
"I won't," Matt promises. Though the words are empty, his designs are much the same as her own, a late night visit, ending with them tumbling into her bed. Even knowing it's wrong and dangerous he finds he can't truly feel guilty about it. Which for him says just how far gone he is for her.

Matt finds himself wordless for a moment, recovering from the kiss then adjusting to the sudden stand-off of sorts that has popped up around him. "It's alright, Claire. And Elektra, you don't have to go," he says looking between the two women.

Elektra has posed:
"I don't have to," Elektra tells Matt. "But I probably should. I think your friend would be happier if I did."

Claire she merely tells, "I wasn't aware he'd made arrangements to meet anyone here. I'd actually come to share drinks and some wings with a friend. She left not long before you arrived."

Pointedly, she doesn't address the elephant in the room of the kiss that Claire has ever so obviously walked in on.

Claire Temple has posed:
"The arrangements were just me buzzing his cell phone while I was getting off shift," Claire says with a snort as she gestures to her uniform. "Didn't feel like doing anything except bitch about the Attending of the Day." She pauses, leaning against the post on the end of the booth seats, arms crossed. "You two... you realize you should probably both be getting tetanus boosters from smooching in a joint like this, right?" Her smile is sly.

Daredevil has posed:
"Hey!" comes the shout from behind the bar. "You don't like it you can clean the place, Ms. Fancypants," calls Josie, with good natured grumbling.

Matt smiles, "Her ears are almost as good as mine," he remarks with a tight, but amused smile. "Anyhow, I don't want anything to be awkward here, or well, more awkward anyhow, but it'd be good, if we could all just sit for a minute. Pretend to be normal people for a change."

Elektra has posed:
Elektra arches a brow. "Normal?" Still she doesn't protest, and nods to Claire, if only to remark, "So you saw."

Obviously.

She shrugs. "If you're looking for an apology, I'm afraid you'll have to bother Matthew for one." Matthew, whose comment about parties and cars earns him a somewhat wry smile. "You still can't prove that car wasn't mine."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Then clean your soda fountain hose or donate it to science," Claire mutters under her breath to Josie, through clenched teeth. "Sure! You paying?" she calls over her shoulder. Josie snorts.

"An apology?" Claire asks, all innocence, tapping Matt on the shoulder with the back of her hand to move in a little for her to sit. "What am I expecting an apology for?" She peers at Matt, eyes narrowed. "This time?"

Daredevil has posed:
The by-play with Josie and Claire earns a slight chuckle from Matt as he moves over to let Claire join them.

"Can't prove it was either," Matt says about the cars with a smile for Elektra as he gets settled again. The question about the apology gets left for Elektra. "Pizza's fair game," he mentions off hand to Claire while reaching for a slice.

Elektra has posed:
"We didn't get arrested," Elektra points out, as though that were a victory. Adding for Claire's benefit, "You'd honestly have to ask Matthew what he's been up to." Neatly sidestepping her own current life and possible antics.

"Though since you're here, the Hugo Building will be opening shortly. You're welcome to attend, of course."

Claire Temple has posed:
"The Hugo Building?" Claire asks, looking confused. "Okay... Sure. Haven't heard about that one," she says with a small frown.

"Matt..." she asks, voice flat. "Didn't we talk about this...?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt rolls his eyes behind his shades. "As if it that makes it better," he says, with a smile. She knew as well as he did the whole thing was thrilling for him. The rest makes him hold up his hands innocently. "I have no idea what either of you are talking about," he turns his hands back and forth. "See, no bruised knuckles, no new scars," he says, before breaking into a grin, "I'd lift up my shirt to prove the thing about the scars, but it might start a riot," a smile is given to Elektra. "Elektra's friend said, I'm hot as fuck."

Elektra has posed:
Elektra's features tighten imperceptibly. "Elektra's.. friend.. was also ready to rip you a new one on my behalf."

Claire is given an appraising look before Elektra murmurs, I do believe he's claiming he's given up the nightlife." And as she says it, something of reggret colours her tones momentarily, before she catches herself and schools those regrets into submission. "Ah. So Matthew didn't tell you. Well, then I suppose I shall. There's a project I've been working on for some time now just across the river. Something of a community betterment. The grand opening will be in a few weeks time."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Ah," Claire says, nodding slowly as the information filters its way into her frontal lobes. "Sounds good, I'll try my best not to miss it," she says.

"Given up the night life," Claire repeats, eyes on Matt. "Umm... Does Elektra's friend know this?" she asks.

Daredevil has posed:
"She also said we were idiots," Matt supplies with a smile. Actually she'd said fucking idiots, but he cut out the f-bomb.

"And no," Matt assures them. "Still living the nightlife. Just being more careful about it and where I intervene," he explains pitching his voice low as he takes a bite of his pizza. At the mention of the grand opening, he adds, with his head turned to Claire. "It's a carnival, no schmoozing in fancy dresses or anything like that, just the great and good playing in the mud with the rest of us."

Elektra has posed:
"She's colourful," Elektra admits with a hint of a smile. "And she works for SHIELD, so you may wish to mind your p's and q's around her."

"The Hugo Building is a community centre and housing project aimed at helping people rise out of poverty and circumstance," she tells Claire."

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire shrugs and bobs her head back and forth appraisingly. "Oh, well then," she says, reaching for a slice of pizza. "If it's a carnival with all the proper mud, it sounds like my kind of party. Given the cause, I definitely agree."

She takes a bite of the pizza and hums... Maybe Josie's been hustling for some good kitchen help, lately. "Elektra's friend sounds like she's pretty astute," she says in a dry tone. "Just how did she get around to letting you both know you're idiots...?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, "Mine too," he says, showing his Hell's Kitchen roots with that one. "You could always throw one for the opening of the clinic," he jokes lightly.

Yeah, the pizza is magically non-toxic or offensive to the tastebuds. Matt personally gives the chef about a week. As for the question, that he answers that with, "Because Elektra and I are exes," he says quietly. "She seems to have an abundance of opinions," he says.

