Visiting the Bartons (for @streetlevel )

[hawk_shot]

Honestly, Kate figured that flying with a pony would have been way harder than it turned out to be. But between Matt's first class charm put to full power and everyone at the airport being captivated by Frodo? Despite of how their trip to Ohio had started at an ungodly early hour, it also seemed to be the beginning of one of the most pleasant of adventures.

It was a short flight, one in which Kate shamelessly claimed Matt's shoulder as her own personal pillow. Obviously, they were on first class, but domestic flight seats were definitely not as roomy as international were. But it was comfortable enough for Kate to still feel pretty refreshed once they made it back down to land. In Ohio, a car with a trailer to carry Frodo was already waiting, taking him for a drive that took at least another hours before they made it to Clint's farm. 

On their way, Kate described Matt everything that she saw. The crops, so tall they would probably be completely lost in them if they decided to make their way through them byt feet. A land full of greens on all kinds of shades. Horses grazing afar, sheep with  their growing lambs. The sun was bright and Kate could tell it would become even warmer as hours passed.

She was so excited to finally see Clint and his family again. 

The green land was interrupted by a path of dirth that lead to Clint's house, a three-stories home of that looked like something straight out of the fantasies of anyone who might have ever dreamed about living in the countryside. As they approeached, Kate leaned over Matt to see better through his window, spotting the tractor and Clint's van in the distance. The ducks near the pond.. You could tell this was a family home, as on their way to the house there was toys scattered all around. Bikes, footballs, dolls and a swing made with a tire.

Finally, by the house, Kate spotted Laura. She was filling some buckets of water with a hose, looking in their direction as she held a hand over her eyes, shielded the sun off her face. Squinting now, she held her hand well above her head to wave in their directon as the car and trailer finally reached the house.

With a heavy step that clearly said it all about how she had a start just as early as the one they had, Laura aproached the car as it came to a stop, Kate almost instantly hopping off. Running towards the older woman, they captured each other in a tight hug as they shared words about how glad they were to see each other again. 

While the driver got out and quietly greeted Laura, he headed back to take care of the trailer. Still holding Kate by the shoulders, Laura went straight to their other guest. "You must be Matt."  

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[hawk_shot]

She knew that Matt was a man in love with his city. One that found peace in falling asleep with the sounds of a metropolis that was loud and full of life. And yet? She knew he'd appreciate this stop, a pause in which they could recconect with nature.

And Matt did just that, taking off his shoes and socks. "You're literally touching grass, huh?" She joked, even though she followed his lead as she undid her own laces.

"How can you tell apart all those details?" It was a rethorical question by now, but Kate would never hide how in awe she was over Matt's talents. Once again walking side by side, she took his arm again, even if her attention was now on those flowers and the secret world that hid underneath and around them. The things only Matt noticed, even from this distance.

"Well, we didn't talk about that many things. I know you were totally distracted by Laura and time probably stopped as you geeked out," she teased him. It was so sweet though, watching them bond like that. "You know, I mostly asked how his Father's Day was. He asked about mine..."

[streetlevel]

"Hey, Kirsten's told me to touch grass in the past when I start arguing. Now I can tell her that I did, and see whether it lives up to the hype," Matt joked in return. He nudged Kate, then happily let her take his arm as they strolled through the garden and fields over to the donkeys. With his other hand he let it brush against some branches and leaves, enjoying the feeling of the greenery beneath his fingertips. To answer her question he simply said, "Training, mostly. Stick taught me how to use my senses. To hone them to pick apart the world around me, and see how it all blended together." If Lantom had given words to what tapestry in which the world was woven, Stick had given Matt the tools to understand those threads in a way that few could. "Only, Stick never would have cared about something like this."

For him, it had always come back to the mission.

Listening to Kate tell about what she and Clint had caught up about, he gave a little nod. "Yeah, I wasn't paying attention to what you all were saying." He was able to focus on single conversations, and his attention had been on Laura. He'd wanted to give Kate some privacy. He rubbed her arm a little as she mentioned father's day. "I hope he had a good one." A beat. "I know the day was tough for you. I'm sorry."

[hawk_shot]

"The real hype will be Kirtsen listening about this," Kate joked as they walked together, with their arms locked. Kate kept her eyes down on the grass quite often, far more worried about missing something she doesn't want to step on, even though she is aware Matt would warn her. "You know, messed up as Stick was, I gotta admit that everything he taught you was pretty incredible." And it made Matt the man she had...

It made her best friend as she knows him.

