Notes: This is my first fanfic with this ship, so I'm still trying to get a grasp of them.
I'm firmly ignoring all the pain and suferring that came after Defenders. Let's pretend that on the other seasons of their solo shows everybody remembered to aknowledge Midland Circle and remain friends and sane!
Without further ado…
Matt hadn't noticed the looks his "teammates" were giving him -logically -but he heard the snickers and the urgent whispers that Danny just couldn't hold in.
"They think we have something." He realized after a few times it had happened.
Jessica, sitting beside him on the couch, snorted. "Took you long enough to figure it out, Sherlock. Didn't you notice how Danny keeps looking at us?" She teased.
She was such an asshole sometimes… Matt couldn't contain a smile. "I think I missed that. How he's looking at us?"
"Like we're a basket full of kittens." She spoke with disgust.
Matt snorted. "Maybe he's the only one." He indicated.
"Trust me, Murdock, he isn't." She informed him.
"How do you know?" Matt pressed, just to annoy her. Jessica was very observant; if she thought they all had the same impression, she was likely right.
However, Matt liked to poke at the beast every once in a while.
"Luke actually came up to me and said it was nice that we were 'hanging out'." By her tone it wouldn't take a genius to understand that Luke didn't have the friendly type of hang out in his mind.
The thing was… They had been hanging out a lot lately. It started small: Matt referred a client to Jessica one day, then she referred one to him… They started sending people each other's way, cases they knew the other would take. Then they started having drinks together…
Matt enjoyed spending time with Jessica; she was direct and never treated him with kid gloves. And she had an unpredictable mouth that never failed to amuse him.
But they weren't together in any way.
"What did you tell him?" Matt asked, more out of curiosity than actual concern.
He might not see but he could practically feel the glare Jessica sent him way. "That we aren't together. But he just gave me this annoying knowing smirk." She growled low. "Almost punched him for it."
Matt chuckled. "So we're secretly together now?" He teased.
She snorted yet again. "They probably think we're holding back in front of them, but once we're alone all bets are off. You know, clothes tearing, me picking you up…"
"Wait." He cut the very vivid picture she was painting. "Why are you the one picking me up?" He wanted to know.
He was almost sure she was somewhat smiling now. "Because I'm stronger and I definitely wear the pants on this relationship, Murdock."
That startled a laughter out of Matt. "In your dreams, Jones."
"They're flirting!"
Danny's voice, coming from the other room, in what Matt imagined was Danny's version of a whisper, snapped him out of the conversation.
"You're making that weird face you make when you're listening something." Jessica spoke up.
"I make a face?" He asked.
"Yeah, tilt your head and whatever. What's up?" She demanded impatient.
"Danny thinks we're flirting." He told her.
Jessica huffed. "For fuck's sake."
But Matt could understand why it'd look like flirting from the outside. They were sitting quite close, but it was because it was a small couch. And they were facing each other, but it was only because they were talking…
"Don't worry, Jones. They'll forget about it eventually. If we try to deny it, it'll only get worse." He shrugged.
"That's your professional advice, counselor? 'Cause it sucks." She told him dryly.
Matt just chuckled again.
XxX
Foggy was doing very well on Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz. He wasn't going to lie: he liked the status and the high-profile cases, and there were some pretty sweet benefits too. However, Foggy had wanted to save the world once.
Logically not like Matt and his new buddies -Foggy didn't think he'd look good in spandex -but he believed in helping people, and he still believed in the Law, despite a lot of bullshit he'd seen in the last years.
Matt was still out there, doing double shifts trying to save Hell's Kitchen. Foggy wouldn't ever be able to say he supported this, but he came to accept it as a part of Matt that wasn't going away. He was just happy to have his friend back.
They were working together some pro-bono cases. The firm kept Foggy busy as hell, and Matt had his two 'jobs' as well, but they still exchanged cases and ran them together.
And it was on a beautiful sunny Sunday, that Foggy made his way to Matt's to give him some documents on a new case. Foggy knew now that Matt could hear, smell him or something weird of the type even before he was on his floor, so he just used his key and entered Matt's apartment.
"Matt." Foggy called as he entered the loft.
"What the hell are you doing here, Nelson?"
Foggy froze, door halfway closed. Was that… "Jessica Jones?" He called uncertain.
He could hear her eyes rolling from the hallway. "Don't move. I'm not wearing pants." Her voice had a very serious warning tone to it.
