603/Just when things are getting on track..

Just when things are getting on track..
Date of Scene:	18 March 2020
Location:	6C - Matt Murdock
Synopsis:	The end to their training. A celebration that ends with Skye going with SHIELD back to her old life. A farewell that may just be temporary.
Cast of Characters:	Matthew Murdock, Daisy Johnson

---

Matthew Murdock has posed:
To paraphrase a mantra from Matt's own training days, your mind controls your body, your body controls your powers and your powers control your enemies and your enemies control jack shit by the time you're done with them.

Okay they hadn't progressed to those last two, during the days Matt and Skye had together, but they'd gotten a good start on the first two...

...more training in the apartment, first sighted, then blind folded, first to help her keep her powers under control while under preassure, then to see if she could use her senses on the fly...

...Time spent meditating on the roof, trying to hone in on the same sounds, same feelings in the teeming mass of life that was the city...

...Yet more meditation, this time more of Matt's world than her, focusing her (and don't tell Dani he used this word) chi, to bolster the places her gifts had left broken, encouraging the body to focus its healing efforts there...

...And finally reaching out with powers, shaking this and that, until things got finer and finer, move that fork without sending it flying, quaking the door lock open and closed...

Then finally in the late afternoon, Matt leads Skye up to the roof again sighted this time, but with the blindfold in hand after having been there for a bit setting something up.

What was that thing? A board across two stacks of paint cans, five wine glasses laid out across the board each with a differing amount of water in them.

When they step outside, Matt turns towards Skye, "Figured we could give my door and cutlery a break and try a dumb party trick," he jokes grinning warmly. He steps towards the waiting glasses, licks his finger and rubs it around the rim of one of them making it sing.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Wise words, specially when one considers the type of hard lives they both have, the one they chose, where nothing can be ever too easy. Their training comes with their own shares of frustrations though, the failures, the recoveries. The struggles they know they have to do in order to make things right, in order to have them fly.

Skye can sometimes be difficult to teach with all those unknowns about her powers, or on what they mean. But they do start getting there, that focus, getting into a flow that is their own, a natural thing between them.

"I think I can make my way around here blindfolded by now." She says when they are going up to the roof, her arms held up behind her head in a lazy manner after their day of training.

A curious look is given to the cans, then the glasses, hed canting to the side.

It's when Matt starts to make them sing that she understands, a focus given towards those vibrations that start to rise out of the glasses. "And here I was thinking you were going to hire me as your inside decorator after all the furniture change I am bringing to your home." she quips.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
As the make their way up the stairs, Matt chuckles, "Hey, me too," he says about getting around the place with a blindfold, the tease kindly meant. Then more seriously, "You've come a long way Skye," he says as they get up to the roof and pass through the door.

"So, what do you say, if you can get a handle on this, we actually go out for dinner for a change?" he says, they'd lived on their shared cooking and Doordash for most their training time, it would nice to be out in the world. "Not thinking far, maybe the Royal Dragon?" he asks mentioning the Chinese place he could smell the kitchen from right from the rooftop. "They don't have video cameras." Not that he'd heard anyhow, no little hums of electricity or whirring motors to allow the camera to pan around the place. He knew SHIELD would be looking.

As to the test in question, he grins at the decorator quip. "That was an old chair anyhow," he says about one of the training casulaties. "And the super is coming about the shower later in the week."

"This time I want to see if you can make these sing, and if it's any easier with your eyes or without." He'd done a lot of her training with the blindfold forcing her to embrace her senses like he had, it felt natural to him but he hoped he wasn't building a dependency on blindness into her powers.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Fine, you got me there." A small laugh erupting from Skye when Matt says he can walk around just like that as well. The praise though, when she hears it makes her feel good, smiling, specially since it's meant, without fake kindness. But of course a quip comes. "I would like to thank my coach for making this all possible ..." then she closes in to Matt to place a touch on his shoulder, perhaps a more heartfelt, thankful gesture than what other words she could speak, and what this training means to her.

"The Royal?" A brief moment to ponder, yes she had felt something of that place before, teeming with life most of nights. The mention of SHIELD does make her sober up somewhat though she nods that he seems to understand. Even if she may have been putting it away for too long now. "Sounds like a date to me. It's settled." the official first!

Skye nods when Matt mentions making them sing. Her focus goes to them, without the blindfold now. She looks each glass in turn, considering them. The first is that one that is already singing, catching it's tune, absorbing it, then expanding it on another. It's slow but she makes the glass next to it start to sing. A few moments later.., the other. Her expression tightens up in concentration, eyes open.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The touch on Matt's shoulder is taken for how it's meant even as Matt shakes his head, "Sadly my taining doesn't cover jokes," he tells her with laughter in his voice.

SHIELD was an uncomfortable thought for Matt as well, the sword of Damoclese that had been hanging over both their heads, forcing their relationship into the shadows. Though with all their successes Matt felt like they could stand a little light. So when Skye agrees, his smile is wide and warm, boyish even, "It's a date then." Date. He liked the sound of that word.