"I'm not surprised, considering the stuff you and Laura were talking about." She was well aware that this was not something Matt could always switch off. But when his attention was divided as it was today, that wasn't so surprising. "And hey, don't worry about it. You and Peter? The fact that you even realized I was having a rough day was enough to make it better." Kate rested her head against his shoulder. "You took real good care of me. Even Clint was glad to hear about it."

[streetlevel]

"I do owe him. For what he taught me." He'd never forget the day a simple ice cream cone, a favorite dessert, had suddenly become a gateway into a vast world. "Even if it was all for the wrong reasons." Stick had wanted a warrior. Not a child looking for a father-figure. Although even to this day Matt couldn't quite reconcile finding that old bracelet years later. He let out a faint snort, one that didn't hold much humor in it. "All he ever wanted was for me to lead an army." For him to take his place among the leaders of The Chaste. Well, Matt hadn't done that, but he was finally stepping into the leadership role that Stick had always sworn he was meant to do. Which... didn't precisely encourage Matt into thinking he was doing the right thing by it being Stick-approved.

With his arm that wasn't holding his shoes, Matt slid his free one around Kate's shoulders and gave her a little sideways hug. "I'm glad. If we made the day better for you." It hadn't been an easy day for any of them, really. Matt hadn't said as much, and he didn't know if Peter had, but they'd all lost fathers and father-figures. Helping make Kate's day go more smoothly had kept Matt's mind off his own losses. Privately later, by himself, he'd poured one out for those he'd lost. Somehow whiskey down the gullet suited all three of his father-figures.

He smiled then, nodding ahead. "I think I hear your friends."

[hawk_shot]

Kate couldn't help but wonder, as Matt's words were not lost in her. Matt had been vague when speaking about Stick, but she knew the man was also visually impaired. The man who had raised him to lead an army. Maybe, maybe his methods were not the best. Far from that, she could tell that they had left wounds in Matt.

There was a certain cruelty in demanding that from a child, Kate realized even when she wasn't really aware of all thhe gritty details that made Stick's memory such a painful one for Matt. But maybe, just maybe... Just like Matt was able to see beyond what other people could, maybe Stick had not been completely wrong? Kate kept those thoughts to herself, promising that she would be nothing but supportive as Matt led the way.

"Wait, you're--"

Indeed, he could see even better than she did. Squinting, Kate shielded her eyes from the sun. She knew they were close, because the fence of the donkeys enclusure was right there. But her favorite bunch was nowhere to be seen.

"Guys?! Hey!" She called out, holding her sneakers up and waving as she called out the donkeys.

It wasn't long before she was welcomed by a couple of 'hee-haws' as a pair of donkeys ran across the field to meet them.

"You guys! Where were you?" Some where clearly behind the barn. Others in their enclosure. Some had been nothing but tiny dots in the distance. But they all gathered now to come greet Kate and her friend.

Carelessly droping her sneakers and socks on the ground, Kate tugged on Matt's hand and guided him to the fence as the big fluffy heads of eager donkeys reached out for pets. Kate stroked and scritched them happily, hugging them to her chest as big furry lips ticked her cheek. "Oh, you guys, you're the sweetest. Look, this is Matt."

[streetlevel]

Matt smiled as he could hear the donkeys approaching from various directions. Some came from the run-in shed, others from grazing far away. He hadn't known exactly how many donkeys that Clint's farm had, but it appeared to be quite a few. He settled his shoes and socks on the ground beside hers and walked over to greet them. Beneath his feet the grass was warm and soft, and he could feel the slight unevenness in the ground that came naturally as opposed to cracked asphalt on sidewalks. It was a sensation he really did not get to experience often, really just when he visited the Nelsons in upstate New York. Even though the late afternoon heat was causing a trickle of sweat to form on his back, the rays were bringing with them the sweet scent of the farm, along with the more musty, sour scents of the farm animals and fertilizers.

He soaked it all in as he settled at Kate's side. He could hear the happiness in her voice, in her heartbeat. The sun had warmed up her skin too, he could tell, not to an alarming degree but enough that her normal heat signatures were different. She wanted to share this moment with him, that he also didn't miss. His heart lifted at that thought as he reached out a hand. He let the donkey in front of him sniff at it for a minute. Only once there was gentle nudging of his hand did he feel it was accepted that he could step closer and pet them. He let his fingers run down the coarse hair of the donkey's neck, then gave scratches at the side of the neck. The donkey stretched out their neck, appreciating it. "Well hi there, nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Kate." To Kate he added, "I think they missed you."

