loveroftoomanyfandoms

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Welp, looks like I'll be seeing Charlie again sooner than I thought... 😁

(I'm already seeing him in October, but now I'm apparently also seeing him in July!)

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Undercover Love, Chapter 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X F!Reader

Story Summary: You are the new executive assistant to James "Bucky" Barnes, a V.P. of Operations at HYDRA, Inc. You can't help but be attracted to the broody, mysterious, and handsome man, but are determined to keep things professional -- after all, your relationship with your previous boss is what caused you to need a new job in the first place. Will working closely together and late nights at the office break your resolve?

Bucky, a field agent for SHIELD, has been working undercover for a year at HYDRA and feels that he's close to finding the evidence he needs to shut HYDRA down and send the CEO, Alexander Pierce, to prison. However, he didn't count on his beautiful new assistant being a possible threat -- or a distraction.

When you accidentally uncover exactly what Bucky needs to put Pierce and his associates away, will you put both your lives -- and Bucky's career -- at risk?

Word Count: ~1900

A/N: Note that while this is rated T for now, the rating *is* subject to change as we get further into the fic depending on how thirsty Reader and Bucky get for each other. ;)

If you'd like to be added to my taglist for this or any of my stories or just want to chat, shoot me a message!

Jesus, what a day, Bucky thought as he sat on a barstool at The Howling Commandos. Just when he thought he was getting close to solving this case, something would pop up to derail him.

When he and his best friend Steve had first been recruited by Homeland Security to work for their Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (better known as SHIELD) after their discharge from the Army, he hadn't expected his first undercover assignment to require him to work for a potential terrorist for over a year.

Fifteen months ago SHIELD had received an anonymous tip that Alexander Pierce, the CEO of HYDRA, Inc., was secretly supplying terrorist groups with weapons in addition to the advanced cybernetics the company was renowned for.

Since Bucky had earned a degree in business management during his time in the Army, Director Fury had decided that he should be the one to go undercover in order to investigate and had padded Bucky's resume enough to guarantee that he would be hired for the open VP position, as well as managing to get another young field agent, Peter Parker, hired on as a mailroom clerk.

Bucky had spent the past 13 months gathering what evidence he could against Pierce, but he still needed to find the smoking gun (pun not intended) that SHIELD needed in order to take Pierce down. He had thought that being sent to Romania meant that Pierce was starting to trust him, but unfortunately it had turned out to have been just another dead end.

And to make matters more complicated, not only were you -- the beautiful woman he had met in the elevator that morning -- his new assistant, but you also happened to have ties to one of Pierce's known associates.

Bucky had been given a copy of your resumé during his meeting with Pierce that morning and while you certainly had seemed qualified, it definitely seemed like your hiring had been a strategic move on Pierce's part -- especially since you had been hired while Bucky had been out of the country and without his input.

Bucky had sent a message to Director Fury via Peter in the mailroom with an update on his latest findings and was now waiting for further instructions.

He ordered a beer from the bartender then casually looked around to make sure he hadn't been followed. Not seeing anyone suspicious or that he knew from HYDRA, he turned back towards the bar as the bartender set his drink in front of him. "Thanks."

He took a sip and was contemplating his next move when a man wearing jeans and a hoodie pulled up over a baseball cap sat on the barstool next to him. 

Bucky ignored the man and pulled his phone out to text Becca about moving their weekly dinner to Thursday that week instead of Wednesday.

"Scotch on the rocks," the man said to the bartender before nodding up at the TV above the bar. "Looks like the Yankees have a good shot this year."

Bucky took a sip of his beer, turning his eyes towards the TV as well. "Yeah, they just might make it all the way if Cole can stay healthy."

“Here’s hoping.” The man placed a ten-dollar bill on the counter as the bartender returned with his drink. "Keep the change."

He stood and turned towards Bucky. "You have a good night."

Bucky felt something slip into his pocket. "You too."

He finished his beer then headed out to his car, pulling the burner phone that Scott had given him out of his pocket and dialing the number that had been programmed into it.

"Agent Barnes," Director Fury's voice said in greeting after a couple of rings. 

"Director," Bucky said in reply.

"What you got for me?"

"Unfortunately Romania was a bust, sir. I couldn't find evidence of any arms deals while I was there even though the numbers on the original purchase order for the shipment of medical equipment didn't align with the manifest." 

Director Fury sighed. "I figured as much. Pierce must have changed his plans when he decided to send you there instead of Rumlow."

Bucky nodded to himself. "Also, the replacement assistant the company hired for me while I was out of the country turned out to be Grant Ward's former executive assistant, who also happens to be his former girlfriend." 

Director Fury hummed curiously. “You think Pierce hired her to keep her quiet?”

"Either that or because having Grant Ward’s ex-girlfriend on Hydra’s payroll would undoubtedly give Pierce the upper hand in any sort of contract negotiations with Level 6 since she could be used for leverage, but either way I certainly don't think it's a coincidence, sir.”

"In that case, see if you can get any information out of her that might be useful. She might be more willing to talk if she and Ward ended on bad terms."

Bucky nodded, his mind wandering to his and your conversation about what had brought you to HYDRA. "Yes, sir."

"In the meantime keep gathering anything that will implicate Pierce and his associates -- ledgers, shipping manifests, memos, whatever you can find. I'll check in again next week unless I hear from you sooner."

The line clicked off before Bucky could respond. 

He sighed. He had to be missing something -- some small detail somewhere that he was overlooking that would blow the whole case wide open.

He took the battery out of the phone and discarded it in the dumpster outside of The Howling Commandos, then broke the SIM card in half before discarding each piece in separate dumpsters in Queens. Finally, he headed to the harbor to discard the phone itself in the Hudson River before going home.

He parked his car in his garage next to his motorcycle and shut the garage door before heading inside. “Alpine?” he called out. “Alpine, here kitty kitty, psss psss psss.”

He smiled as he heard a ‘meow’ coming from the back of the house. He had adopted Alpine as a kitten right after he had joined SHIELD at the suggestion of Sam, a fellow military veteran who also served as the team's therapist in addition to helping out in the field.

He headed down the hallway, pausing when he saw Alpine come slinking out of his bedroom. “There you are, sweet girl.”

Alpine leisurely approached Bucky, meowing again as she stopped by his feet.

Bucky picked her up and cradled her in his arms. “What were you up to, having a nap? How about some dinner?”

Alpine purred and rubbed her face against his chin.

Bucky chuckled. “I'll take that as a yes.”

He carried Alpine to the kitchen, where he set her down by her food dish. “Here we go, dinnertime.”

He filled her food dish and made sure her water fountain was also full before heading to his refrigerator to grab another beer and the leftover Thai that would be his own dinner.

Once his food was finished heating up in his microwave, he grabbed his laptop off of his counter and brought it to his table, then took a flash drive out of the hidden compartment that Tony and Bruce had retrofitted into his metal arm and plugged it in.

He waited as the built-in encryption software ran then sent a copy of your resumé along with a typewritten report of his findings (or rather, lack thereof) from his trip to Romania and copies of the purchase order and shipping manifests for the medical equipment he had overseen the delivery of to SHIELD.

He disconnected the flash drive from his laptop, then hesitated for a brief moment before putting your name into a Google search.

He clicked on the top search result, which was your social media profile.

Your posts were all fairly innocuous -- mostly sharing links to articles about Level 6 and talking about how proud you were of Ward and everything the company had achieved, although there were a few personal posts. 

Next, Bucky clicked on the tab for your photos, smiling at a fairly recently-posted picture of you sitting at a table with a birthday cake in front of you and a big grin on your face.

He clicked on it in order to enlarge it, pausing when a video began automatically playing.

The candles on your cake had been lit and people were singing Happy Birthday to you. At the end of the song you blew out the candles, your face scrunching up in happiness as Ward had kissed your cheek.

Bucky kept clicking through the photos of you and various people from your birthday party, including several of you and Ward and you, Ward, and another woman.

Thanks so much to these two for the surprise birthday party! you had captioned one of the latter photos. I'm so lucky to have them in my life. @GWard @DaisyJohnson

The rest of the photos on your profile ranged from posed photos of you and Ward at various galas and charity events to more casual vacation and date-night selfies and candids.

Bucky scrolled back up and closed out of the photo tab, noticing that a new post had been posted in the past few minutes.

In case you haven't heard, the post began, I am no longer with Grant nor Level 6 Consulting but am instead embarking on a new adventure as a single woman with HYDRA Inc! Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this transition, especially @JemmaFitzSimmons and @LeoFitzSimmons for letting me crash on their couch for a couple of weeks while I figured things out (and for helping me move). It's true friends like you that make a world of difference!

Below the post was a selfie. You were sitting on a bed with a tired smile on your face that didn't quite reach your eyes.

There were already several reactions and comments on your post, so Bucky clicked on the comment thread. 

Hope Mackenzie: 👀 Girl, what happened??? You okay?

Bobbi Morse: Best wishes on your new endeavors! DM me if you need to talk.

Jemma Fitz-Simmons: Leo and I will *always* be there when you need us, love. You know that.

Leo Fitz-Simmons: What Jemma said. Let us know if you need anything else!

Yo-Yo Rodriguez: Grant never appreciated you anyway! How was your first day at the new job?

Below the last comment was a reply. 

“...Mmmrow.”

Bucky looked down at Alpine, who was looking back up at him. “What, you don’t think I should read it?”

Alpine pawed at his leg. “Meow.”

Bucky chuckled and leaned back. “How about this: I promise not to judge her no matter what she said about me.”

Alpine jumped up into his lap and curled up into a ball. 

Bucky smiled. “Okay, so we have a deal then.”

He bit his lip and clicked your reply.

“It was… okayish?”, you had said. “The exec I'm admin assistant for is actually pretty standoffish and didn’t really give me a whole lot to do, but the other admin assistants invited me to lunch with them, which was nice. At least *they* made me feel welcome even if my boss didn't.”

Bucky winced. “Great, she thinks I'm an asshole.”

You definitely wouldn't open up to him if you were avoiding him because you thought he was a jerk, so… “How do I fix this?”

Alpine nuzzled up into his hand and began to purr.

Bucky chuckled and scratched Alpine behind her ears. “I don't think Y/N would appreciate me petting her.”