He takes a second to bring his heart back down from the eager beat it held about the date to something more fitting to the training at hand, his smile though still remained.

The music of the glasses is beautiful as the second one joins the first in harmony, all done with out the blindfold, the next one sings too, adding to the glasswork choir. Two more left, the ones with the most water, the hardest to make sing,

Daisy Johnson has posed:
They certainly could use some light, that much Skye agreed wholeheartedly after all they had been going through in their lives, and now as it was shaping to become something a lot better.

But then it's time for serious training! And that means gentle breathing, the way Matt taught her, letting the 'music' flow through her, around her body until then she is able to shape it. So far she had been able to do small things like this without the gloves, those more fine-tuned touches not as dangerous as when she'd truly earn that codename of hers, Quake (shhh, don't say it) and so her wrists had been somewhat free of danger. And of course that those meditation techniques had helped in the healing when things went haywire.

They start to sing to her inner-beat, it visible in the way her heart seems to be the core of it all. "Do you want to put the blindfold on?" she asks him, even as she goes to those two last cups. Her brows furrow, concentrated. The water inside the cups shakes and trembles even if that last one is visibly harder to get singing, the tell of a faint crack on the glass heard to Matt's tuned senses.
"This is not easy at all..." She breathes a touch harder then, renewing her efforts. A little more small crack on the glass, one she seems unaware of.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt can hear those cracks and flinches, "Easy," he cautions the woman who would be called Quake (Tremors is better, fyi!). "Just relax into it, don't try to make it go any faster than it wants to go, that'll come later.

At the request for the blindfold, Matt hesitates, feeling the cloth in his hands with his thumb. "Sure," he says finally and moves behind Skye to draw the strip of cloth across her eyes and tying it in a simple knot behind her head. "Now easy, the glasses are cracking a little, just let the music happen, you've got this," he tells her placing a warm hand on her shoulder, an anchor for her to center on.,

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Those words are heard, Skye letting them enter her, understanding them, following them and she eases herself into a more relaxed posture, regaining that flow. There is still something off about the tune of those glasses now that they have those imperfections, but for now they are still holding. She nods, some beads of sweat gathering on her forehead, brows furrowed together in concentration.

She takes heed of that touch on her shoulder, as if using it to calibrate herself, to center, the blindfold appearing to not differ too much from what she was already doing with her eyes open.

A soft smile then comes to her lips. "They have a beautiful music. Listen." she knows he can do just that with those heightened senses, letting the vibrations of her own body to flow through Matt's hand and up to him, letting him also know what she is feeling in her core when she does this.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt listens as Skye shares that music with him, feeling that surge of emotion vibrate into him through that hand on his shoulder. He smiles big and warm feeling what she feels and literally hearing her emotions ring out through the vibrations of the glasses.

"Beautiful," he agrees of the music but he could well say the same of the woman making the music, so confident in her powers at the moment, making beauty with them instead of destruction.

Of course though no moment was safe from their brand of corny humour, "So do you take requests?" he offers in a gentle tease, a way to say he was happy for her in their strange little language of jokes and jibes.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Oh God. That last corny quip makes her close to losing it, felt in the way those glasses shook through the biting of her lower lip, it just enough to not let herself start laughing out. Could those ever really end? Skye then replies. "Now that I am not a broken record anymore, I do." her tone tinged with her amusement. Though she finds solace in this, in how they can just be. That no matter what there are these moments where they can just be happy.

"Do you have a favorite song?" She then asks, perhaps curious. Her fingers continue up, pointed towards the glasses while they sing. Her other hand up and touching on Matt's.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt finds himself keeping in a laugh when Skye starts to lose control of her hold on the glasses, "Sorry," he breathes clearing his throat a little, but there's a smile on his face and it's clear in his voice.

The contained laughter comes out as a chuckle whens she actually takes him up on it, "Seriously?" he asks. "Someone's getting cocky," he teases before he thinks about what to request, his first song choice is a bit of joke, it's the song /everyone/ ends up learning to play on the guitar. "Wonderwall?" he teases before saying more seriously after a moment thought. "Just the Way You Are? Bruno Mars."

Though really he'd take anything she could give him in this shared moment.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Someone's brushing up on me apparently." Skye retorts about the 'getting cocky' comment, and one can almost feel that eyebrow waggle she sometimes gives when she speaks in that tone. But then she focuses even if she can't help but smile at the choice of song. She isn't exactly someone that has learned music, even if she had her brief guitar jabs when she was a bit younger, after the orphanage.

But this is certainly something new. She tunes the glasses then, testing each, finding it. Getting the tune in her head and just letting those thoughts turn into vibrations.

It starts slow, perhaps even hesitatingly but there is an hint to it of that music. Perhaps crude to anyone that actually knows music but for her it feels amazing. "Can you hear it..?" she asks quietly, the effort now truly felt in the way her arm trembles lightly with the effort.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
There's a wry snort from Matt and if she wasn't in the middle of something delicate there would have been a swat as well. He smiles though, that eyebrow waggle very much visualized in Matt's mind's eye giving him a warm feeling as these moments often did.

