7322/City Fall: So, About this Plan of Mine...

City Fall: So, About this Plan of Mine...
Date of Scene:	25 April 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Matt asks Elektra to meet him, they discuss SHIELD and his plan for the Foot and revel in Elektra's return and the changes it's made in their lives.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Elektra
Tinyplot:	City Fall

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Daredevil has posed:
After the meeting with May and the Defenders, Matt didn't dawdle on his way home, save for just long enough to dictate a text once he was sure there wasn't anyone around to hear.

Matt >> Can you come over? News to share.

For all Matt knew she could be already there, he'd made it clear his place was her place, and it wasn't like she'd exactly been shy about being there whenever she chose before.

Then with the text sent, he hurries on as fast as his blind act allows, cane tapping a quick rythmn on the New York streets.

Elektra has posed:
As it happened, Danny and Matt weren't the only ones with meetings, and in Elektra's case, hers had gone well into the small hours of the night. Enough so that although his text does not interrupt anything, she hasn't had time yet to leave the office, though she is alone.

Ellie >> I've had better invitations.

Then:

Ellie >> Shall I bring anything? Supper?

Daredevil has posed:
Slipping into the lobby of his building, Matt has the message played back and smiles.

Matt > I cordially request your presence at my humble abode?

He offers in correction, before adding more earnestly.

Matt >> Supper would be great. Forgot to eat... again. Have some beer and wine though.

The dangers of a double life. No time for self-care.

He takes the stairs to his apartment then lets himself in, turning on the lights for Elektra as he sets aside the cane by the door.

While he waits for her to arrive, he sheds his work clothes slipping into sweats and a hoodie, his usual 'at home' uniform.

Elektra has posed:
Ellie >> Still have had better.

She's smiling to herself as she types that, then finishes putting her paperwork away, locking files and safe behind her.

Ellie >> I'll surprise you.

Which, given she's not said how long she'll be could refer to either her arrival, the food, or both.

As it happens, it takes about an hour for her to show up, the smell of Chinese wafting ahead of her, Elektra taking the stairs - she has a legitimate meal after all! And given Matt's senses he won't be surprised at all, unless he were expecting pizza.

She's got a key for those times she uses the door, and lets herself in. Unlike Matt, she's still dressed in business formal - indicating it was an important meeting today. In fact, it's been a week of them - annual shareholders meetings and reviewing their filed income taxes for the year. It was, and had been, as boring as it sounds, and she was ready to relax.

"Mine if I change before we eat?" Leaving the bags for him to sort through as he wishes - plates or out of the containers as pleases - while she takes 15 to shower quickly and come back dressed in a pair of his sweats and a tee-shirt, even though she has clothing of her own here.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt hears the playback and laughs as he's pulling his hoodie on.

Smoothing it down he offers in reply to her last:

Matt >> What else is new? :)

Then he sets about puttering until he gets that first whiff of Chinese food coming up from several floors below. That was a surprise, he figured pizza, or maybe gyros from that Greek place they'd discovered a couple weeks back.

The shape and sound of Elektra's garments tells the tale of her out fit, and he nods, about changing, "Sure thing," he says leaning over to kiss her briefly on the lips. "I'll get us some plates. How'd the meeting go?" he asks.

Another perk of Elektra being alive was he didn't have to get involved with the company's paperwork. He finds them plates, and some chopsticks, and then grabbing the bag from the take out place he heads to the living room and grabs a spot on the couch.

Elektra's choice of wardrobe earns a smile. "So your clothes in my dresser are just for show huh?" he teases lightly. "You planting a flag?"

He doesn't sound like he minds one bit.

Elektra has posed:
"Plates? How positively civilized," Elektra teases, returning the kiss as she breezes on through the living quarters. "Boring, but necessary." Like most meetings, and some not even necessary.

It isn't long before she's back towel drying her hair and wearing his clothing. "Maybe," is her easy retort, lips curled over a smirk. "Are you complaining about sharing? I assure you I look much better in these than you do." It's a measure of her relaxation that she's not only teasing, but wearing his clothing. Towel drying left behind, towel put neatly on the back of a chair, she comes to the living area and settled on the couch, cross-legged - another measure of her ease, the position not one easy to defend from should they have unwanted visitors. So much has changed in recent weeks and months.