…But maybe I could start with an apology.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Bob must be protected at all costs.

Okay here's some more Bob I'm sorry (not sorry) yet again for the bob spam but he's my bae

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Undercover Love Masterlist

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 (Coming Soon)

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Undercover Love, Chapter 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X F!Reader

Story Summary: You are the new executive assistant to James "Bucky" Barnes, a V.P. of Operations at HYDRA, Inc. You can't help but be attracted to the broody, mysterious, and handsome man, but are determined to keep things professional -- after all, your relationship with your previous boss is what caused you to need a new job in the first place. Will working closely together and late nights at the office break your resolve?

Bucky, a field agent for SHIELD, has been working undercover for a year at HYDRA and feels that he's close to finding the evidence he needs to shut HYDRA down and send the CEO, Alexander Pierce, to prison. However, he didn't count on his beautiful new assistant being a possible threat -- or a distraction.

When you accidentally uncover exactly what Bucky needs to put Pierce and his associates away, will you put both your lives -- and Bucky's career -- at risk?

Word Count: ~3400

A/N: Welcome to my Undercover Federal Agent Bucky AU! I've literally been sitting on this for well over 5 years now, but seeing Thunderbolts in the theater yesterday has reignited my thirst for Bucky Barnes, so here we are.

A quick note before we get started:

This story is told in 2 perspectives -- Reader's (which will be in 2nd person 'you' perspective) and Bucky's (which will be in 3rd person perspective, meaning that there will be use of 'Y/N').

Other than that, enjoy the ride. 😁

If you'd like to be added to my taglist for this or any of my stories or just want to chat, shoot me a message!

Ugh, about time, you thought to yourself as you finally cleared security at your new job. It was your first day and you were already running late. “Hold the elevator!”

You dashed towards the currently-open elevator doors, breathing a sigh of relief when a hand reached out and stopped the door from closing in your face so you could step inside. “Oh my goodness, thank you. It's my first day and it took me a lot longer to get through security than I thought it would've. I don't want to be…”  

You trailed off as you pressed the button for your floor then turned towards your fellow passenger on the otherwise-empty elevator. “…Late.” 

You swallowed. Your elevator savior had short, dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and interestingly, a metal hand. Mmph.

The man nodded at you before glancing up at the panel to see which floor the elevator was at. “Mr. Pierce is a stickler for security. But don't worry, you'll get through a lot faster once you receive your employee ID later.”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

Elevator Hottie smoothed out an invisible wrinkle in his suit before stepping off the elevator. “Good luck, and welcome to HYDRA, Inc.”

“Thanks!” you called out as the doors closed once again.

Once the elevator arrived at your floor and the doors opened again, you stepped out into a hallway. Directly in front of you was a door with a nameplate that read J. Barnes, VP.

You sighed with relief. At least I don't have to go searching for the right office.

You opened the door and stepped into the office where an older, red-haired woman was waiting for you.

“Good morning,” the woman greeted. “You must be Y/N.”

You nodded. “Yes, that’s me.” 

“I’m Dot, Mr. Pierce's executive assistant. Mr. Barnes is in a short meeting with Mr. Pierce this morning, so I was asked to come get you acclimated until he arrives.”

You relaxed. At least Mr. Barnes won't know I was almost late on my first day. “Oh, great. Thanks.”

Dot handed you a file folder. “There’s some paperwork you need to fill out for HR in here, and your temporary ID is also included. You’ll use it to get into certain authorized areas, like the company breakroom.”

She pointed at the desk then opened one of the drawers. “And this is where you’ll be. You’ll find pens, notepads, a company directory, and everything else you’ll need in the drawers here. Oh, and there's take-out menus in this drawer for the days Mr. Barnes works late -- which is often, so don't be surprised if he asks you to stay late as well.”

“That’s not a problem,” you replied. You had been told in your interview that the position would require overtime depending on company needs.

“Good.” Dot nodded firmly then led you into the glass-enclosed inner office. “And this is Mr. Barnes’s office.” 

You looked around at the lack of family photos or decorations. “Awfully sparse, isn’t it?” you remarked. 

“He’s a very private person,” Dot replied. “I was his assistant for a year before being promoted to Mr. Pierce’s executive assistant and I barely know anything personal about him. He just doesn’t talk much outside of work stuff.”

You took another quick glance around before following Dot back out to the outer office. “Anything else I should know about Mr. Barnes?” you asked. “He wasn’t at my interview so I haven’t met him yet.”

Before Dot could answer a voice suddenly spoke from behind you. “Ah, this must be my new assistant.” 

You turned around to see the handsome man from the elevator walking towards you. Well, so much for Mr. Barnes not knowing that I was almost late on my first day of work. 

“I can take it from here,” Mr. Barnes continued. “Thanks, Dot.”

“Yes, sir,” Dot replied. “Y/N, you can just bring your completed HR paperwork to me tomorrow. I'll see you later.” 

With that, she walked out of the office.

You stepped out from behind the desk and stuck out your hand. “Mr. Barnes, pleasure to meet you.”

Mr. Barnes nodded. “Likewise."

You looked down in surprise as warm metal fingers grasped your own in a gentle but firm handshake.

Mr. Barnes smiled wryly. “Latest in cybernetic technology. The wiring mimics blood flow so it warms like skin.” 

He flexed his fingers then gestured toward his office. “Anyway, shall we?” 

You grabbed a notepad & pen and followed Mr. Barnes into his office.

Mr. Barnes shut the door behind you and shot you an apologetic smile. “First off, my apologies that I wasn’t at your interview.  I was out of the country on business and just arrived back home late last night.” 

Your heart fluttered. Oh, no, you thought. Nopeity nope, not gonna be attracted to my boss. Not happening. 

You cleared your throat and tapped your pencil against your notepad. “I’m sure we’ll work together just fine. Is there anything I should know?”

Mr. Barnes leaned back in his chair. “Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself first. Your resumé said that you worked as the executive assistant to Grant Ward over at Level 6 Consulting for 5 years? What made you leave there?”

“Oh, um, well…” You bit your lip. Might as well just put it out there. “Actually, Grant was my boyfriend. We had been together for a few months when he started his company, so he hired me as his assistant. Everything was fine until a couple of months ago when I walked into our apartment after arriving home early from a business trip and caught him in bed with the firm's computer systems analyst.” 

What had been even worse than Grant's betrayal was the fact that you had been there for Daisy during Daisy's own breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Lincoln, and had encouraged Daisy to move on -- you just hadn't expected Daisy to move on with your boyfriend.

You snorted derisively. “Apparently the computer system wasn't the only thing being analyzed.”

Mr. Barnes let out a chuckle but otherwise stayed silent. 

“So anyway, I obviously couldn't stay with either Grant or the company after that,” you concluded. “So here I am.”

Mr. Barnes nodded. “Well, I'm grateful that you're here because I could use someone with your kind of experience as my assistant. With that being said, if Nick calls tell him that I’m either in a meeting or out of the office and take a message, if Rebecca calls, always send her through even if you’re holding my other calls, and if it’s anyone else just ask before sending them through.”

You nodded as you jotted down notes. Nick, busy… Rebecca, put through… otherwise ask.  “Ok, is there anything else? Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

Mr. Barnes shook his head. “I'm fine. Thank you. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

You went back to her desk and began reading and filling out all of the paperwork that Dot had left for you. A few minutes later, your phone rang.

“HYDRA, Inc., Mr. Barnes’s office,” you answered, belatedly realizing that you didn’t know the proper greeting with which to answer calls.

“Y/N, it’s Dot. Your security badge is ready downstairs and Mr. Pierce would like me to give you a tour of the company, so will you meet me on the first floor in 5 minutes?” 

“Sure. I’ll see you soon.” You hung up and went over to Mr. Barnes's office, knocking lightly on the doorway. 

Mr. Barnes looked over from his computer screen. “Yes?”

“Dot just phoned to tell me that my security badge is ready and that Mr. Pierce asked her to give me a tour of the company, so I’ll be away from my desk for a bit. Do you need anything before I go?”

“No, I’m good for now, thanks.” Mr. Barnes went back to his computer screen, summarily dismissing you.

Well, okay then, you thought.

You grabbed your paperwork for your ID and headed downstairs, where Dot was waiting for you.

“Ready?” Dot asked.

You nodded. 

The two of you headed back down to the first floor and stopped at the security desk, where you exchanged your paperwork and temporary ID for a permanent one. 

Dot then led you up to the second floor, showing you the mailroom and copy room as well as the staff breakroom/lounge. The third floor housed the R&D department, which you and Dot mostly observed through a glass wall while various scientists worked on perfecting new technological advances, in addition to several meeting rooms including the one which your interview had been held in. You skipped the fourth floor, which Dot explained just housed the computer mainframes and whatnot, and the fifth, which contained the VP offices. “The executive boardroom is right down this hall,” Dot said as you stepped off the elevator on the top floor. “You’ll be asked to sit in on meetings on occasion to take notes for Mr. Barnes.” 

She opened another door at the end of the hall. “And this is Mr. Pierce’s office.”

You had thought that Mr. Barnes's office was spacious, but it was nothing compared to this one. There was a large waiting area complete with several expensive-looking armchairs, various works of art on the walls, and even a suit of armor on the side of a closed door marked A. Pierce, President.

You gestured towards the door. “Mr. Pierce’s office, I presume?”

Dot nodded. “I’d introduce you, but Mr. Pierce left a little while ago on a business trip.”

You shrugged. “That’s ok.” You had actually met Alexander Pierce on a couple of occasions since Grant had consulted for him on a few business deals.

“Ok, well that’s everything,” Dot said. “I’ll walk you back down to your office.”

You shook your head. “That’s ok. I should be able to find it.”

Dot nodded. “OK then.” She walked back over to her desk. “Oh, a few of the girls and I are going out for lunch. Would you like to join us?”

You smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot. Thanks.”

“Ok, I’ll come down around noon and we’ll all head over to the restaurant.”

“Great. Thanks. Oh, by the way, what’s the correct greeting when answering the phone?”

Dot shook her head. “How you answered earlier is fine.”

“Okay, good.”

You headed back down to the 5th floor then walked back into Mr. Barnes's outer office, letting Mr. Barnes know that you were back and double-checking that he didn’t need anything before settling back at your desk with the rest of your HR paperwork.