[hawk_shot]

"And I missed them, too." Kate was quick to agree, her lips finding the top of the head of one of the donkeys that had already taken the liberty of resting its head against Kate's chest, it's chin tucked against her shoulder. "Dixie, you missed me, didn't you?" Even though they were quite similar, Clint had taught her about the little details who allowed Kate to tell the donkeys apart. "She's a total cuddler. If you lay down on the grass she'll get down right next to you."

Braying, the donkey Matt was petting seemed to agree.

"Isn't that right, Elton? Yeah, buddy, you know it."

Even as she cuddled Dixie, Kate turned her face to watch Matt as he interacted with her favorite animals (not counting Marshall) in the farm. "Have you touched their ears. Paul next to you really loves that," she encouraged, giving that the donkey she mentioned seemed to be curious about Matt.

Courious enough to be sniffing his face and attempting to take his glasses off.

[streetlevel]

"Dixie, Elton, Paul... am I sensing a musical theme?" Matt asked curiously, then laughed as the other donkey nuzzled his face, sending his glasses askew. "I don't know why but I thought Dolly Parton when I heard Dixie. Then Elton John and Paul McCartney." To be safe Matt took them off and pocketed them, rewarding Paul for his efforts with scratches using his other hand. The glasses really were as much for the comfort of those he was with as they were for Matt. People tended to feel awkward when they could see that Matt's gaze wasn't able to actually meet theirs. Kate though he knew didn't care. The donkeys surely wouldn't notice. "You're very talented musicians if so, Paul and Sir Elton," he informed the donkeys between scritches. "I listen to your music often. Yours a little less, Ms. Parton," he teasingly said to the donkey that was hugging Kate. "But I adore your philanthropism and I'm sure it's my shortcomings that I don't know country music that well."

The donkey that was hugging Kate began to nibble on her shirt, nestling against her neck. Elton began to nose against Matt's hand, as if searching for food. Matt thought quickly, then bent down to pull up some grass. He fed it to both the donkeys in front of him. "There you go. See? We're not rude and came without snacks." To Kate he added, "I have a friend out in California who mentioned there's cow therapy out there where you can lie down with cows and hug them. It's supposedly therapeutic for people. Maybe Clint could always open up something like that with the donkeys." No, he didn't think Clint would really welcome strangers onto his farm, but the donkey lying in the field made Matt think of the cows.

[hawk_shot]

Even though Kate was busy disentagling her shirt from Dixie's mouth and then delivering some noisy kisses against the donkey's cheek, she still grinned as Matt caught up on the theme behind the donkeys names. "Considering that's John coming right next to Paul?" She pointed out as another one of the donkey's tried to push his sibling aside to take the grass from Matt's hand. "Yeah, I think you got it."

Kate remembered them once discussing just how loving cows could be, so it wasn't that big of a shock to imagine someone had come up with some sort of therapy involving hugging those animals. She had no doubt of how therapeutic that could be. After all, Kate could spend hours hugging these guys.

"We can always hop the fence after lunch for some therapy with these guys," she offered as she stroked Elton's muzzle as he approached her for attention. And, perhaps, to check if she had some treats herself.

"Did you know they have crosses on their backs?"

[streetlevel]

"John and Paul? No offense to George and Ringo but I got the two best musicians first," Matt joked as he tried to share attention between the donkeys in front of him. "I've never laid down with any animal besides Lucky, so sure. I'm game." That was Matt Murdock. He wouldn't cross some ethical boundaries, but otherwise? He was usually fair game to try something new. Especially if it meant something dear to someone he cared about, like Kate.

"My dad always said that a true romance would understand Elton John's 'Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters'," Matt said absently as he fed the donkeys. His throat tightened, but in a good way, as a memory was unlocked. The violence. The devastation. It wasn't to be glorified. No, it was the gutter voices of those stamped on that needed raising. A beat. Then he turned the song on with his phone. He set it on the ledge of the fence. Trashcan dreams. Standing at the edge, while people ran you through.

"I thank the lord, there's people out there like you."

He said it with the song, without even realizing it. He reached for her hand. Head tilted, eyes blind, finding her through other means.

"I thank the lord there's people out there like you."

Elton brayed.

Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters indeed. He and Kate knew precisely if it was dark outside or light.

[hawk_shot]

"Don't say that in front of Laura or she'll think you're siding with Clint," Kate joked as Matt showed his loyalty towards his favorite Beatles. Clint's wife? Definitely a Ringo kinda woman who had been very vocal about it. There was a reason why their rooster was named after the drumer. "You don't wanna bomb that friendship when she's about to share all her herbal secrets."

