Rosie B & MMMDog
Rose Bryant knew exactly what she was about to do, but she was going to have to act like she didn't for the time being. Muttering to herself, cellphone in hand, she walked at a brisk down a street in Hell's Kitchen. Rose dramatically stopped at a sign with a name that caught her eye- Nelson & Murdock. She took a deep breath. She could do this.
She paused, squinting at the name and her eyes widened in recognition. Checking the time on her phone, Rose pulled open the door and more humid air hit her.
Rose was only going through all the motions for herself. There wasn't much they told her about what she needed to do. 'They' being the two men that attacked her from behind, 'they' being the one who pulled a black bag over and from her head, after tying her to a chair, and 'they' being the one who threatened to tear her baby brother's life apart (because truthfully, she'd already done a great deal to mess up her life on her own, Rose had to protect Bentley at all costs). But they did tell her Matt wasn't the same boy she knew and they needed proof of it. They needed proof he was more than a blind lawyer… what 'more' he could be, she had no idea.
After knocking on a window door, a timid women with a sweet smile greeted her.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we're not opened for another half an hour," She said this with what felt like genuine regret.
"Oh, I'm not- I'm not a client. I just… passed the Nelson & Murdock sign and couldn't help but wonder if the Murdock was the same one I grew up with," Rose explained quickly, her heart pounding wildly. This isn't going to work.
"Oh! Uh, may I ask your name?"
"Rose Bryant," she answered and she heard a small chuckle from behind the door.
"Karen, I got this," a quiet voice said, and Karen backed away with a strained smile. The door opened to reveal a completely unrecognizable Matt Murdock.
Rose felt terribly guilty, but she was slightly relieved he couldn't see how her jaw dropped to the floor when the door revealed him. He wasn't the scrawny, short kid with unkempt hair. No, he grew a good two feet and by the look of his perfectly tailored suit, had developed a good amount of muscle over the years. She wanted to see his melty dark eyes, but they hid behind red tinted glasses.
However Karen noticed, her eyes squinting ever so slightly.
"Rosie B," Matt greeted with a private smile, though Rose answered with a big grin.
"MMMDog!" Rose replied with a giggle as Matt directed her in with his cane. Her breath caught slightly at the sight of it and she swallowed. They had told her about his accident. How could such a horrible thing happen to such a good person?
"I feel like I got the short end of the rapper name stick. Rosie B actually has a good ring to it," He commented, though Rose was momentary lost in thought.
After a long pause, Matt said in a wry tone, "We have a lot to catch up on," and slightly lifted the cane.
It took a moment for Rose to realize she had gone silent.
"No, sorry. I-" She let out a slight, nervous laugh, "I heard about the accident, but it took me off guard nonetheless. Awkwardness over."
"Unless you're a not the same Rose I knew, you can't promise me you won't be awkward, and not break it," Matt replied with a devilish grin.
She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, and slapped him on the arm with a roll of her eyes. However a hint of a smile curved her lips.
"You just slapped a blind guy!?" He exclaimed in mock disbelief, before his face melted back into a pleasant smile.
"Shut up, Matt," Rose laughed, before closing the distance between them and pulling him into a hug. It took a moment, but he wrapped his free arm around her back.
As she pulled away, she said, "You haven't changed much."
"Now being blind doesn't fall under the category of 'much'?"
Rose made an exasperated noise and turned to Karen, who returned to stand stiffly by her desk. "And you willingly choose to work for him?"
"He saved my life. I kinda owe him," Karen answered, with a shrug. A tight smile formed on her face.
Rose looked back at Matt, who had averted his gaze to the ground. "I repeat: you haven't changed much."
"Nah, she's just obsessed with me. We couldn't get her to leave, so we put her to work." A man appeared at the entrance of an open door to Rose's right.
"I think it was more so you harassed me for so long to take the job, that I feared for my life if I didn't," Karen replied with a roll of her eyes. She picked up a pile of papers on her desk and straightened them before sitting back down.