 About an hour later, Mr. Barnes called out your name.

“Yes, sir?” you replied, getting up from your desk and walking into his office.

Mr. Barnes looked up from his computer and handed you a manila envelope and a small stack of files. “Could you bring this to the mailroom, and then make a copy of each of these files? Dot showed you where the mailroom is, right?”

You nodded. “Yes, and sure thing.”  

You took the stack and left the office, heading down the elevator to the mailroom, which appeared to be empty.

“Hello?” you called out.

A dark-haired young man popped out from behind a shelf. “Oh, hi. Can I help you?”

“Um, yeah.” You held up the manilla envelope. “I have some mail to go out?”

“Oh, ok, yeah, I can take that.” The young man stuck his hand out for you to shake. “I’m Peter, by the way.” 

You took his hand briefly. “Y/N. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. You must be Mr. Barnes’s new assistant. First day?”

You nodded. “How’d you guess?”

Peter grinned. “I know everyone in the company since I have to deliver their mail, and I haven’t seen you before. Plus I know that Mr. Barnes was in need of an assistant since Dot got promoted, so it was an educated guess.”

"Good guess, then." You held up the stack of files. “I’ve got to make some copies for Mr. Barnes, so I better get going. It was very nice meeting you, Peter.”

“Nice to meet you too, Y/N. See you around!”

You left the mailroom and walked next door to the copy room, where you quickly made copies of the files before heading back upstairs to Mr. Barnes's office, where he was on the phone. 

Not sure whether to enter his office while he was on the phone, you decided to err on the side of caution and waited until he had hung up to bring him the files.

“Thank you,” Mr. Barnes said.

You nodded. “Did you need anything else?” 

Mr. Barnes shook his head. “No, that’s all for now, thanks.”

“Ok then.” You retreated to your desk. 

A few minutes later your phone rang. “Good morning, HYDRA, Inc. Mr. Barnes’s office,” you answered.

“Yes, may I speak to Mr. Barnes, please?” a voice said from the other end of the call.

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“Yes, this is Reed Richards with the Baxter Foundation returning his call.”

“One moment please.” You placed the call on hold and dialed Mr. Barnes's extension.

“Yes?” he answered. 

“I have Reed Richards from the Baxter Foundation on the line for you, says he's returning your call?”

“Send him through.”

“Ok.” You took Mr. Richards off of hold. “I’m transferring you now, sir. One moment.” 

You did that a few more times during the morning as calls came in, but mostly familiarized yourself with the computer programs you would be using as well as Mr. Barnes's appointment calendar.

You sighed as you noticed several instances of Dinner with Rebecca sprinkled in among the meetings and business trips. Of course someone that attractive would have a girlfriend, you thought. It’s just as well though. 

After the whole debacle with Grant you had sworn off any interest in men that you worked with, especially your boss -- no matter how attractive he was.

Right at the stroke of noon Dot came to get you for lunch. “Hey, Y/N, you ready?”

You nodded. “Yeah, just a sec.”

You grabbed your purse and knocked on Mr. Barnes's doorway. “Um, I’m going out for lunch with some of the other office assistants. Did you need anything before I go?”

Mr. Barnes nodded. “Actually, would you mind picking up my lunch while you’re out? Just a chef salad from the deli around the corner would be fine. No dressing.”

You nodded, happy to actually be useful. “Sure thing.”

Mr. Barnes took his wallet out of his pocket and handed you some cash. "Thanks."

You joined Dot and headed downstairs, where two other women were waiting.

Dot linked her arm through yours as you walked up. “Y/N, this is Teresa and Ophelia. They’re the assistants for Mr. Rumlow and Mr. Rollins. Girls, this is Y/N, Mr. Barnes’s new assistant.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” you said.

“So you’re the lucky new hire,” the woman Dot had introduced as Ophelia said. "Welcome aboard."

"Thanks."

You all walked down the street to a cozy little bistro that you had been to a couple of times before.

"Hi, party of four?" the seating host said.

"Yes, please," Dot replied.

"Okay, right this way."

You followed the group to a table in the corner of the small restaurant.

The seating host placed four table settings down. "Okay, here we are. Meredith will be your server and she'll be right with you. Enjoy."

"Thank you," your group chorused as you all sat down.

A few seconds later your server came up to you. "Good afternoon, my name is Meredith and I'll be taking care of you today. Can I start you ladies off with something to drink?"

"Ah, yes, can I get a water?" Dot said.

"I'll have a sweet tea," Teresa added.

"Unsweet tea for me," Ophelia chimed in.

The three of them looked at you expectantly.

"Oh, um…" You quickly gave your drink order.

Meredith nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back with those while you get a chance to look over the menu."

"So, Y/N," Teresa began as Meredith left to go get your drinks, "what do you think about Mr. Barnes so far?"

"He seems okay," you replied. "Not overly chatty, but that's typical of the executives I've met through my previous job."

"Gorgeous, though," Ophelia chimed in. "I certainly wouldn't mind having to work in close capacity with that all day."

You privately agreed with her but didn't respond. The last thing you needed was to become the subject of office gossip, especially on your first day. "So how long have you three been with the company?" she said instead.

"Three years," Ophelia replied.

"Four for me," Teresa added. "Dot's been here forever though, haven't you, Dotty?"

Dot nodded. "Ten years for me. I started out as the receptionist in the main lobby and worked my way up."

She paused as Meredith returned with your drinks. 

"Okay," Meredith said as she placed your drinks in front of them. "Are we ready to order, ladies?"

You nodded. “I know what I want.”

“Same,” Dot echoed. 

“Me too," Teresa said.

“Yep,” Ophelia added.

Meredith pulled out a notepad and clicked her pen. “Okay, wonderful.”

After she had taken your lunch orders and left once again, Teresa took a sip of her tea. "Tell us about yourself, Y/N.”

You took a sip of your own drink. "Well, I'm originally from (your hometown) but I moved to New York to pursue a business management degree at NYU, then I spent the last 5 years working for Level 6 Consulting before coming here."

Dot nodded. "Oh, yeah. I've seen Mr. Ward at a few meetings with Mr. Pierce."

"Yeah, he's consulted on a few projects here." You just hoped that you'd be able to avoid seeing Grant the next time he showed up for a meeting.

The girls continued talking throughout lunch, filling you in on the current office gossip and letting you know who to avoid being cornered by in the hallway or staff break room.

You checked your watch as Meredith brought your credit cards and receipts back to you and the other ladies. "I should probably run. I have to stop and get Mr. Barnes's lunch on my way back."

You stood. "Thanks for the invite. I had a good time."

"Of course," Ophelia said. "Us girls gotta stick together, right?"

"We'll see you back at the office," Dot added.

You left the restaurant and headed to the deli on the corner, then back to the office.

You headed up to Mr. Barnes's office and put your purse back in your desk drawer before knocking on Mr. Barnes's doorframe. "I'm back."

Mr. Barnes briefly looked up from the report he was studying. "Thanks. You can leave it here on my desk."

You set Mr. Barnes's lunch down. "Oh, and here's your change along with your receipt. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do. Thanks again."

You returned to your desk and continued reading over your paperwork.

Around 3:30 pm, Mr. Barnes stepped out of his office. "I have to go to a meeting in a few minutes, but if I'm not back by 5, have a good evening, okay?"

You nodded. "You too, sir."

Over the next hour and a half, you finished reading over and filling out your HR paperwork in between answering calls and taking messages. 

You were getting ready to leave when Mr. Barnes returned. "Heading out?" he said.

"Oh, um, yes," you replied, then quickly added, "unless you need anything else?"

Mr. Barnes shook his head. "No, I'm actually heading out in a minute myself."

"Oh, okay. I put your messages on your desk, but I don't think any of them are urgent -- or at least, no one requested an urgent callback."

Mr. Barnes nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow."

You gathered your belongings and headed down the hall to the elevator. You had been nervous that morning, but by now your tension had eased somewhat. Maybe things will work out here.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

A new (old) character has (re)entered the writing room in my head... 😏

First up, UNDERCOVER LOVE:

"You are the new executive assistant to James "Bucky" Barnes, a V.P. of Operations at HYDRA, Inc. You can't help but be attracted to the broody, mysterious, and handsome man, but are determined to keep things professional -- after all, your relationship with your previous boss is what caused you to need a new job in the first place. Will working closely together and late nights at the office break your resolve?

Bucky, a field agent for SHIELD, has been working undercover for a year at HYDRA and feels that he's close to finding the evidence he needs to shut HYDRA down and send the CEO, Alexander Pierce, to prison. However, he didn't count on his beautiful new assistant being a possible threat -- or a distraction.

When you accidentally uncover exactly what Bucky needs to put Pierce and his associates away, will you put both your lives -- and Bucky's career -- at risk?"

First chapter will be posted shortly! Stay tuned!

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

CHARLIE COX

Collider Photoshoot, May 2025

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

THIS MADE ME ABSOLUTELY FERAL.

So sweet and SO HOT!

Tell Me Again (Daredevil Fic)

Word Count: ~500 Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader Summary: You never imagined saying those three little words like this. Warnings: Explicit sex, p in v sex, sappy romance Matt Murdock / Daredevil Masterlist General Masterlist Taglist: @loves0phelia, @nowheredreamer, @beezusvreeland, @yarrystyleeza, @justvalkyrie, @xoxabs88xox, @flynnethenerd, @pastafossa, @bellaxgiornata

Written for @mattmurdocksscars Amanda's 2.5k Writer Challenge using Prompt #12 "Tell Me Again". I hope you enjoy.

Tell Me Again

You had been thinking about telling him for a while.

You had romantic daydreams of saying it during one of your walks, possibly snuggled against his side while you shared an umbrella. You'd say those three little words. He'd say them back. Then you'd share a kiss. Maybe the umbrella would get dropped but neither of you would care.

Or maybe the next time you were making dinner together, you'd look over at Matt wearing the frilly apron you bought him as a gag gift but he insisted on using anyway, that soft, fond smile on his lips and you wouldn't be able to stop yourself this time…

Sometimes your daydreams were more dramatic. You imagined telling Matt while holding his hand after he danced with the Reaper again or dramatically, while you waited for Claire, praying that she made it in time. It was a reoccuring nightmare. That Matt would slip away before you could tell him, that he might…be gone without ever knowing just how much you loved him.

