colors spilling from night to day (ota)

[nursetemple]

CHARACTERS: Claire Temple & Derek Hale; Claire Temple & you
LOCATIONS: Dinah's, the hospital, wherever you'd like
WARNINGS: None, as far as I know so far, will edit if required
SUMMARY: Claire goes on a breakfast date, and is here for any and all scratches. Come see her!!


i. closed to derek's; dinah's

[ The night was barely letting up, even as 6 am rolled out. Still in her scrubs, a comfortable hoodie thrown over them, Claire leaves the hospital under the night sky, despite her shift being over. Winter days always makes her feel like she should be staying longer, like her shift isn't finished until the sun is coming up.

It's also that shifts, in Cadelle, feel too long and too short all at the same time, because she finds herself with very little to do too often. It stretches the hours but also makes her feel like she's not doing enough. A weird dichotomy.

But this morning, she's ready for her work day to be done. She's starving, which makes her drive faster than she should to Dinah's for breakfast - not the fact that she's supposed to meet Derek there, no. The diner is empty when she makes it there anyway, the bell sounding loud in the quiet of the place as she walks in, gets herself situated in a small booth. She can wait for him anyway - at least that way she gets some coffee, to fight how cold her fingers feel.

When he does come in, she'll greet him with a little wave and a big smile, before going back to the menu in front of her. ]


ii. open; hospital

[ The more common accidents that happen in Cadelle are not the ones that Claire is the most used to dealing with. Here, there are no bullet wounds, no gang fights, no violence between men. Here, she helps with domestic accidents more than anything else - not that they can't be very bad themselves, but it is refreshing, in a way, for her to deal with accidents that have nothing to do with men hating other men.

And, more often than not, the hospital is quiet. So tonight, when you come in with your emergency, Claire is most probably rearranging the supplies locker for the umpteenth time, or maybe racing herself around the empty corridors, or dancing to the radio while cleaning up a bed (or the Christmas decorations she put up a few weeks ago). Whichever it is, she'll stop everything to help you out, of course. ]


iii. open; wildcard

[ Hmu with anything! Find me at ellievolia if you'd like to plot something in particular! ]

Comments

[closed to vasquez]

[nursetemple]

[ CriminALES is smokey dark when Claire walks in - her one day off of the week. She's been pushed by the strong need for a stiff drink and possibly some company, after the holidays making her maudlin and spending too much time alone. It's not necessarily a much better look to go drinking alone in a bar, but one must make some choices.

Besides, she's not alone for more than two seconds, before she spots Vasquez, sitting in a corner, himself unaccompanied. There's something about the look on his face - it worries Claire, and she's quick to order her usual drink, before walking over to his table. ]

Hey, [ Her tone is soft, although obviously concerned. ] Mind if I sit?

[quinientos]

[He's been drinking for what feels like maybe only an hour, but the truth is, he's been here for probably most of the late morning and into the afternoon, losing time thanks to his seat away from the door and windows, not tracking how the sunlight is moving. Glancing up when he sees Claire, he gestures beside him.

He's not drunk. He's been very careful to keep drinking only enough to keep him somewhat tipsy, but he's not drunk.]

Sit if you want, but I'm not very good company today.

[nursetemple]

[ She sits, careful, the chair creaking under her weight anyway. Everything in this bar feels old-school, like it's been carefully crafted to look like just any old pub anywhere in the world. There's something kinda magical about it. ]

Do you want to talk about it?

[ She switches to Spanish immediately, just because she knows he's more comfortable in it, and that if he wants to talk, he can do so in his native tongue. They've proven they can talk about what's bothering them before, even if they were influenced by the weird rain thing that happened a month or so ago. ]

Even without the weird rain, I'm still willing to listen.

[quinientos]

[Vasquez gives a snort as he looks at his bottle of liquor, sure as he ever is that talking about it won't do anything to help him feel better so much as it's just going to make him feel that he's bearing his soul. Then again, the look of appreciation on his face is clear when she switches to Spanish, because at least fewer people will understand him now.]

It's simple. I didn't understand that when you're here, it's not for good.

[He should have already figured that out when he stopped seeing Faraday around, but he'd taken the man's absence as a peace offering to not get in his way. When suddenly, it's Buffy not responding to his calls and messages, it's different.]

[nursetemple]

[ For a moment, Claire just sits, her fingers wrapped around her glass. Vasquez' features are drawn, like he hasn't slept in a while. A part of her wants to reach out, but she doesn't, biting her lip. ]

Who left?

