#daredevil x original character

[hollandorks]

saved

matt murdock x original female character

chapter twenty

Summary: Fleeing from an abusive relationship, Grace St. James goes to the only place she still has a friend: Hell’s Kitchen. She’s forced to live in her car and beg for a job from the law firm Nelson, Murdock, and Page all the while making sure her past doesn’t catch up to her. Enter Matt Murdock: cocky, handsome, and willing to let her live with him for free until she can afford to get a place of her own. Grace is drawn to Matt in a way she’s never been drawn to anyone, causing sparks to fly as they inevitably grow closer and closer.

a/n: look I'm back! Yes it has been six months. No I don't have an excuse. Just an ADHD brain that lost all semblance of any hyperfixations I ever had, for no reason. Anyways, I have no clue when I'll continue this fic--I'm only posting now because I forgot I had this chapter already done oops! I'm sorry for the angst, I'll fix it...eventually. Mwah!

Series Masterlist

word count: 4663

Grace slowly looked up at Matt, fear and anger warring for space in her gut. “It’s Dean.”

“It’s Dean,” Grace said again, a familiar fear rising up in her. “I–have no idea how he got this number.”

Matt was in front of her in an instant. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “Did he threaten you?” 

“No. Well, not really.” She read the texts out loud to Matt, whose expression darkened more and more with every word. 

“That’s–” Matt paused. His head tilted to the side, listening to something she couldn’t hear. 

“What is it?” she asked, remembering the men Dean had sent to break into the apartment. 

Matt cursed softly. “I need to go,” he said, expression torn. She could see him warring with himself. “I know I promised you this date–” 

“Matt, it’s okay,” she said. She meant it. She wasn’t really in the mood for sex anymore, anyways. “What’s going on?” 

He was already unlocking the closet where the Daredevil armor was. The key had apparently been hidden in the firehouse next to it this whole time. “A child abduction.” 

Every line of him was tense, alert. She knew he was still listening to whatever was happening in the city that she couldn’t hear. After a moment, she heard sirens going by, there and gone as the police sped through the streets. 

Grace cursed as Matt turned, yanking his date clothes off and the armor on. 

He paused as he zipped up the back. “I–” 

“It’s okay,” she repeated. “This is important. Go.” 

He kissed her quickly before pulling his boots on. “I really am sorry.” 

“I’m not. Get that kid home safe.” She meant it, too. The thought of a child out there somewhere scared to death–not to mention the parents–made her stomach clench painfully. 

Matt kissed her again. This time he lingered, albeit briefly. “I’ll be back, I promise.” 

“Be careful,” she said as he strode up the stairs to the roof door. He paused at the top. Then, without another word, he slipped on the devil mask and disappeared into the night. 

–

The bed dipping woke Grace from a light sleep hours later. 

“Matt?” she whispered groggily, unsure why she’d woken. Usually she slept through everything. Maybe she’d only just drifted off, though. It felt like it, her eyes crusted with sleep, her entire body heavy. 

“Shh, go back to sleep,” he murmured as he burrowed under the covers. She fumbled for her phone and squinted at the time. It was almost four in the morning. 

“Did you find the kid?” Her hands sought him in the darkness. It was so late that even the neon sign that usually brightened the apartment had been turned off. Matt’s skin was cool to the touch. She wondered how warm his armor was. Did it keep him warm enough? Was it insulated? Did he have different ones for summer or winter? 

“Yeah, we got her.” His voice was tight, low. With pain? Emotion? 

“Alive?” Matt’s lips brushed the top of her head, the word breathed into the scant space between them. 

“Yeah. She’s home safe.” 

Grace relaxed and snuggled up against him. Matt flinched and grunted. She immediately sat up and fumbled for the lamp. 

“Are you hurt?” she asked, eyes squinting against the sudden brightness. Matt not-so-subtly pulled the silk sheets up over his bare chest. She reached over and yanked them away. He sighed but let her look. “You have stitches!” They were in a neat row along one side of his hip rib cage. 

“I’m fine, I promise,” he said. He gently tugged on her arm to get her to lay back down. 

“It looks like you were stabbed,” she said. Which was so much worse than the bruised ribs or bloodied mouth. She’d seen the scars all over his body–he had definitely been stabbed before. Several times. But something about knowing it had happened in the past and seeing the direct aftermath was completely different. 

For the first time, Grace was hit with the realization that what Matt did was dangerous. 

But he’d also gotten an abducted kid home safe. 

Those two opposing thoughts warred for her attention. 

“It’s fine,” Matt said again. His cold fingers gently rubbed the skin of her arm in soothing circles. “Go back to sleep.” 

She stared down at him for a moment, propped up on her elbow, before turning off the light again and snuggling carefully against his side. “Did you just get back?” she asked, the words punctuated by a yawn. 

“Yeah, I stitched myself up then showered.” His voice was slow, sleepy. 

She was impressed that he’d stitched himself, and so neatly, too. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she murmured into the dark. “And the little girl, too.” 

“Mm.” Matt shifted and his breathing deepened. He was asleep. 

Grace couldn’t see him in the darkness, only his outline, but she stared at him anyway. She was in awe of him. Of what he did. Of how strong he was, in so many ways. He protected the city literally twenty-four-seven. During the day as an attorney and at night as a vigilante. 

Her eyes slid closed. She searched within herself for any resentment that Matt’s nightly activities had shortened their promising evening. But all she found was a steady warmth when she thought of how he’d saved a little girl, even at the expense of getting laid by an eager girlfriend. She was scared, yes, since he had gotten hurt, but he was helping people despite it. 

Matt Murdock was way too good for her, she decided as she finally fell asleep again.

–

The next day dawned too early. She tried to convince Matt to sleep in with no luck. He had argued, very calmly, that he couldn’t go skipping work every time he had a crazy night as Daredevil. Then he’d argued that he’d slept great next to her, throwing in a charming smile that had melted away her reservations. 

“You’re too fucking charming,” she grumbled as they stepped into the office building. 

“Poor little blind man, remember?” Matt said with a laugh. Her heart warmed all over again at the sound. She loved seeing how carefree he was with her, even after a night chasing down a child that had been abducted. 

“That is the biggest bullshit,” she said, but she laughed too. 

Their good moods were very quickly dashed to pieces when they entered the office. 

Something came flying straight at Matt’s head. Grace ducked with a gasp. 

“You asshole!” Foggy shouted. 

Matt held a stapler in one hand, a curious frown on his face as he tilted his head first one way and then the next. “A stapler?” 

“My stapler!” Grace interjected, more concerned with that fact than why, exactly, Foggy had thrown it in the first place. Foggy put his hands on his hips where he stood menacingly in front of Grace’s desk. 

“Why am I an asshole, again?” Matt asked as he carefully sidestepped Foggy and somehow managed to place the stapler in the exact spot Grace always kept it. 

“You didn’t text me back, you dick. I thought you were in a dumpster somewhere, bleeding out! Again!” Foggy stomped a foot for good measure. “Last I hear, you’re off trying to rescue a kid and–” 

“Oh,” Grace said as it dawned on her. “Sorry, Foggy, I didn’t realize you knew about that or I would have texted you when Matt got back.” 

Foggy turned to face her and seemed to deflate. “See?” he said to Matt. “A reasonable response. I think I’ll text you from now on to make sure Mr. Horns here doesn’t get stabbed to death. Again.” 

“Probably a good idea,” Grace said with a shrug. Matt was staring at her almost dumbfounded. “I also am very curious to hear about these dying-in-a-dumpster and stabbed-to-death escapades.” She raised an eyebrow at Matt. 

“I like her, Matt,” Foggy said as he and Matt both stared at her. Or as much as Matt could stare, anyway. 

“Me too,” Matt agreed and Grace grinned. “And I’m sorry, Fog. I had to stitch a cut and passed out pretty much as soon as I got back.” 

Foggy humphed and crossed his arms. “I forgive you…I guess.” He slumped all of a sudden and rubbed his face. 

“I could hear you yelling from outside,” Karen said as she stepped into the office and gracefully shed her jacket. “Glad you’re okay, Matt.” 

Matt nodded at her and disappeared into his office. 

“I’m too tired for this shit,” Foggy muttered, but it was half hearted. 

“Me too, honestly,” Grace said. “And Matt got less sleep than all of us. And got stabbed, apparently.” 

“I wasn’t stabbed,” Matt called from his office. “It was just a cut.” 

“I think we all need some extra caffeine,” Karen said. Grace wondered how many times the other woman had carefully brokered peace between the two best friends. She remembered Matt telling her that Foggy hadn’t taken his Daredevil secret well, and wondered if there was still tension there. It definitely seemed like it, if the thrown stapler was any indication. 

Grace eyed Karen and grabbed her jacket and purse. 

“Then I’ll be back with caffeine And maybe some pastries.” 

“Grace St. James, you saint,” Foggy said with his hands pressed together as if in prayer. 

“I’ll be back soon,” she promised, crossing her heart for good measure. 

Outside, fall had settled fully over the city. Grace didn’t mind the chill. Everything seemed better these days, newer, fresher. Or maybe that was simply because she was…happy. 

Even though their date hadn’t ended like they had hoped and even with the restraining order stuff, Grace was happy. Things were good. 

And maybe there was a bit of a spring in her step as she thought about sitting on the edge of Matt’s desk and handing him a coffee in a short while. As she thought about the jokes Foggy would make as his form of thanks for the coffee. 

A car pulled up beside her and slowed. She quickened her pace so that the person exiting wouldn’t knock her with the door. All that did was put her in the path of a man in a suit, who collided with her head-on. 

She cursed softly and tried to step around him but the man grabbed the tops of her arms. 

The car next to her hadn’t stopped, not fully–it had pulled up, inching forward to follow her closely. 

Grace trusted her instincts, and at that moment they were screaming at her to run. 

She used one of the tricks from her self defense classes to get the man’s hands off of her and started to dart away, only for him to grab her around the waist before she made it so much as two steps. 

Her heart faltered even as her mind went into overdrive. She was only a block from the office, maybe two blocks at most. And if Matt was still inside, and if his abilities were as good as he said, he might hear her. 

So Grace screamed. The sound tore up from her belly and out of her throat. It was wordless at first, but then as she thrashed against the man holding her the scream turned into words. “Help! Help me! Someone help me! Help!” 

The man holding her cursed and tried to cover her mouth. She reared her head back. It connected with his nose with a crunch. In the same moment, she stomped as hard as she could on the arch of his foot. 

The man shouted obscenities at her but let her go. She tried to run again, back of her head aching from hitting the man, but a second man stepped out of the passenger seat of the car. He blocked her path. This man simply pulled out a gun and aimed it at her. 

Grace stopped. 

Please let Matt have heard, she pleaded to anyone who would listen, God or otherwise. 

“Get in,” the man with the gun said as the other one cursed and tried to staunch the blood pouring from his nose. 

Grace held up her trembling hands in surrender. Panic was eating its way like acid through her gut. “Look, I don’t–” 

“Get in,” the man said, indicating with the gun that she should move. She flinched at the motion, then complied. 

The backseat of the luxurious car held her worst nightmare. 

Dean. 

Grace screamed again, begging for help, praying that Matt would hear, that Matt would come. 

Pain exploded across her face as Dean slapped her. 

“Shut up!” he snapped. The partition between the front seat and the back went up. The car pulled away from the curb, inching slowly along the road as if they had all the time in the world. 

Grace bared her teeth at him. All that pent up rage that she’d been nurturing for weeks crested on a wave. She drew her fist back and snapped it forward in one perfect motion. Dark blood trickled from his nose. 

Quick as a flash, Dean’s hands were around her throat, squeezing off her air, pinching the skin so painfully that tears welled in her eyes. 

She didn’t back down, simply stared at him as she choked, as darkness appeared at the edges of her vision.

“I just want to talk, dammit!” Dean said in a snarl. He shoved her away from him like she was a disgusting piece of filth. She hit the partition between the front and back and winced. “Will you please just be quiet?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, his angular features suddenly drawn and tired. 

Grace’s chest heaved as she sucked down air. The darkness ebbed though the pain lingered in her throat. She coughed and glared at him. 

“You can’t just kidnap me,” she said, her voice barely a rasp. 

“Grace, we need to talk,” Dean said as if she hadn’t spoken. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, every inch the suave businessman save for the blood coming from his nose. “I want to be sure you aren’t going to…tell people things you shouldn’t be telling them.” 

Grace worked her jaw for a moment and looked away. Out of the window, they were still crawling down the street at a snail’s pace. “I’m not an idiot,” she finally said, every word a chore with her sore throat. 

Dean’s eyebrows quirked. “I never said you were.” 

“Besides,” she said, lacing her words with every amount of venom she could muster, “I don’t need to talk about your criminal activities to get a restraining order against you. You beating me will be enough.” 

Something quick and deadly flashed in his eyes, there and gone before she could really note it. Dean leaned further forward. And despite everything, Grace flinched. He seemed satisfied by the reaction and gave her a smile that would make him president one day. 

“But just in case, we need to talk about what would happen if you did start getting ideas.” Dean sat back, legs sprawled, completely at ease as if he hadn’t kidnapped her and then choked her nearly to unconsciousness. “You like your new job, yes? Nelson, Murdock, and Page? Should you…tell them anything you shouldn’t, well. Things happen. A robbery gone wrong. A hit and run. A suicide. Spread out just enough that no one links them. One for each.” Dean shrugged. 

Grace couldn’t breathe all of a sudden and it had nothing to do with the imprints of his hands around her neck. “You wouldn’t–” she said, but she knew in her heart that he would. She had seen up close what Dean was capable of. I want you to use that bleeding heart of yours, Grace. Show him some kindness so he’s more…open to my questions. 

“What do you think happened to your father?” Dean said. 

But the words were lost in the jolt of the car stopping suddenly, a thunk coming from somewhere in the direction of the hood. 

The partition lowered. 

“Sir?” the driver said uncertainly. “We just…hit a man.” 

“What?” Dean said. 

Grace used the distraction and scrambled for the door handle. Dean shouted after her as she lurched from the car, barely more than a block from where they’d started. 

Her mouth opened in surprise as the driver got out, too, along with the security guard with the gun and Dean too. 

“I am so sorry,” the driver was saying, eyes cutting to Dean as if looking for permission to even say those words. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m alright,” Matt said with a wave of his hand. To anyone else, he looked the part of an innocent blind man. But Grace saw the tension in his jaw, in the hand that clutched his cane like he was about to use it as a weapon. 

“Matt?” she said, not needing to fake her surprise. Or her relief. He’d heard her. He’d come. 

“Grace?” Matt said. His shock was so believable she almost bought it. He tilted his head to the side, red glasses flashing in the light. “Wh–I thought you were going to the coffee shop?” 

“Dean, you just hit my boyfriend,” she said as she whirled on him. She took some small satisfaction at the surprise on Dean’s face before he schooled his features. “Matt, do you want to press charges?” she asked, hoping for a moment that he’d say yes, even though she knew this was merely a distraction to get her away. 

Matt laughed and it sounded fake. “No, no, my fault. Should have waited for the crosswalk but, ah, I got cocky. Are you alright?” And she heard the unspoken message in those words. Had Dean hurt her? What was going on? 

“I’m okay,” she said with another glare towards Dean. “Dean was just leaving. Let’s get back to the office.” 

She grabbed Matt’s elbow and started to edge around Dean and his guard. 

“Remember what I said, Grace,” Dean said softly. 

Her hand trembled where it rested on Matt’s bicep. 

“Don’t worry,” she said to Dean. “I won’t. See you in court.” 

The guard held the door open for Dean and then the car was pulling away as if nothing had happened. 

Grace was shaking. 

“It’s alright,” Matt said in a low, deep voice that hummed with suppressed anger. “It’s okay.” 

They walked in silence for a moment before Matt abruptly tugged her into an alleyway. 

“He hurt you,” he said as she leaned against the brick wall. The words were all gravel and broken glass and smoke. The devil in Matt’s body, barely hidden underneath the skin in his anger. 

“I–” Grace started to say that she was okay, but she wasn’t. It wasn’t that Dean had hurt her, it’s that he had threatened the people she cared about. It was that, in her distracted and happy bubble, he’d snuck up on her. 

Matt was hovering close to her without touching. 

“What are you doing?” she asked softly. “You’re hovering.” 

Matt clenched and unclenched his fists. “I don’t–I don’t want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.” 

She felt like laughing and crying all at once. “I know you won’t hurt me, Matt,” she said. She knew he could hear the truth in her heartbeat because he surged forward as soon as the words were out. He was still careful though, his hands gentle at her throat, at the corner of her mouth were blood welled from the slap across her mouth. 

“Talk to me,” Matt said, a tremble in his voice. His hands were steady, though, and he pressed his forehead to hers as he gently gripped her shoulders. “Because I am so close to following him and blowing my cover,” he said with a humorless laugh. She could see the devil in every tense line of him–his taut shoulders, his wide stance, the way his jaw worked and twitched, the slow tremble up his spine as he fought for control. 

“I–I have no idea what to say,” she said. She clutched at the lapels of his jacket. “Elephants. Coffee. Marmalade. I don’t know.” Matt huffed another laugh. “Shit, I didn’t get the coffee.” 

“Forget the coffee,” Matt said. “Let’s just–let’s go home.” 

“Okay,” she said around the sudden lump in her throat. Home. Home with Matt. Home, where she would be safe. Home, where Dean couldn’t get to her, because she had the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen at her side. “Tell Foggy we’re having crazy sex and can’t come back.” 

Matt snorted and some of the tension in his shoulders eased. “I think I’ll just tell him the truth. I–We need to–” He stopped and stepped back. His hands clenched and unclenched again. Like he wanted to hit something. And despite her past, Grace didn’t fear for a second that he would hit her. The thought didn’t even cross her mind. “We need to document this, for the case.” 

Grace blew out a breath. “Okay. Yeah.” 