You never imagined it going like this.

On your back, legs still trembling from your orgasm, watching Matt's face contort with pleasure after he finally bottomed out. Later, you'd blame the delicious little rocking movements of his hips for loosening your tongue.

"I love you."

Matt froze. You whined in protest, your mind too clouded by pleasure to fully register what you had just said.

"Say that again."

Say what again, you almost asked before you realized what had just happened. Then you wanted to moan for reasons other than the cock filling you up. You just said 'I love you' during sex. Could you be anymore of a cliche?

"Please," he said, disbelief and hope warring in his voice. "Tell me again."

"I love you."

You had heard that love made people beautiful. Matt was already pretty but the joy that spread across his face, lighting up those hazel eyes…it transformed him from handsome to something indescribably beautiful. 

"I love you too," Matt whispered, almost reverent. Then he was kissing you, deep and nearly frantic. Almost as frantic as your hands scrambling for his shoulders when his hips thrust, burying himself as deep inside you as he could get. You moaned. A sound he echoed into your mouth as your cunt clenched tightly around his cock.

He broke off the kiss but only for a moment before he was kissing you again. All the while, his hips never stopped moving — withdrawing a little before thrusting back in…each thrust longer and harder than the last.

"Tell me again," he pleaded.

"I love you!"

Again and again until neither of you could speak any coherent words. Their replacement was a chorus of guttural moans and begging whines mixed with the obscene sounds of his cock rapidly pumping into your eager cunt and thunk of the headboard against the wall.

One moment, it felt like this would last forever. Matt would never stop fucking you into the mattress. The next, you were teetering on that edge and one swipe of his thumb across your clit sent you screaming over it. A heartbeat later, with a final groan that might have been your name, Matt came.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

😏

Arty Froushan in Daredevil: Born Again S01E03

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

AHHHH YESSSS CONGRATS AMANDA!!! 🥰

WE DID IT 🎉🥳

Give me some time to plan and then maybe this weekend we'll have a celebration!

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Pls, I'm needy. 😂

Reblog if you are a fanfiction author and would like your readers to put one of your fic titles in your ask + questions about it

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Go to Tumblr Settings and turn this on or all the falsely marked mature posts won't show up for you

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Thank you!!!! I absolutely adore Chef!Matt too and was FLOORED when I realized that it's been over a year since I had updated. 😳

More soon!!!

Mise en Place, Chapter 5

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: M

Story Summary: Here

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness, no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, things gone get SPICY later 🔥 (aka smut in future chapters)

Word Count: ~3200

A/N: I can't believe it's been over a year since I updated this story (*shakes head at Chef!Matt*), but we're back and should be rocking and rolling with updates from here on out. Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I'll be back with more soon!

Divider by the phenomenally talented @realfernmayo!

Tag List: @danzer8705 @shouldbestudying41 @capylore @mattmurdockstateofmind @yarrystyleeza

Matt grinned to himself as he headed towards the Bulletin , an insulated tote bag full of items for his and your picnic lunch in hand . The previous evening’s dinner service had gone amazingly -- the restaurant had made more money during that one service than it had in any given week thus far, and when Matt had checked the reservation system when he and Foggy had arrived to start the day's prep work there were even more pending reservations than there had been when they had left.

His phone rang as he reached the building, the caller ID announcing an unknown, out-of-state number.

Matt ignored it and headed inside, too eager to see you to worry about answering.

He signed in at the security desk then headed up the elevator to your floor.

“Matt, hey,” he heard Skyler say as he stepped off of the elevator. 

He turned towards her voice. “Skyler, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to thank you again for your help the other day.”

Skyler made a non-committal sound. “I was just making sure that my best friend didn't miss out on a chance at happiness.” 

Matt nodded. “Still, I appreciate it.”

He folded his cane and stuck it into his tote bag, then pulled out the container containing the apple tart he had made that morning. “Here, I made this for you.”

Skyler took it. “How did you know I like apple tarts?”

Matt shrugged. “Foggy said that you had an apple crisp latte and a slice of apple pie at the café the two of you went to the other day, so I made an educated guess.”

“Well, thank you.”

Matt shook his head as he heard your footsteps approach. “It's the least I could do.”

He turned as you walked up, unable to keep a smile from forming on his lips. “Hi, sweetheart.”

You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi to you too.”

“Ready to go?”

You briefly hesitated. “Actually, my boss wants to meet you first, if that's okay.”

Matt hummed in the affirmative. “Yeah, that's not a problem.”

You took Matt's hand. “I'll see you when I get back, Sky.”

“‘Kay,” Skyler replied. “Thanks again for the apple tart, Matt.”

Matt nodded. “Of course. And thank you again for everything.”

“Not a problem.” 

“Come on,” you said as Skyler walked away. “My boss’s office is this way.”

You led Matt past a row of desks to a small office and lightly knocked on the open doorway. “Mitch, Chef Murdock is here.”

Mr. Ellison stood. “Ah, yes, Chef Murdock. Nice to meet you.”

Matt held his hand out for Mr. Ellison to shake. “And you as well, sir.”

Mr. Ellison briefly shook Matt's hand. “I wanted to apologize again for the situation with the article last week.”

Matt shook his head. “No need, Mr. Ellison, truly. The false article never made it to publication and the person responsible was held accountable for their actions.”

He took your hand and gave you a soft smile. “Besides, everything worked out in the end.”

Mr. Ellison chuckled. “So I've heard. Congratulations to you both.”

“I'm heading to lunch,” you said. “I'll be back in an hour.”

“Okay, have a good one,” Mr. Ellison replied.

Matt reached into his tote bag and pulled out the container of cookies he had also baked that morning. “Before we go… I brought these for the staff.”

Mr. Ellison took the container. “Thanks, Chef. That was really nice of you.”

Matt shook his head. “Not a problem.”

He took your elbow as the two of you left Mr. Ellison's office and headed back to the elevator.

“So how are things at the restaurant?” you asked.

“Between reservations and walk-ins, It was pretty steady last night,” Matt replied. “Plus it's looking like the rest of the week is probably going to be too.”

“That's great! I'm so happy to hear that.”

Matt smiled at your sincere tone as the elevator ding ed its arrival. “I seriously don't know how to thank you enough.”

You hummed. “I know how.”

Matt's brow furrowed as the two of you stepped into the elevator. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm.” You pressed the button for the lobby. “Like this.”

You turned to him as the doors closed and gently pulled him in for a kiss.

Matt smiled against your lips. “Mmm,” he said as the two of you parted, his free hand sliding around your waist. “In that case…”

He sought your lips out once more, breaking away right as the elevator arrived at the lobby. “I definitely haven't thanked you enough.”

You huffed out a breathy laugh. “Then you'll just have to thank me again later, won't you?”

Matt grinned. “Absolutely.” 

He shifted his tote bag and took your elbow once again as the elevator doors opened, unable to keep a smile off of his face. 

“So how's your day been?” Matt asked as you and he left the Bulletin and made your way to the small park down the street . 

You smiled. “It's been okay. I worked on planning out my next couple of features and turned in a short article on the possible upcoming public transit strike.”

Matt nodded. “Ah, yeah, I heard something about that. Makes me glad I walk most places, although I do feel bad for commuters since they're the ones whose lives are disrupted the most.”

“Yeah, me too. There's another meeting  between the MTA and the rail workers’ union on Monday, so hopefully they can make a deal before the deadline.”

Matt hummed in agreement. “Fingers crossed.”

“And I meant to tell you earlier, I got the go-ahead to look into the Health Department, so I submitted a public records request for Kingpin’s inspections.” You paused briefly as the two of you crossed the street at a crosswalk. “Thank you again for that tip, by the way. I appreciate it.”

Matt shook his head. “Just sharing my suspicions. It may turn out to be nothing, and if that's the case I apologize for wasting your time, but I truly do believe something was up.”

You shrugged. “Hey, that's part of journalism. You wouldn't believe the number of leads I've followed that turned out to be duds, but I'd rather do the research and turn up nothing than report false information and have to worry about a potential lawsuit later.”

Matt sighed. “I wish I'd have thought about that before accusing you of writing that fake article.”

You glanced over at him. You couldn't help but be curious as to what exactly the article Matt's ex-girlfriend had written about him said and wondered if it was archived somewhere or if Matt had managed to get it taken down. “It's okay, really. You don't have to keep apologizing for that.”

Matt shook his head. “Would you mind letting me know if you find anything?”

You nodded. “Sure. The Health Department said to allow 3 to 5 business days for someone to get back with me so I'm hoping to hear back by the end of the week, but if not, it should be early next week. Either way I'll let you know what I find -- or don't find, if that's the case.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.”

The two of you headed into the park entrance. “Where would you like to sit?” Matt asked. “I brought a blanket so we could sit on the grass, but if you'd prefer to sit at a table that's fine with me.”

You shook your head. “No, the grass is fine.”

Matt nodded. “Okay, great.”

He led you to a quiet, shady spot then set the tote bag down and pulled out a blanket.

You reached for a corner as he unfolded it. “Here, let me help you spread it out.”

Matt smiled softly at you. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem.”

Together the two of you got the blanket spread out, then you sat.

Matt began pulling containers out of the tote, reading the Braille label on each one before setting the container down onto the blanket.

You watched as he carefully traced over the Braille letters, the memory of his long fingers tracing over your face causing your body to heat.

What appeared to be a small smirk briefly flitted across Matt's lips. “Okay,” he said as he set the last few containers on the blanket and began to open them. “We have arugula, garden-grown tomato, and roasted red bell pepper sandwiches with pesto and fresh mozzarella, a variety of meats, cheeses, and fresh vegetables with homemade ranch and hummus to dip, and for dessert…”

He opened the last container. “Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.”

You huffed out a laugh. “I thought I was going to have to fight someone for one when I got back to the office… if there were even any left.”

Matt grinned and shook his head. “No assault necessary, which is good considering I went to culinary school instead of law school and therefore couldn't represent you in court.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what kind of lawyer would you have been?”

Matt grinned again. “A really good one.”

You shook your head with a laugh. “No, I mean what kind of law would you have practiced?”

