#justxe

Matt had been awfully quiet for the past few days. Sure, he hadn’t really been talking as much as he normally would since he came home following what happened at Midland Circle, but since he and Mae visited Maggie only a few days ago, Matt had gone from talking occasionally to not talking at all unless it was absilutely necessary.

Mostly because he’d spend a lot of his time lost in his own thoughts. It’s weird, finally knowing who his mother is, knowing where she is and most of all knowing that this isn’t just a suspicion like it had been since he woke up at the nunnery anymore. 

Still, that doesn’t mean Matt has any idea of what to do with that information. Maggie had been away from his life for years, and only told him the truth because he told he knew when she was lying. Clearly, she isn’t eager to be part of his life. Which, honestly, Matt didn’t care much about-- he’d lived his entire life without her, things won’t be any different because suddenly he knows who she is. He has no reason to keep bothering the woman.

But, of course, he has way too much free time now. He isn’t back to work, or Daredevil yet, he has nothing to keep him distracted other than wondering what Maggie had been doing all those years, why she never reached out and why she even left in the first place. He never really got any of those answers from his dad as a child-- Jack would get upset the second Matt started talking about his mom, and that was the last thing the kid wanted, so eventually he stopped asking. And well, this is his chance to get those answers-- though that’s mostly wishful thinking at this point, she clearly didn’t want to talk about any of it last time he’d visited her.

The bomb had gone off to close. Grady's ears rang but he wasn't bleeding. He'll take what he can get. There hadn't been a lot of time to get to a safe space, he'd hardly had the chance to run when he'd heard the call. Heard the call and saw the small child. It was a split decision, one that Grady doesn't even remember making. Without hesitation, he grabbed the boy, curled his body protectively over the smaller one and held on and for once, he hoped. Hoped that this would be enough, that they would both stand after this passes.

The ground stops shaking first. Then the debris began to settle. And even though his ears rang with the sound, he straightens slowly, just enough to kneel up and check that the boy he had grabbed was okay. Dirty, bruised and scared but he looked okay. Boyd would know better, would know best how to help. Grady knows enough that warming him up would help with some of the shock. Sitting up and gently prying dirty fingers from his jacket, Grady strips it off and wraps it around the boy. He couldn't have been older than two, just big enough to be walking well enough on his own.

Gently as he can, Grady picks up the boy, glad to hear not ringing but the quiet cries of the boy. A child raised in a war that being loud could get him killed. It breaks his heart and he knows he needs to get him somewhere safe, somewhere that they can look for someone to care for him. Family maybe. A low groan pulls from Grady's mouth as he stands, it dawns on him that they weren't completely unscathed, he wasn't. Blood stained his jacket that was wrapped around the child and Grady knows that shrapnel had pierced him. The pain wasn't so bad that he couldn't carry the now whimpering boy and he shifts his hold, gently lifting so the small head could rest on his shoulder, a small face pressing in to his neck. "It's alrigh'. I got ya, yer all righ'."

Matt was tired. And, for once, he was willing to admit he actually needed to sleep-- properly sleep, not be unconscious for days and count it as rest, like he normally would have. A building fell on him, he was allowed to let his guard down for a few hours. And, well, he’d need all the energy he could get to explain what happened to everyone else.

It was a surprised his place wasn’t sold yet-- though, it wasn’t unlikely that Mae was still staying there, or maybe selling it was still complicated with the billboard outside. He wasn’t going to ask questions; he just wanted to rest. As he walked into the roof door, though, he knew that would take a while to happen.

He’d be having to do some explaining before resting, after all.

“Hi...” Knowing her, she was either about to kick his ass or give him a 30 minute lecture about his abscence and how everyone had been thinking he died. There was no point in acting any different from what he normally would. “Did you miss me?”

Well, he knew that would happen sooner or later - he was just surprised it had been later rather than sooner. Not that it mattered as Matt was on his way to the precinct as soon as he found out Mae had been taken into cutody. He barely even paid attention to what she’d been accused of, he was a lawyer and she - even though he’d never really said that out loud - was his friend, of course he’d be helping her. And, as she was probably guilty, working on this case would sure be a shitstorm.

It took some arguing with the detective in charge of the case before he was finally taken to the interrogation room she was being held in. Once he was inside, he waited until the guards far enough that they wouldn’t be able to hear him before speaking. “What the hell did you do, Mae?” He asked as he sat at the desk.