She realized she must be in shock, because she felt relatively calm. Or maybe it was the man with her, a man who she knew would keep her safe even at his own expense. 

“Oh my god, you got hit by his car,” she said after a beat of silence. “What the fuck were you thinking?” 

He brushed the back of one hand up her arm like he couldn’t bear to stop touching her for even a moment. “I didn’t have time to go get the suit,” he said and the end of the sentence turned into another growl. “I had to–I didn’t know what was happening and it was the best I could–” 

His words cut off with a grunt as she kissed him. It hurt her split lip but she didn’t care. 

“Thank you,” she breathed as she pulled away. She buried her face into the space where his neck met his shoulder and inhaled the comforting scent of him. “God–Thank you.” 

Matt’s arms tightened around her. He pressed his lips to the top of her hair then inhaled, breathing her in. “I smelled blood on him,” Matt said after a moment. “Him and another. Your handiwork?” 

Grace laughed. “Yeah, actually. Headbutted the guy who grabbed me then punched Dean in the face.” 

“Good,” Matt said fiercely. 

“Let’s go home. I need a long shower after…that.” Grace shuddered. Sometimes she wondered how she had ever loved Dean after seeing his true face. But he was so adept at hiding the monster underneath that of course she’d fallen for the facade time and time again. 

Matt called Foggy on the way back to the apartment, outlining what was going on. She could hear the outrage in Foggy’s voice over the speaker even though she couldn’t make out the exact words. Matt’s voice was deadly calm. She knew he was pushing that rage down for her. That he was leashing the devil once more so he wouldn’t snap in her presence. She longed to let him loose on Dean, to let Dean feel the same fear she’d felt for so long. 

Matt promised Foggy that Grace was okay but that they were going to take the rest of the afternoon. He promised to have her send time stamped pictures of the new injuries along with a statement so they had something to add to their case. 

Grace thought about Dean threatening Matt, Foggy, and Karen as they stepped into the apartment. Her blood boiled all over again. Hurting her wasn’t enough–he had to threaten to hurt her new friends, the people she had come to care about the most. 

Things happen. A robbery gone wrong. A hit and run. A suicide.

“–shower first?” Matt was saying, interrupting her dark thoughts. 

But her mind kept going, running the scene back for her now that she was home, now that she was safe. 

What do you think happened to your father? 

All of Grace’s breath left her in a rush. Her legs went out from underneath her. She hit the floor on her knees with a hard thud that she barely felt. 

The pain in her chest was instant. She was being ripped in two, the edges frayed and blazing with fire even as the hole gaped open wider and wider and wider, revealing her bloody insides, the scars in her heart that she’d thought had healed. 

She couldn’t breathe. One hand scrabbled for purchase on the hardwood while the other clutched at the wound in her chest that no one could see. 

No, she thought. It couldn’t be true. 

But–

What do you think happened to your father?

Dean had killed her father. 

Matt’s POV 

Everything changed in an instant. 

Matt was loosening his tie, asking Grace if she wanted coffee or to shower first, when her heart stopped and her breath left her in a rush. Before he could react, she was going down, her knees hitting the ground so hard he thought something had broken.

He was at her side in an instant, senses on high alert, listening for an intruder or a gunshot or some indication of an internal wound he couldn’t see. Her breath wheezed out of her, her body not getting enough oxygen, even as her heart tripled its usual steady pace. 

“Grace?” Matt said, every cell in his body focusing on her. Fear clawed up his throat as she clutched at her chest, the other clawing across the floor. She was still wheezing, still barely breathing. “Grace, what’s wrong? What hurts?” 

Had that bastard done something to her? Was she bleeding somewhere inside, hemorrhaging where he couldn’t see? 

Matt’s fingers fluttered over her body, searching for any sign of injuries or internal wounds. But everything seemed to be working fine. Her heart was beating fast, panicked, but it was working the way it should. And she was wheezing still, but her lungs were clear of any obstructions. He gently touched around her skull next but everything there was in place, too, not even a hint of swelling in her brain. 

Then she started sobbing. 

The sound pierced him like an arrow. It stole his breath. 

“Grace,” he said, tears coming unbidden to his eyes at the sound of her agony. “Sweetheart, what is it? What’s wrong?” 

She was in pain, so clearly in pain, but there was nothing discernibly wrong with her. 

Matt gathered her into his arms. He rocked her gently while one hand continued searching for injuries. “Tell me what hurts, Grace,” he begged around the fear that was choking him. “Tell me how I can help because I don’t know what to do.” 

The sounds coming from her could only be described as anguish. Matt couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong or how. One moment she was fine–as fine as she could be, that is–and the next she had been on her knees crying out in pain

“Please, Grace,” he said into her hair as she clutched him like a lifeline while she sobbed. “Tell me what to do. Please. Grace, please.” 

“He–” The word choked her as it came out like it was tangible, like it had edges. “He–” Another anguished cry tore from her throat. “He killed him, Matt.” 

Matt froze. “Killed who?” 

Grace cried out again. Her whole body shuddered and it was all he could do to clutch her, to hold her together, to try and keep her safe from some unknown foe. 

“He killed my dad, Matt,” she said and broke down sobbing again. “Dean killed my dad, he told me–he killed him, Matt, and it’s my fault and I–” She choked again and another tremble rocked her frame. 

Matt stroked her hair even as he fought the turmoil within him. 

“When?” he finally said. His heart broke for her even as the rage resurfaced, hotter and brighter than before. 

Grace sobbed out the answer. “Years. Years ago.” 

And all Matt could do was hold her as she cried, as her world came apart around her, not realizing that he was the sole thing holding her together.

taglist:

@zaminoo @yanna-banana @bellal1 @thetrinity @lorosette @harry-bowie-mercury @feliciab1990 @0bsessedwithfictionalcharacters

[bewitchedme-body-and-soul]

all sides of you

a/n: this came to me late at night and i had to write it; shout out to @humanalien01 for helping me and supporting my simping. idk how i feel abt the ending tbh :/

summary: a night at josies bar leads to you admitting your thoughts about the devil of hell's kitchen, and a few months later your words come back to haunt you.

word count:2427

warnings: swearing, canon typical violence, reader is victim in an attempted mugging & fights back, cursing, reader is called a bitch

Standing around the pool table at Josie's bar with the Nelson and Murdock team, playful banter spewn between the four of you. Each of you taking turns shooting while also trying to make the others mess up. The laughter coming from the four of you carrying throughout the bar, the three deserved this after a hard case, and you being Matt's partner were happily invited. Foggy happily uses you as a means to try to embarrass Matt with silly stories from their college years. You and Karen, doubling over in laughter as Foggy finishes his current story, Matt's cheeks tinted pink. Upon noticing you move closer to him, pressing a quick kiss against his cheek, then resting your head against his shoulder, his arm wrapping around your middle. 

It's not until Foggy scoffs begrudgingly that your attention and Matts is pulled away to look at what Foggy's upset about. On one of the Tvs hanging around the bar you notice a news story about The Devil Of Hell's Kitchen. Foggy going on a rant about how he thought the man was bad news while you stared at the grainy footage someone caught of the man decked out in all black, as he beat up a group of gang members. You slowly zoned out as you watched how the man in the mask’s body contorted as he flipped and took the bad men out.

“Y/n!” Foggy's voice pulled you out of your daydream, your head snapping to look in his direction, giving him a hum in acknowledgement. “What do you think? What's your opinion on the masked man?” he asks, you know he's hoping you'll take his side.

Your cheeks tint a slight pink at the question, aware of the two pairs of eyes locked on you and Matt's head tilting, obviously also looking forward to your answer.  “Um, i don't really have one” you lie, moving to lean over the pool table and shoot one of the balls. Karen's giggle goes in tandem with the clack of the cue ball hitting one of the stripped balls.

“You're lying!” Foggy calls out pointing an accusatory finger at you, “did you know lying is a sin? I can't believe you would do such a thing while dating our good Catholic Matt Murdock” he gasps a hand over his heart like you wounded him deeply with your tiny fib. The smile on Matt’s face tells you he did not care and he finds Foggy's dramatics hilarious.

“Oh no, however will you forgive me, my love?” you gasp dramatically leaning against Matt. “But seriously my opinion on the man in the mask isn't that important.” you say trying to move on.

Karen laughs before speaking “oh, trust me, too foggy it is very important, and honestly now I’m interested cause it's been just me vs foggy about this since Matt tries to stay out of these conversations” after she's done speaking the attention turns back to you. You sigh as Matt moves to take his turn, now seeing you have no way out of this conversation.

“I don't know, I don't think he has bad intentions or anything” you shrug before continuing “He’s also kinda hot” you say the second part quieter. The other three members of your party all have varying reactions, Karen laughing, Matt giving an awkward chuckle, and Foggy with his over the top dramatics acting as if you’ve insulted his mother. You watch Matt out of the corner of your eye worrying you may have upset him, you’d only been dating a month and a half, the relationship still new, you're still learning things about the other. What if you hurt him?

Foggy's voice pulls you out of your anxiety fueled downward spiral. “I can't believe you would do this to me” he speaks with a voice obviously trying to make you feel bad for not agreeing with him. He puts his head in his hand as he begins to fake cry. You and Karen look at each other before you both double over laughing, Matt joining in as Foggy's fake cries ramp up at your laughing.

You spend another few hours at Josies before you all decide to part ways, you going home with Matt after deciding to spend the night. Once you're in his apartment your anxiety returns from the prior conversation. You both make your way to his bedroom and change into clothes you can sleep in. It's only when you're both in bed, your head on his chest as he rubs your back, that you decide to broach the subject. “Hey Matty, can I ask you a question?” he hums in response. “Earlier at Josies, did I upset you?” you question, heart rate picking up slightly.

Matt feels your heart rate pick up so he quickly leans forward to kiss your forehead before he smiles at you with a soft chuckle, “no, not at all, I trust you, it’s no different than the people who have a crush on the avengers.” you sigh at his words. Anxiety subsiding, you know Matt well enough he wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. You nestle closer to him before grabbing his other hand and kissing his knuckles, ignoring the cracks and healed over abrasions. “Besides, I know I’m your favorite” he says and you don't need to look at him to know he's wearing that cocky grin of his. 