Giving Elton some good scratches under his jaw, she was surprised as Matt started musing some thoughts aloud. A memory about his dad. A song Kate didn't think she'd ever heard, or, one she at least did not recognise by the title. Almost sensing she was lost, Matt pulled out his phone and allowed the music to speak for itself.

Kate crouched, paying attention even as she picked some long grass to keep doting on the donkeys. Silent, curious. Glancing at Matt as he sung along. Her heart skipping a beat when his hand found his. When the meaning of the lyrics hit her. Her jaw dropping as their gaze's met, even though he was not seeing her with his eyes.

For a moment, it felt like he did see her so very clearly.

Maybe the Lord indeed worked in mysterious ways. Maybe Clint's donkeys were just spoiled and aware that Kate would be happy to deliver.

But, trying to reach the grass she was still clutching, both Dixie and Elton craned their necks, bumping onto Kate and pushing her against Matt's chest, until she was sandwiched between him and the fence.

Kate stared up at him as Elton (John) continued singing about the hardships and beauty of the city they both loved.

"Did I..." She was a little flustered, there was no denying that. But Kate? Didn't move from the spot. Or let go of Matt's hand. "Did I tell you these guys were a little shameless?"

[streetlevel]

No. He didn't want to bomb this friendship.

Were they speaking of Laura still?

Turn around and say good morning to the night. Had he ever known one from another?

They know not if it's dark outside or light.

This Broadway's God, it's got a lot of songs to say. That was the problem, wasn't it? He'd gone his way so long, sewn so many seeds on his own for a garden of many.

'Don't fuck this up, Matt.'

Stick, warning him against Kate? His father, towards her?

Matt stepped forward. He held her cheek like she was precious. Not delicate, but precious. A moment in time, to gloriously share before she went on to be hardened by time and pressure into something greater. Into something other. He held her like she was nothing but his best friend. Kate.

She was night and day. That in between that held the promise of everlasting glory and grief. His heart hammered.

Elektra. Who stepped up and took what she wanted. Was he learning from his lost love, with what to do with the next?

She was a story he might share.

Kate's heart was true.

He saw her as promise. Grandpa Nelson and Mills.

Was he a good man? Maybe not. But he did thank the lord for her. Maybe it mattered more to happen on her home turf, where she was empowered. Where she had people who loved her purely, rather than the devil who nipped at heels.

Very gently, very slowly, Matt held her chin. He leaned in and kissed her. Softly. Slowly. Was it a mistake? Maybe.

I grew my own, my own seeds shall be shown in New York City.

[hawk_shot]

It was Matt's silence that spoke louder than words could. There, between a wooden fence and the man that lingered to her thoughs late at night, but still worked early hours in her mind as she woke up. Kate's body felt a little stiff as she realized her shoulders were tense, her breath held as if her instinct told her she ought she to brace herself for something unknown.

Matt was silent, his brown eyes as gentle as always. Staring, as if he could see straight into the face of that which hid in broad daylight. Maybe he could. Matt had a way of understanding things, like he could sometimes spot those threads of that tapestry Father Lantom had spoken about. His hand came to her cheek, warm. Kate became aware of it. At that very moment, one of those threads was being sewn before her very eyes.

She could smell it in his palm, the same grass she felt under her feet as Kate curled her toes. One of Kate's hands came to his chest, as if they were getting ready to dance, Elton John singing to them in a loop. Reminding Kate of home, letting her see New York in the way only Matt could. He had quoted the words for a reason, his thoughts having wandered there.

I thank the lord there's people out there like you.

Was this actually happening? One of the donkeys nibbled the back of her head, which only encouraged her to let out a shy chuckle as she pushed, whoever that was, out of the way. Again, Kate could breath, but her heart was trotting like a free stallion.

It was those eyes. Matt was shielding the sun, which shone like a halo above his head. And his eyes, they were as gentle and as full as love as they always were.

"Matt..."

Even with a chorus of cicadas singing their own song and with the donkeys stomping their feet and braying, Kate couldn't think of anything that made her melt as much as that simple gesture did it. Matt, holding her chin, silently encouraged her to tilt her head up, her eyes shutting slowly as she closed her gapped lips. Kate welcomed the kiss, cocking her head as her brain tried its hardest to process what was happening.

This is happening,

It is really, actually happening.

Matt's chin, his cheek, it scratched her in a deluightful way with his stubble, the corners of Kate's lips pulling into a soft smile as she cupped Matt's cheek in response. She kissed him softly at first, little by little allowing herself to grow more enthusiastic as the hand on his chest moved down to his hip.

She kissed Matt, eager to let him know that his lips tasted of little, ordinary miracles.