"And SHIELD must be less stuffy than I thought, met two agents so far, neither of them are as stiff as you'd think they'd be."

Elektra has posed:
"Two?" Elektra quirks a brow. "I know one." She's not sure if Agent May is the second or not - but she certainly doesn't fall under 'not stuffy'. She might not be a stick in the mud, but May certainly didn't brook any funny business. "Who is the other?"

Matt's words on why she and he are idiots gets a shrug and a small 'satisfied?' look to Claire. Of course, in the middle of it all, Elektra can't see things the way others on the outside do. She might be fathoms deep in love with Matt, but she also carries no illusions that they are fated to be together, despite this 'you're idiots' others seem to be fond of engaging in around them. Including Claire, whom Elektra is quite certain is fully sold on the notion that Elektra is bad news and to be avoided at all costs.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire looks back and forth between Matt and Elektra a few times as she finishes off her slice of pizza. "So you've got these pizza dates going with SHIELD agents all the time, now, or just when Josie's running a special...?" she asks. She looks around to appraise the timeless ambiance of the establishment. "They surveilling here, or something?"

"You're exes, I'm sure," she says with a straight face. "Not too long ago, you were, but the conversation when I got here...?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt gives Elektra a cheeky smile, "It's classified," he says before relenting. "An old friend from school, helped her with some legal issues." Understatement of the year when it came to Skye Johnson and her problems with the Rising Tide.

"And not that I know of, but then, they did surveil Jess, for that Index thing," he says suddenly wondering if the SHIELD agents popping up in his and Elektra's lives were coincidental or not.

That thought was put off for another one and Matt looks down at his pizza, "That was, well," he begins but doesn't find the words. He really didn't have words for it, it happened all on its own with very little conscious prompting. "Remembering old times," he offers lamely. Unsure if putting a label to whatever it was would burst that fragile bubble or not.

Elektra has posed:
"Old times," Elektra confirms quietly. Suddenly not sure if her earlier decision was wise. Heart and head warring for supremacy in this one.

Skye Johnson, though, Elektra knew. She'd read what there was of the woman's Index file. And Jessica's. And Agent May's. And any other number of people. Not that Elektra felt too terribly guilty about how she had that information. As she recalled, it was obtained to keep Matthew safe.

"I didn't know you had friends from then, Matthew."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Old times, right," Claire says as she not-so-subtly nudges another wedge off the pizza congealing in the middle of the table. "You two have a funny definition of 'old times,' you know that?" She peers at Matt with a frown and elbows him lightly, then drags the pizza platter a few inches closer to where he's sitting. "You practically flirt out of ninjas coming out of the ceiling, as I recall," she says.

She coughs lightly. "So what you're saying is, you've been running interference in the court system for someone from SHIELD, because their lawyers suck?" she asks as she nibbles on some rubbery mozzarella. "You're a saint."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Turns out that Jessica Jones can be quite stealthy when she wants, because she was actually here for a while now. All by herself in a darkened secluded corner, easily dismissed amidst the busy crowds of low lives at Josie's. She's been drinking, but she's been hearing bits and pieces, as she comes over towards Matt, Claire and Elektra, "you're fucking kidding Matt, you and Evil Gal had the same teacher? And he was teaching you that you're weapons, not people? Fuck me sideways, no wonder you turned Catholic..."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt was right there with the warring parts of himself. Stuck somewhere in the no man's land between want and need.

As to Claire's comments. He flinches a little, even as he reaches for more cold pizza. "We're aware," he says before grimacing at the mention of flirting post ninja attack. "I don't remember flirting then," he says, that night had been tense, with little room for more than strained goodbyes.

He moves on to SHIELD which is somehow the less complicated subject, "I'm no saint, was just doing a friend a favour and helping with some legal work they needed done. And didn't know I had any friends from back then until this one showed up at my door." Which did amp up his paranoia level now that he thought of it.

The smells of Josie's can be, intense, so while Matt might pick out Elektra in it's heady mix of booze and BO Jess slipped by his senses, "Jesus," he says as she surprises them. Not so much that he didn't hear her coming as he didn't pick up it was her. "And I was Catholic before that," he says, "Sit down," he nods to the spot beside Elektra.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra has to add her protests to Matt's, "We were not flirting after that attack. I seem to recall that there were other pressing matters." Unless Claire meant that talk they'd had after Claire had passed out - and while Elektra wouldn't have called that flirting, it had been rather.. intimate. Just what /had/ Claire overheard?

She doesn't tell Claire that she knows exactly who Matt helped, and why. It would tip a hand she's not willing to tip quite yet. Though, speak of the devil, and Jessica shows up. Jessica who Elektra also knows a whole lot more about than she once did.

"Evil Gal? Why, JJ, I'd almost think you liked me given that." She eyeballs the other woman. "Are you going to block the aisle, or is your ass going to join us?"

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire takes a swig from her drink and points to the seat Matt indicated. "Park it," she says to Jess, not sweating the preliminaries. "Midnight breakfast of champions, here," she says, rapping a knuckle against the pizza pan.

"Look," she says, leveling a glance at Elektra. "If you two had more pressing matters, and you went your own ways," the glance now encompasses Matt, "and you were here in each other's space? That's either a hell of a turnaround or there wasn't a dip at all. That's fucked up."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Oh please, Murdock, if you were Catholic before, how come you accepted a guy telling you that you're a weapon as your teacher? Isn't what Catholics all about is turning the other cheek? By the way, you really suck at that, Matt." Jessica gives her elaborate rebuttal, who knows, with proper training and some etiquette, maybe she can make it in a courtroom? Language aside, she does make pointed remarks, as to be expected of a PI, she notices details.