When Skye tries the music, his expression settles, drawing into a line as he listens for the music before broadening into a smile as he hears it, "I can,," he tells her, the hand on the shoulder squeezing warmly, feeling the vibrations coming from her arm. "You've got this," urging her to keep things going a little while longer.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Skye lets out a grin when she gets both the confirmation that Matt can listen, as well as the support to continue on. She moves on through it, going over to those crescendos, higher and perhaps getting a bit carried away with what she can do. But still she moves on with that rough representation of the music. Though it's not exactly as if she cares to make it too much perfect, just being able to do something that resembles it seems to light her up.

She finds herself leaning towards that squeezing hand, a bit longer, close to the end and just then she finishes with that last glass finally giving in and shattering. Only that one though, luckily.

She lets out a jolt but chuckles instead of getting dismayed with it. "Guess I was bringing the house down." she says, the tune stopping afterwards as her own concentration breaks.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Skye isn't the only one lit up by the music, Matt positively beams at the sound of it, rough though it was. Though given that just a few days ago Skye was terrified of her powers the progress here was amazing and he can't help but smile.

The shatter of the glass gets a chuckle out of Matt as he shakes his head at her joke. "Good to end with a bang," he offers with a laugh as he wraps his arms around her from behind and places a soft kiss on her cheek.

"You did great," he tells her softly, his smile plain in his words. "Definitely a date worthy performance."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Just the way I am, uh?" Because sure, Skye is indeed cocky enough on figuring out why Matt would had chosen that music. But she does like to assume. Regardless, she leans back against that embrace and to the kiss on her cheek, bringing her hands up to rest them lightly on his arms. "And it seems like a good end to the concert. And to go celebrate at that restaurant."

She lets out a sigh, it would feel good to go out a bit, just enjoy themselves for a calm meal. It doesn't feel to her that anything could go wrong.

She turns her head around a bit, "Do you want to go there now?" she questions, relaxed there with Matt.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt just relaxes into the feel of Skye leaned against him, his arms wrapped around her, holding her there. "Seemed to fit," he says. "Plus you can't go wrong with Bruno." Or so Foggy told him. "Definitely," he says of this being a good time to celebrate. All the more with it being their first 'official' date.

"As opposed to..." he smirks suggestively. "Later?" he says then breaks into a laugh. "Big day of training," he says. "Maybe we should eat first, hmm?" he teases, though by the feel of his heart he could go either way.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"You don't exactly seem the type that normally listens to Bruno. Just saying." And no judgement on her voice! Skye simply grins up at Matt, letting her fingertips taptap his while she stays there with him, as if she was still humming to the beat of the song for a little bit.

"You know well there would be no later." Skye smirks in mirrored amusement up to Matt, a soft laugh and then she bringing one hand up to brush over some of her stray hair just before she reaches up to brush it on his neck, bringing him down for a brief kiss.

"Yet I think we will be able to work our appetite over at the Dragon." She sticking out her tongue out to him, even if perhaps unsure that he can notice it. But well, nothing like testing!

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Good guess," Matt says about his musical tastes. "That's one of Foggy's favourites, but like I said," he plants a kiss against her neck. "It seem to fit." And hey, it was catchy. After all Skye was still humming it and it was definitely still bouncing around his head.

He laughs warmly at the notion of there not being a later if they put off going to the restaurant, "I'm pleading no contest there," he smiles before letting himself be pulled in for that kiss.

Matt pulls back nodding about the restaurant but then pauses head tilting to the side. "Are you making a face at me?" he can't tell what with nothing to compare it to, but the cheeky vibe is definitely there to be felt.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Foggy!" Yes, Skye has heard about him, because how could she not considering that's Matt's best friend. "I will have to meet him one day." she says with a grin. "Because well, similar music tastes." the little drumming continues for a little while longer over his fingertips.

"I am glad the jury reached a decision so quickly.." No! Don't let them go into courtroom jokes!

Yet then there is a pause when Matt asks is she is making a face. "No....?" it definitely means yes. Yep. Then she does it again.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"I hope you'll get that chance, same with me and your friends from SHIELD," Matt says.

A beat.

"Just you know, outside of a holding cell." He trusted Skye and he knew her friends were good people, but he still had a latent distrust of SHIELD or anyone else who might lock him up for being a meta.

He smiles at Skye's taste of music and the drumming against his fingers. "Good to know you and Foggy will have something in common to talk about."

There's a laugh and a roll of his eyes at the courtroom jokes, "Objection," he protests giving her waist a squeeze. "Spy jokes are next in the rotation, then lawyer jokes, then hacker ones, it's a give and take sort of thing."

More laughter, he sticks out a hand to feel her face, one touch of the tongue is enough to fill in the blanks, he snorts. "Mature," he but he's grinning widely just enjoying being silly. "So, good to go to dinner?"

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Me too." And indeed Skye had spoken about his friends now, their quirks, how they just seem to complete each other. The smile on her lips. She truly seemed to have found a place. And even if there had been some hesitancy at the start of their training, when she wasn't sure if she'd be able to control her powers, now she seemed confident that she might be able to return one day.

