upstairs
Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader
AN: Iâve had a celebratory drink, and Iâm in my feelsâso hereâs a drabble treat.
++++++
He finds he looks forward to the part after the bar, than the bar. Even if your arm moves from around him, your head slipping from his shoulder as you slide on your coat.
Itâs cute you protest that you donât need him to walk you home. As if Matt would ever be able to live with himself if he didnât.
Plus, the walk from the bar to yours is a nice one.
Not too long, not too short. It means that no matter the weather, you never hail a cab, and he has the pleasure to walk with you. A moment in time where heâs gets you all to himselfâeven if tonight, heâs had more of your attention than normal.
Tonight, youâve been closer. His hand brushing against yours initially in the booth; then your head on his shoulder later. Then, your arm around him, and him fighting the grin which was set to burst when it happened.
Now, your arm is looped around his. And as much as he likes it, as much as he wants itâhe knows he shouldnât.
You laugh at the part in the story youâre telling, and his lips curl up into a grin even if heâs not listening. Because your laugh is becoming the perfect soundtrack to his life. Not that heâll ever complain, not that he even is.
He adores it.
His body does too. He knows that because he grins when heâs around you. Because his face hurts when you excuse yourself for the bar or the bathroom. And heâs left, wondering when youâll return, already hearing the remarks from Foggy and Karen for the lion on his face.
But still, Matt worries about letting go. Of letting himself fall, for you, for the two of you.
Because heâs done this before. The walk to someoneâs place. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesnât. But it always ends with him kissing whoever heâs walked with; his heart steadily beating, trying to suppress all thoughts of carrying them upstairs.
But youâre different. He knows that too.
Matt likes that you donât push him, you donât expect things. Youâre willing to leave your window open a bit just in case he needs a refuge; youâre not mad, just worried when heâs hurtâeven if you bottle it.
Heâs sure how he feels, you mirror. Not that heâll ask, because you know him. All of him. You know about his activities, about the struggles; youâre a friend outside of the world of law and devilish-duties. Youâre a person that centres himâand he knows heâll mess it up.
He canât lose you.
Heâs not sure he knows how to breathe if he did.
Your feet halt at the steps, your hand slowly loosening as you come to face him. âI donât like the idea of you going home alone.â
Smirking, he laughs. âI think Iâll be fine.â
âYou could just come upâI can make theââ
âI canât come up.â
The soft oh that leaves your lips is heartbreaking. He should have expected that, but nothing could prepare him for the sound of your heart falling to the floor. Landing in a mess at both of your feet, everything in your draining.
He hears you reach for your keys in your bag, a sorrowful skip of your heart punching his ears. âWell, goodnight then, Murdockâcan you let me know when youâre home. I wonât be able to sleep.â
And heâs smiling again.
Both at your kindness, and how you misunderstand him.
You have to be for your body to react the way itâs doing when his is reacting in an entirely different way around you.
Heâs not sure how you donât know heâs crazy for and about you. Because Matt is sure he floats, heâs invincibleâhell, heâs not even sure he needs to eat, sleep or drink. Because youâre enough. Youâre it.
Youâre beginning to move from him, and his heart thunders in his chest. His fingers reaching out, purposefully brushing your arm. Halting you; baffled that you donât know.
âI canât come up, because if I do, Iâll never leave.â
He doesnât need to touch your lips to know they rise, he can tell from everything else. From the energy around you, from your pulse, from the way your eyes feel on him.
Mattâs become good at that. Being able to tell what youâre feeling from the way your eyes rest on him. Sometimes theyâre playful, sometimes theyâre lingering on him, just like this.
You step closer. âMurdock⌠I know how important Hellâs Kitchen is, you donât have to explain your reasons to me.â
And Christ, heâs sure heâs just fallen more in love with you. Something he didnât know was possible.
The fact even now, youâre not understanding him. Thinking about other things rather than yourself. As if you canât be a sole reason for someone to stayâfor him to stay.
So he closes the gap, it barely taking any steps at all to do. His hand finding your hip, hearing the distinct intake of breath as he slowly lets his fingers grasp your waist. Your hip becoming flush with his.
And he hates the rain usually finding the scent of it overwhelming; worse than that, the sound so loud, it muffles things at times. But he wishes for it now, for it to fall down on the two of you, so he can peel you from your clothes; so he can spends hours keeping you warm.
âI care about the cityââ
ââI know you doââ
âLet me finish. Please?â Because this is hard enough. And, thankfully, you go silent. âI care about the city, but it isnât the cities fault as to why I canât come up.â
He hears you swallow as the winds blows your perfume more into his noseâa scent heâll never bore off. A scent that never feels too much. Itâs heavenly, but dark. Itâs heavy, and yet flowery.
Your lips brush together, a soft, low laugh meeting the air. âYou worried youâll fall in love with me, Murdock?â
You say it playfully, like you donât think he could. Like you donât think he already has. And, itâs only a second, but so much happens in it.
He swallows, his throat to go dry, hearing your body realise, slowly one by one each part acknowledging his quick silence.
And he doesnât let go. If anything he holds on tighter, even if he knows he shouldnât.
âThatâs⌠Thatâs precisely what Iâm worried about, Sweetheart.â
You hold your breath.
And his spare hand cups your jaw, thumb stroking the soft skin above it. âIâm worried if I come upstairs and Iâm alone with you, Iâll kiss you. And if you kiss me back, Iâll never, ever stop loving you.â
Swallowing, you clear your throat. âAnd wh-whatâs wrong with that?â
He smiles, with everything he has. âAbsolutely nothing, if you want that too.â





