"Ah...now that's more Catholic," Jess notes as Matt tells her to sit down, "a man telling a woman what to do is a very Catholic trait." But then Elektra echoes the same, even if not nearly as nice a choice of words. "I'm sorry, Stabbity Girl, but my ass is quite comfortable where it is." She flicks a glance over her shoulder, and waves at a burly guy who just so happened to be giving her a once over, "see? Chuck doesn't mind."

Just as the man corrects Jess that his name isn't Chuck, she snaps out, "didn't ask what it was, Todd."

But then Claire has to add her own request for Jessica to sit, causing Jess to grumble and roll her eyes as if she was suffering immensely, "this is bullying what you guys are doing here," she groans, before giving in to peer pressure and joining them at the table. "Don't worry Claire, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo isn't going to kill Matt, she'd have done it by now if she wanted to. I think she really likes him, and wants to kiss him, or fuck him," she looks over at Matt, clearly she meant to make him uncomfortable. "All depending on what Matt would be cool with. You know, carnal thoughts are frowned upon by his religion and stuff."

Elektra has posed:
"Stabbity girl?" Elektra seems vaguely amused by that. "And I don't have a dragon tattoo." She does have a tattoo, but it isn't a dragon. Matt could tell Jessica that. "Also, you'd be surprised what Matt's Catholic guilt allows."

Elektra reaches for her by now not only warm but also flat beer, and takes a sip before making a face. "And I am not finishing this."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt lifts his head turning it in Jessica's direction, "I was young, and on my own, Catholic or not, it sounded like a good deal at the time," he says. "Better a fucked up family than no family a all." Yeah, he was being real rather than meeting snark with snark.

He just shakes his head about bossing women around and the rest of the Catholic jokes. Though the exchange with Todd draws a chuckle from him.

And defining whatever it was they had, Jess' commentary and Elektra's comment about what his Catholic guilt allows, has his hand massaging his forehead. "Wow, yeah, I'm not doing this, can we not discuss my personal life?" he asks the table.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire rolls her eyes at Jess' pronouncement on Matt and Elektra. "Oh, yeah, I've noticed," she replies in a flat voice. "The kissing bit was just while I was walking in. They're at the 'snogging at Josie's' stage of the relationship," she says with a smug look. "I think they pretty much bond over violence and pain, at this point. Which..." she holds her hands up in mock surrender.

"Careful," she says, mischief plain. "Todd might be a SHIELD operative. Apparently they like the food around here," she says, bouncing a glance off Elektra and Matt.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Yeah, Matt told me all about how you like to play with blades," Jessica notes at Elektra's response to the nickname of the moment. When Elektra notes she doesn't have a dragon tattoo, Jessica points out, "but I was right about the tattoo, close enough. You'd have said you don't have a tattoo otherwise. So what is it? Hello Kitty?" Jess takes another guess, that's more of an intended insult than an actual guess. She laughs as Elektra's beer fails her, "that's why you should stick to Whiskey, it never disappoints."

Matt was playing dirty, sharing a bit of truthful pained past, particularly one that aligns with one of Jessica's own experiences just disarms her a bit. "Fine, I'll give you that, fucked up family is better than no family."

"That reminds me," Jessica quips as Claire brings up SHIELD, "I need to find their data center, and fuck the shit out of it. Creeps."

Elektra has posed:
"Not even close," Elektra tells Jessica blandly, though she has a bone to pick with Matt. "So anything else I should be wondering what you've said about me? Seeing as you'd like your personal life off the table, perhaps we can take mine off as well for any future moments?"

Her attention returns to Jessica. "What, unhappy with what they know about you? Or it is only that you don't know what they know about you?"

Daredevil has posed:
There's a lot of what Claire says Matt wants to argue with, but end of the day, most of it was accurate to some degree, so he sticks with, "It's not a relationship," he says, though even that was a lie in the strictest sense of the word.

Though, he does murmur, "Thanks," when Claire brings her commentary up short.

Elektra has a point though, and he grimaces, "Fair," he admits, which also stops him from making any remark about the tattoo.

As for Jess's hate for SHIELD, he knows why, but doesn't comment, but he does grin a little and say, "Could always ask Todd where it is," he says with a nod towards the bar.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire snorts. "Sure thing, Cupid," she says as she takes another drink. Thankfully the ice cubes were clean, or else the melted ice would've put something horrible into her system by this point. She sighs and waves to the bar for another glass.

"Todd sounds like a dick," she says as she gives in to the temptation to start disposing of another slice of pizza. "Either he's a top of the line agent, or he's a washout jackass. Gotta get a file on him first, Jess."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica's gaze shifts towards Elektra. Slowly. "Excuse me?" Jessica wasn't prepared for anyone else having a clue about that little tidbit with the files and the Rising Tide and all that BS. "How the fuck do you even know about this...?" It sounds like a question, but the enunciation is nothing but demand. Oh, and that sound of a shattering glass? Well, assuming Matt doesn't ninja it to safety, Jess' hand totally slipped, and wasn't intentionally throwing that glass on the floor out of a spike of anger. Because, as everyone knows, she has no anger issues.

Matt bringing up Todd makes Jess look back at the guy once more, before shrugging, "don't think he's really with SHIELD. He sticks out too much." But just to be sure, Jessica actually gets up and walks up to 'Todd', "so, fess up, SHIELD? FBI? CIA? Homeland? The fuck are you?" The man is stunned at first, but eventually answers, "Eddie & Sons Construction," to which Jessica turns back to look at Matt with an 'I told you so' kind of look, which is entirely wasted on the blind. "See? Not SHIELD."

Elektra has posed:
Elektra looks vaguely smug as she answers Jessica, "I have resources. Why? Are you curious what they know?"

Though she does expand upon the whys and wherefores of why she and Matt aren't a thing. "Despite what you think, there are reasons why we don't work. Why we can't work. It's... complicated, and to be frank, none of your business, but at the end of the day I prefer Matthew there alive."

