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[wolfintheherd]

[Task Master has been through a lot.

He has achieved many successes and many failures. He's won against SHIELD and HYDRA and they are notable enemies but it's owed to his compatriots. The few people he is worked with, the few people that he trusts in the world.

He's not unmindful of that service which is why he'd broken into Madame Masque's apartment to cook her something nice.

This is something he doesn't remember. He doesn't remember she's a SHIELD agent. Not anymore, that he in essence had not told her (really he could have forgotten but he can't recall). What he does know is that she appears during the times when SHIELD needs him and manages his money and resources. Oh she hates him, he knows that much but now, even if she might be one of the right hand people of the new SHIELD, she's still Madame Masque to him. He does remember fighting her, her with a knife to his throat before stabbing him in the shoulder and running off.

(Her face was not his fault)

The last time he'd seen her though they'd fixed it. When was that? She'd had a face. It wasn't that vaguely familiar disquieting face.

He doesn't ask her any questions. Not anymore. She just appears and reappears and vanishes but he's still here and why?...

(Quake.)

His hand stops chopping.

(The woman.)

It keeps chopping. Muscle memory, what task master lives for. Really he doesn't know a thing about cooking but he saw something about Italian/Asian fusion on TV last night and he wanted to cook it for her because-

(The woman stands straight and stares at him. Her features torn between confused and angry, then just anger. He's knocked off his feet and off the building falling into the abyss while the woman runs and stares after him and he feels...

Loss.)

Terrifying loss.

His hand trembles, but he finishes the last bit of carrots and onions and slides it into the water to boil before he sets out the wine and pours himself a glass (she won't drink it if you hand it to her already poured.)

It's so domestic.

It's when he hears her come in behind him that he keeps is hand on the knife at the cutting board.]

...You know better then to come at me with a gun behind me.

[(You don't know what I've been watching on TV)]

You're not allergic to garlic or carrots are you?

[He pulls out a slab of meat that's been dipped in sauce and begins chopping it.]

Comments

[facemyenemy]

Is it bad? [She had to ask first. If it’s not bad she won't bother, but if he needs care for it, she’d slip into old habits. Fix him up.]

Cobra, huh. Never cared for snakes.

[She took another bite of food, moving to lean on the edge of the table, watching the other.] What else did you want to know, Grant?

[wolfintheherd]

I'll be fine.

[He studies her] You answered my question. I knew her. Can't a guy make dinner for a former associate?

[He swallows] You planning to arrest me?

[facemyenemy]

[Mmm, she nodded. Fine. that means she can’t shove her finger into the wound. Might be better for them both, really.]

[All he wanted to know was if he knew her. Interesting.] You can, but you can’t blame me for being a bit cautious. After all, I tried to kill you last time we met. [yet she only stabbed his shoulder, unable to hurt him more than that.]

I am considering it. For breaking and entering, at least. But dinner is good, so I’m stalling.

[She doesn’t want to admit that she missed him. Huff]

[wolfintheherd]

[He smirks] being a criminal and having the urge to hold onto something domestic really doesn't jive in my line of work. Can't exactly say "Hey I want to do this" to a bunch of jocks and jarheads who've decided to work out their anger at their parents by hurting people.

[The irony is, that was his backstory. Within reason. The things he doesn't remember.]

Just my luck that I didn't prepare any dessert.

[He'll fight her if he has to, he'll kill her if he has to, but he'll feel bad about it.

That acknowledgement brings his head into his hands for a moment over his meal and he sighs]

[facemyenemy]

[She smiled, faintly, showing from the shadows of her face. Her hair still keeping her scarred face mostly in the shadows.]

You break into my apartment, make me dinner, and forget dessert? Rude.

[a teasing comment, at least.]

[She’d rather not fight. She’s pretty banged up as it is. And he’s always been better than her. his actions make a brow lift...]

What troubles you, old friend?

[wolfintheherd]

I'm not troubled.

[So maybe he's troubled. Maybe as he sits there, swallows another glass of wine. He doesn't need anything. Nope.]

...I'm fine.

I swear.

[facemyenemy]

[She snorted, a clear sign of disbelief.]

You're here. You might as well stall with conversation before I try to arrest you. [ in other words... talk to her.]

[wolfintheherd]

What's to stall? I remembered things. I've kept remembering things! I...

[He doesn't really realize that he's got his hands in fists on the table, that his face is contorted in anger, that he looks furious.]

...I missed you.

[facemyenemy]

[she leaned forward on the table, a hand slowly reaching out to rest on top of a fist, gentle and light, just in cas it backfires on her. The Missing her... that surprised her.]

Remembering is a good thing. Remember as much as you can. Even if you only remember the shitty memories.

[wolfintheherd]

[He doesn't move. He does glare at her, like an angry dog. Like a threatened creature, before he lowers his gaze.]

Not what I've seen.

There are these feelings. [He swallows hard] They came back strongest fighting her. Whatever I did was wrong and I...

[he grimaces and pulls away.]

I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake. I'm sorry. I guess I came to make sure the money's coming through.

[facemyenemy]

[When he drew back she drew her hand back, but stayed leaning on the table. Her blank gaze turned to a slight glare.]