[ She's read her contract pretty thoroughly before signing it and agreeing to come to Cadelle, but considering how she and Vasquez had met, she isn't surprised that he didn't. Which doesn't make what he's going through any less shitty. ]

I'm sorry. This place... it's very temporary, I think, for most people. It isn't for you, is it.

[quinientos]

Faraday. [ That's not the one that hurts, though. ] Buffy.

[ It feels strange to admit, because he didn't want to think that this was possible. He wanted to pretend that he could find a loophole or somehow escape the terms of being here, that people wouldn't always stay. Maybe he'd just figured he'd be the one to leave, but he's not. ]

If I go home, I'm a dead man. Better to be here, even if it's confusing and I don't understand it very well. It's not so good to be left, though.

[nursetemple]

[ Ah, shit. What she was worried about.

She stomps on the sudden, misplaced swell of hope that blooms in her chest, inwardly giving herself a stern talking to. She's not going to be that person, not to him, or anyone else; he needs a friend right now, not an opportunist. And she's not one to take advantage of anyone - it would make her just as bad as Fisk if she was, and the mere idea repulses her.

No. There are decent times for allowing these feelings, and now is not it. ]

Oh, Vasquez, I'm truly sorry. For what it's worth, I'm sure it wasn't a decision she took lightly. She may have very important things to look after, back home.

[quinientos]

[He feels tired, honestly, but that just means that he hasn't had enough liquor, in his opinion. He wants to be so much more drunk than he is right now, annoyed with himself that the first time he tried to do something right and she ran away before he did.

Snorting, he gives Claire a disbelieving look.]

I don't give a shit the reasons she left, all that I know is it means that I was wrong about wanting to try and do something the right way.

[nursetemple]

[ If she's taken aback by the sudden anger in his voice and words, Claire doesn't let it show. She keeps her eyes on him, unflinching. ]

Why? Because it wasn't enough to keep her here?

[ If she didn't understand where he was coming from, her tone would probably be angrier. But she does get it - she's been on the sidelines before. She's been left behind, in a way, even if she likes to think the decision came from her. ]

I think it's very brave that you tried to go for a real relationship, and you shouldn't decide here and now that you won't anymore. But I wouldn't blame you for being wary, either.

i

[duelo]

[ As usual, Derek's up by the break of dawn, even if it doesn't look like the sun is near rising yet. His body clock is pretty set in its ways and he's usually up with the sun for his morning run, because typically it's the most quiet and empty that time of day. He doesn't have to worry about running into anyone he doesn't want to run into when he's in wolf form out in the woods or being stopped on his way to or from said woods in human form, either. Derek likes his mornings silent and lonely because he uses them to reflect on the day previous. Recently, also on how to make the current day better than the last.

This morning, his run is shorter so that he can get back home and showered before he has to meet Claire. Talking to her on the OkCuddle is one thing, but he's interested in getting to know people in person. He'll use that thing now and again, but he's never really going to prefer it over meeting someone face to face.

He makes his way to Dinah's and lets himself in, a little surprised to see that she's beaten him there. He's usually the person who shows up somewhere first, if he can help it.

Derek returns her smile and nods to acknowledge the wave before making his way over and settling into the booth across from her. ]

Good morning. How was work?

[nursetemple]

Hmmm.

[ The sound is half a yawn, half a measure to express work was its typical self. She leans back into her seat, curling her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie by her sides as she takes a good look at Derek. For being so early in the morning, he looks perfectly awake and bright. Claire envies him, a little. ]

Pretty quiet. Which is good, but I also sit there for hours with nothing much to do besides finding new ways to reorganize everything. I'm going to run out soon, although I've thought about converting the Dewey system to hospital supplies, which would keep me busy a while, I guess.

[ She realizes she's suddenly rambling, and closes her mouth with another little noise, biting the inside of her lip. ]

Sorry. How was your night? You're hungry? It's -

[ She pauses again, this time smiling as she looks at Derek again. While she has no set idea on what this is exactly, she can't deny that looking at him is far from being a hardship. ]

It's nice to meet you in person.

[duelo]

[ Derek gives her a sympathetic look as he picks up his menu and starts to peruse the selection. He can't really imagine working the shift she works all the time. Granted, back home, when he was protecting Beacon Hills, it was usually under the night sky, but he could have given up if he'd gotten too tired; handed it off to another werewolf for a few hours to catch a nap. It wasn't like a real job. That sounds like a horrible shift, in his opinion, but if she likes it enough not to fight for another one, then he really can't fault her for it. ]

That makes the day drag, ouch.