You roll your eyes at him “i suppose” You tease him, no matter who came to you and professed their love, you knew you’d always choose Matt. You feel his chest vibrate under your cheek as he laughs. Eventually the two of you fall asleep in eachothers arms.

~~~

A month passes and you forget the aforementioned conversation ever happened. So many things happening that small moments get buried and forgotten about so easily. It's not till you're walking home one night that the conversation gets catapulted back to the forefront of your mind.

On your way home from a girl date with Karen you get yanked into an alley and thrown against one of the brick walls of a building. The bricks sharp and your head immediately begins to throb as your head smacks against it. A hand goes over your mouth and fight or flight takes over as you feel your heart rate pick up and the rush of adrenaline pumping through your veins. You struggle before biting down with all your might on the hand, the taste of copper coats your tongue. The man who grabbed you yanks his hand back and you spit the blood out onto his face before screaming, hoping you’d be lucky enough for someone to be close enough to hear you. You knew basic self defense but you’d rather be safe and hope someone would at least call emergency services. 

“You bitch” the man yells before slapping you across the face. You bring your knee up in an attempt to connect it with his groin. His hand shoots down, your knee still connects but not with as much force as you hoped. As you attempt to shove him off you hear a thud to the side of you and you can only hope that it’s some good samaritan here to save you. It's only a few seconds later your attacker is yanked off of you and thrown to the ground.

You watch with bated breath as the man in the mask repeatedly punches the guy in the face and head. Once he finishes he makes his way over to you, you can hear him speaking to you, asking if you're alright, but you're distracted by the shape of his jaw and the way his lips move. A sense of familiarity washes over you and you're unsure as to why.

“I’m fine, thank you, I just need to get home.” You quickly rush out before speed walking away. Wanting to be in the safety of yours and Matt's home as quickly as possible, and wanting to scrub your mouth to rid it of the copper taste. A part of you hoping Matt is home so you can just crash into his arms and sleep.

You arrive home to an empty apartment, the billboard on the building across the alley lighting up the living room. You drop your jacket and bag on the counter before moving to the bathroom and brushing your teeth for far longer than the usual two minutes. Afterwards moving to your shared bedroom and changing into the clothes you'd be sleeping in. 

As you're changing you spot a picture of you and Matt on top of your dresser. You pause, taking a moment to admire your partner, that's when it hits you. The sense of familiarity, why the bottom half of the devil of hell's kitchen face looked so familiar. You'd kissed those lips hundreds of times, it's no wonder your body recognized them. Everything begins falling into place in your head, like placing the last puzzle pieces in a puzzle and seeing the finale picture.

Matt's injuries always lined up with when you'd see the man in the mask on the new fighting bad guys. How a part of you always believed there was more to the story than him just falling or whatever excuse he’d give you. He was always so careful, far too careful to just take a tumble as often as he’d tell everyone. You never called him out cause even if a part of you believed he was lying you trusted him enough that you never questioned. Your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door opening and Matt's voice calling out for you. 

“In the bedroom!” you call back, wondering if he’ll tell you or if you'd have to call him out and question him. You hear him approach and turn to look at him, he looks relatively unharmed, ‘that's good’ you think. “Hey baby.” you can't help the small smile that graces your features, he moves closer to where your voice came from, reaching a hand out towards you. Once he reaches you he wraps his arms around you pressing a kiss against the top of your head. You hear and feel him take a deep breath, you wouldn't be surprised if he was also a little shaken up, he’d just saved his partner from being mugged, you wouldn’t blame him if he was. The two of you sit in silence for a few minutes before you decide you can't take it anymore.

“Baby?” you begin, he hums in response. You take a deep breath before you continue, turning in his arms and wrapping your arms around his neck. “When were you gonna tell me?”  you question, you figure it's best to just rip the bandaid off.

“Tell you what sweetheart?” he questions tilting his head, eyebrows furrowing. He looked like a puppy, confused by the trick its owner is trying to teach it. You understand why he’d try and play this off but you also wish he’d just be honest. Your face morphs into a deadpan expression.

“Matty, seriously, you know what I’m talking about.” You cross your arms over your chest. “When were you going to tell me youre daredevil?” you question. He huffs out a small laugh.

“What? Honey what are you talking about? I’m not the daredevil.” he lies through his teeth.

“I know you can’t see my face but just know it's a look of disappointment cause you should really be better at lying if you're gonna be a vigilante.” you speak before moving just out of matts reach. Deciding he could touch you again when he confessed. A defeated sigh leaves him, you assume he's come to the conclusion that there’s no way of getting out of this without being honest. 

“I don't know, honestly.” he begins “I always wanted to tell you, I hated lying to you, especially after seeing how worried you’d get.” he takes his glasses off sitting them on your dresser. “I was waiting for the right moment I guess. I was worried how you’d react, I didn’t want to lose you.” he finishes looking in your direction. He looks like a puppy that just got scolded and was trying to look cute to get out of punishment.

“First of all, low blow, you know your puppy eyes work way too well on me” you speak trying not to giggle. “Second, Matt I’m literally so in love with you, it’d take a lot more than you running around at night in a mask beating up criminals to lose me.” Now the laugh escapes you, a smile making its way to his face as well at your laugh. He moves closer to you again, hands landing on your waist, before he leans in to kiss you.

“You handled this a lot better than Foggy did,” he laughs. “Also, if you were wondering, yes, i am actually blind” 

“I wasn’t, but good to know.” you laugh “and to be fair, foggy did hate your alter ego.” you lean up to kiss his cheek, “lets go to bed baby” you whisper before crawling into your shared bed as he moves to change into pajamas. Once he joins you in the bed you snuggle into his arms, resting your head over his heart. Thinking over everything as you trace shapes against his chest, it’s then you sit up quickly realizing something. “You little shit!” you yell with a laugh as you playfully hit him in the chest. 

“What? What’d I do?” he asks shock and confusion taking his features

“A few months ago, at Josies with Foggy and Karen” you begin, you can tell by the look his face morphs to that he's beginning to understand. His cocky smile finding his face again. “I confessed that I thought the daredevil was hot and you just let me?” you ask incredulously “no wonder you were so unphased by it” you playfully shove his shoulder

“Would it help if I said I found it very flattering that you did?” he laughed “but seriously, that was when I started seriously thinking about telling you. It made me feel a little bit better about it.” he speaks, moving his hand to rub against your knee.

“Maybe, it does a little,” you confess. “You're still a little shit though.” you laugh moving to kiss him. “My little shit though” you whisper. The rest of the night is spent full of soft touches and laughter as the two of you bask in your love of the other.

[yarrystyleeza]

Fixing Ties

Chapter Two snippet under the cut!!! 💕✨

In the other room, the heat was rising up his neck, he was nervous, his hands are shaking. The sound of her heels softly clicking on the wooden floor is making his heart tick faster with each step she takes. She takes a sip of her coffee, her heart beats faster and she's smiling. He's jittering with each breath she takes, she's looking outside the window and tucking her stray bangs behind her ear, her earring swings to the movement of her hand, and his heart sways with it.

He regrets not answering the phone, he wouldn't have to shake like a broken blender despite her standing in a completely different room—yet he couldn't leave her waiting downstairs.

He couldn't tie his necktie, no matter how hard he tried, his hands kept trembling and his mind kept straying. "Damn it..." he cursed under his breath, but it was loud enough for her to hear it.

"Are you okay, Matt?" she asked, still giving him privacy. He walked out of his room, tie in his hand and face is flustered.

"Couldn't tie it," he sighed. She approaches, his heart is burning and the blood is pumping wild in his ears.

"Can I help you with it?" she asks, her fingertips are softly touching his. He nods. She feels his hands shaking beneath her touch. "Are you alright?" she asks with a smile, her voice is warm with worry, "you're shaking..."

He knows, oh Hell—he knows. "I... I don't-- I don't know..." he blurts, "maybe I'm just... Tired... Yeah."

She takes the black tie and starts wrapping it around her arm. "Learned this trick a while ago," she says, "you spread the thick part along your arm and wrap the thin part three times around your wrist," she explains, "then you pull the second loop through the first loop... And we're done. You're just gonna have to put it on."

She smiled proudly at herself. "I'm just gonna adjust it a bit..." she fixes the length of each end and widens the loop. "Can I help you put it on-- unless you want to--do it yourself--"

He shook his head, "of course—you can... Thank you." he smiles with his red face as she passes his head through the noose.

"You're welcome," she responded with a grin, fixing his collar around the noose before fitting it around his neck. "It looks good," she addressed, smiling.

"I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night

But now I see daylight, I only see daylight" 💕✨

Close-ups:

I can't emphasize how much I love this piece, I'm really proud of myself 🥺🥺🥺 I tried new things like working on lighting and shadow 😋 I need to study for my next exam on Tuesday tho 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

[she-likesorchids]

Chiaroscuro Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x OFC Elise Sullivan

Warnings: Each chapter will come with it's own warnings, but Elise is chronically ill and disabled. There will be romance and smut eventually. The Matt Murdock Charm is it's own warning.

Chiaroscuro: This is an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modeling of the subjects depicted. Artists who are famed for the use of chiaroscuro include Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio. (Glossary. The National Gallery, London.)

Elise Sullivan is one of the newest assistant curators at the Met in New York city. She is ambitious and extremely knowledgeable about art, but she is disabled and has a chronic illness. Her goal is to make art accessible for everyone, but especially for disabled people. When Karen Page gets the opportunity to write a profile on her for the Bulletin, Elise meets her friend and co-worker, Matt Murdock. Elise decides to seize the chance to pick Matt’s brain and see how she can make the museum experience better for the blind. They get along exceptionally well, and there is chemistry there, but can these two broken souls realize they are worthy of love? Will Matt’s secret life get in the way of his happiness like it always does? 

Chapter One: Yellow Ochre (Coming Soon!)

[inafieldofdaisies]

(WIP) Music Monday Tag | Tagged by @simplegenius042

The rules: Post a song that is relevant to your WIP or inspires it. I’m also including the lyrics.

I can play dirty, I won't have no mercy Drop a match on my white flag, burn it down, lay it on my grave I can be nasty, shoot you down in a backstreet Run the town, favorite blonde vigilante Blood on my guilty hands I'll go pour a drink, man, 'cause it's Friday Done with thinking, just wanna party Bet it sucks to be you, well, go figure You're the sucker who pulled the trigger Go pour a drink, man, 'cause it's Friday Got my best friend parked in my driveway While I sip gin and juice and fuck with ya Just remember who pulled the trigger

I started in a guarded place I was young, full of faith No one even knew my name But still, I chased, ran the race Do you know what I've been through? I've felt forsaken with lost truths Do you know what I've been through? I can taste triumph With the heart of a lion

You could be the endgame Eye of the hurricane Sleet in the pouring rain You would be the checkmate Loving what we became Riding the tidal wave You could the kingpin Changing the world again Sleep when the day is dead You would be my weakness Loving like Venus Rule the apocalypse

And we got caught in the storm At the end was the key to my heart You were my lover for life Oh, there's no time to sleep Oh, living in a dream So take me to the paradise in your eyes Green like American money You taste just right, sweet like Tennessee honey And we can run away, swimming in the sunlight everyday Oh, paradise in your eyes

Tagging, @strafethesesinners @strangefable @direwombat @socially-awkward-skeleton @la-grosse-patate

@rhettsabbott @marivenah @shellibisshe @purplehairsecretlair @cassietrn

@josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @voidika @imogenkol @finding-comfort-in-rain

@gearvmac @trench-rot @thesingularityseries @hookhearted @onehornedbeast

@justasmolbard @simonxriley @aceghosts @theelderhazelnut @kyber-infinitygems

@carlosoliveiraa @wrathfulrook and anyone that would like to share some music <3

[punchdrunkdoc]

Part 3, Chapter 19

Summary: After the events of S3, Matt Murdock is trying to once again balance life as a lawyer and a vigilante. But he’s been scarred by loss and betrayal - will a mysterious new neighbour help him heal? Or will her secrets drag him back into the darkness? Notes: This is a slow burn romance with an original female character, told in 4 parts. There is mystery, intrigue, action/violence and angst - all the good stuff!

Also available on AO3 and Wattpad

Masterlist

Reference pics

————–

PART 3

Chapter 19

Calina slid the vial of blood across the table to Yelena. The other Widow looked at it, looked back at Calina, and raised an eyebrow. “But I didn’t get you anything.”

Calina rolled her eyes. “Very funny. I need you to give this to Melina for testing.”

“Why?”

“Its from a new victim of the pheromone drug. We think the formula has changed.” Calina didn’t want to admit that it was her blood sample, taken the night she’d been dosed. After the bath had warmed her up - and after Matt had warmed her in other ways - she’d asked him to grab the well-stocked first aid kit from his apartment. Then, perched on her couch and clad in nothing but his shirt, she’d drawn a vial of blood from her arm.

She wanted answers.

She needed them.

It was personal now.

Before, she’d been invested in the hunt for whoever was manufacturing this drug mainly because it was so important to Matt. And because she empathised with the victims who’d been stripped of their reason and control by an outside force.

But she more than empathised now. She’d lived through it.

The grief. The pain. The heart wrenching emptiness of losing Matt. 

And the anger of knowing that it was a lie. She’d been manipulated - tortured with falsehoods and fantasies - through a trick of her own neurochemistry.

And that really pissed her off.

But she couldn’t explain all that to Yelena. She was still too…raw. Matt’s death may have been a lie, but her reaction to it had been very real. And just thinking about it threatened to reduce her to tears again.

Yelena nodded. “No problem.” She pocketed the small vial of blood then relaxed into her chair and tipped her head back, closing her eyes to enjoy the slight breeze in the air. They were seated at a small table outside a cafe across from Central Park and it was a beautiful spring day. And Yelena looked so…relaxed. Which was not a word Calina usually associated with her sister.

“Are you used to it yet?” she asked.

“Used to what?” Yelena answered, her eyes still closed.

“Life. Freedom. Getting to decide the course of your day - even if it’s just to grab coffee with a friend.”

“Who says you’re my friend?” Yelena mumbled, the slight curve of her lips giving away the joke.

Calina laughed and kicked the other woman under the table. “Yelena!”

Yelena finally opened her eyes and shrugged. “No. I’m not used to it.”

“Well, its only been 6 weeks. Give it time.”

“It’s not that.” Yelena lowered her voice and turned serious. “There are still Widows out there, Calina, and they still need to be freed. Until every last one is woken up from the serum, I can’t start this new ‘life’.” She made air quotes as she said the last work, her chunky silver rings glinting in the sunlight.

Calina dipped her head and stirred her coffee, the familiar guilt rising. Once again, she’d been selfish - she’d ignored her obligation to her sisters and had lost herself in her relationship with Matt. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have asked how that was going. And I should be helping you.”

Yelena waved her off. “If we’re stuck and need your help, we will call. But we’ve got this.”

“Are you sure?”

She shrugged. “It’s hard sometimes. Tracking them down is becoming more and more challenging, and seeing their reaction when they wake is always difficult…but its worth it. It feels like I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing. And when all of this mess is finally cleared up, then I’ll make a good life for myself.”

“Speaking of clearing up messes, have you heard from Natasha recently? Is she still on the run?”

“Yes,” Yelena growled. “It’s been two years, and still they hunt her across the planet. Calling her a traitor.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yelena shrugged, her eyes downcast as she stirred her coffee. “She calls sometimes, to check in. To let me know she’s okay. But she doesn’t want to risk jeopardising the Widows’ freedom - my freedom - by visiting.”

“I’m sorry,” Calina repeated, knowing the words were inadequate. Natasha meant so much to Yelena, but the two women had barely had a chance to reconnect and mend the rift in their relationship before they were separated again.

Yelena shrugged again. “It is what it is. But enough about that. What about you? Have you figured out what you’re meant to do with this new life of yours?”

“Ugh,” Calina groaned and slid down in her seat. “No. I have no clue.”

“You’ve always liked books, what about being a librarian?”

It was Calina’s turn to shrug. “I thought about it. But I want to do something that helps people more directly - like Matt with his law firm.”

“Become a lawyer, then.”

“No. It’s too…confining, working in that kind of system.”

“What about…self defence trainer. Put your skills to good use teaching others how to fight.”

Calina laughed. “We didn’t exactly learn in the most conventional way - I wouldn’t know how to train someone without using Red Room tactics.”

“And that would get you thrown in jail over here.”

“Exactly.”

At that moment, a dog walker jogged passed the cafe with a pack of dogs surrounding her, all of them strapped to her belt by brightly coloured leashes. Yelena tracked her as she crossed the street to enter the park, a slightly wistful look in her eyes. “Maybe you’re overthinking it,” she said. “Just do what makes you happy.”

“Would that make you happy?” Calina responded. “Looking after a bunch of dogs?”

“Not a bunch of them. Just one.”

“You want a dog. Like, a pet?” Calina could hear the surprise in her voice, but it wasn’t really a shock. She’d always known Yelena was a caretaker - and once she finished taking care of all the Widows across the world, she would need to focus that energy elsewhere.

“Yeah,” Yelena said. “In Ohio, the neighbours next door to us had a German Shepherd. She was big and strong and looked scary, but her name was ‘Princess’ and she was the sweetest thing. Nat and I would play with her in the garden all the time…” She trailed off, looking into the distance as if lost in a memory.

“I always forget that you had a life before the Red Room. I used to be so jealous of that - before they brainwashed those kinds of emotions out of us.”

“It would have been easier if I’d been brought to the Red Room as a baby, like you. At least then I wouldn’t have known what I was missing.”

“Yeah, I remember you being so…angry…all the time. And you would take it out on us during practice.”

Yelena winced. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry. We were all dealt a shit hand. And fighting you made us all better - it probably kept us alive and in the program. And what you’ve done to free us all - to keep freeing other Widows - it’s amazing, Yelena. I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for that.”

Yelena shrugged. “I was just doing what was right.”

“But not everyone would have. You had your freedom. You were out. And you risked it all, to come back and save us. Even though you had no loyalty to us - not really. We weren’t raised to be loyal, or develop bonds, or friendships. But you still came back. So thank you.”

Yelena squirmed in her chair, looking uncomfortable. “Alright, alright. Enough.”