"Yes, I wouldn't let them lock you up in a cell, Matt. You know that." Even as much as she knows that he doesn't trust it. They are indeed of somewhat different worlds.

"Oh, I am sure we will have lots to talk about. Say. Maybe he will even enjoy my lawyer jokes instead of offering an objection all the time!" but now she is just teasing, laughing softly at the mention of a rotation.

"Should we stick a calendar on the fridge to know the rotation?"

"I am glad you noticed. And yep, I am. Ready for me to read the menu to you?" she asks while leading them down the stairs back home so they can get ready to go out.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt grins, "Well if your friends, what were their names? FitzSimmons ever figure out their into each other maybe we can double date," he offers. "We can both pretend to understand what they're talking about." Matt was confident Skye would be able to return to her life in SHIELD, she'd made so much progress in such a short time with him, and if there problem was control, a little more time would see hers grow even stronger.

The joke about the cell, is retracted with a frown, "I know," he says, touching her shoulder, a shared moment of understanding. "Bad joke is all." But yes, it would be awhile before he saw SHIELD the same way she did.

Then he's laughing again, "Foggy? Oh yeah, he'd definitely like the lawyer jokes, it might be worth letting you guys loose on each other just to see who gets sick of them first." Spoiler, the likely answer to that is Matt, Karen and anyone else forced to listen to it, he bets they all tap out before either Skye or Foggy.

Another roll of the eyes, this time about the calendar, "Yeah, yeah," he say giving her butt a pat to urger her in the direction of the stairs.

As they make the bottom, "Reletless," he remarks head shaking again, "And yeah, you're going to have to, they've got the menu sheets in those plastic pockets, can't feel the ink." Okay he was showing off a ltitle there. "Anyhow, wanna clean up first?" he asks her. "I figure we have a better chance of dinner if we change one at time."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I don't know .., I think they have kissed already?" Skye squints her eyes at this, not entirely sure. Because, well, who can really be sure whether or not FitzSimmons will end up together. Certainly not just yet! "Which would be, like, real progress to that chemistry they got." though then she laughs out quietly at pretending to understand. "That's my day to day life, you know? And the worst is they understand computers too so I can't even technobabble back." she certainly can't outbrain the brains!

"Even with the mention of it being a joke doesn't mean there wasn't a lingering worry to Skye, that sooner or later they would know where she was. In fact she -should- had tried reaching out but ..., bad decisions is still her bread and butter sometimes.

She does smile though when Foggy is spoken about again, "That sounds like a challenge to me." but then there they are walking downstairs.

She goes get ready when he mentions one at a time. "Dibs!" then off she goes, showering up. Then getting prepped, which is just her dark jeans, a shirt, leather jacket atop it. No need to dress up too well, it's just a first date!

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Well, we ever sit down in a room with them I can tell you if they're kissing," Matt says with a smile on his lips. By now he's laid it all out, all the things he can tell about a person just being in the same room with them. What they ate, when they last showered, did they have sex recently, all sorts of little personal details his senses laid bare. "Sounds like it," he says before grinning at the moving into computers too. "Well, just try to keep them away from the law, it's all I've got," he jokes.

Matt could tell Skye's escape was temporary at best and after that? Who knows. But then they came together on the precipice of similar dangers before and came through it okay, Matt would remain hopeful that they would weather what followed this the same, and their talk of double dates, or even second dates would be more than just fantasy.

"Figured it would," he says before Skye vanishes to get ready.

When it's Matt's turn he's quick about it, changing into a red button down shirt, black slacks and dark windbreaker. Yes, Matt has more than just suits in his closet, most of the people who know him would be ready to die of shock.

Putting his shades in place and grabbing a cane, he extends an arm to Skye. "Shall we?" he asks.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Oooh, good idea!" Skye replies, perhaps already considering on how she may be able to accomplish that. Time to plot, while showering. And then she spends her time wandering a bit about the room, looking at it, the memories she has gained from it. It feels nice to her. Very nice. A smile then, then a glance over when he is done dressing. "Oh my. Who is the important young lady you are going out with tonight?" she teases him, waiting with her arms crossed by the entrance. But then it's time to move, one last passage of fingertips over her damp hair and then she takes Matt's arm.

"Yes, lets." she leads this time, just for appearance sake, out the door to the building. Then on to the elevator.

As they go down it can be felt that Skye has her gloves on tonight, perhaps a precaution in case something goes wrong. It wouldn't do well for her powers to go haywire in a public place, no matter how much she feels she can control them now.

"Any food to avoid there or anything's good?" she asks as they step out of the building and onto Hell's Kitchen.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Another smile from Matt, "You know me always happy to violate people's privacy for a bit of juicy gossip," he jokes wryly though it wasn't too far from the truth. He had a sort of cavalier attitude about his powers, that if the information was there to be sensed he couldn't exactly be faulted if he picked it up. He suspected Skye felt similar about her hacking abilities.