He cleared his throat. "Sure…" Awkward pause. "Is Matt…"
"He's in the shower." Jessica informed him.
Oh… Oh! Oh Lord! Karen thought Matt and Jessica were a thing now, but he hadn't believed her, but… Oh man!
Jessica finally appeared on the hallway, now wearing pants. "What do you want, Nelson?" She demanded.
"I just came to talk to Matt!" He put his hands up in surrender. Jessica scared him quite a bit.
She snorted and went back to the kitchen, he guessed.
Foggy was considering running, when he heard Matt's voice. "Foggy?"
"Yes." It came out a bit strangled, but come on!
"One minute." His friend called back.
He finally got moving and walked to the living room. Jessica was sitting and having toast like she didn't have a care in the world.
Matt finally came out of his room, wearing sweatpants and a shirt. "Hey, Foggy." He smiled at his friend. "You brought those documents?"
Foggy cleared his throat. "Yes, they're here." He offered them to Matt.
But his friend didn't pick them up; he inclined his head to the right. "Is something wrong?"
"Absolutely not." He pushed the paper on Matt's hand. "But I'm late to meet Marci, so…"
He cut all Matt's protests and just scampered out of there.
He needed to call Karen.
XxX
"Shit." Matt groaned.
"Murdock, what is that?" Jessica asked dramatically. "Is that how an altar-boy should be speaking?"
"Shut up, Jones." He threw at her. "He thinks…"
"That we slept together?" She supplied. She took a bite of her toast, then continued with her mouth full. "You have to admit the evidence is quite damning."
Matt almost groaned out aloud. It was. He'd heard from the bathroom Jessica telling Foggy she wasn't wearing any pants.
She'd actually stopped by the night before to discuss a client he'd recommended to her. She also had a client she was referring to him -again -and before he noticed they were drinking and talking and asking for takeout.
Eventually he told her it was too late for her to go home, despite the fact he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
She decided to stay, but plain refused to sleep on his bed. She'd crashed on the couch, and that was it. She'd just woken up before him and got toast. Matt decided to shower because he was smelling like bourbon.
Absolutely nothing happened, but now Foggy…
"You know that this isn't going to help us convince the others we aren't together." He indicated.
"Hey, you're the one who told me to wait it out." She reminded him. "I'm just following your professional advice."
Matt gave her his most unimpressed frown.
XxX
When Foggy called Karen to tell her what he'd seen, she almost squealed.
She'd become close friends with Trish Walker after all that mess in Midland Circle, and they talked a lot about Matt and Jess. Eventually, the conversation turned to how much time the two spent together. Recently they started speculating if they were together, and how nice it would be if they were.
And now they might be!
Foggy was absolutely sure something had happened between them, but Karen -as a good reporter -demanded more evidence. Logically, she couldn't go up to Matt and just ask him. She knew him well enough to know he'd clam up pretty fast if she made such an invasive question.
But she would find a way to figure it out.
It turned out, she found her answer without looking for it.
She called Matt Wednesday night to invite him for dinner the next night.
"Hey, Karen."
She couldn't contain her smile. "Hey, Matt. How are you?
"Not bad. How about yourself?"
"I'm fine. I was wondering if you're free tomorrow night to have dinner with Foggy and me?"
"Yes, it's been a while since the three of us met."
She chuckled. "It's because you're always with your new cooler friends now."
"Nah. You guys are still my favorites."
"Matt, baby, come back to bed."
OMG! Wasn't that Jessica's voice?
"What the hell, Jessica?" She heard Matt throwing behind his back.
IT WAS HER!
"What? The bed is cold."
She heard Matt sighing. "Karen, can I call you later?"
"Yes, of course!" She was quick to agree.
She had to call Trish!
XxX
Matt could feel satisfaction rolling out of Jessica in waves. "What's wrong with you?"
"Well, Nelson probably told her what he thinks he saw. That's just something to keep her intrigued." She shrugged, completely unapologetic.
Matt wasn't amused at all. "Come back to bed?" He repeated dryly.
She snickered. "It felt like the thing to say."
Considering they were in her office, he wanted to disagree, but then… "Right thing to say, hm?" He hummed. "Been thinking about me in your bed a lot, Jones?"
That gave her pause, and -for a minute -Matt was worried he'd overstepped. Jessica had triggers he didn't know yet, and maybe…
"You're the one who can read my heartbeat, pheromones and aura, Murdock." She finally threw at him. "You tell me."
