⠼⠁⠉ // [voice]

[mansansfear]

I've heard people ask a few times about when this place stops being just a place and starts becoming home. It always seemed like such a stupid question. Who even asks something like that? Home is home, this is just a temporary situation. You have to get by here, you do what you have to, you do what you can, but in the end you still have a place

Comments

action; IT BETTER BE

[fishnets]

Cat, right? [TOO LATE SHE'S THERE.]

action; /air guitar

[mansansfear]

She's the patron saint of lawyers. My little martyr.

[The cat is hiding from him FYI. Also, he's sprawled on the sofa with whiskey and Oreos nearby.]

action, THREADJACK WOO;

[incywincyhero]

[And someone's rapping shave-and-a-haircut on the nearest window -- it's Spidey, holding a grease-stained grocery bag.]

action, TRACKS THIS SO SHE DOESN'T SCREW UP.

[fishnets]

Not even going to sit up, huh? Come on, Mister Murdock. Time for a hug and some sobering up.

[Or, a late hug. A beat and she looks toward the sound, then Matt.] There's a man dressed as a giant red and blue spiderweb outside your window.

action, AW YEAH A THREEWAY!

[mansansfear]

[He's totally about to hug her but stops mid-embrace.]

Spidey?

[That gets him to sit up.]

Let him in. He has food.

action, YISS also messes up order to make this quicker

[fishnets]

...glad to know the one with food beats the one with hugs.

[She saunters to the window, opening it for him before stepping aside.]

action, FINE I was gonna jimmy the window but >:|

[incywincyhero]

[He slides in, giving her the once-over.]

... Okay, I thought when we met for the first time it'd be a professional consultation, but I guess this works too. Nice to meetcha.

[To Matt:]

Where's our friend in red? You said she was with you.

[He moves over to the couch and outright yanks the whiskey from Matt's hand, setting it out of reach. Then he webs a side table over and unpacks the bag: several bottles of water, extra-strength painkillers, and cartons of chinese food that he stacks into a neat little pyramid to keep them out of the way for now, along with the requisite plastic utensils, plastic sauce bags, and napkins.]

You can have the fortune cookies when you're good.

action; is this the new order then?

[mansansfear]

You guys know each other?

[He doesn't seem surprised, just drunk. He just reaches for one of the Chinese food boxes.]

She went home. I started talking about my abandonment issues and things got heavy. I feel like such a jerk...

action; i will say "yes." :3

[fishnets]

Likewise. [She turns toward Matt now, not addressing the whole issue of wtfery that's going on right now (maybe later).]

You... okay? [If he wasn't reaching for that box, she'd offer another hug to him. Instead, she just frowns -- and it can be heard in her voice along with concern.]

action; halp i'm drowning in broness

[incywincyhero]

[Handing Matt the box, and a fork. And then just hovering, because he's not sure Matt's capable of feeding himself right now.]

Oh, I bet she loved that. It's all right, I'll text her in a bit and check on her when I get home.

[Box handed off, he squeezes Matt's shoulder, briefly.]

action; i'll be the bro-life-raft

[mansansfear]

Sit with me, Zatanna. I won't bite. [He pats the sofa for her, then does the same to the other side.] You too, Spidey. It's birthday breakfast! Plenty to share!

[He starts to dig in then, all those Oreos weren't enough to satisfy his appetite apparently. And all that food doesn't hide the bitterness in his voice.]

I'm fine. I'm homesick, but I'm fine. I miss Milla. I miss Foggy. I miss... everything. But I'm fine.

action; oh :(

[fishnets]

[This is... news to her. She had no idea someone was here before her. Or that he was coming or... welp. She sits beside him, silent for a moment.]

If you were fine, you wouldn't be drunk right now. [She bumps his knee with hers a few times in succession.] Just remember that there are people here that aren't back home and... we'd miss you. You'll eventually return and we won't have you anymore, they will. And you'll have them. So make the best of the time you have with us, will you?

action; oh :(

[incywincyhero]

[Absent-mindedly takes some dumplings, then offers some to Zatanna across Matt.]

Help yourself, I brought plenty. He's a bottomless pit.

[This is a lie, he eats way more than Matt. Spider-Metabolism! In any case he's now handing Matt some water and the painkillers.]

Take a couple now and drink the entire thing, you'll feel better.

[A pause.]

I've never really thought about it, but it isn't exactly fair that all our family here are my family, is it? But we're here for you, Matt, and so are all the people who've met you here. [He nods to Zatanna.] There are lots of people here who care about you.

action; oooooooooooooh~

[mansansfear]

[Matt knocks Zatanna's knee back, then obediently takes the painkillers.]

I'm terrible at drinking. Natasha's right.

[He's back to poking at the noodles now, looking remorseful. So remorseful.]

Every bridge I get to, I burn it. I meet people and I hurt them. I don't mean to, I never mean to. I make a family here, and I push them away. What am I even doing? Such a disgrace.

action;

[fishnets]

[Zee can't quite identify what's inside all of those, so she just waves a hand. The last thing she wants to do is take a bite and then spit it out.]

Eat your noodles. [Another bump of the leg.] I used to beat myself up for that kind of thing, you know. Still do, every now and then. As friendly and outgoing as I may seem, I don't have anyone to turn to, when things get really bad. I mean, I'm sure I do! I just... I avoid people because bad things happen to them. But I can't blame myself. And you can't blame yourself. [That's cue to wrap an arm around his shoulder and give him a squeeze.] You're stuck with me and Spidey over there, at least, so don't be so glum.

action; OOPS EXPOSITION

[incywincyhero]

[Peter sighs. The longer he sits here, the more it sinks in that Matt just had a rather public freakout over the Network, and quite apart from what that says about how Matt's doing, God only knows how Jess is feeling right now, much less May and Reilly, seeing one of their mentors in pieces. There's probably be a veiled "You're my best bud but --" lecture in the offing, but for the moment he just wants to be here for his friend.]

Matt, you can't push family away, that's how it works. Okay, you pull some stupid crap sometimes, but that doesn't mean we don't, uh --

[An all-too-visibly restrained turn of the head to look at Zatanna. Whoops, near-violation of the bro secrecy contract.]

-- It doesn't mean we're going to stop caring about you. Anyway, things are never as bad as they seem. This'll all blow over by morning.

[Pause, as he bumps his shoulder against Matt's (and Zatanna's fingers).]

Okay, the whole "I'm going to save Hell's Kitchen by becoming an evil crimelord" thing was pretty bad, actually, but it all worked out in the