𝒱𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒

“Ugh. You’re so infuriating, Matt.”

Your frustration is received with a humorous chuckle as Matt folds his cane and places it on the small coffee table. “You think I can’t defend myself.”

“I didn’t say that.” Matt softly refutes. 

“You said I’m weak.”

“Fragile is the word I used, not weak.” he corrects you. He plops down on the couch and pats down the spot next to him. “Come sit with me.” 

You ignore him, crossing your arms as you stand. 

“I’m not fragile. Or weak.” you hiss. 

Matt raises his hands on the air, showing his palms. 

“Alright. Duly noted. Now come sit, I’ve missed you and I wanna cuddle.”

“Matt.” You groan, blinking away tears of exasperation and frustration. “I’m so sick of this. You have no right to follow me wherever I go. This is why I don’t tell you anything, who I go with or where I go because you don’t know what privacy means. You can’t just do that!”

“Has it occurred to you that maybe I ran into you by coincidence? How can you be so sure that I was following you?” Matt questions you, lips curling into that arrogant half-smirk you despise so much. 

“Matt. I’m not in the mood.” you curtly interrupt him, patience running on thin ice. 

Matt sighs. “C’mon, don’t get so worked up over this.”

“Well, whose fault is it?”

“Fine. I won’t follow you anymore.” Matt relents, sounding as truthful about it as a pathological liar can. “Satisfied? Now come here and give me a hug.” 

You chuckle, a bitter and unamused sound. 

“That’s what you said last time and the time before that and before that as well. You just won’t change, won’t you?”

You shake your head and look away, quickly swiping away a tear that insisted on escaping from your eyes. The sound of a small sniff is all it takes for Matt to get back up on his feet with a groan. 

“Sweetheart…”

You bat his hand away when he reaches for you, turning your back on him before going to the kitchen. Matt trails after you as you search the cabinets for a glass. 

“Please, let’s not argue. It’s pointless and-”

“You’re the one taking this too far, Matt. You have control issues or maybe trust issues and- ”

“Okay, alright. You’re right. Maybe I do.” he relents, but you know his admission is but words meant to placate you. That’s what he always does.

And then the lawyer in him kicks in. “But I’m just looking to protect you, that’s all. New York is a big city and Hell’s Kitchen is a dangerous place. So tell me why it’s so wrong wanting to protect someone I care about?”

You turn around and nearly collide with Matt from how close to you he silently managed to get himself. 

“I’ve lived in New York my whole life and I managed just fine.” you say. 

“And then I’m the one who has issues, right.” Matt scoffs, brown eyes divagating around as he shakes his head. “Managing just fine might be a hyperbolism to say, you know. Especially when you aren’t aware of half the shit that happens around you. Or did you notice the sleazy guy that followed you all the way from work?”

You blink, lips parting as your heart begins to race. 

“What? No, there wasn’t-”

“Yes, there was. I handled him a few blocks before you reached the apartment but you never once noticed him. Not on the street or the subway. So caught up in your own little world, earpods on and watching videos on your phone. Funny, right?”

Matt tilts his head, shrugging his shoulders. 

“And you know what, this wasn’t even the first time. There’s been so many times you failed to be aware of surroundings. Failed to notice when someone had bad intentions towards you. Like last week you took a shortcut on your way home, but didn’t realize there was a guy with a knife in the alley, waiting for you.”

You gulp, faltering in your stance as Matt takes a step closer to you, warm hand cupping your cheek.

“You need me to protect you.” he affirms like it’s a mere observation, a simple truth that you can’t deny. “You can call me whatever you want, argue all you need but it won’t change the fact that you need me. To protect you from the monsters lurking around, to keep you safe from the dangerous of the city”

You swallow back the words that threaten to slip away and Matt leans down, pressing his forehead against yours.