Symphony for the Devil (Daredevil)

PDA

     It was nearly 3 p.m. when Matt and Talia finally left the church, headed for the Nelson and Murdock office. Matt had come in to the church during his lunch, but upon finding Talia, he'd stuck around for a lot longer than planned. Now they walked, their arms interlocked for appearances. Talia certainly didn't mind though.

     peering up at him, Talia mentally wrestled with asking what she'd been wondering for a while. She finally spoke up, "Matt? Why did you stay in Hell's Kitchen? Like I don't want to sound pretentious or that I'm talking it down, but... I dunno, it's a big world. It's a big country. I guess I just don't completely understand that. And I figure you'll probably some bullshit about it being your home, but you can leave home. If you went to, I don't know, Missouri or something, New York will keep moving without you."

"Missouri?" Matt laughed.

   "What? It was the first thing to pop into my head, I'm not going to make excuses." After a few chuckles herself, she turned back to him. "Just answer, please."

     "Okay..." he paused with a thoughtful look. "Where is your favorite place to go?"

     "Hmm," Talia took a moment, eyebrows knitted slightly in thought, eventually concluding, "There's this spot close to the corner of the roof of my apartment building that I tricked out with a hammock and some plants and stupid little knickknacks I've found all over the country. I like to bring a pillow and my sketchbook up and just draw until it's too dark to see, just watching the city, then whatever stars I can try to see. I've drawn the city skyline from tons of angles by now, my favorite is when I lay down as the sun is just setting."

     "And it feels just right, doesn't it? Peaceful. That's what I want to feel all the time. What I want everyone to feel. I fight for that."

     "That's... kinda beautiful, Matt." She said. She wanted to say the three words as she looked across at him. She felt it in her being, she craved letting those three words slip out, letting herself finally fall hopelessly. Instead, she turned her head back forward, and put on her best inadvertent joking act. "But I still ditched out of this place, so, can't be that great."

     "Maybe not," Matt scoffed, but it sure beats Missouri. Hey, Talia?"

     "Yeah?"

     "What do you look like?"

     "You know, you felt my face a couple days ago."

     "I know, but describe yourself to me."

     "Okaaay... Um, I've got this short, really dark brown hair. I've been thinking about dying it proper black again though, half of it is still black and it looks a little weird. I'm tan, I've got green eyes, and little freckles, mostly on my nose. Makes me look extra childish. I've got kind of a babyface, it's part of the reason I go for the style I do. I wear a lot of black. I have a few extra piercings on my ears, been thinking about an eyebrow piercing or something. I don't know, um. I'm tired of talking about myself."

     "I didn't know you had freckles," Matt stopped for a moment, turning to Talia, as if he felt like he completely missed out on something.

     "I wouldn't expect you to." Talia considered asking Matt what it was like to not know what he himself really looked like, but decided a different approach. "You, on the other hand, Matt, have some actually impressively neat brown hair, constant scruff, fantastic face structure, your eyes are this lovely hazel. You have some killer abs, a nice... um, yeah I'm going to stop before I regret continuing."

     "Might be best," Matt joked with the little smirk she loved as they stopped at a crosswalk.  "Might not be," he said, with a turn of head and a slip of hand to hers, gently lacing his fingertips between hers. "I'd love to hear more."

     Talia guided him across the street by hand. She realized how much she loved when he gave her lead, even though he was so immensely independent and powerful. "You're very charming, very smooth... The scars make me worry, not going to even pretend that they don't. You've got some painful looking ones," they reached the other side and stepped over to the opposite edge of the walkway to stop, Matt closing up his cane, then slipping his hand back into hers and continuing. "I love how your mind works, your intricate problem-solving, your drive for good and justice, your selflessness, your love. That may not be exactly what you look like, I drifted there, sorry."

     Finally reaching the outside of the building, Matt stopped her by the Nelson and Murdock sign, saying with a quiet voice. "You are too apologetic. You're too good to say sorry so much. You're kind and you're passionate and you have little moments where you say something and get embarrassed and your cheeks get hot. You're caring and you're brilliant and selfless. I wish you could realize just how amazing you are." He held her face in his hands, Talia's eyes lost in him.

     "I hope you know that I wish the same for you. You are so much more than you let yourself believe. And if it wasn't obvious, what I said last night before you ran off to devil it up... it wasn't... I-" she started but had trouble following through, the words stuck in her throat now.

      "Talia, I wasn't acting either. I'm not that good an actor honestly."

      "I don't know, you're pretty good at acting like a normal blind person half the time. Except the beating up criminals part, that's not very normal." she sped her words faster and faster in some anxiety, "Though you aren't exactly the best at hiding that either, I figured it out pretty quickly so it's probably a good idea to work on that in the future so-"

     "Talia," Matt interrupted with a bit of a chuckle in his voice, stopping her nervous rambling and bringing her glance back to him. He spoke the words softly and fully, "I love you too."

      Talia's face lit up with the most indescribable emotion of joy and hope and love, launching a tight hug that stung at her injuries, but she didn't notice. "I love you, Matt Murdock," she spoke softly over his shoulder, holding the hug for a few moments, soaking in the feeling of Matt against her.

     Leaning back, she saw the misconstrued glasses and Matt's sober smile. "I really need to work on not messing up your glasses every time," with an adjustment of glasses, she rested her hand on his shoulder and met his lips.

      This kiss was longer than any they had had yet, their lips met and met again, each readjustment bringing them closer and stronger, Matt's hands moving from her face, one lingering on her neck, then to her waist, pulling her ever closer and pressing her gently against the wall, Talia's from his chest to around his neck, pulling his face closer.

     They could hear an old voice from across the street yell grumpily at them to get a room, causing Talia to giggle as she paused, their foreheads touching. "We could," she offered half-jokingly.

     "We sure could, Tal. We sure could."

      "But we won't just yet," Talia sighed, "Work to do, lives to save, people to defend."

     "I think that can wait for just one more minute," Matt whispered, then kissed her again, deeper.

     "Oh god!" an annoyed familiar voice exclaimed from the door to the two's side. Talia and Matt's heads turned to their friend's exasperated expression, "Really? Matt! Talia!" Foggy exclaimed, directing his hand to the wall behind Talia's back "Come on, you're gonna ruin our sign for me, I'm never gonna be able to look at it again without imagining you two about to bone."

     "Eloquently stated, Fog," Talia said with a smug look, despite her slight embarrassment.

     "Thanks, buddy," Matt said as he backed off a bit from Talia, but Talia interlaced her fingers in his and didn't let him stray too far.

     "You two sicken me," Foggy said with a shake of his head, though the upturn ends of his mouth betrayed his annoyed facade.

     "That's the whole point Foggy," Talia joked, "making you as uncomfortable as possible."

      "Much appreciated," Foggy sighed with another shake of his head, then began waving them in, "God, get in here before you lovebirds get arrested for extreme PDA and perfect coupling."