Chapter Text
This had been a terrible idea.
Matt sits by the bar, trying to tune out the harsh throbbing noise that apparently passed for music in this place. Foggy sits next to him, making bad jokes in a vain attempt to pretend everyone was having fun. In the few months since they had put Kingpin in jail for the second time they had been trying to find a new equilibrium in their friendship. Foggy had accepted that Matt needed to be Daredevil at times, and Matt was trying to make sure that "at times" didn't end up consuming the rest of his life. Part of that meant keeping Foggy in the loop with what Daredevil was working on.
So Matt had told Foggy he was going to start looking into the new source of Cocaine circulating around Hell's kitchen. Foggy had gotten some intel about there being a dealer who sold out of this particularly awful nightclub. Obviously Matt would have preferred to stay outside on his usual rooftop vantage point. But somehow instead he was sitting here inside the club listening for the right snippet of conversation that would tell him which one of these disgusting, sweaty, smelly bodies he'd be beating answers out of later... whilst multitasking with a boy's night to talk about plans for Foggy's bucks party.
"Be back in a minute" Foggy slips out of his chair and heads towards the bathrooms. Matt sighs and tries to look slightly less like a very attractive blind man sitting alone at a bar with an empty seat besides him. There are times when he enjoys using the lame duck routine to his advantage… but tonight he doesn't want the distraction.
His elbow is jostled slightly as a female presence comes into his awareness. She is… interesting. She didn't seem to fit this place at all. There is a quiet stillness to her whilst the rest of the club heaves to the hectic beat of the synthesized "music". She seems aware but unbothered by the fact that she is an outsider here. Her smell is what he notices most though. It is fresh and clean - again in direct opposition to their surroundings. OK, maybe he could be distracted just a little.
He turns toward her slightly and gestures to where foggy was recently sitting. "there's a seat here if you want. At least… I think there is". He smiles. Matt Murdock has an arsenal of smiles to suit every occasion. This one invites conversation, particularly when paired with a self-deprecating joke about his blindness. He finds people can sometimes tread on eggshells around that if he doesn't make a point of showing he can be light-hearted about it first.
"Thanks" the presence takes the seat next to him. She has an odd accent that he can't place. He is just a little slighted to find he did not have her full attention at all… she was looking around the club. Perhaps looking for her friends he thought. Every other woman in this club was here with a group, she seemed to be on her own. But that didn't seem right - her scanning across the room was purposeful, but without the urgency or emotional investment he'd expect in that case.
Matt goes back to feeling out of place here himself. The bartender comes over and asks if he wants another Macallan. He does.
"Can I get you a drink too?" Matt asks the woman beside him.
"Just soda water, thanks."
"I'm Matthew by the way." he offered "Or Matt."
"Rinh." she replied.
"Sorry.. that accent - where are you from?"
She hesitates just a fraction of a second - it wouldn't be noticeable to most people.
"Oh, a bit of everywhere really… and you, you're a New York local?"
"Born and raised."
"You sound like you like it." She sounds like she doesn't. Matt is offended on behalf of his city.
"Yeah I mean, it's not perfect but… it's mine. My home I mean". Somehow that seems to spark her interest. She's looking at him now. He continues talking "how long have you been here?"
"Couple of days" she responds.
He lets the surprise show in his voice "So… why are you here, specifically?" He indicates the bar. "Why not Times Square or Broadway or… literally anywhere else?" He finishes with a chuckle.
She obviously picks up that his love of New York in general does not extend to this club specifically and joins him in the laugh. "Broadway didn't really seem like my scene. And the sign out front said dance music. I figure I like dancing and I like music…" she trails off. "What's your excuse?"
Matt considers her statement. He supposes what she said about the sign is technically true, and nothing in her breath or her heartbeat suggests a lie. But there was that tiny hesitation again that makes him suspect that it's not the whole truth. "I'm here with a friend - it was his idea". Matt also tells the truth but not the whole truth. "So what type of music do you like?" He tries to steer the conversation to something easier to be honest about.
"My preference is definitely for things that have an actual instrument in them. I… spent some time in Ireland… I liked the music there". Heartbeat still steady, but the pauses are still there too. Matt wonders if her strange accent could have some Irish in it? There is something of that earthy tone to it. Perhaps Rinh spent her childhood there and then moved around a lot?
"My family was Irish… the Murdocks" Matt offers. "Pretty sure I've got some records of fiddle tunes in my apartment".
She snorts at this "bit forward there with the apartment already don't you think Mathew Murdock? And here I am starting to think you were pretty smooth."
Matt often feigns abashment, but this time it’s real "Oh no, I didn't mean…" he trailed off as Rinh laughs.
"I take it back, that was smooth. If I'd said your apartment sounds like a better party than this place - you'd be in. If I'm all aghast at your presumptions, you pull this injured puppy routine…" she laughs again, "which is actually quite endearing in its own way."
OK, she was definitely flirting. He supposed he didn't need special senses to know that. But at the same time he felt like his various charming smiles were not having their usual effects. She was having fun, but she wasn't actually charmed. So he couldn't tell if the flirting was genuine interest in him or just a game she played for her own amusement. She was hard to read.
Foggy of course returned with terrible timing. "Matt I leave you alone for ten minutes - how does this always happen?!"
"He does this a lot?" Rinh asks Foggy with a grin.
"All the time."
Damn Foggy.
"And has he usually managed to recommend his apartment as a preferable location by this point?" Rinh continues to address Foggy.
Matt isn't quite sure if he was being laughed at or with, but he smiles good-humouredly.
"No, that's fast even for him."
Rinh's eyes flick over to the entrance and her smile faded slightly. Matt pretends not to notice.
"Well, thank you for the drink Mathew, I'll leave you in good hands here I'm sure" she smiles at Foggy again as she gets up and melts away into the crowd.
Foggy laughs "Well it's good to know that even Daredevil strikes out sometimes".
Matt forces another smile and accepts the gentle ribbing from his friend. He should be focussing on finding this drug dealer anyway.