Daredevil has posed:
There is an exasperated roll of Matt's eyes at that cupid remark. Though when Claire orders another drink, he holds up his glass, "Here too, and another beer," that one was for Elektra.

Matt doesn't ninja the glass away, but he flinches when it breaks and begins to get to his feet, but he's in public and behind Claire on the bench, so, there's not much he can do. "Jess, relax, they published most of it online remember," he says, which was the easiest explanation, though Elektra's remarks paint another picture. He lets it be, instead, sitting back down, as Jess, rifles through poor Todd's pockets. He shakes his head.

"And likewise," Matt says of Elektra being alive. Man, that drink couldn't get here fast enough.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Do not taunt Happy Fun Jess. It's usually not a bright idea. Jessica, for her part, is at least aware enough to recognize that she's about to do something extremely stupid. "Yes, I am, actually...see me in my office like a big girl, and we can discuss it." Clearly, Jessica wouldn't like any of it to be discussed in public, judging by how thorny she got all of a sudden. Hands clenched into tight fists, she starts stomping for the door. Yeah, she might not be as intimidating as the Hulk, but good luck to whoever felt like stopping her now. That door at Alias Investigations will need replacing again. What else is new.

Claire Temple has posed:
"Whoa," Claire says as she watches Jess leave the bar. "So... Todd over there aside, it sounds like there's something ugly happening." She takes a drink of her next serving of selected poison and frowns. "Or already happened." She peers at Matt and Elektra in turn.

"You know about all this through the same channels that led you to visit me for stitches?" she asks Elektra.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra watches Jess first 'accost' poor Todd, and then throw the demand for a later meeting between the two out, and shrugs before answering Claire, "No. Actually, the stitches came about for making a point. The other was a favour for a friend."

She takes one of the new, still cool, beer, and sips from it, snagging a slice of pizza after she's set the glass down again.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt keeps his senses on Jess as she goes, shaking his head slightly, "That was mildly horrifying," he remarks then takes a sip of his drink.

The question about the stitches and the 'favour for the friend' gets a slightly guilty look from Matt, but he says, "Jess was one of those metas the Rising Tide doxed after new years," then his drink gets most of his attention.

Claire Temple has posed:
"Making a point?" Claire asks, her eyebrows shooting up. She shakes her head at Matt's mention of Jess' history. "I do remember seeing that, yes. I guess it slipped my mind... Thankfully she's doing... relatively okay at this point, under the circumstances." She pauses. "For Jess."

She looks at Elektra for a few moments, wheels turning. "A favor, huh?" she asks, shooting a glance at Matt as his expression changes.

Elektra has posed:
There's a dry look from Elektra for Claire. "Which would you like me to answer first?" Not that she answers either, though she does take a small bite of her pizza, and is careful not ot look Matt's way.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt can feel those looks on him. He gives a bit of a smile, a gentle curl of his lips. "Anything I am going to say right now, not going to get me into trouble with one or both of you?" he asks as much to stall as anything.

"And yeah, Jess seemed to get out of it okay, even if it did bring up some things from her past she'd rather forget," he says. "Anyhow, I did some checking into things and the good news is that they don't have any info like that on the rest of us." How he did that checking he leaves unremarked on, or with who.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire gives Matt a snort. "Not going to get into trouble...? What, do you ask judges that kind of thing?"

"Seems like both of you have some backchannels to all kinds of interesting information," she notes, swirling her drink around and letting the ice cubes clink.

Elektra has posed:
There's a soft laugh from Elektra at Matt's comment. "You know that's a loaded question, Matthew."

Her pizza is set down, with only the one bite out of it, and her beer glass cupped lightly with one hand. Elektra shrugs. "It isn't as if you had any illusions that I was an upstanding citizen, now, did you? I'd thought you'd already tucked me into the bad girl corner and made warding signs." She chuckles. "Perhaps burnt sage and did an exorcism after I'd gone? The stitches healed nicely, by the way. No complications. Full range of mobility still."

Daredevil has posed:
"Only sometimes," Matt replies to Claire with a boyish smile.

"A few, but it comes with the night job," he explains.

There's a slight flinch at Elektra's words and how they set her at odds with the rest of them. "I am sure that's not true," he opines before joking lightly, "The part about warding signs, not the stitches."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Yeah," Claire offers. "I'm out of sage for the time being."

"So...?" she asks expectantly, looking at Matt, hands held up in supplication. "She's passed the buck to you, and it's beginning to sound like you've earned it."

Elektra has posed:
"Oh, I dare say you could find some easily enough if you tried," Elektra says, insisting upon poking that wound, or picking at that scab. But she can't help something of a sweet smile as the buck does get passed liberally back to Matt.

"Go on, tell her." Knowing full well he won't spill anything. He's never really been the type to. Curious to see what he'll come up with in the interim.

Daredevil has posed:
"Come on, both of you," he says at the back and forth between Claire and Elektra.

When he feels their eyes turned on him, his face goes flat. "I've said what I can say, I did some digging into the situation and found out that there was no dirt on any of us, there's really not much more to tell than that," he says with an earnestness he believes or is really good at faking. "After that, I gave what I had to Jessica, out of all of us, she was the victim in all of this."

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire pinches the bridge of her nose between two fingers and shakes her head. "Yeah, I got the idea," she says. She shuffles around the platter pan to put the congealed pizza's remains up for repatriation to... whatever kind of dimension Josie's kitchen is.

"So... Making points?" she asks after she wipes her fingertips on the knees of her scrub pants.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra is quick to put the remains of her nearly untouched piece onto the platter to be taken away. She looks thoughtful for a long moment before taking up her beer glass again. "If you must know, I got the files for Matthew. He was worried about what the leaks might mean for some of you. I happened to be in a position to find out just what the Rising Tide knew."

She doesn't elaborate. But she does sip her beer.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt shoots Claire an apologetic look. His nose wrinkling at the smell of the congealing pizza.