"This flag I'm planting, describe it to me. And I hope you don't mind Chinese. It was on the way and I confess the spring rolls tormented me into stepping inside. They don't speak English, by the way. I'll show you sometime."

Daredevil has posed:
"Must be the company I'm keeping," Matt teases back. "Next thing you know I'll be drinking at places with clean glasses and holding out my pinky finger."

"I get my share of those," Matt says of boring but needful meetings, most of his involved blustering ADAs or cops trying to sell him on having his clients dead to rights when their case holds less water than a sieve.

Matt grins as she returns from the shower, enjoying the smell of fresh clean skin and the faint scent of soap and shampoo. "I believe it," he says of her looking better in his clothes, from the outline given by his senses he could see what sort of figure she cut in them and it was impressive. But more than that, it was her ease that was so alluring, it was both so much like her and entirely brand new. He liked it though and what it said about them.

"And besides, my clothes smell like you after you wear them, it's sort of nice," he says.

"The flag? Oh, I'm sure it's very understated but high quality," like her clothes. "And says to everyone that sees it, that all this," he gestures at his loft, "Is part of Elektra Natchios' life."

He smiles at her, then, he'd taken off his shades while she was in the shower, leaving his affection plain to see in his aimless eyes.

Still, he can't pass up the tease: "Sure. But is it the owners or the eggrolls that don't speak English?"

Elektra has posed:
"Most definitely the egg rolls that don't," Elektra answers without pause. "There should be some of those in the bags, too, if I remember my Mandarin." Plus a few other dishes she'd managed to convince the owners to throw in by virtue of speaking fluently. "But you didn't invite me over to discuss dinner, did you?"

His features are considered and regarded with like affection, enjoying his ease as well, his home being one of the few places he's able to kick back and just be himself, sans shades and all. "So, what had you worried I might not come over of my own free will this evening?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt smiles at the rejoinder. "Yeah, I can smell them," he says of the egg rolls ferreting them out and passing the little grease stained bag to Elektra for first dibs. "The rest smells good too." He begins digging the little cardboard containers out and setting them on the coffee table.

"And no, sadly not just dinner," Matt admits about the night's topic of conversation. "Remember that plan I told you about? The others are on board, and so is SHIELD, but the wrinkle is they want to send a couple of their people along with us,. Plus we're hoping you'd join us."

He gets right to the point. As for why the invite instead of relying on the routine that saw Elektra come over most nights, or him to her place on the rest. "Figured, why chance this being the one night you decide to sleep alone, besides, I wanted to see you, for more than just business."

Elektra has posed:
The small grease stained bag is taken and two plump specimins of egg roll are removed and put on her plate. "I think you'll like what I bought. But I did bring some standards in case you weren't as adventurous as I am." There was a reason 'American' Chinese food did well, but this place also catered to the ethnic crowd. She'd been pleased to find it.

Other cartons give up their secrets and before long she has a decent plateful of food, which she begins eating. Again, a measure of the new her - food not being necessary beyond the comfort and ritual, but she indulged with pleasure, if only because it connected her to Matt and others, and those things made her unnecessary acts important.

"Mmm, so let me get this straight, you contacted SHIELD?" Which wasn't horrible on it's face. Slightly unorthodox, but then again, so much of their lives were. "Do you mind if I ask why their involvement?"

Elektra leaves her other queries until she has answers to that.

Daredevil has posed:
"Smells good whatever it is," Matt says. "Besides Danny's been giving me an education in what real Chinese food is about," he says, that said he does smell chow mein and some of those classics Elektra had mentioned, but he goes for something new, instead. "Is this duck?" he asks her opening the box.

The ritual of eating with him is appreciated, they'd enjoyed so many meals together in the past, it would have been a hardship to lose that shared tradition.

He fills his plate as he answers her question, "I know, it sounds like a weird play for me but yeah, we reached out," he says of the arrangement. "Besides, one of their people, Agent May has been sniffing around, figured may as well get there first and get them on side," he says but that was only part of it. "And because we with everything the Foot is doing, we needed the big guns to help take them down. Especially this stuff with the corrupting the courts."

