recklessthings | © cami o'connell

[Smart man. There's a soft clink as she reaches for one of the bottles and a glass, before she pours him a few fingers of scotch and passes it down to him.]

So are you new or a regular?

[She mostly asks because she is new, and wants to learn the regular faces.]

[he murmurs a thank you as he reaches for the glass, obviously somewhat blindly. when he manages, he takes a moment, to take a sip, and then offers her a smile] Regular. [a beat] Usually, I'm in here with a couple of friends, but ... [he shrugs. not everyone keeps his hours]

You're new, though, right?

[as if he really has to ask]

[She nods in agreement, though she's starting to pick up on the fact that he can't really see it.]

I am. Just moved here from New Orleans.

[his eyebrows raise over the tops of his sunglasses at that]

New Orleans? That's kind of a change.

[says the guy who's never been out of New York City]

I needed a change.

[That much is certain. She needed the distance to keep herself safe.]

The situation in New Orleans was ... bad for me. I decided it was time to start over somewhere new.

[he winces on her behalf. he didn't mean to bring up bad memories and he has the suspicion he managed just that]

Sorry I asked.

Don't worry about it. Just mentioning it isn't going to give me PTSD flash backs.

[She doesn't want to go more into it than that, but she can at least explain her move to New York.]

So what do you do?

[he shrugs faintly (fair enough), even if he still feels a little guilty, and takes another sip of his drink. when he lowers it, he answers] Defense attorney. [a beat] Me and a friend have our own firm a few blocks from here. Nelson & Murdock.

[they're also the only people here at Josie's who are allowed to and do have a running tab, in spite of what all the signs say. Josie knows they're good for it -- or will be eventually. it probably doesn't hurt that they've given her legal advice on occasion and that she knew his father, either]

Ahhhh. I've heard of you. Josie's ... I'm not sure fond is the right word, but I'm getting the impression that it's as close as Josie gets.

Sounds about right.

[he flashes her a smile and, after a beat, holds out a hand in her general direction] I'm Murdock. [another pause] Matt.

[Cami smiles before reaching forward to shake his hand.]

Cami. O'Connell. Nice to meet you.

[he takes his hand back after a firm handshake, fingers trailing the counter in front of him idly] You, too, Miss O'Connell.

Cami. Please. Unless you want me to be all formal and call you Mr. Murdock.

[and he lets out a breath of a laugh at that]

Yeah, no, not so much. [Mister Murdock is only really reserved for his clients, when they have them] So, Cami it is, then.

Matt.

[She nods in agreement.]

It's nice to meet you.

[still smiling, he hums, amused, and not unkindly:] I think we did this part already. [or else he would have said you, too back]

Right.

[She shakes her head.]

Sorry. I should probably stick with serving the booze and not drinking it.

[Not that she's been drinking on the job, but again, more jokes.]

[he waves a hand at her]

You're fine. [a beat] Guess I should leave the jokes to my partner. [which is to say: he was kidding in pointing that out in the first place]

[She shakes her head.]

New girl nerves, I guess. It's been a while since I've lived in a new city.

I'll try and keep that in mind. [he'll try and be gentle with her] I've kind of lived in Hell's Kitchen all my life, so ... [he's pretty sure she's doing better than he would, if he decided to skip town]

[She nods in agreement.]

It's just ... a different kind of city, I guess. Different kinds of worries.

[he's silent for a moment, taking another sip of his drink]

If it makes you feel any better, from what I understand, you get used to it?

[She nods a bit in agreement.]

I'm sure I will. It's just right now it feels more complicated than it should be. And a lot like I'm running away.

Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor.

[says the guy who doesn't know when to run away or stay down even when it's in his best interests]

[She nods in agreement.]

Sometimes it is. And sometimes walking away from a problem is exactly what you need to get perspective.


	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M, F/F ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

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