Calina had never seen this side of her sister before. She was used to Yelena, the no-nonsense leader. She was used to Yelena, the hard-ass fighter. She was even getting used to off-duty Yelena, who painted her nails blue and wore mismatched prints and fur coats. But this awkward and embarrassed Yelena was brand new.

And she couldn’t help but tease her. She reached across the table, took her hand and gave her a sincere, serious look. “You’re a hero, Yelena Belova. An inspiration to all of us.”

Yelena frowned, looking even more discomforted. Then she saw through Calina’s act. She yanked her hand back, and laughed. “Fuck off.”

Calina smiled. “I couldn’t resist. I finally found your one weakness: compliments.”

Yelena laughed again, the deep husky cackle sounding so carefree. “If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

“No you won’t,” Calina grinned. “You love me. Admit it.”

“Never. You’re a pain in the ass, Balashova.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

———

Matt was distracted. Again.

Calina had set up a workspace in the conference room, and had spent the last couple of weeks diligently researching the pheromone case.

Karen liked the new arrangement, as it freed her up to concentrate on investigating some of their paid cases. Foggy liked it for the same reason - and because Calina always volunteered to grab them  food at lunchtime.

Calina was enjoying the sense of purpose it gave her. She’d told him just that the other night at Fogwell’s. “I think I need the structure,” she’d said, dodging his left hook. They’d both been gloved up, and had sparred in the ring for a good half an hour -  neither hitting hard enough to injure, but enjoying the adrenaline rush of the fight anyway.

“I thought that’s what put you off working in the coffee shop - it was too rigid for you,” he’d responded, jumping to avoid her attempted sweep of his ankles.

“It was. I can’t do a 9-to-5 job. But I need something to get me out of the apartment each day. A routine…but one I can control.”

“So you want to be self-employed, basically. Freelance.”

“Yeah.”

Trying to figure out Calina’s future career was a common theme to their conversations these day, and they were gradually whittling down her options. But in the meantime, she wanted to focus her time on solving the pheromone case.

Because she had a real and personal stake in it now.

She’d been doggedly reviewing and cross-referencing the mountain of financial information they’d managed to accrue on their main suspects - the men behind the companies that had purchased the main ingredient of the drug: Arsonium bromide.

Matt understood her drive. And he was grateful for her help. He also liked coming in to work with her each morning, and having lunch with her in the middle of the day.

It was just a tad…distracting.

Her scent was now a constant presence, and it’s intensity just seemed to grow and grow with every moment. It layered every surface and saturated every room…but its effect on him never seemed to dull. It was still the same potent stimulant it had always been - since that very first night he’d scented Calina on their rooftop.

The little sounds she made throughout the day were just as hard to tune out - the rustle of her clothes as she shifted in her seat. The tap of her heeled boots as she walked from the conference room table to the printer near Karen’s office. The gentle scrape of her teeth over her lower lip when she bit it in concentration. The soft sigh as another lead failed to pan out…

He was just too aware of her. Every minute of the day, his senses were conscious of her - even when he was trying to concentrate on his work or speak to a client. A small part of him was always tuned to her frequency. And he didn’t know if it was a side effect of their long separation, or if it would always be like this with her. This perpetual…wanting.

They’d given up on his ridiculous ‘going slow’ idea. Every night was now spent in her bed, and most of those nights were spent touching her and kissing her and making love to her. But it wasn’t enough. It was never enough-

“Matt!”

He jerked his head up at the sound of Karen’s voice. Judging by the volume and degree of irritation, she’d been calling his name for a while.

“Sorry, I spaced out,” he replied. “What’s up?”

“Calina has something.”

Matt pressed pause on the transcript he was failing to listen to, pulled his headphone from his ear, and followed Karen to the conference room. He nodded to Foggy, who was already seated around the table, and he paused for a moment to take in Calina’s non-verbal greeting - one she was probably completely unaware of.

It was a kind of biological acknowledgement of his presence. A combination of a slight spike in her temperature, a jump in her heart rate, and a cocktail of chemicals suddenly rushing through her veins, thick with endorphins and dopamine and a whole host of unknown hormones. It was difficult to describe to himself - let alone someone without his heightened senses - so he’d never mentioned it to Calina. He also didn’t want to make her self-conscious about it.

Because he never wanted it to go away.

It was like being warmed by the rays of the sun on a frosty day. Like the relief of resting your head on a soft pillow at the end of a long, hard night. Comfort and affection and a feeling of coming home, mixed with a subtle undercurrent of desire.

It was intoxicating. Addictive. And a relief to know he wasn’t the only one so physically affected by the other’s presence.

“Hey,” she said, offering him a more traditional greeting.

“Hey,” he replied, taking the seat next to Foggy. “What’ve you found?”

“Our bad guy.”

He sat up straight, shocked. “Are you serious?”

“Really?” Karen said at the same time.

Calina took a deep breath. “I think so. It’ll need confirmation…but I think so.”

“So who is it?” Foggy asked.

“Landon Cross. Founder and CEO of Cross Corp.”

Karen frowned. “I don’t recognise that name from the list of Arsonium bromide purchasers.”

“That’s because it wasn’t on it. But you’ll recognise the name Midworld Industries.”

“Yeah, it rings a bell.” Karen opened her battered notebook and started searching through the scrawled pages. “Here it is - Midworld Industries - an independent pharmaceutical R&D company. They were apparently researching the potential use of Arsonium as a ‘nanocarrier for intracellular oncology therapeutics’, whatever that means. But we eliminated them early on - the papertrail checked out and they actually stopped purchasing the chemical last year.”

Calina nodded. “That’s because they found a way to manufacture a synthetic mimic.”

“How the hell did you work that out?” Foggy asked.

“It was thanks to Melina, the Black Widow chemist. She analysed my- a new sample we recently got hold of.”

Matt winced at Calina’s near slip-up. She didn’t want the team to know about her experience with the pheromone. Part of her was embarrassed that she’d managed to get dosed - even though he’d told her that was ridiculous. She was also sick of being viewed as a victim. Foggy and Karen knew about the way she was raised, the mind control serum, the coma…and she didn’t want them to pity her for yet one more episode of trauma.

Which he also said was ridiculous. His friends thought she was amazing.

“I can’t get over how…normal…she is,” Karen had remarked a few days ago, watching from the window as Calina jogged down the street to collect their lunch order.

“What do you mean?” Matt had asked. He could think of a lot of adjectives to describe Calina, but ‘normal’ was nowhere near the top of his list. She still seemed so new to the world. The smallest things would sometimes trip her up, like not knowing what a 401K was, or how to make a bowl of cereal.

“Just…with everything she’s been through, she seems so unaffected. So…nice. As if she really was just a college grad from Illinois, or whatever her cover story was. If it was me, I’d be so angry at the world.”

“You’ve gone through your fair share of trauma, too.”

“Yeah, and I was angry at the world for a long time. I closed myself off from everyone - right up until I met you guys, really. But Calina…she’s embraced this new life so effortlessly.”

Matt wouldn’t call it effortless - he saw how much she struggled sometimes. With her nightmares. Her guilt about her past. Her doubts about her innate goodness. Her uncertainty over her future. But he’d never share that with his friends. He liked the way they saw her - because it echoed how he saw her:

Strong. Determined.

Miraculous.

He just wished Calina saw herself that way.

“Okay, so this new analysis proves the compound is synthetic,” Foggy said. “What does that have to do with this Landon Cross guy?”

“Melina determined that the only way to synthesise Arsonium Bromide in large enough quantities to be useful was with a carbon framework printer, a piece of cutting edge technology. So I traced the companies that recently purchased one of those devices.”

“Couldn’t have been that many,” Karen commented.

“No. Only three, in fact. And when I looked closer at the financials of one of the companies - EnGene, I saw a name I recognised.”

“Midworld Industries?” Foggy guessed.

“No. Sato Holdings, a conglomerate based in Tokyo.”

“I need diagrams and a slide show to keep track of this.”

Calina smiled at Foggy’s joke. “Okay, I’ll cut to the chase. Midworld and EnGene, through multiple layers of shell corporations, are both owned by Sato Holdings. But Sato holdings doesn’t exist. Its a sham company created by-”

“Landon Cross,” Matt said, putting it together.

“Bingo. It’s a good sham - clever enough to fool US Inland Revenue, but if you can read Japanese, and know where to look, the ruse falls apart.”

“It still seems…tenuous,” Karen remarked.

Calina nodded. “It definitely needs confirmation, but my instincts say it’s him. I know bad guys - I know the way they operate, and how they try to hide. But there’s always a stench that clings to them, and I can smell it on Cross.”

“Okay,” Karen said, collecting her notes and getting to her feet, “I’ll start digging into Cross.”

“And we’ll head to the Courthouse,” Foggy said. “We have that hearing at 4, Matt.”

Matt nodded. “I remember. I’ll just be a minute.” When the other two left, Matt pulled Calina into his arms, and kissed her, a soft brush of his lips against hers. “You’re amazing. Have I told you that today?”

She shrugged. “It was just a bit of research.”

Matt reached out and touched the stack of papers on the table. “Judging by the thickness of this pile, it was more than just a ‘bit’. And how much of this is in Japanese?”

She laughed. “Only about a third.”

He shook his head and kissed her again. “Like I said - amazing.”

“All I did was get us a name - a direction to look. Proving Landon is behind all this, and figuring out how to stop him-”

“Is a problem for tomorrow. Take the win today.”

She cocked her head. “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Matt Murdock?”

“This is the new-and-improved, optimistic version.”

“Hmmm, he might take some getting used to.”

“I guess we’ll have to spend more time together then.”

She laughed. “I’m not sure that’s even possible.”

“I like a challenge.”

She laughed again, soft and low, and leaned into his third kiss.

A kiss that was soon interrupted by a wry voice behind him. “I hate to break up this disgustingly sappy display, but I need a favour.”

“Hello, Jessica,“ Matt replied, turning to face the figure in the doorway. “What do you need?”

“I need to borrow your girlfriend.”

————–

Chapter 20

Tag list: @hollandorks @stilldreaming666 @sio-ina-bottle @tearoseart-blog @acharliecoxedfan @freckledbabyyy @chezagnes

If you’d like to be added - let me know!

[j-eryewrites]

Til We Meet Again

MAIN MASTER LIST | REQS OPEN

Word Count: 6.k

Pairings: Matt Murdock x fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Matthew Murdock

I wrote this out of my current/renewed Matt Murdock obsession. I most definitely could write a part 2/entire series based on this one-shot, so if any of you would like to encourage my current crush and desire to write about Matt, plz do...XD

“Come on, babes,” begged Cameron. Her wrist bobbed up and down to pump the mascara wand in and out of the bottle. She pulled the wand out, covered in the black cosmetic. The dark shade was a stark contrast to her vibrant lime-green hair. A spontaneous decision of the past week. A spontaneous decision of many that decorated her body. 

Y/N chuckled as she watched her best friend put on her mascara face: Jaw slack and open showcasing the tongue piercing from two months ago, her coffee-coloured eyes wide, and eyebrows raised impossibly high. 

“It’s your last chance to have real fun. Hon,” chimed Cameron. She turned around and leaned against the counter in the bathroom. Her bright orange slip dress turned sour the longer Y/N looked at it. “You’ve never been to a college party. Hell, you’ve never been to college. You’ve spent your entire life dancing and now you’re flying off to Copenhagen.” Cameron waved her free hand up and feigned dramatically. “You’ll leave me behind as you dance among the stars. Forever forgetting your best friend.” 

“Drama queen,” giggled Y/N. “I won’t forget you. How could I ever!” Y/N jumped up from her seat on Cameron’s bed matching Cameron’s dramatic energy. 

Cameron chuckled and swirled around to look back into the mirror. “Can you see my spanks?” Cameron asked as she lifted the dress lightly giving way to the neon blue shorts underneath. 

“Nope,” Y/N said entering the bathroom. She began to peruse Cameron’s makeup bag. Her nose scrunched up as she looked at the lipstick colours her friend had. 

“Ooh! Sex on the beach! My favourite colour.” Cameron exclaimed and she snatched it from Y/N’s hands. 

“Sex on the beach? Really?” 

“It’s a beautiful colour, babes,” Cameron said with a smack of her lips. She offered it to Y/N. “Wanna try it?” 

Y/N looked up from the brilliant yellow lipstick with a quizzical expression on her face and shook her head. It was too bold for her. The boldest shade Y/N had ever put on her lips was black and that was for her role as the Black Swan in her ballet school’s production of Swan Lake. 

“I’ll stick to chapstick, thanks.” 

“Your loss.” Cameron hummed. The woman began to check herself out in the mirror. She pursed her lips and popped her hip to the side. “How do I look?”

“You look like a slushy,” Y/N replied bluntly. 

“Perfect, Babes!” Cameron blew Y/N a kiss. “That’s what I was going for. Everyone loves a sexy slushy.”

Y/N giggled at Cameron’s comments. The giggle turned into a laugh which spread to Cameron. 

 “Okay, chica, be honest,” Cameron said, collecting herself. “From a scale of the Goonies to Dirty Dancing, how sexy am I?”

Y/N looked her friend up and down. “Depends on what shoes you’re gonna wear.” She replied. 

Cameron chuckled and ran into her room. She swung open her closet doors and pulled out two pairs of shoes. One pair was her party tennis shoes; white vans with beer stains. The other was a pair of six-inch black heels, the ones she wore to her pole dancing classes. 

“Okay,” Y/N said. “If you go with the vans, then you’ll be a Top Gun sexy and if you go with the heels you’ll be a Rocky Horror Picture Show kind of hot.” 

A wide grin flashed on Cameron’s face. “This is why you’re my best friend, babes.” Cameron looked between the shoes and settled on the heels. She tossed the tennis shoes into the closet. “Rocky Horror Sexy it is,” she winked. 

Y/N smiled as her friend put on the heels. Now, Cameron stood an inch taller than Y/N, something Cameron took pride in. 

“Your turn honeybuns,” Cameron sang. 

Y/N shook her head. “I’m not going, Cameron. I have an international flight tomorrow and I’m going to need all the sleep I can get. “

Cameron began to whine. Her eyes fell and widened to a size that would make a cartoon character jealous. “Please?” 

“Cameron…” Y/N said warningly. Her face betrayed the determination in her voice as she smiled at her friend's antics. 

“We can get Wendy’s...AND” Cameron began. “You can pick which songs we listen to on the drive over to the party AND back.” 

Y/N dropped her head back with a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. She groaned and rolled her head around to back at Cameron and her puppy eyes. 

“Fine, I’ll go.” 

Cameron squealed and jumped up and down. Her hands clapped loudly as she had just received the best news of her life. 

“I have the perfect dress!”

“No…” Y/N began but Cameron had already shoved a mesh, basically see-through, dress into Y/N’s hands. “I’m not wearing this.” 

Cameron frowned. 

“Cam, there is no way in hell, I’ll be wearing this. Besides, I have my own clothes.” 

Cameron sighed as Y/N showed her friend the light blue slip dress she had packed. It shimmered in the moon on a dark night. It was beautiful and definitely something one would not wear to a college party–a college party at a frat house. 

“You’ll look like a mother-fucking princess. Babes,” Cameron whines, “we’re supposed to look like whores together.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes. “I refuse to wear the dress. It’s either I look like a princess, or I’m not going.”

Cameron growled and then caved into her friend’s request. Y/N smiled as she changed into the dress. Her soft hands ran over the silky dress. She turned around to show Cameron and her friend smiled.

 “I take it back. That’s Dirty Dancing hot, chica.” Cameron commented. 

Y/N smiled and looked in the mirror. She really did look beautiful. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” Y/N winked. 

“Speaking of, baby.” Cameron chimed. “You need some makeup with that outfit. Ooo, and a fun hairdo!” 

“Cameron…”

“I wasn’t asking.” Sensing her friend’s reluctance she continued, “I promise I won’t give you crazy makeup. Just enough to highlight your beautiful face and I’ll, ooo, curl your hair. You wear it in buns all the time. It’s time you show off your gorgeous locks.”

Y/N smiled at her friend and then hopped onto the counter. Y/N's legs swayed as Cameron brushed her cosmetic products on her friend’s face. The two of them chatted, belting songs, and having some pre-game drinks. The two of them felt as if this night would for sure be a night to remember. 

___________

“Come on Matt. It’s gonna be a night to remember. Finals are over. One more year of college done. One step closer to Nelson and Murdock,” Foggy raised the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Matt’s shoulder to motion to the imaginary business sign. “Nelson and Murdock,” Foggy whispered for dramatic effect. 

Matt laughed at his friend’s actions. Clearly, Foggy did a little bit too much pre-partying in their dorm. The blond was already leaning on Matt making it hard for him to walk straight on the sidewalk and not into the busy road. 

“Alright Foggy, a night to remember,” Matt smirked, sensing Foggy’s grin growing wider. 

“That’s the spirit.” Foggy slapped Matt on the shoulder and brought him in for a side hug. The two of them laughed as Foggy narrowly missed walking straight into a street lamp. 

“Now, Matt.” Foggy stepped in front of Matt and placed his hands on Matt’s shoulders. “I want you to find a girl and let out some steam. You’re too stress-addicted for your own good.”

“Foggy…” Matt began before Foggy shushed him. 

“No, listen to me Murdock,” a smile grew on Foggy’s face. “You’re gonna have fun tonight. Promise  me.” Foggy stuck out his pinky finger to Matt. 

“I promise Fog,” Matt said. Foggy smiled and grabbed Matt’s hand. His pinky finger pinched Matt’s and the promise was made. 

It wasn’t long before Matt and Foggy heard the sounds of the party. Music was blaring from the speakers scattered all over the lawn and house. People were laughing, screeching, dancing, chatting, and drunkenly singing. Matt’s nose scrunched up in disgust; those weren’t the only sounds he could hear. Matt could hear the buzzing of the house lights, the heartbeats of a few hundred people crammed into one space, the way the floor thundered and echoed footsteps, the bass of the song, the stickiness of the beer stuck to the bottoms of people’s shoes. His head already began to hurt and he knew it was worse when he’d be in the crowd. He’d smell, feel, hear, and taste everything. How could he not? 

“London Fog! M&M! You made it,” a young man exclaimed. He ran over to Foggy and Matt gave big bear hugs. Matt offered a smile to try and hide his disgust from the man’s smell. Matt could smell his cologne, and traces of a woman’s perfume. He could also smell that the man before him had five cups of an alcoholic mixture: Beer, vodka, and Smirnoff. He could also smell the cigarette he had taken a few hours ago. 

“How’s it been, Bryan?” Foggy asked, his words already slurred as they rolled off his tongue.

“It’s been a fucking riot. Cameron, man…she’s something.” Bryan’s face flushed red. “The dress she’s wearing.”

“I can see,” Foggy noted. “Man, that’s a bright orange.” Foggy opened his eyes wider and then blinked. “Now my eyes hurt. Too many bright colours.” He turned to Matt. “Only Cameron could pull off lime green hair, neon yellow lipstick, and an orange dress.” 

Matt smiled and nodded his head. He remembered Cameron from one of his Spanish classes. She had walked into class the first day, took one look at the board, and just left. He couldn’t recall her coming to a single class yet she had one of the best grades. A chaotic genius to say the least. Before he knew it, Bryan had wrapped an arm around Matt’s shoulder. The other arm was linked around Foggy.  Then Bryan guided the two of them into the party. 

The minute Matt stepped through the door and into the heart of the party, the pounding in his head amplified. Bryan had dragged them to the kitchen and handed him and Foggy a red plastic cup. The alcohol mixture Matt had smelled earlier. Foggy lifted his head back and downed the drink in one go. Matt just took a sip before placing it back down on the counter. 