Ok… He wasn't expecting that answer, but he actually liked it. He liked that Jess could sass him back and wasn't afraid of doing so.
He made a show of sniffing the air -just to weird her out -then tilt his head to the side, like she'd said he did when he was 'sensing' something. "I sense you want me bad."
Jessica snorted and threw a beer can at him. He grabbed it easily, chuckling.
"You're ridiculous, Murdock." She declared.
Yes, but now he had to pay her back in kind.
XxX
Matt wanted to tease Jessica as hard as she'd teased him. However, he had a thing to take into consideration: her personal bubble.
If he was pulling something like that with Foggy or Karen, he'd just lean in and drop a kiss to their forehead or cheek without batting an eyelash. But he couldn't do that to Jessica; she'd had enough of someone not respecting her body and her will, Matt wouldn't be another one.
So he kind of wished he could drop a kiss to her temple -get close enough to smell her shampoo -but he wouldn't. He also wouldn't analyze why he wanted to do it.
Matt waited for the perfect moment to pay Jessica back for the 'come back to bed' comment. Foggy and Karen had gotten impossible after it. He let her believe he'd let go and waited the right time.
A meeting between the "team".
(Danny wanted them to have a name, like the Avengers did, but Jessica had said she'd never look at them again if they named themselves.)
He purposely arrived a bit later than everybody else, just to be sure they would all be there to see it. He said 'hello' to Claire and Coleen who were closer to the entrance, and tried to locate Jessica. It wasn't hard, she had a specific spot at the dojo, where they always met. It was the same couch he always sat beside her, and it was exactly where she was then.
And she didn't have a drink yet.
Perfect.
Matt walked to the kitchenette, where Luke and Danny were debating over pizza or Chinese -again. He talked to them for a few minutes, before grabbing two beers from the fridge and making his way to Jess.
He was acutely aware that the others were avidly watching him to see what he was going to do. Even though he always sat with Jessica, he'd never brought her drink before. Mostly because she normally drank from her own flask, and only went for beer once it was dry.
"Hey, Jess." He greeted casually, sitting beside her.
He could feel her looking at him. "Murdock." Funny how one word could come out with so much mistrust in it.
He grinned at her. "Beer?" He offered innocently, waving the bottle gently.
"Sure." She drawled.
When she grabbed the bottle, he didn't let go, he held onto it a bit longer. He wasn't about to start a tug of war with Jessica -he was pretty sure how it'd end for him -but he just pulled a bit towards himself and felt her tightening her hold.
And to finish it… He leaned into her space, just a bit. "Jess…" His breath fanned her ear, making the lose strands of her hair tremble.
He heard her heart speeding up, and something inside him responded to it, but he pressed forward, after licking his lips. "We're even." He informed her, pulling back with a smirk.
He could try to gauge how the others were reacting to the little show, but -to be quite honest -he only cared about one reaction.
"Oh Murdock, you're on."
And she never disappointed.
XxX
Jessica didn't like a lot of people. The number of people she loved was very limited -Trish and Malcom -and there were some she tolerated -Danny was definitely on that list – and some she liked.
She liked Luke. In the beginning it was difficult to look at him and think of all that went wrong there. And she wasn't going to lie: it'd been hard watching him with Claire. However, Luke was a nice person and Claire was extraordinary; it was hard not liking them. She even liked Coleen, and the girl deserved a medal for willingly putting up with Danny.
And then, there was Matt.
Yeah, she liked him. Not like that, because she was a long way from sixth grade. However… Despite the fact he was a major asshole, with a martyr complex that would eventually get him killed -if she didn't punch him before -he was cool.
In a platonic way.
He was intelligent without being condescending, and good without being sanctimonious. He was also a little shit when he wanted too, like in the last meeting.
She was so paying him back for that one.
Jessica was making her way back to her place after meeting with a client -another cheating spouse -when she saw the man himself across the street. Hell's Kitchen wasn't that big and it wasn't that unlikely to run into someone, but the fact that he'd appeared in her way just as she was thinking of him, gave Jessica pause.
She considered ignoring him and just going back to her place, but… When she realized she was already making her way to Matt.
"Murdock." She called as she came closer.
"Jones." He replied in the same tone, his mouth already pulling in that stupid grin of his.