[ He hates when it's slow at the bar. It can turn a seven or eight hour shift into something that feels like a lifetime. At least on the weekends, he can depend on it being pretty busy.

With a smile, he sets the menu down again to give her his full attention. ]

It's nice to meet you in person, too. And it was uneventful; I read for a while, went to bed. Woke up a few hours ago and took a run...

[ He smirks a little and shrugs. ]

I'm always hungry.

[ It's hard not to be when one's metabolism burns through all the calories ingested in such a short amount of time, but that's maybe another story for another day when she hasn't just come straight from work. ]

Got any recommendations?

[nursetemple]

It does, but - someone's got to be around, though. You never know when an accident will happen.

[ She shrugs, picking at the corner of her menu. ] It's not so bad - I've been catching up on reading, at least. Got years worth of books to go through.

[ There's a part of her that's amazed that he's been awake for hours already without having to be at work - her days off she tends to spend lazing around, making the most of not having to be anywhere or put on any kind of front. And here he is, looking fresh as a daisy, back from a run. Damn. ]

You do that every day? I've been wanting to get into the habit of jogging, but I guess I do enough running around at the hospital.

[ She grins, a little crookedly, and then leans over the table, pointing down at the pancakes section of the menu. ]

You never go wrong for a fresh stack of pancakes. Never.

[duelo]

[ Nodding, Derek reaches up to scratch idly at his jaw. ]

Yeah, I get that, but that doesn't take away from it being a little exhausting, so I feel for you.

[ Granted, a slow night at the bar is probably nothing compared to a slow night at the hospital, and the same is sure to be true of busy nights, so he imagines that the gap between slow and busy is far more significant to her than he can understand.

To her question, Derek smiles a little and nods. ]

Every day for the past twenty two years, yeah. I started back when I was five, with my mom, my uncle, and my big sister every morning. My uncle and I aren't close like we used to be and my sister and my mom aren't here anymore, but I just keep doing it. Habit, mostly.

[ Habit and it's nice to be able to run free in wolf form now that he has the ability to shift into it.

He laughs a little and nods appreciatively when she offers her suggestion. ]

Pancakes sound amazing right about now, now that you mention it. Is that what you're going to have?

[nursetemple]

[ She shrugs, a soft smile on her lips. ]

It's the job. It makes me feel like I have a purpose, so I don't mind, really. It's what I'm good at doing, and what I love doing - helping people, whenever and however I can.

[ There's something when he talks about his family, something in his tone, but she doesn't push, just noting the inflection and letting them move on. She just nods, grinning. ]

My family's idea of good times together is a lot of food, not going jogging together. Seems like a healthy habit.

[ Looking back down at her menu, she nods again, looking over the different toppings. ]

Hmm, yeah, think so. I'm starving. What do you think, classic with maple syrup and bacon, or strawberries and cream? Oh, you're not vegetarian or vegan, are you? Don't think you'll find much food for you here if you are.

[duelo]

That's admirable.

[ Mostly because he knows a nurse; he knows how big a chunk of their life they tend to give up for the cause. Derek thinks he's probably a little too selfish to do it himself. ]

Oh, we absolutely did the food thing, too. At least, we did on holidays when the extended family came into town.

[ Holidays, the wolf moon, and lunar eclipses, but who's counting? His family is sometimes a sensitive subject, but it depends on the context. Right now, they're talking about things that conjure happy memories for Derek, so as much as it saddens him that he can't create new memories in those veins, he doesn't mind talking about it; the sting has been numbed over the years, so there's a smile on his face and it reflects in his eyes when he looks back at her.

Derek shakes his head at the question. ]

Nah, I don't think I could stand going vegetarian and I'd almost definitely screw up being vegan. I'm good. That's a tough call, though, between bacon and syrup or strawberries and cream. I'll do one and you do the other; we can both split it and then we both get both?

[nursetemple]

Oh, did you do the whole extended family thing? Drunk uncles and kids climbing all over you?

[ Imagining Derek with children is - well, it's kinda nice. Because he's that kind of guy that's all tall and dark and handsome and mysterious looking, the kind that has a multitude of secrets in his eyes (aka, Claire's type, she needs help), but knowing he seems to be family oriented softens his sharp angles. ]

We didn't get to the extended family thing very often. Most of my mom's family still lives in Puerto Rico, and we didn't go much.

