#winterdevil

“You know, D, I haven’t been in a church in a long while,” Bucky admits quietly, following Matt’s lead.

“Why not?” Matt asks, turning his head toward the man.

Bucky shrugs, hesitating.

“I dunno. Just… stopped believing, I guess. Life piled a ton of shit on me, you know? I just couldn’t believe in it anymore.” Bucky admits.

Matt opens his mouth to reply, only to get cut off.

“Matthew Murdock. What have you done now?”

Matt can’t help but stand straighter, head hung in shame. “Sorry, mother. I got myself into a bit of a… pickle.”

Maggie shakes her head with a huff. “Come on, I’ll get you fixed up. Maybe you could introduce me to this… friend of yours.” She says, nodding to Bucky.

Bucky can’t help but internally freak out; the fear of disappointing a nun runs deep in his blood. “Sister.” He mumbles, giving her a polite nod. “I’m sorry we’ve barged in.”

“Nonsense. This one here is always getting himself into trouble.” She murmurs, leading them through the church, into the basement.

“Matt, we’ve changed a few things down here. Take your time, get accustomed.”

“Yes, mother.” He sighs, acting exasperated, though his lips curl up in a small smile. Bucky glances at him, confused.

“Accustomed?” He asks, glancing between the two as they walk.

Matt can’t help but chuckle. “I’m blind.”

Bucky stops dead in his tracks, making Matt stumble, though quickly reaching out to steady him. “You’re blind.”

“No, no way. You- huh?” He mumbles, staring at Matt. “You’re kidding me.”

“I swear on the court of law, I’m telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Matt chuckles with a cocky smirk, making Maggie laugh softly, leading him to a bed.

“He’s a lawyer.” Maggie explains upon seeing Bucky’s slightly confused look.

Bucky nods, thinking, before his breath hitches as he fully puts it together. “Holy shit.” He breathes, and then immediately fumbles over his words, apologizing. “I’m sorry, Sister, ma’am.”

She shakes her head with a soft smile. “I’ve gotten used to it.” She murmurs, patting Matt’s side, silently asking him to show her his injury. He sighs, lifting up his shirt. “All the way, mister.”

Matt huffs, tugging his shirt off completely, a golden cross hanging against his breastbone and a pretty decent-sized wound on his side. Maggie sighs, shaking her head.

“How many times must I tell you? Take care of yourself.”

“Dunno.” Matt shrugs, face flushing. He winces as she starts to clean the wound, a hiss escaping his lips. “No, it’s fine. Don’t stop.” He mumbles when she hesitates, looking up at him.

Bucky watches from the doorway, unsure, while also trying not to stare at the man in front of him, his heart racing. The moment it starts to pick up, Matt’s head whips up, his blind eyes staring right through Bucky, who feels naked underneath the stare.

“You okay?” He asks, cocking his head slightly, as if he were trying to hear better. “Your heart is racing.”

Unfortunately, Bucky’s heart races more, his lips parting slightly. “I.. Uh, yeah. I’m good, all’s good.” He stutters out, earning a soft chuckle from the nun.

“You’ll get used to it.” She chuckles, reaching over for some antiseptic, wetting a clean cloth with it before pressing it to Matt’s side again, Matt’s breath hitching when she does, eyes squeezing shut. “Sh, I know. I’m sorry.” She murmurs, squeezing his leg in support.

Bucky wants to reach out, help, do something. But he steps forward and then hesitates, unsure.

“You need anything from me?” He asks, fidgeting.

Matt nods, mumbling out an address. “Remember it. Get me some clothes. Make sure they match, alright?” He jokes, smirking. “Need my glasses and cane, too. They’re on the table in the front entryway.”

Bucky repeats the address a couple of times, entering it in his phone. “Got it. I’ll be back.” He breathes, grateful to have something to do.

When he gets back from Matt’s apartment, which was surprisingly organized, he finds him asleep in the cot, his face twisted up in discomfort, even while unconscious.

“I’ll take it.” Maggie murmurs, taking the bag of Matt’s clothes that he had requested. “Thank you, Mr. Barnes.”

“Uh yeah, no problem.” He breathes, giving her a small, sheepish smile. “Will he be alright?”

“He says he will. He always is. A fighter, just like his father. Stubborn as a mule. I’m worried that he’ll push himself too far, though.”

Bucky nods, smiling softly. “Good to hear. I should… I should probably get going. It was great meeting you, ma’am.” He says, offering his right hand to shake, which she takes in a surprisingly strong grip.

“You too. Don’t stray too far, you hear me? Matthew needs a good friend like you.”

“I hear you.” Bucky breathes. “I’ll show myself out. Thank you.”

Maggie nods, stepping back, patting his arm as he passes by.

In the morning, Matt groans as he wakes, feeling like absolute crap on toast. He sits up with a huff, running a hand through his hair, trying to discern where he is.

“Good, you’re awake. That Bucky fellow dropped off your clothing. Even grabbed your phone, it seems.” Maggie says, making her presence known. “Let me know if you need anything. Make sure you wash up.”

“Yes, mother.” Matt breaths, shoulders slumping. He is not looking forward to going to work today. He also knows for a fact that his phone has at least three dozen worried voicemails from both Foggy and Karen. This is confirmed the moment he opens it.