He had a paper bag on one hand, his cane on the other. "You're thinking you're really cute, aren't you?" She threw at him.
"You know, Jones… What I think is that you've been thinking about me a lot. In your bed, that I'm cute…"
She snorted. "What I think is that you're an asshole."
"So you can make Karen think we're doing something, but I can't?"
"You can do whatever you want, if you can take the consequences." She informed him.
"Careful with all the flirting, Jones. I'm an impressionable catholic man."
Jessica pressed her lips together to avoid smiling. She wasn't a hundred percent sure he could detect that, and she wasn't about to give him ammunition.
"You're a pain in my…"
"Matthew!"
Jessica turned to the voice to see an elderly lady coming in their direction. She looked like she was 200 years old, but Jessica decided that might be an exaggeration. She was the exact image of those grandmas they showed in movies, with her cardigan and skirt. Her face was totally wrinkled, her lipstick was bright pink and she walked somewhat hunched, but she didn't have a cane.
"Mrs. Creagan." Matt smiled in her general direction. "How are you today?"
"Fine." She patted him on the shoulder and Matt obediently lowered himself to get kissed on the cheek. "And you? Found a girl yet?"
Matt chuckled. "Are you offering, Mrs. Creagan?" He teased.
"Oh you." She hit his shoulder, then finally seemed to notice Jessica standing there. "Hello. I don't know you."
Jessica cleared her throat. "Jessica Jones." She offered.
Mrs. Creagan seemed to measure her for a minute, before giving her a firm nod. "She'll do. Marry her fast, Matthew, before she realizes she can do better."
Jessica was looking in shock at the woman, but Matt spluttered a laughter. "And here I thought you liked me, Mrs. Creagan." He spoke amidst chuckles.
"I would like you more if you settled down." She told him imperiously.
The woman gave him another firm warning to marry soon, told Jessica to make him behave, before finally leaving.
"Sorry about that." Matt spoke, a big smile on his face. "She's a client. I helped her when her landlord tried to kick her out of her apartment."
"A real charmer." Jessica chose to say. Then she looked at Matt's face and grinned. "You have lipstick on your cheek."
He groaned. "It happens every time." He admitted.
He was about to pass his bag to the other hand to clean it, when Jessica stopped him. "Wait, or you'll make it worse."
Matt paused and waited. Jessica didn't think much about that, she just lifted her hand to clean it. She passed her thumb over his cheekbone, feeling skin and bone under her digit. In the first sweep she managed to get most of it, but not all.
She cleared her throat. "Wait a second." She told him, wiping her thumb on her jeans, before going back to his face.
For some reason she'd taken a step forward and so had Matt. She didn't have to stretch her arm that far this time when she raised her hand. As she ran her thumb over his cheekbone once again, she could swear his breathing shortened. And she felt like she should do something, though she kind of wanted to run far from there, because this…
"Matt?"
"Jess?"
Oh fuck.
There were Trish and Karen, coming from God knows where, both women looking perplexed as they stared at Matt and Jess standing there.
That was when Jessica realized her hand was still in Matt's face.
Shit.
This story was never going to end.
XxX
Jessica hadn't planned on any of this, seriously.
Yes, after the whole Karen and Trish thing, she had wanted to annoy Matt a bit -especially because he hadn't opened his mouth the whole time, letting her explain what they were doing -but not to this extreme.
Besides, she hadn't planned on Matt getting shot. He was an idiot.
They had gone out as a team -seriously, Danny, they were not going to call themselves Defenders, for fuck's sake -to take down a group of arms dealers.
And everything was going fine, until Matt -that fucking asshole -decided to get shot.
Fine! Maybe he hadn't decided to get shot, but he sure as hell hadn't been careful enough, and Jessica knew he could take better care of himself.
It was just a graze -fortunately -but Claire insisted on checking it. Luke was somewhere talking to Misty on the phone, and Coleen had all but dragged Danny to eat something. That left Jessica with nothing to do as Claire patched Matt up.
Technically she could just go home -the events of the night already ended -but… It was a good opportunity.
Claire didn't know here all that well, just like Karen didn't. She'd never have been able to pull that "come back to bed, baby" bullshit with Trish, because Trish knew she wouldn't go around calling anyone "baby", much less Matt Murdock. She guessed that Luke wouldn't buy it either, but Claire…
She might not believe the whole "baby" thing, but she'd probably bite something else.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're actually taking better care of yourself, Matt." Claire was saying as she was finishing wrapping the wound. "I mean, you got shot, but it's still better than before. At least you're accepting help."