Elektra has posed:
"It should be duck. There's also some squid in one of the boxes. Plus some crispy tofu." Amongst other things. She digs into her meal with chopsticks, weilding them like a pro.

"So, you're telling me we're branching out in our efforts and putting up a consolidated front?" There's a hint of dry amusement to her tones. "Would this be the same Melinda May that was involved with your efforts to stop me?" She knows it is. "The same one I reached out to covertly?"

Again, she knows it is, though the other has no clue it was her, Elektra's messages to SHIELD always through proxies, and carefully routed to avoid any trails that led back to her. "So, they both wish to send their people with us, and you're asking me to join." Not that Elektra had issue with joining in the sting. "What is this really about, Matthew. This is hardly ground shaking information you're imparting. Though I must say I do appreciate that you missed me. I am curious what ulterior and nefarious suggestions you have other than business."

Daredevil has posed:
"Ah, that's what that is," Matt says about the squid, he couldn't quite place the smell. He hunts some down to give it a try, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing and declaring, "This is good," he adds more to his plate.

"Yeah, pretty much," he says. "If we come at these guys solo we're going to get swamped, so we might as well get as many allies as we can."

Elektra's guess is met with a nod. "Yeah, it's her. Agent Melinda May."

There's a small interlude then, one where Matt smiles, about what suggestions he might have beyond business, "I think you can guess," he says with a warm chuckle in his tone, before he moves onto the news that might be earth shattering.

"She knows who Danny and I are, I mean, she knows we're Iron Fist and Daredevil. As for why I'm telling you all this is, yes, we want you along, but May also wants to, vet you," there's a knowing smile at the insanity of what comes next: "To make sure you're up to the task."

Elektra has posed:
There's a smile from Elektra, pleased he's enjoying the meal, both the classics and the surprises she's brought.

Matt goes on to confirm exactly what she knows, adding what she suspected about pwer in numbers. She's not unaware of the growing problem that Shredder's people have become, or this new issue with the corrupt judges and the mystical coins. The last, however, gives her pause.

"I see. Was that wise, Matthew?" Both he and Danny? That was surprising. As for her being up to the task, Elektra laughs softly. "Ah. Yes, that is amusing. However, I'm guessing this isn't just a can I do the job, but she wishes to be aware of who I am. Or you are at least suggesting that I speak frankly."

It isn't a question.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt is indeed enjoying the food and it's a good bet the restaurant will be added to their regular rotation of such places around Hell's Kitchen.

As for the matter of telling SHIELD who he was. "I honestly don't know," Matt admits of telling SHIELD. "I gave them stipulations, nothing gets written down about any of us, and we only deal with May and Bucky Barnes. When May agreed she was telling the truth and she didn't know what I could do, so I don't think she was calming her heartrate." He lets out a breath, it still sounds shaky even to him. "And it was the condition of getting their help."

"They don't know who you are right now, we just told them we had a friend who would be a good fit for what we planned, someone who could fight close up," which in Elektra's case was an understatement, like saying a Ferrari was 'fast'. "And yeah, if you're in, they're going to want a frank discussion at the very least."

Elektra has posed:
Matt's words are given serious thought, Elektra eating quietly and solemnly as she weighs the alternatives. On the one hand, she could refuse, and leave the group to handle the effort alone, and without her, but to what end? It could only really create a wedge in the slowly healing gap between them all. On the other hand, joining would mean divulging her secrets to someone she might not otherwise had done so to.

Of course, she had trusted SHIELD enough in the past to do what she could not, and this Agent in particular, knowing that was where her requests would land other than the Director himself. Elektra hadn't made those moves lightly in the past.

That was why she also needed to consider this carefully, as any mistakes here could spell disaster on many fronts.

Ultimately, though, what sells the story is Matt himself. Matt who would fling himself off of the Empire State Building before deliberately harming his friends - especially Foggy and Karen and Claire - his association with Elektra notwithstanding, and he had trusted Agent May with his secret.

