4. The Sun, the Moon, the truth

"So… how've you been?"

Vera blinked, surprised at Petr's question. They did a little catching up on their way. And they talked about anything and everything over the lunch and then over a cup of tea, until Lenka picked up her stuff, heading to her parent's house for a long weekend. Petr stayed, planning on joining her tomorrow, after Vera and Matt would bail on him. So now Matt was in the shower, while Vera sat crouched on the couch, the tiredness from the flight, jet lag, and everything catching up with her. If Matt wasn't about to come out in few minutes, she would doze off.

But her brother's question woke her up quite effectively. She had already told him, why was he asking again? "Good. Really good, actually-"

He gave her a pointed look that made her shut up. "Verčo. He can't hear you right now." You wish. "And mum and dad can't hear you yet. So you wanna tell me the truth?"

There was something in his eyes, something she didn't like. Something knowing. Or maybe she was just really exhausted and was seeing things. And hearing things. Why would her brother think there was something she didn't want to talk about in front of Matt? Or in general? Did he think she was lying? About what?

"Peti, I don't-" Vera started, only to get interrupted again.

"For example about your… 'car accident'," he said, the words 'car accident' somewhat wry. Vera froze, feeling herself panicking. "Like not even a month after you came to New York?"

Don't freak out. Don't freak out. There is no way he knows you weren't in a car accident, but in fact got kidnapped. No way.

"Yeah, okay, that was shitty-" she admitted.

"Or about the 'trial' you had to come to testify against 'the driver'?" he added, voice getting impatient, her heart gradually picking up speed with each word. Shit. Oh shit. Oh no. How did he know?!

"I-I- that's-" Vera stuttered, horrified. She wasn't sure when she sat up straighter or when he got closer, his eyes piercing and giving her a glare of a disappointed parent, but it happened.

"I work IT, Veru. Lenka is a journalist. Do you really think I haven't been keeping tabs on my little sis?"

"I-I don't know what to tell you." Vera honestly didn't know what to tell him. He somehow knew. When she thought about it, it probably wasn't that hard to find info on the internet. If you had at least a general idea of how and what. Everything in her gut was screaming wrong at her. And yes, she was freaking out. "Yeah, I wasn't in a car accident. Satisfied?"

Petr just gaped, inclining further into her space. "Satisfied?! Ježišmarja, Verčo. Of course I'm not! You were kidnapped and tortured! There's no universe in which I would be satisfied!" he blurted out, making her retreat from the sudden burst of emotion. Anger. Disappointment? Fear?

"It wasn't-"

"If you say it wasn't that bad, I swear-" he threatened and it was her turn to burst out.

"I'm okay! Alright? Just- I'm okay, now. Can we- can we not to?" she pleaded, desperately wishing him to say yes. She was so happy to see him again. Her amazing yeti brother with friendly smile and bear hugs. Not-

"No," Petr crushed her hope, his expression telling her he in fact rather wouldn't either. So why did he want to? "We have to. Bože. I read about it. Some website published the whole court- I read what they did to you, how you actually talked about it there." He gulped, his eyes getting a haunted vibe. He was worried about her. Of course he was. Vera honestly just wanted to hug him until he would shut up.

"I read what you said. You- I can believe I'm saying this. No doprdele. You- you're involved with a vigilante! Are you crazy?! I got that he saved you, but the way-" Vera opened her mouth in rush, because holy shit stop that train of thoughts right now, they were not about to talk about that, but he raised his voice to shut her up if needed. "-no, let me finish – the way you talked about him, I know you. You knowwho he is, worse, you care about him! Ježišimarja, Veroniko!"

Vera watched her brother in horror. His face was flushed, his words were heated, his fists clenched in his lap and the voice he was speaking in…. How did they even get here? How did he put- yeah, he knew her, sure, but was it really that evident? Could he simply know her so well he was able to tell she cared about the man who saved her only from her words, no emotions seen or heard, no context? Vera liked to think her relationship with her brother was rather good – once she had transformed from the awkward little sister and overcame the period of annoying teenage girl in puberty (and she wasn't that bad, okay), they were… good. They had some kind of weird understanding. But what the hell?