"Luke told me he'd carry me here if I didn't come on my own." Matt told her dryly.
Claire chuckled. "It still counts. All done." She declared.
It was her moment to shine, Jessica decided.
She took a deep breath, before moving and saw Matt tilting his head to the side. The asshole was probably feeling in the air she was up to something.
She walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently. Claire's eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline.
"Does that mean he's free to go home?" Jessica asked Claire, her voice beyond casual.
Claire was looking very unimpressed. "You're taking him home?" She asked.
"Yeah, sure." Jessica shrugged, then ran her fingers across Matt's nape.
His whole body shuddered. Both Claire and Jessica looked at him, but he just cleared his throat and didn't comment.
"You know what?" Claire decided, standing up and removing her gloves. "I don't want to know. He's free. Bye."
She basically bolted.
"Seriously, Jessica?" Matt sighed.
"What?" For some weird reason, his shudder had disconcerted her, and her reaction was downright bizarre: she messed his hair, like he was ten.
Matt slapped her hand away without any heat. "She didn't buy it for a second." He informed Jessica.
"I don't care if she did." Jessica told him. "I got to embarrass you. And…" She drawled. "I found your weak spot."
Matt snorted. "No, you didn't."
She casually ran her fingers across his nape again.
"Jessica!"
"Weak spot, Lucifer."
XxX
Matt was a mature adult.
He should not be doing this.
He was better than this.
He was a lawyer! He wasn't a frat boy.
This was all Jessica's fault.
He wasn't going to lie: she'd caught him with the physical contact. And not only the one she initiated in front of Claire, the other one too.
He hadn't expected her to touch his face the way she'd done that day on the street, in plain daylight, without anyone around them to impress. And he was aware that Trish and Karen had seen it, but he knew she hadn't done it for their benefit; she'd been as surprised as him by their appearance. (In an unrelated note, he couldn't believe he'd been so distracted by Jessica he hadn't noticed their approach! It was Karen! He normally could pick her up from much farther).
But with the Claire thing… Yeah, Jessica had indeed found his weak spot.
And damn it! It had pushed his buttons. She pushed his buttons. All the time.
This was getting strange, mostly because he wasn't sure what to think. He liked Jessica, he just didn't know exactly how. Before all this started, he thought it was just friendly. The same way he liked Luke or Danny. Now he wasn't so sure.
Was he attracted to her? He could be honest and say he was. She was a vibrant woman; so much life and power, but also such kindness behind all of that. She was a good person, even if she would punch him for saying so. Yes, she was a mess, and she had a list of problems as long as his -perhaps longer.
All of that just made her an even more remarkable person, and Matt had no problem admitting that. Exactly because of it, he was attracted to her. It wasn't just because of her voice -he thought it sounded sexy -or her smell -her shampoo was coconut, but she always smelled like whisky and leather and it kind of worked for him too -or because she was so damn smart-mouthed. It was a mix of everything she was, and everything she faced, and how she came out still a good person.
Matt might be a goner. He wasn't so sure how he felt about it or how to proceed at this point. He was pretty sure he couldn't just go to her and ask for a date. It sounded way too easy and he had an impression that "easy" didn't work for Jessica.
Besides… He still owed her for that last stunt, and he really wanted to repay it.
Fortunately, the opportunity came to him in the shape of Malcom.
He went to her office with somewhat pure intentions (that's to say he didn't go there with the intention of teasing her, but open to the possibility).
He heard Malcom's voice from the hallway, discussing the theft of a Pomeranian with Jess.
Matt had met Malcom before, since he'd visited Jess' office previously. He thought the young man was a good friend to Jess, even if she liked to pretend she couldn't care less about him. However, Matt knew she was highly protective of Malcom, because he'd heard her threatening a client who'd treated the boy badly.
So Malcom was about to be treated to a show.
Poor guy.
Matt gave a perfunctory knock on her door, before entering her space. "Jess?"
"Hey, Murdock."
Matt waved in her direction, then turned to Malcom and offered his hand. "Hey, Malcom."
The other man shook his hand. "Hey, counselor."
Matt gave him a smile, before showing Jessica the bag he had in hand. "I brought you some food, 'cause I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten yet."