Slowly, and with calm breaths, Elektra murmurs, "Then I suppose I talk with her."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt sits with his doubts as Elektra considers what he's told her. Had he covered all the angles? Was he leaving his friends open to harm in the search for allies? Could May be trusted, not just now but in the long term. What might be the lever needed to get May to give up all their secrets?

A question answers that question. Can we take the Foot without SHIELD? Or the next people who come for them, or the one after?

Elektra had been right they'd already used SHIELD to fight the Hand, so it made sense to continue that practice now. Strengthening those bonds protected them all.

"Thank you," Matt says when Elektra agrees to see her. He knew it was more than an agreement to meet May but a vote of confidence in his choice to tell them what he had. "Want me to set up the meet or do you want to handle it?" he asks fishing May's card out of the pocket of his sweats.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra's answer is a simple, "I'll contact her myself. This is my business to deal with. She and I have some conversations to have."

Which was no more than the truth. If Elektra was doing this, she was going to put more than her skills as an assassin on the line, and come clean. It was a sobering, and dangerous sort of thought, but a necessary one.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt had anticipated that reply. Elektra was ever one to handle her own business. He offers her the card.

"I don't doubt it," he says about the conversations she and May would need to have.

There was moment's pause before he offers, "Thanks for supporting this, I know what I'm asking of you."

Elektra has posed:
Her lips curl over an easy smile. "Of course you do." Even if he might not fully understand it, Elektra had faith Matt understood enough. "And no need for thanks. When I made that decision, I knew there would be repercussions. If I am rewriting that history, this is part of it. I can't be a Defender unless I am a Defender."

It all sounded so simple when she put it that way.

Daredevil has posed:
The smile comes through in Elektra's voice and it sets Matt at ease. He listens to her, nodding, it made sense, that this would be part of her journey.

He ventures a quote taken from her headstone: "...for former things are passed away?"

The more they dealt with her new life, the more apt that quote became.

Elektra has posed:
"Very much," Elektra agrees. "I can only be what I was not."

She'd taken too many steps to not be what the Hand would have made of her - the Chaste, too, though she was ultimately closer to that than the Hand's tool - for her to back down now. She'd literally died to bring this future to come to pass. Now wasn't the time to shirk away from what she'd set in motion.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods quietly, "Waste of a second life if you just repeat the same mistakes," he agrees. Or at least that was his take on it.

"Glad we're avoiding our usual ones," he says. Before she died none of what they enjoyed now, shared time, shared space, wouldn't have been possible.

But that was only part of it, the simpler, deeper truth was much easier to express: "I'm glad you're back."

Elektra has posed:
It's with an unusual seriousness that Elektra answers him, "Never doubt you were part of the reason why I came back, Matthew. Without you, I'd be nothing more than the monster they made me."

Which may surprise him, the word she uses. For one raised to killing, and an assassin by profession and trade, she'd never shied from the grittier aspects of what that meant, and never considered herself or what she did as untoward. To express what they made of her in those terms spoke volumes.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt turns his head towards Elektra, his focus on her even if his eyes remain aimless, but they do show the impact of her words, how he blinks away the beginnings of tears.

"Then I am glad we found each other, because I am not sure what I'd be without you in my life," he says, maybe not a monster, but he'd be less than he was, her love, her understanding of who he was had been part of what made him embrace his abilities and be more than just Matt Murdock, lawyer, but Daredevil as well.

There's a smile there, tinged with emotion, "Guess we saved each other."

He reaches out his hand for hers.

Elektra has posed:
"Now you're just being silly," Elektra laughs, though she takes his hand, her fingers squeezing his. "I do believe I was promised some non-business activities?" The remains of her dinner set aside. "Come to bed, Matthew. It's been a long day. I have no doubt tomorrow will be longer."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt laughs with her. "Maybe a little," he allows, grinning.

His hand squeezes hers back, the hand felt different, Elektra felt different, but somehow despite that she still felt like her. "I think I did," he says putting aside his own meal before he leans over to kiss her, hand still gripping hers.

"You're probably right," he says as they put aside business and give the rest of the night to each other.