Symphony for the Devil (Daredevil)

Revelation

Talia's eyes fluttered open and she shot up, regretting it immediately, her head spinning. She grabbed the back of the sofa to steady herself.

"Woah," she heard an unfamiliar voice say to her right, "Slow down, you lost some of blood."

"And who the hell are you?" Talia managed, though her voice dragged the words slow across her tongue, taking in her surroundings. An apartment not too unlike her own in architecture, but with so little personalization that made her think it hadn't been lived in for long. A woman sat near in front of her, a medical kit on the coffee table.

"Claire," she answered, putting away bandages back into the kit. Talia felt around for the stitches on her arms and cheek, a thick bandage wrapping around her neck where the knife had been.

"A friend of Hellboy's, I presume?" Talia mocked as she slowly turned herself to sit upright with her back to the couch.

"You could say that." Talia turned to see him standing behind her.

"And why, might I ask, am I here, rather than, I don't know, a hospital?" Talia said, attempting to put power in her voice, despite the weakness that kept her from sitting up on her own.

"Claire works at a hospital," the man in the mask answered. Talia gritted her teeth and gave him her best death-glare. "The man who went after you had a partner waiting for him outside in their car. I couldn't get to him because you were in trouble."

"And he got away. You know, there's a reason why super heroes have teams, you know. So things like that don't happen."

"Super hero?" he laughed quietly under his breath, as if the notion that he was a super hero was exceptionally ridiculous.

"Quit being so modest," Claire contradicted, "You've saved so many people. Including me."

"Claire, I just do what I have to to make this city a better place," he said with bits of vulnerability. Talia suddenly felt like she recognized his voice, but couldn't place it. A voice she knew, but rougher. She began staring at him in the low light, almost thankful for the turn in conversation that left her out. The details of his suit were visible enough, but she needed a better look at him from a different view.

"Plus, you kick ass."

"She's not wrong," Talia added in the hopes that he'd turn towards her. He didn't. She tried again, "And you need to learn how to take a compliment." He didn't move an inch and stayed quiet. She gave a final attempt, meaning every word, "Thank you, okay? Thank you for doing what you did."

Finally turning, he said, "Your welcome." Talia searched what she could of his face, though she could only see the lower half of it, and the light was low. She couldn't decipher whether or not it was a beard or just scruff, and then looked at his lips. They were so familiar, then she could just see a small split on the left. It hit her like a freight train. The voice, the humor, the strength, the conviction. "Oh my god," she muttered.

"What is it? Did you rip your stitches?" Claire asked, standing.

"No," the vigilante answered for Talia, not having sensed any ripped stitch, knowing exactly why Talia was so surprised. Part of him was angry that he hadn't protected his identity better, another part happy she'd figured it out so easily. "It's not the stitches." He came around Claire and knelt in front of Talia and took a deep breath, "Go ahead."

Talia edged her hands forward and gently lifted the mask from his face, all of the familiar features in front of her, forever unfocused hazel eyes and all. She wasn't shocked to see Matt, and the confirmation was strangely unfazing. He was still the man she'd fallen for in college, still the man she'd failed to kiss yesterday. "Matt Murdock, you son of a bitch," she laughed, hugging him.

"You don't care?" Matt was surprised. Foggy's reaction had been so distressed at first, but Talia seemed unchanged, her heartbeat normal and not an inkling of anger or disdain in her voice.

"Of course not. You're still you, Matt. You've always fought for what you believe in, it's just that now I know it's in every sense of the word." She paused to admire the little smile Matt held from her words, collecting her thoughts quickly. "I don't care that you act for justice outside of the law because justice and law aren't the same thing. I never liked the corruption in law, it's part of the reason I didn't go into it. I actually love that you haven't just stood by and ignored all of it. I always worried you might. I'm glad you do what you do. I'll admit that I'll be a lot more worried about you, but I love that you're doing this." For a moment she worried of her use of the "L" word, but felt that Matt needed to hear it. "My only question is... exactly how do you kick so much ass?"