Chapter Text
Jen wakes up from a peaceful sleep after a very satisfying evening and she is much more relaxed. It seems like Matt was maybe as eager to reconnect as she was which is a bit of an ego boost - the kind that she really needed. Nikki was right (and she's gonna tease her with that for weeks). Travelling to the other end of the country for a booty call was not exaggerated or ridiculous. Not when her chemistry with someone is this damn good. Matt makes her feel good about herself which so far hasn't happened with any guy who knows both sides of her. There's also so much to learn about him or from him.
She just feels like an idiot now for not realising herself that being with She Hulk could be a little too rough for him this time around. He really got a bad deal regarding his super powers. The senses are cool for snooping or compensating his lack of sight, maybe. But she prefers her metabolism, strength and healing ability, thank you very much. His sensitivity sure is fun to play with, but overstimulation clearly is a thing. Something she suspects that he wouldn't complain about. She has to keep that in mind, too. And he still had to train basically all his life to fight this good. Since he was a kid. So, apparently, Matt was born to be a hero. She kind of stumbled into that gig and is still in the middle of figuring out how she wants to use her powers.
Half asleep Jen turns around to take a look at the man she shared this incredibly comfy bed with, only to be disappointed to realize that he's gone already. He seems to usually be up early in the morning again which sucks, because sometimes she wants to just snuggle close to him and cuddle for a bit. Matt however seems to not just stay up late, but also get up at the crack of dawn to fight some more injustices during the day, even on a weekend apparently. How does he do that?
At least, she can still hear him in the apartment. Sounds like he's in the kitchen. Maybe he wants her to leave, now that they had both gotten what they needed from each other.... Since this is his apartment, it's not like he can sneak out.
No. He's not like that. He was so funny and charming last time they met. Maybe he is different at his own place? More busy & territorial? Less of a gentleman? Wearing one of his big Columbia shirts that he gave her to sleep in Jen steps out of his bedroom and she thinks she saw his breath hitch for a sec.
"Good morning." Matt is already fully dressed and there's a cup of coffee on the table and everything else needed for breakfast. Well... with one plate for one person. "Morning! Um... you.... do you want me to leave?"
He just looks confused for a second. "What? No! I'm... I'm going to church. I didn't want to wake you up. You can stay here and have breakfast." Matt hesitates, suddenly awkward again. "I mean, if you want..."
An easy smile spreads on her face and she blushes. No. He's not like that. Still the perfect gentleman. "Thank you." Jen doesn't sit down, but she picks up the cup and takes a sip from the coffee. "Mmmmh... this is the good stuff."
Matt grins and gives her a little peck on the cheek. "Glad, you approve."
Before he can move to the door, Jen uses his tie to pull him into a hungry kiss. "Do you need to confess after all the things we did last night? Is that it?" She can feel him shiver at the memory and she can't blame him.
"You're going to make me miss mass, if you keep going like that...", he purrs next to her ear.
Maybe she wants him to. Maybe she could get him to cuddle some more this time. Stretch those carefully set boundaries that they seem to have build between themselves, to keep this casual. "I would have gone with you had you woken me up." Did she really just suggest that?
Even Matt frowns a little and she loves what it does to his brows, indicating that he is studying her in wonder. "Really?"
Jen shrugs, trying not to make a big deal out of this. "I mean, there's not a lot of time we get to spend together, so I'd like to use every second of it..."
"You want me to skip church and stay here...?"
"No..." She really doesn't want to make him change his routines just because of her. "Do your thing. I'm still tired anyway. I'll be here when you're back."
That lopsided grin she gets in return makes her heart beat faster and she blushes, fully aware that he can hear it, too. "Good. Because I figured that I may not be able to cook for you, but I know a nice place and I still owe you dinner... Since you came all the way here and especially after you helped me here yesterday..."
Right. This was what she had to keep in mind. "By the way... how are you feeling today?"
"I'm fine. I think there's something we could try... I'd like to show you where I go to train."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Jen frowns. Maybe he's the one who needs to be reminded. "You're hurt."
"Ah... I'm mostly going to be your instructor."
