C-C-Changes

September 17, 2018:

Luke, Danny and Emery sit down for some bro-talk about post Fisk and where their lives are headed now.

Luke's New Apartment

It has that new apartment smell!

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions: Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock, Six (referenced, not named)

Mood Music: [*#https://youtu.be/pl3vxEudif8 None.]


Fade In…

Luke for once is the one who really can't get away, having reopened the bar, he has a slice of time before has to go downstairs and pick up the late shift so he invited Danny and Emery over to show off the new apartment. Well. Among other things.

The tour is kinda brief, as there isn't much to see. A spacious apartment should be called the penthouse but Luke isn't that pretentious, and a discerning eye would realize it doesn't /quite/ take up the entire upper floor of the building. A high ceiling living room has an office offset in one corner, set apart by louvered multi-colored glass paned panels that can be swiveled open or closed depending on the want of privacy. The desk has a plaque that reads 'Jessica's Brooding Desk'. The living area feeds into an open kitchen and dining area with two bedrooms and two baths off to the back. The bookcases have no books, the record cabinet no records, and the kitchen isn't kitted out yet with anything but appliances. The furniture is sleek and modern and all Luke-sized, which is to say comfortable and sturdy.

Luke plunks a six pack of beer down on the coffee table and flops onto the couch, stretching out. "I need to make this place a little more homey before I move Jessica in."

*

"It's really nice, Luke. You've done a great job." Danny looks around and smiles at the little touches. He's looking a little worn down, but aren't they all? The most notable change is a close-cropping of those labradoodle curls into something neater and more grown-up. "When is she going to be able to come home, do you think?"

*

"Mm, it looks like ye put some time and thought into making a home for you and Miss Jones." Emery pipes up from where he is, dressed in dark jeans, a cream colored henley, black leather jacket and a cream colored beanie, a few strands of hair curling out to frame his face. He's been quiet and complimentary with small nods and approving glances during the tour.

He does however, have a cooler/bag hanging from a shoulder and he might not be able to smoke, but there's a cigarette tucked behind his ear.

*

"As stubborn as she is, she's actually listening to the doctors this time. She's shook. So am I." Luke crooks his good arm, tucking it behind his head to pillow it on the soft grey leather of the couch. "She's got some left hand weakness and she loses words…" He gives an exhale and an uncomfortable shrug. In a black t-shirt and jeans, his blue sling stands out against his chest, especially seeming how the unbreakable man actually broke. "I think we're all a little worse for the wear after this one." He gives a little up-nod for the others to sit.

*

"Luke…I'm going to centre my chi. And then I'll be able to heal her the rest of the way. I promise." Danny sits down on the couch and sets down a cloth grocery bag with a random assortment of snacks he bought. He looks at the sling, and the guilt on his face is apparent.

*

"Aye, I went to visit her. She's just gotta face the challenges, push through the lost words. Chase 'em until she gets them even if someone has to give it to her. She's a might wee one. She'll kick its arse." Emery replies softly before moving towards a seat….hovering a bit before he unshoulders his cooler, setting it down on the floor. "I've some rolls and some boneless chicken bits if people are a bit peckish…" He trails off and looks around. "Have you purchased plates and such yet?" He moves to reach for the grocery bag Danny's set down as well.

*

There is a snort from Luke. "Besides helping build this place out and move in the furniture, this is the first time I've really spent some time in the place, besides when I showed it to Jess and then…we weren't too concerned about eating. Though at one point she did mention taking you shopping, Em, so you could show her what to buy. She wants to start cooking." The amusement and affection is apparent in his voice, "Make sure you throw a fire extinguisher in the buggy." Because Jess is one of the few that /can/ start a fire here and if it's with good intentions, the spirit might confuse it as one flame not to be eaten. Though to Emery's possible horror, the stove is electric.

His head lulls in Danny's direction, "Hey man, don't do that." Whether it's the look or the fierce promise, Luke's letting him off the hook. "It's me that should be apologizing to you guys, I was a real dick."

*

"You weren't, Luke. You were stressed and worried. You've been through a lot." Danny bites his lower lip a little, corners a look at Emery, then looks over at the big man. "Take what you want from Gramercy. I'm…I…think I'm going to downsize after everyone's settled back in their places. I don't need a house that big, and I don't…really want to go back to living in it all by myself."