Matt's apparement had been described as lifeless before and really Matt wouldn't argue with that, everything had its place and was neatly organized and for obvious reasons there was a lack of decoration. No paintings or pictures, really no entertainment either, just a place to train, live and sleep. A pretty good image of Matt's life before a certain young hacker walked into it.

"Oh, someone special," Matt replies without missing a beat, then adds in sotto voice. "Kinda hoping I get lucky."

Then they're off into the streets of Hell's Kitchen. "Nah the food is alright, should be good with anything, do you like Chinese? I should have asked.

--

That's when it happened, just a chance thing some kid live streaming and it's feed being picked up by the SHIELD facial recognition program Skye helped fine tune sending her picture back to SHIELD, Matt's face being, fortunately out of frame.

With Coulson running down another lead, it was Sitwell who made the call on what to do, "Get me STRIKE," he tells one of the agents in ops. "We've found Coulson's runaway."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I knew it. Shark withOUT a heart." Skye quips back to Matt while they are making their way downstairs, a small throwback at the silly nickname she had made for him back then (she's not good with nicknames ok?), then adds in a low tone. "The supervillain, it's sole purpose to wrench secrets out of others for scandalous purposes." but she then just laughs, pressing her forehead to Matt's shoulder and there they go.

Stepping out onto the streets she smiles at the kids walking past, one holding up the phone. She might had picked up on it if she had been on that hacker mentality of hers but today she felt relaxed. What could go wrong after a nice day of training where she had discovered she was finally getting a good hold of her powers?

Turns out everything can. But ignorance is bliss. She grins at the question about chinese though. "Slanted eyes. Don't think you got to ask if I do. Been a while since I used the chopsticks though."

--

As it goes they are pretty fast in getting a team ready to go off and see about where Skye has been, the aim to get her back for debriefing.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt laughs as Skye drags up her old silly nickname for him, now with a supervillain twist. "Whatever you say Tremors," he says firing back nickname to nickname.

Stepping onto the street the kid has to step past Matt which puts him out of the frame and while Matt hears the kid talking it just sounds like he's on a phone call, his mind doesn't jump immediately to camera. Besides, usually when he worries about those sorts of things he's wearing a mask.

Matt shakes his head, falling full into the blind guy act, his posture more withdrawn like you'd expect from a man who's surrounded by people and things you can't see, a lot of the passion and life that was Matt Murdock tucked away behind the guise.

"What's so hard about chopsticks?" he asks. "One of my friends, Jessica, she's always bitching about them. I mean, I can use them fine and well," he waves his hand at his eyes. "Surely you guys can manage."

There's a smirk at that, as he subtly leads the way on towards the restaurant.

---

No quijets this time, it was the middle of the city after all, but four SUVs roll across the Triskelion's bridge and on into Westchester, turning towards the way to Manhattan.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
A pause. Tremors. Skye eyes Matt for a few moments but fine, she supposes she deserved -that- one just now. But she needs a better name than that before Tremors gets too catchy. A sigh though and she mulls on that a little bit while they move across the street to reach the restaurant, she 'leading' Matt along, her hand wrapped about his forearm, squeezing it.

"It just takes a bit getting back into the flow. Change of paradigm and all that. And besides, I am still junior level at SHIELD, means no takeout..." a pause and she exhales. "Which means cantina most of the time, which has no chinese."

"And Jessica uh? I hadn't heard of that one yet. Just Foggy and Karen. Let me guess, you always bring her to a chinese restaurant?" she wonders, amused at the prospect.

Finally they arrive at the entrance, she opening the door for the two of them so they can go in, the sounds of people eating inside, along with a soft chinese music heard.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
When Skye eyes Matt? His face? Picture of innocence. Just like he could pull off back at the orphanage. 'What fight, Sister Maggie?'.

There's a smile for the squeeze of his arm.

"Really? They don't let you get take outt?" he asks sounding honestly curious about how things work at SHIELD, though he can't quite help but smile and tease. "Do you want me to file a human rights case for you? Anyhow, you'll get a chance to practice tonight, and probably a couple of other nights, sort of a big fan of noodles."

It was decent food, quick, plus if you went to the right spots it was usually pretty clean, unlike some of the fast food joints, oh the perils of being able to taste as much as Matt could, ruins a lot of quick food places.

"Oh, Jessica? She's our PI, she's... interesting," Matt allows as the hostess greets them and gets them set up with a table. "But good people," there's a smirk about bringing her out for Chinese. "Mostly just bring her Thai, sometimes I forget to get her a fork." That sometimes sounds like he does it on purpose.

He takes a seat, leaving the menu where it sits, "The shrimp dumplings are really good," his nostrils flare sampling the air, "And it looks like they've got a new batch of chicken chow mien ready."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Oh, no. Skye has learned to read through that perfect look of innocence, her eyes squinting just so, her look staying there for just a touch longer then a hmph. But the focus then goes to the talk. "Not while I am still riffraff." she stays, though her tone more joking about that term than exactly thinking of herself as that. "They like their bureaucracy." even if apparently they are quite fast in getting a team ready to go fetch her. Damn priorities! Maybe she should 'edit' her clearance level at SHIELD one day ..., hmmm. What could go wrong?