Foggy had spotted Marci on the dance floor and excused himself. Bryan got dragged by another group and began taking shots in the dining room. Matt, on the other hand, began to swerve his way through the crowd. Everything became muffled and Matt had a hard time differentiating between his senses. He occasionally bumped into party-goers, their alcohol-ridden scent sticking to him. He needed to get out and away from the party. His pace picked up and he manoeuvred through the crowd colliding with more people. Suddenly, he came to a stop. There was a room next to him. It was quieter than the rest of the house and from what he could tell, no one was in there. He fumbled for the doorknob and burst into the room. A bathroom, he soon realized, as he closed the door. He found his way over to the sink and began to wash his hands. He splashed the cold water on his face. His senses finally came back to him and the thick walls of the bathroom tuned out the noise. 

That’s when he heard it. It started out with a heartbeat. He could tell it was young and healthy as it thumped to a graceful melody. Then he heard the rustling of satin on the skin. It sounded so soft as the fabric ran up against the skin. Afterwards, there was a smell. It was so sweet, the smell of rain and lavender that was not too overpowering. It reminded him of Hell’s Kitchen in the spring when the church would grow lavender in the community garden. The smell carried through the air and Matt froze. The water from the sink was still running. He wasn’t the only one in the bathroom. 

___________

“Umm,” the voice mumbled. He tilted his head in the direction of the sound. It came from a young woman. “Hello.” She said. 

Matt turned around. His cane and glasses were fully on show. “Hello?” He responded. His head moved side to side. He already knew where she was, but she didn’t know that. 

“Oh, you’re…”

He smiled softly. “Blind. Yeah.” He shrugged. 

The two of them stood there not knowing what to say. Matt suddenly remembered where they were. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…” he began to apologize. 

“You’re fine. I was just stepping away from the party for a moment. I was just about to go back out.” She motioned to the door before realizing Matt couldn’t actually see her. Her head smacked her forehead. “I just pointed to the door…I’m gonna go,” she mumbled. 

As she walked past Matt he noticed the absence of alcohol. She hadn’t drunk anything and the sound of her heartbeat made Matt think that she didn’t want to rejoin the party anytime soon. Matt reached out to stop her. 

“You don’t have to go. I’m just taking a breather like you.” 

She turned around and smiled at him softly. “No, it’s alright. Plus, I’m sure my friend is wondering where I am right now.” She turned away and turned the doorknob. Only that it didn’t turn. Instead, the knob detached from the door, clattering against the stone tile of the bathroom floor. 

“Fuck,” cursed the woman. 

Matt moved his head in her direction. “What happened? I heard something bang against the floor.”

“Uh…” the woman faltered as she bent down to grab the door knob. She picked it up, walked over to Matt, and placed it in his hand. Her fingers brushed against his hand and Matt felt as if his hand was afire. He ran his hands over the cool door knob and then sighed. He smiled to himself at the gesture. 

“Yeah, the door knob fell off. Which is just great.” She muttered. Her voice grew tight and nervous. 

Matt placed the door knob down and then remembered the water in the sink was still running. He quickly turned it off and tried to offer the woman some words of comfort. “I’m sure someone will come looking. Right? You said your friend was…”

“I lied. She’s busy with some guy and drunk off her ass. She wouldn’t be able to help us. You?”

Matt shook his head. The woman sighed. “My friend was already wasted when we got to the party.”

The woman groaned and slid to the floor. She tucked her knees in close. “Perfect. I’m gonna miss my flight tomorrow,” she muttered under her breath clearly so Matt wouldn’t hear, but he did. 

“I’m sure everything will be alright.” He crouched down to the floor and leaned up against the sink cabinets. 

The woman’s heartbeat continued to beat faster and Matt was sure she’d die of a heart attack if he didn’t find some way to calm her down. 

“I’m Matt,” he blurted out. He felt his face heat up as the woman replied back. 

“Y/N.” 

“What year are you?” He found himself asking. 

“Huh?” Y/N replied. 

Matt cleared his throat. “What year of school are you in?”

“Oh,” Y/N said, “I’m not a student. Just a friend visiting a friend for a bit.”

Matt tilted his head at the words. “You don’t go to Columbia?” 

“Nope,” Y/N muttered. 

“Then why are you here at an end-of-year frat party?” Matt asked with a teasing tone. He could already hear her heartbeat returning back to its tranquil melody. 

“Funny story, actually.” She chuckled.

“I have time.” Matt smiled. He flashed his signature grin. The one that had girls fawning over him. 

Y/N blushed at his smile and began her story. She told Matt how a few months ago she auditioned for the Danish Royal Ballet company. They had gotten back to her saying they wanted her to join them. It was a dream come true for her. Matt intently listened to her love for dancing and how she immediately accepted. Instead of college, she chose to dance and now as of tomorrow afternoon, she’d be flying to Copenhagen. When she broke the news to her family and friends, they all demanded to have her visit. One of which had been her childhood best friend, Cameron. Matt chuckled and told her he knew Cameron. They shared a few laughs about the funny memories Matt and Y/N had of the young and chaotic woman. 

“So now you’re visiting Cameron,” Matt repeated. 

Y/N nodded. “Yep, she’s the last one that I was going to visit before flying to Denmark.” 

Matt had extended his legs out. His feet occasionally grazed and bumped into Y/N’s feet. Every time they did, he’d fight the blush that tried to appear on his face. 

“For a last hurrah, Cameron suggested–dragged me to this party. To be honest, I don’t like parties that much. It’s too loud, there are harsh lights, and the smells are just…”

“It’s overwhelming.” Matt finished. He knew the exact feeling. 

“Yeah.” Y/N’s voice grew quiet. “Now, your turn Matt. What’s your story and how’d you end up locked in a bathroom with me?” Y/N jokingly asked. 

Matt let out a laugh. Y/N smiled and giggle along. Matt felt a wave of relief fall over him. It had been a while since he really laughed like that: tears formed in the corner of his eyes, his breath cut short, and he clutched his chest. 

“My story’s not as…” Matt closed his eyes thinking of the right word, “interesting as yours.”

“That’s alright,” Y/N smiled, “I happen to like mundane stories. Besides, I have time.”

Matt smirked at the familiar phrase he muttered before, which now fell from her lips. He opened his mouth to tell his story when he heard the shuffling of the dress Y/N was wearing. With a huff, she stood up from her seat and strolled over to Matt. She plopped down next to him. Their legs brushed against each other. Matt couldn’t help but flash a smile in her direction. His eyes concealed by his red-tinted glasses fell just below the woman’s chin. 

“Did you just…” he chuckled.

As if she knew what he was asking, Y/N replied. “I can hear you better this way. You know, the party is quite loud.”

Now their legs were lying against each other. No longer shy, Y/N found herself scooting closer to Matt. Her hand snaked underneath his arm and then held it close. His hand playing with hers.

Matt just smiled. The blush on his face was now a similar shade to the scarlet lens that adorned his face.

“Sure, sweetheart.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Anyways, I’m a law student here at Columbia. Before that I grew up in Hell’s Kitchen,” Matt told Y/N.

She rested her head against his shoulder causing Matt to pause his story. He took a moment to calm his thundering heart. When Matt began his story. He was planning on just sticking to his college years. His childhood was a tangle of sombre memories: the accident, his dad, and Stick. But his lips betrayed him and Matt found himself telling Y/N about his dad and growing up at the orphanage. A story he didn’t divulge to just anyone. But Y/N wasn’t anyone. She was the woman who was locked in the bathroom with him. The ballerina who’d be flying across the world tomorrow. She was the woman whose heartbeat was helping distract him from the chaos outside the bathroom door. She was Y/N. He’d only known her for a few hours, but Matt couldn’t help but think he’d known her his whole life. An idea that Matt cringed at. This wasn’t him. He was a flirt and a playboy, but for the woman in the bathroom, he’d be anything. 

Soon, Matt was talking about the accident. The struggles of having your entire world stripped away in an instant. A good deed that was rewarded with eternal darkness. He told her about Nelson and Murdock, the law firm he was going to start with Foggy.

Together the two of them sat on the bathroom floor, sharing their lives and souls with one another. As Matt talked, Y/N listened. She rubbed his hand when he felt his throat clench. She just listened and Matt felt safe. He had no clue why, but he felt safe. Y/N was safe. In their tiny enclosure of a bathroom in a frat house, the two of them felt safe. 

___________

The safety that the bathroom provided the two of them shattered at the sound of a hard object that collided with the window in the room. Matt and Y/N jumped to their feet at the sudden bang. Y/N’s grip on Matt’s arm got tighter before she let go. His side was now freezing cold without her warmth. He tilted his head to listen to her as she trod carefully over to the window. Her body froze and her heart had a quick uptake.

“Everything alright?” Matt asked in concern. He took a step forward before he heard her shuffle forward and then came a loud creaking sound. 

Y/N’s smile turned upward as she looked out the open window. A cheer left her lips.

“Ah ha! Fuck yeah.” 

Matt’s ears perked up. “What?”

“Why didn’t I think of this before?” Y/N scolded herself.

Matt chuckled. “Mind telling me what your amazing discovery is?”

“The window.” 

“The window?”

“We can get out through the window. We’re on the first floor. It’s a bit of a jump, but we can get out!”

Matt’s face fell. “Oh, that’s great.” He smiled again when she looked back at him. A part of him wanted to stay in the bathroom forever. Just him and her. Matt and Y/N.

Her feet hit the ground and she walked back over to Matt. Her soft hands reached out and guided him over to the window. She lifted his hand up and to the window ledge. 

“Do you think you can get up?” She asked.

Matt turned to her and smiled. “Of course, sweetheart. I’m a big boy.”

Y/N’s face flushed bright red at the comment. She was happy that he couldn’t see her right now. Matt knowingly smiled at her blush. He knew full well the effect his words had on her. Matt handed her his cane which she took and held close. Her free hand held out to help him up. Then he pulled himself up onto the ledge and swung his legs around. His knees bent the minute the tips of his feet hit solid ground. Standing up straight he turned around to the sound of Y/N following him out the window. With a yelp, Matt stuck out his hand to hold her steady as she braced herself from the jump. She muttered a quick thanks before dusting her dress off and handing Matt back his cane. She felt like a teenager sneaking out of her house. 

The two of them stood underneath the window, unsure of what to do. Inside the house, the party was raging on. Matt could hear the numerous beverages being poured, the music tuned up louder, and people’s clothes grinding against one another. The more his senses took notice of it all, the more he just wanted to get out of there. He wanted to leave the party behind, take Y/N with him and enjoy the rest of the night. 

It seemed as if Y/N was thinking the same thing. 

“Wanna get out of here?” Matt asked at the same time Y/N suggested that they leave. The two of them smiled at their synchronization of thoughts. 

“Where are you staying?” He wondered. He took a step in her direction. 

“At Cameron’s, in the dorms.” She replied. 

“Perfect,” Matt whispered. “We’re in the same building then.” He extended out his arm to Y/N and smiled. It was more for his benefit than hers. He wanted to hold her close, closer than they had been, sitting in the bathroom, a few moments earlier. There was something about Y/N that intoxicated him. Her scent, the sound of her heartbeat, the way she smiled at his attempts at flirting, all were like a drug that Matt could never get enough of. His face dropped slightly remembering that she was leaving tomorrow morning. She didn’t live here and wasn’t a student at Columbia. There was a part of him that wished she was. A part of him wished he could wake up tomorrow and be around her again–hear her heartbeat, feel her smile, smell her faint perfume, hold her close, but that wasn’t so. For now, Matt would settle on the now, making most of the time he had left and maybe if he’d play his cards right, he’d get to kiss her. 

“Mind if I walk you back?” 

Matt heard the young woman next to him stifle a giggle before linking her arm with his. She leaned into him, her calming scent washing over him. “I don’t see why not.” 

___________

The walk back to the dorms was long, Y/N noted. Matt had chosen to take her the scenic route not that she minded. She enjoyed the walk back. The two of them chatted about life and never seemed to run out of things to talk about. She cherished the way Matt offered his jacket the minute a chill crept up her spine from the cold night. Matt loved the way Y/N pulled him a little bit closer the longer they walked. His warmth seeped into her side. To others who passed them by, it seemed as if Matt and Y/N were one person, walking so close they shared the same breaths, their hearts beating in sync. 

Matt’s pace slowed as the familiar scents and sounds of the dorms swarmed his senses. He felt his hand hold Y/N a little bit tighter, pulling her back to walk at his sloth-like pace. Eventually, his feet betrayed him and he found himself entering the doors of the building. Then the elevator. Then the hallway where Cameron’s dorm was located. Then just outside the dorm. 

Matt sighed softly at the loss of Y/N by his side. She had turned away from him and opened the door to Cameron’s dorm. Her back facing him. Her hand was still on the doorknob. Matt’s breath got heavy as he heard how fast Y/N’s heart was beating. She was waiting for something. 

Suddenly she turned around and gasped slightly at the proximity she had to Matt. Matt smiled at the sound. Her scent now filled his nose. His senses were only focused on her. Her heartbeat, the sound of her breath, the way her hand ran against her dress in an attempt to soothe her nerves, the blood rushing to her cheeks, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Her lips. Matt could tell they’d be soft. He wondered how’d they’d taste and how’d they’d feel against his. 

Matt couldn’t stand it any longer. The two of them had been dancing around all evening. The hand of the clock was moving closer and closer to her departure time. He reached up a hand to cup her cheek, the other tickled her neck, coming to rest just above her heartbeat. Matt leaned in, but she stopped him. Her hand was firm on his chest. 

“I can’t.” She whispered. 

Matt frowned and pulled away. Was he reading this all wrong?

“Matt,” Y/N reached out. She pulled him back to her. 

“I have this policy.” She explained. Matt found his hands finding a place at her waist. His grip was solid. 

“A policy?” Matt asked. His brows raised. 

“I…,” She shook her head. “I don’t kiss and say goodbye.” Her voice got quiet and if it wasn’t for Matt’s hyper-hearing, he was sure he would have missed it. 

He smiled softly he opened his mouth to reply, but Y/N continued on.

“I leave tomorrow morning and I don’t know if I’ll ever be back in New York. Hell, I don’t even know if I’ll be back in the States for that matter.” Matt felt her head fall against his chest. 

“But,” she said softly, “If I ever find you again in the future. If our paths somehow cross–like I need a defence lawyer,”

“Why? Do you plan on getting in trouble anytime soon,” Matt jokingly commented. 

 Y/N chuckled. The nervousness in her muscles relaxed. 

“Or if my ballet company tours or something like that,” She continued. She lifted her head off of Matt’s chest and cupped his face in her hands. She leaned in close and brushed her nose against his. “If you aren’t taken and vise-versa, if we remember each other, remember this…”

“That’s a lot of ifs,” Matt whispered. His nose nudging hers. 

“I know, but if destiny, fate, whatever is on our side, then I promise to give you a kiss.”

Matt’s ears perked up at those words. 

“I’ll give you a kiss. A real kiss,” She repeated. 

Matt laughed. “A real kiss?”

He felt her smile. “Yeah, not some peck on the cheek bullshit. A real kiss like how they do it in the movies.” 

“Okay,” Matt said. He wished as he held her close, that he could say something poetic and what not but words failed him. 

It was Y/N who pulled back first. Her hands fell from Matt’s face, and she stepped out of his hold. She turned away and whispered goodbye before closing the door to Cameron’s room. Matt sighed and stood outside her door taking in the promise she had made him. Forcing his mind to commit every last detail about her to memory. He’d be damned if he’d ever forget such a wonderful woman–Y/N. 

Finally, he stepped away and walked down the hall back to the elevators. He had only made it a few steps before the door flung open and Y/N rushed out. She ran to Matt. He turned around to meet her when he felt a warmth on his cheek. She had kissed him. Kissed his cheek. 

“There,” She stated. “A little something to mark the promise.” 

Matt smiled and reached out to her, his hand grasping her forearm. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. His lips a promise to find her. A promise to never forget. He lingered close to her. His soft lips against her flushed cheek. 

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” 

“Goodnight, Matt,” Y/N whispered sweetly. “Find me in the future.” 

_________

It was 3.26 in the morning when Foggy stumbled into the dorm. His drunken figure ran into the walls and tripped over shoes laid out across the floor. The noise from his entrance would have woken Matt from his slumber. However, Matt was awake. His sightless eyes gazed up at the ceiling. His mind was in a trace with a prayer on loop. 

“Fuck, sorry Matt.” Foggy apologized. His voice was hoarse from the long night of alcohol and impromptu karaoke. 

Matt turned on his side. “It’s alright, Foggy.” 

“So…” Foggy began as he marched to the bathroom and hastily brushed his teeth clean. The bottle of tooth past lay untouched next to the sink. “Was it a night to remember?”

Matt couldn’t hide the large and bright smile that appeared on his face. Matt’s mind flashed with the memories from the evening, distracting him from answering Foggy’s question. Puzzled by his friend’s silence, Foggy stepped out of the bathroom. A toothbrush stuck in his mouth, and hands on his hips. 

“You didn’t…” Foggy exclaimed the words sounding mushed with the toothbrush in his mouth. He quickly took out the toothbrush and discarded it on the side of the sink. “Who is she?” 

Matt sat up and looked in Foggy’s direction. The pungent smell of the party that followed Foggy didn’t bother Matt as he thought about the woman of the evening. Part of him wanted to keep the events of tonight a secret. He wanted to keep Y/N–the memory of her to himself. However, Matt’s mouth opened up and betrayed the inner thoughts of his mind, and he told Foggy everything. He told Foggy about being locked in the bathroom. The way she sat down next to him. Her leg brushed against his. He told Foggy about how he could have talked to the woman for hours and that he had told her so much about him some of which Foggy had never known. The smell of her perfume, and the sound of her voice and when she laughed. Matt smiled as he relayed their escape from the bathroom and the way she held on to him the walk back drawing him closer as the cold night went on. Matt told Foggy of his reluctance to let her go, and how he wished she were a student here. That he could be with her again and again, but that it couldn’t be. Later today, she’d be on a plane far away from New York. Far away from Matt. 

The room grew silent, and Matt just sat on his bed. Unsure of the thoughts and feelings dancing around his head. 

“What is it?” Foggy asked. He got the sense that there was something more to Matt’s mysterious woman of the evening. “A ground-breaking kiss? Mind-blowing sex?”

Matt just shook his head. Foggy gasped. 

“I kissed her cheek,” Matt replied. He had said it as if it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. A tiny kiss on the cheek. A kiss she had ran after him for. 

Foggy feined dramatically. “A. Kiss. On. the. Cheek.” 

“No, Fog…” Matt began. His head shook at Foggy’s statement. “We made a promise.”

Foggy stopped his dramatic acting and hopped on his bed. “A promise?” He repeated sceptically. This was his friend, Matthew Murdock, the campus playboy and heartthrob, and here he was a complete sap over a girl he had only met a few hours before. It didn’t possible to Foggy.

“If we find each other in the future, remember this night, the promise, then she’d give me a real kiss.”

“A real kiss?” Foggy chuckled. 

“Like one of those in the movies.”

Foggy’s eyes narrowed at Matt. “She’s your Cinderella,” he blurted. 

“My what?”

“Your Cinderella. The promise, AKA the shoe. The party tonight, the ball. Love at first sight You get my gist.”