Does anyone else get the feeling that this kind of thing is foreplay for him?
"Sounds like a plan," Jen whispers, staring at his lips that are slowly forming a smirk. But Matt only kisses her forehead this time, before excusing himself.
After he's gone, Jen shakes off that irritating sexual tension and starts to eat.
Wait a minute. This is a date now, isn't it? Dinner and the gym? That sounds like the standard Daredevil programme to get into a fellow vigilante's pants. Not that he had to do all that much to get Jen naked at this point. Are they dating? Somehow the idea gives her a warm feeling in her stomach.
Oh shit, can't she just do casual for once? He lives in New York and somehow she doesn't think he's a relationship kind of guy anyway, let alone one who would move for a girlfriend. No, Murdock strikes her as someone who takes what he needs, gives others pleasure that they never knew was possible and then moves on like nothing happened. She's not going to ruin what they have by asking for more.
When she takes another bite Jen moans. This simple breakfast has no business being this tasty. Can't he do anything wrong?!
She uses her time alone in his apartment to inspect it a little more. But there's not much to find, really. Everything is very neat and tidy. (Maybe a bit too clean. Ha!) He doesn't even have a desk with document cases scrambled all over them and she has never seen such a well organized kitchen. Maybe that makes sense, considering that he still is blind, no matter what crazy shit he can do. It also makes sense that there are no photos to be seen anywhere. There's no evidence that this guy has ever been a kid.
There are however women's toiletries in the bathroom. So, he has guests... Her little investigation actually raises more questions than it offers answers. Eventually, Jen puts on some music and starts to do the dishes.
"You didn't have to do that," Matt informs her with a pleased smile when he returns and pulling up his sleeves he starts to dry her work beside her. She doesn't know what to expect now or even what she wants. On the one hand she craves him and his proximity. She wants to go back to what they started the night before. But now that he went to church even innocently lying next to each other on the couch sounds a little too intimate.
Matt seems to feel the same way, because after a long pause he asks her if she'd be interested in seeing some of his favorite places in town. Of course, she agrees, more than a little curious what a blind man would love in New York.
It actually makes her feel less self-conscious about this trip. Less like a horny hulk and more like a good friend - with benefits. He might not know, but some of the spots Matt drags her to actually have a great view. Well, besides him. His love for even the most common little corners of this city and the stories he can tell her about them are pretty endearing. Clearly, you can't take the Devil out of Hell's Kitchen and Jen is not prepared for the pang that thought makes her feel.
Suddenly he also turns a little nervous when they approach a small French restaurant.
"Here we are. It doesn't look like much, but we're close to the gym now. You really need to try the dessert in this place."
"Before working out? Isn't that a bad idea?"
"Well, you could just turn green for a bit, see if that helps."
Matt smirks and she kisses his teasing lips. "Sounds like a plan."
Dinner goes well, too. Matt's incredible sense of taste apparently would make him a perfect restaurant critic. He'd find the weirdest places that noone would look twice at, unless you're really hungry, with the most delicious food. It really would have been smart to warn him in advance. Who knows what he might have created himself?
Before Jen can taste his recommended mousse au chocolat, she notices a person staring at them in shock through the window and Matt winces visibly in front of her. "Sorry about this...", he mumbles with a bit of a blush when the woman goes through the door and stops in front of their table, exuding fiery anger. Matt acts like he did not notice her.
"It really is you, Matt!", she finally accuses him and he hesitates with a full spoon in his hand, mouth open as if he was about to eat and didn't have a clue about this rude interrruption. Matt raises his eyebrows and turns to the furious person next to him.
"Um... Sarah...? Is that you?"
"Damn right it is. What the fuck?!" She takes a breath, surely planning to launch into some kind of rant that might explain what is going on here.
Jen has a bad feeling about this. And she's not sure on who's side she is here.
"First you call to cancel our date last minute and now I see you going out insted - with Jennifer Walters, of all people? Are you kidding?!"
Why is it that her being there makes it somehow worse? She would like to ask, but remembering the public's opinion on her makes her rethink that. And she does not want this woman's attention right now.