"Now that we've established the kind of working relationship we have at Nelson and Murdock, I'd like to introduce you to my best friend, Foggy Nelson," Matt finally cut in with a slight chiding tone, like he was breaking up a fight between two three year olds.
"Matty! You replaced me!" Rose accused, dramatically clenching over her heart in mock distress, causing Foggy to grin evilly.
"And, Foggy, this is my rapper friend, Rosie B. She's been working on her rap album for the past 20 years, released it last month, and it totally flopped. Now she's returned to Hell's Kitchen to flip burgers at the McDonalds down the street," Matt concluded the introductions in a deadpan voice. After she realized what he had said, Rose let out an indignant cry.
"Excuse me, my rap album 'Angel From Hell' was a hit. But after I went Diamond, I realized the Hollywood life wasn't for me and now I've got a 9-5 job working as a reporter for the New York Bulletin..." Rose slightly winced at her admission. Clearly, it wasn't what she had been planning to with her life right now. "Speaking of that, I hadn't planned on this detour and I now won't get my third cup of coffee before work."
"That sounds like it might be a good thing, Rose," Matt replied with a raised eyebrow.
Not when you have weird stress dreams, she thought to herself, and Matt cocked his head at her, like she had said something he couldn't quite understand.
"Did I say that out loud?" Rose asked, suddenly feel very self-aware and remembering she wasn't there to really catch up with Matt. She was there to spy on him. She glanced at Karen and Foggy, to find them sharing a look.
"Say what?" Matt replied slowly, before returning from his thoughts. "Maybe you do really need that third cup of coffee..."
"The thing- the thing I was thinking about..." Rose trailed off, now eying Matt with a confused look.
"Well, I just made a fresh pot! You're welcome to it." Karen gestured toward the cabinetted area they had.
"Maybe another time? Because it was great to meet you all. Maybe we can get drinks sometime? Currently Matt's the only soul I know in the city."
"Yeah, definitely, I would like to know how Matt got such a beautiful self-proclaimed best friend as a child," Foggy said, shooting Matt a look, that he couldn't see, but definitely could hear. "Though obviously, we have no competition, right? Because if so, you're going down, man- er, wo-man."
"Well, I obviously haven't been around to be a best friend, so you win. For now," Rose added with a grin, before unlocking her phone. "All right, hand over the numbers."
Five minutes and two hugs later, Rose made her way to the Bulletin. Because she wasn't lying about that. It was part of her cover, and soon… soon something was going to happen to Matt and she was going to have to interview him. She was in the dark as to what, just that it wouldn't kill him.
It didn't give Rose much comfort. The only thing that kept her going was Bentley was safe for another day.
Matt Murdock wasn't going to lie. He ended up being happy that was Rose Bryant was back. She was his childhood best friend. They had spent countless hours together the year she was his neighbor and school-mate. They did give each other rap names. He did save her life.
But he could hear her erratic heartbeat, nervous pulse, and uneven breath from a mile away. Rose was hiding something.
AN: Idk y'all, instead of writing my other fanfictions I began writing this, so I'm just gonna go with it (not to say I'm not updating The Angel of Hell's Kitchen or Wallflower anymore, because I definitely still am). I don't know much more than it's set somewhere in season one, maybe towards the middle. I'll get a more definite time soon, as I'm currently rewatching s1, and as I plan out the story more. I hope you'll be along for the ride! Let me know what you think. - Anna :)
PS. The title of this story is totally Dirty Second Hands from Switchfoot. I was trying to figure out a name for it and I was listening to various things, thinking of how I wanted this to go, la-di-da, and I thought of this song. And when I heard 'the blind leading the lied to' I was just like, "yup, yup that's it" and it totally goes with where I wanted this story to go. Definitely go give it a listen if you want a little insight of what I have planned! (and also 'cause Switchfoot is literally the best band ever...)