"Right…" She drawled, clearly starting to get suspicious of his solicitude.
Smart woman.
He went around the table, walking right up to her, and stopping quite close. He could sense that Jessica was tense, but it wasn't in panic; she was expecting his move.
He put the bag on her table, then leaned in a bit -not too much so she'd feel caged, but enough to be in her space.
"Murdock…" There was a warning in her voice, but still no panic.
Good. He wasn't doing this to scare her, and now she clearly knew he was up to something.
He gave her his most charming smile. "What? No kiss?"
The silence that followed was deafening, but it was a thing of beauty.
"What?" She spluttered.
"Malcom won't mind." He continued.
"I…" Malcom started, then stopped and Matt decided Jessica was glaring at the boy.
"I swear to God, Murdock…"
"Jessica." He tsked her. "Don't take the Lord's name in vain."
That was about the last thing he managed to say with a straight face.
"You asshole!" Jessica punched his shoulder.
"Ouch." He knew she hadn't used a third of her strength, but it was still quite a punch.
"And I'm out." Malcom smartly decided.
"Hey, where are you going?" Jessica called, clearly not happy to be left alone with Matt in the moment.
"I'm suffocating with all this sexual tension." Malcom told her, throwing his hands up. "I'll leave you two to it."
The door closed behind him, leaving Matt and Jess in a very awkward situation.
"There's no…"
"Shut up, Murdock." She snapped without real heat. "You're on my blacklist now."
He gave her a beatific smile, just because. "There's nowhere I rather be."
She punched his shoulder again.
XxX
This had gone far enough; Jessica was going to put an end to it.
To the crazy beating of her heart. To the giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The desire she had to smile back every time that fucker grinned that stupid grin of his.
This was getting out of control and she was feeling vulnerable.
Jessica hated feeling like this.
It wasn't that she didn't trust him; she did, and it actually made it worse. Matt was one of the last decent men on the whole planet. He'd never purposely do something to upset her, he'd be nice when he said "no, thank you".
And she was positive it was what he'd say. He might have fun teasing her -he was such a smartass -but that's what it was. Friendly teasing.
She did not feel bitter about it.
He deserved much better than a screw up like her, who always ruined her relationships. Only God knew why Trish and Malcom had stuck around.
She worried she'd get too involved and mess things up. Or that he'd somehow notice it and very politely tell her he wasn't interested.
She did not want to have this conversation with him.
Her feet carried her to his place automatically; it was ridiculous how used she was to this path. It looked like in no time at all she was by his front door.
The asshole opened it before she could even knock. "Hey, Jess." He smiled at her.
How could she want to kiss and punch someone at the same time?
"We need to talk, Murdock." She declared, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
He frowned. "Is something wrong? Come on in."
As he gave her space to enter his apartment, Jessica hesitated. She kind of wanted to say things and leave so she could get properly drunk.
Matt's frown deepened in face of her hesitance. "Jess?"
Why did he have to make that face? She might be a bitch, but she wasn't that much of one.
She huffed, but entered. The door closing behind her made her nervous, but not panicked in a way she'd have to start muttering street names.
It hadn't felt this complicated with Luke -and fuck, that had been complicated.
"Jess, I'm getting worried here. What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath. "Game over, Murdock. No more of that bullshit."
Matt seemed caught out of guard for a second. "Well… Of course. If you can't take the heat…" He teased lightly.
Jessica snorted. "From you, Satan?"
"Just saying, Jones…" He shrugged. "Maybe my charms are proving too hard to resist."
Jessica put as much nonchalance as she could in her voice. "Yeah, right."
Matt leaned his head to the right.
Oh fuck.
She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I stopped by to say that, and…"
"Jess." He called serious. "Wait."
Her heart went into overdrive at the same time heat spread across her body. This was his serious voice, the one he used when he meant business.
Matt walked up to her, stopping a few steps away. "I'll tell you something, and you can tell me if it's crossing a line. Ok?"
She just nodded.
"I want to kiss you." He told her. "For real. Not because I want to tease you -even though I like that too."
Jessica was frozen in shock.
"I want to kiss that smart mouth of yours." Matt pressed gently. "I thought a lot about it."
"You want to kiss me?" She repeated, still somewhat befuddled.
"And take you out. On a date." He added. "I'd like to take you out for dinner, but I'd be okay with drinks too."
"Date? You and me?" She asked, just to check.