Petr was watching her expectantly, pointed look piercing her eyes. She couldn't fool him, could she?

"You're right," Vera exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air just slightly, more in a helpless gesture than an exasperated one. What else could she do? "You're absolutely right. Is that what you want to hear? Yes. I care about him."

"Big time," he added angrily and Vera huffed, looking out of the window to the dark.

"Yes, big time."

She could feel his gaze on her, seeing him frown from a corner of her eye. He was thinking. Her brother was smart, she knew that. Their parents were proud of him, just like they were of her when she got accepted and actually managed not to get kicked out of med school. They joked about it quite often, that they sometimes doubted Vera and Petr were even their kids. Well, Vera sure proved she was, when she dropped out. Anyway, the thing was that Petr was smart. He was very good at noticing small details, but he was able to take a step back and look at the big picture as well. Now, it was an ability Vera did not appreciate at all.

"Was he the reason you got hurt earlier this year too?" he asked after a while. Vera felt the air being knocked out of her chest, blood drained from her face. No doprdele. This wasn't happening. He didn't- what did he mean 'too'?

"It wasn't his fault I got kidnapped!" she burst out in reflex. It wasn't Matt's fault. Why did everyone assume it was?!

"What?!" he shot back.

"The-the cop who was involved in the kidnapping, the one against whom the trial was. It wasn't M-" She licked her lips, because shit. Sure, Macháčková. Tell him Matt's name. Just let the last puzzle pieces fall into place, solve it for him, spare him the work! "It wasn't Mike's fault."

"Šmarja, Verčo. Mike. I'm not even- you dodged the question. Was he the reason why you got hurt earlier this year?"

"No," Vera answered simply, aiming for firm voice. The word was so short and easy she might have even succeed. Petr ran his hand down his face, observing her with wide eyes.

"Pane bože- You're such a terrible liar! And now you're gonna tell me that the articles about him just stopped conveniently after that, right? Such a coincidence!"

"It wasn't his fault!" Vera exploded, jerking to her feet. Petr looked up at her, startled by her outburst. Dammit! Too emotional. "Not- not really, he- he tried to save me, okay? He tried, Jesus, he tried so hard. He wouldn't even sleep, he just kept watching me- and then he left, he left to keep me save from- from the people who did it to me-" she babbled, carefully eyeing Petr.

The glare he gave her made her shut her mouth. His eyes were wide, wider than she could ever imagine they could go. His lips were parted, face white. He looked like he wasn't even breathing.

"No doprdele. Ty vole, dopr- you- you- no to si ze mě děláš prdel."

Vera observed him silently as he stood up too, running his hand through his hair, pacing, eyes on the bathroom door. Vera would give anything to know what was in his mind. And she kinda didn't want to know at all at the same time.

"Pet-"

The second the bathroom door opened and Matt stepped out, Petr was a right in front of him, looking down, Jesus, he was looking down at Matt, how crazy was that, staring to his face. Vera could see Matt blink few times, baffled expression, wet hair in all direction. In any other situation, she would probably feast her eyes on the cute image, but… well. Petr was somewhat hovering above him, intimidating. Not that Matt could see that, but he could tell. Not that Petr knew that.

"Are you even really blind?"

Vera felt her heart stop, her mouth falling agape in shock. WHAT did he just ask him?! Vera wasn't just freaking out now. She was beyond that. She was paralyzed. Petr shouldn't ask that question, because the only reason she could think of was that he suspected Matt being the vigilante she cared about big time. And that was one big NO.

Matt, bless him, had more reason than her and cleared his throat, his head rising to the sound of Petr's voice, eyes as unfocused as ever. "Yes? I can't see a thing."

"How is he doing it then?" her brother demanded, turning his face to Vera, who was still unable to talk, zero control over her expression and whole body, actually.