"That pause before you said 'interesting' means there is still story behind it." She lets out a brief chuckle, her eyes then going to the hostess. She smiles, nodding and then off they go for a table. She notes up to Matt. "You don't forget anything that you don't want to."

They sit and then she opens the menu, going through it. "Chicken chow mien for me. And you?" she starting to read off a few entrances off the menu to see if any catches his fancy.

The SUVs continue their drive through to Manhattan, fast, knowing it's a very good chance to bring Skye back in. Damn that elusive girl that disappeared for so long.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt keeps that innocent look in place until the little 'hrmph' and then smiles and keeps walking. "Makes sense," he says about their beauracracy. "And they can't be too clever if they think you're just riffraff, the super-hacker, Agent Tremors," he says keeping at that nickname. He's going to make it stick damn it!

As for Skye upping her clearance? Well at least she knows a good lawyer. Even if he's terrible with nicknames.

Seated at the restaurant the steel and scratchy upolstry of the chair under him. "She's had a hard life, and she tends to take it out on the people around her. Sort of testing people I guess, to see if they care enough to get past it. I try to, because under all that trauma and vitriol is a good person." He smiles. "She's absolutely kill me for talking about her like that, anyhow, you'll see what I mean when you meet her."

No parts of his life was going to be hidden from Skye, he was trying to make it clear. Though it might be a bit before he gets around to the Elektra chapter.

"The dumplings for me," he agrees without checking the menu. He can already smell the ones a couple tables over. "And tea? Or do we want something stronger?

---

...And if they lost their chance now, how long would the girl stay missing this time.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Something, something getting lucky tonight, or so I heard..." Skye says with a small jab of her elbow on Matt when he repeats Tremors... With Agent behind the name! It sounds almost official. But she says it as a warning. A warning tease nonetheless.

She gets comfortable on her chair, elbows on the table, she slightly leaned forward and resting her chin on her hands once the decision is made for the dumplings.

"Tea is good for me. Still too early for my jack daniels." not that she has drank anything alcoholic since her arrival here, to the exception of the occasional heineken.

Then she can't help but smile when Matt describes Jessica, she nodding. "Yea, you can't help yourself. Always going past the surface to find more about those you care for." then a reach across the table to place one hand atop his, thumb brushing over knuckles. "I am glad we are able to finally have just a moment to relax, having dinner.."

--

A long one most likely. She was still coming to terms about contacting Coulson and the team. She knew the longer it took the worse it'd be, which just added to the whole anxiety of it more. A snowball.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Oh, I like my chances of that, already," Matt teases back of getting lucky. It's not like they'd managed to keep their hands off each other before now, but then that was the game.

"Tea it is," Matt says of their drinks. He knew they stocked his brand of scotch behind the bar, but maybe after dinner, scotch and dumplings weren't a pairing he was looking to explore. Matt himself wasn't a big drinker, just social, and even then he played things up a lot, pretending to drink more than he did, after all he had day job /and/ a night job that didn't work so well if you were on the bottle. We can't all be Jessica Jones after all.

Speaking of Jessica, Matt can feel that smile and beams warmly when she gets it. His abilities let him see into who people were more than most and once he saw goodness he couldn't let it flicker out, not if there was anything he could do to stop it. "This is where I'd usually make a joke about being Catholic and lost causes and all of that, but you know it's deeper than that," he says, and he sounds glad that she does.

That warm smile is still on Matt's lips as she brushes her fingers across his thumbs, "Me too, it's been wonderful, all of this and I'm glad we're finally able to get out in the world together."

---

The lawyer in Matt knew that the best way forward was for Skye to turn herself in /before/ SHIELD found her, but the man who was in love with her, couldn't make that argument to her, not if it meant their time was made shorter by it...

The SUVs were in Midtown. Not much longer now.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Careful, because you are playing with fire." Skye says in a low murmur at Matt when he gets that teasing attitude on but she is smiling widely now, it certainly visible in the way she speaks. But she is relaxed now, her fingertip continuing to trail over Matt's knuckles in that comfortable way of two people that understand each other.

"Well, Sister Maggie would approve." She says about that talk about lost causes. And sure, she was close to being one when she was younger. Though it's funny how her memories of the orphanage now seemed brighter, seeing things in a new light. Appreciating what had gone by more, so she could also appreciate the present and the future.

"Still, no jokes about Catholicism tonight. It isn't on the rotation yet, remember?" She murmurs about that game they play.

The drinks arrive, she pouring on tea for the both of them.

--

The SUVs begin to make their way onto Hell Kitchen, signaling the street in what she was visible on their tablets. <<This was the last known location. STRIKE team will spread out, cover exit routes. If she is still here we will funnel her in.>> efficient. Just a few streets away now.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt just relaxes into that feeling of understanding that passes between them, achored physically by the gentle touch of their hands. "Well, I like to be daring," Matt replies back about playing with fire, a subtle nod to his other name.