“Probably criminal defense. A lot of innocent people go to jail and a lot of guilty people get harsher sentences than are necessary for their actions, so I would've liked to help them.”

You nodded. That tracked with what you knew about Matt. “Instead you help people by feeding them.”

Matt nodded with a slight shrug. “And however else I can.”

He reached into the tote bag once again and took out a couple of reusable plastic plates and cups, then pulled out a thermos. “I made blueberry-basil lemonade, but I also brought bottled water as well. I wasn't sure which one you'd prefer.”

You smiled. “Lemonade is fine.”

“Okay, great.” Matt unscrewed the thermos and poured some lemonade into one of the cups before handing it to you. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” You took a sip, your eyebrows raising in surprise. “Wow, this is really interesting.”

Matt grinned. “Good interesting or bad interesting?”

You took another sip. “ Definitely good interesting.” 

“I'm glad you like it.” Matt gestured to the food spread before you. “Shall we eat?”

You nodded. “Sure.”

You picked up one of the sandwiches and set it on a plate. “Now, what's on the sandwiches again?”

Matt picked up a sandwich as well. “It's arugula, garden-grown tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, fresh mozzarella, and pesto.”

“Mmm.” You took a bite, the peppery bitterness of arugula, fresh-from-the-garden flavor of tomatoes, smoky char of roasted red bell peppers, slight saltiness of mozzarella, and smooth herbaceous-cheesy-nutty flavor of Matt's homemade pesto all coming together on the freshly-baked bread. “Mmm . Oh my goodness. Not to sound like a broken record, but damn , Matt. This is delicious.”

“Thanks.” Matt took a sip of lemonade. “This is actually one of my favorite things to eat during the summer, but since it's been mostly warm enough that I can still home-grown tomatoes, I've luckily been able to enjoy them a bit longer.”

He reached for a carrot and used it to scoop some hummus onto his plate. “Sorry, I didn't think to bring spoons for the dips.”

You shook your head, taking your own scoop of hummus along with a selection of fresh vegetables. “Not a big deal. The veggies themselves will work just fine as scoops.”

The two of you continued eating in content silence, just enjoying each other's company and the bright sunshine of a beautiful early autumn day.

You broke the silence with another small sound of satisfaction. “Now this, ” you said, pointing to the scoop of hummus you were currently dipping your selection of veggies into, “is menu-worthy hummus.”

Matt chuckled. “No beets in this one, I promise. Foggy and I have been toying with the idea of adding seasonal items to the menu, and I had thought that that might be a good appetizer to serve around Valentine's Day. Definitely not, though.”

You hummed. “Well what about incorporating roasted red bell peppers instead? That'd still fit the Valentine's Day theme.”

Matt thought for a moment. “Wait, yeah, I think that might actually work. I'll have to try that out.”

You finished your lunch then bit into a cookie, closing your eyes in bliss at the taste. “Ohmigod, how? How do you manage to make something as simple as chocolate chip cookies taste so decadent?”

Matt grinned. “Part of it is quality ingredients, but the real secret is brown butter.”

“They're delicious. Everything was.”

“I'm glad you liked it.” Matt paused.

“How long do we have before we need to head back to the Bulletin ?”

You checked your phone for the time. “About 20 minutes -- unless you need to get back to the restaurant?” 

Matt shook his head. “Actually I was asking because I was hoping you'd have time to take a walk around the park with me before you had to get back to work.”

You nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I have time.”

The two of you quickly packed everything up then stood so you could fold up the blanket. 

Matt set the blanket into the tote. “Shall we, then?”

You shook your head. “Wait, you have a little something…”

You wrapped an arm around Matt's waist and gave him a brief kiss. “There, I think I got it.”

Matt let out a chuckle. “You think so, huh?”

“Mmm, I don't know, I better check again just to be sure.” You gave Matt another soft kiss, letting this one linger just a bit longer. “Yeah, I got it.”

Matt grinned. “You know, you don't need an excuse to kiss me , either.”

He slipped his hand into yours. “Come on, let's go take that walk.”

The two of you headed to the short walking path that wound around the park.

You sighed in contentment as you meandered down the path together. “I love this time of year.”

Matt nodded. “I do too. Fall fruits and vegetables are generally my favorite.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what's going on the seasonal menu for fall? Probably something with pumpkin, right?”

Matt nodded. “We actually wouldn't start seasonal menus until we got more established so it wouldn't be until next fall, but yeah, probably a pumpkin soup or pumpkin ravioli, and also a dessert of some sort featuring fresh fall apples. Maybe a tartlet with homemade vanilla bean ice cream or caramel apple trifles? And apple strudel for the brunch menu.”

“Mmm, paired with spiced apple cider as a specialty drink?”

Matt grinned. “Yeah, exactly.” 

You hummed. “All of that sounds amazing.”

Matt bit his lip. “How about you join me for breakfast at the restaurant on Saturday, then? We can hit up the farmers market again for some fresh apples and I can make strudel… and maybe a warm apple cider as well.”

Your heart fluttered. “I'd love to.”

“Great.” Matt paused. “I was also thinking dinner Sunday night? My place?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Want me to come help with prep for the soup kitchen first?”

Matt shook his head. “The church is having their annual fall festival after 11 o’clock Mass on Sunday, so dinner for the soup kitchen is already covered.” 

“Ah, okay. Father Lantom didn't mention that in our interview -- probably because he knew my feature on the church’s upcoming fundraisers wasn't going to be published until after it had already passed.”

Matt nodded. “By the way, how's your article on that coming along?”

“It's almost done -- I'm planning on finishing it up when I get back to the office.” You bit your lip. “I had actually planned on finishing it this morning but I was looking forward to our lunch together too much to focus properly.”

A small smile crept across Matt's face. “I know what you mean. I thought Foggy was going to throw a steak at me because I kept messing up the marinade I was supposed to be making.”

You couldn't help but smile in return, endeared by the thought of Matt being just as nervously excited to spend time with you as you had been to spend time with him. “Oh no, I’m sorry.”

Matt shook his head and gave your hand a light squeeze. “It’s okay. Besides, it's not like he hasn't been distracted by Skyler the past few days.”

You let out a light laugh, glad that Skyler and Foggy had hit it off -- Sky deserved to be happy and Foggy seemed like a genuinely good guy. “Yeah, Sky’s been smiling at her phone a lot too. Maybe eventually the four of us could go on a double date --if you and Foggy would both have time, that is.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

You and Matt continued your stroll in peaceful silence until you had made your way back to the beginning of the route.

You checked your phone for the time. “I need to get back to work. I don't want to be late.”

Matt nodded. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Thanks.”

Matt continued to hold your hand, foregoing the use of his cane as you headed back to the Bulletin.

You slowed to a stop in front of the Bulletin . “Thank you again for lunch. I’ll see you Saturday morning?” 

Matt nodded with a smile before letting go of your hand so he could get his cane out of his tote bag. “Is 8 AM an okay time for me to pick you up at your apartment? Strudel takes a while to make.”

“Yep, that's fine. And I'll let you know if those inspection reports from the Health Department come in before then.”

“Okay, great, thanks.” Matt reached out and caressed your cheek, then gave you a soft, slow kiss. “See you Saturday.”

“See ya.” 

You waited as Matt unfolded his cane and headed back towards Daredevil, then sighed happily and went inside the Bulletin .

You greeted Phil then headed to the elevator, humming to yourself as you rode back up to your floor.

You stopped by Ellison's office on your way to your desk. “Hey, just letting you know I'm back from lunch.”

“I emailed you my notes on that transit strike article while you were gone,” Ellison replied. “Nothing major, just wanted you to see if you can get quotes from the heads of the MTA and the transit workers' union before we go to press tomorrow.”

You nodded. “Okay, I'll see if I can get in touch with them. And I should have my article on the need for donations at Clinton Church to you by EoD today.”

“Great. Thanks.”

You turned and headed to your desk. You had been hoping to get a couple of minutes to reflect on your lunch date, but as the saying went, the news never sleeps.

As you sat, your phone chimed with an incoming text message.

You swiped to open it, smiling when you saw that you had a message from Matt.

I had a great time today, it read. 

Me too, you replied back. Lunch was great, but the company was even better.

I agree. There was a brief pause, then another message. Best company I’ve had in a long time, in fact.

Your face heated. Same here.

You locked your phone back, smiling to yourself.

You couldn't wait until Saturday.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

I've had those sandwiches and lemme tell you, they are delicious.

Foggy also deserves all the happiness!!! He really doesn't get enough love.

Hey, sometimes an unknown, out-of-state number is simply a spam call or wrong number...

...But sometimes it's not. 😈

Mise en Place, Chapter 5

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: M

Story Summary: Here

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness, no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, things gone get SPICY later 🔥 (aka smut in future chapters)

Word Count: ~3200

A/N: I can't believe it's been over a year since I updated this story (*shakes head at Chef!Matt*), but we're back and should be rocking and rolling with updates from here on out. Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I'll be back with more soon!

Divider by the phenomenally talented @realfernmayo!

Tag List: @danzer8705 @shouldbestudying41 @capylore @mattmurdockstateofmind @yarrystyleeza

Matt grinned to himself as he headed towards the Bulletin , an insulated tote bag full of items for his and your picnic lunch in hand . The previous evening’s dinner service had gone amazingly -- the restaurant had made more money during that one service than it had in any given week thus far, and when Matt had checked the reservation system when he and Foggy had arrived to start the day's prep work there were even more pending reservations than there had been when they had left.

His phone rang as he reached the building, the caller ID announcing an unknown, out-of-state number.

Matt ignored it and headed inside, too eager to see you to worry about answering.

He signed in at the security desk then headed up the elevator to your floor.

“Matt, hey,” he heard Skyler say as he stepped off of the elevator. 

He turned towards her voice. “Skyler, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to thank you again for your help the other day.”

Skyler made a non-committal sound. “I was just making sure that my best friend didn't miss out on a chance at happiness.” 

Matt nodded. “Still, I appreciate it.”

He folded his cane and stuck it into his tote bag, then pulled out the container containing the apple tart he had made that morning. “Here, I made this for you.”

Skyler took it. “How did you know I like apple tarts?”

Matt shrugged. “Foggy said that you had an apple crisp latte and a slice of apple pie at the café the two of you went to the other day, so I made an educated guess.”