[ She doesn't sound sad - because she isn't. It's just the way it was. She loved her family life as it was, anyway.

Giving Derek a look, she grins as she raises a hand for the waitress. ]

Clever man. Sounds like a plan.

iii

[shitmagnet]

"So uhm..." Frank cleared his throat, licking traces of red wine off his lips. This domestic thing isn't particularly easy for him, though he's conscious of the lengths she'd gone to to try and make him comfortable. He promised to take a look at her plumbing and he did that as soon as he got settled. He got dirt under his nails and stains on his singlet. Crumples and a new rip in his jeans that were destined for a wash before he even got to Cadelle. In return she'd promised him dinner and, well. Here they were.

He wore his jacket like he wore a bulletproof vest, zipping and buttoning it up to look presentable outside. But when he took that black coat off and hung it up as soon as he set foot inside her apartment, they both knew he was a mess. He knew she'd heard him rushing down the stairs past her door in the middle of the night last night, panting and gasping for crisp, cold, fresh night air outside. Felt her gaze on him as he sat helpless in the snow, flinging himself voluntarily into the tail end of the blizzard wearing nothing but a grey shirt and sweatpants. If she hadn't tried to reach out to him he might be recovering from hypothermia or missing a few toes right now.

That she hadn't brought it up was also appreciated, even though he knew that the elephant in the room was going to trample all over them before she let him leave tonight.

"Thanks for dinner."

[nursetemple]

Claire, through the years, has learned a few things about people. She's learned that men like Frank - broken by wars they've had to fight for other people, broken by orders they've had to follow without knowing why, without agreeing to them - can't really talk about their feelings. He's not the only one, hiding them all under a rough exterior, pretending he's walking through this normal world like he's not entirely fractured.

But she'd heard him, last night. She'd seen him, last night. There are fractures he can't hide, and moments of weakness he can't shake himself from. Yet, she's not about to bring it up now, not when the evening has been pleasant. She's made her mom's famous-in-Harlem quesadillas and he fixed her sink, and they talked about, mostly, innocent topics, nothing that could hurt either of them. Of course, there's tension in the room, between them, but Claire tiptoes around it, pretending it's not there.

"It was nothing. My mom's recipe, actually. My parents own a diner, in Harlem. Basically grew up in there. It's actually surprising I'm not a better cook."

She smiles, eyeing the bottle of wine between the two of them. "More?"

[shitmagnet]

"Huh. Well you uh, you're a nurse. Working in Harlem? Don't got much time for cooking, right?" The Punisher might have had something to do with keeping her busy even though he wasn't responsible for a few of those shootings they tried to frame him for. But she didn't seem to recognise him - not that he wanted to be recognised, but if she did she wasn't judging, wasn't scared - so he had to wonder how long she's been in Cadelle. That seemed more likely than her simply not caring who he was and inviting him into her home.

"Sure. Thanks." He nudged his glass closer towards her and forced a tight-lipped smile. He just had to soldier on and pretend like everything was okay. Harder than it sounded but easier than admitting what was wrong.

"You ever uh... I don't know. Think about maybe you should've taken over the family business instead?" A lot of shit has gone down in New York and no one got out unscathed.

[nursetemple]

"Working in Hell's Kitchen, actually. Metro-General."

She meets his eyes, then. Yeah, she worked in that hospital he'd been in. It'd taken her a moment to put two and two together, not doing so until much after their first meeting, but now - she knows, in a vague, uncertain way. She knows he's violent, and he's disturbed. But she knew that through their first conversation, too.

It wasn't that she didn't care. It was that she knew someone else who was violent, and broken, and full of excuses, and she'd loved him anyway. Frank Castle was a murderer, and she didn't condone his methods, or his choices. But who he'd killed - that mattered to her, more than she'd cared to admit to herself.

Because she could still remember, vividly, every punch, and every bat swing, every cut she'd suffered at the hands of the Russians. How much she'd wanted them dead, too.

She doesn't condone his methods. But she'd be a hypocrite if she said she didn't understand.

"Still doesn't give me much time for cooking, though, you're right," she replies, pouring him some wine before doing the same for herself, and leaning back in her chair, legs crossed. She's not scared of him. Wary, in a way, yes, but she's not scared.

He's here for a reason, after all, and she doubts it's to go on and murdering innocents.