Matt doesn't even try to explain anything. He just hits her with innocent puppy eyes that aren't fooling anyone in this restaurant. "I'm really sorry," is all he gets out.
"Wow," Sarah says. "This... okay, we're done. Delete my number, or I swear, I'll kick your blind ass." She then looks at Jen for the first time since coming in. "Miss Walters, don't get fooled by this man. He is an unreliable liar and a cheat... Please don't reward this kind of behavior."
Matt just shakes his head while "Sarah" storms out and everyone slowly resumes eating and chatting about this little scene.
"Explain," Jen insists.
"Not here." Some of the other customers are still staring at them. Their faces look either mildly annoyed or a little amused. "She's mostly right." Matt shrugs and tries for a smile. So there is another side of him, a reminder that she has to keep this strictly casual.
"This is not funny," she tells him.
"Try the dessert," Matt now insists. "I promise I'll make this up to you."
"What about Sarah?", she asks pointedly. "Are you gonna make it up to her?"
"She's better off without me anyway." And for a second there she thinks she sees an expression on his face that looks a bit like shame. Hard to tell with the glasses on.
Well, she's not gonna waste the sweet dish on the table in front of her. Unfortunately, the damn mousse is way too chocolaty to surpress a pleased moan. She still doesn't say anything when he knowingly asks her if she liked it. They split the bill.
Jen really considers for a second to leave him there and go back to her hotel. But something still makes her go along to the gym. Maybe she's looking for an excuse to punch him. (Or maybe he's still ridiculously hot, despite what he just did.)
Suddenly something occurs to her. "You set this up, didn't you? You used me to get her to break up."
He totally did, by the look on his face. So, apparently she wasn't the only one with an "ulterior" motive for this weekend. The only difference is that hers was a little more transparent and didn't hurt anyone. "Can you at least wait till I have taken the glasses off, before you hit me?"
"Who says I want to do that?" Mind reader, much?
"I get that you're mad." He then stops to open a door to a place called Fogwell's gym. "Let's use this motivation for me to show you a few tricks."
"You know, Bruce tried to show me how this hero stuff is supposed to be done. He did not like the consequences." If she's gonna smash his little gym that's not her fault. (Jen, are you listening to yourself? Someone owns this place. And why are you that upset anyway? - Shut up!)
"Last night you said that Bruce helped."
"Well, this time he was less of a dick and I was a little more okay with the life I have because of him..."
Matt takes off his glasses and Jen tries to ignore how attractive he is with those deep shadows falling over his face, highlighting all the sharp edges. "Can you please not Hulk out on me now? The point of this is to show you how you can defend yourself in this form, too. Just in case there might be a time when you're unable to transform."
"Fine. Do I have to hold back because you're hurt?"
He chuckles. "Jen, you will never be able to hurt me in this form."
That little shit.
She tries to surprise him with a kick to his wound, but he catches her leg easily, demonstrating his statement with a smug smile. "Keep this up and I might just change and beat the shit out of you."
"Na... you don't really want to." He waggles with his eyebrows and then suddenly pulls her close to whisper huskily: "You still forget that your heartbeat tells me when you're lying."
Okay, this guy really is the Devil, dear readers. Just when Jen thinks she wouldn't mind him kissing her again, although she's determined not to trust him ever, Matt walks away from her and towards the ring. He's looking back at her, obviously not to watch her but to let her see him. Bait.
This man is a tease. He makes you angry, then he shows you things that actually could be useful one day and then he touches you just where you want him to before pulling his hand away again. They keep going like this for a couple of minutes, until Jen loses her patience and decides she's done with this game. She uses her big green power to trap him in one corner of the ring - in this form very careful that she's as far away from his still fresh injury as possible.
Matt laughs, eyes shining with a cheeky spark that only makes her like this bastard more. "Alright, if you want to do it like this, I think I deserve that."
Hard to argue with that and it's very clear that he wants it, too. Now she really has no doubt that he's into She Hulk. When she raises his chin she can feel him tremble in anticipation. At this point she's not even pretending that she doesn't want him inside her right the fuck now. "Fine. Your safe word is 'objection', counsellor. Just in case."