“Well, thank you.”

Matt shook his head as he heard your footsteps approach. “It's the least I could do.”

He turned as you walked up, unable to keep a smile from forming on his lips. “Hi, sweetheart.”

You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi to you too.”

“Ready to go?”

You briefly hesitated. “Actually, my boss wants to meet you first, if that's okay.”

Matt hummed in the affirmative. “Yeah, that's not a problem.”

You took Matt's hand. “I'll see you when I get back, Sky.”

“‘Kay,” Skyler replied. “Thanks again for the apple tart, Matt.”

Matt nodded. “Of course. And thank you again for everything.”

“Not a problem.” 

“Come on,” you said as Skyler walked away. “My boss’s office is this way.”

You led Matt past a row of desks to a small office and lightly knocked on the open doorway. “Mitch, Chef Murdock is here.”

Mr. Ellison stood. “Ah, yes, Chef Murdock. Nice to meet you.”

Matt held his hand out for Mr. Ellison to shake. “And you as well, sir.”

Mr. Ellison briefly shook Matt's hand. “I wanted to apologize again for the situation with the article last week.”

Matt shook his head. “No need, Mr. Ellison, truly. The false article never made it to publication and the person responsible was held accountable for their actions.”

He took your hand and gave you a soft smile. “Besides, everything worked out in the end.”

Mr. Ellison chuckled. “So I've heard. Congratulations to you both.”

“I'm heading to lunch,” you said. “I'll be back in an hour.”

“Okay, have a good one,” Mr. Ellison replied.

Matt reached into his tote bag and pulled out the container of cookies he had also baked that morning. “Before we go… I brought these for the staff.”

Mr. Ellison took the container. “Thanks, Chef. That was really nice of you.”

Matt shook his head. “Not a problem.”

He took your elbow as the two of you left Mr. Ellison's office and headed back to the elevator.

“So how are things at the restaurant?” you asked.

“Between reservations and walk-ins, It was pretty steady last night,” Matt replied. “Plus it's looking like the rest of the week is probably going to be too.”

“That's great! I'm so happy to hear that.”

Matt smiled at your sincere tone as the elevator ding ed its arrival. “I seriously don't know how to thank you enough.”

You hummed. “I know how.”

Matt's brow furrowed as the two of you stepped into the elevator. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm.” You pressed the button for the lobby. “Like this.”

You turned to him as the doors closed and gently pulled him in for a kiss.

Matt smiled against your lips. “Mmm,” he said as the two of you parted, his free hand sliding around your waist. “In that case…”

He sought your lips out once more, breaking away right as the elevator arrived at the lobby. “I definitely haven't thanked you enough.”

You huffed out a breathy laugh. “Then you'll just have to thank me again later, won't you?”

Matt grinned. “Absolutely.” 

He shifted his tote bag and took your elbow once again as the elevator doors opened, unable to keep a smile off of his face. 

“So how's your day been?” Matt asked as you and he left the Bulletin and made your way to the small park down the street . 

You smiled. “It's been okay. I worked on planning out my next couple of features and turned in a short article on the possible upcoming public transit strike.”

Matt nodded. “Ah, yeah, I heard something about that. Makes me glad I walk most places, although I do feel bad for commuters since they're the ones whose lives are disrupted the most.”

“Yeah, me too. There's another meeting  between the MTA and the rail workers’ union on Monday, so hopefully they can make a deal before the deadline.”

Matt hummed in agreement. “Fingers crossed.”

“And I meant to tell you earlier, I got the go-ahead to look into the Health Department, so I submitted a public records request for Kingpin’s inspections.” You paused briefly as the two of you crossed the street at a crosswalk. “Thank you again for that tip, by the way. I appreciate it.”

Matt shook his head. “Just sharing my suspicions. It may turn out to be nothing, and if that's the case I apologize for wasting your time, but I truly do believe something was up.”

You shrugged. “Hey, that's part of journalism. You wouldn't believe the number of leads I've followed that turned out to be duds, but I'd rather do the research and turn up nothing than report false information and have to worry about a potential lawsuit later.”

Matt sighed. “I wish I'd have thought about that before accusing you of writing that fake article.”

You glanced over at him. You couldn't help but be curious as to what exactly the article Matt's ex-girlfriend had written about him said and wondered if it was archived somewhere or if Matt had managed to get it taken down. “It's okay, really. You don't have to keep apologizing for that.”

Matt shook his head. “Would you mind letting me know if you find anything?”

You nodded. “Sure. The Health Department said to allow 3 to 5 business days for someone to get back with me so I'm hoping to hear back by the end of the week, but if not, it should be early next week. Either way I'll let you know what I find -- or don't find, if that's the case.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.”

The two of you headed into the park entrance. “Where would you like to sit?” Matt asked. “I brought a blanket so we could sit on the grass, but if you'd prefer to sit at a table that's fine with me.”

You shook your head. “No, the grass is fine.”

Matt nodded. “Okay, great.”

He led you to a quiet, shady spot then set the tote bag down and pulled out a blanket.

You reached for a corner as he unfolded it. “Here, let me help you spread it out.”

Matt smiled softly at you. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem.”

Together the two of you got the blanket spread out, then you sat.

Matt began pulling containers out of the tote, reading the Braille label on each one before setting the container down onto the blanket.

You watched as he carefully traced over the Braille letters, the memory of his long fingers tracing over your face causing your body to heat.

What appeared to be a small smirk briefly flitted across Matt's lips. “Okay,” he said as he set the last few containers on the blanket and began to open them. “We have arugula, garden-grown tomato, and roasted red bell pepper sandwiches with pesto and fresh mozzarella, a variety of meats, cheeses, and fresh vegetables with homemade ranch and hummus to dip, and for dessert…”

He opened the last container. “Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.”

You huffed out a laugh. “I thought I was going to have to fight someone for one when I got back to the office… if there were even any left.”

Matt grinned and shook his head. “No assault necessary, which is good considering I went to culinary school instead of law school and therefore couldn't represent you in court.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what kind of lawyer would you have been?”

Matt grinned again. “A really good one.”

You shook your head with a laugh. “No, I mean what kind of law would you have practiced?”

“Probably criminal defense. A lot of innocent people go to jail and a lot of guilty people get harsher sentences than are necessary for their actions, so I would've liked to help them.”

You nodded. That tracked with what you knew about Matt. “Instead you help people by feeding them.”

Matt nodded with a slight shrug. “And however else I can.”

He reached into the tote bag once again and took out a couple of reusable plastic plates and cups, then pulled out a thermos. “I made blueberry-basil lemonade, but I also brought bottled water as well. I wasn't sure which one you'd prefer.”

You smiled. “Lemonade is fine.”

“Okay, great.” Matt unscrewed the thermos and poured some lemonade into one of the cups before handing it to you. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” You took a sip, your eyebrows raising in surprise. “Wow, this is really interesting.”

Matt grinned. “Good interesting or bad interesting?”

You took another sip. “ Definitely good interesting.” 

“I'm glad you like it.” Matt gestured to the food spread before you. “Shall we eat?”

You nodded. “Sure.”

You picked up one of the sandwiches and set it on a plate. “Now, what's on the sandwiches again?”

Matt picked up a sandwich as well. “It's arugula, garden-grown tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, fresh mozzarella, and pesto.”

“Mmm.” You took a bite, the peppery bitterness of arugula, fresh-from-the-garden flavor of tomatoes, smoky char of roasted red bell peppers, slight saltiness of mozzarella, and smooth herbaceous-cheesy-nutty flavor of Matt's homemade pesto all coming together on the freshly-baked bread. “Mmm . Oh my goodness. Not to sound like a broken record, but damn , Matt. This is delicious.”

“Thanks.” Matt took a sip of lemonade. “This is actually one of my favorite things to eat during the summer, but since it's been mostly warm enough that I can still home-grown tomatoes, I've luckily been able to enjoy them a bit longer.”

He reached for a carrot and used it to scoop some hummus onto his plate. “Sorry, I didn't think to bring spoons for the dips.”

You shook your head, taking your own scoop of hummus along with a selection of fresh vegetables. “Not a big deal. The veggies themselves will work just fine as scoops.”

The two of you continued eating in content silence, just enjoying each other's company and the bright sunshine of a beautiful early autumn day.

You broke the silence with another small sound of satisfaction. “Now this, ” you said, pointing to the scoop of hummus you were currently dipping your selection of veggies into, “is menu-worthy hummus.”

Matt chuckled. “No beets in this one, I promise. Foggy and I have been toying with the idea of adding seasonal items to the menu, and I had thought that that might be a good appetizer to serve around Valentine's Day. Definitely not, though.”

You hummed. “Well what about incorporating roasted red bell peppers instead? That'd still fit the Valentine's Day theme.”

Matt thought for a moment. “Wait, yeah, I think that might actually work. I'll have to try that out.”

You finished your lunch then bit into a cookie, closing your eyes in bliss at the taste. “Ohmigod, how? How do you manage to make something as simple as chocolate chip cookies taste so decadent?”

Matt grinned. “Part of it is quality ingredients, but the real secret is brown butter.”

“They're delicious. Everything was.”

“I'm glad you liked it.” Matt paused.

“How long do we have before we need to head back to the Bulletin ?”

You checked your phone for the time. “About 20 minutes -- unless you need to get back to the restaurant?” 

Matt shook his head. “Actually I was asking because I was hoping you'd have time to take a walk around the park with me before you had to get back to work.”

You nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I have time.”

The two of you quickly packed everything up then stood so you could fold up the blanket. 

Matt set the blanket into the tote. “Shall we, then?”

You shook your head. “Wait, you have a little something…”

You wrapped an arm around Matt's waist and gave him a brief kiss. “There, I think I got it.”

Matt let out a chuckle. “You think so, huh?”

“Mmm, I don't know, I better check again just to be sure.” You gave Matt another soft kiss, letting this one linger just a bit longer. “Yeah, I got it.”

Matt grinned. “You know, you don't need an excuse to kiss me , either.”

He slipped his hand into yours. “Come on, let's go take that walk.”

The two of you headed to the short walking path that wound around the park.

You sighed in contentment as you meandered down the path together. “I love this time of year.”