When Elektra comes clean with the rest of it, his posture, relaxes a little. "So, I am guessing Jessica wants to know what Elektra knows about them, last time Jess and I talked about the Rising Tide, she was more or less in punching mood. Not sure if any of the ones responsible are left, from what I've heard SHIELD did a pretty clean sweep."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Under the circumstances, a punching mood pretty much comes with the territory, I guess," Claire notes, knocking back another sip of liquor. "And the SHIELD connection in here earlier," she says at some length. "She told you about the... clean sweep, huh?"

She peers at Elektra. "So your line's in through SHIELD, or through Rising Tide themselves?" Claire finishes her drink and crunches an ice cube, watching the pair.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra is nonplussed by Claire's directness. "Neither, really. I'm something of a free agent."

Elektra's gaze flicks to Matt, and back to Claire.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods his agreement about the punching. He was more-or-less in a similar mood when it came to the thought of his friends being doxed by the hackers. "And yes, it was my friend from SHIELD that confirmed they'd gotten pretty much the whole Rising Tide in the raid."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Free agent," Claire repeats flatly. "I'd be willing to bet those guys who put a katana's edge into my arm didn't respect the league contract structure," she says, eyeing Elektra. "Do ninjas even have free agency?"

Elektra has posed:
Elektra sets her beer down, but does not release the glass, "If what you're asking, Claire, is did I know them? In a manner of speaking, yes. I have reason to believe that they were sent to send me a message. Something of a polite I'd overstepped my bounds and I might wish to rethink my future moves."

Elektra looks up from her glass, first to Matt, and then to Claire.

"Those didn't have free agency. A notch above minor peon. I don't believe the point was to kill any of us, nor for any of them to fall in that altercation. If you're asking did I know it was going to happen, no. Do I expect it might happen again?"

She shrugs. "Perhaps. There's a reason I made it clear to Matthew that we were better off apart. I suppose even this gathering was ill advised, but I'm hoping lighting won't strike twice. And before you ask, no, I can't guarantee you're safe. Not even if we never met again."

Her bluntness might be somewhat surprising to the pair.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt's blinking behind his red hued shades is proof enough of his surprise about her bluntness. He rubs the stubble on his chin and as he considers her words, "It's alright," he says, though about which part isn't clear. "And yes, if they came at us once they may again, but, they haven't so far, and if they thought it would do the job I can't imagine they'd just up and quit or leave it this long."

That news was a double-edged sword. Even if they weren't coming after Matt and Claire it meant they might come at Elektra another way. He frowns as he ponders that for a moment then lifts his head. "Anyhow, point is maybe we're safe for now. Drinks aside."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Safe for now," Claire says, lifting her glass. "This shit doesn't just let up," she notes.

She crosses her arms and takes a deep breath while she turns over what Elektra has said. "But we're essentially edging on ninja gang war because we caught a few messengers being a little too enthusiastic, is that it?" She looks askance. "Seriously, just walking out of the bar?"

Elektra has posed:
A slim finger taps along Eletkra's glass, and this time she doesn't look to either Matt or Claire. "It's perhaps simpler to say a message was being given to me, and you and Matthew were collateral damage. It's been.. noticed.. that I have more than a slight fondness for him. You," And here Elektra does look to Claire, "are merely fallout. Wrong place. Wrong time. One can hope that's the end of it as far as you're concerned. Matthew, however..."

Elektra lets go of her beer, and sighs. "I didn't think anything like that would happen. I was wrong. Now I have to deal with the mess."

Daredevil has posed:
"When does it ever?" Matt remarks dryly of shit letting up. It hadn't not since he put on the mask. Ninjas were just the newest wrinkle in that.

Matt frowns regretfully at them noticing the connection between him and Elektra, and more so at the idea of cleaning up that mess. "We'll make sure you're safe Claire," Matt assures her. "Push comes to shove, we can call Luke, he won't let anything happen to you, neither will I."

He turns to Elektra, "As for me, I can handle what they throw my way," he says knowing sooner or later what gets thrown his way would be a tide of ninjas.

Claire Temple has posed:
"You didn't think anything like that would happen," Claire repeats slowly. "Are there any other, similarly off the wall things that you don't think would happen but that maybe other people should know about so they could, say, prevent some backroom surgical needs?"

Her eyes narrow as she looks at Matt. "It's great that you're sure you and Luke would be keeping me safe, and I appreciate it, I really do," she says with a deep breath. "But could you please remind yourself somehow that you actually don't always handle what all they throw your way? Because if you need to knock on my window, you're not handling. Not as well as you think!" She huffs. Damn vigilantes.

Elektra has posed:
"I had no reason to believe you or Matt were in any danger," Elektra says quietly. "I'd thought certain problems had been resolved." There's a pause. "I was wrong."

As to Claire's question, Elektra doesn't answer immediately.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt's frowns shifting his drink in his hand. "Someone has to Claire," he remarks gravely, "When I stared doing what I do, I took that on, for all the people I've brought into this. It's really too late to change any of that."

Elektra's answer gets a sympathetic look from Matt which is as much as he can offer without digging himself in a deeper hole right now.

Luke Cage has posed:
The door to the bar opens and Luke Cage steps through. He stops at the bar to get himself a beer and notices Matt and Claire at Matt's table with someone else. He glances around to see if there are any other strange faces and then makes his way over.

"Can I join you?" Luke asks as he settles himself in. He catches the looks around the table as he does. "Unless this private..."

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire pinches the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Someone has to, yeah," she says deliberately. "Don't all you powered folks have a phone book yet or something? You couldn't send someone else to do the ninja cleanup instead for a while?"

When Luke arrives, she nods absently and waves to the table. "Not that private if they can hear me," she says, giving Matt and Elektra sidewise glares.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra gives Luke a look as he approaches, but it's clear he knows at least some of the folks at the table. More than clear that she's really the odd man out.

"Ninja cleanup," Elektra murmurs, amused. "Oh, if only it were that simple."