A mistake because I'm trying to get you to talk to me? You used to talk to me. But sure, just came to make me dinner and check on the money. To ask about someone you only remember vaguely. You could ask, you know. About her, if that's what you want. Or I can punch you for being an ass. Either option is manageable.

[wolfintheherd]

[He stands, staring at her, before he sits back down.]

Did I sleep with her?

...Did I hurt her?

[facemyenemy]

[She watches him, d rawing back to lean back in her seat, frowning. He sat again. She stared. It would always come down to Skye, and while she didn't mind working for Quake, it bothered her that she has such a hold over Grant as she did. Even now when he can't remember her.]

[And yet she just wants to help. To protect him. It's a deep seeded emotion inside. Even if she tried to hurt him.]

We never spoke of the first, so I don't know if it went that far. Hurt her? Who haven't you hurt at some point of another?

[wolfintheherd]

I cared about her. [He breathes] I loved her.

[He looks lost.]
...I screwed up with her really bad didn't I.

[facemyenemy]

Is that what you remember, or is that what you assume?

[It was true, sadly, but she was curious about his memories on her.]

There was some problems, yes. You tried doing what you thought was right for her and she had other thoughts in mind.

[wolfintheherd]

Just the emotions. [He swallows. When it says "right for her" he has a very vivid memory of pain sliding down his side.

He stares at her.]

....Just the emotions.

Don't- [Someone loved him. He tries to stand and falters] Don't.

[facemyenemy]

It's rare to see you with emotions. Is that such a bad thing?

[She asked, sitting on the edge of her chair, just in case he snapped. Snapped at her. The Don'ts had her on edge as well.]

Is it really a bad thing to remember those emotions?

[wolfintheherd]

[They're useless. He glances around and there's nothing. No one to watch, no way to use his ability. He could make a grab for the remote but...

No.

He stands]

There's no way I can fix an emotion. Or stop...whatever I did. Whatever I did to her.

I don't know what to do with them.
[Did he ever?]

[facemyenemy]

[she stood too, with in reach, which she shouldn't be, but she stepped nearer, trying to get a good look at his face, her hair falling back, scar showing more now then it has all night.]

Emotions don't need fixing. I've learned that. You don't have to fix anything. It's in the past.

Just let them happen. If you try to fight through them I will fight back, just so you know.

[wolfintheherd]

[Her face.

He stared at her face, aghast. It's her and it's not her, it's the woman he worked with, the monster. Who took him and nearly killed him after he'd forced her to become a criminal -

(So now you're free.

I don't know what to do.)

Lightning cracked across his brain and he staggered.]

I don't want this. I don't want them.

[He looks terrified.] It hurts so much.

[facemyenemy]

[Her face, it's scarred badly to one side, and her dark hair is still... well, dark, like May Face, but her face is her own. For the most part. Less Asian more Caucasian then back then, but still her. She wore no mask right now, and hadn't donned the gold mask in some time.]

[She looked at him, concerned and not blank.]

Yeah, I learned that the hard way too. [watching him fall that last time she saw him. Watching him fall and unable to stop it. Drawing away and feeling like he'd punched her in the chest. She used the excuse of being wounded to be left alone. To recover with out anyone asking. But an emotional break down was hard to hide.]

How d o we make you forget them, then?

[wolfintheherd]

[he has to forget.

He has to forget. But he'd waited for months to plan this. Because...

His reasons fail him.

He tugs a hand through his hair.]

...Fight me.

[facemyenemy]

[She came closer, eyes narrowing a little bit, watchful.]

We're both wounded, and if you destroy my apartment I will hunt you down later. But...

[she licked her lips and pressed them together, giving a nod, yes.] If it'll help.

[wolfintheherd]

[It took him a year- once things got worse- to figure out how his brain worked. It took kidnapping (and torturing) a scientist to explain it, to find someone who he trusted (who's life he literally held in his hands) to scan him.

It's like accessing a memory databank. All he'd have to do would be to pull out a particular file. Captain America. Hawkeye. He has enough in there.

But he has memories too. Memories of the woman, memories of others, a sense of community and friendship.

Memories of betraying that.

The more concrete memories, the more solid ones are of her. As Madame Masque.

He had let it go, when she'd left him. He'd aimed a gun at her and she'd stabbed him before running away. Going back to where she belonged. The thought that he'd had it and lost it made him...

Anger. good he could use that.

He aimed a fist at her head.]

[facemyenemy]

[It didn't take long, did it. He was swinging and she was moving.]

[If she learned anything from him, it was how to dodge attacks. How to fight. To make herself better. As Madame Masque she had learned a lot more then ever on fighting. She learned to tone her gymnastics, to the point that her nimble moves were hard to follow.]

[She trained. And trained a lot. Still did.]

[But winning against him would never be an easy task.]

[Taskmaster knew it all.]

[This? This would just be a fight. To help his memory. Let him learn and erase, maybe? Maybe he'd remember her longer. Maybe he would ca--no.]

[She dodged the first swing, her hands coming up to try and deflect the hit while using his arm to spin around, trying to get away in a strange grace that was signature of Madam Masque. He used to be able to hit her, knock her flat on her ass in seconds. She at least learned how to dodge it for a bit. Until he learned h er moves.]