There's a teasing smile when she mentions Sister Maggie, "Of us or..." he begins before he nods, "Oh, the lost causes," he says as if he didn't know what she meant. "Yeah, I guess I listened to that part of the faith, huh?" he says. Matt had always been the more attentive to the religous side of their education seeming to draw strength from his faith even if obviously, he didn't agree full with all the church's rules.

"Right. It's on the calendar after the hacker jokes," he says playing off her earlier joke about such things. "What's after that? I don't think we're low brow enough for Asian jokes."

---

The cars pulled up outside on the street, doors opening, men in tactical gear and SHIELD written across their vests, pouring out, weapons ready, but not raised. Thankfully they're just ICERs nobody wants to actually hurt Coulson's protoge just bring her back to the Triskelion ASAP.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Well, we should go there someday and find that out." Skye says with a laugh when Matt pretends not to know what she was talking about, "I think she'd give us a stern look, but then we'd use your villainous powers to figure out what she felt about it." she plans. A wicked mind on this one. Clearly villain material.

The mention of jokes make her twist her lips to one side, thoughtful, mulling on it. "Hacker jokes? I will have to make sure to get that stack overflowing while I can then until we shift to something else." ugh. But then she counts off of one hand. "Well, we had lawyers, boxing, hacking..." she pauses. Always looking for more suggestions.

Then their food arrives, the dumplings and the chicken chow mien. She says up to the waitress. "Thanks." then beginning to get their dishes ready before it's time for the chopsticks.

---

A gesture from the leading officer, they begin spreading out down the street, checking on the various commerce buildings still open. "SHIELD. Good evening. Have you seen this person?" then they showing an image towards the store woman who looks at one of the officers somewhat wide-eyed. "No..." and so they continue on.

Some steps are heard beginning to near the restaurant, military types, armed. SHIELD.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt laughs at that idea, "Are you trying to use me to hack /people/?" he asks her with a big grin, amused at the idea. Yes, she was definitely villain materials, but really the best girls had a little of that in them right?

"Wow..." he says when Skye goes right into the hacker jokes. "No respect for the calendar, you know how long it took me to write that being blind?" he asks her as if the calendar was an actual thing hanging on his fridge. Though give him enough time he'd probably make one just to keep the joke going. "Hmm after hacker it's back to me?" he does a quick sweep with his senses, nobody was really paying attention in earshot.

"Devil jokes?" he offers quietly with a smile before their food arrives.

As it turns out Skye's safe from the chopsticks...

Matt sits up straight reaching for her hand, "Skye, they're here," he says hearing the rippling sound of the agents canvassing the area. He gets up quickly, "We need to go," the blind act tossed aside, as he turns his head towards the corridor to the rest rooms and the door out the back. They only had seconds.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Erm, yes?" Skye replies about the hacking people part, "I mean, it's not like people don't do that already with social engineering. We would just be taking a step further." but then she lets that go with a soft chuckle, shaking her head a bit to herself. "But no, it's good to have that mystery."

A pause then, she asking. "Have you ever had someone you couldn't read?" it makes her curious actually.

And of course, no respect for the calendar. Following rules isn't exactly what Skye does..., too often. But well, she is a lot better now than before she got into SHIELD. Who knows? Maybe she will make an actual good Agent one of these days.

"I wasn't expecting you to be so daring as to go into devil jokes, Matt." She quips back.

She was just about to go and start digging into her food when she feels that urgency, then Matt getting up. "What, how?" but she gets up just the same. She foregoes actually paying, following Matt towards the back rooms, just as the team gets into the place.

A voice. "SHIELD. Please continue eating, folks. We are just looking for someone." steps heard.

She is surprised, they got here quick, "They won't leave until they find me, Matt."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt chuckles, "I'm not mad at the idea, that's basically what I do when I go into court, hack people," he admits, like Skye he was willing to bend some big rules if he felt it was for the right reasons.

"And fair enough, besides, when has Sister Maggie ever kept her thoughts on the inside? She seemed pretty happy to share them whenever we were doing something dumb." Oh Matt if only you knew.

Matt almost chokes on his tea, grinning incredulously at Skye for her joke, "Come here," he says leaning forward to kiss her across the table when he hears the danger approaching.

He pushes through the back door and takes them out onto the street a little box of space for deliveries linked to the road by a couple of tight alleys. He closes his eyes stopping the thunder of his heart for a moment to just listen. "They're all around, but if we go to the roof there, we can probably get outside the cordon unless they've got air units."

He's not listening, his mind totally fixed on escape, keeping Skye close to him.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Maybe Matt will indeed find out one day who exactly Sister Maggie is. But for now it's just someone of their past they can remember fondly. Skye speaks softly. "You mean when you were picking up fights with the bigger kids?" she teases. Then a lean over for a quick kiss, then wide-open grin visible there.

But the dinner gets cut swiftly, all motion, and they are out through the kitchen and then out the back door.

She looks up and down the street, her expression now a lot more serious. And of course that her own heart is pounding as well, having caught by surprise. Good thing she is wearing those gloves of hers.

"I don't think they would have but..." a pause. Skye looks up at him, bringing one hand up to his shoulder. "Matt." she then says, gently, to call him down to her again. "I really can't be on the run forever from them. If we escape, what then? They will continue searching.., they would most likely track me to your apartment."

