Damned If I Do *Matt Murdock* (book one of Damned)

Late bonus: The Heart Is Hard To Translate (It Has a Language Of Its Own)

Or the one in which Matt finally got coffee at Vera's. Yes, it's an euphemism. Vera never has coffee in her apartment.

Set during/after epilogue of Damned If I Do.

Just in case it isn't clear, this should be most likely rated.

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He returned at like four a.m., falling to Vera's bed heavily, waking her up for what could be few seconds – she kissed his temple as a greeting and fell asleep in no time. Waking up again around half past ten, putting her glasses on, she could see a path of his clothes as he was stripping while making his way from the fire escape to her bathroom.

In attempt to make her flat less of a mess, she supported herself on her elbows to get the crutches and follow the aforementioned path; Matt's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back into lying position before she even stood up.

"Where are you going?" he murmured sleepily, hugging her from the behind firmly, pulling her closer to his body, still halfway to truly waking up.

"To clean up your mess...?" Vera offered innocently, torn between the urge to get up and hide in his arms.

"You shouldn't be getting out of bed. It was the doctor's orders," he whispered to her ear, persuading her to stay, the Devil leading her astray, discouraging her from doing anything useful.

It was absolutely not the doctor's orders and her leg didn't really hurt – it was more like an uncomfortable pulling when she moved the wrong way. And it wasn't her fault she basically hadn't walked since getting shot – whenever Matt could, he just... carried her wherever she needed to go ("You should be resting. Let it heal." – "Hypocrite. I can walk by my-" – he usually shut her up with a kiss, the argument ending with his victory).

"It was not. I've got crutches for a reason..." she protested as he kissed the side of her neck, making her shiver, smashing the last pieces of will she had. It wasn't like anyone would see that mess, right? It could wait. At least for another hour or so...

"Forget the creations of pure evil. You're not going anywhere any time soon."

"Come on," she laughed. "I would die of boredom if I had to stay in bed whole day!"

His body tensed before relaxing again. She felt his lips on her neck, smiling, drawing a path higher to her ear.

"What if I stay with you and think of a way to entertain you," he whispered, sounding very awake all of sudden, tone suggestive. He nibbled at her earlobe.

Vera's heart hammered against her chest, decoding the meaning of his words. She sighed contentedly as one of his hands slid under her t-shirt, fingers tracing the skin on her side with the lightest touch, making it burn hot under them.

"I'd like to see you try," she breathed, carefully, not sure what he did mean by that. They had been here before – he liked to tease her, torture her, give her false hope, but they had never crossed that line. Not yet. Which... ugh.

His fingers stopped as if he sensed her distrust, which he probably could. He bit her earlobe provocatively once again. "Oh, you will."

Vera didn't have the slightest problem with it. Escaping his arms with a little effort, she turned around to face him, examining his expression. He observed her nose, eyes still sleepy.