“I’m not in love with her Fog it’s just…”

Foggy rolled his eyes. “She’s your Cinderella,” Foggy stated firmly. “You’re a complete sap over a woman you’ve only known for a few hours. Therefore, CINDERELLA.”

Matt smiled. “My Cinderella,” he repeated to himself.

“Now, you just need to go all Prince Charming and scour the kingdom for her,” Foggy mumbled as he fell back in his bed and snuggled into his blankets. 

Matt smiled at the thought and laid back down. His eyes raised up once again to the ceiling. Y/N, he thought. Matt felt like a sinner as the most beautiful sound he had ever heard left his lips–her name. He said it over and over again. A silent prayer to God that he’d meet her again in the future. He’d find his Cinderella and claim his kiss. He’d remember her: her scent, the melody of her heart, the touch of her skin and her lips, everything. Soon Matt felt his eyelids fall closed as midnight dreams overtook him. All he could think about was her. Y/N. He’d find her he just knew it.  

__________

Tag list: @bartokthealbinobat

Comment below if you would like to be added to the tag list...or if you want more to the story :)

_________

[nymphie-mama]

partners

pairing matt murdock x lawyer!reader

summary in which matthew wants his legal partner to be more.

warnings best friends/coworkers to lovers. smut. possessiveness. oral (fem). piv sex (wrap before you tap, folks!). missionary. not proof read. pet names (angel, sweetheart, etc)

“Hey, Matt!” you said, walking into his apartment, knowing he could hear and smell you. “How are you?”

“Doin’ better now that you’re here. You’re happy today,” he says, putting on a shirt and walking into the living room.

“Yes sir,” you say, smiling and grabbing drinks from his fridge. “A really nice guy just asked me on a date. His name is-”

Matt’s face stiffened.

“Don’t go on that date.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

You were confused, yet hopeful. You'd always found Matt attractive, you wanted him to say the least. You knew that he picked up on it. But you never quite grabbed hints that he was feeling the same.

“Matthew,” you said sternly, “What's the problem? Is someone jealous?”

He smiled slightly, knowing you were playing with him, but quickly straightened out again.

“I’d fuck you against the windows of our firm before I let you go on that date.”

Woah.

Your heart rate picked up, and heat pooled between your thighs. He knew it, and he smiled.

“Can I kiss you, y/n?”

Instead of answering, you kissed him yourself. Everything you’d wanted all these years was coming together.

Soon enough that one kiss turned into much, much more. Your tongues explored each others mouths like you were starved. Matt’s fresh shirt was wrinkled and thrown elsewhere, along with your shoes and top somewhere.

Matt brought you to his room that you knew oh so well and onto the bed you'd slept in after so many late work nights.

He lifted your skirt, tilting his head up to you and opening his mouth to ask. But before he could, you spat, “Please, Matty. Please.”

Before you formed another coherent thought, his tongue was between your folds, groaning at your heat. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he wrapped his lips around your mound and bringing his arms around your thighs.

As your legs tightened and twitched, he brought them closer to him, like he was diving for every last drop. He knew, with everything he had, that both of you were soaking in the growing scent of sex and hot air around you.

“Matty,” you mewled, and he knew you were close. he knew what you wanted. and he was going to bring you there.

And oh, did he.

He brought his middle and ring finger to your entrance, keeping his tongues attention on your nerves. Both sensations were almost too much for you, but it just felt so good.

And before you knew it, the band in your belly was coming close to snapping, and Matt’s arm was right around your thighs.

“So sweet,” he said, coming up for air and unbuckling his pants. “I’ve waited so long to hear those sounds you make, sweetheart.”

You got shy, closing your legs and bringing them up to your chest. He knew how to give you butterflies. He was quick to bring your legs back down and open, running his hands up and all over them.

“Don’t get shy now, baby,” he added, pulling his boxers off. He was bigger than you had expected. You’d seen him in boxers before, but never like this. If anything would make you shy, it was that.

It was agonizingly slow for him to put on a condom and bottom out within you. Soon enough you were wrapping your legs around him and making him fill you up. You winced lightly, but he groaned at the sensation of you around him.

Once you adjusted, he pulled himself almost all of the way out of you before slamming back in. He could have your heartbeat picking up and he starts moving with a similar rhythm.

Matt listened and paid attention to every way your body moved, snickered at the way your hands squeezed his arms above you, and groaned more and more with every plunge.

“You feel so good around me, sweetheart. I bet you can't even remember that guy’s name anymore, can you?”

You ignored him, eyes tightly shut and mouth open. You were close and he could tell.

“Matt I-”

“I know, angel. Just a little more, okay?” he said, bringing rough fingers to your clit again and rubbing tight circles. He had you clenching around him and your hands searching around his body.

“You're doing so good. And you're so fucking perfect.”

With that, you were cumming around him and screaming like a prayer. He followed soon after, soaking in the sounds and scent of sex surrounding you.

After cooling down, Matt pulled out and rolled over beside you, letting you fall under his arm.

“So no date then?” you asked, still drinking in the sensations.

“Only if it's with me.”

[meganwayne24]

hey! my name is megan. I really wanted to get into writing fanfics or one shots or whatever lol. I’m gonna make a list of characters I’d be down to write for! suggestions are more than welcome! I will say I’m very into Harry Osborn from Insomniac Spider-Man 2 rn so I’m really focused on that but still open to other things! I am in school so patience and understanding is very valued and appreciated. thank you!!

Insomniac Marvel’s Spider-Man:

Peter Parker

Harry Osborn

Doctor Who:

Ninth Doctor

Tenth Doctor

Scooby Doo Live Action Movies (2002 & 2004):

Fred Jones

Shaggy Rogers

DC Comics:

Red Hood/Jason Todd/Arkham Knight

Nightwing/Dick Grayson

MCU:

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

Hogwarts Legacy:

Sebastian Sallow

Ominis Gaunt

You can suggest others too! I’m just starting with these as a baseline for ideas :)

[nitragreen13]

[farfromstrange]

Foreigner's God Masterlist

PAIRING: Matt Murdock x OFC

AO3 — Spotify — #foreigner’s god

❝ Sometimes, the greatest power lies not in what we can control, but in what we can uncover within ourselves. In the depths of darkness, secrets await, and it is our choice to embrace them or let them consume us. Together, they embarked on a journey to unearth the truth, unaware that love, like a tempest, would shatter all their plans and rebuild their world anew. ❞

⤹ SUMMARY:

She was born with the ability to manipulate reality and the world around her. Hydra raised her and turned her into their deadliest weapon until the Avengers saved her and offered her a chance at a better life. A dark past often comes with secrets that demand to be uncovered. There might actually be more to it than meets the eye, a kind of power that’s been sleeping deep within her, waiting to be discovered. But how does one get over losing everything without losing themselves?

One reckless night on a rooftop, a bad decision leads the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen right into her arms, and he decides to tag along on her journey down the past.

As it turns out, Matt Murdock is a man unable to take no for an answer when he has set his mind to something, and once she decides to let him into her heart, all the plans she made for the future fall apart.

Or, in which a troubled Avenger forms an alliance with Daredevil to fight a common enemy and save their city, but they end up saving each other instead.

⤹ CONTENT WARNINGS:

SLOW BURN, Canon typical violence, ANGST, EVENTUAL SMUT, light BDSM, Oral sex, daddy kink, praise & pain kink, blood & cum play, Switch!Matt, toxic behavior, language, severe mental illness, PTSD, implied/referenced torture, substance abuse disorder, self-harm, mentions of sexual assault, Hydra, age gap, religious imagery and symbolism, eventual romance, some fluff, mutant powers, mentions of child molestation, near-death experiences, catholic guilt, NOT TONY STARK FRIENDLY (at least until chapter 40 or so), turning good characters into bad guys, not completely canon compliant

-> There will be chapter-specific warnings before each chapter because they tend to vary with each one!

⤹ AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello everyone! I didn’t expect this to blow up the way it did, so I decided to edit the entire Masterlist and repost it while I continue editing the chapters on AO3 and here, too. Welcome to everyone who’s new here!

Likes and reblogs are always appreciated!

I’m trying not to describe any specific physical traits like body shape, hair color, etc. (although I think I called her skin “pale” once or twice in reference to her lack of sun exposure) in any of the chapters. The character was assigned female at birth and also identifies as female with she/her pronouns, but other than that, I do not give her any traits other than her name – Eliza Bennett. Her looks are entirely up to your imagination! So you can view this as a reader insert or not, whatever you want. It’s up to you how you interpret this story.

-> Series takes place in early season 2 and continues from there on.

-> This work is 18+ ONLY!

[the asterisk (*) indicates explicit sexual content; (^) indicates the chapter has been edited to fit the new style]

— ACT ONE: HYDRA —

chapter one: I Did Something Bad (^)

chapter two: Raise A Little Hell (^)

chapter three: I Think He Knows (^)

chapter four: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (^)

chapter five: Hold Me While You Wait (^)

chapter six: Ivy (^)

chapter seven: right where you left me (^)

chapter eight: doomsday (^)

chapter nine: Block Me Out  (^)

chapter ten: 1 step forward, 3 steps back (^)

chapter eleven: New Invention (^)

chapter twelve: It’s Nice To Have A Friend (^)

chapter thirteen: Devil Town (^)

chapter fourteen: Family Line (^)

chapter fifteen: So it goes…* (^)

chapter sixteen: Do I Wanna Know?* (^)

chapter seventeen: Look Who’s Inside Again (^)

chapter eighteen: Anti-Hero (^)

chapter nineteen: You’re On Your Own Kid  (^)

chapter twenty: Innocent* (^)

chapter twenty-one: Green, Green Dress*

chapter twenty-two: mirrorball*

chapter twenty-three: The Avengers (pt.1) 

chapter twenty-four: The Avengers (pt.2) 

chapter twenty-five: For Real This Time 

chapter twenty-six: Black Out Days 

chapter twenty-seven: Dear Reader

chapter twenty-eight: Look What You Made Me Do 

chapter twenty-nine (Bonus Chapter): Haunted

chapter thirty: Hayloft II

chapter thirty-one: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

chapter thirty-two: Chasing Cars

chapter thirty-three: How To Save A Life

chapter thirty-four: Foreigner’s God(*)

chapter thirty-five: long story short*

chapter thirty-six: this is me trying*

chapter thirty-seven: New Romantics*

chapter thirty-eight: Lavender Haze*

chapter thirty-nine: As It Was*

chapter forty: Monster*

chapter forty-one: Daylight

— ACT TWO: PUNISHER —

chapter forty-two: I’ll Get The Coffee*

chapter forty-three: She Knows*

chapter forty-four: Cold As You 

chapter forty-five: Bird Set Free 

chapter forty-six: Human*

chapter forty-seven: Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve (^)

chapter forty-eight: Bad Blood (^)

chapter forty-nine: Dark Paradise (^)

chapter fifty: Meet Me In The Hallway (^)

chapter fifty-one: Demons (^)

chapter fifty-two: Say You Won't Let Go (^)

chapter fifty-three: I Will Be Your Remedy (^)

chapter fifty-four: Dancing With The Devil (^)

chapter fifty-five: Why Am I Like This? (^)

[hollandorks]

saved

matt murdock x original female character

chapter seventeen

Summary: Fleeing from an abusive relationship, Grace St. James goes to the only place she still has a friend: Hell’s Kitchen. She’s forced to live in her car and beg for a job from the law firm Nelson, Murdock, and Page all the while making sure her past doesn’t catch up to her. Enter Matt Murdock: cocky, handsome, and willing to let her live with him for free until she can afford to get a place of her own. Grace is drawn to Matt in a way she’s never been drawn to anyone, causing sparks to fly as they inevitably grow closer and closer.

a/n: I’m alive! I’ve had a bit of a cold so I haven’t felt like working on this fic at all tbh. However, this chapter was pretty much done so I just ran it through a round of edits and here we are! This chapter is self indulgent more so than any other chapter before it, and that’s saying a lot. It’s nice and long, and fluffy as hell. So, Merry Christmas I guess! 

Series Masterlist

word count: 8730

She fell asleep, feeling warm and utterly safe for the first time in probably her entire life.

Grace knew she was dreaming because Matt Murdock was holding her, one hand in her hair, the other trailing fire up her abdomen and brushing the bottom of her breast. She felt his breath against the back of her neck. He moaned softly as she unconsciously arched against him. She wanted to be closer, wanted her clothes to disappear so she could feel both of his hands everywhere. He was hard against her ass as she pressed backwards again. He’d lost his shirt, and the bare skin of his chest against her back was full of delicious heat. She huffed out a breath as his hand cupped her breast underneath her shirt. His callouses scraped against the sensitive flesh there. 

Matt murmured something, causing his lips to brush against the sensitive skin of her neck. His hips bucked lightly against her. Heat was pooling insistently between her legs. 

She opened her eyes and realized that she wasn’t dreaming after all. 

Matt seemed to realize it at the same moment, because he cursed and rolled away from her. The sudden coldness without him against her was jarring. 

“I’m–Shit. I’m sorry, I wasn’t–” His chest heaved. “Grace, I’m so–” 

Grace’s mind was having a hard time waking up. Heat was still coiled low in her belly, her muscles aching for release, her breasts heavy with need. As her brain struggled to catch up, all she could think was that she had been so…happy in Matt’s arms. 

“Matt,” she said, his name half a groan. She faced him and propped herself on one elbow. 

She remembered the night before with sudden clarity. Him protecting her. Him trusting her. Holding her. Keeping her safe. 

“Matt,” she said again. Every muscle in his body was tense. His hands were fisted in the sheets and he stared sightlessly upwards. He was utterly still except for his chest, still heaving like he’d been running. Her thighs clenched together as she briefly got distracted by the sight of his abs, the faded scars across his chest. At the tent in the sheets around his waist. Her mouth went dry. 

“Matt, listen to me,” she said softly. She reached out and brushed a tentative finger against his taut forearm. He tensed even more, if it was even possible. “Do you…” She cleared her throat softly. Be brave, she told herself firmly. “Do you want to know what I was thinking about in the shower last night?” Her voice was low and husky with desire. 

“I really don’t think–” he started, a note of desperation in his voice. 

Grace interrupted him. “You, Matt.” 

Matt stopped breathing for a second. “Grace…” he said slowly, the single syllable of her name full of tension. 

“Just listen for a second.” She hated the note of pleading that crept into her voice, but if she didn’t speak her mind then, she wasn’t sure she ever would. She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to see any thoughts his face might give away. The walls had started to come down between them the night before, and she wanted them all gone. She had trusted him with her darkest secret and he had trusted her with his own, so she wanted, more than anything, to get this one final truth out in the air between them. 

So she took a deep breath and made the final plunge. “I like you, Matt. Not just–not because of…what just happened. Because you’re a good man. You make me laugh. You care about this city, about your friends. You saw a girl sleeping in her car and gave up your bed, your home, for her.” She took an unsteady breath. “And God–I fucking want you, Matt. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. And I think maybe we could–we could see where this goes.” 

Matt was completely silent. She finally opened her eyes to make sure he hadn’t snuck out of the bed without her noticing. But he was still in the exact same position, a statue made of living flesh, hands still gripping the sheets like a lifeline, eyes still open and unmoving. She wasn’t sure he was breathing. 

“Grace,” Matt said. He sounded strangled. “I–” 

Grace’s heart gave a pang. Hot embarrassment crept into her throat, choking her on its way to settle into her cheeks. “God, I’m sorry, I totally–I completely misread this didn’t I? I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes again and flopped onto her back. “Let’s just–forget all of that. This is me…letting you off the hook again.” 

She rubbed hands over her tired eyes. Her past two days had been nothing but an emotional–hell, and a physical–rollercoaster. 

But at least she had told him the truth. She could let him off the hook for not returning her feelings, and that was fine. Everything was out in the open now, all her big secrets laid at his feet for him to do with them what he would. 

There was a rustle. She assumed Matt was escaping from this huge, awkward moment that was only getting worse the longer the silence stretched. 

She jolted when his hand wrapped loosely around her wrist. “Grace,” he said in a low voice that she really didn’t want to react to. She shivered anyways. “My past relationships…Daredevil has come between them all.” 

Hope blossomed in her, desperate and heavy in her chest like a stone. She opened her eyes and rolled to face him again. “Matt, I don’t care. I’m willing to try.” 

Matt sighed. “I–I care about you, Grace. I don’t want to…mess this up.” 

Grace’s heart lurched at his words. He cared about her. “Matt, I don’t care. If it gets messed up, it gets messed up. That’s life. People get together and break up all the time. If it gets fucked up, well, I was already planning on trying to find another apartment.” 

“You deserve something good, Grace. Not–not someone who runs around at night beating criminals.” Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. Ah, she thought with sudden clarity. There it is. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. It’s that he thought he wasn’t good enough for her. And that he thought so only made her like him more. 

She wished he could see her face, but remembered how he said he could tell if someone was lying with his heightened sense. She hoped it would be enough. “You are good, Matt. You beat criminals, not women, so you’re already a huge step up from the last guy I dated.” She huffed a laugh. 

“But–” 

“Matt, I swear to god if you say something else like you’re not good for me, or how I don’t deserve you, or some other self-flagellating bullshit, I’m going to hit you.” She pinched his arm lightly. The hope in her chest was spiraling out of control now, filling her so completely she thought she might vibrate off of the bed with the feeling of it. 

“Self-flagellating bullshit?” Matt repeated with raised eyebrows. 

“I figured that might be the phrase your Catholic brain might recognize,” Grace said. Matt laughed. “I’m so serious, Matt, I will hit you, and I won’t feel bad about it. And I wouldn’t even feel bad about it if you were actually blind.” 

Matt groaned. “I am blind. My eyes are, at least.” 

She waved a hand. “Semantics.” 

Matt finally leaned up on an elbow, mirroring her pose. “Grace, I just want…to do right by you. I already fucked it up once.” 

She softened, studying the crease lines on his face from the pillowcase, the stubble on his jaw, his long eyelashes. “If you’re talking about the three orgasms you gave me the other night, that was the farthest thing from a mistake that has ever happened to me. Even if you hated my guts and kicked me out, I would still be very, very happy about those orgasms.” 

Matt’s fingers laced with hers. “I don’t hate your guts,” he said softly. “I could never.” 

“Then let’s just…give it a shot. Yeah?” Her heart felt too big for her chest and her stomach was in knots. “If you want.” 

Matt didn’t say anything. Instead, he lurched forward and kissed her, rolling until she was flat on her back and he was half-laying on top of her. His hands cupped her jaw as he kissed her slowly, tenderly. 

She pulled away slightly. “Is that a yes?” 

Matt touched his forehead to hers. “Mm. I have to think about it.” But he was smirking, one of his hands tracing circles at her waist. The hope within her exploded and she was suddenly light as air, floating on the feeling. 

“You dick,” she said around a laugh. She arched herself into him, seeking friction to ease the tension that was already curling in her gut. 

Matt’s mouth was on hers again and this time it wasn’t sweet. It was ravenous. Her hands fumbled for the edge of his sweatpants. He groaned into her mouth as her fingers wrapped around his length and squeezed gently. 

His teeth caught her lower lip with a little growl as she let him go. Her nails skated across the bare skin of his back. 