"W-what?"

"How does he fight if he doesn't see shit?" he specified and Vera was just done.

"You think-" she laughed, the sound fake and desperate, because Jesus Christ how did everyone in her life figure out Matt was Mike? "Proboha, this isn't happening." She ran her hand down her face, staring at the two men she loved with her fist curled against her mouth.

She had no idea what to do. She didn't want to lie to her brother. She didn't want to give up Matt's secret. Her brother probably already knew, because he seemed quite confident. She could try to prove him wrong of course, but…

"Peti, Matt's blind. It sucks, but I don't mi-"

She shrieked when Petr's fist shot up, the punch aimed right at Matt's face – only for the blow to be blocked. His fist stopped in Matt's hand an inch from his face. Vera covered her mouth with her palm, looking at both of them in horror.

What the FUCK?!

Petr gasped. "Now that's a nice trick. How does that work?"

"What. The. Actual. Hell?!" Vera made her way to them, yanking her brother's arm from Matt's hold – Matt obediently let go. Vera wasn't quite sure who she was addressing. Petr, for punching Matt, or Matt for- well, for protecting his face, while giving up his- ability? She decided Petr should be handled first. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Can we please speak English? I feel like I should be part of this conversation…"

Vera shot Matt incredulous look. "Honestly I- seriously, Matt?"

Did you just give up your secret to my brother?!

Matt shrugged as if he just hadn't revealed his secret identity, which he used to be keeping from everyone, the most classified secret of all secrets. "I'm meeting your parents tomorrow. I have a wedding to attend. What would people think if I showed up with my nose cracked?"

"Broken," Petr hummed, apparently offended.

"No, you didn't use that much force and the angle was wrong, my nose definitely wouldn't break-"

"I'll break both of your noses!" Vera cried out, her gaze flickering between them in shock, while Petr obviously considered what Matt said, trying to figure out if he was right.

"No, you really won't, Mechy-girl," her brother gave her tiny patronizing smile and Vera would swear later that she had no idea how that happened. But somehow, her brother had his arm twisted behind his back and Vera was the one who was holding it. Matt tried to bit back proud smirk, failing epically.

"No, I won't, but I could," she hissed, letting him go and he immediately turned to her, shock all over his face.

"Who the hell are you and what have you done to my sweet little sister?"

"That's life. But the thing I did right right here - that was thanks to Matthew Michael Murdock," Vera announced dryly, unable to look at the said person.

"Michael. Mike. I see what you did there."

"I don't," Matt hummed and Petr snickered.

Vera was really confused at that point. Because her brother just… snickered. And he extended his hand in Matt's direction as if he wanted to shake hands. Again. The atmosphere in the room changed within seconds from drama to let's drink and shake hands.

To Vera's utter shock, Matt cracked a small smile, accepting. They exchanged a firm handshake.

The day she would understand men, the true miracle would happen.

"I'm Petr Macháček. I work IT and I have a sister I love very much, so if you ever get her hurt again, I will break your nose and I won't stop there."

Vera rolled her eyes at her brother, still not quite following. But she knew she didn't like that kind of shovel talk. Not mentioning Petr could dream of doing that, but that was all; Matt would wipe floor with him, no matter the obvious weight and height advantage on Petr's side.

"For god's sake-"

"Matt Murdock. Lawyer and occasional vigilante. I love your sister very much, I'll do everything to protect her and if I fail, I'll fly back here only to let you break anything you want to," Matt introduced himself with a brief smile.

"Good answer. So you've been teaching her, huh?" Petr asked casually and Vera just stared.

What just happened? What is still happening?!

"Yeah, well, I'm trying since she asked me. She's a natural, I blame dancing, fit-box and the temper. I'm surprised she hadn't taken any self-defence classes before, considering how often she gets into trouble."

"She didn't use to. Is there more I don't know?" Petr's frown was audible more than visible as he slowly walked to the couch, Matt following him together with Vera's incredulous glare.