Luke gets a shrug. "The pizza is cold, but the beer is fresh."

It's not precisely an invitation, but it's pretty damned close to one.

Daredevil has posed:
"Heh," Matt says, "No, no phone book yet, outside of the ones you know, I only know two others, and they're busy with their own issues," he says of ninja clean up. "So that leaves just us," he says.

Matt didn't see faces, not really, instead in the world pieced together from other sense he told people apart by their heartbeat and scent. He could sense Luke's before he pushed the door open, and so before Hero for Hire is even at their table, Matt is smirking faintly remarking, "The cavalry, just in time," then he tilts his head up at Luke, "Hey man, yeah you can join us," he says sounding a touch relieved to see the other man. "This is Elektra," he says then hesitates just a touch before he adds, "We know each other from college," he says which was the barest of the bare bones of their story. "And she knows about my night job," he says, so that it was clear masked stuff was on the table as far as conversation goes.

He regards the pizza, then nostrils flaring slightly as he takes in the scent of congealing cheese and solidifying oils, "Yeah, it's pretty dead, we could order another, the new cook is pretty good, washes his hands and everything," Matt says, and it's true, he can taste the faint hint of soap which was a fair bit better than what he could taste off the hands of Josie's last cook.

Luke Cage has posed:
Undaunted by Elektra's cool reception, Luke settles in. He has had cooler receptions from women and got along just fine before. He claps Matt briefly on the shoulder. "Definitely another, I'm starving," he says and gets the server's attention. A few words and hint of flirtation later the order is placed.

"Pleased to meet you, Elektra. Luke Cage," he says and offers a big hand and a lopsided smile. "Claire, you look even unhappier than last time I saw you. Everything alright?"

Elektra has posed:
"I'm afraid that's my fault," Elektra murmurs, reaching her own hand out to shake Luke's offered one. If he notes such things, she's not got pretty girly hands all manicured and smooth. Her nails are short and neatly trimmed, and she's got callouses that say she uses those hands of hers doing something.

"Matthew and I go back to our college days." She smiles slightly, thinking on it, and imagining Foggy saying she's also why Matt almost failed. As it was, he didn't pass Spanish. "Go ahead and order. It's on my tab."

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire gives Luke a long-suffering look. "So about those ninjas we talked about not too long ago..." she starts with a frown. She cocks her head toward Elektra. "She's got a line on them, apparently. They're sending messages." She spits the last word as though she's tasted it for the first time and found it repellent.

She snorts at the corpse of the remaining pizza on the table. "Yeah, we'll need another one of those," she says. "Nothing's bringing that back from the dead."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt too flashes back to their college past for a moment. He'd had to take a ton of extra make up credits in the semesters after their time together to graduate with the honours he did. Though by the faint tug upwards at the corner of his lips he thought it was worth it.

Then it's back to reality, with Claire and Elektra facing off and Luke just joining them. He lets out a breath, "Can we maybe not talk about this?" he asks, knowing it's pretty much futile. "Or at least take a step back and try to be civil about all this."

Luke gets an apologetic look thrown his way, "And sure, another pie," he say before calling to Josie for another pizza, and for someone to bring another round of drinks. Odds were good they'd need them.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke watches the interactions back and forth. There's an undercurrent here he can't quite put his finger on. "So what do these ninja have to say? And why are they sending you messages?" he asks Elektra and takes a long drink from his tumbler, eyeing the woman, taking her measure more carefully now.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra waits until the old pizza and empty glasses - and in her case, a full, but flat glass of beer - are collected and taken away. New beer and pizza will shortly arrive for all!

It's clear that Claire's words have gotten underneath Eletkra's skin. Even so, she spares a slight smile for Matt, a moment of memory shared. "They were good days," she murmurs, knowing he can hear, no matter how softly she says them.

Her gaze falls upon Luke, taking his measure, likewise, as he takes hers. "It's not a line," Elektra says, sending a sidelong glass to Claire. "Hardly that. Unless you mean about the Index Files, and yes, I did have a line of inquiry about those. I won't apologize for that."

"The message was a pointed expression of displeasure. It's being suggested that I decide to toe the line, or more pointed discussions will have to be had."

Now she regards Claire calmly, if with a cool expression, "Are we happy now?"

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire crosses her arms and leans herself back in her seat, as much as a rigid pub booth seat might allow. "Hard to say," she replies flatly. "What are some of those off the wall things that you don't think would happen, again?"

She snaps a glance at Luke first, then Matt. "You two are sure that you'd be safe and protective against another round of pajama fighting, but has the thought yet occurred that you shouldn't have to be?"

Daredevil has posed:
Even in all that's swirling around them Elektra's words make Matt smile, though it's a quickly covered by finishing the last of his drink and when the cup is put on the tray with the rest it's gone.

"Maybe, but we're involved now," Matt says to Claire. "So, should is really a moot point. If they're coming back then fighting's inevitable, and I think we have a better chance if we, all of us," his head turns to encompass the whole table. "Work together."

The speech is somewhat offset by the arrival of more drinks, but Matt lets it sink in all the same, taking his fresh tumbler from the waitress his red lensed eyes turning to each of them.

Luke Cage has posed:
"Matt has a point," Luke says. "We're already involved, we have to move forward."

"But, Claire's got a point, too. This doesn't sound like it was meant to be our problem. And if we're in it and looking out for more of these... discussions... Then I think we deserve to know more about what we're up against," he says, the last to Elektra.

Elektra has posed:
Now it's Elektra's turn to give one of those pained expression, though she doesn't pinch the bridge of her nose like Claire does. It is focused on Matt, though. "You know full well why it can't be that way, Matthew. Why it isn't that simple."

Her words are kept low, and even. The muscles of her jaw working, tightening slightly and relaxing in pulses and turns ass she debates with herself on how to proceed. Knowing full well that no matter what she says or does the effects will linger. Trying to tell herself that this is the point where she should merely leave. Or brush the conversation off and away. Make light of it.

