Dare Me • Marvel's Daredevil Fanfiction • Charlie Cox •

Penalties

Karissa wasn't surprised. She knew this would happen, she just knew it. She felt the world play out in slow motion around her. Her slow breathing and her steady heartbeat was all her ears were focused on.

"Court dismissed." The judge announced to the jury, which sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to Karissa.

Matt heard the ruffle of clothing and the shuffling of shoes on the ground as people began to leave. He slightly slumped back in his seat and took a deep breath, stress piling on his shoulders by the second.

"I'm sorry, Karissa." Matt apologizes, his head turned down towards the ground as his fingers adjusted frequently around the handle of his walking stick.

Karissa glanced to the side, her eyes coming to focus on Matt. She notices Matt's play of tenseness in his hands, squinting a bit as she saw red stained on Matt's knuckles. Karissa felt herself narrow her eyes skeptically, curiosity sparking inside her briefly. Paint? She thought to herself skeptically. Why would Matt paint though? Maybe it's the lighting in here. Or it could be a sunburn.

"Is something wrong, Karissa?" Matt asks her, trying to get her attention, and breaking Karissa thought train.

"Huh? No." Karissa replies, more sharply than she intended, which took Matt by surprise a bit. He raises his eyebrows, surprised, kinda awkwardly.

Karissa sighs, looking aside as if she blew it.

"If you say so." Matt shrugs, though knowing she wasn't fine at all. He could hear her heartbeat. He could hear it spike when she blurted out her answer.

"Sorry, Matt.." Karissa starts, holding her hands together a bit anxiously and looking down at them. "But, you don't have to be sorry. You tried." She assures him warmly, comforting him with the idea that he wasn't guilty. Like she was.

"We should go." Foggy says to them, looking over his shoulder to them. He had already packed up his things and stood out of his chair. It was obvious he wasn't to happy with the loss either, you could tell by how heavy his voice was, maybe the way his shoulders slumped a bit, or by the slight slouch in his back.

"That's probably a good idea." Karissa agrees quietly, looking to the ground for a brief moment, then standing out of her chair.

Matt feels the warmth of a hand press against the arm of his suit. Small, but strong. He feels Karissa help him up and guide him away from the chair so he wouldn't trip.

"Looks like a success." Wesley comments casually, leaning back in his seat still. Fisk nods in agreement to Wesley's comment.

"With her," Fisk starts, pausing briefly as he glances to Karissa and her two attorneys. "It's far from over."

Wesley nods considerably, following Fisk's gaze towards the three.

Karissa leads Matt out of the courtroom, moving down the isle between the rows of wooden chairs. Deja Vu shadowed over Matt like a roaring thundercloud. Karissa's touch was strong. Like he always remembered. But it was also soft, like she cared.

Matt began to frown, his brow furrowing with a sort of sorrow that made him think. He clenched his jaw, feeling it shift to the side a bit as thoughts drifted through his mind.

In a flash, Matt's mind flew back in time and streaks of colours made out Karissa's young face, smiling shyly. Matt tried to picture her now, maybe an idea.. An imagination? No.., he couldn't bring himself to do that, not when it's been so long.

Karissa walked with him out the door, and Matt found himself holding his cane at his side, not in front of him. Somehow Matt felt he knew where he was going.

Foggy followed behind them, a bland expression covering his face as he gripped the handle of his leather briefcase a bit more.

Matt felt Karissa's hand loosen and fall away from his arm, feeling the comforting warmth die along with Matt's thoughts. He the same warmth then wrapped around his wrist gently.

Karissa stopped them in the lobby section of the building, guiding him to turn and face her. "So I guess this is goodbye, I can't really remember for how long, but it's goodbye." Karissa says as if they might cross paths again one day. Matt swallows hard, feeling like his throat is going to cave in on itself as it swells.

"I'm sorry, Karissa." Matt says truthfully, choking out the words. "I really am." He says, his voice becoming more hoarse by the second.

"What're you apologizing for, Oh Angsty One." Karissa teases a bit, a small flicker of a smile forming on her lips. "I got into this myself."

"I just hoped that I could do something-" Matt starts hoarsely.

"Well you couldn't." Karissa tells him flat out. Matt shuts his mouth and clenches his jaw as he couldn't find the words to say. "But you tried. And I love you for that." She concludes softly, pulling Matt into a gentle hug.

Matt could smell the vanilla shampoo in her hair as he found himself pulling her in closer to him. Karissa could feel Matt's heart pound in his chest as his hot breath clouded her neck and shoulder like steam.

Police men in classic blue informs entered the room. Matt could hear the guns on them, the ruffling of their cotton clothes and the squeaking of their leather shoes. Karissa's eyes opened as she turned her head to look back at the awaiting police officers.

She lets Matt go and gently pushes him away as she turns around, her hazel eyes fall to the ground as if being weighed by cinder blocks. She glanced up at Foggy and gave him one last shy, friendly smile that told him 'Thank you'. Foggy returned the friendly smile, though it was brief. Foggy knew neither him or Matt had ever shared this connection with any of their clients. Karissa and Foggy didn't feel the need to speak words, to break the devastating silence.

Matt couldn't speak. Or so he told himself. He heard the clinking of metal. The handcuffs they clamped on Karissa's two small wrists. He heard the chain dangle as the police man grabbed her by the arm and began to lead her out of the lobby.

She doesn't deserve this. Mathew thought over and over again. It only felt like he was lying to himself over and over again. But then again, what do I even know about Karissa Case?

The old hinges of the door squeaked as they opened the scratched, white wooden door of the lobby.

Matt's heart sank in his chest at the thought that they were so distant now. He hadn't realized how much she had changed, grown up. She was stronger now, more than she had ever been. Karissa took this penalty like she'd been through worse, like she was going to come out again, only stronger. He had to admire that.

The door closed. And Karissa didn't look back.