"I'm not sure you want to know…. Vera, love, breathe. We're okay."

Vera couldn't recall Matt addressing her 'love' before and she was pretty sure she would remember. It wasn't helping the bizarreness of the situation.

"You think we'reokay?" Petr asked him with raised eyebrow, tone fake threat.

"Your heartbeat is much calmer," Matt explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Vera threw her hand in the air, shooting him a look he couldn't see, wordlessly questioning his sanity.

"You can hear my heartbeat?!"

"Yes. Helps with recognizing emotions, finding out about lying, but more importantly it helps to predict behaviour-"

"That's how you knew I was gonna hit you," Petr stated, amazed.

"Among other things, yes. Vera? Come here?"

Vera turned her palms to him in a rejecting gesture and his arm, opening for her to slide into his embrace, fell. "I think I'm going for a walk."

To clear my head. Then I might understand what the fuck just happened.

Petr frowned. "Now? It's late."

Vera huffed. Right. "Fine. I'm gonna-" drown in the bathtub "-take a shower. Just- don't try and kill each other in the meantime."

"Wouldn't dream of it," her brother ensured her with a grin and Vera sighed, watching them with uncertainty.

"He's not lying."

"Okay, that's kinda cool."

"Oh my god…"

When Vera returned from the shower, hair still dripping water, both men were sitting on the couch where she left them, facing each other, talking quietly. Petr's eyes were clouded with concern, shooting her a look as she approached them. Matt automatically reached out his hand to cover hers just a fraction of second before she actually put it on his shoulder. She could see surprise shadowing over Petr's face, before he returned to worrying.

"Sounds like you've been busy," he hummed, rewarded with Vera's sigh. Matt's hand squeezed hers tighter.

"What did you tell him?"

"Everything," Matt admitted and Vera froze, her mind racing. What exactly meant everything?! Vera gulped as her brother's eyes measured her from head to toe as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"Can I see the scar? From… from the sword?" Petr asked carefully, unable to look up at her face again.

Vera's heart jumped at the question. In the back of her mind, she appreciated how absurd the sentence was. She never expected her brother asking her whether he could see her sword scar. If someone told her he would be asking her this like a year ago, she would send them to psych eval. Yet, here they were.

"You sure?" she asked, voice barely a whisper. He didn't even whisper. He just nodded. With a lump in her throat, she turned her back to him, slowly rolling up her tee for sleeping – secretly, she was hoping that if she did it slowly enough, he would change his mind. He didn't.

Vera could hear the leather of the couch protesting as he rose to touch the scar. His touch was surprisingly gentle as if he was worried it might hurt her. It was one of the things he had in common with Matt; it never seemed to stop amazing her, how careful their touches could be. In Matt's case, it was because she knew how hard he could punch, ruining people with those hands; in her brother's, it was simply because he was all long arms and legs, giving an impression of someone who could never control his movements no matter how hard he tried.

What surprised her even more were his fingers lightly running over the skin on her other side too – where her pentagram scar used to be. The laser treatment at hospital sponsored by Rand Enterprise wasn't perfect. There was still a trace of something, different pigmentation, but at least it didn't necessarily resemble the five-pointed star that would mark her as a Satanist.

"That's… where the other scar used to be?" he asked hesitantly, retreating his hand and Vera gladly let her tee fall back to its place, working against the lump in her throat again. She didn't want to turn around, face him, afraid of his judgement. She was honestly shocked Matt told him about that – then again, she was taken aback by the fact he revealed himself in the first place.

"Yeah."

Heavy silence fell. He had nothing more to say. She had no idea what to say. Matt for once stayed quiet too, probably not wanting to interject in the surreal sibling moment. Her pulse was loud in her ears, painful knot in her stomach in anticipation of her brother's reaction.

You're crazy.

What happened to you?

You became a freak.

"You grew up," he said instead, voice altered with emotion she couldn't identify. Didn't want to, perhaps.