"Not really. My sister did, for a little while, but dad was adamant that he wanted better for us. Show White America that we can make something of ourselves. Which is why he wasn't exactly pleased I picked nursing instead of going all the way to becoming a doctor. 'You'll still be moping up the floors after them!'," she imitates her dad's accent, smiling to herself at the memories.

"Have you decided what you want to do around here, yet?"

[shitmagnet]

Well, that cleared up his doubts. Maybe she hadn't worked on him personally or checked in on him or whatever, but there was no way in hell she didn't at least know of him with a throwaway comment and a gaze like that. That she was still here was testament to her character. Or how crazy she was. He honestly didn't give two shits about what they made him out to be, but he appreciated that despite everything she's seen or read or heard, she let him in tonight and even made him her mom's quesadillas.

Frank cracked a small smile when she mentioned her father. Yeah, he wasn't entirely wrong about that, except maybe she's mopping up after white guys with guns rather than the guys in coats.

"Nah I..." He pursed his lips and shook his head a little, stroking the stem of his wineglass with the side of his finger. He glanced at her as if he was considering how she'd react if he confessed he had no idea what he was doing, but in the end he decided against saying that. Clearing his throat again, his gaze flickered back onto the scraps of food left on his plate.

"It's just time off and I'm just-... takin' it a day at a time. Do you buy what they told you when you got here? This genie shit?"

[nursetemple]

Taking it a day at a time. Exactly what she told Vasquez she was doing, herself, but somehow - different, still. Different because she was talking about relationships, and she has a feeling Frank is talking about, well, everything. She looks at him, tilting her head a little as she takes in the hesitation in his eyes, the gentleness of his fingers. For someone so brutish looking, he seemed to be capable of softness, too.

"I'm doing that, too. In some ways, anyway."

In the way where she was not here to find love, mainly. In the way where she was enjoying herself day by day, with different people doing different things, refusing to let the hospital become her whole life like it'd been before.

She sighs, taking a sip out of her glass before answering is question.

"Honestly, I don't know. I hope so? I really hope so. And I guess I'm willing to... put in the work," she says with a smile, not even trying to hide that she's talking about the whole intimacy thing. "To make it through, and see it through. If there's even the slightest chance that it can work, why not, you know?"

[shitmagnet]

Right. He was rather hoping he could skip the cuddling coddling shit and just keep his head down, work hard at being a good boy and earn his chance at setting everything right. If it all worked out he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He'd probably never come back here if they'd let him just leave. If it was all just a stupid waste of time then at least he's been more helpful than destructive for a while.

"Yeah. Couldn't hurt I guess," was what Frank eventually said aloud. She seemed to have her shit sorted. Knew what she wanted, knew how to get there, knew what to say and do for every situation that arose between where she was and where she was headed - he was surprised to hear she might be taking the conservative approach as well. But maybe she just had to give off those vibes, her job being what it was. Her neighbour being who he was. Maybe everyone's lives was just one big clusterfuck and they were all just pretending like they were doing okay. Some pretending better than others.

He drank his wine and his brows furrowed as he set his glass back down.

"I never wanted to settle down. In one place." He glanced up at her, as if he was suddenly worried about what she might think with him just starting to open up to her, letting a bit of her light shine in and cut through his darkness. "I don't think this town's for me. I finish my mission, get what I want. Then I'm out. Is that how it works? I 'on't know how it works." Suddenly after a few wines he wasn't really sure if he was just talking about Cadelle or life in general either.

[nursetemple]

The cuddling part of it wasn't for everyone. Someone like Frank, skittish, easily spooked, probably suffering from acute PTSD, well. She couldn't quite imagine him to be the kind to sleep around without it pinging around in his head until he went crazy. And from what she knew of his story - which wasn't much - the guy had a fixation. Which wasn't really conducive to intimacy with anyone.

So she wouldn't blame him if that wasn't his goal. She was pretty free-spirited when it came to sex, and intimacy - she was an attractive, intelligent, confident grown woman with no qualms about sexuality. She liked sex and wouldn't be made to feel bad about it - not that she thought Frank would ever. It was just a pleasant way to spend a night and get closer to her goals, in Cadelle. It didn't feel much like sacrifice, to her, but she knew very well that her attitude towards was very different from plenty of people.

"Spoken like a true soldier," she replies, not unkindly. "Have you ever tried? Settling down, I mean. You might find that you like it."