Matt chuckled. "Yes, us."
Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Are you pulling one on me?"
"No. Can I take your hand?" He waited until she offered it. "Here." He put her hand over his heart. "What do you feel?"
Steady strong beats. He wasn't nervous, he was sure about his. He wasn't lying.
"So…" Jessica drawled. "Bottom line is: you want me. Bad."
Matt snorted. "In very simple terms… yes. But the question is… Do you want me too?"
He raised his hand carefully, catching the zipper of her jacket between his fingers.
It was a ridiculous question. He probably could tell by her body's pheromones or something like that. Her heart was beating a crazy tattoo inside her chest: he had to be able to hear that.
But he was still asking, because he wanted the choice to be hers. He wanted her to be sure.
And Jessica was still pretty sure this was going to go wrong -probably because of her- but fuck it all! She wanted to this and she wanted him so much it was scary, but what if…
What if this could work?
She sighed dramatically, like she couldn't care less. "I guess you'll do."
He opened that devilish grin of his. "Oh, I will." It was a promise.
Matt put his hands on Jessica's waist and pulled her closer. "I'm going to kiss you now."
Jessica put her arms around his neck. "I'm waiting, counselor."
She could feel his smile pressed against her lips. His were chapped, but it still thrilled her.
Their first kiss was undeniably soft, just a press of lips. She got dizzy on his smell, on the feel of his stubble against her delicate skin.
He pulled her flush against him, and Jessica licked his lower lip.
What had she said before about all bets being off?
Matt's hands grabbed her ass and pulled her up. "Shit!" Jessica cursed, startled by the move. The idiot just chuckled as he carried her the few steps to his table and settled her on top of it.
"I thought I'd be the one picking you up, Murdock." She teased.
"Next time." He promised before kissing her again, and this time…
This time he sank his hands on her hair and kissed her like he couldn't get enough of her. He pressed their lips together, teased her mouth open with his tongue, and then he just…
He took her breath away and Jessica tried to hold on for dear life, pulling him tighter against her body, cradling him between her legs.
Matt pressed a longer kiss to her lips and pulled back minimally. "The jacket and the gloves need to go." He informed her.
Jessica snorted. "The same goes for the tie, smart-ass."
"Race you." He told her with that stupid grin.
Jessica just snorted again as she took off her own jacket. By the time she'd let it drop to the floor, Matt had already flung his tie far away and had to wait for her to get rid of the gloves.
His hands went back to her waist, playing with the hem of her tank top. "Can I?"
And the fact that he was asking, even though it was quite obvious she wanted it, made her like him a little bit more than she already did.
"I think I said 'clothes tearing'." It was the only warning she gave him before grabbing his shirt and pulling it open, making buttons fly in every direction.
That startled a laugh out of him. "You're on, Jones."
She was pretty sure she heard something ripping for real when he pulled her tank top off, but she didn't care, because a bit after he popped the buttons of her jeans open, slid his hand inside it and then…
She lost any connection with the real world.
XxX
"You ask them."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the one that is curious."
"But what if she punches me?"
Luke had to hold in his laughter, and Coleen didn't look impressed.
"You're the Immortal Iron Fist." Claire indicated reasonably. "You can do this."
Danny sighed. "Fine. I'll ask."
The others -Luke, Coleen and Claire -watched from their place, as Danny approached Matt and Jessica. They were sitting on the same couch as always, but there was something different.
They were sitting closer. Jessica was drinking just beer. Matt was laughing and she was smiling.
"Hey, guys."
Both turned to Danny. "Pulled the shorter straw, Randy?" Jessica drawled.
Oh yeah… Matt could probably hear them…
"So… Are you guys together or not?" Danny pressed forward, since they already knew what he wanted to know.
Matt wasn't sure if he should answer that, or how he should say it.
But Jessica saved him. "We are. And it's none of your business how, when and why." She informed Danny.
Apparently, that was enough for Danny, because he was already celebrating and congratulating them.
Matt chuckled, then held Jessica's hand, while Danny spoke a mile a minute, obviously ignoring Jessica's previous comment.
She squeezed his hand back and Matt once again marveled at her, at them.
He would miss finding ways to tease Jess.
Unless… How much PDA would it take to make their friends sweat a bit?
Hum…
Notes: So I basically just finished this, and it wasn't beta-read. Let me know if there's something in desperate need of fixing.
Let me know your feelings!