Her eyes darted to Matt at Petr's words, desperately looking for help with decoding the meaning, despite the fact he couldn't possibly have an idea of what Petr just told her. These weren't the words she was afraid of, not exactly. But having no idea what they meant was scaring her even more. And Matt… was smiling softly, his fingers stroking the side of her thigh in a comforting touch as she stood next to him.

Vera took a deep breath and turned to her brother. He glanced up to her face, eyes older than she saw just minutes ago, yet not hateful. She relaxed a little.

"It's… I am very much not happy about you getting hurt, about the danger, but… you grew up. David was manipulating you, you were a terrible push-over, especially when it came to him, but not now. You know what you want and you go for it. What would do if I told you to stay here and never return to US? Or if I told you to stop seeing- dating him?" He beckoned in Matt's direction.

Matt was frowning now; he caught the gesture, he heard her ex's name, but otherwise he was clueless. Vera wasn't angry at Petr's words; they were true. She understood, the tension and fear dissolving.

"I would tell you I'm glad you care for me and that you worry, but you can go screw yourself, because you won't dictate to me what I can and cannot do. Even though you're my beloved big brother," Vera answered easily and Petr's lips spread in wide smile.

"Right answer. I'm calling dibs on the shower now. Bed's all yours, I'm taking the couch." With those words, he rose to his feet, making his way to the shower.

He seemed to change his mind while he was passing her – he took her hand and pulled her into a bear hug. Vera let him, enjoying the feeling, smiling. She really missed this. She missed him. She almost forgot how… tolerant he could be when it came to her; he tolerated David too, even though he hated him and he occasionally slipped in some not exactly polite comments about him. But he dealt with it. He let her live her life, because it was her life, leaving the moralizing bullshit out. Gosh, Vera loved her brother.

"Are you happy?" he hummed to her hair and she couldn't help smiling wider.

"Yeah."

"Is he making you happy?"

Vera chuckled. "Yeah. More than you can imagine."

Petr's grip grew stronger, hand stroking her shoulders. "Okay then. I'm proud of you, Mechy-girl."

Shut up, she wasn't crying, he was crying. Dammit, Veronika.

"Thank you," she mumbled to his chest – more like upper abdomen, Jesus, he was tall – squeezing one more time before they let go. "You know you're the coolest big brother ever, right?"

He snorted. "Yeah, yeah sure. Just… please, don't- get too… loving in my bed, okay? I'm not that cool."

Her cheeks flushed immediately, but she laughed. "Oh my god, shut up."

"Love you too," he hummed, patting her head patronizingly. The bathroom door closed behind him with significant click.

Well. That went well. Vera sighed, wiping away the tears she did not shred, because she wasn't crying, spinning on her heels. Matt was still on the couch, arms folded on the armrest, chin on them, as if he had been watching them. His eyes were only half open, as if he had been barely keeping himself from falling asleep. He looked peaceful.

Vera decided questioning his actions – no matter how well they turned out, at least for now – could wait. She crossed the distance, the corners of his lips raising as she brought her hand to his forehead, brushing the disobedient damp hair away.

"Bed?" she offered quietly and his soft smile grew a little wider.

"Now that sounds like an offer I cannot reject," he hummed. Vera chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"You know, the sheets aren't silk," she teased when he followed her, leading him by his hand, their fingers barely touching.

"There are more important things I require from a bed, you know." He climbed under the covers wearily, burrowing in them as if he really didn't give a shit they were cotton. She hid in his arms, pecking his throat before laying her head down and closing her eyes.

"And what would those be, counsellor?"

Vera opened her eyes when he didn't answer. He had his eyelids closed, inconspicuous secretive smile on his lips. Even in her sleepy state, she added that expression to her favourite things. His fingers caressed her lower back just lightly, a motion he might not have even intended, his smile widening a little. She didn't get her answer for another minute, so she sighed and gave in to the dreams that were knocking on the door of her consciousness.