But with three pairs of eyes upon herself, and Matt knowing more than his fair share of the truth, it's not so simple a matter as one might think.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire's eyebrows lift. "A moot point?" she asks, cocking her head as she looks at Matt. "What, so you figure it's just another day at the office, you show up, you get rid of some ninjas, you stagger my way to get patched up again, you repeat on a 24-hour cycle? Is *that* all you're hoping this is?"

A displeased hum rises from her voice. "What the hell kind of job do you think you're around to do if you think all of this is just a mere inconvenience?"

Daredevil has posed:
"I know, but at least let us hold this flank, keep them from using us as way to get to you. Maybe give them pause," Matt explains, his attention turned to Elektra. Of course, if they do that much damage that might provoke a bigger response.

He grimaces, hand shoved back through his hair messing it up, giving him a tousled and desperate look, that matches his tone. "We have to be able to do that much without it being a problem, right?" he asks, that we sounding very much like an 'I' in how Matt poses that question.

Claire's response gets a hurt and angry laugh, "I wouldn't call ninja an inconvenience. No," he says with a shake of his head. "I don't want to fight them, I am not looking for this fight, but if it's coming to me, I'm damn well going to fight it, the same as I would if anyone else came to hurt the people I care about."

He lets out a breath, long and slow, looking down at his drink, still untouched in his hands. "So, if you want to me to be mad at Elektra for this, Claire, I was, but now, I don't see the point, besides, it's not all on her, it's my fault too. I could have stopped this months ago, but I turned my back, I didn't fight for her, didn't believe in her, and now, now, I'm not making that mistake again."

He turns his eyes back to Elektra, "If even doing this, isn't too little too late?"

Elektra has posed:
Matt earns himself a glower from Elektra. "This isn't your fight, Matthew. It never was. You don't get to decide it's your fault so that you can feel better about yourself. I knew what I was doing when I accepted the offer. Just what do you think this is going to change?"

Daredevil has posed:
"I didn't decide it was my fault, Elektra, it /is/ my fault, you wouldn't have been in that situation if I'd just-" Matt doesn't finish that thought it's so painful and now in retrospect, having agreed to sign those papers anyhow, it seems so stupid and pigheaded, even for him. "I'm trying to make it easier, take us off the board so you don't have to worry about us, I'm trying to give you a chance to survive this."

Elektra has posed:
"What, Matthew. If you didn't, what? Sign those papers?" Elektra gives Matt a long, stern look. "You think that's what this is about? You think they cared about that. They don't even know, Matthew. My two lives are separate. Your not signing those damnable papers didn't mean anything other than a blow to my pride."

Elektra makes a soft noise of disgust. "You and your friends teaming up against this just means you'll all get hurt. And I'll be forced to make decisions I can't. Why do you think they attacked you anyway? Because you were an easy mark? No. It was a test. And a commentary. All we succeeded in doing was proving I was vulnerable where you are concerned." And that she was in danger. But Elektra doesn't say that.

Daredevil has posed:
"I know they don't care about the damn papers," Matt says slamming his hand down on the table hard enough to make the glasses jump and drawing a few eyes there way. "But if I had signed them if I'd believed you were trying to change, maybe you wouldn't have been alone against them, wouldn't have had to make the choices you made."

Matt let's out a breath through his teeth. "Then what do we do? Just sit back safe and let you die?" he asks hurt and frustration in his voice. They'd been down this road before, he'd tried not to think about it, and for a moment with the others involved he had hope, but now, it was becoming clear that the snares that held them before were just as tight as ever.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra relents some now, and it's a mark of things that she's allowed the world to collapse down to just her and Matthew for the moment..

"I made the only choice that stopped the endless killings, Matthew. It had nothing to do with you signing or not signing papers. Or whether you believed me or not. I did what I thought would..." Elektra sighs. "It doesn't matter, does it. The solution created a new problem. And it's mine. Not yours."

She gives him a helpless look. "I wanted this to end, Matthew."

Claire Temple has posed:
"Your... papers...?" Claire asks quietly. She turns a glance toward Matt. "Don't tell me those are the papers you and Foggy went over with fine-toothed combs and insisted everything was wonderful." Her voice turns icy. "And now there are planned fatalities on the line? Which one of you gets to say you didn't think it was coming?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt's expression is pained behind the red lenses of his glasses as his head dips downwards at his drink a moment still caught in the little bubble that their conversation had made for each other. "Maybe I could have helped you with them," he says notably ignoring the parts about this problem being hers now.

He senses Claire's head turning and surmises the look he's being given, it draws him from the bubble. "The papers were fine, that's part of the problem. She brought them to me months ago, and they were fine then and fine now, but I didn't sign them. I suspected she had other motives, but I was wrong. She was honestly trying to help."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke shifts slightly in his chair, feeling the tension build between the ladies. Whatever was going on, Claire was obviously not impressed with Elektra and that did not endear Elektra to him. But he kept his mouth shut. Even with a bulletproof nose, sometimes it was better not to poke it in where it did not belong.

Luke thanked the server as she brought them a fresh pizza and topped up everyone's glasses from the pitcher of beer.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra merely sits back now, lips compressed into a thin, unimpressed line. As much as Claire is unhappy, so is she.

Daredevil has posed:
The pizza arriving provides a welcome break, while waiting to hear what else Claire might have to say on the papers and he takes a beer when Luke pours. "Thanks man," he says pushing his hand through his hair and taking a whiff of the pizza. Yeah, the quality had improved. "So, regretting sitting down with us yet?" he asks Luke. Yeah, the big man wasn't going to just be able to duck this one.

His attention falls to Elektra then, drinking in what his senses tell him trying to gauge her silence.

