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[blindninja]

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[oorah]

And you trust what she told you?

[blindninja]

Well I can't read her like I can read anyone else. She just seems like Siri, emotionally detached and robotic. If we don't have the right 'permissions' then she's not authorised to give us information, but I don't think she knows how to lie.

[oorah]

Maybe she doesn't think she's lying. Or maybe she doesn't have to. Either way, she was made by the original crew - people we still don't know anything about.

[blindninja]

I haven't met anyone from the original crew, and she claims they're not here. Maybe she's been programmed to keep us here. I don't know. But maybe she's all we have. I'm not going to shut her out.

You know I have to trust people all the time, to tell me what time it is, to give me the right change, to sell me matching socks. [...] Sometimes you have to be the one to open up, go out on a limb, and let the other party prove you right or wrong.

[oorah]

I trust you. I trust Karen, I trust Elektra. That's it.

But if you can get something useful from this CIRSTA program, I'll listen. I'm not a total neanderthal.

[blindninja]

I didn't say that. [Might have implied it maybe but Matt would never say such a thing aloud.] I'll keep talking to her.

You could use more friends. This lady showed me how to get a men's curry out of the food synthesizer. It's a lot better than your shitty pasta.

[oorah]

I had friends, they're all gone now. Except Kamala.

[ god, only matt. ]

Sorry you don't like my space cooking, asshole. You never answered my question.

[blindninja]

[A pause. He hadn't meant to make Frank dig deep.] Sorry. She's alright though. [The marine might still not be on Matt's approved list of role models but whatever they've got going between them seems to be working.]

Yeah. Sure. Should I come over? [Frank can try and slit his throat with some safety scissors when he's sick of the nagging and bickering.]

[oorah]

She's a lot more alright than us. Not like that's hard.

[ there's a beat but then he relents, as he always does. ]

Yeah, come over. I'm here.

[blindninja]

[Matt would find something reassuring to say, but there's nothing reassuring. He was probably more together when he was her age too, trying to make it in the world alone than the shitshow that had been the past couple of years before coming here.

He's still touching his hair when he shows up, running his fingertips over his hairline on the back of his head.]

[oorah]

[ frank's door slides open and he has to shake his head at matt standing there, patting his own hair. ]

Come on, pretty boy. I haven't got all day.

[ he turns away to let max greet matt, butting his head into the man's hand as he comes inside in an unsubtle beg. ]

[blindninja]

[Matt's lips press into a thin, flat line.] Why? Busy day planned? [The dog stops him from scowling and Matt strokes the top of Max's head as he steps inside.]

[oorah]

Yep. I've got about a hundred soybeans to plant, gotta take Max for a walk, help Karen work out at the gym, catch up on some knitting... I'm a busy guy.

[ he puts his hand on matt's arm to direct him to the desk chair he put in the middle of the room before he can trip over it. ]

Sit down.

[blindninja]

[Matt snorts at the mention of knitting but doesn't comment as he moves to sit down, running his palm over the edge of the seat.] It's good to meet you too.

[oorah]

Oh, come on, Red. You know who I am.

[ he pats him on the shoulder and goes to gather his tools. he knows this is a show of trust and he doesn't intend to squander it. ]

You, uh... settling in okay?

[ it comes out lame as he sets the clippers, guards and a spray bottle down on the desk, a comb in one hand. with the other, he gently eases off matt's glasses. he's never cut a blind man's hair before, should he even ask how matt wants it? ]

[blindninja]

Yeah. [He doesn't move away when Frank touches his glasses, blinking slowly as they come off. Not like his eyes need to adjust to the ambient light or anything.]

I don't think anyone likes it here. But I'm fine with not rushing to get home either.

[oorah]

[ he bites into his lip as he sets the glasses down and picks up the spray bottle, warning him with a murmured, "water" before wetting down the hair so he can start getting an idea of what to do. ]

What if you could go back with Elektra? Would that change your answer?

[blindninja]

[Matt needs a while to think about that. Water is dripping from his hair when he finally replies.]

No. If it's not the Hand it'll be the yakuza. If it's not the yakuza it'll be Fisk. We have a better chance out here than we ever would in New York. We could be happy, Frank. [Happy with some life Matt thinks he wants to lead, with no consideration for what Elektra wants.] I could-... just be Matthew.

[oorah]

[ he wants to tell matt he's being childish, but it won't accomplish anything in the end. for some reason, he thinks life is so bad back there he'd rather stay in space getting tortured by unseen enemies. frank turns on the buzzers while he thinks, starting to cut at the other man's sideburn. ]

Is that gonna be enough for you?

[ if matt really wanted to ~just be himself, wouldn't he have been all along? it's obvious in his tone the topic makes frank uneasy. what doesn't though, really?]

[blindninja]

[Matt grimaces and instinctively moves his head a fraction of an inch when the sound of the clippers burst into his ear, forcing himself to hold still while Frank works at taming his messy mop.]

A life with Elektra? [An actual, decent second shot at this where the outcome isn't so rigged against his favour?] What more could I want?

[oorah]

Good point. [ he says in a teasing tone, holding onto matt's head with his comb hand so the movement doesn't screw him up. ] She is an amazing woman. And way too good for you.

[blindninja]

[Maybe he's good for her, too. It's taken Matt an inordinate amount of time to come to realise that.] Is there even anything for you, back home? [Everyone's so keen to leave this station, and Matt understands that. But home wasn't always better.]

[oorah]

Wow, going right for the jugular.

[ he sighs, trying to cover it up as he cuts over matt's ear. ]

You know there's not. But there could be. [ maybe ]

[blindninja]

[For a while he can't hear anything except for the high-pitched buzzing of the clipper. He sort of just sits there quietly until it's moved away from his ear.]

Why don't we just. Fix up this place or find somewhere else to settle then? We could start over. [Frank might or might not appreciate that this is a lot, coming from someone who has never left his city and hates space.]

[oorah]

[ he notices and tries to hurry through that part, moving onto the back of his neck now. ]

You wouldn't miss anything about New York? I remember when you told me you could never leave.