Matt reacts with a hearty laugh and she shuts him up with a bruising kiss. There's still no need for any safe word. Jen was never into smaller men, but when she looks like this noone is taller than her anyway. It still feels weird to bow down to kiss someone. Murdock is however not shy when he wants something and he's obviously very athletic. It doesn't take long for him to find out that they're almost eye to eye when he puts his legs around her. Things escalate quickly from there...
The gym is not the most comfortable place to drag this out, so as intense as it is when she's with him, this time they take embarrassingly little time to finish. They also somehow manage to leave the ring intact. Mostly.
He says he's fine when she worries about his stab wound again after turning back into her human form. Reassured like that Jen collapses beside him and when she looks in his direction they're both beaming at each other. "We should go to my place... Unless you still want to go back to the hotel."
"No, it's fine. I'm not here to judge. But I'm also too tired to get up anytime soon." Wait a second. Hey! They are cuddling.... Daredevil does cuddles after all!
"I'm sorry." Matt kisses her temple. "I know, it was a dick move earlier with Sarah. But I didn't see myself telling her who I am, so I figured she better walks away like this, hating me."
"You're a coward," Jen mutters, but she's not upset with him anymore. "She's still gonna search for a fault in herself. You don't know what that's like."
"That's where you're wrong, because I know exactly how this feels. It might even be better for her in the end. This way she won't ever have to worry about me. She won't ever find out from the news that I died."
In that moment Jen remembers his face when Bruce mentioned the Black Widow. "What happened with Natasha?"
"Doesn't matter." For a moment she thinks that's the end of that topic, because he then turns to lie straight on his back again, facing the ceiling. "I thought that she would always be there somehow...."
"She was an Avenger. These things happen." Tony died, too. Without thinking about it Jen puts one arm around Matt, her hand lying over his chest, in a lame attempt to comfort the man, knowing that it was not her place and it would never be enough anyway.
Matt licks his lips. "Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt."
"So, she did to you what you did to that woman today?"
"Not exactly...." He takes her hand down to his stomach, but he doesn't pull away. "She just left, like she always did, before I would wake up. It was better that way."
Sounds familiar.
They eventually end up back at his place again. Stumbling eagerly towards the bedroom.
The next morning for the first time she wakes up before he does. She's almost shocked to see this man people call Daredevil so relaxed and peaceful next to her. And then she remembers that he used her to get rid of another girl, before also remembering that she kind of understands why he did it.
There's also no time to waste. Jen has to get to her hotel, put her things together and then go to the airport. She quickly decides to sneak out, copying Matt and Natasha. But first she has to go to the bathroom - ignoring Sarah's things Jen gets ready to leave.
She almost has a heart attack when Matt catches her on her way out starting the coffee machine and asking if she wants one, too. She stares at him for a second and declines his offer, saying that she's already late. They smile at each other awkwardly and then he says: "Next time.... You can just crash here. Alright?"
"What if you have a girlfriend then?"
"Doesn't matter," Matt says.
Her heartbeat again does silly things against her permission. Yes, Murdock is a proper hero, very charming, a brilliant lawyer and damn hot. But he also knows. He's too good a flirt to be trusted with her heart. She has to go. Any second now. Instead she just stands there, watching him walk towards her. Strong, confident steps carrying him, before he kisses her one last time, tasting like coffee, great sex and promises. She blinks her eyes open afterwards to a smouldering look on his face and barely notices that he opened the door for her. "You're going to miss your flight."
"I'll be back," Jen finally manages to say.
When she turns to leave, an elderly woman greets him and rolls her eyes, the moment she catches sight of Jen.
"Miss Walters will be around, so please don't call the cops on her, okay?"
"Yeah, sure...", his neighbor replies with an "as if" tone. How often does he have different women over exactly? Jen shoots him a look he can't see, but he still leans against the door frame waving at her, acting all innocent, with a hint of sadness behind his eyes.
"See you around", Jen says as she turns to leave, wondering how many Sarahs have left like this before her and how many of them knew who he really is?
Nikki's logic might have worked out well for her, but somehow she's not so sure it's doing the same for him.