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire is holding her drink now, applying a little force to each face of the glass against the tabletop as she turns the small vessel around in her hand. "I'm having a lot of trouble seeing how paperwork would keep anyone from getting killed by ninjas who don't worry about a peaceful daily existence to begin with," she says. "I don't imagine they're as selective about what parts of life are set up for assassination or not," she tells Elektra, her eyes narrowing.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra gives Claire a long look. "You'd have to ask Matthew what he means. I'm afraid I haven't a clue," she lies.

Luke Cage has posed:
"I'm starting to," Luke says as an aside to Matt. Then after Elektra passes the buck to Matt, he adds. "What are you into here, Matt?"

Without waiting for an answer he digs into the pizza. A man his size puts down a lot of calories, and he is not one to say no to free ones paid for by someone else. Luke would never admit it, but work had been really thin lately, and rent was going to be a problem.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt grimaces. "It was symbolic, Elektra was trying to change, and I ddn't accept it," he says of how the papers could lead to where they were now. "And so I wasn't there to help her," he carries on, before a grimace is thrown Elektra's way, "Though, I guess there is some debate to how much it had to do with anything."

Luke's question is met with a shake of his head. "Nothing. All the papers did give some of our clients who couldn't afford to pay the money to do so. A way to try to make things better," he says, with an apologetic look towards Elektra.

Claire Temple has posed:
"Symbolic," Claire replies in a flat voice. "You weren't there to help her with a *symbol*? So what, you're expecting the ninjas to fight with logos and icons, now?" She grabs one of the slices of pizza from the platter and hums appreciatively when the cheese still has a little bit of string pull while she takes it from the rest of the pie.

"There's a whole lot of this symbolic bullshit floating around for what's actually swords going back and forth and slicing people up," she announces to Luke and the seemingly star-crossed pair. "The blade that got my arm wasn't symbolic, just FYI."

Elektra has posed:
Now Elektra sighs, her expresion pained - or at least as pained as she allows. "It was hardly like that, Claire."

Though it's to Luke she turns and speaks to first, "I set up a pro-bono fund so that Murdock and Nelson could practice the kind of law that Matthew prefers."

Her gaze drifts away, and falls upon Matt. "I confess, at first it was an attempt to draw him closer to myself, but it didn't stay that way. We had differences of opinion upon what I was doing. I didn't take it well."

Pizza is ignored, but her beer mug is not. She takes it and has a swallow before continuing. "Matthew believes that is the reason I accepted an offer I couldn't refuse. One that has led to some of our recent troubles." She says it like she's talking about an overdrawn bank account, and trying to juggle next month's bills, though in some respects, given her life, it's lkely that it may be that perfunctory and mundane for her. It isn't like Stick allowed her the luxury of being afraid of such things.

To Claire, finally, Elektra's gaze fall, solemn and without apology, "What is it you want me to say, Claire? That they're my men? That the reason you were ingjured is because they're not happy with me? Because that's the only truth I have in this. And they'll continue to harass myself and.. and quite likely Matthew, if not yourself, as long as they think Matthew is someone I care about. They're not known for their ethics, and they don't care who gets hurt. All I can say is they're not likely to kill him, because messages fail if the lever you're using is broken."

She sighs. "I thought I was making this better for everyone involved. I was mistaken. Only it's too late now to second guess my move. All I can do is mitigate damage."

She looks to the exit, clearly thinking about leaving.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke holds out a steadying hand. "Hold on," he rumbles. "We can't change the past, so we have to look forward. If your people are going to come after Matt and Claire again, then I want to know who they are, and where they are."

Daredevil has posed:
"No, that's not what I meant at all," Matt begins to answer Claire when she brings up symbolism but Elektra says it as well if not better than he could. "That," he says gesturing in her direction. "And for what it's worth, I am sorry you got caught up in the middle of that," he says a nod given to the arm that got sliced in that encounter.

Luke's words have him frowning and rubbing his forehead. "No, you really don't," he promises, but with the question hanging out there, the answer was likely coming if they wanted to hear it or not.
f

Claire Temple has posed:
Claire snorts around another mouthful of pizza. "Ninjas not doing ethics, huh, tell me another one," she says. "Aren't you a chip off the old block."

"So this whole thing, you're drawing Matt closer to you with money to keep the lights on at the law office. That's wonderful. At just which point did you figure out that some unruly and unethical ninjas might want to come after you through him? Because near as I can tell, there's no point in here that you were going to mitigate damage to him or anyone else. Your ninja friends get pissed at you, they come after you, and oh look, you've got Matt handy." She glares. "You don't get to hold your hands up, here. They may as well be yours, since they're following kind of closely!"

Elektra has posed:
There's a flick of irritated glance to Claire. "I washed my hands of the matter long ago. I told him not to sign. I destroyed the initial contracts. I don't touch or oversee the money. Ask Matthew if you don't care to believe me."

Her entire body tenses.

"I've told him it's over more times than I can count and why," Elektra says quietly. Coldly, even. "Not that I expect you to believe me."

For a moment, Elektra considers her beer. Considers downing the thing - but it's too close to that night. That night where if she'd not been in her cups she might have been more use. Matthew and Claire both might have borne less injury.

Instead, she pushes it away from herself. "I'd tell them to stop if I could. But that's assuming I know which of them are responsible. And that I could count on being able to stop them. You don't understand how complicated it is, and how much more dangerous it would be to set an ultimatum. There's a reason I walked away."

Luke, she tells quietly, knowing her words are not only dangerous, but likely stupid as well, "My name is Elektra Natchios and I'm the Fist the rules the Hand."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke's face darkens and he grips his beer mug tightly enough it cracks. "You're the Hand. You gotta a lot of nerve sittin' down in here," he says. "After everything you've done you think you can..." he trails off and his eyes fall on Matt and he shakes his head slowly. Luke slides out of the booth, leaving his beer mug slowly leaking from its sides on the table.

"You kept this from Claire, from the rest of us... This is on you. You better think real careful about what side you're on."

Luke looks to Claire to see if she's staying or leaving, then turns and storms out of the bar into the dark.