*

Emery just nods slowly as he listens, finally settling down to open up his cooler bag and start taking out the food containers as he squints though when there's that admission of dicknishness and he shrugs a shoulder. "You were a right wanker. But its only because ye love the woman."

Then he double-takes at Danny and blinks a few times. Blink. Blink. Blink. Eyebrow raise slowly. That's news to him.

*

"Whoa whoa whoa." That grabs Luke's attention and shakes him like a little rag doll until he's sitting upright again. "You can't do that, man. I mean. You can, it's your shit, but. Dude, that place is as close to a home as all of us have. It's what we went to during troubled times and it stands for a place that we can…" His sentence drifts off as he reaches for a beer, popping the cap off with a press of his thumb so he doesn't have to engage his other arm in the process. "No." He finally just says definitively.

*

Danny shoots Emery a little apologetic look for not giving him a head's up. He blinks, surprised by Luke's response. "But…this place can become that. Your place. In the heart of your neighbourhood. I moved back into that house because I thought it would reconnect me with my roots. But…it hasn't really done that. I never go into most of the rooms. Maybe…I've lost my ability to summon the Fist because I'm living a life of excess. I think I need to simplify." He takes a breath, then reaches for the beer. "I'm not talking about selling, just…moving somewhere simpler."

*

"Man." Luke repeats his lament with that single word before tipping the beer up to his lips. His sip is a normal person's swig, and he's down to the label by the time he rights the bottle. "That's like your parents telling you they're ditching your childhood home." As Danny suggest here becoming the next hub, it gets contemplated. "We do have the Phatcave next door, and there are cots in the panic room in the basement…man, those showers were a thing of beauty." He's talking like it's already a done deal now. "Well. You're always welcome to take the guest room here until you've got it figured out."

*

"I'm touched that you think of it that way, Luke. But we all know it's not the house that makes the home, it's the people." Danny looks around. "Our hub shouldn't be Park Avenue. It should be here." He points to the ground. He shakes his head at the offer of the room. "I appreciate it, but you and Jess need your space while she heals. It's not the time for a houseguest."

*

Emery has been very quiet through this all as he tilts his head to the side and idly toys with a freshly baked roll. Then he just holds out the container of fresh bread towards Luke and his jaw sets, but he just replies softly. "Its good to see though, that ye are both makin' the decisions that you need to…move forward with your lives. Ye know I'll always support you both, no matter what you decide to do."

*

Luke tucks the beer between his knees, freeing his hand to take up roll. "I'm not ready to bring her uptown yet. So you're going to have to hold off on your chi apartment hunting for at least for another week. At least until my wing can flap again." He takes a bite of the roll, chewing at first before he tucks it into the pocket of his cheek so he can keep talking. "Besides, I want to propose first." Support that, Emery!

*

"But what do you think about it, Emery? I didn't mean to spring it on you. It's just something that's been turning in the back of my head for awhile." He lapses into quiet thought for a moment and swigs his beer. He nearly sputters it out all over the place when Luke makes his full-mouth confession. It dribbles out his nose a little. He coughs.

*

The container with bread is offered to Danny in turn as Emery listens to the plans, nodding slowly and then his head tilts to the side and his lips curve in a hint of a smile. "Ye want to propose to her before ye bring her back to your new apartment?" He purses his lips thoughtfully. "As long as ye know in your heart its the right decision, lad."

Then a look back to Danny at the question. "I'll stlll be only a phonecall away, regardless if ye have need of my services anymore or not. So if ye downsize, you won't need as much help and you'll have more time to meditate and glow and all, I'm guessin'?"

*

"If I could afford ya man, I'd steal you for myself." Luke tips his roll at Emery in appreciation for the food. "But maybe now you can let your man-bun down a little around us if you're not so worried about farting in front of your employer. Besides, we've all seen your …religious side, by now." He sets the rest of the roll down on his thigh so he can trade it for his beer and slant Danny a smile. "What? Don't think she'll say yes?"

*

"Emery, I wouldn't…I'm sorry. I'd still need your help even if I downsized. I mean…I don't even know where you get groceries." Danny is now looking sheepish and his nose stings a little from huffing beer. He dabs at his face. His cheeks are a little rosy. "No, I mean, I don't know. I don't…she's kind of hard to read." He stumbles for words for a moment and just settles on, "Wow."