Matt nodded. “I do too. Fall fruits and vegetables are generally my favorite.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what's going on the seasonal menu for fall? Probably something with pumpkin, right?”

Matt nodded. “We actually wouldn't start seasonal menus until we got more established so it wouldn't be until next fall, but yeah, probably a pumpkin soup or pumpkin ravioli, and also a dessert of some sort featuring fresh fall apples. Maybe a tartlet with homemade vanilla bean ice cream or caramel apple trifles? And apple strudel for the brunch menu.”

“Mmm, paired with spiced apple cider as a specialty drink?”

Matt grinned. “Yeah, exactly.” 

You hummed. “All of that sounds amazing.”

Matt bit his lip. “How about you join me for breakfast at the restaurant on Saturday, then? We can hit up the farmers market again for some fresh apples and I can make strudel… and maybe a warm apple cider as well.”

Your heart fluttered. “I'd love to.”

“Great.” Matt paused. “I was also thinking dinner Sunday night? My place?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Want me to come help with prep for the soup kitchen first?”

Matt shook his head. “The church is having their annual fall festival after 11 o’clock Mass on Sunday, so dinner for the soup kitchen is already covered.” 

“Ah, okay. Father Lantom didn't mention that in our interview -- probably because he knew my feature on the church’s upcoming fundraisers wasn't going to be published until after it had already passed.”

Matt nodded. “By the way, how's your article on that coming along?”

“It's almost done -- I'm planning on finishing it up when I get back to the office.” You bit your lip. “I had actually planned on finishing it this morning but I was looking forward to our lunch together too much to focus properly.”

A small smile crept across Matt's face. “I know what you mean. I thought Foggy was going to throw a steak at me because I kept messing up the marinade I was supposed to be making.”

You couldn't help but smile in return, endeared by the thought of Matt being just as nervously excited to spend time with you as you had been to spend time with him. “Oh no, I’m sorry.”

Matt shook his head and gave your hand a light squeeze. “It’s okay. Besides, it's not like he hasn't been distracted by Skyler the past few days.”

You let out a light laugh, glad that Skyler and Foggy had hit it off -- Sky deserved to be happy and Foggy seemed like a genuinely good guy. “Yeah, Sky’s been smiling at her phone a lot too. Maybe eventually the four of us could go on a double date --if you and Foggy would both have time, that is.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

You and Matt continued your stroll in peaceful silence until you had made your way back to the beginning of the route.

You checked your phone for the time. “I need to get back to work. I don't want to be late.”

Matt nodded. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Thanks.”

Matt continued to hold your hand, foregoing the use of his cane as you headed back to the Bulletin.

You slowed to a stop in front of the Bulletin . “Thank you again for lunch. I’ll see you Saturday morning?” 

Matt nodded with a smile before letting go of your hand so he could get his cane out of his tote bag. “Is 8 AM an okay time for me to pick you up at your apartment? Strudel takes a while to make.”

“Yep, that's fine. And I'll let you know if those inspection reports from the Health Department come in before then.”

“Okay, great, thanks.” Matt reached out and caressed your cheek, then gave you a soft, slow kiss. “See you Saturday.”

“See ya.” 

You waited as Matt unfolded his cane and headed back towards Daredevil, then sighed happily and went inside the Bulletin .

You greeted Phil then headed to the elevator, humming to yourself as you rode back up to your floor.

You stopped by Ellison's office on your way to your desk. “Hey, just letting you know I'm back from lunch.”

“I emailed you my notes on that transit strike article while you were gone,” Ellison replied. “Nothing major, just wanted you to see if you can get quotes from the heads of the MTA and the transit workers' union before we go to press tomorrow.”

You nodded. “Okay, I'll see if I can get in touch with them. And I should have my article on the need for donations at Clinton Church to you by EoD today.”

“Great. Thanks.”

You turned and headed to your desk. You had been hoping to get a couple of minutes to reflect on your lunch date, but as the saying went, the news never sleeps.

As you sat, your phone chimed with an incoming text message.

You swiped to open it, smiling when you saw that you had a message from Matt.

I had a great time today, it read. 

Me too, you replied back. Lunch was great, but the company was even better.

I agree. There was a brief pause, then another message. Best company I’ve had in a long time, in fact.

Your face heated. Same here.

You locked your phone back, smiling to yourself.

You couldn't wait until Saturday.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Mise en Place, Chapter 5

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: M

Story Summary: Here

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness, no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, things gone get SPICY later 🔥 (aka smut in future chapters)

Word Count: ~3200

A/N: I can't believe it's been over a year since I updated this story (*shakes head at Chef!Matt*), but we're back and should be rocking and rolling with updates from here on out. Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I'll be back with more soon!

Divider by the phenomenally talented @realfernmayo!

Tag List: @danzer8705 @shouldbestudying41 @capylore @mattmurdockstateofmind @yarrystyleeza

Matt grinned to himself as he headed towards the Bulletin , an insulated tote bag full of items for his and your picnic lunch in hand . The previous evening’s dinner service had gone amazingly -- the restaurant had made more money during that one service than it had in any given week thus far, and when Matt had checked the reservation system when he and Foggy had arrived to start the day's prep work there were even more pending reservations than there had been when they had left.

His phone rang as he reached the building, the caller ID announcing an unknown, out-of-state number.

Matt ignored it and headed inside, too eager to see you to worry about answering.

He signed in at the security desk then headed up the elevator to your floor.

“Matt, hey,” he heard Skyler say as he stepped off of the elevator. 

He turned towards her voice. “Skyler, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to thank you again for your help the other day.”

Skyler made a non-committal sound. “I was just making sure that my best friend didn't miss out on a chance at happiness.” 

Matt nodded. “Still, I appreciate it.”

He folded his cane and stuck it into his tote bag, then pulled out the container containing the apple tart he had made that morning. “Here, I made this for you.”

Skyler took it. “How did you know I like apple tarts?”

Matt shrugged. “Foggy said that you had an apple crisp latte and a slice of apple pie at the café the two of you went to the other day, so I made an educated guess.”

“Well, thank you.”

Matt shook his head as he heard your footsteps approach. “It's the least I could do.”

He turned as you walked up, unable to keep a smile from forming on his lips. “Hi, sweetheart.”

You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi to you too.”

“Ready to go?”

You briefly hesitated. “Actually, my boss wants to meet you first, if that's okay.”

Matt hummed in the affirmative. “Yeah, that's not a problem.”

You took Matt's hand. “I'll see you when I get back, Sky.”

“‘Kay,” Skyler replied. “Thanks again for the apple tart, Matt.”

Matt nodded. “Of course. And thank you again for everything.”

“Not a problem.” 

“Come on,” you said as Skyler walked away. “My boss’s office is this way.”

You led Matt past a row of desks to a small office and lightly knocked on the open doorway. “Mitch, Chef Murdock is here.”

Mr. Ellison stood. “Ah, yes, Chef Murdock. Nice to meet you.”

Matt held his hand out for Mr. Ellison to shake. “And you as well, sir.”

Mr. Ellison briefly shook Matt's hand. “I wanted to apologize again for the situation with the article last week.”

Matt shook his head. “No need, Mr. Ellison, truly. The false article never made it to publication and the person responsible was held accountable for their actions.”

He took your hand and gave you a soft smile. “Besides, everything worked out in the end.”

Mr. Ellison chuckled. “So I've heard. Congratulations to you both.”

“I'm heading to lunch,” you said. “I'll be back in an hour.”

“Okay, have a good one,” Mr. Ellison replied.

Matt reached into his tote bag and pulled out the container of cookies he had also baked that morning. “Before we go… I brought these for the staff.”

Mr. Ellison took the container. “Thanks, Chef. That was really nice of you.”

Matt shook his head. “Not a problem.”

He took your elbow as the two of you left Mr. Ellison's office and headed back to the elevator.

“So how are things at the restaurant?” you asked.

“Between reservations and walk-ins, It was pretty steady last night,” Matt replied. “Plus it's looking like the rest of the week is probably going to be too.”

“That's great! I'm so happy to hear that.”

Matt smiled at your sincere tone as the elevator ding ed its arrival. “I seriously don't know how to thank you enough.”

You hummed. “I know how.”

Matt's brow furrowed as the two of you stepped into the elevator. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm.” You pressed the button for the lobby. “Like this.”

You turned to him as the doors closed and gently pulled him in for a kiss.

Matt smiled against your lips. “Mmm,” he said as the two of you parted, his free hand sliding around your waist. “In that case…”

He sought your lips out once more, breaking away right as the elevator arrived at the lobby. “I definitely haven't thanked you enough.”

You huffed out a breathy laugh. “Then you'll just have to thank me again later, won't you?”

Matt grinned. “Absolutely.” 

He shifted his tote bag and took your elbow once again as the elevator doors opened, unable to keep a smile off of his face. 

“So how's your day been?” Matt asked as you and he left the Bulletin and made your way to the small park down the street . 

You smiled. “It's been okay. I worked on planning out my next couple of features and turned in a short article on the possible upcoming public transit strike.”

Matt nodded. “Ah, yeah, I heard something about that. Makes me glad I walk most places, although I do feel bad for commuters since they're the ones whose lives are disrupted the most.”

“Yeah, me too. There's another meeting  between the MTA and the rail workers’ union on Monday, so hopefully they can make a deal before the deadline.”

Matt hummed in agreement. “Fingers crossed.”

“And I meant to tell you earlier, I got the go-ahead to look into the Health Department, so I submitted a public records request for Kingpin’s inspections.” You paused briefly as the two of you crossed the street at a crosswalk. “Thank you again for that tip, by the way. I appreciate it.”

Matt shook his head. “Just sharing my suspicions. It may turn out to be nothing, and if that's the case I apologize for wasting your time, but I truly do believe something was up.”

You shrugged. “Hey, that's part of journalism. You wouldn't believe the number of leads I've followed that turned out to be duds, but I'd rather do the research and turn up nothing than report false information and have to worry about a potential lawsuit later.”

Matt sighed. “I wish I'd have thought about that before accusing you of writing that fake article.”

You glanced over at him. You couldn't help but be curious as to what exactly the article Matt's ex-girlfriend had written about him said and wondered if it was archived somewhere or if Matt had managed to get it taken down. “It's okay, really. You don't have to keep apologizing for that.”