She brings them to a darker corner of the alley, talking quietly.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt somehow manages to look even more happy after sharing that quick kiss, "Yeah, stupid things like that," he says about fighting bigger kids. Sure he could take them but not without giving his abilities away.

The hand on his shoulder brings his attention back to Skye, his breathing and heartrate are quick, fully in the flight part of fight or flight. He hears her words but they don't seem to register, not fully, even as he lets her draw him away he says, "No, we can figure something out, we can..."

His eyes are already damp behind the shades, but his mind had woken up enough, pushed away the panic to think. "I don't know what we can do but I don't want this to end like this.." he says gripping tight to her arms as they shelter in the darkness of the alley.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
To Skye there is that resolution in her demeanor now, that path that she has seen in front of her, the one in which she is certain she won't put Matt in jeopardy. It makes her strangely calm, in that way that she knows there is nothing else that can be done. That he is her priority. "Matt." she repeats his name, gently, as if trying to imprint it to her mind, the moment. Her hand reaches down to rest on his chest where she feels that thundering heart. "I have already figured it out. I will have to go meet them, before they find us." she whispers.

She has leaned forward, intimate, her forehead against his, and even with all her resolution she can't help but have the start of tears on her eyes too.

"It won't end." She promises. "We will find a way to meet again in the future. We always do." she murmurs.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
As much as Matt had been Skye's anchor through her training, through her fear of what she might do if she lost control of her powers, Skye was Matt's anchor now, her resolution a source of strength. One he draws on readily.

His name, the way she speaks it resonates with him and he puts a hand on hers against his chest. His head rests on hers in turn and he can smell the salt in her tears, and his.

"I know," he says. "It's like before, we need to do what's best, and let the future work itself out." It was so much harder this time though, but then Matt had never been afraid to struggle in order to do the right thing and now, with Skye's help he could see what that the right thing was.

"I love you, Skye," he tells her, so she can have that to take with her when she goes, something to hold onto.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"So far it has." Skye says about their meetings, a soft smile on her lips as she rests there, intimate against Matt, quiet, sharing those last moments that they can have, taking all she can with her. Moments, touches, the scents. "Maybe we will just need to have a little faith." she says, her hand pressing against his chest, that soft thrum of her vibrations reaching out, gentle, just those first chords of the music they had shared on the roof a while back. It was indeed when her mind was set, when her heart was steady, that her powers truly shined.

"I love you, Matt." She shares, openly, without any trace of inhibition in her, loving openly. She reaches up, touching lips to lips for a final kiss, drawing herself up to Matt. There is a certainty to her though, as if this won't yet be the last chapter that they will meet and be together.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt too tries to commit all there is to Skye to his memory, locking her away in a place where she can't be taken away or forgotten. Not as though the latter is likely. A hot tear runs down his cheek, and he smiles. "Usually me saying that," he says about faith, a touch of wry humour in the tenderness of the moment. There's no missing Skye's confidence as she shares the music, the powers that had once been a curse felt very much like a gift in how she embraced them now. He smiles for that. Whatever happened, they were both better for the time they shared.

Matt returns the kiss, drawing Skye in close, holding her, letting her know how much she meant to him. That if when they found each other again, he'd be there to write the next chapter of their lives.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"You are rubbing off on me. I told you before." Skye murmurs quietly into the kiss, an all too brief kiss for how long she'd want to be there with Matt, together in that sharing of who they are, their understanding. But as with everything it eventually comes to an end, perhaps to be renewed in the future. She leans back from the kiss, quiet, her lips brushing over that fallen tear on his cheek.

"Stay here. When I come out to meet them they should stop." her hands squeeze his shoulders, fondly, just before she touches her nose to Matt's, brushing it with him in that gesture that is so theirs. "Be good." she whispers.

Then her touch leaves him and she begins walking down the alley to come out onto the street, her hands to her sides. Just in case one of the agents is trigger-happy with their ICER. It's not a good experience.

Her voice is heard. "Boys, I am here. Can't I just eat in peace...?" just before their attention turns to her and a few agents begin to approach to bring her back for debriefing. "Coulson will have your hide for this." one of the lead agents replies.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Seems like," Matt murmurs in reply before their lips meet in that all too brief a kiss. He'd found so much in Skye it was hard to let it go to accept that, for now, it had to end, but it did.

Matt thought he was used to endings by now.

He smiles as she kisses away his tear, then, he nods as she tells him to stay behind before the brush noses and he offers her, "You too," and then she's gone.

Matt had always been a protector, it was in his nature, letting someone else take a fall, even like this, when it was the best way forward felt counter to his very being, but he stayed in those shadows, listening as the agents take Skye into custody, hoping this Coulson was every bit as good of a man as Skye said he was. It was all on him and Skye's wits now. Given everything he liked those odds.

As the SHIELD agents lead her away, Matt from his shadowed hiding spot, whispers, "Be safe," hoping Skye can hear him before he slips away into the streets of Hell's Kitchen.