“I want to pay you back for each time you made me come,” she murmured into his ear. Her body had a mind of its own, arching into him as she sought any kind of friction she could get. “But right now I want you to fuck me.” 

Matt let out a breathy, needy noise that made her toes curl. 

Grace thought that every moment between them had led to this. 

“I–” Matt paused, head tilted to the side. She wondered if he was listening to her heart trying to race its way out of her chest. She marveled that he could do that, that he could read her so easily. She hoped her body was telling him very, very clearly how much she wanted him. Instead, he said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

He very carefully extricated himself from her and sat at the edge of the bed. She sat up and frowned. “What?” she asked. 

“That cop just got ordered to go ahead and bring us into the station. Guess we slept in too long.” Matt groaned and dug his fingers into his hair. 

Sure enough, there was a knock at the door. 

Grace cursed colorfully. “I’m going to sue the NYPD for giving me blue balls,” she said venomously. 

Matt laughed loudly, head tilting back with the surprise of it. “You and me both.” 

She cast one last lingering look at him before padding softly to the door, swiping the blanket from the couch to cover up her silk pajamas and lack of a bra. 

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am,” the officer said a bit sheepishly when she opened the door. He was young, probably barely out of training, a patching beard growing on his cheeks. 

“Not at all,” she said sweetly. It wasn’t the cop’s fault that she and Matt had the absolute worst timing. “What can I do for you, officer?” 

“I think Detective Mahoney was expecting you at the station a little…sooner this morning,” he said. “As soon as you’re ready I’m supposed to drive you down there.” 

Grace briefly imagined telling the cop to give them a half an hour so Matt could fuck her senseless before they had to go. Her heart gave a leap at the thought. She wondered what Matt would make of that. 

“Yeah, of course. Sorry, we stayed up late last night, obviously. Give us ten minutes.” 

The officer flashed her a boyish smile before she closed the door. She leaned against it for a moment then blew out her breath. 

When she went back into the bedroom, Matt already had suit pants on and was taking a white button up off of a hanger. 

“I should have told him half an hour,” she grumbled as she went to the closet for her own clothes. 

Matt’s arm came up and caged her against the wall as he leaned down to her. “I don’t think that poor officer would want to hear the sounds I’m going to get you to make, anyways,” he said in a deep voice that nearly made her come right then and there. He smirked as he inevitably heard what his words did to her breathing and heart rate. 

“I will go out there right now and tell him to wait for us outside,” she threatened, but her voice cracked. 

Matt kissed her lightly on the lips and stepped back so suddenly she would have fallen if the wall wasn’t already supporting her. 

“We’ll finish this later,” he promised with another smirk. She chucked a hanger at him. He caught it without turning, laughing. She had to admit that his easy confidence was hot. 

“You’re an asshole,” she said, but there was no force behind the comment. She leaned her head back against the wall for a moment to try and collect herself. Then, with a curse, she got ready to go down to the station to make her statement. 

In the back of the young officer’s squad car–Officer Walters, he had politely informed her when she’d asked–Grace shifted uneasily. They weren’t under arrest, but something about being in the back of a cop car made her anxious. She wondered if her involvement with what had happened to Harry Spencer, however minor, would lead to her reliving the experience again sooner rather than later. Except, she thought, that time she would be in handcuffs. 

Around the third time she fidgeted in her seat, Matt’s hand came to rest on her knee. He squeezed it gently. 

“Should I tell them about who sent those guys?” she asked him in a quiet murmur she hoped Walters didn’t overhear. 

“What’d you say?” Walters asked anyway. He seemed oddly cheerful for someone who’d come to guard their door at five o’clock that morning. 

“Um–I forgot to grab something to eat on the way out, is all.” She glanced at Matt. 

“I think so,” he said in a much more quiet whisper as Walters promised he’d find something for them at the station. 

Grace sighed. She tried to imagine what would be better or worse–telling the cops about Dean, who had the power to get out of any kind of legal ramifications, or not telling them and potentially being caught in a lie later when things inevitably blew up in her face. 

So, twenty minutes later when Detective Mahoney asked her if she had any idea why four armed men came after her, she told the truth. 

When she was done, Mahoney sat back and said, “Shit.” 

“Yeah,” she said nervously. Her hands twisted around the coffee cup Walters had brought her. She’d already eaten the donut. He’d winked at her before he’d left. He was a sweet guy, and she was glad she and Matt hadn’t gotten him in trouble by delaying their trip to the station like they’d wanted.

Mahoney leaned his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers under his chin. “I–Armed men, though? That seems a little far-fetched.” 

“Do you know who he is?” she asked. Mahoney hesitated, then nodded. “Then it’s not that far-fetched, detective. I…think I might like to place a restraining order against him.” As she said the words, she realized they were true. It wouldn’t do much to actually stop him, but it would slow him down and at the very least back her up if something else happened. 

Mahoney pursed his lips. “I think I should go get Mr. Murdock for this.” 

He stood and stepped out of the room. Grace took a shaking sip from her coffee. 

The door opened after just a minute and Matt stepped through. 

“Chair on your left,” Mahoney said as he took a seat across from them. Matt’s hand fumbled for the back of the chair so convincingly that Grace almost laughed. 

“I told him I want a restraining order,” she said to Matt, though she assumed he’d already heard. She still had so many questions for him, for what he could do. 

Matt sat back in the chair, looking perfectly at ease. “I think that’s a good idea. We’ll help her with the paperwork of course, detective.” 

“Are you sure about this?” Mahoney asked her. He studied her face, missing nothing, including the darkening bruise across the side of her face and her split knuckles. 

“Very,” she said firmly. 

“I’ll be right back, then.” 

As soon as the door clicked shut, Matt turned to her. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

Grace rolled her eyes. “I just said I was.” 

“I know, but–” 

“If anything, it’s something to fall back on if he tries to pull anything else.” 

Matt reached over and squeezed her knee. “I agree. We can see about suing, too, for last night’s incident. I overheard a couple officers talking about how those guys claimed to be from a security company and they thought I’d kidnapped you. Which was, naturally, part of my questioning.” 

“Seriously?” Grace said with a flare of anger. That prick, she thought. “No wonder Mahoney asked me so many questions about our living arrangement.” 

Matt smirked. “Yeah, so I heard.” 

Matt’s hand moved from her knee right before the door opened again. His tinted glasses flashed red in the lights as he titled his head back at the sound. 

“Here’s some information on filing a restraining order, although I’m sure your…coworkers know how to do that. And some information on…domestic abuse.” Mahoney looked deeply uncomfortable as he handed her a neat little folder. 

“Thanks, detective,” she said softly. 

“You two are free to go. We’ll reach out if we need anything else.” 

“Thanks, Brett,” Matt said. Mahoney nodded at her and left them alone. 

“Could you tell how uncomfortable he was?” she asked wryly. 

Matt laughed and stood. “Yeah, it was pretty obvious. Let’s get out of here.” 

“Please say we can stop for coffee.” 

“My thoughts exactly. My treat.” Matt held out his hand to help her up. 

“Why, Mr. Murdock, are you flirting with me?” she whispered conspiratorially as they entered the station’s hallway and headed for the front door. Despite the fear from the night before and the shadow of Dean hovering over her, Grace was…happy. Matt liked her back. Somehow, in all of this, something good had happened. 

“Am I so transparent?” Matt murmured back. He elbowed her slightly and she couldn’t help but smile. 

Grace sighed again as they stepped outside. It was unseasonably warm, summer making a last ditch effort to come back even though it was fully into autumn. “Do you think Foggy and Karen would care if we ditched today?” 

“And why would we do that?” Matt asked innocently as he turned a corner. Supposedly she was leading him, but his steps were sure as he led her. 

Feeling bold, Grace said, “Because I’m pretty sure I promised to pay you back for making me come three times.” 

Matt almost tripped. His mouth opened and closed several times. She couldn’t help but laugh, even as her limbs warmed at the thought. 

“Wow, Matt Murdock, speechless?” she teased. “Never thought I’d see the day.” 

“You’re cruel,” he said with a choked sounding laugh. “Come on, we’re almost there and it sounds like the line is pretty short.” 

“It’s weird how you know that,” she said. Her face was flushed and she knew he could hear her heart fluttering. “And I really, really wasn’t kidding.” 

Matt groaned and tightened his grip on her. “I know. Trust me, I know. But if I leave Foggy hanging on this case he might kill me.” 

“Rain check, then,” she said as they stepped into a delicious smelling coffee shop. 

“Rain check,” Matt said, and the promise was the best thing she’d heard. 

A few minutes later, coffees and bagels in hand, they talked and ate as they headed to the office. Grace studied Matt as she finished off her bagel, which was much more satisfying than the donut at the station, no matter how nice the gesture had been. 

She smiled warmly at him even though he couldn’t see it. She had never expected, not in a million years, for things to go so…well for her. Even the incident from the night before and the light throb of pain in her face couldn’t take away the happiness she was feeling at that moment. 

“What?” Matt asked, head tilted in that way she was just realizing meant he was tuning in to something beyond a normal person’s ability to hear. 

“What?” she parroted back, bumping into him as they walked to try and trip him up. He deftly dodged her and kept walking. “Showoff,” she muttered. 

“I can tell you’re staring at me, but I can’t tell why,” Matt said. He bumped into her this time. She was proud of herself for not tripping. 

“I’m not staring at you,” she said. “I’m smiling at you.” 

Matt stopped walking, nearly wrenching her arm that was looped with his. “Smiling at me?” he asked with a frown. 

“Yeah, people do that sometimes,” she said teasingly. “Not everyone is mad at you all the time.” 

Even though he had his tinted glasses on, she could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “I never said everyone is mad at me all the time.” 

“Last night when you told me your secret the first thing you did was accuse me of being mad at you or upset with you.” She pinched his bicep lightly. “That and the Catholic guilt thing makes me think you assume everyone’s mad at you all the time.” 

Matt started walking again, pulling her gently along. “Are you ever going to stop bringing up Catholic guilt? Maybe it’s just regular guilt. I do keep a pretty big secret, after all.” 

“But it isn’t a secret anymore. And it makes sense why you keep it a secret. Need I remind you that my secret had your apartment broken into last night?” 

Matt sighed. “That’s different.” 

“Is it?” she asked with genuine curiosity. “Because I don’t think so.” 

“It’s just–every time anyone has found out my secret, it’s come between us. Foggy and I stopped working together, Karen and I didn’t make it past two dates. It took a lot for us to come back from that.” Matt’s hand tensed around his cane as he swept it idly back and forth. 

“But you did come back from it. You guys are working together, closer than ever. You’re going to be Foggy’s best man, you guys helped support Karen through law school. Plus, you and I weren’t best friends or romantically involved when you told me your secret. Which, I remind you, you told me more out of necessity than anything.” 

“Maybe you should be a lawyer,” Matt grumbled, but then he sighed again. “Okay, so Foggy and Karen and I are okay now. But I’m still–I still am who I am. I haven’t stopped and I don’t know if I want to. I don’t want–” 

“Matt,” Grace said with a lot more patience than she actually felt. “I don’t care. It would be like–if you were a boxer, or a firefighter, or something else that could get you hurt or killed.” 

“It’s illegal,” Matt said dryly. 

“So are a lot of things,” Grace said. She pinched his arm a little harder this time, ignoring his protests as she did so. “Matt, I’m telling you. I’m not angry. Do I want you to get hurt? No. But you’re–you’re doing something good. Like I already said, you beat criminals and not helpless women, so I think you get a pass just for that. There are plenty of supposedly good men who are monsters underneath.” 

“Maybe I am a monster,” Matt said. His voice was soft, almost thoughtful. 

Grace pulled him to a stop. “Matt, seriously. Remember what I said this morning about cutting the self-flagellating bullshit? So you beat the shit out of people. Again, so do boxers. That’s what your dad did for a living, right? Did you think he was a monster?” 

Matt made a frustrated noise and went to start walking again. She yanked on his arm with a grunt until he stopped again. Jesus, he was strong, she thought. 

“Did you?” she said again. 

“No, I didn’t think my dad was a monster, but–” 

“If you say that it’s different I swear to god I will punch you. Just listen to me.” 

“You’re more violent than I thought,” Matt said. But he mimed zipping his lips after a moment. 

Grace crossed her arms and resisted the urge to stomp her foot. “If anything, you beating the shit out of people makes a lot more sense than when your dad did it. Because he did it for money. You do it for the good of the city. Do you hear what I’m saying at all, or is your mind just bouncing the words around so you can start that self-flagellation again once I stop talking? I swear, I have never met someone so–” 

She was abruptly cut off with a muffled “mmph” as Matt kissed her. 

“What was that for?” she asked a little breathlessly after he pulled away. 

“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met, Grace,” he said, voice thick with emotion. 

“Right back at you, Murdock,” she said, but she was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. 

“I just–no one has ever found out what I do and–” He raked a hand through his hair and swallowed hard. “You’ve known me for five minutes and you’re convinced I’m a good man, doing good things, despite what you know about me. About what I do.” 

“You are a good man, Matt,” she said softly. She pulled him closer so their foreheads touched. Matt inhaled deeply as if breathing her in. “You can hear when I’m lying, right?” she asked after a moment. Matt nodded his head against hers. “In any of this arguing we’ve just been doing, have I lied?” 

Matt grunted. “No,” he finally, grudgingly, said. 

“You’re a good man, and I really hope you see that. I’ll never stop saying it until either I get hit by a bus or you like, actually do something bad. Which I doubt you’ll do, by the way.” She kissed him lightly, thrilling in the fact that she could do that now. 

“Alright, alright.” Matt hooked his arm through hers again and started walking. Something seemed lighter about him, and a small ball of warmth unfurled in her chest as she realized it. “Let’s get to work. Foggy’s already freaking out.” 

“What’d you tell him?” Grace asked curiously. 

“I texted him last night to say we’d be late, that something happened that required a visit to the police station. I told him that everything was fine, but I’m sure he’s still worrying.” 

Grace frowned. Matt texting required him talking to his phone, which she was certain would have woken her up. “You texted him last night? When?” 

“While you were sleeping,” Matt said. “You were pretty passed out.” 

Something else shifted in her chest. He’d been awake, holding her, watching over her, even as she’d slept. 

“You’re staring again,” Matt said. 

“Smiling, Matt,” she said. “Smiling at you.” 

Matt said nothing but his lips brushed against her temple.

“Now,” she said with a little clap as their building came into view. “We should fuck with Foggy and Karen.” 

Matt laughed. “How so?” 

“Well, they don’t know I know about you, for one thing. Or about uh…this morning. And I don’t mean the police station.” 

Matt’s arm wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer. “Right,” he said slowly. 

“So I’ll tell them the story I told the cops about Daredevil,” Grace said with a smile. She wiggled her eyebrows even though he couldn’t see it. “The rest–” She waved her hand. “That’ll come to me.” 

Matt tilted his head back and laughed. She resisted the urge to kiss him again. 

“Which means you have to stop kissing me on the street, Mr. Murdock,” she said. “And holding me like this.” 

Matt squeezed her hip but relented and let her go. They put an appropriate amount of space between them, which was already harder than it should have been. She wanted to stay curled up against him and his warmth. She really, really wished they could have stayed in bed all day. 

The moment they stepped into the office, Karen and Foggy descended on them. 

“What happened?” Foggy asked. Or rather, demanded. He put his hands on his hips in a pose that reminded her so much of Matt that Grace almost smiled. 

“Foggy told me you guys had to go make a statement with the police,” Karen added. She crossed her arms too, expression a mix between stern and concerned. “What the hell is going on?” 

Grace blew out a hard breath as she shed her jacket and purse at her desk. “You guys will never believe what happened,” she said as Matt went straight to his office. 

“That’s what we’re trying to find out!” Foggy said impatiently. “Get back here, Murdock, you’re not off the hook.” 

Matt laughed but did as Foggy said. 

“Last night some men broke in,” Grace said with a dramatic pause. As expected, Karen gasped and Foggy cursed. “Apparently, my crazy rich ex wants to kidnap me or something. But that’s a different story. You’ll seriously never guess what happened, though, why we’re…you know, here and not kidnapped.” 

Foggy’s mouth was hanging open. He quickly snapped it closed. “What?” he asked a bit breathlessly. He and Karen were both wide-eyed. They exchanged a quick look. 

Grace had to school her expression so she didn’t laugh. “Daredevil came and saved us. Me and Matt. He came through the roof door, which was unlocked I guess, and beat the shit out of these guys. Well, I mean they got us both good first, but he kicked their asses so quickly and thoroughly–it was crazy.” 

She curled her hands into fists so her nails bit into her palms so she wouldn’t laugh. 

Karen and Foggy both stared at her, openmouthed, for a long minute. Behind them, Grace could see Matt turn away, his shoulders shaking silently. She quickly looked back at the two people in front of her before Matt made her lose it. 

“He–saved you and Matt?” Karen finally said. 

“Daredevil?” Foggy repeated. “Guy in the red suit? With the horns?” 

“Yes!” Grace said eagerly. “God, you guys probably don’t believe me. Him saving me twice? It’s pretty unbelievable. Tell them, Matt!” 

“Yeah, it’s…pretty unbelievable,” Foggy said faintly. He and Karen exchanged another, much longer look. 

“I…can’t really believe it either,” Karen said. 

“Oh hey,” Grace said, grabbing the paper bag she’d put on her desk. “Matt, you forgot your bagel.” 

Without warning, she threw the bag at him as hard as she could. Matt snatched it out of the air with an almost practiced ease. Karen gave a wordless cry and held her hand out a beat too late, as if to catch it for him. 

“Thanks,” Matt said, opening the bag and pulling out said bagel with such a casual air that Grace really almost gave in to the urge to laugh. Her stomach muscles were twitching with the effort to hold it in. 

“What in the goddamn is going on?!” Foggy half-shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. 

Finally, Grace couldn’t hold it back anymore. She doubled over, laughing so hard tears leaked from her eyes. She heard Matt start to chuckle as well. Every time she tried to straighten she only laughed more. She could barely breathe, she was laughing so hard. She didn’t think she’d ever laughed so hard in her entire life. 

Foggy was still freaking out, looking very unamused. “I mean it, what is happening? Matt, what–” 

“I’m sorry,” Grace choked out. She wiped at her eyes. “I couldn’t help it. Don’t blame Matt, it was my idea.” 

“What was your idea?” Karen said. Now she was the one with her hands on her hips. Her lips were trying not to twitch upwards into a smile, though. 

“To fuck with you guys.” Grace shrugged, and then giggled again. She glanced at Matt and lightly tapped the desk twice. He smiled in her direction, still laughing softly. “All that stuff happened, I swear. But the part about Daredevil didn’t. Obviously.” 

“Uh.” Foggy looked vaguely ill. “Obviously?” 

“Come on. The bagel wasn’t enough?” She picked up a pencil and threw it at Matt. He caught it. She threw a pen at him right after the pencil, and he caught that too. “Matt’s the one who beat the shit out of the guys who broke in, and then he told me his secret so we could lie to the cops convincingly. So now there’s a nice, official police report backed by two witnesses that Matt Murdock and Daredevil can in fact exist in the same room together. Separately.” Grace shrugged. 