Matt shook his head. “Would you mind letting me know if you find anything?”

You nodded. “Sure. The Health Department said to allow 3 to 5 business days for someone to get back with me so I'm hoping to hear back by the end of the week, but if not, it should be early next week. Either way I'll let you know what I find -- or don't find, if that's the case.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.”

The two of you headed into the park entrance. “Where would you like to sit?” Matt asked. “I brought a blanket so we could sit on the grass, but if you'd prefer to sit at a table that's fine with me.”

You shook your head. “No, the grass is fine.”

Matt nodded. “Okay, great.”

He led you to a quiet, shady spot then set the tote bag down and pulled out a blanket.

You reached for a corner as he unfolded it. “Here, let me help you spread it out.”

Matt smiled softly at you. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem.”

Together the two of you got the blanket spread out, then you sat.

Matt began pulling containers out of the tote, reading the Braille label on each one before setting the container down onto the blanket.

You watched as he carefully traced over the Braille letters, the memory of his long fingers tracing over your face causing your body to heat.

What appeared to be a small smirk briefly flitted across Matt's lips. “Okay,” he said as he set the last few containers on the blanket and began to open them. “We have arugula, garden-grown tomato, and roasted red bell pepper sandwiches with pesto and fresh mozzarella, a variety of meats, cheeses, and fresh vegetables with homemade ranch and hummus to dip, and for dessert…”

He opened the last container. “Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.”

You huffed out a laugh. “I thought I was going to have to fight someone for one when I got back to the office… if there were even any left.”

Matt grinned and shook his head. “No assault necessary, which is good considering I went to culinary school instead of law school and therefore couldn't represent you in court.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what kind of lawyer would you have been?”

Matt grinned again. “A really good one.”

You shook your head with a laugh. “No, I mean what kind of law would you have practiced?”

“Probably criminal defense. A lot of innocent people go to jail and a lot of guilty people get harsher sentences than are necessary for their actions, so I would've liked to help them.”

You nodded. That tracked with what you knew about Matt. “Instead you help people by feeding them.”

Matt nodded with a slight shrug. “And however else I can.”

He reached into the tote bag once again and took out a couple of reusable plastic plates and cups, then pulled out a thermos. “I made blueberry-basil lemonade, but I also brought bottled water as well. I wasn't sure which one you'd prefer.”

You smiled. “Lemonade is fine.”

“Okay, great.” Matt unscrewed the thermos and poured some lemonade into one of the cups before handing it to you. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” You took a sip, your eyebrows raising in surprise. “Wow, this is really interesting.”

Matt grinned. “Good interesting or bad interesting?”

You took another sip. “ Definitely good interesting.” 

“I'm glad you like it.” Matt gestured to the food spread before you. “Shall we eat?”

You nodded. “Sure.”

You picked up one of the sandwiches and set it on a plate. “Now, what's on the sandwiches again?”

Matt picked up a sandwich as well. “It's arugula, garden-grown tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, fresh mozzarella, and pesto.”

“Mmm.” You took a bite, the peppery bitterness of arugula, fresh-from-the-garden flavor of tomatoes, smoky char of roasted red bell peppers, slight saltiness of mozzarella, and smooth herbaceous-cheesy-nutty flavor of Matt's homemade pesto all coming together on the freshly-baked bread. “Mmm . Oh my goodness. Not to sound like a broken record, but damn , Matt. This is delicious.”

“Thanks.” Matt took a sip of lemonade. “This is actually one of my favorite things to eat during the summer, but since it's been mostly warm enough that I can still home-grown tomatoes, I've luckily been able to enjoy them a bit longer.”

He reached for a carrot and used it to scoop some hummus onto his plate. “Sorry, I didn't think to bring spoons for the dips.”

You shook your head, taking your own scoop of hummus along with a selection of fresh vegetables. “Not a big deal. The veggies themselves will work just fine as scoops.”

The two of you continued eating in content silence, just enjoying each other's company and the bright sunshine of a beautiful early autumn day.

You broke the silence with another small sound of satisfaction. “Now this, ” you said, pointing to the scoop of hummus you were currently dipping your selection of veggies into, “is menu-worthy hummus.”

Matt chuckled. “No beets in this one, I promise. Foggy and I have been toying with the idea of adding seasonal items to the menu, and I had thought that that might be a good appetizer to serve around Valentine's Day. Definitely not, though.”

You hummed. “Well what about incorporating roasted red bell peppers instead? That'd still fit the Valentine's Day theme.”

Matt thought for a moment. “Wait, yeah, I think that might actually work. I'll have to try that out.”

You finished your lunch then bit into a cookie, closing your eyes in bliss at the taste. “Ohmigod, how? How do you manage to make something as simple as chocolate chip cookies taste so decadent?”

Matt grinned. “Part of it is quality ingredients, but the real secret is brown butter.”

“They're delicious. Everything was.”

“I'm glad you liked it.” Matt paused.

“How long do we have before we need to head back to the Bulletin ?”

You checked your phone for the time. “About 20 minutes -- unless you need to get back to the restaurant?” 

Matt shook his head. “Actually I was asking because I was hoping you'd have time to take a walk around the park with me before you had to get back to work.”

You nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I have time.”

The two of you quickly packed everything up then stood so you could fold up the blanket. 

Matt set the blanket into the tote. “Shall we, then?”

You shook your head. “Wait, you have a little something…”

You wrapped an arm around Matt's waist and gave him a brief kiss. “There, I think I got it.”

Matt let out a chuckle. “You think so, huh?”

“Mmm, I don't know, I better check again just to be sure.” You gave Matt another soft kiss, letting this one linger just a bit longer. “Yeah, I got it.”

Matt grinned. “You know, you don't need an excuse to kiss me , either.”

He slipped his hand into yours. “Come on, let's go take that walk.”

The two of you headed to the short walking path that wound around the park.

You sighed in contentment as you meandered down the path together. “I love this time of year.”

Matt nodded. “I do too. Fall fruits and vegetables are generally my favorite.”

You hummed. “That reminds me, what's going on the seasonal menu for fall? Probably something with pumpkin, right?”

Matt nodded. “We actually wouldn't start seasonal menus until we got more established so it wouldn't be until next fall, but yeah, probably a pumpkin soup or pumpkin ravioli, and also a dessert of some sort featuring fresh fall apples. Maybe a tartlet with homemade vanilla bean ice cream or caramel apple trifles? And apple strudel for the brunch menu.”

“Mmm, paired with spiced apple cider as a specialty drink?”

Matt grinned. “Yeah, exactly.” 

You hummed. “All of that sounds amazing.”

Matt bit his lip. “How about you join me for breakfast at the restaurant on Saturday, then? We can hit up the farmers market again for some fresh apples and I can make strudel… and maybe a warm apple cider as well.”

Your heart fluttered. “I'd love to.”

“Great.” Matt paused. “I was also thinking dinner Sunday night? My place?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Want me to come help with prep for the soup kitchen first?”

Matt shook his head. “The church is having their annual fall festival after 11 o’clock Mass on Sunday, so dinner for the soup kitchen is already covered.” 

“Ah, okay. Father Lantom didn't mention that in our interview -- probably because he knew my feature on the church’s upcoming fundraisers wasn't going to be published until after it had already passed.”

Matt nodded. “By the way, how's your article on that coming along?”

“It's almost done -- I'm planning on finishing it up when I get back to the office.” You bit your lip. “I had actually planned on finishing it this morning but I was looking forward to our lunch together too much to focus properly.”

A small smile crept across Matt's face. “I know what you mean. I thought Foggy was going to throw a steak at me because I kept messing up the marinade I was supposed to be making.”

You couldn't help but smile in return, endeared by the thought of Matt being just as nervously excited to spend time with you as you had been to spend time with him. “Oh no, I’m sorry.”

Matt shook his head and gave your hand a light squeeze. “It’s okay. Besides, it's not like he hasn't been distracted by Skyler the past few days.”

You let out a light laugh, glad that Skyler and Foggy had hit it off -- Sky deserved to be happy and Foggy seemed like a genuinely good guy. “Yeah, Sky’s been smiling at her phone a lot too. Maybe eventually the four of us could go on a double date --if you and Foggy would both have time, that is.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

You and Matt continued your stroll in peaceful silence until you had made your way back to the beginning of the route.

You checked your phone for the time. “I need to get back to work. I don't want to be late.”

Matt nodded. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Thanks.”

Matt continued to hold your hand, foregoing the use of his cane as you headed back to the Bulletin.

You slowed to a stop in front of the Bulletin . “Thank you again for lunch. I’ll see you Saturday morning?” 

Matt nodded with a smile before letting go of your hand so he could get his cane out of his tote bag. “Is 8 AM an okay time for me to pick you up at your apartment? Strudel takes a while to make.”

“Yep, that's fine. And I'll let you know if those inspection reports from the Health Department come in before then.”

“Okay, great, thanks.” Matt reached out and caressed your cheek, then gave you a soft, slow kiss. “See you Saturday.”

“See ya.” 

You waited as Matt unfolded his cane and headed back towards Daredevil, then sighed happily and went inside the Bulletin .

You greeted Phil then headed to the elevator, humming to yourself as you rode back up to your floor.

You stopped by Ellison's office on your way to your desk. “Hey, just letting you know I'm back from lunch.”

“I emailed you my notes on that transit strike article while you were gone,” Ellison replied. “Nothing major, just wanted you to see if you can get quotes from the heads of the MTA and the transit workers' union before we go to press tomorrow.”

You nodded. “Okay, I'll see if I can get in touch with them. And I should have my article on the need for donations at Clinton Church to you by EoD today.”

“Great. Thanks.”

You turned and headed to your desk. You had been hoping to get a couple of minutes to reflect on your lunch date, but as the saying went, the news never sleeps.

As you sat, your phone chimed with an incoming text message.

You swiped to open it, smiling when you saw that you had a message from Matt.

I had a great time today, it read. 

Me too, you replied back. Lunch was great, but the company was even better.

I agree. There was a brief pause, then another message. Best company I’ve had in a long time, in fact.

Your face heated. Same here.

You locked your phone back, smiling to yourself.

You couldn't wait until Saturday.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN, 1x06 | 1x08

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

It's missing Foggy hours. 😭

reposting the best bts of the entire show