He lets the voicemails play as he washes himself in the sink, water running until he doesn’t smell the blood anymore. All of the voicemails have some sort of worry in them. Was he really out that long? He shrugs to himself and begins to get dressed. He likes the feeling of being all put together with his suit and tie. He may be blind, but he knows he looks good.

He’s able to sneak out before Maggie comes back to worry and fuss over him, leaving the clothes from the night before folded neatly at the foot of the cot. He manages to get to work on time in one piece, albeit panting and flushed.

“You’re late.” Karen calls out. “Its five past.”

Matt grumbles, shaking his head. “Yeah, yeah. My bad.”

“You have a visitor, by the way.” She adds nervously as he passes by her to his office. He pauses, listening to his environment. And then he hears it, sitting right there in his office. The steady, slightly enhanced ba-bump of Bucky’s heart.

He shuts the door behind him, smirking slightly. “Well… this is new. What brings you here?”

“Just wanted to check up. You were out like a light by the time I got back.” Bucky huffs, flushing slightly, fidgeting. “Do they know? ‘Bout your night-time activities?”

“Yeah, they do. Foggy found out first. He found me passed out in my own living room, and I’d rather not retell that story. He was quite upset.” Matt chuckles, getting his stuff together for the day. “Karen found out a bit after that. I told her. Had to.”

Bucky nods, tapping his knees with his fingers. “So, do you know who I am?”

Matt chuckles, nodding. “Took me a hot minute, but I figured it out. I’ve heard the name Bucky before, and only ever in reference to you. Plus, you tend to favor your left side. You put more weight on it when you walk. Doesn’t make much of a difference, but I can hear it. It’s a small detail. But hey, at least I can tell when someone’s carrying a gun.”

Bucky laughs, shaking his head. “Wow, that’s… that’s something alright.”

After that, he’s unsure of what to say. The whole amazement at his abilities probably gets old.

“Your place is pretty damn organized, I must say. Mine’s a pigsty.” He snorts, looking up to see a wide smile on Matt’s face. The sight makes him kind of giddy, really, that he made him smile. And so widely too.

“I dunno what else to say.” He admits, watching Matt as he gets started on his work, fingers trailing quickly over what he assumes is a Braille document. “I just… yeah. Had to see it for myself, I guess.”

Matt nods, giving him a small smile. “Thank you, Bucky. That means a lot, you know. Most people would’ve dropped me off at the doorstep and run.”

“Nah, I got morals. And manners. My Ma made sure of it.” He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck- a nervous tic of his. “I ain’t bothering you, am I?”

Matt shakes his head. “No, no you’re not. Im just busy, is all. I’m listening.” He promises, glancing up at him, giving him his best impression of eye contact. “It’s nice having the company.”

Bucky flushes, nodding, unsure of what to say. But he needs to come up with something. He doesn’t want to leave just yet.

“You don’t have to fish for things to say, you know. I can talk.” Matt says, continuing on with his document.

“Sure you’re not a mind-reader too, D?” Bucky snorts, loosening up. Matt chuckles, shaking his head.

“Body language. I can hear it. I have a general sense of where you are.”

“You can hear that?” Bucky asks, bewildered. “Here I thought it was creepy that you can hear my heart, shit.”

“I can hear a lot of things. Smell them too. Like, I know you need a haircut. In the time I’ve known you, these past few weeks, your hair has started to brush your shoulders. I can hear you complain about it under your breath. I’ve been tempted to carry a hair tie around just to make you shut up.” Matt chuckles, grabbing a pen, making notes. “What’s weirder though, is that I know what you had for lunch yesterday. I can smell it. That part has always freaked me out.”

“Shit.” Bucky breathes.

“Yeah. I know.” Matt responds easily before they fall into an easy silence as Bucky watches him work.

Occasionally, Matt swears under his breath, shaking his head as he goes over a document. Bucky swears he hears him say “damn idiots” at least once. But what’s funny is that every time he swears, he immediately crosses himself. Like muscle memory or something.

“Having trouble there, D?” He asks after Matt swears out loud, grumbling to himself. Bucky’s lips turn up into a sort of smirk, unable to help his amusement.

Matt shakes his head and starts rambling on, using courtroom jargon that he’s never even heard of. He barely even gets the gist of what’s going on, but he listens anyway. “Sounds difficult.” He says when Matt stops and takes a breath.

Matt nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Very. Sorry, you probably didn’t understand half of what I just said.”

“Don’t be. I understood enough.” Bucky says immediately, earning himself a small smile from the man across the desk. “Sounds like you really need to rant. Need a break, from the looks of it.”

Matt shrugs it off, though he looks weary.

“Hey, c’mon. Let me take you out. Tonight, even? Just me and you, we could go to that shitty bar downtown, get shitfaced even.” Bucky offers, having to hold himself back from saying something that even implies a date. God, he wishes. There’s no way in hell that man is gay.

Matt faces him, his face flushing slightly “Just me and you?”

Okay, taking that back. There’s a slight chance Matt’s gay, but Bucky still holds back. “Yeah, if that’s alright with you. We could grab something to eat, too. I doubt you’re feeding yourself anywhere near as much as you should be.” He teases.

Matt laughs, shaking his head, his blush spreading further over his face. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Bucky’s face lightens up, smile widening. “I’ll see you, then. Eight o’clock, Josie’s?” He asks as he stands, heading to the door.

“Sounds perfect.” Matt responds. Just as Bucky moves to open the door, he continues. “And Bucky? Its a date if you want it to be.”