*

There's a side eye to Luke and an amused snort at the comment. "Thankfully, I am fond enough of you lot that ye only need to call and I'm there." But Emery does have to look back to Danny, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Well then, I tink I could still help you if you still need me there." And he just pauses for a moment at the question of proposal before he looks to Luke and takes a deep breath. "If she does say yes, and I tink she just might…after all I let ye fuckin' growl at me without reaching down your throat and pulling out your soul…because I believe what ye both have is real. If she says yes, then we're going to all need to 'ave a talk."

*

"Matt had just come crashing into house, and you told me to go make sandwiches!" Luke gets distracted from the conversation about proposals for a second, "Getting him off the floor was going to be the least I was going to do, not ordered off like the help. Shit, none of us even treated /you/ like that before we knew you were …you." Luke tuts a disgruntle noise and takes a sip of his beer. "Look, all I know about Jess is the way I felt when she was in a coma. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let her get away with that again without a ring on that finger."

*

"Emery, I think he knows about the birds and the bees." Yeah. Danny's still not great at quips. But gosh darn it, he keeps trying. "She uh…well, I admit I don't really know Jess all that well. But she doesn't seem like the engagement ring type. Engagement…um…" he scratches the side of his head. "…nightstick?"

*

"I was askin' ye to help me do me job, because I trusted ye to keep everybody else calm and seen to. But that was a mistake on me end. I was goin' to see to Master Matt, because I needed someone I could trust and that was still level headed to see to the guests while I was fuckin' absorbing the pain of a man who had been beaten near to death and feels everyting more strongly than anybody I've ever touched…" Emery replies calmly before snorting softly at Danny's quip. "Not /that/ kinda talk." Then he snickers softly at the ring comment and he shrugs his shoulder. "Maybe some engagement brass knuckles…"

*

It's the true sign of being comfortable with someone that you can argue and joke with them in the same breath. Luke snorts laughter into his beer bottle, muttering, "Engagement…fingerless gloves." Before drinking. "They aren't guests anymore, Emery. They're family. They didn't need 'seeing to'. They wanted to be there, and to help instead of feeling helpless. Not be served tea and coddled."

*

"I uh…missed something," says Danny. He looks confused by what Emery's described. "But uh, but Luke is right, Emery. You're not our caretaker. You're not my employee. Well. You are but. You're one of us. Which means we look out for you, not just always you looking out and taking care of us." He rolls the beer bottle between his hands, thinks a moment, then adds, "Engagement bulletproof glass door."

*

Emery pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes another deep breath. "Served tea and coddled." He nods slowly. "Well…I suppose that is one way of lookin' at it." Then he looks over to Danny and ahhs softly as he nods slowly again. "What exactly is it do ye both tink me job actually is? Like, my reason' for bein' on this earth? Ye talk about caretakin' and coddlin' and taking care of people, like it's somethin' I shouldn't have to do or want to do…but that's /what/ I do. And I do it moreso for the people I care for the most. Me family. Feck, I'm not a super hero. I'm not. a vigilante. Feck, I'm not even a super soldier. I'm a butler who just happens to have been at this for a very long time." There's no anger in his voice, just a hint of puzzled exasperation as he reaches into his coat pocket for a flask and takes a swig. "Engagement camera? Somethin' engraved?"

*

"Yeah, can we just back this all up to where you said you were taking away Matt's pain?" Luke is with Danny on this one, he missed something. "Is that what you were doing? I thought you were just mumbling some Catholic prayer or something to the Saint of Lost Causes or…" That flask appears and he plugs his empty bottle back into the six pack holder and makes a gimme for the shiny beacon of Stronger Drink.

*

"I get that you enjoy it, Emery. It's just…okay, so, you're not allowed to feel guilty if you have to put yourself first sometimes, okay? Or if you need us to take care of you for a bit. Or take care of our own damned selves. I'm not going to keel over if I run out of green tea." But yeah, back to the whole pain sucking situation. Danny looks from Luke to Emergy, eyebrows up.

*

Dot. Dot. Dot. Emery's mind stops, replays what he said as he distractedly holds out the flask which has some pretty damn strong Irish whiskey in it. Oh right, he said that. He even just looks over to Danny and gives a tiny nod of acknowledgement. "I am gettin' used to people giving a shite about what happens to me and me daughter…give an old man some time to adjust." He is buying himself time to try to think how to explain this.