Karen recovered first. “That is…a lot to take in,” she said. “You really told her?” she asked Matt. Her blue eyes flickered between them, missing nothing. Grace wondered if Karen had figured out Matt’s secret herself. It seemed like something she was capable of. 

“Yeah,” Matt said, suddenly sober. “I trust her, don’t worry. The police report thing was her idea, actually, to protect me.” 

Foggy’s head whipped from her to Matt and back again. “Are you–That’s–What–” 

Karen walked to the kitchenette to fix a cup of coffee, quietly shaking her head. She was smiling openly now. 

“Foggy, it’s alright,” Matt said, probably sensing the panic brewing in his friend. “She actually took it a hell of a lot better than you did.” 

Grace saw the expression on Foggy’s face and hurried to say, “Understandably, of course, since I wasn’t best friends with you for years first.” Foggy’s shoulders relaxed a bit at her words. “Plus, I was keeping my crazy, powerful ex a secret and he had Matt’s apartment broken into, so…I don’t really have any room to talk.” 

Foggy pressed his hands to his face. Karen returned, cupping her mug thoughtfully. 

“Who’s your ex?” Karen asked. 

“Dean Bennett.” 

Karen swore impressively. “Wow. That’s–wow.” 

“Yeah. The whole reason I came to Hell’s Kitchen and lived in my car and begged you guys for a job. Etcetera.” Grace shrugged, though the memories still stung.  

“Okay, first, you’re a terrible person and I hate you,” Foggy said, pointing a threatening finger at Grace. “Second, I’m so glad you finally know! God, that makes things so much easier.” He pumped a fist in the air and held out a hand for a high five. Grace laughed and high fived him. “Third, what are you going to do about this crazy ex who apparently can send armed gunmen after you like it’s no big deal?” 

“She wants to file a restraining order,” Matt said. When Grace looked at him, his shoulders and jaw were tense. “I also recommend suing this supposed ‘security company’ he sent after you, if we can find out who they are.” 

“I have to tell you guys, though, I’m not sure I can afford you.” Grace laughed but there was a nervous edge to it. “Unfortunately, my job doesn’t pay that well.” 

“Nonsense,” Foggy said. “Not about the pay part–sorry about that. I’m pretty sure free legal help is one of our employee benefits.” 

“If it isn’t, it is now,” Matt said. He was all business as he added, “First we need to figure out what security company those guys were with, if it exists at all. Or anything that ties them to this guy.” 

Karen hurried to her desk and snatched up her cell phone. “I’ll call in a favor with Ellison,” she said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “He has a lot of contacts at the precinct.” 

“I’ll call Brett, too,” Foggy said. 

“Ah, I wouldn’t, Fog. He already seems a little…suspicious. I don’t know. Something was off with him,” Matt said with a small frown. 

“Brett? Suspicious? Of us? No way.” Sarcasm dripped from Foggy’s voice. “What’s new?” 

“Let’s just…see what Ellison comes up with first,” Matt said. Foggy flapped a hand dismissively. 

“Who’s Ellison?” Grace chimed in. 

“Editor at The Bulletin,” Matt said. 

“He’s a friend. I used to work for him and he’s helped me a lot with the big shit in Hell’s Kitchen.” Karen shrugged. Her phone chimed. “That was fast.” She continued typing quickly. 

“Where does your ex live?” Foggy asked. “The paperwork for restraining orders changes depending on where.” 

While Foggy went to search the paperwork, Karen and Matt started questioning Grace. 

“Is there anything you documented from your time with him?” Karen asked softly. Her hand came to rest on Grace’s shoulder. “Pictures? Texts? Police reports? Anything at all could be helpful for this case.” 

Grace snorted bitterly. “No, definitely no police reports.” She forced herself to think back several months. It was hard to make her mind go back to that dark place, where she’d been alone and afraid every single day for years. “I…When I left, I texted him that I wanted to break up, while he was at work. When I didn’t answer his calls, he sent me a lot of really angry texts. I screenshotted them all.” 

“That’s smart, Grace, really smart,” Matt said in a gentle voice. “Send those to Karen. Is there anything else?” 

Grace rubbed at her eyes. “I got rid of my phone so he couldn’t track me, canceled any accounts that I could. But all of my pictures were uploaded to the cloud. There…are probably some pictures of bruises on there. I’m not sure if that’ll hold up in court, though. I can’t prove that they were from him.” 

“That doesn’t matter,” Karen said. Grace didn’t miss the ticking of a muscle in Matt’s jaw or the way that his hands flexed several times before he stilled. “Look through them and send me anything you think is relevant.” 

“Especially if they’re spread out,” Matt added. His right hand flexed again, like maybe he wanted to hit something. “If we can build a timeline, it helps show it was–” He stopped abruptly. 

“It’s okay, Matt,” Grace said. “You can say it. It was abuse.” 

Karen wrapped her in a hug. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said. “But I’m glad it brought you to us. We’ll help you in any way that we can.” 

Grace blinked rapidly to clear the tears forming in her eyes. “Anyone know a good hit man?” She joked to cover up the fact that she was about to cry. 

Karen laughed. “I actually–” 

“Karen, don’t finish that sentence,” Matt said tiredly. 

“Yeah, especially if it rhymes with Mank Trastle!” Foggy shouted from his office. 

“Mank…Trastle?” Grace repeated. “What is he talking about?” 

“Um. Nothing,” Karen said, too quickly. “Story for another time.” 

Grace raised her eyebrows but decided to let it drop. She wouldn’t forget that phrase, though, and she definitely planned to ask about it. 

They broke apart to finally start on their tasks, Grace insisting that they all needed to work on their other cases, at least while she looked through her photos and compiled anything helpful to send to Karen. 

She booted up the computer and opened up a private browser. She knew that it wouldn’t keep Dean from finding her–he already knew where she was living–but it made her feel better all the same. She had no idea if he knew her passwords or could pay someone to hack her information. At this point, after he’d sent literal armed men after her, she wouldn’t put anything past him. 

Grace sat for at least ten minutes staring blankly at the screen. She didn’t want to dig back into that life. She’d left it behind for a reason. She had something good going here, and she wanted, more than anything, to forget anything that had come before. She had a job she really was starting to love, she had friends, and she had something new with a man that made her feel safe. Her old life was a brief shadow in this new world of light. 

But that life had caught up with her, whether she liked it or not. 

With a small growl, Grace logged into her account with angry keystrokes. She needed to remember why she’d left, and how. She’d been angry when she’d left. She’d been fed up. It was the same reason she’d taken self defense classes for two years straight. She didn’t want to be helpless. 

“Everything okay?” Matt’s voice made her jump. 

“Yeah, just–logging in.” 

Matt’s eyebrows rose. He wasn’t wearing his glasses anymore. “That so? With growling and angry typing?” 

Grace huffed a laugh. “Yeah. I was just–feeling sorry for myself. Then I remembered that he’s an asshole and I want to punch him in the face.” 

“Mm. Yeah. I know the feeling.” There was that little tick in his jaw again. She’d noticed it before but now she was beginning to learn that it was a sign of his anger, despite how calm he appeared. “I was just…picking up those papers you had printed for me.” 

Grace glanced around. Karen was on the phone, her door closed, and Foggy looked so deep into paperwork she was almost certain he couldn’t hear anything. 

“Are you sure you didn’t come over to flirt with me?” she teased softly. 

Matt gave her a warm smile. “Well, not quite. I was coming to ask you to lunch.” 

“First coffee, now lunch? You work fast, Murdock.” She wondered if he’d be able to tell if she winked. “Can you tell if I wink at you?” 

“Why, is that what you’re doing?” He was still smiling. The shadows of her former life seemed to melt away in the radiance and warmth of that smile. Matt placed both hands on her desk and leaned forward. Her body reacted almost instantly, even before he said his next words. “I won’t work fast later, sweetheart,” he murmured, his tone betraying exactly what he meant by later. 

A small gasp of air slipped from her lips. Her heart thundered in her chest and heat coiled low in her belly. 

“Let me ask my boss if I can take a half day,” she said. The words were almost pleading. 

Matt tapped her desk twice. “Sorry, too much work to do.” 

He put his hands in his pockets and strolled casually back to his desk. 

“Asshole,” she muttered, knowing full well he could hear her. “And you forgot your papers.” 

She heard his soft laugh from his office. 

She had a sudden idea. In a whisper under her breath, she said, “Are we keeping this a secret from them?” She watched Matt cock his head from his seat at his desk. Then he shrugged. “Do you want to?” He shook his head. “What do you think would be funnier–kissing in front of them like it’s no big deal, or making some sort of sexual comment?” Matt choked and coughed. “Because it was kind of fun fucking with them earlier.” 

“Talking to yourself?” Foggy said cheerfully from his office doorway. “Looks like you are becoming one of us.” 

Grace tried to keep her face neutral. “Yeah, apparently crazy is catching.” 

Foggy laughed. “Yes it is. I was one hundred percent sane until my college roommate walked in and ruined that for me.” 

“Hey,” said Matt. He leaned on the door jamb. His sleeves were rolled up now. “I’m pretty sure I was sane until I met you, Fog.” 

“Maybe we were both sane until Karen corrupted us,” Foggy said. 

“No, you two definitely fucked me up,” Karen said. “Hey, do you have those notes? On the building codes?” 

“Right.” Foggy sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “Remind me why we took such a big case again?” 

“To keep the lights on,” Karen said as Foggy passed her a stack of papers. 

Grace grabbed the stack Matt had supposedly been after. They had a handy printer that transcribed everything to braille for him. 

“Speaking of paperwork,” she said as she held out the papers. Matt tilted his head. She eyed the long column of his throat, imagining pressing kisses to the spot where his pulse beat beneath his skin. 

Matt took the papers, tossed them unceremoniously on his desk, and then grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer. She stumbled and fell flush against him. Her mind went utterly blank in surprise. 

Matt kissed her. He caged her in with his arms, the doorjamb digging against her spine. He tasted like coffee and something wholly Matt. She fisted her hands in his shirt to hold him close. But as quickly as it had happened, the kiss was over. Matt was grinning cockily at her in a way that had her stomach doing flips. 

She blinked, completely dazed. 

“Thanks for transcribing that stuff for me,” he said, voice completely normal like he hadn’t just made out with her in front of–Oh. Oh. 

Grace smiled at him as she realized what he was doing. “No problem,” she said, proud of how normal her voice sounded despite the chaos inside her body and mind. 

She went back to her desk like nothing happened. 

Karen and Foggy looked twice as shocked as they had at her Daredevil story. 

Finally, Karen smacked Foggy in the chest with the papers he’d handed her. “I told you.” She grinned at Grace, who couldn’t help but grin back. She felt a bit…giddy. Her mind raced with all kinds of delightful scenarios of her and Matt alone in the office, his tie on the floor, his desk underneath them. She tried unsuccessfully to shove them from her mind. 

“I–Is–You guys are going to give me a heart attack!” Foggy threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t think I can take anything else! Please, stop. Seriously. Stop. I’m on the edge of a nervous breakdown here!” 

Matt laughed, long and loud. “This is payback for all the shit you’ve pulled on me, Foggy. Though it was all Grace’s idea.” 

Foggy gaped at her. “You–You evil woman. I’m sending you a bill for my cardiologist. Or therapist.” 

“Sure, but remember I don’t get paid much.” She winked at Foggy. 

He stared at her and Matt in turn for several moments. A slow smile spread across his face. “God, I knew it. I knew it. Especially after–Nevermind, doesn’t matter. You two are dating now? Is this really happening?” 

“Dating?” Grace said, unable to help herself. “I thought that’s how Matt thanked everyone.” 

“Well he doesn’t kiss me like that,” Foggy said, and they all laughed. “Needs more tongue, Murdock!” he called as he went back to his office. He muttered something else that made Matt laugh again. 

Grace’s phone chimed with a text from Karen. What the hell happened last night after those guys broke in?? 

She glanced up at the blonde who raised her eyebrows and quickly typed something. This is the best way to keep Matt from eavesdropping, she said. Foggy and I talk about him all the time via text, because he can’t see or hear it. 

Grace pressed her lips together against a smile. Nothing happened last night. But this morning I definitely debated suing the NYPD for giving me blue balls. 

Karen snorted loudly in her office. Her response was instant. And you guys are…dating? FWB? What? I mean I know it’s not my business but…

Grace glanced up at Matt, who looked like the very picture of innocence as his fingers flew across his papers as he read. I think dating. I don’t know. I’ve been calling him out on what I’ve been calling his self-flagellating bullshit. 

Karen coughed to cover up another laugh. That’s a great way to put it. He does it a lot. 

Too much, Grace sent back. So I’ve been distracting him. 

Karen’s eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline. I’m not going to ask. 

Grace glanced at the clock before she typed another message. When do you get your results back for the bar exam?

Two weeks. I don’t think it’s a secret though. 

I don’t know about you but I don’t think Matt needs to hear every conversation we ever have. Grace tapped her fingers on her desk, realizing all of her pictures were still pulled up. She was probably procrastinating looking through them by talking to Karen. 

Why do you think we went to lunch a few blocks away after our night at Josie’s? I know how to keep secrets. When Grace glanced up, Karen flashed her a smile. 

Grace set her phone down and sighed with another look at the computer. She scrolled through them, starting with three years ago. That had been the first time he’d hit her. She glanced idly at the photos, shutting her brain off, not letting herself get sucked into any of the memories that accompanied the many photos. Every time she found a hint of a bruise, she attached it to an email draft to Karen. She numbered the pictures, added dates, and a short description of the incident and where you could see a hint of a bruise–if not a full bruise–in the picture. 

She got to last year’s photos and realized the office was quiet. She looked around with bleary eyes. The other three were gathered around takeout containers. She hadn’t realized it was lunch time, or that anyone had gone to get food. 

Matt walked over to her and held out a wrapped sandwich. “Sorry, our plans kind of got derailed,” he said, leaning a hip against her desk. “Rain check?” 

“I’m really beginning to hate that phrase,” Grace said darkly as she unwrapped her sandwich. “How’d you–right. Superpowers.” 

Matt crossed his arms. “I don’t need superpowers to know what your order is, Grace. I’m just observant.” 

There was that warmth again, deep in her chest. “Thanks, Matt,” she said softly. 

“Get your ass in here, Murdock! Some of us are trying to get some work done!” Foggy shouted from his office. Matt tapped her desk twice and rolled his eyes, but took his food into Foggy’s office. 

Grace ate while staring at her desk, letting the sounds of the others working and joking wash over her. 

When she was done, she dove back into the photos. 

The last year had been the worst. She’d had a broken wrist from where he’d pinned her against the wall so hard it had snapped a bone. She’d had bruises on her collarbone, too, but only the cast was visible in the photos. 

That had been the first time she’d been truly afraid for her life. 

He hadn’t struck again until months later, when her wrist was healed and her cast was off. That was when her ribs had been bruised. Maybe fractured, but she’d never gone to get it checked out. That was the first time she’d taken a picture of the damage. She’d let it upload to the cloud, then deleted all traces of it from her phone. 

That was also when he’d started checking her phone regularly. She didn’t know if it’s because he was getting meaner and more paranoid, or if he’d somehow found out about her desire to start keeping track of all of the ways he’d hurt her. She added a note about that in her email, too, that she’d had to take the passcode off of her phone and let him approve all social media posts. 

It took her much, much longer to get through those last pictures. The woman in them had a deadness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. A desperation. She’d lost weight then, too, which he’d assumed was for his benefit. 

Grace finally finished and sent the email. She rested her head in her hands. They shook with anger. 

He was a bastard. The worst kind of bastard. She should have known his business wasn’t all aboveboard, too, just based on how he treated her. 

She’d been stupid, naive, prone to giving in to his apologies. 

She wasn’t that girl anymore. 

She took a deep, steadying breath, and finally started working on the paperwork piling up on her desk.

Next Chapter

taglist:

@zaminoo​​​​​​​​​​​​ @yanna-banana​​​​​​​​​​​​ @bellal1 @thetrinitytest​​​​​​​​​​​​ @harry-bowie-mercury​​​​​​​​​ @lorosette​​​​​​​​ @feliciab1990​

[madschiavelique]

did an edit for bestie @gracethyomen of her cutsie fic Arm’s Length Away !! go check their stuff out ✨

i am still very new to editing but hopefully it’s okiii

[yarrystyleeza]

Last Line Challenge

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

Thank you @coffeeandbatboys for tagging me my love, truly appreciate it!

Sounds of evidence bags crunching in the investigators' hands as they gathered bits and pieces of anything that could be a lead. Flashing lights flickered around the room. Madilyn sat at the dining table and watched as the team took pictures of the scene.

It still is under editing, and this is from the upcoming chapter of 'In A Heartbeat' that I hope I'll be done with by next week! (it really took me so long to get to this scene)

Tagging my lovelies @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @munsonownsmyass @loveroftoomanyfandoms @babygirlmurdock @bellaxgiornata @chvoswxtch @mattmurdocksscars @farfromstrange @bunmurdock @everythingsf1ne23 @theradioactivespidergwen @shiorimakibawrites @itwasthereaminuteago @shouldbestudying41

[wishbonemotel]

X-Men 97 style intro card for Agustín

powers explanation + daredevil team up edition

and a Bonus version of how other characters generally perceive him (passive state of powers)

[inafieldofdaisies]

(WIP) Music Monday Tag | Tagged by @voidika @g0dspeeed @thesingularityseries and @simplegenius042

The rules: Post a song that is relevant to your WIP or inspires it. I’m also including the lyrics.

Mystique creature, come to me Tell me what you know, whisper, scream, I'm listening There's nowhere I won't go Look out to the horizon, to infinity Honesty can only be if there is a lie Tell me what you believe, don't try to hide Are you ready to let me in? Feel it growing under your skin, Tattooed like ink in flesh I don't mind the pain it's in I've been trying to believe What I said is what I need

She'll get you dancing in the bedroom Rendezvous inside you, make you feel alive Only for tonight She'll tame you, take you to confession His twisted obsession, then leave you behind Rockabye, rockabye, made you feel alive Rockabye, then leave you behind Rockabye, rockabye

Two thousand years and twenty more And she looked beautiful as ever before As she pushed me down into the warm water deep below, my clothes were torn Lilith, you Siren How could you do this to me? Lilith, I'm dyin' Why won't you set me free? I tried to scream but lilies clouded my mind The petals softly floating into my eyes I felt your fingers slowly crawl up my spine We didn't have to sink for you to be mine

I'd give up half of forever just to be with you So baby be mine when the sun sets 'Til the day that it doesn't come up Run away 'til our lungs give up, I'll breathe your air 'til I turn to the dust Honey I know, wherever you go, I'd give up half of forever I'd give up half of forever Offer me up, I'm yours All of my love, I'm sure I'd give up half of forever just to be with you

Tagging, @socially-awkward-skeleton @strangefable @strafethesesinners @cassietrn @aceghosts @nightbloodbix @carlosoliveiraa @jackiesarch @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @trench-rot @amalkavian @purplehairsecretlair @gearvmac @shellibisshe @unholymilf @florbelles @corvosattano @dumbassdep @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @kyber-infinitygems @la-grosse-patate @theelderhazelnut @marivenah @finding-comfort-in-rain @onehornedbeast @captastra and anyone that would like to share some songs this week <3