"Well, I was praying to Gabriel but…" He finally just sighs and moves over to where Luke is, holding out his hand. "If ye make this weird, I will put too much egg in your bloody pancakes, I swear to god. Give me your hand."

*

Luke takes a swig from the flask, making a momentary face but it has more to do with what Emery is saying rather than the drink. "Me making this weird…" Cage rumbles, looking aside to Danny. "If he's going to show me how to propose properly because he thinks I can't man up and do it right…" The big man shifts to put the flask and the rest of his roll aside, shifting forward on the couch to offer up his big paw to Emery. "You get down on one knee, I might break you in two over mine." He warns, but it's good-naturedly at least?

*

Danny leans forward with interest as Emery moves. He grins big at Luke's quip. "Emery's been around, Luke. Maybe he could teach you a thing or two." He shifts out of thwacking distance, just in case.

*

Emery has to chuckle softly at both of their quips, shaking his head. "I've only proposed about 6 times in me life…" He murmurs before gripping on to that hand and he does kneel down so he doesn't fall over, but he just bows his head and concentrates on reaching out with his gift to wrap around whatever pain or discomfort the big man might be feeling and redirect the flow of pain into himself, leaving behind the lack of discomfort as he takes a deep breath, and idly cracks his neck.

*

Luke's eyes narrow slightly as Emery kneels and does his thing, "Great, now all we need is the National Anthem playing and…" Seriously, Luke can't figure out what that was all about at first but near the end of his sentence it suddenly dawns on him that the ache in his left arm is gone. "Son of a biscuit." His fingers flex. And flex again. He lifts his arm in its sling, "It doesn't hurt anymore." He blinks at Danny in disbelief, much the same as when Danny healed Jessica. Of course he mistakes not hurting with healed, and if he's not stopped soon, he's just going to rip off that cast.

*

"Hey, Luke…take it easy…" Danny's face knots with concern. He watches both of them. Sometimes…sometimes when he really pays attention, he thinks he can almost feel the chi of others. And in this case, feel some kind of exchange of energy between them. But it's like trying to catch sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He can't quite get a lock on it. Especially not right now, with his energy in tatters.

*

"Yes the fuck it still does, Master Luke. But luckily for ye, I've been flayed, burnt, and boiled before so this isn't…very much pain to me." Emery stops Luke the best he can by clarifying. "The pain's still there, it's just goin' somewhere else while I maintain contact with ye." He glances over to Danny for a moment. "You know…" He's muling something over in his head, and just shakes his head a bit. "Later…we'll talk about it later…" Whatever 'it' is. He's focussing mainly on the redirect link he has on Luke.

*

"Oh." Luke says quietly, looking down at his arm and then to the link he has with Emery. "Well, let go then, man. They make aspirin for this kinda little stuff. Save your funky martyrdom for when it's really needed. You could've just said, 'Yo, I sucked up Matt's hurt so he could say hi to his girl'." And if Emery won't break the contact, Luke will by jerking his hand away and then palming Irish's beanie head. "But thank you."

*

Danny has quite a serious look on his face as he watches the whole exchange. He swallows the last of the liquid in the bottle and sets it aside. You can almost see the cogs turning as he tries to place what he just witnessed into the context of how he believes energy to flow. He doesn't probe Emery on the 'later' either. "That's really something. I…" and then his phone makes an insistent noise from his pocket. He winces. "…that's the office. More specifically the 'we need you to come sign papers ASAP' noise." He sighs heavily. "I feel like an asshole, but I should go."

*

Emery releases Luke's hand when he starts to Jerk away and he bows his head for a moment before smirking and shrugging a shoulder. "Sometimes, a demonstration is more effective." Then he's getting to his feet and rolling his shoulders with a small nod." Then he's returning to where his cooler and such are, glancing over to Danny with a quirk of an eyebrow. "Go on then. I'll have a pot of rice and lentils ready for ye, time to make a new batch and all for the week. Let me know if ye need a suit laid out for ye for the morrow." Then he looks back to Luke. "Now. Have ye picked out a diamond cut yet?" BECAUSE SERIOUS BUSINESS.

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